Dear Santa:
First off, thank you for last year's presents.  I no longer spend most of my waking hours at a place that made me deeply unhappy.  As much as I would like to take credit for that, I can not explain why, after feeling stuck there for so many years, I was able to just get up and go one day in the middle of the biggest economic crisis seen by this country's current generation.  So it must have been you.  I have not had to work in a gray, depressing cubicle for 9 months now.  Yes, setting up the tray tables and laptop every morning is inconvenient and my nursing rocking chair and sofa might not be ergonomic, but I am used to all of it now. The secret is to be mindful of your posture at all times, which is good anyway.  My little girls see their daddy a lot every day, although he is mostly in a trance typing away on the computer. And daddy can see them too.  I hope I get to enjoy them as much in coming years. Even if things change, I still had this year, so thank you.  And special thanks for those few months I spent working on my demo and Jonathan's game.  I struggled and learned and loved every second of it. It was pure bliss.  In the end I did not get what I thought I wanted, but I did get quite a lot.  I have learned how important it is to pursue your dream, and that a lot of my previous unhappiness was due to my own bad habits and disposition.  You have to fight every day to get rid of the old baggage dragging you down. And it takes time and patience. A lot of it.

BUT (you knew this was coming I am sure), could I ask for a bit more this year? Pretty please? It is not a lot I want, really.  Could you help me catch up at my new job?  It is unconventional, completely outside of my comfort zone and the wacky scientists I work with are wicked smart and funny, with an edge.  Mostly everything I do now requires me to learn something new, and spending hours browsing the chemistry and physics pages of Wikipedia is a must if I even want to understand what the heck they are talking about. I struggle, but I love that part. Being able to do it from home is absolutely great too.  All I want for Christmas is a little bit of help catching up so that I can spend some time, just a little time, on other things.  I can not remember what holding my guitar feels like. I have not finished learning any new piano songs, studied any French or Portuguese or played more than the occasional chess game online.  But most of all, I have not, in ages, written any code to make little interactive creatures move around on the computer screen. Yes, I know it sounds childish. But it is so rewarding! You understand the child in all of us, so I am sure YOU get it, right?  What do you think? Is there anything you can do?

Thanks in advance for any help.  Always grateful for all my blessings, yours truly,

Evil Engel Sanchez

Merry Christmas!