The rented experience

It's a critical question to answer: which of your experiences do you want to be so ongoing, so permanent, and so personalized that you would rather buy the experience then rent it?

Let me set the context and how this thought emerged in my mind. On a recent trip to NYC sponsored by my lovely employer I stayed over in a nice apartment in downtown Manhattan. The 21st floor apartment balcony had a clean view of WTC 1 on one side and the Hudson river on the other. My 28th floor office seat had a view of the Hudson and statue of liberty. Great experience, but would I be ready to buy it? I don't think I need it that badly.

Each time we walk into a hotel, a restaurant we are fulfilling a need on rent basis. Why not get the hotel interior decorator do your home? Why not hire the restaurant chef? Renting is so cheap.

To the extent that the company "Rent the runway" runs on the concept of renting desired expensive dresses for a night.

Is there another idea hidden there? Or have we explored all frontiers? The major expenses that one needs to meet are:

For children: apparel, toys, education, sports and hobby equipment and tuitions

For independent earner (like self): apparel, food, transportation, home, marriage, entertainment

For the elderlies: health care

In today's world, while you need to build your own relationships and work hard to keep them intact, everything else is available on rent. An asset light model of living your life can really provide you with expensive experiences which are shared by many to keep the price in check.

I still wonder, is there any thing that one needs to spend there own time on? If there is at all, concierge services are there to solve for them too. Though, this one has really not reached the masses. You still end up calling one guy to fix a/c, another to fix your running tap and third one to renew your passport and forth one to book your gas. Only if all of this could come under one umbrella, life would be simpler!

Along came NYC!

This blog entry has the perfect potential to be a photo blog. Hopefully, the blogger app will post the selected photos.

Since, photos speak for themselves I will keep the narrative short.

View from office on 28th floor of 200 Vesey street. Plane flying over the Hudson between Jersey city and Manhattan with statue of liberty state park in the back ground and hoisting the GEICO advertisement. 

A day that started with amazing blue berry pancakes at Compton's pan cake house in Strasbourg. Ended at Ricketts Glenn state park in Pennsylvania.

A 7.2 mile beautiful hike. Laced with beautiful waterfalls.

A very helping SP who would always volunteer to group people taking photographs and would offer his skills. The formula was to take 3 photographs from different angles! Ever connecting attitude that involved chats with a couple dating for about an year, a uber taxi driver from Uzbekistan and a couple who dated for 25 years before getting married, have been married for 25 years and have come to picketts Glenn state park each year for the last 20 years.

A wonderful cabin park that gave us last minute shelter. A system that works in the desolated place to provide you hot water.

A night that is going to end with a good night with insect chirping in the back ground and body needing massage after a long hike.

So long!