Hobby? I Have a Hobby?

I go through hobbies like actors go through actresses. This one takes too long, this one is done by a person I don't like, this one is too expensive, and so on. It really is like watching a bachelor TV show where beautiful actresses get cycled through like tissue paper.

One of the blessings of almost dying, is that I got to bond with my child and wife. I found that I have more in common with my parents than I thought. It's time for a rambling story.

When I was a wee lad, my mom loved getting taken to the nursery by dad. They would spend hours there. Nursery's and Home Depot basically have nowhere to sit. My awkward kid feet got so sore, It was literally my least favorite thing to do. The only thing I hoped for was that we would get to eat something tasty out because they didn't want to cook after shopping.

Now, the tables have turned. My child must endure the endless trips to Home Depot for more dirt and plants. Lucky for her, the wife and I have banned ourselves from Home Depot.

Coming back to having a hobby, the wife and I have finally found a productive thing we enjoy doing together. We have a hobby that I don't feel like is a waste of time or money. Not everything homegrown is the cheapest, but it is fun and makes good memories. What more could I ask from a hobby?

When Is More Incorrect?

My plan isn't as cool as this baby. But it is a good plan.

Today, I was pedaling to work and had an interesting experience. I was about to cross a stoplight but it turned yellow and I needed to stop. I squeezed the brake, but it gave away. I repeatedly attempted to squeeze it, but no luck. I squeeze my other brake and it prevailed. Naturally, I needed to back up out of the intersection.

Due to purchasing the 3 year package at the bike shop, this caused me to go back*. While in the bike shop, I noticed that there were beautiful, low weight, narrower bicycles. Speedometers, bells, etc. The other guy changing his tire even had a handle bar camera. I felt a burning temptation to ask what the next step was to my sexy but not highly efficient bicycle. I imagined myself pedaling a lighter bike, going faster, sweating less...and then the vision stopped.

Did I really need a new bicycle? Need? No. Want? You bet! What about in the future? What is stopping me from looking at a replacement bicycle in the future? My plan is to use the bike for 3 years and then do an analysis to determine how the parts are doing. That plan isn't as sexy, but who am I trying to impress? Sometimes, more is not necessary.



*Disclaimer: I rarely get extended warranties or service packages. I get unlimited service for 3 years and wanted to have confidence in my commuting bicycle.

Garden Time!

My kiddo made this experience even more fun!

It was a beautiful Sunday morning. The wife and I decided to make this a non standard day. Today, we used the free wood we picked up a month or so ago to construct a garden box. The dimensions of the box were about 6' x 3' x 8", cut by a handsaw. It took 2 trips to Home Depot (we also went to Costco on one of the trips).

The slide inspector is here!

In the first picture, I nailed the former closet boards together, placed cardboard underneath the boards, and then we put much soil (the most expensive part) into the bed. I left two bags of soil with the top one arching off the bottom one. My little girl decided this was a very fun slide. She began sliding down and giggling. The second pictures shows the angle better.

Making progress, but not quite done yet!

Once we had the soil in the bed, it was time to plant the transplants and seeds. This is where my wife's ability to not destroy delicate things on contact came into play, as well as her planning. The first thing we did was separate the large clump of Walla Walla onions. The roots were intertwined with each other and needed some tender loving care to help them be viable. We placed Marigolds in the corners of the box to help keep the wrong types of bugs away. Then, we put in the Zucchini and potatoes. Finally, we added the carrot seeds. Once this was done, we called it a night for this box!

I will post an update on this shortly.

Why a Safety Razor is Better than Gillette or Shave Clubs

My Old Gillette Razor

Today while hanging out in the shower, I reflected on razors. Recently, Gillette created their own shave club with comparable prices to Dollar Shave Club. Another option I had considered was Harry's Razors. However, thanks to the kindness of a coworker, I use a safety razor. He was kind enough to give me over a hundred blades.

At age 16 my dad bought me a power shaver. Quite a nice thing for him to have done. Young high school me was unable to afford replacements (I was saving up for a 4 year school, before I knew that was a bad idea).

When I first started shaving at the 4 year school, I used Gillette because they mailed me a small kit on my 18th birthday. Truly nice of them and a good marketing idea. The kit lasted awhile, but sure enough I needed new blades. I went to Wal-Mart, cheapest of the cheap, young college me needed cheap. The blades there were over $3 a head if memory serves me. I think it was a 4 pack for $12. Now, I changed blades about once a month, sometimes less but it still could be $36/yr. I also got the added bonus of models being discontinued, meaning I had to pay $10+ for a new handle to support the advertising.

A Cheapish Razor

I did this for awhile and then experimented with cheap single or double blade razors. Sure, you could find them for 10 cents or more, but I noticed the quality just did not seem to be there. I couldn't get a full month out of them, it was more like a week or two. When those blades stopped cutting right, my face suffered.

One day at work, one of the coolest guys determined I wanted to try using a safety razor but wasn't sure which one to get. This fellow gave me his kit that he wasn't using which came with 100+- blades. I was immensely grateful and still am. The shave feels great. The construction of the blade holder makes it very difficult to cut myself. My razor has type on it, so I just keep track which side is dull and use the other side until it is time for a replacement. When the blade is dull, it stops cutting, rather than cutting my face. With my old 4 blade Gillette razor, the bottom blades would become dull while the top were sharp, so my cut wasn't consistent. Meaning, if I went over an uneven portion of my face, the top blades would cut me since the amount of pressure needed changed. Also, each blade costs about $0.10 and is double sided. You aren't dependent on a singe manufacturer for blades either, so I never need to replace it due to planned obsolescent. 

Here is the breakdown per year:

• Gillette: $38.50 ($36 for heads and $2.50 for new handle every 4 years)
• Cheap-o: $2.60-$5.20 but a bad shaving experience
• Safety Razor: $1.20

Yes, you read that. I spend $1.20 annually on razor blades. 'Course I have about 8 more years worth of blades before I actually spend that much money a year. My handle may need replacing at that point. Something to note, if you replace a blade and are getting a bad cut, you may have it upside down. 

Inexpensive Entertainment

Sometimes I feel like these batteries

Sometimes, I just want to recharge. The wife and I call this my "nothing box" because I don't think but immensely enjoy it and recharge. My newest computer is a work Macbook so my youth urges to play video games for free often go unfulfilled. As a previous Windows user, free demos took care of these urges. As time went on, my computer became too old and I was left in a state of playing online chess at gameknot.com and chess.com. Both of these sites are nice, although I prefer chess.com due to extra features. What I discovered though is that when I want to do something mindless, the male nothing-box, chess is not perfect since I must think.

However, I’ve recently discovered Risk and Monopoly online at pogo.com. Every 5 or so minutes during play you are greeted by a 40 second break to watch a sponsor. I use these times to go to the bathroom, plug in my computer charger, check email...etc. What I like about playing these games online is that I don’t have to find people to play with, the website simply matches players. Also, you can learn from people better than you in the never ending quest to improve.

My wife enjoys me doing my nothing-box because if I don’t play a game, I’ll instead pull out the budget and start thinking outside the box on how we can save money. Sometimes that makes her nervous.

On a somewhat related note, Netflix streaming just released Friends. 220 episodes ready for instant consumption. That alone could be worth $8 a month for your movie entertainment. Although I am frugal, if I have no source of entertainment it encourages me to be impulsive with indulgences like eating out, catching a $12 film, or buying a few movies in the bargain bin. Not that any of that is particularly bad. It is just helpful to have an inexpensive alternative to spending money for entertainment.

What is your inexpensive go-to? What do you like about it?

Disclaimer: I do not pay for any of the above websites except Netflix.