Thoughts on excess

What's wrong with the world today? Here's one thought:


Nice one, Flight of the Conchords, but here's another thought. . . .

A smattering of thoughts of a guy (me) raised in the information age:

Do you want your washing machine in white, green, orange, or red?

What kind of car do you want? How many gears? Auto or manual, 4wd, 2wd, FWD, AWD? 2 airbags, or 12? New or used? Buy or lease? 36 months or 48? 60? Do you get a warranty or take your chances? And the seats? Leather in your car? Tan, white, charcoal, or black? Or would you prefer vinyl? Or cloth?

What about your cell phone? Do you want to watch video on it? Live TV? Use it as a video recorder? A digital camera? A computer? Oh, what color do you want it in? Can your phone give you step by step GPS directions? And how many minutes should I get? 700? 1400? AT&T? Verizon? T-Mobile? Definitely not T-Mobile.

Do you want regular yogurt, or whipped? 2% fat, 1% fat, or no fat? What flavor of fruit? Or would you prefer strawberry vanilla cherry? Apple pie? Key lime pie? Boston cream pie? Cherry pie? Blueberry pie?

MMm, tortilla chips! But do I want rounds, regular chips, or the really big ones? Blue? Yellow? White? And what kind of salsa to go with it? Pico? Pace? Guac? On the border? Authentic?

Should I get pizza? Yes! But from what shop? Delivery or pickup? How much does delivery cost? Regular crust or honey wheat? Cheese in the crust? What kind of sauce? What kind of cheese? Do I want taco toppings on my pizza? Meat? Vegetables? What kinds, extra of each? Half one kind, half the other? How much do I tip the driver? Should I pay online, check, cash?

How much caffeine should I get in my coffee? 1 shot, or 2? 3? 4?? Dad??? To stay mug? Should I double cup my beverage? Should I get it extra hot? Less hot? Extra foam, no foam? Some fat, lots of fat, or no fat? Vanilla, almond, hazelnut, mocha? Should I get a tall drink. . .you know, the small one? Venti? Frapuccino? And what coffee shop should I go to? The big corporate chain that nobody likes, but everybody goes to consistently, or the hole in the wall shop?

What kind of water should I have? Ice, or no ice? Mineral water? Evian? Dasani? Aquafina? Do I take my chances with tap water?



That's 5 minutes in my brain some days. Ridiculous. No wonder everyone's stressed out - this stuff surrounds us, chokes us, and we drown slowly.

Too much excess. But, what do you do with it all? I don't know what I'll do. I think I'll start by listening to a sermon or two about this stuff. But what preacher? What church? Reformed? Fire and brimstone? Young? Old? What denomination?