On Thursday night we (my colleagues and I) went for an office Christmas dinner in a restaurant at Albert Park. It was called The Point and from where we sat on the first floor, it looked out to Albert Lake. In fact I think the whole of the first floor dining area looked out to Albert Park. Although it had rained and there had been a storm earlier in the day, the view though dark with heavy clouds, was very nice. It would have been magnificent had it been a clear day.
Earlier in the day the MD had dressed up as a Santa Clause and went through the entire office to hand out Christmas presents to everyone. It was quite a jaw-dropping present too. It was an iPod and when I rang kiddo about it, she promptly matched my descriptions of the unit to that of a 3rd generation 4GB Nano model. Needless to say, that iPod is now hers and I’m starting to unravel the world of iPods through her hand-me-down 1st generation 2GB Nano. I am now a proud owner of a 1st generation machine. At least I understand some of the lingo now. Kiddo took me into the world of iTunes and showed me how to work my CDs to transfer the songs. My 1st generation hand-me-down Nano now has Stacy Kent, Paul Simon and will soon have John Fogerty of Creedence Clearwater Revival and Dire Straits.
There has been a raft of Christmas functions in the office in the past couple of weeks. Our department is next to a Group Insurance department (they deal with large superannuation and employer group based insurance) and they have been at it a bit, with kris kringles, morning teas, lunches, dinners and generally making a festive and feasting overhand which is anything but low-key. There was a big blown-up Santa, a singing lion (singing Winter Wonderland, and precedes each rendition with a Metro Goldwyn Myer style roar), loads of nuts and marzipan, and just loads of all types of foods.
My own department too, has been living it up a bit today. Loads of chocolates, wines and gingerbread cookies all around.
How does one give Jesus any shelf space in a season like this? It’s almost as though everyone’s turned up for the party and having a great time but the birthday boy has been almost completely ignored. The birth of Jesus and the reason for His birth, seems to have been relegated to the back room or the bottom shelf. The long complained commercialisation of this otherwise very important event continues to gain momentum and does not look like it is letting up anytime soon.
Maybe in that sense the election of the Labor Party is part of God’s plan. (tongue firmly planted in cheek). Given the Labor Party’s propensity to mess with the economy, perhaps God thought it is time Australia becomes less prosperous and people become less materialistic. So perhaps next Christmas the ill of commercialisation will abate somewhat and people will have less distraction and can therefore think a little bit more about what Christmas really means.
Actually I should be complaining more at the moment, as Jesus has been completely absent in all office related Christmas celebrations. I’m not, which means I have enjoyed the eating and drinking and receiving gifts (even a 40-something is thrilled to receive an iPod nano for a Christmas present, even if it was his for only a brief moment). The flesh triumphs easily, I’m afraid – a lot more easily than virtue.
With all these festivities another year draws to a close. The year has ended a lot better than it began.
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An old acquaintance sent me an email recently and I responded. A few email exchanges later, I was reminded that this guy is a journalist who is like a dog with a very big bone. He doesn’t let go, and well might he hold on. The issues he pursues are those I care about and he has far more insight than me. At least he appears to have that insight. I must read more of his work and those of his colleagues. It appears off the wall at first glance but I have briefly read some of his work and they are potentially very plausible. If he gets it right, there’s a potentially very effective leverage to make a difference.
I hope to find time to read more.
Ante 