Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Hipster Identity

*deep breath*
Going to admit it.

I think I've become a hipster.

Most of you in the typosphere are aware of this term, as it has a direct impact on the growing costs of typewriters, so I'm not going to define it in general. However, I will clarify what I mean by it.

Where I'm from, there are different types of hipsters--and all of this is gross generalization, I know, so sorry if I offend anyone. You have the hipster hipsters, who look homeless as they sit on their Macbook Pro outside the local coffee shop. There's the drunk hipsters, who love their PBR. There's the scientists, hanging out at coffee hour, riding their 80s road bikes all over campus. And then there is the group that I feel like I belong to--and one of the more prevalent groups where I come from--the outdoors hipster.

We're the ones who drive the "outdoorsy" car--usually a Subaru, often covered with stickers from companies we by our gear from, bike or ski rack on the top, and of course, dirty, because we have to let everyone know that we do stuff outside. We wear the skinny jeans and flannel shirts and boots partially because it is stylish, and partially because it is practical. See, cool thing about skinny jeans is that they don't get caught in bike chains--because yeah, we tend to ride bikes. We do things like rock climb and ski and hike and generally enjoy being outdoors. Some enjoy their microbrews and local food, while others love the cheapness of PBR. We're all about supporting our small local businesses--coffeshops and gear shops and those quirky little bookshops that pop up in random places.

I definitely fit into that category. No, I don't exactly drive a Subaru, but the only reason that my car isn't covered in stickers is that they got lost in the move. I own and use multiple typewriters, write movies and novels, and my daily pen case carries more than one fountain pen. I ride my bike most days, but have carried a Timbuktu bag for far longer than I've been riding my bike--same for the skinny jeans too. One of the things I miss most about home are those quirky little shops--there aren't the used bookstores and stationary shops and galleries and hole in the wall restaurants here that we had at home. Same with coffeeshops. I've found one, so far, that even comes close to fitting the category of cool local place--in the middle of a shopping mall. Whole foods is mainstream, which is good, because there aren't little markets anywhere either. The guys at the gear shop here are more used to tourists than locals, you can tell that. But it's okay. I'm bringing my slight hipsterness to where I live, so that's a good thing, right?

Funny thing is hipster is one group I never really planned on fitting into, but when I think about the people back home, and look for an easy way to explain them to the people I meet, it's the one word that kinda describes us. That, and hippies, the kind that wear Chacos until the snow is deep and are proud to show up to class covered in dirt from an early morning climbing trip, and will serve you squash for dinner when you go home with them. I guess we're a weird combination of both.

And that's where we kind of aren't hipsters. We don't like things because they're ironic or do them to make a point. We do what we do, love what we love because we love it, pure and simple. I collect typewriters and fountain pens because they make me happy. I ride my bike to save gas and to exercise--I do far too much sitting on my butt lately. I eat organic produce not because it costs more or makes any sort of statement. It just lasts longer and tastes better--shopping at Whole Foods isn't a status thing for me. It mostly just keeps my body happier.

So maybe my calling myself a hipster isn't exactly true. I have the traits but it's not something that I could ever give myself fully too--I'm too much of a hippie to ever adhere to one school of thought. But, I will admit to embracing my hipster side. And, now, I'm proud of it.

11 comments:

  1. Oh good god. There's two of us.

    I better sell my outdoorsy car PRONTO!

    Oh, maybe I'm okay. We don't have a "Whole Foods" here. We just order from Farm Fresh Organics. Its different, right?

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  2. I love this post, because it shows how pointless that label is. By the way, don't you need to switch that badge from Participant to Winner now?

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    1. Hehe you can have a lot of fun with it as a label. The other fun part about saying I kinda fit into that category is it gives me unlimited ability to make fun of other hipsters. You know, you can rag on your own social group, but if you mess with others, it may not be considered in good form?

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    2. Oh, and thanks for reminding me to change the badge! :)

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  3. Damnit, you're worse than I! You seriously buy your stuff straight from the farm? Like who the hell do you think you are?

    Yup, you should sell the Nissan. (funny enough--googled to try and find out which typospherian you are and a post that involves a Nissan comes up.) Wait, no, don't sell the Nissan. Nissans are awesome, almost as awesome as old school Toyota Hiluxes.

    Yeah, no clue where I'm going with this...

    So yeah.

    Let us reign in our awesomeness.
    Wow. Too much study not enough climbing makes me really strange...

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    1. This should have been in reply to Scott...

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    2. That's okay.... You googled me? Were you horrified?

      Just for reference sake... This is the Nissan -
      http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5WdDjSR4WVY/UBJZq_-rZBI/AAAAAAAAAdE/l2kAlnncZXQ/s1600/Blog2+car+angle+.jpg

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    3. Yees, that was the post it took me to.

      But srsly, horror? You're a fellow post apoc writer. You live in Australia. That's pretty cool.

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  4. Gee, most of the hipsters I see around town all have these turn-of-the-century (circa 1900, that is) beards and wear short-sleeved shirts with cargo shorts and sandals. Which would be fine if they were 22 years old, but a lot of them are pushing forty, and that's the sad part. They drink restrettos and/or beer. And yep, they buy up stuff like typewriters merely for the sake of doing so, or using them to write up party invitations and other pointless (there, I said it) writings.
    Thinking about it now, I suppose I possess hipster elements, but there's too much other stuff thrown in the mix, thank God, to make me truly a hipster. Like you, I like using the stuff I have. I generalise here, but it strikes me that hipsters accumulate stuff just for the sake of having it because somebody or something they read in a magazine told them it was cool.
    I too collect fountain pens and typewriters, as well as wristwatches and 35mm film cameras. I gotta stop. I, however, have been a Bond fan all my life, since before it became cool, whereas hipsters have only jumped on the Bondwagon (I should copyright that) since Daniel Craig got his Double-O.
    And I wish that I could be more like you in terms of the writing. My screenplays and short stories languish in the hard drive of this unhipsterish Lenovo laptop of mine.
    I suppose the upside is that, when they get sick of their typewriters, there'll be a flood of them on eBay...maybe going cheap.

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  5. Haha teeritz, who said most of my writing isn't stuck on my computer? I only lately have been starting to share it... There's a ton of crap. :)
    But what's wrong with cargo shorts and sandals and being forty? That sounds like a lot of the people I know. Friend of mine has a permanent chacos tan...
    And I agree about the buying stuff just because it is cool. I've never really been about that.
    Sadly, though, i don't know if they'll ebay their typewriters. They might just throw them away. :(

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    1. I bet I've got at least TWO tons of crap on my computer.
      Re; cargo shorts, sandals and being forty? Nothing wrong with it unless that's how one gets around ALL the time. Unless they live on a desert island.
      I'm still hoping that the Hipster Brigade will put their typewriters on eBay when they get sick of them...in about six months.
      Great blog you have too, by the way. I've added it to my blog list.

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