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Redken Hair Care Products at JC Penney
Posted by: | September 7, 2021
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| Personal
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I think I still have this record somewhere

I am a man and I have a hard time finding decent hair spray at a decent price. Costco has some hair sprays, but they are expensive high-class stuff I don’t have cash for. Redken’s Fashion Work 12 is my everyday hair spray. But they are still too expensive. If I’m lucky, I can find them on eBay at $10-$15 a can on used conditions. Used, as in 80% full, dented can, cap missing, etc… I constantly look for a cheaper version of Redken, but everything I see at discount stores says “Maximum Hold” and “Extra Hold”. It’s as if people with long hair don’t exist – that we are all members of some punk bands. I cannot find any good and cheap medium hold hair sprays. As a grown man, I spend way too much time looking for hair care products.

I just want to do my hair and leave it soft to touch. The goal is to look natural. I am not asking much. Why is it so difficult to find such a product? Well, I found Fashion Work 12. It does exactly that…

Anyway, JC Penney currently has a good deal on Redken hair care products. I just ordered 6 cans of my favorite hair sprays at the best price I have ever seen. They even have a discount code that they didn’t have 2 days ago. They deliver to JCPenney stores for free. Now, I don’t have to think about hair spray for the next 2-3 years.

Even though I work from home, I always do my hair in the morning. I use 4-6 hair care products depends on the mood of the day. I start my morning with a fresh attitude. Obviously, I stopped dressing up for work because of the pandemic. As a result, I now have 4 pairs of brand new Italian shoes that I haven’t worn outside. I also have 3 Winter coats that I have never worn outside.

But, working from home is the best.

JC Penney

So, I shopped at JC Penney.

I was surprised that Penney still existed, let alone having excellent prices on Redken products. I think the last time I shopped at JC Penney was in the 80s. I believe I actually bought a Members Only jacket there. Remember the Members Only jacket? At that time, I didn’t know the significance of the jacket. I bought the jacket because it looked cool. Then 10-20 years later, people started to talk about the Members Only jacket as a part of the 80s reference. Anyway, I am glad my money is going to JC Penney. I look forward to visiting there to pick up my hair sprays.


Under the master bathroom sink, Sept 21
Used Redken hair sprays I found from eBay
First Sign of Christmas 2021
Posted by: | August 6, 2021
| 2 Comments
| Christmas, Costco Blog
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It’s Beginning To Look Like Christmas

Here’s the first sign of Christmas (2021) in Costco.

My regular visitors know how much I enjoy Christmas. Forget Christmas in July. I listen to Christmas music year-round. I have 70+ Christmas CDs (physical CD collection from the 90’s). I decorate my cubicle at work with a full-size Christmas tree with a train running around it (picture below)

Naturally, I enjoy looking at Christmas items in Costco.

I see these ribbons at Costco, usually at the end of July or early August. They rotate the designs of the ribbons every year. Last year, the ribbons had a slight hint of Winter. But this year, the ribbons scream Christmas~!! I like these.

After these ribbons, there will be about a month of calm at Costco. After 3-4 weeks, by September, there will be Christmas isles at Costco. Some items will look familiar. But they will also have stuff you have never seen before. You never know what you will find.

FYI: Some cool Christmas items sell out quickly at Costco, way before Christmas. And you may never find them anywhere else.

2019, my cubicle at work
Still Working From Home
Posted by: | May 13, 2021
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| Personal
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I’ve been working from home since last March (2020). After 15 months, my body is so used to being at home. I cannot imagine going back to work.

Finally, the words came down from the management. We are going back to the office on September 2021. We are currently collecting survey data to decide how many days in a week we should work from home… or not.

As much as I enjoy office work, working from home is the king. My dream is to retire and work part-time in an office environment, preferably as an entry-level accounting clerk. My current job is heavy-duty, which is OK because that means better pay.

I’ve been working from home for 61 weeks now. I now have 16 more weeks left for working from home. It’s been a scary time. God bless everyone. But working from home was sweet. I can listen to Johnny Guitar Watson as loud as I want.

For now, I am enjoying working from home.

Talk to you later. Time for a coffee break.

Deisy is a colleague at work. She’s 15 years younger than I am, and we are buddies. “Taca” is the term we use exclusively between us. We say “Taca” as a greeting, expression (happy, anger, fear, frustration..), and we call each other Taca. Office work is fun.

Salmon and Pasta Dinner for One
Posted by: | May 11, 2021
| 4 Comments
| Costco Blog, Kitchen
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Total prep & cooking time: 15 minutes.

Ingredients used:

  • Salmon – Kirkland Signature
  • Pasta – From Costco.
  • Basil Pesto – Kirkland Signature.
  • Mixed Vegetable – Kirkland Signature
  • Seasoning (garlic pepper & seasoned pepper) – From Costco.
  • Lemon & Rosemary – From the front yard of my house.

This is one of my favorite quick dinner. It takes so little time, and the meal is fantastic.

I put the pasta in boiling water, microwave the vegetables, and fried the fish – all at the same time.

Fish and vegetables were ready when the pasta was done (about 9 minutes). So the entire cooking time was about 10 minutes. I put them on a pretty plate and enjoyed them. This was an excellent dinner.

This is yet another example of how buying food in bulk benefits single people living alone. Costco is not just for people with big families. Frozen foods and dried pasta last a long time. You buy in bulk and enjoy them for a long time. It’s like… you are almost glad nobody loves you.

The table looks empty. I should have used a placemat.

Costco Chicken – Single Man’s Dinner
Posted by: | May 5, 2021
| 2 Comments
| Costco Blog, Personal, Single Living
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This is how some single men cook. Below is my dinner from last night. The prep time was about 15 minutes.

Chicken was from my August 2020 Costco Shopping (9 months ago). I thawed it overnight in the refrigerator. I also thawed some tortillas (I vacuum packed them in single serving size). I used a Soup Mix from World Market I purchased about a year ago. It’s a dry food with long shelf-life.

I boiled the soup mix with chicken for 1 hour. I topped the soup with shredded tortillas. And seasoned it with oregano, peppers, and Tapatio (hot sauce).

It was an excellent dinner. The chicken was tender and tasty. I always keep these Costco chicken breasts in my freezer. Once I make a soup like this, I will eat this for three days.

As a single person, buying bulk from Costco works for me. I save money and time. Also, Kirkland Signature products are high quality.

Vacuum, freeze, and enjoy.

Vacuum packed and frozen tortillas – single serving size

I am not a cologne guy
Posted by: | April 23, 2021
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| Personal
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I don’t always wear fragrances. I only wear fragrance when I’m home alone or when I go to bed. Sometimes I burn a scented candle. I rarely wear fragrances outside. I never wear fragrances with other people in mind. When it comes to attracting the opposite sex, I believe the smell is at the bottom of the list. For example, women will always go for unscented Brad Pitt over heavily scented Danny DeVito. In fact, Danny DeVito will get more women if he doesn’t reek Sauvage.

All my deodorant, after-shave, and body lotion are unscented. I cannot stand perfume on women, but I get a kick out of the natural scent of women’s skin. Smelling other men’s colognes is the worst. It makes me gag.

So, I refuse to be that guy with heavy cologne.

I believe the fragrance is like music. A few people around me may like to hear my music, but most people would rather not hear it, especially at work. I believe that’s how it works with fragrances. For one person who compliments my smell, there will be many other people who wish I would leave the place and take the smell with me. Leaving my smell behind when I leave the conference room would be one of the worst offenses to commit at work. My employer routinely sends out company-wide emails asking us to tone down on personal fragrances.

Fragrances, gloves, wallets, glasses, and socks

My closet: Fragrances, gloves, wallets, glasses, and socks.
  • I have enough fragrances to last my lifetime. I may buy a few more fragrances for fun. Besides that, I don’t care about fragrances. They look pretty in my closet, and they are there when I feel like wearing them.
  • I think the only time it’s OK to wear fragrances in public is when I go out to dance. Still, I would wear a little amount. FYI: I have not gone out to dance since the early 90s. My God, I used to attract gay men like I was on flame.
  • There are personality, God-given looks, toned body, special talent, wealth, fame &, etc…that might attract other people. The “smell” is at the bottom of the list that often works against you. Not many people would like to hang out with a guy with heavy cologne.
  • All of my collections are cheap, except for one bottle (MFK Oud Silk Mood).
  • Yes, my expensive bottle smells the best. Cheap ones smell cheap.
  • I can get rid of 15 bottles of colognes right now and not miss them. I keep them because they look nice on the shelf.
  • I have no shame in buying cheap colognes that smell like expensive name brand fragrances (clones). But, I will never buy counterfeit fragrances and join the circle of criminals.
  • In the US, my boss can tell me to stop wearing fragrances and can fire me for it.
  • In the US, wearing fragrances is banned at some workplaces.

I enjoy fragrances. But I refuse to be that guy with heavy cologne.

Smell you later.

Mr Al Jarreau
Posted by: | April 2, 2021
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Meeting my favorite singer Al Jarreau

It was the late 90s, before smartphones and digital photography. A music promoter I knew had a favor to ask. He was meeting Mr. Al Jarreau, and he needed a photographer to document the meeting. So, in my tank top, I gathered my cameras and drove my beat-up convertible to Mr. Al Jarreau’s house. Al Jarreau was a 7 times Grammy-winning Jazz singer who sang a part of “We are the world (1985)”. He also sang the theme song from ‘Moonlighting’. I liked Al Jarreau. I had 2 of his CDs at that time.

At Al Jarreau’s house, I took pictures of them in various settings, including family-style snapshots. I took one picture with him as well. During break time, Mr. Jarreau signed the CD that I brought with me.

His personality was just like the above live video. He was mellow. And he had an “I am not in a hurry” demeanor.

He was a smoker, and people constantly smoked in the house. At one point Mr. Jarreau said (to me), “let me light the cigarette for you”. I was star-struck and absolutely thrilled. And Mr. Jarreau… he looked so satisfied as he lit my cigarette slowly with a big smile. I didn’t really smoke, but I went along with the flow.

A few months later, Billboard Magazine had a blurb about what Al Jarreau was up to lately. And, boom! There was a picture that I took – on Billboard Magazine!!!

Mr. Jarreau died 15 years later. God bless him. I have a special memory of him. Sometimes I look at the picture of Al Jarreau and me together – me with that stupid tank top.