October Recap

While I was backreading my blog yesterday, I realized that I haven’t written anything for the month of October other than my previous post which was a semi-detailed account of my hospital staycation~. Thanks for your well wishes, everyone! Feeling better now, actually.. so-so. But I’ll try to be positive and try my best to be well. Really, really would rather not spend anymore on hospital bills. 🙁

In a few weeks it’ll be December already.. oh, before that, Black Friday sales on various major US stores so money should be saved for our materialistic needs!! LOL

My blog may have been unupdated for weeks, but if you have been following me on Twitter, I have been tweeting there from time to time (especially during OTWOL hour.. on nights I’d catch it on TV). Microblogs are just easier to update. Anyway, here’s a more summarized, easier to read rundown of my October:

1. My SG trip pushed through: Because of the expenses and my condition after that so-called staycation, I was afraid that it wouldn’t push through because I would not be allowed to travel alone (it was a random booking done during a budget airline’s seat sale promo months ago hence the impulsive move) but we worked it out and I (along with my brother) finally got to see Singapore as a tourist and visited majority of the tourist spots there. Funny how an activity that’s mostly taken for granted (sight seeing the tourist way) is something I have difficulty doing. I already did a heavy photo post of my Singapore trip last year and many people liked the photos. I’m wondering if people would still be interested to see what I’ve come up with the second time around even though these are photos from usual tourist places already. Let me know!
2. Achievement unlocked: Also, I finally know how to use their bus transport system! Haha, such a small achievement for you probably but it was so confusing for me that it felt like a big accomplishment when we finally figured it out. The convenience of SG public transport system is just.. amazing. I just wish the one in the Philippines is also the same, but.. asa pa tayo. Commuting becomes bearable in SG compared to here. Always~.
3. Airbnb newbie: Because of the very limited budget we had for our trip, I thought this was the perfect time to give Airbnb a shot because everyone says it’s good.. well, depending on the booking you choose. I will write another post about this very soon! Don’t expect stellar photos though because we were so tired the whole trip, the room was really just saved for sleeping and it didn’t have that instagram-perfect curated look – but I must say the view of our room is amazing! Thanks Alex for that quite a huge discount rate, haha.
4. ‘Hej Hong Kong’ no more: With that Singapore trip pushed through, that means I have to give up another trip for that. I booked two trips: SG and HK. Since it’s not going to happen anymore, no need to not disclose it; might as well say it. I was going to go to Hong Kong, too. For what reason? Wala lang. Cool off? Leisure purposes, and visit as much free tourist spots as I can? See if I can go to Hong Kong Disneyland by myself this time (wussed out last year because of limited funds + I think it was a rainy week)? Food trip? Visit the newly-opened kikki.K store in Harbour City? Another reason was that I thought I’d have saved more than enough money by this time so I thought another impulse-traveling is fine. Didn’t happen because life. Maybe there’s next year, or maybe I need to find a high-paying job that’ll fund this kind of trip. 😛
5. Speaking of kikki.K: I was over the moon with my glee and happiness (lol) when I read in their blog that they have opened a store in Hong Kong! Okay, okay. One of the reasons why I went to SG was for this shop, because I thought this is the only physical store they have in Asia.. and since I can’t order online and have it shipped, might as well go there, right? Travel and sightseeing on the side! SG is a little far and not as accessible than HK, so knowing that it’s also in HK now is an advantage for me. I think I have not much reason to go back to SG anymore except for..
6. These Anker cables and chargers: The day before our SG trip, I just remembered that it was the go-to place for them gadgets and technology products. And then I was researching for a durable iPhone Lightning cable, preferably NOT the original Apple-branded one because it’s not durable and it breaks after a few weeks-months from use (from what friends say and the forums/online communities have to complain about, but I’ve yet to break ANY of my Lightning cables *smirks*).. and it’s expensive, what else. I came across this brand called Anker and nearly 90% reviews all say it’s good so that was the go signal. With that said, upon researching for reputable SG distributors/sellers, only one person came up and I quickly texted him. It was a smooth purchase, and I absolutely LOVE my new Anker charging peripherals and cables and YES, a review will be up soon!!
7. Going Paperless one book at a time: I bought a Kindle recently, too! It came around the week after I had posted my staycation post, hehe. I thought it was a nice pick-me-up for myself to keep me happy after that depressing time. I’m glad that I came around the right time to purchase it.. I mean, the older models only had 2GB of space and the memory is non-expandable. Now they’re selling a new model with 4GB available space (probably around 3.80gb for usable space though) and 300 ppi resolution for clearer text display. Years ago I considered a Kobo, but eventually lost interest. I have nothing to compare it with so I wouldn’t know which is better, but the space capacity alone is good enough to get this versus the previous model. I thought I wouldn’t have gone past 50 with putting books, but less than 3 weeks and I’ve already put a hundred and used 50% of its storage. Out of the 100 books, I’ve read two. The first book I finished in the Kindle was Nev Schulman’s book.. hahaha. 😳
8. Everything must go: As part of my ‘Going Paperless’ route and also to make more space in my room.. I have decided to sell BOOKS and BEAUTY PRODUCTS. You don’t need to follow but if you wanna be updated, keep an eye on my IG shop account, @tinyberryph. Makeup/beauty products will always be brand new and sealed, and definitely original (I do not and never sell Class A/B/Fake/Imitation/’XX Authentic’, only products bought directly from retail shops), and the books are either brand new, preloved but very well taken care of – I’m proud to say I take very, very good care of my books. Oh I also have clear iPhone cases and patterned ones for the 5 and 5s models.
9. Of planners and journaling: The only purchase I made in the SG kikki.K shop was their 2016 B6 Daily Diary: BW. Last year I was into the regular-sized journal-type planners, but somehow now the smaller-sized books are more appealing to me. I was talking to Justine last month and I think she got me into this whole crazy world of planners, to think we’ve gone through around 5 (maybe) from different brands?! Haha! Here it is along with my Papemelroti Date Book (it has no fixed year so I just use it as a book to write down people’s birthdays so I don’t forget and stop depending on Facebook) and the Q&A a Day 5-Year Journal. Look how small they are, or not.. not sure if this photo emphasizes that fact.
   
   I’m actually scared to write in the kikki.K planner and I’m thinking of selling it to get the..
10. Belle De Jour Petite Planner 2016: Looks easier to maintain, not liking the cover bec it’s too feminine and cute (wish the ‘Be brave, Love Deeply, Shine Brighter’ was an available cover option, too), but it’s roughly the same size as the kikki.K so it’s a considerable option.. but ah, the kikki.K is cute and attractive to me bec of the minimalist and clean design and it has a bigger space to write on per day (since it’s a Daily Diary)! Why I considered the BDJ is bec I saw how useful those coupons can be.. BUT I heard those are only included in the Power Planner which is the bigger version of their Planners, and costs more. 🙁 Anyway, I’ll need to do more research.. and besides.. a lot of people out there handle about 5 planners and organizers, so an additional one to my plate is nothing. Perhaps I’ll feature at least 5 I like in my next post.

By the way, if you made it to the end of this loooong post, I’ve one last treat for you: A Small Orange has a Halloween special sale good til Nov 2, 2015 only! Avail of a 25% off all new hosting plans using the coupon code SPOOKY during checkout! I use their services for my other website and I can assure they’re reliable. 🙂 If you’re considering of purchasing a new hosting plan for your blog or business website through my affiliate link, that would be great.

Oh! Yesterday, Oct 31, was the last voting day for #Bloggys2015! I’m the weakest link when it comes to any kind of contests that is heavily based on voting and likes but I know a handful, well, very few, who still went out of their way to vote and share/retweet my link so they can vote. I’d like to thank each and every one who did! Being nominated and be included in the award body’s list of blogs is already an honor, they say.. so, thank you! 🙂