597. I'm never going to get to bed.

Murphy's Law #1: If you wait until the last minute to wrap your gifts for the distant friends and relatives, whom you are leaving the early the next morning on a long trip to see, you will run out of scotch tape .

Murphy's Law #2: You will forget to buy bows to match your Hanukkah gift wrap.

Hmmm... Wait a minute. I need to back up.

Poor Murphy. It's not his fault.

Karma Law #1: If, as a joke, you buy Hanukka gift wrap for Christmas presents, you will run out of tape and forget to buy bows. Political correctness is God. Christmas and Hanukkah have no patience for childish pranks.

Stupid tape. Stupid Karma.

...............
1:00 a.m. UPDATE!

Not one, but TWO miracles! Perhaps a Hanukkah miracle and a Christmas miracle?

In what I thought to be a futile search for more tape, I found gift bows in my Junk Drawer:

'

Miracle #1: Gift bows to the right of the Krups manual. Right on.

Miracle #2: Guess what I found hidden under the gift bows?

That's right! (You are so smart. I bet all the kids in school were envious of you!) I found Craft Bond Glue Stick. Much cleaner than tape--albeit harder to use. It's the stuff in the tube with the orange ends on the right. Sorry. Too tired to circle the thing with my trademark pink line.

..............
Voila! It's an hour later, and here are my Hanukkah-wrapped Christmas presents:

Hanukkah paper isn't like regular gift wrap. It's nice and thick and plastic-y.
Good stuff.

....................
It's 2 o'clock now. Yikes!

Yes, I still need to pack.

Yes, my TV is that small.

Yes, I am easily amused. (Good thing, too, because I don't have to try too hard to make myself laugh.)

Good night!