Totally Funked Out

I don't know what the problem is, but I'm totally funked out today. Deep blue funk, not stinky funk. And I started out the day in such a good mood, too.

Maybe it's the fact that everywhere I've been today people have been in a bad mood. At the grocery store, there's a little old man who stocks the dairy section. I love him. He reminds me of my dad, and he always makes shopping there a happy event. Today someone pissed him off before I got there, and he didn't even have a smile for me. Then at the department store, I got there just in time to hear the assistant manager (think of the stereotypical 'assistant manager' type, and you'll know him) chew out the only good cashier they have in the joint. Another one of my little old joys around the town. I stepped up to the register and since there was no one behind me, I told her to take her time and relax - I'm never really in a hurry.

At the post office, the gal looks harried - and who can blame her when every moron in town is: a) walking in and having her weigh every friggin' card to make sure they don't need extra postage, b) bringing in boxes improperly packed to ship, c) spending ten minutes deliberating over which design stamp they want for their cards. (My cards all have regular stamps. I don't look at the stamps on the cards I receive. It's the card inside that's important. Right?) Or d) just being generally impatient and rude.

Maybe it's the snow. We got a whole three inches... okay, maybe four... and everyone acts like it's an imposition to have to deal with driving slower, taking more care, and allowing extra room for stopping. I'm originally from Michigan, and this snow is nothing in comparison to what I used to have to deal with. I love the ones who feel it's their god-given right to plow all their snow into the middle of the road. Those of us who drive small cars are really thankful for their conscientiousness. The city does an awesome job of keeping the roads clear, but come on, people. Let's all do our part to make this snow thing easier on everyone. K?

I've been trying to keep the Christmas spirit. Really I have. But folks around here are making it damn hard for me. It's supposed to be the time of 'good will to men'. Or to quote some show my nephew always used to reference... "Can't we all just get along?" Whatever the reason, this whole day has me totally funked out. I don't want to write. I don't want to read. I don't even want to flop on the couch and watch TV. I'd really rather just curl up in bed and stare at the dark. Feh.

To finish this post out on a brighter note: I finally got around to decorating. I put up the tree and strung garlands all over the living room. I put my grandmother's antique hand-painted ornaments in strategic locations and set out all my holiday knick-knacks. It looks like the North Pole exploded in here, but it's certainly festive.

Are you keeping the holiday spirit this year, or is the whole thing just making you crazy? What's it like where you are - funked out or happy? And what do you think is causing some people to have a massive case of the grumps?

(Update: I worked through my funk, and I'm feeling much better now. It probably doesn't hurt that I've been hermitized in my little house and away from contact with the outside world.)