Xmas: The Road to Consumption, pt. 2

Marcus — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 07:55:12 +0000

Following the fiasco of the mall, I decided to fall back on the time honored tradition of internet shopping. It didn’t save me any time, of course, even though we decided to keep the list small, just buying stuff for the family members who would be with us in Henderson for the actual face-to-face exchange. I spent all Saturday and a good bit of Sunday combing Amazon and Think Geek for gifts. I love Think Geek, but this close to the holiday, they run out of the best stuff. It took ages to plow through one disappointment after another, as laser-guided scissors and various shiny, flashing gadgets were successively unavailable.

After several hours of staring at products gridded across the screen, it didn’t exactly lift my spirits to check my shopping cart to find I’d filled about a third of it with personal gifts. I pared it down to one, and forged on.

Amazon makes it easy with the Wish Lists, but that seemed lazy, so I was still stuck trying to find the right things for the right price, having established a per-person budget. It’s all so complicated, but the only choice that saves time, gift certificates, makes me feel like a tool.

Next year, however, it’s tool time. Being a thoughtful Santa is too much work.

Internetless

Marcus — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 06:49:58 +0000

When the world is running down, you make the best of what’s still around.
– The Police

My connection has been out most of the day. It’s a strange feeling to be without it. iPhone is here, yes. But it’s slow and limited.

But many of the best things in life do not even require electricity, much less the internet.

• a romp with your dog
• liesurely bike rides
• drinks with friends
• acoustic guitar
• ripe peaches
• surfing

And, of course,
• books

marcusharwell.net » internet

Xmas: The Road to Consumption, pt. 2

Internetless