22 December 2003

It's amazing how one can look through an entire shopping mall and not find anything worth buying. This place used to be where I got all my last minute gifts, but now the interesting stores are gone and it's hardly worth coming here. Fortunately, the food court overlooking the ice skating rink remains and is better than ever. I enjoyed a great lunch of Indian food while looking for and not finding gift ideas in the local paper. It seems that Christmas should be more than shopping for gifts. It would be nice to find more ways to get together with friends and family during the holiday season and throughout the year. We missed a holiday party and a concert this weekend because we were too busy shopping and cleaning the house.. and, for me, grading papers. Ten years ago, we had time to visit the Hotel Coronado to see the giant tree, visit the zoo and animal park to see the lights, and enjoy the decorations all over the city. Now we're too busy for any of that.

DWL