So this year, like the last few years, my family is doing Secret Santas for Christmas.  As a consequence, I’ve been asked to provide a list of items from which the lucky person who has drawn my name out of the proverbial hat can choose from.

I’m somewhat against the whole idea of having to put together a list like this for a couple of reasons; the first being that I don’t believe I’m that difficult to shop for, and secondly, I believe I’m worth having someone spend the 10 minutes it would take to actually think about what I might like.  I’m not that complicated and definitely not that hard to get to know, given a little time.

Yeah, I suppose that could be taken as a little cutting, but if you actually stop to think about what the whole Christmas gift-giving concept is about, you might begin to see my point.

Also, before I delve into a list proper, you should know that I have no prejudice or aversion to you finding ways to save money when shopping for my gift.  Times are hard and finances are strained to the max for many people, so if you’re into buying on eBay, DealsDirect, or any discount store to save a buck, by all means feel free to do so.  Don’t feel as though you *have* to spend big on my account.  And hey, if you think you can make, build, or engineer a gift with your own two hands and save spending money altogether, go right ahead.  Whichever way you choose to come by a gift, I will nevertheless be thankful and appreciative.

So, here you go, lucky SS.  Pick and choose as you will. 

Some you may know that I’m beginning to acquire parts and pieces to put together to build a killer PC I can use at home.  It’s been a while since I’ve had a “real” PC I can use without it overheating after a half-hour’s use, or blue screen to death, so I thought it about time.  With that in mind I give you the list of some of the components I will need to build it.

• CPU: Intel QuadCore Quad Q6600
• Motherboard: eVGA 132-YW-E178-A1
• Memory: Corsair Micro QUAD2x4096-8500C5DF 4GB Kit
• Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD4870X2
  
• Sound Card: Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi XtremeGamer Fatal1ty Pro
  
• Hard Disk: 2 x Samsung HD501LJ Spinpoint 500GB
  
• Case: Antec P182 Performance One
• Power Supply: Zalman ZM850W
  
• OS: Windows Vista Ultimate 64bit
• Additional: USB Hub (with as many ports as possible…  )

Other things I might enjoy or find useful would be the following:

• Gift voucher
  This could cover anything from clothing to DVDs.  Less personal and thoughtful but more versatile, I suppose.
• Bike riding gear -or vouchers.
  Jerseys (tops), nicks (shorts), jackets, etc.  For when I’m riding to work.
• PC or Wii Games
  • Mario Kart Wii
  • Command & Conquer:  Red Alert 3 (PC)
  • Mario Strikers Charged Football (Wii)
  • Call of Duty Modern Warfare or World at War (PC)
  • Dead Space (PC)
  • Mirror’s Edge (PC)
  • World of Goo (Wii)
  • de Blob (Wii)
  • Rock Band (Wii)
  • etc, etc…
• Nice summertime, light jackets, tops, etc
• A nice watch.
• Air purifier/ionizer… (sick of dust and crap…  )
• Car stuff :-“

That’s about all I can think of right now.
Please remember that you’re by no means restricted to acquire any of the items on this list.  If you can think of something I might like that I haven’t put on there, get it.

If after all this you still have difficulty finding something just remember, I’m a technology geek; I enjoy riding my mountain bike; I enjoy gaming; I love clothing and if all else fails, I drink beer (blonde… less carbs  ).

Hope that helps.

If I think of other things, I’ll add them on here.