that's going to bring a smile to this orthodontist this Christmas.
Orthodontists are a funny bunch.
This year, from some colleagues I received Christmas presents of:
- a book by US politician Bernie Sanders (“Steve, I’m sure you would want to read Donald Trump’s book, I couldn’t bring myself to give him any of my money, he’s rich enough”),
- a bamboo toothbrush –very eco-friendly
- a box of English Breakfast Tea (“Stephen, I think you need to experience new things and take a break from your habits of only drinking Barry’s Tea. My prediction for 2019 is that you will be drinking many new things in the new year.” I presume this prediction was the result of reading some tea leaves)
- a bar of Fair Trade Chocolate (chocolate is probably the least tooth-assaulting confectionery. It melts and is cleared from the mouth quickly, rather than sticking to the teeth or taking a long time to consume and presenting a prolonged sugar challenge to the teeth)
- adult beverages (I rarely drink alcohol, so this will probably be shared)
- and my team gave me a couple of vouchers for a local Indian restaurant in Swords, D’Chili Shaker, which has sustained me on many late evenings with its delicious chana bhuna.
Last year, I got some very cool socks made from bamboo fibre. They're sort of winter patterns, so they didn't get much action during the year, but I'll make up for it this week.
And in the other direction....
To various colleagues, I gave a book on 21 Lessons for The 21st Century, a Motorhead T-shirt and some other stuff that wouldn't be a surprise if I revealed it here and the receiver hasn't got it yet.
The question is....what does a gift say about the giver, and what does it say about what the giver thinks about the recipient?