The art of compulsive overshopping…!!

Number of items in the shopping list - 24

Number of items in the shopping cart - 45

This happens to me many a time. Probably to you too. Every time I go shopping for some groceries or apparels or anything at all, for that matter, I end up spending more than what I had planned initially. What was supposed to be a trip to the nearby shop for essential items, becomes a full-fledged shopping mania. Why does this happen? Is it a disease? Let me analyse this from my viewpoint.

Today, in my opinion, I feel there are a lot of factors that force us into buying things. We can find a variety of reasons to buy something; but we have hardly any reason not to buy it.

1. Peer pressure: My friend has an MP3 player and a mobile phone with GPS. Let me buy a high-end mobile that is an MP3 player, a 5MP camera, a GPS unit and a mobile, all put together in one. My friend says it is a good buy. (If you are married, replace or add spouse pressure to peer pressure)
2. Financial position: I make enough money to spend, why do you care? I’ll spend all my money the way I deem it fit.
3. Credit Cards: Well, I don’t have enough dough for this pen drive now, but I always have a credit card. So I can pay it later next month…. happy..!
4. EMIs: I’ll pay for this mobile in EMIs – flat interest rate of 24% per annum.. But still, the monthly bill comes to less than 3K.
5. Offers: Buy 3 bedspreads for the cost of one.. or buy a fridge and an oven, and get Rs.1000/- off. Of course, conditions apply..
6. Very rarely, we might really have a habitual disorder requiring medical assistance.

On the contrary, getting reasons for not buying things is very very difficult. More and more ads on the TV, better economic status, easier access to shops, all these further compound things, to make matters worse.

How do I overcome it? Well, the answer to this question is tough. One way would be to decide on a no credit card/EMI purchase policy, and adhering to it sincerely. Also, make a proper and well-planned budget every month, and do all the shopping at a single go. The number of things bought is directly and logarithmically proportional to the number of visits to the shop.. Also put in your views, and the methods to overcome this habit of compulsive overshopping.

A simple google search revealed that we are not alone in this. Compulsive overshopping and overspending has now become more of a norm, rather than an exception, especially in the generation X. Our parents were definitely spending less and managing funds more efficiently than us. So what are we missing here?

Blissful Sundays..!

My creativity was on an all-time low for the past few days..! Busy and hectic days at the workplace didn’t help it either. So after a long and stressful week, I was happy to have two full free days for myself.. Holidays are blessings, especially for bachelors who live alone. There is no one to wake you up at 7 or 8 in the early morning. You decide your routine. No rules to follow, no schedules to adhere to.

My typical Sunday routine actually starts a little earlier than Sunday, with a late night movie on Saturday. I usually spend the first five days of the week downloading movies, and save them for watching on a Saturday. After watching the movie (yesterday I watched Once in a Summer on visio’s suggestions… a review will follow soon) in a home-theatre effect late into the night, I sleep for about 9 to 10 hours to wake up late at about 10.30 in the morning. Self-made tea or coffee with newspaper is the usual breakfast. Then some surfing and downloading.. Lunch follows soon enough. Having a mess that provides palatable food in time helps me a lot. I need not depend on my culinary skills to save myself from starvation. Post-lunch session depends on my mood… either it is sleep or just some TV or internet or loud songs. I might hangout with friends in the evening, depending on their plans, else the post lunch session extends till dinner in the same mess. Again some internet surfing…. followed by sleep at around 12 midnight, with the threat of Monday looming large in my head..!! Other routine household chores get inserted anywhere in between. No strict schedules there..

Probably, most bachelors have similar schedules. Post yours too…!! I personally know many of my friends living in hostels who have schedules worse than mine.. But yeah, all this lasts only for a certain period of time…. And of course, it is not always as good as it seems to be.. I start feeling lonely sometimes..

The Colours of Life….!!

I remember a few days ago, one of my colleagues wanted to know what each colour symbolises, for an assignment for her Spoken English classes. Her question triggered a series of thoughts in my mind. I wanted to know what each colour means to each of us. Each of us are individuals in the true sense of the term. My way of thinking, my personality traits, my actions, all are different from every other person’s. The same way, what one colour means to me, might not be the same to you or your mom or dad or friend.

Let me be straightforward. I’m not a philosophical sort of guy. I don’t like lectures on philosophy, I’m not into things about soul and heart and their effects etc. But I get more thoughtful and deeply immersed, when I’m in a mood to, about the beauties of nature and about the way things go on in life. Sometimes I try to find explanations for unexplained things. Colours are one such thing. Its a mystery why man was gifted with the ability to distinguish colours, while many lesser animals cannot do so.

Let me put forth what some of the basic colours mean to me.

Blue: To me, blue symbolises beauty. Anything blue is simple and beautiful. Blue also symbolises purity. I try to picture things which are beautiful, people who are pure at heart, nice occasions, everything in blue. It is of course my favorite colour, and you could probably see that in the colour of this page itself. My wardrobe is mostly blue, and so are most of my other possessions.

Red: It is a colour that means life. Red also symbolises illness or danger, as most of you would agree.

Green: It represents youthfulness. Anything tender and fresh, and lively, is green

Yellow: I do not know why, but for some reason, yellow always brings back memories of childhood to me. I’d prefer to call yellow as a colour of the past, of things you’d probably like to forget.

Black: It represents silence, a sense of calmness and relaxation, and of course finality. Probably that is the reason black is also associated with death and mourning.

White: Rather than peace, to me, white is all about omnipresence. White is present anywhere and everywhere. Rather, I’d say that you remove any colour, and all you are left with is white. White is universal… just like the omnipresent One who decides everything happening everywhere.

Those were just my views. I’d love to know how each one of you feels about different colours. That was in fact the purpose of this post. As for my friend’s assignment, I just googled and made her a print out of the meaning of colours.

Gigasmilies rocks…!!

Gigasmilies is a nifty little application that makes posting smilies in forums or blogs, a very easy task….  Created by Santhosh and Charan, both of whom I know through the Digit forum, this application is small and easy to use. 

Check it out at Gigasmilies

“My Sassy Girl” – Review

This is my first official blog, so I’d like to start with saying a big HI to everyone reading this..! After reading raving reviews about the Korean film “My Sassy Girl” for long, I finally had an opportunity to watch the movie yesterday. A short review of the movie, in my opinion, follows.

Info about the movie 

My Sassy Girl is a Korean movie released in 2001, directed by Kwak Jae-yong. The lead characters (and the only characters you would notice) are played by Cha Tae-hyun (Kyun Woo in the film) and Jun Ji-hyun.

My Review

The movie starts with Kyun Woo waiting to meet his girlfriend (whose name is never revealed in the movie for some reason) after a period of two years. He narrates the story of how he met his girlfriend for the first time in a train, and how their relationship gradually developed. I’m not going to post a spoiler here, so nothing more in detail about the plot.

Kyun Woo is depicted  as a typical college student with no aims in life, living life as it comes, until he meets a girl of his dreams. His life changes drastically after that. The girl at first disgusts him. She is drunk to the full at their first meeting; later he also finds many annoying characteristics in the girl. But still he is attracted towards her, and he slowly understands that behind the mask of that annoying and drunk girl, is a pretty girl with a very painful sorrow. I must say that the hero (its very difficult to spell these names.. ) has done an excellent job, be it in the emotional scenes; or in the funny parts. The way he gets slapped, beaten and abused by the girl is really funny at times; and makes you feel bad for him at times.

The girl’s character, in my opinion, is the pillar behind the success of this film. Played excellently by the Korean star Jun Ji-hyun, she disgusts you at first, makes you angry, attracts you, and finally makes you feel sorry for her. You just can’t predict the way she’ll talk or behave in the next scene. I’m not sure if the actor got an award for this performance or not, but I feel she deserves one. Most of the credit to the film’s success goes to her.

Storywise, the film is no different from many of the Bollywood movies we are treated to each year. It is a romantic comedy. The first part is filled with more comedy, and the second half gets more melodramatic. Towards the end you start praying that the film should have a good end, and that’s exactly what’s in store. But the way the film was made, and the way the characters were depicted, makes this film a class apart from the others. The characters stay in your mind long after the film is over. That, to me, is an identity of a well-made film.

Summary

Though storywise I’d say the film in not very different, this is a movie that one should not miss. Excellently made with just two main characters, I’d recommend a Must Watch rating to this movie. Do not miss this. And if you have a girlfriend, watch it with her by your side.

Rating

8.5 out of 10