1226: Roller Coaster

My family and I got back to Metro Manila yesterday from a Holy Week holiday with my wife's relatives in Sorsogon. It was a great break and we came back in great spirits.

Then today one of the cars won't start, fine, no problem. I can ask someone to check it tomorrow. Worst case we need new batteries, best case the battery terminals just need cleaning.

Then my laptop screen died. It doesn't work anymore. Fortunately my moment of panic and anger was a relatively fast one. It also helped that my old external laptop monitor still works, so I can run it via this monitor. I'm planning on canvasing different laptop repair shops nearby for the next few days before deciding where I can bring this for repairs.

So overall my day isn't ruined, nor is it a bad day. I'd even consider it a good day since my major concerns were addressed and have possible solutions. It just sucks that the solutions may include money, and with prices skyrocketing these past few weeks I just wish things would normalize and prices would go down and stabilize.

Out.

1225: Shopping Regrets

I guess I would describe myself as someone who tries to be practical and won't spend if I feel like I honestly don't need it. This does not mean I don't have any regrets for stuff I wish I bought. Let me write about some of them.

There was this drybag backpack being sold in Muji last Christmas season for a very reasonable price. I can't remember if it was less than PhP400 or PhP700 but the dry bag was big and I honestly wanted it. Except I also felt like I didn't need it since I have two or three day bag backpacks, and one slightly bigger bag I use for longer stays. Also seeing as how I rarely leave the house I didn't see the need for another bag I would only use maybe once or twice a year, so I passed on it.

Unfortunately after the Christmas season I guess they decided to stop selling it because whenever I visit Muji now there is no trace of that drybag backpack. Oh well.

Then there was this tempered glass add on for my Nord CE 3 Lite 5G. I had a shop install it, which meant that the protective film factory stuck on the screen had to be removed. Unfortunately the tempered glass installed I guess didn't have adhesive or whatever, so every time I placed my phone in my pocket when I pulled it out the glass shifted. Eventually air bubbles came in so I had to adjust or remove and place the glass again until I just got fed up and got rid of it. It was most likely also not made for my phone since it was too narrow, I guess that's the problem with getting a "niche" phone.

One surprising regret was the Bench x SB19 convertible cargo pants. I was looking for a relatively decent looking pair and this actually didn't look like it was designed for mountain climbing. Sadly I could not find any in the Bench stores and whatever stock was left in their online stores were also sold out.

Those are three things that top of my head are shopping regrets. Though to be honest if ever the drybag backpack shows up in Muji again I just might buy it and sell/give away one of my existing backpacks.

Out.

1224: Updates

It's been two weeks or so since the major oil price increases started happening. Diesel prices have nearly doubled in the gas stations I've seen, while gas has significantly risen as well. Prices in the market have gone up, understandably (and sadly).

Some people are coping, some are acting as if everything is normal, and some people are adjusting. I guess I fall in the last category. I'm trying to limit whatever activities I have that consume gas and other utilities. I just wish other people thought the same.

It's really straining my budget, but I have no choice but to soldier on.

Out.

Late edit: Apparently today marks the anniversary of my blog! Twenty-one years and still blogging.

1223 - Coffee

I just recently started using the digital weighing scale for my personal, French pressed coffee again. I used to do that before with a ratio of around 250 g of hot water for around 20 g of ground coffee.

Lately since I've been trying to ration my beans I've only been doing around 10 to 15 g of grounds and 200 g of water, though I upped the amount of water to 250 g earlier today.

I found that doing the 200 g of water made the brew a bit too bitter for my taste. Plus I prefer quantity over quality and 200 g is just a wee bit too little for me, so I'll be sticking with 250 g of how water moving forward.

I will only be doing this when my folks aren't here. When they are I just grind 6 to 7 tablespoons of beans, maybe 30 to 40 g in weight, and add around 4 cups of water to the coffee machine. This isn't as bitter but we do have a lot of coffee to go around.

Out.

1222 - Fuel Prices

A massive fuel price increase this coming week is expected here in the Philippines because of current events unfolding in the Middle East. The 2026 Iran Conflict basically assured massive increases in oil prices because if I'm not mistaken the Strait of Hormuz was "shut down" which will prevent the shipping of oil.

We're already anticipating PhP10 to PhP20 increase in gasoline, diesel, and kerosene prices. It won't surprise me if the costs of other goods increase as well due to the increase costs of fuel.

This is worrisome to me since I'm already in a tight budget, but I need to constantly remind myself to calm down since these are things out of my control. The best I can do is wait how things unfold and adapt as best as I can.

I also need to remind myself to be thankful that our Wigo is very fuel efficient, and that it will help me weather the storm of surging fuel prices.

The best thing to do now is to keep a level head and be prepared for anything.

Out.