So I got a little present in the mail a couple of days ago, a small forest green box, and inside nestled in purple tissue were four pretty bars of handmade soap from Voda (via eBay) -- the Laksmi box set, named for the Hindu goddess of abundance (Thanks!). Five travel-size soaps were included as well; they have names like "Eastern Beauty" (Ok, I can see that, and thank you again!) and "Moroccan Love" (Less obvious how that fits in). No "from" name was enclosed. A mystery gift.
My first thought, since I am well-brought-up, was that I needed to blog this because I had to send a thank you note and didn't know who to send it to. Perhaps the vendor simply forgot to include the sender's name, in error. Then I would be on the hook for never sending the thank you note! Thanks for the nice gift, Anonymous! Phew, got that out of the way.
My second thought was - what a clever way to get a bunch of people to blog about you. Just find the addresses of some people who blog and send them something anonymously. The chances that they wouldn't blog about it must be close to zero - I mean, we don't get anonymous gifts every day! Is this one of the most innovating word of mouth marketing schemes yet? Will the marketers follow up with a mysterious valentine in two weeks, and then reveal themselves dramatically in March?
Then I had a horrible thought. Is someone trying to tell me that I am stinky, and that I need fragrant soaps to clean me up? I have never been much for wearing special scents. Either the person who sent these soaps didn't know that, or that's exactly what they did know, and they took issue with it. What better way to say, in the gentlest most friendly way, that your friend needs to boost her AQ (aromatic quotient) than by sending some fragrant handmade soaps?
This is the down side of sending an anonymous present. The recipient may read into it something unintended. I find myself wondering if the person who sent these soaps is the same person who sent, about 5-6 years ago, a large columnar floor lamp with a motorized spinning disk that changed the ambient light in the room from green to red to blue to yellow in cycles. I wracked my brains. Was someone trying to tell me something about my chameleon nature? Accusing me of featuring a too-traditional decor in my apartment? Complimenting my fun-loving psychedelic personality?
I figure now is a good time to let eager anonymous gift-givers know about my Amazon wish list. Yes, my birthday is coming up in 3 weeks. Nothing on there really excites me, but at least I won't wonder about motive.
Nobody ever claimed responsibility for sending the lamp. It didn't match my lifestyle and I gave it away. I'm going to use the soaps though. They're a much smaller commitment, and I like them. If the next time you see me I smell like "Nurture", you'll know why.
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