'TIS CHRISTMAS

Christmas is but a few days away... and this holiday has different meanings to different people. To some, it is a time to spread love and joy... a time to give and receive.

To others, it is a time to lament on how a simple holiday got overrun by commercialism, from the extravagant Christmas lights displays to how people are spending an amount that could be the GDP of a small country on useless, overpriced Christmas gifts.

But irregardless of which side of the fence you're on... it is good to remember that Christmas is also a time to think of the less fortunate.

And I'm not talking about the orphans and the homeless or those people in countries torn by natural disaster or war... I'm sure our hearts are already out to them.

The less fortunate people I'm referring to are people who have been suffering this particular holiday in silence. People who have been put through cruel and unusual punishment and yet do not have the power to air their grievances out of fear of being branded as Grinches or Scrooges or 'em bloody liberal athiests.

It is to these people that I dedicate this post to... and to these people, I say, "Don't fret. I hear you... I hear your pains, I feel your suffering. I can't do shit to help change the situation... but take heart in the fact that Christmas is going to end soon..."

LESS FORTUNATE PEOPLE WHO I ASSUME WOULDN'T BE ENJOYING CHRISTMAS...

Staff At Fast Food Joints And Movie Theatres
Because they are "encouraged" to wear silly conical fur bobbled hats while they work throughout the month of December to "spread the Christmas cheer"...

People Without MP3s
Because they'll end up having to listen to all the non-stop jing-jing-jingaling piped-in Christmas muzak while grocery shopping, while in the elavators, while taking a pee in the mall...

People Without Cable or DVD players
Because they'll have to settle for watching to free-to-air channels, where local "celebrities" will more likely than not ruin perfectly nice Christmas songs during the obligatory Christmas Special on TV

The Newspaperboy/man
Because they will have to deliver much thicker, heavier newspapers throughout the month of December because it's choked full of Christmas Sale advertisements and Christmas catalogues and Christmas bumper issues and...

Unsuspecting Pedestrains In Orchard Road
Because they will be accosted by over-enthusiastic seasonal touts selling all manner of overpriced junk they will have no use for... like conical hats with flickering lights or fake reindeer antlers with flickering lights and colourful jester hats with, you've guessed it... bloody flickering lights

Office I.T. Guys
Because they will have to entertain a barrage of complaints of the server being slow because it's overloaded with mass Xmas greetings and emails with high gigabytes due to the animated Santas, Rudolphs or Frosties. Or worse, the Xmas email greeting could turn out to be a worm or virus...

The Fat Guy In The Office

Because he knows the people in HR are going to "encourage" him don the fake white beard with elastic bands and dress up in the uncomfortable fake woolly red suit that doesn't breathe thus making him sweat and scratch incessantly around his crotch come day of the office Xmas party.

p.s.: My heart also goes out to the following people who are suffering due to obvious reasons, namely People Who Have Cheap Bastards as Colleagues, People Who Have Neighbours Who Do A Lot Of Carolling But Are Unfotunately Tone Deaf and Anyone Who Ended Up Unwillingly Buying One Of Those Kitschy Flickering Christmas Hats From The Touts...