Echoes.

A demise of a relationship always leaves you with something.
Sometimes useless physical things that do nothing but invite reminders of the couple you used to be a part of.
Sometimes more mental things – a distaste for a certain football team, an inability to visit certain places.
Today, I learned of one of my prior relationships’ legacies.

I am unable to buy a cheap Transformers figurine.

My daughter is a huge fan of the new movies and while I am… less than… I have definitely enjoyed the action sequences they have provided.
One of her requests this year is a version of Bumblebee.
Shouldn’t be a problem, right?
Everyone loves the movies and Bumblebee.

Except that it is.

An ex of mine was toy crazy.
And I mean.  CRAZY.
Hundreds of metal collectibles – all taking me back to various points in my life and bringing me to a new appreciation level of the delights of collectible-quality Transformers…
Which aren’t cheap.
And tend to be Japanese.
And because the movie version isn’t the Real Version, aren’t easy to find.

The alternative?
To buy the Hasbro version.
To go to Target.
To spend $10 and call myself DONE with that particular chore.

But I can’t.
I can’t.
Have you seen the faces of those toys?
Cheap.  Plastic.  Icky. 
My disdain for them keeps me from fulfilling this small wish.
It provokes a physical reaction in me.
I like to buy quality – I only like to buy an item once.
Not 1232 of the same cheap item.
So.

…

So, I suppose Bumblebee will NOT be under the tree this year – other things will and she’ll live through this disappointment.

And I?
Well.  Along with a hatred of Ohio State, have found another legacy of a previous relationship.
An eye for expensive toys.