MAKE IT STOP!!! MAKE IT STOP!!!! Turn off the music PLEASE turn

off the flipping music!

So... love life here in France. We live in a small town now, just outside of Cannes. Very quaint, it has a medieval village perched high above us and is one of the better museum towns; and is reknown for it's fantastic restaurants and gastronomy. We have a nice little apartment in the more modern part of the village, along the Route de Napolean, as in, our petit maison is one of the newer, 600 year old builings *cough*.

I chose this place because it's just above the village; I can walk to the bank, the butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker, the cheeselady and the vegetable stand. The bakery is 28 seconds away; one can't eat enough baguette. Or cheese. Love the cheese. Love the dollar wine even more.

Just downstairs is the pharmacy, a flower shop, the vin de cave, and assorted local shops, bless their hearts. The town is all decorated with wonderful lights, all the shops have small christmas trees plopped outside the doors, red carpets abound inviting people in, there are banners announcing the annual vin de chaud and the 13 desserts tonight at 11:30pm, a french tradition of both pagan and christian connotations. The region is rich in traditions that revolve around family, eating, celebration of life. It is nice to see far, far FAR less emphasis on gifts and shopping, but on the family table and the joys of the home.

HOWEVER... in the spirit of the holidays, the pharmacy downstairs has chosen to blast at top volume 45 minutes of christmas music and short phrases, children yelling "Joyeaux Noel!" And "Bon Fete!" every half hour. From 9:30 am until 6:30pm... every. single. day. When it first started I was so pleased, I thought it was so quaint and charming... I said that! I said "How lovely!"

Now I feel like I'm trapped in Yuletide HELL. Over and over the same fucking kids shrieking 'BON FETE!" I have memorized ALL THE SONGS... I am starting to convulse when I hear edith piaf singing The Little Drummer Boy... I twitch now.

Kill me... now. Just.... kill me. Please, make it stop.

On the bright side, just remember this.

Only two more days.

you could have some French version of O'Reilly screaming "C'est la guerre en la Noel!"

Trust us, you're getting off easy.

:toast:

"Un flambeau, Jeanette Isabella!"

clop clop clop of the delightful horse-drawn carriage almost compensates for the "BON FETE!" shrieks.

I hope the hot wine is good.

*Everything's* hot! I had a beer in Italy once that was warmer than my antipasti!

Hereabouts, with summer a memory and spring a distant dream, we've been drinking Absolut Peach with ice cold spiced cider. We call it an Orchard Blossom.

Significantly yummy!

I wish I had your problems!

Khash.

Thanks for the reminder of how lucky you are.

I had planned on doing a Christmas edition of my radio show. I've got a crapload of hot remixes and everything. But after two FUCKING weeks of the same FIFTEEN GAWDDAMNED Christmas songs being piped straight into my brain at work, courtesy of the Motherfucking MUZAK CORPORATION, I decided to cancel Christmas.

By the way, the Motherfucking MUZAK CORPORATION can kiss my black ass!

I... Feel... Your... PAIN

by virtue of a generous contribution of really, really "out there" stuff like "The Little Drummer Boy," by the Dandy Warhols, which is, inceidentally, amazing.

I've stayed as far away as I could from most Christmas music. We'll be having "our" traditional Beethoven's Ninth Symphony for Christmas morning. ("Ode to Joy" can't be topped).

Back before automation, I used to spin entire DAYS of nothing but Christmas music.

For my part, the Chinese will never break me with the water torture. A coupla "O, Holy Nights," on the other hand, and I'm definitely talking!

:toast:

my sister plays the fucking mannheim steamroller christmas albums 24 hours a day, and it gets REAAAAAL fucking old, believe me. But at least i don't have kids shrieking random phrases :D

24/7. Blessedly, the ringing has now become "white noise" for me.

my college rang the chimes every hour on the hour once for every hostage.

The entire campus was equally ready to go to war with Iran or the Dean of the Cathedral.

then get back to me about Yuletide hell.

I've been listening to the same music at my store FOREVER too!