Christmas shopping is no mean feat. i started my christmas shopping on the 23rd (last min as usual) w bob, our motto being 'make it quick!'.. alas, we took a grand total of FIVE AND A HALF HOURS. yeah a stressful five and a half hours it was.. and we didnt even venture out of taka! taka departmental store was the worst.. although i did get most of the stuff there. people people! of all shapes sizes n positions.. as if the aisles werent narrow enough, some even brought strollers complete w grumpy babies. toys, bags, knick knacks.. all kinds of interesting stuff were strewn all over the place.. n everywhere ppl were squashed digging for good buys.. i would have happily stayed out if not for the large signs yelling 'SALE', 'CHRISTMAS DISCOUNT'.. n for my barely half completed christmas list staring at me. so bob n i dived it.. side stepping rampaging kids, frazzled sales staff and other fellow bad tempered shoppers.

i must say christmas shopping doesnt feel christmassy at all. It never seemed that bad before.. i must be getting old. heh. Really tho, how happy grateful n peace loving can u feel if ur feet feel like moosh aft being trampled on, sides hurt fr being elbowed, n being weighed down by heavy shopping bags tt threaten to rip? u know satan instead of santa has reared his ugly head when u see ppl looking as if they would wanna bite each others head off instead of smiling at each other.

Granted, Christmas shopping can occassionally feel good tho. Like when jill n i managed to get something really nice n worth it tt we know the recipient would like. or when we think of the most ridiculous but cute presents, which involves dolls on wooden rocking chairs. heh. It can even seem fun (on hindsight), when my sis n i end up shouting at each other over the blaring music, ' ARE U SURE SHE CAN WEAR THAT! AUNTY SATI IS HUUUUGE U KNOW' hahah. and then we would burst into song tog..

'four calling birds three french hens two turtle doves and a patridge in a pear treeeeeee.'

christmas songs are pretty contagious. hard not to be since they're playing everywhere :D

oh n present wrapping too. not easy considering im not particularly skilled in that area n my sis specialises in scotch tape tearing only. heh.

i guess thats why i always do my christmas shopping last min. why prolong the agony? get it all done full force in 2 days.

seriously tho, at times it seems as if the ones really benefiting fr christmas may be solely the shopping centres. i guess christmas would only really be one big commercial gimmick n seem 'satan-ish' if we overdo it by focusing on the ripping apart presents part. i mean, the whole point of this is not to get the thing u've been hankering after.. its more of a token of appreciation, to let the recipient know u're remembering n treasuring them this christmas, to spread a little joy at the end of the year. of course by right treasuring each other should be done through out the year.. but honestly how many of us can do that 365 days a year? so if there's an occassion to spread a lil joy why not (:

its only when someone tells me 'eeeeee dont get me that... i want tt 4209283409 bucks guess top' then i'll get pissed n stressed n inclined to think that santa is satanic. bcos its not the gifts u get.. but the act of giving and receiving. so despite scary crowds n irate shoppers, i'll say