02320: Christmas Efficiency


This is the second year in a row that I found myself walking in the rain with bags of Christmas purchases from Fully Booked clutched close to me for fear of letting them them get wet. At least this year I didn't have a paper bag thrown into the mix of things - all of them were plastic and proved to be sufficient defense against the weather. Huzzah for me.

I could have taken an Uber back to the office, but the surge rates were pretty nuts for such a shot distance, plus there were a heck of a lot of people huddled under the limited roof right outside Fully Booked and I oddly did not feel the patience to wait. And so I walked the distance. Again.

But no regrets. Christmas shopping is ultimately a fun exercise at this time off the year as you try to balance budget with intent as you hope to find a suitable gift for everyone of value. And I know I'm not the greatest giver of gifts out there, but I do try to put some effort into my purchases. But at the same time I also want the gift to clearly say "obviously Rocky gave you this thing" which does add a bit of a geeky slant to things.

And I'd like to think I have my family to blame for how seriously we take gift-giving. You have to go big or go home, as it were. And going big doesn't necessarily mean spending a lot. You need gifts that are clever, thoughtful, and perhaps even meaningful.

This year I tried to be a litte efficient by shopping online, but it's oddly difficult for me to figure out what to get when you're limited to shopping cart pages and such. A lot of times my gift-gifting inspiration most happens while walking through the store and so I ended up with multiple purchases from the same retailer. And a lot of times I end up at book stores because (1) books are my deal and (2) there sheer diversity of items does provide one with a lot of options. You're bound to find a book or book-related item that fits almost any interest or passion.

This year was particularly lucrative for Fully Booked, but I also managed to spread out a few other purchases on Lazada and the friendly geek store Abubot. Now I just need to get everything wrapped and ready to go. Huzzah.

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