Few days ago I read an article about minimalism from the Guardian. I was a bit shocked and found the tone of the article a bit cynical. True there are always some bad apples between the tons of good ones. The article portrayed minimalism as a product, which poor people couldn't buy.
But I think and hope that a lot of minimalist don't see minimalism as a way to step on other peoples feeling or economical situation. In my opinion minimalism is a lifestyle where I deliberately choose to rid myself of once cherished consumer goods because I don't want physical goods to effect my health.
I wasn't happy when reading the article but the facts are correct. As minimalism doesn't have one definition it's difficult for others to understand. Also some people are only joining the trend which is also nice because minimalism is something you experience in my eyes.
For some minimalist it means having a aesthetic interior is very important and "only" achievable with designer furniture. Honestly, I don't really care about how much a product cost as long you value it and find it worth to buy.
An other plus for being a minimalist is able to let go of the bad feeling after reading the article because minimalism has thought me to let go of the things I don't like. Even though the article portrays a negative picture of minimalism, I am still happy to have read a different opinion on the lifestyle I have chosen.
dinsdag 31 oktober 2017
maandag 30 oktober 2017
Mobile phone with no subscribtion
As you may know my current phone is a Windows Lumia 640 which is great but with a small app Store. I use my phone one a daily basis to check mail, make calls, play games and snapping pictures. The Netherlands doesn't have an McDonald's app for it. So I decided to change platform this year to ios phone, which one it will be is still uncertain.
What I do know is that I am going to miss the dual-sim and micro-sd card in it. The extra storage is not going to be a problem since I know so many cloud account and other affordable solution. I am currently using a data sim of 12GB which is valid for 12 months and T-mobile sim which I have for over a decade in one phone. I checked the pricing that most monthly subscription for 1GB per month with free calls and text is minimum €15,-. Yearly amount would be then €180,- which I don't spent on a yearly prepaid basis. Yearly I input around €60,- on my prepaid card. The 12GB sim card cost €45,- which makes it €3,75 per 1GB.
If you have to chose between €180,- yearly or €105,- the decision is easily made. Mind you that my prepaid top up happens less because of the free calls I can make to my family members. I expect that my phone top up amount in 2018 will be cut in half.
If you have some tips that I haven't mentioned please teach me!
What I do know is that I am going to miss the dual-sim and micro-sd card in it. The extra storage is not going to be a problem since I know so many cloud account and other affordable solution. I am currently using a data sim of 12GB which is valid for 12 months and T-mobile sim which I have for over a decade in one phone. I checked the pricing that most monthly subscription for 1GB per month with free calls and text is minimum €15,-. Yearly amount would be then €180,- which I don't spent on a yearly prepaid basis. Yearly I input around €60,- on my prepaid card. The 12GB sim card cost €45,- which makes it €3,75 per 1GB.
If you have to chose between €180,- yearly or €105,- the decision is easily made. Mind you that my prepaid top up happens less because of the free calls I can make to my family members. I expect that my phone top up amount in 2018 will be cut in half.
If you have some tips that I haven't mentioned please teach me!
vrijdag 27 oktober 2017
Cable subscription
I don't watch conventional television anymore cause I don't like to pay for cable to watch commercials. That's why since 2014 I have a flatscreen television with HDMI connection I am so happy.
1. no commercials
2. I decide what to watch
3. I decide when to watch
4. no charge for cable
2015 on my birthday I bought the Chromecast 2 for the television. Before that I had the Tvpad 3 which was not supported anymore. I wanted to opt for a Tvpad4 but with the unreliable service I decided to buy a Chromecast and an app (tvcast app) to display it on the television. I must say I am very happy with it but I didn't have Korean or Japanese live stream anymore so I also bought the Unblock in 2016 and installed Kodi on it just recently. By having Kodi I can watch even movies from the cinema or old classics.
The monthly bill for direct phone line through IP-phone, internet and the called minutes is less than €33 each month. The folks I called most to is family and we are in a T-mobile group where we won't be charged any money for calls.
If you have any other good ideas to cut the cable, please let me know.
1. no commercials
2. I decide what to watch
3. I decide when to watch
4. no charge for cable
2015 on my birthday I bought the Chromecast 2 for the television. Before that I had the Tvpad 3 which was not supported anymore. I wanted to opt for a Tvpad4 but with the unreliable service I decided to buy a Chromecast and an app (tvcast app) to display it on the television. I must say I am very happy with it but I didn't have Korean or Japanese live stream anymore so I also bought the Unblock in 2016 and installed Kodi on it just recently. By having Kodi I can watch even movies from the cinema or old classics.
The monthly bill for direct phone line through IP-phone, internet and the called minutes is less than €33 each month. The folks I called most to is family and we are in a T-mobile group where we won't be charged any money for calls.
If you have any other good ideas to cut the cable, please let me know.
maandag 23 oktober 2017
Pictures
I love taking pictures and I don't mean with my cellphone. I have a great mobile with an amazing lens but it's not one that I just take out to take photo's. I like using my old designated camera. I am indeed born in the last century. As I am very picky with my personal belongings I really like my current mobile a Windows Lumia 640 which is over 2 years old a birthday gift from my family.As I heard recently that Windows is stopping the development of the phone software. The plan of going to a different platform is very alluring but I will wait until Black Friday to purchase a new phone.
During my holiday my camera Casio Exilim is going with me. As I don't rewatch the pictures during the holiday, the battery goes a long way. In Prague Zoo I took pictures of animals that made me smile. This time I even still had a coupon for 5 free photo kiosk and print them out to remind me of the nice place.
My most treasured pictures are in my photo albums in my nightstand but difficult to reach because the door is blocked by my bed. But the pictures will last because there is no light coming in. When I really want to reminiscing I have to move the nightstand to reach the pictures.
Job hunting
Currently I am unemployed which means a lot of time but also a lot of stress. It means finding a job that makes me happy. In my last job I was happy for a long time until a lot of the colleagues which I worked with left one by one. My contract ended and didn't got extended which was to myself not even bad news, the way I received it through company email got me a little bit upset.
But it also means that I could use all my holiday and I booked the same week a flight to Prague and got to see the beautiful city. I first thought I would have bad weather but it turned out to be very pleasant, not to hot or warm.
The last past few weeks I have been thinking what I want to do. I want to have an office job where I don't need to decided anything. Which made data-entry my number choice because I only need to use my eyes to observe and my hand to type the data. Cause in my last position there was to many problems that needed to be solved every single day a new sets of problem which needs to be settled.
By job hunting there is one very positive side, I am forced to confront myself and have learned that I don't need to be so hard to myself. In my own wicked way I expect and feel the expectation of greatness. I believe that this intervention is also meant to put myself on a scale again and see what I want.
As a minimalist I am very happy that my expenses are not high, I think I could even manage with my next job of a 32 hours work week. The most important thing to me is my health and being happy that's all that matters. A job is nothing more than a means of providing myself with the primary needs.
But it also means that I could use all my holiday and I booked the same week a flight to Prague and got to see the beautiful city. I first thought I would have bad weather but it turned out to be very pleasant, not to hot or warm.
The last past few weeks I have been thinking what I want to do. I want to have an office job where I don't need to decided anything. Which made data-entry my number choice because I only need to use my eyes to observe and my hand to type the data. Cause in my last position there was to many problems that needed to be solved every single day a new sets of problem which needs to be settled.
By job hunting there is one very positive side, I am forced to confront myself and have learned that I don't need to be so hard to myself. In my own wicked way I expect and feel the expectation of greatness. I believe that this intervention is also meant to put myself on a scale again and see what I want.
As a minimalist I am very happy that my expenses are not high, I think I could even manage with my next job of a 32 hours work week. The most important thing to me is my health and being happy that's all that matters. A job is nothing more than a means of providing myself with the primary needs.
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