Shopping, at any time of the year, is always a trial in patience. In our meaningless consumer-driven lives we often find ourselves caught up in the frenetic chore of buying things we don't really need. The holiday season, when cries of "Peace on Earth" are drowned out by squealing tyres and blaring horns, seems to always bring out the worst in people. I have yet to understand why, but in my feeble attempt to avoid it in general I did my holiday shopping in the first week of November. It didn't work.

My first futile stop was an electronics store near the freeway about forty minutes from my final destination. Futile because they didn't have what I was looking for, though I wasn't really expecting much. I shudder upon entering the warehouse decor with its high ceilings and low mentality. Saturday, cement floors, long lines, inattentive customer service representatives, not exactly my favourite way to spend a day.