Presents rant
This one has been simmering since December. Now that I'm incapacitated with sickness at home, I might as well let it all out. It might be cathartic...
Since I was young(er), I've had a growing hate-on for holidays that are linked to gift giving. Birthdays, Christmas, Valentines, etc, etc. This is mostly linked to the obligation one feels to give presents to others--as opposed to the genuine desire to give someone you care about a gift.
In the obligation scenario, you MUST give ANYTHING to someone do demonstrate that you don't dislike them. This often leads to pre-holiday panic as you search for something to get them and end up grabbing something random that they may like/hate, wrapping it up and then acting like you really had them in mind when you picked it up. What does this lead to?
Waste: your money, they forget about it/chuck it/re-gift it.
Tension: "Gee thanks... you shouldn't have."
Continued obligation: "Guess we should do this again this year"
And the cycle continues. I haven't even touched on the gift obligation you may feel when someone gives you something at Christmas when you had no intention of getting them anything:
"Oh yeah, wow, thanks... yours isn't here yet... but it'll be awesome... you'll love it..." Sweet Jeebuz.
But, I don't hate gift giving all together. I just argue that it should be natural and not restricted to any specific time of year. You see something someone you like would appreciate and you get it. Sure, you can wait until a special occasion to give it to them... or why not give it to them right now? Wouldn't that be awesome! Plus, there's no sense of reciprocity obligation because there isn't some social convention like Christmas bearing down on you with the whole give/receive dichotomy. It gets me excited just thinking about it.
Of course, it's easier said than done. Fortunately, Natalie and I are on the same page when it comes to the whole Valentine's Day sham, but it's a delicate process telling friends and family that Santa isn't coming this year. We have cut down on the gift giving in my family by instituting a gift exchange for Christmas. And we're doing more "sure, how about I get this for you now and we don't have to worry about a birthday present." I love it!
Example: Arone had my name for Christmas this year and for a low cost-high value gift specially tailored to me, he nabbed an original Knights of the Old Republic movie/game poster signed by Executive Producer Greg Zeschuk, Producer Casey Hudson, Art Director Derek Watts, and Senior Writer Drew Karpyshyn. For my birthday, mom and dad paid to have it mounted.
And now it has become a main feature of our green room. Behold!
OK, I admit, this present and that rant aren't that closely related... but, I do want to summarize that I'm against giving just because you feel obligated. Give someone a gift because you know they'd love it... and it doesn't have to be an object. It can be as inexpensive as a signature from they guy down the hall or as intangible as a donation to the food bank. So, if you don't give me a present at a designated period, I really don't mind... but I also don't mind receiving something at random because you thought I'd like it. And don't worry, I won't feel obligated to get you something back.
Rant off... I feel kinda faint... I should lie down.
