Feh. If my life were more interesting, you'd see more of these posts.

Atlanta's weather is consistently insane. It's not uncommon in November and December for there to be a day in the 70's followed by a day in the 40's. This happened last week. Not surprisingly, I've run into a lot of sick people lately. (And consider myself very lucky that it hasn't hit me yet.)

Today, highs were in the 30's. It rained. I'm playing in a tournament this weekend, and it might be in the high 40's. Yeesh. I was really looking forward to it when the forecast was high 50's and sunshine. (Though high 40's would certainly be better than how it was the first year I played in this tournament. The high that day was 25. It was so brutal that I didn't play that tournament again for five years.)

I really wanted to go running today, but no way I'm running in the 30's. I can't imagine living somewhere where it doesn't crack freezing during the winter.

Instead, I'm sitting here being totally unproductive. I should probably be working on the Christmas song that I've been struggling to write for the last year. Well, okay, that's not entirely true.

Last Christmas, something weird happened to someone in my distant family. Nothing I should probably go into (I'm never sure who reads this), but odd enough that the line "I won't be home for Christmas this year" popped into my head. For some reason, I sat down and wrote a song around that line. Naturally, writing lyrics is a pain in the ass for me, and I never came up with anything other than the two lines that precede that one. Granted that Christmas was over, my procrastination gene kicked in. I figured I'd come back to it in time for this Christmas.

I recorded the music for the song last week. I figured I'd work on the lyrics over the weekend and record the vocals on Monday.

Needless to say, that didn't happen.

Sadly, if I ever get around finishing it, I'm not sure it's something anybody will want to listen to. Christmas songs are supposed to be happy and festive, right? Who writes a sad Christmas song? Ahh, yes, that would be me.

Maybe next year, I'll write a Christmas song called "All I Want for Christmas is for the Guy Who Wrote 'Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer' to Be Mauled by a Bear". That'll fix my karma for sure.

I didn't think I'd ever write a Christmas song. While I have a fondness for some Christmas songs, many of them just seem cheezy to me now. That's especially true in the years since high school. Back then, Christmas was a time for light schoolwork and doing cool holiday-related stuff. The school chorus and ensemble would usually go around to various places and sing holiday songs. (Always a great way to get out of class.)

Now that all of that is ancient history, I can't help but see Christmas for the economy-boosting shopping spree that it is. Apart from the occasional party and the family gatherings, all I can think about around this time of year is that I'm supposed to go out and find gifts for people. At one point a few years ago, I found myself seeing Christmas me indirectly buying items for myself. I felt like I was spending as much on others as they were on me, essentially meaning that I was buying stuff for myself that I otherwise might not have bought.

Let me explain that this way: a couple of Christmases ago, I gave a gift certificate to someone, and they gave me an equivalent gift certificate to me to a different store. Seriously - one of my closest friends and I got so lazy about shopping for each other that we'd go to Media Play, pick out two CD's, hand them to each other, buy them, go home, stick a bow on the Media Play bag, and exchange them that night. Okay, in fairness, the next year, we exchanged them in the Media Play bag without the bow. Um, in the car on the way home.

The only way I've been able to save myself has been to get creative. Last Christmas, I was totally stumped on what to get my sister-in-law. For the two years previous, I'd given her Blockbuster Video gift cards, since I knew she loved to rent movies. But after my nephew was born, she mentioned that she wasn't renting movies as often, as she just didn't have time to make it to the store. (Plus, it seems kinda crappy to give someone the same gift three years in a row.)

By sheer chance, my mother had been given a fancy Hallmark glass-and-metal Christmas ornament in a Secret Santa thingy. It had a place to slide a picture in to make a personalized ornament. Noting the possibilities, I picked up a similar ornament, scanned in a picture of my nephew, Photoshopped in a Christmas border and the year, printed it out on glossy paper, and slid it into the ornament. It wasn't really that expensive, and, after finishing it, I didn't know that it looked that great. I thought for sure I was in for bad times.

At our family gathering, my sister-in-law pulled it out of the package and her face lit up. She showed it around, and her sisters and her parents all gave the same response: "Awwwh! I want one!" Let me tell you - that was way better than the Blockbuster Video gift card.

Admittedly, getting creative is a pain in the ass. It's a lot easier to spend $25 in a store than to spend a week working on a Christmas project. But, when the inspiration strikes, I think it's a better way to go.

You know, not that I'm above giving gift cards. Gift cards rule. Nothing beats a one-size-fits-all gift. (Well, except for those faux one-size-fits-all hats and shirts.)

Last year, my friend's mom asked me what I wanted for Christmas, and I jokingly said cold hard cash. She was ecstatic. And, in the end, so was I.