Finally decided not to continue with my subscription of the Straits Times into 2010, because hip-hip-hurray, i discovered I didn't sign up for two years' subscription. Just one. While the $332 I will save isn't a large sum, I am making an effort not to waste money on needless consumption.
I no longer read the paper from end to end; the classified ads plus all the pages with the display ads are usually discarded first thing be4 I even get to the news.
I no longer read from end to end, because there are so many alternative sources of information as well as alternative distractions. Also, as an ordinary citizen, I've no need to know everything whether world news or local news in detail.
I hate not finishing the paper daily and have developed the habit of holding back sections to read more closely when I find the time. However I never seem to find enough time and/or interest to complete reading yesterday's, last month's, or last half-year's news.
A friend told me she's just begun to read her July papers; not because she's been away but because she never manages to catch up with the papers that are delivered. She steadfastly refuses to read current news until she finishes the backlog!
She's the opposite of my mother, who refuses to let go of her Zaobao till she's gone thru all the pages. Then she never looks at them again because "who wants to read old news?"
I have neither of their discipline. I just scan, read fully here and skip there. Then when I go over the old papers piling up, I just pick them up randomly. Hence I've got papers from April, August and many from September and October. With the year coming to the end, most will go unread.
Next year, i won't be bugged by the weight of old half-read or unread newspapers. Or have good shelf space taken up. And should the desire to hold a paper in my hand creep up on me, I can always assuage that with a quick leap to the petrol station next door and pick up that day's paper
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