I got my gift today! It's much bigger and heavier than I'd expect someone to pay to ship, and I'm extremely curious, but[1] I'm remembering the thrill it was, as a kid... to count down the days, and play guessing games with wrapped rectangles. I haven't really felt that in some time; no offense to my family, but they don't generally surprise me anymore (and I doubt I surprise them either). My Secret Santa could have sent me anything!

So, I'm tempted to draw it out. On the one hand, I see no sign of others doing that here (the last post about it I found was from two years ago), and they didn't exactly get much support. If my SS is alerted to this post, as I'm guessing they will be (the quote in my title is in hopes of them seeing it if they're not alerted): I'll certainly open it now and take the best pictures I can, if that's your preference.

On the other hand, if I succeed in waiting 'til x-mas, my Santa could get much better photos (tree, family, etc) than I could take here in my messy studio apartment by myself. And I might feel like a kid for a little while longer. :)

[1] TS;WTWM:

If my day had gone slightly differently, I suspect I would have opened it at whatever point I got it. What happened is that I left for work, where a scheduled conference call awaited, but I forgot something I couldn't live without (ok, it was my flask of coffee). When I came back through the front door, there was my friendly mailman, filling out the "we missed you" slip. He always seems delighted to be able to hand over a package, which brightens my day, but the big "banged up" package he handed me, with the reddit alien, hiding in a box, turned that knob up all the way.

It would have been all too easy to tear into the box as soon as I made it into my apartment, and I probably would have if I'd received it earlier, or tomorrow morning after handing over the slip at the post office. In either case, the increased excitement caused by the nature of the package, and not needing to be anywhere, would, I suspect, have led to a quick, poorly-documented unwrapping.

Luckily, I really had to run, so I left the package behind, and had all day at work to think about it and the wonderful thrill of anticipation I feel. Time will tell whether the thrill, in my middle-aged brain, wears off in a day, or builds until I can't resist the temptation to open it early (a temptation I didn't always resist as a kid; I was good at re-wrapping).