O Christmas Kitsch, O Christmas Kitsch(!)

To the left of this text is a fine photographic example of what happens when college kids decide to forstall life, getting a job, and making real money, and go to graduate school instead.

They end up poor.

Very, very poor.

So poor, in fact, that when Christmas comes around, the only thing they can pony up for a Christmas tree is a two foot, fiber-opitc plastic fake one that would glow luminiously in the dark, if not for the fact that the ac adapter was lost during multiple cross country moves in pursuit of higher eduation.

Meaning all that is left of the former glory and attraction of said decoration is the fact that it kind of looks wintry and frost-tipped. Or like it has a bad case of tree dandruff.

Sigh.

I had hoped that 2005 was going to The Year I Got It All Together. Well, not everything, but at least the ability to get off my lazy duff and decorate something with fake firtree garland, or make Christmas cookies, or at the very least, get a proper tree. But then that would mean buying ornaments and at the going rate of Hallmark ornaments my plans for fully decorating o' Tannenbaum with something other than popcorn tinsel and popsicle sticks is up there with building my retirement dream home.

I know, you're thinking "There's got to be more to the story, Jamie." And there is. Next installment, meet the Barking Christmas Carol Stuffed Dog. From Walmart.