Today's game

Three people walk into your office. You can take one of them for lunch; spend the afternoon in a pub with a second; and send the third into a three-hour meeting on harmonising cross-branch JC32 response procedures in your place.

I will start with Prince Charles, Helena (from Midsummer Night's Dream), and Monkey (from the Ramayana, the Journey to the West, or PL Travers, as you please). Lunch, pub, or meeting? Justify your answers, and suggest three more.

PSA: Christmas

Early, I suppose, but I was reminded that some people do get terribly organized this early in the year and start getting presents.

So, without further ado: I don't do Christmas. I'll happily exchange best wishes, and I might cook myself something nice, but I try to stay well away from celebrations and most of all I don't like to give or receive presents. It stresses me, both because I have too much stuff already and because I get depressed and panicky about finding appropriate presents.

If you were thinking of giving me a Christmas present, please don't! I don't mind cards at all (although I do not accept or acknowledge any obligation to reciprocate - however, see below) but actual presents genuinely do upset me a bit.

Regarding goats and other charitable-donation presents, I'm content but bemused. Charitable donations are basically a good thing, I feel, but making them in someone else's name and then telling them you've done it always strikes me as faintly ludicrous. (However, if it does strike you as appropriate, I'd like to offer some mild encouragement in the direction of cancer research and heart research charities. Possibly one of these days I should do a photoshoot, like certain other people I know.)

One thing I'm thinking about doing this year is making some cards - probably hand-printed woodblock designs.
[Poll #1280645]