QUESTION #16 - July 4, 2010
For the last five weeks, I have been blissfully roaming around the Pacific Northwest during a seasonal work hiatus. I fell in love with the area while working here last year for a few months and wanted to expand my radius. It’s been such a luxury being on my own schedule amidst stunning beauty -- floating timelessly through the days, discovering special places, meeting new people, and seeing old friends.
It’s also been very self-indulgent. So much so that I’ve refrained from talking about it too much or gloating too readily on the Granddaddy of Self-Indulgence: Facebook.
Indulgent why? Because I’ve been able to sate (most of) my major ‘food groups’ -- nature, hiking, biking, travel, intriguing conversation, and plenty of local wine and culinary delights – on a daily basis. I had a moment the other day where I envisioned myself in proper toga regalia to aptly suit my little moveable bacchanal. I feel like a character from “Eat, Pray, Love”, without the divorce.
All this said, I’d like to think I’m not that shallow and that gout is not my final destination. I write about it here because I was thinking that while I have drained my pockets on all these momentary, perishable delights, I have not spent one penny on anything permanent. No souvenirs, no gifts, no airport magnets. Only experiences, be it bike rentals, unmatched flower-infused cocktails, whale-watching fees and freshly caught coho salmon.
So I ask you, QUESTION #16: WHAT SPLURGE BRINGS YOU THE MOST GLEE? DO YOU PREFER AN EXPERIENCE THAT VAPORIZES BUT IMPRINTS ITSELF IN YOUR MIND? OR AN OBJECT THAT HAS SHELF LIFE FOR YEARS TO COME?
(I'm not fishing for confessions of materialism. This is about the distinction between fleeting and permanent. Abstract and tangible.) 
Oregon:
Brighten Bush Hotsprings
tofu or egg scramble at Lenas or JM cafe on hathorne.
Jammers at the Bread place on hathorne across from Lenas
NYC:
6' cast iron tub with a hot water heater big enough to fill it in.
Accupuncture (survival not splurge)
Schwarma
A good bed
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Cali,
You know I loathe this type of thing, but...I couldn't sleep so i figured why not. What I "splurge" on is getting stuff for my kids. I love to shop for them. Not as shallow as I thought I was
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A mind imprint that lasts with a view, a sound of rushing water the scent of the air engulfs you as you summit the peak. Around the next corner of a country road, a panoramic wounder of waves crashing along the 1 north of big sur. Or the eternal fight i go thru as i reach the end of angels landing in Zion national park ooo how i just want to jump and soar the canyon just once. NO F IN MAGNETS REQUIRED FOR THIS MAN but i would like to hear Jesse Colin Young playing i live on a ridge top and i like it just fine!!!!!! CURLY LUVS YA C GIRL ENJOYED OUR TIME KEEP LOOKIN FOR THE MILKY WAY
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Without question the thing that brings me the most glee is free time. The time that I give myself without guilt to train, pressure to move on to the next thing or an agenda set forth by my resposibilities as a mother. Free mindshare. Empty mental real estate. When I can reflect, gather my thoguhts and align my spirit and body.
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To wander freely in places that I have not seen before. To talk and really see people that I had not met and experience who they are. To be able to sit quietly with no thoughts and simply experience the Now as it unfolds before my eyes. Not have to be anywhere in particular and have no plans. I don't know if that is my splurge but it is what I strive for and do not seem to be able to do enough of...
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I would have to say that EXPERIENCES and making memories are what I prefer. Like you I treasure the feeling of hiking in the woods, riding my bike with the sun on my face or just sitting with a great friend sharing a bottle of wine. You can't get better than that.
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Cali,
you are the opposite of shallow, by far! You love life & are living it! That is what I admire most about you. I appreciate what you share with us. I may never see these places, but I can becoz of you. I forgot the question & had to go back
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I like a combination of both.
The flow of vacation, visiting with loved ones, devouring life's syncronicities, hosting get togethers while making sure to snap a photo or bring one of nature's momentos home to get me through until the next trip or precious event.
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Great post, Cali...I especially like the line "I feel like a character from “Eat, Pray, Love”, without the divorce." Rock on girlie!
I love water, any kind of water, pool, beach, lake...I've always been a fish, swimming at a young age...Thanks to my stepdad, we used to go to Long Beach and PR, and I love swimming in the ocean...The last time I went to the beach I was bodysurfing in the waves and laughing my ass off...I remember I turned to a stranger swimming nearby and said, "Can you believe this is free?"
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Beautifully written sissy.
Of all the things in my life that have meaning, it's hands down the experiences I've been fortunate enough to have that hold significance. A picture to spark the memory would be the only object that would be equally as blissful. One thing I know for sure is that none of us will be thinking about the things we owned in our life, but rather the people we've shared our life with and the memories we've created.
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I would have to say both as well.
We recently returned from 2 weeks (and getting married) in British Columbia..traveling to various parts of beautiful BC. Taking in the culture, indulging in the local cuisine and having a great time. We chose local art and Native Pacific Northwest Indian art to bring home and decorate our house, an investment in our future together and on our memories of a lovely time spent and reminder of the beauty and simplicity of where we got married. Mostly, our pictures that we took hundreds literally possibly close to 1000 and the the little things that my now husband grabbed off the cuff to be placed in a future scrapbook. I think this way we are able to capture it all in a few different "priceless" ways
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I loved this question, Cali....and am always charmed on so many levels by your depth.
I spent 6 days, over the 4th, hanging at the beach in Montauk and at friends. I feel so blessed for so very many reasons. Being able to run on that gorgeous beach made the soul sing. I swear I could cry right now thinking about the beauty of the morning...the sunshine, me on a rock and the ocean at my feet....I miss it so very much.
More importantly....my friends...old and new. What amazing people I have in my life. I miss them more than anything and would happily live on a commune if I could pick the people to live on it with. Then there is my great kid and hubby....what blessings.
Having said all that....scoring a pair of Gucci sandals I have been coveting for 2 months at 75 off....that too was a high!
Hey....I'm a Gemini....so if you are reading conflict....that is my excuse
Yet....at the end of the day....my most precious things are my memories.
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I travel constantly and started to bring home one little item from each new place I traveled to. I put them on a shelf in my house and basically once they go up there I forget about them...so I realized to me these items were meaningless and a waste of money.
Now every new place i go to i try to experience something i never have...the memories of these experiences far surpass the memories little dust collectors spark in me. It can be something silly like trying every different sauce coons of fries in Amsterdam sittig in a square and laughing that I am having such a good time indulging or it can be a biplane ride over the grand canyon...big or small...cheap or expensive...as long as it was an experience it stays with me forever...and the stories i get to share are priceless!
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