FUND-RAISERS WRAP UP SHOPPERS' HOLIDAY PROBLEMS.Byline: Christopher Noxon Daily News Staff Writer The man who trudged into the gift-wrapping shop at Janss Marketplace on Saturday had it bad. His shoulders sagged, his face was drawn, his arms were slung slung v. Past tense and past participle of sling1. slung Verb the past of sling1 slung sling heavily around a huge haul of boxes. Judy Foxman diagnosed his problem right away: shopping sickness. Common this time of year, especially among men. ``He had a look of abject misery,'' Foxman said. ``I thought he was going to drop right there.'' Foxman sprang into action, collecting his purchases, tugging out a sheet of gift wrap and pointing him in the direction of a nice cup of coffee. Foxman sympathizes. ``About 90 percent of our customers are men. A lot of them have a really hard time,'' she said. ``They come in here anxious at all the things they need to do. They're really in dire straits Noun 1. dire straits - a state of extreme distress desperate straits straits, strait, pass - a bad or difficult situation or state of affairs .'' Foxman appreciates the chance to alleviate a little holiday stress. One of a rotating staff at a gift-wrapping shop run by the Women's American Organization for Rehabilitation rehabilitation: see physical therapy. Through Training, Foxman dresses up packages in 24 varieties of paper, eliminating a chore for customers that can become a giant part of any holiday season. The project also serves as the biggest fund-raiser of the year for the Ventura charity. With just a few days until Christmas, the only people busier than last-minute shoppers this weekend were gift wrappers In data mining and treatment learning, wrappers were used by Ron Kohavi and George John. Their idea was to wrap their treatments learners in a preprocessor that would search to make subsets from the current set of attributes. . With more malls and stores offering wrapping to the maddened crowds, work was fast and furious at counters across the county. Fingers and ribbons flew at the Country Shop in Simi Valley Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. , where owner Linda Thomson offered complimentary gift-wrapping. More than 200 gifts were done up in glossy red bags and satin bows Saturday, Thomson said. ``It's really appreciated,'' she said. ``They love not having to do it.'' Thomson takes the task in stride Adv. 1. in stride - without losing equilibrium; "she took all his criticism in stride" in good spirits . ``I've got a real technique,'' she said. ``I must have tied 400,000 bows over the years.'' Thomson also affixes a sticker bearing the name of the store to each package, a procedure adopted by many stores offering wrapping. The store logo is featured prominently on gift bags offered across town at Hidden Cottage, a holiday store open especially for the season in Simi Valley. Korene Bronkowski said people pay for the store-bought wrap because they're too busy to do the job themselves. ``I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. why you should pay for something when you can do it yourself,'' she said. ``But people are busy with jobs and everything else.'' Foxman said people deserve a little less work this time of year. ``When people get to us they're usually pooped poop 1 n. 1. An enclosed superstructure at the stern of a ship. 2. A poop deck. tr.v. pooped, poop·ing, poops 1. To break over the stern of (a ship). 2. ,'' she said. ``We make their presents prettier than they could and we do it faster. They're thrilled to find a place that can help.'' |
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