Hey Kid! I'm a Consumer!

Every Christmas, I get my gloves for that year. I lose one by March (invariably the left one, leaving me with no mix and match options), and go the rest of the Chicago winter (through May) with cold hands. The first winter storm of the season is upon us, and with seven right hand gloves to my name, I've been using an extra winter hat as a left-hand glove substitute. That won't cut it tomorrow morning, when I'm shoveling six inches of snow out from under my wheel wells.

I've gotten by with combs for most of my life. Every time I'm hospitalized (on average, twice a year) I get another "unbreakable" comb, which I add to the pile in my Junk Drawer. Unfortunately, my hair has grown to high-school lengths, and combs are extremely painful to use. Usually when my hair gets this long I just shave it off, but it's like six degrees outside, and I'm rail thin as it is.

Why is this monumental? Well, I somehow I've gone through life having never purchased either of these items. I've always made it through life relying on Christmas or Hospitals to supply me with these items, and being in a position of necessity felt strange- like there was nothing I could do about it.

"My hands are cold. Damn. Christmas isn't for another four weeks."

I guess it's a sign of my passage into self-reliance, that I have to purchase these items on my own. Should I be proud of myself for these purchases? Should I pat myself on the back? Or is this just further proof that I'm either a) generally sheltered in life, or b) have fairly lackluster personal hygiene? Either way, it'll bring about a shift in my perception of self.