With this entry I begin my ninth year in my time among the humans. Per the rules of our Department I elected to take my seven-day holiday to coincide with what the humans call "Christmas" and "New Year's", a period of time starting with the birth of the Western world's predominant religious figure, Jesus of Nazareth, and ending with the first day of the new calendar year.

In my nine years of fieldwork this is the first time I have opted to "celebrate" in time with the humans, doing much as they do: sleeping, watching the television, eating all variety of sugar-laden treats, and making nearly daily expeditions to the local shopping plaza to purchase gifts for important sources in whose good graces I wish to remain. (For more on the gift-giving economy of the western humans, and subsequent social fallout upon non-participation, see Year Three, Month Twelve, Dates 25, 26, 27.)

Had I been in optimal health I would have entries for the days that followed this holiday, but as the locals say, something I ingested "didn't agree with me", and I have been recuperating in a state of extreme weakness ever since. I have sent word to Field Physician Oribda 9675 for an inoculation against future incidents. Today I am still "under the weather" and as such must delay further field notes until I am fully healed.

In the interim, wellness in the form of pharmaceuticals, fruit juices and frequent visitations is being precipitated by human neighbor Rebecca and her small canine, Jughead. Rebecca assures me that "contact with others is the fastest way to heal" and that "animals can sniff out disease" and "work magic". Exhausted as I am, I encourage additional visits from her in an effort to determine the extent to which these statements are commonly held beliefs.