Ipod Shuffle 3 gen

As most or all of you know by now that Apple has released the 3rd generation ipod shuffle. What is a shuffle you may ask? First off it is Apple's low end ipod that doesn't include a screen just controls. The biggest draw in my opinion was the fact that you could add any songs you wanted into the shuffle or you could have itunes randomly put songs on the shuffle. I like the 2nd option because who wants to hear the same old songs over and over again. With a large library of songs sometimes it is hard to listen to all your songs. This way, you can get a random pick of your songs and if you don't like them you can skip them.

Onto the new ipod shuffle. It is small by the pictures around the net. Compared to the first and second generation it is smaller than both but it still retains the clip of the 2nd gen shuffle. You will notice however, there are no buttons to be found on the shuffle except for the slider/button that either turns the shuffle on and switches between random songs or playing the songs down the line of the play list. To change the volume, skip back/forth or play / pause the song, all those controls are built into the headphones that come with the ipod. There have been lots of discussions about the build of this shuffle.

Maybe Apple was looking to go minimalistic with the no button approach. If that was their intent, congrats. You have made a very simple inexpensive ipod the looks like a piece of gum. The downside about the controls on the headphones is the controls on the headphones. I have used the ear buds that come with the ipod. That is not a big deal to me. However, most people dread using the included buds and they prefer their own headphones. Yet if they plug in their headphones it will not work with this shuffle. There is an authentication chip in the ear buds that allows the ipod to play with the buds. So, if you wanted to use your own headset you are SOL.  You will have to either use the ones provided by Apple or wait and purchase 3rd part ear buds that will cost as much or even more than the shuffle itself.

There is another feature that Apple included in the new shuffle. When you press a button on the ear buds a voice will talk to you saying the name of the song, artist and or play list. You will have to load this software from itunes and itunes will create the voice and insert it into the shuffle. A good idea, but I usually don't edit my play list names, so it will be interesting to see how the voice handles my list.

To buy or not to buy.

For me, if I had $79 to play with, I would actually buy this shuffle. Why? Because I collect ipods. I like new shiny toys and I am a sucker that way. I use my 3rd gen ipod in the bathroom connected to a radio. I play movies and games on my itouch2. I'll listen to my music on my 2nd gen nano. I'll work out, if i get that started again, with my 2nd gen shuffle. And my 1st gen touch sits on my shelf collecting dust. I really do not want to pay $10 to upgrade the OS so that it can use the App Store. But never say never. BTW,  this is how frivolous I am. I had the first gen itouch, and the only reason why I got the 2nd gen itouch was because of the external speakers. I really wanted an iPhone, and part of me still does. However, with the external speakers this is as close as I can get to having an iPhone.

Ipod Shuffle 3gen

Comes in Silver or Black.
4GB of Storage.
Comes with ear buds and usb cable.

My Watch Team

My obsession has hopefully stopped. What am I talking about? My watch collection will have to be put on hold for a while even stopped permanently. My baby girl put a stop to my crazy ass spending habits especially on my watch collection. I really do not blame her. She is right. I not only buy watches but I get them a week or so apart. This means that I'll wear the new watch for a few days and then when the other watch comes, I switch and wear the new watch. I really have a problem. But I gave my girl my word so my last watch purchase is the Casio G-Shock Mudman 9000A-1 I believe. This will be number 8 or 9 of the Casio G-Shock line. My collection has grown so much. Here is a list of the watches that I have:

Citizen SST Promaster II.
4 Invicta Watches.
8-9 Casio G-shock watches.
Casio Pathfinder watch
Seiko Pro Divers Watch
Swiss Army Pocket watch
An engraved Pocket watch from My boo
Fossil Watch
Armintron Watch

I am sure that is all. I will post the models as soon as I get a chance.

All i really want now is a case to display these watches. Maybe if I am really good I can get one.

All the Small Things...

Good Morning!

Today is Thursday and the sun is coming up through the clouds. There have been a lot of things going on this week that I would like to address. Just some small things that I want to list down.

First off, I went to dinner last night to a Thai place close to where I live. My girl and I went. Her taste buds were in need of flavor. The place is called Little Orchid. It is literally 5 mins from my house. Any ways, I read some reviews online and the place even had a Zagat rating. When we arrived the place was empty. We sat down at a corner table facing the window to the street. My girl looked at the menu online so she had an idea of what she wanted. My girl is from Laos and her family mostly cooks Thai food. So who better to go to a Thai place than someone who naturally eats Thai food. So she ordered papaya salad and laab with chicken. Or Chicken laab. I ordered pai thai and chicken satay. Everything except the pai thai came out quickly. I do not claim to be a food expert but usually when I have tasted something that I like I remember the taste. I tried her laab minus the spicy flavor and it tasted the way I remembered it. The chicken satay was OK. I usually get this I do not know why. The chicken is always kind of dry. But I ate this with some rice. The pai thai finally came out and I mixed the noodles and put some on my plate. Granted I don't usually eat pai thai but this was some how sweeter and stronger in taste than what I excepted. The sweetness of the dish was so strong that I actually had to put a spoonful of rice to absorb some of the sauce. Her take on the food was not as good as mine. She said the papaya salad was not up to par with her tastes and  that the laab was too bitter. All I could really do is shrug my shoulders and go with it. She also said that the pai thai was too sweet and strong. During our dinner, a pair of women came in and sat next to us by the window. My back was facing them but I was close enough to where I could hear their conversation. They ordered some thai ice cream for dessert. When it came, there was some interesting dialogue. Apparently their ice cream had freezer burn. That is when you leave something in the freezer for a while and ice builds up on top of the food. They flagged one of the waitresses and told them their issue. The waitress responds by saying oh it is just frozen from the freezer. Did you want me to put this in the microwave for a little bit? The girls for obvious reasons said no thanks. We then promptly paid our bill and left the restaurant. I do not think we will go back to that place, ever.

I have a growing obsession with collecting things lately. This time it is watches. I have had a number of watches in my possession before, but it was not until recently that I have purchased a whole lot more. I am actually waiting on my last purchase to arrive this week. It is a Casio Pathfinder. I can't wait to get it and try it on. I think my next purchase will be a case to display and hold my watches. Right now, the newer watches are in their respective boxes but my older ones are out in the open in a drawer. It will be nice to have a central place where I can keep all my watches together. I am not sure if I will pick up other watches, but with my nature I highly doubt that I can stop. I just have to look around for some great deals and obtain watches that do not break the bank. I am still in saving mode if you can believe that. So I need to try to save some money for our trip to Hawaii.


I have also found myself trying to get rid of a lot of junk that I do not need. When I say junk, I mean a lot of unused, unseen items that tend to pile up in my room / place of chilling. What I started to do was write down certain projects that need to get done around the house. I have given each project a goal and certain projects even have steps to accomplish the goals. I did not add a time frame because I do not want to be tied down. But in order to accomplish each goal I may have to set myself limits. For me, I find it hard because I am lazy. I have my mind set to do something at home after work, but as soon as my shoes come off and I am in my comfy clothes I am out for the count. This has to stop but when? I do not know. I may take one project at a time and the little steps first. Because as the saying goes, "You cant start to walk until you know how to crawl." or was it, "baby steps first?" Any ways, it all about the small things!!

Have a good day.

Hump Day

I am writing this blog entry as a way for me to stay awake and focused. I am literally falling asleep at my desk. I just finished my 2nd cup of coffee and I still have not felt any effects. This is how bad I fall asleep. I am down to my last sip or so of coffee, and I'm reading some article on the web. I feel myself nodding away and wake myself up in time to catch me from not spilling my coffee onto my shirt. This has got to stop. I need to find something to do at work. I spent my lunch outside on the patio which was good because it gave me the chance to get some fresh air. Surprisingly it was cool yet bearable outside. I enjoyed that. I take my lunch usually around 1 or 2 pm so that when I get back to work I only have an hour or so of work left since I get off at 4pm. Today was a hard day since I was or have been falling asleep this whole day. It sucks. But hopefully it won't happen again tomorrow. The weather outside feels good. The clouds are out so it is not too sunny but not to cold either. I have finally wrote down some goals that I want to accomplish in the following months and I wrote to myself a pledge that I intend to keep. Most of the pledge is to stop my frivolous spending and to focus more on saving money. I need to save money not just for me but for my girlie as well. If I plan on marrying this girl, I have to give her parents a dowry. But upon looking this word up, I think the correct term is bride price. This is where I give her parents money for the blessing of marrying her. I don't really know what the purpose is but I will look it up. On top of this, I have to save money for our trip to Hawaii to see my best friend get married. I can't and won't miss that.

My girl has told me about this tradition of the dowry/bride price and I would just shrug it off as something that I will cross when I get there. But more and more each day it is becoming relevant. If I want to marry her I will have to produce the money. This kind of scares me since I do not really make that much so when I start saving up for this it will take a long time. Plus, I am not sure about who pays for what during the wedding, but I am sure I may have to pay for that also. Honestly I just want to go to Vegas and get married if I had the chance. Why do I have to jump over this hurdle to be with the one I truly love and care about. I think I am just afraid of not being able to spend money on myself as I have done for the past 7+ years or so. Ever since I started working after college, it has been all about me. Of course I wish I could go back and do a lot of things over. But I can not. I am 31 years old and I have nothing to show for it. Maybe I have multiple phones, some laptops, some ipods, and a list of other items but I do not have anything for the future. When the thought of the future comes to my head I think about the next big think I want to get. Not for anyone else but for me. That is my problem. I have been so kind and caring towards other people in my past that I think I just forgot how to do that. I would call myself a romantic guy but at the present I haven't really done anything romantic. I used all this up when I was in my twenties. I have to find away to get this back. She deserves better than what I can offer to her at the moment. All I can do is refocus my energy on my goals.

Wish me luck cause I sure could use it!

Oh so Tired

Today is Monday, the start of another week. I had a weird dream last night involving my ex. It was really weird. In essence I was trying to get back with her, but in the end I did not. This insert may not make sense for I do not know what to talk about. The last few days I have been in pain, my ankle is acting up. It is swollen and it hurts when  you touch it. During the night when I am trying to sleep or during the day today, it would spasm to the point where it would twitch my whole left. I am scared. I just want to get better and be able to live my life without such pain. I know I have to lose weight. I think I am. The jeans that I am wearing are unusually baggy today. I buy my jeans big, but the jeans today is really big. I had to go beyond my usually notch on my belt just to keep my pants from falling. Hopefully I can keep this up.

I have purchased a lot of items in my life. As you may know I am a gadget guy and I have to have the latest gadgets. I find myself containing my gadget (electronic) purchases and have not bought an electronic gadget in a while. However, watches are a different story. I have a pretty decent size watch collection. My current watch that I am wearing is the Casio G-Shock Riseman watch. This has been my latest purchase until I ordered a G-Shock Frogman. The frogman style has been on my wanted list for a while. It is a style that Casio has stopped manufacturing. It is a 25th Anniversary edition and is hard to find. Maybe not that hard to find. If you google it, some places have this watch. The good news is if you look on the Casio/G-Shock website this category is not there. I like limited edition items. I just have to find a place to display my collection.

My collection does not stop at watches. I have multiple sunglasses, all from Oakley, and I have started collecting  these big headed action figures. I have the Hulk, and I have Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow from G.I. Joe fame. You could also say that I have a large collection if writing instruments but mostly they are taken from my work environments. I would imagine these as a good hobby but I really need to focus on saving money so that I can go on a Hawaii trip and also to get married. I found my passion, I just need to find a way to organize, display, and focus on my hobby.

I told you this would not make any sense. It is just something that I had to get off my chest.

Happy Friday

Happy Friday! It was been one crazy week here for me. The last week started with a gout attack that lasted until, well it is still on going. I was unable at first to bend my knee a week or so ago. Then my knee was getting better to the point of it being able to bend but now not straighten. This is still going on. However, during the last week or so, it was so bad that I first was using a cane to move around and finally I had to use crutches. I've been on crutches from last week until Monday of this week. So needless to say, I am walking without crutches but I still can not bend my knee straight. For this pain, my gift was 2 days off last week. The result showed on my paycheck! haha Oh well. At least I have a job, my health is getting better and everything is A-OK!

I think that is all I want to write for now..my feet are hurting but its all good.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

Today is my girl's birthday!! WOOHOO!!!

We have been together for over a year, 2 years this Aug. Wow, just thinking about the day that I met her, I had a lot of stuff going on. I was at my old job as a project manager during my last few days there. I would actually leave early saying that I had an "interview" with another company and head straight to the OC to visit her. I would meet her at work and after her work we would go out to eat or see a movie or what not. The day I asked her to be my girlfriend, was one of those days where I left early to visit her. We went to a park and walked around. We sat on huge rocks overlooking a man made lake watching the ducks swim by. It was a pretty place minus all the graffiti on the rocks. Nice place to go during the day, but beware at night! You might get jacked! Ok, anyway, as we were lounging on a big rock, my butt hasn't forgiving me yet, I turned her around to look her in the eyes. I asked her to be my girlfriend. She thankfully said yes! I know its cheesy but it worked. We've been together ever since.

We have seen some good times and some bad times. But through all that we stood by each other. She is actually rubbing off on me. Or should I say she motivates me. She motivated me to get off my ass and get organized. Now I have less clutter in my room and my office. Everything is simplistic, well almost. Let's just say it is a work in progress. I now can go into my room take off my shoes and just lay down without having to look at piles of stuff everywhere. That is a good thing. We are now looking to save money for the future. And if you read any of my earlier posts you will understand that I have a hard time saving money. But this is for a good cause. We have a wedding to attend in Hawaii come this Sept, we want to save for a house and you know, marriage. Scary I know. She is the one. After all that searching and whining and praying for a long term girl to come my way, there she is. I am happy.


HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY LOVE!!

Hope your days are filled with blessings and good fortune.
Thank you for letting me be who I am and who I should have been.

I love you always.