Further Reflections on our Time at L'Abri: Wendell Berry's "Why I'm Not Going to Buy a Computer" and "Feminism, The Body, and The Machine"

When you are a student at L'Abri, you are assigned a tutor who is there to discuss life's questions with you and recommend resources for you from L'Abri's library or their lecture archives.  When Chris met with his tutor, he told him where we are at in life as part of the discussion of what career path to choose next.  Now, I don't know quite how that conversation went but his tutor recommended Chris read these two essays by Wendell Berry to help him understand my perspective on life better.  Of course, when Chris told me this, I had to read these essays too because I want to understand myself better too.

The first essay's title is pretty self-explanatory and the second essay is a response Berry wrote to critics of his first essay.  Both are quite interesting.  I found them totally inspiring.

I had already read "Why I'm Not Going to Buy a Computer" a long time ago.  I loved it, but didn't see much practical use for it in my life, at least, as far as the whole not owning a computer goes.  A personal computer and internet access is a pretty essential tool to student life these days.

However, I loved Berry's list of criteria for buying new technology:

1. The new tool should be cheaper than the one it replaces.
2. It should be at least as small in scale as the one it replaces.
3. It should do work that is clearly and demonstrably better than the one it replaces.
4. It should use less energy than the one it replaces.
5. If possible, it should use some form of solar energy, such as that of the body.
6. It should be repairable by a person of ordinary intelligence, provided that he or she has the necessary tools.
7. It should be purchasable and repairable as near to home as possible.
8. It should come from a small, privately owned shop or store that will take it back for maintenance and repair.
9. It should not replace or disrupt anything good that already exists, and this includes family and community relationships (Why I'm Not Going to Buy a Computer). 

Having re-read this list, I STILL love it!  I don't know if I necessarily agree with the first point, since "cheaper" often means that someone isn't getting paid properly for their work, but everything else is gold.  And it convicted me to do something I've been fantasizing about for a long, long time: selling this laptop I am currently typing on and focussing my energy on more productive things!  As I said in my last post, what I currently crave more than anything is setting down some roots, right where we live, in Guelph.  

I stare at a screen for far, far too many hours of my precious, ever-decreasing-in-length life.  I especially love Facebook stalking and reading other people's blogs without ever commenting.  I want to learn to sew.  I want to be more well-read.  I want to create things.  I want to exercise more and be outside more.  Why haven't I done more of these things?  Because this screen is just so completely engrossing.  

I guess its so engrossing because it makes me feel like I'm a part of a greater community, and I am, sort of.  We received 132 views on this blog already today, which is pretty awesome.  But I don't know who you all are.  People I went to Swiss L'Abri with?  Friends of Chris' ex-girlfriend?  Someone I went to high school with who I would recognize, but probably not acknowledge in real life?  

Speaking of real life, real life is great!  Having a real exchange of information face to face.  Laughing so hard that you cry.  Scraping up your knees on an adventure.  Journalling privately, on paper, expressing your real, true, raw, hopes, fears, fantasies, and frustrations not filtered by guesses of who might stumble upon those words.  Remember that?  I can still have those things, only more of it, if I get rid of this ridiculous contraption on my lap.  

I don't need it for work anymore so it needs to go!  Plus, we have a desktop, which I can't get as addicted to because Chris needs it for work during office hours and he spends a lot of time outside of office hours gaming, which would limit my time on it significantly.  I think it would be nearly impossible to get rid of all of my dependence on the internet, since this is how people predominantly communicate.  So I'm not giving it up completely.

And lately I've been using it for good: We looked into buying YMCA memberships online yesterday and will be buying them today.  I found Guelph's Continuing Education Course Brochure online and will be taking a class or two this Fall.  We also looked on the Guelph Public Library's website yesterday and found out that documentaries are regularly shown and discussed at the library.  They also offer a couple of book clubs we have now signed up for.  There is a Cookbook Club through the GPL.  A Cookbook Club.  That meets in a building that is a five minute walk from my house, literally on the same street.  Imagine, a whole roomful of kindred spirits - THAT CLOSE BY - and I've been missing them because I've been here, starring at a screen.  I've also, through the internet, arranged for an interview for us to start volunteering at Agape Cafe which is also a stone's throw from our house.  So the internet isn't all bad, but its certainly not how I want to spend the majority of the remainder of my life.

We are finally setting down roots in Guelph and its feeling pretty great!

That said, I'll be posting a couple of laptop ads on Kijiji soon.  If you or someone you know is looking for a used, but less than a year old MacBook Pro, or a functioning 5 year-old Dell, let me know!

Hey look!  Kittens: