But, like any journey to greatness, I recently stumbled on the road to gifting success. Sure the idea was there, it just didn't pan out. And anyone that tells you "it's the thought that counts" is full of crap and they probably haven't received an awesome gift in their lifetime. Sure, saying that is a nice gesture to someone that tried, but I know what you're really thinking in that head of yours.
So what was this setback? While shopping for my buddy Bop (congrats on the mention two days in a row), I decided it would be fun to get her a fish. Why? You see, last year when Bop went on a 10-or-so day vacation to France, her team - including me - decided she needed a nice, bright welcome on her first day back. After much thought, we came to the obvious conclusion that her cubicle, and every single thing inside of it, should be wrapped in aluminum foil. The process and aftermath could - and should - be a blog in and of itself. But I'll just leave you with this and get on with things:
In the midst of wrapping everything in site in foil, we had the genius idea to make Bop think that we had also wrapped her fish in foil. No betas were harmed during this prank, however, so we actually transferred the fish to a coworker's vacant fish bowl and molded some foil in the shape of a fish and plopped it in her own little bowl. Don't be jealous of the cleverness. (Unfort, I don't have photo documentation of this. Use your imaginations, please.)
I'll admit it was pretty rude of us, but we never got around to returning the fish to its rightful owner. So it was kind of involuntarily adopted. (Sorry, Ben.) Enter the awesomeness of buying Bop a new fish for Christmas.
Not only did I want to buy her a new finned friend, I wanted her new buddy to have a fetch home. (I just said fetch!) So I searched and searched the world wide web for a bowl that would fit Bop's personality. Finally. A match was made.
I wrapped it. Gave it to her with the addendum that we would soon visit the pet store so she could pick out her very own fish to live in this office within an office. So we finally find the time to use a lunch hour to pick out a fish, and Lionel Fishy is born to Bop. Done deal? Nope.
After taking the new bowl out of the packaging, Bop noticed it was cracked along one side and across the bottom. I called customer service and was told this product was currently out of stock. (I have since learned it's back in stock ... but is it now a moot point?) I wasn't going to give up. I purchased some epoxy in hopes that I could seal the crack. Suffering through a skunk-like stench, I made many attempts to make the bowl leak free and Lionel friendly. But after about the tenth try, I realized my efforts weren't good enough. So Lionel would have to live in his tiny quarters until another solution was reached.
Two months later, on my birthday vacation day off, I receive an email from Bop ... mourning the loss of a friend. Lionel died. I mean really? I have GOT to be the worst gifter ever. One slip and my reputation has been tarnished. I only hope I can regain position as an awesome gifter. Her next birthday is going to be a doozy!
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