Tag Archives: Spotify

The Perfect Solution!

20 Sep

Soon after my old iPhone 5S kaput, I contemplated using my current phone as my Spotify music center. The house feels too quiet without music. But having my phone blast music all day may hurt the battery’s health, and my phone is for communication purposes rather than music. So what do I do? How do I resolve this loud quietness?

It occurred to me then that I had another old phone lying around. Would you believe it when I say it’s the iPhone 5C, another dinosaur model? The phone used to be M2’s before she had further upgrades, and I just kept it alive all these years. It still works and is now handy in my current predicament.

I was excited because the iPhone 5C–despite it being such an oldie– would resolve the music void. The setup was with minimal synching because of space issues. After all, the phone has only 8 GB capacity! It’s so minuscule compared to the storage sizes of the newer phone models.

With Spotify added, albeit an older version, the iPhone 5C is now my music center! The thing to ensure the phone does not meet an early death is not to keep it connected while the music is playing. Yay, I’m a happy camper because I found the perfect solution.

A reliable dinosaur, the iPhone 5C

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An Unexpected End

13 Sep

Yesterday was the end of my old Apple iPhone 5S. It ‘died’ the most unfortunate death when the battery expanded unexpectedly. In other words, the battery–which had required service– finally bloated up and caused the phone to become distended. The front panel was separated from the body, rendering the end of my iPhone 5S. Boo hoo hoo.

The end of my old iPhone 5S

I have been using the iPhone 5S as my Spotify music center, playing music all day daily. As a result of this constant use, I achieved thousands of minutes on Spotify annually. Hehehe.

However, the phone could not keep up with the constant usage and needed external power support. And this was the death of it. With power plugged in and music playing non-stop, my iPhone 5S eventually met its untimely demise.

But I shouldn’t be upset, as the phone is ten years old and has served me well for five years before I upgraded to the iPhone XR. Then the phone had a new lease of life to be my music center.

RIP, my iPhone 5S – a much loved and appreciated device, and it’s most unfortunate it met an unexpected end.

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A Clever Hack?

29 Mar

Nowadays, we see people staying connected with their devices all the time, regardless of location. It’s so bad being so attached and dependent on our devices 24/7. If it wasn’t for staying updated with news or social media, it is for games, music, or movies. It is as if a minute of not being connected, one will be so out of touch. Isn’t this terrible?

I confess I am just as guilty, but only at home, with my attachment to my devices. The iPad Mini is mostly for games and movies, and the old iPhone 5S or iPhone XR is for my Spotify music on loop. I leave my iPhone 14Plus for communication and occasional news updates. Separately, I have a Kobo eReader for reading my novels, sparing my eyes from the glare of the iPad.

However, when I travel, I abide by the airline rules and don’t fuss with my devices, keeping them in the bag and turning on the flight mode. After all, the airline does offer some entertainment as an alternative, especially the long hauls. And anything less than a three-hour flight, I have learned and can live without my devices for that few hours being airborne.

On my recent return journey from Hanoi, the passenger in front did not put away his iPhone as he was deeply engrossed in watching the sitcom “Friends.” I couldn’t help but admire his clever hack of using the Air Sickness Bag to feed his sitcom fixation.

The tray table had to be closed, so he used the bag to hold his phone in place to watch hands-free! So clever. But clever as it seems, you won’t catch me doing this for my trips on a flight and leaving the bag intact for its actual usage.

Hand-free using the Air Sickness Bag

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Better Than Phenomenal

15 Dec

With two weeks left before 2023 ends, I’m cutting back on my golf games for two reasons. Reason number one is the wet weather conditions. It rains daily, and being out on a soggy golf course is not enjoyable. The round of golf becomes more like a field-plowing exercise, chunking the shots constantly on the soft ground instead of playing proper golf.

Reason number two is the festive season of Christmas around the corner. This year, I’m playing more Christmas carols on my Spotify and indulging in Christmas shopping. It’s a fun season, and I am enjoying it.

However, I must highlight the last golf game that resulted in better than phenomenal putting. I’d take this highlight anytime! The score was not the best because of chunk shots on the fairways. Even at the tee boxes that were soft and soggy, I could not stand firm and ended up with several mis-hits. But putting with the TaylorMade Spider Mini made up for all the mishaps.

I made 26 better-than-phenomenal putts! To break that down, it was 12 putts on the first nine and 14 on the back nine. There was even a silly three-putt, but the eight one-putt and a chip-in for a zero putt made up for the lone ugly blemish. The thing that helped tremendously was the short game. I was accurate and gave myself many opportunities to putt well.

I should hold my head high with this new putting achievement for this year and hope this phenomenal putting can continue. Maybe it’s the focus that creates confidence. I look forward to better-putting results next year!

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Three More Weeks Left

8 Dec

Would you believe that we have three more weeks left for 2023?! To say how fast time flies is correct and sometimes not.

Time flies when one’s having fun. However, time does not fly when one is at home and bored to tears, with nothing to do except count the ants on the counter and listen to Spotify on a loop.

I am not reflecting on my eventful year yet, and I’m sure the right moment to pen down my thoughts will hit as the year draws to a close. Until then, I better make the most of what’s left of 2023. Then, I will have much to say and reflect on later.

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In Memory of…

11 Nov

Today would have been official pet number one’s 12th birthday. Sniffle…

It’s been a month since Rooney’s passing. How time flies! There are days when we get home, I find myself looking out for him expecting a patch of fur lying at the garden terrace when I open the front door. But he’s not there….

We have been keeping busy so that we don’t think too much of the loss. The house has been rather quiet sans the barking or the act of talking to a pet who was literally our third child, our baby. To overcome this, I find myself playing music more often than ever on my iPhone XR. Sometimes I would up the volume on Spotify’s choices for me or simply blast my Music’s playlist so that it’s not so quiet. Sigh…

Happy birthday Roo, you’re in a better place but always in our thoughts and hearts.

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Some Things Do Change

20 Dec

While some things never change, some things do and we have to learn to go with the flow. Otherwise, we will be more dinosaur than ever.

When I went off to college and came home for the holidays, the aircrafts that I flew in were mostly the Boeing 747-400 model and I thought this aircraft was very comfortable. I loved the B747.

When M1 came back last week, she flew on United Airlines. And for the SFO-NRT leg, it was a B747 and because there were no personal entertainment units, she did not appreciate the aircraft like me. The final leg home was with a Boeing 787-8 and she thought, thankfully that was much better. 

I believe the B747 model has been replaced with newer and younger fleets by most airlines of the world except a handful like United Airlines. And you realize things change when your experiences that you cherish differ from your offsprings.

When I was younger, I would save every penny of my allowance and waited until there was an opportunity to go buy a cassette or two of my favourite musician(s). Then with my Sony Walkman (also purchased with endless savings), plugging in to my music was the best thing in life.

These days, like me, my M2 says she cannot function without music. So her iPod and a set of headphones go wherever she goes. And how does she get her music?

Spotify.

In fact, recently she asked if she could subscribe to Spotify Premium and hubby allowed; she ‘paid’ for the monthly subscription with her allowance. Now this makes you really open your eyes and acknowledge that things and time have changed when the need for the same thing has evolved with technology. Going out with the girls, I have also evolved, allowing them to plug in their music in my car instead of subjecting everyone to my CD choices of Jacky Cheung or Michael Buble.

Hmm… Maybe I should consider getting Spotify and perhaps plan a vacation flying off somewhere long haul with any aircraft other than the B747-400.

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