I was very busy today doing what I now broadly refer to as “entrepreneurial things,” which mostly means building something, realizing the thing I built requires three other things, and then spending the next several hours building those. I did manage to squeeze in coffee with friends, which I consider an important part of any respectable business strategy, and at some point in the afternoon I decided that the logical next item on my agenda was to stop everything and open a present.

In my defense, the present had come all the way from Japan. A friend had brought it back for me, and I had been waiting to properly investigate what was inside. I also decided to film the process, although calling what I made an “unboxing” feels slightly ambitious. There was no box, for one thing, and I have yet to master the particular internet skill of opening a package while behaving as though I have never seen an object before.

The first little case held a pair of earrings, and whatever restraint I might have brought to the situation disappeared when I realized they looked really good with what I was already wearing. They went on. There was also this beautiful painted shell, made for holding the earrings, which I loved almost as much as the earrings themselves. By this point, the gift was performing exceptionally well.

The first little case held a pair of earrings, and whatever restraint I might have brought to the situation disappeared when I realized they looked really good with what I was already wearing. They went on. There was also this beautiful painted shell, made for holding the earrings, which I loved almost as much as the earrings themselves. By this point, the gift was performing exceptionally well.

While editing the reel later, I realized I had also inadvertently created a tiny bit of ASMR. There was the opening of the case, the handling of the objects, the rustling of the packaging, all those quiet little sounds that suddenly become noticeable when everything else disappears from the audio. ASMR, or autonomous sensory meridian response, describes the pleasant tingling or deeply relaxed sensation some people experience in response to particular sounds and visual triggers. Research into it is still relatively young, although studies have found measurable physiological responses in people who experience ASMR, including reductions in heart rate during the experience. There is something rather lovely about the idea that the nervous system can respond to something as ordinary as a soft sound or a slow movement by settling down a little.

I’m not suggesting that opening earrings from Japan should be added to anyone’s formal wellness regimen, although I would be very willing to participate in that study. I did find the whole thing strangely soothing. Maybe part of it was the sound. Maybe part of it was simply stopping in the middle of a busy day long enough to pay attention to something small, beautiful and completely unrelated to whatever I had been staring at on my computer five minutes earlier.

Then I got to the ribbon.

I have always loved vintage pieces and finding new uses for things that other people might overlook, so apparently a nice piece of Japanese gift ribbon never stood much of a chance around me. I looked at it, looked at my wrist, and tied it on. Suddenly my friend had given me earrings, a painted shell and, through absolutely no intention of her own, a bracelet.

The entire diversion probably lasted only a few minutes. Then I returned to my computer, my tabs, my projects and whatever entrepreneurial thing I had temporarily abandoned. I just happened to return wearing new earrings and part of the packaging.

Apparently, I don’t believe in wasting good packaging.