Random Fail: First World Problems

[dasva]

Find something on the list that you can get a better version or upgrade of etc and one up the fuck out of him and watch his gift get neglected faster than Christmas gifts normally do

[Aksannyi]

Almost everything they want are video games or video game related. Hard to upgrade on that stuff. He did tell me I could get them a PS4, well I'd love to, but that's quite out of my budget.

They are excited to see me anyway so I'm hoping that they understand. They've been remarkably good at recognizing that I don't have a lot of money and I can't buy them things the way their dad can. Still, it would have been nice to get them each at least one physical gift they could unwrap. Maybe I'll just wrap the gift cards, at least. Is that lame? lol

[Charismatic]

I just hope the kids will understand why they're getting gift cards from me when they see all the shit their father gives them. Le sigh.

[Brill Weave]

Quickest date ive ever been on. Pulled out my wallet at the bar to buy drinks while we wait for my reservation, and she saw the badge so she booked it.

I even wore my BG Polo and everything today lmao

You should have lied and told her you were a postal inspector or something.

[Tyrath]

Quickest date ive ever been on. Pulled out my wallet at the bar to buy drinks while we wait for my reservation, and she saw the badge so she booked it.

I even wore my BG Polo and everything today lmao

She screamed at me calling me a racist before straight up running out the door.

rofl.

[dasva]

Almost everything they want are video games or video game related. Hard to upgrade on that stuff. He did tell me I could get them a PS4, well I'd love to, but that's quite out of my budget.

They are excited to see me anyway so I'm hoping that they understand. They've been remarkably good at recognizing that I don't have a lot of money and I can't buy them things the way their dad can. Still, it would have been nice to get them each at least one physical gift they could unwrap. Maybe I'll just wrap the gift cards, at least. Is that lame? lol

It's only lame if you wrap it lame. If you get really creative it could be awesome. Half the joy I remember was trying to figure out stuff that was wrapped in a way that made it easy to guess but hard to guess correctly.

[BaneTheBrawler]

gift card inside a shitty kids game case inside a textbook inside a printer box inside a box from a shitty slide for toddlers wrapped in pastel wrapping paper

[Aksannyi]

It sounds like you have done this before Bane.

[BaneTheBrawler]

nah. given it a lot of thought, though. grandnephews are gonna be old enough to notice shit like this soon enough.

[dasva]

gift card inside a shitty kids game case inside a textbook inside a printer box inside a box from a shitty slide for toddlers wrapped in pastel wrapping paper

See my parents have actually done stuff like that in the past. Though they've also done things like hide games in clothes boxes surrounded by the clothes to really mess with me. Nothing like looking at what looks like another christmas of nothing but clothes and then holy shit it's a game

[Aksannyi]

I remember when I was a kid, getting a game was a huge fucking deal. You'd maybe get one for Christmas, and one for your birthday, and rarely any other time unless you saved up your own money to get one. Now it's like "oh another game to add to my ever-growing collection of games spanning 6 consoles and a couple of handhelds. Yawn."

[zoobernut]

I remember when I was a kid, getting a game was a huge fucking deal. You'd maybe get one for Christmas, and one for your birthday, and rarely any other time unless you saved up your own money to get one. Now it's like "oh another game to add to my ever-growing collection of games spanning 6 consoles and a couple of handhelds. Yawn."

I think a big part of that is online gaming. It has really increased peoples desire to get games on release day. Back in the day that wasn't as big of a thing I mean it was nice to get a game when it came out but it didn't really make that big of a difference.

[BaneTheBrawler]

i actually wasnt much of a gamer as a kid. i had an NES and an atari hand-me-downs, and after a while i got a game-boy color (i traded my holo venusaur card for pokemon red, and needed a game-boy to play it on!). it wasn't until i got the 64 a year after it released that i really started gaming. this was in like 6th grade.

i'd do research on a game i wanted, ask my parents for it. they'd set a particular goal, like "mow the lawn every week for a month" or whatever that if i completed, they'd buy it for me. my birthday is in february so as often as not they'd combine that into one larger gift, like a new console and some legos, or a bunch of games and some legos, or just a lot of legos.


edit: also, i got a pocket knife every year for like 6 years until i happened to mention the trend and they realized they'd been doing it unconsciously.

[Aksannyi]

My brothers and I have been gaming fanatics since we got our NES in 1988 or 1989. Our parents fucking regretted buying that thing. We used to fight over it constantly and of course if our parents wanted to watch something they'd hear us bitching because we didn't get to play Nintendo. Ahh, the days of owning only one TV. And one console, for that matter.

[BaneTheBrawler]

i never had that issue. my parents have never been much for TV, and they had this little 10-inch with a built-in VCR in their bedroom that they'd watch news and shit on. so i had sole control over the living room TV.


also, protip, if you still have your NES, hang on to one of your old CRT TVs. The NES doesn't play well with flat panels. i snagged my parents old 10-inch, lol.

[Aksannyi]

Oh good to know. I do have one in my bedroom that I was actually planning to get rid of eventually. The NES is at my mom's house. Haven't seen it in years but I'd bet money that it still works.

[Kalmado]

We got my wife's family a 55" TV because they've done so much for us in the past year. We're going to wrap some real shitastic gifts for them and then after they open them bring out the real gift!

[Astylla]

My husband jinxed me , stated a few weeks ago I'd probably be getting a jury duty summons and yup there it fucking is.

It's not that bad or anything but for me it's annoying because I can't drive and rely on public transit. Work and jury duty are completely opposite directions.

Basically if they have me check in after 9am , then 11am it would take me roughly 1.5 hours just to get there from work or to work barring any delays which happen. Thankfully I get paid by my employer for jury duty if it happens otherwise I have to burn a day. Annoying shit.

[BaneTheBrawler]

iirc your employer is legally obligated to pay you for jury duty.

make sure you call in to the number they sent the night before youre supposed to go. i didn't. drove 2 hours (it was federal court, had to be there at 8 AM), stayed in a hotel, woke up early, walked over to the courthouse, found the area i was supposed to be completely deserted. one guy came in after me. we were very confused, so we asked an employee. turns out they settled the night before.

[Melena]

iirc your employer is legally obligated to pay you for jury duty.

make sure you call in to the number they sent the night before youre supposed to go. i didn't. drove 2 hours (it was federal court, had to be there at 8 AM), stayed in a hotel, woke up early, walked over to the courthouse, found the area i was supposed to be completely deserted. one guy came in after me. we were very confused, so we asked an employee. turns out they settled the night before.

At least in california they are not. They are only obligated by law to give you the time off.