Switzerland isn’t cheap. Upon getting home, there was a realization that the spending needs to be cut down for a while. And for the most part, it has. Looking around the house, I have craft beer and highball makings to last the month. I have all the American Giant I need for the time being. I even have two unworn pair of LC King jeans in reserve, which is good, because apparently they went out of business two years ago.
And the urge for new stuff has subsided. I’m content with the Yeti situation at the moment, the hat situation is fine, the MacBook Neo is no longer on the board now that we know Apple Intelligence wants 12 GB of RAM for best results, and with a heat wave on the way, buying outerwear for winter seems like the height of foolishness. Even the brief bout of lightsaber glee has subsided. The “souvenir” knife-but-not-a-knife is as tactile a satisfying fidget as I could have hoped for, and feeds my need for metal things that will last the rest of my days in a world where my watch and phone have an expiration date.
At this point, honestly, the only thing I want is the chance to step back from the world. I take it every chance I get, for however long I can manage it. Sunday night, maybe fifteen minutes in the morning, every evening before a chance to work from home, wherever it can be found. And I always appreciate it, no matter how brief. That in and of itself might be the best new thing I’ve gotten.