Jolt Country

Chocolate is just another niche hobby that can be delved into (like arcade games, coffee, Star Wars figurines, etc) because there are subtle specifics to each variant.

However, I too remember the introduction of blue M&Ms in '95, because my parents refused to eat them ("they taste different") so they would let me scavenge the bag (that and the seasonal nature (at the time) and thus rare treat of Peanut Butter M&Ms).

mmm....

We go either way with ornaments. There are some the kids and or the ex and I made with sculpy. My husband took a page out of JQW's book and puts his action figures in the tree. There are some ornaments that were gifts, some that were purchased especially... we're kind of all over the place with those. =)

Can we do an ornament picture thread?


THE
PRECIOUS PIXELS
AARDVARK

AArdvark wrote:(Youtube link to miniature coin-op Pacman game)

'Vark, I don't care what other people here say, I thought the minature Pac Man game ornament was the cutest thing I've seen in a long time, especially when it played the Pac Man theme. I thought it was adorable.

My sister and I used to play Super Mario on her Nintendo 64, even to repeating the sound he makes when he steps off into a large pit, "Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" So one time for Christmas I see that the store has a Bowser (the Big Bad in the game) plush toy, so I bought it as a present for her. She thought it was wonderful. Then it did something even I didn't know it did. When you squeezed its hand, it growled. The look on her face was worth every penny. She was so shocked she dropped it. Of course, I was probably as shocked as she was, I had no idea it did that either.

In a post lost to the ages, Flack noted that he couldn't imagine living in a tiny apartment and having very limited space and well, in the name of trying to streamline the apartment (and clean up the kitchen) the following was accomplished today:

All plates, bowls, cups, etc. were either donated, thrown away or packed into storage except for two plates, two bowls, two mugs and two sets of utensils. 99% of our mason jars were dumped without any ceremony, nearly all of our plastic containers were thrown away, etc.

And... AND... I donated about half of my wardrobe, including any and all pants except for the two new pairs of jeans I bought the other day. I'm starting to get into a frugal mindset and am paring down my life accordingly.

You have ditched the 'stuff'. I have done this... But then it comes back in a new body....

... Or a new form.

After carefully scheduling out my money and purchasing high quality goods to replace everything I touch on a daily basis, I discovered that my major expenses can be broken down into three categories:

1. Eating out (restaurants and take out): laziness and a lack of care for my health, diet, etc. and I tend to "eat my feelings" which when a depressive episode occurs, means I'm randomly grabbing a $7 burrito every day.

2. Potential kitchen appliances: in the interests of eating in, I've splurged on a $800 stand mixer, a good wok, blender, etc. This has gone a bit too far though, as I've caught myself looking at specialty appliances such as a $446 grinder, a $300 centrifuge, a $600 noodle maker, and a $220 pressure cooker (after already spending $550 on a sous vide machine).

I may have a problem.

3. Supporting Friends: I pay off ones $130 monthly school loan payment so that they can focus on creating their dream video game and learning Unity. Another's monthly bill comes to over $300 a month for studio space and misc.

Number 3 isn't a category I'm going to refine as opposed to eliminate or slim down and I'm happy to say that I've eliminated eating out and have pulled back on making large appliance purchases.

We'll see how it goes!

How many thousands of dollars on kitchen appliances will it take to make those cookies you promised everyone last year?

Boom.

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... Which has already been invested.

RetroRomper wrote:3. Supporting Friends: I pay off ones $130 monthly school loan payment so that they can focus on creating their dream video game and learning Unity. Another's monthly bill comes to over $300 a month for studio space and misc.

Number 3 isn't a category I'm going to refine as opposed to eliminate or slim down and I'm happy to say that I've eliminated eating out and have pulled back on making large appliance purchases.

We'll see how it goes!

Paying for other people's expenses will never pay off. People just don't care enough about what other people do for them. Your friends will do what they can to get whatever they can but when push comes to shove it will never pay off. People are selfish.

Agreed. Now, I don't have all the facts and I have only known about this for thirty seconds. That said, tell your friend sponging off you to the free ride's over and you'd appreciate the money back with interest.

Here is some GREAT NEWS about the losing streak I'm on at the moment.

I had to replace all four tires. That's $650.

I will have to replace the sprinkler box that burst due to the low temperatures. You know how you're supposed to "blow out your lines"? I didn't do that. I also accidentally set the water to "on" instead of "off" before leaving for Chicago. So that will be $400 in the spring.

Oh, and Frobozz jumped on my video card as it was running and destroyed it. So I had to buy a new one of those.

I really gotta sell some shit. I mean, selling Marble Madness helped with some of it, but GOD. Let's go already.

$80 left to my name at the moment and consequently working on my yearly / monthly budget right now.

I'm up to $7,000 in my savings: next month I'll have enough money to live off of for 12 months. The next milestone will be at $12,000, where I'll have a $3,000 emergency cushion. Then I'll be able to re-allocate funds for mystical personal goals and up my "quality of life."

All us married guys with responsibilities love hearing how easy it is for you to save up money!!!!

I have spent the past several days on vacation in Florida.

A couple of days ago we had a breakfast buffet at Disney World. $15.95/person, regardless of age. With tip, that's a $70 breakfast.

Dinner at Downtown Disney was $60. We had hamburgers, fries and Cokes.

Today we went scuba diving, fins, and had ice cream afterward. That's a good $200 there.

This has been brought to you by my bankruptcy.

Disney is like a very fine mesh screen that separates the millions of Visitors from their money.
We visited the California Disney a few years back and it was mildly appalling.


THE
GILL NET
IN BRIGHT COLORS
AARDVARK

Yesterday morning we had breakfast at McDonald's. The total was $22. I said, "PER PERSON!?" They said, "no, that's the total!" I said "HOT DAMN, WE ESCAPED!!!!!"

We are now at a casino in Tunica, where my wife thinks she is going to win enough money to pay for the whole trip.

This has been brought to you by my second bankruptcy.

this money is now being used to pay down bills that have been mounting, and some will be set aside for the house I hope to one day get.... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
I'm going to drink more wine now.