UPDATE: Alright, so this long gallery post just got longer. I went away for a week long vacation, and today I had to make the long, 11-hour drive home alone as I reflected on and already started becoming nostalgic about the fun week I had. When I walked in and saw the giant box waiting for me, I rushed to put my bags aside and open it.

I'll just go ahead and get to the point here: it was a Gretsch snare drum and sticks!! How did my Santa know I'm a drummer? No wait, how did my Santa know that Vic Firth 5A sticks are my favorite?? I still don't know, but I do know that this ridiculously generous and thoughtful gift instantly distracted me from my melancholy return home.

I've never had a decent snare drum of my own; I've always had to borrow one from a friend for shows and band rehearsals. I mentioned that I'm hoping to record an album this year, and the new snare will definitely be featured. I dug out my drum key and tuned it up quickly so I could hear it. I didn't do a great job, but it sounded awesome regardless. What's funny is that I actually didn't have a matching pair of sticks either, just a bunch of orphans that managed to not break. I can't wait to set this up with a kit and jam! Thank you, awesome Santa! You've reminded me how much I love reading and drumming, even if I don't make enough time for them in my life.

There is a long story behind this book. It isn't very interesting, but I'm extremely happy that my Santa sent this specific book to me.

I read this for the first time in one of my English classes in high school. For several years, I remembered reading a book in school, it had a face on the front (my memory turned it into a smiling parking meter), and one of the stories ended with "Yep, dressed myself too!" No one knew what it was. But a few years down the road, Google evolved, and I was able to search for "dressed myself too" and eventually find the author and title. But it's been on my wishlist forever, and I never bought it because I have a huge stack of books I want to read but haven't.

THEN, I came up with the brilliant idea to write my own memoir, or at least start a blog. I wanted to read this beforehand because I remembered it being funny, and I thought it would help me learn how to write a good anecdote. I've been planning to read this book before any other books for months now but never got around to ordering it.

So anyway...Santa says there will be more on the way. I don't know if this will let me post more photos at that point or not, but I wanted to make sure I was able to thank him/her right away. Thank you for this awesome book! I promise it will get read ASAP, unlike my stack of unread novels. Even if it doesn't inspire me to write more, I'll still get plenty of laughs from Bill Bryson's stories.