Getting stuff vs. doing stuff

I've gotten news that my Ipod may be beyond repair.  I'd taken it in months ago and it was replaced with a refurbished one that never worked perfectly.  Now they shop is saying that though it's under the 90 day guarantee from the previous work, they will not do anything because there is some indication it got wet. I didn't drop it in a puddle or the toilet so I blame the humidity of Jakarta, which is plainly not my fault.

How does this tie in to today's topic?  I am now faced with several options while I continue to argue with the shop.  One: hope I can get my Ipod back and limp along with it a little longer.  Two: give up and buy a new one. Three: give up on the old one and use the little 1 GB Nano that mom gave me to use while my other one was in the shop.  And here's the tie in. 

Courtesy of cutcaster.com

I paid $80 for the initial repair. A new one online is showing at 3,163,000 Rp ($370).  I'm sure I could find one a bit cheaper out in the malls here.  The dilemma is that I am planning summer trips.  I have five weeks off work and I'm going to make the most of it.  I'm planning five days in Northern Vietnam alone.  Then a friend from the States will come over and we'll spend two and a half weeks making our way from Hanoi, south to Ho Chi Minh City and across the Mekong delta into Cambodia.  We'll wrap up our trip in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap.  At that point she heads back home and I still have nearly two weeks of time.  If I come straight back to Jakarta I'll spend heaps in restauranting and drinking.  The flight is the same to get to Bali as it is to get to Jakarta . . .soooo . . . .well, it seems like such an obvious choice.

Courtesy of girlsthatroam.wordpress.com

I've also found out some friends from Spain are planning to be in Thailand in August/September.  I go back to school the second week of August but there is a week of holiday for Idul Fitri (the end of Ramadhan)  in the week that spans Aug-Sept.  Now that week it potentially Phuket-Krabi-Phiphi island.  I'd love to go since I haven't been yet, the beaches are supposed to be fantastic and I can see Angie and Trish.  We're still working out if the timing/locations will match up but I'm hopeful. 

Courtesy of bestbeachthailand.com. This is Phi Phi Island

I also need to see more of Indonesia in case I leave at the end of the year.  That means mid-semester break in October and maybe Christmas break.  On top of that I will need to sort out my living arrangement before I leave for holiday.  That means thumping down six months of rent all at once.  Ouch.  It is nice to only pay utilities during the contract but the big wad of cash that I hand over at the beginning is tough to do.

OOOWWWWW!

I've just been saved as a friend has helped me out with a nearly new camera.  The camera I bought in KL in August, and I loved, has disappeared without a trace. Now if I tack on the cost of an I-pod I'm definitely eating into my travel funds.  I've found that the last year or two I really prefer spending my money to do things, rather than to buy things.  I have plenty of stuff.  Lots of shoes, clothes, nicknacks.  I do splurge for a stack of dvds every couple of months but other than that it's mostly food and toiletries (or replacing things that are stolen or broken).  I like to go out with my friends.  I like to travel. How do I balance the stuff vs the experiences in my life?

Courtesy of school.discoveryeducation.com