The canvas bag sits on the chair. The bag has blue handles. The bag has a logo of a bookstore on the side. I do not read many books. I bought the bag at a shop in the city. The bag says I am a person who reads. It is a lie. I am a person who buys bags.

The bag represents a version of me. That version of me sits in a park. That version of me reads a hardback book. That version of me does not exist. I am at home. I am looking at the bag. The bag is empty.

The Anatomy of an Aspiration

I looked at a magazine. The magazine had an advertisement. The advertisement showed a group of people. The people were on a roof. The roof was in a city. The city had many lights. The people were young. The people wore thin clothes. The people laughed at something.

One person held a device. The device was small. The device was a square. The device was a footnote in the picture. The picture was about the roof. The picture was about the friends. The picture was about the feeling of being young in a city.

The advertisement did not talk about the device. The advertisement did not say what the device did. The advertisement did not list the battery life. The advertisement did not mention the flavor. The advertisement wanted me to buy the roof. It wanted me to buy the friends.

I cannot buy a roof in the city. I cannot buy those friends. I can buy the device. So I buy the device. I hold the device. I am still in my room. The roof is not here. The friends are not here. I have the receipt. The receipt is for the device. The receipt is also for the identity I wanted.

Marketing the Mood

Marketing does this to us. Marketing sells a mood. Marketing shows a man on a boat. The man wears a watch. The watch tells time. The man does not care about time. The man cares about the boat. The man cares about the water. The man cares about the wind. People see the man. People want the watch. People think the watch brings the boat. People think the watch brings the wind.

There is a number for this. One out of every 14 people who buy a rugged outdoor jacket never goes outside. These people do not stand in the rain. These people do not climb a mountain. These people go to an office. They sit in a chair.

The chair is in a building with a heater. The jacket is a costume. The jacket says the person is an adventurer. The person is actually an accountant. The person paid for the identity of an adventurer. The jacket is just the thing they had to buy to get the feeling.

The Expensive Shelf

I made a mistake once. I bought a camera. The camera was heavy. The camera had many buttons. The advertisement showed a woman in the woods. The woman found a deer. The woman took a photo of the deer. The photo was sharp.

I wanted to be a person who found deer in the woods. I bought the camera. I did not go to the woods. I did not find a deer. I did not know how to use the buttons. The camera sat on a shelf. The camera collected dust. I was not a photographer. I was a person with an expensive shelf.

The Ethos of Function

My friend Jasper K.L. is a pediatric phlebotomist. Jasper works with children. Jasper works with needles. Jasper must find a vein. The vein is thin. The vein is hidden.

“Jasper does not care about the ‘vibe’ of a needle. Jasper does not care about the identity of the needle. Jasper cares if the needle is sharp.”

— Jasper K.L., Pediatric Phlebotomist

Jasper cares if the needle is straight. Jasper cares about the function of the tool. If the needle does not work, the job does not happen. Jasper looks at the world through function. Jasper does not buy the bag. Jasper buys the thing that does the job.

I hear a door open. It is my boss. I look at my hands. I move my hands. I try to look busy. I do not want to explain why I am thinking about canvas bags. My boss walks past. My boss does not see me. I go back to the thought.

The Trick of the Neon Light

The industry for vapes does the same thing. Many brands sell a lifestyle. They show a club. They show a beach. They show a neon sign. They want you to think the device is a key. They want you to think the device opens a door to a party.

The device is plastic and metal. The device has a coil. The device has juice. The party is not inside the device. The party is a trick of the light in the advertisement.

I stopped buying the party. I started looking at the tool. When you look at the tool, you look at the facts. You look at the puff count. You look at the battery capacity. You look at the authenticity of the product. This is why I changed my approach. I look for stores that do not sell me a roof in the city. I look for stores that sell the object.

The Specs are the Truth

A store like Lost Mary Vapes is different. The store does not show me people on a boat. The store shows me the MT15000 Turbo. The store shows me the MO20000 PRO. The store lists the specs. The specs are the truth.

The MT15000 Turbo has a specific number of puffs. It has a battery that you can charge. It has a mode for more vapor. These are things the device does. These are not things the device represents.

When you buy a device because of an ad, you are buying a dream. When the dream ends, you are left with a piece of plastic. If the plastic is bad, you feel cheated. You feel cheated because the identity did not arrive. But if you buy the device for the function, you are never disappointed. You know what you bought. You bought a tool. You bought a flavor. You bought a battery.

Design Choices over Lifestyles

I look at the Nera 70K. It is a device. It has a high puff count. It is built for a specific use. It is not built to make me look like a movie star. I look at the Off Stamp. It has a battery part that comes off. This is a function. It is a clever function. It is not a lifestyle. It is a design choice.

The industry sells aspiration because aspiration is expensive. Function is cheap. Aspiration makes you pay more for the same thing. You pay for the logo. You pay for the feeling. But the feeling goes away. The feeling goes away when you put the device in your pocket. The device stays the same. The device is still just a device.

The Ghost Versions of Myself

I have a drawer. The drawer is full of things I bought for the wrong reason. There is a watch that works underwater. I do not like to swim. There is a pair of boots for the desert. I live in a place with snow. There is a notebook with thick paper. I use a computer to write.

Each thing in the drawer is a ghost. Each thing is a version of myself that I tried to buy. I stopped doing that. I look at the canvas bag on the chair. I think about taking it to the bookstore. I think about actually reading a book. But I am tired. I will stay here. I will use the things I have. I will look at the facts.

The Simple Truth of Authenticity

In the world of disposable vapes, the facts are simple. You want the product to be real. You do not want a fake device. A fake device is dangerous. A fake device does not have the right coil. A fake device has bad juice. If you buy for the identity, you might buy a fake. You are looking at the box. You are looking at the colors. You are not looking at the source.

Authenticity is the only thing that matters. A store that focuses on one brand is a store that values the object. It is a store that values the user. It does not try to sell you a new life. It tries to sell you a good product. The MT35000 Turbo is a good product because of the engineering. The VIZ 55K is a good product because of the capacity.

Jasper K.L. would agree. Jasper says that when you use a tool every day, you notice the flaws. You notice if the button sticks. You notice if the flavor changes. You do not notice the advertisement. The advertisement is gone. Only the tool remains. If the tool is good, the day is better. If the tool is bad, the day is harder.

I am learning to be like Jasper. I am learning to see the needle. I am learning to see the canvas. I am learning to see the device. I do not need a roof in the city. I do not need friends on a boat. I need a device that works. I need a store that ships the package fast. I need the package to contain the thing I ordered.

When I buy from a place that lists the specs, I am buying for the person I am. I am a person who sits in a chair. I am a person who wants a specific flavor. I am a person who wants the battery to last until the evening. This is a real person. This person has a job. This person has a canvas bag that is empty. This person is okay.

I will not buy the next identity. I will not buy the next mood. I will look at the puff count. I will look at the battery. I will look at the authenticity. I will buy the object. The object is enough. The object does not have to be a symbol. It just has to be a device.

The canvas bag is still there. I will move the bag. I will put my laundry in the bag. Now the bag has a function. Now the bag is a tool. The bag is no longer an identity. I feel better now. I am no longer lying to the chair. I am no longer lying to myself.

I have a bag for laundry. I have a device for vaping. I have the truth. It is a simple truth. It is a literal truth. It is all I need.