Home Sweet Home

I walked in the door here at the house just a few minutes ago. We have just returned from a month in Hawaii and it was wonderful. I am completely re-charged. We have some work to do this week but I'm ready to go. And I'm looking forward to a big Super Bowl party next weekend.
No issues with the flight back. Cupid and Vixen were right on time. As much fun as vacation was, it is good to be home. I have to admit that despite the initial shock to the system after spending a month in the tropics, that even the cold, snowy air here in the North Pole is surprisingly refereshing. I am sitting at the kitchen table right now with my laptop & a cup of coffee. There is a roaring fire in the kitchen fireplace. Several of the elves surprised us with having all the fireplaces going and the house as warm and inviting as you could imagine. There were even cookies baking in the oven and stew on the stovetop. What a great welcome home!

Winding Down

The vacation in the Islands is nearing its end. It has certainly helped us re-charge and re-energize. Mrs. Claus and I have one more week here. We are having a blast and will regret leaving but there is much work to be done, not just in preparation for next Christmas but there are people all around the world in need that we can & do help through out the year. Of course, we encourage everyone to do the same.

I'm happy to report that I have lost 41 pounds. Mrs. Claus is still looking good, of course. She didn't... and still doesn't... need to lose any weight. Despite all the popular depictions of Mrs. Claus as being aging and slightly overweight, the reality is that she is quite petite. She has definitely maintained her youthful appearance. The marketing folks tell me it would just blow the whole image though if we started putting her picture out for folks to see. And she is okay with it as this gives her a tremendous amount of privacy when she ventures out beyond the North Pole. Especially in this day and age of paparazzi.

I have made a couple of day-trips back to the North Pole to meet with Jingle and discuss our strategies for Christmas 2006. There is a lot to do upon our return. We have several strategic planning sessions in February, our annual diplomatic tour to see various heads of state, the kick-off for the try-outs for the two additional reindeer for my Christmas Eve (see my Dec 15th post for more details), and the start of negotiations with several large toy manufacturers. No shortage of work!

But for now... we are going to enjoy our last week in Hawaii, starting with an early morning swim tomorrow morning. In the meantime, I hope to hear from you soon.

Aloha

I hope all of you are having a wonderful New Year so far. Are you keeping up with those New Year's Resolutions?

The vacation here in Hawaii with Mrs. Claus going very well. So far, we have remained on Maui with the exception of my quick trip to Russia on the 7th, but have plans to do a little island hopping this next week. Despite enjoying some very good food (more on that later - read on...), I have lost 16 pounds already. I have always lost weight fast. I attribute it to a coffee-accelerated metabolism. And let me tell you, I'm really enjoying the Kona coffee here. I have temporarily forsaken my Starbucks for the 100% Kona beans from a local coffee company. Anyway, I have continued fairly intense running each day, Mrs. Claus and I continue to swim together, and we remain active with other pursuits such as snorkeling, surfing, and mountain biking. Maybe Mrs. Claus and I should have signed up for that show in the US, "Biggest Loser".

So far we have gone largely unrecognized and thus been able to maintain some privacy. Generally, when we are out and about, I'm wearing shorts and old Hawaiian-style shirts. Most people just assume we're a typical elderly couple on vacation. When snorkeling, surfing, running, etc., people see us but just don't really connect that it could possibly be Santa doing those types of activities. I love meeting and talking with people but Mrs. Claus and I both need to occasionally have some time that we can use to really focus on each other.

As I mentioned earlier, we have been enjoying some great food. I am continuing to learn how to prepare local dishes using local ingredients. And we have found some great lunch places in Maui Tacos (the burritos are great for take-out), Aloha Cafe (have the mixed plate), and the Honokowai Deli (try the lemon butter Mahi).

Again, I hope you all are continuing to have a great 2006! I'll be updating you again soon. Over the next week - while we continue to vacation in the Islands - I will have some brief day trips back to the North Pole for meetings with Jingle to discuss our strategic plans for 2006. So we'll have much to talk about.

Until then, keep the Christmas spirit alive and well!

Jan 7th: Merry Christmas From Russia

I am updating you from Russian airspace at approximately 35,000 feet. Many of you may not know that Christmas is celebrated Saturday, January 7th in Russia and the Ukraine. Orthodox Christians believe that January 7th is the actual birth date of Jesus, and not December 25th. As such, I make my deliveries the night of January 6th.

After making my trip from Hawaii with the help of Blitzen, Coment, Cupid, and Blazer, I will deliver the gifts across Russia, Ukraine, and a few other countries with the help of Jingle and a large volunteer group of elves. And then the reindeer team will have me back in Hawaii in time for lunch with Mrs. Claus.

Many of you have asked me what I got for Christmas. I received exactly the same thing I receive every year. And it is priceless. My gift was seeing pure joy in the eyes of the children when they discovered the gifts under the tree on Christmas morning. And my gift was seeing the parent's countenance change and virtually glow as they too experienced the joy of truly selfless giving.

I encourage all of you to celebrate Christmas in Russia today by surprising some one - any one - today with an act of unexpected generousity or kindness. You will find that, like me on Christmas morning, you too will receive a priceless gift.

From Russia with Love - Merry Christmas, Everyone.

Happy New Year!

Happy 2006! Thank you so much your kind words of thanks for my blog and for your curiousity at what happens during my "off-season". I received a few comments and many, many emails so I will keep up at least a periodic update. I hope that you will enjoy reading about our off-season activities and share the blog site with your friends.

I am very happy to report that Mrs. Claus and I are thoroughly enjoying our annual post-Christmas vacation. We arrived here in Hawaii on Tuesday. The Flight Operations Center was very busy as most of the North Pole Villagers were leaving for the annual 3 month sabbatical, but, otherwise we had a trouble free journey. This first week has been very relaxing. I tend to prefer what I call "active rest" for relaxation. Some people may like to do nothing in order to relax but I prefer to get out and doing things that rest my mind and spirit but challenge my body. That said, I do believe the body needs rest too. So Mrs. Claus and I have tried to find a balance this week.

I have been running every day... mixing some nice sunrise beach runs with a couple of sunset runs up the hills behind our condo. The run leads through a sugar cane field and plateaus at a small airport nearby where I can watch the sunset before running back home. Mrs. Claus doesn't run but we have swam together every day. There is a reef a couple of hundred feet out from our beach that provides calm water to swim in at low tide. It also has made for some great snorkeling. Most of our days have been spent in the water but we have had some time to simply lie on the beach and soak in the sun.

While Mrs. Claus does love to cook - she was an aspiring chef when I met her - even she needs a break. So I have been preparing the food. Cooking is one of my passions that is put on the 'back burner' (pardon the pun) except in the January to March timeframe due to the demands of the job. Breakfast and lunch are simple food preparation. We are enjoying the local fruits and juices each morning from our patio overlooking the ocean. Of course, I'm also enjoying the Kona coffee too. And lunch is usually just sandwiches we take to the beach with us. But for dinner, I've been preparing full meals that we can enjoy in the privacy of our patio. Most of the dinners so far have included fresh seafood that I have caught myself. With the help of a good friend of mine who grew up here, I have been preparing the food in local style. We'll go out to eat some later as we definitely have our favorite haunts, but for right now, we are valuing our time alone together and by cooking myself, I can make sure I prepare healthy, low-fat foods as I try to drop some of the weight I picked up over Christmas Eve.

Well, that's enough for now. I will update you again very soon on the vacation. And as you can imagine, there really is no true "downtime" for me and the North Pole team. Even during our 3 month sabbatical, there is work to be done and the Christmas Spirit never rests. So there will be much to share with you. In the meantime, I hope each and everyone of you have a safe, happy, prosperous, and peaceful 2006!