As I write this, just starting this post, I have a rare opportunity to write about my Christmas while there are still actually some hours of Christmas Day left. This is entirely because Shobhit did not spend Christmas Day with me this year—he is on a plane to Doha, Qatar, and he texted me about half an hour ago that they were just starting to fly over Hudson Bay, which is in the northeast of Canada. He later noted that they will probably avoid flying over Russia.

But, do not fret! While I absolutely would have preferred to have Shobhit with me on Christmas given the choice, we landed on a compromise we were both okay with. For as long as we have been together, we have traditionally had our own Christmas gift exchange on Christmas Eve morning, and we did not have to alter that at all, since the first leg of his flights to India left today and not yesterday. Actually, had his flight left at the same time yesterday (4:05 p.m.), we still could have done it. He booked the flight out today because few people travel on Christmas Day and so the low demand naturally give him the best price. (Sherri asked how much he paid for his round trip tickets, and when I told her $1,553, she said, "Oh that's not bad at all!" I even had to clarify that, yes, that was for round trip tickets.)

While he was at the airport, Shobhit texted me a bunch of photos, about four of them holiday-specific. One was of a passing Santa Claus, and another was of The Grinch and Cindy Lou Who—I'm sure he recognized the Grinch, but maybe could not have named him, and certainly would not have been able to name Cindy Lou Who (even I had to get an assist from Sherri for that). It kind of looked like the airport had people in holiday costumes just roaming around, which I thought sounded cute.

This was after someone attempted to rob Shobhit at the Seatac Link Light Rail Station. He was pulling his two suitcases, and some guy apparently ran into him and attempted to rummage through his jacket pocket while Shobhit's hands were full with the luggage. Shobhit texted me about this, and then said, Luckily I had nothing in that pocket.

Honestly the worst thing about this is going to be how paranoid it's going to make him going forward. He's going to nag me to death about being careful. Not that it's a bad thing to be careful, I know. But, I think the would-be pickpocket probably thought Shobhit made a good target because of two things combined: he was traveling alone and handling a large amount of luggage. If I have a lot of luggage, I tend to be with Shobhit, and two people traveling together are far less of a target. If I am traveling alone, I tend to have very light luggage and am thus freer to be aware of my surroundings. I should still be vigilant, I know, I know!

Anyway, back to the gift exchange with Shobhit yesterday morning. I would never tell him what his calendar theme was going to be, but he could certainly have guessed it, as he specifically asked for it a few months ago, well after I had already decided it would be the very same thing: "Remembering Shanti & Guru." In fact I have a full photo album with all the covers and monthly photos used for all six versions of calendars I made for people this year, and you can scroll down to find all the ones used or Shobhit's.

It should be noted that this was our first Christmas in 16 years with no stockings for Shanti and Guru, no traditional cat toy and treat giving or them. In fact, considering that the last time I was cat-less, after Peng was put down, I got Guru and Shanti within just a few months. There were stockings for Guru and Shanti for Christmas 2008, and the very previous year there would have been one for Peng. This would be the first Christmas since Shobhit and I have even been together that we had no stockings for any cats at all.

So, there was a certain tinge of sadness to the proceedings. Just before we sat down to exchange our gifts, Shobhit actually walked to their commissioned portrait hanging on the wall, and for the first time I had ever seen, he literally spoke to it: "I miss you guys." It was like his acknowledgement to them that we wish they could have been with us, and it broke my heart just a little bit.

But, the gift exchange still went as pleasantly as we could have liked. I opened my gifts first, which he gave me more of than I gave him, kind of expectedly. There was one little box of turkish candy, but otherwise mostly liquor or liquor-related—the last time he'll be able to do this with an employee price break, as yesterday was his last shift at Total Wine. He put in his notice a couple of weeks ago, and is considering trying out UberEats and DoorDash after he gets back from India on the 19th. Anyway, there was a regular bottle of rum, and also a special one: the excellent kind Scott had given us when we visited him in Phoenix last month: Bumbu. I can't wait to have it with the hot buttered rum batter he also gave me!

When Shobhit opened his calendar, he was clearly immensely pleased with it, probably more than any calendar I have made for him. And I always make a special one just for him, but they usually focus on photos of the two of us together over the course of the previous year. This one focused on Guru and Shanti, as expected and as requested.

I also wrapped and put this year's Christmas Tree ornament in his stocking: the one we got at Niagara Falls. Finally, I got something for both of us: AirTags, as well as the keychain holders they can go in, which are sold separately. Shobhit was a little suspicious of how much I must have spent on that—he even snapped my head off a few weeks ago when I indicated I had bought another gift when he felt he didn't need anything—but two things softened him on this immediately. The first, and more important, was the fact that, when I went to the Apple store to buy these things and honestly quite casually noted to the sales guy that it was a little annoying that the keychains cost more than the AirTags themselves ($35 vs $29), the guy just up and discounted me nearly the entire value of one of the keychains! I paid $29 each for the two AirTags; $35 for one of the keychains, and about $2 for the other. This was all before tax, but still: this amounted to a nearly 26% discount on the entire transaction! I was like, holy shit! And I know Shobhit would love hearing that. The second thing is their very utility—always the best kind of gift for Shobhit: he now has his AirTag inside his checked suitcase, and should be able to track it as it goes through the airport.

Shobhit and I were up relatively early yesterday, and I had enough time to get ready and then drive him to work for his final-ever shift at Total Wine & More, at 10:00 a.m. He took the bus home, and that left me the car so I could drive myself to Olympia last night, and make it to the traditional Christmas Eve dinner at a Chinese restaurant with Dad and Sherri.

This gave me far more freedom in this process than I have had in several years—certainly since before the pandemic. The routine the past three Christmases (2021, 2022, and 2023) has been for Shobhit to have a later shift to work at Total Wine, precluding his ability to come down to Olympia to stay the night, something he was never eager to do anyway, both because he didn't want to leave the cats alone and because Dad and Sherri's house, and especially the guest room, are cold. So, I would take public transit down, first an express bus to the SR 512 Park and Ride in Lakewood south of Tacoma, and then the Intercity Transit express from there to the Olympia Transit Center downtown, where Dad usually came to pick me up. Shobhit would then drive down on Christmas morning, and we would drive home together Christmas evening—usually with me driving, because driving after dark on the freeway makes Shobhit nervous.

This year, with the car handy for the first time since 2018 (even in 2019, before the pandemic, I took the bus because of Shobhit's late shift on Christmas Eve), I considered stopping by either Danielle's house or Gabriel's house, like we used to do, one or the other (and a couple of times, both), on the way down to Olympia on Christmas Eve. Shobhit and I had just hung out with Danielle on Thursday, so I ran it by Gabriel first: he was all for me stopping by. I was even there roughly three hours, longer than he expected, which seemed to be a pleasant surprise for him.

It was a lovely time. We got a lot of good laughs, especially when Gabriel showed me the LED Smart Lights he got as an early Christmas present from Lea's dad. They are hanging on the large wall in their living room, and apparently we can put in a request for it to generate any image you ask it to.

Well, almost any. Gabriel asked what I wanted to see, and when I said, "A penis!" Lea laughed pretty hard. Ever the good sport, Gabriel tried it—but the thing wouldn't do it. I asked for a tulip, though, and it did do that. It also generated a pink pony, a Christmas Tree, and Gabriel unveiled his "LEA + GN."

I did not bring a Christmas gift for him this year. Unless! Does the chai I made and brought—which they love—count? I think we can maybe say that it does. I've officially added it to my History of Christmas Gifts for Gabriel, which I keep handy in case he ever again tries to say I never give him Christmas presents. (For the record, a gift for him—or for any friend—is never on the agenda in any obligatory way each year. I only buy gifts for friends if I happen to see something and think: Gabriel [or whoever] needs to have that! I don't like shopping for gifts only for the sake of its obligation, something I am confident Gabriel would agree is bullshit.

Anyway, I had aimed for 1:00, and I was pretty damned close. Gabriel had another friend call out of the blue to ask if he wanted to hang out briefly, a kind of odd thing to do on Christmas Eve (if you're not as close a friend as I am, anyway—step off, buddy! . . . I'm actually kidding here, it was fine). They were going to meet at, I think it was a brewery? And I was just going to hang out with Lea at the house until they were done. But, they had discovered the brewery was closed, so they were all there at the house when I arrived. I had to be reminded twice of what Alex's name was—that's the other friend who was there. When he did leave, really not long after I arrived, I said, "You are Alex!"

I hope he didn't feel rushed out of there, genuinely. Gabriel even apologized for the "overlap," which was absolutely not necessary. I could tell this was a friend he's really fond of, and it sounded like he doesn't get to see him often. So, I get it.

Lea apparently baked 36 batches of cookies. I might be getting that number wrong, but suffice it to say it was bonkers. I guess she did it pretty early and was worried about them going stale. She needn't have worried. I have no complaints. I've already eaten half of them.

I aimed to leave Gabriel and Lea's house by shortly after 4:00. And I made it: I texted Dad I was on my way at 4:18, with an ETA of 5:05. We had our requisite Christmas Eve dinner reservations at 6:30, and I wanted to have a comfortable amount of time to park at Dad and Sherri's house, settle in, and then just ride with Dad and Sherri out to the restaurant—a new place they decided to try, called Tea Leaf, a Chinese restaurant in Lacey.

Christmas Eve Dinner Roll Call!

1. Dad
2. Sherri
3. Me
4. Jennifer
5. Matthew
6. Hope
7. Chase
8. Ian
9. Bella, Ian's girlfriend from Alaska

Gina and Beth, who had joined us last year, apparently returned to their pre-pandemic tradition of hosting Christmas Eve dinner with friends, so they were not with us this year. The rest of the group was the same, with the one exception of the addition of Ian's girlfriend, Bella. So, last year we had 10 for Christmas Eve dinner; this year was had 9.

Bella was very sweet and friendly, and asked me lots of questions about Seattle and why I like it there. I couldn't really tell if she was genuinely interested or just brought up to be polite and ask people about themselves, which it kind of felt like. But, well, Ian and Bella are apparently coming along with Jennifer and Matthew to spend New Year's Eve with me, so Bella will get a good first dose of Seattle first-hand next week. It'll be a far cry from Tok (pronounced "toke"), the population-1,243 town she's from in Alaska, which is a three-and-a-half-hour drive (about 200 miles) southeast of Fairbanks, the closest notable city to her. She told me last night she doesn't like Anchorage because it's "a crime capital," and I am suspicious of any small-town person using that kind of language to refer to a major city—and Anchorage, by far the largest city in Alaska, has a population less than half (40%) that of Seattle, and a metropolitan population one tenth the size of Seattle's.

We all drove back to the house to hang out and visit for a couple of hours, as is typical after Christmas Eve dinner. Sherri had to use the bathroom and so Dad suggested I ride with Jennifer and Matthew so I could let them into the house with my key. In the end, Dad and Sherri got to the house roughly one minute after we did.

My calendar theme this year was "Beloved Pets," as an extension of the Guru and Shanti calendar made for Shobhit, in honor of their passing—customized for different audiences, though. I made one special for Jennifer, who was the only single person who had enough pets in her history to fill out all 12 months of the calendar. Well, 11 of them; I used her "Sir Lumier" cat lawn decoration for October; and a short lived bunny is used for April, the month in which Easter lands next year. All 10 of the others are ten different cats Jennifer has had over the years.

So now we get to Christmas Day—today—when I was able to personally pass out all but one of the nine versions of the "BELOVED PETS" calendar I made for Dad's side of the family. Only David wasn't there, and he doesn't tend to me, as they typically spend Christmas with Jackie's family—they were up for a birthday party at Gina and Beth's for Georgia just last weekend, which the whole family was invited to but of course I was only coming down to Olympia for Christmas.

Anyway! Christmas 2024 Roll Call!

1. Dad
2. Sherri
3. Angel
4. Brandi [Angel's daughter, my niece]
5. Nick [Brandi's husband]
6. Jaycee [Brandi and Nick's daughter]
7. Gianni [Brandi and Nick's son]
8. Enzo [Brandi and Nick's toddler]
9. Ricky [Angel's son, my nephew]
10. Rainen [Ricky's son]
11. Ruby [Ricky's daughter]
12. Britni [Angel's daughter]
13. Alex [Angel's son]
14. Caitlin [Alex's girlfriend]
15. Amira [Alex and Caitlin's daughter]
16. Alaina [Alex and Caitlin's daughter]
17. Gina
18. Beth
19. Matthew

Mind you, Alex, Caitlin, Amira and Alaina arrived at 10:00 a.m. when the shared gathering time was 1:00, and they left by about 11:30, before anyone else arrived. So, although there was a total of 19 today, there was never any more than 15 at one time. Which was plenty, really. Still: it could have been 20 today had either Wendy (who opted this year to go with Brad to spend Christmas with him and his wife and her family this year) or Shobhit made it, or even 21 if they both had.

I always do this too, so what the hell—the Christmas Roll Call history:

2011: 11
2012: 28
2013: 16
2014: 20
2015: 33
2016: 9
2017: 15
2018: 20
2019: 20
2020: 8 [four in person, just Dad and Sherri, Shobhit and me; four at a separate time on Zoom]
2021: 19
2022: 17
2023: 14
2024: 19

Had things been even slightly different and both Wendy and Shobhit had made it this year, we'd have had the highest count not just since before the pandemic, but since 2015! As it is, we actually tied this year for the most we've had post-pandemic, at 19.

Also, this was the first time Alex and Caitlin made it over on Christmas Day since 2019 (also before the pandemic), and Dad and Sherri were pretty delighted to see them, with their two girls, this morning. It's too bad their visit couldn't overlap with the rest of the group, but just about everyone (except for me!) has another stop to get to on Christmas Day, and apparently Alex and Caitlin had someone else to visit before going back home to host Christmas Dinner with some of Caitlin's family.

A quick reminder: Angel's four kids have three different dads (I love telling people how Angel once said to me, "My kids have too many different dads in too many different counties!"). So, even though Brandi, Ricky and Britni all had Rick's house as another stop later in the evening, that did not apply to Alex. He had other business.

So, there was no "Christmas Dinner" at Dad and Sherri's this year—just a snack spread. I still brought myself a Field Roast Celebration Roast so I'd have a high-protein meat substitute and would not just be eating sweets and junk. Still, I managed a pretty good haul for my plate this year: I also made salt and pepper cucumbers that went over surprisingly well and about half of which got eaten; Brandi brought cauliflower patties that were much better than that sounds; both Britini and Dad and Sherri made deviled eggs; and I got some crackers and spinach dip provided by Dad and Sherri as well. And of course there were also the many sweets, and a still-partially frozen pumpkin pie.

We also had the requisite White Elephant gift exchange, which I like to participate in even though I'm the only one still bringing presents for everybody there (the calendars, which I have now been making for 19 years, and many in the family really count on them). I did cheat on this, though: the maximum value was $25, and so I brought the "Squirrel in Underpants" ornament that a broker had given me at work, which I really did not want.

I love this picture I got of Nick opening it, with Dad and Sherri and Ricky all looking on, clearly unsure what to make of it. Nick was not thrilled, especially after the back massager he had opened got taken from him and he had to choose from the two gifts left unopened—and got saddled with this. Beth even made a comment that "Someone didn't follow the direction that it should be something people want." This was doubly funny to me after . . . Gina wanted it, and stole it from Nick! Ha! I will probably see this ornament hanging from Gina and Beth's tree next year. I think this is hilarious. I did wonder if people might actually want it and get a kick out of it, and at least Gina clearly did. I think Beth could live without it, but she'll be resigned to living with it. Plus, Nick got to open yet another gift. Everybody wins! Everybody except Beth, perhaps. Especially since I stole the See's Candies $25 gift card from her.

You know what? As far as I'm concerned, I have every right to throw a kind of bullshit gift into the White Elephant mix. I make everyone a calendar, after all, and those fucking things cost me nearly $30 each to get printed. I think I'm justified in re-gifting something in an effort to get something else cool out of the gift exchange. So there! Am I being defensive?

Even with all the nieces and nephews having another stop today, we had a pretty good crowd at the house between 1:00 and about 3:45. Gina and Beth left not long before I did, and Angel and I left at around the same time. I had brought Shobhit's Guru & Shanti calendar to share, and showed it to Angel as well as Dad and Sherri before I left. They all found it very sweet, and then I got several leftovers from Dad to take home with me. I left Olympia at 5:30 and was home at 6:35, incredibly good time compared to most Christmas evenings when we drive home usually right around that same time.

It was a lovely Christmas as always.

[posted 9:27 pm]