Fancy

In case you haven't noticed yet, I have a bit of a smart aleck streak. It's never meant with malice, but I tend to be very whimsical and I've never had a problem with poking fun at people. My friends are no exception to this rule, so they're very used to my jokes. Given that, it's no surprise to them if I give them a gag gift for their birthdays. Mind you, it's always paired with an actual, hopefully thoughtful, gift, but they understand. If all goes well, they will laugh, too. The latest entry in the annals of gag gifts, however, had some very amusing side effects.

Before we get to the gift, though, let me describe my friend just a tad. She is very much a grounded, down-to-earth person, but she still appreciates some of the finer things in life. She's the kind of person who likes wine, has a nice collection of shoes, and appreciates elegance. We've all got our preferences, and hers just tend to run in that direction. So be it.

Of course, that doesn't stop me from poking fun just a little bit. I've been known to call her "pinkies up" or "bourgie" on occasion. It's all in good fun, so she takes it in stride and then proceeds to harass me about my being a smart aleck or my moonlighting as a business analyst. If you've been paying attention, though, you should know where this is headed. Along with her actual gift, I wanted something that would convey the "pinkies up" sentiment.

I knew roughly what I wanted, but I figured I'd scour the internet to see if I could come up with any new ideas. I actually did searches for "pinkies up" and "bourgie," but those didn't really turn up anything I liked. Looking for synonyms, I figured I'd try "fancy" and "fancy gifts," too. The former didn't really yield much, but the latter looked promising. The very first hit I got was for something called "Fancy Gifts Boutique" on my old friend Amazon. That seemed pretty promising, and it was the top-ranked result on my other friend Google, so I took a shot.

I was very, very surprised when the page loaded. I intentionally didn't link to it in that last paragraph, but it is very much Not Safe For Work (if you click on a link that says "NSFW" even after I warned you, that's on you). For those of you who may not want to click on the link, that page shows you quite a few X-rated feminine toys. How in the heck was I supposed to know that? The name seemed innocent enough, so I was expecting tea cups and monocles. Nope, not even close.

Ultimately, I was able to find something that I could give to my friend without blushing bright red (a shirt), and she laughed when I gave it to her. All in all, I consider that a successful gift. Unfortunately, now my Amazon recommendations are going to be even more screwed up.