Back in my buy-stuff-to-feel-joy days of my 20's, I used to look forward to dropping in to the nearest Best Buy, and just spending an hour or two there. I'd start by looking at music, then DVD's, and probably pick up a couple of each. From there I would move through the audio equipment (which, aside from the speakers I bought 20 years ago, that I still use, never resulted in any purchase). Next was the computer equipment, which in part was to fuel the strange nostalgia for working at a CompUSA right after college. After that, it was into video games, which I bought less frequently, but I always had current game systems.
These days, in the rare instance I find myself in a store like that, I can't wait to get out. I absolutely hate it. I can almost always get what I want delivered to me, at lower cost, primarily from Amazon. I don't buy stereo equipment because the only thing you need is a receiver to feed your speakers and switch for your TV between tiny boxes and video game consoles. Physical media is rarely purchased. Ever since I started buying Macs, and they lasted at minimum three years (we have one that Simon uses that's seven years in), I don't really need to update the comprooders.
But I still like to buy stuff. The great irony is that I'm in a better place to buy stuff than I was in my 20's, and yet I'm kind of paranoid about having money saved because of the ugly economy in 2001-02, and again in 2008-09. I've also resolved to vacation like I mean it, which landed me in Alaska this year. This year, my business P&L has no gadget purchases at all, a first since, well, ever. I bought a big closet for my office, but that isn't very interesting. My desktop and laptop computers are solid, so I don't need to replace those. Heck, I even have a Surface Pro 3 that I rarely use in the last two years except to travel. My still cameras are everything I need them to be, even my 8-year-old DSLR.
I admit that I have eyed a replacement video camera, one of the Canon cinema cameras, because they would use my existing still camera lenses, and maybe that would motivate me to shoot more video. I also kind of want a Google Pixel phone, because the camera is amazing, it's a little smaller than what I have now, and one of my friends showed me his and it's blue. I don't really need this either, as my existing phone works fine.
I dunno... I'm sure there's some reason that some shrink could explain about why I get these urges. I don't think it's because my life lacks something else. I have a (usually) darling child, a kind and beautiful wife, I'm enjoying work, and I really enjoy not being around snow this time of year. Life's pretty good.
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