Wishlist for the Big Three-Oh

I'm not sure why I avoided making a birthday wishlist this year. Maybe it's that small desire for little surprises here and there, which would be of much delight for someone like me.

But then again, a wishlist would simplify things, and is more practical and useful. Plus my sister requested it. So here goes:

1. A 13" MacBook Pro --- probably not gonna happen. But a 30-year-old man can only wish.
   
   

   

   Image from technologytattle.blogspot.com

   
   
2. A better smartphone --- the one I currently use is a Samsung Galaxy Mini, which has horrible internal memory, I can't do most of the stuff I wanted to do with it. I can't have Facebook installed without the internal memory running out. The same goes with Twitter and Instagram. It used to work well with those apps, but the current updated versions of those important apps freeze the phone and eat up all the internal memory, so I had no other choice but to uninstall all those apps in order to keep the phone working. Now it's only good for calling, and text messaging. In terms of a smartphone: useless.
   
   

   

   My almost useless smartphone, the (old) Galaxy Mini. Image courtesy of theunlockr.com

   
   
3. A speedlight flash that works off-camera with the Nikon D60 --- examples are the Nissin Di622 and the Nikon SB-700. Of course, the Nikon would be the best choice for me. The ability to do off-camera flash photography is very important for my photographic explorations, so this is why it's in the top 3 of my wishlist this year.
   
   

   

   Nikon SB-700 photo courtesy of kenrockwell.com

   
   

   

   Nissin Di622 photo courtesy of amazon.com

   
   
4. Custom-made dress shoes ---  I have abnormally wide feet, so most of my office/dress shoes are too long at the toes, and I often bang them or trip on them while walking up stairs.

   

   Shoes like this one would wear at the tip in no time. Photo from slaters.co.uk

   
   
5. A manual transmission gear knob --- something that fits in the color scheme of the interior of my current car (silver or dark grey). The current gear knob in my car is standard Proton issue... the rubber parts are breaking down due to the intense heat I suppose.
   

   

   An example of a gear knob for those of you who might not know. Image from rimmerbros.co.uk

   
   
6. A better (more updated) DSLR --- like the Nikon D7000. Not so high in the list because my D60 still works fine, but I could really use the better low-light performance and the bigger resolution.
   

   

   This camera would work with non AF-S lenses too. Image from mynikonlife.com.au

   
   
7. Anything that would help with my doing my job as a lecturer. Examples:
   - A batch of red pens
   - A presentation slide remote control
   - A small but durable pendrive
   - An iPad (yeah right!)
   
8. Equipment for working out at the gym, especially those that help prevent injuries, like:
   - weightlifting gloves with wrist support
   - ankle and/or knee supports
   
   Prior injuries in my left ankle and my right wrist have made weight-training and running on treadmills almost unbearably painful, which in turn causes me to dread going to the gym even though I really need to work out.
   
9. A nice dinner out with good company --- yeah, I'm running short on those.

Or anything nice, simple and thoughtful.

Here's to a hopeful thirtieth year.

-IHSAN KHAIRIR-
16 Feb 2013