My dad asked me to fax him a copy of my passport and accompanying visas today so he could get me out of jury duty in California. To do that, I had to go down to reception and ask them to copy and fax everything for me.

That’s right. I have no fax machine. I also don’t use or have any of the following:

  • Wristwatch (Haven’t bothered to wear one since Stephen was born because I didn’t want to whack him with it.)
  • PDA (No, not public display of affection – although I don’t have that either – Personal Digital Assistant.)
  • MP3 Player
  • Cordless Phone
  • Copier
  • Scanner
  • Printer (My 1994 laser printer is the wrong voltage and I didn’t bother to get a voltage converter for it when we moved here from Japan.)
  • Toaster Oven
  • Coffee/Espresso Machine
  • Vacuum (I’ll have one in London, though, because we won’t have housekeepers there.)

Because we move so often, we’ve tried very hard to pare down our belongings, especially fragile electronic goods. As a consequence, we’ve learned to do without many of the things we used to take for granted. We write in a notebook or read onscreen instead of killing trees by printing; we grill toast in a frying pan instead of in a toaster oven; and we drink instant coffee at home instead of fresh brewed.

I’ll set everything up properly when we finally settle down in our own home in Singapore. But for now, we’ll have to ask for the occasional favor or pay for the occasional service.

What modern conveniences are you doing without?

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