'Tis the season...
...to spend money....
Last night Lizard and I went to the mall (how North American!) to do some Christmas shopping. It was really quite horrible. At 7pm (with two hours of shopping left in the day) the mall was packed to the gills with stressed out wild-eyed people. Every store seemed to have a long queue and there was this really weird air of panic. While we were waiting to use the self-service check out in one store the woman ahead of us literally gave us the death-stare when Lizard said something friendly to her. I really think that the whole Christmas shopping thing has gone too far and is quite unpleasant for most people. Next year I will (and I'm putting this in in writing to make sure I stick to is) aim to do 80% of my shopping online. I think that that way I can buy from small vendors, buy handcrafted goods, and (most importantly) avoid the week-before-christmas-mall syndrome. Although I do like to give gifts, I really hate the whole panic-buying feeling where I end up buying something just for the sake of buying something instead of really getting a thoughtful and recipient-appropriate gift. To me it's a waste of time. I hate the giving and receiving of endless junk and tatt just to do the giving and receiving thing. That, too, is a waste of time. Next year I WILL be more organized.
On the good side we did manage to find cards that have reproductions of paintings by a local artist and which were reasonably priced. I am not going to a suburban mall again and would urge anyone in Calgary to consider heading downtown to do their shopping. I have found the downtown mall and shops to be much quieter and easier to negotiate.
In other news, briefly, my classes are finished, papers done and I have a little more time to myself at the moment. I do have a stack of exams to grade and some research work to do but it is nothing near the overload I experienced in the run up to end-of-semester. It is really lovely to be able to spend time with friends, LJ, and to get some work done around the house. Last weekend Lizard and I and another friend went to the mountains for a couple of days. It is so beautiful out there. Despite numerous mishaps (getting lost, trying to get into the wrong apartment for fifteen minutes in the dark and cold, spilling wine on the light coloured carpet, car trouble, towing and a worrisome few minutes in the garage while we got the car started again...) we also found time to really relax, we ate some delicious food (both out and cooked by ourselves) and watched some good films (if you haven't already, see 'Scoop'). It was the break I needed to get me into a slower mode after the frenetic pace of the previous six weeks.
I am excited about next semester - new courses, new challenges, but I plan to stretch out the next couple of weeks for as long as I can. Oh, and I will be having my first snowboarding lesson of the season on Friday so I can't wait for that. I will take pictures (or rather, LJ will) and will post a couple if they are not too embarassing!
Last night Lizard and I went to the mall (how North American!) to do some Christmas shopping. It was really quite horrible. At 7pm (with two hours of shopping left in the day) the mall was packed to the gills with stressed out wild-eyed people. Every store seemed to have a long queue and there was this really weird air of panic. While we were waiting to use the self-service check out in one store the woman ahead of us literally gave us the death-stare when Lizard said something friendly to her. I really think that the whole Christmas shopping thing has gone too far and is quite unpleasant for most people. Next year I will (and I'm putting this in in writing to make sure I stick to is) aim to do 80% of my shopping online. I think that that way I can buy from small vendors, buy handcrafted goods, and (most importantly) avoid the week-before-christmas-mall syndrome. Although I do like to give gifts, I really hate the whole panic-buying feeling where I end up buying something just for the sake of buying something instead of really getting a thoughtful and recipient-appropriate gift. To me it's a waste of time. I hate the giving and receiving of endless junk and tatt just to do the giving and receiving thing. That, too, is a waste of time. Next year I WILL be more organized.
On the good side we did manage to find cards that have reproductions of paintings by a local artist and which were reasonably priced. I am not going to a suburban mall again and would urge anyone in Calgary to consider heading downtown to do their shopping. I have found the downtown mall and shops to be much quieter and easier to negotiate.
In other news, briefly, my classes are finished, papers done and I have a little more time to myself at the moment. I do have a stack of exams to grade and some research work to do but it is nothing near the overload I experienced in the run up to end-of-semester. It is really lovely to be able to spend time with friends, LJ, and to get some work done around the house. Last weekend Lizard and I and another friend went to the mountains for a couple of days. It is so beautiful out there. Despite numerous mishaps (getting lost, trying to get into the wrong apartment for fifteen minutes in the dark and cold, spilling wine on the light coloured carpet, car trouble, towing and a worrisome few minutes in the garage while we got the car started again...) we also found time to really relax, we ate some delicious food (both out and cooked by ourselves) and watched some good films (if you haven't already, see 'Scoop'). It was the break I needed to get me into a slower mode after the frenetic pace of the previous six weeks.
I am excited about next semester - new courses, new challenges, but I plan to stretch out the next couple of weeks for as long as I can. Oh, and I will be having my first snowboarding lesson of the season on Friday so I can't wait for that. I will take pictures (or rather, LJ will) and will post a couple if they are not too embarassing!
