I recently noticed myself wanting stuff, then thinking on it only to realize I didn’t really. It’s like ADHD greed and I blame YouTube. Anyway, this got me thinking. What do I own that I really do value? I own things I would replace on the spot if I lost them, but there are also things that couldn’t be replaced. So there are things I value enough to acquire them a second time, but there are also things I value more. Things that cannot be replaced.
Server
I have a server that stores my media (movies, series, books, games, etcetera), my photos and my videos. It has my (and my wife’s) important documents and all the stuff I digitally own. It runs my services like the *arr suite and my security cameras. It manages my lights through Home Assistant and it enables me to watch my media through Jellyfin. It does it all and it does it well. If it or any part of it would need replacement, I’d do it on the spot. I replaced a dead 16TB hard drive (naturally one month out of warranty) a few weeks ago. It cost an arm and a leg, but I didn’t hesitate for a second.
Coffee maker
I love coffee. I drink it throughout the day. Black. But, I like to drink a cappuccino every morning. It’s a little ritual the wife and I picked up due to our love of Italy. While we’re there, we always start the day with one. When we got home after every trip, we missed that. So we bought a manual espresso machine by an Italian brand that specializes in the things. It was stupid expensive, but the amount of joy we get from it every day more than makes up for the financial pain. If that thing were to explode tomorrow, we’d have a new one the next day.
MacBook
I identify as a Linux user. It’s what I know and have used for well over 15 years. I recently bought a MacBook Air as my main system. I am never going back. This thing is amazing. It looks good, it works incredibly well and I can Linux my butt off in the terminal as much as I want. And while I know it’s not proper Linux, I can still Bash script, use my favorite terminal and do all operations and text editing and what have you on it. It’s compact, light, made of metal and completely silent. The chip in it is plenty fast for my needs and I can even play games on it. And the screen is amazing. Beyond any shadow of a doubt, when this thing fails on me, I am getting a new one.
Watches
I own several mechanical watches. All of them automatics and three of them my dad bought. He’s no longer with us, but the watches are. These three watches I love wearing and if I was to break any of them, I’d pay whatever the price for the repair was. But if I were to lose any of them, I’d be gutted.
…and?
Well, that’s basically it. I read somewhere1 that my home has about 300,000 things in it (if it was moved eastward by about 5000 kilometers or 3200 miles). Four is a laughable percentage of that. And then though, it’s just stuff. Losing any or all would sting. The watches would maybe make me shed a tear, then nothing. Then I’d buy a new watch. Stuff does not matter. None of it. Don’t buy the thing.
