conspicuous consumptionism and the chinese

i remember what i had planned to write about today. so this is will make up for the one that i passed out before i did - or something.

so the two things in the subject aren't related. or at least i have no intention on relating them. the chinese part is that i have been getting responses to my blogs in chinese. i know they are spam. i just thought it was funny.

anyway - consumerism etc. i have begun to waiver back and forth between whether i am acting in a sane and rational way or like some miserly scrooge. on facebook i read everyone's posts about all the xmas shopping they are doing for their kids who are the same age or younger than malachai. as of yet i have bought him a couple of books - was at the bookstore for carl's birthday and i always end up getting kai books - which i'm not even sure are for xmas necessarily. i buy the classics that he has to have and then hold on to them for a surprise or when he's a little older etc. - for example i already bought him the narnia chronicles; the wrinkle in time set; tolkien ; etc etc - stuff he isn't going to want / need for years but will definitely need. but i digress. additionally, while online shopping for other people i found paint yourself dinosaur kits. he loves dinosaurs - can't say spaghetti correctly but can pronounce just about every dinosaur - and he loves to paint; preferably on canvases or figurines. so anyway, that's what i got him and i don't really see myself getting much more than that. mike and paula will probably get him one or two things (and then give him money); my mom got him maybe four or five things; my dad and elaine maybe three or four things and maybe a random gift here or there (aunt jess is in town). hell, the last three xmases we only got him one gift each year. but he seems good with it. he has plenty to do and has only just begun wanting things in the stores so . . . i think we are doing the right thing. who knows - he gets older he'll probably hate us for it. that's why it's either a college fund or a therapy fund.

speaking of the dinosaur thing he told me today that a -insert dinosaur name i am incapable of pronouncing here- is a 'hervifores' (herbivores) and hervifores only eat plants. i smiled proudly and then immediately thought - omg, he IS the kid from jerry mcguire. poor little geek. :)