Christmas - Hawaiian, Jersey, Italian Style

This Christmas was unlike any other. First of all, I had to work. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but I didn't really get to relax and lay around all day watching basketball and football games with my bros. Nor did I get the royal breakfast treatment of my Dad's sausage biscuts and gravy or my Mom's french toast, bacon and eggs. I got cold pizza left over from my Christmas eve lunch/dinner.
When I got to work it was a little slow. Some of the servers were bitching about being there and having to work when it was so slow. This didn't last for long. About an hour later I was face down in the well banging out bloody mary's and guava mimosa's like a maniac. The people were just a little slow in getting there, but once they did it was busy. It was the busiest day I've had at the old Seawatch and it was pretty fun. Everyone was in a good mood which reflected in their tipping of the bartender. Nice.
After work I came back to the house and relaxed for an hour or so. Then Kevin and I headed up to Rick Pounds' house. Rick is a guy I met through Kevin, he's retired and plays golf almost everyday. He's from Jersey and is a riot. He's always got either something to say or a quick comeback to anything you say. A real funny guy. His house was awesome. It's in the same neighborhood as our's, but definitely not in the same price range. It's three stories with a flat top roof with ocean and town views.
The first difference in the Christmas meal was that everyone was barefoot wearing shorts and aloha shirts (all slippers are checked at the door in Hawaii). The second was that I actually ate my dinner outside on the wrap around lanai. No way you could eat a Christams dinner outside in Oregon.
The third difference was the food. I usually have the more traditional American style dinner with my family of meat and potatoes. But this spread was Italian. We had all sorts of good stuff like homemade meat balls, roasted shredded pork, pasta dishes, roasted red peppers, and chicken skewars. It was a fun night.
So, I guess this Christmas was a good one even though I didn't get to be with my family I got to spend some time with new friends and people I hope to know for a long time.
Aloha and Mele Kalikimaka!!