Gifts.
I want to write a whole post on this for the Soli webzine, I swear to god. Why do wishlists feel to me like some combination of crass consumerism and overweening entitlement, instead of simply an honest and helpful guide for friends and family who might otherwise not have a fucking clue what one would like?
Things I Would Like for Christmas
First category: silly impossibilities that are fun just to write -- maybe that will get me into the consumer mood?
1. A MacBook Pro, hells yeah. 15-inch glossy screen.
2. A Subaru Outback station wagon, in dark red. See -- this is something I do not need in the slightest. But if someone were asking what kind of ridiculously unnecessary things I would buy if I won the lottery, this would be in the list, even though I love my Mazda, and even though that car is apparently emblematic of lesbians, and is not some hot Mercedes or BMW or whatever.
3. Rosetta Stone for Hindi, levels 1 AND 2. That's a computer program to support language learning. The military uses it, for the very beginning stages, though students move on from it pretty quickly. It costs about $300 for both levels together.
4. Guitar Hero II and the game system to play it on. This is COMPLETELY ridiculous, but I played it at M's sister's house in Georgia, and it is the one video game I actually enjoy. I don't even know what game system it is. PlayStation? That's a laugh, on my crappy TV.
------
Second category: slightly more realistic, but seeming pricey, to me:
1. Mac OSX Leopard Edited: Sad. I just found out last night that my PowerBook G4 cannot use Leopard. Bastards at Apple, upgrading everything unnecessarily.
2. a number pad to plug into my laptop, because I can't play Civilization anymore, without it.
3. Civilization IV, if it is any good. I can't tell. If I COULD use my laptop for it, I'd still be playing Civ 2.
4. A plug-in webcam for my computer, so I can use Skype. Oh, I want this. Not that a webcam is exactly NECESSARY.
5. My Amazon wishlist is here, and actually has things I'd really like, from CDs to DVDs to books.
Things I Would Like for Christmas
First category: silly impossibilities that are fun just to write -- maybe that will get me into the consumer mood?
1. A MacBook Pro, hells yeah. 15-inch glossy screen.
2. A Subaru Outback station wagon, in dark red. See -- this is something I do not need in the slightest. But if someone were asking what kind of ridiculously unnecessary things I would buy if I won the lottery, this would be in the list, even though I love my Mazda, and even though that car is apparently emblematic of lesbians, and is not some hot Mercedes or BMW or whatever.
3. Rosetta Stone for Hindi, levels 1 AND 2. That's a computer program to support language learning. The military uses it, for the very beginning stages, though students move on from it pretty quickly. It costs about $300 for both levels together.
4. Guitar Hero II and the game system to play it on. This is COMPLETELY ridiculous, but I played it at M's sister's house in Georgia, and it is the one video game I actually enjoy. I don't even know what game system it is. PlayStation? That's a laugh, on my crappy TV.
------
Second category: slightly more realistic, but seeming pricey, to me:
1. Mac OSX Leopard Edited: Sad. I just found out last night that my PowerBook G4 cannot use Leopard. Bastards at Apple, upgrading everything unnecessarily.
2. a number pad to plug into my laptop, because I can't play Civilization anymore, without it.
3. Civilization IV, if it is any good. I can't tell. If I COULD use my laptop for it, I'd still be playing Civ 2.
4. A plug-in webcam for my computer, so I can use Skype. Oh, I want this. Not that a webcam is exactly NECESSARY.
5. My Amazon wishlist is here, and actually has things I'd really like, from CDs to DVDs to books.