A Rare Challenge
On Christmas eve about a month ago I found myself in a somewhat unpleasant situation. I knocked off work about 4:30p and set about trying to accomplish my one main task of the holiday season; a gift for my wife. You may think I was a little slack leaving it to the last possible moment, but in my defence I had tried a number of times to come up with a gift idea without success.
Not satisfied with the scale of my predicament I took a little side track to the pawn shop for some therapeutic respite and a look at some pre-loved movies. A token look in the discount goods store later and you start to get a picture of the uninspired, deer-in-the-headlights position I found myself in. To make matters worse, being in Chinatown I knew I had no chance of stumbling across something worthy.
I don't recall the last time I'd felt quite like this. I didn't know what to do. Should I wander around some more, potentially wasting more time and getting home late on Christmas eve? Or should I cut my losses and save myself the anxiety of trying in vain to find a decent gift. Being near 40 years of age I found I had to reach a little deeper than usual to find the courage to at least try despite how I felt. Boy, do I loath shopping or what.
Desperate times called for desperate measures so I found myself calling on one of my least used skills: my instinct. I started by heading to the Mall (shopping street in the city). Walking along the stores I regarded each one briefly, deciding if they were half a chance of yielding the gift I sought. I reached the very centre of the city, half way down the Mall and things are looking grim. I look around and see City Beach (surf wear). I don't know why but I found myself drawn to this store that I rarely find satisfying, and not just because they check your bag for stolen goods on the way out.
Things got off to a bad start when my bag tripped the shoplifting sensor on the way in. The attendant kindly pointed out she would need to check my bag on the way out. Translation: "we're going to assume you're a thief before you even enter the store". Wonderful, but no time to get indignant. A wander through the women’s swimwear and now I can add 'weirdo' to the list of emotions I'm experiencing. And then it happened.
I walked passed the wet-shirts and remembered my wife is in need of a new one. Progress at last! Digging around a little yielded a nice balance of conservative, interesting and feminine. My perseverance has paid off. And my good mood is not dampened by the extensive bag inspection on the way out.
It's funny how when you get older you don't exercise as many of the skills you once did. It's like you find a nice comfy rut and things get less challenging. But those skills are still there to some degree, available for use when you least expect it. I think they call that experience.
Not satisfied with the scale of my predicament I took a little side track to the pawn shop for some therapeutic respite and a look at some pre-loved movies. A token look in the discount goods store later and you start to get a picture of the uninspired, deer-in-the-headlights position I found myself in. To make matters worse, being in Chinatown I knew I had no chance of stumbling across something worthy.
I don't recall the last time I'd felt quite like this. I didn't know what to do. Should I wander around some more, potentially wasting more time and getting home late on Christmas eve? Or should I cut my losses and save myself the anxiety of trying in vain to find a decent gift. Being near 40 years of age I found I had to reach a little deeper than usual to find the courage to at least try despite how I felt. Boy, do I loath shopping or what.
Desperate times called for desperate measures so I found myself calling on one of my least used skills: my instinct. I started by heading to the Mall (shopping street in the city). Walking along the stores I regarded each one briefly, deciding if they were half a chance of yielding the gift I sought. I reached the very centre of the city, half way down the Mall and things are looking grim. I look around and see City Beach (surf wear). I don't know why but I found myself drawn to this store that I rarely find satisfying, and not just because they check your bag for stolen goods on the way out.
Things got off to a bad start when my bag tripped the shoplifting sensor on the way in. The attendant kindly pointed out she would need to check my bag on the way out. Translation: "we're going to assume you're a thief before you even enter the store". Wonderful, but no time to get indignant. A wander through the women’s swimwear and now I can add 'weirdo' to the list of emotions I'm experiencing. And then it happened.
I walked passed the wet-shirts and remembered my wife is in need of a new one. Progress at last! Digging around a little yielded a nice balance of conservative, interesting and feminine. My perseverance has paid off. And my good mood is not dampened by the extensive bag inspection on the way out.
It's funny how when you get older you don't exercise as many of the skills you once did. It's like you find a nice comfy rut and things get less challenging. But those skills are still there to some degree, available for use when you least expect it. I think they call that experience.
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