Conspicuous Consumption
Some days, I sit in my living room and wonder how all of it arrived in this small space. It did not generally come in twos or threes, but ones, added slowly over time. Sure, sometimes things arrived in large batches, but one at a time, this collection assembled.
Tonight, I spent five minutes going through a box. A crate, more correctly, made of black plastic which allows me to see most of the contents of the crate at once. The other day, I took all of the items off the floor and placed them in the crate. Each box in the crate holds one disc, designed to be played in one of the three video game systems sitting below the television or perhaps a DVD for the DVD player nestled between. Inside the box were just a small portion of these discs which appear to rule my living room, if not my life.
I went through and finally picked a different video game to play, which was not too hard, considering I own plenty of half-finished and barely started video games from the last few years. I mean, I purchased Rock Band on a whim one day, which worked out in the sense that I've played it regularly or regularly enough to justify the high purchase price, unlike the Street Fighter IV joystick sitting in a box waiting to be sent to back to the company, due to its inability to work more than a week after purchase.
But everywhere around me, in bookcases, boxes and god knows where else in this apartment, there are video games to be played and DVDs to be watched and no time to get to them. I figure if I don't purchase another video game this year, I could easily be playing unfinished video games into 2010 and likely watch first and second run movies and television shows piled everywhere. Part of me feels guilty about owning all of these items which serve little purpose at this juncture in my life, but more likely, I will continue to fill this apartment with more shiny, shiny, shiny plastic discs filled with "entertainment".
Tonight, I spent five minutes going through a box. A crate, more correctly, made of black plastic which allows me to see most of the contents of the crate at once. The other day, I took all of the items off the floor and placed them in the crate. Each box in the crate holds one disc, designed to be played in one of the three video game systems sitting below the television or perhaps a DVD for the DVD player nestled between. Inside the box were just a small portion of these discs which appear to rule my living room, if not my life.
I went through and finally picked a different video game to play, which was not too hard, considering I own plenty of half-finished and barely started video games from the last few years. I mean, I purchased Rock Band on a whim one day, which worked out in the sense that I've played it regularly or regularly enough to justify the high purchase price, unlike the Street Fighter IV joystick sitting in a box waiting to be sent to back to the company, due to its inability to work more than a week after purchase.
But everywhere around me, in bookcases, boxes and god knows where else in this apartment, there are video games to be played and DVDs to be watched and no time to get to them. I figure if I don't purchase another video game this year, I could easily be playing unfinished video games into 2010 and likely watch first and second run movies and television shows piled everywhere. Part of me feels guilty about owning all of these items which serve little purpose at this juncture in my life, but more likely, I will continue to fill this apartment with more shiny, shiny, shiny plastic discs filled with "entertainment".