Living in San Francisco, it is hard not to get swept up in the waves of good vibes crashing against the famous car-chase hills. That’s my excuse for going through the books in the ‘self help’ section in a local bookstore when I used to live on Market Street a few years back. In SF, reading ‘self help’ books seemed as appropriate as munching on organic farm produce, and as natural as lifting iron at a gym that was open 24 hours a day with an outrageously camp and immensely over-muscled personal trainer. This is how I came to read The Road Less Travelled. I think I may have grown spiritually for a bit, and then shrunk again. All I can remember about it now is that it talks of delayed gratification in a positive light. Years later, I remember this book each time that I consciously don’t delay gratifying myself in whichever ways I can. My life is all about gratifying myself as fast as possible. As soon as I have an idea about gratifying myself in some new way, I’m at it. But having read the book, I now realise this is why my life seems so empty and my existence so shallow. And so much fun. I may be spiritually bankrupt.
But the search for iPod pleasure is different. Last time I went on the road (/ rail / river / yak trail) I took only a few CDs and no player. Despite having amassed 38GB of MP3s, I listened to practically none of my music for six months. So next time is going to be different. Hence the desire for an iPod – the sleekest, best designed yadda yadda yadda MP3 player around. Instead of buying one as soon as I thought of it, I decided to wait. To see if I would grow spiritually. For over a week. I grew spiritually each day my gratification was delayed. Then today I went to Tottenham Court Road and its world famous electronic gizmo and gadget shops. Rejection after rejection met my requests for an iPod. I tried fourteen shops, before I was finally able to extract some useful information from one unsalesman. Apparently Apple aren’t supplying them any more. Can I really wait for another month until a newer version is released? I doubt it. By that time my spirit will have experienced more delay to its gratification that it can handle. I might explode.