The Day After Christmas

Happy Boxing Day, everyone! I got a lot of nice presents from my mom, including a keyboard with an onboard computer that teaches you how to play the piano. Since the guitar lessons I took in high school didn't pan out - I never could master that instrument - maybe I can learn piano and perhaps take this portable keyboard to Battery Park in Lower Manhattan and play for money. And it would be great if I could learn to play songs from Family or Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel because, seeing as they're not well-known in America, it would give me advantage; how many times do you hear "Burlesque" or "Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)" in Battery Park? :-D

I also got some books and clothes, all of which I liked. And now I can tell you what I got my mom:

I bought her a Grumpy sweatshirt from JC Penney after I heard say that she wanted one. Unfortunately, the only one the came close to fitting her was in white, and she might prefer another color. I won't mind if she exchanges it. :-)

I also bought her a wallet-like pouch from an unlikely source. Junko Fisher is a Japanese-born, Queens-based artisan who makes pouches and bags from Nishijin-ori, a fabric that has it origins in the Kyoto area. Ms. Fisher also performs in the dance company of Sachiyo Ito, the woman I'm volunteering for. Check out Ms. Fisher's Web site at www.junkofisher.com.

I also gave my mother a present I can't return - because I drew it myself! :-D It's a picture of her when she was two, which I drew from an old photograph. She really, really likes it.

So, I gave my mother three presents, and only one was neither handmade nor made in America. And it's the one gift she might not be able to keep. Figures it's Disney-related! :-D

Coming soon: winners and losers of the year, and my take on the 2004-05 television season so far. . . . I'll be back in a flash with the trash! :-D