Category Archive: consumerism

Phone honeymoon period

I’m reminded of that cell phone commercial that used to be on TV describing the lifespan of a person’s relationship with his or her cell phone. First there’s that phase where the new phone is perhaps the best thing in the whole wide world. At this point the consumer is absolutely enamoured with the phone. In a few years, by the end of the contract, the phone is no longer the latest and greatest thing. All of the love that the person had is turned into general hate. At the end of the commercial the woman with the old phone just throws it into a lake. Well, with the cell phone that I picked up in March 2008 I could relate. You know, it was an awesome phone. I kind of feel like it still is. In about a year or two from when I purchased it, the camera stopped functioning properly. I cursed the many times when I wanted to take a picture of something but simply couldn’t. At some point I took to tweeting things via text. I regretted the fact that I couldn’t see any responses up until I got home or to another computer. I eventually got mildly jealous of people I hung out with that had a smartphone and could do things like have Twitter conversations or do quick research online. All of these things aren’t necessarily deal breakers on their own, but eventually in time I just wanted a change.

For months I just patiently waited for my contract to run down so that I could take advantage of any huge discounts on a new phone. For the longest time I wanted the Motorola Milestone because I wanted a phone with a full-on QWERTY keyboard. I wasn’t a big fan of soft keyboards. In my mind I always thought they were just inaccurate or too fiddly to work with. Soon, news of the Milestone 2 was coming out and I thought that I wanted to wait for that thing. I counted out any of the iPhones because somehow I figured that they were far too trendy for my self-image. Silly, I know. I didn’t want a Blackberry either because I felt that they were slowly losing popularity. I also associated them far too much with work. Now, one of my running friends was talking about how she picked up the new HTC Desire and how she was enjoying it. I asked about the lack of a hard keyboard and she told me that it wasn’t an issue. Then, I figured that the lack of hard keyboard hasn’t prevented the iPhone from becoming really popular. In the end I decided to go after the HTC Desire.

At the point where I started looking for that particular phone, it was actually out of stock at all TELUS stores. Apparently it was so popular that there was just no longer available until HTC sent out new units. Luckily my running friend’s husband worked at a TELUS store and kept me updated. Last Thursday, when I heard that the store would have five new units in stock, I went over to the mall and waited for things to arrive. Yeah, it was a little bit obsessive to pounce on the thing like that, but I didn’t want to miss out. Well, the early bird caught the worm and now I have the new phone. I’ve been playing around with it for a week, and I’m really happy with it. I have a feeling things will change in a few years, but for now I’m enjoying this phone honeymoon period.

Off the ground

This was probably on a whim, but I stopped by a store that I never would have stepped into and purchased one of those doorway pull up bar things. You always see ads for those three-month fitness programs on TV (you know the ones I’m talking about). One in particular seems to make use of pull ups as part of the program. After poking around online and reading about the benefits of pull ups I decided that I wanted to give pull ups a shot myself. Heh. I was under no illusions that I’d even be able to do one. I mean, my upper body strength isn’t all that great. I didn’t want to get a bar that would have to be mounted permanently anywhere, so I specifically went for the one that I can stash away when not in use. After a bit of a messy assembly experience I hanged the thing on my door frame, grabbed on, got my feet off the ground, and pulled as hard as I could. I think I managed to raise myself an inch but that was all I could muster. Well, hey, at least I’m in the majority. It’s probably safe to say that the majority of people can’t do one either.

Instead of being disappointed, I took to YouTube to look up how various people do assisted or beginner’s pull ups. One of the more popular methods is to use a chair to alleviate some of the body weight. The point is not to use the legs to push the body up to meet the bar; you’re still supposed to use the arms to pull yourself up to the bar. From what I read, it’s the easiest (HA!) way to build up the strength to the point where you’re can do at least one unassisted. So, I took a nearby stepping stool and propped it under the bar. I got myself into position and pulled myself up. Yes, absolutely, assisted pull ups are much easier. Though, I wonder, is the support making them far too easy? I don’t know. Anyway, after seeing where my abilities were, I’ve decided to make it a small goal of mine to get to the point where I no longer need assistance to do a pull up. Might take a long while, but if I have a persistence and patience I’ll be able to do it.

I think.

The nugget

You know, as I was writing last night’s post, I actually fell asleep on my couch. It was the first time I’d done so in a few weeks because I didn’t really want to fall asleep in a location with the possibility of the cat crawling all over my face. I had a lot more to write about my experience with the cat, but I just didn’t get around to it before passing out. So I suppose this post is really just a continuation.

So, a few days ago I wrote about how I seemed to be swaying back and forth over whether to help my friend out and make my place Gloria’s forever-home. There was one incident though that kind of sealed the deal for me. Bear with me, this is a bit of a winding story.

On Thursday, I took advantage of a sale at Leon’s. I’ve been in need of a proper TV stand for a long time now. On Thursday Leon’s put this credenza on sale. It’s regularly $700, and for that day only it went for $350! That’s insane! I took the subway over to the local store and asked for that item. They said that they didn’t have it in stock at that location, but if I was willing I could go to another location to pick it up. I asked if it was something that could fit in my car and he told me it could. I really didn’t want to spend $50 for delivery. Anyway, I reserved the item, paid, then went to the other location. I parked at the customer pick-up area. I got them to bring the stand out. When they opened the loading door to my car the guys could only laugh in disbelief. “Umm…sir, there’s no way that unit can fit in your car.” I laughed along and agreed. Well, fuck. Luckily they had some movers on hand. They agreed to deliver the stand for the $50 fee. I mean, at that point I already had my heart set on getting my stand on the same day, so I just decided to pay for convenience. There was no way I’d have been able to get that stand any other way anyway.

So, when we arrived at my building they loaded it in the elevator and brought it up. When I opened my suite, it was hot and humid. It was also filled with the smell of some cat odour. Privately, I was mortified. I just got them to drop off the stand near the doorway. I didn’t want them to spend much time in there. I paid them and went on to get the stand set up. Before I did though, I decided to go hunting for the source of the smell. I checked around the box but didn’t find any puddles, and the litter box wasn’t particularly ripe. I mean, I cleared that sucker out on a daily basis. I didn’t find anything, so I just opened my balcony door to air my place out. So, I unpacked the new stand, moved it next to the old one and started transferring things over. After doing so I had to move the old stand out of the way. When I did, I finally found the source of the odour. There was a stray nugget of poo that must have been there for a few days. Gross! See, a few days before that she seemed to have accidentally shovelled out a turd. I think she tried to shuffle it around and hide it. In the process it must have broke into three pieces. That same day I picked up two pieces without knowing of the existence of this third piece. Anyway, I nonchalantly picked up this third piece and flushed it. Almost immediately the air quality started improving. That was pretty much the turning point for me. If I come home worrying about how my place smells and whether guests might experience some odd smells on arrival, then that’s just not right.

I didn’t treat Gloria poorly on her remaining days here. I still pet her and brushed her. We really took a liking to each other. Still, I just couldn’t keep up with the cleaning needed to keep her around. I have enough trouble keeping the place tidy on my own. The cat was just adding to the problem. Plus, she helped me to identify what my tolerance levels were. It became pretty clear that I don’t really have a good tolerance for messes that aren’t my own, know what I mean? I think I’ve determined that I’m not really a pet person. See, on emotional terms I’m great with pets; I can form bonds pretty easily. On a practical level, I just can’t deal with the upkeep. It doesn’t make me a bad pet owner, just someone that shouldn’t keep pets. Gosh, does that make sense?

Obviously, I’m sad that it had to come to end like this. Surely, part of me wishes that it could have worked out. All the same, I’m happy that I have my place to myself. I do enjoy my solitude you know. It’ll take a while before my place feels normal again. All I need is time.

Winfield

I knew that both Sears and The Bay were having a luggage sale going on so it was my intention to pick one of these places and go hunting. It just happened that I got to Sears first. When I got to the luggage area, my eye was immediately drawn over to this red shiny thing. Like I said yesterday my goal was to buy a carry-on sized piece that wasn’t flashy, but cool-looking. I wanted to make sure that it was something that suited my personality. That’s probably why my eye caught this dark red, which is still one of my favourite colours. When I took a look I noticed the brand was Samsonite. That kind of caught me off guard because I knew that brand name–I just totally forgot that they dealt in luggage. I kept poking around and spotted the Heys luggage. Unfortunately Sears didn’t carry the Canadian flag design. There sure was a heck of a lot of leopard print and polka dots. Definitely interesting choices if you’re looking to make a statement, I guess. I didn’t really like the matte finish on them, so in the end I chose the Samsonite. At the cashier’s station I scratched one of their Scratch & Save cards. For luggage the discounts went from 50% to 80%. I was hoping for something big, but I only got 50%. All things considered, that’s still a good discount, isn’t it?

Anyway, I’m happy with this purchase. It really rolls around pretty easily. It’s good enough for a small business trip. The shininess might wear off as it gets nicked and scuffed, but overall it looks sturdy. In the end that’s all that matters.

Luggage hunting

I guess it’s obvious that I don’t travel all that much–after all I don’t have my own luggage. Actually, no, the lack of travel isn’t exactly true. After all, I’ve had trips to Japan, Phoenix, and New York. In terms of luggage I’ve always borrowed from my parents. No big deal, right? Well, now I’m stuck having to travel and I don’t have anything to carry any stuff with me. So, tomorrow I’m going shopping for a carry-on. At this point I’m kind of partial to Heys Luggage, if only because they advertise all over the place. Yeah, I don’t know what other options are available. Have you seen the one emblazoned with the Canadian flag? Fancy stuff. I kind of covet it, but am I willing to carry something that flashy? What kind of impression do I want to make when I’m visiting the client. Hmm…

Anyway, I’m going to venture downtown tomorrow to check out my options. Hopefully I’ll be able to find something that’s cool and fits my personality without being all ostentatious. I’m determined to make a good impression.

Do I really need it?

Earlier today I met up with a friend to check out the local Costco. My big intention for heading there was to pick up a duvet. In my condo, overnight I turn down the thermostat to about 62°F (16-17°C) in order to conserve energy. Despite being under a heavy blanket, I usually find myself chilly, especially during nights when the winds are out of control. So, I decided that I should graduate to having a duvet. I’d never had one in the past, so it never really crossed my mind. It wasn’t until I had read up on them that I thought, why the heck don’t I have one of those? Scandanavians seem to use them all the time. Why not us here?

So, over in Costco we just started out by wandering around the aisles, looking around and pawing at the merchandise. It’s such a mad house in there. So many shoppers! Through the food aisles we had good laughs at the container sizes of each thing. Is there really a need for a 3.78L (1 gallon) container of Miracle Whip? How about like…2.5 kilos of tuna in one can? I suppose there is a need if you have a big family. Where does that leave single people like us though? There’s absolutely no need for us to be in there, right? At least, that’s what I thought until I saw some decent prices for the non-food stuff. I had to control my urges to buy things that I didn’t really mind. For example, I saw a great price for the Garmin Forerunner 305. I have a 205 and I use that in conjunction with a Polar F6 heart rate monitor. When I run, I wear both watches. I might look like a fool but they get the job done. A 305 would combine both, and provide the ability to graph all of the info together. I told myself that I was perfectly fine with the two watches, so I just moved on. Walking through Costco is truly an exercise in restraint. I constantly have to ask: do I really need it?

I did make it out with my Queen-sized duvet, however I also bought some clothes and a Wii game, so…yeah…I didn’t do I great job staying on task. Pity. Tomorrow I’ll go hunting for a duvet cover. I’ll be able to stay warm tonight, but at the expense of a lighter wallet.

*sigh*

The case for Boxing Day from home

I’ve been sitting on the couch just relaxing on the chaise part of the sectional, napping, listening to music, and catching up on reading. It’s been that kind of day. I’ve skipped out on battling against the crowds on the hunt for Boxing Day goodies, mostly because I don’t have the stomach for that kind of thing. Instead, I’ve been living vicariously through people on my Twitter feed who’ve been sending short missives to the universe about being catty to people trying on ill-fitting clothing. Yeah, just think, I missing all that! Right. Though, that’s not to say that I’m missing out on the deals entirely. A lot of places have been posting some good deals on their online stores. I’m sure there would probably be deeper cuts in person, but I’m all right with it. I mean, if it means I can shop from home where it’s warm and I don’t have to bring out my inner Mars aggression just to get a parking spot, then great. Actually, Best Buy posted their Boxing Day deals on Christmas Eve. So, while I was over at my parents’ place I was perusing the goods from this laptop. I ended up ordering an HDMI cable, a Bluetooth headset, and an iPod dock/clock radio all at decent discounts. If I’m in the mood to brave the stores in person, the 26th isn’t the only day to do so. These discounts tend to last for a few days anyway, right?

Anyway, to all of you that went out to get something, what did you get? Were the crowds out of control? Was it worth the effort?

Guess what arrived?

Yesterday, I was watching that UPS tracking page like a hawk. I mean, when I made my order for the laptop the online store provided me with a tracking number and every day I clicked on the link looking for some good news. While I was at work, I’m sure I was getting a little neurotic about hitting the refresh button every hour or so. See, I made the mistake of having the order delivered to my home address instead of work. So, I was hoping to keep an eye on the status to see when the package was on the truck. That way I could hustle over back home and be ready to receive it. At the end of the work day there was no update to the page except for the bit saying that it was at the last station before going out. I thought there would be no worries, and that I could just work from home and receive it. Well, when I got home I saw a notice on the door indicating that the UPS people came by but no one was available to receive it. Curses! What the hell was that? Of course, it really didn’t change anything in terms of receiving the package on the next available day. However, I was frustrated knowing that I could have had it a day earlier. It’s not my fault though: they didn’t update that damn status page.

Anyway, the UPS site says that for residential locations deliveries can happy any time between the period of 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. Hold up…step back for a moment. Look at that time range. That’s a 10 hour window! What the hell is that? I’m lucky in that I’m able to work from home, but what about other people? Seems somewhat unreasonable to me, you know? So, I was up and plugging away at work from my couch from 9 a.m. It’s wasn’t a bad thing. I reckon I got a large amount of work done. Still, by 4 p.m., without any news of an imminent delivery I was starting to get antsy. I had a scheduled run this evening and I was questioning whether I was going to make it or not. Well, finally at 5:30 I got a call from the front door to my cell. The UPS guy finally made it in. Yeah, I’ll be honest, it was all I could do to just remain calm and under control. Upon opening the box I felt like I was a kid at Christmas. I was disciplined enough though to know that it needed a good charge before usage. So, I plugged it in and went for my run. And since my return I’ve been playing around with it and setting things up. This blog entry is actually my first from the MBP. Hopefully there will be at least a thousand more from here.

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