I don’t shop much, mostly because I don’t like it very much and also because, well, I’m poor. It’s not that I don’t like new things — indeed, I like new things very much — but rather that I greatly dislike the process of shopping. However, as I am leaving for China in 18 days, it has become necessary to procure a number of items (mostly replacements for currently-owned but worn-out items) that promise to make my trip more enjoyable.

A short breakdown:

1. New glasses. I last got new glasses over two years ago, before going to China the first time. Thankfully the degradation of my eyes has slowed greatly, but I could tell that I needed new lenses. I’m not particularly happy with my new glasses, mostly because the bar had been set so high by my previous frames. I picked the new ones up today and dropped the old ones off to get new lenses, and I hope to simply start wearing the old ones again when I get them back in a few days.
2. New shoes. Actually, three pairs of new shoes, including bright blue Nike basketball shoes and Chaco sandals. I also bought a pair of Dockers semi-dress shoes. Three pairs of active footwear is, I believe, a personal high.
3. New clothes. Ross is cool, as it allows me to buy respectable clothes at generally affordable prices. Bought a couple nice dress shirts to go along with some slacks I’ve had for a while.

I’ve thought about buying a couple other things — a film camera, for one — but I’ve decided that having liquid assets in China would be a good thing. At least I have some new swag to play with before I depart.

Posted by John on Friday, August 8th, 2003 at 9:58 pm.