random truths – Day 1,002 (Wednesday) – lucky cat

The calendar indicates that there are not that many days left until Christmas. Some years, at this point, I'm kicked back biding time and waiting. This year, I’m not ready. I've barely begun. 

The cards are done except for one that needs an address check. The two gifts that needed to be shipped are handled. Those are the successes. Focusing on the positives in this situation is not really helping.

Stress is blooming with a fury over the rest of the list which includes all the family, a couple friends, and the office Yankee Swap gift. Over the past three weeks, hours have been spent after work looking at potential gifts online until I’m so torqued up and stressed out that I have to go to bed. When I wake up, the realization that another day is lost in the gift mission hits like a cold slap of water in the face. 

Lunch hour shopping is out of the question. The lunch "hour" is only 30-minutes. There are practically no stores downtown near work. The only store near home close enough to get to and back in 30-minutes is Family Dollar.

I visited Dollar Buy, one of the few downtown stores, on Monday. The cluttered little store has been a source of amusement for me for several years with the crazy translations and incorrect product descriptions. It's where I bought a “movable stick,” more commonly called a rolling pin. Monday I saw a package labeled “sewing kit” which was actually a package of buttons. The Dollar Buy melamine dishware, assorted hardware items, slippers, and kitchen tools do not scream the names of anyone in my family. 

It's a certainty I’m the only one in my family who finds the shiny gold Asian Lucky Cat with the waving arm to be charming. The discription on amazon includes the helpful info that "The cute cat's profile design and smiling eyes are full of happiness and auspiciousness, making people feel happy, a raised right paw supposedly attracts money, while a raised left paw attracts customers. Traditional Japanese-Chinese decoration for the 21st century. Bring you health, wealth and wisdom. Whatever you do, the good luck will follow you." 

This delightful item, while both available and affordable during my visit to Dollar Buy, would not be well received as a gift by anyone on my list, and I'm pretty sure it wouldn't be the item everyone wants to steal in the office Yankee Swap. 

The baking isn’t started, and I don’t even know what I’m going to bake. Or when it’s magically supposed to happen. The menu isn’t planned for Christmas Eve, so the family and I may be eating a sleeve of saltines and staring at each other that day. At least I already have a box of those. Unless, in desperation and panic, I end up wrapping those cracker sleeves as gifts.

Work is so much easier than real life. At least there, I know what needs doing, and there are teammates who help, when needed. At home …. that is a totally different story where the plot has lots of holes and poorly developed characters. There could be a plot twist in this year's Christmas story where I decide to say "screw it," not shop, not cook, tell everyone to stay home, and hide under the covers. 

Maybe I should have bought myself the Lucky Asian Cat at Dollar Buy for the wisdom and good luck. I wonder if the product benefits would kick in immediately if I bought it tomorrow.