I could pretend that I couldn't remember that I didn't order anything from Amazon. [Follow that convoluted sentence?] But I did. Once I opened the box and saw the wrapped items, I could have left them there for another 12 days. I could have. No, I couldn't. I paused momentarily before ripping into the expensive Amazon provided gift wrap and unveiling my birthday presents. I could have waited to read my two Venice guide books until December 1. I could have. No, I couldn't. I read as much as I could before my lunch hour was over. Why is a bus $8, a speedboat $12, and a water taxi $120? Is that a misprint, or do they serve caviar and champagne on the way to the aiport? I knew that I put the right book on my wish list when I saw that gelato is one of the expenditure categories, along with airfare and hotel.

I looked to see this morning where the stocks were and I've lost $2000, I had a brief moment of postponing Europe and doing the Hershey/New York trip which is half the price, but after getting my guide books, I'm just about willing to put the whole thing on a high interest credit card in order to go.