Month of April , 2009

I live in the same city block as my work.  From my apartment, I can run to my work in 90 seconds. But I drive every single day.  I drive because it's the American way.

Because I live so close to my work, I have a lot of options on what I can do on my lunch time. 

During my lunch time, I would...

• eat out with my co-worker.
• take 90 minute lunch and do laundry.
• I don't eat but I would sleep for 1 hour.
• go to Costco

Then there is Maury

I hate to admit, but I love Maury Show.  I especially enjoy DNA test episodes. Sometimes I check TV schedule for Maury episodes.

As soon as I get home, I change into loungewear.  And I go about my lunch routine as I watch Maury Show.

You never know what's going to happen on DNA results.  I love it.  It's fun because it's not me sitting there (you know what I mean).

It's not just the guests who are fun to watch.  I love how the audience react when they hear unexpected results.  I would LOVE to be there.

"You ARE the father~!" ha ha...  Good time

Maury Paternity Test -- 10 Best Paternity Reactions

Bonus Clip

It's here~~

Thank God I don't see much to buy this time.

* Today's Costco shopping: 17th time this year, 4rd time this month

I ran out of apples, so I went to Costco for some quick refill.

It was getting late after Costco shopping, so I looked at my coupon wallet and found an El Pollo Loco coupon.  Below dinner was only $2.99.  It's so hard not to eat out when I can take care of dinner so easy, fast, and cheap.

I enjoy staying up all night Saturday night.  I usually enjoy good coffee and take care of my personal projects until I see the Sun coming up the next day.   I think it goes way back when I was young (in the 80s - 90s).  I used to enjoy staying up all night, play games, and have fun.  Still, when I stay up late, I get all that young and fun feeling back again. 

I used to live with my parents and siblings.  I had to keep things quiet while I watch TV, snack, and work on my personal projects.  Even now, I keep my Saturday night quiet.  I try not to bother my neighbors.  Sometimes I feel like I can hear my father snoring.

I still have that 9 inch TV I use to watch in my room.  I watched a lot of Columbo on VHS tapes that I recorded.  Now I own every single episode of Columbo on DVD.

I enjoy grocery shopping on late Saturday night. 

I went to VONS tonight

Check it out - I saved 55%.
I used Costco American Express card.
Strawberries were so cheap, cheaper than Costco.
I don't know if I can finish all that.

OK, back to work... Good night everyone.

-

Today, I bought 2 pairs of eyeglass frames from ebay.

Well, I sniped them

When I bid at the last seconds, there is no going back.
My bid can be too low, then I will not have time to bid gain (I lose).

That's why it's very important that you bid your highest possible amount.  For that pair of glasses, I bid $15.15.  And I won it for $13.83

Notice, it says "Another user may still outbid you"
Well, it's impossible for somebody to outbid me in 1 second

It was so much fun.  Who said money doesn't give me happiness?

I got 2 pairs of frames for $23.82

AND
I didn't stop there - I continued to shop online.  I spent about $500.00 on gadgets.  Coming up...

* 30th package of the year

More British (Silver) Sixpences. I sniped them from ebay.
I spent less than $70.00

* Here I go again. Proof I am becoming a grumpy old man.

I am shopping for some eyeglasses on ebay.
My plan is to buy about 3 frames and get lenses at Costco.
2 of them will be tinted with some interesting colors. (more coming)

So, I went to ebay, see.

Then I found this seller, in the US, who had some decent eyeglass frames. But all the measurements were written in mm's, not in Inch's.

I was little irritated by that. So I sent them an email. I wrote "You are located in the US, and you are selling your products to the US customers. But all your product dimensions are written in mm"

The seller replied and said "You can go online and convert them to Inches."

Can you believe that? What kind of crappy work ethic is that? So I replied her and said "Your business must be going pretty good. You should write your product descriptions in Spanish and tell us to translate them online also"

Things like that irritate me.

Related Stories

Oh boy...  this is it.

I hope this is the final chapter of Nike vs. Adidas story.

I saw Adidas running shoes at Costco, in Simi Valley, and I just had to buy them.  They were $28.99.  Now I have three pairs of brand new Nike & Adidas.

I think most people own 2-4 pairs of walking shoes & gym shoes.  I have three pairs now.  I think that's a reasonable number.

I spent less than $90.00 for all three pairs.  I think that's pretty good.  A lot of sneakers cost well over $100.00 a pair.
Also, I've been very good with saving money.

(I'm trying to justify my purchases)

Without a doubt, the most annoying mofo on TV.
I had to get this off my chest.

Jonathan Goldsmith did a lot of character acting in the past.  Anyway, this is the most annoying commercial there is.

I went to McDonald's for lunch today.

I had Filet O Fish & 6 pieces of Chicken McNuggets (& no soda)

My Coworker had a 1/4 Pound Burger Value Pack.

I looked at the bottom sides of the boxes and saw nutritional facts.  This was the first time seeing nutritional facts on any fast food containers.

Anyway, I ate 660 kCal (plus honey mustard) while my coworker ate over 1400 kCal.

My lunch (without soda) was $6.42.  That's a lot of money.  I remember I used to go to McDonald's to save money.

I believe I ate the most amount of fat (greasy food) last week.

• I ate 8 pieces of Popeys chicken - that's a whole chicken.
• I had 4 pieces of KFC chicken
• I went to Carl's Jr for a burger and fries
• I had two big slices of anchovy pizza & salad.
• I also had a double chili cheese burger with fries

I need to try very hard to fight the temptation.  I keep thinking "just once" or "It's OK I will work out"

This is bad, bad...  I am definitely fatter than last year.  

I drink juice every morning.  I think I get about 2-3 servings of fruits and vegetables every day.  But... look at some of the things I ate past week.  I don't have pictures of Popeyes Chicken (I went twice and ate 4 pieces each time).

FYI: Normally, I eat about 2 pieces of fried chicken a month.
FYI: I currently wear 32" waist pants - But I know I'm bigger than 32.

But I tell you what.  I enjoyed every single bite of them.  I don't normally drink sodas (to save money & etc).  So, when you see me with soda, you know I am really enjoying my meal. (especially for lunch - because I have soda at work).

I finally hooked up this website to Twitter

Twitter will get updated whenever I post something.

Let's see if it really works.

www.Twitter.com/CostcoShopper

* Today's Costco shopping: 16th time this year, 3rd time this month

I had a meeting with a customer. I drove by Simi Valley Costco, so...  I had to drop by to see what they have.  Different Costco stores have different items in stock.  If you go to a Costco in rich neighborhood, you will find more fancier & expensive items.  Maybe I'm wrong about that theory, but that's what I believe.  Different Costco carries different items.

Back to shopping:

Mm.. yes, I bought another pair of Adidas running shoes from Costco. But, these are running shoes.  Oxnard Costco didn't have these.  I needed those shoes to replace my 5 years old gym shoes. I swear, my existing gym shoes are pretty beat up. 

They were only $28.99/pair. They are very light and designed for running.  With these shoes, I will workout every day and live forever.  It would be stupid not to buy at this price.

That's it. I'm done with sneakers.

I spent $43.45 at Simi Valley Costco.

Costco's Adidas running shoes

*28th packages of the year

I bought 3 recycle stickers.  I will show you what I do with them (later).

Related stories

Oh boy, story continues.

I saw a stack of Adidas sneakers at Costco.  They were $29.99 each.  I just couldn't pass that opportunity.

So I bought a pair.

Now I have both Nike & Adidas -  I only spent $60.00 total (plus tax).

My co-worker better not buy any more sneakers.  This is getting ridiculous.

Adidas from Costco

* Today's Costco shopping: 15th time this year, 2nd time this month

Ah~~  So busy.  Last night to work on my tax.

First of all, I got my tire fixed.

I bought a pair of Adidas.  I couldn't resist at the price tag of $29.99. It was the first time seeing Adidas at Costco.  What's the chance?  I was thinking about buying a pair of Adidas so I can get back to my co-worker. Here are my stories on sneakers.

• Nike vs. Adidas Pt. 1
• Nike vs. Adidas Pt. 2

I bought a swimming trunk. You see, I never get out.  I didn't swim in last 10 years or so.  I do think about taking vacations here and there..  mm.. we'll see.

I have money and time for vacation.  I have 4 weeks of vacation time backed up.  My accounting lady's been telling me to take vacation for over 1 year now.  The thing is that I don't need vacation.  I am pretty relaxed and happy at work.  There is no stress.  If I meet right kind of friend I shall enjoy traveling.  But, for now, alone... I'm happy without vacation.

I have a full box of Honey Bunches of Oats Cereal.  I really like HBO, but I thought it would be better if I mix it with Costco's Raisin Bran.

Kirkland Signature's AAA batteries are the best.  I brought a $2.00 off coupon for Duracell batteries, but Kirkland Signature's batteries were a lot better deal without coupon.

I spent $120.00.  I saved $18.00 with coupons. Then I put 12.65 Gallons of gas for $27.82 ($2.199/g)

50/50 mix of Honey Bunches of Oats & Kirkland Signature Organin Raisin Bran with Soy Milk.  This is my favorite combination so far.

Gag me with a spoon. I have a flat tire.

I bought 4 tires from Costco about 4 months ago.
Then I had a flat tire three months ago.

Today, I took a short break to practice my Chin Ups and found out my car has a flat tire. Again~!!  This time it's the rear right side.

Oh, my beautiful Costco tire..
Well, Costco didn't make the tires.  I just bought them from Costco.  To be honest, I don't even remember the brand name of my tires.  All I know is that they are from Costco and Costco will take care of them.

Painful..

There was an AAA towing truck waiting for me.  He knew the owner would come out sooner or later.  He asked me if I wanted his service.  I told him "no".  Then he moved on.

I quickly replaced the tire with a spare.  Replacing tire is easy if you have right tools.

** Make sure you have right tools to replace tires on your own.  Do not assume your cellular phone will save the day.  If you have never replaced a tire before you should try and see if you can do it.  If you are a small person it will be almost impossible to unfasten the lug nuts with the wrench that comes with your car.  You may have to buy a wrench like mine (below).  You may need a better jack as well.

Above Jack and Lug Nut Wrench are NOT Toyota's stock supply. 
Large Lug Nut Wrench & a good jack are must have items.

The tire laying flat on the ground is a spare.
My spare is a fully maintained brand new tire.

*  I have a big shopping to do at Costco tomorrow, so I will check it in tomorrow.

* Today's Costco shopping: 14th time this year, 1st time this month

Nothing Special today.

I have a long Costco shopping list for next week (with the coupons).  Today, I just needed some basic stuff fast.

I bought 3 more shirts ($45.00).  I just need a few more shirts and I'll be satisfied.  I need a few more pairs of dark pants.

I spent less than $100.00 ($91.14).

Costco Chicken:
I love Costco chicken. But, when you live alone, you are the only person eating that bird.  That means I will be eating nothing but Costco chicken for next 2-3 days.  I am not sure if I can finish the whole thing this time.  

Below is a reshoot of the shirts under better light, with correct color balance

Good Friday - Normal business hours
Saturday - Normal business hours
Sunday - Closed

Before going out for lunch, I cleaned my favorite cool shades using my shirt.  Then I thought I'd photograph that moment.

These are B&L Ray Ban Chromax W2053.  I paid about $30.00 at Big 5 about 12 years ago.  Then about 6 years ago, I replaced the lens with yellow glass (prescription).  So, I spent under $70.00 for them.

When I see good sales on sunglasses, I buy them for $20-$40 and hold on to them.  This makes sense to me because it's difficult to find right glass frame at right price.  I don't want to wait until the time comes and I  have to buy something fast.  Eye glasses are like a job.  The best time to look for them is when you have them.  

Later, depends on the model, I can put clear or colored lenses.

Now with Costco's optical department, I can save even more.

Anyway, these glasses are now going for $250.00 on eBay.  
It became a hard to find item of some sort, I guess.
These are my favorite pair of Sunglasses.

Check your mailbox.  I hope you got these as well.

Oh boy... I see a lot of things to buy.  I may have to spend a lot of money next week.

My shopping list from this coupon:

• Candies (I am debating which one to get)
• Trash bags
• Ritz crackers
• Hebrew National Kosher Beef Franks
• Orange chicken
• Healthy Choice Cafe Steamers Variety Pack
• Valley Fine Foods Pasta Prima Chicken & Mozzarella Ravioli
• Apache 3'x5' Commercial Grade Scraper Mat
• Kirkland Signature Chicken Alfredo with Penne Pasta
• Vitamin B-12 (Good timing - I was running out of them) 

* I am looking at this tiny Olympus Camera (FE-370) for $99.99 after $30.00 off.  I should not buy this camera, but it's very tempting.  The camera is very cute.

Costco Online Instant Saving Book

I eat 1 1/2 slices of bread for breakfast.

1 slice is too little.  2 slices are too much.

So, I make sandwich with 1.5 slices of bread & 3 slices of ham.
When I told my friends about it, they seemed puzzled about how I manage to distribute & stack 1.5 pieces of bread in one sandwich.

It's very simple.  Check it out.

Bread and Ham from Costco, of course

Related story:

It's been only 1 week since I bought a pair of Nike.

My coworker, one with a pair of new Adidas, one who hated Nike, came back from lunch with this.  A brand new pair of Nike!!

Ugly Nike for my coworker

He said, "I needed a pair of exercise shoes.  I don't want to wear out my new Adidas"  What a lame excuse that was.

He saw my new Nike and he had to get one also. 
He couldn't resist.  He likes Nike.  Haha..

*27th packages of the year

I sniped some British silver Sixpences from EBay.

They are supposed to bring good luck.  I may get some more.