Stuff that made your life way better than you thought it would

[Toro]

Having a grandson.

When our daughter got married 4 years ago, she and her husband weren't sure they wanted kids. Some parents pressure their kids to have kids because they want grandchilden but we really didn't care one way or the other. But they eventually decided to get pregnant and we have a grandson.

Well we couldn't have been more wrong being ambivilent about this because this kid has brought more joy to our lives than we could have imagined.

[seke2]

iPod and DVR are way up there

[Kramer.]

I'll second the iPod and DVR votes.

I work nights, so DVR lets me watch all the good TV I've been missing. I put off getting DVR service for a long time because of the cost, but now that I have it, I can't imagine not having it.
And the iPod makes my 25 minute commute so much better -- I don't have to listen to idiots talk on AM or crappy pop music on FM.


Oh yeah, my three kids are pretty awesome too.

[RunDownHouse]

Sorry, slight hijack. I heard someone (a comedian's bit, maybe?) talk about the most useful invention that the least number of people would ever use. The hands-down best answer was a tampon/pad. Half of the people on earth won't ever use one, but for the half that do, its incredibly useful. It just stuck with me, for some reason.

Closer to the matter at hand would be my dog, but in a little bit of a different way. I knew I'd love having a dog, but my live-in girlfriend was pretty solidly a cat person. Didn't really like dogs, hated how some would lick you, etc. After having the dog for a little over a year, she's completely sold and even wants to get more.

I was pretty sure she'd soften up towards dogs after we got one, but I had no idea how completely her perspective would change.

[Toro]

Your dog story is funny. My mother was never a dog lover. She has 5 kids and we all pestered her through the years to get a dog and it was always an emphatic no.

So it's real funny now that my youngest brother who lives in the same town as her got a dog, a shitzu named maggie a few years ago and my mother is totally in love with this dog. She talks to maggie like she's her 6th child.

[NT!]

[ QUOTE ]
last fall my wife and I took a cross country road trip for 2 months, spent most of the time camping and hiking but also spent time with friends all over the place. it was really great and something I'll remember for the rest of my life.

it sounds kind of trite but having an ipod has pretty much made my life a million times better. now instead of standing around waiting for the train I can listen to whatever music I want, learn new tunes, etc.

[/ QUOTE ]

Both of these are true for me too. Driving out West was absolutely awesome, and a great experience to share w/ the lady friend.

I resisted getting an iPod forever, I never liked them, hated the whole marketing aspect. When I moved to NYC I decided it was worth it and got a Shuffle. There's a sort of peaceful surrender to just loading it up with songs and having no idea what's about to play. It's made me enjoy my music collection again.

Going to the gym is another idea that I really didn't like (weight training and that sort of stuff in particular, I just felt that fitness should be achieved in the course of actual activities or sports). But I'm glad I started, especially when it's cold out and there's not much way to get exercise otherwise.

NT

[gilper]

When we moved into our house it had a hard lined natural gas grill. We thought it was kind of nice, no it's great!

No charcoal, no going to refill the propane. I just walk out and turn the knob. I grill probably twice a week even in the winter.

[punkass]

[ QUOTE ]
I don't really like much TV, but getting a DVR was fantastic since my wife doesn't sit next to me and say things such as, "I don't want to watch the National Geographic channel. This is stupid, let's watch Oprah."

NO YOU MOTHER-[censored], I DON'T WANT TO [censored] WATCH OPRAH.

[/ QUOTE ]

DVR is what I thought when I read the subject.

[thirddan]

a good quality pillow...soooo good...

[pokerraja]

My teeth have been pretty crooked my whole life. My parents could not afford braces for me when I was younger.

Eventually I found out that adults can get crooked teeth fixed without braces in certain circumstances. My dentist told me about porcelain veneers. It was a painless procedure that took altoghether 2 weeks. Basically they shave your tooth down and individually crown it with veneers. They look and feel like normal teeth. Now I have pearly white teeth that rival a hollywood smile. I love to smile again. This has improved my life more than anything I would imagine.