At first, I wanted to put in a similar list but at that time, I really didn't have anything that I really WANTED per say (except maybe my own car? haha) so I left that list out.
*~short aside~*
Looking back, maybe even just 6-9 months ago, my wish list would have been full of things, items that I want, that would make my "life complete" for that moment in time. I really thank God that He has and still is slowly teaching me that contentment is not about always having more things and having everything.
One lesson I learnt was in Psalms 23:1, "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not be in want"
Many people interpret that as, The Lord is my Shepherd, He will give me everything so I shall not "be in want."
But the way I look at it, it tells me, The Lord is my Shepherd, so I will be content with what I have, and I shall not keep wanting stuff. Does that sound reasonable to you? :)
Somehow, by divine intervention, I have and I am starting to "want" things less. I guess for me, that is a "rhema" word from God.
*~coming back to the main post~*
So having no wish list, does that mean I absolutely have no problems about wanting stuff? Of course not! I still do struggle with wanting better stuff occasionally and most recently, after the expo production, I went on a quest to find a "reference" pair of speakers for my room so that I could listen to music "better." Maybe all that sound tweaking at Expo gave me the urge to tweak the sound in my room too.
Happened to be at Millenia Walk on Sunday afternoon and I was blown away at the Bose Experience center at the Bose Companion 3 speakers.
So the whole night, I was looking at the catalogue I got from the shop and planning to buy the speakers really soon. In fact, I was even thinking of putting up a wish list on my blog and have the Bose speakers as my first entry.
Then I realised, hey, I still have my set of 5.1 speakers from Cambridge Soundworks (before Creative bought them over) I bought in 1999 - 8 years ago!
So I set it up, plugged my laptop into it and WOW!! I was blown away by the sound of it too! One thing you have to know is that I am very particular about sound and tone, and very seldom impressed with stuff. So, when I'm impressed, it really says something.
Well, maybe the high end (treble) of the Cambridge speakers were not as pronounced as the Bose, but even so, they still sound pretty darn good! The Cambridge might not be as sleek or as pretty, but hey, they're pretty cute too! And anyway, as you can see from the pics below, I dun really have a good place for the Bose babies yet. :) Although I do intend to get a study table where I can work more productively. :)
Pic 1: Laptop on bed with satellite speakers.
Pic 2: Decoder on top of subwoofer.The Price of Quality
So, besides saying what I have already said, I also have this to say. Quality is very important, and we must never be afraid to pay for quality - true quality.
When I bought the Cambridge speakers, they were one of the most expensive computer speakers at that time, but they were also the best. So having paid more than $500 for them, I can still enjoy them now, 8 years later and get pretty good sound I must say.
People who know me know that I only go for the best. In fact, my parents sometimes think I spend too much on certain stuff, but at the end of the day, I spend once and enjoy that thing for longer. Other than saving money, I save the time and hassle of having to shop and buy to replace that item.
I apply that same concept to everything I do, in fact, even the sound system and wireless mics in my church now can be used at any concert or production without any shame and will last a long time. :)
I've owned my current line-up of bass guitars for more than 3 years now and I don't have any intention of changing them soon, cos they already do what they've supposed to do.
I've owned my current mobile phone beyond the life of my subscription contract (2 yrs) and it can still do the same things any other modern phone can do (except wi-fi and GPS) and it's still worth pretty good $ in current trade-in schemes. In fact, my last 2 phones have been the same situation.
Now, I'm not saying that expensive is always the best, it's just a matter of making the right choice and not being afraid to choose the best when you know it is the right one.
Some people think saving money is about spending as little as possible on one thing. In fact, some people even boast about how little they spend on certain things.
My concept is, spend in such a way that the money you spend can give you maximum enjoyment for a maximum amount of time. It's not the absolute value that matters, in the long run, it's the relative value that counts. The amount of enjoyment you get and the amount of time you save replacing the item is not even measurable.
OK, I think I've said my piece and it seems this has been a really long post. I'm really interested to hear what you think bout this issue. Do drop a comment if you see fit. :)
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