journal features

technogeek wife

the journal of Michael Werneburg

twenty-eight years and a million words

Tokyo, 2008.09.14

We were in a Yodabashi camera store today. I'd learned that I could still buy Ilford film at that store (which turned out to be true, but neither of my beloved FP4 or HP5 were available).

We came across one of the new Acer "Aspire One" laptops, which are part of the modern move to very small laptops. It's got an 8.9" monitor (very glossy, unfortunately) and the usual complement of USB ports etc. Amazingly, the keyboard was very usable, certainly much better than the one that comes with the Eee PC (the first microlaptop to kick off the recent move to small-and-cheap devices).

As I was making impressed sounds, Mari suddenly said, "why don't you buy one?"

"What? I've got a laptop."

"But you leave it behind when we travel because it's too heavy."

"Yes, I can't carry that thing and the boy and the backpacks etc."

"So let's buy this one."

I was impressed. How many guys have to talk their wife out of an electronics purchase?

(We've agreed to look at them while in Canada in a couple of weeks).

rand()m quote

If I had my life to live over, I'd try to make more mistakes next time. I would relax, I would limber up, I would be crazier than I've been on this trip. I know very few things I'd take seriously any more. I'd certainly be less hygenic... I would take more chances, I would take more trips, I would scale more mountains, I would swim more rivers, and I would watch more sunsets. I would eat more ice cream and fewer beans. I would have more actual troubles and fewer imaginary ones. Oh, I've had my moments, and if I had to do it all over again, I'd have many more of them, in fact I'd try not to have anything else, just moments, one after another, instead of living so many years ahead of my day. If I had it to do all over again, I'd travel lighter, much lighter than I have. I would start barefoot earlier in the spring, and I'd stay that way later in the fall. And I would ride more merry-go-rounds, and catch more gold rings, and greet more people and pick more flowers and dance more often. If I had it to do all over again - but you see, I don't.

—Jorge Luis Borges