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Time in possession: About a year and a half.
Description: A box of home made wine, White Zinfandel to be exact. 9 bottles in the photo, and I'm pretty sure there are a couple in my fridge. Those are the remains of an original batch of about 26 bottles. Bottled with love. And thrift!
Cost: $100 for the wine and $10 for the bottles. That's one hundred and ten dollars of pure alcoholism! Ahoy!
Story: My friend Kevins mom runs a side business making and bottling wine. After a couple of years drinking alongside him and enjoying his wine, I finally decided to get myself a batch, a decision made all the easier by a student price of $100 for the batch. $4 for a bottle of delicious wine? A whole bunch of them so I'm not likely to run out any time soon? Knowing that nobody spit in your alcohol duing the bottling process? I'm in!Together with Kevin and his mom we put this batch together and I'm proud to say that I can with no shame bring a bottle out to a fancy party (well, as fancy a party as I'm ever invited to), hand over as a gift to friends or pop open and drown my sorrows in a torrent of wine-y goodness.Also, having a bunch of wine in your room? Classy.
Time in possession: Roundabouts 16 years.
Description: Black duffel bag, featuring logos for the long-since defunct company ComputerLand. The zippers and detailing is done in the worst early 90s indigo imaginable, but make the bag pretty visible off of airport conveyor belts. At this point the bag is broken at several points- The main compartment in particular has a broken zipper and a Velcro latch that is hanging on by a thread. Well used, you know?
Cost: This was a freebie given to my dad when he worked there and then later appropriated by me, so let's call it a $1.99 Value Village special.
Story: Material possessions for many people are tangible signs of their progression, through adulthood, through the ranks of status, whatever. This bag, to me, was a sign of my growing older and a tangible sign of my own personal owning of property. When I went travelling (with my family most of the time- I was 8 when I first started using it!) this was my bag and in it went my things. I packed it, I kept track of what I had in it and carried it to and from the places I went. My bag, my belongings, my status symbol of maturity and responsibility.
Plus, having never played hockey, it was the closest thing that I've ever had to a hockey bag and I always thought that they were cool.This bag has been all over with me. It's been all around North America, and to Scotland at least once. In addition to clothes it has held beer, video game systems, RPG crap, Halloween costume props and once, a puppy. At this point it is in dire need of replacement, but it works well enough for it's semi-retired duties, and really, there are so many memories with this bag it's hard to let go. I get the impression that it will probably fall apart at the seams before I decide to trash it, and if that's the case, then it will be with me a long while still.
Time in possession: Around 4 years, but probably a few more.
Description: Black plastic steering wheel and pedals, for use with the Sony Playstation. Pretty damn near caked in dust. I mean, I'm looking at them on my bed in that picture and I feel like I need to sneeze. Gross.
Cost: While I want to say $10, my memory is pushing me towards $15, which is kind of shameful.
Story: This item was purchased during my initial foray into the local flea markets. Usually whenever I find a new source of cool crap (eBay, pawn shops, flea markets, trips to places where people don't like crap that I have become obsessed with) I very quickly both a)Lose Money and b)Accumulate said crap. Now this isn't usually an issue, except in my buying frenzy, I usually end up with one or two things like this. No, on paper there is nothing wrong with my owning a V3 FX Racing Wheel , but that paper is excluding the fact that a)I don't really like racing games, b)I own one racing game for my Playstation and c)I've played that game on my Playstation once, just to see if it worked.It doesn't help that said game, Driver, starts with a stupidly difficult training level that requires you to successfully pull of a bunch of manoeuvres that you might never require in actual game play. Still, if you can't do them all (and I couldn't!) then you can't play the game. Frustration abounds. Now, I'm all for challenge in games and I do feel that content can be locked to give the player a sense of progress as they go through the game, but when the entire game is shut off to you until you jump through a bunch of arbitrary hoops... well, that's just dump.Rant = off. Now you might have noticed the dust that adorns this controller, truly pointing it out as a abandoned peripheral. That's the other problem with the thing. I've got plenty of controllers that I never use (that kind of happens when you own well over 50 individual controllers for dozens of systems) but this one is so damn big that the only place I could find for it was on top of a bookshelf which is pretty high on my list of places where I never stumble across things. Also, the controller isn't even that good. To give you an idea about this whole new-place-buy-fest phenomenon, about 2 or 3 months after buying this bad boy I came across a similar controller for the Nintendo 64. I came this close to getting it, despite the fact that a)I didn't own ANY racing games for the N64 and b)I hadn't touched this thing since making sure that it worked. I think this is proof that I am, indeed, a consumer whore.And how!
Time in possession: Volume 3, about 6 months. Volume 1 and 2 less than 1.
Description: 3 digest-sized graphic novels in excellent condition. The art and size mimics the typical manga style, but the story and content is an awesome mix of Twenty-something angst, video game culture and Canadiana. It's like somebody made a comic based on a mad lib taken from random shit floating around my brain. Too awesome for words. (Except, obviously, the words I've already committed and will commit in the future to describing it. So, uh, I guess I didn't need to say that.)
Cost: The total set came to around $36. WORTH EVERY PENNY.
Story: Working at the library is good for several reasons, but one of the best ones is that I get exposed to all sorts of reading that I would otherwise pass by without notice. Now, granted, this has left me with a stack of books at all times that call out to be read that, in all honesty, I will probably never finish off, but that's really not the worst problem in the world.
Uh, but my point. Right.
Graphic Novels actually work out quite well for me at the library since they don't take nearly as long to read. As such, they make great break reading and are actually the perfect length for my bus trip home on evening shifts. Therefore, I read a whole lot of them- In fact, I have on several occasions read every available graphic novel from my library. Now I've been a little negligent for a few months are there a several that I'm not really interested in, so that had ended that streak. Still, for a while...
ANYWAY, Scott Pilgrim was a pleasant surprise. In fact, when I first picked it up I wasn't really interested at all in it, but I had decided to give it a try. Well, was I ever glad that I did. Oni Press has put out some great books in the past (Geisha, My Faith In Frankie) but Scott Pilgrim is, like, custom made to rock my face. After reading volume 2 I ordered volume 3 off of Amazon (a rare thing for me) and personally hunted down the library's only copy of volume 1. When I spotted Volume 1 and 2 in New York (along with O'Malley's Lost at Sea) I was suddenly 30$ poorer.I really don't have too much more to say about the series except READ THE DAMN THINGS. I will lend them to you! The library has them! Volume 4 is coming out soon and I couldn't be more pumped! Exclamation!(Endnotes: Blogger's spell check apparently does not recognize either Canadiana or manga as words. Americana though? Yeah. For shame blogger, for shame. Speaking of shame, this is late. Apologies. The worst part is that I had this post 3/4 finished for days now and I just didn't get around to finishing it off last night. Boo-urns on me.)
Time in possession: Around 5 monthsDescription: Black baseball cap with Velcro adjustable headband. Sports a the title of "The Grudge 2". Probably the lamest thing I've ever owned.Cost: Free with the purchase of some issues of Knights of the Dinner table from Morgana Games. The only price I would have paid for such a thing. Story: I have a problem that is not uncommon. I cannot say no to free stuff. The problem that arises is that it usually takes me years to finally rid myself of the various crap that I've accumulated with is more than enough time for embarassing situations to come forth. Now, granted, the situations arn't usually amazingly embarrasing (i.e. "No, I only have that dog on midget porn because it was free, uh I mean, not mine, I mean, I'm holding for a friend, I mean, enemy, I mean I stopped it from killing a baby. Yeah. That's the ticket.") but really nobody wants to have to take the time out of their life to explain why they have a "The Grudge 2" hat, even if the explanation is "it was free with some other stuff". Now, to be fair to the poor hat, it's not completely devoid of any worth. It covers my head adequately and it's comfortable enough. I just don't really think I can condone pimping bad movies. I mean, it's not even a really bad movie, so if I was trying to wear it as an ironic statement, it would be so borderline that people wouldn't even know if you were serious or not. It would be like when somebody makes a cancer joke and then you're not sure if they have cancer or something and nobody really talks for a while and everybody just looks around and wonders how they can start a new conversation without looking like a total asshole. Yeah, that sucks. So, this hat will probably stick around for a while, probably to be held on to until I give it away to someone whose sense of fashion or irony or thrift exceeds (or is drastically worse, your pick) my own. Until that day, it will remain amongst my other hats, waiting on that day, possibly picking off my other hardware until I have nothing else to wear but it, forcing me into many a social faux-pas. Damn you hat, your evil existence is the bane to my life! This post really didn't have anything to do with anything. I think it gets a brand new label, "rants". Done and done.
Time in possession: 3 or 4 years.Description: According to Amazon.com "Brother PT-65 P-Touch Home and Hobby Labeler with LCD Screen", priced at about . My particular unit is a bit busted up- In particular the back plate is missing a few teeth that are normally used to hold the two ends together. Much like my piggy bank, it is held together with faith more than anything.
Cost: It was a Christmas gift, but the aforementioned Amazon.com page prices it at around 49.50. Works for me.
Story: Several years ago I decided to get my disorganized ass... organized. To that end, I asked for two rather unusual Christmas presents: A label maker and a filing cabinet. While many people laughed at the very notion, once they saw how useful both have since proved, more than a few of my friends have bought their own storage solutions and whatnot. Yeah, you'd think I got enough of this crap at the library, but apparently not.
Anyway, I ended up getting two label makers- Both my Grandma and Erica, my girlfriend at the time, decided to get me one and I found myself at a cross roads. In the end, I went with this model, the cheaper one, as I found it had really all the features I want in a label maker. After having experience using the other model at work, I'm glad with my choice: While the other model had a few more options, the quality of both of them was equal and frankly this guy is the perfect size for me. Big enough not to get lost but small enough to squeeze in to the gaps in my bookshelves or tech drawers, depending on my mood that day.
Nowadays you can find this baby pretty cheap, in clearance bins at your local Staples or what have you: Makes sense to me. These guys really make their money on the tape- That crap is ridiculously expensive and I've found myself buying it in bulk when I find a decently discounted price. You know, kind of like how your mom buys tuna. Anyone? Anyone? Just me, eh?
Time in possession: 2 years.Description: 3 DVDs, encompassing the entirety of the British series "The Office". The entire collection has been watched and lent out several times but that has added and not taken away from it's supreme awesomeness.Cost: $26 for the first season, another $26 for the second, and then $20 for the holiday special, for a grand total of $72. Crazy, really. Nowadays you can get the whole deal for around $35. Oh, capitalism.
Story: When I went to Scotland in 2004 I had the pleasure of flying with British Airways. Why was that a pleasure you ask? Well, for starters, it's an airline that still gives you shit. You got something to eat, free earphones and even a little overnight bag with the basic toiletries. Northwest steals the toiletries that you pack, just to illustrate the amazing chasm in terms of service here. Also, instead of having a shitty one-monitor-every-3 seats in-flight movie, every seat in the plane has its own monitor. Even better, they all have individual controls that allow you to switch between a wide selection of rotating "channels", providing more available entertainment then you have flight as well as allowing you to play a selection of emulated Game Boy Games. Which is kind of lame, really, since, you know, you're playing a Gameboy game in 2004, but the thought is still there.
Anyway, on said flight, I noticed that there was a listing for "The Office Christmas Special", the finale of the hit British show that I had been hearing about. I decided on a whim to check it out, see if I liked the style. After a few minutes of getting used to the faux-documentary style jumping in mid-episode, I was blown away. The Office, even without understanding half of the back story that went into the episode, is amazing. The dry British wit, the hilariously uncomfortable moments and the touching love story: All fantastically pulled off. I was hooked... and I had just watched the last episode!
When I returned home, I discovered that I had a bit more cash left over from the trip then I had been planning on. You know what that means... Spending spree! And the first thing I picked up was the recently released The Office DVD. I watched the whole first season (only six episodes! Tragedy!) in one go. At my next available opportunity, I got the second season. And then the Christmas special came out, which I got and re watched. I've forced so many of my friends to watch this show, it's kind of mental. But totally, totally, worth it.
I've been watching the U.S. version of The Office- It's actually quite good, and it's now a can't miss show for me. I've also heard that there is a French Canadian version called "Le Job", which I wouldn't mind checking out. But the original version is without a doubt in my mind the best start to finish series to ever grace TV. So good, so funny, and so rewarding in its finale that while you still wanted more time with all your TV land friends - Jim, Dawn, Keith, and even that smarmy David Brent- There was a satisfying ending that left you feeling like they would get along just fine.
Did I mention the whole set is dirt cheap now? Buy it already!
Time in possession: About a year and a half.
