A wise man once said: the difference between men and boys are the prices of their toys.

So true.

From left to right: Yamaha C330 classical, Ovation CSE24 acoustic, Cort M600 electric, and Yamaha RBX765A electric bass.

I started to play guitar in 1994. We were preparing for this high school's graduation night and our music teacher somehow picked me -- still can't figure out her reasoning -- to join a bunch of other unfortunate kids to sing. Hours of (forced) practice followed, during which I found out to my astonishment that many if not most of my peers played guitars. I was, like, whoa, I've got to learn that!

And so, I bought two guitar books worth Rp 1,000 each -- one with chord illustrations, another with popular tunes -- and picked up my dad's decades-old guitar, totally determined to teach myself a song or two. I tell you, that guitar of my dad's? It was so friggin' hard to play! The fretboard action was too high by miles, the neck was bent, the bridge was almost ripped out by the steel strings, the headstock was chipped badly, and two frets, in addition to the nut, were missing. I tied a plastic rope around the head, replaced the missing frets with matchsticks -- kid you not -- and cut a piece of plywood -- that's where that handicraft class came handy -- for the nut. Couldn't do anything about the rest of the defects, so I just lived with them.

The persistence and hurt fingers paid off. I managed to play a few songs just before the new life that was uni started. It was on my birthday late 94 that my parents decided I had been good enough a son and gave me some money to buy a new guitar. For Rp 150,000 I took home my C330. Thanks, Mom and Dad.

In 1999, I stepped onto the Singapore soil. It didn't take me long to get bored with my (lack of) life in this country and soon, I started inquiring about musical instrument shops. Unlike in Indonesia, where you can find musical instruments at almost all major bookstores and shopping malls, musical instrument is a very specialized business here in Singapore and you need to know where to find one of such.

After about a month of hunting and deliberation, I paid $500 for the first-ever musical instrument I bought with my own money: the five-string RBX765A.

In 2002, I found myself jobless and would stay so for seven months. Meanwhile, our band kept jamming and, with nothing to do, I contemplated getting an electric guitar. It'll always be a damned tough decision when you have no income and so it was. I spent a month going back and forth. In the end, I convinced myself that I should keep my sanity and not money. That decided, I marched to Bras Basah and went home $500 poorer but an M600 richer.

Until last week, I'd never thought I would ever buy another guitar -- not until I could afford a Les Paul -- but with our last-minute decision to go ahead with the gig and the AWS -- my first ever, seriously -- fresh in my bank account, I said to myself, WTH, let's check out one of those acoustic guitars.

After visits to no fewer than seven guitar shops and with help from Pacarku, I finally made up my mind and now have the CSE24 to show for it. What a beautiful, shiny little thing it is. Sounds good also. Well, it had better be; at $630 it's my most expensive guitar acquisition to date.

Come to think of it, it's also the most expensive birthday present I've ever received.

And there you go, my four expensive toys. All right, perhaps not as expensive as those that you have, but with my now-well chronicled stinginess, you can at least pretend to be impressed. Thank you.

Here wishing you the merriest Christmas and the happiest New Year. Enjoy yourselves and drink responsibly.

This public service announcement is brought to you by Yamaha, Cort, and Ovation.

Current music: Pussycat Dolls - Santa Baby
Current mood: happy