Grown-up Christmas Gifts! (the secular side of things)

[The Folk Prophet]

As adults, for the most part, Christmas presents are kind of silly to receive. I mean I know there are exceptions, but really, if I want something...I buy it. If I can't afford to buy it...it's not like I expect my parents or wife will spring for the pricey stuff I can't afford. So sort of silly.

That being said, of course, I typically use Christmas as an excuse to get a thing or two I've been wanting -- trying to keep it reasonable (mostly...but sometimes not...). Now that I have a child, of course, mommy and daddy having something to open is part of the magic for the child too, I guess. Why, after all, would Santa not have brought mommy and daddy something? (Obviously one could take the approach that Santa only brings gifts for children, or the full on death-of-Christmas-magic approach...whatever suits you...)

So each year I typically getting something that's special to me that goes something along the line of,...research...research...research.... "Hey honey, do you want to get this for me for Christmas?"

Wife looks over my shoulder at computer screen and (perhaps after some discussion) gives approval.

I buy it, it ships, the wife takes it and hides it away, etc....

Then I sit and read reviews for a month or two while I wait to actually get said item to be able to use it. So that's the state I'm in right now...my gift for the year is sitting in a closet (wrapped) and I'm anxiously anticipating Christmas day when I can actually start using it.

What am I getting? Why, yes, I did plan on sharing that. I thought you'd never ask.

The ultimate point, I suppose, is that I still get excited for Christmas despite the grown-up-ness of it all. Sure...secular...commercial...shallow. But dang...I'm excited about my new microphone.

Actually, it seems, the ultimate point is that I just wanted to talk about my microphone because I'm excited about it.

Please: feel free to share what you're buying or have bought or are excited about this Christmas or past Christmases (or b-days or Halloweens (What? You don't buy yourself gifts for Halloween?!?)) ! Or.........reprimand me for my secular commercialism. Or something.

[The Folk Prophet]

Here's the mic's big claim to fame:

[The Folk Prophet]

Here's another claim to fame:

[The Folk Prophet]

And the third claim to fame, and the final "yup" moment that made me decide I wanted it (obviously the one on the right):

Incidentally (not that anyone probably cares unless you're into recording...but...), the one on the left is probably the Blue "bottle", a $4000 microphone. The Shure SM7b is a $400 microphone. I'd love a Blue "bottle" as well as a few other crazy expensive mics. But I'm not putting that kind of money into a microphone until I A) have an actual studio built and B) make money at this stuff...or...make enough money otherwise to justify a crazy expensive hobby.

Edited December 4, 2018 by The Folk Prophet

[Guest]

13 minutes ago, The Folk Prophet said:

And the third claim to fame, and the final "yup" moment that made me decide I wanted it (obviously the one on the right):

Incidentally (not that anyone probably cares unless you're into recording...but...), the one on the left is probably the Blue "bottle", a $4000 microphone. The Shure SM7b is a $400 microphone. I'd love a Blue "bottle" as well as a few other crazy expensive mics. But I'm not putting that kind of money into a microphone until I A) have an actual studio built and B) make money at this stuff...or...make enough money otherwise to justify a crazy expensive hobby.

No idea who these people are.

[The Folk Prophet]

Just now, Carborendum said:

No idea who these people are.

Joy Williams and John Paul White

aka The Civil Wars:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Civil_Wars

[Guest]

1 minute ago, The Folk Prophet said:

Joy Williams and John Paul White

aka The Civil Wars:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Civil_Wars

I thought the guy looked like Weird Al strung out on drugs.

[The Folk Prophet]

Just now, Carborendum said:

I thought the guy looked like Weird Al strung out on drugs.

Johnny Depp gone to seed.

[The Folk Prophet]

Note the microphone in the pic.

Edited December 4, 2018 by The Folk Prophet

[The Folk Prophet]

The Civil Wars were better:

So discouraging to find music you love and then the group breaks up because they can't get along.

[The Folk Prophet]

To really get The Civil Wars you have to watch their live performances though:

So crazy good live!

[SilentOne]

13 hours ago, The Folk Prophet said:

(What? You don't buy yourself gifts for Halloween?!?)

When I'm with my mom and see something cool, I will often ask if I can have it for whatever the next holiday happens to be. So although I haven't bought myself gifts for Halloween, I have asked for them. As well as Memorial Day gifts, Thanksgiving gifts, Flag Day gifts, etc.

[Backroads]

Yeah... gifts aren't my love language. I really don't get excited over them. Giving can be fun. My husband told me the bag he bought me at Fan-X was my Christmas present, but now he's asking me what I want for Christmas and I have no idea, he already got me a bag.

 

That said... I really like bags.

 

Edited December 5, 2018 by Backroads

[zil]

7 hours ago, Backroads said:

I really like bags.

Merry Christmas:

[The Folk Prophet]

7 hours ago, Backroads said:

gifts aren't my love language.

Does "love language" come into play when one buys said gift for oneself? Haha.

[mrmarklin]

My wife always expects an over the top Christmas gift. This year it’s a Rolex watch https://www.rolex.com/watches/datejust/m178274-0082.html

Edited December 5, 2018 by mrmarklin
Additional information.

[Midwest LDS]

I'm kind of a dork and I still get excited about opening presents. My wife and I make out lists for each other, and we open our presents on Christmas morning. I'm most excited because this year we have a daughter so even though she's only going to be excited about crinkling the paper wrapped around her presents, I probably won't sleep well Christmas Eve because I'll be so excited to have a kid to give presents too. 

Edited December 5, 2018 by Midwest LDS

[The Folk Prophet]

30 minutes ago, Midwest LDS said:

I'm kind of a dork and I still get excited about opening presents. My wife and I make out lists for each other, and we open them on Christmas morning. I'm most excited because this year we have a daughter so even though she's only going to be excited about crinkling the paper wrapped around her presents, I probably won't sleep well Christmas Eve because I'll be so excited to have a kid to give presents too. 

Me too! Technically it's her 2nd Christmas though. But last year, although she loved the paper and unwrapping, etc., she really didn't get anything. This year I think she'll get just a wee bit more.

[The Folk Prophet]

48 minutes ago, mrmarklin said:

My wife always expects an over the top Christmas gift. This year it’s a Rolex watch https://www.rolex.com/watches/datejust/m178274-0082.html

Holy cow. And I thought the Galaxy watches my wife and I got each other for our anniversary this year were expensive.

[zil]

1 hour ago, Midwest LDS said:

My wife and I make out

Dude, TMI!

1 hour ago, Midwest LDS said:

My wife and I make out lists for each other, and we open them on Christmas morning.

If you open your lists before Christmas, you could buy the gifts on said lists and then open gifts on Christmas morning rather than just the lists.  Of course, exchanging lists is cheaper than exchanging presents....

[anatess2]

I love Christmas presents!  But I hate surprises.  When I was growing up, my parents did not put gifts under the tree until we go to Church at midnight between Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  So we come home from mass and the presents would magically be under the tree and we go on a mad dash looking for our names.  We'd play with whatever we got until we pass out of exhaustion on Christmas morning. 

My husband doesn't do this.  He puts the wrapped presents under the tree as soon as he gets them.  So there could be a present sitting under the tree right after we put the tree up and I would have to wait weeks before I can open it.  Which drives me insane.  So, I carefully open the wrapper until I see what's in it, then I carefully close it up.  And I'd wait until Christmas to open it for real.  When my husband found out I do this (this was years into our marriage), he started doing gag gifts where he would wrap something silly and the real present is actually something else.  Which drives me crazy too.  But yeah, I love the surprise but I hate waiting for the surprise so I have this love-hate relationship with Christmas presents.  Hah hah.

 

So, this year, I'm getting my husband either a drone cam or a dash cam or a seurity cam for the house.  Not sure yet which he would like better.  I got my kids this new-fangled dual-language Book of Mormon where the page is split in vertical half.  One kid is going to get English on the left side, Bisaya on the right side.  His girlfriend is a quarter Filipino and wants to learn Bisaya so they both can read the BOM in Bisaya which would be awesome.  While the other kid is getting English and Portuguese.  He became interested in this young woman in our ward who is Portuguese, barely speaks English so he learned to speak Portuguese, hung out with their family and got to the point where they can communicate in Portuguese with him, but then the young woman told him she's not interested in being his girlfriend - stupid woman, broke my son's heart.  But, he learned Portuguese so that was good.  The BOM would help him keep that language skill and not forget it.  Or so I hope.  He might just chuck Portuguese out of his life with his hopes for that girl, who knows. 

[The Folk Prophet]

On 12/4/2018 at 9:43 AM, The Folk Prophet said:

And the third claim to fame, and the final "yup" moment that made me decide I wanted it (obviously the one on the right):

Incidentally (not that anyone probably cares unless you're into recording...but...), the one on the left is probably the Blue "bottle", a $4000 microphone. The Shure SM7b is a $400 microphone. I'd love a Blue "bottle" as well as a few other crazy expensive mics. But I'm not putting that kind of money into a microphone until I A) have an actual studio built and B) make money at this stuff...or...make enough money otherwise to justify a crazy expensive hobby.

Hmm. After doing some reading, etc., the Blue "bottle" is HUGE:

So now I'm thinking it must be a cheaper mic she's using. (Blue "baby bottle" or "kiwi" or "bottle rocket")

[The Folk Prophet]

10 minutes ago, The Folk Prophet said:

So now I'm thinking it must be a cheaper mic she's using. (Blue "baby bottle" or "kiwi" or "bottle rocket")

I think it's the "Kiwi" (Which is about $2000)

 

Edit: Updated -- I went to the Blue Microphone site to the "Kiwi" page and the promotional video on the site was the one I posted above. So...yeah. I got it right. It's the "Kiwi". I know nobody probably cares, but there it is.

Edited December 5, 2018 by The Folk Prophet

[mrmarklin]

2 hours ago, The Folk Prophet said:

Holy cow. And I thought the Galaxy watches my wife and I got each other for our anniversary this year were expensive.

It's all white because she is a Temple worker.

I'm impossible to buy for because if I want something I just buy it for myself.  No discipline whatsoever.

[Midwest LDS]

1 hour ago, zil said:

Dude, TMI!

If you open your lists before Christmas, you could buy the gifts on said lists and then open gifts on Christmas morning rather than just the lists.  Of course, exchanging lists is cheaper than exchanging presents....

Hey I've got to brag about my life sometimes😁. Wait you give presents to your loved ones, what kind of weird tradition is that? It's all about the lists!

Edited December 5, 2018 by Midwest LDS