Compulsion and Distraction
Saturday, October11th, 2008
I am a man of very simple tastes, few means, and many many compulsions. Why does this matter? Ok – I’ve become addicted to tracking various components of my life – mainly – my acts of consumption. Through the website mint.com I have developed an obsessive love affair with the pie chart that shows me all my spending. Its more of a love-hate relationship: as I’m embarrassed to report I spent $600 on sushi in one month. And an additional $200 on booze.
That’s a lot of sake and raw fish.
Speaking of raw fish, sake and other things I put in my mouth (shut up Colleen), I briefly flirted with another life-tracking website: Fitday. Fit day is one of those well-meaning websites for people that can actually track what the eat/drink and then make healthier choices. NOT ME. Not me at all. All that Fitday has told me is that roughly 45% to 55% of my daily caloric intake comes from vodka, gin, and vermouth. As if I didn’t already know.
Why am I rambling on about this you ask?
Simply because I am trying to focus myself on the compulsions in my life that actually matter. Why isn’t there a good website that makes me all OCD about photography? Or printmaking?
Why is it that I can never really focus on the thing that my time is supposed to be about?
Perhaps because I am an American with all of the term’s Baudrillardian implications. As Eddie Izzard points out, “It’s 10% what you say and 90% how you look while your saying it.”
Now, if you’ll excuse me. I need to marvel at that pretty, shiny, and colorful pie chart which tells me I spend way too much money on books, booze, and other “entertainment”. The things in an average American life that really matter.