i have to say as a woman if you opened a gift for me before it was actually given to me that i'd be pissed. not because i wouldn't want you to have a copy - but just becuase, well it's not yours :D

as a woman i have to say i'd be pissed. and not because i wouldn't want you to have a copy of the cd but because you opened it and listened to it before me.

even though it's a gift, it's mine and not yours :D

that was so rude and tacky. you can't buy a present for someone then use it before you gift them with it. 20 lashes for you!!

My MySQL database is flaking out right now so comments can be sketchy.

i side with jake. since the CD was bought with his funds, in her presence and with her knowledge he has the right to copy it...although i would have tried at all costs to avoid her listening to it before her bday =)

also, i like the new color scheme of the logo =)

I think it would be tacky to open any gift and play with it or use it. I can understand how she feels. It's now like a second hand gift. It should have been her decision to let you copy the CD, not yours.

Bad jake bad!
I hope you know when ever she gets really mad she will bring this up and hold it over your head forever.

Bad form Jake. Yes it was rude. I'd buy her something else now since you used her gift.

It is hardly the only thing she is going to get for her B-day. I am cheap but not that cheap.

Yep, you now owe her a new present, you insentimental clod.

Waiting until her birthday and giving her the CD and then asking if you could rip it afterward would have been a wiser choice. You wouldn't buy someone a computer game, open the box, copy the CD, put it back in the box and give it to them - the same applies here. I agree with Zachary M, you're in trouble for the rest of your days.

This reminds me of the time my brother opened up one of the Christmas gifts he got me before Christmas came so he could "test it" to make sure it worked. Needless to say, I was not happy about it.

I think what you did was rude.

I did that one year - Mum brought me a tape (OLD!) for my birthday and I asked if I could listen to it once. She agreed and I "listened" (read: dubbed) to the tape.

But I gotta side with everyone - it was rude. Ethics-wise, YOU brought it but playing it in front of her spoiled the occasion when she wasn't in possession of it.

Hey, at least you remembered she has a birthday. I need constant reminding. Luckily I often get it....

Well, I don't find it rude, since my sister opens my presents and watches/listens to them all the time and I don't get particularly mad. But, I still wouldn't do it to a girlfriend lol.

Yeah, it was actually rude. I was pissed when my friend did that to me two years ago.

I have to say the thought behind the gift is more important than the shiney plastic. Getting a gift is nice because the person specifically thought of you and wanted to show you. Should anyone really take issue if it isn't "brand new"? Some of the nicest gifts I've recieved have been second hand, from a thrift store, or made. I liked them because someone thought enough to warrent a gift.

It was completely acceptable to do it, it's just rude to let them know you've done it.

:)

Unfortunately, Jake, I'd say you're in the wrong on this one.

When my friend picks up comic books for me, he knows I'll pay him back. He ALSO knows that he's welcome to read any of the books he buys for me before he gives them to me (I don't have a local comic shop; he does). There's a tacit agreement on that sharing.

But in the case of your girlfriend, the item in question is a GIFT, and something that (even though it really wasn't) traditionally can be considered a "surprise" until the big day.

It might have been best to just wait until she opened the gift to unwrap the CD and rip/mix/burn it.

I agree that it's the idea and intent behind a gift that make a good or bad. I think the big problem with opening, listening to, or watching a gift intended for a loved one, is that you are supposed to let them share it with you. That way you experience it together, which in my opinion is much more rewarding.

Old used stuff isn't bad and if the person thinks so, they're just being shallow. So I don't really agree with the "second hand" argument.

Of course, I'm sure I've done the same thing in the past, but I don't think I dropped the ball like you did. =)

Though I think you do get some points for actually knowing what she wanted. (enough so that she'd actually get pissed about it) And maybe she should be a little amused that you were interested in something she wanted so much, that you'd go and do something so brazen.

Best not to argue with her. Just say you're a silly man and you're sorry. =)

I must comment on this. I wasn't mad or angry when I heard the beginning of the Pink Panther theme, knowing that he opened my present and burnt a copt before giving it to me. But when I tried to explain that it could be considered rude. That is when he said "Miss Manners wouldn't think it was rude". So I told him to ask his faithful webloggers what they thought.

See Jake, I did make my point. Your argument that you would be opening the plastic wrap for me any ways is just ridiculous.

In fairness to Jake, he is a great boyfriend, who is not cheap at all when it comes to gifts etc. So no honey, I will not be bringing this up to you everytime I get mad. (Not to make everyone vomit, but we never get mad at each other)

Still can't wait to hear all of my new cd and see the cool Shag illustrated book that came with it. Only 10 more days!!!!!

It would be like giving somebody a birthday cake having already eaten the first piece. So yeah, tacky. Yeah, rude. I'd be INCREDIBLY mad!

Shag is rad.

I would not say it is rude, but it is tacky. If you have a desire to do something like this in the future, you should first give the CD, then ASK if you can rip a copy. Of course she will say yes, and you get the MP3's and she's happy with her CD and all's well with the world. Of course, your lady obviously reads your blog and will realize that you're doing this because someone left a comment on your blog telling you how to get what you want without spoiling a present, so I guess you're screwed either way now.

haha I just stumbled upon your site, and felt that I'd give me opinion.. Yeah, it's kinda tacky to do that. If I did it, I would give it to her first, then ask later if you could burn it when she's not using it. ;]