Birthday Splash!

Hot damn.

I spent a hundred in two days.

This is terrible. Or maybe it's not, considering that I blew 70+ bucks just going to town.

The thing is this, I could well afford such spending. My buffer cash could spring me 3 storeys high.

Until this.


Looks like we've got a history lesson to take.

So we were told sometime back by GT CEO Chris that Creative, the Creative, would be holding a product launch right at Geek Terminal! The guys went all chirpy about it and swore that we couldn't miss this event. How much more I, the diehard Creative devotee?

And there we were today at GT. I was there at 7:30AM. Danny must have felt pity for my stoned face because he made me a cuppa. So schweet of him. And of course I found out that well, it says 8-12pm on the calendar, but that's just the booking time, including setup and packup. The actual event commenced at 10 (and was over before 11). So as Dan sat there browsing his tablet and Kai Yi read his book, I very smartly decided earlier not to bring any materials. Basically I stoned there for... oh I dunno, 3 hours?

Well let's skip this middle part. You can find out what happened from Tech65 - the live post, and the Channel65 episode.

Here's what happened. While we were fretting about how to 1) get our hands on the demo, and 2) gain the webbie some exposure, I'd planned long ago on getting a press kit after the event was over (at least, the main segment). Apparently, I do look older than I am, because when I asked for the press kit, the lady, who turned out to be a Corporate Comm manager (!), asked me which press I'm from.

I fumbled abit at first, but then things went smoother after I managed to establish the base of who we were and why we were there.

And then she said, bless her, 'We then we consider you press! So here's our special press offer.'

O mio Dio, the prices were jaw-dropping.

The Creative Zen is currently selling at S$249 for the 4GB model, S$349 for the 8GB model, and S$449 for the 16GB model due for later release. For the press offer, they offered either the 4GB or 8GB model, with like three types of accessories, for S$149 and S$199 respectively. Considering the thrown in accessories which don't really sell cheap, that's a more-than-50% slash.

I was like, WHY THE FUCK NOT? Got money what! Buy la!

Now let me be clear that despite the phrasing of my thought processes, this was NOT an impulse buy. Firstly, since I got to touch and play with the Zen, I think I can justifiably say that I was rationally impressed by its features. Second, I've been looking round for a good AV player for some time now. I was seriously considering getting the new PSP 1.1 due for release anytime now, because the screen is one of the largest for media players out there. Except maybe the Zen Visions, but that would be more of a comparison between a 4:3 screen and a widescreen. Now the Zen's screen isn't exactly humungous. At 2.5" I wait with bated breath to see whether I can make subtitles out or not. But as far as I could see through the demos, details were presented with utmost clarity, not to mention the breathtaking color vibrance (check out the shot of the butterfly photograph in the Ch65 video, you'll see what I mean. Even in the video you could see the strong colors, imagine the real thing). I won't say that any one particular feature hooked me, but I think the one that sealed the deal, rather, was the audio. Being all too familiar with the aural nuances of my Zen Micro, I was surprised to find myself sealed into my own island by the audio quality of the Zen. So clear was the output, I told Daniel and Kaiyi, that I could hear in excruciating detail the dismal production quality of Westlife's take on Uptown Girl (remember, bashing the band is another story here. I'm blaming the audio engineer). I do hope I don't have to re-encode my entire library for that. That would actually be impossible, not even a chore.

And here's where it all loops back again. Half my money's already spent on the Zen. I spent a hundred in two days. I owe my aunt 50 for my parents' presents, and I'm going to tithe 40.

Which leaves me with $2.

Ahhhh bummer. Fuuuckin' bummer...