ancient memories of an ex-vagabond

I own seven butter knives in wood but only one dull kitchen knife.
Nine vases but hardly enough plates to invite a couple of friends in for dinner.
A supply of towels and table cloths that would be enough to wrap a small Baltic country in but no machine to wash them in afterwards.
Three complicated mixers and blenders that probably have higher IQ than I have, but no pot to boil water in.
A trendy pasta ladle but no pasta.

The consequences of living as a student, with half the household consisting of borrowed and shared stuff, for years and then a few more years bumming around Ireland and Britain with nothing more than a few clothes, cosmetic essentials and a supply of novels.

Setting up a household again is intriguing. It's been "only" five years since I last had some semblance of a normal life and it's amazing how things have changed since then. Back then I still had a phone that was stuck to the wall and couldn't go anywhere (horror! All the times I couldn't go out because I was waiting for some guy to call - and he never did!). A microwave was something owned only yuppies (the same ones who had mobile phones) or people who also had three kids, big house and estate car. I wrote my Master's thesis on a computer that had to be allowed to rest every now and then, couldn't handle pictures and had only two games - Tetris and Minesweeper (I haven't beaten my personal record since those times).

I still can't afford a washing machine, dishwasher, electric kettle, toaster, a good kitchen knife, curtains, a new couch or even decent tagliatelle pasta. But I have a new, shiny microwave that would look good on Star Trek (oh no! Another thing of the past!) and a laptop that can surf the net, play DVDs, write a novel in Greek, sing little happy tunes and probably cook too (if I could afford the ingredients).

And I am a happy woman of the 21st century.