Hint Hint

So the Springboard Xmas Party is coming up on the 16th and every year we do a Pollyanna/Secret Santa. Up until last year I never really thought about the difficulty co-workers face in buying gifts for me, mainly because, in years past, the people who ended up picking me, either asked me, or knew enough about me to pick up something I liked. That changed with poor, unfortunate Katherine last year. She went to Rachel for advice, who in turned IM'd my brother Gus, and 15 minutes later after he was done laughing like a hyena, he made a suggestion which turned out to be a Ghost In The Shell Motoko toy (sorry, bad picture, but the only one I could find.) that is currently hanging on the wall by my computer. (Which befuddles The Donna, as she believes toys should be played with, while I tend to have a collector's mentality. What's the line from the Simpsons again? NRFB?)
Anyway, I kinda had a feeling last year that Katherine picked me, I don't remember what tipped me off though, but, I was never really quite sure, so I kept it to myself, and didn't really volunteer anything. And, from what I understand Katherine ended up going to Fat Jack's Comic Crypt to pick this up for me. Fat Jack's is THE comic book store in the Philadelphia, (even if they still don't have a website. Come on guys, at least move up to the 90's) and I imagine it's a little intimidating to wander into the store. Especially for someone like Katherine who, as far as I know, doesn't have a geeky bone in her body. I'm not sure, but I think she told me that the staff was very helpful (which was a change from when I was regularly going there back in college. Unless they knew you, they really weren't all that helpful.) Of course, I'm sure being a far, far cry from ugly probably worked dramatically in her favor, as beautiful women don't, in my experience, wander in to comic book stores very often. Though I imagine it was still quite a fish out of water type of experience for her. And though she's often a difficult person to read, I got the sense that she'd probably be content to never have to do that type of thing again.
So to spare any other co-workers from wandering unaware and unguarded into the vast realm of geekdom which occupies significant portions of my life, I've set up an Amazon Wish List. This way they can shop from the safety of their homes and be absolutely certain that I will enjoy their purchase. And since I know that Rachel reads this blog, though never comments, I can be assured that if a desperate co-worker comes to her for advice about what to buy me, she can point them in the right direction.
(There's probably a criticism that can be made for spurning wish lists in favor of surreptitiously teasing it out of me, friends or family members, but frankly, the convenience of technology makes for a compelling argument in favor of wish lists. And the only person who I expect to know instinctively what to buy for me at any point is, of course, The Donna.)
My Wish List currently has 100 items in it, though if I felt like spending more than two hours on it, I'm sure I could make that an obscenely large number. The link above points to a pre-sorted page by priority, meaning the stuff I want the most appears first. I'm not expecting any of my co-workers to shell out $45+ dollars for one of those Origa import CDs that will top the list, though, (even though I really need them, because her voice is proof of the existence of God) mainly because I'll probably end up ordering them from Amazon Japan and probably pay less even with international shipping or I'll pick them up when I'm in Tokyo next year. Conveniently, enough it breaks down so that all the "Priority 1-Must Have" stuff is on the first page, the "Priority 2-Love to Have" on page 2, etc, so I've managed to make it as easy as possible, I think.
Of course, if any of my other loyal, yet anonymous and silent readers feel the need to buy me a gift from my wish list, I highly encourage them to do so. ;)