What happened to stuff??

Why can't things be made like the good old days? I mean, ok, I know WHY. But...why??

I buy things. Things break. They design and engineer things to purposely break, I get it. But why oh why?

Lately all my electronics have been dying on me. First it was the paper shredder. Then it was the speakers. Then the stereo. One minute the stereo was playing, the next minute it wasn't. It literally stopped playing mid track. And it's only a little over a year old!! Same with the paper shredder. I can find use for the basket part ...but I'd hate to throw this big chunk of shredding metal material just into the trash. Same with the stereo. What a waste of material!! Good decent plastic and metal and wires and who knows what else. There was nothing wrong with either one of them. If I can keep them for 30 years more I would. But I wasn't even offered that chance.

I'm aware of what's going on. I've watched The Story of Stuff. But still...it sucks. I just want my stuff to work!

So i went to staples to get another paper shredder. When I tried to purchase it, the first thing the cashier lady asked me was, "Return?" I said no, i'd like to purchase. She said, "oh." OH?? I inquired after her odd response. She said "oh, its just that everyone comes in wanting to return paper shredders." Great. But i shrug it off, and decided to buy the in store warranty. Turns out, there's an in-store warranty for STUFF, and then there's a whole separate price for PAPER SHREDDER warranties. They have a whole warranty of their own! SIGH. I bought it anyways, but I'm not happy about the plight of "stuff" being made in the world today.

Gone are the days of ten cent ice creams at the drug store, and when purchasing a paper shredder was a big deal, because sure you paid more for it but at least you knew it was going to last for another 10 years. I can only relive those days now through I Love Lucy....days when hats were made by measuring your head and picking out your styles and materials and bringing it home to Ricky only to have him make you return it because it's too expensive and you had to put his name down for credit at the store because you couldn't pay for it yourself with the $5 a week allowance he gives you....wahhh

Uh, yup, those were the days...