...there must be something in the air...

There must be something about this time of year that makes people behave differently than they normally do. I'm not sure what it is, but there's definitely something. Perhaps it's exam pressures, maybe it's the change in the weather, it could be the stresses of Christmas shopping, or the lack of caffeine at 2pm because you slept in, missed the bus, and didn't have time to brew a mug yourself...I'm not saying that that happened to me...it didn't...but it could have. On account of the fact that I drink coffee now. (Don't worry, I'm disappointed in myself too.) People are different at this time of year. Sometimes it's a good different, sometimes it's not.

Take for instance this afternoon. I was working my first shift at the Grad House (it's the Graduate Student Pub on campus) and it just so happened that two ornery men decided to give me a hard time over miniscule matters. First of all, one of those tree-hugging-Kashi-eating-organic-food-loving-Latin-America-touring-hippies gave me a hard time over fifteen cents. He was convinced he was a Graduate student, except he's confused. Actually, probably just an idiot and ignorant to boot. Grad students get a 10% discount at the Grad House, but this guy doesn't qualify because he's in his "foundation" year at King's College, which, incidentally is strictly an undergraduate university, thus, clearly he's not a post-graduate student. Clearly. He seemed to have trouble grasping the concept of "graduate." And he calls himself a King's student...I thought they were supposed to be smart.

Guy number two was a real winner, let me tell you. One of the policies of the Grad House is not to tolerate outside products (Timmy's, Second Cup, hot dogs from the crazy vendor down the street) inside the pub. Fair enough. It's not like you would go pick up a bucket of chicken from KFC (personally, I'd never do that) and then go sit down and eat it in Swiss Chalet...As a brand new employee it was my priviledge to go and lay the smack-down on this guy about his illegal coffee...let's just say he wasn't so receptive. Actually he was rude. And argumentative. Hey, it's not my fault that he's now banned from the premises. He's the one who couldn't part with his coffee (granted they do come in those attractive stripped paper cups during the festive season so I can see how this would complicate the issue). A fairly eventful first shift, I suppose.

Of course, this difference in people is not always negative. Sometimes the season can put people in a different frame of mind, making them say and do things that they wouldn't if it were any other month. The season can make people kinder, more generous, gentler. It's easy to romanticize this time of year - I suppose winter is somewhat romatic, what with all those chestnuts, and the roasting of them over open fires. And the mistletoe. (apparently I'm to grind it up and slip it into someone's drink??) One year my family had mistletoe above our front door. I don't think anyone noticed. I think that December has the potential to be a pretty notstalgic month; I find it that way. Everyone remembers Christmases-past, even Scrooge. The question is, what's your favourite Christmas-past memory? Some might be able to answer this more readily than others.

Whatever the effect, whether positive or negative, I'm convinced that this time of year causes people to act differently. Sometimes, almost recklessly.

Anyone up for some good, reckless fun?

Yeah, me neither.