you wouldn't want me as your secret santa

This is a little late, but life (aka, work & school) have kinda-sorta gotten in my way over the last week or so. In fact, this post is about two weeks late. But it actually ties in with something that will be occurring in a couple days, so I guess it kind of works out.

Anyway, after several months of failed attempts at getting a new car, low and behold, Anthony has landed his BMW. A 2006 X3 to be exact.

Ahh. The clouds can now part, and the heavens can finally open up and dub his life "complete" ... for now, at least. Ha ha.

Anthony is a huge fan of BMW. As in, this love of his dates way back to elementary school years. His first car was a BMW, and he has a slew of other BMWs he would like to own in his lifetime. While the X3 probably wasn't his first choice, I certainly love it, and I can tell he does too, now that he has one.

After a long grueling process involving three alternative BMWs about which I won't go into detail because it's just not worth it (well, that, and I'm lazy..), this little beaut won the day.

The downside? (Beside the fact that I couldn't have one too.) It only came with one key. And, unfortunately, with this particular flavor of keyless entry, not only does a key have to be purchased and cut, but there's a little chip inside the fob that needs to be programmed as well, all of which apparently needs to be done through a BMW dealership because they heart money and won't cut a key unless it was purchased from them. Because clearly eBay is trying to steal BMW's business.

Regardless, it sure sounded like a headache to me.

Light bulb.
followed by a few thoughts...

- I suck at getting people gifts.
- They tend to be last minute "hmm, what can I do?!1?!" gifts. Because I have thought and thought and come up with nothing.
- Basically, as the post title reveals, you wouldn't want me as your secret Santa.
- My gifts are rarely things people actually express interest in wanting or needing due to aforementioned suckage. (In my defense, that's because I usually buy things as people mention them, because I get too excited to wait for Christmas or birthdays.......... um.. kind of like what I'm doing now.)

This is perfect. As our one year anniversary is coming up, along with Christmas.

Ah-ha! I shall buy him a new key!

After this genius idea no brainer popped into my cranium, I quickly fetched my cousin (who works at the dealership that sold Anthony the car), as he is an endless cascade of useless car information. Apparently, for this whole process to happen, BMW needs the license, registration, and VIN for the car.

Shit.

I had to think on this one. It would definitely require some fancy footwork, because along with my inability to give decent gifts, I also lack a poker face. Genetic lottery winner here!

Honestly? The idea of me getting this information out from under Anthony's nose without him knowing immediately what I was up to? Snowball's chance in hell, friends. I am that bad. And this had to be a surprise. Because,

a. what the hell else was I going to get him? A sweatshirt? Ehhhh! Wrong answer! Because I am an uncreative loser who bought three of them for him last Christmas while he was busy perusing the Tiffany's display case for the sweetest ring ever. Aka, the I Love You ring I wear as a 24/7 reminder that not only am I, to me, the luckiest lady on this blue marble, but also that I need to step up my gift-giving creativity, because clearly, he deserves better.

b. he is really good at saving money. He knows when to spend and when not to. Which, in turn, means he doesn't love when I spend a lot (or as he sees it, "waste it") on him. So, every time I do, I pretty much have to lie through my teeth and hope he doesn't find out until after the fact, if at all. A few examples..

1. I wanted to buy him a drink at Starbucks last year. A Starbucks drink. Sure, they aren't the cheapest option, but whatever, it's one drink, and they generally fall under $5. He was detailing a car with my cousin, so it was easy for me to be all, "oh, well there was a promotion, I get the second one free." Not completely untrue. There was a promotion running during that time... but it was only til 5pm each day. Oops. I guess I missed it.
2. A few weeks ago he was having a grueling few days pushing 3am nights for several nights in a row. He was at the studio at his school and he was just casually mentioning how he was hungry and wanted sugar. I ended up telling him that there was "a ton of candy here" (he thought I was still at work) and that I was going to grab him some, and to list a few things he wanted. Also not a lie. I was at Stop and Shop, and there was a "ton of candy" there.

See what I have to work around?

Don't get me wrong-- I don't like lying to him. But I do like to be able to get him things every once in a while too... so, what else is a girl to do? Nothing else. Lie!! Duh.

So yeah. I was pretty much backed into a corner here. This gift idea was gold. Finally, something I knew he would love and needed at the same time. However, I couldn't very well waltz up and ask for all of his car information. My best bet was to sneak it, but my backup plan was his mom. And even that would be a gamble. He's no idiot.

Luckily, to my great relief, a silver lining appeared in the form of my cousin being able to finagle the paperwork from the salesman and get it to the BMW dealership.

Problem solved! Phew! Thanks for the leg work, yo!

The key should be done today or tomorrow, and I think I am going to give it to him early before he scoots off and buys one himself. He was already getting antsy and asking my cousin to try to find out if there was a spare key anywhere for the car. Because if he loses the one he has (more possible than you might think... another story for another day), he's pretty much shit out of luck. Gulp.

My cousin and I have it all worked out though. He told me to tell Anthony that I got it for a super great deal through my uncle's auto repair business (which isn't entirely untrue... they knocked about $50 off the price for wholesale vs. retail -- sweet.). And I nonchalantly lead us into a conversation tonight about how he never lets me buy him anything. And he promised he would. So........... we'll see about that.

 

Eek.

I'm excited to give it to him because I know he will like it, and it feels good when he's happy. You should see the kid when I bring him a sandwich. The key would be 10x that. It's like a gift to myself, really.

I'm also a wee bit nervous, because I also know he knows how much they tend to cost, and how he is pretty much known for skimping on the things he doesn't necessarily need.

But he does need it! You can't have just one key to your car.... right? :)

So, anyway, worst case scenario, he might feel guilty. And totally ruin my "SURPRISE!!!" joy by trying to pay me back for it. Psh. I hope he just accepts the gift and doesn't worry about the dollars. Fingers crossed!

Anyone want to do a secret Santa this year? ;)