I rose from bed on Christmas day
Anxiously awaiting my time to play

But before I showered, I gazed at our tree
With bright fiber optics and blinking LEDs

I washed and wondered what my gifts would comprise
And could hardly wait for my wife to rise

Mere moments later we were sitting together
Exchanging presents while we wondered at the weather

It was severe thunderstorms this Christmas morning
Even stranger than that: A tornado warning!

In spite of the weather’s curious condition
I postured myself in an unwrapping position

As the lightning crashed with bursts of thunder
I ripped and tore the wrapping asunder

Of the gadgets and gizmos that lay in my wake
There were two items of interest, electronics from Make

I placed them aside to assemble them later
For I had other tasks to perform, their priority greater

When the house was cleaned and my errands were done
I placed a table by the couch and began my fun

With my implements assembled and a soldering bit
I started to build my electronic game kit

I soldered resistors, capacitors, and more
An intimidating task, but not quite hardcore

When I completed the work my spine felt a chill
For I’m new to this hobby and didn’t trust my skill

But my fear was lifted and my heart filled with joy
When I turned on the replica of an old 80s toy

Its blinking and bleeping had my attention perked
I was slightly astonished and amazed that it worked

A game round or two later I desired to make more
So I started the other item I got from the Make store

I could tell right away this was a more difficult task
For the PCB was smaller and tighter than the last

Testing what I learned from my previous construction
I placed components on the board without any instruction

When I checked my work against the instructional site
I grinned with satisfaction and soldered with delight

As I was examining the instructions for some placement help
My pinky brushed the soldering iron and I let out a yelp

A short while later while wondering if I screwed up
I threw the “on” switch and the device lit up

Amazed and surprised that my soldering was fine
I waved the device in a mirror and it read, “MakeZine”

Satisfied and happy that everything went right
I decided to hit the sack and call it a night

Update: This post was linked from Make Magazine’s Blog!