- 3:45PM PST: A student body leader passes 38 numbers out of a hat. I’m #17.
- 3:58PM PST: 16 people have selected (and occasionally stolen per the rules of the game) cookie cutters, Christmas ornaments, barbecue sauce, lamps, etc, etc.
- 3:59PM PST: I go for the smallest gift. Organic soap called “Kiss My Face.” Regift potential: high.
- 4:10PM PST: Will Winkler, whom students, faculty, and parents refer to by the single letter “X,” steals my soap.
- 4:12PM PST: Given the choice between some awesome known commodity and the unknown, I’ll almost always select the unknown. It’s a sickness. Stepping past a leopard-print umbrella and a Johnny Cash collection, I open up Richard Carlson’s best-seller Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff – and It’s All Small Stuff and finally understand regret. Regift potential: nil.
- 4:30PM PST: There are five gifts left on the table. One of them is mine.
- 4:35PM PST: There are three gifts left on the table. One of them is mine. I begin to worry.
- 4:37PM PST: There are no more takers. Everyone has a gift. Two are left and one is mine.
I blame my colossal TA Katy’s homemade wrapping paper which featured angler fish a little too prominently for the faculty’s tastes, I guess.
Sucks for my colleagues. There was a Utilikey underneath those angler fish. Yeah. That’s right. A little combo pocket knife / screwdriver / bottle opener that collapsed into a key and which could’ve been yours had you only looked past the scary wrapping paper.
There’s a metaphor there, I’m positive, but no way I’m gonna spend my time sniffing it out. ‘Cause that’s small stuff. And I don’t sweat that anymore.
14 Comments
Rich
December 19, 2007 - 6:28 pm -Overall I’m not too big on white elephant gift exchanges…. BUT, about 15 years ago I got a bowling ball that fit my hand/fingers exactly and I’ve kept it ever since.
jose
December 19, 2007 - 7:16 pm -I actually got Jonathan Kozol’s “Letters to a Young Teacher”. Excited much? Yes yes. 1 down off my wish list, 300000000000000000 to go (ha)
dan
December 19, 2007 - 11:09 pm -Well you win. Dunno why I didn’t think of that gift.
Mike C.
December 20, 2007 - 5:28 am -I freakin love the wrapping paper. Let me know if Katy ever starts a wrapping paper company.
Rich
December 20, 2007 - 9:32 am -p.s. This guy, Will Winkler, who goes by “X” — needs a little more explanation. Where did such a unique nickname come from?
Christian Long
December 20, 2007 - 9:57 am -I’m with Mike C. If Katy goes global with her wrapping paper designs, I’m a very tempted buyer-for-life. Might make a nice black market way to fund the blog’s monthly site fees, too.
Greg
December 20, 2007 - 10:54 am -Dan,
Too bad we couldn’t merge your class with my campus this week…
I have a hat I would have traded with you for the leopard print umbrella.
You can check it out in the last pix on today’s post at
http://www.farbucks.typepad.com/
Greg
dan
December 20, 2007 - 12:01 pm -Well I passed all your compliments along to Katy, who’s now strutting about like she owns the place. Thanks a lot.
Cliff & Carole
December 20, 2007 - 4:00 pm -the odd couple of ukiah told us of this odd blog > checked it out > creative reading…like emanating from near santa cruz or santa claus. have a merry…!
dan
December 20, 2007 - 4:12 pm -Hey guys, thanks for dropping by. Glad you’re keeping an eye on my folks.
Miss Profe
December 24, 2007 - 6:19 am -Actually, Dan, that soap is great for the skin. Olive oil has many healing properties.
Just in case you’re still contemplating it’s re-gifting potential, you may want to re-consider and keep it for yourself.
Ryan McRae
December 24, 2007 - 1:27 pm -Man, you got SCR-REWED on that one. Here’s what I do to get what I want in a White Elephant Exchange REGARDLESS of what number I draw.
1. Get a partner. Preferably of the opposite sex and say share what you want.
2. Usually in these there is a “trade maximum” so i I want A, and she wants B, and it’s my turn, I’ll take B (if she doesn’t have it.), then she will (on her turn) take B, and I’ll take A. If anyone messes with us, we’ll just take the other person’s preferred gift. One of us, if not both winds up with one thing we want. I need to make a video about it. It would get a million hits.
Miss Profe
December 25, 2007 - 4:32 am -Um…sorry, Dan. I didn’t read the part where your colleague, “X”, stole the soap. My bad.
On another related topic: Is there some sort of wacked-out subliminal message here re: white elephant gifting? How are we benefitting? How are we becoming “better” as a result?
dan
December 26, 2007 - 7:33 am -This wacky holiday and its wackier gift-giving traditions are beyond my explanation, I’m afraid, particularly w/r/t the question: who benefits more in the exchange, the gift-giver or the gift-receiver?
Wacky holiday.