Christmas Eve. Shopping Day. To be honest, I really did not feel like going shopping for gifts today, but it is that time of year. Apart of me was a bit nervous about the crowds that might be at the mall the day before Christmas. I was expecting crowds and long lines. Wow, was I wrong.

After a slow start, I finally got out to catch the MN train to Tarrytown. Then, it was about a 40 wait for the Tappan Zee Bridge Express bus over. There were only about 8 or 9 passengers on the bus. I arrived at the mall about 12noon. First, I went to buy my movie ticket. On my way to the theater, I stopped off at Barns and Noble bookstore. I didn't go the last time I was at the mall, so I planned to just take a quick look around in the Science-Fiction/Fantasy section. To my surprise, the third book from E.E. Knight's series "Age of Fire"(Dragon Outcast) was on the shelf, so of course, I bought it. Yes, I'm still plodding through Storm of Swords. It is still dragging on. I'm now half-way through, still not liking it, but since I've invested so much time, I can't seem to put it down. Anyway, after B&N, I went for lunch at Panda Express. After lunch, it was movie time.

I went to see "The Golden Compass". I liked the movie. Mainly, I thought the special effects were very nice. This morning, when I was deciding on what movie to see, I did an Internet search about the movie. There were negative reviews about the movie. Apparently it cost $230 million dollars to make "probably not including marketing". Also, several Internet reviews called the movie anti-Christian. As I watched the movie, I really didn't understand what the fuss was about. However, when I got home, I glanced at a few pages (near the end)in the trilogy book that I'd purchased a couple of weeks ago. After reading a few pages, I finally figured out what the "dust up" was about. :) I thought Nicole Kidman was good in the movie, even though I didn't understand her character. I guess the lead girl was okay. However, I thought the talking bear was more interesting.

After the movie it was time for me to start my Christmas shopping. First stop was Target. I was really surprised by the limited number of customers that were shopping. The aisles were clear, and the shelves were not picked clean. I settled for a couple of very, very lame last minute gifts. Due to the time, I really didn't have time to be choosy. I told myself that if anything better(and that wouldn't be too difficult) came a long, I would keep what I'd brought for myself. Maybe my subconscious picked out the gifts. Since familiar eyes might be reading, I am not going to mention what I bought. That's my story and I'm sticking with it.

I fell asleep last night, so I save this entry in my draft folder. Therefore, the post dated time will be off.

After Target my next planned stop was Staples, but I took a detour to a mall card shop. The idea was that I'd better buy my cards now before I run out of time. The selection wasn't very good, but again, beggars can't be choosy. The card shop was nicely organized, but not being Hallmark, the selection was very limited. They did have a variety of categories, but one about 3 or 4 samples for each category. They also had a "buy 3 cards and get any additional three cards for free" sale. Not a good sign. Next at Staples, I bought a double pack of black ink for my printer at home, and a box of 100ct. sheet protectors for my students portfolios. Last year, I bought regular binder dividers for the portfolio sections, but with the plastic sheet protectors, the dividers couldn't really be seen. This year, I bought 5 packs (25 tabs per pack) of colored self-adhesive index tabs. Over this vacation, I will attach the tabs to the plastic sheet protectors to create the sections of the portfolios Admin wants. Admin wants a section for Math, Language Arts, Science, and Social Studies. I added an extra section for reports (including progress reports, reading reports, etc...). I also bought a 1/2 ringed binder (2 for 1 sale). I want to do what I did last year. Put all of the photocopies of my teaching materials for the week in the binder rather than having papers all over the place.

After Staples, I made a side trip to the another store (gift related). Since I didn't want to rush trying to make the 5PM bus back across the Tappan Zee, after checking the bus schedule at the bus stop, I decided to catch the 5:38PM bus, giving me a little over an hour of more time. I went to Best Buys to look at electronics. Now, that place looked a bit "picked clean" and a bit uninviting. I saw dusty and broken merchandise on display. Clerks who seemed more interested in their conversations than helping a customer. However, most clerks did seem hard at work. After browsing there, I next went to Circuit City. It was neater, and louder than Best Buys. But again, the store was not nearly as crowded as I was expecting.

Last stop was the 99 cent shop. I wanted to buy some gift boxes. An angular gift is both easier and nicer to wrap in my opinion. The shop was own by Asians -- nothing wrong with that. However, I did find it strange that the guy who appeared to speak not a word of English, was right at the front door. That position just invited every other person walking past him to ask a question. To which, the person got a hand gesture, and mumbled response, then a nervous relocation...near the door. Only to repeat the process over and over. This store did have a bit of a line. And some guy with a 16oz cup of coffee spilt it on the floor right in front of the cashier"s island.

The bus was a couple of minutes late for the pick up. And it arrived at the Tarrytown station just as the MN train was pulling into the station. I ran for the train only to have the doors closed as I stepped onto the platform. Luckily the conductor opened the doors for me, it would have been an hour wait for the next local train. Since I was in a good mood, I decided to ride the local train to the Bronx to see if the Target store there had anything even remotely interesting that I could sublimate with my lame gifts. Target had just closed. On an impulse I went into the hip hop shop next door looking for something that could pass for reasonable supplemental gift. Did I buy anything? Yes, but again, I can't say anything at this time.

MN train home, and all the radios stations were playing Christmas music. Since I was still hungry. Panda Express was not that good this time. The selection was limited, and the fried rice was dry. I microwaved a Weight Watcher's Lasagna. I started falling asleep at almost midnight, I decided to not fight the sleep. Another new year's resolution, no more staying up past midnight....or in my case, way, past midnight.

Well, I better go. I have gifts to wrap, and greetings to send.

Happy Holidays!!!

Luckily this day only comes once a year...Sorry for the last comment, I couldn't resist :)

P.S. - I attached a couple of photos. The first photo is the Tappan Zee Bridge taken from the bus. The other photo was my lunch at Panda Express.


Post Date - Tuesday, December 25, 2007 10:02AM