11:45 a.m. - 2006-11-17
stupid playstation, stupid parents
So apparently the guestbook was working temporarily, unbeknownst to me. I tried it today and it's broken again. What the heck???
Maybe Michele is the only one who can use it. Maybe Michele recently purchased signmyguestbook.com without telling us. Maybe Michele is taking over the world.
I had a severe craving today. Tomato soup and grilled cheese. Mmmm. The last time I ate that regularly was at the camp I worked at during my college summers. They would make that at least once a week. It was so nice, especially if it was raining.
In the news: Some dudes broke into a guy's house. They threatened him and his family with a gun. The man who lived there pulled out a gun and shot one of the intruders. Now he's under arrest. Granted, he had drugs there (which is why they broke in there, I guess) and his firearm wasn't registered. But seriously, the police would not have searched his house if people hadn't broken in there and held him at gun point. Now he's all over the news being guided around in handcuffs. There is something unfair about the whole thing.
What can get teenage boys up and at 'em and make them wait patiently for days in the rain? Play Station 3. What NONSENSE. Even more nonsensical - when MOMS are doing it FOR the teenagers. People have been standing out in the freezing rain to get their hands on one of these. Now the folks who plan to buy it for 600 and sell it on Ebay for 4 grand, ok, good investment. A month's paycheck for a day or two of patience. But the people who are out there doing this for their kids? I think that it is probably almost a mathmatical equation that the people who stayed out there the longest, in the most uncomfortable conditions waiting to get one for their little brats probably have the least healthy relationships with their children. There are a couple people I can picture doing that and they all have really low self esteem and no boundaries.
It's one thing if your loved on has some special, unique obsession, like Rosie O'Donnell's loving devotion for Barbra Steisand. If someone stood out in the rain for Barbra's autograph to give to Rosie, or to get me a job with Bono, hey, by all means, that speaks love. But these commercial, materialistic, keeping up with the Joneses, orgies of greed taking place outside Wal-Marts and Best Buys across the nation are just sad. The kids will play with the system for a few months, inviting their friends over to play violent games, furthering their decline into social awkwardness. Or they'll get bored with it, like that thousand dollar swingset out in the front yard that no one EVER goes near.
I know some of you are out there going, but Jessi, you were an only child and your parents got you a PONY. The epitome of spoil-ness. To that I say this: first of all, I loved that horse for YEARS. Not days or months. If our house hadn't blown up and forced us to move to a place where we couldn't keep him, I can't promise you it never would have gotten boring...but for the 18 months that he lived on our property, it was like a dream. (We boarded him elsewhere for a few years after and it definitely wasn't the same.) Secondly, this particular luxury also included a lot of shit shoveling, among other things. If a big expensive gift requires the recipient to clean up the gift's poop, it's a different story entirely.
Anyway, today's advice from expert parent, me: don't spoil your kids with expensive, mind numbing toys that they won't appreciate.
Lastly, the Barbara Walters special "30 Mistakes in 30 years" part one was on last night. I really like Barbara Walters. Part two is on tonight and I think it will be just as good, if you're having a mellow night in.
