Tinaciouslee!

Beauty and Lifestyle Blog

Archives for May 2012

Confusion!

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I was hell bent on buying the Asus K43SD that I decided to start making rounds at Cyberzone yesterday. I spend a little over three hours scouring the property for the right seller who can give me the best offer. I usually don’t spend a lot of cash on other things (yes, even when I go on a shopping spree, my shopping money is of reasonable account, let me tell you) but when I do, I make sure I weighed all options. Since I’m lazier than a sloth, my options were limited to: Shopping around online and shopping around Cyberzone.

I know I could get even better savings shopping at Gilmore or Green Hills or something but I really don’t like traveling all the way to certain places for something when I can buy the same thing at somewhere near my place at a relatively same price. So there. That’s my take on things. Anyway, this is one of the most exciting times for moi because I just love the anticipation. But, as I rounded up my search, I decided to take a quick peek at Toshiba kasi I wanted to check out if they have the R830 in stock. What I found, was this beauty:

And the best part is, I can get it at about the same price as the Asus lappy I’ve been eyeing for weeks. Obviously, this threw me off the loop! I can’t decide which one to get! As you already know, I’ve been a longtime fan of Toshiba, having owned two tosh lappies already with no problems whatsoever so when I see a bargain as tempting as this (the guy offers to hook me up with lifetime anti virus, freebies like a mouse and other accessories, etc.), I really need to do my homework. I asked my boyf’s take on things and from what he gathered, Tosh is the better choice.

Unfortunately, this particular model (as well as several others) were just launched last week so I couldn’t find any reviews locally and overseas. I literally spend all morning looking for its model name in the US, UK and AU market and found only a similar model, not the actual model. I checked CNET and all other gadget review sites and based my decision on what these folks have to say about its cousin.

It’s a mix of good points and bad points. One thing’s for sure, it’s on the really low end of the spectrum and it looks like it, and that’s why I am thinking twice about buying it. You see, the deck of the laptop looks and feels so freakin plastic-ky, it’s obviously cheap. Specs-wise, Tosh’s C840 is similar to Asus’ K34SD, even surpassing the latter when it comes to storage (Asus got 320G while Tosh got 500G), plus it has Bluetooth (don’t really need it but it’s a welcome addition). But when it comes to looks, Asus looks and feels more expensive than it really is and don’t think I’m being biased about it, I’m not. The difference is obvious.

Apart from the looks, not a lot of critics were impressed with its cousin’s performance, garnering only a mediocre three stars on CNET while Asus got 4/5 from a PC mag review.

The thing is, I have my heart set on the Asus. Deicding which one to get is really hard at this point because I know Tosh lappies are built like tanks and I have no clue how Asus will compare. On the other hand, Asus got really excellent customer service (this has been consistent for years, even back when I decided on buying my first Tosh) and from what I gathered, their lappies are just as hardy as Tosh. Even now, I can’t make up my mind about it.

Hay, first world problems, hahahah!

Geeking Out

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Not a lot of people know that I have semi-extensive technical knowledge about laptops, mostly because I love them and I tend to pore over every imaginable content about them when I’m on the verge of buying one. Which brings us today, where I’m currently obsessing on a bunch of lappies. I’m planning on buying one on the second week of June and I’m torn between trusty Toshiba (I owned two laptops) or the chart topping Asus. Here’s the candidates:

For Asus, I want the K series in pretty pink:

Only 29,995!

And from Toshiba, the R830:

Price: Probably expensive

I know I’ll probably buy the Asus K series because it’s cheap and chic. On the other hand, I feel that if I intend to spend a little over 30 grand for a laptop, I might as well go all out with the Tosh r830. I love that both are light, thin and specs-wise, they’re awesome. I can’t get over their brushed aluminum finish (my laptop shells are made of plastic), I bet they feel so expensiiiiiiive!

The Tosh lappy bagged the Editor’s Pick over at CNet. Which means two things. One, it’s really a marvel of engineering and two, I can’t afford it.

So now I’m seriously weighing my options so by the second week of June, I get a new laptop already. I will miss my ol’ trusty white Tosh though. It has always been a dependable machine and rolled with the punches with not as much as a whirr. However, I do need to upgrade (mine’s about four years old already though I did not experience any problems at all) and my niece might appreciate this more. So… we’ll see. I can’t wait to start shopping around for it!

Update: K, so I decided to buy the Asus K4SD and is on my way to scout for the store to buy. I’m not giving up finding a cheap and chic Tosh machine though. Here’s to hoping for an awesome lappy!

7th!

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We totally forgot to celebrate our 7th month of “togetherness” and the belated celebration was a bit sablay too (my fault!) but it’s okay, we’re going strong 7 months in the running 🙂 This was taken on our way to dinner, so far one of my favorites. Incidentally, we crossed path with a colleague and he remarked how “blooming” the boyf and I looked that night. Awwwww 😀 Kinilig ako, sobra, hahahahah!

Walking Down Memory Lane

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Note: Apparently, I did not publish one of my more well-meaning post. I hope my girlfriends are reading this so that they would kiss and make up already! Currently posting all “accidental drafts” on this space so don’t be surprised to see lots of old news in here 🙂

I have been chatting with my old parkner in crime, Rhae last night. Apart from the usual pleasantries and how’s life been treating you bit, we again, as always, looked back from where we are now.  I used to be part of the bestest group ever, The WebDaters. We were drinking buddies, colleagues, seatmates, and most importantly, we were all good friends. It seemed to me, no matter where we are, no matter what happened, the group will survive just about anything because seriously, friendship is an unbreakable bond, right?

Sure, the group managed to survive the great falling out of 2007, the distance, the pikunan but there was one hurdle the group has yet to overcome, the clusterfuck of 2011.

Well, it all started before my birthday when two of my buddies, Rhae and Hannah Beh tried to plan something special for my then-upcoming birthday. Somehow, someone voiced his displeasure over a seemingly well-meaning gesture and decided to fuck things up because that’s what he does best.

Trouble ensued and eventually, the group imploded. I couldn’t say anything about the whole spectacle then because I myself was in a very bad place at that time. While I do appreciate the gesture, in fact, it was probably one of the sweetest things friends did for me, I sort of felt bad that things went the way they did.

So, fast forward a year later, my old pakner and my Hannah Beh still ain’t talking. Which is a pity because I started inviting people to my house for a little domestic drinking and two, Rhae’s about to get hitched and she and I wishes the whole group to be there, well all except one guy in particular, who is forever banished from the group, or what’s left of it anyway.

Looking back now, I do wish things turned out differently. But I learned two things. First, I learn that things would’ve been better had I shut my mouth about a lot of things and two, years of resentment can destroy relationships, even the best ones.

CLEAN HOME!

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I just got myself a semi-permanent housekeeper who will clean things for me twice a month. As you know, there are perils in raising a cat, especially one as big and as fuzzy as Dimitri. Apart from triggering my asthma and having sneezing spells at least twice a week, everything you own will be fuzzified.

Yes, from your shoes down to your food, there will be cat hairs on/in them, trust me. It never occurred to me that my house was THAT dirty until the boyfriend laughingly said my house is “sobrang madumi” or really dirty. To make it worse, my baby bro seconded it with, “lahat may buhok ni Dimitri” or everything have Dimitri’s hair all over. That sorta ended the denial that I’ve been in for years and so I did the unthinkable, I asked the boyf to find me a housekeeper. As always, he delivered.

Mind you, I’m not  blaming the state of my house to the cat alone, he can’t help it, he was born that way lol. I do have my own shortcomings, I was not raised learning how to properly clean a house. My sister and I, we know shit about the subject.

Now, there are two reasons why I never hired a housekeeper in the past. One, I felt that I was doing a great job semi-cleaning the place or at the very least, making it live-able. Unfortunately, I was really doing a crappy job at it. Two, I’m sorta embarrassed to let other people see how much filth the house has accumulated over the years. Well, the boyf did a great job easing me into the zone and finally, when the housekeeper came, my shame was close to just… well, I didn’t know how to clean, so here’s the situation (motions the rest of the house).

[slideshow]

And my God, she did such a fantastic job, patiently sifting through the dirt and dander, whizzing past dust bunnies, dead cockroach and  grease like a fucking sponge dripping in dishwashing liquid. Man oh, man. My room, after the housekeeper cleaned it for more than two straight hours, looked so unrecognizable, it’s making my head spin. What really made me love my new housekeeper is that she actually cleaned my shoes and books, individually. ZOMG. INDIVIDUALLY.

Yes, obviously, I took pictures. Because I want to remember how new the house looked after a thorough scrub down. She’ll return two weeks later to clean the rest of the house and will be summoned for a bi-monthly basis. I’m so happy! So much so, I overslept this very morning and failed to cook the boyf a decent breakfast 🙁 Sorry sweetie 😀