The all clear

What a week it has been. But who has time to sift through the foggy haze? There is Christmas shopping to start. Oh, do be quiet all you organazis out there. I know what you think of us last-minute shoppers - the disorganized, inconsiderate buffoons who don't think far enough ahead to see that Christmas is scheduled for December again this year. But in reality, we are thrill-seekers, addicted to the adrenaline rush that comes with panic.

Don't mistake this approach to life as procrastination or indolence. I laugh at procrastination; that's for amateurs. And "indolence?" Ha! I don't know the meaning of the word "indolence." This is a lifestyle choice, made by me and others like me who are too lazy to look up "indolence" in the dictionary. We refuse to let ordinary boundaries define us. When we go shopping for important gifts, we want to feel the pressure, feel the electric charge of anxiety and dread, so we know we're really alive.

And on that note watch out Oxford Street here I come. But not before I celebrate the 20th (but 1st Christmas) edition of City Slicker's "Week's Action, Weekend Reaction."

1) Did you miss out on the experience of the season that was The Reindeer (despite it being mentioned here)? Not to worry. React by heading to their 'Everything Must Go' sale. All of the restaurant's fixtures are up for sale including antler chandeliers. Starts 10am. Truman Brewery, off Hanbury Street, E1. Today.

2) Are you the Mad Max of the mall - a last-minute shopper out there flirting with disaster? React by enjoying the benefits of living life to the edge: the sales, the maddening crowd, the cashiers pushed to their breaking point. But first check out Time Out's handy Christmas shopping guide. And who said we can't forward plan?

3) Dreading New Year's Eve again? Determined not to end up in some overpriced restaurant, followed by an overpriced bar, to be left hailing an overpriced taxi? React by sorting it now for once with the cheap and cheerful option: All Star Lanes Bowling, 2 courses in the diner a glass of champagne and performances by Alabama 3 and guest DJ’s. Retro looks required. 6pm-3am £50pp Victoria House, Bloomsbury Place, WC1 020 7025 2676 - www.allstarlanes.co.uk.

And that's all folks. From me to you, Happy Christmas, and until 2007, I bid you farewell. I am back on January 3!

Thank you for reading City Slicker!

CS xx