"Again?!" 

My frustration this morning with my Blackberry rivals when you grab toast from the toaster that is completely charred on one side, and hardly singed on the other. The battery is almost completely dead, and it's been plugged in for 8 hours at least.

What's my first thought? I need a new phone. Some of us may be a little more conservative and say that the battery just needs to be replaced, but this ordeal makes me ponder for a moment - when was the last time you spent any time, effort, or money/resources to get something fixed? 

If we're not already there, we're moving into a time where essentially everything is meant to be replaced. Your camera lens is cracked? Don't fix it - you can save $100 by buying a new camera and it will have more features and better resolution than the last one.  Your TV is too heavy? Well, you won't be able to sell it, so leave it on the curb and go grab a new one today. 

A new thought arises - is this ultra-consumerist sense of reality conditioning us to make decisions that flippantly regarding other areas of life? You don't like your job? Just quit and get a new one (by the way - think about this one for a while before you quit).  Your friends are bothering you? You can always make new friends. Your spouse isn't attractive to you anymore? Well, that can always be replaced too...

Obviously, I'm not suggesting that if you're buying a new cell phone that you're also checking the stores for a new life partner, but I'm amazed at how some little things affect us that we may not consider.

Do any of these statements sound familiar?

"I don't like that band really, I just like this one song."

"Go (geaux) Saints!" (Really? That's something I hadn't even heard this earlier in 2009 from many people. What about your die-hard loyalty to the St. Louis Rams?)

"I like that church/job/group of friends, but that one girl gave me a dirty look so I'm not going there anymore."

The Replacements. That's a great band name (if it wasn't already taken), but maybe it's a better name for my tendency to want to immediately exchange anything that displeases me for something that will bring instant gratification. Just a thought...

Well, I'm off to Las Cruces tomorrow, so I'll be back to writing tour blogs for the next couple of days that will certainly be lighter in content. I hope I'm not replaced because one of the entries into my blog was a little busted ;o) 

-TRMJ