Christine
DIS Legend
- Joined
- Aug 31, 1999
- Messages
- 32,707
This was said by my DH last night. 
He said that I'm "pretty good at giving gifts but bad at getting them."
Naturally, I'm a little ticked off. Here is the story from the gory beginning!
Many, many years ago, DH asked me what I wanted for Christmas. I told him that I would like a nice watch. I didn't care if it was silver or gold-toned but I wanted it to have a large face (this was the early-90s). I told him that I hated those watches where they hardly had any numbers on them and you couldn't tell if it was 1 o'clock or 2 o'clock.
So he goes to the only store he will shop at (the base exchange) and buys be a watch. When I open it up at Christmas, it is a man's watch. I was so stunned when I saw it that I probaby didn't handle it gracefully and said something like "but this is man's watch!!" He got mad at me and told me I was picky. The worst part was that he showed this watch to his stepmother who, I guess didn't have the heart to tell him that it was the wrong choice, and she told him it was "just fine." So, he thinks there is something wrong with me!!
After that, the gifts he gives have been fine--nothing weird, nothing odd--things like robes, shirts, etc.
Now, my birthday was this past Saturday. For Christmas he had gotten me some tea from Teavana. After Christmas he starts asking me about how I boil my water and wouldn't I like a special "water heater" for me tea. I told him "no, I think my teakettle works just fine for boiling water." He goes on to tell me about this device that will heat water to boiling, keep it hot all day, reboil it if you want, yada, yada. I said "nah, I think the teakettle is just fine."
So, on my birthday, I open up this fairly large box to find a Zojurishi Hot Pot or something. It holds about a half gallon of water and you can boil it, etc. I remember when we lived in Japan, all the restaurants had these. Now, Mon-Friday I drink ONE CUP of tea a day at home and, probably 3 cups on the weekends. I don't drink any in the morning at home. This thing holds at least a half gallon of water. When I got the gift I said "oooh, thank you" because it was quite impressive looking. My DH set it up on the counter and I didn't use it for 3 days. Honestly, as I knew, it is JUST TOO MUCH TROUBLE to get some boiling water. I think it would work great in an office setting or in a place were lots of people were needing boiling water all day. I'm sure he paid a lot for it.
Anyway, last night, after he realized that I hadn't used it, he asked me about it. As politely as I could, I told him that I just didn't think I would use it (not to mention that it is a monstrosity on my countertop). He got pissed off and told me what a bad gift receiver I am.
And if that wasn't enough, he is mad at ME about a gift he bought for my son. My son (who is 12) asked for the PC software Flight Simulator. My mom (his grandma) was going to buy it for him and I told her "no." The game is $60.00 and NONE of these games ever run well on my computer for some reason. Since the only one in my house that is computer savvy is me, I knew I would get stuck with trying to get it to work. We also found out that Flight Simulator works best if you have a joystick. It all got to be too much, so I told my parents not to get it. Well, one day DH went bought it for him for Christmas, along with the joy stick. Now, you know, the darned game doesn't work correctly. It freezes up, lags, and just doesn't run. DS is sick of it and won't play it. I've looked at everything on my computer and really can't figure out what the problem is. Of course, we can't return it. Now, DH is "peeved" at me because I won't spend enough time researching why it won't work. He wants me to call the manufacturer, call a computer person, call whoever, and get it to work. And I just don't want to.
Am I really such a horrible person. I think my DH is just a bad gift giver!
He said that I'm "pretty good at giving gifts but bad at getting them."Naturally, I'm a little ticked off. Here is the story from the gory beginning!
Many, many years ago, DH asked me what I wanted for Christmas. I told him that I would like a nice watch. I didn't care if it was silver or gold-toned but I wanted it to have a large face (this was the early-90s). I told him that I hated those watches where they hardly had any numbers on them and you couldn't tell if it was 1 o'clock or 2 o'clock.
So he goes to the only store he will shop at (the base exchange) and buys be a watch. When I open it up at Christmas, it is a man's watch. I was so stunned when I saw it that I probaby didn't handle it gracefully and said something like "but this is man's watch!!" He got mad at me and told me I was picky. The worst part was that he showed this watch to his stepmother who, I guess didn't have the heart to tell him that it was the wrong choice, and she told him it was "just fine." So, he thinks there is something wrong with me!!
After that, the gifts he gives have been fine--nothing weird, nothing odd--things like robes, shirts, etc.
Now, my birthday was this past Saturday. For Christmas he had gotten me some tea from Teavana. After Christmas he starts asking me about how I boil my water and wouldn't I like a special "water heater" for me tea. I told him "no, I think my teakettle works just fine for boiling water." He goes on to tell me about this device that will heat water to boiling, keep it hot all day, reboil it if you want, yada, yada. I said "nah, I think the teakettle is just fine."
So, on my birthday, I open up this fairly large box to find a Zojurishi Hot Pot or something. It holds about a half gallon of water and you can boil it, etc. I remember when we lived in Japan, all the restaurants had these. Now, Mon-Friday I drink ONE CUP of tea a day at home and, probably 3 cups on the weekends. I don't drink any in the morning at home. This thing holds at least a half gallon of water. When I got the gift I said "oooh, thank you" because it was quite impressive looking. My DH set it up on the counter and I didn't use it for 3 days. Honestly, as I knew, it is JUST TOO MUCH TROUBLE to get some boiling water. I think it would work great in an office setting or in a place were lots of people were needing boiling water all day. I'm sure he paid a lot for it.
Anyway, last night, after he realized that I hadn't used it, he asked me about it. As politely as I could, I told him that I just didn't think I would use it (not to mention that it is a monstrosity on my countertop). He got pissed off and told me what a bad gift receiver I am.
And if that wasn't enough, he is mad at ME about a gift he bought for my son. My son (who is 12) asked for the PC software Flight Simulator. My mom (his grandma) was going to buy it for him and I told her "no." The game is $60.00 and NONE of these games ever run well on my computer for some reason. Since the only one in my house that is computer savvy is me, I knew I would get stuck with trying to get it to work. We also found out that Flight Simulator works best if you have a joystick. It all got to be too much, so I told my parents not to get it. Well, one day DH went bought it for him for Christmas, along with the joy stick. Now, you know, the darned game doesn't work correctly. It freezes up, lags, and just doesn't run. DS is sick of it and won't play it. I've looked at everything on my computer and really can't figure out what the problem is. Of course, we can't return it. Now, DH is "peeved" at me because I won't spend enough time researching why it won't work. He wants me to call the manufacturer, call a computer person, call whoever, and get it to work. And I just don't want to.
Am I really such a horrible person. I think my DH is just a bad gift giver!
) and was really excited to give it to you. I would have used it no matter how much trouble it was as I knew it would mean a lot to him. It means a lot more to me that my husband really puts thought into it and may not get it right then for him to just pick up anything for me.
