Joy of Shopping!!!

 

Looking @ something I probably won't need 

I am not scared to accept that I love shopping. Even though I don't enjoy it as much when I accompany others for their shopping opposed to my personal shopping, I can understand the pleasure that is derived from doing that purchase.

Shopping according to our conservative Indian culture is not healthy for budgeting of a family and I can understand and empathize with that line of thought. But over the years the world has changed (i know i know ... please bear with me :P ) and shopping has emerged as one wonderful hobby/habit/activity/addiction/stress reliever/...../etc. I am positive that everyone who does shopping has definitely planned for that particular purchase (I am smirking while writing that) in their budget (unless we are talking about addicts). Also many people regret doing a purchase after going through the life cycle of the shopper's experiment (primarily due to the quality of the delivered product)

I am going to talk about some of my purchases for which my post purchase emotion was definitely uber joy and uber satisfaction. I know that my shopping craze started after I got a job, but before that I have been very lucky to get many things courtesy my sister and parents. With my forgetful memory I have been able to scan back to the time when I was doing my 11th grade and I was totally in awe of the movie "Men In Black". Even though, the movie now is more of a parody and stereotype buddy movie  back then (1997-98) it was a larger than life movie with uber cool actors and amazing sound track. The only music channel then MTV was showing the music video of our "Fresh Prince of Bel Air" (Will Smith) doing his swag and it left a lasting impression on me. 

 

Willie Chillin it out with an Alien 

I wanted that song but did not have an idea how to initiate a dialogue with my dad on getting it (this was just before the PC era). So I got information that it would cost me Rs 15 (around 30 cents) and the song would be recorded on a cassette. I neither had the cash nor the conviction to get it, but my sister (bless her) some how convinced my dad to part that precious Rs 15 for that single song (with other Top hits around that time) to be recorded. I probably would have listened to it more than 100 times but the joy of getting something you wished for, was  alone more satisfying than getting that song by Big Willie.

One more purchase which was more important to me (more than myself at that point) was the first Arsenal Jersey I purchased. It was fake jersey I purchased for Rs 400 (around 10$) in 2002 (in Barton Center in M.G. Road Bangalore) and I still have it and I feel it is one of the most morally saturating purchase I had done until now. I have purchased 10 or more replica kit after that, but that one started it all. The amount spent on the 'Replica Kit' was a tad high during that time but the wonderful memories it has provided me cannot be compensated with any monetary remuneration. I still feel goosebumps thinking about it since it was my first kit and we won the league and F.A. cup double that year. And in 2003 - 04 we were THE INVINCIBLES.Sweet memories make me go all nostalgic!!!

 

My first Arsenal Jersey (TH14)

The third and most puzzling (probably bizarre to people who don't know me) purchase which I feel was very satisfying to me is my Victorinox watch. Its the same company which makes Swiss Army Knife, bags and other apparels. At the time of it's purchase I already had a "Ellesse" and "Seiko" watch and I was not in need of an other watch. 

 

My Victorinox Watch (Aug 2007)

I had been working on a go live project to the point of exhaustion that I just wanted something to change that day for me continue working there. I came back to work after staying at work for 4 straight days without sleep (yes it was hell) and I wanted to escape into some kind of fantasy world to stop thinking about it and that is when I went to the Bangkok International Watch Exhibition(2007 - 08) at Siam Paragon. As luck might have it I wanted to purchase something for the heck of purchasing (CHANGE was coming) just to take my mind of the suffering I had been through until that point in time (boooo ......the go-live was a failure). The only watch which was really praise + price worthy in that place was this piece of marvel from Victorinox. It had a blue dial made of some crystal which I conveniently forgot and it had an option to set date and we could set alarm (a faint one). I wanted to buy it regardless of whether I am going to use it or not. I did the purchase the same day and even today I don't think I would have been able to continue working on the project and do the things I have done (hurray.......I finally made the project live) if I had not bought the watch on that particular day. It was sort of a cross between lucky charm and keeping my sanity norm.

Well those are the purchases I remember vividly because of the background involved for each of those and its emotional value to me.Now a days I actually think about buying something for long enough for me to lose interest on the same and ultimately not do that shopping. Its a conscious effort on my part to save money on doing a purchase which doesn't have any value add, but if needed there is always that eternal urge inside me to push myself in making the final decision to buy it . :D The list of things which are in my shopping shortlist are below :D Whether I actually buy it or not is not known...

 

Yamaha Gladiator RS : 125cc Bike (Yamaha Home)

 Altec Lansing T612 - Iphone Docking Station (eBay link)

Transcend 500 GB Hard Drive (eBay Link)