Diet

 

I’ve always thought that diets will not work for me – I love food too much! I mean, I don’t really eat a whole lot in one meal, but I cannot see myself skipping meals for the purpose of losing excess weight. Typically, that’s ok because I used to engage in a lot of activities like badminton and at least cardio workouts at the gym. In the past 2 years, however, I allowed myself to focus too much on work  – a non-physically active activity, so to speak -  that I can only shake my head at my image in the mirror. The problem is when I remove my eyes from the mirror and again sit in front of my laptop, all thoughts of getting fit fly out of the window, at least until I begin to feel something in my body that will make me worry again about being so unhealthy. Well, I haven’t even tried to read those appedex reviews to see if such pills can help.

Looks like one New Year’s resolution of mine is not working out at the moment, but I can only try to make some change. Maybe writing this here will give a little bit of a much-needed push.

Restraint

 

This is not in the very least an important feat but I thank myself for not making a big purchase today when I’m so close to doing so. I was at the Smart Store at the Mall of Asia today, trying to buy their new broadband stick called “Rocket Chic” just because I read that my area is within the 4G/HSPA+ coverage of the network – plus I can’t resist the bright pink color and the promised 12 Mbps speed. Alas, it was not available at the store so I thought, maybe I should buy an iPhone 4S just because of the recent increase in my credit card’s limit and also because I couldn’t stop thinking about the phone anyway.

I got a queue number and when I’m next bolted out the door to clear my mind and weigh the pros and cons. It didn’t help that my sister kept on pushing me to buy already (she said I ALWAYS complain about my current phone anyway), but it turned out that is what kept me from taking the plunge. When someone tells me to go do something I like, I usually begin to question my own want and the direction of my planned action. This would be easier, of course, if I have a stash of silver bars somewhere, but I don’t.

Admittedly, it’s still a question of when I’ll finally give in. But that I won this round against myself is very much appreciated – by me. I really need to be around more people. Maybe.

Backpack Hunting

 

I bought a Targus black backpack from a deals website last year, thinking that if it looks too “for-school-ish” I’ll just give it to my brother and buy myself another one. It’s very easy to be convinced by the discounts presented to you in such sites (or is it just me?). When my sister found out how much I bought it for (PhP 2,500), she told me it’s too much. (But the site said it was PhP5,000 in stores!)

So I used the backpack for my SG trip last month, hoping that it can carry my iPad and Mac as well as some clothes and a smaller bag – as my hand-carry bag. Turned out, it’s so heavy that although it has so many compartments for other stuff, all I was able to carry with it is my 13-in. Mac, iPad, and small personal necessities (passport, pen, e-tickets, wallet, etc.); I felt that anything more than that will break my back.

After we came back, even my brother is not too keen to take the bag for himself. So now I’m looking for another one in Ebay – maybe a dakine backpack that’s much lighter and hopefully not too expensive – for my upcoming trips. I’m often bad at purchasing stuff (especially online, which I enjoy doing more than actually buying in stores), so this time I think I’ll have to give it more time and research.

DVR, what?

 

Digital video recorders is not something I see in appliance stores here in the Philippines. In fact, I don’t even remember seeing one before. And I don’t wonder why. We hardly have any show that you would be too awesome to miss. Ok, maybe that’s just my own opinion and my own reason. Maybe it’s also because the majority of the population is home for primetime, when the supposedly best shows in town are being aired. Maybe it’s also because others like me stream and download foreign TV shows instead of waiting for their late broadcasts in cable channels. You don’t need to be living in metal buildings to know how to do that. I know many OFWs get their soap opera fix from online streaming sites. Oh, how far we’ve gone because of the Internet. It’s not the best thing that’s happened to me, but it’s definitely one of the better ones for more than a couple of reasons.

Insurance

 

Someone called me today about a sort of tie up between my credit card company and a leading insurance provider. She was explaining to me that with just PhP650 monthly to be billed directly on my credit card, I get full disability insurance benefits and other benefits in the event of (*knock-on-wood*) death because of sickness or unexpected events. I was seriously considering her offer, but I thought already having a somehow similar coverage with other companies, it will be impractical to maintain another one. Maybe if I understand these things better, I’ll know if I’m definitely if I’m indeed being practical or if I’m passing up an excellent offer. Well, maybe I should start reading on insurance and stuff; I don’t think it could hurt, save for a few minutes of my time.

Watch Watcher

 

I’ve been looking at a deals website because of their offer of 40% discount on two known brands of watches. So what you will do is to pay 6,000 PhP for a 10,000 PhP gift certificate that you can use to purchase any model of your choice. But I still feel it’s a bit steep a price. I don’t really spend much on accessories, jewelries especially, because I tend to lose them. Well, fortunately, I have kept my silver watch for about 3 years now, as it should be because it was a gift from my sister. But I need want to buy a new one, and I’ve been watching out for discounts and stuff in sites such as ed hardy jewelry. Maybe I’ll get lucky to find a cheap but beautiful watch one of these days.

Taking a Bite (of Apple)

You’ve heard about Apple fanatics – of Apple Inc. products, that is: iPod, iPhone, iMac, Mac, iPad, etc.; you’ve read about how impractical passionate they are about upgrading their tech even if the company comes up with new technology before you even get to fully pay, or make compensations for, your purchases. I have joined their legion in a way because I will swear by the beauty and functionality of the MacBook Pro, even if much better versions got released just 6 months after my purchase (drat!). I don’t intend to upgrade in the near future, but I’m looking at the iPad2 so that will add to my impracticality fascination about Apple products. My brother will feel bad because he’s been asking for ps3 bundles, and that won’t happen if I get the iPad2.  I’m only glad that Globe didn’t process my iPhone4 application before I lost my money interest to acquire that one.

Now I know why fellow Apple fans told me “Welcome to the dark side” when I made my first purchase. There’s no going back.

Keepsakes

 

I’ve always felt like I am bad at giving gifts, first because I’m used to shopping for myself on a rush and mostly acting on whims or on an urgent need. The past few times I had to buy gifts, they’re for babies and little kids, and although one might think that’s easier, I had to wrestle with the idea that what I found “cute” may not be so for the mothers of my receivers. But now I think I know where to look for next. Since everyone loves to keep, well, keepsakes, I think looking for baby keepsake boxes is a good way to start. I think those will be really cute gifts.

At a Loss for Words

 

I mean that title literally. I am aghast sometimes to realize that I can’t remember some words when I need them, when I know even as I am struggling to remember that they are very simple words that anyone would use in everyday conversation. Obviously, for someone who work with words on an everyday basis, it’s not a good thing. I even have this game I downloaded through the Mac App Store — it’s called WordCrasher, a kind of  a tactile word game — and I hate it when I can’t compose more than 3-letter words, under pressure regardless. Well, I don’t really expect myself to be able to come up with a word like oxyelite all the time, but at least I should go beyond “bin,” “shoe,” “tax,” etc. See what I mean?

Commuter Forever?

Here’s another plan I’m not sure will push through (see my last post): I’ve written on my 2011 planner that before this year ends, I’ll learn how to drive. I haven’t decided yet if I’ll actually buy — or even start thinking about buying — my own car. But I sure would like to enroll in a professional driving school and then I’ll take it forward from there.

When I was in high school, and not even old enough to get a student’s license,  my father tried — with emphasis on tried because looking back I realized we were both not ready then, me to learn and him to teach me about driving (we had an owner-type jeep, so if you’re familiar with that type of vehicle, you’ll know even our “wheels” probably wasn’t a good fit; do you think if I was trying to learn on a toyota rav4, that would’ve been better?). I was too eager and too daring, and my father thought it’ll come easier for me (he is a fantastic driver as far as I’m concerned). So, to cut the long story short, I learned how to control the steering wheel, accelerate, and step on the break, but not how to make smooth turns and change gears. Yeah, I didn’t really learn how to drive, and now that I’m more than old enough to try again, I’m still a bit apprehensive mainly because I’m not sure I have enough courage to go side by side with other Manila drivers. I can only imagine how scared I’d feel beside all those buses along EDSA, not to mention how I’d keep from closing my eyes while cruising a narrow and curvy overpass, or those steep paths to mall parking spaces. I don’t think even driving a volvo xc70 can make me feel safer.

Considering the price of gas these days, it seems impractical to buy a car. But getting a cab every time I need to go somewhere isn’t that much of a better option either. Of course, public transportation is the cheapest alternative, but it’s not always easy when you’re running out of time, or carrying multiple bags of groceries, or hearing about exploding buses.

I guess I’ll have to weigh the pros and cons, but I’ll deal with that later. I won’t even think about that kia rondo I saw on TV this week. I say, I’ll try to get to that driving school first, and if the experience turns out to be good for me, then it’s when I’ll seriously consider buying a car.