Tuesday

March 13, 2001

old game for sale on ebay...going for $51 at the moment

It was an ordinary day.

It was sunny at lunch and SuRu and I had lunch at the barbeque place and walked through the toy store for a cultural tour. Did you know they have computer mice for kids with their favorite cartoon characters on them? There are many toys that are for 3 years and up. Two more years for Jack. Meanwhile, I think he'll need some wooden blocks and some Duplo.

It turned gray. The company had a little break at three o'clock with soft pretzels, Dr. Brown Creme Soda and posters. Don't ask.

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The week seems really long and it's only Tuesday. This could be could...I could actually get some work done. Probably because I had a two day and four day week the weeks before. Hmm.... Vacation is a good thing, though.

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I come home to FFP cooking a pre-made pizza and making some eggplant with sauce. Both are tasty. I drink too much coffee and end up staying up and watching TV I instantly forget. (OK, I remember watching a Simpsons, a particularly funny one where Homer becomes a clown like Crusty. Oh, and I watched a lot of that Much Ado About Nothing with Emma Thompson which I really like.) I read the newspaper and and work some puzzles in old newspapers.

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Funny title today, huh? Bet you wondered when I was going to get to that one. Well...

I was just thinking about the things I bought once I went from having to live pretty close to the vest to always having enough and more. I guess that's being rich. Is it past tense? No. Not really. But now we are looking at retirement. Were we wiped out by the stock downturn. No, but of course it affects anyone with stocks and mutual funds. We were there for the run-up, too.

Why socks? Oh, I was wearning these expensive and oh-so-comfortable hiking socks. We went through a period when I bought things without a thought. And gave away stuff without a thought, too. All within our means. More or less.

So I have a pretty good number of expensive socks, several pairs of waterproof hiking boots. Several pairs of Ballys and Cole Haans which cost too much, it seems, but are oh so comfortable. I have some custom-made pants, skirts, blazers and blouses. I bought toys. Toys to give away, toys to collect, toys just be decorate my office. And books. Least bit interested in it? Buy it. We got a media room and have about 80 LDs and DVDs and a bunch of CDs. FFP is the DJ. I didn't buy many. He built this collection and plays them for me.

And we bought art. Original works of art, old French subway posters, seriographs and the famous muscians in the back yard. We bought landscaping. I could go on and on. Computer software and gear to sift through and see what we liked and could really learn to use.

We are slowing down now. Trying to spend less, save more, get ready to retire. But I still have a drawer full of great socks that'll last for a long time.

The slow down in spending and going out is giving me time to access the things that 'being rich' has given me. To enjoy them, catalog them, sort them. Wear those socks.

Now I just have to trot out the expensive tennis racket FFP got me a few years ago and my expensive New Balance tennis shoes and go play some tennis. It's time to enjoy.

I think everyone goes through comsumptive periods and then retreats. And, of course, we aren't the really rich. Our house has less than 3,000 square feet and is on a public street with no gates keeping anyone away. We have to think about it before we make any huge spending decisions. But we aren't poor either. Hopefully some of the stuff we spent money on made our lives richer. The socks worked, I know. Even though I am usually not hiking...just kicking around the office or running errands.

When I think about the really rich, I do envy them. But I don't think they have better socks. They can just give more away. Make more good things happen that interest them. That's the reason to envy them.

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