I bought these shoes. I like buying things. Especially buying good quality things. They’re shiny and new for a while, and then they’re just old and functional, and then they still work. At least that’s the idea. Also, that’s how I can justify buying (/receiving for Christmas) three super-premium (coat and backpack) or unnecessary (shoes) things for my Europe trip. (note that I mean “justifying to myself.” It’s not like anyone else is telling me “you buy too many things!") I just say “they’ll last for longer; therefore, it’s worth spending a lot of money on them.” Which is true.

(hopefully. the thing not to do is say “it’ll last for longer” and then buy another one soon anyway for another reason- you lose the first one, or get sick of it, or whatever.)

I think it’s the sustainable thing to do, despite the hurt on my (or my parents') wallet and the environment right now.

Also, man, I really like breakfast cereal. I mean, a whole lot. If it weren’t societally unacceptable, probably unhealthy, and destructive towards one of my hobbies (cooking), I could probably live somewhat contently on a box of GoLean and a half gallon of soy milk per day. Maybe a little more food; that’s a little low in the calories department. Actually, check this out:
1 box GoLean- 1120 calories
1/2 gallon plain Silk- 720 calories
1 bag Trader Joe’s Harvest Hodgepodge (The Best frozen vegetable mix)- 150 calories
500 calories' worth of assorted fresh fruit- 500 calories
Total: 2490 calories; pretty good for me if I’m not active. If I am, ramp everything up a bit.
I’d be set in terms of protein, carbs, and fats. As for the micronutrients, I’d probably need a multivitamin to fill in gaps, but I wouldn’t be doing all too badly there either. Not saying this is a good call, but if I ever get trapped inside a Trader Joe’s that happened to only stock three items plus fruit, I’d be in good shape.

I was reading a column about famous sign-off lines, and I thought, how cool would it be if a famous newsanchor used Wesley Willis’s sign off:
Rock over London, rock on Chicago. Wheaties- breakfast of champions.
Then companies could pay that anchor to borrow the last part of his sign off.

Comments:

Joe - Dec 0, 2006

Dear Dan:

The Wesley Willis ad signoff is the best idea you’ve ever had. Do you watch Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip? Yeah right, I know you don’t really watch TV. It’s ok. But you’d like the show. They had a similar idea.

The cereal/soymilk/veggies and fruit idea isn’t half bad, either. Reminds me of the time Connor and I tried inventing a Bisquick diet, which consisted of a tablespoon of dry Bisquick (Bisquik? Whatever.) and a glass of milk every time you got hungry. Then we realized there’d be no fiber in your diet (never mind everything ELSE you’d be missing and the 100x your daily value of salt you’d intake) and it might mean some rough bowel movements.

Ok, that’s really all I had to say. Hope you have a good new year, and enjoy being abroad!