A Minimalist?

To the reader: Have you ever taken a moment to imagine yourself riding a bicycle to work everyday? Someone reading this may already to such a thing. I know that it is something that I do and have consistently done for the past 3 years or so. Everyday, rain or shine, I travel to and from the workplace on my bike. Why would I do this? Am I especially green-conscious? Not really. I just live in one of the world's most crowded cities and my apartment does not come with a parking place, so I ride my bike and leave my car in a parking lot near my workplace. This theme of 'Make-do Minimalism' seems to be a dominant trait of my existence here in the Far East. I am not so much a minimalist because I choose to keep things at a level barely exceeding necessity, but because I deal with it when such is the case due to circumstances beyond my direct control. I think this is an important difference, since I do not always actively pursue a purposely minimalist lifestyle - my choice would probably be comfort and luxury - but I am satisfied to accept those frequent circumstances in which I find myself at the opposite end of the spectrum. Much of this attitude comes from regular training, but some of it is just habit.

All that to get to this - it's January now and riding the bike to work is exceedingly cold, even when tempered by the fact that I perform said ritual every day. this fact is further compounded by the fact that riding in traffic in the dark of the morning with snow and ice everywhere is highly dangerous. Now that I sit here and think about it, my day at work begins by playing my hand against death - every day. All just because I can't park my car near enough to my home to warrant its use in conveying me to the office. Therefore I am lobbying for the complete revamp of the infrastructure of my local community to require parking for at least one vehicle per every four expected occupants of any given residence. ~And now I am done lobbying. Knowing the answer to a request in advance seems to save me a lot of time. ^^ Once again, a manifestation of my brand of minimalism.

Minimalism in daily life also seems to take many other forms (at least for me). One being that I have only one dish that I use - a square Tupperware bowl with a lid. By virtue of its shape, it can be employed for practically all conceivable food handling tasks. Aside from that, I have a folding pan and a hot plate, a pair of metal chopsticks, a spoon, and an electric kettle. I also have a rice cooker that I recently obtained and I have found that I am able to do what little cooking and eating I do at home with only these implements at my disposal. Having so few saves space and cleaning time - with the added bonus of me having a perpetual excuse for why I never ever allow anyone to invite themselves over to my flat for dinner.

Utilities are kept to a minimum. An example being no heat in the winter. This is more a matter of avoiding waste than anything else. I spend very little time in my little apartment and I have a perfectly good set of blankets (including an electric one) that keep me plenty warm during the majority of the time I spend at home (which is primarily spent sleeping).

Along an unrelated line, my car has a similar excuse - aside from the bonus of its being the only El Camino in Seoul, it affords me the right to drive about without any of my associates requesting my services as a taxi or designated driver (since I never drink). While at the same time I can carry one friend in the single passenger seat if need be and I can carry vast amounts of stuff in the back. However, since an El Camino is not a truck per se, but an LUV, I can refuse to help people move things like refrigerators on the grounds that its not a heavy hauler and it's more than 27 years old (despite being maintained in as-new-or-better condition). Minimalism? You be the judge.

As far as clothing goes, I maintain about 5 changes of clothes with a separate set used for the weekends or for dirty work - and most of these clothes look similar, so to the unobservant I might appear to go for days without changing clothes. Once again, a disregard for that which many people find important in life (luxury, appearances, possessions) could either be considered minimalism or simple indifference - this is one of the misfit traits that causes the swordsman to retain a degree of isolation from a normal peer group, albeit this case is often by choice.

Upon reading this, I am sure I might receive discreet commentary such as the ever-popular "Cough~psycho~Cough!", but this is perfectly fine for me now. When it is not fine, things will change - everyone has their own sense of what is valuable; but for now, fancy clothes, shiny things, and a multitude of insincere 'friends' cluttering my life are not at the top of my list. The 'list' will be further developed as I take time to establish the goals of the story.

And so concludes the second phase of character development; the line of interaction. This is the standard by which the character's interaction with the other characters in the story is to be measured and coincides with the subject of the 'likes and dislikes' to be established in future chapters.