I like to think I'm a pretty simple guy. Not simple in a bad way, but in a good way. I own one winter jacket, one pair of dress shoes, one pair of running shoes, one baseball glove, one digital camera, you get the idea. Once I have one item for each necessary function, I find it very difficult to swap it out for a new one. I don't know if it's a sense of loyalty or a mental defect, but if it ain't broken, I refuse to fix it, and even when it is broken, I find it awfully tough.
My winter jacket is a black leather jacket that I bought 12 years ago. Two and a half years ago I wrote about my jacket dilemma. The zipper broke and the pockets and liner have completely deteriorated. I'm pleased I squeezed an extra two winters out of it, but I'm hating the fact winter's winding down and I know this jacket has seen the end of the road. Next winter, I'll need a new one.
It's not because I'm cheap. I don't wear the same jacket for 12 winters to save a buck. I do it because I like it and it's functional. I hate the thought of throwing it out, and I hate the thought of keeping it and not wearing it even more.
This is par for the course with me. I've been driving the same car for eleven years. I'm about to hit 222,222 km and I'm planning to pull over and take a pic. We watch Mad Men on the 27 inch Sony Trinitron CRT television I bought 13 years ago, because it refuses to break. That's also why the stereo sound comes from the stereo I bought with the money I made working at Ex when I was 16. I've been carrying around the same Adidas bag for 25 years now. We've had the same dog for 14 years because she refuses to die!
I need a new jacket, and I don't want a new jacket. I want my old jacket.
