I Need Rehab!

You know sometimes, you look at people with a certain issue or bad habit and you thought to yourself that you will never be THAT messed up?

Well, I used to do that. A LOT.

Now it turns out that I'm more messed up than the very people I thought were getting themselves in some bad shit.

I was a happy lad. Granted, I wasn't given all the toys and silly stuff a young (and stupid) boy wanted but I was already enjoying life with what I had. I was satisfied.

Somehow I don't recall ever being jealous of other kids for the stuff they had. I guess I didn't care much about what they had and was instead focused on what I owned.

I hated showing-off (still do) and I hated show-offs. I never had a good impression of any person who was one. I believed in humility and hiding any great achievement or high-value possession (that would attract interest) and keeping it to myself. Even more so on any good deeds and kind gestures. All this still applies to this very day. And no, I ain't trying to show-off or stroke my own ego. :p

So.... I was talking about people having stuff.

As I grew up, I gained certain traits that would finally land me in this predicament. What predicament you ask? I'm stuck in a neverending spiral of materialism and bargain-hunting!

I somehow developed a mindset of "only the best". Whatever I bought had to be of the highest quality affordable and by "affordable" I mean "able to pay for it", with no concern on savings. I believed that a high price was a definitive

 indication of quality (we all know that ain't always true). People always say "you get what you pay for". Duh... it's intuitive.

Well, my wallet-burning tendency has so far not gotten myself into any financial difficulty partly due to having a sensible partner who constantly reminds me of the importance of saving for a  rainy day. I've also managed to keep myself from spazzing over the more expensive options of groceries and stuff. 

But then.... bikes.

I love bicycles. I also love riding and maintaining them.

It's also turning out to be a rather expensive hobby.

It doesn't help that I'm a borderline psychotic weight weenie. Hah! Borderline.

Light bikes are expensive. Expensive bikes are light. Combine these 2 logical statements with my logic of "you get what you pay for" and there goes the floodgates on my bank account.

To control myself from having a bike (and wallet) so light it floats, I've resorted to an obssessive bargain-hunt. I find myself swiping page after page of ads on Carousell and TogoParts, learning the RRP of bike components and just being a complete nut about all this.

I feel like a drug addict and my high is getting a good bargain. 

Good news is I've managed to cut down on it. I plan to get married to my sweetheart and I don't want all that to go in flames due to my lack of self-control.

....

If someone's selling a Colnago C60 for anything less than 4000, I AM GETTING IT.

*maniacal laughter*