The Apple of my eye goes with my Chrome backbone

Within five days, I made two huge electronic purchases. I got an iPhone 5s and a 720 chromebook. And I would make the exact purchases again.

I'm not one of those people who is Apple-centric. Obviously. Nothing against Apple, I think they have beautiful machines that work exceedingly well. I also think you pay alot for the Apple name. I would say 85% of my family and friends have Macs. The only reason I got my first iPhone was because I had AT&T service which had the exclusive rights to the iPhone 1. I loved my iPhone 1. I remember the day I got it: my cousin was an Apple employee at the time and used his discount to buy my sister and me our iPhones. This is when you could activate your phone at home which you cannot do now. He drove to SoCal for Thanksgiving and delivered us our phones. Everyone was jealous, but they were not cheap (even with the discount, they were almost $400 each). Somehow, I managed to wait 3 years for an iPhone 4 which I traded in for a iPhone 5s. I got the iPhone 5s on Black Friday which means the Thanksgiving tradition of getting a new phone continues. Due to my lack of Apple products, the change in the size of charging pins isn't a big deal to me.

One more thing about Apple products: I received a first generation ipod Nano for my birthday back in the day. It worked well and was the determining factor in my decision to get an iPhone. There was a lawsuit regarding the first generation nano (I don't remember the details), but I do remember filling out at form and getting $25 from Apple in the mail. I eventually gave the nano to my mom to use when I got an iPhone. In 2011, there was a 1st generation nano recall due to the potential of the battery failing and becoming incendiary. So I shipped off my 1st generation nano (by this time, my mom had an iPod touch) and received a brand new nano in the mail. I gave this nano to my sister who uses it when she runs. Now you know why I call my ipod nano the gift that keep on giving.

If you include my new chromebook, I've only owned three laptops in my entire life. Well, I did own one desktop at one point. My lack of laptops is mostly a reflection of the theory that the longer I wait, a better laptop can be mine. This type of thinking also applied to the time frames between my iPhones. I wouldn't say I'm a patient person, but I wouldn't say I am impatient person. Mostly it just shows I will put effort into things that I know will pay off. One of my very first posts for this blog was about my first two laptops. I still use my Fujitsu (it is my computer with iTunes so I used it to initiate my stored settings onto my iPhone 5S), but my netbook had been dying since the summer. I was kinda in denial about it, but when I couldn't even turn it on the Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend...it was time to get a new laptop. Luckily, the very next day was Cyber Monday.

Even though I had been in denial about my netbook dying, I had done some research on laptops. I didn't want to get a MacBook. I didn't need one for work or fun and honestly, I might be too late in the game. I wasn't that impressed with Windows 8 which is touchscreen. What I really wanted was a replacement for my netbook with a camera because I needed to do google hangouts with friends in far off places. I had seen the chromebook commericals and knew the chromebook started at $199. So on Cyber Monday, I immersed myself in finding everything I could about chromebooks. The third generation of chromebooks was just released in mid-November. They come with a solid-state drive (it starts in 7 seconds), an 8.5 hour battery (battery life is the ultimate dealbreaker for me), and an HD camera. However, one of the caveats of a chromebook is you cannot add software to it. Any type of software. It comes with chrome software installed (which instantly updates itself) and all the google apps. Since I use google apps for work, the limitations of a chromebook were not deterring to me. One of the biggest deals Google makes about the Chrome software is that it is virus-free.  So far, it has been impenetrable to all viruses. Of course to me, that means one day all chrome software will crash due to a huge virus infection. But perhaps that day is far away instead of being tomorrow. Or maybe I underestimate the mental power behind chrome. The 720 Acer 2G model is only $199 and despite my best efforts, was completely sold out everywhere on Cyber Monday. Luckily, I was able to pick one up at Best Buy two days later. And it really is one of the best purchases I've made.

Last night, I was watching Almost Human in real time (a good show, brought to you by J.J. Abrams whom I recently wrote about in this blog) and saw commercials for the iPhone 5s and chromebook. The iPhone 5s commercial was so heart-warming.

The chromebook commercial I can't find on youtube. I can only describe it as cute. It also made me think about the irony of my electronic purchases. Not many people would buy her 3rd iPhone and a chromebook within a week of each other. As a person who did just that, I would say I'm a person who knows what she wants who simply chooses the best of both worlds. And I would definitely do it again.

2013 Beauty Roundup

My year of Birchbox ended on a whimper. I really didn't like anything in my last box, so this post will not be limited to Birchbox beauty items. I would like to say I enjoyed my year of Birchbox, but not enough to continue beyond the year. I guess that is the problem with Birchbox: if they are doing their job well, you'll probably find what you need with a year long subscription or if not, you will be extremely disappointed with the service. They do amazing things like give away free beauty boxes (remember my Nuance box?) and they have really good gift with purchases. I was lucky enough to get a free Gorjana necklace with a $50 purchase. If you follow them on Facebook/Twitter, Birchbox has really great tutorials about how to do hair, apply makeup, and other beauty advice. Right now, any order of $25 or more has free shipping. And you know how I feel about free shipping. I actually just put in a Birchbox order (to use up the last of my points!) for Caudalie Divine Oil and Benefit Ultra Plush Lip Gloss in Sugarbomb which I described in my previous Birchbox post.

So continuing the 2013 Beauty Roundup, here are some of my favorite beauty items which I discovered this past year.

Indie Lee Blemish Lotion I have oily skin which is great/annoying. I have a youthful appearance yet still get breakouts. Most products for breakouts do not work on my skin and these days my breakouts do tend to scar. I read about Indie Lee's Blemish Lotion a couple months ago and was intrigued. As a cancer survivor, Indie Lee adheres to natural products in her entire beauty line. The ingredients to the Blemish Lotion are super simple. It doesn't work perfectly on my skin (I probably need a higher sulfur concentration), but it does work the best. The solution is bright pink, so I would suggest using it overnight unless you work from home. Also if you do order this, order it directly from Dermstore.com instead of Amazon. You will received it faster.

Dickinson's Witch Hazel wipes Since I have oily skin which can be problematic, I've always been drawn to people who have amazing skin. I am truly obsessed with Scott Foley's skin on Scandal (full disclosure: I was always Team Noel) and always comment "He has aged well." Honestly, it is super distracting. I'm obviously Team Jake. Okay, back to the topic. Another person whose skin I've always admired is Drew Barrymore's. Doesn't she always look...luminous? So you can imagine my surprise to learn she uses a product which costs $7.50! I use the wipes once or twice a week and they are great.

Hawaiian Tropic Silk Hydration Lotion Sunscreen SPF 50 Living in SoCal, I buy alot of sunblock. Right now, I have 5 different types under my sink (I just checked). But the Hawaiian Lotion sunblock is my favorite. It hydrates your skin and protects well. I wouldn't use it on my face (it is quite oily), but it really is my multi-purpose sunblock.

Bath and Body Works Aromatherapy (Eucalyptus Spearmint and Lavender Chamomile) I only mention these two items because I was at Bath and Body Works today buying Christmas presents due to the buy 3, get 3 free sale. When I am stressed out, the only thing that helps me relax is aromatherapy. I would use the Eucalyptus Spearmint scent during the day and the Lavender Chamomile scent in the evenings. I'm not sure how it works (I've done the research) and maybe at this point, it is just a placebo effect on me, but it does help me. I'm a big supporter of aromatherapy and have given the scents out to various stressed out friends. Some friends now swear by aromatherapy too. If I had a big enough sample population, I would do my own research. However, I'm just glad Bath and Body works was having a buy 3, get 3 free sale.

Water. Yeah, yeah we all know we should drink 8 glasses of water a day. But my godbrother recently experienced kidney stones, so let's all try not to know what he went through these past couple of days. Water is the best thing for anyone's beauty regimen. One of my friends sets an alarm on the hour, for every hour he is at work. So when the alarm beeps, he knows he should get up and get another glass of water. Or finish the rest of the previous hour's water, so he can get more. I haven't adopted his water schedule (I can only think how many times I would go to the bathroom), but I do try to drink more water. Really, it can only be good thing.

So who knows what 2014 will bring? I'm looking forward to a year of amazing skin, a beautiful smoky eye application (you really do need 4 different brushes), and a perfect beauty routine. Well, one can always hope :)

J.J Abrams understands the other half

One of the reasons (and perhaps the only reason) I am intrigued with J.J. Abrams helming Star Wars is the fact he writes strong female characters. If you like Star Wars, you have read the books or at least the Wiki about what happens in Star Wars mythology post Return of the Jedi. Without spoiling too much, it is Leia who ends up saving the universe. Who knows if the plot of the new Star Wars movie will follow the established plotlines, but with J.J. Abrams in charge it does give me A New Hope (yeah, sometimes I can't help myself).

Most people don't remember or haven't watched J.J. Abrams' Alias. It was a tv show on ABC with Jennifer Garner starring as Sydney Bristow who is a covert operative. Sydney then finds out she comes from a family of covert operatives. Her dad is spy, her mom was an undercover USSR spy who married her dad for cover but her dad truly loved her mom. There is a whole complicated mythology which is only fitting for the person behind Lost. I just realized why I probably didn't get into Lost: I was disappointed by the ending of Alias and basically refused to be sucked into another J.J. Abrams series. But Sydney Bristow is an amazing female character: complicated, can definitely kick-ass, devastated by betrayal yet always unyielding in her moral fortitude. If you are a fan of J.J. Abrams' Star Trek, one of the best things about his interpretation is the presence of Uhura. A background character is the original Star Trek, she is a main character who is heavily involved in the J.J. Abrams version. One of the main reasons the Star Trek reboot is great is because of the new Uhura.

A person who doesn't get the female psyche? Christopher Nolan. If you watched his Batman trilogy, the character of Rachel is pretty much a mess. And somehow he was able make Catwoman to be just a cat-burglar. His main saving grace is Christian Bale's interpretation of Batman. It is absolutely perfect. However, Batman needs his Catwoman and Nolan's interpretation fell far short.

Anyways, I've been looking for a Christmas present for my godson and apparently he is still too young for Lego Star Wars. So I guess he will be getting something else. However, I am excited to take him to Star Wars episode 7 (in 2015!! time will fly by) because I know J.J. Abrams will ensure the presence of strong female characters. The more think about it, the more excited I become. The countdown to a whole new Star Wars starts now.