Borders Closing

I was saddened when I heard earlier this week that Borders was closing 30% of its stores, including the one that I can walk to,(#593) in Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Then I realized, based on my behavior, that it was inevitable. After all, I hadn't purchased anything at Borders (or Barnes and Noble) in quite some time. And it's not that I'm not a reader. I often go to Borders to browse new titles and skim through the new knitting books and magazines, but when I'm ready to read my first thought is always the library. I even try to get the books that I need for my classes from the library instead of the campus bookstore. My next stop is half.com, my rationale being that purchasing a used copy from an actual person and not the big box will have a greater impact on that person, my bank account and the environment. I guess it's also having an impact on the big box.

Irony or coincidence? I finished reading Rachel Botsman's What's Mine is Yours: The Rise of Collaborative Consumption (CC) which I, of course, borrowed from the library. After watching her Tedtalk, following her on Twitter and expanding my knowledge of the concept of (CC) I still gleaned some useful bits. First, underlying all the economic and environmental reasons for sharing, is that human need to belong. Our use of social media reflects this need and Rachel connects it to CC by saying, "We can now show status, group affiliation, and belonging without necessarily having to buy physical objects" and "Now we express who we are by what we join."

The second big AHA! is that we are in the middle of a paradigm shift. She says, "We hope this period will be regarded as the transition away from consumption for consumption's sake, and away from the fear of what will happen to the economy when this ethos is abandoned." I can personally illustrate this point in two recent instances. Last week, my dad, who is staying with me for the winter, called me at work to say that he had broken the french press coffee maker. He felt bad and wanted to go buy a new one. I said not to worry I would get one. My first thought, unlike my dad's urge to go to the store, was to check out the local thrift stores or even better--Freecycle! And speaking of Freecycle, a few weeks ago Deron Beal, Freecycle's founder, came to speak at our Rotary meeting. During the Q&A, one of the more senior members of our club wanted to know if all this sharing wouldn't put drill makers and car manufacturers out of work. He and my dad, are still stuck in the old paradigm and experiencing the fear that Rachel was talking about. But that is the way of paradigm shifts...those who can see it coming, embrace it and those who can't, fear the change.

So I really shouldn't be so sad that Borders is closing. There are so many new ways to find books to read. Any suggestions?

Not quite ready

I attempted an experiment last week. Something most of my friends, and Americans in general, would think is crazy: I was going to ride the bus. I figured it would be no big deal. After all I live a few blocks off one of the busiest roads in Pinellas County, I work at 2 places that are also on major roads, the price of gas was going up, and I had just seen Rachel Botsman's Tedtalk on collaborative consumption. Even my school was on the bus route. My schedule is flexible enough that I could adjust it to the transit system's schedule and it would be a piece of cake. Or so I thought. After looking at all the PSTA route maps, I bought myself a one week unlimited bus pass for $20. I calculated that if I rode it for 144 miles in the week I would be saving money. I did not add all the other costs of owning a car, just the gas. 2 trips to school would be 50 miles and back and forth to work would get me close, but it wasn't just about the money.

I hopped on last Saturday morning, off to meet my friend for a trip to the St Pete Farmer's Market, then I would head to a writing workshop at school which would give me an idea of where the bus stopped in that part of town. It was a beautiful day and I enjoyed the walking that was involved with going to and from the bus stops. The ride to school after the market was also pleasant. I even had a backup plan with a fellow student in case our class ran late on Monday night. That is where I made my mistake. I checked and rechecked the schedule to make sure the bus ran 'til 10:30 pm, in the school neighborhood. I neglected to check if it ran back up to my house....it did not. I would have been stranded about a mile from home on a busy street after 10 pm. Fortunately for me, I noticed this on Monday morning and not Monday night and so scrapped the idea. Now I could have gone back and forth to work on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday but I decided instead to give my bus pass to someone who takes the bus because they have to and hope that the little financial boost would help them out.

So while I love the idea of not having a car and all the expense that goes along with it, I'm just not ready for it yet. I will definitely consider taking it again when I go to the St Pete Farmer's Market or other excursions and will be dreaming of the day when Zipcar comes to town.