Minimalistic Lifestyle helped me save $400 today

I own a second generation iPad which I procured in 2011. That was when I was in India and it was a costly affair then to get one. The iPad 3 got released at that time, the cost of which was very high. But then an independent shopkeeper who want to sell off the remaining iPad 2s in his inventory decided to give me one for a reduced price. After much bargaining in the typical Indian style I managed to get it.

I am not a big fan of Apple which charge six times the manufacturing cost of its products, however, the stability and the ease of use of their products are much commendable. I tell my friends that my iPad have crossed the seven seas and various continents when it accompanied me to Canada, but have never given me any troubles. it is like the Windows XP, the most stable version of iPad ever released.

However, i noticed that with each upgrade the system was getting slower; particularly with the latest iOS 8 update. I starting meeting long term hanging and apps closing down without warning due to which I lost data. Even blogging became a trouble as the WordPress app would shutdown abruptly and I had to start from scratch again.

As a journalist on the move all the time, iPad was a boon but being a freelancer, it became a hassle. I understood it was time to let go the iPad and opt for a desktop or laptop.

I struggled quite a bit on deciding whether I should buy a new one or a refurbished one. The funny thing I found was that even the refurbished one cost close to a new basic version, but would be old at least 5 years. that made me look for a new one and the price was, I would say ‘good’. I mean it was within my means but being adopted the minimalist lifestyle, I was not sure whether I want to bring home another gadget. The iPad was hard to let go because many of the apps I used for photography editing, I wouldn’t have got anywhere else.

It was a hard decision; but these days an answer to everything can be found online and so I googled.

The result was I transformed my iPad into a detachable laptop with and efficient operating system. I found that the key to a faster iPad is to delete unwanted stuff and make space for the iOS to work faster. I went one step more. Thanks to online storage, I saved and made backups of all documents, photographs and videos Then i clicked the reset button.

My iPad flew up like a phoenix bird. The speed was like it was three years back. I shopped at SOURCE store and found a bluetooth keyboard and right now typing away on it.

Am I satisfied? Of course. I met the need of getting a speedy gadget. I can type outside the touch screen. All I have to do is keep the hard disk space good enough for the system to work without hanging. I have also decided to not update the iOS in future. iPad 2 is too old for anymore updates.

My Expense

Nexxtech bluetooth keyboard : $ 50

I Saved

$ 408`

Toshiba Satellite c50 : $ 458 – $ 50 = $ 408

The result:

I love being a minimalist 🙂

Minimalism equals Strong Mind

As easy as it may sounds, Minimalism is not something that you could achieve at the snap of your fingers. Frankly speaking, I never prepared myself because I was unaware that I am going to adopt that lifestyle. With my brief experience in the practice, I would clearly state that it is not something for the weak hearted. Once you are making the decision to be a minimalist, never again would you be able to buy the latest flashy cell phone or that dream car you always wanted. But it does not mean that you will have to live without any amenities that is required while being a part of a society.

The art of being a minimalist is asking yourself certain questions regarding your needs and your ‘real’ needs.

Let us take the example of a cell phone. What difference does it make to you if the cellphone is a brand new phone that can be stretched or bend or broken or whatever the company want us to do, or a basic model that enables you to do everything that the flashy one does, but without any ‘airs’ surrounding it?

I was a Nokia and Sony Erikkson guy and owning an iPhone was something I wanted to do. But being already adopted to the minimalistic lifestyle I was not ready to shell out more than $600 for the latest version. This was when the iPhone 5 versions were in market and I bought a refurbished iPhone 4 version for $150. Two years down the road it is still meeting my needs and I am going to take the last bit of juice out of it.

Things worked out well for me because I ask questions while shopping. While in a store it is normal that things catch your eyes. It might be a new running shoes, or a leather jacket or a paperback novel.

When you encounter something ask not twice, but ten times these questions.

1. Whether you need it?

2. Whether that thing is worth enough for the money that you spend?

3. Why should I need it?

4. Do I have space for that at home?

5. How much time would I spend using it or how often do I use it?

Why these questions are relevant, I will explain in the next post. Until then think deeply and decide whether you need a minimalistic lifestyle. As I stated above, you need courage to practice that.

Own Less, Spend Less, Live Simple and Earn Happiness.

Simple Living or Minimalism.

Recently I found that it is the new ‘it’ out there. More number of people are downsizing themselves with regard to the material artifacts they own or with regard to the financial life they lead. The motto is Own Less, Spend Less, Live Simple and Earn Happiness.

As I read through many of the articles published in this regard I made a discovery. With or without my knowledge, I have been leading a minimalistic lifestyle. Situations that crept into my life have forced me to undergo a change of lifestyle.

Am I compromising any of the necessities that I need? No.

Am I happy with the downsized lifestyle? Yes.

Before I share my experiences with minimalism, I am going to tell you how I came across the concept.

WITH MY KNOWLEDGE

In some of my earlier posts, I have described how a workaholic George who got engaged in a demanding career started losing focus on life and started ruining his health.

I was somehow saved from that period of disorientation, thanks to a stream of thought, that asked me to take a break from career and travel with ‘minimal’ money and baggage. The experience increased my thirst for a trip outside India. However instead of being footloose across Europe or America, I decided to study in Canada with the aim of travelling across the second largest country in the world.

WITHOUT MY KNOWLEDGE

Going back to school brought back the life I experienced in the early 20’s. After almost ten years of living on my own, I started living in an apartment with friends from school. After almost ten years of regularly eating from outside, I started learning to cook and all these attempts were to reduce the financial expenses. It was not easy to go back to those frugal living, after a decade worth spending spree. In the attempt, I discovered thrift stores, good grocery deals, Tuesday movies and trying to live without a baggage.

I would like to see myself, from age 21 to 29, as a NASA rocket that went out into the space with so much of load. But as it nears its destination, it unloads its empty fuel tanks and turns into practically a small satellite or a rover. By the time I started my life again as a student I became that rover or satellite. No more baggage but just the basic necessities.

All that happened naturally, so I would gladly say that I discovered Minimalism without my knowledge.

After school I worked and travelled across Canada; continuing my travel with just one bag. It was only when I reached Edmonton, I felt I found a place finally to put foundation.

It has been over 9 months since I moved to Edmonton. I have money now to spend like before. Don’t you want to know how I am living a minimalistic lifestyle without compromising the basic luxuries?

Keep tuned on. I am going to tell you in my future posts, how to have a good life without eliminating technology, living space, hobbies, food, travel, money management.

Minimalism Photograph: courtesy to http://www.wallpaperstock.net

Meeting a Temporary Foreign Worker who claims to be in “Deep Shit”

It was a surprise meeting.

I was on the bus towards Strathcona County, a residential hub and an upcoming business location in Edmonton, when I ran into Vruttik Bhatt, a friend from college.

After leaving Fanshawe College in April last year, I have totally lost touch with him and to be frank he was not someone close, to be thought about. Whether it was London, Muskoka or Toronto, I have not encountered anyone from school and so it was a pleasant surprise.

After the initial greetings I asked him how he is doing. His reply was this: “In deep shit”.

I couldn’t help laugh but when that subsided I asked him the reason for it; but I knew even before he answered that it was the issue surrounding the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) that Canadian government have put a suspension on. Vruttik told me that all his dreams now waits to either get destroyed or resurrected, depending upon the government’s final verdict.

A little about the program; TFWP is one program that helps employers in Canada to recruit foreign workers for jobs where there is acute shortage of labourers. In provinces like Alberta, Saskatwen, Manitoba, employers would find it difficult to find Canadians to work in industries like hospitality, oil fields, mining, etc and this program helps them to get workers, whether in or out of Canada.

Vruttik is one among the thousands of international students in Canada who works in hospitality industry as TFW. With the right amount of experience a TFW would be able to finally immigrate to Canada.

However an investigation by a media house revealed the abuse that many employers push in on these foreign workers facilities that would shame even third world countries. Housing where 15 people have to share a home, extra hours of work but no overtime rate. The situation led to the government bringing a moratorium on the program, in the food industry, in which Vruttik works.

The suspension of TFWP have brought to a standstill the future ambition of Vruttik to slowly integrate into the Canadian society. He had plans to start his own business in the food industry, but after the suspension was announced, he is at risk of having to leave the country in two months. Back home, what await him is a huge debt, a loan he took from bank to finance his studies.

I could sense all these difficulties and mental turmoils that he has been facing in the last few days, so the once talkative 25 year old boy from North India, looked gloomy and uninterested. We didn’t had much to talk before we parted ways.

How can I ask him how he is doing? It was obvious he is not doing well.

Vruttik Bhatt: The name has been changed to respect the privacy of the individual.

Inspiring

It came as a jolt from out of the blue when I received the notification that Musings of UR nominated me for The Very Inspiring Blogger Award. She found a reason for that. I pursued happiness and found it.

How many of you have noticed that even the tiniest flicker of the wings on a butterfly creates happiness in a child who been watching it for several minutes? It is true that grow ups can also find happiness, if for one moment we keep aside the maladies of life, open your eyes and after taking a deep breath, smile. What I did was just that and nothing great. But when you find that such a simple act could inspire a fellow human being, that happiness you receive is beyond anything you achieve.

Thank you UR, for appreciating my humble effort and it has inspired me to keep going.

UR have not constrained herself to any subject or theme in her writings. If today it is botany, tomorrow it is designing; and day after tomorrow, painting. She gains her strength from self criticism and I believe is one among the bloggers to keep tuned to. Read her blog at http://musingsofur.wordpress.com

Now, the rules of the award are as follows:

1. Link back to the blogger who nominated you. Accomplished in paragraph one. See above.

2. Post the award image to your page. See above.

3. Share 7 facts about yourself. Here it goes…

I have pursued the art of falling in love for 15 years, but have not achieved it yet. My muse continues to be imaginary and I call her Immortal Beloved.

I stand at 6.3 and remains skinny for the last 20 years. I promised myself never try to gain weight owing to the very fact that I am perfectly healthy.

Smile less, I present a serious and stern face. But I smile and laugh a lot.

I sleep 10 hours on an average day. I work full time 8 hours, read 1 hour, write 1 hour and socialize 2 hours.

I dread the day when parents knock my door with an arranged marriage proposal.

The only time I have entered a fight was when I was 8, with a girl of 7, who pushed my sister out of her seat in the school bus. I took off my belt and whipped the girl.

I cry while watching emotional scenes in movies.

4. Nominate 15 other blogs and inform them about it. These are blogs that interest me and not all travel-related. Please take the time to take a look; I think you’ll like what you see.

1. My Mom Thoughts : http//mymomthoughts.com
2. Jasmine Grewal. http://jasminegrewal.wordpress.com
3. Every Day Power Blog. http://www.everydaypowerblog.com
4. The ShyDreamer8. http://theshydreamer8.wordpress.com
5. Wish Story. http://gravatar.com/d59dd174e485e5d6263adab8204d1f2f
6. Seyi Sandra. http://seyisandradavid.wordpress.com
7. Tracee Ford. http://traceeford.wordpress.com
8. Russel Deasley. http://theverybesttop10.com
9. Bogdan Marius Beleuz. http://beleuz.wordpress.com
10. Mesayah. http://mesayah.wordpress.com
11. Valeri DG Barbu http://valeriudgbarbu.wordpress.com
12. Glen Folkes. http://www.glennfolkes.com
13. Myfriskymoments. http://myfriskymoments.wordpress.com
14.Cristian Mihai. http://cristianmihai.net
15. Shallopnewf. http://shallopnewf.wordpress.com

First Night/ Morning at Parry Sound

My journey to Parry Sound, a much awaited break from school, started on April 30. The next four months would be a time when I would experience as any Canadian student, the art of summer job which is a mix of task-making and pleasure.

In India I have worked full time, but never a summer job, because parents in India never allow the kids to work while they are students. Besides, there are fake ideologies haunting families that prevent a parent from allowing a kid to work. More or else, a parent believes that his social status will get affected if his/her boy/girl works at a shopping mall, store, petrol bunk or restaurant. That is also why you might not see many asian kids belonging to immigrant families not working during semester breaks. Such traditions continue to be deep-rooted at least for one more of their generation.

My idea was to experience something that I have missed while growing up and I decided this sleepy village over a city because I love an honest rural community over a pretentious metropolitan one.

Since school have taken up most of my savings, I am sure to go through that exhilarating feeling of a kid who starts earning each hour. And then, the money is probably going to fund my next semester.

So, after a two-hour journey to Toronto from London, I dragged inside the waiting lounge my 100 kg worth baggage. There was a gap of 4 hours for the connection train to leave from Toronto, so I watched a movie and browsed the net on Ipad, and waited.

When the time came I marched to the ticket examiner, who turned out to be a beautiful blond. While she checked my credentials, I tried some small talk.

ME: Is Parry Sound railway station a large one??? It is my destination and I was wondering whether there are waiting rooms to spend the night?

SHE: I have heard that there is a lamp post.

Wow, lamp post, ye??? And my scheduled time of arrival is 2:45 am.

The next time the situation was discussed was 10 minutes before I alighted from the train. The railway coach attendant who helped me with my baggage said: ” I hope the guy who picks you up reach soon. It is quite lonely out here.”

Yeah, I could see that as soon as the station came into view.

I looked around and it was so dark and chilly. The station, which doubled as a gallery with historic accounts was locked. There was a lamp post with halogen lamp (as the blond said) lighting my space and I felt vulnerable. No one was coming to pick me up and there was no option but to wait till sunrise.

I decided to make the most out of it and found a bench. I placed my handbag on one end and covered it with a towel, to act as a pillow and the one I carried on my back as a buffer for my tired legs. The only valuable thing I considered priceless at the time, my passport, I tucked in my pant pocket. The huge travel bag filled with clothes, I left standing nearby my head, resigned to the fact that if anyone wants to take anything, they are welcome to take it. There is nothing in it that I can’t replace.

Before covering myself in a blanket, I peered into the darkness. As there muggers waiting to assault me?

Sleep was not an easy one to come, particularly if your are pushed to a silent village from a buzzing city. On the bench I lay listening to sound of waves and the pretty strong breeze from the harbor, that was quite nearby. Finally after 3:30 am I managed to sleep.

However it was disturbed every half an hour when a goods train passed by. The train passed so fast that the sudden sound would wake me up with heart beating with panic pain.

Finally I saw the first light of morning and it was beautiful. The proximity of a harbor made the sky so expansive and it drew golden strands with the promise of blue tint at the edges.

Well, Parry Sound station turned out cool looking with its old world charm. I realized that I slept in a safe zone, because just on the sides of the station were residential houses which I failed to see in the darkness. The main road was just 100 yards ahead.

My first night at Parry Sound was not epic, but it was neither dull. It turned out to be something memorable and reminded me of the many nights I spend at railway stations in rural India. Oh, yeah, the difference was there were no announcements and mosquitoes.

Thanking God for a safe night, I packed my bags and waltzed out of the station compound passing an early morning jogger.

Parry Sound, here I come.

Friends Came Flying Down the Clouds

Friends…..they make everything bright, yeah???

I mean I am just two weeks out of college and there should be no reason why I should be missing my classmates. The fact that I am in touch with them through Facebook and phone might makes it looks a bit over dramatic, but today morning I felt so much energy, due to the reason that I will be meeting them.

How I ended up in Parry Sound, a beautiful part of the cottage district will be properly chronicled in days to come. But today I am just going to talk about the visit of Rachelle, Matt, Sean-Anne and Sid to the place I work and live, the Snug Harbour.

Well, the visit was planned a couple of weeks back when we all learned that I will be working near the Rocky Crest resort where my four friends will be working for the summer. While I landed two weeks back, they arrived on Saturday and was just settling in.

As I waited for them in the morning I got a call from Matt saying that they are just a few minutes away from my place and are vigorously snapping pics of the country side. That was true; the first thing I saw while each of them got out from Matt’s car was a cam, the mobile phone or the real one.and they snapped snapped and snapped all around the Harbour.

After visiting my cottage we all headed to the restaurant where we had some deep fried and pan fried white fish and perch accompanied by coleslaw and French fries. They loved it and soon we followed it with some homemade desserts.

The beach was the next destination. Flitzgerald beach is a fresh water beach which is very calm and quiet. However, due the cold wave the location is experiencing for the last two days it was freezing and we just had a five minutes loitering there.

Their visit made my day. When I came to this country I was alone. Now I have here more friends than in India. That’s the magic of college guys. Just when I started loosing all my friends who started embroiled in the maladies of life ( read marriage ;)) I started having new ones.

Life is good. I am looking forward to meet you guys soon.

Exams: One Down, Six to Go

Exams, Exams.

It is like a prophesy that’s going to happen. You know that inevitably it will occur, but you don’t want to admit it or prepare for it.

And when it happens, it sucks. Be it good or bad.

Exams good? No, never.

But since its outcome counts for my summer job, I am toiling hard on this Sunday trying to digest the innumerable terms that do not sound any bell. This is the 9 th year I am experiencing the hardship, and am I going to learn? Nope.

I have always been a last minute studious student. And in years to come, if I plan any more studies, will continue to be like one. It is not that I like studying the last minute. For some unknown reason, everything falls in my plate only during the last minute. The humble guy I am ( he he he) I just accept what is good for me.

Exams remind me of a bad break up. You start the relationship few months back and soon after realize that its gonna end soon. But you decide to enjoy the fruits of the relationship and have some fun while it is full on. You sleep with her, but do not commit. You will have fun with her, but do not want to return the favor. You will have lunch and dinner at her expense and never offers her more than a coffee date. By the end of it, she is so frustrated that she decides to raise hell. And you start acting as if you care and that it is hard to lose her. She tries to torment you and you endure that reminding yourself that summer romance is not far ahead and she will be gone soon. And then its over.

Yeah, exams will be over soon and then it will be sunny, hot and sexy.

How I Saw Happiness???

Spending on yourself is something that we are all familiar with. There is no possibility that, a mortal walks on earth without lavishing the minimum luxury on self, at least once in a lifetime. For me it started with parental allowances and then self earned money. But I never understood the true value of money then. Either I had enough or I had more than enough. So when I decided to indulge myself with all my savings, I considered spending just the bare minimum sum, as an experiment.

If you think that I was scared to spend more, because I lost my job and I needed the savings, then you are wrong. I was going through a stage where I dared to be reckless. But I wanted to know whether I could discover happiness by spending less.

I packed five jeans, three blues, one black and one brown, five shirt and five t shirts, a jacket, basic accessories. I kept back at home my cell phone, camera, ipad. I told my parents that I would not be in touch with them for sometime, except on mornings and evenings to give an update of my whereabouts. I decided not to reveal even to my closest buddies,my plan and temporarily deactivated my Facebook account.

Then I hoped on the next train towards Tamil Nadu, my neighbouring state in its general compartment with no option to sleep. I sat though out the 14 hour journey thinking. I found myself strangely relaxed. I had no tension, no worries, just peace. Tomorrow was not looming before me like a threat. Tomorrow would be just another beautiful morning.

I reached Chennai around 10 in the morning. I needed to find a place to rest till afternoon, and I was not looking for a hotel room.

The towering Southern Railway office near Chennai Central caught my attention. I know every nook and corner of the building, owing to me spending three years walking in and out of the building as a railway reporter. The security personnel preferred not to look at me and I waltzed in through the main entrance, took the stair till I reached the terrace. There under the cool shade of the water tank, after ensuring that no one will see me, I lay down, placing my carry bag as pillow. Sleep hit me immediately.

When I walk up, it was already 3.30 pm. I found myself smiling on the realization that I have never slept so soundly for years, like this. And don’t forget, I slept in the middle of all the possible buzz of the city.

After washing my face inside Chennai Central, I caught a bus to Koyembedu bus terminus and took a bus to Mahabhalipuram.

I have travelled many a times through the same road as a reporter. But, the kind of beauty I found that day in every aspect of life, be it a road side vendor selling colored water pots, trees yielding to the lull of sea breeze, deep blue color of the sea, was different. I breathed in the salty smell of the coast.

At Mahabhalipuram I walked through the familiar paths and amidst the ancient remains of the temple town to the beach, where I took a bath in the rough sea. I saw the sun setting in the horizon and it was one among the many sunsets I would see in the coming months. Only the surroundings would be different.

I travelled through villages under the humid sun,sometimes drenched in rain, slept in tiny rooms bitten by mosquitoes, eating food that at times tasted like shit. The end of journey was at New Delhi and it was mostly a straight line of journey from Kerala, in buses, bikes, lorries.

I never faced a negative issue. People liked me and was ready to help out my needs. But the rural folks were more good than the city ones. I even saw a Bhojpuri movie being shoot, using the funniest film capturing equipments available.

What I learned is that, at least once in your life, you have to let go off yourself. Money can buy you experiences, but bare minimum money can buy you even more experiences. You will learn the value of each dime. You know what is life is all about. Real life is all there, outside air conditioned rooms, expensive cars and multi-cuisine dinners.

I caught a flight back to Kerala from Delhi, thanking my parents and friends for baring with me for the absence of three months. The return trip was also a time to calculate my expense and in three months I spend only Rs 18,493.

But I learned a lot.

I saw happiness.

How I Sought Happiness???

“Knock and the door will be opened for you”

This line from the Gospel according to Mathew in the Bible, enthrall me as I believe that both, an atheist and a believer of God, be it any religion, would find truth in it.

The notion that you can achieve what you seek is universally accepted. I decided to put my faith in God Almighty and found the path to happiness.

The condition I was under, when the idea creeped into my mind was perfect. I got hospitalized after finding that, the hours spend making money, disregarding my health have resulted in me facing a condition called Gastroenteritis. All I knew was that, untreated or undetected, it could have lead even to death.

I was saved just in time and as any mortal finds himself in, it was a time to rediscover God and what I need in life. When I got discharged few weeks later and was put under a strict regime of healthy food, I got time to contemplate various possibilities.

The first decision I took was to resign my job.

It was not an easy task. At the age of 29 I had managed to optimize google to the extend that googling my name would bring results in the form of at least 20 pages worth news articles, photographs and events. I had in my cell phone contacts of ministers and highly placed government officials and the who and who of society, who would attend my call once my name flashed on their screens. The power of being a journalist, the respect from society and ultimately, the narcissistic satisfaction you achieve each day when you see your byline on the newspaper, was not something to forego, so easily.

Nonetheless, I did as I was not feeling at peace with myself. The relief and relish that I felt, once I put up my papers is indescribable. There was no tension for letting lose a job. Months later my friends would tell me that the fact that I was unmarried and with no relationship developing on the side made things easier for me. It was true.

But I had someone else to show me the way.

Anto Thermadom was a junior reporter at the newspaper I worked. But there was no senior junior barrier between us and we used to talk on the unsatisfactory situation at work. Anto got married very soon and I saw him struggling to keep his family life and job equally important. By that time I got a transfer to another city and he called me at times to tell how office work was turning his life into hell.

Now, most offices give consideration for newly weds for the first 6 months, that include coming a little late and leaving office a little early. Considering that in India salary is not paid in hourly basis you are forced to work more than you need to prove something or other. Anto’s situation was the same and some seniors with sadistic satisfaction pushed him to work more hours, though his presence was not needed there. I received a call from another colleague of mine who narrated how, when during days Anto leaves early, one crime reporter would raise hell and say snide remarks of why he leaves so early.

The crime reporter never considered that the new generation of youngsters are confident in themselves. Anto resigned his job soon after to join an IT firm and now lives happily with a 9 am to 5 pm job, weekends off. He now is planning to start a news website of his own.

The crime reporter meanwhile succumbed to high pressure levels and even higher cholesterol levels and takes medication to meet ends as a reporter.

But I decided to take an even wider step than Anto. I decide to spend all my savings, on me.

Narcissistic, may be, but after four years of working for someone, I decide to show some love for myself.