// thoughts

I look at my paystub and see how much I've made from January...where did it all go!? Holy effing cow!? I have no clue what I spent the money on~!

I know a lot of it went on food and BNP stuff but what happened to the rest!? Shopping? Transportation expense? Man o man, I hate seeing this money I made on my paystub and having no clue where it all went.

Starting 2005, I'm going to be tracking every nickel and dime that I spend! I said that last year but never did it, so this time I'm going to do it forreal. Gotta find out what I'm buying and spending all my cash on.

+ mon

After one of my friends (hi Jessica! ) got the Ogo and was IMing me through it I was curious as to what it was. I did some research and found it on the cingular site for $99 with a $30 rebate, bringing the price down to $69 (that magic number again! 68+1).

I was reluctant to buy it because of the price of the device, Jessica had gotten it for only $50 from a special promotion they were doing. So I waited and the next day the promotion was back on, $50 for the Ogo and a limited edition case.

I ordered it that night and I received the Ogo two days later (free shipping).

Don't know what an Ogo is? Let me explain what it is and what the pros and cons are of this device.

Basically the Ogo is a mobile device that can text, email and instant message. The text is just the same as with a regular phone (sms), the email is pretty much any email out there, and it also supposed POP email, the instant messaging is from AOL, Yahoo, or MSN. You can get one or all three if you want. The base price per month is $17.99 which comes with one instant messaging service. So you can have either AOL, Yahoo or MSN. If you want to have two instant messaging services, for example, MSN and AOL then the price goes up by $3 and if you want all three messaging services it'll go up another $3. I don't see the need for more than one instant messaging service, so I assume majority of people will be getting the $17 plan.

One of the great things about the Ogo is that there is no contract! It's a month to month basis. There is a $19.99 activation fee that you pay when you first activate the device.

After powering it up and the activation was simple, you just need a credit card to charge the monthly fee and activation fee and you're good to go. The message on the screen said that it could take a few hours to set it up but it was done pretty quickly. Once your Ogo is active, they give you the phone number that is associated with it. Then you setup your messaging and email - it's very simple.

So again, this device can text, instant message and email. There is no web broswer, calendar, calculator, phone or any other of those functions with this device (yet).

Pros: Very cheap at $50 Unlimited text, email, im for $17.99 Comes with free case ($10 value) Very easy to setup Keyboard is very good Stylish POP email Free overnight shipping Not too bulky Nice colored screen Very sturdy (I think I can drop this and it'll be alright)

Cons: No web browser No calendar or calculator AIM Buddy List limited to 80

Final Analysis: This is a very good device is you are just into texting, messaging and email. If you are looking for a phone and/or web browsing then this isn't for you. With possible firmware updates in the future some missing features might be available but time will tell. For $17.99 and a pricetag of $50 (special promotion price) this is a very good product. How annoying is it to text, im and email through our cell phones? Very! So here's the solution if you're willing to put up that extra $17.99 a month, I'm removing the internet and text feature on my cell phone to balance out the difference. I really like the POP email as I can always check my email and read it on the go - I can do that on my phone now but it's a hassle. Texting is a lot easier than on the phone now, and I can mass text through the Ogo instead of going through the sprint website for my cell phone.

Compared to the sidekicks functions (web browser and phone) it's a good competitor. The sidekick is around $200 and the plans are $30 without any minutes for the phone ($0.20 each minute used) and $60 with 600 minutes and unlimited text, email and web for each plan.

In comparison to the sidekick's plan and functionality, the Ogo is half the price planwise and about 1/4 the price of the device itself. Of course we have to keep in mind that the Ogo can't get on the web and isn't a phone, is double the price plan and paying another $150+ for the device worth it? You be the judge - for me, I say no.

Bottomline is that you can't go wrong with the Ogo, as it doesn't have a contract and you go from month to month. So give it a try for a month and if you don't like it then just stop paying and sell the device.

This is my Ogo number so if you want to text me hit me up at 917-753-7637. You can't call me on that remember it's not a phone, yet. So email me (simon@raymundo.us), text me or IM me...the Ogo is always on.

+ mon

Whoever comments on this post will get $10~! Go comment, hurry this is only going to last 24 hours!

+ mon

"Humility isn't actually humility unless you're good enough at something to be humble."

+ mon

I took a little nap this evening and when I woke up there wasn't much to do. Usually I play CS but there wasn't too many people online playing. I would watch a movie that I just dLed but I saw all the new movies already.

So I decided to watch the older episodes of Joan of Arcadia. I watched the first episode first - in this episode God reveils Himself to Joan and she's still trying to figure out if it's true or not. So during one of her conversations with Him, she says "let's say you're God...ok well let's see a miracle." So they are walking along and God says "ok, how bout that..." and points to a tree that they are passing.

We do this a lot, always asking God to show us a miracle, show us something so we can believe in Him. Look all around you, there are miracles everywhere. The people you are walking by, the trees, the sky, the birds, the snow, the rain, the sun - all that was made by Him.

All we need to do is open our eyes, open our hearts and see the beauty that God has put into everything. Even though I live here in NyC and you see sin every which way you turn, I also see the goodness, I see His everyday miracles. Open yourself to Him, open yourself to what He gives you and you'll be a happier person.

I'll end this with one of those everyday miracles that a good friend shared to me about. Have you ever looked up at the sky when it was cloudy, or there was a cloud covering the sun? Then you see the ray light breaking through the clouds and streaming down to the ground. She called that God Light.

+ mon