BUYING HAPPINESS AND DOORS TO UNIVERSES: An E-Commerce Simulation

 

Exhibit A: Picture of me (that I forced my sister to take) pretending to read a book because the main point is to flaunt them. They're my babies that allow me to transcend universes.

If I were to be completely honest, I only used this simulation as an excuse to buy one of the volumes of the "Tian Guan Ci Fu" (TGCF, English: Heaven Official's Blessing) book series that I do not have yet. It's one the book series I'm trying to collect the hard copies of. Seven Seas Entertainment is bound to publish the last two volumes before 2024. I was super excited to buy it — the 7th Book, to be specific... even if I was actually struggling with money.

I tried my best to save a part of my allowance for this because I know, no matter what, it will be worth it. It's my favorite romance novel ever! I read its epub file back in 2019 and I wanna elaborate but I will be gushing forever once I start.

Anyway, in my defense, I only spend my savings at the end of the month or the beginning of next month; or, to be even more particular, only when I'm sure my parents are going to remit my allowance for the upcoming month. I make it a rule to always be on the safe side when it comes to money. It is unideal to be emptyhanded, right? I don't even want to think about that sense of insecurity an empty pocket gives me.

As a reader, one should know that reading a book and buying one are two different hobbies. Going by my years of experience, as both an impulsive reader and impulsive book-buyer, I can somehow conclude that if you know what's best for you, just pick other hobbies.

To start with the journey of becoming temporarily broke, I will now introduce my partner in crime, my best friend, my go-to when I have a book in mind I want to sacrifice three days worth of meals for: FULLY BOOKED PH.

The books I buy are usually published in other countries but Fully Booked makes them available within arm's reach.

And yes, as can be seen, my October savings died on October 31, 2023, at 6:40 PM, with the 33% battery as witness. The cause of death is definitely whatever was added in the shopping cart.

The said item in the shopping cart:

I'm pretty much a regular on Fully Booked Online that I have become so comfortable on there. If I have concerns, even if they're not too major (such as asking when a certain novel is going to be available for pre-order), I make it a habit to bother their staff over on Instagram. They're very accommodating. I'm still waiting for them to get sick of me.

The next screenshots would be more on payment. It's how I usually pay so by now, it's perfunctory.

Oh, right, I actually gained something in return for being a regular customer: cashback points. It got to that number because one of the books I once pre-ordered suddenly had a price cut while it was still unavailable for delivery. I had received a notification about it and they allotted my excess payment to my cashback points.

I used them all, for this purchase.

I paid by debit card! One of the e-commerce technologies that I really appreciate is the online access to bank accounts online offered by tightly secured paywall with OTP verification. Other than the security, the convenience just astounds me everytime. I also get that sense of fulfillment once it proceeds successfully.

Like, for example, when this happens:

I normally take a screenshot, particularly, of this page because I attach this on Samsung Notes intended for the monitoring of my book purchases, including the sales in-voices Fully Booked sends over via e-mail. They're all there.

Apparently, doing notes and keeping records of my transactions that way make me feel at ease.

This was actually the first time I bought a TGCF book when it's already available for delivery. I usually get them on pre-order basis. The delay was because I had to take a longer time to save money this time. Attending school now takes a huge fraction from my allowance. I forgot to consider the changes in the ETA so I was so surprised when the book arrived at my doorstep four days after my purchase when it usually took me 2-3 months of waiting for the other books.

The baby got home!

Well, now, I only need to get the 8th Book so I can graduate from the economical burdens this book series subjects me to (except that I still have to collect the hard copies of Erha, Yuwu and Bing an Ben), haha!

Someone, at some point in time, said and a lot of people, later, believed and proved that "money can't buy happiness" but happiness is subjective — it's a unique human experience. Those people might have been romantics who only saw happiness in abstract, unattainable ideas of love and friendship and honor and fame, and all things painted as profound in archaic books. Such things are intangible in the first place. I'm different. My happiness is an amalgamation of material and metaphysical things. I don't need to acquire all of them. It's just that there are those that should be placed on top of another. Books can't equate to my family but they, too, make me happy.

To debunk that popular notion, money does buy me a type of happiness. It's happiness, nonetheless.