It was Black Friday the other week. I was wandering around a mall in Atlanta. My family had all driven together, but we all split up to hit our favorite stores with the remaining two hours we had left until closing time.

Normally, I go to the mall intent on sticking to a shopping list, but I rarely stick with it. However, on Black Friday, I abandon that notion, keeping a lookout for gifts that I can give my friends and family.

But what do you give people who give so much to you? In time spent listening to you bitch about random shit and going around with you to eat and explore. Lately, I’ve grown tired of putting no thought into gifts. I’m tired of throwing together a bunch of small knick knacks at the last minute.

It takes thought and big ears to buy a good gift. You gotta listen to what they talk about when they talk about themselves freely. You gotta think, what do they need?

She mentioned that she wished she had a simple but decent sound system at home, because she’d suffered from poor quality headphones and speakers for long enough.

She mentioned that she really liked the painting class that she took last quarter, even if it was just for a distribution credit. 

You gotta put in effort. You can’t just spend a bus ride rifling through a magazine. You’ve got to keep a memo in the back of your mind, compare gift ideas.

Christmas shopping is hard when your mom deserves an island and you can afford a candle.

It was some quote I read on Facebook the other day.

You gotta do your best to give your friends and family what they deserve.

It made think about how giving is wrongfully measured by many by size, lavishness, and price. What happened to the meaningful measure of thoughtfulness? It’s about time invested, whether its through thinking or through knitting your own goddamn sweater for the woman, she gave birth to you.

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Anyone remember when Kimbra was in that Gotye song and then she put out this song with Mark Foster, the guy from Foster the People? What So Not’s spin.