I mostly got rid of those pieces in my Great Decluttering of Winter 2011/2012, but I was reading through my Facebook the other day and realized I had way too many of those “just in case” people on my friends list. In case they post something I am qualified to comment on, in case we ever get together again, in case I can help them or they can help me. But like those pieces of clothes I ended up donating, the chances of me ever really interacting with them is pretty much nil.

Unlike those pieces of clothing, though, which just sat there and took up space, a lot of those people on my list actively annoyed me when I saw their posts. I don’t need a play by play of the fucking Grammys or the Superbowl. If I cared I would be watching it myself. I’m also not going to play into your ploys for attention when you post cryptic messages that just beg for someone to ask “What’s wrong?” or “What happened?” and the like. Either say what’s going on or STFU.

So I got rid of them in the same way I got rid of my clothes. If I hadn’t worn a piece of clothes in, say, a year, it got donated; if I hadn’t interacted with someone at all in a year, even just to ‘Like’ a post of theirs, I deleted them. If they were a real friend but I couldn’t stand their constant barrage of stupid updates, I unsubscribed from their posts (okay, that one has no wardrobe-cleansing equivalent). Easy peasy.

I realize this post makes me one of those people complaining about Facebook bullshit, but this is really the beginning and end of it. I don’t think I’ve bitched about it here before and I most certainly won’t in the future. I’m just saying there’s an obvious solution to all the whining people have about what happens on Facebook and it’s not bloody rocket science. Sometimes you need a reminder that it’s okay to let things go.

In other good news, I am well on the way to having the last of my student loans paid off in March, which would make me 100% debt free. I am gunning really hard for March because my birthday is in April and it would make me feel better to say I paid off everything by age 26. :p

I re-prioritized a lot of things in my life to be more in line with my long term goals and I’ve been able to check off a lot of goals. I am:
- Living in Manhattan
- Traveling regularly
- Being “taxed” more – i.e. giving monthly to charity
- Being taxed more – i.e. making higher salary
- Partying harder than I work

Goals for the near future (1-5 years):
- Save money
- Get rid of more stuff

Goals for the far future (5+ years):
- I’m not telling you
- But I can assure you it will not involve marriage, children, car ownership, or mortgage ‘cuz I’m so CuuhhRaZy!!!

Trance version. Not bad.

Fucking fucks.

To think I spent $2400+ only to keep maybe ten of the items I purchased. I could have just bought ten high quality long-lasting pieces instead of buying 40 pieces of junk and tossing three quarters of it. At least now I know how things should fit and I’ve narrowed down what styles and colors I’m likeliest to wear, so that cuts down on the willy nilly spending on pie-in-the-sky things I merely wish I could pull off. Simply buying cool pieces doesn’t mean I’ll miraculously learn how to style myself, and realizing that has made me more careful about buying clothes. Too bad it took several years and thousands of dollars to figure this out.

The good news is my dismal net worth has been slowly increasing the past couple months, so I know I’m on the right track. The Year of the Dragon started off with a great bang (good things at work) and both Rich and I are making big strides in ridding our home of junk and being more conscious about bringing junk in. Hopefully I can keep it up for the sake of my wallet as well as my sanity.

Over the past couple months, I’ve purged quite a lot of things from the apartment, including a 42″ LCD, a whole dinnerware set, a crap-ton of other kitchen stuff, several big bags of clothes, a zillion little “memories” (ticket stubs, postcards, even receipts), all my DVDs, most of my books, and I don’t even remember what else. The apartment still feels cluttered. I want to get to the part where the place looks like it jumped out of a furniture catalog already.

By the way, since pretty much every single person I’ve talked to in recent months has expressed a desire to get rid of things but harbors an inability to let go of sentimental items, here is a little tip I picked up somewhere (if I remembered where I’d definitely tell you, because this is the best idea ever): Take a photo of the item, then get rid of it. That way the memory of it still lives on but it doesn’t take up space in your house.

Such a simple but astonishingly awesome idea, no? I wish I could remember where I read it so I could give credit accordingly. It’s the best decluttering method I’ve found so far, because I have way too much attachment to a lot of things. I’ve been passing the tip on to as many people as possible because the overwhelming feeling I’m getting lately is that absolutely everyone is tired of having so much stuff.

Milano, Italia
- Attended the Inter v. Parma game at San Siro Stadium. It’s like a street fair outside the stadium. You must show ID to buy a ticket (they even print your name on it) so the “queue” takes awhile. Flares, firecrackers, and hugs following every goal; it was more fun watching the fan section than the game, to be honest (especially since my husband Sneijder wasn’t playing). Riot police were on hand at exit, though it was a smallish crowd.
- I had no idea how to order things anywhere. From Peck (gourmet deli type place) to gelato spots, I did everything “wrong” and felt stupid. Admittedly my own fault as I did very little prior research. But you also never expect to have to research that kind stuff. That’s why you travel and not just watch it on TV!
- We came during major sales time. I’d planned on buying lots of clothes, only everything was still hundreds of euros over my price range even with sales. I admit I was warned, but I take those warnings with a grain of salt because I’m used to Manhattan prices. Sure, there are inexpensive places if you know where to look, but… Milan is expensive. (I ended up buying no clothes.)
- Everyone is wearing shiny puffy coats. We even saw a puffy men’s blazer in a store window. Not a fan.
- So much coffee. So much.

Whether you prefer the UK or a place like Milan seems to depend a lot on whether your preferred vice lies in alcohol or caffeine. I prefer the former.

I’m sure I’m forgetting stuff, so I’ll probably surreptitiously edit this entry to add things later.

Pics are up in the Photos link.

I wanted to use this trip to put my JP Morgan Select Visa card to the test (see my previous entry on this). It’s a chip and signature card, but I set up a PIN with a customer service rep when I activated my card, so I wanted to try it out in a variety of settings. At most cashiers the card machine would print out a receipt that I had to sign, which is pretty much like a normal swipe card (and all cashiers who took credit cards accepted swipe cards anyway). The real test was at a metro kiosk in Milan where no swipe option was available (Rich tried his non-chipped card and it didn’t work). I stuck my card in the slow-ass machine and then had to enter the PIN and… Success! Whoo hoo!! All in all, I’m quite satisfied with the card.

Seeing the credit card statement after this trip, however, is another story.

P.S. I cancelled my Amex Gold card after I received the JPM one. For a card that heavily markets itself to travelers, I find it unacceptable that Amex has no plans to introduce a chip and pin version at this time (I asked), especially given the $175 fee. I will say the customer service was pretty good. They did offer me some money off of the annual fee to stay and didn’t hassle me further when I declined. Pretty painless process overall. I definitely wanted them to know I was leaving because of the chip issue though.

I think this is the album Z showed me one morning? Anyway, thanks, this is exactly what I was looking for except I wish it was a real orchestra. Well, if classic rock can make it to the London Symphony Orchestra and video game music gets regular concerts now, maybe someday…

Reminds me of someone else…

I’ve forever been jealous of how much “easier” men have it in terms of wardrobe (if you stick to western social norms); they don’t have to worry so much about coordinating all these things if they don’t want to. But now I wonder why I was ever jealous. Who says I have to worry about it either? There’s nothing wrong with my usual turtleneck-slacks combo. Why am I wasting so much time and money shopping for things I end up never wearing anyway? Why am I tearing my hair out over how to coordinate stuff when I know I’m clueless about fashion? Eff it!

Some time ago I wrote about not wanting to look too “Steve Jobs”. Well, I’ve changed my mind. The man had the right idea. There is nothing wrong with my plain, boring wardrobe. I don’t need to wear my personality(ies) on my sleeve. Literally. Just like I don’t need all this “stuff” in my home to tell you who I am.

Minimalism! I wish I’d embraced it sooner!

Thank you,
Q

2005 – From Monkey Business (such a good album)

2009 – From Boom Boom Pow (ugh)

Oh yeah, and the autotuning thing GREAT. I can’t even listen to this entire song.

I wouldn’t care about it if they didn’t decry in 2005 precisely what they decided to do a few years down the line. In their exact words, no less (“boom”). Oh well, they’re not together anymore so all’s well that ends well.

Here’s the old entry quoting the choice lyrics for full ironicals.