oil painting?

is there anyone here who does oil painting...? i don't paint, i draw, but my mom bought me a canvas and some oil paints, so i'm dying to try it.
the only problem is that i don't know what kind of surface to use as a mixing board... i've tested a few things out and the water always bubbles up, the paint doesn't react to the surface like it should, and it just doesn't work out.
the only time i've ever painted was in high school, a couple years ago, and we used our huge table-desk as our "palette"..which worked really well...but now i don't know what to do. what do you guys use?
the little plastic things you buy at Michaels just won't cut it.
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