Was having a chat with my sister earlier in the week about birthday presents. She said she was sending quality, not quantity. And you know, this is a philosophy I agree with. I’m at the point where I have a well-paid job and if there’s something I want, I can just go and buy it (well, up to a point). Obviously I’m lucky in this regard, and it may not always be like this once I get a mortgage, but that’s how it is right now.
Price is always a factor in buying presents, of course. But perhaps the best gift is something the recipient will not only like, but also that they either haven’t thought of, or is not easily obtainable by them.
My sister certainly kicked goals in gift-buying department: a book about the London Underground (which at first glance appears to be in a similar spirit to the excellent Seven Wonders of the Industrial World) and a Tintin 75th anniversary t-shirt. Thoroughly excellent.
Apart from that, my work colleagues presented a chocolate cake and snacks and sung Happy Birthday to me (tradition in our office). Ex-wife gave me a gigantic Haigh’s chocolate frog (which mostly retained its shape despite being in my car for a full day). And my mum and Peter treated me dinner, and gave me the new super-dooper remastered The Kids Are Alright double DVD set (it looks brilliant, the restoration brings new life to the movie and the music) and Bill Bryson’s Short History of Nearly Everything and a big Toblerone.
All in all, not a bad haul. Quality, not quantity.
Except the chocolate. I’ve got scads of that.
3 replies on “The haul”
Bill Bryson kicks bum. I read his book on Australia, and it was pretty humerous and I learned a lot of things I didn’t already know. Was called something like…the burned…something. Hahah bad memory. In other news though, I’m moving back to Halifax, Canada for school on Sept. 6 :)
Pleased to hear that you get on with your ex wife. I had some spare time at one point and started reading from the beginning of your blog and read two years worth but did not get to the point where your seperated and how you explained it in your blog. A belated happy birthday, you seem like a nice guy. After a thoroughly miserable night with r/ship probs, your comment elseshere on that suburb near Kew made me smile.
PS, I hope that Pure Cream is extra low fat, non salted, soy, double King Island.
Short History of Nearly Everything is brilliant – it’s a superb introduction to various fields of science and their origins. I got it for my birthday too…