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Last year kind of killed the idea of being happy about my birthday for me. I always used to hope something fun or kind would happen and it never does. Got a text from my best bud in the morning and the rest of the day was just a day. None of my family remembered or if they did, they made a conscious effort to not say anything. Not sure which is worse? I don't talk to any of them anymore. I've pretty much orphaned myself in the last two years or so and I've been pretty happy about that to be honest.
This year I just went out and got myself some stuff, hung out with my kid, and played some board games with my wife. It was much better to just not expect anything from anyone.
I’ve done this for a few years - if anyone asks what I want, it’s to spend time with my kid and I’ll get myself something frivolous.
- now that kids are teens and there’s only one left at home, I’ll take any of his time I can get
- I’m a geek, a gadget freak, and I realized long ago that my interests are specific enough to not be worth explaining to people
This year I’m buying myself a new iPad. That’s also well over the limit for gifts (I used to take my ex on trips for hers so she’d have experiences in addition to gifts, but that cost is somewhat hidden)
I bought myself a 3D printer two years ago for my birthday and ended up too depressed to even set it up until about two weeks ago. Still depressed, but now I can print Warhammer models I guess? My wife has commandered the ROG Ally I bought for myself this year, so I've been eyeballing the GDP Win Mini for next year. I'm a sucker for clamshell handhelds.
I haven't really looked into tablets since I think the Nexus 7. My work sent me a really shitty Fire Tab and I rooted it and use it to read comics haha. Have iPads changed much in the last while?
As for explaining interests, I feel you. I've honestly found Lemmy really refreshing that I can talk about really anything and there is someone that is interested. It's been nice to vent.
I’ve been considering a 3D printer for a few years but have no interest in Warhammer models. Seriously, every once in a while I’ll look online to see if I can find a purpose for a 3D printer. Not so far.
With the tablet on the other hand, with streaming and a family of varied interests, I got used to media consumption on an iPad (and either a speaker or headphones, depending). At this point, my TV is more a waste of money, because no one ever watches it. I no longer have any form of stereo, nor a desktop computer, and my laptop is less convenient for media. After seven years, my iPad no longer gets updates and has slowed way down - actually I wonder if there’s something wrong with the WiFi on it. It’s time.
I’ve honestly found Lemmy really refreshing that I can talk about really anything and there is someone that is interested. It’s been nice to vent.
For sure. Sometimes it’s easier to relate to a bunch of strangers with shared interests than those in our lives who have different interests
I didn't really know what I'd use it for until I actually put it together. I did a test print, then printed a small articulated dragon my 4-year-old thought looked neat while we were browsing Thingiverse. Then we realized we could make Hot Wheel track pieces and it was all over. I've also made some small things that I thought would be useful like a wall mount for my work laptop to get it off my desk. It's also been fun to just kinda learn some 3D modeling and see what is on my screen turn into something in my hand.
I spend probably too much time at my desktop so the little shitty fire tab work sent has actually been a really nice disconnect if my hands start hurting too bad. I'll just go outside and sit in the sun and read for a bit. Yeah seven years is a long time for a device to stay not broken, let alone still functional nowadays. Sounds like a valid treat-your-self to me.