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Reasons to get jacked about January

Why the winter blues lose their cool around this time of year

 

By Eric Wilkins, Staff Writer

anuary is often seen as a bleak
month, with Christmas and
New Year’s already behind us
nd the reality of the winter months
beginning to settle in. But what
people don’t realize is that there’s
more to January than meets the eye!
To kick things off, January
is the beginning of the new year.
It’s a fresh start. A blank canvas.
A clean slate. Or any other kind
of metaphorical comparison you
might choose to whip out. People
seem to enter the month with
a renewed sense of hope and a
true desire to change. Cue the

lengthening of the days actually
begins in December after winter
solstice, but let’s try to not get
overly technical here.

January is also a great time
for sales and shopping. For those
who still have any sort of dough
left in their pockets, it’s a great
time to take advantage of some real
bargains. Stores are under pressure
to dispose of all of their old stock
so that the new products can fill
the shelves, and this translates into
rock-bottom prices for the savvy
consumer seeking last year’s items.

While I’m sure plenty will
disagree, I think the weather
around this time is the best.

“Nothing says January like a 6 p.m. bus ride home in the freezing
cold pouring rain.”

New Year’s resolutions. Is there
really anything quite as magical

(or amusing) as watching a good
chunk of the world’s population
come up with a list of often
unrealistic self-improvements and
then failing to even remember what
they were a week later? While the
sentiment behind resolutions is
noble, in actual practice, they are
little more than just that: noble
sentiments. But I digress...for the
record, I am going to resolve to stay
on topic this year.

Next great thing about
January? From here on out, the
days are getting longer. As lovely
as it is to be in complete darkness
before the true evening hours have
even set in, there’s something
equally satisfying about getting out
from your afternoon classes and
not seeing the moon. Of course, the

Nothing says January like a 6 p.m.
bus ride home in the freezing cold
pouring rain. And, with a little
luck, this month might finally
bring some of that beloved white
fluff down upon us. It may make
commuting a hassle at times, but it
just doesn’t feel like winter without
a good snowball fight. Or several.
As for my favourite part of
January, it has to be the football
games. College bowl games and
the start of the NFL playoffs take
place in this glorious month, and,
football fan or not, these games are
blessings. Ever wanted a really easy
excuse for a party? Look no further.
So grab a choice beverage, your
favourite sodium-infused snack,
and have the gang over. You don’t
even have to know who’s playing.

 

Re-gifting and the rules that regulate it

By Eric Wilkins, Staff Writer

o Aunt Suzie got you an
Ges pooper-scooper for

Christmas. But the thing is:
you never pick up after your dog,
much less take him on walks—
though this likely stems from
the fact that you don’t actually
own a dog. The solution to your
problems? Ke-gifting.

The idea behind this time-
tested practice is that everyone
ends up with what he/she wants,
and no present is put to waste. In
practice, however, re-gifting is often
used as a tool to dump unwanted
items on to another party that is
equally as likely to try and do away
with the offending object. The logic
behind this whole process is often
just a ruse, meant to hide the fact
that re-gifting is really nothing
more than a form of trash disposal.
It has always danced upon that thin
line known as ethics.

Ethics? Sure. An example for
the ladies: Uncle Tom had to think
long and hard about what to get
you for Christmas; it’s not Jus fault
that you didn’t need a left-handed
curling iron. The poor guy not only
had to come up with the thought of
what to get you, but he then needed
to go get it. That meant a trip to
the mall, the kryptonite of any self-
respecting male. Once there, your
good uncle had to locate the object
in question (and I can guarantee
that such a present cannot be found
in a Sport Chek). No, Uncle Tom
would’ve had to have ventured
into the inner depths of a store a
good deal less masculine. After
having located the present, Uncle
Tom had to pay for it. That’s right.
Cold, hard cash. This guy has gone
out and worked long hours to put
some dough together, and now
he’s spending it on a thoughtful
gift. After all the time and money
invested, can you really just throw
away /re-gift his present?

Of course you can! While it’s a

   

wonderful thing to be considerate
of others’ feelings, let’s face it:
some gifts are just useless. With
this in mind, I’ve always gone
about the process with three simple
guidelines in my head:

First off is the time rule. The
embarrassing situation during
which your gifter asks to see
what he/she got you after you
have given it away, should never
arise. One must hold on to the
gift for a decent period of time. A
month or two is appropriate for a
frequent visitor, and a few weeks
are generally sufficient otherwise.
Apart from avoiding the above-
mentioned scenario, this rule is in
place to help maintain the facade of
having been thankful for the gift; if
you wish to genuinely think about
it, then that’s even better!

Next is the in-house rule.
Re-gifting a present that has been
given to you by someone you
live with is always a dangerous
practice. The close proximity to
him/her means that the question of
where the gift is can be asked at any
moment. If spinning unbelievable
tales of woe is not your thing, then
avoid re-gifting in-house gifts like
the plague.

My final rule for re-gifting is
in regards to gift cards. If you’re
going to re-gift a gift card that you
have no use for, then please do so
with a small additional present.
Re-gifting a gift card by itself is
as good as wandering over to
someone, taking some money out
of their pocket, and then handing it
to someone else—while still taking
the credit and calling it your gift.
Just don’t do it, mmkay?

While it’s unlikely that every
gift that came into your possession
over the holidays is a fan favourite,
that doesn’t mean it has to go to
waste. Pay it, and the gift, forward
and hand off that offensively ugly
sweater to a friend or co-worker.
Who knows. They might actually
end up enjoying it.

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