Something There is That I Love about Bottled Water

I don't have a logical reason for loving bottled water; I am sensible enough to know that my tap water probably tastes pretty much like bottled water, yet I wouldn't know because I never drink it (but must have a sense of its taste since I brush my teeth with it). My affair with bottled water began several years ago when I lived in a house whose water came from a well, and it was the sort of "hard" water that was chock full of minerals and was literally the color of rust from the tap. It was the sort of water that was undrinkable, and so I began to buy bottled water. Ever since, I have consumed bottled water.

I know it might seem wasteful, considering how tap water is already purified and cheap, but drinking bottled water is a habit I cannot break. So, my favorite bottled water? (Yes, they taste different -- don't mock me.) Fiji water. Something about the bottle itself is what attracts me; I am a sucker for pretty packaging. I like the square shape and the blue cap, and pretty tropical landscape depicted on the label -- makes me feel like I'm in Fiji (a place my stepmother, the only person I know who's ever been to Fiji, swears is heaven on earth). It also so happens that Fiji water is one of the more expensive brands of water, a fact that does not escape my husband. He accuses me of being snobbish about certain things, and I suspect that he thinks I purposely seek out the most expensive products. Because of its price, I rarely buy Fiji water; in fact, I usually only buy it when I go to the bookstore; I figure it's part of my treat and part of the experience of being in the bookstore (a sort of heaven on earth for me).

Yesterday when I was at the bookstore (buying a copy of "Pride and Predujice" -- I just watched the new movie version and loved it so much I wanted to re-read the book, and when I got home I realized I already had a copy, probably the same copy I read when I read the book the first time, but it's okay; my new copy is very pretty and I am remembering how much I loved the book the first time around), I got a bottle of Fiji water, and not just the half liter; no, I splurged and bought the full liter. I, of course, re-fill water bottles from the large bottle in the fridge until I deem the bottle grody or probably grody, and I always recycle; I'm not that wasteful. I know that refilling it with generic bottled water doesn't mean I'm drinking Fiji water with the second or third refill, but it makes me feel like I am, and that feels special.