Support from Mom

Moms are: obsessive, protective, involved, and loving. The are wonderful pests.

I grew up in Wisconsin suburbs. Living mostly with my mom, my perspective was inevitably shaped by her. I wanted to have it all (materially-speaking). If you could afford to, you should. If you couldn't, then you probably weren't working hard enough. Of course, these ignorant childhood beliefs were way off the mark, but they were assumptions that I couldn't let go of. I never asked for guidance on these or other matters. After all, I was always right.

So before telling my mom that I was going to be selling my car, I prepared to defend my choice, assuming that she did not understand my stance. On top of that, I wouldn't be able to visit her very often. Well, she would have to come visit me. How could she be okay with this?

Well, we've talked on the phone twice since my announcement, and she hasn't objected. Thanks, mom. I really didn't want to justify myself, anyway. Whether this choice will have much affect on her remains to be seen. Change is simply much easier with support.

Enculturation and Hybridization

During what's left of the break until the fall semester, I'm getting a head start by reading my cultural anthropology text, Core Concepts in Cultural Anthropology (Lavenda, Robert and Emily Schultz). Chapter 4: Culture and the Individual defines enculturation as "the social process through which children come to adopt the ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving considered appropriate for adults in their culture."

As any adult now knows, our efforts to resist this process of enculturation have generally failed. The crowd always wins. We inevitably learn to cease resisting in order to get along well within the preordained institutional structure.

I am quickly learning that many people  project suspicion onto those who deviate from cultural norms (even in a city, like Madison, whose people generally embrace diversity and prosper). That said, it's great to be in a biker-friendly community and to be able to blend in amongst the overwhelming crowd and safely say that I'm not alone in seeking my niche within a hybridized culture.

Update: Willy Street Coop

I ride past Willy Street Coop all the time. I just cannot see myself not stopping in for some of their exceptional produce, etc. So I paid the $10 member fee, thereby avoiding the 5% surcharge for non-members. (It's not unreasonable to think that even a semi-frugal guy like me will purchase at least $200 from the coop in a year.) Dynamism in decision making is exciting and healthy for my worldview.

Opportunity cost

I was saying that I would sell my car, and people began asking about the price. I didn't know what I wanted for it.

It's a 2004 Toyota Corolla LE with 139,000 miles. I bought it from a dealer in 2009 for $7,821 (with 99,000 miles) and assumed that its value would have dropped considerably in two years. I searched kbb.com for its private party value (in good condition):

$6,325!

It's amazing to me that this opportunity cost of car ownership has elluded my attention until now. I have had thousands of dollars of capital at my disposal. Why have I hung on to it for so long?

I'll save my hypotheses for now. I only wanted to point out that it's easy to take car ownership for granted. It's also easier to let go of a car when realizing a significant financial boost.

Embracing the Challenge

In the last two days (Friday and Saturday):

1. I paid my last parking ticket. (I forgot to move my car for the city's Thursday street cleaning operation.)

2. Thanks to a Bucky Book coupon (the book compliments of Madison Property Management), I aquired a stick bike pump with guage, a patch kit with tire levers, and an inner tube along with my purchase of a rear folding basket at Machinery Row Bicycles.

Maintaining and adding to my bike is therapeutic. With the basket addition, however, I've been forgetting to avoid tripping over it. A change of pace is in order--from "full speed ahead" to a safer, more sustainable, considerately casual "taking it easy."

3. Short on sleep, I recognize that transitioning to car-free living is a spiritual leap of faith. Humility is the first character improvement that I'm noticing. I expect to gain other such strengths as I face challenges implicit in forgoing the option of gasoline as a source of energy.

4. My trip to the nearby Williamson Street Grocery Cooperative demonstrated that many of my like-minded neighbors possess a collective preference for (pricey) organic and locally-sourced foods, a taste that I haven't aquired yet. Possibly due to false assumptions or misinformation, I don't value the strict practice of organic consumption. (My belief is that modern methods of growing and harvesting are necessary in order to sustain our population that may very well be in excess of Earth's carrying capacity.) As a student, I simply can't afford to let my grocery budget grow out of proportion to my income and efforts to be thrifty, wherever practical.  (See: "Update: Willy Street Coop")

Commit

I'm a student. I desire an uncomplicated  lifestyle--less stuff, more free time to pursue my passions.

Until I stumbled back into the classroom and rediscovered the importance of my talents and the value that they might bring to society, my world view was wholly American. In other words, I was in denial. Among other things, I lust for oil.

I own a nice, reasonably fuel-efficent Corolla. Let me quickly address that word: "efficient." I drive solo. This means that the gas-guzzling SUV, carrying two passengers to my zero, may be equally efficient. I am talking per-capita. After all, in this world, each individual counts.

We all have an innate sense of concern for our fellow man and the condition of our surroundings. Yet we degrade both in our pursuit, not for happiness, but for things that make up an all encompassing and ever increasing standard of living.

This assumed, I would like to challenge at least one assumption that perpetuates the sickness of society at present:

the need to own an automobile.

I intend to sell my car and document my resulting experience. Living in Madison, I have a great opportunity to explore my options, car-free. I expect to gain: better health as a result of increased physical activity; more time to breathe while moving from place to place less frequently; and a welcome story about a courageous commitment to "be the change."