Santa, are you listening? ...oh wait, too late! Darn!

I want an iPhone4. Gahhh after all these years I have finally succumbed to The Lure. But I am refusing to buy myself one because I know I don't really need it. It's just that it would make certain things (like finding particular SMSes) more convenient, and... well, okay, I admit it. It's 'cool'. Gahhhh. I can't believe I just said that.

People constantly say we're living in a consumerist society but I never realised the full truth of that statement till I bought my netbook last month. See, with my PC, I bought the various parts and had them assembled, so I could get the specs I want. But with the netbook, I simply wanted something functional that I could use for word processing.

I walked into the store and was instantly bombarded with prices and specs lists: For RM800 you get this, but if you add another RM100 you can get something with a slightly faster processor perhaps, and if you add RM200 to that you can get something with a slightly bigger screen that would be easier to see, and so on so forth. It never ends! First you think: "Oh, what's RM100? That's little enough, I might as well get the better model" and then you think, "If I'm going to add RM100, I might as well add RM200; after all, I want this thing to last me for at least 2 or 3 years" and then before you know it, your RM800 purchase has turned into an RM1,500 purchase (and you get a full laptop instead of a little netbook!). The temptation to "upsize" simply never goes away.

The hell of it is that it's so easy to get sucked in. We all want bigger, better, faster, stronger. Why not, right? We are taught "you get what you pay for" (or, as Malaysians say, "Good thing no cheap, cheap thing no good"). And if all you have to do is add RM1 for a large value meal, or RM100 for a netbook with a slightly faster processor... well, why not?

My parents would be truly delighted to know all their years of brainwashing *cough* training have paid off. The reason I can't bring myself to buy an iPhone is because I know I don't need it. In the same way, I don't think I truly need to be connected to the Internet 24/7, and getting an iPhone without a data plan seems to defeat the purpose. I WANT it though. Oh, how I want it!

Price tags speaketh louder than words

The most expensive thing in my new apartment will be the custom-made 12' x 8' bookcase, which is estimated to cost RM3,200. The second most expensive thing is my new queen-sized mattress, which cost RM2,500. I think you can see where my priorities lie :p

Thirty thankful thoughts: The beginning

I sort of quit reading blogs three years ago (at about the same time that all my blogs died a sudden and most untimely death), but one of the very few bloggers that I still read on and off is John Scalzi. He's a science fiction writer -- I have some of his books but haven't read them, as is the case with 80% of my books :p

His blog is not about his books, however. At least, not primarily. I like it because when I read it, I get a glimpse of the person behind the books. In fact, I bought his books because of his blog: I thought, "This guy has a great sense of humour -- I bet his books must be interesting! I only wish I could write like he does!"

For the month of November, he's writing about the things he's grateful for -- focusing on one thing each day. Personally, I feel inspired after reading them, and think I might try something similar. I really, really wish I could write like him.

Coming through!

I have come to the conclusion that I am constitutionally incapable of driving slowly.

The other day the weather was good, highway traffic was clear and I was in no particular hurry. I told myself, "Self, let's take a leisurely drive back." I tried VERY HARD to keep to 90kph but it was tough going. So much so that after 10 minutes, I said to myself, "Self, sod it," and zoomed the rest of the way home at 160kph.

Also, in the city, you are TOO SLOW if:

(a) You are in front of me
(b) You are in the fast lane
(c) There are no other cars in front of you for at least two to three car lengths
(d) You are doing less than 100kph.

MOVE IT ALREADY, or get out of my way!

I am not impatient (or at least I don't consider myself to be) and I don't get angry and yell or curse at other drivers -- heck, I hardly even honk and almost never flash my headlights at the car in front, except on the 3-lane PLUS Highway -- but really I cannot understand oblivious drivers who block the whole road!

Colour conundrum

"Here, you can choose the pattern you want for the bathroom door." The contractor handed me what looked like a bar with several different coloured plastic squares.

As I stared at it, he said, "You don't need to decide now. In fact, you should probably decide on your wall and door colours first so that you can order a bathroom door that will match your general decor." Then he gave me the paint catalogue: A thousand shades.

A thousand!

"Choosing a shade of paint for the house is like trying to win the lottery," I joked to my colleague. "What if you finish painting and then decide you don't like the colour after all?!"

I want the living room to be a pale purple, my bedroom to be light blue and the rest of the house to be soft cream.

Me: "Do you have any colour preference for your room?"

Mr TDH: "Anything is fine by me."

Me: "Okay, I'll paint your room pink."

Mr TDH: "I'm moving out!"

2011: The year of firsts

Over the weekend, I bought a netbook. To use for writing my Master's thesis.

When (if?) I have kids, I'll be telling them, "Your mother didn't have mobile computing and Internet access until she was 33!" I never had a laptop coz I never felt I had a need for one; with a desktop in the office and a desktop at home I figured I had all bases covered. After all, I'm not some big-shot businessman who travels all over the world and needs to work on the go.

So, 2011: The year I got both an iPod Touch (first ever Apple product!) and a netbook.

Oh, and the year I bought an apartment.

Man, this practically makes it a LANDMARK YEAR!

The unnecessary post

Some days I think I am single-handedly keeping MPH afloat. I know, I know, I have inflated ideas of my own importance.

Speaking of which, a colleague handed me a copy of the July 2011 Reader's Digest. It was meh. I grew up reading RD and used to love reading it primarily for the funnies, not just Laughter, the Best Medicine and All in a Day's Work, but also the little snippets at the end of most articles. These days there's hardly anything, and a lot of the jokes aren't even amusing, let alone funny.

I'm also not sure I like the skew towards more articles about people or events based in Asia. Trying too hard to be relevant, perhaps. The stories aren't even gripping or as poignant as they used to be, and I zoomed through the whole book in about an hour or so.

Now with the Internet, there is so much more to read, and just no time to read it all. The Internet is good for short write-ups, but I like lying in bed with a book, and however much Mr TDH champions digital readers, I still prefer reading the printed word. There is something about reading things on a screen that make them seem a lot more "flat" to me. Perhaps it's just unreasonable prejudice.

The reason why I don't post often is because I write a post like this one and then think about how I'm adding to the vast sum of stuff to be read on the Internet, and how this is just going to suck up 3 minutes of some poor, unsuspecting soul's time (5, perhaps, if he's a slow reader) -- 3 minutes he'll never be able to get back again. He won't be any the worse for not having read this, and he won't be any the better for having done so, either. The futility of it all gets me. As it is, I am also spending 10 minutes pounding this out when I could be reading something inspiring, moving, amusing or thought-provoking.