NROP: What happens when we are given what we do not want?

Have you ever wondered what to get someone for a gift? 

Have you speculated what they might do with the said gift?

Did you ask them what they wanted to get?

Did you listen to what they had to say?

Have you ever received a gift that you did not like or enjoy?

Personally, I think I am the easiest person to get a gift for. Ever since I remember, puzzles and books were always my go-to answers when asked the “What do you want for your Birthday?” question. However, as I got older, I realized that I do not really care what I get. Sure, it is nice to open a thoughtful gift, but I have learned to do without them. The truth is that I do not need others to get me things. If I really want something, then I will get it myself. (If you want to buy me an island, go right ahead. I would not refuse it. But make sure it is nicely manicured and no wild animals live on it.)

Quite frankly, nowadays, I group the gifts I received into those that surprise me (those that unexpectedly hit the spot) and those that do not. That does not mean that I am ungrateful. What matters to me is the thought behind the gift. The fact that someone remembered about me. No matter what the gift is, I act graciously. Even if I flat out do not like the gift (i.e. I will never use it). I am aware that re-gifting is a thing, but I usually find myself torn about the prospect of giving away something that was meant to be for me. In order to help me appreciate what I get, my parents had a “no re-gifting” policy. And I somewhat stick to it. Even if I do not like it, I try to use it, because I feel bad for giving away something that someone spent their time and money to get FOR ME. And worst of all, I would be mortified if the gift would be re-gifted and ultimately returned to the original giver.

When it comes to buying gifts for others, I am the worst. I walk into a store, hoping that something will jump out at me, but more often than not, it does not. I walk around endlessly. Yes, I try to ask the birthday-boy/ girl-to-be, but oftentimes they say: “Nothing”. And then I am back to square one. Yes, I try to ask the people close to them, too. This can be hit or miss. Sometimes they know exactly what that person needs/ wants because they said so in the past. But, sometimes, they THINK they know what that person wants, but in reality, they are telling you what THEY think that person could use.

Gift-giving is hard. Do you agree?

However, I refuse to just give up and not care about it. Every now and again, we all need to feel special. And if we do not make an effort even once a year, then…

This was long enough of a prelude.

As you might have guessed already, today, I want to talk to you about gifts. The unwanted gifts, to be precise.

Several days ago, a 22-year-old male drove his brand new BMW 3 series into a canal in India. Unfortunately, there seem to be at least two conflicting stories on this one. A vast majority of the sources report that the young man sank the car intentionally. Why would anyone do that? Supposedly, it was because his parents are not good listeners. They bought their son a BMW when he explicitly told them he wanted a Jaguar for his birthday. It is said that the son complained about the BMW being too small and that he and his buddies would not fit easily in it.

All this is being disputed by the father, who supposedly claims that the son never demanded a Jaguar, that he ended up in the canal because he swerved to avoid an antelope in the road and that he has an undisclosed mental illness that impairs his judgment.

However, other sources claim that the father knew about his son’s preference, but did not give it much thought, since they were unable to afford the Jaguar and thought he would be fine with the BMW. While the BMW costs about 3.5 million rupees ($50,000), the Jaguar is priced around 5 million rupees ($70,000).

Eyewitnesses report that the male drove the car into the canal and once the water got deeper, he got out and then even tried to help others get it out of the water. It took a crane to pull the car out.

No one was arrested, obviously. However, I am surprised that no article mentions illegal dumping fines. Surely one cannot dispose of their car anywhere they want with no repercussions.

If you are from India, and/ or if you speak the language, could you let me know what the REAL story is? There are two videos with untranslated audio, and I wish I knew what they said. 

Police official speaking, starting at 0:47.

I do not know if anything said in the below video is relevant or not, but I am curious to find out who did the videoing. (For some reason, I am unable to embed that video, so please go to DailyMail’s site –> HERE <– to view the video)

 

Stay golden,

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