Tuesday . April 15 . 2003 . 8:48am conspicuous consumption The following is a list of things that we bought at the street fair yesterday: 1 suede patchwork shoulder bag, for $10 (Michelle) 4 Mentadent toothbrushes, at $8 total (Michelle and Joe) 1 Gyro with a lemonade, $7 (Joe, but Michelle had a tiny bite) 8 pairs of athletic socks, $15 total (Michelle) 2 ears of grilled corn, $2 each (Michelle and Joe) I also decided today that I'm never going to buy expensive sunglasses again. Every single pair of sunglasses that I've ever paid more than $10 for ends up lost, smashed, or stolen, while every cheap pair of sidewalk sunglasses I've ever purchased is still hanging around somewhere in my bedroom, despite (in some cases) willful efforts to purge them from my possession. Sure, expensive sunglasses fit better, and come with snazzy little cases, and have little designer logos on them, but what's the point of all those features if you can't fucking find the shades that you shelled out good money for? Who stole the Guess shades that I got at the duty-free shop in the Singapore airport? I left them right there! And now they're gone! Where are my Ann Taylor sunglasses that I just bought last summer? How could they be lost? They haven't even been in rotation long enough to get lost. I only wore them, like, twice. There are many commercial products that I am currently coveting. Almost all of these products are highly unpractical, as 1.) most of them I probably won't wear/use with any regularity, and 2.) I have no money. But that doesn't stop me from wanting them, because I'm a disgusting little American consumer. For example, there are these jeans that my sister recommended that I'm kind of digging. They fit well, are cut for short people, and look good on me. But once I start my residency, I'll never get a chance to wear jeans again, because I can't wear them to work, and on the rare days that I'm not working, I'll be in my pajamas in bed. And in a coma. Also, the jeans cost, like $80. Damn, I could buy a whole sweatshop for $80. Yet mere logic cannot stop me from wanting these jeans. Because they look so fine. One good thing about getting married (OK, not, like, the only one good thing, but one of the good things) is that we've been getting presents. Presents are fun, it's like Christmas in April over here. And they're all the fun things that we would never, ever buy for ourselves, even if we wanted them, because they're just too frivolous or decadent. Today, we got a breadmaker. (I know this is the one gift that all married people say, after the fact, "Why the hell did we register for this breadmaker? It seemed like it would be cool, but we never use it, and now it's taking up all the space in the kitchen. Damn you, appliance!" But who cares. We like bread.) The other day, we got the George Foreman Grill. And a Kitchenaid electric mixer. And of course, there's Joe's sexy new mistress, the beehive Oster blender- cum-food processer. These things are fun to play with. And they make us feel as though we're on the Food Network. Various graphic novels are also on my wishlist. I was on a Chris Ware bender sometime last year (though I couldn't really find that much to go through after reading the Jimmy Corrigan collection) and I've been working my way through Daniel Clowes. Oh, and of course I've read Art Speigelman's Maus (like everyone else on the planet) and assorted Lynda Barry offerings. But now I'm in search of some new authors. I heard that Shutterbug Follies was good, and stuff by Adrian Tomine. Oh, also, since we're being so linktastic, if you want to read a good graphic novella online and enjoy stories about the Asian-American experience (among other things), read Same Difference by Derek Kirk Kim. I love stories like these, about regular people, casual observations, small cruelties, and attempts at redemption. It also occurs to me, just from my limited experience, that many cartoonists who choose to pursue the graphic novel form seem like deeply depressed, bitter, cynical, and often lonely people. I don't mean this as a bad thing, it's just probably why they're so good at scrutinizing the rest of us. Meanwhile... The minutes are clicking down to Go Time. We have a somewhat long checklist of tasks we need to take care of before the wedding (from "Call Photographer" to "Pack for Honeymoon" to "Practice First Dance So We Don't Look Like Fools"). So far, we've crossed off five things from the list. Great, only one hundred and thirty-six more things to do. xo Michelle Countdown to the wedding: 12 days |
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Tuesday . April 15 . 2003 . 8:48am conspicuous consumption The following is a list of things that we bought at the street fair yesterday: 1 suede patchwork shoulder bag, for $10 (Michelle) 4 Mentadent toothbrushes, at $8 total (Michelle and Joe) 1 Gyro with a lemonade, $7 (Joe, but Michelle had a tiny bite) 8 pairs of athletic socks, $15 total (Michelle) 2 ears of grilled corn, $2 each (Michelle and Joe) I also decided today that I'm never going to buy expensive sunglasses again. Every single pair of sunglasses that I've ever paid more than $10 for ends up lost, smashed, or stolen, while every cheap pair of sidewalk sunglasses I've ever purchased is still hanging around somewhere in my bedroom, despite (in some cases) willful efforts to purge them from my possession. Sure, expensive sunglasses fit better, and come with snazzy little cases, and have little designer logos on them, but what's the point of all those features if you can't fucking find the shades that you shelled out good money for? Who stole the Guess shades that I got at the duty-free shop in the Singapore airport? I left them right there! And now they're gone! Where are my Ann Taylor sunglasses that I just bought last summer? How could they be lost? They haven't even been in rotation long enough to get lost. I only wore them, like, twice. There are many commercial products that I am currently coveting. Almost all of these products are highly unpractical, as 1.) most of them I probably won't wear/use with any regularity, and 2.) I have no money. But that doesn't stop me from wanting them, because I'm a disgusting little American consumer. For example, there are these jeans that my sister recommended that I'm kind of digging. They fit well, are cut for short people, and look good on me. But once I start my residency, I'll never get a chance to wear jeans again, because I can't wear them to work, and on the rare days that I'm not working, I'll be in my pajamas in bed. And in a coma. Also, the jeans cost, like $80. Damn, I could buy a whole sweatshop for $80. Yet mere logic cannot stop me from wanting these jeans. Because they look so fine. One good thing about getting married (OK, not, like, the only one good thing, but one of the good things) is that we've been getting presents. Presents are fun, it's like Christmas in April over here. And they're all the fun things that we would never, ever buy for ourselves, even if we wanted them, because they're just too frivolous or decadent. Today, we got a breadmaker. (I know this is the one gift that all married people say, after the fact, "Why the hell did we register for this breadmaker? It seemed like it would be cool, but we never use it, and now it's taking up all the space in the kitchen. Damn you, appliance!" But who cares. We like bread.) The other day, we got the George Foreman Grill. And a Kitchenaid electric mixer. And of course, there's Joe's sexy new mistress, the beehive Oster blender- cum-food processer. These things are fun to play with. And they make us feel as though we're on the Food Network. Various graphic novels are also on my wishlist. I was on a Chris Ware bender sometime last year (though I couldn't really find that much to go through after reading the Jimmy Corrigan collection) and I've been working my way through Daniel Clowes. Oh, and of course I've read Art Speigelman's Maus (like everyone else on the planet) and assorted Lynda Barry offerings. But now I'm in search of some new authors. I heard that Shutterbug Follies was good, and stuff by Adrian Tomine. Oh, also, since we're being so linktastic, if you want to read a good graphic novella online and enjoy stories about the Asian-American experience (among other things), read Same Difference by Derek Kirk Kim. I love stories like these, about regular people, casual observations, small cruelties, and attempts at redemption. It also occurs to me, just from my limited experience, that many cartoonists who choose to pursue the graphic novel form seem like deeply depressed, bitter, cynical, and often lonely people. I don't mean this as a bad thing, it's just probably why they're so good at scrutinizing the rest of us. Meanwhile... The minutes are clicking down to Go Time. We have a somewhat long checklist of tasks we need to take care of before the wedding (from "Call Photographer" to "Pack for Honeymoon" to "Practice First Dance So We Don't Look Like Fools"). So far, we've crossed off five things from the list. Great, only one hundred and thirty-six more things to do. xo Michelle Countdown to the wedding: 12 days |
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