Reining in The Lust.

Like everyone else… I suffer from techno-lust. I just don’t talk about it all the time.

I have all the gadgets that I could have possibly wanted, but thingamajigs get… boriiiiinggg. And old………. and not as prettyyyyy as time goes by.

I have a Macbook Pro circa 2007 – 1 more year before the Applecare wears off. I do kind of like the new unibody ones. With shiny glossy screen (which I actually don’t like) and stuff like that. Wooooot.

I have a Canon 300D entry-level DSLR which is 2nd hand. I want a 450D (or the new 500D, but that is another blog post altogether)!!!

I have a Sony Ericsson K630i. A basic, functional phone but it keeps dying on me. But it doesn’t have a QWERTY keyboard like the Nokia E71. Nor the fun factor of an iPhone. I would like something good to surf the WWW on.

I have a few-months-old Holga which is a gift… but I am looking at the Diana +. Insatiable, huh.

I have an iPod Nano… the 2nd generation in Product (RED). It still works wonderful! I still like it a lot more than the current ones, but the curvy new ones are pretty also lah I seldom use my iPod now that I have my BarfMobile but I have a FM transmitter to play music through it.

I have a car. It’s purty, but the speakers are teh suxxorz. I would like a new Head Unit (with red lights) that can play MP3s off a thumbdrive, like how Jeffwee’s HU does. And I want nicer, bassier sound. Damn.

I have so many things that I love but I want them newer, shinier, prettier. If this is not lust, I don’t know what is.

OCD is For Free! OCD is For You and Me!.

I am slightly obsessive compulsive over certain things, during certain times of the year/month/week, but most often than not, sometimes that OCDness never happens at all… and The Nua Machine takes over. And like I’ve mentioned before, The Nua Machine is powerful. Do not mock The Nua Machine’s prowess.

When the OCDness happens, I am somewhat too eager to clean things up.

Be it wiping the dust off the shelves (it’s happening a little less often as the other kinds of clutter in my life build up), or arranging the spare room so that it doesn’t look like a tornado just went through it (I have lots of stuff from my CWS involvement), or rearranging my browser’s Bookmarks folder… there’s just too much clutter in my life to clear up.

One of the darn places that the clutter builds up most efficiently would be the strategically placed dining table in the living room. It’s got a good size, it’s right smack in the middle of everything… the kitchen, the TV, the cats’ litter boxes, the power socket…

It’s just nice for my laptop, and some CWS paperwork, and some new mail (opened and unopened ones), and some envelopes that I salvaged from all the stupid paper snail mail (especially bills) I get, and then some articles of clothing, and some cables here and there, and… yes, clutter is most efficient when you can’t catch up with it.

So one weekend I rearranged the layout of the spare room, before we fostered Oreo and Pocky – there was barely space to walk. Shifted the sofa bed, the heavy Ikea cupboard’s position, cleaned out some boxes of junk, shifted the computer tables… and voila! Walking space! Suddenly the room opened up its spaciousness quite nicely.

Another weekend I sat down and stuffed CWS paperwork in one of the hardest to use clear folder in history – and that was bought in Toyogo. The pockets were stuck together and there’s almost no way of opening the pockets except to use some brute strength and sheer stubbornness. So I managed to stuff many many sets of printed material into the clear folder, sorted out lots of pieces of other paper stuff into the plastic document cupboard (also from Toyogo)… and I realised that with all the paper and plastic in that room – I am not that environmentally-friendly after all. Dammit.

One of the most productive weekends was spent clearing out our storeroom, even though it wasn’t to be Chinese New Year in a long time. Satisfaction aside, we managed to de-clutter, clear out space to make more space for big bags of cat litter. Yay.

So yesterday, my OCDness happened. And I transferred the CWS shared folder from our original host (not everyone is FTP savvy and all, so it’s hard to upload stuff even though downloading stuff was OK) to DropBox which offers a really nifty piece of freeware for you to sync files offline and online. They also offer a generous 2GB of storage which was much better than others out there, but most important of all, its interface is rather intuitive.

Anyway, so I transferred the files over, and then did quite a bit of an overhaul. I am the do-er sort. Not the talk and talk and nothing happens sort. So DO I did. I deleted duplicate files, rearranged files into folders, renamed some of the confusing filenames, sent invites out to the committee and hope people respond…

It was good. At least something was actually done. And not sitting there waiting for something to happen. I hope this would boost our efficiency a little bit more. Phew!

Apart from that… I de-clutter my dining table every once in a while, especially when the tabletop disappears from sight… and that would be my cue to fight The Nua Machine and start packing.

*looks at the giant pile of laundry waiting to be folded* But that would have to wait. Until tonight, maybe.

Mini Mahjong Hur Hur.

Hurhurhurhuhruhurhruhrur…

*wiggle eyebrows*

Lomo Lomo Lomo.

I have somewhat reloaded my interest in lomography. But it is proving to be an expensive hobby. I now have a Holga with color flash (a gift from Janise) and barely finished the roll of medium format Fuji Velvia film…

*looks at bank account*

I guess I should shoot slowly ba.

*looks at Cybersampler with 3-year-old film halfway shot*

GROAN.

I Want To Swim!.

But it’s raining, yet again.

I was intending to do a long, slow swim by myself.

Now what?

p/s Do you know we can’t use the finger paddles in public pools? KNN!!!

OMGWTF Mii Channel Earworm!!!.

For those who have played with the Nintendo Wii and took the chance to create their own Mii (avatars on Wii Sports) would have heard of this track playing in the background. Especially during the Mii Parade… this frigging earworm just doesn’t get out!!!

The original

This could just be as classic as the Mario theme song… no?

Here’s a jazzy piano rendition.

Man this sounds like Hawaiian beachy feely to me.

I have this as my ringtone (remember you saw this here first at my blog – just in case this thing becomes a classic). Come to think of it, I really appreciate good game music. Or movie music scoring. Hmm.

Another Monday.

Just in case you were not aware, we have been fostering 2 kittens at our place for around 3 weeks or so… and happy to say, both of them were adopted! The male with mitted paws is Oreo, and the female is Pocky

For those looking to adopt cats/kittens/meowsies, do head over to the Public Adoptions Bulletin at the Cat Welfare Society website. =)

::

Not that I am complaining… but erm… I find July too long a wait to get to Hong Kong.

Am looking at a few places for a short trip out, sometime in May, perhaps. He will be away for reservist in April so that month’s sorta out.

So it would be… Sibu Island, Batam or… nowhere. =(

*thinking*

About 82% Burnt Out… and Going….

I am trying my best to keep this running. But so many nights I spent looking at the inbox and hoped nothing really concerned me and I didn’t have to rush to try to get it attended to asap. I wished I could clear that damned inbox for once.

Weeks away before I am officially handed the reins to this wild, prancing horse and take on a much heavier task. I have problems saying “no” and I am sure some people see that weakness in me… and then they exploit it, for a lack of a better word.

I take it on, thinking it’s for a good cause… and then I somewhat resent having people call me at odd times of the day… like when I am driving in the peak hour traffic, or having my lunch.

The result? I am getting burnt out, but I feel a deep sense of responsibility to work it out, no matter what. I promised, hence I have to fulfill it, despite the challenges.

I hope I emerge from this stronger, and much more capable. But I seriously need a break.

Why is it people still exploit my inability to say “no, I can’t and I won’t”?

Gosh. So tired.

Simi Car?.

We were having a conversation in my car today and a question struck me.

If we were both to sell our cars in future and combine our powers together to get 1 good car that we can afford… what car would it be?

His car is about $58k and mine about $43k. That works out to around $90k as a budget.

Thing is, we are so happy with our cars, there’s no other out there that catches our attention. Of course, don’t talk about the GTRs and the Audi A8s or what lah. Let’s just talk about those within our budget.

He likes the Honda Integra (which spells Bengzmobile for me). I like the Copen. Both are within the price range, I presume.

But those are not the most practical cars to own, in all fairness.

I am slanted towards Japanese makes for their fuel economy. He is slanted towards sportier makes.

But one thing is clear – the development of alternative energy would affect our choices, that’s for sure. If fuel cell technology improves by leaps and bounds, I supposed that would affect the decision making process by quite a bit!

I mean, if hydrogen becomes easy and efficient to produce (without adding on to the extraction process which in turn will cause more global warming bla blas), combustion with oxygen in the air will produce… water!

It’s still a dream for me to be able to drive such a car. Much more than the Prius, actually. Hmm.

But for now, I am sticking to my tiny R1

Running Away, I Want.

I have just booked our cheaaaaap air tickets to Hong Kong… and now I am looking at a trip to Italy… from the north, to the south.

This would take place some time next year end, I hope. If all goes well, of course.

I am also looking at Ferrari rentals for my boy, just let him have the feeeeeeling of driving sports car one day

But not cheap wor. The deposit (according to one of the sites) is a good 10,000 Euros… *faint*

So maybe that is not doable.

Dammit.