Ugh. Is it just me, or does the whole process of Christmas shopping get worse and worse every year?

Trying to go shopping om something like four hours' sleep was a mistake. A very, very big mistake. That is why this post is very much backdated. I only did it today because I had to go to Streatham anyway, and I'd got something put naside for my dad and they wouldn't hold it for more than 48 hours, and I thought, well, since I was up...

Yeah. Bad, bad idea.

Anyway. Today was pain. Advanced pain, in an unpleasant kind of way. Something to do with trawling up and down Oxford Street in boots that weren't made for walking. Happens every damn year, and normally it happens because buying presents for my mother is an exercise in oh my God what the fuck can I get her?! My father's easy, he just tells me what he wants and I get it, and I normally seem to end up buying my brother books in a desperate attempt to get him to read something other than bad science fiction.

My mother was what really took the time. I ended up spending way more on her than I had intended to just because I'd been dragging around the shops for fucking AGES, and my feet were aching so much I was limping on both feet, and I ended up getting her a hardback book just because I knew it was something she'd like and I did NOT have the patience to look any further for anything else. Then I had to try and find wrapping paper which didn't look too crappy (and most of it does, for some reason).

Then I realized I'd lost the book I bought for my brother.

Worse, by that point I was halfway home, so I had to turn round and catch another bus back to Oxford Street in a mad bloody rush because it was getting late and the shops would be closing soon, and then I couldn't remember the title, so I ended up buying him something completely different just because I had to get him something and I did not want to drag myself back up to the city center the next day, so back I went.

Needless to say by that point my boots were damn near crippling me. It isn't easy to limp on both feet. Why I keep on wearing those boots I don't know, they murder my feet, but I really like them.

Also, I really like bookshops and really want a job in one.

But, I finally managed to get hold of my birthday present to myself, almost exactly six months late. I just paid the money my parents gave me into my account at the time and let it sit there. I finally managed to get something with it, though, which is good. Namely and specifically I got myself Kumi Koda's two 'best of' CDs, for which I blame quentin_w.

Also, the lack of any of her actual albums.

Tangentially, I am thinking of buying the Death Note manga.

... yes, I know I have damn all money, but it looks interesting, the art is great and L is cute in a totally goddamn freaky kind of way. The only question is, do I get it in translation or buy the Japanese version and get fan translations off the 'net? I know I don't even remotely read Japanese, but I just like the way the books are presented and the Japanese ones are actually a little cheaper. It's also got something to do with those cute little slip covers Japanese manga have and Western publishers don't bother with. Which is a shame because they're pretty.