BROKE

I officially have fifty cents in my checking account. This is what I would call a Bad Thing, especially in light of the fact that I have not yet completed my Christmas shopping and have already maxed out the magic plastic card. This is how holiday gift-giving works: I go broke buying crap that people don't need, so that they, in exchange, will give me crap I don't need. It's like the circle of life, only with crap that nobody needs instead of, you know, life.

Time to get creative with the gift-giving. Looks like I'll be making the rest of my gifts. Or falling back on the age-old tradition of promising to render services as a gift (example: "Merry Christmas, Dad! This year, for your present, I'm washing your car!" ... later: "Hey Dad, do you have any money I can use for the automatic carwash?").