Manic Monday

It's Manic Monday time again, and Lisa has come up with another trio of thought-provoking questions .

1. For the holidays, are you a last-minute shopper or do you shop well ahead of time?

If I'm totally honest, Christmas means very little to me. I don't have kids, I'm not religious, I don't have a large family, and most of my friends are equally unimpressed with Christmas. So I do very little Christmas shopping. This year, my cousin will be staying with me for Christmas, so I'll buy in some extra food and some Christmas goodies, probably just a few days before Christmas. I buy very few gifts, because I don't have much money, so I only buy them for the people who are closest to me - usually a couple of weeks before Christmas. The only things I tend to stock up on in advance are chocolates, because they're usually much cheaper in October and November than December. Really, the bulk of my Christmas shopping is something I can usually do in a couple of hours, so I don't tend to bother with it until it's imminent.

2. If you had to pick a new first name for yourself, what name would you choose?

I think I'd probably stick with my own name. I doubt I could ever get used to being called anything else, and would probably end up ignoring people who called me by my new name, as I'd probably forget, and think they were calling someone else.

3. What's worse, having expectations that are too high, or having no expectations at all?

Having expectations that are too high. Anyone who does so, is setting themselves up for a lifetime of disappointment and futility, because they'll rarely be satisfied with anything. Having no expectations at all isn't to be recommended, either, as it's somewhat negative, and doesn't inspire a person to achieve anything. But at least people who have no expectations, can find pleasure in any good things that unexpectedly come their way, rather than spending their lives thinking 'that's not good enough'.

Those are my Manic Monday answers for today. Apologies if they seem a bit befuddled or clumsily worded - I've had a sleepless night, through one thing or another, and it's now morning. Ugh! Happy Monday!