Wednesday, January 27, 2010

My decision to go with the gym

I joined the gym towards the end of last year and I've been loving it! I workout on my own at home but it's very sporadic (aside from yoga) especially in the winter. In the summer, I run outside but I become a hermit during the winter.

I have weights & a treadmill at home but they don't get the love they should be getting. So I decided that if joining a gym meant I would be healthy and fit then it was well worth it. I think the best decision you can make when it comes to the working out at home vs. gym dilemma is going with the option you will actually stick with and enjoy. If you want to loose pounds or get fit and be that way for the rest of your life, it really needs to be a lifestyle change and not a temporary diet or fix that you do for a bit and move on. Unless you're Hiedi Montag and can afford/want to get 10 plastic surgeries in one day.

I constantly kept going back and forth on whether I should join the gym or not. In the end I went with the gym and now I am sure I made the absolute right decision! I like the gym because of the variety of equipment and the classes I have access to. At home, I was getting tired of the same ol', same ol' and would dread going to the basement for another run. At the gym it's easy to do something different every workout especially with the classes offered. Also there is something about working out with a room full of people all engrossed in their fitness. It just pumps me up even more. I just tell myself hey if that person can do it, so can I!

Thursday, January 21, 2010

I now have more of a reason to be a Nokia fangirl!

I heart Nokia and I am not ashamed to admit it. After my brief stint with a Siemens phone, I haven't cheated on Nokia ever since.

So the new news that their GPS enabled phones would now come with free turn by turn navigation made me gush even more. Take that TomTom & Garmin! Well I guess they already got hit when Google announced something similar earlier last year. However the difference with Nokia is it has more countries covered & you can use it offline. So basically no data charges to use their service. Before you had to pay a fee if you wanted the navigation.

So in conclusion....me & Nokia continue on our happy journey together. Now off I go to update my software so I can use this feature!

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Benzaclin Update #2

If you've been following my blog, you know that my doctor put me on benzaclin towards the end of last year. The effects were almost instantaneous, however it made my skin super dry. Almost scaly and I found that I had to use more of the product for it to be equally effective.

I couldn't take it anymore and in about a months time, I just stopped cold turkey! I just went with a heavy duty moisturizer at night instead. It was a matter of whether I wanted acne free scaly skin or nice moist acne skin. Basically a loose, loose situation. I figured at least with the moist acne skin, I wasn't damaging my skin with harsh chemicals, ect.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

MBNA $50 cash rebate!

I switched my Citi 1% cash back card to the MBNA SmartCash mastercard in July of 2009. The MBNA card gives me 1% cash back for regular purchases and 3% cash back for gas and grocery purchases.


Well in less than half a year, I've received my first cheque for $50! Awesome, considering this isn't my primary credit card. I still go to my trusty 2% (tiered) Amex card first but if I am paying for gas or grocery, I always use this card.

For those looking to switch to a new card and want cash back instead of points or miles, I recommend giving this card a whirl.

Sunday, January 10, 2010

The Source Sucks!

Soo here's the deal. I bought a rogers phone at The Source at the end of December since I wasn't sure if I wanted to renew my contract with them. Remember my whole drama with Rogers in Feb of last year? Well unfortunately I decied to stick it out with the devil aka Rogers. At the end of the day, I have a sweet plan with with them that costs me a little over $40 a month and I basically never go over my minutes or texts, and have voicemail and call display, ect. I was on the fence about renewing my contract. I figured I'd just buy a phone & use it & then cancel if I had Rogers drama again since I wouldn't be on a contract any more. Well a few weeks later (aka now), I figured I'd just bite the bullet & commit to a contract. So a phone for free from doing a hardware upgrade and signing my life away for three more years.

I assumed I could return my phone at The Source since I hadn't used it yet and it was less than thirty days (which it says on the reciept is required for a full refund). Well I take it to The Source and they basically tell me I am shit out of luck because they are now owned by bell and sell bell phones so they won't take my phone back. WTF? It says specifically on the reciept that I can return it if it's less than 30days and less than 30mins on the phone. I hadn't even touched the phone & it was way less than 30 days! How the hell was I supposed to know that in Jan 1st, they'd decide they would no longer be responsible for rogers. I put up a big stink at the store & they brought out some sheet on a letter head that said as of Jan 1, 2010 they wouldn't be carrying rogers products, yada, yada, yada. Um that's great but nobody sent me this letter so how the hell am I supposed to know? I knew last year that Bell bought The Source and I knew it was only a matter of time before the stores would start selling their products but I had no idea it would be Jan 1, 2010. Didn't Bell buy The Source in March or April of last year?


Back to the point....The Source basically told me that it sucked to be me and they couldn't do anything. So The Source if you're reading this: I WILL NEVER SHOP AT YOUR STORE AGAIN!!! Best Buy & Future Shop thanks you for your horrible customer service.


I called Rogers and apparently they have a special line set up for this and after much holding and checking with their bosses, they were able to help me out. So my faith in Rogers is renewed a little. Now I have to wait for some UPS label to come, then mail my phone back with the reciept and do the hokey pokey and I should get my money back.

Saturday, January 9, 2010

Gym Update

So I didn't make any new 'new years' resolutions. I had some things I had been working on from the end of last year that I am still working on. One of them was loosing weight and getting more toned. I want to fit nicely into my old pants. Right now, I have my old pants sitting folded nicely in my closet waiting for me to return to my old size (Just one size down).

I've been hitting the gym @least once a week if not more and believe it or not, I am starting to finally see small results after about 2 months dedicating myself to this goal. And I love it! I can fit into my 'fat pants' with a little extra room to give whereas before, my big pants were still tight on me.

I think changing up my routine and trying new things at the gym is what's really helping me with the weight loss. I've started taking some of the free classes at the gym and not only are they fun, they have me dripping in sweat by the end. Who knew a little dancing or steps would do that?

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Create short movie with yourself in it!

Do you want your friends to think you're awesome? Then go here (http://en.tackfilm.se/) and upload a picture of yourself and watch the movie! Then send the link to everybody you know and wait for people to reply and tell you how neat it is.

I would share my link with you folks but I don't want my face plastered on the interwebs so I'll spare you.

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Are elephants the ones with good memory?

I wish I was an elephant. I never really had an issue with this till I hit the workforce. School wasn't a big deal because I'd always study last minute and everything would be fresh in my head. With work, I always get these questions about projects I am working on and I can never answer it without referencing my papers! It's a good thing I am detailed but I wish my retention was stellar.

I wonder if I can do anything to improve it. I mean, I do read books and work with numbers so it's not like I am not using my brain and it's going into hibernation mode.