consumerism at its....

... not best... not worst... just, at itself...

I've been a total consumerist this holiday season and it's been driving me a bit nuts. Ok, maybe not total, but at least more than usual.

I'm sitting here on a new tablet, all shiney and new and Made in China (by oppressed workers, I'm sure) and made with precious metals purchased from African tyrants.

But it's a really really awesome replacement for my dead laptop (which did, by the way, get a ressurection through some upgrades a couple of years ago). And I realy needed it. How else am I going to avoid real human contact by just browsing Facebook updates and downloading apps? My laptop couldn't do anything important, like output Hulu to the TV so I could sew while half-listening.

My dead laptop, which will probably now join the millions of tons of other worthless electronics that gather in toxic graveyards.

You see why I'm a bit twitchy. This is how my brain works.

I drove around last night buying things from stores that were not organic, local, eco-friendly, or sustainably-made. I didn't even think about any of that before driving around after work.

I didn't think to look where the Dole fruit cups were made/shipped from/made of before buying a dozen after my surgery. Oooooh a Sale! Must Buy!  (China, the Phillippeans, Mexico... #5 plastic - not recyclable here - with a celophane top).

But little things like that drive me nuts afterwards. And I guess that's a good thing. I mean, I'd rather be conscious and trying and failing than ignorant and not trying at all.

I want to live my life in the cycle of life. Not just consume and dispose and only think of the one moment that the item I bought is in my life. I want it all to fit together, the way that nature does in and of itself. I want to know that the inputs and the outputs aren't just ellipses in my life; they should be knowns that don't make me cringe.

Think about antiques. Old, well-built stuff that has lasted, what, 50+ 100+ years?  Things that have purpose, both functional and decorative. In 50 years, will we have antiques? Or just old crappy iPhones to laugh at?

That's my rant. I'm going to go consume some unrenewable energy and encourage child labor now.
  

Anything pissing you off lately? Make any resolutions about them?

Much Love,
Able-Bodied Girl