IT'S REAL TO ME

real story:

be fall of 2008, amidst the financial crisis

father and I are both techies and like to browse electronics stores like best buy, fry's electronics, etc.

we walk by the gaming mouse aisle one day and I just mentioned I like the Logitech G5 cracked blue mouse.

we are not rich, typical middle class family. father didnt like me playing vidya too much because it distracts me from studies (we're asian immigrants).

that christmas morning I wake up to the mouse by my bedside, not wrapped. I was so happy and surprised because we're asian and don't usually celebrate christmas like white people with a tree and presents, etc. He has never bought me a "christmas" present. usually he just buys things as the need arises after careful planning and consideration.

later on I realized that our family was in the worst financial situation ever due to the economic recession. plus I was going to college in 2009 so that was another level of stress for my parents.

maybe that year he chose to surprise me because he needed to assure himself that everything was going to be okay.

Now I make more money than he could have imagined. Gaming is still a hobby and I can afford the best hardware. My battlestation spec is in the top 0.1% except for that G5 cracked blue mouse which is still in service. I've had to change a few parts as they've degraded over the years, but everything still works.