It was the last long weekend before Christmas and like the rest of the Island of Bermuda, I had the intention of trying to pull off a miracle -- doing all of my Christmas shopping in one weekend abroad. The entire schedule of the trip was planned with military precision. I was armed with two large, empty suitcases, a winter coat, a wallet full of money and my most comfortable walking shoes. As I sat on the airplane, I analysed the most crucial tool to the entire weekend. The one thing that would ensure that I accomplished everything I was suppose to do. The item that would keep me on track and on target. My shopping list. As soon as I arrived at my destination, I dropped my bags off and yes you guessed it, made my way to the nearest store and began my odyssey. The first night was allocated as an opportunity to cruise the malls to see just what was out on the market this year. A chance to see what colours were in style, what toys were popular, and to map out exactly what stores I would visit, what order I would tackle them in and how long I would be able to spend in each store. The next morning I was up bright and early. After showering and throwing on a big comfortable sweater, a pair of jeans and those comfortable shoes I spoke of, I sat down and ate as much food as my stomach allowed me to eat at that `un-Godly hour of the morning'. It was important that I ate as much as I could since my schedule did not allow time for a lunch break and passing out definitely would have thrown me off schedule. I was prepared for snow and the cold but what I had not anticipated was the heavens above deciding to flood the earth all day long with a cold, steady downpour of rain. By the time I reached the first of many malls I was wet, cold, damp and not in the frame of mind that is contusive to shopping. Despite all those minor obstacles by 10.45 p.m. that evening I had managed to hit two large malls, two clothing warehouses, two department stares, a grocery store, pharmacy, got my hair cut and even managed to fit in a second meal for the day at McDonalds. I did not mind the walking and of course I loved the shopping.

But the one thing I hated was lugging fifty million bags from the car all the way up to my room. That evening I pulled out my list and evaluated just how well `operation Christmas shopping' was going. During my first 30 hours of shopping I had managed to spend more than half of my money, purchase three quarters of my Christmas gifts, get a few things for my apartment, some Christmas decorations, a 24 inch Christmas tree and some other odds and ends.

But I realised that in that sea of bags scattered on my floor I did not buy a thing for myself. Not to worry this was something I rectified the next day.

The next morning I once again opened the malls. But by 5.00 p.m., my legs had seized up, I was hungry, tired of carrying my heavy winter coat inside the malls and just plain miserable. As I swore that I would never go shopping again if the man above would just give me the energy to take those last steps into my room, I realised that the hard part of my weekend was just beginning.

I still had to squeeze all that stuff into two suit cases. It amazed me what I managed to accomplish when I was so close to a nervous breakdown but by 3.45 a.m., I had finished the impossible -- packing all that stuff into suitcases.

After what seemed like five minutes, but was actually three hours of sleep, I was off to the airport to head back to Bermuda and face the last demon on my adventure, customs. After two hours in line I was free. I did it. I managed to do all of my Christmas shopping for a list that was practically the length of my arm. Now all I have to do between now and Christmas is pay for it all.