that annual fuzzy holiday feeling

team lunch at chelsea brewery

'tis that season again, i guess—when people seem to be all of a sudden extra nice and jolly. it must be the abundance of home-made cookies and chocolates, driving everyone's serotonin levels to empire state highs. office team lunches with a strong sense of belonging. well, that could be blamed on the beer and gin and tonics too. holiday cards, bags of self-made cookies, box of chocolates that all of a sudden pop up at my office desk, leaving me with a tinge of guilt 'coz i havent gotten anyone anything. the agency backpack which is ten times better than last year's present of coffee mugs with 2 packets of godiva hot chocolate. i wonder where those mugs are now.

a few drinks later

and even the everyday new yorkers seem to be all in in this let's shed our long faces and trade them in for a smile. the corner deli man letting me get a way with being a quarter short. the post office teller across the street giving me a free stickers and a lesson on how much stamps to put on my air mail letters. my dentist finally giving me my one side tooth back and a nice little design project which will allow me to get back even just a portion of this year's dental expenses.

for a city known for being in-your-face, it sure is a great treat seeing everyone seem to warm up. it doesn't come as a big surprise though coz after all, the big apple was recently named the world's most polite city. i guess it sure 'tis the season to splurge on being nice to others and of course, oneself. if new york can do it, im sure everyone else too. or maybe not.