Feeling: quiet
Listening to: the background music of a video game of some kind
Reading/Watching: Lucky, by Alice Sebold (and may I just say... dayum. Vivid.)

Earlier today, my husband mentioned that two of his friends have been trying to talk him into buying an X-Box 360 (I wasn't exactly sure what it was, but read on).

I laughed, and said "oh, those boys. Don't they know you're happy with World of Warcraft right now? And there's that rule you have, one game at a time..."

A pause. Then he asks me if I would be mad at him for buying one. We talk about it for a while, I remind him that he has a very nice computer that he upgrades every couple years to keep it top-of-the-line, as well as a Playstation which he never, ever uses. Then I ask how much the X-Box would cost.

It's $500. Without any games.

I remind him that $500 is a hell of a lot of groceries. It's almost a month's rent. It's five months of electric bill, even in the summertime. But if he honestly thinks he would play on it enough, if he would really get his money's worth out of it, then it's something to think about. He nods, and appears to be thinking very deeply about it when I leave for work.

I come back, and oh look, my husband is playing a $60 game on his new X-Box 360. This, just two days after he had a meltdown over not being able to put any money aside this past month, and how we needed to eat out much less, and it was a good thing I got a job, because I would have less time for frivolous boredom-shopping (during which I might spent $50 in a day, maybe twice a week).

I am not going to lecture him. He has pointed out that he can return it within 30 days if he doesn't think he'll get his money's worth out of it, and I am keeping my opinions to myself.

But he has utterly lost the right to fuss when I bring home $40 in scented candles.

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