Why I Still Use The Club and Wear Tevas

I have never pretended to be the most fashionable, nor most current human walking the historic streets of Boston. While I'm not stuck in the 80's with my fashion or technology - I don't exactly saunter around with my cassette walkman wearing parachute pants and a neon mesh tank top - I do believe in getting full value from my products, goods, and services, and combine that with buying some fancier devices such as iPhones, DSLR cameras, and MacBooks.

For example, I love eating leftovers. I was raised this way, it's practical, it's economical, and it reduces waste. I usually cook for multiple meals and divide portions for future lunches and dinners. Why waste good food?

I also drive cars until they go no longer. In my 18+ years of legal driving, I have owned exactly three cars, and I hope to drive my current 2003 model-year vehicle for a few more years as I own it outright, and there are only about 74,000 miles on it.

As a security measure, I still use The Club on my car, to the consternation of my friends. I bought this exact Club in 1991 for my first car, and have been using it ever since. While I cannot prove that this device has dissuaded burglars from breaking into my vehicle, I figure that it can;t hurt. Why try to steal the car with a Club on the stealing wheel, when other cars are easier to snatch? I realize that Clubs are not foolproof, and that it's a technology from the 80's or 90's, but mine works perfectly well, and it takes seconds to engage it.

My stereo speakers and receiver are from 1994, and still work perfectly fine. I have them hooked up to my 40" LCD television. Technology has far surpassed my setup, and I have been very close to purchasing surround-sound systems many times during the past decade-and-a-half. But, I haven't. Someday. For now, what I use suits my living room viewing and listening pleasure. The TV in my office is a 32" Sony Trinitron CRT, purchased as a $900 indulgence from Sears in 1998. It's very heavy and bulky, but it still works. I don't use it much, and it's not necessary to replace it at the moment. So again, why bother.

The shoes that are presently on my feet are Teva sandals, also purchased in 1998. I love Tevas - great traction and support, comfortable, and good for light hiking on dry and wet ground. They are practical and apparently extremely unfashionable in 2009. I don't think they are unfashionable, but a number of my friends certainly do. They kind of look like this model currently available for purchase from teva.com. They are still producing them, and people are still buying them, so I'm going to continue wearing this perfectly good vintage pair.