Mind Set

I am sure there is a body of research about people’s likes and preferences, explaining why we keep coming back to the same things. A childhood memory, a taste tried long ago, a chance meeting, anything can burn into subconscious and manifest itself years later without an obvious reason.

I don’t have a brand loyalty, but I find myself having some visual and taste preferences that I’ve been drawn to for many years. Some of these I can explain, others are still a mystery, but I know they are strong. I’ve purchased the exact same sweater twice several years apart not realizing it until I brought it home and put it next to the one I already had. Somehow I always end up with the same shade of jeans. My next car will be the newer version of my current car. I love to try new foods but there are dishes I can eat every day without ever getting bored.

I’ve worn this exact design of a watch for over 20 years.

a158w-1_xlarge

Every time my watch dies or gets too rough-looking I march to the store and buy another one of these. Both Timex and Casio have this design, and I have the latter on my wrist right now. When I need a new watch I always check out the entire selection, knowing that nowadays I can spend more than $22 on a timepiece but every time I find this one the most eye-pleasing and comfortable. Luckily I don’t have a need to express my life achievements with a watch, so I just buy the one I like the most and I am set for the next several years. I’ve even considered buying more than one just in case they stop making it, but I am hoping this doesn’t happen soon.

Recently I bought 2 pairs of Adidas shoes, one is the model pictured and the other one is very similar. No contemporary scientifically designed shoe comes even close to this look in my mind. Every time I wear these sneakers I really enjoy the way they look, which is not something I say often if at all. I can find the source of this “attraction” somewhere back in the 80’s. As a matter of fact most of my everyday footwear is bought at the “retro” or “originals” section of the store.

G16025_01

Long time ago on a trip to Georgia I walked into a farmers’ market and inhaled the smell of cilantro for the first time. We had some cilantro in Ukraine but the Georgian market was submerged in a cloud of cilantro smell. I know not everyone likes this but these are my tastes we are talking about here. I love cilantro to this day.
cilantro

I still find the “80’s look” eye-pleasing. Weirdly my own kid now seeks out these clothes at thrift stores, although the teased hair is probably still a few years away :-). I’ve seen women who never stopped living and dressing like it’s the 80’s and are in dire need of an intervention. But when I look back on the old pictures I don’t find the 80’s style silly or grotesque. It was a good look.

post-3-12188079569659

Am I the world’s most interesting man? Probably not. But I am sure even he has things stuck in his head that make him do what he does. We all do.