I Rock The Party

Made her cry again...

It was Smitten's birthday. I had gotten her two very funky picture holders (no pictures at this time) - heavy glass ones. Inside the holders I put pictures of the two of us, as well as a picture of me in the superman underwear. I put a slip of paper into one of the blank spots on both with the words "For Memories Yet To Be Made" in a fancy script font.

[history]
Her husband had rarely remembered her birthday, and often asked her what she wanted and then just went and bought it. Sometimes she would just say "Forget it." The presents were not wrapped either.
[/history]

On my birthday Smitten had wrapped one of my presents with the lid and present wrapped separately so you just have to remove the lid. She was little embarrassed about that and said "I always wanted a present wrapped like they did in old movies - it was so cool."

Being the attentive guy I am I decided to:




I picked the stuff and wrapped it myself. Well, daughter helped me find the bows at the craft store and gave suggestions - but I did go with my own choice. She offered opinions on some of the combinations I considered and discarded.

I got help from the ladies at the office - they were all wowed that I would even do that much (being a man and all...) and said they would wrap it for me (as I told them I had little idea of the mechanics of such a wrapping job). I declined their kind offer, because I wanted to learn to wrap presents well. I discovered one lady previously worked in a jewelry store and knew all the secrets. I wanted the effort and "design" to be my mine. That is part of the gift.

The thing that bugged me is that the wrapping paper, bows, and box ended up costing more than the two glass picture holders (mega sale). I was (am) little cranky about "woman culture" that demands fancy-assed wrapping and therefore sees wrapping stuff and cards being so expensive because they know people will pay that much... The ladies in the office told me I should go to the dollar store to buy paper and bows. Then they looked at the quality of the paper and such and said that while I might have saved some money the stuff I bought from the craft store is way nicer.

I consigned myself to the thought that the box is a photo box (part of the theme) and can be kept and used for photos. I still have more of the paper left. I also consoled myself noting that I chintzed on the card.

Also - I would think nothing of dropping an extra 5 or 10 bucks on dinner, so why not on paper and bows?

But it still bugs me to spend that much. the stbx and I had that argument lots when the kids were going to birthday parties. I would buy a $1.00 gift bag and tell the kids to make the card and then spend the $4.50 I would have spent on the card to top up the gift to a $15.00 nicer gift instead of buying a less nice $10.00 gift and a $5.00 card that only the kid's Mom would read. stbx-Mrs_C was always on my ass about "What are their Mom's going to think? That we're too cheap to buy a card?"

Anyway - it's a thing with me.

But, back to the gift. Smitten and I are going on a trip in early November and I'm footing almost all of the bill. So that's why I went for a lower cost gift. The holders were part of a one day only sale and were $7.00 each - normally $30.00. If you can believe the original price. All things being equal - even if we weren't going on the trip I believe this would have been more than enough gift. It's the thought that counts, I guess.

Last year I didn't wrap the gift - I used the gift itself as the case, so this was a step up from that.

Part of the reason she cried (i think) - or, rather started to - and then controlled herself - is because I had rescued her twice over the previous two days and she was still recovering from the stress she felt. You see, she was applying for this new job on short notice and Smitten doesn't do well on short notice with reports/writing/submissions. She takes a long time to make things perfect.

Writing and spin is part of my job almost every day. Most of the time all we get is a few minutes to come up with lines and responses. Stuff that will be ripped apart in public by an ultra-aggressive set of other guys.

I was able to package up her cover letter in only a couple of hours. It was a thing of beauty. Smitten said "Wow. I sound so good the way you write it." I told her it was because she doesn't give herself enough credit. Then the online application process threw her a few curves - also being an internet/computer guy I was helpful there - and they had some dumbassed questions and stuff in the online application that in essence required you to write a 3 paragraph summary of your resume... so I quick wrote that, too.

She was quite upset by the process - she has pretty exacting standards and doesn't like writing to deadlines. She wants perfection (I can relate to the anxiety - read any of my dinner party preparation blog entries to remember how i get wound up).

We got the application process done by about 8pm - and then Smitten needed to get ready - she had projected being done and ready by 7pm, so that wound her up too - she hates being late and doesn't like it when people are late. This killed her. She was pretty rattled.

When we hit supper at about 8:30pm she was starting to wind down a little. I think the relaxation and emotional release is part of what caught her off guard. Also, I had cleverly put the box into a gym/carry bag so she had no idea of the wrapping job. She assumed I had just put a present inside the bag and not done any wrapping.

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We went to an authentic Thai place in town. Good food.

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I am very pleased with myself. [he says, patting his own back]

In communications this is what we call a pure hit. Conceived, planned, and executed to perfection.

I Rock The Party!



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I am terribly thrilled to have been able to make Smitten happy. I want that so bad. I want to make someone happy. To make someone feel special. To put all the thought and intent into my actions to underline just how important that person is to me.

I want someone who loves me - and whom I can love back.

With all my being.

And I believe I have found that someone.