The Obsolescence of Time

Every year we perform a collection of rituals which include, but are not limited to:

• Staying up late.
• Drinking, lots of drinking.¹
• Watching a big colorful ball drop. 
• Writing "resolutions", a list of things we'll fail to do in the upcoming year (or week.)

We dub these rituals "New Year's Celebrations" for the New Year's holiday.

But what's most concerning to me is the utter waste of it all. Every January we take, what was an otherwise perfectly good year, and throw it out. It's a sort of planned obsolescence that the best of marketing departments could ever hope to come up with. Every year is like an iPhone², the next generation has come out so we must discard the old one and get a new one.

It's really sad when you think about it. We throw away time as if it's worthless. But time may very well be the most valuable possession we have and yet we trade it for other things.

Well, I've had enough of this nonsense. Last year still has plenty of use left in it. And I'll be damned if you'll have me go out and buy this new year. Sure, I may not be one of the cool kids sporting a brand new 2015 Year, but I can take solace in the fact that my use of the 2014 Year will not contribute more harm to our environment. And I'll continue to use it as long as it can provide me what I need.

And on top of all of that, when my 2014 Year does run out, I should have no problem finding a 2015 Year selling at a huge discount. I might be able to find one in a landfill somewhere.

So I think it's time³ we stop being so wasteful of our years. We need not submit to this planned obsolescence peddled upon us. 2014 will continue to be a great year! . . . or at least an OK one.⁴

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¹ . . . because, you know, we really need an excuse for drinking.
² The release of each generation of iPhone has been slightly more than a year:



³ Is it? Or does that mean I haven't arrived yet? I think I confused myself this time.
⁴ Well, I'll settle for a "not horrible one".

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