Ray wrote:
> Mele Kalikimaka to everyone here.
> 
> BTW.....does anyone here actually MISS the Christmas rush?  After
> seven years here, it still feels kinda weird not too see the huge
> crowd of people or the traffic that seem to go on for miles. (G)

Speaking purely for myself - nope. http://tinyurl.com/2o2x4

> And here's a question......why aren't real Christmas trees sold in
> Japan?  Is it because the shipping?  Can't they be grown here?

Real Christmas trees have leaves made of eucalyptus, shed their bark 
instead of their leaves, host the occasional koala, and provide a bit of 
shade when you are knocking back a cupla tinnies after your mid Xmas 
afternoon surf. They are too expensive to ship here, can't be grown here 
either, and even if they could would lack a certain ambience.

> It's not really Christmas when you walk into a department store and
> you see a big, FAKE tree.

I could argue that its not really Christmas when you walk into a 
department store, but I digress.

Regards Declan,
from the Xmasmuzak free bunker/spider hole thingee,
Okazaki, Aichi.

ps: can someone please wake me up when it is all over.