The Chinese shotglass

Being the collector that I am, when my Chinese intern asked me if he could bring me back something from his hometown I had no hesitation in requesting a shot glass. After all, who knew when I would go to China? Though I make it a point to collect shot glasses from locations I have been to, I made an exception in this case. It couldn’t hurt to have one from China, just in case. I forgot all about it over vacation and was pleasantly reminded of it when X called one fine morning and asked if he could stop by and drop it off at my office.

He came in a few minutes later bearing a reasonably large package. I remembered that I had jokingly told him that if he couldn’t find shot glasses, he could just get me a Ming Dynasty tea cup. And when he handed the package to me, I was half-certain that it was a tea set of sorts with miniature cups and saucers. Imagine my surprise then when I opened the package and found this -

Carved “cup” from China.

At first sight it was Alladin-esque and I half rubbed it expecting a genie to pop out. But I was truly touched. It was a big gesture and a memorable relic from China. Something I am sure I’ll cherish in my collection. Sure, it was the size of 6+ shot glasses arranged one on top of the other. But that didn’t take away from the fact that it was still a cup. So what if it was in copper and so what of it out-weighed the rest of the collection? Big thanks to X. :)

  Another view of the carved Chinese “cup”.

No means Yes

Ah, we've read a million forwards about how women think differently from men... everything from how we decode things that aren't coded to how when we say something, we actually mean the exact opposite thing. Quite the confounding species, us women. While I beg to disagree with so many sappy and silly stereotypical characteristics slapped on us, I have to grudgingly agree that a lot of times we say things that sound right but is not necessarily what we want from the bottom of our hearts. I think the most famous examples are when "no" means "yes". Here's a classic example -

Him: Hon, Our anniversary's in a week.. What do you want me to get you?
Her (what she says): Oh never mind, hon. Let's just go out to a quiet, romantic dinner, just us.
Her (what she probably means): I don't want anything extravagant but maybe you'll figure out something small to surprise me.
What he thinks: My wife's the best. Now I don't have to worry about getting her something she'll like. Whoosh!

And so he gets her nothing. Elementary mistake. Of course she's gotten him something to surprise him - a shirt, a cologne... something to say she cared. Yes, she did say she wanted nothing... but that didn't mean that he should have obliged immediately. It's not like he listens to everything else that she tells him anyways. No flowers even? Come on!

Typical scenario. At least most girls are like that. Hidden gestures... hidden thoughts. There are exceptions to this of course and some girls really didn't want anything except the quiet dinner. Those husbands/bfs lucked out. But the men soon learn to read the clues and try to make up for the fiasco. At least with the anniversary, you know you messed up coz she got you something. Good luck with the other occasions, like birthdays and Fridays and all that..

The gift

Getting gifts is always fun... Whether just another trinket or something fabulous... I have always loved getting presents... the more surprise in it, the better. So when my hubby called me yesterday and told me we'd gotten a belated wedding present from his friend, he dropped a subtle hint saying - "This will be a big surprise for you." And my overactive imagination prepared an extensive list of things... But nothing had prepared me for what it really was..

I was waiting for him of course with the wifely instinct blended in with excessive proportions of dying curiosity. And when he placed the package in front of me, my mouth literally dropped open. Getting an SLR camera has been in my plans for ageeeeees... and amongst my hubby n I, I am the more camera-crazy one (and the more behind-the-scenes person). That explained why it would be a BIG surprise for me. Of course, for all that wanting the SLR camera bit, I don't know a thing about using it. But thats something I started figuring out last evening.

Praneeth, I truly wanted to write a glowing blog thanking you for this gift.. but I am soo overwhelmed that this is it for now... And I can thank you more by covering you all play cricket... after all a picture is worth a 1000 words. :)