First, let me give you a rundown of the day leading up to me shredding gold and silver paper like a child on a sugar rush.

Normally I have Fridays off but on this one, my dad and I planned to make a lot of progress on a project of ours. We were up bright and early to get to work. This was not the easy going CNC machining work we do day in and day out. No, this was the knuckle-busting, back-breaking, nose to the grindstone variety of work. For 14 hours.

As 8:00 pm rolled around, we trudged our way out of the shop and made the short drive home. Just as I was about to plop down on the couch, I saw the box. Plain cardboard with the unmistakable black Amazon tape. But I hadn't ordered anything from Amazon recently. I suddenly forgot how exhausted I was.

I muscled through the tape and dug in. There were three gifts in the box. Two for me and one for Otto (my dog). At the top was a colorful, squishy cylinder: a rolled up 'Bazinga!' fleece blanket that I will be getting comfy under very soon (after I shower, of course).

Next was a multi-part, plush chew toy/puzzle for my dog. It is holiday themed: a red and white box with three reindeer. At the moment, Otto is taking turns making each reindeer squeak.

Finally I found gold wrapping paper. This box was about the size of a large shoe box. I zoomed through the gift label/card and then went to town on the wrapping paper. When the shreds of paper settled, I had a DeLorean time machine...

Well, a 1/15 scale replica of a DeLorean time machine. But it's got sound effects, head lights, tail lights, rear vent lights and bands of lights along the sides and bumpers. On top of that, it is fully prepared for 2015: with a flip of the lever under the car, this puppy switches to flying mode -- where we're going, we don't need roads.

Awesome job secret santa. I love it all (Otto does too). You gave me a great end to a very long day. Thanks so much.