dad unmasked

My daughter, S, has been asking for a laptop for quite some time. I keep telling her to either save her money or try to wait for Christmas and maybe Santa will bring her one. As you can see from the note above, S is quite the charmer.

Is it a love note or bribery or both?

Last Sunday was such a beautiful day here in the road rage capital of the world. There was no way I was going to keep my girls, S and N cooped up in the house on a day like this. So, on the agenda for the day was kite flying, bike riding, pumpkin decorating and an impromptu hunt for Bigfoot.

So here’s how the hunt went.

Me: Hey girls, let’s go for a hike in the woods behind the soccer field.

N: Yes! Let’s go!

S: OK, but I don’t want to go far!

Me: It’ll be fun. Let’s look for tracks!

S: What kind of tracks Daddy?

Me: We can look for deer and raccoon tracks.

N: Are there bears here Daddy?

Me: Quite possibly. Maybe we’ll get lucky and find some Bigfoot tracks!

S: Huh?? No Daddy, I’m scared! (freezing in her tracks)

Me: Don’t worry sweetie, if we see a Bigfoot, we’ll just run back to the soccer field. But, not before I take a picture.

N: Yeah! We can take a picture of Bigfoot and then I’m gonna tell Barack Obama!

Me: Why do we need to tell Obama?

N: Cause he’s the President and he’s looking for Bigfoot too.

Me: (Trying not to laugh) No sweetie, he’s looking for Bin Laden not Bigfoot.

N: Oh.

Priceless!

I got up this morning ready to eat some breakfast and head to the Apple store for a new IMac. Then I got to thinking, do I REALLY need a new machine right now? Do I really need to spend $1300 on a new Mac and another $600 on software? My MacBook Pro is running just fine. All I need to do is jam another gig of RAM in it and she’ll run even better. First of all, there are lots of things that I actually need, like a dining table, dresser and a new front door.  Secondly, the washing machine sounds like it’s about to take a dump, so I’ll probably have to get a replacement soon. And thirdly, the Christmas season is right around the corner and my daughters have already started their pricey Santa wish lists.

Anyway, the most important thing is realizing then a new IMac is a WANT and not a NEED. When my daughters ask for some crazy toy or gadget, I always ask them if they NEED that toy or do they WANT that toy. It’s always a want. So with that, I guess I have to suck it up and practice what I preach.

Who knows, Santa might even hook me up with a new Mac if I’m good. Well, maybe not.

So I have been debating on getting a new Mac to add to my geek inventory. My MBP is working just fine for me, but the small 17″ screen is starting to become bothersome. I have developed a list of pros and cons on purchasing a new IMac. Hopefully, I’ll come to a decision after developing this list.

Pros:

1. The new IMac would provide me with a huge 24″ screen which is a necessity when working on design projects.
2. More RAM and more speed. I really need this with all of the Adobe apps.
3. I’d gain an extra machine if the MBP fails.
4. The girls could watch movies on the new IMac since we are down to 1 DVD player in the house.
5. The IMac would basically pay for itself after a few design projects.
6. The IMac is a beautiful machine and would brighten up any room.

Cons:

1. I absolutely HATE putting things on a credit card.

What do you think?