In which we prove my vacation is bigger and fatter than yours!
Yeah, so I might have been winning the July Pseudo-Freegan Challenge last week but this week I am a goner. Like Arduous, I was in an unsustainable city having a blast eating, drinking, and driving, with a little swimming, biking, and shopping thrown in. And lots and lots of ice cream. I kind of forgot that when people go to new places they go shopping, I guess to see if the tacky crap they have is different from the tacky crap they sell at home...? My friend and I were no exception, which is funny 'cause usually I can't stand shopping. Luckily Austin has some great thrift stores and one that sells clothes and gifts by local designers only. I managed to walk away from the mainstream sexy shoes and designer jeans I tried on and stick with a goofy belt, new sneaks, and some pants that I'll probably end up cutting into shorts, all from a thrift store. As for the rest, the only durable goods I bought were a catalogue for an exhibition I saw and a newspaper. Oh, and I bought the sunglasses before I left, partly as a way to ward off a big splurge over the weekend.
A goofy couple of days not thinking about consumption kinda makes the rest of my low-impact life possible. It's not that I hate living on nothing or resent trying to make conscious habits unconscious, sometimes it's just nice not to think about it so much. Of course it's all about the journey, but rewards are nice, too - why go to all the effort if there's nothing to enjoy at the end of the day?
JFK Airtrain - $10
Hotel & car - $210
Food - $85.56
Beverages - $50.75
Things (thrift store, catalogue, newspaper) - $21.64
Experiences (pool, museum) - $11
Total trip: $388.95 (excluding the airfare - I paid for that a long time ago!!)
Megan Metcalf
in Pseudo-Freegan Challenge (July 08)
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2 Comments
Reader Comments (2)
I think you're right. That's sort of how I felt in Vegas. I had a moment of "Oh geez," with the ridiculous drink in a plastic cup, but frankly, I'm usually very good about that kind of thing, and once in a while you need a little indulgence!
I think some of the militant greens would have us drawn and quartered for these kinds of comments...like, well if we're doing all the work so you can have a drink in a yard-long plastic cup, then what's it all for, people! I take those points, but if there's no fun on earth, then what's the use in saving it? I will have to keep thinking about this. As you've said many times before, if we alienate everyone, nobody will be on board and not only does the earth go to hell, we're lonely to boot.