I’ve speed walked, climbed stairs, did crunches and lifted weights all day and I still managed to go home smiling about it..
Shopping is the most amazing workout ever.

So I thought I was done with my Christmas shopping but I STILL had to be dragged out of bed to go shopping again today cause my mom had tons of presents on her list to get. I’ve become something of a Christmas Consultant in my house *blek*.

Anyways, we were almost done except for this one person for whom we couldn’t, for the life of us, figure out what to get for Christmas. After my mind turned up blank for the 100^th time, I suggested the one thing Ms. Etiquette on msn.com condemned to the depths of gift etiquette hell – “Why don’t we get her a gift card?”

Mom: *silence* Huh?
Me: A gift card you know like gift vouchers only nicer la.. shiny *hee*

That sort of made me think about this whole gift giving thing during Christmas. Seems to me that the whole point of gift giving these days has been more or less reduced to fulfilling social obligation – which is sad since the gift giving tradition was meant to show the other person that you really did take the time to think about giving them something that would make them happy. That is precisely why the gift card is seen by some as the ultimate evil in gift giving – it reduces the “I thought you might like this” to “Here, think about what you like yourself”.

Here’s the irony though.. even though gift cards tend to say “I don’t know you well enough to know what you like”, I actually, honestly, still like them.

Seems too many ghastly novelty santa mugs and other horrendously misfitting presents have decensitised me a bit to the sentimental notions of the Art of Giving and lead me to the path of “Please just let me choose what I want” – terrible. Ah well, at least we only had to get a gift card for the last person on the list.. *consoles self*

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Grace's bimcbo shopping psychology #001:
Buying things for other people makes you happy but buying things for yourself while shopping for other people makes you happier.

Been surfing the net and checking out stuff I need/want for Christmas. Planning on spoiling myself a bit or at least convincing someone (Pa, if you’re reading, this is a HUGE hint..) to spoil me with something nice.

Was browsing for HP laptops and stuff when I came across this interesting post entitled “Get Ted's HP Gear!”. Turns out “Ted” just got a shipment of ten awesome new 6 megapixel digital cameras and photo printers from his “friends at HP”. You can check out some of these cool stuff here.

”Ted”, it seems, is giving away some HP photo gear to 5 people who can tell him a smashing sob story about why they want a new 6mp HP camera and HP photo printer.

FINALLY, someone’s openly invited me to whine about why I need more photo gear – and he’s willing to give it to me if I whine really well too! *coolness* haha...

Here goes:

Dear (Santa) Ted,

I really really really really REALLY need (read: want) a new HP 6mp camera and HP photo printer because I’ve been a really good girl this year. I’ve done countless freelance (read:literally, free) digital camera assignments for friends and family members and my current gear has got real worn out real quick. A brand new HP camera would really save me from having to squint at terribly scratched up screen of my current compact camera. Besides, my current compact digital camera is only a measly 3.1mp!! There are webcams with higher mp than that.

Please Ted (read: Santa), give me a new 6mp HP camera so the other kids won’t laugh at me and I won’t have to become a recluse and hide under a rock. Some others may say that I already have a dslr camera but Ted (read: Santa), please don’t be fooled by them. I still need (read: want) a HP camera because you just can’t lug a dslr around in your handbag everywhere, everyday. A huge dslr isn’t exactly a fashion statement either. After all Ted (read: Santa), a slim and sexy new cam would really complete my outfit this Christmas *smiles innocently*.

As for the photo printer, that’s a no brainer – my current printer is clogged so until and unless I get a new one, it’s no more printing photos for me. Think about how disappointed my sweet old grandma will be when she expects me to print sharp, vivid family photos for her this Christmas in a jiffy with my amazing new HP photo printer (yes Ted, I am sucking up..) and I have to tell her that I don’t have one… Oh, the horror.. *pretends to faint in horror* Think about it this way Ted (read: Santa), if you give me a HP photo printer, it would go so well with the HP laptop I’m planning to get soon (yes, I’m sucking up again).

Anyways, I think that that’s about enough of whining to get my main intentions across. I just want to spread warm happy feelings around by using new HP photo gear to help friends and family and make the world a happier place (read: I just want cool new HP gadgets to show off to everyone so I’m sucking up big time to you and your “friends at HP” in order to possibly get it).

Love (not really),

Grace.

P/s: This post was brought to you by HP.

digital camera

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

On the topic of gadgets, Albert recently made some reverse mount lens rings for me but I haven’t been able to play with them properly until I went to Fraser’s Hill for the Youth camp.

It’s so much fun to go poking at stuff with this weird looking hybrid lens. I think I get something like a 1:2 scale image with it. Aside from the irritating black ring around the shot and the fact that control over my d.o.f. is more or less non-existant, it’s works really well for something that cost only about RM30 - RM40 (can’t remember exact figure). Scroll up and check out the alien looking bug i shot on a flower. I used my 18-75mm kit lens and a reverse mounted my 50mm lens on the end to shoot it.. I thought he looked so cool with the three dots on his head.. like something out of star wars *heee...*