It's easy to think that I have an easy time picking out Livejournal stuff because Singapore is filled with anecdotes, and I'd have a much harder time somewhere around where I grew up where everything feels more normal. And then I'd have to point out something like how while driving to the mall today, I found someone with one of those inflatable Santa Clauses which had apparently fallen off its posts. So he was holding it for someone else. So what it looked like was a guy holding up Santa Claus's arm, in triumph, like he'd just won a boxing match.
And so after several hours mentioning that I had Christmas presents to wrap, and that I'd need some time alone with the wrapping paper and supplies (in the living room) to wrap them, and that I had presents for my parents, and that I couldn't very well wrap my parents' presents while they were there, and, you know, I'd need to wrap the presents sometime before the morning ... well, they weren't taking the hint. Finally I just started in on siblings and friends and hoped that by the time I got to my parents' gifts they'd have gone to bed. And that more or less worked; Dad went to their bedroom while Mom was around and I was wrapping Dad's presents; then Mom went to bed and I could wrap her gifts while Dad was wandering back and forth.
After it was all over, I found that I'd left two presents unwrapped. Well, that's just because I picked up some as ``this can go to anyone'', and I had more personality-specific gifts by the time it was over. I suppose I can save them for later gift-giving occasions.
Meanwhile my mother's new cat, who is very much excited and interested by everything, including particularly feet, shoulders, heads, books, cables, and the model railroad, has never had so much fun in her young life as she has a period of weeks that involve paper being shuffled around, long ribbons being dangled around, and bits of tape just the right size to be patted being tossed around. I can't wait to see what happens in the morning.
Trivia: Serfdom was abolished in Denmark in 1787. Source: European History 1648 to 1789, R M Rayner.
Currently Reading: Entertainment for Angels: Electricity in the Enlightenment, Patricia Fara.