Storm Raven
First Post
Well, bad Christmas gifts anyway.
Here's how it is - for the last several years I have gotten bad Christmas gifts from most of my family except my wife, who usually does a good job at getting me what I want, since she listens when I give suggestions. The rest of my family and her family appear to have potatos in their ears on this subject. I generally get crap I don't want, won't use, and will likely never use. I have tried increasingly blunt hints over the last couple yeas, starting with subtle suggestions, to directly stating what I want, to, in the past couple of years, giving my wife a specific list and saying "tell people to get me something on this list". Last year, I thought this problem had been solved. I got gift certificates to places like Best Buy. I know that Best Buy isn't the best place to get something, but at least I was able to get a couple DVDs that I actually wanted, as opposed to the year my sister-in-law decided to get me the pan and scan version of Christmas Vacation (which would be about number 978 on my priority list of movies to own on DVD, at least partially because I don't find Chevy Chase to be funny).
So, we are getting into the swing of Christmas this year and what shows up on my doorstep? A package from the "Fountainpen Hospital" containing a pen catalogue and a wrapped package shaped exactly like a pen box for a fancy pen. The card identifies the item as coming from my parents. Knowing what it is, I go ahead and open the wrapped package and yes, it is a pen. A very expensive pen. Here's the rub: I do not want, will never want, and will not use an expensive pen. I lose pens. I keep at least a hundred pens on hand at home because of this. Five years ago, my parents got me a pen set of two expensive pens: one broke, and I lost the other, both within three months. Giving me a pen worth more than $2.00 is just throwing money away. Of course, since they ordered it from an online retailer and paid by credit card, the only way to return the pen is to send it back and have the retailer credit their credit card, so the only way I can return this item is to tell them I am returning it. And to make this doubly annoying, my wife already explicitly told them to get me a gift certificate just like they did last year.
So, because no one ever seems to get my hints, or understand what I am saying, I have decided to get this information out to my family, either by e-mail, or just by me (or my wife) telling them:
I'm not sure if I can be more clear than this. Even with this, I anticipate that I will get a copy of The Chronicles of Riddick, or Fletch or a tie instead.
(For anyone who cares, here is the website for the Fountainpen Hospital - http://www.fountainpenhospital.com/).
Here's how it is - for the last several years I have gotten bad Christmas gifts from most of my family except my wife, who usually does a good job at getting me what I want, since she listens when I give suggestions. The rest of my family and her family appear to have potatos in their ears on this subject. I generally get crap I don't want, won't use, and will likely never use. I have tried increasingly blunt hints over the last couple yeas, starting with subtle suggestions, to directly stating what I want, to, in the past couple of years, giving my wife a specific list and saying "tell people to get me something on this list". Last year, I thought this problem had been solved. I got gift certificates to places like Best Buy. I know that Best Buy isn't the best place to get something, but at least I was able to get a couple DVDs that I actually wanted, as opposed to the year my sister-in-law decided to get me the pan and scan version of Christmas Vacation (which would be about number 978 on my priority list of movies to own on DVD, at least partially because I don't find Chevy Chase to be funny).
So, we are getting into the swing of Christmas this year and what shows up on my doorstep? A package from the "Fountainpen Hospital" containing a pen catalogue and a wrapped package shaped exactly like a pen box for a fancy pen. The card identifies the item as coming from my parents. Knowing what it is, I go ahead and open the wrapped package and yes, it is a pen. A very expensive pen. Here's the rub: I do not want, will never want, and will not use an expensive pen. I lose pens. I keep at least a hundred pens on hand at home because of this. Five years ago, my parents got me a pen set of two expensive pens: one broke, and I lost the other, both within three months. Giving me a pen worth more than $2.00 is just throwing money away. Of course, since they ordered it from an online retailer and paid by credit card, the only way to return the pen is to send it back and have the retailer credit their credit card, so the only way I can return this item is to tell them I am returning it. And to make this doubly annoying, my wife already explicitly told them to get me a gift certificate just like they did last year.
So, because no one ever seems to get my hints, or understand what I am saying, I have decided to get this information out to my family, either by e-mail, or just by me (or my wife) telling them:
I'm not sure if I can be more clear than this. Even with this, I anticipate that I will get a copy of The Chronicles of Riddick, or Fletch or a tie instead.
(For anyone who cares, here is the website for the Fountainpen Hospital - http://www.fountainpenhospital.com/).
![:]](http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/devious.png "Devious :]")
