Toys: Yeti Freddie

Yeti Freddie and his lovable side.

This software app I use occasionally for E-Blasts sent me a toy because I signed up for a newsletter. Nice! I'm a sometime collector when time, space, and budget align, most notably of the Tim Burton and Simpsons kind.

When I first ran aground from the recession, I set up shop on eBay to sell what I could. I sold a few items and made about $300-$380 total, but given the time it took to take all those digital pictures, tweak them, post them online, create the Internet storefront, manage the customers, print labels, pack them up and ship them off, it was really not worth my time. Oh, well. I didn't have the hunger faints that week!

I don't predict this fella will have great resell value, but I still took care opening the packaging so it would remain in as good as condition as possible. Nerd habits die hard. And now he lives in a cavern created within the bookshelves, a cheerful reminder that the fun hobbies we enjoy somehow always find a way back to us in good times. 

It's an Abominable Snowman situation.

He likes pencils, too.

Living in the Land of Misfit Toys

Sometimes, a native New Yorker ( me=4th generation ) has to just shake their head in wonder. Ever have one of those days when you see something so weird, you can't believe it just happened? For us, this happens on an almost daily basis. Our fair city attracts its fair share of loners, misfits, freaks, geeks, wannabes, anyone looking to recreate themselves into their vision of the American Dream, be it Rock Star, Ad Man, Wall Streeter, what have you. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rush_hour

It must be confusing, changing ones' persona from it's point of origin. This town is my home, not some mythic place filled with cash to be bilked, like a  City of Oz with smoke screens and tricks. It's my real Land of Wonder. So, outsiders intrigue me, as do all subcultures and nonconformist types. It's that show of rebellion, I guess: who do they think they're fooling? We pride ourselves on having seen it all, or at least a heck of a lot more than most people will. After all, we have a person from ever country on the planet living within our city limits. It's not hubris or arrogance with New Yorkers, or some blasé show of world weariness, like we shrug off our fellow man, we simply have your number down pat.

The Christmas movie that best identified this internal power struggle, for living an authentic life, is the elf character from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Hermey the Misfit Elf. He hides his secret from the other elves; he prefers dentistry to making toys! Hermey realizes he can't be happy pretending to be someone he's not anymore. Once he accepts himself for who he truly is, he finds real acceptance. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolph_the_Red-Nosed_Reindeer_(TV_special)

How great is Burl Ives as Sam Snowman? What a beautiful voice. His character is so cute, shushing through the snow. I instantly loved this classic Rankin/Bass from the opening song. As a little girl, it made me so happy and psyched for the holidays. Nothing is more cheerful than a roaring fire, a decorated tree with gifts underneath, and a sparkling blanket of snow covering the ground on Christmas morning, followed by a big pancake breakfast.

Of course, many of my readers will guess that I loved Yukon Cornelius and his doggies. "Mush! Yah! Mush!", as I watched the holiday special snuggling my snow doggie, Snowflake, the prettiest Samoyed a little girl could wish for.

When the stress from too many obligations, or gifts to buy, starts to get you down, just remember, it could be worse—

it could be an Abominable Snowman Nation!

http://FunnyOrDie.com/m/3bp1