A Skateboard and a Fanny Pack

Tis the season of gift giving, or gift receiving.

Occasionally, during any season, a client would give me something of theirs as a gift. I guess sometimes the gift is meant to be a tip. Or maybe the gift is simply a gesture of their generosity. Or sometimes the gift comes with strings. A gift for a favor.

Whatever the motive may be of the client, I never accept gifts from clients. Ok, maybe candy or food are items that I might accept, but nothing else. 

Accepting a gift might imply that I will owe the client something, or some special favor that I will have to perform for them (including favors of a sexual nature). Owing something to a client would not be a good business situation for me. That is why I refuse gifts. But I do so gracefully.

Not too long ago, a client offered one of his skateboards to me. The client is a skater dude. I used to skateboard. Skateboarding is one topic that we chat about during our massage sessions.

I had some free time after one of our sessions. He showed me his boards, and we wound up skateboarding around the building where he lives.

Afterwards, he said that I could have the skateboard. I didn't expect that. I believe he offered the gift out of genuine generosity. The board was used but it was in good condition. Nevertheless, I had to refuse.

Btw, the skateboard that he skates on was so much better than the one that he offered me. He allowed me to take those pictures of him.

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Since we are on the subject of gift giving, I will share with you another gift giving story.

The gift that was offered in this instance was a fanny pack. 

My client said that he noticed that I carried a lot of massage related items with me to his place for our sessions. He told me to lighten up.

He has his own massage bed that we use. And he uses his own towels and sheets. And he has me use his own massage oils. He said there was no need for me to haul so much baggage to his place. He said that everything that I needed to bring could fit in a fanny pack, so there would be no need for me to lug my duffel bag or back pack.

He gave me a fanny pack to make his point.

To my surprise the fanny pack wasn't empty. I bet you couldn't guess what was inside the fanny pack. There were packages of condoms inside. That was weird.

Of course I refused the gift and not just because of the rubbers.

His roommate helped carry my bag, even though I didn't need his help. They were two fun loving dudes, but I could only guess that they really wanted something in return.