Two more days

I was asked what concert i went to last week - the musician is a guy named Ron Hawkins (not to be confused with Rompin' Ronnie Hawkins, please!). You can find out more about him at myspace.com/acousticrevue

I think we're pretty set for xmas. My goal was to avoid stores on this last weekend before Christmas. I will have to run out to the grocery store this afternoon, but otherwise, I'm done shopping. I try not to get too stressed out about shopping - in recent years, I've done a lot of my shopping online - it's great - things are delivered right to my door, free of charge (the shipping is free, not the items!). I think it's easy to get all negative about the hustle and bustle at this time of year. Whenever I talk to my mom, she just complains about all the shopping she has to do and all the preparations for xmas dinner, and how people are just going to have to be happy with what they get. It's not just passing comments either; it's a whole whiney conversation about the whole ordeal. I think that's their nature though - when stressful things occur, we can choose how we deal with it - in their case, their response is very negative. This is the kind of environment I was brought up in, and I know I can get in these moods too. I am, however, trying to overcome these habits, and simply be more positive.... on that note... Happy Holidays to anyone who may read this!.

The good news is that my boss sent a little Christmas bonus with my pay cheque, so with that, plus some Xmas money, I should be able to buy a mandolin. I have no idea how to play one, but I figure I can learn. I may check out ebay too, although I have no clue what is a good mandolin and what isn't. ... I just checked... there's a vintage 1911 Gibson Mandolin that I can buy for $2000!! I imagine this one falls in the "good" category. There's another for about $70. I was in a music store a week or two ago, and they had 2 mandolins on their shelf, the cheaper one was about $150. That'll be my goal for next year (I refuse to call it a 'resolution'): to learn to play a mandolin.

I hope you all have a good time, whether with family, friends or whomever. I also hope you're all positive rather than negative :-)

Cheers!