December Excitement

I got paid last week, and quickly made three impulse purchases/or acquisitions that I hope and think will make for an interesting December.

Impulse Purchase 1:
Sunday set the tone for this week with me doing absolutely nothing. The day before I went for a bike ride, while on Sunday I didn't do anything. I got out of bed, around 11:30, walked to my living room and watched a movie. After that movie I ordered chicken and drank some beer and wine. Then after that movie I made some coffee and watched another movie. One of the movies I saw was "Julie and Julia," which encouraged me to order the Julia Child cook book.

Impulse Purchase 2:
A friend of mine is leaving town. Said friend has a Weber Charcoal Grill, that he needs to get rid of. Two weeks ago, he and I burned up some cheeseburgers and baby back ribs on that grill. I found the grill to be a fantastic tool that I want to give as a gift to the in laws for Christmas. Perhaps this gift is a projection of my own desires, but I want to use it to bring the holiday of Christmas to some well deserving in laws who probably wouldn't celebrate it. (They are Buddhists.) I'll use the thing to burn up some beer can chickens for them.

Impulse Purchase or Acquisition 3:
I'm not sure if I am going to have to pay for these, but the principal of my school has some land in the countryside where he grows Bonsai(Banseong) trees. (바성나무) My school had been doing some landscaping adding about ten to twenty pine trees to the school's grounds. One day I was walking and saw the principal. In the past he had told me about his land and how he liked to grow various shrubs, so on that day I asked him if the new trees at the school came from his land. I think he answered yes, but I'm not sure if he understood the question. At that point I thought to ask if he would sell me some trees from his land. I wanted one tree for myself to turn into a Christmas tree, and one to give to my in-laws as a kind of Christmas gift, and because my father in-law has a garden and seems to like to grow things.

Yesterday, I got out of school a bit early and went to the farm to pick out some trees. I'm not sure if I have to pay for them, but I chose two cute little things that I think will help make the holiday season a bit more festive. I realized that this is actually a pretty good idea, an idea that might be able to be exported.

Every year, around Christmas time, many Americans make the journey to a Christmas tree farm, or a parking lot that sells live Christmas trees. They do this because they want to have the authentic Christmas and pine smell experience, as opposed to the experience of having a fake plastic Christmas tree. Christmas trees can cost anywhere between twenty and two-hundred dollars, and can cause domestic squabbles in the set up, and take down.

This is why I am proposing the idea of having a bonsai Christmas tree farm. Most people think of Bonsai trees as being tiny trees that are purely decorations, but that isn't necessarily always the case. In Korea Bonsai trees are frequently up to twenty feet tall. Now I may be confusing my nomenclature in calling tall ornamental trees, "Bonsai trees," but yesterday at my Principal's tree farm I saw many trees that he called banseong, that were about as tall as I was, They were also trimmed in a triangular shape that would make a good Christmas tree.

Now, if one were to buy a moderately sized potted pine tree, and put it in their house during the Christmas season, and then keep it on a porch, or as part of a hanging garden during other months, it would defiantly save the hassle of trying to put a tree in one's car. Also, if one were to put down about $300 for a tree one year (or in the spring when they don't have to save money Christmas presents.) They could recoup their investment in a few years.

*Note I'll add pictures of my impulse acquisitions when I finally get the items.