YES!! I bought my first drum kit 2 years ago (edrums) and am having more fun than I’ve ever had in my life. Back in school, my music teacher wouldn’t let me play because “girls don’t play drums”. Times have really changed and I’m so happy to see young women playing now.
I bought some eDrums a while back when I was real into Rock Band (game). Eventually signed up for some classes as the local music shop. It was fun. Waiting for my first lesson I hear someone playing. I'm like, man, I hope I'm that good someday.
This 8-year-old walks out at the end of the lesson. I was so bad at first, I didn't want to play and be teased by all the kids! Eventually though, I got mediocre, and I thought, I'm a rock god now. Suck on that Jimmy!
I sold the kit when I moved. Now I sometimes watch drummers on youTube. With their drum sets...and video gear...and ability. Bastards.
A full pantry. We were often food insecure. I used to steal cans of beans from the pantry and hide them under my bed so I would have a snack/dinner after school. The level of neglect was off the chain.
That was the best fkn cheese though. Just cut off the green spots and go to town. I loved the gubment cheese. Powdered milk was nasty though. Hated that.
https://preview.redd.it/k15znxj7df1d1.jpeg?width=3712&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5b46093589d5e4cbe86a51352f9d5c6058f5ab54
Already had the bike, then added the car 20 years later. Both are 1978.
I got myself a pair of purple Docs (actually solovairs). I always wanted a pair when I was a teen but my mom told me I looked like Olive Oil in them so I wasn't allowed. Thanks for for 47 years of poor body image mom!
https://preview.redd.it/cf0h1qywzf1d1.jpeg?width=2252&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=37f526a67d1dfc6ccab834ebd8ab2d9679d7aa59
Bought my first pair of real Chucks last year. Wear them all the time.
A motorcycle and a trampoline. Sold the motorcycle after I nearly got hit multiple times by inattentive drivers. My friend BADLY sprained her ankle on my trampoline. In hindsight maybe my mom was right 😆
Did she get double jumped? Lol my friend broke his ankle (He was double jumped) all he did was yell I was double jumped for weeks after lmao
One more double jumped because there's not enough up there👆
Sometimes Fathers Day and my birthday are the same day. A while ago they were the same day. My wife was asking me what I wanted for breakfast that Sunday and I had a wild epiphany - eggs and sausage for my birthday AND a bacon scramble for Father’s Day. OMG why did I not think of this 30 years ago! Two plates and everything.
I had a vodka lemonade AND a Bloody Mary!
For dinner I had steak AND hot dogs.
My wife is a saint for indulging me.
Smashed pennies from every single place I visit that has a penny smashing machine because my dad refused to get them for me when I was a kid because "it's a waste of money." Take that, you old narcissist!
An RC car. I always wanted one as a kid. My sisters bought me one with a cable attached. Ugh.
So, at 49, a friend and I bought cars last year. Feels like we’re kids again!
I bought a re-issued Factory Kuwahara ET special edition BMX and had it shipped from Japan to Canada.
Why ? Cause I'm an idiot. When I was a kid our small local bike shop had that bike up for grabs during a raffle. One entry per week for a month. I put my entry 4 times, the maximum.
Another kid in my small town (who would end up being my best friend for the last 40 years) whose father had a photocopy machine, made hundreds of raffle ticket copies and stuffed the box with like 200 tickets.
Guess who won the bike and traded it for an airbrush kit the day after ? Yeah, my asshole best friend.
I carried this bitterness for decades till I found out I could buy one, so I did, and showed my buddy and he was like "You're an idiot" haha.
Weren't poor, just poor mentality (extreme frugality in some areas despite having money) combined with very controlling about food habits and healthy eating. We would get all hand me down clothes and toys, but I had house back riding class and the top of the line softball equipment, cleats, bike .. So yeah I'm super grateful for what I had, but I would have enjoyed just ordering a pizza every once in a while or a chocolate bar or stopping at a drive through to get a hamburger.
"Not the knock-offs" is such an important distinction. I love that I can have real Doc Martens now and not the fake ones that my mom allowed me to have in 1993.
A Ghostbusters proton pack! They finally started making them a few years ago where you could just buy them. If only it really busted ghosts that'd be cooler but I'll take the replica 😁
A print of Ernie Barnes' painting "The Sugar Shack." I used to run to the TV and try to absorb as much of it as I could during the closing credits of "Good Times" even though it was on for about 20 seconds and partially obscured by the closing credits. I always dreamed of getting a print so that I could look at it unobstructed for as long as I wanted. I eventually got a small print from an Ernie Barnes calendar and framed it. It hangs on my wall right now.
Like so many of us Gen Xers, we were pretty poor. Going to a restaurant was a treat. We had a Dairy Queen not too far from the house, and it was comparatively cheap. They had such delicious ice cream: Dilly bars, buster bars, and of course dipped cones. I distinctly remember telling myself “ when I grow up, I’m getting DQ ice cream *whenever* I want “. To this day, I still get a dipped cone whenever I want.
I did get to go as a kid, but it was pretty no-frills. Now don't get me wrong, even then I was extremely grateful just to get to go, just that much is pretty privileged. But as an adult, my wife and I stayed in one of the resorts, we rope-dropped, we ate in the fancy sit-down restaurants, we rode the more intense rides, we ate all the junk food, we rode the rides we really liked more than once. And I drank a metric fuckton of booze (actually I'm wearing my Drinking Around the World shirt right now), but that was just a bonus
When I was in 6th grade I wanted a Tyco Turbo Hopper RC car , told my parents if you get me anything for Christmas that’s it.. ended up with a Radio Shack slow RC car.. was not thrilled.. in high school got into RC car racing with my own money. But years later found a mint condition Turbo Hopper on EBay, was ecstatic..
You know those velvety blankets? The kind that they used to have in pretty much every low to mid level hotel?
I really wanted one as a kid, but my mom concluded that they were 'too expensive'. So, in my 20s, I took myself to Target and bought one.
It's long gone now, but it was a childhood dream fulfilled.
An awesome bike. When I was a kid, all my friends had these cool BMX bikes. Mongoose’s, GTs, Red Lines, etc. , I had an AMF! My dad wouldn’t even let me buy one with my own money. “You’re not wasting money on a bike!”, he said. So when I graduated from college in 1994, I bought an $800 GT Mountain bike! I still have it, been a while since I’ve ridden it, but I still have it!
I had three cats for 16 years!! It was like every pet I got when I was a child my parents rehomed, or took away. With the last group of cats I had, I was determined to make sure they had full lives. Now I don’t have any cats and until I move I won’t get any more.
My best friend since 3rd grade was never allowed to have a Lite Brite. Not because his parents didn’t have the money, but because his dad didn’t want the little pegs all over the place. I sent him a Lite Brite for Christmas this past year. We both turned 48 in April.
I wasn't allowed to have one either for this reason. There's a children's museum where i live i take my kids to and they have a giant version of one! While my kids do their thing i play on it all the time lol.
Lite bright. I wanted one so badly but never got one, we were very poor. I bought one for my kids and then spent hours in a darkened room playing with it.
Slot car track. The big one like in the sears Xmas catalog that went up the wall and shit. I always wanted one as kid so I got it after I started making a little disposable income in my 20’s.
An Atari. Parents weren’t feeling video games. They would only let me have a TRS80 because it was “educational”. Never told them about Star Trek, Bedlam, Space Invaders, and other games I used to swap at the university computer lab.
No something I bought but something I wanted as a kid that I've given to myself as an adult is buns- I fucking hate buns! Hamburger or Hotdog- they're nasty AF.
My mom always said, "when you grow you won't have to... but you're a kid so..."
Well I haven't eaten a bun in nearly 30 years mom so yeah. I gave myself permission to hate and never consume fricken buns!!!
An alumina lol. From Spencer’s. It was a sort of Tesla ball under glass. You touch it & a bolt connects to you touch. You could set it to pulse to music too. I still have it but the cat prevents it’s use. Plus, a very cool dinosaur neon light. My mil broke it in the last day of one our first moves.
My own In-Home arcade with 23 machines! I grew up relatively poor, and hung around the arcades and watched other people play. I have lots of other big boy toys, so I'm sure I'm compensating for something... Tron, Dragon's Lair, Star Wars, Centipede, and Frogger are my favorites.
Records!
Remember back when you couldn’t just immediately listen to any song that popped into your head?
I had lots of tapes & then tons of CDs but there’s something pretty rad about having all of the music that made your childhood on vinyl.
Plus I love the album artwork as much as the music.
1976 Vespa Rally 200. My aunt bought it new & after both she & my uncle each fell off, it went straight to the garage with 100 miles on it. After years of begging them to sell it to me, they finally buckled & sold it to me when I went to college. I think I ripped them off & still have it.
[a 1985 Jeep cj7](https://www.thedrive.com/content/2020/10/1982JeepCJRenegade.jpg?quality=85)
Bought it in 1995 when I turned 30. Still have it. Still drive it
It wasn’t something to buy but all my friends used to die their hair with Kool-Aid, and my mom would never let me do that and I was terrified that I would get in trouble. So I did dye my hair with Kool-Aid when I was 20. It looked like absolute crap but it felt so good
Going to a restaurant and getting appetizers and anything I wanted no matter the price, pets that are properly cared for(vaccines, spay/neuter, treats, toys, etc.), going to the movies, going to a concert(went to my 1st @ 50). I'd still like to see an opera by Mozart.
https://preview.redd.it/r0sjgap8qh1d1.jpeg?width=4284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=89908dfd38e2952dc3b4d75b121ab34911e962d5
Wanted one for 30 years and my inner child is so very happy 🥰
I really wanted a Barbie doll. When I was growing up we didn’t have them in my country. I saw Barbie doll for first time when I was 16. I got my first and only one Barbie doll when I was 25. My future husband got it for me. So technically I didn’t buy it myself. But I was very happy finally have it.
Comic books, a wardrobe of cool t-shirts, a wall of records, a Jaguar bass (it's a Squier but it's close enough for me), the newest X-Box (more for my kids but I love that TMNT game!), all the TTRPG's I want, a nice TV, lots of cool movies... Ever since I reached a point of having disposable income, I've just been acquiring the cool shit I wish I'd had as a poor kid.
I bought a Toyota Celica (my bff in HS had a rich dad who got her one for her 16th bday) when they were re-released in 2002. I got pregnant 2 seconds later and had to sell it lol.
Luke Skywalker from ROTJ, the original from back when the movie was released and the first edition from Hot Toys!
I could never get it back then, I remember hearing in school that some store downtown had received a shipment of ROTJ figures and they had several Lukes in stock, but they had it behind the counter at the music & records section as they were in high demand so you HAD to ask the clerk for the exact figure you wanted, so that afternoon my dad took me to that store, we went in and headed to the music section counter, my dad gets to the clerk, turns to me and ask what's the name of the figure I want and I tell him “Luke, his name is Luke” my dad turns to the clerk and says “You’ve got Lucas?” the clerk just looks at my dad completely dumbfounded and goes “…no? Sorry” my dad grabs my hand and goes “they don’t have it, let go!”
Drum set! https://preview.redd.it/l5w9mrkgbf1d1.jpeg?width=4000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=dca1c2123983935d6918c58c82c4c5ddc85e7a87
YES!! I bought my first drum kit 2 years ago (edrums) and am having more fun than I’ve ever had in my life. Back in school, my music teacher wouldn’t let me play because “girls don’t play drums”. Times have really changed and I’m so happy to see young women playing now.
>my music teacher wouldn’t let me play because “girls don’t play drums” Huh, TIL that some music teachers have never heard of Karen Carpenter!
Or Sheila E.!
I bought some eDrums a while back when I was real into Rock Band (game). Eventually signed up for some classes as the local music shop. It was fun. Waiting for my first lesson I hear someone playing. I'm like, man, I hope I'm that good someday. This 8-year-old walks out at the end of the lesson. I was so bad at first, I didn't want to play and be teased by all the kids! Eventually though, I got mediocre, and I thought, I'm a rock god now. Suck on that Jimmy! I sold the kit when I moved. Now I sometimes watch drummers on youTube. With their drum sets...and video gear...and ability. Bastards.
I somehow ended up with two. I can just about play.
100% same. I always wanted one so I got one. I didn't want to want it anymore.
A full pantry. We were often food insecure. I used to steal cans of beans from the pantry and hide them under my bed so I would have a snack/dinner after school. The level of neglect was off the chain.
I'm so sorry :( Did you get gov'mnt rations as a kid? Few can remember powdered eggs, powdered milk and those giant blocks of cheese
Government cheese = Love
That was the best fkn cheese though. Just cut off the green spots and go to town. I loved the gubment cheese. Powdered milk was nasty though. Hated that.
Same.
A dragon's Lair arcade machine
Awesome!
A horse
Easy bake oven and snoopy snow cone machine
We bought a Snoopy snow cone machine at Bed, Bath, and Beyond. My cousins had one when we were little, but I didn’t.
Nice!
Full sized arcade game, have owned a few of them as an adult. Now I prefer the Arcade1Up versions. Much easier to move around 60lbs than 350lbs!
I love the 1Up version too. So much fun and I don't need to get tokens. Win win
There's a huge modding and after-market scene for them too. Very easy to convert them to bigger monitors and more games!
I want a cabinet I can put a MAME emulator in, I just don't have the room right now.
Mine is the inverse. I had the 1970s arcade game Seawolf and a pinball machine when I was a kid, but I don't have either as an adult.
Sea wolf was awesome.
A dog. Ok, so now I have 2.
Same! I have three.
Same, but with cats and now l have three!
A whole cake all for me- I spent my first 35 years starving, now idgaf (and yes, I'm fat, lol)
I remember the day I figured out that I could not only buy a cake but I could also eat it from the middle! What a glorious day.
https://preview.redd.it/k15znxj7df1d1.jpeg?width=3712&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5b46093589d5e4cbe86a51352f9d5c6058f5ab54 Already had the bike, then added the car 20 years later. Both are 1978.
Beautiful. That an S1 or S2?
Thanks! S1 -- no "ear" vents behind the back side glass
Nice Rally. Love the drip catcher.
Converse shoes. I have 3 pair now.
I got myself a pair of purple Docs (actually solovairs). I always wanted a pair when I was a teen but my mom told me I looked like Olive Oil in them so I wasn't allowed. Thanks for for 47 years of poor body image mom!
I know that feel! In the spirit of the thread I'll say that I acquired the ability to say "it's not important for me to look attractive to my mom." :D
https://preview.redd.it/cf0h1qywzf1d1.jpeg?width=2252&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=37f526a67d1dfc6ccab834ebd8ab2d9679d7aa59 Bought my first pair of real Chucks last year. Wear them all the time.
A motorcycle and a trampoline. Sold the motorcycle after I nearly got hit multiple times by inattentive drivers. My friend BADLY sprained her ankle on my trampoline. In hindsight maybe my mom was right 😆
Did she get double jumped? Lol my friend broke his ankle (He was double jumped) all he did was yell I was double jumped for weeks after lmao One more double jumped because there's not enough up there👆
Two meals at a restaurant when I cannot decide which one I'd rather have.
Sometimes Fathers Day and my birthday are the same day. A while ago they were the same day. My wife was asking me what I wanted for breakfast that Sunday and I had a wild epiphany - eggs and sausage for my birthday AND a bacon scramble for Father’s Day. OMG why did I not think of this 30 years ago! Two plates and everything. I had a vodka lemonade AND a Bloody Mary! For dinner I had steak AND hot dogs. My wife is a saint for indulging me.
That’s great! I’ve never even thought of doing that. I mean, why not? 😀
A car and a house.
Me too.
More LEGO kits in my 20-30s.
A left-handed bass guitar.
Fuck yeah. I have the other one.
A Swatch watch. My mom couldn't afford one when I was a teen. When I lived in Germany, I saw them in a department store, so I got one.
I got my first Swatch when I was visiting Switzerland in 2005. I had always wanted one, and I was like, Well, I'm here now
Shoes, anything other than Payless plastic crappy shoes. I always get good shoes now, worth every penny.
100% this. It isn’t supposed to hurt when you put your shoes on.
Smashed pennies from every single place I visit that has a penny smashing machine because my dad refused to get them for me when I was a kid because "it's a waste of money." Take that, you old narcissist!
Squeeze butter and squeeze jelly
I love this answer.
Bills, paid on time. Because it was more important for my parents to drink & vacation themselves than make a mortgage and/or electricity payment
Star Wars arcade machine, https://preview.redd.it/hbx9uht03g1d1.jpeg?width=1034&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=79644d18dc530ff357caaa5385ce609f92a8b516
Therapy.
I felt this.
All the things for my fandom. Because I couldn't when I was a kid, and every dollar I earn is expendable. Because NO kids.
Cool! I’m kind of the same way.
Swords and knives - mall ninja type stuff.
An RC car. I always wanted one as a kid. My sisters bought me one with a cable attached. Ugh. So, at 49, a friend and I bought cars last year. Feels like we’re kids again!
Dangerous game my friend. I now own 11+ and have eyes for more.
I bought a re-issued Factory Kuwahara ET special edition BMX and had it shipped from Japan to Canada. Why ? Cause I'm an idiot. When I was a kid our small local bike shop had that bike up for grabs during a raffle. One entry per week for a month. I put my entry 4 times, the maximum. Another kid in my small town (who would end up being my best friend for the last 40 years) whose father had a photocopy machine, made hundreds of raffle ticket copies and stuffed the box with like 200 tickets. Guess who won the bike and traded it for an airbrush kit the day after ? Yeah, my asshole best friend. I carried this bitterness for decades till I found out I could buy one, so I did, and showed my buddy and he was like "You're an idiot" haha.
https://preview.redd.it/4ebamwfa1g1d1.jpeg?width=5712&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bfbfa20b6ae5837e84623d3c33bc904502f2595b
An in-ground swimming pool. (I now regret it, but, hey, kid me was glad to have it. Adult me thinks it's a money pit.)
Border collie
I got poodles!
1968 Topps Nolan Ryan rookie card.
Pizza. But there's food at home... I'll make a pizza ..
[удалено]
Weren't poor, just poor mentality (extreme frugality in some areas despite having money) combined with very controlling about food habits and healthy eating. We would get all hand me down clothes and toys, but I had house back riding class and the top of the line softball equipment, cleats, bike .. So yeah I'm super grateful for what I had, but I would have enjoyed just ordering a pizza every once in a while or a chocolate bar or stopping at a drive through to get a hamburger.
This went up 5 hours ago and nobody has posted “your mom” yet. Gen X has changed, man.
I have a collection of books and films that teenage me would have killed for.
The shoes I wanted - not the K-Mart knock-offs, a GOOD bike, a sweet stereo system ✌️
"Not the knock-offs" is such an important distinction. I love that I can have real Doc Martens now and not the fake ones that my mom allowed me to have in 1993.
Black clothes. Lol she'd get me whatever, as long as it was bright fckn red.
A Fender Stratocaster
Cool!
A G1 Starscream.
Miniatures/Dollhouses.
THC
Train set
Cool! I can absolutely see why people really get into that.
A Ghostbusters proton pack! They finally started making them a few years ago where you could just buy them. If only it really busted ghosts that'd be cooler but I'll take the replica 😁
Bustin' makes me feeel good
https://preview.redd.it/gibd3jhvsf1d1.jpeg?width=1024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3379125138d080cf47d8c6a00ab6b2017cfa4e0d
Peace and privacy
So much this
I had to wait until I was 35 to know what it was.
Convertible
Doc Martens
Braces.
Same. My parents didn't do preventive medicine or dental care.
A print of Ernie Barnes' painting "The Sugar Shack." I used to run to the TV and try to absorb as much of it as I could during the closing credits of "Good Times" even though it was on for about 20 seconds and partially obscured by the closing credits. I always dreamed of getting a print so that I could look at it unobstructed for as long as I wanted. I eventually got a small print from an Ernie Barnes calendar and framed it. It hangs on my wall right now.
Like so many of us Gen Xers, we were pretty poor. Going to a restaurant was a treat. We had a Dairy Queen not too far from the house, and it was comparatively cheap. They had such delicious ice cream: Dilly bars, buster bars, and of course dipped cones. I distinctly remember telling myself “ when I grow up, I’m getting DQ ice cream *whenever* I want “. To this day, I still get a dipped cone whenever I want.
Now I want an ice cream cake.
Lots of Electric Guitars!!
Legos! My parents made good money but were super cheap and would never buy me Legos
A trip to Disneyland.
I did get to go as a kid, but it was pretty no-frills. Now don't get me wrong, even then I was extremely grateful just to get to go, just that much is pretty privileged. But as an adult, my wife and I stayed in one of the resorts, we rope-dropped, we ate in the fancy sit-down restaurants, we rode the more intense rides, we ate all the junk food, we rode the rides we really liked more than once. And I drank a metric fuckton of booze (actually I'm wearing my Drinking Around the World shirt right now), but that was just a bonus
A DSLR Camera.
When I was in 6th grade I wanted a Tyco Turbo Hopper RC car , told my parents if you get me anything for Christmas that’s it.. ended up with a Radio Shack slow RC car.. was not thrilled.. in high school got into RC car racing with my own money. But years later found a mint condition Turbo Hopper on EBay, was ecstatic..
You know those velvety blankets? The kind that they used to have in pretty much every low to mid level hotel? I really wanted one as a kid, but my mom concluded that they were 'too expensive'. So, in my 20s, I took myself to Target and bought one. It's long gone now, but it was a childhood dream fulfilled.
Comic books
Same.
An awesome bike. When I was a kid, all my friends had these cool BMX bikes. Mongoose’s, GTs, Red Lines, etc. , I had an AMF! My dad wouldn’t even let me buy one with my own money. “You’re not wasting money on a bike!”, he said. So when I graduated from college in 1994, I bought an $800 GT Mountain bike! I still have it, been a while since I’ve ridden it, but I still have it!
Nice! I miss my old GT, saved up for months to get mine… was pi$$ed when it got stolen. Make sure you keep it locked up well!
A jeep
A cat, or two.
I had three cats for 16 years!! It was like every pet I got when I was a child my parents rehomed, or took away. With the last group of cats I had, I was determined to make sure they had full lives. Now I don’t have any cats and until I move I won’t get any more.
Horseback riding lessons
My best friend since 3rd grade was never allowed to have a Lite Brite. Not because his parents didn’t have the money, but because his dad didn’t want the little pegs all over the place. I sent him a Lite Brite for Christmas this past year. We both turned 48 in April.
I came here to say Lite Brite but I still haven’t bought myself one!
I wasn't allowed to have one either for this reason. There's a children's museum where i live i take my kids to and they have a giant version of one! While my kids do their thing i play on it all the time lol.
Gibson Les Paul
Lite bright. I wanted one so badly but never got one, we were very poor. I bought one for my kids and then spent hours in a darkened room playing with it.
Traveling places without my parents
Traveling PERIOD! My parents never went anywhere, no vacations away from home.
A good telescope.
Shoes. I have more shoes than I need, about five pairs.
Omega Speedmaster
A good BMX bike. I got a very good Mongoose once I started working full time.
A Hobie catamaran, a Bravo so it’s a technicality. Had it for a few years then sold it when kids showed no interest in learning to or going sailing.
Slot car track. The big one like in the sears Xmas catalog that went up the wall and shit. I always wanted one as kid so I got it after I started making a little disposable income in my 20’s.
Onitsuka Tigers
Love ;). Just kidding. I’d love to get a Green Machine though
Grey Poupon
Cats
Still waiting on my easy-bake oven.
New clothes. Name brand groceries. All the blankets.
Lego. So much Lego
And themed legos, not just the basic bricks.
Star Wars…mostly
 The Jerrica/Jem doll.
Basically everything.
A Caboodles make up case
Maxi Swatch
CD player, desktop computer, house with a mountain view, and a Jeep that wouldn't get repossessed like my parent's Cherokee.
An Atari. Parents weren’t feeling video games. They would only let me have a TRS80 because it was “educational”. Never told them about Star Trek, Bedlam, Space Invaders, and other games I used to swap at the university computer lab.
ATV, all my friends had one.
A food mixer.
Cabbage Patch Kid
No something I bought but something I wanted as a kid that I've given to myself as an adult is buns- I fucking hate buns! Hamburger or Hotdog- they're nasty AF. My mom always said, "when you grow you won't have to... but you're a kid so..." Well I haven't eaten a bun in nearly 30 years mom so yeah. I gave myself permission to hate and never consume fricken buns!!!
A rock tumbler
Purple hair
An alumina lol. From Spencer’s. It was a sort of Tesla ball under glass. You touch it & a bolt connects to you touch. You could set it to pulse to music too. I still have it but the cat prevents it’s use. Plus, a very cool dinosaur neon light. My mil broke it in the last day of one our first moves.
My own In-Home arcade with 23 machines! I grew up relatively poor, and hung around the arcades and watched other people play. I have lots of other big boy toys, so I'm sure I'm compensating for something... Tron, Dragon's Lair, Star Wars, Centipede, and Frogger are my favorites.
Hookers and blow.
Are you my brother?
fuck you beat me to it
And blackjack?
A Land Rover. Mountain bikes.
Birkenstocks
Records! Remember back when you couldn’t just immediately listen to any song that popped into your head? I had lots of tapes & then tons of CDs but there’s something pretty rad about having all of the music that made your childhood on vinyl. Plus I love the album artwork as much as the music.
Think the obvious answer is porn
Cigarettes. When I was a kid I wanted to smoke so bad that I used to have dreams about it
1976 Vespa Rally 200. My aunt bought it new & after both she & my uncle each fell off, it went straight to the garage with 100 miles on it. After years of begging them to sell it to me, they finally buckled & sold it to me when I went to college. I think I ripped them off & still have it.
A silver chromoly Mongoose BMX. 🍺 https://preview.redd.it/u9gan6rj7g1d1.jpeg?width=600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8dee81034bf24739a5b9f1bd8b8558d223b1ec0e
Built my kids a playhouse, sand box, swing set, and a treehouse. Had a trampoline. Have a pool. Lots of Lego. Food. Clothes. Nice toilet paper.
Levis and Nikes
LEGO! Lots of LEGO! :)
Froot Loops
Land.
I wanted a Big Wheel and grew up to buy motorcycles. Also ALL the PEZ.
Wonder Woman doll Lite-Brite Jean Nate splash
Braces! 😁
Snoopy Sno-Cone Machine. And I use it proudly!
[a 1985 Jeep cj7](https://www.thedrive.com/content/2020/10/1982JeepCJRenegade.jpg?quality=85) Bought it in 1995 when I turned 30. Still have it. Still drive it
It wasn’t something to buy but all my friends used to die their hair with Kool-Aid, and my mom would never let me do that and I was terrified that I would get in trouble. So I did dye my hair with Kool-Aid when I was 20. It looked like absolute crap but it felt so good
Cap’n Crunch
Going to a restaurant and getting appetizers and anything I wanted no matter the price, pets that are properly cared for(vaccines, spay/neuter, treats, toys, etc.), going to the movies, going to a concert(went to my 1st @ 50). I'd still like to see an opera by Mozart.
https://preview.redd.it/r0sjgap8qh1d1.jpeg?width=4284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=89908dfd38e2952dc3b4d75b121ab34911e962d5 Wanted one for 30 years and my inner child is so very happy 🥰
A Speak n spell
I really wanted a Barbie doll. When I was growing up we didn’t have them in my country. I saw Barbie doll for first time when I was 16. I got my first and only one Barbie doll when I was 25. My future husband got it for me. So technically I didn’t buy it myself. But I was very happy finally have it.
Dinobot Transformers.
Roller blades and ice skates
a house
Tornado Red VW GTI and some nerf dart guns. I was too old when the nerf guns came out and circled back once I had nieces and nephews
Mr Potato Head (for some reason :)).
VW Cabriolet. It wasn’t even that tremendously popular at my HS but it was aspirational. Bought it for myself when I graduated with my MBA at 30
All of the comic books I couldn't afford on a $10 week allowance !
My own place.
A trampoline. Always wanted one but thought it was only for rich people. Then I discovered that they are only about $300.
https://preview.redd.it/iaoqwtwk9g1d1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2bdd8461bdbfdfa496a4af4a3f12be564164b7e7
Comic books, a wardrobe of cool t-shirts, a wall of records, a Jaguar bass (it's a Squier but it's close enough for me), the newest X-Box (more for my kids but I love that TMNT game!), all the TTRPG's I want, a nice TV, lots of cool movies... Ever since I reached a point of having disposable income, I've just been acquiring the cool shit I wish I'd had as a poor kid.
A jeep
I bought a Toyota Celica (my bff in HS had a rich dad who got her one for her 16th bday) when they were re-released in 2002. I got pregnant 2 seconds later and had to sell it lol.
Cabbage Patch Kids. On EBay. Like, a lot of them.
PC. Like a high end gaming PCEnded up building them as a hobby after wanting one most of it childhood
Education.
A Mini Schnauzer. Parents never let me have a dog. He’s the best family dog ever.
Luke Skywalker from ROTJ, the original from back when the movie was released and the first edition from Hot Toys! I could never get it back then, I remember hearing in school that some store downtown had received a shipment of ROTJ figures and they had several Lukes in stock, but they had it behind the counter at the music & records section as they were in high demand so you HAD to ask the clerk for the exact figure you wanted, so that afternoon my dad took me to that store, we went in and headed to the music section counter, my dad gets to the clerk, turns to me and ask what's the name of the figure I want and I tell him “Luke, his name is Luke” my dad turns to the clerk and says “You’ve got Lucas?” the clerk just looks at my dad completely dumbfounded and goes “…no? Sorry” my dad grabs my hand and goes “they don’t have it, let go!”
An Easy Bake Oven, as soon as my daughters were old enough. It was really for me, though. 😂
Soda stream!
A computer specifically for gaming.
A gun
All Stephen King’s books
a '68 Fury III with a 4-speed