Denying My Cats

Yes, folks, that's right! I am denying my cats as a result of this boycott.

We used to have this spiffy laser pointer, courtesy of Luke's mom, which the cats went nuts over. It was, in fact, the only way we could get Jezebella to exercise. Sahti is far more curious and will play with anything for 30 seconds and the laser pointer held her interest for several minutes or more!

The laser pointer died before we moved to the East Coast and we spent a few fleeting moments in between preparing for the big move, looking for a new one.

It would appear that they are all made in China.

Correction, all the cheap ones that run on batteries so small that they cost more than the laser pointer itself, are made in China.

We are now halfheartedly on the lookout for a laser pointer that takes AA or AAA batteries and is not made in China.

In the meantime, when Jezebella and Sahti are not driving me crazy by refusing to get along with Thomas, who is native to our new home and my most favorite cat, I feel guilty that I am depriving them of a toy they love and some hilarious entertainment for ourselves.

Crazy for a Cell Phone?

I may be one of the few holdouts in this country to say that a cell phone is not a necessary object. I rarely ever have mine on, when I can even remember to take it with me, and when it isn't with me, I rarely remember where I left it.

Having said all that, I lost my cell in Vegas while trying on the sweatshirt I bought Luke (it might have been poetic justice for coveting his old sweatshirt that I was hoping to replace with a new and improved "Not made in China" Vegas CSI one). I did not realize that I lost the phone until the next day as we were packing to leave and simultaneously tearing apart the hotel room in a desperate attempt to find this nonessential device.

It should have been no big deal that I lost it in the first place, after all, I rarely used it and I had been meaning to switch to a prepaid plan eventually.

But the fear set in! The, "What if our flight is late, how will Luke know?" or the "What if someone really important is trying to call me now?" or "What if I'm bored at the airport despite the three books I brought with me?" or, the original (?) reason for getting a cell in the first place, "What if my car breaks down late at night and I am surrounded by a pack of starving wolves in the wilderness of a major East Coast highway?" Whatever will I do?

It was so ridiculous! I drove cross country without a cell phone (after WonderTurtle and I parted ways) and did a zillion other everyday things without one...even broke down late at night several times without a cell phone.

Now, about to leave Vegas, I was angry and inconvenienced. Oh, and there is this damn boycott to consider!

It took me weeks to make up my mind about a prepaid phone and conversations ad nauseum with Luke about it. Before the boycott, I would have purchased the cheapest, shinniest red one without any regard for where it was made. Not so much luck this time.

Now, the fact that we live in a rather rural area, on top of a mountain off an interstate means that we get spotty coverage at best, unless you have a Boost mobile phone, as my lover does.
That would seem to solve the problem, right? Get a Boost phone and get over it.

Do I need to mention that they are all made in China? We discovered this by going above and beyond the rules of the boycott, which state that the packaging must declare where the product is made and/or reasonable efforts must made made to discern its origins. None of the exterior packaging stated where the Boost phones were made.

We discovered where they were made as the sales associate, who did not laugh at my dilemma, was calling Boost to see where the phone I was considering was made. To pass the time, I suggested that we look at the battery inside the phone. I promptly became angry at what I discovered. Irrelevant are the facts that I did not like the phone in the first place, I would rarely, if ever, use it in the basement where Luke's phone gets great coverage, and, oh, yeah, I don't need the damn thing in the first place!

Further investigation on my own consisted of calling Boost and discovering that all their phones are made in China. I was pleasantly surprised however, that the person helping me did not think my boycott was a laughing matter. This was not the case at the T-Mobile store. The salesperson there thought the concept was quite laughable. Offended, I left the store.

I wish I could say that I gave up the quest for a phone altogether, but that would be a lie.

I kept the search going for weeks (I think it helped me avoid thinking about the more serious issues in my life, such as finding a job!).

My sister offered to put me on her family plan where I knew I'd have coverage and a free phone, therefore not technically subject to the rules of the boycott, since I wasn't buying the phone.

Luke and I went to several stores looking for the elusive "Made in Mexico" or "Made someplace other than China" phone. We discussed my options late at night while lying in bed (and people think I'm a nympho!) we fought about it, or rather, I yelled at him a lot about it since he has a working, purchased before the boycott, made in China phone.

The entire situation was ridiculous! I wanted a red, prepaid flip phone made in Mexico or Korea and all I could find were red flip phones made in China or Taiwan (which I boycott and Luke does not) or a few castoff old phones made in Mexico or Korea that I did not like.

I am embarrassed to admit that in the end I did not have the guts, the wherewithal, the something to forgo the cell phone altogether. I think part of that is because I don't want to be seen as a bigger weirdo than I all ready am. Crazy boycott or not, I still crave some level of social acceptance...isn't that what drives consumerism in the first place?

I'm even more embarrassed to admit that I went back to the same T-Mobile store where I was laughed at and purchased my silver, prepaid, not a flip phone, there. I don't even really like this phone but, but, but it has the cheapest minutes even though it gets spotty coverage where I live and this salesperson was very helpful, if slightly amused at the boycott. I also got the car charger for free because I did enough research before hand to know that T-Mobile.com was giving away an additional $25 in air time if you bought a phone over the Internet. They didn't have the same deal at the store, but the manager was willing to give me the car charger for free, which is $25. The associate and I looked over the external packaging and checked the computer to see where the car charger was made and found nothing.

I left the store with a phone I don't like, the included $10 in air time, of which I've used less than half the minutes nearly a month later and a free car charger for my dying car that has "Made in China" sticker inconspicuously stuck inside the packaging. My phone is probably downstairs right now, I think, and I've made a whopping two calls on it since I bought it.

Did I do all of this for social acceptance?

Again...He is Inconvenienced

Luke is trying to buy some fancy shmansy part for his computer so that he can have wireless access on his desktop computer.
Do we need to have a wireless desktop card?
Only if you are a huge World of Warcraft fan and want to fiendishly play the game late at night in the basement where we now live.

Apparently his ginormous laptop doesn't have the memory space to hold the game and so "we need wireless access downstairs on the desktop computer."
I tried to be supportive about something I really don't care about, and we discussed many other options, even tried a few, to no avail.

Luke did some research and found a wireless card on Newegg.com, only to learn that it was made in China. In fact, it took Vincent about 1/10th of a second to confirm that is where it is made.

I, being ever supportive, cheered and threw a party when he hung up the phone.
The party and the cheering were very brief though, once I realized that we would have to keep discussing this ad nauseum until we found another solution.
I'm torn between feeling happy that he feels the sting of this boycott and annoyed that we aren't finished with this "problem."

Luke is Affected....

Or rather, he should have been affected if he was paying attention.

We had to take the car he uses in for the yearly inspection, something which is unheard of in Illinois, and the car needed new windshield wiper blades and a side light bulb and cover.

I took the phone call and agreed to have the work done and neither of us ever asked where the parts were made.

Perhaps this was just a mistake, but I suspect that that this makes us hypocrites because we vowed to check where everything was made and return it if it was made in China.

The most we've done is go to an auto parts store to see that the wiper blades there were made in Mexico or Belgium. Belgium? I thought they only made really great chocolate!

Oh the things I am learning!

Neither of us checked on the light thingy. It was just replaced yesterday.

Does Taiwan Count?

Luke and I have an ongoing debate, sometimes argument about the validity of banning Taiwan from our purchases this year.

I think any country that includes the words, "Republic of China" on its products deserves to be boycotted.

Luke asserts that Taiwan is no longer controlled by, politically connected with or vested in China.

I don't really care. If Uzbekistan wanted to slap the words, "Republic of China" or "R.O.C" on their goods, I feel that they should by boycotted by association this year.

I don't really know why he cares if we boycott Taiwan in the first place, since this boycott hardly affects him (unless I am in a rage about something I can't buy, then he bears the brunt of my frustrations!).

I am curious how others would see this, boycott or not? And if Taiwan is not in anyway vested in China, why are those letters on their goods?

Does anyone have any answers for me?

Butter...Jeans?

Why in the great green world would anyone name their jeans "Butter Jeans?"

I swear these jeans exist! I saw them at Nordstrom Rack when I was trying to find anything I could buy that was not made in China and would fill my longing to BUY SOMETHING!!!

The jeans are made in America with the following tag lines plastered all over the hang tags:

"Proud to Keep America Going."

"Made in USA: Pants for Real Women with Real Curves"

and a picture (in case you did not know what it looks like) of a stick of butter emblazoned with the words, "Buttery Softness".

Okay, I was thrilled that the jeans were made in America, not so thrilled and a bit horrified by the name, I mean, was I about to buy food or pants? I was also not thrilled with the way that they did not fit (too much butter consumption on my part?) even though they were, indeed, very soft.

I don't think "Cottage Cheese Jeans" would fair so well on the market, but DairyAir Jeans, if they were tight enough in the right places might sell like hotcakes.

Ohhh, I know Forbidden Chocolate super slim jeans for real American women who deny themselves the pleasures of actually eating chocolate, those might sell well!

Vegas, Baby....

....is made in China!

Okay, so the actual city of Las Vegas is not made in China, I almost need to believe that something so colossally difficult to absorb, so glitzy and contradictory must be made mostly in America.

The souvenirs are another story all together.

My mom and I went to Vegas for the first time last month, she for business and me for my birthday and this trip may have been one of the first endeavors where this China boycott is really paying off.

Perhaps I'm cheap, or ungrateful, but I don't understand spending your precious vacation time buying cheap trinkets for the people who stayed behind. Is it a subtle "in your face I went on vacation and you didn't?" Is it a sign that the person on vacation was really bored, or has too much money to spend? Or is a plastic, glow in the dark bendable shot glass from Death Valley really a gift that made you think of me? If so, please have amnesia on your next vacation!

As a general rule, I avoid buying souvenirs for people unless I really believe that it will somehow, even in a small way, enhance their lives. People usually only get stories as gifts from me when I travel.

My Vegas story is that almost every gift, every trinket, bauble and bendable shot glass is made in China. I was terribly frustrated for the few hours that I spent looking for useless "I went to Vegas and you didn't" gifts before it hit me that I had one hell of an excuse for not buying anything. Who is going to argue with, "I'm sorry I did not buy you anything on my trip, but I've got this boycott and my principles to stand by. And, heck, next time you go on vacation, feel free not to get me anything." It sounds like a win-win situation to me!

Ok, truth be told, I did buy Luke a "Vegas CSI" hoodie, which seems to have been desirable to everyone from other countries visiting Vegas.

I ignored the fact that we don't watch TV.

It is made in Pakistan and one of the few allowable trinkets, plus, he has this old blue hoodie from a vacation we went on in Florida many moons ago that I love, and he can't possibly wear both simultaneously.....

Oh, and I did leave him to house sit our three cats and my mom's dog by himself three days after we moved back to the East Coast. There was some guilt on my mind when I bought that gift!

When people from China go on vacation to other countries, do they bother buying the souvenirs if they are made in China?