Happy wishlist

On one of my so-called forays into the world of the wide web, I came across this guy's blog where he posted his wishlist for 2007.

And boy, was it some wishlist! Mostly the latest gadgets and accessories: an LCD monitor, a smart phone, lots of camera accessories, a bluetooth headset, and a watch. The total cost of all the 25 items there must be nearly half a million pesos. What's more is that he's been able to acquire 16 of the items listed by this time of the year. I'm not completely surprised though seeing that the fellow is an alumni of ______ here where the filthy rich send their kids for a college education. I've also noticed that his last item was savings of at least Php50K by the end of the year because he doesn't want to "become a not-so-happy man that has a massive headache." Imagine that? Even if he had all that stuff but zero savings, he still wouldn't be completely happy? This guy doesn't know what he wants. And hello, it's either you spend your money or have savings. Got to pity him.

I made my own wishlist years ago but it's nothing like the rich kid's list. In the first place, it wasn't a wishlist for a particular year and I ended up buying some items over the course of a few years. I'll have to look for it among my papers or files somewhere. All I remember of it (if I remember correctly) was that it was mostly books, audio CD recordings (classical music, of course) and some music sequencing software.

The most expensive item there was a portable digital piano with 88-keys (and not just 5-octaves which is standard in portable keyboards). Happily for me, I was able to buy a Yahama P-80 way back in 2000 at the sale price of Php55K. I just love its genuine wooden piano keys with "graded hammer effect" and beautiful grand piano sound. That was the only major purchase I made--forking out more than Php5K for a single item is a major purchase for me--until I bought myself a laptop (a necessity for graduate studies there) and a digital camera in Singapore sometime in 2003. The camera was a Fujifilm FinePix 2600 Zoom which was the best I could get within my budget. I had to make sure it was the best by doing a lot of research online, checking out reviews and people's experiences with that particular model. Then last year, I got myself a Sony Bravia 15" LCD tv (of course, also at a sale price) for my room which came with a DVD player for just an additional Php1K. The LCD tv wasn't on my wishlist at all but I just took the chance when I saw an ad about the major sale. (They were probably phasing out the model because all I see nowadays are LCD tvs with a screen size of at least 30".)

That's it basically for me. Just these few major purchases for these past eight years. But I'm contented and happy. Besides, I don't understand why some people have to get the latest Nokia cellphone model or the latest Sony Playstation (when they have an old model at home that works just fine) or consider a Tag Heuer watch a must-have. I don't need things like all those high-end high-tech pricey flashy stuff in the rich kid's wishlist to make me happy.