I am not a shopaholic

I am not a shopaholic. Unlike many of my peers, I do not look forward to purchasing new items of clothing (for starters, that usually involves entering a shopping mall - a place that fills me with a mixture of dread and trepidation) or a hitherto unknown, new gadget that will improve my quality of life, get me new friends, and make me deliriously happy - all with a single magnetic swipe.

And yet, I have decided to write a blog about shopping. Why? Not just because my wonderful friend / ex boyfriend encouraged me to do it ("Yes! You can totally do it! And btw you have half an hour left if you want your first entry to be dated January 01, 2010!") but also because over the past few years I have grown increasingly tired of the ever-growing abundance of CCC - cheap Chinese crap - in every single retail outlet I walk into. Just a few days ago I was shopping for a few basic groceries (yes, I do venture into grocery stores) and the first thing I saw in the produce section was giant heaps and heaps of garlic imported from China.

And that, my dear friends, is where this idea was born - in the produce section of a Tesco... the new year - the new decade! - was about to start, and I thought it would be curious to see how far into it I can last without purchasing garlic imported from China - or any other form of CCC. Spurred on by Tim's encouargement, this here blog was born during a late-night, cross-Atlantic phone call. And, as has been pointed out to me, I have precious little time for my first entry. So without further ado, here it is: my first entry into documenting the next few days / weeks / months of my life trying not to purchase Chinese imports. It's a challenge, a socio-economic experiment and a silly game all rolled into one.

So, just for the record: I have purchased nothing today, today being New Year's Day and most shops being closed anyway - plus I was somewhat incapacitated by last night's celebrations and wasn't in any mood to leave the apartment... so far so good! Tomorrow might be a different story, though - wish me luck!