I hate Christmas

[WhimsyTheFae]

SR, have you asked your family what their motivations are? Here on this board, you have painted a bad picture of their motivations as they have purposely ignored your requests and gotten you bad gifts. Is there a chance that they have one of the following opinions:

1. They realize that you want these recreational gifts, but think that the pen is more practical.

2. They realize that you have a list, but want to give you something from their heart, not yours.

3. They forgot...

Find out what their motivation is.

 

[reveal]

Give me nothing and I'll be a happy man.

Send out that e-mail and you'll be jollier than Santa Claus from now on.

 

[Ralts Bloodthorne]

That would be fine by me. I would rather get no gifts than get gifts given that clearly have limited thought behind them. I would rather not have to feign happiness that I got a doorstop hedgehog thing that got given away the next day. Give me nothing and I'll be a happy man.

Wow. Just wow.

I imagine your family would just be astounded by your display of humanity, caring, and thoughtfullness behind this statement.

I'm sure they'd be ecstatic to make you happy.

 

[Crothian]

That would be fine by me. I would rather get no gifts than get gifts given that clearly have limited thought behind them. I would rather not have to feign happiness that I got a doorstop hedgehog thing that got given away the next day. Give me nothing and I'll be a happy man.

THen do this. Save your family the trouble, save yourself the headache, and then you can quit complaining about it to strangers who think you are rude.

 

[Ralts Bloodthorne]

Yeah, yeah. Children are starving in Africa. I feel bad about it. I've even lived with it (lived in Africa for nine years and did what I could).

I call BS. Living there and working there for 9 years would make you a bit more appreciative of things. Either you were in the elitist brigade, or you are yanking our chain.

But the blunt fact of the matter is that has no bearing whatsoever on the gift-giving proclivities of my family.

It's called:

Be grateful for what you have, there are those that have nothing.

 

[billd91]

You see, the thing is, I have told them that this is unlikely to work for me. I am very specific in my tastes. I know this, and I make sure to tell people who are intent on getting me gifts this fact. I suggest that they stick to the list. But they ignore me. The only thing I can suppose that they think that that I can't possibly not like Attack of the Clones if I like Empire Strikes Back. Or that I have to like Tommy Boy because I like movies.

At this point, I would have to say you need to lighten up. Maybe you should be asking why your family ignores your wishes. Did they deliberately tune you out?

 

[Storm Raven]

Or maybe they really like The Waterboy, and hoped you might pull the stick out and get a laugh out of it too?

You see, I picked The Waterboy because it was an actual gift I received. I had previously explicitly told the giver (who is an Adam Sandler fan) that I hate Adam Sandler. I don't find him funny. I didn't find him funny in Saturday Night Live, and didn't find him funny in any of the snippets of his movies that I have seen. This explanation came in other context (when we are deciding what movies to watch when we get together, he always suggests some Adam Sandler movie, and I point out, again, that I don't like Adam Sandler and never did). But yet, they give me this as a gift. How would someone putting any amount of thought into the gift every think that giving this to me would be something I would want?

 

[reveal]

You see, I picked The Waterboy because it was an actual gift I received. I had previously explicitly told the giver (who is an Adam Sandler fan) that I hate Adam Sandler. I don't find him funny. I didn't find him funny in Saturday Night Live, and didn't find him funny in any of the snippets of his movies that I have seen. This explanation came in other context (when we are deciding what movies to watch when we get together, he always suggests some Adam Sandler movie, and I point out, again, that I don't like Adam Sandler and never did). But yet, they give me this as a gift. How would someone putting any amount of thought into the gift every think that giving this to me would be something I would want?

A) They didn't remember or B) they think of you as much as we do.

 

[Storm Raven]

I call BS. Living there and working there for 9 years would make you a bit more appreciative of things.

Two years in Tanzania, two years in Zaire (when Mobutu was still alive), three years in Nigeria (two coups during my time there, both bloodless), and two years in Togo (one attempted coup, not bloodless). The fact that there are destitute people out there has no bearing on what my family members can afford, or what kind of lifestyle we lead.

 

[PowerWordDumb]

You see, I picked The Waterboy because it was an actual gift I received. I had previously explicitly told the giver (who is an Adam Sandler fan) that I hate Adam Sandler. I don't find him funny. I didn't find him funny in Saturday Night Live, and didn't find him funny in any of the snippets of his movies that I have seen. This explanation came in other context (when we are deciding what movies to watch when we get together, he always suggests some Adam Sandler movie, and I point out, again, that I don't like Adam Sandler and never did). But yet, they give me this as a gift. How would someone putting any amount of thought into the gift every think that giving this to me would be something I would want?

Because they find The Waterboy the funniest of Adan Sandler's movies and though it would be just the thing to turn you on to something you might like and would not otherwise try given your rigid and unbending approach to life, and thus a good time they could share with you?

No, must have been unthoughtful and chosen to offend, my bad.