Miles’s Gift Guidance

“Miles, you’re hard to buy gifts for.”

“WHAT!? But I have so many hobbies! I want so many things!”

“Well, yeah, but you also buy yourself most of the things you want, and have specific preferences.”

“Oh, well, that’s true.”

Hopefully this will help.

FYI: I put some expensive items on here. I don’t expect them as gifts. I don’t expect any gifts! Hell, just get me a bottle of dry red wine. It will definitely get used. No, I put the expensive stuff on there in case you come across a used one or a great deal (or both). I hope you’ll be inspired to tell me about it! :-)

Clothes

Your best bet here is probably to avoid getting me clothes, to be honest. I’m persnickety, as Grandma would say. I’ll try to give some guidance, though.

I don’t prefer to wear black, typically. I will, but I’d prefer earth tones typically.
I wear “large” in shirts, typically.
I prefer an athletic fit shirt, or I might not wear it. I do not like baggy, and I typically don’t like shirts that are boxy even. I do not like wide or kinda-long t-shirt sleeves.
In pants, I typically wear 36x32. I do not like baggy pants. In athletic wear pants or shorts, probably “large”.
I like running shorts with zipper pockets! Been thinking about getting some Chicken Leg shorts because they’re amusing, but not sure anyone wants to see all of these thighs
I’m good on jackets, honestly. I have so many. Exceptions are perhaps great deals on name-brand outdoor company rain jackets for hiking.

Shoes

I’m probably pretty good on shoes at this time. That said:

I wear 11.5, typically
I like a wide toebox, which are becoming a bit more common
Sperrys or Hey Dudes or that sort of slip on casual shoe are welcomed (my old Toms are looking ratty!)
I want Chacos (Classics or Z/Cloud), but they’re so expensive; I’ve looked at used ones, actually

Musical Instruments

I am more than happy to get used instruments. In fact, a part of me prefers it because it saves money and feels a little like recycling. Instruments can be expensive. I will put some expensive instruments on here, but I don’t expect anyone to actually buy those for me. However, if you come across a great deal on one of them, I’d love you to let me know.

Vibraslap
Tambourine (hand)
Tambourine (foot—it’s a thing!)
Various other hand percussion instruments (cabasa, guiro, etc)
Hi-hat (to go with the snare drum I have)
Tenor or Baritone Ukulele
Drum set (acoustic)
Fender (or Squier) Stratocaster
5-string bass guitar

Accessories

Guitar or bass effects pedals; I love ‘fuzz’ pedals, but anything is fun!
Ukulele strap
Saxophone strap; I have one, but I bet there are interesting fancy ones out there?

PA System (I could theoretically host jam sessions like a full band!)

Books

It’s genuinely difficult to buy new books for me. No doubt about it. I buy a lot of books for myself, and I am a mood reader—it’s hard to predict what I am reading or will read. However, I do collect!

Again, I’m happy to get used books.

Hard cover or collector’s editions of J.R.R. Tolkien’s books, particularly the Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit
Hard cover or collector’s editions of Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. books
Dungeon Crawler Carl series by Matt Dinniman; I don’t own any of these, but have read them all
A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin; I don’t own any of these, but have read them all
Dan Da Dan (manga)
Dorhedoro (manga)

Camping, Backpacking, & Hiking

This one is really hard, because particularly with backpacking I have very specific preferences. Also, as a family, we’ve struggled to go camping as often as I’d like.

Multi-tool with pliers; light ones for backpacking, but any would be good in general; I’d probably carry it in my daily backpack, actually
Camp cots; I have one, but I think the whole family would be more comfortable if we had one for each of us
Camp kitchen table; this would be the type of thing that holds my Coleman camp stove, plus has a prep area, possibly storage underneath, etc; and folds up for travel
Retractable clothes line; I could probably make one, but I’ve been saying that in my head for years
Portable camp toilet
Pop up shelter for the camp toilet

Exercise, Gym, etc

Weighted vest at 40lbs or more
Adjustable weight dumbbells
Squat rack with pull-up bar

Tools

Used tools are good, too! I don’t mind.

I’m not super handy, but I do stuff here and there. Maybe even more than that, I like to try to do stuff. Haha.

Impact driver
Belt sander (hand)
Belt & disc sander (standing)
Toolbox—portable for taking tools to the school for the musical; relatively large so I can just throw stuff from my primary toolbox into it and go. Maybe even wheeled?
Lathe (Seems so fun, but this is probably ridiculous of me)

Disc Golf

I really enjoy disc golf. It’s like a hike while throwing a frisbee.

Backpack; I have a shoulder sling style disc bag, but I’d like a full backpack that would fit 20 discs and my extendable disc grabber. There are some affordable ones on Amazon, like the Apex one that is green and brown. I don’t need one of the super duper expensive ones, considering I don’t actually play that often. Yet.
Disc golf discs with cool prints. Used is fine! I am not good enough to have strong disc preferences.
Any silly, fun, weird accessories

Indoor Climbing

This is probably my favorite activity, but I’m not paying for a membership right this second. It’s expensive! I’ll get back to it, though.

A month of membership? Haha
A chalk bag with waist belt; they make some really nifty designs :-)

Plants

I love indoor plants, particularly easy ones. Haha.

Pothos; you can never have enough pothos
Pots; any neat plant pot is welcomed! Even plain terracotta is great to have on hand, but crazy fantasy-themed stuff is exciting
Plants + technology is fascinating to me; I’d love to collect data on my soil moisture levels, etc

Miscellaneous

The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy on Blu-Ray — extended edition!
DVDs of live concerts for bands I like