SlickTony
Literotica Guru
- Joined
- May 25, 2002
- Posts
- 6,344
Every year my company gives a party, and at that time there is a gift exchange. Sometimes it's the Chinese system--you bring a gift, everybody draws a number, and they either get that gift or they get to take it from someone else. (In my Sunday school class Christmas social, the gift is always an ornament, and the cuter ornaments get taken from someone else so ferociously that we had to institute a rule, that after a gift has been taken from someone else 3 times, it's retired and the 3rd person gets to keep it). But I digress.
This year, the management decided to use the Secret Santa system, and so our HR person went about with a little basket with slips with everybody's name in it.
When the party happened, I didn't get my Secret Santa gift, because my Secret Santa had not come to the party. Well, I figured that I'd get it the next day. So on Monday, our HR person told me, "Your Secret Santa is E***, and he forgot your gift at home, but you'll get it tomorrow." I said OK and started looking forward to what I'd get.
My Secret Santa is someone who's been there for about 2 years, and he and I take the same bus home, so we've had lots of conversations. We're both into music and food; I'm a vocalist, he's a flamenco guitarist; and we're both foodies. We've had lots of free-ranging convos about both subjects, especially food, and all the different cuisines we like and have ventured to cook. We're both familiar with Anthony Bourdain and Andrew Zimmern.
So I thought that even if he didn't wish to spend a whole lot of time thinking up a Christmas gift for me, a no-brainer solution would be something like, oh, an iTunes card or, a gift card from Penzey's, or since his wife works at Whole Foods, something from there. When my sister, who lives in LA, visited me a couple weeks ago, I took her to Native Sun, which is like Whole Foods only not quite as much so, and there I discovered garam masala flavored cashews in their bulk foods section, so I figured Whole Foods would have stuff like that too.
The following day, our HR person brought me my Secret Santa gift form E***, and I eagerly tore off the wrapping to find...a Whitman's Sampler.
Now, I did not ever consider Whitman's to be high-end chocolate, not even when I was a kid and Stover's, Brach's and Whitman's was about all there was. (And in the time since, we've got Godiva! Lindt! Dove! Tobler! And so much more!) However, if one of the redneck pressmen from our other installation on the west side of town had drawn my name and got me that, I'd have been OK with it; I could follow his train of thought: my recipient is a woman, most women like chocolate, check.
But E***, with whom I've discussed how long a hand of ginger will keep in the fridge and the proper way to dry Scotch bonnets and the best place to buy star anise and jasmine rice? I did expect something a little...different. It wouldn't have had to exceed the budgetary constraints specified by the company. You can get lots of nice things for $10 or less. Honestly, I'd have rather had a Godiva box with only six pieces in it than...Whitman's. I've never had Whitman's candy that didn't taste...well, less than fresh. And did I mention that there was a cherry cordial, but it leaked onto the cover sheet?
Well, the nice thing about a Secret Santa system is that I don't have to thank the fellow for it. But I am very disappointed. I don't feel so much angry at him as...well, abashed. I realize that I might not be as interesting to every guy I know as I think I am, but it's like every single thing I've said to him or around him just went in one ear and out the other. I've hardly been able to talk to him since.
This year, the management decided to use the Secret Santa system, and so our HR person went about with a little basket with slips with everybody's name in it.
When the party happened, I didn't get my Secret Santa gift, because my Secret Santa had not come to the party. Well, I figured that I'd get it the next day. So on Monday, our HR person told me, "Your Secret Santa is E***, and he forgot your gift at home, but you'll get it tomorrow." I said OK and started looking forward to what I'd get.
My Secret Santa is someone who's been there for about 2 years, and he and I take the same bus home, so we've had lots of conversations. We're both into music and food; I'm a vocalist, he's a flamenco guitarist; and we're both foodies. We've had lots of free-ranging convos about both subjects, especially food, and all the different cuisines we like and have ventured to cook. We're both familiar with Anthony Bourdain and Andrew Zimmern.
So I thought that even if he didn't wish to spend a whole lot of time thinking up a Christmas gift for me, a no-brainer solution would be something like, oh, an iTunes card or, a gift card from Penzey's, or since his wife works at Whole Foods, something from there. When my sister, who lives in LA, visited me a couple weeks ago, I took her to Native Sun, which is like Whole Foods only not quite as much so, and there I discovered garam masala flavored cashews in their bulk foods section, so I figured Whole Foods would have stuff like that too.
The following day, our HR person brought me my Secret Santa gift form E***, and I eagerly tore off the wrapping to find...a Whitman's Sampler.
Now, I did not ever consider Whitman's to be high-end chocolate, not even when I was a kid and Stover's, Brach's and Whitman's was about all there was. (And in the time since, we've got Godiva! Lindt! Dove! Tobler! And so much more!) However, if one of the redneck pressmen from our other installation on the west side of town had drawn my name and got me that, I'd have been OK with it; I could follow his train of thought: my recipient is a woman, most women like chocolate, check.
But E***, with whom I've discussed how long a hand of ginger will keep in the fridge and the proper way to dry Scotch bonnets and the best place to buy star anise and jasmine rice? I did expect something a little...different. It wouldn't have had to exceed the budgetary constraints specified by the company. You can get lots of nice things for $10 or less. Honestly, I'd have rather had a Godiva box with only six pieces in it than...Whitman's. I've never had Whitman's candy that didn't taste...well, less than fresh. And did I mention that there was a cherry cordial, but it leaked onto the cover sheet?
Well, the nice thing about a Secret Santa system is that I don't have to thank the fellow for it. But I am very disappointed. I don't feel so much angry at him as...well, abashed. I realize that I might not be as interesting to every guy I know as I think I am, but it's like every single thing I've said to him or around him just went in one ear and out the other. I've hardly been able to talk to him since.