Love In A Stub

delayed posting from December 26, 2006, 12:34 PM

The one thing more agonizing and LESS "fun" than the actual Christmas shopping experience is the PLANNING. Being the obsessive-compulsive freak that I am, I usually make sure that my Christmas (grown-up and kids alike) list is done WAY ahead of time, i.e. approximately two months before Christmas. Once the very first Christmas carol starts blaring in the radios or shopping malls' PA system, I almost in-sync start "making my list and checking it twice"...just to beat MY own deadline. There's always categorization, of course--Family, "Spouse" (assuming, that is, that I am attached at the moment), Close Friends (which usually covers my college pals, the Astrokids, Sheila, Chrissie, Maita, Earl, Patrick and Serp), Officemates (which I further subdivide into close colleagues and those who I have a purely professional relationship with, Tenants/Roommates, Business Contacts (those I do "rakets" with), and "Generic" Friends and Acquaintances. These are subdivied into price ranges--sky's the limit (usually reserved for Spouse if the Spouse had been REALLY good), pricey, 200-500 range, "vaue for money" (those packs that can be given away to big groups of "homogeneous" people), and the tiangge price (usually for the household help, Manongs ang Manangs).

As soon as my list is complete (or at least almost finished), I start doing my bargain-hunting, window-shopping, and Sale-visitations...and often grab an item or two so I could already tick off someone's name/item from The List. My experience with this, however, is that--despite my OC-ness, I always end up buying something else...or more than what I've planned or budgeted for. Nevertheless, I don't mind a bit...as long as I know that my recipient will love what I have for his/her Christmas gift.

When it comes to what *I* want, however, I can't seem to tell. Like when people make me do those wish-lists or ask me point-blank what I want for a gift...I just feel stumped. I'm not saying that I have everything I want--oh, hell no. If I did, I wouldn't be drooling over point-and-shoot top-of-the-line SLR digital cameras, outrageously priced iPods and other media players, or any makaagaw-pansin messenger/gym/office bags.

Does it have anything to do with one's age? Here, I can't speak for others, but in my case, I can actually say that that seems to be the case. Since I started moving up from one Age Checkbox to another, I've stopped expecting anything (gifts, that is) during special occasions from friends, colleagues or relatives. For birthdays, I'd rather have an intimate dinner or a rowdy pizza merienda with no presents. Yes, it's rather nice receiving, that still applies...but now, there's just simply no expectations. I guess that works out better for me, because the less expectations, the more delighted I get if and when there's actually a present for me!

But since I'm being asked anyway, here's my response: just give me a gift certificate from a department store such as SM or Rustan's, or from The Spa, or even David's Salon. You'd be absolutely certain that your present will be much appreciated and put to real use, as I would've wanted it in the first place.

I am, however, having some serious drooling over that Black and Decker Power Saw...so, howzabout a gift certificate from Ace Hardware? Any takers? Hihihihi ;-)