Deep Fried Holliday Wishes
The time between Thanksgiving and Christmas has been my 100% favorite of the whole year my whole life. Everything makes you feel good. Growing up, sports changed season. I was no longer out in the cold cracking skulls. I was inside running suicides in the warmth and comfort of a hardwood gym. The weather has officially turned cold which means I get to wear all the beat up old hoodies and sweat pants that were just too warm for the fall. There is the daily ritual of getting warm. How good does it feel to be freezing cold and then pull out warm clothes and a blanket and sink into a comfy seat and bundle up? It's amazing. I can't get cool once the temperature gets over 65, and if I do have the luxury of having a cooled apartment or office to get into it takes me HOURS to stop sweating and finally get comfortable. In the winter all it takes is a few minutes of being bundled up, piled under blankets, etc to become as comfortable as you want. If you're not warm enough, what do you do? Get more warm clothes and more blankets. If you get too warm? Just kick off the blanket.
The summer is finding space, it's reducing contact with your skin, it's getting in a breeze. The winter is bundling up, holding things close, appreciating the warmth of whatevers around you. It's a cozy, comfy, tight, warm, time.
What makes the winter especially nice for me is that I have been conditioned to withstand extreme cold. (warning: football story) When I started playing football my freshman year of high school I'll never forget when it got bitter cold and I put a sweatshirt on under my pads. I got to the field and was laughed at. My coach looked at me like a kid who didn't know how to start a lawn mower and explained to me that Offensive Lineman don't need to wear sleeves or pants (under our football pants like some lil guys did). He had already taught us that we love the mud and the rain, and that stuck, so why not this? He had a big smile on his face and then went back to what he was doing. So, during a water break I took off my pads, took off my sweatshirt, and put my pads back on with only a t shirt underneath. I was so fucking cold. I remember how badly every touch on my arms felt. It stung when I'd hit something hard and feel like a dull deep impact when I hit something soft. My knuckles bled and my skin cracked. I went the next 3 hours feeling colder than I ever had. The next day, T shirt. Every day after that, T shirt. The difference after that day was I was realizing that putting up with things that nobody else has to is what being an OL was all about. With every little trick and every little change I was becoming a part of a greater fraternity. By the end of the season I was coming back in laughing about the cold. It still felt like shit, but that pain was part of being who I am. I needed to get used to it because all the people that came before me did the same thing.
Fast forward 8 years to my senior year of college ball. Same shit. We had to practice at 10PM a few times because of an asshole town ordinace that said we couldn't use our practice field after 7 because it, "lowered their property value." I still remember going out there with my arms turning chalky and white within seconds and having a smile on my face. Even our coach came out in very light gear because he stood strongly by the unwritten book of OL.
By this point I was so used to the biting feeling of icy cold winds and rains that I started to like it... better yet... I looked FORWARD to it. I couldn't wait for it to be so cold that every breath you took in froze the hairs in your nose and made your tongue go dry. When it would hit zero, I'd wear even less gear. I finished my senior season with a nike dryfit heat gear shirt under a set of pads and an underarmor duke. That's all I'd wear and it felt great. I'd sweat and feel my practice jersey freezing where it didn't always have contact with my body. I felt like a new man.
What does that mean for me now? I can deal with so much lower temperatures than most people that it makes me look like a good guy. I can give up my jacket, gloves, hat, whatever to someone less cold tolerant than myself. Do I feel the cold? Yes. It fucking sucks, but it is permanently written into the base of my soul that when I'm that cold it's good, so if someone else needs warmth, they can have whatever I've got. I'll suck it up. That has a lot to do with the fact that I'd rather suffer than watch anyone else suffering, but seeing as it's just weather, it's easy stuff.
I was talking to my grandmother tonight after dinner and she asked me how the heat is in my apartment. I told her the truth... I don't know. I still sleep with a window open. As I said above, I love the feeling of bundling up. It's having controll over how you feel which is something I lack in the summertime. Nothing feels better than a cold night and a warm stack of heavy blankets.
Ehem... back to what I wanted to get into: The time between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I had my first taste of what real life is like during this time last year when I worked every day but christmas eve. Ever since I was born I've had at least a week off surrounding Christmas. That was the time I could forget about school, sports, girls, whatever and just sit at home baking cookies with my mom and watching stupid movies with my dad. It was all sweat pants and scrambled eggs at noon. Last year it was surfing the web at my kiosk and praying that we'd make some sales. This year it's busines suits and cold calling. I guess the need for a week of time with my family during this time will fade as the years go by, but having to work around the holidays makes them less important to me. I used to seriously feel like everything I did was about love and family. I'd get home and just be happy to be in my own bed in my own house surrounded by the people who mean the most to me, now I get to have dinner with family and then drive back here where I don't even have a single decoration on the walls. Last year I barely even had a holiday. It was just one day I didn't have to drive into PA to sit in my store and get hollered at.
I don't think it's going to be as bad this year. My job is very good and there will be a nice 3 day weekend for Christmas, but I don't really get the Christmas feeling looking forward to just Christmas day. I like looking forward to the break, to the time when all that matters is family, to the relaxation, to the time that lets me reset myself and get back ready to go for January. Looking forward to 1 day off from work and 1 day with my family just doesn't feel the same.
It also sucks when I don't have any money socked away for Christmas gifts. This is the time of year I like to show how much people mean to me by finding them a little something that shows I was thinking about them. This year it's going to be reaaaaal tight so I doubt I'll be able to do much of anything.
Well, I've let this post ramble on as I fly through www.ytmnd.com and blab away on AIM. I'll try to focus better for the next post.
Basically, if you didn't read this at all, I miss my time off for Christmas. The end.
The summer is finding space, it's reducing contact with your skin, it's getting in a breeze. The winter is bundling up, holding things close, appreciating the warmth of whatevers around you. It's a cozy, comfy, tight, warm, time.
What makes the winter especially nice for me is that I have been conditioned to withstand extreme cold. (warning: football story) When I started playing football my freshman year of high school I'll never forget when it got bitter cold and I put a sweatshirt on under my pads. I got to the field and was laughed at. My coach looked at me like a kid who didn't know how to start a lawn mower and explained to me that Offensive Lineman don't need to wear sleeves or pants (under our football pants like some lil guys did). He had already taught us that we love the mud and the rain, and that stuck, so why not this? He had a big smile on his face and then went back to what he was doing. So, during a water break I took off my pads, took off my sweatshirt, and put my pads back on with only a t shirt underneath. I was so fucking cold. I remember how badly every touch on my arms felt. It stung when I'd hit something hard and feel like a dull deep impact when I hit something soft. My knuckles bled and my skin cracked. I went the next 3 hours feeling colder than I ever had. The next day, T shirt. Every day after that, T shirt. The difference after that day was I was realizing that putting up with things that nobody else has to is what being an OL was all about. With every little trick and every little change I was becoming a part of a greater fraternity. By the end of the season I was coming back in laughing about the cold. It still felt like shit, but that pain was part of being who I am. I needed to get used to it because all the people that came before me did the same thing.
Fast forward 8 years to my senior year of college ball. Same shit. We had to practice at 10PM a few times because of an asshole town ordinace that said we couldn't use our practice field after 7 because it, "lowered their property value." I still remember going out there with my arms turning chalky and white within seconds and having a smile on my face. Even our coach came out in very light gear because he stood strongly by the unwritten book of OL.
By this point I was so used to the biting feeling of icy cold winds and rains that I started to like it... better yet... I looked FORWARD to it. I couldn't wait for it to be so cold that every breath you took in froze the hairs in your nose and made your tongue go dry. When it would hit zero, I'd wear even less gear. I finished my senior season with a nike dryfit heat gear shirt under a set of pads and an underarmor duke. That's all I'd wear and it felt great. I'd sweat and feel my practice jersey freezing where it didn't always have contact with my body. I felt like a new man.
What does that mean for me now? I can deal with so much lower temperatures than most people that it makes me look like a good guy. I can give up my jacket, gloves, hat, whatever to someone less cold tolerant than myself. Do I feel the cold? Yes. It fucking sucks, but it is permanently written into the base of my soul that when I'm that cold it's good, so if someone else needs warmth, they can have whatever I've got. I'll suck it up. That has a lot to do with the fact that I'd rather suffer than watch anyone else suffering, but seeing as it's just weather, it's easy stuff.
I was talking to my grandmother tonight after dinner and she asked me how the heat is in my apartment. I told her the truth... I don't know. I still sleep with a window open. As I said above, I love the feeling of bundling up. It's having controll over how you feel which is something I lack in the summertime. Nothing feels better than a cold night and a warm stack of heavy blankets.
Ehem... back to what I wanted to get into: The time between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I had my first taste of what real life is like during this time last year when I worked every day but christmas eve. Ever since I was born I've had at least a week off surrounding Christmas. That was the time I could forget about school, sports, girls, whatever and just sit at home baking cookies with my mom and watching stupid movies with my dad. It was all sweat pants and scrambled eggs at noon. Last year it was surfing the web at my kiosk and praying that we'd make some sales. This year it's busines suits and cold calling. I guess the need for a week of time with my family during this time will fade as the years go by, but having to work around the holidays makes them less important to me. I used to seriously feel like everything I did was about love and family. I'd get home and just be happy to be in my own bed in my own house surrounded by the people who mean the most to me, now I get to have dinner with family and then drive back here where I don't even have a single decoration on the walls. Last year I barely even had a holiday. It was just one day I didn't have to drive into PA to sit in my store and get hollered at.
I don't think it's going to be as bad this year. My job is very good and there will be a nice 3 day weekend for Christmas, but I don't really get the Christmas feeling looking forward to just Christmas day. I like looking forward to the break, to the time when all that matters is family, to the relaxation, to the time that lets me reset myself and get back ready to go for January. Looking forward to 1 day off from work and 1 day with my family just doesn't feel the same.
It also sucks when I don't have any money socked away for Christmas gifts. This is the time of year I like to show how much people mean to me by finding them a little something that shows I was thinking about them. This year it's going to be reaaaaal tight so I doubt I'll be able to do much of anything.
Well, I've let this post ramble on as I fly through www.ytmnd.com and blab away on AIM. I'll try to focus better for the next post.
Basically, if you didn't read this at all, I miss my time off for Christmas. The end.
posted by NJX70 at 11:26 PM
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