Divesting from Billionaires
We can do this, people
With the recent news that Jeff Bezos is donating a million dollars toward Trump's inauguration, I'm going to try not to give that fucker any more of my money.
Despite my previous aversion to talking to my electronics (which I swore I'd never do), I was seduced into buying two Alexa devices after visiting a friend in Maui last year. He's got a bunch of them in his small condo, and some of their uses are practical. The one in my bedroom played meditation music as I fell asleep and gently increased the brightness of my bedside lamp after my alarm went off in the morning. The one in my living room let me easily play my local radio stations and was a fully functioning television.
But the conveniences I got from them were outweighed by what they support. It's not required, but in order to listen to music without commercials while I'm falling asleep, I paid for Prime. Prime also got me access to a selection of TV and movies. It cost me $15/month.
I've now canceled Prime and signed up for a year of the Headspace app, which will get me really great soundscapes to fall asleep to that were meant for exactly that purpose. I've used them before and really like them. That's $70/year. If I subscribe to Netflix ($7/mo with ads or $15 without), I can get another selection of TV and movies to augment Hulu, which I also subscribe to. Except, I checked, and Netflix is 15% owned by Black Rock and Vanguard. That fucking sucks, and I can't do it. Hulu is owned mostly by Disney and Comcast. I'm OK with that. I will just eventually run out of things to watch on Hulu. Prime Video added a wider selection.
After doing some research, I found Freevee, which is also owned by Amazon but has a lot of free content, including live streaming of the major networks. So, I'll have Hulu and Freevee for the price of Hulu, and both will have some ads, but that's fine. (After some more research, I also found Zeam, which has free access to live TV stations from around the country. It runs off an app.)
One thing I will miss is that the living room Echo was constantly scrolling through a series of photos that made me feel good about my life and how I've lived it. I'm not sure how to replace that part. For now, I've put all those photos into an image folder on my phone, and the folder will scroll through the images when I want to see them.
I have a lovely classic Sangean radio that I've moved to my living room to replace some of the functions of the Alexa. With a manual dial, it will be a little more effort to find the stations, but that's what I did in the past. I've always aimed for the least tech option because it's the most sustainable.
I will admit that I’m still weening myself off Alexa. I've become accustomed to asking her about the weather, asking her to turn on a radio station, or to turn on or off lights. In reality, I felt a little lonely when I initially unplugged both of them. They still work fine without having a Prime membership, so I’m going to keep the “dot” for a minute. It’s really just a speaker, and you can turn off the “listening” function if you want to. I can still play music, but it will have commercials.
I also remembered that one of the reasons I like the Alexa devices is they allow me to look at my phone less. Because once I open my phone to find the time, weather or some other small piece of information, I tend to inevitably look at other things and end up wasting a bunch of time.
This is all a big learning experiment about how to live my best life!
(For the record, Zuckerberg also donated $1 million to Trump's inauguration, but as long as I don't run ads, I'm not giving him any money.)
How can you give less money to billionaires in your life? How can we each use our creativity to do the same thing without supporting the capitalists who are bringing us all down?
On a similar note…
AMEX decided to double the annual fee on one of my cards to $195, and I'm pretty pissed about it. I honestly wasn't aware the card even had an annual fee, and don't believe in paying for the privilege of having a credit card that I also pay interest on.
I'm initially switching to one of their cards with zero annual fee. Then I'll have to see what else is out there and if I'd be able to get the same limits.
Baby steps.
🦩 Everyday Adventures
Old Shoes
I'm grateful to be going to the northeast for Christmas, but I'm worried about my feet being cold. My extremities tend to get pretty cold.
I had kept one very warm and comfortable pair of Merrill winter shoes when I moved back down to Florida in 2014. I kept them in a bin under my bed, safe and sound. But even if kept safe, shoes succumb to time… like the fantastic pair of Eccos I bought in Switzerland in 2012 that recently disintegrated when I was halfway to a coffee shop to meet a friend. The soles literally fell off.
Instead of doing something silly (like just wearing these Merrills to the airport), I put them on and started doing work around my house. I barely did any walking before a huge crack opened up on the toe of one shoe.
Well, that's all she wrote. I'm so sad!
I have one more pair of hiking boots to try that might be good for the winter. Fingers crossed that they don't fall apart!
The Holidays
Given that this holiday season felt stressful and melancholy for me, I'm glad I really spoiled myself last year. As you might recall, I bought this outrageous advent calendar filled with gourmet goodies.
I also bought a bunch of tea and tea accessories.
This year, I got to enjoy the empty advent calendar and the excess of the tea from last year, including some delicious holiday tea.
I didn't buy myself (or anyone else) a single Christmas gift this year. Like I said, I'm glad I spoiled myself last year because the joy of it lasted me through this year. Not sending out my usual Christmas cards was difficult, but it also took a bunch of pressure off me.
I hope, despite any challenges you're experiencing, you find a way to have a joyful Christmas (or other holiday) surrounded by people you love.
📑 Project Updates
How to Find Joy in a Capitalist Hellscape
I had an opportunity to vend my book at the Jack Kerouac House in St. Petersburg. The house was his last landing pad, the place he was living when he died. It was acquired by a group of aficionados who have turned it into a museum of sorts where various small events are held. It’s in a normal neighborhood, so its uses are limited.
I sold exactly one book (to one of the organizers of the local Nerd Nite), but it was a fun time sharing a table with Laura Oldanie, co-author of Growing FREE. We each got to read a section from our book, and the exposure is valuable as I build a name for myself as an author.
⏰️ Currently
🥶 When you get this, I’ll be freezing my arse off in Vermont.
👭 When you get this, I’ll be enjoying the company of my family.
🥰 When you get this, I’ll be feeling grateful for all of the things.
I bought the book.