On Not Acquiring

As a general rule, I don't like buying things.

I tell myself I do, so I research and comparison shop and ask people where they bought their laptop or watch or car or make-up (ok maybe not this last one) and then I reasearch and comparison shop again. I am one focused and driven comparison shopper.

Then I don't buy anything.

There was the mountain bike, the Omega Seamaster, dozens of shoes I can't remember, the bags (I don't even know why I look at them, I don't carry them.)

I know a lot about the things I never buy. It's not the money (we all know that). And it's not the spending either. I can drop US$200 on an evening of expensive cocktails, but I can't buy myself a US$25 purse.

It's this whole concept of acquiring. I'm not really into it. I buy things I need (like toothpaste) and I buy things I want (like a book or a DVD). But I don't buy things that other people consider necessary, like new shoes or bags or shirts. I buy these things when I need them. I don't really care for them.

I guess that not having a desire to shop is actually a good thing since I now live in shopping central. But I feel left out when my friends talk about this new skirt they just really needed to have. My thinking is, unless you're on some desert island naked, you will never really "need" a skirt. (And come to think of it, if you're on that desert island, wouldn't you need drinking water first before that Gucci knock-off skirt?)

I actually have the day off today. I'll be going to the mall to get a big juicy steak for dinner, and that Tumi cabin bag I've been looking at for months.