slice

I dreamed about studying in the Czech Republic again, and how my teacher would hand me flash cards printed in Czech and Russian while she cut chunks of smoked salmon and tuna. I was trying to get myself registered as a writer so I could eat in the canteen for cheap, and there was an election coming up.

I'll lay the influence on this article from the NY TIMES because I remember voting against all. What delightful democratic chaos.

Last night we went grocery shopping. Should I ever get back on a day shift job I will still have to get up at 1 or 2 in the morning to do this. Shopping during the day is too stressful, with hordes of people and carts blocking the aisles and every possible annoyance. At night all you need to work about are the stockers and the stoners. Anyhow, food this week is concentrated around "easy enough for Amanda to prepare." With Alan under the weather he hasn't felt much like cooking. So we have couscous and pasta, soup, hot dogs and microwave things. It reminds me a bit of when we first started dating. We spent enormous sums taking each other out to dinner, and then we had to scrape through the rest of the month on cheap meals at home.

I should really drive to Dragon's Lair and pick up my dvds. But it's humid and sticky outside. Time to read more about the Ventrue, my most favorite of the Vampire clans.

(no subject)

NEW Prisoner of Azkaban trailer

Not as cohesive as the first trailer, but full of little details that will make fans excited. Oh man Trelawney looks dead on!

alienware

I have made a point in my life, whether accidentally or intentionally, of being a brand-blond consumer. I think it has a lot to do with getting my cousin's Jordache jeans way after they were cool.

Anyhow, I try to buy based on utility, quality and the occasional whim. I try to avoid a lot of big name brands because of the cost, and many odd knock-off because of quality. Alan drives me crazy sometimes in the grocery store because he has this magic habit of grabbing the most expensive foil/bread/mustard/black beans on the shelf without realizing it. My inner miser screams in agony. Somethings I will drop lots of money on, like hair care products or fresh fish. In the end it balances out.

I've never based my own image on brands. Growing up I didn't have the money to care too much about my clothes or shoes. Getting a pair of Doc Martens was a huge deal, and possibly one of the first purchases I made while conscious of the brand and its image. It's rare thing, however.

My first major full time job was with a dot com, and I did a lot of research on IT products. I used to be able to run through numbers at the drop of a hat, and I know which porn site copied Compaq's entire part numbering scheme so that when you search for a certain model Presario you end up with links to anal sex videos. I grew quite fond of Toshiba products, because I did so many of those SKUs. It was back when they were introducing the Satellite business models, and I lusted after those shiny machines like nothing else.

I have a fondness for Toshiba and Fujitsu that comes from all those SKUs and years of hardy service from my little silver laptop. From time to time I would indulge my craving and spend an hour perusing the new model Toshibas with an envious heart. But honestly it never really mattered to me what "brand" my computer was so long as it had the requisite speeds and reliability. Well other than my commitment to never getting a Mac because I just don't like them and I spent years of my education dealing with them.

My brand blindness has suffered a serious blow. Thanks to Alan, since he pointed out Alienware's insanely cool Area 51 laptops. Suddenly I am contemplating a conspiracy blue case and a finance plan for a laptop nearly $1000 more than what I envisioned spending one day. What a beautiful machine. I'd have a lot of fun taking that to Metro, I'm sure.

Do I really need it? Probably not, in the grand scheme of things. My little Fujitsu works just fine, and I don't have the available cash to even seriously consider a new machine right now. Do I want it? Hell yes.

So I'll keep putting away some money every month. I'll figure out what I want to do with my Fujitsu when I upgrade. I'll think about whether I really want a gamer's laptop or just one that will burn cds and keep me on the internet. I'll try to shake this absurd desire to have something that's supposed to be cool. Though one could argue having a laptop at all is another cool-ness issue, but I try not to think about that.