Amazingly, it is December 18 and I am pretty much done with Christmas shopping. A good thing since tonight's epedition involved a minor meltdown. I had gone to a store after work the to procure some stuff for my sister, but afterwards waited for the bus for over a half hour (complete with annoying teenagers who were singing and being loud.) Finally, my feet were frozen from the cold and I decided to walk to the train, figuring if I even got on the bus, it might take hours to get through mag mile hysteria. So half-way there, so cold barely take a step without my toes aching, I needed to stave off hypothermia and stopped for some hot chocolate. The place was somewhat crowded already, but in the time I was there, I was accosted by the proximity of not only a stinky garbage bag toting homless man asking for money (may sound crass but I'm damn sick of getting spare changed every block), but this bitchy overly made-up woman who kept staring at me, AND and a raucous large group of children-toting tourists. By the time I left I was convinced I desperately needed to get the hell away from this fucking cold, away from these fucking people. I wasn't even sure I wanted to go outside again, to even try to venture home again. The el was still a whole block away. I started crying, all the while trying NOT to look like I was crying. I untimately finsished my hot chocolate and made it to train unscathed where I thawed out during the ride. But when I came home, dumped my bags and coat on the floor, and slept and slept.
Regardless, I have managed to finish shopping. I decided this year that I was going to simplify, getting everyone a combination of yummy bath accoutrements and/or gourmet goodies like chocolates and flavored coffee, and books according to various interests. The only exception being my mom, who's present was already taken care of--and incredibly pricey at that (and much bigger than that pic now.) I'm not however that much of a masochist to show up completely empty handed.
