Reckless Abandon

April 23, 2013

The Jot Mini – A Review

When I purchased my Blaze, I got into the whole craze of Draw Something (yeah, a bit of a late bloomer). It was also around that time that I started to really like drawing stuff. I was in search for a really good stylus. I had the chance to play with my friend’s Note 2, and I really, really liked it. I wanted to be able to draw and write using a stylus as it feels somewhat awkward to be drawing using the tip of my finger.

My colleague who has an iPhone, uses a stylus with a rubberized rounded tip. It was weird, but hey it works! And so, my friends and I marched over to Greenhills to buy ourselves the stylus for P150. Not bad.

However, it sucked. No matter how much I would want my lines to be precise (e.g., when I draw a box, the corners won’t connect because the precision of the rounded-tip stylus, was well, non-existent), they just couldn’t seem to do it. And it could get a little frustrating.

So when I got my iPad, I thought, it was the best time to get me a new stylus. I searched over the net for the best stylus to use on the iPad and the only non-rounded tip (yes, I kind of avoided them rounded tips. No matter what the reviews say on other more expensive rubberized stylus, I just didn’t want it.) I found was Adonit’s Jot Series.

The Jot Stylus Family. The Touch is pretty awesome, but too expensive for me! @_@ (Okay, I screenshot a bubble, wtf)

I have the Jot Mini, in the same color as that one on the picture.

Instead of the rounded tip, it comes with this weird-looking disk. I dunno really how the technology works, but it does. And it’s awesome!

When I first tried it, I was so excited but was horrified when instead of it writing smoothly, my straight line came out as dashes. Uh-oh. So we bought this mother-effer for P1050 and it wasn’t working! So, I tried again, placed more pressure on the pen this time, and it worked.

I was bummed about that. But I’m happy to say that the pen just needs a bit of time getting used to because now, it works perfectly for me. It glides smoothly on the surface of my iPad and I really love it. And yeah, my box corners actually meet this time. Like how awesome is that?

The only thing I don’t particularly like is that it didn’t come with extra disks. Like, wtf am I going to do when this disk breaks? Hahaha.. I don’t know where to get them or if Digital Walker sells them separately. I will need to do more research on that.

All in all though, I love this stylus. I’ve recommended it to a lot of iPad / iPhone users I know. -RA

About these ads

Leave a comment

April 12, 2013

Awesome Weekends are Made of These

iBooks + A Cup of Tea

Okay, obviously it’s going to be boring for most of you who are adventurous and would rather spend the weekend away from your homes doing something death-defying. And i would too, some other days. But this weekend, I’m looking forward to time spent with good friends and family, and yes, iBooks and a cup (or cups) of the most delicious tea I’ve ever tasted, the Gryphon Nymph of the Nile tea.

One of the reasons I am so happy with the iPad is the iBooks. In fact, the most number of files I have are books – more than music and more than apps. I had once wanted a Kindle for reading. My sister has one and I love that it is anti-glare and easy on the eyes, but it lacks of course the other functionalities that I want in an iPad. (If you must know, aside from the iBooks, my apps are a combination of productivity, social, photography, sketch, games, and entertainment apps. Productivity and social being the ones with most apps. I am a productive, social being, I guess. Or my iPad says so, we can’t contest that!)

On the contrary, most of the time, I really love to spend my weekend just hunched over a good book. Everyone has those days… mine are just more frequent, I guess. Or maybe it’s just a phase. I really am in no mood to travel and go out because of the heat. You may call it summer hibernation. Haha…

I’ve been reading a lot of John Green’s books. I’ve read The Fault in our Stars, Paper Towns, and now I’m on my third one, Looking for Alaska. They’re all great. And the more I read his books, the more interesting the characters get. I love them and how in different ways, they are sort of obsessed with literature. Smart kids are always awesome.

And you can tell, I’m pretty much just babbling nonsense right here. I have not had breakfast yet. So imonna head down to the kitchen and devour the banana cue (popular Filipino snack made of bananas coated with melted brown sugar) my mom cooked for me.

And I know it’s just Friday, but I can’t fucking wait for the weekend. -RA

Leave a comment

April 11, 2013

Benguet Dream, Realized

Image created using Paper for iPad and my artsy self. Teehee…

It’s funny how in a span of my last post and this post, I’ve realized one of my dreams. Okay, so maybe I’m getting ahead of myself as I am clearly nowhere near Benguet, but the whole moving to Benguet thing is no longer a dream out of reach.

A turn of events has led me to make a decision of moving out. And having a job that is home-based, I can pretty much go wherever I want, and I choose Baguio / Benguet. It was originally a one-year stay, but I’ve decided to shorten it to just about 3-6 months, and then I will move back to Zamboanga with my parents and start my own business.

There’s so much to do in so little time. If I want to move to Baguio soon, I need to sell most of my things now because it’s just way too costly and impractical to haul all my stuff to Baguio, especially since I won’t be staying there for long. There are so many stuff to sell!!! Furniture, kitchen appliances, other appliances. Ugh. If only I could just sell them in bundles, like a Kitchen Showcase or a Bedroom Showcase, it would really be helpful.

iPad Mini

In other news, I got me a shiny new, iPad Mini. Okay, I didn’t get it myself but I was given one, by my awesome brother who flew in from the US for a visit. He also got me a Jot Mini, which I’ve always wanted, but hasn’t really lived up to my expectations that much, yet. But I still love it anyways so I am willing to give it more chances than it deserves and because I can draw awesome stuff (really now?) on my iPad just like the image above. Hahaha..

I’m pretty stoked about all this because just months before I was really wanting to get an iPad and this stylus. And now, I have them both. Like how awesome is that? -RA

Leave a comment

March 20, 2013

Benguet / Baguio Part 3: Why I’d Love to Move to Benguet

So, Part 3.

The reason I made this the last part because it is the longest and I have not had enough time the past few days to compose a decent post. This also is closest to my heart, so I wanted to dedicate a longer time in writing it.

MY JUICING JOURNEY

About a year or so ago, I’ve gotten into the juicing bandwagon. I started juicing vegetables and fruits (my sister and I even created a website about it, which is being neglected at the moment), and basically just started living a healthy life of no fastfood, alcohol, softdrinks, overly-processed foods etc. It had a positive effect on me and my body. I lost so much weight in very little time and was glowing. I’ve derailed from it a lot of times, in fact I’m not as active in juicing as I initially was, but it’s something that I know I would want to do for the rest of my life. And I am working at getting back on track (and reviving the website too!).

I haven’t been active mainly because of two reasons:

I’ve traveled so much the past year and lugging around my juicer was kind of not an option. I tried buying juices from shops, but sometimes it’s just not enough and it can become really expensive – which is my reason number 2.
It can become really expensive. LoL. I buy my organic produce from Tagaytay, which is just about a 30-minute drive from where I live. My friend and I discovered organic farms that sold organic fruits and vegetables at a reasonable price. It just becomes unreasonable when you have to think about the gas for your car and the number of times you have to go there to get produce for your everyday needs. I used to go every week and I would shell out 1-1.5k per outing. Not too bad, actually, but it’s still pricey compared to just buying stuff from the wet market nearest you which can cost you at about 500 pesos, buying the same amount of food – just the inorganic version, that is. Bah.

So I guess you know where this post is headed. The main reason why I want to move to Benguet, La Trinidad specifically, is this:

Fresh Vegetablessssssssss!!!

and this:

Strawberrieeeeeeeeeeeeeeees!

Of course, the cool weather is also up there on my list. But these two take first and second place. Just imagine all the vegetables that I can get my hands on on a daily basis – without driving too far. The thought is just insanely delicious. And with my impending move to Zamboanga (my parents’ hometown) not looking really great what with all the power problems that the city is encountering at the moment (which I can’t afford because my job is online, therefore I need to have power all the time), I AM JUST SO TEMPTED TO PACK ALL MY BAGS AND DRIVE ALL THE WAY TO LA TRINIDAD, GET AN APARTMENT, AND LIVE A LIFE MUNCHING AWAY ON CRUNCHY, FRESH VEGETABLES. LoL. And yes, that needed capslock typing. Thank you very much.

The idea is really just becoming more and more prominent. What used to be just a fantasy is becoming what could possibly be the most important decision of my life right now. And I am seriously considering saying yes to it.

AFTER A FEW MINUTES…

So I just went and checked a few properties in Baguio and the Benguet area. Haha – SO EXPENSIVE! Especially the ones that are in the city. Lucky for me because I want to stay in the provinces where the farms are. The search has gotten me more excited about this. I should be able to get my own home maybe in 3 years. *crosses fingers* In the meantime, I’m just toying with the idea of renting a small studio unit, if not, I’ll stay in Zamboanga, buy a generator, and stay there until I’ve saved up enough to buy my own house in yummy La Trinidad.