Tag Archives: eBay

The Mystery of The Expanding Waistline

How is it possible that my waistline is an inch more than what it was last week? Let’s take stock of this week’s activities, shall we?

- This week has been all about work, work, and more work. And as we all know, it’s nothing short of criminal to work without sustenance, so I’ve had bags of Goldilocks Caramel Popcorn and those uber-yummy Dentelle Au Chocolat cookies from Don Merto’s Les Chocolateries within reach. That’s only natural, right? Right???

- We’ve had endless meetings with the real estate people and some folks from PAG-IBIG this week, thanks to the impending house purchase. This means endless buffets at The Port, the restaurant my mum manages. But again, it’s only natural. After all, one can’t expect these people to help without at least feeding ‘em (and ones’ self) lechon, baked oysters, pochero, kare-kare, and grilled pork, to name a few.

- We’ve discovered that you can buy prime rib-eye steaks from the Rustan’s supermarket at about P200 (approximately $4) a kilo. It’ll be all wrong not to take advantage of this and not have two steaks each for dinner.

So what was the question again? Tee hee.

Looks like it’s back to the old reliable. Half a dose of the world’s best diet pills should do the trick. Now to find my supplier from eBay…

Weighing In

Barely a month ago, I was writing about my Jessica Simpson-esque weight gain, and have even gone as far as to attempt calorie-counting. Well, predictably, that didn’t work. Probably because my self-control is almost akin to Lindsay Lohan’s.

So here I was, almost resigned to the idea that I will never lose the excess poundage in time for the wedding, when I found out that my best friend (who has always had a perfect figure for as far as I can remember) was using a certain brand of weight loss pills.

Now, I was very iffy about going down this route because I didn’t want to have to deal with the usual icky side effects like diarrhea, or worse, uncontrollable oily discharge from somewhere I won’t even mention (I used Xenical back in 2007). She assured me, however, that there will be none of that. So, like a woman possessed, I found her eBay (where else?) supplier, read up on the specifics, called my mum to ask if she wanted any (she did), and placed my first orders.

From what I read about it, Pearl White Express Slim works by zapping the appetite. All I had to do was take a pill before breakfast and another before dinner, and I’ll be shedding pounds faster than anyone could say “diet!” Sure enough, I developed an aversion to food from day one. I felt full the entire day, and I literally had to force myself to eat even just a little for fear that I would simply collapse from the hunger that I never even felt.

Within a week (less, even), I lost about 5 pounds and a couple of inches on my waistline. This decrease has been steadily going on since – and I’m not even done yet! Those pairs of jeans that were worryingly getting much too tight were suddenly loose, almost baggy, and I ended up buying a new pair in size – drumroll, please – 26! Mind you, I haven’t been a 26 since college! The most defining moment, however, came about a week ago when I put on my favorite white shorts – the very same pair that was comfortably snug barely 2 weeks before – and the whole thing just slid off cleanly down what’s left of my hips. I was ecstatic, of course – even if it meant that I was officially suddenly in dire need of a new wardrobe!

I am now down to taking 1 pill every couple of days or so, and, thankfully, I still don’t have much appetite. I am now just eating out of obligation (and because The Fiance practically force-feeds me now) – which, I admit, is a bit frustrating at times because I have always loved to eat. I still do get cravings sometimes these days, but when I do indulge myself, I find myself stopping at a certain point because I simply can’t take in anymore. Even when I’m hell-bent on binging, I find myself a bit sick whenever I eat even just a tad more than what is now normal to me – a far, far cry from how much I used to eat (probably just a third of my food intake of old).

There really isn’t much to say about side effects. The only thing I could probably complain about is the mouth dryness, which is leading me to drink gallons upon gallons of water all day. I’ve always loved water, though, so I’m not really fussed.

Of course, there is always the question of health. Is it healthy to lose this much weight this fast? Are the pills even safe? I can’t answer these questions, so do think things over before you do something drastic like this. Better yet, ask your doctor.

I did suspect that those headaches I was complaining about had something to do with this regimen, but I think it was mostly because I was losing out on the vitamins and nutrients that I was normally taking in. I hardly eat these days, so they were obviously not getting replenished. That’s why I decided to start taking my vitamin supplements religiously – to somehow replace the good stuff that I was losing.

I’m hardly getting headaches these days, but I’m not sure if this is because of the supplements, or because I’ve cut down on the pills, or because I’ve been given permission to work from home indefinitely, or even because I am now wearing glasses. I probably will never know for sure.

I’ve never really been one to obsess about my weight because it’s been going up and down like a yo-yo for most of my adult life, so I have been, for the most part, quite used to it. I’ve always taken comfort in the fact that I never really get fat enough to be disgusting. In fact, even at my absolute heaviest, I have not once exceeded my normal body mass index (BMI).

Still, it does feel good to be skinny enough to wear the summer clothes that I like without wondering if I was trying too hard. I like being confident that I’ll look super great on my wedding and that I’ll turn heads at the beach again. Yes, skinny might be overrated. But I think I’ll live with that for quite a while, thank you very much!

eBay Love

I love eBay. I think it really is the best thing since sliced bread.

After four years of shrewd bidding and impulsive online shopping, I’ve finally found that oh-so elusive item (or in my case, items) that make the whole eBay experience so worthwhile. And no, I am not making this up because such things really do exist. It was a sewing machine for my sister, a particular Mango dress priced at a quarter of its original price for my best friend, and two (well, technically, three) of Colleen McCullough’s Masters of Rome books for myself.

And these books were very hard to come by, mind you. I got the first one I ever read (Antony and Cleopatra, which, incidentally, is the last book of the series) from Asia Books in Bangkok. I couldn’t find any other of the other titles for months and months, but with a strange bit of luck, The Fiance managed to snag me a lone copy of Caesar from Fully Booked for my birthday.

I’ve been regularly trawling through Fully Booked, Powerbooks, National Bookstore, Book Sale, and RSO since, but I have not seen a single Colleen McCullough title anywhere. Even the staff claim never to have heard of her, or seen any of her books before.

I would’ve ordered over Amazon, but the shipping charges just don’t seem to justify the purchase. So I tried eBay, and until now, I’m still wondering why I didn’t even think to look there first, considering I’m on the site trawling for Macbooks almost every day anyway. (Yes, I should hit my head on the wall, I know.)

I found three of the seven books in one go. I’ve bought two of the titles, and one of them – Caesar’s Women – turned up today, while The First Man in Rome is still in transit. I’m currently haggling for the third (The October Horse) because it’s a tad overpriced. Truth be told, though, I’ll probably pay twice the price for it in a heartbeat, but the seller doesn’t know that (tee hee), and nobody else is bidding on it. Plus, it really is fun to haggle.

So now I’m just missing The Grass Crown and Fortune’s Favourites. If any of you ever come across these titles, please, please, PLEASE send ‘em my way. I can promise you a lifetime of servitude. Okay, that’s a bit extreme, but, really, I’ll pay. And I’ll buy you dinner, whoever you are. And ice cream. And yes, I’m serious.

Thank you eBay for ensuring that I’m kept amused for at least the next month or so. You really are the best source of everything from breast pumps, to a Romanian vampire killing set. You’re not selling Caesar’s underwear in there somewhere, are you? Just thought I’d ask.

Tech Speak

I’ve never really understood how The Fiance can spend hours upon hours poring over amplifier specs and the merits of certain tv stands. I couldn’t see why he couldn’t just pick the cheapest model, or the one that ships fastest, or even the prettiest.

Well, now I know.

The past few days have seen my obsession for a Macbook growing like a canker sore until I can do little else but trawl through eBay and Multiply to find the best deal possible. I did find a couple of rather inviting prospects, both of them secondhand. But because I do have wedding expenses to think about and because I just can’t bear the thought of getting some stranger’s hand-me-down, I decided to hold out until I can get me a brand-new model. I’m expecting to do just that by the end of June, barring any unforeseen expenses. One thing’s for sure, though: I’m getting one before this year ends – or die trying!

My first choice is, of course, the beautiful 13-inch Macbook with the Aluminum unibody, but I am actually leaning towards the 13-inch white one. They almost have the exact same specs with negligible differences on the hard drive size and memory, but the latter only retails at a considerable P16,000 less than the former, and is definitely pretty enough.

With such a disparity, I can hardly justify going for the more expensive model, can’t I? I wouldn’t even know all that if I just gave in to my whims without doing any research.

From now on, I will do my best never to bug The Fiance for reading up endlessly on Blu-ray players and speakers and what-have-yous ever again. In fact, I’ll do him one better and throw in a couple of ooohs and aaahs from time to time. Who knows? With this new gadgetary (is there such a word?) kinship, I might be able to persuade him into robbing a bank with me one of these days.

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