Benefits of being single and kid-less!

[CopInNY]

Xmas time is a lonely time for the big ol' lummox known as CINY...it's ok. shed not a tear for me. I went out today and bought myself a hell of a Christmas gift. I bought the new Bose Lifestyle 50 entertainment system from one of Boses outlet stores. $3500 bucks lighter, I then went to Best Buy and bought a coupla DVD's. 'Heat' with Bobby DeNiro, 'Resovoir Dogs' with Harvey Keitel, and 'Spiderman' with Tobey Maguire. If any of you have ever seen 'Heat', you'll know what I'm talking about. The shootout scene just after the heist is an incredible scene to begin with, but it sounds simply amazing on this system. I absolutely love it.

If I were married, I would never be able to go out and buy myself such extravagant things. Maybe this life isn't that bad after all...

[drunkhunter]

I don't know. I'm married, but we don't have any children. She makes great money, and I make good money. We live off of one salary, and we play with the other one.

Congrats on the Bose though. I hear they are great. I may have to get something like that for our new living room.

[207]

Seeing that my wife bought a house in Sept while I was working 3 doubles in a row I went and bought a Mitsubishi 48" widescreen, matching VCR, progressive scan DVD player, the Monster power strip and related wiring.

As my #1 choice I was looking at a Bose surround sound system. #2 is a Denon system. I haven't decided yet which one to get.
It's hard to evaluate a store display/demo and then try to imagine what it will sound like in an 18x24' living room with a vaulted ceiling.

[CopInNY]

207,

you're right across the sound. Come on across to long island one weekend, you can check out the Bose, and make your choice. Be warned though, there could be a coupla steaks and beers involved as well though!!

[Mitzi]

Christmastime can be lonely for those with kids too, CINY, if you aren't close to immediate family. Personally, everyday is Christmas for me when I get to look into those beautiful brown eyes of my son and know he's still safe vor now.

[RachelR]

I know the feeling Cop.. My close friends all have kids and whenever we try to make plans to go out, they always have to figure out who is babysitting, which weekend their ex has the kids so on and so forth. Me, I can just pick up and go.

But, it's fun playing with their kids, buying them things etc.. and then... sending them home!

[Mike Tx]

We have three kids with no ex's involved. They'd love a sound system like that and hopefully can buy it themselves.

Maybe we will be luck enough to move in with them when we get too old, and THEN we can rock out!

[209]

One kid by a previous marriage. I don't get to see him much. My current wife and I have none, although we do have horses. I have to convince my wife they aren't our "kids", but some people and their pets....

I tend to get depressed around this time of year, but it's due more to losses in my life rather than lonliness. It seems for the last 12 years or so almost every holiday season, someone close has passed on. I try to justify it by remembering I'm not exactly young anymore so it stands to reason older friends and family have aged right along with me and (although at times I have to actually think about the age of someone) old age does catch us all sooner or later. Still....it is depressing.

[Tprspouse]

I wouldn't trade my children and husband for any amount of money in the world, but...

Cop, you enjoy every minute of that entertainment system. You deserve it Someday you'll have a wife and kids and you'll be broke. LOL

[Sig220Man]

Like CopinNY, I too am single and childless. I also take advantage of that situation with frequent visits to electronics stores.

Some of my splurges over the last few years, that actually turned out to be rather useful:

1. Sony TiVo system
2. Philips DVD recorder
3. Samsung laser printer (a LOT cheaper to operate than my Epson inkjet)
4. New complete car stereo system (old one broke post-warranty) including Alpine single-disc CD, Alpine separates for the front, 5 channel amp, and subwoofer. I don't play it loud though.
5. Dell laptop computer. Originally purchased for work purposes, I use it more for surfing the web in front of the TV, thanks to a LONG Cat5 cable running back to the desktop. Scroll down to see why I haven't gone wireless yet.
6. Sony DVD player. Got very little use until I bought the Philips DVD recorder. The Sony is now in the bedroom, which I use to watch DVD's of programs transferred off the TiVo.

A few that turned out to be duds:

1. UMAX scanner. Bought it when I had a Mac, and hardly used it then. Now that I have Windows, not easily interfaceable (it's SCSI) without expensive additional hardware. It's cheaper to buy a new one.

2. Viewsonic 19 inch monitor. Broke soon after the warranty ran out. Took up too much room on my desk when it did work. Replaced with a Samsung 17 inch, and I don't miss the extra screen space. Might splurge on a 17 or 18 inch LCD next year.

3. Several attempts at trying to hook up a wireless network. I've tried using matching WiFi equipment from Intel, LinkSys, and even Dell. All would lose the signal within 5 minutes...and that's line of sight from my living room coffee table to my desktop in the dining room. Fortunately I was able to return all of them, though the stuff from Dell I had to pay to ship back. I now use a D-Link router with a 25 foot long Cat5 ethernet cable. When it's not in use, I simply coil it up and hide it.

[InSane1]

CiNY.. I hear you. I love the single life. although, i have two kids to keep me company. yay.. *cough* they can be vicious somedays.

BUT, I went shopping today. I bought a couch! OMG $1100.00 later I'm wondering if its all worth it. I LOVE THE THING! it was in stock so they will be delivering it on Wednesday! YAY!!!! I will take a picturte of it and add it to Home Improvements thread. This is a couch you have to see. I couldnt afford to buy the chair with it... or should I say.. refused to buy it because I initially went in planning on spending 500 dolla on a cheap *** couch... and I ended up spending more than twice that on one stupid piece of furniture.

I got the fabric protection on it for five years in case my kids burp, fart, puke, spill, pee, crap or do any other thing to it to cause a stain or discoloration.. hehehe.

(my kids are beyond the spill pee crap stage thank God!)

I, TOO, love spending money on myself.

[MK219]

I'm married with two kids. One is from a previous mistake, opps, I ment marriage. I don't regret getting married, and I love my kids more then anything else. It would be nice to have some extra $$$$, once in a while though Kids always need something, or want something. ANd I can forget getting something new or expensive. I just got a car in May. Took great care of it. The kids were not allowed to eat or drink in it, yeah, that lasted a month before the first Happy Meal fry went A.W.O.L.! Now theres toys every where, candy wrappers, etc.
Christmas is still fun for now because of the kids. I love play with their toys. But Daddy would love to have a new entertianment center, big screen TV, and sport car. 15 more years till daddy can get his toys!!!!

[Frank Booth]

I'm healthy, my kids are healthy AND I have some cool toys. Life is good.

[207]

quote:

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Originally posted by CopInNY:
207,
you're right across the sound. Come on across to long island one weekend, you can check out the Bose, and make your choice. Be warned though, there could be a coupla steaks and beers involved as well though!!

---

I haven't been out on the "Island" in years!!!!
In fact that was back in the '70's when I used to drag race motorcycles.
The L.I.E. was a scary ride even then... LOL.

[Mitzi]

I have friends who tell me they are glad they don't have kids. It IS hard being a parent and it takes a lot of sactifice and love. A friend of mines husband just left her and he won't speak to her or the kids or his girl toy will get mad. His 11 year old son has run away from home twice because he loved his father so dearly. But his Mother is what a parent is. She found her son both times and made her look him in the eyes as she screamed, "I'M HERE! I'M not leaving you." That's a parent. He has settled down a lot now.
Was it a lot easier before I had my son? Yes? Would I change anything? Only him getting a brain tumor.
Don't become a parent unless you are sure you want kids. It's the hardest job in the world. And it not for the faint of heart. But it's the most rewarding experience of my life.
And I've said it before, "If you have a healthy child, you have everything". David is one of the nicest, sweetest people you would ever want to meet. I'm so proud of him.

[ 12-01-2002, 10:14 PM: Message edited by: Mitzi ]