Stuff to Want

Now that I'm not working I get a lot of curious people asking about "How it's going." I sort of supsect that what they really mean is: "How are you possibly managing to survive with so much less money?" or, even more bluntly put: "Are you miserable yet?"

Well, the fact is that my severance package continues through next month. So thus far I have been having the experience of getting paid but not going to work, a situation that's difficult to complain about, in all honesty.

But there is that nagging sense of the unknown future, and the significant drop in income that is yet to come. So I am trying my best to be frugal in my purchases and lifestyle. You know, confucious says the key to a happy life is to "want what you have." I can do that!

But then the Sunday ads come along, or I run across some products on the internet, and next thing you know, the Wanting What I Don't Have starts to kick in. You may recall last year around this time I started wanting the Do-nu-matic. Just the coolest thing ever and after some serious hinting and a strongarm from the Glenmoor Gals to Larry, there it was under the Christmas tree in all its greasy glory.

But with getting there comes more wanting. Now I want donuts all the time, which is bad for the expanding waistline that I don't want. A neighbor recently learned of my possession, and since she happens to be a pastry chef she generously gifted me with a tub of the actual chocolatey substance that is used on the top of real chocolate eclairs. So as I sit here that tub is in my refrigerator, and I'm trying not to want it, even though I already have it. Oh the conflict!

Here are some of the recent items that have caught my attention this year:

Garage Door Open Indicator

I found this one on the internet, and immediately wanted it because we do have this problem at our house of forgetting to close the garage door. There's nothing worse than getting all snuggled into bed and then having to get up and check if the darn thing is closed. Or worse yet, finding out in the morning that it had been left open all night long, inviting any lazy burgalers or murderers out there free access to come in and stab us as we slept, and then walk out with the don-nu-matic or whatever other of our valuables they may desire. I was all ready to buy but then I noticed that this wasn't exactly an ad for a product but a set of instructions on how to construct and wire one of these yourself. Since I don't know how to rewire a transformer and probably can't now afford an expert to put this together for me, this wonderful invention is off the list.Cruzin Cooler
Maybe you've heard of this, it was in the paper a couple of weeks ago, just in time for football season. It retails for around $450 or so. What I can't get over is the mental image I have of the scenario in which it got invented. Can you just imagine a group of drunken tailgators fooling around by their beer storage saying "Dude, look at me on the cooler! Wouldn't it be fun if I could drive this thing? Yeah, that'd be great!" And then somehow, incredibly, the thing is in existence and people are buying them. Unbelievable.


Bushmaster Shaggy Suit

This was in this week's Meijer ad, and I just couldn't stop staring at it. Look how happy he is, the man in the shaggy suit. It appears that this is intended for hunters, but I can quickly come up with some alternative uses:

1. Camoflage. Just wear it walking around outside! You could be invisible! Imagine the possibilities for getting real close to animals for spying on them. Or even people. No one would know you were there.


2. Fashion statement. Nobody else will be showing up in that at a party! Just think of the compliments for your originality.


3. In lieu of fat pants. I don't know about you but there are days when maybe I've just had a few too many donuts recently. No worries about a little extra on the hips when you can just slip on your Bushmaster Shaggy Suit! I'm sure it hides it all.


Best of all, it's only $69.99 on sale at Meijers. But then again, I must ask myself is this a want or a need?


So, it looks like none of these things are going to be under my Christmas tree this year, but they are good exercises for me to try to control my Wanting. Maybe I should also be examining my wants of being safe, having fun and becoming invisible. I'll let you know how that goes.