To Be a Consumer Whore

Thankfully, I accomplished my first major round of Christmas shopping last night. I've been eager to ship out my gifts for the girls in New York, and to avoid the catastrophe that was last year--my shipment to the UK cousins arrived on or after Christmas.

I am just happy and relieved that the gifts have been wrapped and are ready for shipment (though I need to get their address first). I even wrote all the cards last night. Hopefully, hopefully, hopefully they will like the gifts. Now that I've taken care of that, I can take my time with the presents I don't have to ship. 

This topic of gift giving inevitably leads to my not-so-aggressive avoidance of acquiring things. This frugality of mine, per se, does not seem to apply to clothes. Ever. Most times I see something affordable or cheap (nearly always on sale) which I like, and that fits well. That's fine, I suppose--the accumulation of random articles of clothing whose cost you barely even feel every month when it's time to pay off the credit card bill. But then oftentimes this piece is unique--it's got a different color palette from the rest of your wardrobe or just an out-of-this-world fit (OK, maybe not that unique)--so that you then have to shop for another piece to go with that thing. When adding pieces to my closet I typically think of the frequency of wear. Higher frequency = bigger love. 

Now, I'm not saying that I buy crazy, loud clothing. That's not what makes the new individual pieces stand out from the rest of  my clothes. For example, right now I have got a brand new skirt still in its shopping bag and with tag attached. It consists of black, grey, and light grey--shouldn't be a challenge at all to find matching pieces. However, it's got a unique fit. Even if I do have a solid colored shirts--white, red, electric blue, black, whatever--they wouldn't necessarily work (and they don't) because of fit. The skirt hits a few inches above the knee and tapers there, but it's not quite a balloon skirt. The taper is very subtle, and the skirt has a higher waist, hits maybe just below the belly button.

Anyway, long story short, I whored out on Target.com again yesterday, as I saw a light grey long-sleeved shirt with bright red cuffs that might work with the skirt. Otherwise, I'll return both of them. I also bought a whole host of other things to take advantage of free shipping on orders over $50. (Those will, more likely than not, be returned to the store.) Don't want to pay more than $4 for shipping considering that's how much the shirt cost, do I? Note: I was browsing the racks at the physical Target store last week and found the skirt for $6.

After last night, I promised myself that I won't buy any more clothing for a long while. I am not going to set that goal at six months. I say this because while I was buying gifts for friends, I constantly wandered away to look at things for myself, and by things I mean clothes. I am frugal about everything else otherwise.

I'm on Blogger for the simple reason of starting afresh from LiveJournal, though it has been a long while since I last updated that. I still read my LJ friends' entries, so that isn't really helping my cause, but I do like Blogger, maybe because of its association with Google, and anything Google seems holy these days. I wish Chrome for Mac would come out soon. What the fuck is taking so long?

How does one find friends on this thing, anyway? That is really the only inconvenience I've found with Blogger, as opposed to LJ, which seems to be more network-/friends-oriented.

On November 22, I went to the Coldplay concert here in Salt Lake. It came as a complete surprise days before, when I received an e-mail confirming my selection to volunteer for Oxfam, which is traveling on the Coldplay tour to promote its cause. Volunteering meant that I would get a free ticket for the show, which was a no-brainer not to pass up. The volunteer job entailed being like an Oxfam salesperson of sorts. I can't say I enjoyed it no matter how good the cause. Going around approaching random people about e-mail sign-ups was rather torturous, but I was glad by the time it was over and we were dismissed to watch the show.

As for the show, the set list was amazing. I felt rather embarrassed when Coldplay played a couple of songs from their album X&Y, and I had virtually forgotten all the lyrics to those songs. It's been a hell of a long time since I've bothered listening to that album, for it disappointed me so. I think the band has come out and agreed with me about it, too--that its production and creative process were too contrived and too calculated. Viva la Vida feels much more natural and poetic, I think. They better keep it up, because I constantly have to vie for them against Matt's back drop of punk and rap music. Check out my Facebook for shitty pictures. I have not been able to figure out why my 1GB card will only allow up to 20 photos at any one time, so throughout the show I had to delete the shitty ones before I could take any new photos. I was using my compact camera, too, not the SLR.

What I really had in mind as I began this post, though, was the fact that I think planning is really all I ever think about and all I ever do. Admittedly, 30% of that might involve dreaming. In any case, I strive to accomplish a breadth of things. The obstacle to this involves a lack of direction, however. Considering how much foresight I seem to do, one would think that I had a whole host of endeavors I wish to pursue. I suppose I do have a good list of things, just not a way in which to accomplish these things. I don't know how I will afford my own place in New York City again, this time not a dorm but my own home. I just know I will try my hardest and work very hard to make it happen. Will I be able to reach my goal of living with a zero carbon footprint? What about taking care of my children? And those unholy New York property taxes? The list goes on. I am open to suggestions, by the way.

Had I Believed...

It has been a few days since Election Day, and I am still truly and pleasantly surprised. The same man whom I saw over a year ago at the Washington Square Park rally in Manhattan had snagged the nomination and subsequently the office of United States president, and by a large margin no less.

I still remember my sentiments after the rally. I was mesmerized by his speech, likening the orator's hold on me to that of a lively Christian service in which masses of people move to the music of their god. Obama moved me, and my recognition of this fact disallowed me from believing in him simply because of his oratorical skills and sincere disposition. Yet, I continued to support the Democrats in small ways, following the primary contests and even volunteering 30 minutes of my time at Obama's New York headquarters, researching media outlets in Harlem for an Obama (fundraising, I believe) event to be held there.

Gradually, my quiet support transitioned toward Clinton. I very well could be wrong in my support, not considering myself a particularly politically savvy person. But I admire Clinton greatly for her deep competence regarding the issues plaguing this country, as well as the breadth of her career and all that she has contributed. I voted for her on Super Tuesday.

However, I would be lying if I said that I prefer Obama more than Clinton or vice versa. In fact, I think either as president would be an admirable choice. The moment that Obama earned the Democratic nomination, he had my full support. I support him fully now that he has won and hope that he will not falter. I hope that he takes the best from all of his advisers' opinions and am confident that he will consult only the best, and make all final decisions only with the best and most rational judgment.

I can't wait for his administration to go into effect.

The only thing I wonder about now is whether I would've been even more excited and elated had I supported him from the very beginning--the junior senator from Illinois! Watching the final rally in Chicago on November 4, I could only imagine how much more amplified the energy was there than it was in Washington Square, where over 40,000 attended.