the accidental experiment

2007-05-26T11:08:00.000-07:00

officially, this experiment is over for me

arc here -

If I haven't already broken the rules slightly the past couple of months, I've really broken the rules this time.

I've purchased Ouendan 2.

Officially, this experiment is over for me. Like all resolutions, it started out pretty strong and just kinda petered off.

Looking back at my rules, they really weren't that harsh at all.
However, my weakness tends to be that "an awesome deal, is an awesome deal." And I would get in on it. (Save on shipping for Ouendan 2, cheap boardshorts, etc.)

Unofficially, I still don't want to give up this experiment either.

So just like the whole boardshorts thing, I'm going to subtract Ouendan 2 from my monthly allowance, which means I'll be borrowing into the next two months.

$21 - $45 = -$24

Include Month of June: -$4
Include Month of July: $16

While it was definitely fun trying to stick to the resolution, it's also officially over for me.

I will continue trying to stick to it as I go: still no purchasing of clothes, lenses and unnecessary stuff until next year.

My rules will just be real...real...lax.

2007-05-23T10:45:00.001-07:00

i'm swimming! swimming!

arc here -

i've started swimming, and i've bought some training paddles for $10.

I'm not even going to make an excuse, I wanted to get these.

Here's the kicker.

I've eBayed the board shorts I've purchased and recouped all of my cost.
I can get my 32 bucks back :D.

My spending total's back to $34.

Subtract Paddles: $24
Subtract Chai: $21

I noticed that I've been trying to hang onto my resolution, even though I'm making purchases.
I'm making slight adjustments. I'm converting the money that I saved for books and coffee for just 'purchases'.

Weak, I know.

2007-05-14T21:22:00.000-07:00

broken compromise

arc here-

Totals for monthly allotment:
$44 + $20 for april + $20 may
$84 till the end of may

subtract $48 for bryan lee o'malley's books.
with a total of $36 left.

i broke my own rule.

i bought board shorts. i didn't feel like matching alphagamma at a camp that we're going to be counselors at. to compromise, i'm taking it out of my monthly allotment.

so until the end of may, i have $4 for coffee and books.

i guess while i really don't have my priorities straight in life (i.e., vanity about matching some other dude), i'm still trying to make this resolution work.

at least i'm not springing for my $1200 17-55 f/2.8.

(p.s., sara bareilles never made it so no CD was purchased. ;_; )

2007-05-07T15:26:00.000-07:00

Proverbial Question…

arc here –

things that have happened since my last post:
-I got my Frisbee and it’s been great playing ultimate.
-I got my cleats for 35 bucks, and it’s been great playing ultimate in THE RAIN.

-I’ve decided that the nano case can wait – I’ve found a sleeve that’s suitable for it with buying anything. Yay!

-Planning on returning the water purification tablets.

To make a long story short, SNOW came in on the weekend of our Yosemite trip, so I don’t need the water purification tablets, cool deal…because that money needs to go towards…

-Another pair of free weight gloves.

I lost my set of gloves, and I have to say, the raw skin does not help me. I’ve decided that I need to get another pair.

Two issues have come back in which I need feedback:

-Linkin Park’s coming out with a new album in two weeks. I have a friend who’s offered to get me a copy. But I would rather purchase their album because I’ve done so with all their other albums, and frankly – supporting artists is the right thing to do. Should I just lay down my resolution and purchase this album?

I think I should.

That segues into the next one:

-Sara Bareilles is opening for Vienna Teng this Thursday in San Francisco.
Try as I might, I cannot find Bareilles’ CD online. She only sells music through iTunes, which I don’t want. (No DRM, thanks.) If she’s selling CDs at the concert, I’m going to break my resolution for this album. Otherwise, I don’t think I’ll actually have another opportunity to purchase a physical CD of her music.

Maybe an appropriate compromise would be to get the Sara Bareilles CD, since I can’t get it elsewhere, and skip Linkin Park until the end of the year. God knows they’re popular enough to be found everywhere by January 1st, 2008.

2007-04-04T14:45:00.000-07:00

Am I Losing It?

arc here -

Purchases that has (or will happen) since the last post:

Disc for Ultimate Frisbee ( a requirement if you want to play.)
Cleats ( because I'm going to seriously hurt myself on the field if I stay in running shoes)
iPod Nano Case ( I won an iPod Nano in a Texas Hold 'Em Tournament. I really want to take it with me on a work out and all that.)
Protein Powder ( It was either get this, or get a whole ton of meat. Protein powder was the cheaper alternative.)
Water Purification Tablets for Yosemite ( Self Explanatory)

In retrospect...this is a LOT of stuff. I think I'm losing it.

2007-03-23T14:01:00.000-07:00

Been quite a bit!

arc here -

Haven't updated in a while. Truth of the matter is, not much ludicrous spending has been happening.
Been doing the daily browsing of SAC and Slickdeals and Woot!, but it's never been a big deal about not buying anything.

There was an issue of whether or not 2 gigs of SD card space would've been enough, but that issue has been solved by a portable harddrive that I'm borrowing.

Aside from birthdays, and drinks and food, I've bought one cup of coffee this month, and a 6 pack of beer.

That brings my total lump sum of spending money down to about $44 dollars until the end of March.

Finally, the necessary purchases of the last month would be:

2 GMAT books to help me start studying.
Registration for the table at APE
T-Shirt orders to sell at APE

Other than that, nothing new really. Been looking at new lenses just for fun (18-55 f/2.8 ~ $1200. fawk. ) and reading a lot and studying a lot of pictures for photo ideas.

Upcoming purchases will include photo prints I plan on selling at APE as well as stuff I'll need for a camping trip coming up in April for Yosemite.

All in all, it's been relatively easy to stick to this resolution. There's been trying moments, but nothing excessive as of yet.

2007-03-22T14:31:00.000-07:00

Update

Looking at all my receipts, there are only 2 things I've spent on this month. Food, and Gas....ack. Have I broken the rules for the restaurnt thingy? Well, I went on the snow trip, and there I picked up food on top of the 2 meals I already had that week. I just thought it ridiculous to bring my lunch/dinner from down here. Not sure if that's really considered breaking a rule or not. Second, I did break a rule, and that was purchasing popsicles/cookies. Definately a snack, but it was a hot day, people were thirsty.....

Also, I don't really know where to place treating people out for food. While I just got a drink, my coworkers got some food, and I picked up the bill. Not sure if this counts towards a meal for me. I don't think these should count towards my 2 meals a week restriction, but it does count towards my drink expense of the day. Any thoughts?

-theJade

2007-03-05T16:56:00.000-08:00

ARC IS BUGGING

I'd like to preface this post by saying that I'm writing this under duress.
Hahaha, as someone keeps poking me to "post it!"
*muttering* So here goes this week's disclosure, which I was going to get to, but am going to write now. I've been mostly good, though some people like to exclaim "bad [rainshiney]! bad [rainshiney]!"

* I bought a half-zip pullover sweatshirt at American Eagle on Friday, prior to watching "Breach" (which you should all see, btw!) because certain relatives who are currently residing with me still haven't figured out how to use the "newfangled" laundry machines and ruined my old comfy sweatshirt. So I needed a new one. But I bought it on clearance, so it was 60% off the original retail price.

* I bought a pair of dress shoes. Because I'm getting glammed up on Saturday. And really, that's it. But I haven't bought a pair of work shoes, so I'm thinking about "trading" the items (as I did with the boots and espadrilles) and just getting the heels on my work pumps repaired instead of buying a brand new pair. Besides, I've finally broken them in. It's just a little sad that the heels are clear worn down to the nail...

2007-03-03T14:25:00.000-08:00

The blog has been quiet...and I don't know how everyone else is doing...but I've been...somewhat successful, somewhat not. I have kept to the eating out only with other people rule, and I've been managing to plan ahead and cook a lot over the weekends to take care of lunches & dinners during the week. But somehow, I've been spending a lot on groceries, and when I do eat out, it's been pretty pricey...sushi, nice restaurants, etc.
Still, keep on, right?

I also bought another pan, to replace my 10" skillet. Although, really, I've been cooking/eating off the scraped one for the past year & a half, and it's not like a new pan will retroactively correct anything. Oh well.

2007-03-03T00:33:00.000-08:00

Possible Purchase Loophole

arc here -

I'm planning on taking a trip to Yosemite with one of my best friends in April.

AngryToast noted that if I were to go, 266 pictures may not nearly be enough.

I mulled it over for a bit and realized that what he says is definitely true. I'll need to get another SD card for my camera.

I plan on trolling around slickdeals until I can get another SD card for free after rebate.

It's buying, and yet it's not.

I recognize that once someone starts slipping, it's hard to stop. I'm not sure how to justify this, other than "it's technically free."

2007-03-01T11:33:00.000-08:00

In Re-stan-t News:

Hrm..nothing new. OH WAIT, I LIED! My Len HASSSSSSS ARRIVEEEEDDDDDDD. A $400 splurge and I won't know if it was worth the investment or not but I'll let y'all know after this weekend. ^_^. According to my rules, that probably will be my last purchase for myself for a while....unless you know...some emergency comes up like all my underwear suddenly catches fire or something...o_O.

That and, just curious, what does everyone get their parents for their B-Day? Mine are coming up and I'm running low on ideas...

That and I've noticed that sometimes I've been breaking my rules, primarily with eating and drinks. But no biggie right now. Why? because every time I break my rules, I realize it, and I punish myself for the following days or week. One extra drink on any given day => no outside drinks for the following 3 days. So far it has worked out. >_<. My "outside meals" rule, I havn't broken yet, so I don't have much to worry about yet.

2007-02-22T16:11:00.000-08:00

Cubes and Free Shoes

These packing cubes don't fall into any banned item categories, nor were they really allowed for in my "rules," such as they are, but they are for my vacation so... TOTALLY JUSTIFIED!! Yes... 2 sets, 1 in denim, as shown, and 1 in red. I didn't buy them at retail, they were on sale over President's Day wknd, which is why I decided to bite the bullet and snag them while they were cheap.As for the free shoes part of today's confession... well, I was gifted with a pair of leopard print Steve Madden platform heels today. (o_O) They kind of look like the ones below but with a light heel and slightly different front straps. I must say I was taken aback. One of my managers fell in love with them and bought them, but they didn't fit her right so she had me try them on... they fit well on me, so she snuck them under my desk while I was at lunch and told me they were an early present. Hahahaha. I don't know if I really like them that much yet since they're not really my style, but maybe I'll try them on with a few things and see if they grow on me. These were a GIFT, so they so do not count toward my shoe quota. =P I felt the need to to make this public anyway. Dunno why, really...

2007-02-22T14:04:00.000-08:00

I've decided to relax my rule a bit. 2 meals out a week irregardless of lunch or dinner. I've found it hard mostly because of work envorment (i've turned them down so much it's starting to become o_O since they don't know the whole AE thing and probably don't need to know about it) so I've decided to make my rule a little more flexible. That being said, I've used up my 2 meals for the week.

2007-02-16T00:10:00.000-08:00

INDIAN FOOD, DOGS, CREDIT CARD BILLS

arc here -

Indian Food
Today was the last day that a coworker was going to be a bachelor in the US. We took him out to lunch at Amber in Santana Row. It was there that I discovered one true thing I've learned about Indian food:

- All Indian Buffets Are Created Equal -

The reason I say this is Jade commented how Amber was actually really expensive, but the lunch buffet that they had out was the stereotypical list of food:

lettuce/salad
rice
lentils
tofu curry
potato curry
butter chicken
tandoori chicken
rice pudding dessert

The only thing that was different and noticeable about this buffet was the sea bass. I have to say the sea bass was swimming (pun intended) in a yellow sauce with onions and incredible spices and flavor. That and Amber's naan kicked fucking ass even though it was cold. Crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside.

But I will never again go to an Indian Buffet - not only did I feel like dying/sleeping/crashing after, it is just the same stuff.

Dogs
Today, I went to fill up my car. I pulled into the gas station, got to a pump and got out of my car.
I looked up and saw a big brown chocolate labrador staring at me with gold eyes. I froze for a second. It was at the pump right across from me, hanging out the driver's side window, paws draped on the door. I looked at the dog for another second before getting to pumping my gas.

I watched the dog for a little bit and realized he was waiting for his owner who went into the shop to buy a soda.

When the owner came back, this is what he said:
"Hey boy, have you been good?"

::head rub::

"Have you been behaving yourself?"

::scratches dog's chin::

"Have you been a good boy?"

::scritches back of ear::

"Get the fuck out of my seat."

::dog jumps into passenger side seat::

That threw me for a loop.

Credit Card Bills
I got my credit card bill for this month.

My December to January Bill was 500 or so, thanks to some last minute spending on shoes, a flash unit and going out to eat.

My January to December bill was 160.
53 bucks was necessary purchases including forced red t-shirt, carpet runner for the car, fastrak transponder, and bread and cheese during a photo trip.
45 bucks was from gas.
62 bucks - recurring netflix and rock climbing membership.

...

Uhhh....booyah?

Considering all my events, food and outings have been fairly constant - this is awesome news :)

I've never been happier to write the check to the Credit Card Companies.

2007-02-12T11:11:00.000-08:00

switch

Went to the mall on Sat. to help the paternal unit pick up a gift for the maternal unit for the upcoming Hallmark holiday. Making her happy ensures the day goes by smoothly for everyone... so I volunteered to be the grunt.
Of course, while I was there, I couldn't resist the siren call of the cuuuuute open-toe canvas espadrilles I'd been eyeing for two weeks @ BR, so I bought them without further thought. I had rewards points... so they were 20% off...
Naturally it didn't occur to me until dinner @ Los Cabos with Arc, Toast & the Wen that -oops!- I'd made no allowances for such purchase.
So I stated on the spot that I was swapping the allowance I made for boots for the espadrilles. In the long run, that'll save me money anyway since boots are much pricier than said wedges.

Also, I went into Sephora and didn't buy anything that I wasn't allowed. And there were free samples. How awesome is that? Lemon, aren't you proud of me? I got my brows waxed @ Benefit but that doesn't count... and I resisted their sales pitch too. whoohoo ~ baby steps...

2007-02-12T10:18:00.000-08:00

Tired of eating out

Update on where I've eaten last week. It's been finalized that all I spend money on...is fuel for my car, and fuel for myself, so here's a list of last week.

Cheveron Gas for my car.
For myself, I went to Las Vegas with a few of you guys but didn't order anything because I had already eaten at work and you guys over-ordered or something. Friday, I had 'xiao lung bao' at this one shanghai place in milpitas with some friends (their xiao lung bao is really good btw). For lunch I went to Pasta? with my coworkers. Saturday I went to dinner with parents at Aziza. So yup...lotsa eating and lotsa spending on food...-_____-.

2007-02-11T18:31:00.000-08:00

Broke my Rule, but I guess it's for the better

Picked up a trackball mouse for use with my left hand at home and moving the current right-handed one to work. I figure that I'd rather spend the $25 now than you know, wait till my arm falls off.

2007-02-09T18:12:00.000-08:00

I bought a skillet. No kitchen stuff, yes...but my nonstick everyday pan was getting a little scratched up, and with the added impetus of a lecture on oncology/cancer today...well. $24.95 (originally $80.00) at Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-Classic-Non-Stick-Anodized-Everyday/dp/B000EP4AMK/sr=8-6/qid=1171244037/ref=sr_1_6/105-3239219-0417236?ie=UTF8&s=kitchen

2007-02-07T22:33:00.000-08:00

I was clicking through the Urban Outfitters Sale section on the website (LOOKING FOR A GIFT, not for myself) and I found the Vans that I've been eyeing.

One step at a time.

2007-02-06T21:43:00.000-08:00

Saizo was awesome but yeah, a little pricey...worth it though, it's not like there's a cheaper replacement for izakaya. Unless we cook it all ourselves, but with ingredients (QUALITY ingredients) costing what they do...I doubt it'd be that much cheaper. I also went to the dentist, to the tune of $185.

I got through Sunday and Monday without spending money. Coffee today. I wouldn't mind spending the money on it if I could be guaranteed some consistency. But, alas, the search continues. At least this cup was mostly drinkable. I also hit the grocery store and didn't spend too much on impulse buying. In for spinach & fruit, out with spinach, fruit, canned corn, and corn bread mix.

I made mini corn muffins with ham & cheese tonight for dinner. As a side to dinner really, but I ate five of them. Their awesomeness might only ever be acknowledged by myself, but eh, if I manage to be inspired by something and I like it, that's a success in my book. I think a moment of silence is appreciated as we remember the "Bac-fles" disaster...

Arc, can you explain the stickers? Like...will the DMV get more? Why is it necessary?

2007-02-06T18:08:00.000-08:00

And California runs out of Clean Air Vehicle Stickers

motherfuck.

arc here -

Just found out today that the DMV has run out of clean air vehicle stickers for hybrids.

What sucks even more donkey balls is that to have been able to get the stickers for my car, I would've had to have gotten into an accident EARLIER.

Which just brings me to this point:

AllState Indemnity Corporation needs to fucking call me back. I have questions about the money they owe me for my loss of use and my medical bills. I've been calling them non-stop since yesterday, and to no avail.

We'll see how long this bullshit keeps going - if Miki Hirasawa just learned to read red from green and left from right, I wouldn't be a whining little bitch about the little issues that don't cosmically matter.

2007-02-06T12:42:00.000-08:00

Ditto

I was going to put up a post...but arc beat me to it, so not much to post. I mean...we did the SAME damn things that day....with the exception of the extra burger needed to make me full that night. I swear...every time I've done izakaiya, I've needed 2 meals.

-theJade

2007-02-05T19:18:00.000-08:00

Recent Spendings

arc here -

Saturday was the day for spending. ON FOOD. I ate all 3 meals, full fucking tilt.

And I gotta say, it was FUCKING AWESOME.

Jade, Toast and I went to Sutro Baths to take pictures and ate breakfast at the new China Town on the west side of SF.

A breakfast of chicken and mushroom porridge, BBQ pork bun, egg tart and walnut cookie (THAT'S FUCKING RIGHT, WALNUT COOKIE FTW) was 4.70, total. I'm going back there this Saturday for both photos AND breakfast.

Lunch was at a Chinese Bistro in Millbrae that Jade frequents. Had a baked pork chop spaghetti dish that was extremely filling. That was 10 bucks including tax and tip.

Dinner was at Saizo - an izakaiya place in Sunnyvale.
A LOT of people went - heck...I think everyone on this blog went.
Consequently everyone spent about 30 bucks on dinner. (50 for yours truly - thoroughly enjoyed the sake and calpico-hi :) )

And while it felt like my wallet was dying, I was SO HAPPY. SO SO HAPPY.

Next purchase - $8 bucks for my High Occupancy Vehicle stickers for my Prius.

What's the point of getting a Hybrid if I'm not taking advantage of all the fringe benefits?

2007-01-31T01:18:00.000-08:00

I Sense a Trend Here...

Are we all doing confessions today?

I bought a pack of lcd covers for the camera today, arguably that's "photo stuff", though I guess you can say they're not really either since I actually got covers for the DS screens and just cut them down to size...

2007-01-30T22:15:00.000-08:00

I bought pants today. I know, I know, no new clothes...but I feel like I overwear my current pairs of work pants, and considering that I pretty much have to dress up at least four if not five days a week. . .well, I wanted another pair to throw into the rotation. I bought a pair of khaki colored pants. I also think this will improve my shoe wearing ability, because I have three pairs of brown shoes I can think of off the top of my head that I can now wear to work/school/clinic.

Yup, it's all one crazy justification.

2007-01-29T12:34:00.000-08:00

I've failed

So it took me a while to post this but as of last week, I've broken my first rule. The rule of only one lunch a week. It was tough, not because of my food addiction, but because I was hungry. I forgot my lunch on Monday even though it was sitting right there on the table. So, it was either follow the rules, or starve myself for a meal. Clearly, I know where my priorities lie, so I went out for a bite at Bennegins (forgot my camera, so don't have pictures for this).

Then on Saturday, I was called into work. I didn't bring a lunch this time and I'm not sure why. I think it's because I thought my breakfast at 10:30 would have sufficed as a brunch/lunch, but clearly it didn't. My stomach called at around 1, so I went out for wraps with a coworker.

Sigh...I could make things easier on myself by putting a price limit as opposed to a count limit, but I think that sort of defeats the purpose of my resolutions. I'll have to think about all this becaus it's really an inconvenience on myself in the case of emergencies. One thing learned from all this. I will remember to bring my lunch, especially if it's sitting there right smack in front of my face before I leave the house.

On another note, I may have found a slight loophole/solution. Grocery shopping during lunch time.

2007-01-29T09:32:00.000-08:00

family is expensive

weekend expenditures:
gasoline- $42.36
coffee for drive - $5 for 2
lunch @ fuji's in davis - $50.00 for 3
coffee in davis - $9.60 for 3
sister's misc. 'need' items - $32.00
chipotle chips & guac for Jeff - $2.40 (?)
sunday dinner - $16.00
Target trip (for grandma & mom) - $86.00

.... sigh.

2007-01-29T00:01:00.000-08:00

Man, do my rules BLOW.

arc here -

I've gone for almost a month without any real set backs. I still regularly browse shopping websites with no serious itch to scratch. I haven't really had any expenditures (minus a car, and carpet runner to protect the mats) and I've only spent 3 bucks on coffee. (OKAY, $3.30...)

Today though, was just real weird.

Jade, Toast and I walked into a chinese bakery, and let me tell you - the smell is ridiculously overwhelmingly AWESOME.

While Jade was buying some cake for his sister, Toast and I were left to our own devices.

I looked at the puff cakes, the walnut cookies and just grumbled.

Toast told me, "Hey, your rules may suck - but you'll get used to it. Besides, your wallet will thank you later."

No snacks outside of normal meals. UGH.

Normally it wouldn't be such an issue, but there is no freaking way that I'll be able to incorporate a CHINESE WALNUT COOKIE into a meal. DAMN.

2007-01-23T19:39:00.000-08:00

Continuing the list of "necessary" but irritating expenses...
1. dry cleaning. $50! And they ripped my coat pocket! For $25, I think I should be able to expect that all the seams will be intact when I pick it up.
2. $45 at the post office. Sending packages is $$$$.
3. $50 for a class gift...but I will get reimbursed for that. I guess that one doesn't count...but it's still money I'm currently responsible for.

GREAT.

2007-01-23T11:09:00.000-08:00

helllppp

Have been pretty good about alternating coffee and tea and other such things as of late.
Purchased a pair of Teva water shoes last week.

That leaves 2 pairs of possible shoes to go - both work-related and nothing I've seen is to my satisfaction so I'll probably wait for the Spring sales to worry about that. I have faith my trusty pumps will carry me a little further.
But two new MAC collections are being released over the next month... (~.~) Women are such suckers for pretty colors. Must stay away! I'm diverting that money into a gym membership because I don't need makeup to be pretty (especially when I refuse to use more than a minimal amount anyway) but I sure as hell could stand to get rid of some of this extra weight I've been lugging around since the holidays. Sigh.
I miss pie.

2007-01-22T11:09:00.000-08:00

Since last Sunday, I have successfully gone through without eating out for the entire week. Similarly, since Wednesdsay, I havn't eaten out for dinner, with the exception of eating at friends houses which don't count. Good job to me. =).

The itch has been coming back, and perhaps for a good reason. My house seems to have been infested with these little...jk. I've been thinking about what to get for my only lens for the year, and I think I have narrowed it down to one of the following:

Canon 28mm-135mm IS USM f/3.5-5.6 ~409.00

Has Image Stablization, pretty good range, but also pretty pricy.

Canon 28-200 USM f/3.5-5.6 ~ 366.00

Doesn't have Image Stablization...but one word...BIRDS!...

Canon 17-85 f4-5.6 IS USM ~513.00

I can take really wide angle shots...but expensive.

Canon 28-105mm IS USM f/3.5-5.6 ~240.00

Toast of Great Anger already has this one >_<. I've used it, it has pretty good range, and it's a good bang for the buck.

(and just for kicks canon 10-22mm USM f3.5-f4.5 ~690.00 which will most likely be my second lens when I get one some time next year.)

Hrm...i know, lotsa jargon...but I'm trying to figure out which of the 4 to get. It's funny because I think i started out hoping for something between 3-400, low 400's max and somehow, that 17-85 got added on in there. I've been looking at the 28-135mm IS USM for quite a while, but 400 bucks.... Really, for the value, it seems as though the 28-105 is a much better deal for the range...but Mr. Toast already has that one...>_<. Hrm, I think I will decide by mid to end of February at the latest. I only get one lens this year so I'll need to sleep on it...perhaps for another 30 days...

2007-01-18T18:03:00.000-08:00

Even necessary stuff adds up so quickly. Just one textbook, one reader, and a pair of eyeglass frames have totaled to be $295 in the past two days.

I bought the frames because we're going on a field trip (yeah, I know, we're too old.) to an insurance company. We get free glasses & lenses, but I didn't want to count on the frame selection. To be honest, I've got a big head...and a lot of frames just don't fit. Or they look funny. I like these though, and I got them for about the wholesale price, so I'm okay with it. I also haven't gotten glasses in almost three years.

But oh man, why is it as soon as I decide to cut down on spending, things just seem to pop up? I would like a day when I don't have to stop for gas, go to the grocery store, pay a bill, where I might actually be able to NOT SPEND MONEY.

2007-01-16T14:58:00.000-08:00

First Post

Because some one told me to post it as well:

So I also picked up a car, a Civic LX coupe which is still currently named "that car" or "that civic" or simply just "car".

A pretty big expense, but the current vehicle is a 1991 Camry and it's almost about time to let it rest. It has served a good 16 years.

In other news, I was pretty focused about not doing the outside coffee thing that I ended up skipping last week without knowing it, but since it doesn't carry over I'm just shaking my fist now, grr....

2007-01-16T10:52:00.000-08:00

the search continues

E-mail from KennethCole.com today:

Unfortunately, we have had to cancel the item listed below.

Date of Order: 01/11/07
Item #: KL40199BA
Item Name: OUTSIDETHEBOXBABlack07M
Size/Color: 07M/Black

WAY TO BE OUT OF STOCK AND NOT UPDATE YOUR WEBSITE!!!! >.<

2007-01-15T22:19:00.000-08:00

All's Well That Ends Well (?)

arc here.

I haven't bought anything new since the beginning of this month save for:

cereal for breakfast at the office
a red shirt (thanks to being forced)
a black Toyota Prius
carpet runner to cut floor mats for the Prius

I deemed the carpet runner to be a necessary expenditure, what with having a tan interior.

And yes, I have a Prius. Parents wouldn't let me get away with a used car, and my mom even incented me with covering a bit more money to let me get it.

Other than this, no new expenditures, no new purchases.

I walked around the Great Mall today - and it made me feel pretty good knowing that I don't have to pay attention to anything in the mall. I concentrated on my pictures. I came away with a couple that will be up on odd1out next week.

So far so good!

2007-01-15T15:02:00.000-08:00

Irrelevant...

Not particularly relevant, but things I hear about but hope never to see in a company work place:

1) People washing their feet in the sink
2) Guys...rinsing themselves (be a little imaginative here) off...with the urinal they just finished using. Yea....you heard me.

Also, it has been established that as unhealthy as bacon is, it goes well with almost everything, of which includes wrapping the bacon around a stick of pretzel. >_<.

On another note...I've used up my lunch for the week. Sigh...that was REALLL quick. This will be a long week >_<.

-theJade

2007-01-14T15:50:00.000-08:00

weekend update

Scored a few more items off my need/okay-to-buy list yesterday.
Started off the morning at A Perfect Day (and.... then shelled out just over two bills for repeat visits... haha), intro'd Jeff to Chipotle and then with JJ and Jeff in tow, headed to VF (per Jeff's request, mind you)!

- 1 blouse (40% off @ the Limited)
- 1 pair earrings (I know I wrote I wasn't to buy earrings, but I lost 1/2 of one of my most beloved pairs, and so I went back to the store and they had one idential pair left!)
- 1 necklace (60% off - only $10, $15 below my alloted amount)
- 2 sports bras (VS Semi-Annual Sale, originally $49.50, on sale for $15.99 ea.)
- 1/2 "Love It" from Coldstone =D Jeff likee.
- 2 bottles of antibacterial bead hand soap ($3 @ Bath & Body Works' Semi-Annual Sale)
- 1 fullsize bottle of Peter Thomas Roth UltraLite SPF 30 Sunscreen (it takes work to stay pale)

On a random note, after lunch JJ and I showed Jeff the Peets next door so we wanted to get caffeinated (after all, an hour at A Perfect Day is quite zzzzz-inducing), but our drinks turned out... different than we expected. I must say, I was tres disappointed with my cafe mocha. :(

Next... the search for water shoes!
=D Sigh.... now that I've whittled down things on my list, I must get myself into an aggresive "no spending" mindset. I did, however, walk through the Macy's beauty department without blinking. I call that progress, people. ;-)

2007-01-11T13:13:00.000-08:00

Status report for week 2.

So far, all is well. No temptations really yet, except for camera lenses that I've been drolling to have. But really...they're not really temptations when they're SUCH a huge purchase.

I had ice cream yesterday with my coworker instead of hitting starbucks. It was buy one get one free, and it was only 2 bucks, so I counted that towards my one drink of the day.

Today, my coworker just got back from a trip. I was invited out to lunch but had to turn it down because I already had my lunch for the week. It was hard as I usually do eat out with them if asked. Oh well...2 days to go and I still have a dinner free. Yay =).

On another note, I've been working hard on my food blog, and now i'm all caught up. No more excueses for crappy posts.

No rules broken yet. So far so good.

2007-01-11T10:57:00.000-08:00

e-mail marketing...it works.

I bought a pair of black pumps from Kenneth Cole online today.

Luckily I'd already made an allowance for that - seeing as my reliable pair of Nine West pumps are starting to show over a year's worth of wear, tear and daily concrete beatings on the heels... they've held up remarkably well, but the nicked heel just won't do for client meetings anymore.

Presentation is more than half this business.

I didn't go out and splurge on the pair of Louboutins I've had my eye on.... that won't be for a few years yet, at least. Or ever.

It's the new year Kenneth Cole clearance, and they were $85, down from $265... which really just teaches us to not buy this stuff @ full retail... I was lucky, they had a few left in my size.

This morning's dose of caffeine: tall nonfat lightwhip mocha.

2007-01-08T11:37:00.000-08:00

200 Calories

To promote healthy living everywhere (at which point I must mention that I'm striking the "red meat once a week" proviso from my list due to a suddenly keen awareness that geezus, cow is in EVERYTHING),

Click HERE to see what 200 cals. of various food items are worth. I cry for Hershey's Kisses. On the other hand, that's an awful lot of celery - and what's with the story of celery actually burning more calories than it contains (due to the chewing intensive nature of chomping on it and its hard-to-digest nature)? If that were true... shouldn't you technically never be able to ingest 200 calories worth of celery (and as such, shouldn't that picture be blank)?!

... of course, it could just be a myth. Urban legend for weed-eaters.

2007-01-07T23:27:00.000-08:00

Forcing My Hand On Money.

arc here.

Today was a very odd day.
My mom took me to the temple in San Jose, to help me with my luck in the future.
The sad part is, it was one of the shittiest spiritual/religious feelings i've ever had.

Ever.

I was told to donate money. It wasn't a suggestion from my mom, it was a command.

After giving them the money, (with both hands as a sign of respect) the person just flipped it into a box and scribbled my name on it.
They didn't say thank you, they didn't say anything. Just a flip and a scribble.

After that, my mom ordered me to go to the Great Mall to look for a bright red shirt.
Red in east asian culture is very lucky, FYI.

During my search for a suitable shirt, i found the exact jacket i had wanted before i splurged on a jacket at express: a motorcycle nylon shell jacket from kenneth cole.

It was the hardest thing to do, to look at it - knowing that you wanted this jacket for 3 years, and you had to pass on it.

I ended up with a red hurley shirt for 7 bucks.

7 days in and forced to spend 7 bucks on a shirt.
It felt cheap. It felt like cheating. Unfortunately, I had to; I have no red shirts in my closet.

Hopefully my luck will change.

Too bad I don't believe in luck.

2007-01-05T10:09:00.000-08:00

Loopholes?

Week has been so far so good no rules broken yet, but then again, no real temptations either.

I have held onto my one outside drink a day and one specialty drink a week pretty well, but I am starting to realize that (2+) for a specialty drink is really limiting, and sometimes I wonder whether I should push it to 2.30...but I need to commit to my original proposal, so no change here. I got a steamed cider at Starbucks yesterday and the total turned out to be around 2.15. I guess I've used up my specialty drink for the week.

Currently, I am trying to decide what to do if my friends are going out for boba or other drinks or something? If I get a specialty drink ouside with friends, do they cout? I've been thinking about it for a while, and for now I will say they count. Otherwise, this could really get outta hand. Sometimes I used to get boba twice a day with friends. Once at night and once in the afternoon. This is not implying that I won't hang out though, I'll just...order water. I'm trying to be stingy or trying to ruin the nights out with everyone by not ordering a drink...the issue here is my self control and commitment; the rule remains. I will not make exceptions for myself, especially not so early in this experiment. Maybe I shouldn't have ordered that apple cider to begin with. I wasn't even hanging out with anyone at the time. Maybe I need to "allocate" when I should order which drinks better. We were just taking a break from work at starbucks.

Second dilemma is coming up fast. As some of you may know, I'm hitting up the snow tomorrow. I am picking up my snowboard today and at the same time lunching with the friend I'm picking it up with. However, what do I do about lunch tomorrow and my one lunch a week out limit? I should've thought of this earlier. We were planning on buying cheap sandwiches at Safeway and bringing them up. Then tomorrow night, we'll be eating out, so that will be my one dinner out for the week. But does the Sandwich from safeway count as eating out? If not, I guess I've found a loophole in my rules. Perhaps this situation isn't that hard to solve considering it's pretty similar to that boba problem. What do you all think?

2007-01-05T01:23:00.000-08:00

This blog is about honesty too, right? Here goes:

I ran a lot of errands today, and bought a lot of things that my friend asked me to get for her. I also bought three books, two paperbacks from Half Price and a Sudoku book from Barnes & Noble. I paid for the Sudoku book with a gift card, so I think that was okay, and I'm not too guilty over the books, since I have at least twenty hours on a plane and another seven or eight hours waiting in airports coming up, not to mention a quick flight to LA the weekend after...even more waiting in airports.

No, what I feel guilty over is a dress. I stopped in at Ross to pick up a coffee press and as I walked through the store, a dress caught my attention. It was $27? Something like that. I was surprised at the low price and riffled through the rack, picking up another dress that was only $17, and then another...that was almost identical to the second except for color. I wandered toward the dressing room as I looked at the tag. "$5.99". SIX DOLLARS. I tried them all on, still not really thinking, not really believing that they could be so inexpensive and look all right. The six dollar one looked the best.

Now I had a problem. On one hand...I wasn't supposed to be shopping for unnecessary things. On the other hand, I didn't have a "little black dress" at the moment, and six dollars was hardly going to break the bank.

I bought it.

At least I stuck to my resolution of only eating out with other people.

2007-01-04T23:44:00.000-08:00

pictures of my car after the accident:

2007-01-03T21:51:00.000-08:00

Orders From Last Year Arrive...

arc here -

I came home from work today to find two packages on my counter.

I ordered these things before the New Year, and thanks to the festivities, they were delayed for almost 2 weeks.

I didn't immediately rip into them; I know what were in the boxes.

After I helped set up dinner, I opened the first one: my SB-600 Speed Light.

You could not imagine the biggest grin I had on my face. I pulled the flash unit out of its case and set it down on the table, and just said to myself "Holy cow, this thing is awesome." I inserted the batteries and when I turned it on, a high pitched whine indicated that the thing was live.

I hit the "flash" button. It flashed.

"Holy crap!!"

I hit the "flash" button a couple more times.

"OMG, THIS THING IS AWESOME!?!"

I stuck it on my camera and started shooting my dog. I felt like a freaking kid in a candy shop.
I kept fiddling. Kept shooting. Kept flashing.

I typed to AngryToast: "OMG, THIS FLASH UNIT IS AWESOME. TTL I LOVE YOU!"

His response was appropriate: "I....I'll leave you two alone."

Good move Toast. Good move. I went back to flashing.

My dog was seriously looking pissed.

I ran back to my room and packed it in again. I gathered my breath, calmed myself down. Enough.

The second box: brown evolv casual shoes.

"Oh. MY. WOW."

They looked better than they did online.

I was a little nervous about size, I just winged it and went with my gut size of 9.5.

I pulled it on. The wall of the shoe was stiff, very similar to my rock climbing shoes. I seated my heel. I wiggled my toes. Extended my foot and looked at it.

"Holy crap, it's a perfect fit!"

I pulled on the other shoe and walked around. They felt really good.

I was grinning like a freaking idiot.

I hopped around a bit. Looked at them. Hoooo boy. These are hot.

As I pulled the shoes off, I realized that I wasn't going feel like this for another year.

...

With the exception of an additional package coming, these are literally the last things I'll have purchased in 2006.

I felt sad. Depressed. Uneasy. Nervous.

This wasn't supposed to happen.

But I looked at the SB-600 nestled in the non-descript brown box, the brown shoes I've wanted for a year...and I can't help but smile.

This feeling will happen again.

Just not this year.

2007-01-03T11:09:00.000-08:00

Reconsidering...(DAY 2)

I've been reading through the other posts and thinking to myself about my conditions, and realized I have been really lenient on myself. My restrictions are weak. So I will put myself to the test. If by the end of the month, I do follow my conditions easily, I'm going to up ante a bit and stiffen up my rules even more so, here is what I might add.

Changes to food habbits probably won't happen. Like I said, I like eating too much, and really, eating out is the only way my friends and I really spend time together. But it will still be limited to 1 lunch, and 1 dinner out. Hrm...parties and such at peoples houses...is not considered eating out.
NO purchases for personal benefits including music (I really don't listen to my cd's that much after buying it...), dvd's(i'm not even a fan of movies or dvd's), video games (really...you should all know me better than that), electronics, etc, unless absolutely necessary. What do I mean by absolutely necessary? Whenever I make such a purchase I will post what I'm purchasing, and take a vote from people as to whether or not I really need that item. Vote with explanation would be best. Of course, I will still be buying gifts for others, just not for myself.
Books wise, unless needed to enrich my future goals, such as certain CS books, Study Guides, etc, no puchases. But really, most books I should be able to pick up from the library. That and I have a stack of books I have yet to read....>_<. Still limited to 300 bucks throughout the year.
Travel, still not sure what to do about this yet. But relating to the food thing, I realized that if I do travel, the eating out rule will have to be negated. I mean seriously...I'm not going to look for the nearest safeway when I'm in, Mongolia, or something and look for the nearest kitchen to prepare the food. I think I should enjoy the food of the natives as much as possible. FOOD! :-P

Thats's about it for now. These changes really won't take into effect until probably the end of the month unless otherwise specified. So the rules below are will still be in effect until then.

I have also decided to make a few non-monetary resolutions. 1) Take 1 acceptable photo a day for the next half year. and 2) Keep my food blog alive for the next half year. 3) Get a personal site running and maybe transfer all this stuff over.

Furthermore, I was juggling an idea around to my sister, and I think I will put it into affect as of now. People sometimes ask me what I want for Christams/B-day, and really I can't think of anything so I usually tell them nothing. But this year, I have decided to make a wish list and there will only be one item on the list:

Make a donation (money or physical effort) to any one of the provided organizations. (list provided at a later time)

Now for a status update. I will be snowboarding this weekend, that trip was already planned before this list was taken into effect, and I find I need things. I need to make snowboard rentals, and a pair of long socks. I will update on the spendings of this a little later.

That is all.

2007-01-03T11:03:00.000-08:00

gnomeregan*

To keep myself on track...
Last night I had a burger - that's the red meat for this week.
For those curious about my abnormal french fry consumption, I finally decided that the 7 fries (yes, 7 only, not 7 boxes of..) a year max. was really, really ... hard to explain. And it went out the window. Now it's a much more reasonable 50 or so. Over the course of a year. I think I ate at least half that yesterday, so... you know... all remaining 28 days of January and the other 11 months will be interesting. On the other hand, it's still more fried potato than I'm used to.

I resisted the siren call of bluefly and makeup.com sale emails... Saw them and deleted them without opening. The VS Semi-annual sale might be harder to ignore. But, as per whiffoflemon, I have enough things - I may only make one exception - and as such am stating it here ~ if I find a decent sports support garment, I shall buy it if it's on sale - for women such things could be labeled healthy necessities.

Random: Last night I dreamt of gnomes. Cackling ones.

*(© blizzard entertainment)

2007-01-03T08:17:00.000-08:00

Not a unique idea!

This is not a new idea!

The Compact folks mentioned in the article can be found here.

Their blog can be found here.

I intend to pore over both sites for helps, tips - and possibly tightening the reins as we move along.

arc here -

It makes me happy that what we're doing is not a new idea at all.
In fact, it makes me really happy that what we're doing is actually very watered down compared to the folks in the article above.

A friend of mine, dkwan, even felt my goals were not even that hard to achieve, considering all the exceptions I made.

I'm really glad he pointed that out.

When I was writing my rules, I really wanted to go all out: shun consumerism, fuck materialism, flip the bird to the man and his retail.

But some things really cannot be avoided. I love my friends to death and while they wouldn't think any less of me if I didn't eat with them, or go on vacations with them, it's the experiences together that binds us. For my friends, I make most of my exceptions.

But it also can't be ignored that my goals seem easy to achieve. Gotta start somewhere, and I chose to start with a goal that I can attain - as opposed to giving up on January 10th.

2007-01-02T23:45:00.000-08:00

The Second Day...

It's been one day and I've already been tested...

A friend asked me to go to Costco to buy some things for her, and I realized that I'd probably need to renew my membership to get the stuff she asked for. Hurdle 1, I actually didn't have to renew yet. Probably next month?

Hurdle 2...Costco in general. There's so much random stuff there! Fortunately, right after I'd grabbed everything on the list, one of the cashiers yelled "NO LINE OVER HERE!" and I was in & out of the warehouse in ten minutes.

Hurdle 3: The Victoria's Secret Semi-annual Sale starts tomorrow. The commercial came on and I automatically began planning out my day to fit in a visit to the store. Then I remembered that I'm not doing any shopping.

These first few weeks will be the hardest, but I hope to get into the habit of not buying things soon.

2007-01-02T13:51:00.000-08:00

enter rainshiney

Hello all! To: whiffoflemon, arc, angrytoast, thejade, help! Keep me in line!

If anyone needed a shopaholics anonymous support group, it'd probably be me. The holidays have been a spending-with-impunity pass for me! IT'S ON SALE! BUY EEEET!! Limited edition? Must have! And gifts, gifts, and gifts galore. Yes, my friends. If we hadn't gone on a no-gift thing this year, you would have received some pretty, pretty things. On the other hand, my credit card and bank acct thank whiffoflemon for the idea. =) Well, to proceed, these resolutions aren't all shopping related, but more related to improving the rainshiney lifestyle in general. Duration? 6 months, to be extended if at all possible to a year. Just to see... =)

1. Shopping

Make-Up: No more! No exceptions. Especially no buying things just because they say “Bobbi Brown.” Okay, sigh - one exception –waterproof (not merely water resistant) products (2 total) are okay if I find good ones between now and April for use on water activity-laden vacation.
Other beauty-related products: shampoo & conditioner is okay, esp. since I'm buying for 4 now (grandma, cousin, sis & me), face wash if I run out, I've got a year's supply (at least!) of body wash from the last B&BW sale, face cream/lotion if I run out - but no age-defying serums (because I am still young, dammit!), primers or other tempting things that I just really don’t need at all.
Shoes: Limited to 1 pair of new black pumps for work, 1 pair of black boots if I can ever find a decent pair (have been looking for past 3 months and no luck yet so who knows) and 1 pair of water shoes if they ever turn up.
House: No kitchen stuff. No more room stuff. Have enough furniture. Need to put up wall hangings and new mirror. Enough nesting! Ignore mother’s interior decorating disaster. No more buying new things for the parental abode.
Clothes: No new jeans until lose poundage. New tops only if stellar value and good for work.
Jewelry: I am absolutely NOT allowed to purchase any more earrings. In fact, I should resolve to start wearing all the ones I haven’t worn yet or have only worn once or twice. Necklaces – up to 3 maybe. Only if they really do look terrific with work attire and don’t break a quarter bill. Bracelets – haven’t purchased one yet and have been looking, so if I find one that sends me over the moon, I shall. But I haven’t seen any that come close yet.
Gifts: It remains a free-for-all. ;-D Lucky you.

2. Eating

Alternate morning caffeine intake between coffee and green tea.
No more $10+ lunches. Bring lunch (with one piece of fruit). Buying lunch is only okay up to 2x a week if eating with co-workers. Must be within limit.
Limit self to fewer than two cans of diet soda a day. Supplement with at least 1.5 Aquafina bottles of H2O at office, more at home.
Well, I don’t really eat snacks or junk food anyway, so not much to limit there.
Eat more fruits & veggies. This shouldn’t be too hard since the vegetarian grandmother is visiting. The hard part is making sure she doesn’t steam everything so that it’s not only utterly tasteless and devoid of nutritional content, but that it also looks incredibly unappetizing. Gerber’s mashed peas look better than spinach left in water too long.
Red meat maximum: once a week.

3. Living Healthy

Outdoor exercise with cousin Jeff when at all possible and if time and temperature allow.
Weekend fun in the park with Cali.
Daily stretches on balance ball – try for 20 minutes a day, esp. with “TWW” on.
15 minutes with free weights daily.
Try to get into bed before midnight every day.

4. Flying

Never fly full fare. This is more or less a given, but I’m putting it here just in case I’m ever tempted to bite the bullet.

This list to be continued/updated as the ideas grow..

Here’s to resolve… and great friendships.~

2007-01-01T20:52:00.000-08:00

Another person jumps on the bandwagon!

I am joining arc, theJade, & angrytoast in their resolutions. Partly because I checked my credit card balances and they're a little scary. Partly because I think it's a good thing to do in a group because we can support each other in this. And a little because the rampant consumerism of Americans in general is pretty disgusting. Myself included.

So, for the next six months (I'd say a year, but I'm not that strong.)
1. No new shoes. I can't use the "I need clinic shoes" excuse anymore because, well, I have at least ten pairs of shoes I can wear to work in the clinic.
2. No new clothes. I don't have room for what I already have, how dare I continue to buy more? Also, maybe this will also break me of the habit of the last year or so where I buy shirts in multiple colors.
3. No books. This one should be a little easier to keep given that I am cheap about books and have really only been buying them off bookcloseouts.com or from Half Price books. Of course, textbooks have to be exempt. Ugh.
4. No gadgets/techy things. This one should be ok too. Exception is my camera lens, which I am going to pay angrytoast for as soon as he figures out how much he wants for it.
5. No dvds.
6. No kitchen stuff.
7. No shopping, period. (The above specific items are things that I admit to buying too much of.)

Necessities like shampoo are exceptions of course, although, actually, given my habit of buying in bulk, I think that's the only thing I need to get through the next six months.

I've gone through my trash folder and unsubscribed to all the shopping e-mail lists that I'm on. I won't check slickdeals.net or wantnot.net anymore. I'm also going to stay away from Target and Costco as much as possible. This makes me wonder if I'm even going to renew my Costco membership. Hmm. A thought for another post, perhaps.

8. I'm only going to eat out if I'm with other people.
9. As an extension of that, I'm going to pack my lunch as much as I can, and eat out at school only if I'm with classmates.

I'm going to enjoy London, so I'll shop there, or buy things that I feel are necessary for the trip. But I'm going to try to follow these choices until the end of June.

2007-01-01T18:32:00.000-08:00

And AngryToast joins the fray!

"Quote"

I'll join in this experment with...let's see:

no new photo stuff, unless like, my camera falls in a pool, film not included
no outside coffee twice a week (this'll kill me more than anything else)
no computer stuff/gadgets
6 games for the year max
no new clothes, (thrift is fine)

"Unquote"
I'll continue updating for him.

2007-01-01T15:33:00.001-08:00

Entering...theJade

Greetings everyone. I call myself theJade, my friends don't, but that is what I will refer to myself here. I have decided to join Arc on his accidental experiment not simply for the sake of saving money, but perhaps to test my devotion and self control. Perhaps. And thus, I have set up my own conditions in which I will attempt to abide by for the duration of 2007.

I don't really know if I agree with Arc on the wording of the question "What concerns us as a society?" but I'll tell you what I THINK are inessentials that I think I value more than I should.

Luxury foods of which include "Fine" dining, dining out, and junk food
Photography needs
Extraneous clothing
Movies, music, and other audio/video entertainment, Video games, etc.
Climbing needs, etc.
Books, books, and more books.
Car needs.
Coffee, pearl tea, and other specialty drinks.
Travel

Well, that's the list for now, it might grow once sometime comes up, who knows. Lets go through them one by one. Just as a side note, like Arc, gifts are an exception. And certain group activities will be exceptions...CERTAIN. As will hopefully be chosen through my good judgement.

I live for food, for me, this is inevitable, but too much "fine" dining, or even dining out is really starting to spoil me. I will limit myself to eating out at most once a week for dinner and once a week for lunch with people outside of family as those are obligatory. No purchasing my own junk food...with the exception of chocolates in which I choose not to have self control over (actually I really don't eat that much chocolate on a daily basis so even if I splurge on chocolate, it will last me a good couple of months).
I will purchase no more than 1 lens in the following year and perhaps a protective bag for my camera, but nothing more, unless it is something that prevents me from continuing this hobby whatsoever, like my CF card snaps in half or something.
Extraneous Clothing. Things I probably don't need for the next year. More Beanies/hats, more shoes, more sweaters, more jackets. More t-shirts. Heck, I probably don't need more clothse for a while, but I do need to donate some, which I will do. So unless absolutely necessary, no purchasing of clothing.
Cannot spend more than $100 on audio/video entertainment in a given 3 month period.
I cannot purchase any more than my monthly CB membership, one new pair of shoes, chalk when necessary, and no more than one visit to an outside gym.
No more than $25 per month on books. Yes they can carry over, and yes I can take loans..but that means in the end, no more than $300 throughout the year spent on books.
Unnecessary driving trips of car limited to once a month, meaning highway 9. Tracking events limited to twice this year if any. No unnecessary aggression with the car except for maybe on my driving trips. I know what I mean, don't worry.
At most one outside ordered drink a day, even if it is to accompany a meal, unless included in the meal. Coffee/tea limited to once a day. Specially prepared drinks, pearl tea, fraps, lattes, jamba juice, etc, limited to once a week (defined as drinks $2+). (refers only to drinks purchased for myself)
I'll need to think about this one.

And that's all folks.

2007-01-01T02:12:00.000-08:00

The Accidental Experiment

Because of my accident, I'm going to have to purchase a car. That goes without saying.
I also need to somehow save all my money as much as possible.

I need something drastic.

Like the woman in Miller's book, I think I can go without buying any clothing for a year.
But let's expand this thought.

What concerns us as a society?

Cars.
Liquor.
Clothes.
Jewelry.
Cell phones.
Name brands.

What if we gave all that up? What if we just said "No." to most of it, if not all of it?
Would it enrich our life any? Would we feel more fulfilled?

Let's find out.

The rules are as follows:

Until 12/31/2007, I cannot purchase any non-essentials for myself. This includes music, video games, clothes, shoes, candy, crackers, etc. This goes without saying that if you give me candy or cheez-its, I will scarf it down and probably ask for more. On the same token, if I need to buy something for a party, I won't actually eat what I bring.
Essentials can include, but are not limited to toiletries, gas, repairs for cars and computer, metro ticket, etc.
I can purchase gifts for other people. (Can't skip birthdays, now can we?)
I have a total limit of $20 a month (or $240 a year) for my hobbies which are but not limited to:

Photography - this includes film and processing and creating prints.
Reading - this includes new books and coffee for sitting at the shop. I'll probably be visiting the library a lot more as well.
Rock Climbing - this includes additional chalk. (Membership needs to be an exception though.)
Liquor - I just got into single malt whisky as well as other fine liquors. This one, I feel I can't give up just yet.
Note: The $20 can be carried over from month to month.

Food, drink and events are excluded, since that is the one thing that tends to glue me and my friends together.
Food is defined as anything involved with a legitimate meal: breakfast, lunch, dinner.
Drink is defined as any kind of drink that is coupled with the meal including soda or liquor. Drinks outside of a meal does not count for whatever reason: milk tea, smoothies, shakes.
Events is defined as any kind of concert, expo, convention, vacation trip to a distant place, etc.

If a get together is held at a restaurant, unless it's for a legitimate meal, I'm there to hang out.
If we go to a foreign country, or go on vacation, the same rules apply - no souvenirs, no purchasing outside of what's necessary.

What I intend to do is rapidly reduce the amount of money I'm spending, and at the same time, lead a normal life.

Can I do it?

I have faith that I can. It doesn't seem all that hard. But I know it will get tough.
And I hope this blog can help me keep me on track.

2006-12-31T23:21:00.000-08:00

...is a long one.

It all begins on the 30th of December, 2006.

I met G at Bay Street at 9:00 PM to just talk and read.
He was drawing and listening to music - I was reading Blue Like Jazz, by Donald Miller.

In the book, Miller mentions a friend of his at Reed College in Oregon who didn't purchase clothing for a year, rather choosing to save her money for more appropriate allocations - saving for God, saving for charity, saving for her church.
For those who know me, I'm not really Christian, but reading this book has opened up a whole new lines of thinking for me: what it means to be religious in a non-religious environment, what it means to be truly faithful without pushing that idea on other people.

However, Miller's friend raised this question in my mind: Would I be able to last a year without buying any clothes?

I thought about it for a little bit. I discussed the idea with G. What would this entail? Would I be able to do it? We went back and forth for a bit before we decided to leave Bay Street to head to Safeway before going to G's house. I looked at the clock. 1040pm.

I had a hankering for muffins at Safeway. I wanted a health alternative to cupcakes. Instead, when I got there, I was greeted with super sugar laced, ultra glazed muffins that would probably give a grizzly bear a ridiculous buzz.

I wandered into the snack aisle, grabbed two boxes of Triscuits and went to the register with G.
I paid for the Triscuits, threw it into my car and started my car up.
I saw G pull out of his parking spot, so I headed out of the parking lot.

I turned left onto a small side street, and then made a right onto Washington Blvd. I made my way to the intersection of Driscoll Blvd. and Washington Blvd.

Around 50-75 feet from the intersection, my left turn light turned green. I distinctly remember saying to myself: "Sweet, this is going to be a nice smooth turn." This was a turn I probably have made hundreds of times before.

My car bumped over the train tracks, and I began to make my left turn.

An oncoming pair of headlights and I thought, "That car's not stopping."

I braced for impact.

It wasn't as bad as I thought. Imagine someone shoving you as hard as they can while you're just sitting in a rolling chair.

My airbags appeared in front of me. My windshield spidered. My David Tao CD kept playing.
Smoke rolled out of the cracks of my radio.

"Oh shit."

I looked out my driver side window for the person who hit me.
I turn back. I can't see my hands behind the air bag.

I turn my key to get it out of the ignition.
It doesn't budge.
I try it again.
It doesn't turn.

I push my shifter into park.
I turn the key and it comes free.

In between getting out, and turning the key, I somehow remember to eject my seatbelt.

I open the door to get out, but the door only cracks open 3 or 4 inches. It's hard to open my door all the way. I plant my thigh straight into the door and shove. I slip out. I stand on the island. All the damage is in the front driver side. My front wheel is turned 90 degrees out. My body kit is trashed. My windshield spidered - but we knew that already.

What the fuck do I do now?

I need a witness. I need a witness.

I turn toward the location of where the car that hit me would've gone.

I see a car stopped, and a small/medium middle aged asian man walking toward me.

I ran to meet him. "It was green! My light was green!"
He responds, "No, my light was green."
I said back quite loudly, "No, MY light was green!"
He shook his head.
I shook mine.

I ran back and called G in the process.

G sounded very unsure, "Hell....o?"
"I need you to come back to the corner of Driscoll and Washington. A car hit me, I need your help."
"I'm coming back to you."
"Thanks."

I hang up. I dial Fremont Emergency. Speed dial 3 on my phone. (Don't ask me why. I just do.)
I give them my location. My contact information. The incident. I talk way too fast for her to comprehend me. I'm freezing. It's 41 degrees out, and I'm wearing a t-shirt and a thin jacket.

I run back to the man. His name's Miki. As I'm standing there saying "My light was green, I have no idea what you were doing," a minivan rolls by. A woman says out the window "We saw it all. We saw it all."

The minivan turns into a side street. I run back to my car to wait for the police.

I dial my dad. I tell him I'm not at fault. I doubt it's any consolation. I tell him to get here as quick as he can. I can hear my mom yelling in the background. I hang up.

I run to the minivan.
I have a witness. I have a witness.

I arrive just in time to hear the driver of the minivan say to Miki, "I'm sorry, you're in the wrong. You ran the red. You're wrong." He points to me. "He's in the right."

A large burden is lifted from my chest.

"Sir, will you stay here and act as my witness?"
"Yes."
"Thank you so much, sir."

G rolls up. I run to meet him.
"Wait here, I need to get my bag."
I grab my bag from the passenger side seat of my car. My camera's inside. I'll worry about it later. I put it in G's dark passenger side foot space.

The witness comes up to me. Hands me a slip of paper. "I need to go, but here is my name and my phone number. Please call me." I could not be more thankful enough. He leaves.

The police officer rolls up at this moment. He's a good looking man. He wants to know if anyone's injured. Miki replies no. I reply "Not that I know of." He tells us to trade insurance information, registration and driver's licenses. He doesn't take any reports. Only if someone's injured. Insurance will deal with the rest.

The police officer calls a tow company. I ask him for his card. His name's Todd.

Todd turns on the spotlight to the hood of the car so Miki and I can trade information.
I ask G for paper and pen. The artist he is, hands me scrap paper and pen that he always has on his person. I ask him to check the traffic lights for me. To confirm that my turn was protected. He runs off.

I start copying information. I'm so cold that I can't control my body shaking and my hand shivering. It's all I can do to keep my teeth from chattering.

Miki wants me to write down my information for him on his notebook.

I think, "Copy that shit down yourself. You hit me."

I instruct him what to copy down. He writes my name phonetically in Japanese. He writes my last name in English.

My parents arrive. G comes back. He says that my turn's protected and that there is no way that I would've needed to yield. I tell G in Mandarin to watch Miki and wait.

I meet my parents. My dad wants to know if I'm okay. My mom wants to know whose fault it was. I reply that it's his fault, it's his fault. I'm okay.

The tow truck arrives, and the police officer tells us to remove our information from the hood of his car. He needs to block traffic.

I run to the tow truck. The mechanic's a portly man. He greets me, "How you doin' tonight?"

I remember thinking "That's a rhetorical question, right?"

I reply, "Not good. Can I gather my things from my car?"
He says sure.

I start getting the things that mean something to me in the car. Bone Comic, Single Volume. CD carrier. Buddhist stickers. Monk blessed items. FM frequency modulator. I run over to G, who takes them all.

My mom tells me to get my rearview mirror. I go back around. Broadway Rearview Mirror. Goddess pendant. Cool keychain man. Is my bluetooth headset in the arm rest? My hands are full anyway. G takes the second load.

The police officer tells us to wait over by the side of the road. I still have stuff in the car. But I don't feel like endangering my life twice.

I talk to my parents. Tell them I have a witness. Tell them I'm not at fault. My mom's furious. Her blood pressure's high. When you've lived with her for as long as I have, you just know these things. You also know that your life is going to be a living hell because everything eventually revolves around her and that she will blame me for the accident even though it's not my fault.

The officer leaves. The tow truck comes back with my car on its bed. I look at it, and I feel anger. I feel rage. I feel sadness. The gift that my parents bought me for college, birthdays, Christmases, sitting broken, trashed on a fucking pedestal.

G's standing there in front of me. "You alright?" he asks.
"I'm okay. You should probably get going."
My dad puts his hand on his shoulder and tells him that it's okay to leave.
"Thanks, G."
"Not a problem." He walks off. He's the closest thing I can ever get to a brother.

I walk back to Miki. I tell him that I'm going to go to the hospital. I'll call him if I need anything. He's trying to be nice. I want to deck him.

I walk back to my parent's car with my dad. I punch air. I kick dirt.

On the drive to the hospital, my mom's spitting everything at us. Me and my dad's cynicism supressing her psychic abilities. Her premonitions about tonight. How her life is shit. How we've treated her abilites as a piece of shit. How we've tread on her livelihood. (Seriously, I can't make this shit up, these are her exact words.)

I get to the hospital and fill out the form. it's 11:40.
Then the long wait.

I see a doctor at 2:30AM. His hands are smooth. He touches my neck. My spine. He performs standard checks. He tells me I'm okay. My dad insists on an x-ray. I get x-rayed. The technician says "Car accident, huh? That's no good." I tell her about the tow truck mechanic.

Her response put the first smile on my face for the evening: "That's a shit question, innit?"

I check out of the hospital at 3:00AM. It's freezing outside.

I go home. I get lectured by my mom. Clearly she's stressed out. Also because her life is shit. Because she's on the bottom of me and my dad's shoes. She stresses that my life could've ended tonight. It never even crossed my mind. I feel guilty.

I get to sleep at 4:00 AM.

I pray that I'm able to dream about the accident so I can study it in my dreams.

I dreamt about psychotic killers who gouged their own eyes out, cut on themselves and carry G36 rifles. It was definitely a nightmare with no soundtrack and no fear. I woke up really warm. No sweat.

It's 11:00 AM. I can't sleep anymore.

I start thinking about my crash the night before. Ironically, I decided two days before that I truly loved my car. Now it's gone. Rage. Anger.

I need to probably get a new car. God. A new car. I have a decent paying job, but I'm not made of money. And since I was never able to get the things I wanted during my college years, this last year has been a whirlwind of purchasing all the things I wanted. You know...going nuts.

I went back to Blue Like Jazz. About Miller and his friend who never bought clothes.

I entertained the idea.

What if I didn't buy clothes? Heck, what if I didn't buy ANYTHING? The whole year?

I dismissed it. I love shopping too much. I like buying shit.

But buying another car. God.

What about buying only absolute essentials for a year?

It's possible.

And that's where this accidental experiment comes in.