It's all about the equipment # 8 - flannel pajamas

For the past few weeks, I've been sleeping in a non-thermally conditioned room, so I've had to sleep with a few blankets and pajamas. Now, I rarely use pajamas because in Vancouver, my room is thermally conditioned. But then my Mom found a great deal in flannel pajamas and bought them for me (baby blue).

Boy, oh boy! Did I ever sleep well! These flannel pajamas are amazing! I have worn thermal underwear sometimes as I'm not very well adjusted to the cold weather yet (despite my lengthy residence in Vancouver) but these pajamas do wonders. I did not wake up a single minute and slept like a baby. Hence the title of the post: it's really all about the equipment, even when you go to sleep!

PS - A good pair of earplugs has also done wonders for my sleeping patterns.

It's all about the equipment - Entertaining guests

I haven't had the time to process an amazing visit to San Miguel de Allende, so I won't blog about that until probably Tuesday night (I'll be in Mexico City tomorrow and Monday, visiting Teotihuacan and the National Museum of Anthropology and History).

Both sites are world-wide renowned and lots have been written about them, so I'll have a full post in the next few days. But for now, I just want to mention that one of the things I noticed in the past weeks (while I've been a guest at NZ's house and when I've hosted people here) is that, if there's something that makes your life easier when having guests, is having the appropriate equipment.

At NZ's house, I noticed how she had EVERYTHING. And when I mean everything, I mean it in that way. She and her husband have two offices, several living rooms, terraces, alcoves, etc. There's plenty of space (and every single tool you might need) for them to entertain guests at leisure.

In my case, I found that it made all the difference both for me (when I had guests) and for my hosts (when I was a guest) to have everything they could possibly need to entertain: for drinks, a well-stocked wine rack, glasses, trays (to serve), etc. That's why I say that it's all about the equipment: it's easier to have guests when you DO have the equipment to treat them right (in addition to the people's skills that are required to treat guests the right way too!)

Safari, Internet Explorer and Firefox

I know for a fact some of you use Safari to read my blog. I recently found out that it doesn't look as pretty on IE as it does on Firefox. Since I don't have Safari, I would like to ask how my blog looks... ok, not ok?

It's all about the equipment installment # 7

Despite how miserable this weather is, I am still trying to run every day. Primarily because it makes me feel energized, keeps me fit and allows me to have some cardiovascular resistance for my volleyball games. It also helps me keep my weight at bay (I lost about 20 pounds in the last couple of months and been able to keep them away with exercise and diet).

Running in the cold rain is bad as is, but there are two pieces of equipment that make it better. One, the iPod that Nomade Moderne gave me (which now, thanks to my newfound knowledge of iTunes, contains my favorite songs in a playlist) and two, the iPod arm brace that LSF gave me for my birthday.

In previous weeks I found that I could run with the iPod in my hand, but it was awkward. Now I can run and listen to music (which makes it all better). This particular arm band also has a belt clip that allows me to go out while wearing street clothes and listen to my iPod.

It's all about the equipment - installment # 6

After a failed attempt at purchasing a backpack (which ended up disastrously thanks to a broken bottle of Chardonnay), I had been desperately trying to find an affordable (e.g. less than $100 CND) backpack that was suitable for laptop transportation. See... in the business that I am, not having a laptop is simply not an option. I need my laptop at all times and I really needed a sturdy knapsack that would carry my books, articles and laptop altogether.

Then I was at Canadian Tire and all of a sudden... there she was... on sale for $25 CND!!! So I *had* to get the backpack. I already tested it and yes, it is quite sturdy. Two minor details: it doesn't have neither a water bottle compartment nor a cell phone compartment. But these are minor details. It is sturdy and allows me to carry my laptop places. I am writing from a Blenz (which has wireless, yay!) and I've walked around downtown already armed with laptop, books, 2 liter container (for when I want a smoothie/milkshake). I said it before, it *is* all about the equipment!

UPDATE .- I did find the cell phone and water bottle compartments. This thing can carry just about anything... *swoons*

In the land of three remotes

I confess that I'm always two or three generations behind insofar electronics goes. I got a laptop years after everyone else already had one. I did not own a cell phone until 2005 and I had never switched on my TV until May 2007. So the past few months, it's been all about getting new equipment.

My very good friend A gave me a 27" TV, which actually does talk to my DVD player (generously given to me by my brother). When J was setting it up, he said a phrase that made me laugh and stuck to my head, so I thought I'd share it with you..."well, you are now in three-remote territory".

After the laughter I actually realized that I am indeed in the land of three remotes. I do not own a universal remote. And it does make things complicated. But to be fair, now I can invite good friends over to watch movies instead of having to use my laptop for movie shows (which was annoying because sometimes my laptop would malfunction right in the middle of a great movie).

On an unrelated note, sorry for not posting content over the weekend. Way too much socializing and very little time to write meaningful posts. I have prepared drafts on various topics, including the recently released study on diversity and social capital, movie review ("Wedding wars"), and updates on a socially-packed weekend. More coming soon...

It's all about the equipment - installment # 5

This time I'm not blogging about the equipment I recently acquired (as I usually do) but about the equipment I should have acquired. A few weeks back, I saw what I thought was a really good backpack on sale, and I figured "hey I need a new backpack, why not", went ahead and bought it. Well, I paid the price of a bad purchase.

I bought a couple of bottles of wine to bring to one of the parties I recently attended (one Chardonnay and one Cabernet-Sauvignon). You know, in case someone likes red and somebody likes white wine. So in an effort to be environmentally friendly (and given the current status of garbage collection in Vancouver), I refused to have the bottles packed in plastic bags and instead put them in said backpack.

No later than two minutes, my backpack straps got untied and the contents fell right off. Of course, as you can imagine, disaster ensued. Luckily, only the Chardonnay broke but obviously, the content of my backpack got totally soaked in white wine. And even luckier, it wasn't the red wine that broke.

The part that really annoyed me is that some of my research notebooks got totally soaked, which doesn't bode well for my notes. I haven't even wanted to open them yet (I just let them dry off) but I am just bracing for the worst.

So the moral of the story? If you are going to buy a backpack, make sure it is a good one. I know for sure my next backpack will be a very good one. Not doing it again!

It's all about the equipment - installment 4

I have decided to actually continue my series of "It's all about the equipment" posts, so I thought I'd include one piece of equipment I have recently acquired. My very good friend H gave me an early celebratory gift that he knew I lacked. Shame on me, I never had owned an iPod (*gasp*). I just never saw the need for it.

I used to own a portable cassette player, then I transitioned to a portable CD player (actually an excellent piece of equipment which was stolen from my house last year, I could jog with it). So I thought I'd never own any portable music device, because I was so angry having lost my CD player.

Well, this year H and I had conversations about iPod and he kept asking me why I didn't own one. I just thought I never needed one (even though I exercise regularly, commute everywhere by bus and walk a lot, all circumstances under which using a portable music device makes the experience all the more pleasant).

Those friends of mine who know me well know also that I only plugged my TV this year (actually in May of 2007), after having owned one for over a year and a half. So I am quite slow in adapting new technologies or gadgets (unless they're work-related). Anyhow, H thought I needed an iPod and so he generously gave me one.

It's time to confess that I have become addicted to iPod. So much that I'm actually considering the possibility of buying a Nike+iPod kit to track the calories I burn while exercising. My iPod I think is 30 GB, and H kindly left me lots of music in it, so now I'm walking and commuting all over the place while listening to awesome tunes. How could I have lived without an iPod for so long?

It's all about the equipment - installment 3

I'm not sure if this is actually the third installment in the series of blog posts where I've talked about the need to have the right equipment for whatever activities I undertake. Yesterday, I bought two non-stick teflon frying pans (I'm not going to tell the make so that I don't get into trouble). At any rate, these were the two best purchases I've done recently, because now I can do scrambled eggs for breakfast and not have to work for an hour cleaning them.

Another piece of equipment I recently found very useful was a pair of sunglasses (excellent sunglasses, by the way). Given Vancouver's recent hot weather and sunny skies, I have really given them excellent use. Particularly because I use contact lenses, so I really need to use sunglasses when hanging out outdoors.

It's all about the equipment again...

Tonight I went to the Coastal Jazz Festival (TD Canada Trust Vancouver International Jazz Festival) with H and my Mom. Funny how things go, I did not foresee many things but I shall be prepared next time...

a). It was really hot and sunny. I wore a black t-shirt. Bad idea.
b). The concert was held outdoors was outdoors and no seating (chairs) was available. Note to self - bring along a mat or a towel.
c). The weather was really hot and sunny (again). Note to self - bring running shorts, t-shirt, sunscreen, cold water or other drink.

So in conclusion, next time I do an outdoor concert, I'll come prepared. After a really cool rumba performance by Rumba Calzada (they played Guajira and a few other tunes that I've danced to before with my salsa partners). It was a really great experience.

We stayed for about an hour then dinner at La Bodega, which was unbelievably awesome. True to my Spanish roots I went for the typical patatas bravas, chorizo, albondigas, montaditos de cerdo... Ah, good times were had by all!

It's all about the equipment!

Ah, retail therapy... the best solution to winter blues...

I was raised with the firm conviction that you should never be cheap in buying whatever makes your life easier, even if it expensive. You should always strive to buy the best clothes, the most nutritious food, the nicest furniture (within your budget, quite obviously).

I happened to do exactly that this weekend (treat myself to whatever I needed). I needed a printer (I didn't have one before), so I bought an HP laser printer. I have been playing volleyball since a few weekends ago, so I bought a set of knee pads. My brother bought me a new pair of work boots (those that have the metal toe and all) to avoid me falling on the ice (something that happened about a month ago while Vancouver was still snowed).

Hence the title of my posting. It's all about the equipment. You can't be an academic these days without a printer, Internet access, a good computer, software... You can't be a competitive volleyball player if you are afraid to dig balls (and you most definitely need knee pads for that!). You can't walk in rainy Vancouver and expect not to trip at some point. So that's why I now have the gear to carry out my day-to-day activities. I am quite happy :)