Belated Xmas Thank Yous & Digital Gift Cards
Posted by Albert Kim | March 16, 2009
Dan Buccaneer
As an awesome boss thing to do, Dan gave his team Amazon gift cards for Christmahanakwanzika. Mid-February, I realized that I had not sent him a proper thank you, along with Matt. (Yes, I know, I should be on VH1’s Tool Academy.) Anisha did the right thing and sent him a thank you gift – females must have a part of the prefrontal cortex that manages prompt thank you card writing.
So, with the help of Ellen, Matt and I have purchased a belated holiday gift for the Buczaczers.
Dan was recently featured at the WOMMA conference as Dan “Buccaneer” instead of Buczaczer. Of course, we never let good jokes die, so the following was ordered for him, from CostumeCraze.com:
Gold Pirate Coins
Toddler Pirate Girl Costume
Jack Sparrow Headband with Hair
Adult Black Swashbuckler Pirate Costume Shirt
Pirate Dog Costume
Deluxe Adult Velvet Pirate Hat
Pirate Pack Earring
I would like Dan to respond with a post filled with pictures, preferably before Halloween 2009. At least the dog, please.
Now, let us discuss my hatred for gifts and gift cards…
If you don’t know me already, I hate getting gifts. Growing up, receiving a gift always meant having to pay someone back in the future, so it was always a faux pas to receive anything. If you walk into any restaurant and see a group of Asians fighting over a dinner bill, that’s why.
Of all gifts, there’s nothing I hate more than gift cards. You give me a gift, I will usually groan aloud and unwillingly accept, as a properly raised Asian. (A model Asian says “no” 3 times before they “concede.”) But if you give me a gift card, I might cut you, with said gift card.
Why? I hate having them in my wallet. My Costanza-sized wallet is chock full of important stuff (transit card, ID cards, credit cards, debit cards, etc). The last thing I need is a gift card that makes me shop at a particular store. ‘Cause you know, I’ll always get to a Linens N Things or Circuit City before they go bankrupt…FAIL!
Of all gift cards, most revered are credit card gift cards, which let you shop wherever credit cards are accepted. Yet, they are still plagued with problems. At this very moment, I have 3 of them in my wallet, with the following amounts:
$22.10
$1.53
$0.52
So one day, I gotta be THAT guy in front of you at Target, asking the cashier to run all 3 of them. Might as well bring my checkbook and travelers checks to complete the transaction!
Now, Dan’s gift is definitely not something to groan about, but Amazon gift cards do have their own pros and cons:
Pro: Amazon has everything and you can usually get up to $25 to get free shipping. Heck, I just bought fruit leathers and instant Indian curry.
Cons: Without a physical presence, you forget about it, just like that online coupon that sits in your inbox, unused. So you gotta spend it ASAP on stuff you normally wouldn’t buy (fruit leathers) or keep reminding yourself before it expires.
Again, I’d like to say publicly to Dan, thank you very much and sorry for the belated thank you. It was a fine choice for a gift.
But if anyone can invent a better, yet still socially acceptable alternative to the dreaded gift card, physical or digital, please let me know. In the interim, if anyone wants to give me a gift, I’d love food or crispy bills of cash. But no dollar coins. They are absolutely useless.
