Done your Christmas shopping yet? Two days ago the City of Charleston contacted me, asking if I'd be interested in playing Santa for them again this year. I said hell yeah. This will be the sixth consecutive year I've appeared on Marion Square as Mr. Claus.

I don't feel very Christmasy yet, but I commend the City for planning ahead (insert joke-at-City's-expense here). I also know that the festive season will be on us before we know it. This is your first warning before the Commercial Onslaught begins...

Mrs Claus will revive from her hibernation soon. Be nice, kids.

I'm supposed to be writing a magazine article and the deadline is fast approaching. So why is it that I'm taking every possible opportunity to avoid the work?

I'm prepared to do everything but what I'm supposed to do. Writing every word of this article is like drawing blood. A simple one-page piece becomes a Herculean task in my head.

I guess this is why obnoxious bosses were invented - to quash procrastinators and get jobs done.

Boone Hall Plantation is looking for actors aged 20+ to scare people at their Saw's Scream Farm for Halloween. The gig would start on Oct 3, part time to begin with, and the schedule would get busier in mid-late October.

For more info e-mail me at nicksmithproductions@hotmail.com

Black Eyed Susan - Naming the Band