2017-08-27

Got phone in pocket

Minimalism is such a strange thing. Sometimes I need to spend more than just a little cash to get to where I want to be. The weird thing is that some of that spending leads to a life of less stuff.

I'll give you an example.

I've been unwell for a while so there's less of me now. That translates to roughly ten kilos. ...or simply put I used to be fat and now I'm plump. So I've bought a pair of jeans. A pair of chinos. Another pair of jeans. A pair of black jeans. Then there were these hybrid outdoor/urban trousers on sale at one of the local sports shops. 50 percent off. Grey. Too expensive anyway. Took weeks before I gravitated back to that shop and finally tried them on. Comfortable in an unfamiliar fashion. Much closer to my skin. More revealing. Didn't feel right, but I bought them.

A person needs more than one pair, though. But those were the last pair. The manufacturer ended that model. That explained the sale. But now I had the pants that people wanted me to wear and yet a place to put my phone. Leg pockets usually flop all over the place but these were inside instead. Sleek. Too bad these were among the last ones.

So I bought another pair of black jeans. Used those a couple of times and looked handsome. Had to keep my phone at hand because the pockets were too tight and my love lives on the end of one of those phone numbers. Never been so in love. So another pair of chinos. Black.

Came to my senses and went on vacation. Work fucked up my planning forcing me to spend the first week alone. So some shopping happened. The mall was freshly built and at almost a safe distance from home. Too bad vacation had to happen. Yes, I really thought that. Plenty of sports gear, of course, but outdoor stuff too. Outrageous stuff. Either urban with some large logos to show off the branding or high performance woodsman's fashion with astronomical pricetags and straps everywhere. With a heavy head from not drinking enough on a hot day I sat down on a park bench oddly located inside a concrete building. Was getting tired of shopping. Pulled the phone out of the leg pocket. A gun slinger with his trusted old weapon. A budget fully multitasking linux revolver. Bang! Some facebook group additions and some tweets by people I don't know either.

OK. There's this last shop to visit. The expensive one. I have a drink of ginger and lemon conjuring up enough reserves to get my behind off the bench. It's just a normal shop with too expensive stuff. Just pretend you can afford the stuff. Try the stuff on. Return the stuff to the lovely lady behind the counter and then leave. OK with that? Deep breath and get going, OK?

Not really OK with that but the lovely lady is really lovely and finds the only pair of trousers that fit my description. ...and I try them on. Perfect fit with a perfect price, needless to say, right. Redressed I step up to the counter. Expensive? Yes. Very much so. Very expensive but nice. Fresh from the factory but familiar.

The make has a model. The make is the same and so is the model. But these are black and lack the tiny leg pocket on the left side. And the waist cut is slightly lower. Hanging on my hip rather than waist. The favorites are back from the dead and even slimmer. But so am I. Slimmer. Too bad I shouldn't afford them.

The lovely lady is sweet and witty and probably a liar. She can't be serious. They cost that much? Excuse me but could you repeat that? Really?

She smiles as I walk out of the store with the undeads in a plastic bag with the logo of the expensive gear maker.  History repeats itself and the last pair follows me on my journey home. They get washed twice before I wear them again. The fabric is different and breathes less. A third wash takes care of that.

Two pairs, both the last ones. Really the last ones, not just sales talk. Both sold at less than half the original price. Both with room for my phone.

Been thinking about upcycling the other trousers somehow. I don't need the jeans or chinos anymore. They lack that leg pocket. They dry too slow. They don't breathe. They don't pack well. They were cheaper one by one but...

Minimalism is such a strange thing, you know.