The Simple Life

How simple can life be?

I’m one of them people with really simple needs (with the occasional gadget fascination thrown in, you don’t see me changing handphones every other month and I certainly don’t plan on doing so!) – what perplexed me was when friends and family alike coo over completely unnecessary branded clothes, shoes, bags, etc, and I’ve never really understood the need for branded clothes (though when it comes to new gadget acquisition, I understood the temptations, but not why people find it more important to switch to said new item than to, say, save, gasp). Prior to watching The Devil Wears Prada, my only knowledge of brands was put up a notch higher as I learnt more unfamiliar sounding names – something Uemura, and.. um, yeah, that’s it.

I suppose what rocks your boat doesn’t necessarily rock mine, because I do original music-related purchases when most of you find it far more convenient to illegally download them. I’ve also somehow acquired a taste in collecting toy models which I fervently hope will drop off dead soon as it’s pinching into my pockets far deeper than I expected.

I can picture it already: should I be left to my own devices in a brand new room/house/apartment, it’d be a typical bachelor’s abode – messy, important papers and files strewn about everywhere but only at those exact seemingly random locations would I remember where I kept my things, my prized collection of CDs and toys housed in a shiny glass display, unwashed cups containing leftovers of soda drinks lying near my laptop, and maybe a pile of unwashed clothes, pants, and underwear lying in the laundry basket modelling into a mountain.

Would that constitute as a simple life? I don’t go for expensive haircuts ‘cause almost every salon provides me with almost similar hairstyles anyway, and I think in whatever clothes I put myself in I don’t look a shade fatter or nicer. The reason why I don’t buy hairgels anymore or their similar substitutes is because when I come back after a long day, I’m too lazy to shower – I hate sleeping with my hair spiked with hardening substances. Yeah maybe I’m just that – lazy.

But to be quite honest, I do love a large, fancy house with swimming pools and large gardens and whatnot. But ah you’d have to hire security guards ‘cause your house would most likely be targeted by thieves from then on. I also love to drive some fancy, shiny Lancer Evo Whatever, but I suppose your car would again most likely be stolen or scratched by envious passers-by or be afflicted by some other horrendous misfortune? Not to mention the cost of such an upkeep and maintenance – petrol, yearly wear-and-tear.. it’s as if the more expensive your possessions are, the more ‘hidden’ costs and money required that follow such a purchase.

But for now I think the simple needs I require can be quite easily fulfilled – a couple of drinks at the bar, a couple of DotA sessions at the local cybercafe, and another couple of yumchas with a small group of friends would leave me rather blissfully contented.