Obsession for Nothing, Nothing..

I always thought I'm an obsessive, compulsive person. In fact, I was caught off guard when a friend, a pretty good friend of mine, asked if I have OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder). Of course I have OCD, I'm obsessing about different things at different times. I think if I create a chart, keeping track of my obsession, I know I'll be able to group them into a few small groups, one of them will definitely be food. Hence, my other blog, One Food Obsession A Day.

But...what if I lose those obsessions? I should say, obsessive behavior. You might probably think, then you find other obsessions, or just become a normally-behaved person with limited amounts of obsessions.

NO! What happened to me lately is not that. To me, it seems like I've been obsessed to nothing, nothing. Doing nothing, achieving nothing, thinking of nothing, hanging out with 'nothing'.

Do you have a cure?

Batik Day Competition Poll

Patriotism comes in all shapes and sizes. In this era of globalization, we can't really say that we always feel a sense of ownership toward our own country. What is our country anyway? Is it the one issuing our passport? Is it one we spend most of our lives at? Is it one we always think of? Is it where our family lives?

The blurring of national boundaries have no doubt evolved the meaning of the words nationalism and patriotism, to name a few.

Without further thoughts, allow me to present the candidates of National Batik Day Competition, celebrated October 2 in Indonesia.

Take your vote and tell me who deserves to get a goodie bag.

The Age of Autistic Gadget Addicts

Do you know anyone who's not a gadget addict? By that I mean not even have any inclination to play, press every button, dissect and go into every single nook & cranny of a simple little CDMA phone, TV or DVD player. Not easy to find such a person, is it?

I've always been communication addict, I was one of the first Blackberry client in the city (heck, might even be one of the first 20 clients in the country), way before most people even considered Blackberry. No, I didn't use it for prestige, obviously, but I found out my phone bill came down tremendously after using it. And so I continued upgrading my models.

By now, a lot of people I know have adopted a Blackberry and personalizing my device has become much easier. One thing I resent about Blackberry is the theme. I don't need a frilly theme, in fact, I hate the pinkest, cutest, most beautiful theme that attracted my eyes the first time, because they're not convenient. Still, I got addicted to those sites offering free themes. Most of them are OK and usable but I couldn't stop searching when I found a few I like and keep on my device.

The first few times I browsed, I didn't realize I used up the rest of my work hours just for themes. So I tried to outsmart myself and block the last quarter of my Fridays to play and search for themes, they're off limits on other times. I still fall into the addiction if I accidentally search outside of Fridays, but it got me to learn about myself. I firmly resist anything addictive, from gadget to simply munchies, if I don't take the first step. Once I start, I can't stop.

Reflecting how life was, I remember about a third of my grade school mates didn't have a home phone. Can you believe how fast technology advances? Nowadays it's even hard to get domestic helps who don't own a cellphone. Even my mom is in the brink of the addiction, if only she has more time and doesn't need her reading glasses to play with her device.

I wonder if gadget addiction is harmless. In the States, debates on whether dieting and weight obsession can be considered an addiction. In the world that we live in, sex, alcohol and drugs aren't the only 'addiction' worth talking to our young kids about. We gotta be prepared to talk to our kids about gadget addiction by the time they graduate grade school.

Betty Ford organized her alcohol rehab clinic, who knows, Barack Obama might as well sponsor gadget addiction awareness and rehab. Be careful with those things you claim are necessities in life!

Is Mosquito Repellent Really Worth Obsessing?

Mosquito season here! As much as I love weather science & the fact that I wanted to be a meteorologist at one point, there's really no dry and rainy seasons in the Equator, especially with climate change, everything blurs and blends into one. Seasons, however, still do exist. I call mine mosquito season and fly season.

Mosquito season is now. Even outside of mosquito season, I'm always the first one to scratch like a dog infested with lice. What can I say, mosquitoes just love me and there's no telling them to go away. What's worse is, I'm never a fan of chemical repellents, it always makes me icky to smear those into my skin, so I've been relying on citronella and lemongrass. Having lived in Bali, I learned that lemongrass is only potent in large amount. Think a row of lemongrass plants underneath your windowsills.

Recently, I did research on what attracts mosquitoes. Turns out I'm a given victim. Attractive characters to mosquitoes are:

- Moisture: It's humid in the tropics, meaning we perspire more and thus create moisture;
- Lactic acid released from the body after workout or eating certain types of food, like high-potassium or salty food. I have higher potassium in my blood, which again, makes mosquito love me;
- Carbon Dioxide, more exhaled from the body when we feel hot, or after exercising;
- Dark-colored clothing or dark room;
- Floral or fruity fragrance;
- Skin temperature: this is more personal preference although it's in the cooler side.

Sometimes, the scent of citronella becomes too heady so I asked around, on my Twitter and Facebook, for other natural scents to get rid of mosquitoes. This is what I found out:

- Camphor;
- Basil;
- Cedar Oil;
- Cinnamon Oil;
- Clove Oil;
- Garlic;
- Tea tree.

Having said all those above, I can't believe what I've become. Have I been obsessing about mosquitoes? Are these little annoyance really worth obsessing?

If anyone has proven natural recipe to rid of those loyal 'lovers' of mine, give me a shout anyway.