Polar Opposites

Sometimes it feels like I am doing the exact opposite of what people back home are doing. I am fifteen hours ahead of people back in Seattle. This means that around the time I get off work most people are waking up. When I wake up, people back home are getting off work.

However, this contrast seems all the more apparent during this Christmas-time. Mostly because I keep hearing epic tales of snowfall in Seattle, while it is balmy out here. To take the most literal contrast, if there is ice back home, there would be fire here. This is exactly what I saw as I was walking home.

For the first time in my life, I saw an entire building on fire. It was a little eerie and reminded me instantly of my childhood that our oven would cause our family house to burn down. As it happens, the building was the shopping mall where I regularly purchase food. However, the fire never left the top floor, so I will likely stop by the bottom floor food center in the next couple weeks. Thankfully, no one was harmed in the blaze.

In other, circumstances of contrast, I was enlisted to be the Santa Claus for our hotel’s Christmas Eve dinner. The sight was fairly hilarious, as I have neither the age nor the girth to pose as Father Christmas. Perhaps the most humorous part for me was the fact that I am Jewish. Granted the role has been played by a Buddhist Cambodian in the past, but there is still something uniquely funny about Jews dressed up as Saint Nick. In spite of the huge amount of heat trapped by the layers of padding, the experience was very enjoyable, mostly because the image made nearly everyone laugh out loud.

I hope that everyone is having a wonderful time with family this holiday season. Enjoy celebrating it however you see fit. As for me I will be spending Christmas either working, eating, or sleeping. Happy Holidays! HO-ho-Ho!