http://blog.melchua.com/2009/12/04/recalibration/ Braindumps on things Mel Chua has found shiny lately. Sat, 11 Feb 2012 03:06:02 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 http://blog.melchua.com/2009/12/04/recalibration/comment-page-1/#comment-3793 David N Sun, 06 Dec 2009 11:12:48 +0000 http://blog.melchua.com/2009/12/04/recalibration/#comment-3793 I'm undergoing a similar phase of adjustment over here in Japan. The apartment I moved into had practically nothing, and I'm realizing that houses have a lot of stuff in them, but I'm still figuring out which things are necessities and which things aren't. I feel guilty over the little $5 impulse purchases I make (even though the slippers, extra frying pan, and bread pan have all been very worth it), I spend 15 minutes pacing in the store and worrying whether a new trash can is worth $20 (It has a foot pedal! But I have a trash can! But I don't have one for recyclables... and it has a *foot pedal*!), and when it comes to electronics, I worry for weeks on end (there's still a part of my brain that is paranoid that the iPod Touch I bought 2 months ago wasn't a Good Buy, even though I've used it nearly every day since I got it). I'm not sure how I got this way, considering I come from a family that pays for convenience and doesn't even comparison shop a lot of the time. I guess that's attitude you get when you have money and not so much time, but it's still a long way off for me. I’m undergoing a similar phase of adjustment over here in Japan. The apartment I moved into had practically nothing, and I’m realizing that houses have a lot of stuff in them, but I’m still figuring out which things are necessities and which things aren’t. I feel guilty over the little $5 impulse purchases I make (even though the slippers, extra frying pan, and bread pan have all been very worth it), I spend 15 minutes pacing in the store and worrying whether a new trash can is worth $20 (It has a foot pedal! But I have a trash can! But I don’t have one for recyclables… and it has a *foot pedal*!), and when it comes to electronics, I worry for weeks on end (there’s still a part of my brain that is paranoid that the iPod Touch I bought 2 months ago wasn’t a Good Buy, even though I’ve used it nearly every day since I got it). I’m not sure how I got this way, considering I come from a family that pays for convenience and doesn’t even comparison shop a lot of the time. I guess that’s attitude you get when you have money and not so much time, but it’s still a long way off for me.

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