Virtuous Virtual Life?

Well, it is Monday, and we are still waiting for the Rig. At least the time passed quickly today because we were at work!

We have ordered so many things online recently, that I have to admit to our dependence on the internet for daily comforts; just a few years ago, high-speed DSL access was not possible, and as we pay by the minute even for local phone calls, even having a slow, dedicated line was not feasible. Brian and I remember the days when we used to dial-up, download a page that we wanted to read, save it to the desk-top, and sign-off. Still, our phone bills were regularly more than 6,000 yen or so. Netsurfing was too slow to be a pastime, and also the amount of information available was not as unlimited as it is now (whether that is a good thing, I cannot venture to say).

But, back to my point - our lives abroad in Japan have become so ...easy because of our internet access. We now have DSL, and a router, so we both surf at the same time at amazing speeds. I frequently order English language books from Amazon Japan. I can pay by credit card or C.O.D., I pay in yen, there is no delivery fee, and the books are generally delivered within a week. That is a long cry from seven years ago, when I used to set aside a day to go to Tokyo, spend a fortune on an English book, and savour every minute of that book.

Ok - Brian really is not interested in books from Amazon. He is interested in all the other things we have access to - the information, for example, about mountain biking at mtbr.com. He is also delighted by suddenly being able to order Thai curry pastes online (well, I am pretty excited about that, too!); we found a site just yesterday, and even now are awaiting delivery of one tub of green, and two tubs of red, curry paste.

We also occasionally buy in bulk from The Flying Pig, which is somehow affiated with Costco. We order big bags of coffee beans and big jars of mixed nuts from these guys. Yes - we are also now waiting for a delivery of coffee beans and mixed nuts!

So - we are waiting for:

• Three Tubs of Thai Curry
• Three bags of coffee beans, one jar of mixed nuts
• And One Gary Fisher Rig (a 29" Singlespeed Mountain Bike for Brian).

The wait continues...