Chanukah

[liv]

I have ideological issues with Chanukah. But this evening, I came home from work, and was so dead tired that I fell straight to sleep (this was the middle of the afternoon!) And I woke up and it was cold and dark, but there was my chanukah present from lethargic_man. All of a sudden, I felt far away from my family and my people, and I had a strong impulse to go out to the corner shop and buy nightlights with which I improvised a chanukah lamp.

Then I sat down and wrote a highly enthusiastic review of The Player of Games.

To those who care about such things, happy chanukah.

Comments

[liv]

Do you have any idea how difficult you are to buy presents for?
Sorry; I had no idea I was so contrary.
Ça, you're not really contrary, it's more that I'm unimaginative about present buying.

Can I ask for examples of my not getting excited about any kinds of luxury foods?
I think what I meant was, you don't get excited about the kinds of foods where the luxury variety is significantly more exciting than the ordinary variety, and which I am knowledgeable enough about to be effective at buying. You don't drink, which rules out a whole swathe of stuff. And you don't like cheese and you don't appreciate serious chocolate.

Now that you've pulled me up on it I can in fact think of a few possibilities; frivolous chocolate, for a start. But I think I shall try giving you these things rather than telling you about them!

As for "stuff", though I'll mostly turn it down as kipple left to my own devices,
Knowing this means I have very little confidence to buy you anything even if I think it's cool, because I always worry that you might not agree with my assessment.

I'm not completely averse to getting cool stuff
No, that would be considerably obsessive! I have not yet found something that I want to give you and am convinced is cool, but I'll keep looking.

I'd have been happy getting the Chanukah present I got you
The thing is, that's exactly the kind of thing I would never think of. If I had seen that little birdie in a shop, I would almost certainly not have paused long enough to register that it's cool. And I most certainly wouldn't have thought of giving it as a present.

or the puzzle ring Sarah got Maria
I don't think I can give you rings, dear.

As for clothing, again I suppose I'm not averse to coolness
Nah, fair nuff. I should have thought of that as a possibility, especially since it's easy enough to put just about any image on clothes. Hm.

I'm sure it is against all kinds of rules of etiquette to discuss with the intended recipient what presents I should buy that person. *shrug*

Of dilemmas over present-giving

[lethargic-man.livejournal.com]

If I had seen that little birdie in a shop, I would almost certainly not have paused long enough to register that it's cool.

As I might have mentioned, the only reason I did was because I recalled my father describing nodding birds to me a decade earlier.

I'm sure it is against all kinds of rules of etiquette to discuss with the intended recipient what presents I should buy that person. *shrug*

Depends if it's a surprise present. "Is there anything in particular you'd like for your birthday/Chanukah/etc?" has a venerable history.