With the passing of the Thanksgiving holiday and the yearly bout of two weeks worth of leftovers, it is now time to turn our attention to December and all the attendant horror that comes with it.

Just as the planets revolve in their grand majesty around the sun, so too must the circle of life come to the yearly misery of crowded shopping malls, Christmas gift lists and maxed-out credit card bills.

Oh, yeah, there is also that end-of-semester final exam thing-geeze.

With a family that seems to double every year and the difficulty of remembering which kid belongs to what parent, plus add in figuring out the one thing she really, really wanted for Christmas this year, who has time to study and prepare that 20-page research essay due next week?

Stress is as natural to the holidays as infomercials are to 3 a.m. television.

It is how a person deals with stress that separates the strong from the rest of humanity who turn to jelly at the mention of another season of joy.

Go team.

Although a banning of the holidays and the public flogging of Santa isn’t likely to happen any time soon, there are steps to deal with the stress attached to this time of the year like a hidden price tag.

In study after study conducted by fat Doctors near coronary collapse, exercise has been proven an effective panacea for stress, worry and Dunlapp’s disease.

Dunlapp is a common epidemic this time of the year, striking just about everybody going home for the traditional family feast. Dunlapp is when your belly dun lapped over your belt.

Exercise is also effective in working out the frustrations of daily life. A good gym will have a variety of machines and facilities spaced out far enough so that people with a “slender bone structure” are not forced to work out next to the steroid freaks lifting the whole stack as well as the machine itself.

An hour or so of working on the punching bag allows a person to vent their frustrations without involving local law enforcement personnel.

For people inclined toward spiritual and meditative forms of relaxation, there are a variety of stress busters to be tried.

The breathing exercises learned in yoga classes and Tai-Chi center a person’s focus and expel negative energy created every time the evening news is flipped on.

Tai-Chi teaches a person to focus on their breathing, since breath is the regulator of life and a person who controls their focus can control their life.

Besides, knowing how to breathe and count to 10 will help when a nephew decides to try out his new 132-color crayola crayon set on the bathroom walls. The killing of family members during the holidays is generally considered a faux pas by most of polite society.

Zen is the study of balance and control that allows a person to focus all their passion and energy into a single pinpoint directed at a particular goal.

Zen archery allows a person to skewer their personal demons like a three-foot shaft piercing a straw target.

In the early 70s, Zen became such a popular tool of a long-haired hippie dope-smoking generation trying to find itself that it was modified to focus on everything from motorcycle repair to corporate piracy.

For people who need more of a quick fix from the stress of the season, both AOL and Collegeclub.com have websites for students dedicated to dealing with everything from holiday depression to learning how to have a life away from a computer.

It is important to note that each situation and location has its own particular form of stress and each situation must be addressed in its own particular and unique way.

In the Talon Marks news office, stress is a relative unknown commodity all week long and then production day rolls in.

Writers are late, deadlines are not met, the instructor blows a gasket about some thing trivial and someone in the community is sure to complain he was misquoted or not given fair coverage in the last issue.

It is at times like these the genteel aroma of Chicago Harv’s seasoned fries wafts into the air and provides a greasy 30-second culinary respite from screaming and crying editors claiming they were not given equal space as compared to the opinion pages.

Stress is like the rising of the tides. A person can learn to anticipate and ride out the waves without crashing face first into the surf.

Armondo Borboa

Opinion Editor