Vic The Minimalist

I declared several months ago that I would adopt minimalism as my new style of living but it has proved to be more difficult that I initially thought. I love the idea of minimalism. The thought of uncluttered rooms, neat surroundings, freedom from unnecessary objects, and dancing elves is a fantasy I try to submerge myself in.  Too bad it is just that – a fantasy.

This has been hard.  In fact, in my attempted plunge into minimalism, I found myself moving in the opposite direction. If maximalism was actually a word, that would be my new found realm.  Every step towards minimalism would push me back twice the distance.  It was a constant struggle. It still is.   If I were to describe the condition I like to call the maximalism, it would encompass hoarding, compulsive buying, and the desire to have multiple identical objects in one's possession. It starts with one fixation and spills over to the next when I begin to feel satisfied.  It’s like bacteria, expanding and creating new colonies.  The absolute worst thing about this is that I have rational reasoning for all my actions.  The following describes the stages of my struggles and relapse.

It all started with laptops...

The thought of having a laptop to bring to school, one to keep at home, and one for “other” purposes felt like a good idea at the time. But wait! What if my school laptop breaks during midterms and I need a quick replacement? Fuck better order another one…

Vic’s rational thought process:

New computer > old computer

And

More computer > less computer

GET MORE NEW COMPTUERS!

Then there was the guitar phase…

I started with an acoustic guitar. It made sense to get an electric guitar later as I really enjoyed playing. Then a nicer acoustic guitar followed. Okay maybe two. Or four. Different types of woods out there so I need some of each. Different style electrics, need those too. What about modding? A project guitar or two wouldn’t hurt. I lost count after a while but I’m pretty sure at some point I had over 20 guitars in my arsenal.

Vic’s rational thought process:

If I get a lot of guitars people might actually think I’m good at it…

That time I went shopping for tennis rackets…

The Nadal Babolat rackets were on sale. Although I didn’t necessarily NEED a new racket, these were good rackets. There were 3 left. I scooped them all up.

Vic's rational thought process:

The person behind me wants to buy these rackets too.

If I buy them all he will not have any…

Great success!

The cell phone saga…

Ok so there's the work phone and personal phone. But what about a dedicated twitter phone? Yeah sure why not! Games phone? Stupid phone? Everyone needs to at least try out different platforms. Androids, BlackBerrys...check. No iOS yet. Maybe later.

Vic`s rational thought process:

Do I need 6 active phones? No.

Can I have 6 active phones? Yes.

Good enough.

The tablet era…

Tablets are unnecessary. But it’s all the rage lately so why not dive in?  I was an early adopter of the BlackBerry PlayBook.  Was I mad when the price dropped by $300 recently? Nope, I just bought more. Better stock up while I can! Why 5?! Because 6 is too many!  I love good deals. That’s also why I jumped on the HP TouchPad fire sale. They were selling below the manufacturing cost! How could anyone resist?

Vic`s rational thought process:

I`m running out of space in my room, maybe I don`t need all these tablets…

…oh wait they are stackable!

BUY!!!

High on headphones…

This is one of my latest fixations. My collection has grown exponentially over the last month. There are so many types! Over-ear, on-ear, in-ear oh my! They all sound different. Ahhhh gotta catch’em all!

Vic’s rational thought process:

Will these headphones sound different than the others? Maybe.

But Vic they are the same make and model!! ….You’re a towel!!

Purchased!!!

So that has been my recent struggle with minimalism. Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and holiday season shopping definitely doesn't help. But there is hope. With a new year around the corner there are new year's resolutions to be made. For example, no new phones until the iPhone 5 comes out. Baby steps, people...