This was an unexpected and touching exchange. I wasn't very particular in my likes/dislikes about Arbitrary Day 2014. All I essentially asked, was for my Santa to pick something that was close to their heart, something that meant something for them. I always like sharing a piece of myself in my gifts, and was looking forward to seeing what my Santa would choose to share with me.

Part 1 of the gift came one rainy afternoon via Amazon. I am a Sci-Fi newb, and somewhat of a non-believer if you will. I have not had extensive contact with the genre if I'm honest, I just never found it attractive enough. Well that was all about to change, as the first season of Babylon 5 is now in my possession.

A cryptic note accompanied this gift though. Alerting me of a part 2 of my Arbitrary Exchange, it also prompted me to a link once both gifts have arrived. I admit curiosity was KILLING ME, but I love surprises even more. So I behaved and waited patiently... or, you know, not so much. My building's porter may hate me a bit right now.

But my constant pestering was well worth it, as a few days later I received a copy of Robert P. Warren's multi-award winning "All the King's Men". For starters, it's a book, and just for that fact, my little bookworm heart was deeply pleased. But as my Santa dully noted, it has been on my "To-Be-Read" list for way too long, a fact that was very recently remedied (because yes, I jumped right on it and finished it last night. Ha!)

But the real surprise, what made this exchange special, was the contents of the link that came with my first gift. It was a .doc from my Santa, where he told me the story behind the gifts. Apparently he chose this book immediately as it is one of their favourites as well, so when they saw it on my list, it was a no-brainer for them.

The Babylon 5 choice however was even more interesting. I can't think of many things sweeter than a family bond forming over an exciting show. Santa even went as far as giving me pointers on which episodes from Season 1 I would be relatively safe to skip! If I weren't eager to start before (which I was), I sure was now!

Thank you very much dear Santa, whoever you may be!