The (belated) annual gift exchange post
Christmas has passed, and my traditional blog entry on the family's gift exchanges still hasn't been posted. That's because we've all been preoccupied with said gifts.
For those who aren't really interested in personal stuff like this, feel free to skip this entry. :)
As a graduate student, I didn't exactly have a lot to give, but I had a good idea of something everyone wanted:
- For mom, my dad and I both chipped in to get a webcam, so she can video chat with me and other family members long-distance.
- For dad, I got a $25 iTunes card, because I knew there were quite a few songs he was wanting to download.
- For my older sister, I got one of those digital photo keychains.
My sister got me a second Wiimote so that whenever I've got people visiting (my niece and nephew, for instance... or my girlfriend...*hugs*) we can play two-player games.
Despite the fact that I really had no idea what I wanted for Christmas this year, other than one little thing, my parents still managed to give me quite a bit that will be of use for the rest of grad school (and some stuff for play too):
- Zelda: Phantom Hourglass for Nintendo DS. This was the one thing I did know I wanted... and it's very addictive. I'd better play it while I can before the semester starts back up...
- A 2-handset cordless phone with answering machine. This one wasn't such a big thing for me, given how little I talk on the phone, but it's still appreciated... to be honest, my old ones were rather cheap; the sound quality on the answering machine was so bad I could barely even make it out, and the old phone was sometimes barely audible too.
- A new Palm TX- that's the nice one, with MP3 player, Bluetooth and WiFi- with a 2GB memory card to add on. Really nice; I've gotten it syncing with my PowerBook via Bluetooth so I don't even have to plug anything in. That'll be useful for keeping my schedule and notes to myself straight without lugging my laptop around...
- A 160 GB external hard drive, specifically, a Seagate FreeAgent Go. Works wonderfully with Time Machine on my Mac, and it's tiny... only about 4 inches by 5 inches.
- A Roomba Discovery robo-vacuum, because as we discovered while moving into my new apartment, my old one was a complete and utter mess.
So, despite the fact that I had no idea how my own gifts to the family would be received (they all were well liked) and despite the fact that I really had no idea what I myself wanted, it turned out pretty well.