'tis the Season

December is upon us. All the Christmas shit, in stores since September, is no longer sparking mondo agitata and rippling annoyance. In fact, I'm actually enjoying the decorations now.

Around this time last year, I was in Phoenix where my pal Jenny took me on a tour of holiday light sheathed cacti. Very cool and decidedly alien. I wonder if Dubliners do ostentatious Christmas decorations. I'll find out when I land Wednesday morning – WHEEEE!

I’m gonna see if Jen and Oni want to decorate our front yard spruce. We four Valhallans bought this tall sweetie just five years ago though it seems like it just had to be longer ago than that. Our firred beauty has gone from toddler height to Basketball Jones+ size in no time.

Normally the Neck is afire with lights and those huge inflatable snowmen, Rudolphs and crèches. The Invasion of the Christmas Decorations hasn’t happened yet. I’m certain it’s just one more weekend away, though. When I return from Dublin, I imagine, it will be to a sea of twinkly colored LEDs. I bloody well hope so anyway.
I’m psyched for lights. More than anything, the ornaments, lights and blow up Santas feel like a last hurrah before we plunge into winter’s darkest, coldest, most depressing months. I only mention it but January and February are painful. All the happy holiday lights are down by January third and the world plummets into chilled gloom.

Maybe I need to invest in one of those SAD defense lamps?

There’s the Sunn Light, whose light changes color and brightness as the earth rotates. This seems radically ideal but at $249, it’s a bit more than I want to spend.

Verilux makes the appropriately named HappyLight Deluxe. There are just 3 settings so it’s not all groovy gradated like Sunn’s light. Also, it runs around $160. Less expensive, yes, but still a bit too dear.

Sphere Gadget Lighphoria

Sphere Gadget Lightphoria notes three settings as well:

Selectable intensity levels – LOW (5,000 lux), MEDIUM (8,000 lux), HIGH (10,000 lux) and programmable 15, 30, and 45 minute timer. 

This one comes in at a MUCH more affordable $59.99. Also too, lurv the name: Lightphoria.

And NatureBright SunTouch is $56.99 if you buy it on the evil Amazon. No dimensions noted but there’s a pic of it with a person on the Amazon site – it looks like it’s “tablet” size like the HappyLight. Adjustable setting aren’t noted so I guess this one’s one-light-fits-all.

The Verilux, Sphere and NatureBright appear at the top of all my best light therapy lamp searches. I’ll likely invest in the Sphere because it’s in my price range and I like the smaller, rounded shape.

Maybe I’ll make it through this upcoming drab, bleak, melancholy season with some level of joi de vivre intact. Hey, it could happen!