Helped former-neighbor Jeff clean his former-pad yesterday. His former-girlfriend could deliver any time now, so, as you can imagine, there is a great deal of stress. He didn't have anyone to help since his new roommate is still up in Wyoming.

I find myself parsing my words on this entry--not because of Jeff--but I could unleash a slew of invective about certain people in his life, but choose not to.

So did you hear it is "buy nothing day?" Now of course some folks might consider the folks at Adbusters radical commie pinkos, if they are from the hard right, or deluded idealists if they are from the hard left, but I like their enthusiasm to press the notion that there is something more to life than just the accumulation of things. Now, of course, it is interesting that those who support rampant materialism would probably call such beliefs as "communist," but that flies in the face of the materialist dialectic. I suppose, however, that one could say that the anti-materialists are just about redistribution of wealth or the toppling of the capitalist machine.

I suppose my support for it is based out of the idea that buying junk does more harm than it does good. Sure the benefit is that money is moved through the economy and that people have jobs--but what are those jobs? Who really is making the money? What resources are being depleted? What unspoiled, "natural" things in the world are being destroyed? Who is literally being worked to death for that toaster?

In any case, the nice thing about freedom is that one can chose not to do something. As the consternating Bartelby the Scrivner says "I prefer not."

You know if I made an argument for frugality, I doubt that people would look at it twice. I suppose it is when you politicize a subject and make people feel uncomfortable with their own decisions or lack thereof that you bring others to invective. Have at me.

"What is this, Wonka? Some kind of fun house?"

"Why? Having fun?"

I went over and helped a buddy build a rail run for snowboards in his back yard last night. Basically it was a lot of shoveling and packing snow. It was an act of pure optimism, to hope that it will last.The run is solidly packed, however, and the rail is icing in nicely. We're hoping for ice pack until July.

I want to get a ticking clock--one that you have to wind, and that chimes the hour. It seems like a clock like that would fit nicely in the Heber aka the Mansion aka the Gov'nors. It is one of those days that I wish it would be dark and grey like yesterday. It is clear and sunny today. I have, however, much work to do, as we are approaching the end of the semester. A ticking clock, I think, would motivate me, and gothic darkness would give me no other motivation but to sit inside and work work work.