I have this friend that I met via facebook fish groups. We have been on the same admin team for about a couple years now. He was 16 or 17 when I first met him, Idr. Heâs now 18. Still in high school, lives with his parents. Pretty normal suburban kid. His hobby is Christmas. And I mean like, think of the hobby you love MOST, the thing you would devote your entire life to if you could. Thatâs this kid and Christmas. In particular, he loves to setup Christmas lights and decorations in his yard.
He buys most of his stuff around this time of year (October/November). Sometimes someone will have a deal going in July, so heâll stock up then too. But heâs also constantly looking on eBay and stuff for deals on lights and inflatables. I constantly get excited messages from him when something rad is on sale. A frequent topic between us is âThis inflatable or that inflatable?â And discussing the pros and cons of each.
He easily spends hundreds of dollars PER YEAR on lights and decorations. Heâs been doing this for multiple years. Where does this high schooler get this money from? Does he have a normal teenager job? Do his parents give it to him? No. He has a side hustle. He sells extraneous lights he picked up for cheap, and dabbles in carnivorous plants as well.
Hereâs the kicker, and my favorite part. His parents donât know he buys all this shit. Iâll randomly get messages from him like âOh, I gotta hide this 50 pound greenhouse frame in the wall before my mom sees itâ And âthereâs so many lights spread out in the living room right now, if I throw these new ones I just got today in with them, my parents will never notice.â Then he sets up incredible and elaborate Christmas displays in his yard, complete with lights dancing to music and everything.
And I just think thatâs the funniest shit ever.
