Oh yeah, I *know* I'll be spending the day sleeping, but before I go to bed, I got to give a shout-out thanks to whoever has hit the tip jar last night. It's only going to be up one more day, so you know, if anyone has any couch change they wanna get rid of...
Actually, I've also got to give a big thanks to 'Stan in Portland' (I think that's who it was--no note on the receipt) for hitting up the Wish List and sending me two very cool toys. He sent along a new Gerber Gator knife, which I've almost bought myself about a dozen times in the past four years, and he also sent along a new Maglite flashlight set. Every time I go to WalMart, I swear, I *almost* buy both of these things, and then I always think Nah, it's probably cheaper on Amazon, and then I always forget about it once I get home.
Anyhow, everyone knows how awesome, rugged, and useful Maglites are--they are damn near indestructible. And they've got that cool gadgety look and feel about them, too, which makes them even more appealing. And my former Gerber Gator was the best damn knife I've ever owned. I used it constantly when sailing and camping (two activities I haven't participated in for far too long). It fit my hand perfectly, it was solidly built, and it always kept an edge. (And I always hated letting other people use it, too, because I knew they wouldn't treat it as lovingly as I did). Unfortunately, both the knife and my last Maglite were in the center console of my old Nissan truck five years ago when the Repo-man came a-callin', and I was never able to recover any of my personal belongings that were inside, so I lost them both (Along with all of my GNFNR CDs, too).
So I'm especially thankful for Stan's generosity, as he chose to send two of the things I really wanted, with the added bonus of them being very practical items.
It got me thinking--everyone always talks about buyer's remorse whenever they spend money, especially when it comes to big-ticket items. I had it for about five minutes after I closed on my first house, but walking in the door the first time cured that. Buying a new vehicle will do it, too, especially if you went from no payment to several-hundred-bucks-per-month, like I did the last time I signed the dotted line.
But nobody ever talks about the opposite of Buyer's Remorse--when you buy something and it's such a good product or such a good deal that you walk away thinking Heh--I would've paid more for that! Do they even have an official name for it?
Even though I didn't make the purchase this time around, that Gerber knife and the Maglite are such good products that I'd gladly pay more than their asking price for them. The same goes for my prescription sunglasses I bought a few months back--every time I put them on, I think Holy Shit! These are the best f*cking glasses I've ever owned. I have BIONIC eyes now! Seriously, I act like a total dork when I wear them because compared to my normally blind ass, they make me feel like I have super-powers. They're well built, they look good, and they over-deliver on functionality. I'm also beginning to feel the same way about my new watch. I can just tell that it's gonna last forever, it looks better than the picture I posted (mine has an olive-drab/khaki face, not plain white), and the clasp was designed by some genius who is obviously smarter than me. I get a kick out of just putting it on.
My new Canon camera? Oh yeah. It's also smarter than me. And better looking, too. I still haven't gotten the thing entirely figured out yet, but so far, I'm pleased. And for the price, it was an absolute bargain.
You've all heard me rave about my KRZR phone in the past, too. For a long time, I wanted a RAZR, just because I thought they looked so cool, but everyone warned me off because of so many problems with the design. Well, the folks at Motorola got it right with the next-generation KRZR, and even though it's not a 'smart' phone with a full keyboard and ability to control my entire life from the palm of my hand, it's a damn good phone and I get compliments on it all the time. I would gladly buy another one. The same thing goes for my iPod. It was also a gift, but it's truly a technological masterpiece that impresses me every time I use it. I guess part of that comes from being old--when I was in high school, the Sony Walkman was the latest must-have gadget, so every time I use my iPod, I get the same WTF? look on my face as the caveman did when he saw fire for the first time.
Another quality thing I own, which is surprising to me how much I like it, is my Fossil wallet. Those of you who know me know that I go through wallets like Paris Hilton goes through Astro-Glide. I must've gone destroyed about one a year for the past couple of decades. I either wash them and they fall apart, or they just fall apart on their own. Hell, since I've been doing this blog, I've gotten one as a Christmas gift, another one from Angy, one or two from LV Dawn, and I bought that BAD MF'er wallet, too. I also remember buying one in Nashville on my lunch hour a few years ago and coming back to my office later in the day and finding out I was getting laid off--funny how we remember stupid things like that. Anyhow, a few months ago, I was tired of always having a cheap-ass wallet, and decided to cough up a few extra $$$ and go for better quality, so I bought a Fossil wallet off of Amazon.
I hate to overwhelm with superlatives, but again, it's the best wallet I've ever owned. The leather is thick and the color doesn't fade, the stitching looks like it was done by somebody who works in a baseball-glove factory, and the whole thing feels bulletproof. And it's large enough that I don't forget about it when I take my pants off, thus minimizing the likeliness of it ending up in the washing machine (well, that, and working for cash tips keeps me keenly aware of where my wallet is at all times, too). So yeah, I really like it, and again, I wouldn't hesitate to buy another one.
Topping out the list of high-quality things I now own is my Toshiba laptop. This thing is the absolute shiz-nit! It seems that everyone on the planet bitches about Vista, but you know what? I haven't had a single problem or the slightest hiccup with this thing in the past year-and-a-half. It's been an absolute workhorse for me, not giving me the slightest reason to piss me off. Now, granted, the day I got the thing, I had Big Stogie work his magic on it, adding some software, taking some stuff off, and disabling the worst features of Vista before I ever did my first task.
Whatever voodoo he performed, coupled with the technology from Toshiba, seems to have been exactly what was needed, and this thing still hums along at lightning speed, doing all the weird shiat I've asked it to do. And no matter how much pr0n or
Anyhow, I don't know how I got off on this tangent, but I'm glad I did. It beats talking about my boring night at work or my piles of laundry that need to be put away. So if any of you have gotten hold of some normal everyday items that are above-and-beyond, I'd like to hear about it.
Mikey
PS--Can't forget about my Lodge cast iron skillet and griddle, either. Worth their weight in gold.
No comments:
Post a Comment