Tuesday 7 August 2012

Memories of China: Gift Hunting

Nearly everything is cheaper in China. Unless you're into paying for overpriced western brand name items. Then in that case you're an idiot. I mean, why would you go all the way to Asia to buy something from Gucci or Prada? It doesn't make sense.

Oh and Häagen-Dazs is more expensive there too.

I'm not paying $8+ CAD for a tiny container...

There are also things only available in China and it was my goal to buy as many gifts as possible for Theresa. If you recall, she did a miserable job of buying gifts for herself. If you want something done right, you need to do it yourself.

My personal preference for giving gifts is getting a big gift, and then compliment it with a bunch of smaller gifts. It's always seemed to be the best way to do things. And so I ran around China easily grabbing tons of smaller gifts such as food, cute things or t-shirts from my favorite clothing store Metersbonwe.

But I couldn't find the one BIG gift to put it all together. Theresa is the kind of person that'll go "Oh, it's nice. Thank you very much." when you give her something. She's that kind of a person. So it's extremely difficult to find a gift that she actually wants, that'll make her smile and become giddy with excitement. And then you overwhelm her with all the other little gifts.

Meanwhile, Steam decided to have it's annual Summer Sale and she proceeded to buy me nearly a dozen games. I'm not sure who was supposed to be giving who gifts while I was in China.

Durr...

But then, I saw something. Something in Chengdu.

It was after another disastrous dinner. You can read my description of Sichuan cuisine here. But I didn't want to eat anymore of that greasy food and left the table. Next to the restaurant was an arcade and I stepped inside and found the perfect gift for my girlfriend.

A massive, plush turtle.

Theresa loves plush toys, she also loves turtles, and if she can use it as a pillow or a blanket, all the better. I could feel it mocking me with its pink blush and stupid little bow. I had to win it.

My goal is to do this one day, except with turtle plushies.

How this arcade game worked was there were multiple prizes and if a prize received a set number of points, you won it. After selecting a prize, a wheel spun and when you stopped it, depending on what you stopped on, number of points were added or deducted.

I don't know why, I know these things are rigged, but I had to try. I felt like I could win. I mean, $10 CAD would have gotten me enough tokens to try nearly 3 dozen times. And I was willing to keep playing until I won or ran out of money.

But then, after handful of attempts everyone else had finished dinner and we had to leave. I never won the turtle, and in the end, I found a similar, smaller version in Hong Kong. Theresa still loved it but it's not the same.

I'm still very bitter about not winning that turtle. and I know it's still mocking me with its stupid smile.

I hate you...

33 comments:

  1. Ah, stupid turtle! At least Theresa loves the one she has

    ReplyDelete
  2. That sucks you never had the time to win it, damn thing is still there gloating I bet too hahaha

    ReplyDelete
  3. THAT TURTLE LOOKS SO CUTE!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Awww I'm so sorry that you couldn't win that first one! But still, since Theresa never saw the first one - I'm sure the one you got her looks fantastic in her eyes! I need a massive lush turtle too lol

    ReplyDelete
  5. HAHAHAHAH! Gosh! You are so funny :P I feel bad about you not winning but as you said, you found something similar. I hope that's okay. ^_^

    So, how did Theresa find your gift?

    ReplyDelete
  6. My dad's friend is really good at those games in which you have to pick up the toy. They suck for me. I played one of those recently and the arm was so loose it dropped the ball halfway. I screamed after that.

    ReplyDelete
  7. That is one evil turtle. I say take to eBay. I've found plushies on there that I failed to win in an arcade. But you already gave her the smaller one :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. lol you're the sweetest!
    I'm sure she appreciated the effort :P
    but at least u got her an alternative!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I'm sorry you didn't win the turtle. But I'm glad she liked the one you did give her!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hahaha amazing!!!!

    When you say big gift do you mean big in size/price tag/thought?!

    Laura x
    http://firstclassramblings.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  11. That's exactly what happens to me when I pass one of those "claw" machines! I always see something that one of my kids would like, but I know that stupid claw will drop it right before I'm over the chute!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Aw I'm sorry! But.. it's an idea.. maybe something you could look for in the future?

    ReplyDelete
  13. I hate those games that taunt you with the prizes. You always win the ones you don't want. I love plush turtles myself and own a few. Great gift idea even if the one you saw didn't work out as hoped.

    ReplyDelete
  14. we have lots of Chinese shops in my city, but they usually sell the cheapest goods of the lowest possible quality (sometimes even things made from dangerous materials) so I try to avoid them, but I do love buying Christmas decorations there :) And Chinese people in those shops are always extremely cute and kind.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I applaud you for not destroying the machine in a rage when you kept losing! Did you at least punch/kick it a few times?

    Maybe you could have found a small child to crawl up inside it and retrieve the turtle for you? ;)

    ReplyDelete
  16. Aw, I wish you had won that turtle. Theresa sounds like a wonderful gal...especially since she's more into giving than receiving :) That's an admirable quality.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I guess I missed it somewhere. What's CAD?

    ReplyDelete
  18. I never play the claw games. My kids waste their quarters on them. One day they'll figure out its cheaper to buy the plushie toy.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Sorry about the turtle, but the most important thing is that you had an attempt. Also completely agree with you on the phrase that says to do a thing yourself if you want it to be done. Truth of life :(

    ReplyDelete
  20. yes sometimes this happens we want to win but we couldnt
    nice pics

    ReplyDelete
  21. sorry about the turtle. turtles are probably the nicest lush toys around although i'm personally not a fan of plush toys.

    ReplyDelete
  22. what steam games did she get you?

    ReplyDelete
  23. This blog is through a nice to meet new people and their land, culture and nature. Come and look at you Teuvo Kuvat - Teuvo images, both at the same time will be my blog collection flag depicting your country's flag to rise higher. You should also tell all your friends to my blog by fermentation. Teuvo Vehkalahti Finland

    ReplyDelete
  24. I like your gift-giving attitude: one huge awesome gift surrounded by little awesome gifts. Theresa should hang on to you!

    ReplyDelete
  25. You're right. I have ALWAYS been amazed that, when people finish a country other than their own, they prefer to buy imported (as opposed to domestic) items. Exhibit A: How many McDonalds are in China?
    Incidentally, I'm curious.....since Chinese restaurants are all over the world, are there Chinese restaurants in China? Or are there rib joints, crab shacks, and steakhouses?
    By the way, did you know that Haagen-Dazs was first made in New Jersey, was never made in Scandinavia, and is a made up name (like...uh...Al Penwasser)?

    ReplyDelete
  26. It may be the same but one turtle is more special than a hundred. But let me ask you something... how come you always want to impress your T. I'm sure Mr DWei is all it takes. :)

    ReplyDelete
  27. Poor lonely trapped turtle, at least you found another that She loves, that is what counts.

    ReplyDelete