Water

OK, I decided not to bore you with a thesis on selfhood. And anyway, mom's comment sums it up.

I read today on Salon about bottled water, and how we all carry around water with us wherever we go. Bottled water is, of course, bad for the environment with all the resources it takes to make and ship all those plastic bottles. But the good news is that both coke and pepsi, the makers of dasani and aquafina, respectively, do not simply bottle tap water. They do use tap water, but they do all kinds of purifying miracles (just like those people who take their virginity back!) to make the water extra clean. I've heard those tap water rumors before and wondered. But the bottled water does taste better than most tap water. So it is comforting to know that something is being done to the water to make it cleaner. And honestly, when I do buy water, I'm usually out and so thirsty that I'd be willing to hand over a benjamin for any kind of refreshing liquid. 

Which brings me to another point made in the aforementioned article. The author says, indeed, most bottled water is consumed when we are out and about... that in our spoiled society people won't wait until they get to some free water and won't drink out of fountains. I confess that even though I do drink out of fountains, it does weird me out, and the water often tastes like chlorine, especially here at school. Ick! So, being spoiled and not wanting to go the whole day without water, I carry around a giant bottle of water that I bring from home where we have nice well water (not that all well water is nice). The giant bottle of water presents some logistical difficulties, however. It won't easily fit into my bags and I don't have a caribiner to hook it to myself, which is kind of silly anyway. So it is always this albatross. But what else can I do? Really go around all day with no water? At least this next year I'll have a desk and will only have to carry the big bottle to and from school, rather than drag it around all over campus.

Ah, the troubles of modern life. We really are spoiled if this is our big concern! Though it does make me cringe to see how much plastic and glass is thrown away in towns that do not have a recycling program. The recyclers use the plastic water bottles to make fleece. And I always thought sheep made that. Perhaps it is not so much that we are spoiled, but that we really are cyborgs.