Another Christmas in the Trenches

2014 has come, and is going out just as quickly as it came. It's about time for all of social media to blowup with individuals posting and hashtagging their New Year resolutions for a promise and hope of being better people, better societies, and a better world. 2014 challenged my beliefs, taught me new lessons, gave me love, and closed a chapter with a close friend. As people start flocking to social media to over-share their possesion blessing and God-given grace from being harmed during the year, I find that my strength and beauty has come through being in the trenches.

I'm celebrating my 31st Christmas tomorrow. Since graduating grad school I've had to work multiple jobs to keep up with my bills and overbearing student loan payments. 2013 and 2014 have been hard years as I graduated into the adult world from having been in college for ten years. I felt confident that my degrees would give me multiple opportunities to begin a successful career and start a family. Maybe that was true in 1980, but in 2014 it seems that just having a job is lucky enough. I spent the last year in sorrow with tear stained cheeks wondering why my expensive degree hadn't returned a higher paying job allowing me to fulfill my own desires at having better branded makeup, clothes, and vacations. In the midst of that sorrow, my heart fell heavy each day I graced the threshold of the greedy corporation I worked for where I spent the past three years of my life watching employee benefits slowly start to dissipate. All for what? 40 hours a week spent working to buy more and only satisfy the loan lords. Sometimes spending time with friends was a struggle and I would spend my last $20 just to have a happy hour after work.

Here at the end of 2014, working yet another Christmas Eve, I realize it's my fault. I chastise others for over consuming and bragging on facebook just to entice jealousy and superiority, but that's me too. I'm that person. It is often said that those with the least amount of stuff are those who are happiest and most willing to help others. I think about all the "things" I have in my apartment, and I don't even come to conclusions that I am luckier than most because I don't think the stuff makes me better, or more superior. Maybe it makes me worse. This past year I worked three jobs just so I could pay my bills and have the stuff. When I got the stuff it was good for a moment and then the joy escaped. I was still left empty and with little to no time spent with family and friends. I would cling to the money in my account, and watch every dollar drift out of my checking account so that I could maximize my odds at buying more and having more. It wasn't even about enjoying the stuff anymore--I found myself fantasizing about how others would react when I posted photos of my new things on Instagram and Facebook. Why would I care what all my followers thought about purchases I had made in my own private life? Affirmation. We all want it--nay crave it. In the good ole' days affirmation came from face-to-face interactions, but now we get it from a fabricated source--a place where we can, and do all go to post the best parts of our lives.

Our culture tells us that those who have, work hard, and those who work hard, have. In fact, everything we are as Americans is centered around working to consume. I think deep down, everyone wants more than that. I want more than that.  

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner.

Today I was speaking with a girl I used to know about a proposed Federal mandate that will remove fast food options from public schools--even those offered in fundraisers. The girl I was speaking with passionately disagreed on the principle that the mandate was federal. This girl's stance was that fattening options, such as Chick Fil-A, should not be removed for dining options in public schools--nevermind that 10 year old children, regardless of upbringing are going to 9 times out of 10 choose the greasy chicken sandwich over vegetables, poultry, and milk. After all, children raised in good homes--provided that they are so--can make good, health conscious choices at age 7 right? I mean plenty of seven year old kids know all about GMO's, corn syrup, and cholesterol right? 

The main driving point of her argument was that the sales of these fast food options provide funding for resource children to participate in field trips that would otherwise be impossible due to budget cuts. Sure enough the article discussing the mandate mentioned the loss of revenue derived from the sale of the sandwiches in schools. My first thought, while not inherently "liberal" as I later learned it was, was that it seemed disgusting to me that the government, albeit at the state level is exploiting the innocence of children in order to drive the sale of fattening sandwiches in so as to raise revenue for a program that should already be receiving government funding anyways. Has our nation lost such focus and intelligence that we would allow, under the banner of "freedom" our children the rights to eat fattening food at school so that a program doesn't loose funding? I can think of many great programs that have lost funding, in fact, in some states in our own perfect Utopia, America, who have fully cut programs like art, music, and drama because of lost money. Should we bring in McDonalds, Pizza Hut, and Chick-Fil-A to drive revenue from bratty children who grow up in a society where No is not a word so that we can bring these programs back to our schools? 

If you ask me we have too much freedom. As many know, I taught in an urban high school here in Charleston, and this school had more food options than necessary. Students could purchase anything from personal sized pizzas, large cookies, slushies, ice cream, and even Chick-Fil-A sandwiches. During my cafeteria duty days--the days where you stand post with other teachers by the cafeteria openings and pray to God students three times your size don't get in a fight--I would watch students flood through lines and pile up trays with massive quantities of food and then if there was enough time left to create boredom, would throw the food on the ground, or at each other. It was quite possibly the grossest display of waste and disrespect I've witnessed in my life. Yes, even the children who come from seemingly good homes would participate. 

What are we really teaching our kids by providing them the freedom to eat fast food whenever they want? Are we neglecting healthy lifestyles? Sure, absolutely. I firmly believe that small children aren't old enough to make fully wise decisions on their own, and neither are teenagers. Yes, allowing children some freedoms to make choices, and even mistakes is wise but enforced healthy patterns perpetuates healthy habits and healthy lifestyles. But more than ensuring healthy lifestyles for our children, we are teaching them that they can't have everything they want when they want it. Our generation of society is so used to having unneeded commodities and extras in life, that when there is talk of removing that unnecessary item, we get completely frazzled. Schools don't have to feed our children--but they do, and they certainly don't have to feed them Chick Fil-A. For those wanting more money for special programs, get out there and try on that American Dream for size and start a fundraiser. After all, that is totally within your rights to do so. 

The Educated Investment

Whether we fully recognize it or not, our very existence, as Americans, is defined by our ability to achieve success--to come from nothing and achieve greatness--rags to riches--the American Dream. As children our parents, teachers, and mentors told us to get educated, to go to college, to change the world, and to be who we wanted to be. This is the generation--my generation--that tried. Some of us succeeded. Most of us have come out of it with a truckload of educational debt.

I will say it as many times as I need to, and shout it from the mountains, and across the lands that I never went to college to come out making it rich. I never thought that was necessary. I really and truly just wanted to help others--to teach them the power of education, because as cliche as it sounds, it's truth. So I went--I went for ten years. I worked hard--damn hard--and I came out of it with a Master's degree...and no job. 

Sure, I have a job, and I love that job but educational debt is crippling. Any debt is crippling, but as some may know, and most that don't, educational debt is unlike any other debt. While Fedloan would like you to believe that they make it accessible and even nearly easy for you to work out repayment plans and even options for complete debt expungement, they fail to mention their list of borderline illegal tactics in retrieving their money back for your highly over priced and under valued college education. 

Now, I'm not a financial officer, or an economist, but I do know a little bit about the free market, capitalist economy that our nation is based on. In any good free market, a business is ran by its competitor thus, keeping prices down. Sure, I guess you could say that there is educational competition here in the states, and even abroad.  Choice is available between attending a for-profit private institution, or a non-profit public institution. Breaking it down even further, there are a multitude of options in the institution index for private and public colleges and universities. In the good ole' days an education wasn't the price of a mortgage...While still being majorly funded by our tax dollars, the cost of an education was so attainable that parents were able to sacrifice enough to pay the bill. Yes, people still got student loans, and yes there was still student debt, but the cost was manageable. 

Our own government has increasingly removed its funding hand from educational costs, and has set itself up as a financial lender for continued learning. The average cost of a four-year degree in an in-state institution is an average of around $40k, while the for-profit, private average is around $80k--reflecting a 439% increase since 1982 and only a 149% increase in income . For the free market system to truly work there has to be more than one competitor so as to keep the cost of the product down. When it comes to the educational standards that are offered--there is one choice--when it comes to the cost, and how you are going to pay for those costs--there is one choice. The government owns the financial services that provide the so-called low interest loans that so graciously allow students to attend college, and when those funds aren't enough, don't worry--you can head straight over to corporate scum lenders like Sallie Mae, who are essentially puppeteered by none other, than our own American government. 

With the government running a monopoly all over educational funding, there has been no way to control costs and thus our government has run amuck hiking tuition costs despite the lack of income and benefit increases. In fact, the consensus seems to be that these hefty tuition investments, and remember, the price of the product has gone up, and when prices go up, quality goes up (right?) more times than not, receive no real staggering return. In fact, the more money you make, the more money the Fedloan sharks will take, even pressing towards the extremes of garnishing your wages and keeping your tax refunds--with no other loan is this legal. 

All investments are risky, and all investments require you to have something, to get something. But there is always an out--our very own government is designed to provide reprieve from extreme financial burden so as to avoid crippling European-esque debt collection tactics--tactics that would take physical prisoners and prevent individuals from persuing mobility. I can go out today and upon proving a successful business plan, I can receive a government loan to start a business. Any loan is a risk--there are two ways the investment can go--either the business will be successful, and my investment will grow, or the business will fail, and my investment will be lost. By our own, American written laws, individuals are allowed to file for bankruptcy in order to alleviate burdensome debt. Yes, there are consequences to filing bankruptcy, but after a period of time the results of bankruptcy are vanquished and essentially, that bad investment is wiped clean. 

Unlike any other debt, student loans are barred from being filed for bankruptcy on. If your $60k investment in learning and career advancement fails to return, which many do, the ability to file for bankruptcy is unavailable. In fact, as previously mentioned, the government lenders can go as far as garnishing wages and government refunds. This sounds like a horror story from an archaic seventeenth century monarchal, feudal society. This is not the America our fore-fathers envisioned when they set in motion the now mythic American Dream. In fact, Thomas Jefferson was constantly reminding the newly forming democracy in America that it needed to ensure the education of everyone. Most famously he has noted that

"No other sure foundation can be devised, for the preservation of freedom and happiness...Preach, my dear Sir, a crusade against ignorance; establish and improve the law for educating the common people. Let our countrymen know that the people alone can protect us against these evils [tyranny, oppression, etc.] and that the tax which will be paid for this purpose is not more than the thousandth part of what will be paid to kings, priests and nobles who will rise up among us if we leave the people in ignorance" (Thomas Jefferson).

See, Thomas Jefferson knew what we have all been taught by those that have come before us--education is freedom--education is power--and education is democracy. Jefferson didn't just believe in the education of the elite, he believed in the education of the common man--the common man is the person who works in Walmart, it's the person you get your coffee from at Starbucks, it's the person who grows your vegetables, and it's the person who protects your families. Now the very thing [education] that we have been made to believe keeps us from poverty, has been the very beast to place us in stagnant and even crippling financial circumstances. 

Problems this big don't have easy solutions, but I know that if you hold any kind of degree, you also hold some kind of student debt--and as long as we keep letting them, the government will continue to run its monopoly over education and it's funding, because don't forget--the government is getting a return on its investment in you--look around you and decide if you like where your money is going and start standing up to the continual increase in educational costs, the lack of movement in wages, and the negative ROI in your degree.  

Women are from Venus, Men are From Mars, but We are All in Outerspace

I'm not sure why, but Gift Certificate day at work ignites my inspiration to write about the things I see and read. I was taking a short break away from this daunting task by scrolling through my Facebook feed when I came across an article entitled: "Why Good Guys Need to Expect More from Modern Women" (Go here to read said article: http://elitedaily.com/dating/gentlemen/why-good-guys-need-to-expect-more-from-modern-women/ ). The picture attached to the article shows some modelesque 22 year old boy with a chiseled and sculpted body frame, serenading an equally young and chiseled blond girl. The first thing I'm thinking is that this image immediately underscores the message that good looking men, woo good looking women and everyone ends up happily ever after. However, the thesis of this New York man's article is summed up in his assumption that "too many good men are settling for lesser women." Not at all what the image attached portrays.

I'm fairly appalled by this article for several reasons, but mainly at the fact that the message the author, ne comedian, Joe Welkie is presenting is completely one sided. Welkie asserts that "girls place themselves on a very high pedestal" and sit back with no effort and wait for the men to, as Welkie puts it, "impress these girls and [do] whatever they want [by] catering to their needs." I get what Welkie is trying to do--he's trying to deconstruct our social construct surrounding gender mating rules. However, what he really accomplishes is sounding like a pretentious asshole. There is merit to his arguments, but it's not just women who "let flame[s] die...because [they] know other guys are waiting in line for their chance." This idea is not a one-sided gender issue--it's a cultural issue.

We definitely live in the "it's all about me, selfie, entitlement culture," so to presume that any individual, male or female is apathetically inclined to put effort into anything, especially a relationship should not come across as at all shocking. What is shocking is that Welkie seems to think that women are the only ones who play the game of making a member of the opposite sex work for their attention because they are selfishly inclined to believe that suitors are lined up down the street just vying for a chance to take them on date. Men do it too--and it's not a gender issue--it's a superficial better-than-you-I deserve the best-will take no flaws-Hollywood has made me believe in fairy tales--cultural mating dilemma.

I live in Charleston, South Carolina--voted one of the top ten places for beautiful people in the United States, and a male to female ratio of 1:5. When it comes to finding a potential mate, the options are endless for aesthetically pleasing individuals. Remember, we live in the culture where I am more important than you--I am prettier than you--and when you exist in that culture, everyone--male and female--are looking for the chiseled, flawless individual to drag along as a comodified piece of arm candy. Welkie mourns that he "doesn't even know what league he is in anymore" and that he has been "brainwashed by women to think that [he's] still not good enough." What Welkie clearly does not understand is that it is not women, or even men for that matter that has made him feel like he is not pitching in the right league anymore, or that he has been brainwashed by Sirenical type women.

This issue that Welkie brings up is real for all of us. Male or female, no one feels good enough anymore because we are constantly trying to craft ourselves to be better than others. Yes, media does feed into that idea whether it's through Facebook, Twitter, or superficial apps like Tinder. The most important thing that Welkie, and people who believe like him fail to recognize is that we are all flawed individuals. Finding "the one" is hard, but it is also predicated on the fact that we universally recognize that my life is not about me, and that yes, I am flawed, but so is that other person who I am trying to get to know. It's not about chiseled abs, large bank accounts, and blond curly hair that falls below your shoulders--it's about a flawed person, meeting another flawed person somewhere in the middle.

No, No, No--Not Noah

The past few days my Facebook feed has been bombarded by people plunging into icy cold water, posting photos of themselves without makeup, and now complaining about how unbiblical the new Noah film is. Our society is overtly self-centered and everyone has an opinion on something (myself included--I do realize) but how are any of these things providing positive contributions to society? Ok--the polar plunge--as annoying as the videos are, at least is being used as a means to raise monetary funds to support a specific cause. But the Noah bashers--why? 

First off let me say this--I am Christian. I am well versed on the Bible. And I do follow Biblical principle.  That being said--when was the last time any of you went to see a film based on a book and the film turned out to be exactly like the book? Never. How many of you still go to those movies knowing that the movie will be different and that Hollywood is capitalizing on your enjoyment of entertainment? Further more, since when do we care more about hollywood's selfish capitalization off of entertainment, more than we do on drug companies capitalizing off of the sick? 

Ok, so we've got the Noah film, which according to most of what I've read doesn't follow along with the Biblical text, and even worse--wait for it--shows Noah and company wearing stitched clothing that of course would not have been available during the time of Noah. These so-called critiques are so  adamant on the evil nature of the film that they even cast judgment on the representation of Noah as being suicidal--of course this makes Noah most un-Godly. Like any text, the Bible is a subjective piece of art (even if we believe it to be divinely inspired) that is up for interpretation. 

With that being said, have you ever stopped to think about how Noah might have felt when God came down and told him to kill off the entire population of mankind? Furthermore, how might it have felt to be stuck on a rocky wooden boat full of smelly animals without sight or hope of land? I would rather think, that like any normal human being, and believe it or not, Noah was one--would have felt imense human fear and possible thoughts of suicide. 

Some of these Noah critiques claim that the film mythicizes the Flood story--I hate to inform, but Noah has already been mythicized. As a child growing up in a conservative church environment, we were taught all the Bible stories and saw each character as his or her own hero. All these characters were strong and overcame their weaknesses, but it was rarely emphasized upon that these characters were humans. They were not perfect. They were not always Saintly. Stories like the Flood, Samson and Delilah, Moses, and Abraham's test all fail to emphasize the full depth of the struggle the characters underwent fulfilling God's commands. As humans, I'm sure depression, thoughts of suicide, and even extreme anxiety were emotions that these individuals underwent. There ability to emotion is what makes them human, and even capable of fulfilling the Creator's tasks. 

 Why is it wrong for an artist to take a story and paint a real picture of what a real human would have felt upon God's demand to kill off all humankind? After all, haven't we mythicized Noah, Moses, and Abraham enough? Haven't we Sainted them over and over again as perfect followers, when they were no better than any of us?  We are all flawed people. Our own judgment of a human made film only serves to underscore the intensity of flaws that we all cary with us. 

Tinder Moments

I recently went out of town with a good friend of mine, and upon becoming bored with our own company, we decided to seek out friendship an instantaneous way. Where does one go when in search of an immediate friendship? Why online of course!  Another friend of mine had been playing around with, and trying to get me to download this phone app where you can meet guys--I know there are a lot of them out there, and quite honestly, I've avoided such endeavors and applications because I just think it's weird and uncertain. Also, it should be no surprise to anyone that I'm not really looking for a serious relationship right now. Sure, maybe I should be now that I've hit the big 3-0, but oddly enough, the older I get, the more comfortable and satisfied I become with my spontaneous freedom.

So, because of this self-entitled freedom, we both decided to download an app called "Tinder." I'm probably like the old grandma right now whose mind has been blown by seemingly self-discovering this new world of technological interaction, and it need not be a surprise to anyone that this application is bluntly superficial and perpetuates egotistical ideals of self.

Nevertheless, this app became somewhat of an obsessive game for us both as we sat side by side in a dimly lit bar, speeding through hundreds of men--swiping left for no and right for yes. When a successful right swipe had taken place by both parties, an image would pop up proclaiming "it's a match!" The excitement surrounding the successes--possibly fueled by our beer intake--caused us to look up from our phones and socially interact with one another in astonishment of the process. Before we knew it we had stacked up a nice little list of potential male suitors--suitors that might I add, we never met.

Upon returning to Charleston the fun continued and during times of boredom my friend and I would open Tinder and continue the swipe game. It wasn't long before we had a long list of Charleston suitors--more suitors we didn't intend to meet. After several days of this, my friend finally proclaimed that she had made it to the end of her tinder men matches, and upon looking at the app I realized I had too. Of course with all these people on here, and both of us having gone through the entire lineup of eligible bachelors in the Charleston area, we were sure to have some of the same matches.

I wanted to do some social research--pure, raw, social research. Driving home from my night class, I called up my friend and invited her over to my apartment for wine and cheese and a little game. I rushed home, uncorked my biggest and finest selection of Trader Joe's Cabernet Sauvignon and plugged in my iPhone--it was going to need to be at full power for the evening's events.

Around 8 that evening, my friend showed up and we immediately started partaking in the wine and talking about life, work, money--all boring stuff--but then the topic turned to relationship issues. Ok, this is where I wanted to go. I went in my bedroom and unplugged my phone, which fortunately was showing a 90% battery life, and opened my Tinder app.

"You know Iz, I have to wonder--we've both been playing on this app for over a week now, and I'm sure we have to have some similar matches. I think we should play a little Go Tinder Fish."

With both apps open, and the red wine flowing, I started to go through the list of men that I had messaged.

 "Do you have any Brads? No? No, Brads? mmmmmk. Do you have any Johns? Yes! a match!"

The rules and interactions of the game had quickly changed, and Iz and I were now making matches of our matches. In a world where we are all so busy, yet so unbusy, our social interactions have quickly turned technological, and I was curious to know if these interactions had erased personability and if desires to know and understand others was based on mutual interest, or pure, raw, and shallow image alone. We started going through the messages.

"OMG--John matched you too? Have you messaged him? What did he say?"

Iz--"He wanted to meet me tonight at Red Drum!"

"No! Shut the front door. He asked me that too! Wait, don't you have a picture on your Tinder with both of us in it? "

It's certainly not surprising that someone was talking to the same person at once, or even that the individual didn't recognize that the two people he was talking to were friends. Vintage dating protocol would have been void of any type of social media, and would have occurred purely through chance occurrences and spontaneous phone interactions. With our ever increasing technological capabilities we now have the ability to essentially meet anyone at anytime regardless of whether or not we would ever come across them in our daily interactions. With facebook and twitter we know who they are talking to, where they hang out, and even what they are thinking without ever having to talk to them. And with Tinder, we can even tell how many fish someone has on their line at the pond.

I'm not saying Tinder is bad, but maybe for me it's a bit much. I'd like to think that there is something more magical at work in our lives when it comes to the friends we make, and the romantic relationships we partake in. There is more mystery and excitement in spontaneously combusting with someone you met at a friend's party than there is to swiping right to someone on a dating app. So, I guess the only tinder moments in my life for now are the ones created with my friends over a too large bottle of Trader Joe's red wine, a tray of proscuitto and mozerella bruchetta, and a good ole' fashion game of Go Fish.

I won't be Home For Christmas, but.....

To no doing of my own, I will be spending Christmas on the solo in Charleston this year. I haven't really felt the Christmas spirit this year--see my previous blog here, but today I came across a little gem that, through the months of November and December became my religion. I think anyone who grew up from the 60's through the 90's can attest. Behold, the Sears Wish Book:

 Long before the Internet, facebook, and emailing Santa Clause, the Wish Book provided kids across the nation with the ability to circle gift favorites with big chunky crayons, and fold down page corners so that no parent was left unsure of what to get their kids for Christmas. The arrival of this book to my Grandparent's house marked the start of the season, and since I spent most of my afternoons after preschool, or regular school at my grandparent's house, flipping through the Wish Book, and the lesser J.C. Penney Christmas catalog was a completely legitimate, and exciting way to pass the time until my mom came to retrieve me. The only semblance of Christmas spirit I have found this season, has been my own flashback to my childhood as I remember all the cool gifts I got for Christmas. So in no particular order, I give you, my all time favorite Christmas gifts from days past--and yes, I'm sure I saw them first in the Wish Book.

1. Teddy Ruxpin: The first Christmas I remember celebrating was crazy awesome, and there were a lot of cool gifts present. One of my favorites this year was Teddy Ruxpin. The cool thing about Teddy Ruxpin, was that he could be hooked to pal Grubby--who my mom will always remember me lamenting not coming with Teddy. Apparently Teddy cost about $70, even way-back-when in the 80's, so I'm thankful I had him. By the way, my Teddy had a super trendy clothing line. Duh.




2. Firefly My Little Pony: That same Christmas--like I said, it was pure, unadulterated magic--pure--I noticed, first thing my favorite My Little Pony in a large stuffed form. I've always been whimsical, magical, and imaginary so of course the winged Pegasus, Firefly My Little Pony was my favorite.




3. Snoopy Plush: Somewhere between 4 and Kindergarten, I had a slight obsession with Snoopy. I realllllly wanted a plush snoopy, I mean really, really wanted one. Thank goodness Santa is in the business of providing miracles, and thank goodness my parents were able to find one after scouring all of Atlanta Georgia. I don't know where my original Snoopy is, and by the way, he too had a pretty kicking wardrobe thanks to my Granny, but my good ole' Pop still remembers my love for the Snoopy and I have two Snoopy plushes now.

4. Lavender Purple Unicorn Bike: Woah! Obviously, I had an obsession with all things magical, purple, whimsical, etc...etc...it only makes sense that this bike made it into my living room the Christmas
morning of my Kindergarten year.
Sadly, there are no pictures on the
Internet of this little charm.


5. Lil Miss Makeup Doll: So yeah, this doll looks like a little baby
 prostitute for reals--but, nothing brought me greater joy than taking
 the little makeup sponge and dipping it in water to wipe this doll's
 makeup on and off.





6. Three Story A-Frame Barbie Dream House: Was tha shit! I mean, way to live that American Dream Barbie--way to live it! This house could do so many things, and because it was in three pieces you could create multiple dream style homes for Barbie and friends.

7. Aladdin Bean Bag Chairs: Yeah--there were two. As it would happen, I got a brother along the way so those four years of baller Christmases where I got all the gifts were days gone by. Not to be sad though, because me and the brother got these bad boy bean bag chairs. As we got older, they became mechanisms with which to slide down the carpeted stairs on. Those chairs disappeared shortly after that trend.







8. Super NES: This has to be on most everyone's top most awesome Christmas gifts list. We had the NES and had just about killed our trigger fingers trying to kill that stupid Duck on Duck Hunt, when Santa did it again. He brought out the SNES and lots of games to go with it. And friends, this gift just keeps on giving, right on into the 21st Century. After years of bonding over Donkey Kong, and The Lion King, My brother and I finally beat the games in 2008. Much thanks to modern technologies like youtube that helped us defeat super difficult levels that no child should ever be expected to defeat on their own.

9. Mall Madness: The best board game EVER created. There's a sale at. the. sun. glasses. shop. It tried really hard to teach me about commodities and the dangerous of over spending--Bank Closed, and Sorry! Try again Later! were classic responses from the game's banking system.


10. Oh Jenny Dreamworld Play set: I'm not even sure kid's still play with doll houses or anything of the like with the modern advent of the Internet and games like the Sims, but I loved this little mini family set made by Matchbox. Placing this house and its components on the stone hearth we had in our house created extra magic.








11. NKOTB, AKA, New Kids on the Block stuff: You definitely had the right stuff if you were sporting anything NKOTB. One Christmas, I got a T-Shirt, a Cassette tape, annnnnd two NKOTB dolls. Whaaaaat.