Posted in Gerard Oosterman
The Christmas Present
December 3, 2013
Each year we face the challenges of Christmas presents. Already featured on the news, amazing tales of spending are spun. ‘Billions in the next few days,’ an announcer declares standing in front of an apartment store. Beads of triumphal materialism are glistening on his face. He mops his brows. His hands gesticulate and give emphasis to his prophesies of enormous spending. This is expected to be seen by the viewer of proof of our wellbeing. Shop till you drop is now going like wildfire, ambulances are heard screaming their way to those that have dropped. Many shoppers are on the streets carrying large bags emblazed by large letters. A man is sitting near the corner holding a sign, ‘I am homeless.’ His head is down.
There is also a war to the death being fought. E-Bay is the Trojan horse that has entered our shopping habits. Apparently many now shop in front of a screen and rarely move outside. Wardrobes are piling out with bargains. Anything under $1000.- is GST or VAT free. A dream come true. And we don’t have to go anywhere! Beauty. It just seems odd to buy clothes and not then go outside to show them around. What is it all about?
Men are buying computers or E-Pods/pads/tablets/routers/ and tweet to the world of their prudent shopping, all on E-Bay. Fishing rods with spinners, even leather jackets and bike helmets. The electronics bought from E-bay can then be used to ferret out even more E-Bay bargains. So it goes on. I wonder what I have done wrong to be totally outside the loupe of the E-Bay world of excitement.
For years now I have often missed out buying cheap things. I just can’t for the life of me think up something that I might like. My E-reader is lost somewhere.After all that concern about my eyes deterioration I still prefer a normal book. The E-book reader was about the last ‘thing’ I bought. I downloaded ‘War and Peace’ just to prove I still had the technical nous.
I don’t wear ties and only use paper handkerchiefs. Who wants to put a used hanky back in one’s pocket? That leaves socks or a meccano set. I bought Norwegian socks that are life long wearing. After 16 years of wear I darned one hole in each sock near the heel, using a hard boiled egg. Afterwards I ate the egg with a little salt.
With the meccano set I lost the Alan Key. I don’t normally skateboard or do twirls on a bicycle which seat has been lowered to the frame. I have become a man without wanting presents. I really would not know what I could still want to buy. I like a hug or a nice compliment, an unexpected kiss, a pat or stroke. Who doesn’t? I get all that and more. Why want to shop for an E-Bay gadget or tool. Should I buy a Pierre Cardin suit? I would look silly and self conscious. I am happy in jeans.
A garden for both of us is the ultimate gift and is free. Here is our garden that Helvi has managed to transform from an original bit of wasteland with ugly exposed paling fences. Have a look at it now. How can an E-pad or Louis Vuitton handbag compete with this?
Tags: E-pads, GST, Trojan horse, VAT
Posted in Gerard Oosterman |
Window Dresser's Arms, Pig & Whistle 
“And we don’t have to go anywhere!”
A lot of people can’t go anywhere!
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In the past people living in remote areas of the country could use catalogues to order many things they could not get locally, now those people can use ebay; signs of the times…
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I used to love wrapping up masses of Christmas presents for all and sundry…now it’s money for the grandsons and BOOKS as stocking gifts…they might have their e-readers but I want them to learn to love real books…a good bottle of wine, scented candles, and flowering plants for the rest of them….I could not resist the beautiful pyjamas for the daughter I saw at the markets…so there I go again…
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this is a reply to Viv…sorry……..
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Lovely garden! H has managed to make a tiny space into a Botanic Garden. I sometimes wish that all of these ‘Hallmark Moments’ would disappear, so that we can be nice to one another all year. We have already agreed that St Valentine’s Day is a con, so would rather spend money on Dynamic Lifter which will help generate 1000s of roses. Likewise, fathers’ and mothers’ days are contrived. If you love your parents you do something good for them all year.
I did manage to get something for myself, on line, a Harris Tweed sports coat, on that will outlast me!
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The only thing we have bought on E-bay is some flea tablets for Milo… I have got some fantastic cast-offs from Daughter’s “mistakes’ , an Italian coat, Max Mara for crying out loud, too big for her, and white linen pyjamas, I’m wearing them as day wear…not wasting linen for bed…they came from France…
It was very cheap, she says….I have told her to stop…you have to be so careful, there’s cheap, and there’s Dutchman’s cheap…Aldi.
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And then there is ‘free’. The joy of friendship and camaraderie. A lovely garden and Milo’s eyes following us around the house, especially when cooking is going on.
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Big M, oops, forgot to tell you that I totally agree with you about the Hallmark moments, I too rather spend the five dollars on a bag of good potting mix than on some silly card…
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Yes, you can wrap dynamic lifter very nicely in some glittering paper and a pink ribbon, perhaps a bit of holly taped on with a spray of eau de cologne. (1123), to disguise the l’odeur.
I agree Big M. We should all show some cheer by being civil and nice all year around. You seem to have an admirable knack of that virtue.
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Thanks, GO, but I can be a complete prick, some of the time!
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Nice. Very nice. 🙂
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Tutu, I have a green thumb and brown hands, many things I have grown from cuttings…
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Last year someone had discarded half a smoked ham in the bin outside Woolworth. It had teeth marks on it and flies were buzzing around it. Who would eat half a ham near Woolworth and then chuck half away in a bin? Someone must have been very hungry, I reckon.
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I used to empty garbage bins, on the Manly Corso, on the weekends, when I was a craven youth. We learned to slow down a bit, to allow the vagrants to chow down on UNTOUCHED fish, chicken, chips, burgers, etc. This was back in the day when fast food contained a few nutrients, so the homeless from all over Sydney would converge for a weekend feast, a free (cold) shower, at the Surf Club, then a bit of a perv at the beach! Who says money buys happiness?
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The Mother Theresas of the Manly Corso. I can picture you Big M, atop the truck, scanning the distance for anyone still dipping into a garbage can, telling the driver to slow down a bit showing a bit of discretion, giving enough time for the vagrants to salvage the fish and chips.
Lovely story.
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Good one Gerard – this is what one hears/sees on the tele. I still watch a bit of commercial tele for local news and a bit of the Project and of course SBS has ads. But all this E-Bay stuff can easily get out of hand for some people. Okay for very canny people but I think a trap for others. One of my daughters has a friend or two who she knows buy a lot of stuff on E-Bay. I think it is generally a bit dumb. Our local paper has ads for used furniture/white goods for sale and at least you can go and see it and buy if okay. Others use Facebook where they know who is who and what is what.
Now do you know you can buy allen keys and you might get the one you need to play with your meccano set. We’ve stopped giving any Christmas presents – just family gathering with heaps of great food. So I have absolutely no problem with ‘Christmas shopping’. But when the kids were younger I had no problem with it – quite enjoyed finding neat stuff and we had a lot of fun. All I have to get is a bottle of wine for my wonderful tip/wood man. He’s a gem. I think I am the only one who does that – he was quite gobsmacked the first time I fronted up with a bottle of what was obviously bubbly.
Helvi has done a lovely job on establishing a garden in such a short time.
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see at the top…
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Yes Viv;
Some years ago, we sold some alpaca baby fleece on E-bay by auction. I think the price was about $ 24.- a kilo and we sold perhaps 4 kilos. It worked well. During the days of the dunnee man, back in the fifties and sixties, my parents always gave a crate of beer, (long necks) at Christmas time. Yes , I have plenty of Allen keys but finding them is often something I have trouble with. We had a huge limb of a Manchurian tree blown off during a terrible storm a bit more than a week ago. Glad I kept the Stihl chainsaw. After about two years of non use and with stale petrol, about ten pulls and it started up. I don’t know how many trees that saw felled back on the farm. We always planted more than we cut. You are right, H is a true artist with gardens and interiors. She stick cuttings in a bottle of water and presto, a week after little roots are appearing.
She could make a pine tree growing out of a matchstick.
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