Hi. My name is MyMaria and I'm a Shopaholic!

Yes, I am a person who shops compulsively. I tried to stop. Yes, I really did. In fact, I made a New Year's Resolution to stop being so ridiculously extravagant, especially when it comes to shopping, online or not; but alas, I think that was made to be broken.

My "addiction" started with the Havaianas. You know, the Brazilian flip-flops. I was scammed for 11 thousand Pesos back in 2007 because it was the time I was high on the Havaianas craze. They weren't readily available in the market so we had to hunt for Havaianas online. That was hard-earned money I lost then! But I didn't want to stop... So I kept buying more Havaianas. (With a vengeance?) I didn't exactly know what I was trying to prove. As you can see, most of the entries in my blog from the very beginning are about these slippers. I know they're just slippers, but let's not discuss WHY I managed to collect more than 50 pairs. (I've lost count really.) In the words of Mrs. Imelda Marcos, "If you know how much you've got, you probably haven't got much." And it's not just Havaianas... I've got Ipanemas too!

Exhibit A:



It doesn't get more compulsive than that, huh?

Late in the year 2008, I was suffering from another Shopaholic attack. I seem to get very attracted to red gadgets. I can't seem to contain myself. Like a bull that gets possessed or something. The very reason why only 4 days after I initially saw the Sony T700 during one of my bloghopping days, I couldn't resist grabbing myself one. Notwithstanding the fact that I have a Nikon D40x and a Casio Exilim S880! So why buy another camera?

Exhibit B:



Umm, the Shopaholic in me says she doesn't know. ^_^ But that was just the beginning... A month or so later, I caught sight of the red hot Nokia E63.

Exhibit C:



And as soon as the units landed on Philippine soil, I just had to get one. *sigh* I swore it was going to be the last mobile phone I'll ever buy, but I spoke too soon. So I had this eBay drama happening earlier this year when I purchased a Nokia 7900 Prism.

Exhibit D:



Currently, I'm using 5 cellphones and it's really hard to keep up with them already. And yeah, check out my eBay stats: 100% positive feedbacks, baby!!



My Apple iPod Touch was a different story. Even though it qualified as another compulsive buy, it was something really coming. For a decade, I've been salivating over a Mac. No, not a big Mac! You know, Macintosh? Apple? Ipod? Steve Jobs? But I figured it's too expensive for silly little me that until now, I still haven't gotten around to actually coming close to switching from my good ol' PC. I chanced upon the ads for the iPod Touch when my BFF was then crushing over the Iphone. Having too many phones to keep up with, the iPod Touch seemed like a rather interesting item for me. It had WIFI capabilities which is like a lifeline for me. You know, I never had MP3 players before even if I had about 100gb of mp3s. I never had an Ipod shuffle, Ipod Nano, Ipod Mini, or an Ipod Video. I didn't quite get the whole idea of listening to music over an earphone. Coming from the call center industry and then the medical transcription business, putting earphones on after a day's work with headphones wasn't really a very exciting thing to do. But when I tested the iPod Touch and listened for a while, I knew it was something else. As in Apple-style... THINK DIFFERENT.

Exhibit E:



Moving on from gadgets and exhausting my bank account, the Shopaholic in me was screaming that I take my plastic out for a spin! So without second thoughts, I splurged on one of the things in life I find truly essential - Rayban shades. It took me less than 5 minutes to try on these shades and swipe my credit card away!

Exhibit F:



The wayfarer had a 0% interest installment offer for 6 months (which was *extremely* tempting!!!) and the aviator was the last one in stock, so even though it was just 5% off the regular price and no installment offer whatsoever, I just had to get it, too. Seeing the glee and the way excitement lit up my face, my dearest boyfriend offered to pay for it when the bill arrives, so that way I can spare him the agony of a Valentines Day gift hunt. All in all, don't you think it was also a great steal?!

And going back to basics, my latest purchases are my first Crocs. I said NO to Crocs when everyone else was going gaga over them. I thought they were ugly. For real. And I know I'm not the only one who thought so... but that was before the MALINDI and SANTA CRUZ.

Exhibit G:



When I saw the White Choco Santa Cruz and the Pulse Red Malindi, I knew (on impulse?) that I just got to have them. I owe it to my feet. They're just soooo comfy and I feel like a ninja when I walk because my steps don't make any sounds at all! And I think I deserve to wear Crocs now just because I bought my dad, my cousin, my nephew, my niece, and my boyfriend Crocs for Christmas. Five pairs! And that wasn't on impulse. :)

Finally, the most recent thing that arrived on my doorstep via Air21:

Exhibit H:



My very own Jansport Hailey in Black Henna! A little something for everything... Just to keep it all organized. ^_^

Shopping is my sport... and it ain't over 'til the fat lady sings.

⋆✌㋡ღ⋆ ia\m/^_^\m/ai 陳美西