what are the things that you refuse to do without? either real, tangible things or treatment/attitudes/etc? i was standing in line behind two AMAZINGLY young girls and one was telling the other how she dumping her boyfriend because he didn't treat her right. he didn't realize that she was worth gifts and wining and dining and had the nerve to ask her to help pay for something the other night so they could go out because he was broke. that got into a conversation about how poor and ratty he was and how she was glad to never have to go over to his place again, because it was just icky and how gross all guys were because they couldn't clean their bathrooms and never had bedding on their mattresses.
that kinda got me thinking, because clean sheets are something i refuse to do without. in iraq i used to change them out every 3-4 weeks. i'd buy new ones whenever the px had them and stock them up so that i could just take the old ones off and pitch them and put a brand new pair on. the laundry over their sucked so badly that having them washed and putting them back on wouldn't be the same. in afghanistan i slept on a cot and it was too freaking hot to deal with sheets and covers but i shook the cot out every morning and put my pillow and sleeping bag in a watertight case to keep dust from settling on it during the day. today i love the feel of high thread count, clean sheets. i WILL kick someone out of bed for eating crackers. and it's a special kind of hell for me if the bed is unmade. i don't mean hospital corners, pillows tucked under made, but if the top sheet comes untucked or if one of the corners of the fitted sheet comes undone in the middle of the night i have to get up, get out of bed and remake it.
i love the look of hardwood floors but after so many years in dorms and barracks with linoleum floors i have to have carpeting. i love walking barefoot on new, plush, clean carpeting and i cringe when someone comes into my house with muddy boots on and won't take them off before stepping on the carpet. or when they want to eat/drink over the carpeting and they're messy about it.
alot of my quirks come from a combination of my mom and my dad and the army. we always moved so often that homes were an investment, so we kept them really, really clean. and dad and mom BOTH grew up dirt poor so they took good care of their stuff. and it was a sign of respect for them. if they worked their asses off to be able to buy a nice house, nice car, nice clothes, we sure as hell were going to take care of them. i didn't appreciate that "niceness" until i lived under such crappy conditions in the dorms and in the military. sleeping in a hammock or a bivvy sack or in the back of a humvee and waking up and putting on the same nasty uniform for days on end makes you appreciate a soft bed, clean sheets and a hot shower. and a porcelin bowl and tp. years ago i was living with a high school friend. we'd go in together on some stuff and one of us had forgotten to buy toilet paper and we ran out in the middle of the night. rather than use a box of kleenex or whatever was at hand, i was more than happy to drive to the grocery store at two in the morning to make sure the stocks were replenished.
i've gotta have two cans of soda a day. one during the day to fight the after lunch nap attack, and one in the evening before bed. gotta have my motorcycle. absolutely, positively MUST have a book to read before going to bed at night. preferably something engaging, but that's not a requirement. gotta have music. i can live without it in small doses but it really makes the work day/drive/workout/whatever go faster and makes me much happier. gotta have crisp white t-shirts to wear under almost everything. a knife in my pocket. GOTTA have a belt and watch or i feel naked. i can go camping and have done the outdoors thing long enough that i can be comfortable, but i'd much rather go for a hike and end the day with a shower and a bed.
i'm a pretty quiet guy, and i used to avoid confrontation like crazy. but over the last couple of years i've gotten a little more of a sense of self worth and i do demand a little more respect and attention when i go out. i used to wait tables and work retail so i used to cut those guys alot of slack and tip big. but alot of service has been SO sucky lately that it's started to irritate the hell out of me. so i've started becoming alot more vocal in stores and restaruants if someone is being snotty. i've worked hard to get where i'm at (which isn't that spectacular a place, but damnit i'm here) and i'm not going to let someone ruin my shopping or dining or whatever experience when they're getting paid to provide good service.
so what about you guys? what are the things that admittedly are luxaries, but their ones that you refuse to do without?
12 comments:
Wow. Um...ditto? Can I just use your's? Of course I'll subtract the belt and the knife...and trade the soda for coffee. Other than that I'm with you.
But, to prevent plagerism...I'd have to say the following:
1. Coffee. I can survive without it, but those around me may not survive if I don't have it. I truly enjoy a fabulous cup, brewed just right...but gas station coffee will do in a pinch. I simply can't go without my coffee.
2. Water. I don't mean a glass of tap water, or simply the luxary we have come to expect in having clean water to bathe in. I mean real H2O. Pure water. I'm a water snob.
3. High speed internet. I can USE dial up. I can actually go without net access for a while without going into convulsions. But seriously, it is a necessary luxary. I would also throw my cell phone, my blue tooth, and my laptop into this catagory.
Other than that, I agree with the clean, made bed. I'm sitting here debating whether clean sheets are more important than the bed being made before I get in to sleep. I would have a hard time compromising on both. A clean made bed, a good book, a cup of coffee and a bottle of water and I'm set for a significant amount of time.
Of couse then we get to the toilet paper issue...damn.
The gotta haves...I know what you mean! I prefer comfortable team t-shirts and sweatshirts!
hah, isn't that sad? i don't even think of broadband and the cell phone as "luxaries" anymore. they're business necessities these days. blah. pathetic.
the ONLY thing I have to have is love. and i'm not kidding. the rest of it all is just gravy.
1. Cable TV
2. My computer(s) home and work
3. My car is very nice...I don't NEED a nice car, but I want one
That's about it.
Off the top of my head: I can only use a good pen. Any pen that skips, bleeds, or has to be "started" gets tossed right into the trash.
Sunglasses: One good pair of Maui Jim's, recommended by my eye doctor. Everyone tells me they lose their sunglasses too much to buy expensive ones. How is it people don't lose their eyeglasses? You don't lose expensive sunglasses!
And if I don't have a camera on me, I'm lost. Always a camera.
I am the fussiest person in the world when it comes to bedding. I bring my own sheets and pillows EVERYWHERE I sleep because so few people share my high standards for bedding.
I have a little tip for you. Ditch the fitted sheet! Buy your sheets seperately (not in a set) and get the next size up sheet for the bottom. It doesn't slip off and if you have a thick matress or if your sheets shrink a bit it's no problem.
I have to have Wayne, the iPod with me. I have to have my journal with me. I have to have the current book I'm reading with me.
I understand about making the bed. Something very very strange happened this morning, Loki started making the bed...and I didn't even ask him too! That made my day.
I also have to have everything picked up in the living room or I will spend the last hour before I go to bed picking up the shit that's accumulated there over the day.
BEEF JERKY! and your new avatar :)
my other blog is here:
http://liberatede.blogspot.com
i don't give out the address much because i wrote about some really raunchy stuff and i don't want my mother to have to read that stuff.
You made a lot of great points. I'd have to agree with you Sean on the sheets/bed part. I almost always make the bed in the morning but the 1% of the time that I don't, I can't go to sleep at night unless the bed is made. So I'll make it first and then jump in :)
For me, I could not live without coffee and my PC. I need both to write. I guess a good glass of wine and my ColdPlay CD wouldn't hurt either.
I consider the love and understanding of a sweet guy a luxury, and it's one thing that I have been living without lately. Yes, I know...a rare glimpse into my real feelings when I'm not trying to be all funny and ****. I feel so exposed :)
1) My pets
2) Buffalo wings
3) My Dyson
These are my necessary luxaries:
1) mattress pad warmer (SO much better than the electric blanket!)
2) kitchen aid mixer
3) a good book to read before going to bed
4) a warm coat and comfy shoes
5) and last but not least...brown dog and Mr. T!
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