buckknuckle

Six years ago was my first holiday season I spent away from my family in Texas. It was possibly the lowest point in my life. I was in Charlottesville, Virginia, working at a tattoo shop with one other guy and he was a complete asshole. My one friend was 3 hours away in Washington, DC. I had a week off from xmas to new years and nothing to do. The only thing I had going for me there was work.

I decided to fully investigate being a hermit. I bought enough food, booze, smokes, drugs and porn for a weeks worth of debauchery. I rented 40+ hours of movies. I turned my living room into a pain cave with pillows and a tv. I didn't bath or brush my teeth. I wallowed in it, trying to get to the depths of it...

All I got out of that week was a tooth that needed a root canal a month later.

I'm not a big fan of this time of year. Too many bad things are associated with it and I keep thinking about them as soon as Thanksgiving arrives. Being aware of the triggers helps and I try to stay even-keeled.

Sometimes, though, all you can do is endure it.

This year, my future wife is with me. We have some good friends coming over tonight and tomorrow for dinner and board games. So far this month I've been inebriated more times than I've been in the past 2 years. It's been fun, actually. Letting go of control has always been a hard thing for me to do... and doing that in the company of those that I trust is nice.

I hope you had a good year, and I promise that it's only gonna get better from here on.

Take care.