VirtuaLife

i hate getting presents. i hate receiving complements. i hate it when people do nice things to me, not because i don’t appreciate it, but because i’m so CRAP at reacting appropriately. i’ve been trying to change, and I think I’m getting better, but i’m still not quite there yet.

To flip the situation on its head, i love giving presents! especially to those people who are really significant to me. i make that demarcation because there’s a big difference in the amount of time i put into getting a present for a person i merely know as opposed to a friend, a companion who has shared many steps and many breaths walking down the same roads in life.

i had to get orangey a present, recently. it was a pretty big thing – her 21st, no less – so i had a decent budget for a present. I wanted to make it special because like the other friends i hold in high esteem, she pretty much poked me into her world (who was the proactive one, here?) and invited me tag along as she pranced about doing her things (which she does quite well!). i didn’t want a ‘normal’ present and experience told me that I’m horrible at estimating clothes sizes, so it came down to cosmetics. uh huh.

it had to be pretty exclusive, because where orangey works she can get her hands on basically anything that comes through a retail channel. it had to be upmarket and desirable with just a hint of celebrity. it needed to be a fresh idea. brilliant! i could now define the essence of what I wanted to get her. Now, if only i knew what shape it would take!!!

fortune found me several days later reading a fashion magazine when I chanced across something that fit the description perfectly. i checked, double checked, read some reviews, browsed the product on the internet, read more reviews, tried to imagine orangey using it... yes, all seemed good so far. then i drove halfway across brisbane to only one of two local stockists.. to find that they had sold out. aaargh! temporary setback; one week later i was back on course with the pressie.

the sweetest thing? when I gave it to her. I was too shy to get her to open it in front of me, but the reaction I got over the phone was suitable enough.



just the reaction itself is addictive!!! i’d get her another present right away if she sent me another txt like that!! =D

it’s nice… nice to have your effort appreciated.