15 May 2001
I’ve finally finished moving all my stuff to my temporary summer apartment and I’ve come to one conclusion.
I have way too much crap.
The problem is not that I’m a packrat (though I am), but that I am loathe to throw out perfectly good things just in order to expedite my move. For example, an average person would probably toss out their collection of half-full spray cleaners and scrub brushes and buy some new ones after their move. Not me! I’ve got to carefully pack them in pastic bags so they won’t tip over and leak.
I just can’t buy into the disposable consumer culture. Why get rid of something when it works perfectly well? I’ll never understand all the college students in the dorms who I see throwing away still-working televisions and stereos at the end of the year. They’re just too lazy to pack them up and take them home for the summer.
I did try to rid myself of things I didn’t use anymore and donate some clothes, etc to charity. Of course, one of the items I most easily made the decision to toss — a little clip-on light — was the first thing I discovered I really needed in my new apartment.
The other problem is that my stuff is just too big. My computer and stereo are both behemoths that weigh far too much and whose original boxes (of course I keep those) contain way too much styrofoam. So, I’ve decided that I’d like to upgrade them (it’s about time anyway) and purchase a computer and stereo with smaller footprints (as tiny as possible). Suggestions are welcome.
I have a MP3/CD Player. It happens to be a Philips Expanium and is great. I think there are new ones coming out all the time. It’s the size of a CD Walkman and plays regular CDs AND CDs burned with MP3s (100 or more per disk.) I don’t need a radio – if I listen to the radio at home I listen online. I don’t need a cassette player (I have an old boombox around osmewhere just in case.) I hooked my MP3/CD player up to a couple of Benwin flat pannel computer speakers (with their own subwoofer and power source.)
Charles | 15 May 2001Thus, I have a stereo that sounds great and takes up less than a foot of room. An extra cool bonus: The MP3/Cd thingee comes with an auto adapter whereby you plug the power into the cigarette lighter and one of those cassette-shaped things into your car stereo. So I can bring a couple of MP3 CDs and have enough music for hours and hours on a road trip.
As for a computer, I guess they’re all about the same size. Unless you can afford a Sony Vaio or new I-Booklaptop and docking station or USB setup (and if you can – envy, envy.) I’m still waiting for flat-pannel monitors to come down closer to regular monitor prices (envy, envy.)