Material World

When I first moved to New York City, I lost a lot of interest in material things. Firstly, I couldn't afford them, and secondly I had nowhere to put them in our apartment.

I always imagined, as a pre-teen, that my Transformers toy collection would be on the mantle as I sat puffing on a pipe as a 60-year-old. SInce then, I have found I don't need a lot of stuff. I wear functioning clothing, my CD collection has been ripped and exists only as invisible data, and even my Smurfs have been sold on eBay.

But here's another reason I've learned not to take too much pride in too much stuff. Actually here's several:

My Nintendo DS - currently AWOL, presumed dead. Last seen with my daughter, broken at the hinges.

My Luke Skywalker lightsaber - snapped twice and converted by the kids into "magic wands."

My notepads, used for work - drawn all over, rendering at least one set of notes redundant

My Rocky III DVD - recovered after being jammed in the VCR by my son, but scratched beyond repair

My treasured Darth Vader figure - cape-less, lightsaber-less, head-less now serving as a bath toy

And so on... When buying anything now, I hesitate and ponder how I would feel if my purchase was chewed on and later found in the garden. I'm certainly saving money this way too.