Random Ramblings

As you all know, I'm Jewish. Despite that, I've been celebrating Christmas Day with Ian's family for the last eight or nine years, and consequently, I've been exposed to the flurry of Christmas present giving and receiving. Even if I don't exchange presents with my own family, Ian's family buys me presents and it's only fair that I reciprocate. Yesterday, in fact, I had a $2 gift exchange (in which everyone, I think, spent more than $2) with Ian, Kristin, and Marc. Add to that the presents circulating by Ian's father, sister, and cousins, and there were quite a large number of presents under the tree.

I just wasn't into it.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to be a Scrooge. If other people like giving and receiving presents, more power to them. But for me, there isn't actually all that much that I want, in terms of physical objects. And the stuff I do want is either too expensive for me to reasonably request it as a gift (eg: scanner, new ipod, etc.) or personalized enough that I'd want to be at the store when it was purchased (eg: clothing). And while I'm grateful for the thought and time and money that people put into getting my presents, I really have no need for a Jelly Belly dispenser in the shape of a gumball machine or a four-set of crystal tea-light holders or a glass flower. And I'm sure most of the gifts that other people received yesterday fall into the same category of, "Oh... how nice."

I'm not sure what I'm going to do about this for next year. Maybe I'll let people know I'd prefer services, like cooking classes or a massage. Or maybe that I don't want gifts at all. I don't know.

Anyone else in this situation?

Okay, so I've been a bit behind in the updates. I blame this on, first, being extraordinarily tired, and second, on actually having lots of people to spend time with and thus little time for the computer. (Though still enough that Marc can make jokes about the internet being my crack.)

So, backtracking a little, here's a recap:

( Toronto Day 3 (Saturday): Shoes, Tea, and Good Food )

( Toronto Day 4 (Sunday): 'Montreal' Breakfast, I Kill It and Take Its Treasure )

( Toronto Day 5 (Monday): New Acquisitions, The Drive Home )

And that, dear readers, was my time in Toronto. I'm glad I got a chance to do so much, though I could have done without the obnoxiousness of the drive back. But now I'm home, with practically nothing on my schedule other than Tuesday afternoon sessions at Dawson, a dentist appointment, and a bunch of holiday parties. That's it for now!