Warning: Drunken Shopping May Be Hazardous to Your Wallet

i D o l a t r y, originally uploaded by js wright.

Ok, I admit it. I’ve been terrible about keeping up my blog but I’m starting anew! So for those few of you who are interested in the goings on of Jeff and myself here in San Diego you can once again get your fix. :P Yesterday I got a call from my friend (and coworker) Vero who in a sad sad voice pleaded with me not to be mad at her. I couldn’t imagine what she might do to upset me. She’s not one to be intentionally hurtful and I’m not one who allows things to bother me. Then she told me that she bought me a new Macintosh laptop (I’ll call it a “MacTop” for short.) Well, didn’t buy it FOR me so much as bought it while establishing a new no-interest line of credit though the International Bank of Veronica. Otherwise, she bought it for me with the caveat that I could pay her back as I can afford it. You may wonder what may provoke someone to do this sort of thing.

Well, I have been using a hand-me-down desktop Mac that I bought off my old company in what was probably 2001. It’s old and slow and I, evidently, had been singing the praises of the MacBook Pro so-much lately that Vero had offered to buy it for me a few weeks ago on her no-interest credit card so I could have it and not have to worry about paying it back right away. It was very thoughtful but with several trips coming up for me in the next year I knew I really needed to focus on saving. Even so, I guess I talked about this MacTop quite a bit and maybe even had a certain sparkle in my eye as I envisioned myself at Starbucks sipping my Iced-grande non-fat soy latte and updating my numerous weekly blogs. I politely declined her offer and then thought about just buying it for myself. Online, I selected the computer, the free iPod that it comes with and all the software that I needed and then totally choked at the payment screen. I decided to leave the page open and to go eat lunch. If I still wanted the computer after lunch I would buy it. This was about 3 or 4 weeks ago.

On a full stomach I had a reality check and bailed on the computer. I told Vero about my moment of weakness and I suppose it stuck in her head because over the weekend, in a shopping haze brought on by one too many tequilas Vero went online and bought one… A really REALLY nice one. A day or so later, in her version of buyer’s remorse, I got the call from her. She sounded sick and even a little fearful. But honestly, how could I ever be mad? I get the computer I’ve been coveting for months and without all the guilt associated with making a large purchase for myself. It’s great!

So, the bottom line is, if anyone wants to buy me something that I really really want without my knowing about it, I won’t be mad, I promise. Just give me another 6 to 8 months so I have time to pay off my MacTop.