Sunday, January 04, 2009

New Year Blues

I've been a bit uninspired blogging-wise over the past few days... I think the grime of having worked through the Christmas holidays is still upon me and has just been a bit tough to wash off, even after a few visits to my favorite recovery room.

I've been thinking of drastic solutions to this funk I'm currently in. I was planning on taking a solo trip out of town to fill up a 3 day weekend I have coming up at the end of the month, but my plans are all up in the air at the moment due to accommodation and transportation issues.

It would be nice to fly off somewhere - but the air fare will cost me at least half the cost of a new dSLR or a whole 120G iPod... not quite worth it for just a 3 day weekend. I thought of going to Rottnest Island, off the Perth coast, by ferry - but it's high season, so there's no room to be had. I'm currently looking at the possibility of going to a couple of resort towns down south by bus, but it might not be a great idea since it will be hard to get to the scenic spots around them without my own car. And I'm not quite ready to drive that far and that fast by myself.

Retail therapy sounds like a nice second-line remedy, but I've been getting myself some post-Christmas bargains by way of jeans and bathing suits - and it's only been a temporary fix. Maybe it's time for me to buy a new toy - not that I can really afford it right now with my car rego and my visa renewal costs coming up but desperate times and all that.

It's a toss up between a dSLR (I'm thinking a Nikon D60 with a VR twin kit) which is more expensive and a risk as I don't know how serious I am about photography; or a new iPod (120G) which is cheaper and will definitely more utilized but my trusty old iPod is still holding on and still working quite well.

I'm trying to clamp down on my miserly side and just jump into a purchase and enjoy the fruits of my holiday labors, but, as all my good friends will attest, I am one of the most indecisive people to go shopping with. I will chew a choice to death until the bargain eventually gets away from me. Most of my major purchases have been made under the impetus of both necessity and some serious prodding by whoever I was shopping with at the time. If I were by myself, I'd spend weeks just looking and looking and LOOKING and eventually end up not buying anything.

So, what do you guys think? Should I go for it, or just save my money? Will a new toy manage to cure my new year blues? The solo holiday is still on the table, but a new toy to stand in as a date may not be a very bad idea...

5 comments:

ness said...

let me see... i'm not really one to give good advice because i'm one who can just keep on looking and looking and looking.

but my choice would be go get a vacation, anywhere (i love vacations more than toys). the memories are priceless. but best to capture the memories/impressions in photo or word images. meaning, be sure to take pictures AND blog about it.

Manggy said...

This is going to sound like the corniest corn ever but sometimes just seeing my bank account grow is exciting (the rare occasions when I abstain from buying food and stuff). I do think that if it's a three-day weekend, you do have to do something, even if it's a day trip and you can just drive there (something comparable to maybe Baguio or Punta Fuego). It doesn't have to eat up all three days. I also do agree that using up half of the savings to take a trip East would be too much money for too quick an excursion.

Hee, looks like you HAVE broken your blogging blues! ;)

Walking on Water said...

travel. just get in your car and drive. go nowhere. have no plans. if you end up some place nice, then, you get yourself a vacation. if you end up somewhere not too nice, you get yourself an adventure.=)

foss99 said...

Maybe youre just a little stressed from the busy holidays. Why not take a day off and instead of some retail therapy, go for a walk with some open spaces and peaceful thinking. We all know its a stressful job at the best of times. It might destress and better of all its free!

dr_clairebear said...

@ness: don't worry, I will most definitely blog about it! :)

still mulling over whether or not i should get a D80 camera (which my former intern is convincing me on) or a D40 at half the price - so i don't wince in frustration if i decide to abandon the idea of photography. thoughts?

@manggy: i know what you mean about the bank account - my miser hands rub together in glee when i see the balance bump up a bit every pay day. on the other hand, as my friends here keep reminding me, what's the point of earning if i don't let myself enjoy it? obviously the wanderlust and spendthrift side of me is talking the miserly side of me into letting go of her security issues.

@ben: trust me, i can't run out of wide open spaces here in Perth - and I've actually done what you've suggested when work has dragged me down. :) but it's more than stress-control this time - it's an assertion of my independence. ;P