An online board that I belong to did Secret Santas again this year, and I decided to participate since I actually have become move involved with the board since last Christmas. There was a whopping 115 people participating—including quite a few I didn’t really know—so chances were I’d have to do some “stalking” to do to find [what I hoped] was the perfect gift. (Now, by stalking, I mean researching past posts that person had written, seeing what their interests were, and deciding on a gift.) And on a board that is heavily participated in with subjects of all varieties, this could have been a very lengthy process indeed.
So everyone was excited and counting down the days until the names were drawn! I got someone I didn’t really know, but someone who I had at least heard of and posted semi-frequently! And the stalking began! And as luck would have it, I found a great hint within the first 10 minutes of searching! I kept stalking, however, in the hopes I would find something better, but it never happened—and I thought “Why waste any more time on this when I already have a great gift idea?!”
What was it, you ask? What was the perfect gift? Well, it was pre-Thanksgiving time and there had been a few posts about casseroles—actually, I had started one asking something about the typical green bean casserole…and then due to that thread, someone else started a thread about casseroles in general…to which my person had replied, simply:
Yum! Not only do I like eating them, I like making them.
And from that simple comment, it was off to Amazon! As I tried to decide which of the numerous casserole cookbooks to purchase, it turned out my additional stalking had come in handy—from his comments on Riedel wine glasses, new granite countertops, and a recent visit to a trendy and expensive restaurant, I gathered he had a sense of refinement about him…so I went with the Cook’s Illustrated cookbook Cover & Bake (which I then proceeded to put on my own wishlist!) and a 4-qt Pyrex casserole dish!!
We’re not supposed to open our gifts until December 22, but apparently he has about as much willpower as I do sometimes, and he already opened them and emailed me to thank me—and tell me I did an excellent job stalking!!
Phew!
Now I just have to wait to receive my gift….and wonder what my Secret Santa is learning about me from stalking!
I see you were able to resolve the date format issue in your posts. If you have a chance, could you please eMail me the solution? If I change it in the regional settings, it messes up other things. I’d like the dates to read:
Monday, December 23, 2006
Or, something like that! 🙂