Xmas List

You know, it was nice being a kid for the sole reason that I always had things to put on my Christmas List. Now it feels like a struggle to think of anything I want (that can easily be purchased by family or friends). I mean, sure, there are things I want (financial freedom, my own business, a Ph.D.) ... but those things are hard to pick up at the local Wal-Mart or Best Buy.

Really what I would like to ask for is just money. The problem is that no one wants to give money, and I feel bad asking for it. Money just seems so un-magical; nothing like opening a shiny box on Christmas morning. Money would be more efficient though, since I could pool all my gift money to buy something big that I would actually use (or at least something big).

It would be nice to have this and this, but that is seriously $1000 worth of electronics. I don't have enough family and friends to even approach that in gift money, and I really should focus on saving up rather than buying more stuff. Sure, it would be useful for the programming to have two monitors, but is it really $1000 useful?

Toys aside, money would be really handy towards helping hit my goal of saving up six months' expenses by the end of the year, which I think I'm going to miss by a couple hundred dollars. I'd probably get way more satisfaction out of hitting that milestone on time than I would opening presents. Does that make me old and thrifty?

Maybe if I framed it as a charity donation. Donate money instead of material goods to the Get-Drew-Out-Of-A-Cube Fund. Any fundraiser needs a good countdown to a goal. Currently I'm $10,345.89 short of my goal. Wanna contribute?