andy rambles

for those of you that don't know me that well one of my most prized possessions is my Apple Powerbook, quite simply it's great! i have had it now for about 20 months, so as you would expect it's not quite as pristine as when first purchase. i remember
the first little dink it got was caused by some house keys - nrrgh!

well on saturday night i was chatting to my brother on iChat and i moved the screen of the laptop only for my iSight to fall off and hit the machine - crap! - i thought and probably said. i checked the iSight, it's made of good stuff and was actually fine. so i continued to tune my guitar (another one of my prized possessions) and chat to my brother.

a little later i looked back and noticed there was mark on the trackpad of my powerbook. at first i thought it was some gunk so i tried to rub it off, then to my horror i realised it was actually a little scratch in the trackpad, there must be some sort of protective layer on there. the trackpad works fine but now i have a 5mm scratch in the middle of my trackpad. it's the most annoying thing! firstly because it's annoying and i like to keep my things nice but secondly because i am still annoyed about it a good 2 days later, i am more annoyed at my inability to move on. it reminded me of a wallpaper at the howies website that goes a little something like this

Own Less
If you don't own the lastest, it won't go out of date.
If you don't own much, you won't have much to lose.
If you own next to nothing, you won't worry about ending up with nothing.
If you own less than you want, you will still have more than you need.
If you spend less money on things, you can spend more time on you.
If you own less, you will value it more.
If you only own what you can carry, you will carry less baggage around with you.
Travel light.

I'm sure I read somewhere else 'Don't let the things you own own you'. I don't know whether its a guy thing or a gadget geek thing but there is such a draw towards having the latest thing and there are a lot of rational reasons for doing so - I mean technology allows us to do some ace stuff, particularly in the creative spheres. I love using my Mac to record music or make little films or even just write, but it's just a tool it doesn't do any of the imagining or creating.

materialism is such a difficult thing to fight because it exists in so many ways, i can stop myself from buying crap i don't need, but the stuff i enjoy using and that allows me to try and unleash some creativity - i can still get stuck with that, obsessing about it whether i need to get the latest gizmo, whether i should really spend that much money, will i actually use it.

for a long time i have desired a fender telecaster - i mean i've never needed one but they look cool and sound great and of all electric guitars they probably suit my playing style and my favoured sound. earlier this year the exact looking one popped up on eBay and I managed to get it for a fairly good price, but one of my favourite things about it is that it isn't new. it's been played in and it's had a few knocks and the case stinks, but it's ace it's got character and it sounds great.

i don't know what i'm getting at, maybe i'm just sharing my experience and in the words of the beastie boys 'that's it that's all'.