It's not exactly the same (I didn't want to rip it off entirely), but at the time I was listening to a lot of Daft Punk at the time. I generally prefer the remix though.
Love the song and the lyrics, thought "wow, that's a great motto for life in general".
Work It
Harder
Make It
Better
Do It
Faster,
Makes Us
Stronger
More Than Ever
Hour After
Our Work Is
Never Over
Daft Punk, drop that new album already!
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Friday, March 22, 2013
My 10 Essentials
Lately I've been reading (and thinking) about living life with less stuff. I looked around my place and thought about how many things I had that I rarely, if ever, use anymore.
After watching a video series on GQ today titled "10 Essentials", where they interview famous-ish people about the 10 things that they have that they cannot go without. It made me wonder what my 10 essentials were.
1) All Natural Crunchy Peanut Butter (President's Choice)
I eat this stuff, at least twice a day. It goes with everything. Pretzels, honey, chocolate, bananas, berries, etc... Even just by itself it's awesome. If you've never just had a teaspoon of peanut butter on its own, try it.
2) Coffee (preferably Kenya and Sumatra dark roast)
I am not one of those 5 coffees-a-day people, but I definitely need the 2 that I do have. Once I ran out and didn't have my morning coffee, I was definitely less alert during my drive to work. Other than bacon, I can't think of another smell that I love more than coffee brewing.
3) iPod (classic 160gb)
As someone who listens to music almost all day, I need my iPod. I can't even remember what it's like not having albums upon albums available whenever I want.
4) Computer/Internet/Facebook
This one is quite unfortunate, I'm online way more than I should be.
5) Chefs Knife (cuisinart 8")
I made the mistake of buying one of those huge 16 piece knife sets when I first moved out. The chefs knife gets used at least 80% of the time, if not more. I'd like to get a new one though...
6) Stainless Steel Water Bottle
I rarely leave my place without one. It goes to work, it goes to the beach, it goes to the gym. It carries water, smoothies or chocolate milk.
7) Watch
I don't understand using a cellphone as a primary method of checking the time. I've tried it, it makes me feel like a kid or a hipster. Neither of which I'm good with. I equate a watch to a cellphone the way Obi-Wan Kenobi compares a blaster to a lightsaber. "This is the weapon of a Jedi Knight. Not as clumsy or random as a blaster; an elegant weapon for a more civilized age." Be a man, wear a watch.
8) Premium 4-way Stretch Board Shorts (Hurley Phantom in Blue)
I've been playing beach volleyball for a couple years. I would see everybody wearing boardshorts, but I would just get swim trunks to play. I saw them at the mall for $75, I thought I would never spend that much on a pair of shorts. Recently I went to Marshalls and bought a pair, I can never go back to swim trunks. Super light, water resistant, quick dry, ultra flexible, I wear them to workout now instead of regular shorts.
9) Car (Toyota Matrix 2011)
I drive a Toyota Matrix. It's not glamourous by any means. Though having gone 2 weeks without a car when my previous car decided to die on the side of the highway, I definitely appreciate having one. It means I can go where I want on my schedule. No waiting for buses, trains or streetcars. No waiting outside in the dead of winter. No missing connections and having to wait for the next one to come by. I don't miss those days at all.
10) Comfortable Shoes (Geox Respira in Blue/Grey)
On working days, I wear shoes for at least 9-10 hours a day. Though I'm not on my feet, I still need comfortable shoes. Wearing something uncomfortable for that long can't be good.
Not only did it make me think about the things I really use, but it also made me think where to spend. Spending on "essentials" isn't really spending, more like investing.
This really took a long time for me to learn, coming from a family that's SUPER frugal. Growing up, if I would ask for the latest badminton racquet, running shoes or whatever, my dad's response would be "this is good enough, you don't need that". I never really believed him, but I had no choice. Now in hindsight, I see that maybe I wasn't fully right, but I was definitely half right. I'm not going to blow a ton of money on a Rolex now, but at the same time, I wouldn't just get a $5 watch from Walmart either.
The things on the list aren't meant to be things you need to survive, but they're things that greatly add to the quality of your life as you see it. Makes sense to make those area the most enjoyable you can, right?
After watching a video series on GQ today titled "10 Essentials", where they interview famous-ish people about the 10 things that they have that they cannot go without. It made me wonder what my 10 essentials were.
1) All Natural Crunchy Peanut Butter (President's Choice)
I eat this stuff, at least twice a day. It goes with everything. Pretzels, honey, chocolate, bananas, berries, etc... Even just by itself it's awesome. If you've never just had a teaspoon of peanut butter on its own, try it.
2) Coffee (preferably Kenya and Sumatra dark roast)
I am not one of those 5 coffees-a-day people, but I definitely need the 2 that I do have. Once I ran out and didn't have my morning coffee, I was definitely less alert during my drive to work. Other than bacon, I can't think of another smell that I love more than coffee brewing.
3) iPod (classic 160gb)
As someone who listens to music almost all day, I need my iPod. I can't even remember what it's like not having albums upon albums available whenever I want.
4) Computer/Internet/Facebook
This one is quite unfortunate, I'm online way more than I should be.
5) Chefs Knife (cuisinart 8")
I made the mistake of buying one of those huge 16 piece knife sets when I first moved out. The chefs knife gets used at least 80% of the time, if not more. I'd like to get a new one though...
6) Stainless Steel Water Bottle
I rarely leave my place without one. It goes to work, it goes to the beach, it goes to the gym. It carries water, smoothies or chocolate milk.
7) Watch
I don't understand using a cellphone as a primary method of checking the time. I've tried it, it makes me feel like a kid or a hipster. Neither of which I'm good with. I equate a watch to a cellphone the way Obi-Wan Kenobi compares a blaster to a lightsaber. "This is the weapon of a Jedi Knight. Not as clumsy or random as a blaster; an elegant weapon for a more civilized age." Be a man, wear a watch.
8) Premium 4-way Stretch Board Shorts (Hurley Phantom in Blue)
I've been playing beach volleyball for a couple years. I would see everybody wearing boardshorts, but I would just get swim trunks to play. I saw them at the mall for $75, I thought I would never spend that much on a pair of shorts. Recently I went to Marshalls and bought a pair, I can never go back to swim trunks. Super light, water resistant, quick dry, ultra flexible, I wear them to workout now instead of regular shorts.
9) Car (Toyota Matrix 2011)
I drive a Toyota Matrix. It's not glamourous by any means. Though having gone 2 weeks without a car when my previous car decided to die on the side of the highway, I definitely appreciate having one. It means I can go where I want on my schedule. No waiting for buses, trains or streetcars. No waiting outside in the dead of winter. No missing connections and having to wait for the next one to come by. I don't miss those days at all.
10) Comfortable Shoes (Geox Respira in Blue/Grey)
On working days, I wear shoes for at least 9-10 hours a day. Though I'm not on my feet, I still need comfortable shoes. Wearing something uncomfortable for that long can't be good.
Not only did it make me think about the things I really use, but it also made me think where to spend. Spending on "essentials" isn't really spending, more like investing.
This really took a long time for me to learn, coming from a family that's SUPER frugal. Growing up, if I would ask for the latest badminton racquet, running shoes or whatever, my dad's response would be "this is good enough, you don't need that". I never really believed him, but I had no choice. Now in hindsight, I see that maybe I wasn't fully right, but I was definitely half right. I'm not going to blow a ton of money on a Rolex now, but at the same time, I wouldn't just get a $5 watch from Walmart either.
The things on the list aren't meant to be things you need to survive, but they're things that greatly add to the quality of your life as you see it. Makes sense to make those area the most enjoyable you can, right?
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Time Traveling is Not Advised
During the holidays I had some free time on my hands. I decided that I would try to clean up my computer (the files, not the physical object). It has been long overdue. When I mean long overdue, I mean over a decade.
Every time we would upgrade the computer, the files would get shifted from one hard drive to the next. Each time, it would be listed as something like "D Drive Backup". This happened several times over the years. It was quite the time warp, I could see what was on my desktop in 2004, projects I was working on, what songs I was listening to, etc... Some of the folders and files went back to 2000.
I have to admit, it was kinda neat. Until I stumbled upon particular folders. I had saved chat logs, emails and photos as well. I decided to open a chat log that I had between my ex gf and I from 2005 and take a read through. What a mistake that was.
As I read through our conversation, I was reminded of how good things were between us at it's best. I had forgotten how much she actually understood me. From there, I had to stop and just sit there for maybe 15 minutes to process all the thoughts that came rushing in. I really thought I was past everything and I thought I could handle opening the file. I don't know if I was wrong or if it just opened old wounds.
I never did get back to cleaning up my computer from there. The files still remain, as I didn't really know what to do with them. Maybe I should throw them away, as to not repeat the same experience. At the same time, scars remind us of the past mistakes we have made and lessons we should keep. Maybe I'm over thinking this.
Every time we would upgrade the computer, the files would get shifted from one hard drive to the next. Each time, it would be listed as something like "D Drive Backup". This happened several times over the years. It was quite the time warp, I could see what was on my desktop in 2004, projects I was working on, what songs I was listening to, etc... Some of the folders and files went back to 2000.
I have to admit, it was kinda neat. Until I stumbled upon particular folders. I had saved chat logs, emails and photos as well. I decided to open a chat log that I had between my ex gf and I from 2005 and take a read through. What a mistake that was.
As I read through our conversation, I was reminded of how good things were between us at it's best. I had forgotten how much she actually understood me. From there, I had to stop and just sit there for maybe 15 minutes to process all the thoughts that came rushing in. I really thought I was past everything and I thought I could handle opening the file. I don't know if I was wrong or if it just opened old wounds.
I never did get back to cleaning up my computer from there. The files still remain, as I didn't really know what to do with them. Maybe I should throw them away, as to not repeat the same experience. At the same time, scars remind us of the past mistakes we have made and lessons we should keep. Maybe I'm over thinking this.
Friday, January 18, 2013
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