A Black Cat, A Vinyl Mat, and a Friendship That Never Faded.

A small, thoughtful gift reconnects two old friends and proves that some memories never fade.

November 12
4 min read

Back in college, I had a friendship people would probably envy.

Think about it—what are the chances you’d meet someone in real life who shares your love for that one obscure, long-forgotten band from decades ago?

We were that kind of friends.

We’d go to the movies together after class, wander around the city, or just lie by the roadside talking about bands we liked.

We found the best craft beer bar in town and even became friends with the owner. We were obsessed with music and movies from the 70s and 80s.
She loved the Alien series and Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver; I’ll never forget the night we watched Jodorowsky films together—back then, we were probably the only two in our class who genuinely liked him.

We influenced each other:
I got into craft beer because of her, and her social media bio still features a movie quote I once recommended. Those days were some of the happiest, most precious times in my life.

After graduation, we went our separate ways.

She went to Leeds for graduate school, and I started working right away.

Even though we didn’t talk much anymore, we kept one small ritual alive — sending each other thoughtful birthday gifts every year.

It was our way of staying connected, just to make sure we still knew where the other person was, that we hadn’t lost touch completely.

At first, we both took gift-giving seriously.

But over time, the gifts became more random — little things you could find in any boutique: nice enough, but not exactly special.

Still, we both quietly understood. Life gets busy.

This year, when it came time to find gifts for her, I didn’t have any particular plan.

As usual, I just opened Google and threw in a few keywords like “Vinyl” and “Gift.”

That’s when I came across it —

Retro DJ Cat Vinyl Slipmat

Add a rhythmic visual treat to your setup as this feline spins hypnotically along with your favorite tracks. One of those cool objects that brings a distinct retro 80s vibe, making it a unique gift idea for vinyl enthusiasts.

$ 39.0

AT DumbDumbDelight

A record mat with a black cat on it.

I don’t know why, but the moment I saw it, I thought of those college days. The cat made me smile — we both loved cats, especially black ones. It reminded me of Pink Floyd’s Lucifer Sam, and of her favorite animated show, Disenchantment, with that little black cat, Luci.

I ordered it right away, along with a custom card that said,

“Miss Those Days.”

It was vague, but I knew she’d understand.

The next day, though, I started overthinking it — wondering if I was being too sentimental.

We hadn’t talked much since she moved to the UK.

Did she still listen to vinyl?

Did she still play Queen or Frank Zappa at night?

I wanted to keep that small spark of surprise between us, but I also felt a little foolish — maybe I was just someone stuck in the past, holding on to something that was long gone.

The week after that, I tried not to check the tracking updates.

Then, one night, she messaged me.

She said this meaniful gift moved her — that she was touched I still remembered those days, even though we now lived in different parts of the world.

The next day, she posted a photo: the record mat I sent her, sitting on her turntable.

Turns out, she still listens to vinyl.

At that moment, I was really glad I sent that gift.

Some memories, it turns out, don’t fade with time or distance.

And honestly, I’m grateful I found dumbdumbdelight.com — if it weren’t for them still curating these small, thoughtful, unique gifts, I don’t think I could’ve found something that perfect.

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