Consumerism

This note is especially dedicated to a stranger who just had birthday and invited me to come over for a nice lunch, whilst annoyingly asked about my usual piece of reading material. Truthfully, nothing interesting to write about, so I shall just make up some story to amuse him. So this week I came across with an idea of introducing myself to the principal of consumerism. As a start off, I am a logical customer who tends to put the aspect of reliability on the upper checklist before deciding to take on any goods. It has become a nonnegotiable demand that anything I buy should last and as reliable as a wood burning stove. Some of these things do perform superbly over the years and without any shadow of doubt, I developed a sense of brand loyalty to these products. Not much to your surprise, I rarely replace what I have bought unless if it had broken down or decided to kill itself, which I completely realize is a bit unfathomable. An appropriate example to this outlandish theory would be the cycle of cell phone usage over the years. The first replacement occurred as the old one was stolen by some poor bastard. The other two were replaced as both refused to start and sold with each price cheaper than a pair of weekend movie ticket. The third one did better, but still was shipped away with some majorly noticeable mechanical breakdowns. The last one still runs very well until today and stayed longest than all others. I had it replaced because.. I decided too, naturally as the dawn of consumerism arrives. Another example of insane mechanical ingenuity would be my Playstation game console which I have owned since ages and not once it has broken down, it is unbelievably reliable that I bet I will still be able to play Mario Bros while waiting for the delivery of my grandson at the hospital. Of course, its reliability is something I am very pleased with, but at the same time fed up with too. How could an electrical device last that long and not even once having a single failure within its lifetime?! It is simply jaw-droppingly good.

Obviously, ostensibly, not every product will boast this particular quality; some of it might perform even better. My bike, which I liked very much and unfortunately crashed by a yobbo onto the curb, also has done very well over the years. It visited the workshop regularly for periodical services, had some of its components replaced, though it was plain to see that as the year corked away another season of its youth, the little road-runner started to catch a flu. Its speedometer starts to lie by developing an electrical infidelity, showing 60kph when it feels like the tree passed by is nearly standstill. The rear shock absorber is shyly leaking, even as I am writing now. By tomorrow morning, the rear suspension will be as rock hard as like having granite bolted on it. The list went on with its stolen underbody protector and damaged front fender. Bottom line is, this bloody thing will dig the pocket deeper and yet I haven't had the thought of selling it. Comparably, the mobile phone stayed nearly as long as the bike, however unlike the bike, the mobile phone lacked one small ingredient which preventing me from giving it up: memory. The mobile may have a total of 4Gb storage space, but the bike carries a much much bigger memory in it. Technically speaking, it would be overshadowed by its successors and rivals. The body has the weight of a cathedral coupled with a small engine and as a result, it is a far cry from being an acceleration thrill. The firing unit drifts away from being frugal, not to mention its vibration which is capable of shoving anyone's spine into the head. Despite all these, I am still looking forward to be on the road with it. Naturally, non-automotive people won't get this odd sense of belonging, though I also find it hard to find joy only from collecting mobile phones and staying up late because of having a war in a game console. But it just is a little good old charmer, and that is the end of it.

"This note is especially dedicated to a stranger who just had birthday and invited me to come over for a nice lunch."

Unlike my game console which I reckon still functioning tens of years later, the bike just won't. At some point it has to be sacked away and I chalk this up to an inevitable reason. You see, I never sense that the game console is a representation of social status like any other game maniac does. The mobile phone and car on the other hand prove to be the item which denotes one's social class. Well yes, I would admit that I have spotted a McDonald's delivery boy with his ear stuck on a high-end mobile computer at the time, which presumably was a rather outrageous sight to spot. Still, it was not a Vertu. It would be fair to say that I am an automotive enthusiast, yet the act of going around on a bike will not be much help as to form a self image. This is precisely when consumerism kicks in and it really depends on personal view about stuffs that lift your image. It is despicable, though I only find it applied to things which have wheels. I once saw a single Versace jacket which costs more than the entire clothes I have in my closet, but someone must have bought that otherwise the brand would have gone bust since donkey’s year. Yet up to now, I am quite certain that I will never buy that jacket whilst I could find a jacket with similar form, color, shape, fabric or texture with much cheaper price tag. Though when I could afford the luxury, I would drive a top-range European four-wheeler amidst a traffic jam instead of gets stuck in a dull people-carrier autobox. It is certain that cars are reminiscent shape of social status, yet for some reason, I could not form a response which seals the argument that clothes aren't. At the end of the day, let's face the fact that the doorman at The Ritz won't let me to park a Hyundai i10 on his shiny lobby, but I could still walk into a Louis Vuitton store in Paris while wearing a pair of J-brand cargo pants. It is ashamed that the necessity of having to have a reliable product is slowly corrupted by the greed to show off, but it is the only way the dazzling world of socialites evolves and top end luxurious brand are kept alive by these sort of people. Until the next posting, enjoy!