Monday, February 22, 2010

My Blog Sucks

I have now had two friends, with varying degrees of tact, point out that my blog sucks. ("Your blog sucks," said one friend. "Meredith is not a natural blogger," said another). I can't just invite people to read my blog and care about my anti-capitalist experiments and then stop blogging. It's rude. Yet... it is hard to write about something that you're not doing. I will try, though. Especially since this was my big idea.

I'll start as I start most things that intimidate me, with a list.
Things I have wanted to buy recently, but didn't:
  • new pants for Jasper as he headed off to visit family and continually showed his socks and his growth spurt. (Instead of heading to Target, I knew I would have to take a longer drive to a consignment shop. I did neither, but went with the idea that his family might feel sorry for him and buy him new clothes.)
  • a winter coat that buttons over my pregnant belly. (Preparing for a recent trip to Boston, I was very tempted to buy a warm coat that I might be able to button. Meredith of last year would have done it. Meredith of this year just wore a smaller coat and didn't button it. Plus, the daffodils are coming up in my yard, so it can't be cold for MUCH longer.)
  • an interview outfit for Jeff. (After trying on and modeling many outfits, though, we actually uncovered some things from deep in his closet. And he looked dashing.)
  • William Faulkner's Sanctuary. (A colleague invited me to write an article about this book, which I read years ago. I agreed, but then found that I no longer had the book. Just as I was about to break and go get the book, said colleague left his extra copy on my desk.)
  • a new water bottle. (I have a metal water bottle that I take with me everywhere. It is really beat up, but as of today, still holds water. I was convinced that it was lost forever and I felt a desperate need to replace it when I noticed it was lost. The day that I decided that I should give in and just buy a new one, I found it in the back seat of the car. Perhaps I should have written a blog about keeping my car cleaner?)
Does anyone really want to hear how hard it is for me to not buy new socks, though? It's a bit underwhelming... the concept of this blog. The good news is that I'm sticking to this ridiculous goal that I set, and it seems to be working out well in terms of karma. Just as I was struggling with my very limited clothing options (I seem to have loaned out all of my maternity clothes, but I don't know where!), I received a huge package in the mail from my step-sister with her maternity gear. And as I realized that I will grow out of some of her stuff soon, I was able to raid my sister-in-law's closet. Perhaps this trend will continue. (It should be said that neither of these people know that I am embarking on this no-buying spree. Otherwise, it would be a little bit pathetic.)

Other ideas for how to blog about something I'm NOT doing? I welcome them, if you've got them.

My blog may still suck, but at least there is a more recent post now.

1 comment:

  1. I view your effort on this not so much tied to not purchasing brand new items, but strategizing the best ways to spend the dollars you have. An entry on the meal you threw together when pickings in the fridge and cupboards were slim that called for a little creativity, but maximized the food dollar already spent... Justifications for spending at the Farmer's Market or purchasing goods from some local producer/manufacturer as a means to support the local economy. One thing you need to realize in this grand effort of yours is that by buying nothing new, the economy around you does not necessarily benefit as it depends on the exchange of capital (in simplistic terms). But now more than ever considering the recent Supreme Court decision permitting corporations to give in unlimited amounts to political campaigns, where we all spend our dollars becomes a form of political power as well as the lifeblood of the economy. And these connections - the murky grey areas in society where populism sways and money slips is something I know you have much to discuss.

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