Being Hip & Scooby Doo

To my readers,

As an intern you receive some interesting emails. This past week I received an email from my boss that left me worried.  It is the one email that leaves every intern worried and confused.  As I read the words on the screen, I became more and more frightened.  It read- “Hey guys! I want to you invite you to my daughter’s birthday party this weekend!”

You may think I have over dramatized this but let me explain. I realized I would have to find a gift for his daughter.  Not only did I have to find a decent gift, but I had to find one that was age appropriate and equally as awesome than the other interns attending.

I didn’t want to be the intern that got his daughter the lame gift!

What was I going to buy?

I didn’t want to get the same gift or a lame one.  I also didn’t want to get one that overshadowed my coworkers.  Then I realized a bigger problem. I had no idea what was even appealing to children today.

When I was a kid, Scooby Doo & Sesame Street were hip. Are they still considered hip? Do we even say things are hip anymore? Considering what she likes would be important, but I didn’t want to call my boss and ask him this.  That would mean that I wasn’t creative or hadn’t put enough time into picking it out. I needed to make sure it was cool.  What if I got her a gift, and she turns and said, “Tex, This is so last year!” 

After searching “What is hip to children” on Google for an hour, I decided it was time to act.  I grabbed my truck keys and drove to the toy store.  It was time to make a decision. 

When I arrived, I realized that I was in way over my head.  There were so many toys to choose from. The worst part was my inner child wanted to escape and play with everything.  However, I refrained despite the inner child’s temper tantrum.

Decisions. Decisions. I walked around the toy section for way to long before I realized what I needed to do. I bought the gift and proceeded to the party. 

“Tex, I’m glad you made it!” my friend and co-intern told me when I arrived.  “What did you get for a gift?”

I proceeded to hand my boss a gift card. 

My friend laughed, “A gift card? Oh that’s too great.” I tried to explain how difficult this was, but it didn’t matter.  The next words he said were, “Oh, Tex.” 

Simply,

Tex G.M. Rule