Bah Humbug - It's December again! 10 days to go!

Thursday 15th December. And a quick dash to the bookshop.

Why was it so busy?

Ah, yes, I went on the first day of 20% off for members and 10% off for non-members. A ruse to charge more during the year, and then charge a more reasonable price for books leading up to the season when most people purchase books that will sit on shelves and never be read.

Off I dashed. Rather like Santa's reindeer - only, I was dashing through the carpark trying to find a parking space.

Too many people out today. It took me 15 minutes to find a space.

And then I was dashing up the escalators, trying to dodge the people who refuse to stand on the correct side.

Finally, I found myself dashing around the bookstore. It's sort of a circular bookstore, laid out around a central set of escalators, so the dashing was definitely circular. It brought to mind a corporate ski holiday in Park City, Utah, many moons ago. The company I was visiting arranged a reindeer sleigh ride, complete with sleigh bells.

It was dark. The reindeer walked us around in a figure of eight - two circles. It seemed like we'd covered a lot of ground. Perhaps we had, but we hadn't gone very far.

So, there I was, in the middle of a bookstore in Singapore - Kinokinuya - dashing around, trying to find where they'd moved all the sections.

Why on earth do stores move things around?

It can only be to tourture customers, or make you find things you suddenly think you need, but didn't need when you first walked in.

Bah flipping Humbug, it's a good job my overspend was on books ...

Bah Humbug! It's December, again - 13 more days to go

Christmas Fetes

It is that time of the year, when out come the strip of motherhood and apple pie Christmas bunting. Well, not exactly, but there's bunting with a Christmas flavour - although not that I have tried eating any.

This year got off in full swing - a wobbly table in the outdoor canteen area of Nexus International School. Not a fan in sight, and no breeze either. So, after shoving a folded piece of card under one leg - gosh that reminded me of exams at school, and covering the plain white table with Christmas-looking table cloths, we covered it with books, cards and goodies to fill Christmas stockings.

They came in their droves. But I think they drove their money to the $1 stall and the book stall that happily announced it was selling "Adult Books" 5 for $2. It made me wonder how they'd got that past the school screening process??

And, finally, a couple more verses of:

DOWN THE CHIMNEY ©

 

Dad lit the logs sat in the grate,

And told us all to wait.

The chimney smoked and then it coughed

An ‘ouch’ came from aloft.

Dad stuck his head up in the chute,

And uttered a loud hoot,

‘I do believe old Santa’s stuck,’

My brother said, ‘What luck.’

Bah, bah Humbug!

Bah Humbug. It's December again - 19 Days until Christmas

Bah Humbug, it's 6th December, and we have reached the weekend. Where did the week go? 

There are too many stupid distractions when it isn't Christmas, and now Christmas fever is hitting our overly commercialised minds, there are even more. I really need a brain the size of the Universe to stuff everything in.

After the regular Christmas tree light upgrade, the decorating of the tree - oh whoops, I have another whole box I overlooked - I actually got the Christmas cards written - an old-fashioned custom of getting in touch with people that you have probably forgotten throughout the year - and posted. Important that they were posted yesterday as Singapore has decided not to handle post on a Saturday while at the same time increasing the cost of postage.

Is it my imagination or has the cost of living, and more especially Christmas increased this year? I mean, $20 for a box of cherries in the supermarket and not much cheaper in the wet market (fruit & veg).

All of which leads me on to the wise words of wisdom of my teenage son who is fast rejecting the commercialisation and sensationalising of festive occasions - that should be respected for what they were originally meant to represent. He has suggested a budget of $50 per gift, per person this year. I am not sure that will necessarily be achieved, nevertheless, it will leave my pocket with less holes and the pockets of retailers and large manufacturers less fat.

As for me, I have decided to make my own gifts, and support independent - indie - bookstores and creators. So I shall buy books and purchase gifts, where possible, from smaller creators of useful items or organisations that need people to support them.

So, for anyone looking for some great gift ideas, books for kids and other cool stuff, take a look at the latest: Eric and the Volcano on Etsy:

Save some money this year and support small and local businesses.

Say:
BAH HUMBUG
To the big guys.