I placed 13 orders with Amazon in 2016.
Jan 12 — Round Ring View Binder, 1.5 Inch, 4 Pack, Avery Economy Clear Sheet Protectors, Box of 100
My scrapbook binder was full. I also started a goals binder filled it with journal entries, google docs, diagrams, etc. from the last 4 years relating to personal growth and career. I’m a believer in typing out goals, desires, etc.
It makes you think about it, which is the first step. Secondly, it’s cool to look back and see that you’ve accomplished something, or made some steps. If you don’t reflect on what you’ve accomplished it can seem like nothing much has happened.
Jan 12 — elago Stylus Grip
I was curious if this stylus would work on my magic trackpad — it didn’t. It was kind of fun to use on the phone w/ a drawing app though. Not recommended.
Jan 12 — Extra-Rigid Fiberboard Photo/Document Mailers, 9 x 11.5 Inches, Box of 25
Just to have on hand in the office. Mainly for sending Doodl Club issues to contributors.
Jan 20 — AcuRite 00613A1 Indoor Humidity Monitor
Our apartment gets kind of cold in the winter, and I wondered “exactly how cold?” Now I’m kind of into checking the humidity too. Usually we’re at “OK.”
Jan 20 — #6 3/4 Security Envelopes
I thought I’d ordered #10 envelopes (these are the small ones). I put these out on the curb and someone picked them up right away.
Jan 20 — BIC Marking Permanent Marker Fashion Colors, Fine Point
These came up on reviews as ‘least smelly’ permanent markers. Sharpies make me nauseous. These are better, but I still don’t like them that all that much. For me, it’s good old felt tips.
Jan 20 — Slik Sprint Pro II Tripod in Gun Metal With Quick Release Ball Head & Case
I wanted a tripod for making my Doodl Club time lapse videos. Usually I really belabor reviews and specs, but I bought the cheapest one recc’d by wirecutter in this case. I thought it had a 90° head, but it doesn’t. I make it work anyhow.
Now that Doodl Club is retired, I’ve been using it for product shots for Makrosha.
Feb 3 — Futurebatt® AC Adapter Charger Magsafe 2 45W 14.85V 3.05A for Apple Macbook Air
My original charger was all frayed out, but still worked. I’d left it at the advertising agency office and they threw it away. Rude! This one was like $12 and it works fine.
Feb 23 — Wacom Intuos Pen Small Tablet
Sometimes I leave my wacom at the office, or home. I have a hard time getting any work done without it. A bit frivolous, but I got this one as a backup. This new one doesn’t work with the wireless adapter though.
Apr 12 — Minimalist Slim Wallet
My previous slim wallet was purchased at Dillard’s in 1999. This one is pretty great, with lots of pockets while remaining slim for about $15. In a store like J. Crew they try and charge you $80 for something like this! This one blocks RFID readers, which I don’t care about too much, but is interesting because I had credit card info stolen right before I got it. Great wallet.
Apr 12 — #10 Envelopes
Because I got the wrong size before.
Apr 12 — Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry Into the Value of Work
A guy I met said it changed his life and I suppose I wanted my life changed too. I think about the nature of work more than doing work. Remains unread. I did read the intro and there a good line about your pay being called “compensation” because it’s not something you’d do otherwise.
I have 5 books next to my bed. If I read them, I’m going to buy myself the kindle paperwhite that I’ve been eyeing.
Apr 12 — 4-inch Pizza Wheel
We eat more frozen pizza than I care to admit. I buy them when doing the shopping thinking it’ll hang around in the freezer in case we don’t have any real food and it always gets eaten within 3 days. I like Digorno and the Paul Newman ones the best. This big pizza wheel cuts em up pretty good.
Apr 12 — Contour Memory Foam Pillow
Esha used the pillow I got last year and wanted one of her own. Now we each have our own contour memory foam pillow.
May 11 — Rubbermaid Commercial High Heat Silicone Spatula, 13.5″, Red Handle
The old spatula was crumbling apart (I always wonder if we end up eating the bits of utensils that seem to chip away … especially our knife). I think America’s Test Kitchen said this was the best, and it is. I’ve noticed it being used on the cooking show I like (A Chef’s Life) too.
May 11 — Sennheiser Momentum 2.0 Headphones
My office neighbors at the coworking space were talking all the time and driving me crazy. Got these fancy headphones thinking they were noise-canceling, but they weren’t. I moved out of the co-working office in July, and didn’t use them that much. Sold them on eBay in December for $50.
May 11 — X-acto Blades
Not sure x-actly why I needed these. These were the best price for the quantity and good to have around.
July 26 — Chain Lube, Bike Lights, Bike Tires
Some stuff to fix up my slowly rusting bike. I’d started working in the city again, and figured I’d commute to get some exercise. The ride from my house to the flatiron was so stressful, it just wasn’t worth it. By the time I’d get to work I was in a terrible mood. I rode a handful of times and gave up. It’s also kind of a pain to get my bike in and out of the house. I should probably get rid of it, but I daydream that I’ll live somewhere with basement next year and I’ll be a cyclist again.
Aug 11 — Prospectors Gold Rush Pomade
There was a hip barber shop in LIC that I’d gone to pretty consistently for about a year. They did a good job, but it was $40 and after I’d move offices, not that convenient. This is the pomade they sold me, it’s light and not too sticky. Now I get my haircuts on 23rd Street for $25.
Oct 3 — Peacock & Vine: On William Morris and Mariano Fortuny, In Bloom: Creating and Living With Flowers
I got these for Esha’s birthday. She said she liked the textile history one.
Oct 3 — S.W.A.G. Bar
Also for Esha’s birthday. This was on Shark Tank a long time ago, and she seemed interested. I think it’s a loofa with soap in it? She liked it.
Oct 30 — Fire HD 8 Tablet
I’d been kinda wanting a tablet for a long time, but didn’t think it’d be worth it. The good ones were like almost the price of a decent laptop. I got this kindle one for $85. I love it and use it way too much. This dirt cheap tablet works pretty good, but they try to lock you out of all the decent apps. With about 20 min of research I ‘hacked’ it and got the regular apps on it.
I think I’m going to have to start shutting it off and putting it in a drawer because I waste hours on it every night. Tablets are the biggest time-wasters because you can only consume with them. Nothing about them promotes creating. And they’re a better experience than a phone, so you don’t put it down. Great purchase, but too much.
Nov 16 — Leather Writing Journal Notebook, The Westing Game, Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library, Pokemon Headphones
Meredith at work signed us up to buy presents for kids. We got letters from the kids saying what they wanted. I think my kid is sensitive. He wanted specific pokeman cards (didn’t get b/c it’d have blown the whole budget), a diary for boys (is this a thing? I saw someone else posting about it), books, and headphones. I compromised on the pokeman thing and got poké headphones. Hopefully he likes everything. I signed the cards as if I were Santa and encouraged him to stay cool.
Dec 5 — 6.5 x 4.5 Rigid Photo Mailers
Surprisingly hard to find a small rigid mailer. Bought these to send out pinpal pins in. They didn’t come in time, and ended up using random envelopes from the 99¢ store.
Pleased with how pinpal worked out. I’d felt sheepish because I tend to search for reasons to discredit and not follow through with ideas. Several people wrote articles about how the safety pin was lazy and passive. I kinda agreed. I also heard from people, like Esha, that thought it was good to show and wear your support. Thanks to lots of friends, we sold out pretty quickly and sent $1450 to the Southern Poverty Law Center — that felt good. A goal for 2017 is to find or create more volunteer opportunities.