FA+
Shop
My two bits worth
13 years ago
This week, a dear friend of mine (and one of the proofreaders for Fallout: Equestria) came to visit. I had known him for years; but seeing as he lives in Australia, we had never met in person. (BTW: He's even cooler in person than he is online!)
I showed off my little apartment which is made even tinier by all the tchotchkes I have collected over the years. That's something I do: I collect and decorate. And his visit got me to thinking what little knickknacks I was most pleased with... and from there, which purchases I've made that I'm most happy with.
The answers, I realized, weren't any of the things I had littering my walls and counter tops. I'm going to share with you, in no particular order, the eight expenditures that came to mind which I was most happy with. And I'd be interested in hearing your own list.
A) A giant stuffed teddy bear that I got my niece for her first Christmas. It was a bear (ha!) to get mailed off to her -- the thing was gloriously huge, several times her size. I'm told she loved it.
B) Fallout 3. The first Fallout game that I ever played... and I played it obsessively. Over a 1000 hours of playtime. And, of course, that opened the way to other Fallout games and eventually to Fallout: Equestria. Still my favorite computer game ever.
C) A rear fender for my bicycle. I do not own a car, so I ride my bicycle to work in all weather. This was easily the best fifteen bucks I ever spent.
D) A donation to the brony-run Christmas charity for children with cancer.
E) A copy of the roleplaying game Mage: the Ascension (2nd edition). This is easily one of the most imaginative and thought-provoking roleplaying games I've had the chance to play and run, and it has brought my friends and I countless hours of enjoyment.
F) Rent. Specifically, that one month (during the summer of the year that the Sacagawea dollar came out) when I paid my entire rent in gold coins. It was just a moment of whimsey, and I still think of it fondly (even if the person I was giving the coins to had no desire to play pirate or Scrooge McDuck -- his loss).
G) My (first and still current) laptop. The ability to write (with a word processor) and chat with friends online while away from my PC is awesome!
and finally
H) A pepperoni pizza with extra pepperoni and extra-extra pepperoni that I bought and had delivered to my roommate's workplace as a surprise. No reason beyond wanting to surprise my pepperoni-loving friend.
I showed off my little apartment which is made even tinier by all the tchotchkes I have collected over the years. That's something I do: I collect and decorate. And his visit got me to thinking what little knickknacks I was most pleased with... and from there, which purchases I've made that I'm most happy with.
The answers, I realized, weren't any of the things I had littering my walls and counter tops. I'm going to share with you, in no particular order, the eight expenditures that came to mind which I was most happy with. And I'd be interested in hearing your own list.
A) A giant stuffed teddy bear that I got my niece for her first Christmas. It was a bear (ha!) to get mailed off to her -- the thing was gloriously huge, several times her size. I'm told she loved it.
B) Fallout 3. The first Fallout game that I ever played... and I played it obsessively. Over a 1000 hours of playtime. And, of course, that opened the way to other Fallout games and eventually to Fallout: Equestria. Still my favorite computer game ever.
C) A rear fender for my bicycle. I do not own a car, so I ride my bicycle to work in all weather. This was easily the best fifteen bucks I ever spent.
D) A donation to the brony-run Christmas charity for children with cancer.
E) A copy of the roleplaying game Mage: the Ascension (2nd edition). This is easily one of the most imaginative and thought-provoking roleplaying games I've had the chance to play and run, and it has brought my friends and I countless hours of enjoyment.
F) Rent. Specifically, that one month (during the summer of the year that the Sacagawea dollar came out) when I paid my entire rent in gold coins. It was just a moment of whimsey, and I still think of it fondly (even if the person I was giving the coins to had no desire to play pirate or Scrooge McDuck -- his loss).
G) My (first and still current) laptop. The ability to write (with a word processor) and chat with friends online while away from my PC is awesome!
and finally
H) A pepperoni pizza with extra pepperoni and extra-extra pepperoni that I bought and had delivered to my roommate's workplace as a surprise. No reason beyond wanting to surprise my pepperoni-loving friend.
Let's See....
The armoire I bought my wife for Christmas one year. He had been looking at it for months and it absolutely left her speechless.
My first real computer. With all the accepted computer parts.
Christmas shopping in general. Mostly for my son.
My current car. Dropping that kind of cash generally leaves me nervous. But it has lasted me 12 years so far.
My first set of D&D books. It opened a life time hobby that has endlessly enriched my life.
A quart of Baseball nut ice cream that vanished in one sitting.
One no budget week long Disney World vacation for my family.
1.) Piece of Labradorite from Madagascar. That rock has occupied more of my time than Fallout 3 (which, while not the 1000 hours you claim, is a dignified fifty or sixty hours).
2.) Upgrades for my PC. This 8-year-old dinosaur of a computer couldn't be called more than a paperweight without them.
3.) Repairs for my car. It's lasted me six years so far, and was absolutely abused by the last person to own it (corroded battery contacts, leaking car battery, torn serpentine belt, front axle slightly bent, radiator punched full of holes, et cetera).
4.) A headset for my computer. That way the rest of my family doesn't have to listen to the shooting in Fallout and shouting in Skyrim and singing in MLP:FiM.
5.) Oatmeal with bits of fruit in it. One box has lasted me a month, which is nice, because some days it's the only food I have (well...not technically true, we have lots of canned foods, but those are all side items and stuff.)
6.) A copy of Corel Paint Shop Pro X (and a few years later, Corel Paint Shop Pro X2). Easily the best art program I've ever used. Photoshop is great but Corel just serves me better.
7.) A new tablet pen, for when my old one broke (I later repaired the old one and keep it as a backup).
8.) I've bought a few games for friends. Got one friend a copy of Minecraft, another friend a copy of Fallout: New Vegas, and a third friend an expansion pack for the aforementioned Fallout game. Their excitement was worth every penny.
9.) Command and Conquer 3. My favorite video game ever. This is the game I played a thousand hours on. When I found out it had an expansion (Kane's Wrath), I bolted out to get it. No game before or sense has held my attention like CnC3...a couple have come close, though (Skyrim, Fallout: New Vegas, R.U.S.E., Supreme Commander).
10.) My rock hammer. It's a little roughed up from the time I tried to break apart quartzite with it (note to self: avoid rocks that rank higher than iron on the Mohs scale), but it has come in handy a few times on trips to the field for rock collecting.
and F3 - good times. I take it that you like that better than Fallout: new vegas?
makes me wonder what I'll be able to present an american lady-friend of mine who's planning to come visit me over here in scandinavia land...
1) This holiday. Long flights to and from, but its totally worth it to see you, Kkat, and other friends plus all the other things I've done over here.
2) My first scratch built PC. That was just awesome and I'm proud of it.
3) My tablet, drawing is so much fun. I really wish I'd started learning in school.
4) My house, having a place of my own is great.
5) Art commissions, they just makes me happy to look at.
Thats about it. I don't like buying things and apparently have no noble urges at all.