Relief (with a little gloating)

I did my Christmas shopping early this year. By which I mean I finished it last week (well, all but one thing I still haven�t got), as opposed to August or anything drastic like that.

Usually I don�t do it that early mainly because I don�t have any inspiration, or I have inspiration but have to sneak around the houses of my friends and family to make sure they haven�t already got what I�m planning on getting them. Often I cheat and only buy two categories of presents: a present the person has specifically asked for, or a present that I want so I can keep it myself if it turns out they already have it.

This is usually a fool-proof policy, although in 2000 my Dad specifically asked me for the video of the Olympic Opening Ceremony (as a souvenir because he was there, not because he�s a (total) dork). Easy. Except someone else bought it for him as well and he couldn�t very well turn it down saying �sorry my daughter�s getting me this, you�ll have to get me something else�. Thankfully he had a substitute in mind, so I was able to exchange the video for the Star Wars Trilogy, which he and the Munchkin have watched until the tapes are almost dead, which is more than can be said for the Olympics.

Early shopping this year was driven mainly by timing issues, but helped significantly by being (mostly) inspired. The last two weekends I have been out of town attending an engagement party and a wedding � not the same couple � so I knew most of my shopping would have to be done in lunch hours and after work. And I managed to achieve that quite well over the first couple of weeks of December.

For which I am now extremely grateful for at least the following reasons:

1. Having had to pick up a (non-Christmas-present-related) DVD at lunchtime on Monday, it appears that the combination of a lot of schools finishing for the year, a lot of people being on holidays already, and it being less than two weeks to Christmas, has brought on the rush. There were long lines in every store I went past that simply weren�t there last week.

2. This week has brought on a heatwave that has lasted since Monday and is not expected to ease up at all until at least Saturday. It�s sweltering out there.

3. We decided yesterday to have the friends Christmas get-together and present giving tonight because it�s the only night all six of us can fit it in between now and about January 10th. As it was I was sitting, sweltering, at 11 o�clock last night wrapping their presents, but in previous years I�d still be running all over town looking for the presents at this point.

So I am very relieved that it�s all done, if not wrapped, and I only have to go out for five minutes at lunch time in this heat to grab a sandwich. I�m trying not to gloat at/around my assistant as she trudges out to go do her shopping. Trying.

The heat is getting trying too. I�m not really complaining too much because I am in air-con all day. It�s the nights that are a problem though. And last night I managed to knock over the full glass of water sitting by my bed. All over the clock radio, the floor, the stack of books on the floor, the side of the bed, and the electrical outlet. I was thrilled. But not electrocuted, thankfully.

And I had a very weird dream which must have been brought on by the heat. It featured, among other things: New York City being attacked by giant 747s which instead of flying into buildings etc landed next to them and pushed them over; having to swim across the river to get away from this but landing in Maryland for some reason that makes no geographic sense; a lot of walking through what looked like a university campus; and finally meeting up with Regina Rouge, who I don�t know personally at all, and who was running a gift shop in Boston called �Rouges� (which was how I knew it was her). Interpret that!