Shakespeare himself could not have crafted the irony any better: the camera shop employee gets two disposable cameras and a graduation-themed frame! Ha ha ha! Sarah told me she's going to use them just 'cuz she has them now. You go girl, but that's akin to telling a pastry chef rolling out cookie dough to use the bottom of a pail instead.
Here we are on the penultimate day of the Great White Elephant Gift Exchange. Tomorrow is the final day when my gift from Sarah is unveiled. There will be no spoiler alert, but I can confidently say that I really like what I got. It's no sack of loot, though.
Part II: The Blog is Ending
Over the last month, I've had a number of people ask me what I'll do when the gift exchange is over. I will now have around an hour and a half every day built back into my schedule, so I'm looking forward to filling that time with re-finding my life's purpose, making long-term plans now that we've breezed by the Rapture and Apocalypse, and trying different kinds of cheese on an assortment of crackers.
I've also been asked if there's a favorite gift that has passed through my hands. Here are my favorite five:
1) Emergency Oxygen Drop-down Mask and Seatbelt Demo
2) Giant Chicken Wing Hat
3) Ceramic Cheetah Head
4) Indoor Kite
5) White Trash Rubber Chicken
Honorable Mention: Ugly Sweater T-shirt, Disco Queen Fish Ornament, Decorative Box Full of Pennies
A number of people asked me if I am going to continue it. NO! While a year of passing along white elephant (and other) gifts has been scintillating, there are new presents to wrap, new bows to tie. Think about it for a minute: If I did this for another, say, seven months, what would be the point of a 19-month project? It doesn't have a certain finality or roundness to it.
If I did the project for 10 years, then it would just be my 'thing'. Imagine that: I walk into a place and, under their breath, people mumble and grumble, "Oh, here comes that gift exchange guy. Keep looking down until he passes." And my obit would read something like this: "Devoted white elephant gift exchanger...died alone."
I leave you with good tidings and happy thoughts for 2012. I'll see you for one more day tomorrow.
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| She'd really want to comb Burt's stache |
-Profession: Artist
-Favorite failed New Year's resolution: Being a more patient driver
-If you had a crush on a guy named Art, what might you do for him to let him know you were interested?: I'd introduce him to the wonderful world of bourbon and take him to hear some good blues music.
-You have a distant relation to Burt Reynolds. What burning, unanswered question would you ask upon meeting him?: At what age did he discover the mustache.
-What activity would he be doing at your family reunion?: We would be playing cornhole.
-Take a photographic term and turn it into a colloquial expression: "Slow down your shutter speed" would be for people who are too impatient.
