Story time

So, I know you've all been wondering what Kris Kringle season up at TAC is like. Well, maybe you haven't been... maybe there isn't an existent "you".... but I'm going to tell you what happened to me during that strange week anyway. :)

KK season is one of silliness, humiliation, and laughter. You draw from a large box a slip of paper with someone's name on it and you are that person's KK. You play pranks on them, do nice things for them, make them do silly/stupid things for the amusement of others. Christian charity should be the rule which overrules everything, and it generally is. At the end of the week is the Christmas dance, during which you find your KK and you are rewarded with a present. The whole thing is a fun tradition, which the tutors dread to some degree, as do any participants.

My personal experience was rather funny. I didn't hear anything from my KK for a week, but he certainly made up for that. I found a note in my box Thursday night, telling me that I had to wear all black - "as much black as possible" - and sing Defying Gravity from the musical Wicked to my Latin tutor before class the next day. I was also supposed to find a witch hat to complete the costume, but couldn't find one. Trying to keep to the spirit of things, I completed my ensemble with a broomstick. Also in my box was a surgical mask, along with instructions to wear it between the end of class and dinner. When I was asked why I was wearing it, I was to reply with "oink oink oink." The first request (singing) I was willing to comply with. I enjoy singing, and my Latin tutor is a good sport. I was nervous, yes, but it was fairly easy. The second one, however, I couldn't do. I have an abhorrence of those things... they make me feel really sick.

Friday afternoon, I got a new note in my box telling me that, since I had enjoyed the first prank so much, I had to wear a very interesting outfit for the remainder of the day. A friend's pink pants (which would never fit me. EVER), the highest heels I could find (with the instructions to NOT fall over) and my sparkly heart shirt from (dare I tell you?) Victoria's Secret. This shirt had a history... basically, a good friend was over at our house when I realized where it was from over Thanksgiving. I reacted in an inordinate fashion and he laughed at me. And he was also good friends with my KK. The two of them put their heads together to make mischief for me. So after class on Friday, I was decked out in all this finery (jeans substituting for the pink pants) and whenever anyone asked why I was dressed in such a fashion, I had to respond "It's a secret" and point to the part of the shirt with the brand logo. I was rather embarrassed, but it was in good fun.

Besides, I was well rewarded. I was given a large (and I mean LARGE) box full of chocolate. My KK and friend figured they had put me through a lot and should be nice to me. It will be a memory that will make me smile for years to come. :)