Selfie Stick

Sak and I are now back from our vacation to Japan. It was a marvelous, marvelous three weeks, and I have some serious post-vacation depression as a result.  Luckily we have a new buddy to lift our spirits - a pre-teen cat named Konbu - but that is a story for another post.

Throughout the trip I noticed something interesting - many tourists had these telescoping monopods in which to place their cell phones. A "selfie stick", if you will.

I may have giggled at the silliness of it each time I saw one, but really it's no more silly than the gorilla pod I typically use, right?  Plus you don't have to be as worried about someone swiping your camera, as long as you hold onto that stick pretty tightly.

Even though I'm pretty sure you can find these on amazon or elsewhere, I thought it'd make a good souvenir, so we priced smart phone monopods at camera-store-staples Yodobashi Camera and BIC camera.  There are a lot of different brands at various price points, I suppose depending on what functions they have or how long they are.  Ultimately I ended up buying one from the random-everything store Don Quijote though, for about 30 dollars.

I gave it to my brother and his girlfriend, since they have lots of friends and like to take group selfies. They should be able to fit a lot of people in their pictures due to the stick's length as well as my tall brother's long arms!

The nice part about this particular selfie stick is that it is blue tooth enabled.  You stick your phone on the end, hold it out, and the button on the handle triggers the shutter.  Actually, you don't even need to put the phone on the stick, since it's basically a shutter remote.  The button worked with the phone from an entire room away! Not sure what purpose that might have, but I think it's pretty cool.

Though I personally will be sticking with my gorilla pod since I like the wide scenery it allows me to capture, a selfie stick is a great way to get a nice picture of both faces and location!  They seem pretty popular in Japan at least!

Lootcrate

Do you like monthly subscription services?  I've always been intrigued by birchbox, even though I rarely use make-up.  I bought my grandmother a tea-of-the-month subscription once - it was pretty cool but she ended up with way too much tea.

Anyway, Friend E/Cousin T told me about this monthly subscription for videogame/anime/pop culture paraphernalia, and I couldn't resist trying it out!

It's called Lootcrate, and each month they send out a box of goodies loosely based on a theme.  My first box, May, was "adventure" themed.  I signed up for the 3 month plan to try it out - each box is ~$12 +s/h, and they say each one has a retail value of at least $40.  Of course, it's all random stuff - so I guess you have to decide whether it's worth the price for a surprise.

They send a tracking code when it gets near the time of arrival (end of month) - luckily ours was delivered after we returned from the convention!

SQUEEE. GEEKY STUFF YAY.

Well, what have we got? A fancy word-art Link shirt? Keeping!  Minecraft and Adventure Time action figures? For Penga-Sis.  Stickers and a techno gamey music from a show I don't watch? Why not? Collectible Lootcrate pin too.

And a reallly cool bottle opener.

 I will give it to my brother, since he drinks more beer than I do.

Anyway, just my own estimates on stuff worth..

Shirt: $10-$20
Minecraft hanger: ~$8 on amazon
Adventure Time mystery tin: ~$8 on amazon
Zelda bottle opener, CD and stickers: ???

So I guess it's safe to say the box is worth at least the $12+ I paid! Haha.  I like this service a lot! It's a surprise present for every month! And no, I am not paid in boxes or otherwise for this 'review'. :P

I can start stockpiling Christmas/birthday presents for my friends and fam since between them all they represent the entire gamut of fandoms.  Except for Friend E, cause he already subscribed to his own boxes :P

Anyway, I think this would be a great present for that geeky friend/family member that is hard to buy for. I can't wait for our June box!

Christmas Etsy Shopping

Ever since the year Sak gave me a paper shredder for Christmas, we decide together what to get - usually a gift we can both use.  And this year Sak let me open it early - a Silhouette! :) So that explains the blog-absence. I have been stressing out trying to finish my holiday projects before the mailing deadline! I'm maybe 75% of the way there. But I should have lots to share after it's all over!

Anyway, if you're like me and still stressing about finding the perfect gift for that name you drew or that friend you have, you should check out my friend's mom's Etsy store I just found out she had. It's called A Bowtique Shop, and she sells themed hair bows. And seriously - pretty much any theme. Sailor Moon, sports teams, My Little Pony, Disney and beyond. Even customs! (Also very reasonably priced, I might add. The small ones are only $3.50.)

Anyway, here's some of my favorites!

LOVE LOVE LOVE.

The feather is so cute!

My friend is the lovely picture model, too! Hehe.

Her bows are so cute and creative! I bought the Sugar Rush mini and the Sailor Moon Mini for gifts. :) Anyway, just thought I'd share my friend's shop in case anyone is looking for some last minute stocking stuffers!

See you all again after the mailing deadline!

Phone Charms

Poor lil blog, so neglected.  I've been hard at work on some art, and its been eating my after-work free time. Hopefully I can show you the finished piece soon, cause I'm pretty proud of it. :)

I've also been feeling quite anxious the past two weeks. You know that feeling..like something's not right and something must get down now now now or else the whole planet will collapse? That's how I've been feeling. So itchy and annoying! But the weird thing is I don't know where this gnawing feeling comes from. What exactly am I anxious about? I narrowed it down to three major stressors (one is an upcoming work presentation, for example).  I'm hoping that once these issues are resolved, my anxiety will go away.  If not, then maybe I am developing some sort of problem. :P

Anyway, retail therapy never hurts! Check out who moved in on my phone..

 Totoro! My neighbor!

He's an earphone jack charm, the new alternative to phone straps!

Just plug him right into your unused ear phone jack, and he's there to keep you company!

I know they aren't the most practical. They might break off if you're not careful, but my are they cute! He was $2.99 from Legends in Cupertino.  I also got a two-pack of a bee-bunny charm (which I gave to my cousin B), and a panda-bunny charm (which I gave to my mom). Here's my mom's charm in action!

So cuteee!

Anyway, these things are extremely popular, and there are sooo many different kinds! I want to collect more!

(source) Chi!

(source) Cuppy cake!

(source) This one glows!

(source) Artoo!

(source) Usamimi!

 You can also buy the plugs by themselves and...make your own! How cool is that? Doesn't your phone need a custom hat? :)

PSA: "Free" Toothpaste

One of Sak's favorite blogs, grocery coupon guide, mentioned a pretty good deal - now until Saturday, Walgreen's has free toothpaste.  He thought you'd all like to know.

Or rather, you buy a $3 tube of toothpaste, and they will give you a $3 voucher to use in the store. (Double check to make sure the price tag on the Colgate says you get money back.)  Or, if you save your newspaper coupons, use the Colgate manufacturing coupon and actually make a little bit of money.  Sak had a net gain of about 50 cents using his coupon.

May the toothpaste be with you.

Cheaper than IKEA

I'll start by saying that my mother has been a lifelong supporter of thrift stores. She loves them, and doesn't really have limits on what she'll buy there, as long as she thinks it's a good deal.

And like any rebellious daughter, I grew up hating the second hand stores. I'd plead to stay in the car when she'd take me along. In my youth, they were adverse simply because of unpleasant "thrift store smell" of age and must. In my teens, it was more than the odor - it was the embarrassment. "Dude, only poor people shop here!" I'd whine. It's weird. I don't think I did any critical thinking about social class or relative wealth in my teens. I never demanded name brands or anything like that. I just had this hang-up over thrift stores and school lunch. It was engrained in my head that that was a poorness line that shouldn't be crossed.

Once I saw some boys from my school in a thrift store, and I nearly died. I remember crouching behind the racks, praying they wouldn't see me. Funny that it never entered my mind as to why they were in the store in the first place. The teenage mind is a rather silly thing. It's unfortunate the hipster movement didn't make it's way into my highschool. As annoying as it can be, I probably could have benefited from some enlightenment on the coolness of thrift stores.

Luckily, I grew out of the negative prejudices at some point, and now have returned to embrace the thrift store as I try to find cheap furnishings for our new home. My mother is elated, of course. I'm sure she thought the day would never come that her snooty daughter would voluntarily frequent a Goodwill.

But what I hadn't considered was Sak's reaction.

"They smell funny."

Well, true - they do. In the entire history of the thrift shop, I'm sure that's never changed. It's just ironic that I have to strong-arm him to go with me, much like my mother did when I was younger. What goes around comes around!

But unlike her I have a slight advantage. Since Sak doesn't want me buying any expensive furniture - he'll tolerate the stink. And he's even pleased with what we find, provided I clean it up first and promise not to buy any mattresses.

So far we've found:

a side table for $7.99

a lacquer coffee table for $24.99

several picture frames ranging $3-$7 each

a brand new lamp for $7.

a brand new fireplace tool set for $12.

and a brand new Cherubi Pokemon plushie (for Penga-Sis' birthday) for $1.99!

Not bad, but we still have a lot to find!

Do you thrift shop? Is it more passion or chore for you? For your significant other? Anyone want to do a Bay Area thrift-crawl with me?