feeling listless

Books As a final word on the subject, long term readers might find the following interesting:

"My other responsibility is to actually buy the presents for the people who graduate. This is the perfect task for me, since I don't know anyone who likes shopping more than I do. I love doing this, and I love picking out things that are appropriate to the person. I had always hated it that people would get these silly things that they'd never use or want - you know, novelty items purchased at the last minute, or paperweights with a piece of green felt slapped on the bottom."

That's from the final pages of Elizabeth Wurtzel's last book More, Now, Again. Here is something I wrote here in November 2001:

"Oddly, I never seem to have difficulty finding things people will like, or that they can use - it’s simply a case of listening and paying attention throughout the year. My mother is plagued by friends who give her presents which she’ll never use and is told that they never know what to get her - which considering how much she talks about life just shows how little some people pay attention to each other. My dad can be more difficult but I still seem to find something. The same goes for everyone else I buy presents for. It sort of annoys me that people would go out and buy somewhat generic presents for one another, making bee-lines for the ‘Perfect for Mom’ or ‘Perfect for Fathers’ sections of apartment stores, the latter always filled with golfing related products."

The difference between a journalist and a weblogger? It was a bit of a shock after reading three hundred pages of drug abuse to find something I could actually relate to. Perhaps LIzzy and I should start a decent present buyers union. And that is all I have to say about that.