New Toys

I got a new camera a few days ago and I've been infected with the annoying disease that compels me to bring it everywhere and take pictures of everything, resulting in "that guy" status. I think I'm less infected than some, an example being that I was at a bonfire with my siblings and had the presence of mind to turn the flash off, being far less obtrusive while still allowing me to get my fix. The result was eerie and very entertaining.

I have long been wanting a camera and I finally had a bit of money on the side which allowed me to get a good one after deciding that going all out on a SLR would be a terrible idea. While the cameras I could have gotten were amazing and would have been lovely to play with, I really have no reason to purchase one. The quality is superb but unnecessary for anyone not wanting to go pro, the size is definitely not conducive to portability, or rather portability to the extent which has become the standard in the field of digital cameras. I settled on a lovely 9 MP panasonic ( see title link), which is slightly excessive in terms of pixels but I am extremely pleased with the quality of pictures and the versatility of the camera. This is one of the only things where I will read the entire manual for and I'm about halfway through all the effects and controls.

On one hand I am very happy with my new purchase, but on the other I worry. With pretty much everything in the human world, there's a period of excitement with the new toy, and then it takes it's place with the rest of the old new toys. Will this new thing eventually lose it's shinyness and fall from grace when the next thing I get consumes my attention? We all try to fight it, but in the end everything gets old and less fun. Think about some things you have bought for more than a few bucks. Do you still use them? How often? Was the last time you touched your xbox when you got that new game but haven't played since you started horseback riding lessons? A bit of a stretch yes but the point is there.

Are we programmed to want new things? Are we conditioned? Does the media sculpt us into perfect little consumers who buy things we don't need and never use? Or is it something in our DNA? Some urge of humanity deep set in our caveman roots that drives us to want what we do not have, something we think will make our life easier, better, more fulfilling? Are those goals really so bad? I don't think so. I think it makes perfect sense to try and make something that can be really hard a bit easier for yourself. On the other hand, I also think that trying to make your life more fulfilling by buying things is just silly. Inanimate objects giving you a sense that your life is a good one? Cold steel, plastic and electronic circuits that make your wildest dreams come true? I doubt it.

Think about what makes you happy, really happy not just the "I just got a raise" kind of happy. When was the last time you were content? I know mine. It was today when I went down to the river in my backyard with my brother and two sisters and we hung out on the rocks and went swimming. I was only there for two hours but in those hundred and twenty minutes I had something that can't be bought in any store and something that lasts a lot longer than the the euphoria of a new purchase. Can you really put a price on happiness? My policy is that if it has a tag with numbers on it, there's a very good chance that it's not something that's going to give you satisfaction longer than it takes to lose that new smell.

Be careful where your priorities lie.