It's 1 December, but as I write this the picks aren't yet up at the Sundance site. I realize that this is because it's only 6a in Utah just now, but I think that I'm going to have a heart attack.

I have been thinking about this since she wrote it, but I have decided to follow Beth's lead and not buy anything for a year.

I have so much crap that I don't look at or watch or read or listen to or wear or even take out of the package, I just buy and buy and buy and the happiness is in the owning, not in the using.

And I need to stop.

Staring 1 January, I will not buy any books or cds or DVDs, I have hundreds and hundreds that I have neither read nor listened to nor watched, and plenty that I want to read or listen to or watch again. And I can always go to the library.

I will stop buying Russell Crowe and David Morse memorabilia or wedding or paper moon photos on ebay. I already have plenty, and until I actually do something to display the photos rather than putting them in a pile, I ain't getting any more. I do love my paper moon photos, but there will be more in the future, no need to fear that they will disappear from the planet earth.

The only thing that I will be allowed to buy from ebay is anything having to do with my father--Playbills, videos, magazines, anything like that is fair game. It's never particularly expensive, and it won't break me.

I have pretty much already done this, but I want to make certain that I keep it up: I have plenty of soap and bath stuff and masks and creams and lotions and washes and scrubs and really don't need any more. The only thing that I will do is get new shampoo and conditioner when I run out. Since I currently have about seven or eight of each, this will take awhile. I won't come even close to running out in a year.

I really don't buy clothing or shoes or anything, and I will need to get a new pair of jeans when my current ones, but I do buy accessories. I don't need any accessories.

Basically, if I want something, I will put it on The Wishlist That Ate Manhattan, which is pretty much what I do now, but then I will leave everything on it.

I am allowed to buy other people presents, and I think I should be able to get myself one present for my birthday, but I'm going to think about that. Maybe I won't. And if I don't get the X-Men DVD from anyone for Christmas, I'll try to quickly buy that before 1 January, but if I can't, I get a by on that. And of course I need to get the Buffy calendar.

But that is it. That is I. T. And the idea isn't awful, it doesn't feel like it's going to be hard or painful or depriving myself. It feels like it will be freeing. And as part of this, I will use the funds that I save to pay off my credit cards and get out of debt, and I will also go through my stuff and get rid of things that I don't want.

By the end of the year, I will be solvent and spartan, counting my money in an empty apartment.

I decided this yesterday, then immediately went to The Gap and spent $55.

I was laughing at myself, but it really wasn't an impulse buy, I've been meaning to get new gloves and hat and scarf, and particularly the ones that are in the Gap window, and they really are great. Mittens that have a string on them to put through your coatsleeves like a little kid, a matching scarf, and an orange striped hat with the most enormous bobble on it.

In fact, I would have to say that it is too big to be a bobble, it is a pom-pom. A huge one, as big as an orange. I can feel it shifting on my head when I wear it. I look like an idiot, but I love it, and would have killed to have this hat when we were filming the movie, even though last year's Gap hat was pretty funny, too.

Is this like eating like crazy before a diet?

Do you spend too much on crap?

And we're still talking about wanting, live sports, being thankful, Thanksgiving and recipes, days where every single little thing go wrong, sounds that you hate, loonies, weird sports, Hallowe'en costumes, death, and Rocky Horror.

Today's horoscope:
Don't make your job today into a struggle between concentrated focus and carefree versatility. Allocate time and space for both.

One year ago today:
"For $50 shipping, Cary Grant should rise from the grave and deliver it personally."

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Last Updated Fri 1 December 10:08:09 2000