Impulses

Something happens to me in that brief period between Christmas and New Year's. I'm normally a rational person who thinks twice before leaping into the unknown. However, the day after Christmas I'm usually filled with a sense of overwhelming relief that it's over, and rationality flies right out the window.

My usual post-Christmas schedule calls for making a round of Hallmark shops to pick up discounted ornaments that I refused to buy at full price. I also pick up wrapping paper, bows, and ribbons. This year I had to postpone the trip to 2 days after Christmas and found very little to spend my money on. The stores had been stripped bare of bargains by the early worms the day before.

Since I had been frustrated in my shopping, I tagged along with my brother and sister-in-law to watch them buy a piece of exercise equipment. That accomplished, David and I decided to wander through the music store in the same mall and play with the electronic keyboards. We had done this type of thing before, so I had no expectation of spending any money. But I forgot that this was the week after Christmas.

Twenty minutes of playing with a Yamaha DGX-505 was all it took for me to fall in love. What fun to play in the different voices - from grand piano and organ to bizarre sound effects like fireworks bursting in air and machine gun fire. And it was on sale. Guess what I spent the afternoon setting up in the guest bedroom?

It's been a long time since I've been able to practice my piano skills. It's hard to get in practice time when the only time available is late at night, when the others in the house are trying to sleep. With this little beauty, I can either turn down the volume or plug in the earphones and play any time I like. I've added a new resolution to my list for 2005 - get back to playing the piano on a regular basis.

Hopefully I've satisfied my urge for behaving irrationally this time around. If I can make it through the next two days without another impulse buy, I should have it made. But then again, I need to go back to the mall tomorrow and pick up some accessories for my new baby. I think I'd better leave the checkbook at home.

LSW