Impulsive On Books

Thank God for online shopping! But! It also acts a double-edged sword in my case.

Online shopping is a very convenient way to buy the things you want without leaving the house or without scouring the malls or shops to look for the items that you want to buy. With just a few clicks and your commitment to pay, you're all set! The later, however, becomes a threat if you are an impulsive buyer. Somewhat like me? Not so. :P

I can be an impulsive buyer, especially if I know I have the moolah to pay for it and it is within my allotted money. Even though I can be impulsive, I can still put a halt to it. I am not too reckless with my impulsiveness.

But if I am browsing or looking for hard-to-find-books, it's a different story. I cannot restrain my self, especially if I have been searching for it.

Like today, I have a lot of time to kill my time, I just browsed for good books in ebay and voila, this appeared:

The Hobbit Illustrated Edition ~ J.R.R. Tolkien and Alan Lee

I'm not especially looking for The Hobbit over the 'net because I have already read that courtesy to a friend. I am hoping that he will give me his copy. XD And, I have faith that I can find an old copy in book fairs. Just like how I found The Lord Of The Rings 1-3 for Php150 each. It was a real, lucky steal that I asked my Omma to buy it for me instantly. hehehe. But this discovery is like a gem in the dumpsters or a needle in the haystack. It will be very rare to find this in local book fairs or even in local book store sales. That book will be a defining for me I really am impulsive over books. (^o^)

I have faith that the book will be re-listed, so I'll be keeping an eye on that in my watch list. If I don't get it, it's okay. If I do get it, I'll be (^o^)(^o^)(^o^)(^o^)(^o^).

Torn In Between

I haven't bought a mobile phone yet because I am indecisive like that. XD Previously, I shared about the Samsung Galaxy Y. Originally I wanted that but it did not meet my dual-sim check list. So, I waited for a few months for a cellphone that'll meet my checklist.

Then, came Alcatel OT-918n. It checked all in my check list, even the price. But, I'm still skeptical about buying it because I don't know if it is a better brand than what it was before.

And now, here's Samsung Galaxy Y Duos! It'll be available here in my city in a few days and it also meets the qualifications in my check list. The downside is the price, which is around Php 3,000 more expensive than Alcatel OT-918n. The latter is just around Php 6,000. And I found good reviews of the former also. Now, I am torn, T_T

Here is some specs of both phones courtesy of Tekpone.

Samsung Galaxy Y DUOS

Alcatel OT-918n

General 2G Network GSM 850/900/1800/1900 - SIM 1 & SIM 2 3G Network HSDPA 900/2100 Body Dimensions 109.8 x 60 x 12 mm Weight 109 g Display Type TFT capacitive touchscreen, 256K colors Size 240x320 pixels,3.14 inches(~127 ppi pixel density) - Samsung TouchWiz Sound Alert types Vibration; MP3 ringtones Loudspeaker Yes 3.5mm jack Yes Memory Card slot microSD, up to 32GB Internal 512 MB ROM, 384 MB RAM Data GPRS Yes EDGE Yes Speed HSDPA, 7.2 Mbps WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot Bluetooth Yes, v3.0 with A2DP USB Yes, microUSB v2.0 Camera Primary 3.15 MP, 2048x1536 pixels Features Geo-tagging Video Yes, QVGA@24fps Secondary No Features OS Android OS, v2.3 (Gingerbread) Sensors Accelerometer, proximity, compass Messaging SMS(threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Mail, IM, RSS Browser HTML, Adobe Flash Radio Stereo FM radio with RDS GPS Yes, with A-GPS support Java Yes, via Java MIDP emulator Colors Black Phoenix - Dual SIM (dual stand-by) - SNS integration - MP4/WMV/H.264 player - MP3/WAV/eAAC+ player - Organizer - Image/video editor - Document viewer - Google Search, Maps, Gmail, YouTube, Calendar, Google Talk, Picasa integration - Voice memo/dial - Predictive text input Battery Standard battery, Li-Ion 1300 mAh

Specifications: Dual Sim Operating System Android 2.3 Bearer GSM/UMTS/HSDPA Wi-Fi Wireless connection to the Internet through a LAN A-GPS Assisted GPS for a faster location of the phone Camera 3.2 Megapixel G-Sensor The accelerometer allows the phone to automatically orientate the display vertically or horizontally FM Radio Follow your favorite radio stations with the RDS function MMS Send and receive multimedia messages with MMS 1.2 Input SMS with predictive input CooTek Facebook for Android Twitter for Android Browser Surf the Internet with Google chrome browser Music Player MP3, AAC/AAC+ , WMA Micro SD Card Up to 32GB E-Mail Receive emails on your phone using POP3 and IMAP4 communication protocols. Instant Messaging Talk with friends using Palringo, a Java based app for instant messaging Handsfree Make and receive calls having your hands completely free Bluetooth 3.0 A2DP - Share music, photo and more with close friends thanks to Bluetooth 3.0 A2DP

I guess there are not much of a difference between them when it comes to the specs. But there are great differences when it comes to the performance of each cellphones, as I have read in different forums and blogs. I am more torn because of those. T_T

Currently, I am following these blogs/forums for more information on Alcatel OT-918n.:

http://www.istorya.net/forums/gizmos-and-gadgets/470572-alcatel-ot-blaze-glory-918n-android-2-3-dual-active-sim.html

http://cheftonio.blogspot.com/2012/01/alcatel-blaze-duo-918n-review.html

As for further information on Samsung Galaxy Y DUOS, I just have to look it up in http://www.gsmarena.com/.

I have to rethink again for this purchase because I will be using my own money and I want to get my money's worth. This is not some piece of cake. Sigh.

How 'bout you? Have you ever contemplated so bad before buying a cellphone? :O

The Body Shop and Zen Zest Tea Tree Oils: Differences

I actually deleted this blog but I revived it because the shopper in me says so. ^o^

Anyways... I have long been on hiatus.

I'm writing about two tea tree oils that are locally found in the malls. There are other tea tree oils available also online, sold by local online sellers but when you search the Internet for tea tree oils, these two pop out on the top searches.

Zen Zest and Body Shop Tea Tree Oils

This is not a review on how effective each because they produce the same effects. Both dry out pimples, from the minute ones to cystic zits quickly (but not really overnight, let's say 2-5 days ^_^). Both lighten red scars caused by acne. Both have the same smell: earthy and tobacco-y like; and consistency: like water and feels like not oily. And both are environmental friendly too.

This is just showing you the differences, especially for contemplative buyers like me, who always look for affordable with high-quality products.

First obvious difference would be the price. Body Shop's price is at a whooping Php 459 (as what I have found from other beauty bloggers.) Zen Zest's on the other hand is only Php 150. And thinking about the contents, which is the second difference, I guess you could say that you can get more from your peso with Zen Zest because one small bottle has 15 ml. Very sulit right? Body Shop has 10 ml. only. That is like a big red sign of splurge. How much more if you buy the big bottle? As far as I can remember, five years ago, the big bottle was around Php700. So maybe right now, it's around Php800. O_O

BIG differences with the contents and price. The Body Shop Tea Tree Oil that I have is an old one. Notice the cracks on its label? Nothing's changed with the packaging until now.

Third difference would be the ingredients. Body Shop has managed to fit all of the ingredients on its tiny bottle. Body Shop's tea tree oil is not 100% tea tree oil. It's only 15% and the other 85% is composed of water, alcohol denat, polysorbate, limonene, t-butyl alcohol, and denatenium alcohol. These will be a turn-off, I believe, for people who are concerned on having chemicals on beauty products. As for Zen Zest's, the label only says it is extracted from the twigs and leaves of the Australian tea tree. Not really specific on that but I believe, it's more natural compared to Body Shop's. Body Shop tea tree oil easily evaporate after application, maybe because of the alcohol content. Zen Zest tea tree oil needs a few minutes to disappear.

Body Shop Ingredients List. See the cracks on the label? ^_^

No Specific Ingredients List for Zen Zest

Fourth difference would be the cap. This is just a minor difference if you're not so OC. XD Body Shop's needed to be pressed down first before turning it counter-clockwise to open, like how some medicine bottle caps work. I guess that type of cap ensures the bottle to be air-tight, thus preventing the tea tree oil to evaporate quickly. With Zen Zest's, no problem in opening. The cap is air tight enough and durable too.

I guess those are the only differences that I can cite about these two tea tree oils. Honestly, I only knew of Body Shop's tea tree oil and it's the only tea tree oil that I know of. Because of the rising prices, everything seems to be expensive nowadays. I could not afford buying a small bottle of tea tree oil from Body Shop anymore. I also found other tea tree oils sold in ebay but they are still expensive. Good thing I found a review of Zen Zest tea tree oil. I only know Zen Zest sell scents and fragrance products. So knowing that they have tea tree oil for a very affordable price, I registered in my mind to buy a small bottle of tea tree oil if I get the chance to go out.

Not too much of differences right? Like what I mentioned, both have the same effects. So, it's up to you whether you want to splurge or save. :D