Birthday Conclusions

Awhile ago I wrote about my Birthday Conundrum.  I was somewhat torn about what to do when my parents and my parents in law both wanted to buy my birthday presents but had no clue what to get me.  I ended up giving a suggestion in one case and outright buying the item and sending a bill in the other case and although it didn't end up being much like a normal birthday I did end up very happy with the things I got.

I ended up downtown on Monday and since the subway was out of commission due to a fire I wandered into The Bay and acquired a watch.  I have needed a watch for something like 4 years now but always found a reason to ignore that and just keep on asking other people to check for me.  I think most folks would get sick of bothering other people at the park for the time but my deep down desire to not acquire extra stuff was more powerful than my embarrassment at not being able to find out the time by myself.  I even managed to find a watch that has the combination of good brand (Timex), good look (Purple!), all the functions I want and only 2 dollars over budget after the taxes.  It arrived 1 month and 3 days after my birthday but it was a very good present, exactly what I needed.  I think most people don't let a short trip to the store stop them from buying things they want for years on end but a 20 minute commute just seems like too damn much.

This is an entirely different beast.  If I had been buying a watch for myself I would have bought the one pictured above, so the fact that it was a present does not change the item.  In this case though I got Civilization V Special Edition, which is not something I would normally get for myself but was kind of cool regardless.  I spent a ridiculous amount of time playing Civilization 1 and all the reviews I had about this newest installment were thumbs up so purchasing it was no question, but the extras you get with the special edition were not my usual style.  That said, the figurines it came with were kind of neat and it has an artwork book and music DVD too.  Those aren't the sorts of things I would generally buy for myself yet I do like them, but I think that is a pretty good thing to get for your birthday.  In fact Civilization V was the reason I didn't get a post up yesterday, as it is just very slightly addictive.  My birthdays sure don't look like normal birthdays and I am not yet convinced that I am handling this in the best way possible but things sure did seem to work out all right.  I suppose I should put away my perfectionist streak and be happy that every day things are working out just fine.