The Park

The big break-up between Steve Jobs and NBC caused the latter to move in with Amazon. Thus, begins a budding romance.

I was rather perturbed when I heard the announcement stating the split of NBC and iTunes. I was ready to subscribe for the second season of Heroes. Alas, it is not to be. NBC decided to befriend Amazon and add their 07 fall shows to Amazon Unbox. Truth be told, I was bummed. Without realizing it, I was morphing into those crazy iTunes fanboys. I was ready to lambast the move. I was ready to protest. I was ready to label Unbox as an unfit medium.

Ah. But sanity came. Slowly.

Without further ado, I downloaded the first episode of Heroes S2. It was a test. And oh, boy. Meh, likey. The video quality is way much better than iTunes. I mean, waaaaay better. Almost DVD-like quality. As much as I love the convenience of iTunes, I am dissatisfied with its grainy images. But with Unbox offering a better video quality, I am considering moving to this service. Hm. However, it seems that I wouldn’t be able to watch the videos on my iPod. I am torn.

Pros. It easy to use. The video and sound quality are excellent. It has a fast download time.

Cons. Severe limitations to Mac/iPod users.

The verdict: I am opting a wait-and-see mode.

update: I think there are minor kinks in the app.

Oooh, pretty!!

It looks a lot like the iPhone. Me, likey. Should I pre-order (because is is so purty)? Or not (because it’s only 16gigs)?

Decisions. Decisions.

update: (three hours later)
Yes, I succumbed to the temptation. Steve Jobs is evil.

update: (a few more hours later)
I am mulling over the pre-order. The ‘new’ iPod classic 80gigs is only $249 and the 160gigs is $349. Hm. I had the nano but I killed it (accidentally). Don’t ask how. So I’ve been really planning to purchase another player. I want something that I can watch videos on my downtime at work (especially on weekend shifts).

I have a couple weeks more to go…

Hm. As I mentioned a couple of months ago, I wouldn’t be purchasing a whole lot of stuff I used to binge on. It seems that my not-so-stringent measures to cut back some expenses have been fruitful. Let’s see.

The Galleria. I have been an extremely good girl. A+.

Saks. Okay, so I went there once or maybe twice. But take note that I only bought from the clearance section. And I didn’t even look at the shoes. Sniff. B-.

Manga (Englsh translation). And I am not kidding about this. You wouldn’t believe the powerful temptation and urge whenever I drop by Barnes & Noble or Borders. My tally has not even come up in two figures. A-.

Manga (Japanese). Omigod. I can almost cry with sheer agony. No, I have not acquired a single one since my abstinence. A+.

Figs. Sad to say, I haven’t visited HLJ in weeks. A+.

DVD (anime). Nope, no DVDs, R1s nor R2s, either. A+.

Novels. I can’t live without having a new book to read. It is simply inexcusable. D-.

Bed, Bath, and all those girly things. There is something about going to BBB or Linens ‘n things or any store of this kind. I always manage to grab some unnecessary knickknack, may it be a candle, a bedspread, or pillow. B-.

Electronics. I am not sure how to grade myself with this item. After that self-imposed cutbacks, I got myself a new computer. Of course, my old CPU crashed on me, so I had a valid excuse with the desktop. And I refuse to live without an internet connection. As for the ‘nice’ monitor, I did have a perfectly good one and I did not need a new one. Then again, I did not acquire anything else. So I guess I’d give myself a B.

Overall, I think I deserve a B. *bows to imaginary applause* I had my moments of sin but I had moments of self-control. Hopefully, it’ll stay this way til we move in the new house. Sigh. With the holidays fast approaching, I don’t think I can take it anymore. My only *consolation* is that I am saving some money. Hee.

Oh, as for gift expenses this season, they do not count. XD

Gawd, I finally finished unpacking. In a few months, we’ll be moving to the new house. Argh. It’s a pain, but it’s necessary.

Anyhow, I bought a new 19in LCD monitor and Bose speakers to commemorate the move. (Of course, that’s a totally bogus reason.) I’m kinda liking the screen since it’s 1440×900. As for the speakers, they’re fine. It’s high time for me to purchase new ones anyway. My old ones were 3 years old.

Argh. I hate moving.

I’ll be staying at my cousin’s house for about six months. That’s enough time to close the deal on the new house.

At this span of time, I promise not to acquire any more junk. Translation?? I won’t be going on shopping binges in Saks or the Galleria. I won’t be buying linens or bedspreads or towels or other pretty things in Bed, Bath, and Beyond. Most importantly, I won’t be purchasing anime-related goodies.

. . .

Erm, let’s rephrase the last line. Holding off the anime fig collecting is easy. I can turn blind eye to merchadises, such as bags, keychains, calendars, and plushies. I can probably pull off the no DVD-rule. (Although I’ll most likely extend it to about a couple of DVDs per month.) But abstinence on manga??? The sacrilege! That’s just not possible, especially now that I won’t be unpacking my book collection for another six months.

Oh, and this extends to other book forms. Of course, my book-buying will be reduced to the bare minimum. That means, going to any bookstore only once a month. Although I am not responsible for the inevitable drooling nor mental instability once I step into the store.

EDIT: Oh, great. Now, I just received an email from Borders mentioning that I have earned a personal shopping day. And that’s 10% off the total price. Ugh.