Yes kids, it’s that time of the year again … time to pay homage to your Dear Old Dad with expensive gifts. Granted you are both still too young to actually be able to afford the gifts on my wishlist, but there’s always that college fund to dip into (just kidding).
But just in case you (or your mother) want to surprise me this weekend, here are just a few things I’d love to get in no particular order:
The Goflex Satellite wi-fi external hard drive
Don’t get me wrong, I love taking you guys on trips abroad whenever we get the chance, but cradling you in our laps and constantly changing your diapers and taking you to potty on the plane gets to be a bit much after a few hours. I dream of the day when I can simply hit recline, order a glass of wine and pop out this baby – an external hard drive with up to 1 terabyte of storage that can stream media and movies to the good old family iPad. If anything, think of this as an investment for yourselves on those long trips – be nice to me and I’ll upload a few of your favorite cartoons and shows in there as well. Available on Taobao for around RMB 1,000-1,500.
The Canon S-95
My non-existent photography skills aside, I’d love a point and shoot camera to take better photos of your little cherubic faces. As my esteemed father-in-arms Christopher Lay pointed out in this post, this "remarkable bundle of photographic capability has a beautiful screen, 10-megapixel sensor (enough to take care of any typical users needs from online to enlarged prints), facial recognition, 2.0 f-stop, RAW mode, and HD video capability to boot. Not to mention a lot of creative shooting modes to get your creativity flowing. All of this comes in a package that is small enough to fit in a shirt pocket or a small handbag and has a street price of USD 400 (I don’t recall the local going rate, but it fluctuates with the exchange rate)." Available at camera stores around town and online for around RMB 2,680.
Your dad could always use some more custom-made shirts to keep up his dad-like appearances and Beijing has no shortage of tailors (both brick and mortar and online) to fit the bill. Check out this post on thebeijinger.com for some options and don’t forget my measurements: 42 length, 17 collar.
Every man needs one fine pair of leather shoes and although it can’t be compared to Italy, Beijing has its share of custom shoemakers. Cobbler Yu in Gulou has a loyal customer base and his store is open until 10pm seven days a week. As with everything else you can also look online for a shoemaker, although I can’t vouch for their quality.
Beer. Nectar of the Dads. Your dad wants a tall, cold one now. Order me a case of fine imported beers from 88beers.com and while you’re at it get me a couple of juicy steaks and some fine South American coffee beans from Baode Home Delivery.
My list could go on and on (and on), my dear offspring, but I’ll spare you the details for another year. You now have about 36 hours left. I’ll look forward to seeing you (and your mother) on Sunday.
