Merry Happy

I prefer not to go to anyone's house for Christmas. Over the years, my mother and I have been invited to spend Christmas with friends of hers. We used to say yes. But then we would find ourselves plop down in the middle of serious psycho-drama. Or I would be the subject of an attempted fix-up with a ne'er-do-well son. Oh my. Very uncomfortable. We found, it's better to excuse ourselves and skip the present unwrapping (awkward if you aren't getting anything), face-stuffing, and family fighting.

Today, I'm spending the day completely on my own. After the two days of non-stop action, a Sunday on my own is a pleasure indeed. The only problem is that EVERYTHING is closed.

(Friday and Saturday were very busy. There are a couple of good stories. I may back post to catch you up.)

Well, that's not true. You have to know where to look. The Eden Center was a likely spot. Every single shop was open and the place was crazy crowed like it always is on the weekends.

You know what you see when you go out on Christmas day? Very few white people. Very few black people. Many Vietnamese people at the Eden Center. And (later) at the Mall, Hispanic people.

I saw two white guys and one black teenage boy at the Eden Center. I picked up the decadent (and, according to Mom, healthy) avocado milkshake. It is just about the best thing I've ever tasted. I also got a bunch of prepackaged mystery foods.


Some items were not so mysterious, but one that looked like plain old sweet sticky rice, turned out to be sticky rice wrapped around a banana with some coconut cream on the side.


A bun with mysterious insides.


The ingredients were listed for these sticky pork buns, so they shouldn't have been mysterious.


When I took a bite, the interior was completely unexpected.


A banana leaf wrapped around something mysterious.


Shrimp garden rolls; completely unmysterious, but very tasty.


Of course, the avocado drink (without bubbles) is so filling that I could only sample most of the items and the rest will be save for dinner, breakfast and lunch. Feast time.

After the Eden Center, it is time for the movies at the mall. The mall is totally closed, but the heat is on. The wraps place in the food court is open and Panera Bread left their wi-fi on, even though the shop is closed.

This particular movie theater used to have quite a few video games. Teenage boys everywhere cried bitter tears when they saw this.


The movie theater is surprisingly not empty. I swear, these other white people are not Jews. Just jealous? Sick of each other? Dying to get out of the house? Guess I can't blame them.

Grateful for: lazy days and the Eden Center.