by syaffolee

Despite the saying “It’s the thought that counts,” people are materialistic and like actually getting something tangible. Anyone who says otherwise are lying and deluding themselves.

I usually don’t have a problem with this. Most of the time I’m buying gifts for friends or family and I know what they would like to get. It’s not a guessing game. I would just go to the store with the item, buy it, wrap it up, and stick some sort of card on the package. Voila. I’m done.

It gets quite sticky with people I don’t know so well. Usually a card might work or simply a heartfelt, “Happy Birthday”, but it gets quite frustrating when they give me a gift first. It doesn’t matter what the gift is, because the whole entire situation turns into a bizarre example of a zero sum game where the rewards are respectability and “being nice” instead of money. In order to keep up, the next time there’s a special day, I feel obligated to get them a gift too. And I end up completely flustered because I don’t know what they want from me and I just want to break down and plead “insanity” to get out of a game which I didn’t want to play in the first place.

There are a few things I can conclude from this. I’m making things more complicated than they should be. I’m inept at reading other people’s intentions. Or people are being delibrately obfuscating. If it’s the very latter, I’d just wish they’d stop waffling with social niceties and come out and tell me what’s really on their mind.

On another note:
I finally have my photos up. These pictures taken at a cozy bed and breakfast place secluded in the lakes region inspired the setting for my writing project earlier this month.