When I was growing up, I used to join my parents on many of the gatherings they would attend during the Christmas season. By the time I had a social life of my own, there were years when I'd be out every night for about a month. By the end of the Christmas season, I'd be sick as dog with either a fever or asthma or food poisoning or something.
Eventually, I was sick of getting sick, and it was time to dial back. Over the last few years I've attended maybe 2 or 3 parties per season. Then 2011 rolled along and it's been a banner year for parties (at least in my life). Admittedly, some of them are work-related--the ALLS party, the DISCS party, the ACM party--but a few have been purely social. For instance, last night I attended the Mozu party, where Socorro and Redg were judges at a costume competition.
It's been fun, but Christmas is still a week away and I have already gotten a bad cold, asthma, and food poisoning. The irony is that we haven't been able to get together with certain close, close friends. If 2012 permits, I'm dialing back again.
