It’s the Thought That Counts, Seriously

Beauty and the Beast
First things first. Beauty and the Beast was superb. Oh, it was so magical. Some of the ladies around me were shedding tears. (And I’m woman enough to admit I’ve shed my fair share of tears over the Disney cartoon version. Anyway . . . lol.) The Beast wasn’t as ferocious in the beginning as I would’ve liked for him to be, but I let that slide. Yet, I have to be for real and say that if I were Belle in that production I might have given in to Gaston and said forget the Beast. I’m sorry, but Gaston was hot. When the Beast had his little transformation in the end, I had hoped he’d look . . . I dunno, better. But of course, that’s the whole premise of Beauty and the Beast. Seeing the beauty within. But the beauty “without” ain’t nothin’ to sneeze at either, though, youknaamean? Ahem.

It’s The Thought That Counts, Seriously
As of about 2PM today, I had done zero Christmas shopping. I know I’m not alone. But I finally got off of my lazy derrière and went to contribute my humble part to the commercialized, capitalism-crazed madness of this time of year. Yeah, ‘tis the season.

As of about 6PM today, I finished 99% of my Christmas shopping, my pops being the only one I have yet to buy for. I just don’t understand why people get all in a tizzy over Christmas shopping. I have my girly moments, for sure. But when it comes to shopping, especially for other people, I can be really guy. I don’t agonize and comparison shop and wonder and fret do the mental equivalent of a Myers-Briggs Type Indicator on each potential gift to match the recipient. Let me back up and say that I don’t buy things without putting any thought, care, and selection into it; it’s just that I don’t make each purchase an event.

I kind of get a general idea of the stores I want to hit and do a perfunctory browse. If I come across something that catches my eye, and that I think a person on my list may like . . . check! On to the next. “It’s the thought that counts” is like my mantra. Seriously. Are they going to care whether the gift perfectly fits every aspect of their being? (And I’m not advocating, like, expecting your grandmother to be happy with a Switchfoot CD. Come on.) I lean towards “no.” I think people are simply grateful that you remembered them. At least I am. Or is it that I’m just easy to please? Hmm . . . maybe I shouldn’t advertise that too readily.

In any event, if you’ve done all your shopping, good on ya, mate. And if you haven’t even thought about it yet, all’s not lost. You still have three more days! (Cue “Carol of the Bells.”) Ding-ding-a-ling, ding-ding-a-ling . . .