K.I.S.S.

 

 

Keep it Simple Stupid 

Meet my pig sitting on my laptop. When I pull him apart voilà...he becomes a USB key that holds my entire computer files since 2011, including most of my novels. I have not had to buy a second USB key since 2011.

I should add I triple save everything, to the cloud, my hard drive AND my pig.  

It's part of my K.I.S.S. philosophy. Never own more than you need. My files are safe, and I don't have any extra stuff around.

That was the idea when I bought my Nest, a small studio apartment in the attic of a 400+ year old building in a French village. The idea was to own as little as possible but to love everything I own. I can't say I love things like my washing machine but I do have things that are useful. My pig is useful too. 

And I keep things that have memories. 

I also want what I own to be beautiful. Okay, my pig is cute, maybe not beautiful and buying him at FNAC in Geneva was a memory. I seldom go into a store if I can help it, but I was meeting a friend there and we were planning on having a hot chocolate at Auer's. The day was cold and I was looking forward to the chocolatey smell as I entered Auer's from the cheek-nibbling cold.

I spied the pig among other animal USB keys. I debated the rooster and panda. Had they had a penguin, I would have bought that, but the pig won my heart.

People have often commented that I'm a happy person. My secret is making the ordinary extraordinary such as a dull purchase of a USB key into a 15-year memory. 

When I had my Nest (now a guest room) before I married it was easy to make sure NOTHING extra cluttered my life while having everything I needed and wanted. Two people in the Nest, one with multiple sets of golf clubs might not have a chance at a relationship like ours surviving. 

I also think of my late anthropologist friend who said a new couple should not live in either's  place, because of territorial urgings. She was right. 

The place where we now live is a compromise of his I'm-going-to-buy and my why-do-we-need-it? There's seldom this dialogue if we are looking at books or art. 

My husband has more than one USB keys, all boring, but whenever we go on a trip he reminds me as I pack my laptop, "Don't forget your pig."