In Motion

I've never understood the older generation's obsession with physical attributes. If you're Asian, you probably remember growing up surrounded by relatives who commented on your body shape/appearance. That was also the case for me. I am short, and also happen to have large hips and a large butt. To add to my ever-growing list of physical shortcomings, I also had acne-prone skin as a teen which led to huge pores and tiny scars on my face, which I still bear up to this very day. And year after year, at every family gathering, someone was bound to make a comment about one or all of those features. It wasn't just at every family gathering either. My own mother also constantly bewailed my huge hips and blamed my short genes on my grandmother on my dad's side. Even as a child, I saw through the absurdity of it all. It made no sense to me to comment on something I could not change by sheer will or effort, and was absolutely amoral. If I had been failing at school and ...

Getting paid for work done feels GOOD. All things considered, I mentally assent that I'm not a liability. I run the household, I provide companionship, I basically improve the quality of JW's life. But when I'm just draining monetary resources without putting anything back into the money pot, it's hard not to feel like I have to scrimp ALL the time so that I'm LESS of a liability than I already am. So after I got my first big pay, I felt really happy. Since I recently got a new phone, it also didn't hurt that I could cover the cost without dipping into our savings. It's so freeing to have your own money! Well, as long as you can think of it as YOUR own money. My very active guilt complex forces me to see it as OUR money and that I'm just doing my due diligence by contributing to household expenses. Bummer. Also, when you spend a week working just for $100, you tend appreciate every dollar you make to the fullest and spending becomes a little m...

So, smartphones. My HuaWei Honor 3C started acting up a few days ago, and now I can't use the camera or play videos on my phone. The apps crash all the time, too. Doing a factory reset didn't help, so I guess we'll have to conclude that it's a hardware issue. Which means getting a new phone, of course. My phones have always had a history of being durable (aka lasting way more than 3 years), so I was disappointed that my HuaWei only lasted a little more than 2 years. Great timing too, because that's just long enough for the warranty to be invalid. Not that I could claim it anyhow, being several continents away. I guess I'm also peeved because it was a purchase made after careful research and consideration of specs, and I had expected it to last me at least 5 years (by which the tech and specs would probably be outdated and then I could switch it out for a better phone in good conscience =P). Granted, like JW said, if you pack excellent specs and high per...