December 28, 2011

  • Christmas Rant

    I know the thought is supposed to count and I shouldn't be ungrateful for some the presents I received, but right now I am a bit unhappy from unemployment stress, exhaustion from lack of sleep, and some of that gray-day grumpiness, too. In other words, I'm about to rant about a topic that has been building for years. 

    I really, truly hate it when people get me useless stuff that I cannot use. I mean, buying me things that I'm allergic to? Thanks for trying to kill me. Giving me an item like an audio tape when I don't have a walkman? Um, I can try to find someone who still has one I can borrow. Giving me one oven mitt and my mum the matching tea towel? The least you can do is pay the extra dollar or two at the dollarama to buy one of us a separate set rather than splitting one up to give as two gifts.

    Which kind of leads me to a side tangent of why the heck do companies only make single right handed oven mitts anyways? Who uses just one oven mitt when they are pulling things out of the oven? Are you supposed to let your other hand burn when taking out a muffin tray or cookie sheet? And what about all those left handed people? Are they supposed to wear the mitt upside-down with the less padded side touching the pan and thus more susceptible to being burnt through the mitt? Get some common sense people!

    Back on the topic of my ungratefulness, one of my relatives have a tendency to re-gifting in the most obvious way. She has a "hobby room" in her house where she stores things she doesn't use in every day life or doesn't want, and often I am the recipient of things from that room. A few times she gave me a collector doll that is a bit mangled, making the doll just something that takes up space in my place rather than hers. I have since sold them at a yard sale for a grand total of ten bucks. Also she gives out presents that her students (she's a teacher) have given her over the years, I was once given something that had a little card inside still! She gave me a movie one year that I already had, and so I asked for the receipt to return it. She told me that she didn't have the receipt and to just give it to someone else like she does.  

    Another relative is nearly as bad. She buys things while on her travels that seem to have no consideration involved. This year she bought everyone the exact same thing and not one of us wants it. Mum and I were discussing later just what the heck we could possible do with it other than shove it in the storage room in the basement, but couldn't come up with an answer.  It's not like we can return the things because that means not only offending her -she does get extremely upset about things like that- but it is too far away (other provinces or countries!) and purchased too long ago to be returned. I wonder if she does that on purpose? Also she will buy things in sets where she only likes one or two items and doesn't want the other, so she'll give that part of it as a gift. Both my mum and I have been recipients of these types of gifts, and -like happened to my mum- do you know how it feels to see her wear pretty earrings and necklace that match a the bracelet she gave you even though you do not wear bracelets? It is kinda like being the red-headed step-child, to use stereotypical trope. 

    As I mentioned before, I am often given things that I am allergic to. I mean, these are relatives that I've spent a lot of time with and have on more than one occasion told them that I cannot use or even be around things that are scented, and most of them have witnessed me have bad reactions. Nevertheless, I am often the recipient of bath products and candles and perfumes. Candles are easier to give away, but I don't know anyone who uses bath beads and stinky sprays. The good news is that they have at least stopped giving me food product containing peanuts...

    It has gotten to the point where I have a couple of boxes in which I keep things I have been given that I cannot use. When friends come over I let them have a look through it to take anything they may want. I sound like an utterly selfish child, I know, but I would honestly prefer just to be given a hug and a card than a gift that seems to have little to no thought behind it. A hug shows they care about me, while things that are obviously junk makes me feel like I'm a dump site. 

    SUMR