Let's Join Idol Exclusive

Have you heard of Idol Exclusive? if you are an Idol fan like me, you would be happy to know that this is a full-fledged social portal for all things Idol. Ya, I know how it can be when you talk about the Idols with non-idol fans so on Idol Exclusive, you will have the chance to chat about the Idols, the show, the judges and everything in between not only for American Idol but also for Idol shows from around the world.

Idol Exclusive provides blog space and a discussion board for its members plus you get to feast your eyes on photos and videos of idols and their fans.

When I was writing about Malaysian Idol on this blog, people were asking me, "Idol again? Aren't you bored??" Although this is my blog, I respect my readers. Now that I know of Idol Exclusive, I will be moving my idol talk to that site where everyone's opinion the idols would be welcomed!

Happy Halloween!!!

Today, 31st October, is when the majority of the Western world celebrates what is known as Halloween, or Night of the Witches. What is there to celebrate about, I don't know. To cut the long story short, Halloween is like the Seventh Moon 14th Day of the Chinese Lunar Calendar where spirits from the netherworld roam free.

Although the difference for Chinese is that this happens for the entire Seventh month but the peak is on the fourteenth and the climax on the last day of the Seventh month.

Funnily enough, on Halloween's everyone in the West who is celebrating Halloween would be wearing ghostly suits. Do you know why? This is so that they could "blend in" with the spirits wor... YERRR who wants to BLEND IN with them??? Crazy meh??

Can you imagine what would happen here in Malaysia if for the whole of Seventh month we wear these ghostly suits to try to blend in with the free roaming spirits so that they would think that we are also one of them Geli!

Scare Yourself On Halloween!

Do you believe in ghosts, or spirits? I do and I try not to mess with them so that they will not mess with me! However, on Halloween's there are people who purposely seek out ghostly spots to tempt these spirits. There are people who purposely book rooms in haunted hotels just to experience the eeriness. I dare not do it, do you?

If you are like also a chicken like me and yet curious to know where are these haunted hotels and what sort of spirits occupy them, then head over to AllStays.com which has a list of haunted hotels and their ghostly stories all over America and the United Kingdom.

Perhaps after reading these stories and contributions from people who actually stayed at these haunted hotels, you may want to stay and experience it yourself? What better day to scare yourself shitless than on Halloween night?? hehehe

When Is The Right Time?

Yesterday I was browsing some dating site and I saw this poll which asked people's opinion on when is the right time to begin having sex in a new relationship. I find it amusing that the majority of the votes went to "When in love". I guess that people are always falling in and out of love so does that mean that they are going to do it with all their boy/girlfriends? I think that's what's happening.

I also found it very amusing that the other options were "One month" and "Third date". Why not "Second month" or "third year" haha! Wonder what rationale that made them come up with this!

Do note that the majority of the replies were from Americans who are more open minded about sex. They treat it as if they are changing clothes. One day few times. Do you think guys would appreciate it? No, man. They get bored and they move on. The only "loser" would be the girl.

If you are curious of what I selected, it's "Once married". Don't kill me, you're lucky I didn't say "Next life!"

Download Beautiful House Plans

Did you know that in America, to own a new house, you would need to buy a piece of land and then build your own house on it? It's a very costly affair. When my sister decided to buy her own house, she bought a piece of land and decided not to buy a house plan. She shared the plan and the cost with a neighbor, hence saving them both some money. My sister made a few changes to the plan so as not to have two houses looking the same, though!

If she had known of House Plans And More, a website that allows people to download house plans then she did not have to share the plan. When you visit this site, you will be amazed at the number of house plans available. If you are looking for Log Cabin House Plans this is the place to be.

Their prices are also very reasonable and if you are afraid that your home would look exactly like another home owner's then you can modify your English Cottage House Plans, if this is the design that you have been looking for.

It is so easy to purchase your house plans from here. I tried looking through them and there is such a vast selection on the site, yet it is very easy to navigate through the site.

Not only will you be able to purchase plans for small family homes but Small Ranch House Plans are easily available too. I think that it would costs a lot of money if we get an architect to draw up these plans!

Christmas In Orlando

My friend, Markus, wrote to me to tell me that he'll be spending Christmas at his grandparents' home in Marco Island, Florida. He told me that he will not be home so as I don't send him any Christmas package and there will be no one to pick it up.

Markus said that he will as usual try to get Disney World Tickets as early as possible. These are hot properties especially during the holiday season and Christmas is the peak season in Orlando.

Well, I don't relish being trapped in a crowd like that but if I have a full day pass that does not require me to waste time queuing up, then I don't mind going! hah... I'm talking as if I am the one who will be going but the operative word here is IF!

No Mood Already

This morning, I was checking various sites that shows our current Page Rank since I read that the toolbar may not be accurate. So the read that I got for this blog is a three though the toolbar says it's a two. That is a lot of difference you know?

BUT then when I checked another blog of mine which is was a three, and dropped to two and then one, the SEO site shows that it's STILL a three but when I checked the custom URL trends, it's now showing less than 1. HOW CAN??????

I mean, how can it continue to drop? Is it because somebody's keeping track and see that I still have links on my site? Si beh tulan already!

Also, my Nokia's not giving me an email sound alert anymore AGAIN! Haihh.. that means time to reset it, AGAIN! I hope that Nokia comes up with an improved firmware soon! GGGrrrrrrrr

Digging Out My Shortwave Radio

So, I've got a whole lot of free time on my hands and I don't feel like doing anything with my blogs yet. I thought that I would play some games (last night) but then I really have had my share of computer overdose and it needs a little rest as well. My little baby has been working non-stop for the past year as well.

So I dug out my shortwave radio, actually didn't dig but it was sitting at the corner of my desk covered with dust, untouched for the past year and a half. Thankfully, it's still working but I have lost touch with all the stations and their frequency.

I don't have any shortwave directory anymore as I sold all of them. I only have the 2007 copy with me which I am giving my friend, so I didn't want to use it. Anyway, the good thing is that the winter schedules are out and I will be getting some of them in the mail.... if not, I can depend on the internet!

Vintage Candy For Children

Do you like candy? Have you thought of running your own little candy stand? I did. Frankly, I only wanted it just so that I could dip my hands into the candy box whole day long without having to pay!

Yesterday, someone pointed out an online store to me which sells candy. This store is like a wholesale candy store where they sell candy in bulk by the pound but they also sell in smaller quantities but not retail.

If you check the store, you can find lots of rare or vintage candy that is not easy to find locally. I don't even recognize some of the candy names! I think that buying vintage bulk candy would save us a lot of money but then it may not practical to have so much candy unless we are going to resell them or give them away during children's parties or Children's Day. My own "Children's Day" seem ages ago but I remember how happy we all were to have one candy per student.

So if you are a parent with young children and need to contribute something to the class, vintage bulk candy would do the trick!

Radio Silence

Today marks one month since that bastard has kept quiet and not contacted me. Oh well, with so much work to do and so much shit happened this past week, I don't even feel anything anymore. So, he thinks that he's superior to me or something. Who cares lah? I need to get my own life into shape first. I don't need to take shit from people who don't play a prominent role in my life.

Oh yeah, and I believe that two can play the game. This is not the first time that it has happened but I forgave him. This time, it won't be this easy. But I am damn proud that I managed to not contact him at all for one month. Why should I mend the rift when he was the one who caused it?

It just doesn't seem fair but then I expected no less from life.

Bibubibubibubibubibu

Last evening, I sent an SMS text to my friend with the message "Bibubibubibubibubibu" hence the title of this post. So he replied and asked me what did I swallow? Why is there the siren of an ambulance?

Hahaha do you know what I told him? I said that it's the ambulance from TR. That was so funny! Yes, it was a joke. I am depressed with the PR demotion but I checked some places and it shows a Page Rank of THREE for this blog and "only" a couple of blogs went down.

I think that it's not so much a penalization by Goog. but our own PR leakage that caused the demotion. After one year of abusing my blogs, this is not a surprise. I don't know, all I know is what I see on my toolbar. I wish blogging is so much easier.

Somebody, please cheer me up!

Boosting Sales With Mailing Lists

To boost sales for our company, I suggested that we should buy a targeted mailing list. The sad thing is that my company is quite out of date. They do not believe that mailing list would help or that new media advertising would make a difference. They think that nobody reads blogs, nobody will open an email from an unknown company.

They don't understand at all. I had to explain to them that for targeted marketing, we are offering our product and service to people who have shown interest in a similar product or service hence we target them.

This is the specialty of Martin Worldwide which compiles mailing lists after mailing lists of specific demographics. When we buy mailing lists from Martin Worldwide we can specify our requirements and Martin Worldwide will try to match us with the best list that matches our business.

I personally think that this is a great idea but so far, my company is not sold to the idea yet.

Tough Days Ahead Financially?

Well, I don't know about you but I am still hopeful. So YouTube may have rebounded but as long as blogs of friends remain -1 despite not having a single paid link in post or on the sidebar,then I am still hopeful. However, I am rather afraid to go back to a life without an extra income. An income that I work hard for and expenditure that I could control.

Sure it's not the end of the world and life doesn't just revolve around paid posts, blogs and page rank but if you have been in my situation before, you too would develop a fear. Fear of living in debt, of not knowing where your next meal comes from, of having to ask for a loan, of losing your job, of an emergency coming up unannounced, etc.

I feel that it is now the time to diversify but then I hope that I'll be able to find the time and at the same time, hope that blog opportunities would still be abundant for me.

Need Hair Cut

You wouldn't believe if I told you when my last hair cut was. I think it was around Chinese New Year this year. Yeah, I know, I'm terrible. It was so long ago that I don't even remember when it was already or how much it cost for a simple cut only. I think it was RM15. Cheap? My friend got a haircut around the same time I did and it was almost RM50. I nearly fainted because she was only a student!

Just now I read that a blogger needs CAD$100 to get a haircut. Wow.... if I were to live in Canada, I don't think I ever will set into a salon! But this doesn't mean that I won't cut my hair. I'd do it myself like how I did for a few years.

My sister works at a place that has a hairdressing salon and sometimes they have specialist hairdressers come in. My sister, as a staff is eligible for staff price so she went to get one but she said that this so-called specialist cut her hair like normal, nothing special at all. Then why charge so much??

My hair is all out of style now but I won't be getting a cut so soon. Until I cannot stand my mom's nagging first lah!

Last-Ditch Effort To Lose Weight

My friend, the little hippo, told me that he is on the verge of giving up losing weight. He KNOWS that it is detrimental to his health but it's a lot of work to get the weight off. Did you know that he is so big-sized that no insurance company would accept his policy because his risk is extremely high? He subsequently found a company that would accept him but only after a long and tiring search and that also comes with a high premium!

He said that in his last-ditch effort, he will be making an appointment for a Lap band surgery. According to him, this is a non invasive surgery that could be performed in an outpatient clinic and there is no necessity to be warded in a hospital because the risk is so low and the recovery is expected to be fast since it is not a complicated procedure.

As his friend, of course I do support his efforts and pray that it would give him the desired results. Right now, he does not have a date yet though. I can't wait to see the new him!

Circuit Conflict

You know, after a few months of suffering from electricity tripping in our house, I finally found the problem spot AFTER buying the two UPS. Two because we have two sets of computers. Dang... RM300 gone but problem solved, thankfully. It was driving me up the wall and I was losing my work. I was also worried that my hard disk would conk out but thankfully, after much checking, which the electrician asked us to do, I found that the problem actually stemmed from the wall power plug that I use for my computer.

Somehow, while we were all along using a three point plug and then two extensions without an issue, suddenly the wall plug could no longer support the two extensions. OR it could be one of the extensions that is problematic.

In any case, the problem is now solved although I don't exactly know where the problem lies in. I am just so glad that I can continue to work without interruption!

London Plans

Jasmine, my cousin, told me that after a number of years living in London, she is now confident of taking me around like a tour guide if I were to visit her. Well, I would need to arrange for cheap accommodation in London first and that would have to depend on my work schedule. When would I be able to get away? I have tried to ask my superior but he was not able to give me a reply. Christmas is just round the corner and we would have to get work out of the way before the long holidays.

Anyway, Jasmine said that I would have to make reservations for London accommodation as early as possible before the holidays as Christmas would be a peak season for tourists and holiday makers. That is the best time to be in London!

If you have thought that London is an expensive city like the impression that I have, Jasmine told me that there are many free entertainment that is open to everyone. Can you imagine going to concerts, comedy shows, cinema, skating and live music shows all for free? Yes, surprisingly these are all possible in "expensive" London City. You will need to know the schedules though!

Perhaps, with all the free entertainment, Jasmine and I could fly to Manchester too. We hope to be able get one of the cheap Manchester hotels and flights!

Where Do You Want To Go?

If you have the choice to go on a vacation right now without worrying about the cost or other things that you are responsible for or committed to here, where do you want to go?

This question was asked by a friend of mine who knows that I love to travel but just cannot pull myself away because my sense of responsibility is too strong.

Well, honestly, I used to dream about going to Monte Carlo but then lately, I have found so much information on Maui and Kauai Vacation Rentals, for example, and other information on Hawaii that it looks like the best place to get away to!

Just this morning, I found a few Kona vacation rentals that look so breathtaking that put me into daydream mode instantly that I feel that I should no longer read that Kona Travel Blog unless I really have plans to go and not delay further.

So if my friend were to ask me the same question now, I would say that Hawaii is at the top of my list right now!

Funny Henry

My friend, Henry, is so funny. I am sure you read that Henry has booked a holiday to Hawaii this December. This morning, he gave me a call and told me that he just read the Hawaii Travel Blog which I sent the link to him last evening to ask him to check it out for further information.

He told me that he is now thinking if he should have booked a Hawaii beach house instead!

How would I know, I said. Go ask your wife! And I thought that he already paid for his rooms? If so, that would be too late to change. How I wish that I did not ask him to read the blog to obtain more Kauai Travel Info! What I did was only make him more confused. Haha!

And since he is harassing me incessantly about his indecisions on his trip, his first to Hawaii, I think he owes me a souvenir!!

Are You Still Hopeful?

How many days has it been already since our page ranks dropped? Yes, I am still going on and on about this topic. I can't help it, so shoot me!

I see that last night, YouTube went back to its 8 from the lowly 3 and this morning, I see some of my friends' blogs increased by one rank, still not to their original rank. But then ranks were given to us, ranks were taken away. We shouldn't be this affected, I know. If not for the potential damage to my blog revenue, I would not even be concerned at all.

Anyway, I am still hopeful. That's because I see some blogs that do not sell any links at all, in post or sidebar links, and yet they went down by one rank. I guess these bloggers don't even know about PR or that it went down. Haha!

Still keeping my fingers AND TOES crossed here!!!

Comparing Bad Credit Offers

Speaking from experience, when we are financially tight, we normally feel as if bad credit offers are our lifelines and grab at them every chance we have. However, if we do not shop for bad credit loans wisely, it could hurt us even further financially.

Bad Credit Offers is a resources website that helps us to understand the different bad credit loans that are being offered by various lenders. Yet, it helps us to compare then and allows us to check carefully and properly for the one that meets our requirements the most.

When we have a bad credit history, it is not the end of the world. There would still be companies that are interested in getting our business, giving us auto, home and personal loans, as you can see from the website of Bad Credit Offers. However, you will have to ask yourself if you can commit yourself to their terms. It is therefore very important to know beforehand the terms of the bad credit loan and if you can meet them.

My Dream Holiday

Some of you may know that I have a friend who migrated to Gold Coast. Well, he went to pursue his tertiary education there but he later bought a home in Brisbane for its proximity to his office.

According to Warren, Gold Coast is the top Australian vacation spot and the most famous are the theme parks like Warner Bros Movieworld, WetnWild Water World, Sea World and Dream World. Warren told me that I must not give Gold Coast a miss should I go to Australia for a holiday. Gold Coast accommodation will never be a problem because there are just so many hotels there to suit any traveler and her budget. The same goes for hotels in Brisbane.

And of course, a trip to Australia will not be meaningful without visiting him in Brisbane. I know that my Brisbane accommodation will be taken care of but what I really would like to is to have a real holiday there with him as my tour guide, taking me to visit the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary or go up to Mt. Coot-tha to get a breathtaking view of the city from the top. That would be an awesome!

Last Minute Tickets

Do you know why I never bother go watch any big events like concerts and sports? That is because after a few bad experiences, I have practically given up on getting good tickets to these main events. Frankly, sometimes, I don't expect them to be hot sellers and there were times that I could not confirm my schedule that was why I only managed to get the tickets at the last minute, though they were never tickets for seats that I wanted.

My sister told me that this is not a problem in the United States. With a ticket broker like Premium Seats USA that would be able to get her the best seats even at the last minute. I remember my friend, Markus, telling me the same thing, that he managed to obtain a pair of hard to get Miami Heat tickets at the last minute when he was in the United States for a holiday and his flight was delayed.

If only there is a company like this, it would be great, and I would get to attend more concerts and shows!

Has The Dust Settled Yet?

I don't know, I am still holding on to the hope that my PR will somehow go higher, just one more rank to a three. See, I'm not being greedy. As long as YouTube stands at 3, I will continue to hope. Hey, a 3 and a 2 may not make such a difference to some people but it makes a lot of difference TO ME.

But then if you are blogging for pay, there is always a price to pay and you will have to compromise something. I know that if I do not need the money, I won't be blogging as hard or sacrifice sleep over a dollar or two.

Now that I have killed my blogs with a full year of abuse, I hope that the saying about a door closing and TWO windows opening will hold true. I know that I will have fewer opportunities to blog for pay now. It's quite sad to be segmented out of opportunities once again. However, perhaps it will free up some of my time to allow me to look for other avenues to monetize my sites.

I do have a few things to do with my blogs but just never got around to it. Perhaps this is the chance for me to branch out.

The Many Different Hawaiian Vacation Packages

I know that a lot of people would like to go to Hawaii for vacation. This was told to me by a friend of mine who owns a travel agency. According to him, nowadays, travelers and holiday makers are a whole lot smarter than the previous generation who just pay money and go on whatever travel package that the travel agency has.

Now, people go to his office with Oahu Vacation Info for example, and he doesn't even have those information himself!

I told him that he should keep himself updated by reading a Kauai Travel Blog that I discovered not to long ago. From there, he would be able to obtain any and all information on Hawaii and Hawaii home rentals that he may be able to offer to his clients.

With so many different packages, I am sure his business will improve as well. If he takes my advice and his business improves, I wonder if he would give me free trips to Hawaii! Haha! Is that wishful thinking or what?

A Trip To Hawaii

My friend Henry, who has plans to go to Hawaii for a vacation this December with his family, is all excited about his trip and making thorough plans so as not to waste time thinking of What to Do in Kauai when he finally lands on Hawaiian soil. I know that he is excited and am happy to share in his excitement but I can't say that I am not a tinge jealous of his impending trip!

With so many problems all around me in the home front and at work, I can't help but wish that I am the one going on this trip. Yes, I read all about the beauty of Hawaii on a Kauai Travel Blog but with so many financial commitments I am not sure I could afford on of those Kauai vacation rentals.

Henry mentioned that it's not THAT expensive, but still, I would like to be sure that the bills are taken care of first before going off like that. But I believe that when there is a will, there is a way and I could surely visit Hawaii one day!

Sandals For All Lifestyles

I think most of us like to go barefooted at home but my sister has this habit of wearing shoes at home after she moved to the United States. She told me that although her friends would normally wear sneakers, she prefers to wear sandals. AT HOME!

In the Summer, she bought a couple of pairs of reef sandals online, the kind that is very popular this year According to my sister, even sandals follow trends and seasons. Active Sandals, which has an online store at http://www.active-sandals.com/, has a new selection of men's and women's sandals for fall. I don't remember the designs of the summer selection anymore so I cannot compare them.

I really like the pair of women's reef sandals that is pink in color where proceeds from the sale of these will go towards the support of Boarding for Breast Cancer. October is breast cancer awareness month, by the way. And it is only $46 per pair!

If pink is not your favorite color, then fret not. Believe it when they say that Active Sandals is the largest sandal retailer in the world, online or offline! With so many different fashions, designs, brand names and colors, don't tell me there is nothing that meets your taste?

A Few Random Pissy Things

Spent the whole morning battling spam comments on my WordPress blogs. Over 600 of them. I won't even bother normally, except that I know legit comments are being trapped there despite DE-SPAMMING numerous times! Bah!

Then my WordPress blog, dunno what's wrong I cannot log out of my a/c. PISSSSSed

I can't log into my Consilient since last night. Don't know what is wrong!

My Gmail still cannot support IMAP. How long already???

Where's my iPhone??? SCAM ar????

I cannot watch YouTube on my mobile. WHY????

My package from USA is lost in transit since early August. I gave up waiting!!

My purse torn...leather summore :-(

My jeans not yet wash. Put aside for one month already lalalala

My friend SMS-ed me yesterday morning, I didn't reply. He then called me at 7pm in the evening and I did not pick up the phone. That just shows you how pissed off I am with everything and I am sorry it had to happen to him.

OK, that's all the pissy things that I can think of this morning :( :( :( :(

On another note, I want to give a shout out to my battered comrades: 5xmom, Amy and Doris. And to Samm too, though she is no where "battered". Haha! Stay strong everybody!

Book Early

Although the year end school holidays are still two months away, many of friends are already making plans for a family vacation. When I question their early plans they told me that they have to do it early or the hotels in popular holiday destinations will be fully booked.

Also, by making early reservations to Florida, a friend of mine was able to get Orlando Hotel Discounts, a hefty percentage off published rates. He told me that it's a whole lot cheaper than booking directly with the hotel. Since he made reservations through an agent, he managed to obtain wholesale rates, not only for the rooms but also on theme park tickets.

I always think that accommodation eats into our holiday budget so any savings like this is always welcome. My friend also told me that I should book early online if I want a hotel with good rates that is near to Disney World.

I don't know, which so much problems happening lately, I really feel that I deserve a break but I just can't without feeling guilty.

Consolidating

Today is the morning I was supposed to go to the computer store to queue up to grab one of those 20 units of LG L196WTQ 19" LCD Monitor. But then after all the fiasco these few days, I decided to consolidate my funds. I don't really NEED it anyway, because my Samsung 17" CRT monitor is still not even two years old yet.

And I still remember how I was forced to carry the darn thing, all 17kg of it, down four floors last year on my sister's birthday. Ugh....

So yeah, I am back in the game of living frugally. Let's see how things go next month. There's always the PC Fair this December if I should still want it. And I am going to forget about the 2G memory card for my mobile device which my friend was supposed to get it for me from LowYat Plaza like three months ago(!) and I am going to take up the offer of a loan of his digital camera. It's time to get back to work sans laptop.

Will I stop blogging? Hell, no. In fact, I will be reviving my passion blogs and if I have the time, revamp my existing blogs.

Pray for me :-)

Cheap Van Insurance In The UK

My friend, Tuck, has a commercial van which he uses to collect fruits from orchards and send them to fruit stalls to be sold. You can say that he's a middleman. The other day, he told me that he just spent a tiny fortune on his road tax and insurance.

Well, I have always thought that insurance here is expensive. It's a different story in the UK, though. Check out cheap van insurance UK that is being offered by Autonet. They do make sure that although a van is used for commercial purposes, they could still help to determine if buying insurance for transportation of light goods is sufficient, hence saving the owner some money.

While my friend only has two options; third party or comprehensive insurance covers, Autonet, through their commercial van insurance arm, Vannet, also offers Fire, Theft and Third Party three-in-one insurance coverage.

The good thing about Vannet is that one could request for a commercial van insurance quote online and compare with other insurance providers. Vannet guarantees that the have the lowest rate by refunding your money if you found cheaper commercial van insurance elsewhere. And this is the assurance that commercial van owners need!

The More I Sleep

Have you ever wondered why the more you sleep the sleepier you become? This seems to be the case with me. Worse is if I sleep in a wrong position and ended up putting excessive weight on my arm or shoulder. And then I will wake up with an ache that wasn't there prior.

I remember writing about not taking so many naps this month so that I could catch up with the rest but I ended up not following through my resolution and then I complain hahaha Yes, I know my weakness but I can’t help it heee

Next month, with the lower PR I guess I will have to work even harder at blogging. Luckily it's something I enjoy doing. And be more focused on my REAL life job *sigh*

What Promotional Items?

My girlfriend consulted me on ways to promote her online store. As you know, her store is not doing too well and languishing in sales. Of course it did not help matters with half the internet population in Malaysia gone for Hari Raya and also Deepavali. Speaking from experience, traffic will drop significantly when there are long stretches of holidays.

Although I am no expert when it comes to marketing, I told her that I Know what I would like to receive: t-shirts, custom pens, key chains, notepads and things that I could use everyday. As a user, I won't mind the logo or slogan and as a marketer, I would be happy to have my name out and able to keep reminding the user of my store.

I personally feel that it's benefit for both giver and receiver. I am sure you also look forward to freebies. What products would you like, normally?

Start Your Shopping At ShopWiki

A couple of days ago, a friend told me that her toddler has learning difficulties. I met him before but I never noticed that. I guess my friend has bought him many books, toys and games for learning and painstakingly helped him mental and speech development. My friend also read that music would beneficial to him and she has bought music especially for kids just for him.

She told me that luckily with all these effort, there is improvement in her son. No wonder I didn't notice anything unusual with him.

According to my friend, she has to buy these toddler educational items from various websites because they are not available locally and one of the best places to check the items out is at ShopWiki where we can find anything that are sold by online merchants all in one portal with user reviews and price comparison too! Shopping through ShopWiki will surely help us safe a lot of money!

Waiting Waiting Waiting

I probably should stay away from blogging so as not to go crazy over seeing how the ranks of my blogs have dropped yet AGAIN. That's right, it went down again this morning and what could I do but wait it out. Hopefully by the time it settles, my rank will go back to its original position even though it is not high but it does make a lot of difference.

Oft times, this past couple of days, I see some posts that I know would fit another blog better but then it no longer qualifies and it hurts me because I would prefer to keep to my core theme and not throw different topics in my blog.

And I also spent a lifetime for the blardy IMAP support option to appear on my Gmail account. What's taking it so long? The feature appeared in my account, the one that I am not retrieving from my phone.

Ughh what a rough week it has been. I so need a break leh.... My friend asked me to go to Cameron Highlands. What's interesting up there wor??

113-Storey Stratospher Hotel

When my friend found out that I was invited to Vegas but turned it down, she said that I am stupid to turn down an opportunity to get away. Well, Warren said that I am smart not to go especially not at my own expense!

Oh well, it's not as if I could get away with all the time constraints, financial strain and work responsibility. But to be honest, it is really tempting to go away and to Vegas of all places.

She showed me a photo of her taken in front of the Stratosphere Las Vegas. Can you imaging how tall that hotel building is? All 113 stories! How tall are the Petronas Twin Towers already?

I wish she never showed me that photo. Now I sort of regret that I turned my invitation down. *sigh*

Buying Only The Best

Last month, my aunt's washing machine broke down and was beyond economic repair. She said it's better to replace it entirely and asked her son to buy one as he seems to be well-versed in home electrical appliances but my aunt wanted only Bosch because she does not have faith in other brand names.

My cousin went and bought the most expensive unit from the Bosch Washing Machines on display.

So I questioned if he bought it because it is the most expensive unit hence comes with all features and making it the "best"? He told me that he read user reviews on the internet and they all said that the model is good.

Oh, well, I thought that he would at least buy a mid-range unit to help his mom save some money!

A Visit To Edinburgh

Although some people may tease the Scots for wearing skirts (kilts), Scotland is actually a culturally rich country. Just look at their great architecture in those old castles and the many festivities held throughout the year. This was told to me buy a friend of mine, John, who migrated to Ireland last year, and recently had the opportunity to visit Edinburgh in Scotland.

John said that there are many types of accommodation in Edinburgh from modern hotels to rooms in old castles.but he settled for one of the cheap hotels in Edinburgh as he was on a tight budget.

John said that instead of splurging on hotels in Edinburgh, he bought an Edinburgh pass, he was able to enter to over thirty attractions for free and received great offers on certain promotions.

He also took the opportunity to join the crowd to watch the Edinburgh military tattoo. He was interested in this as he also watched the one that was held in Kuala Lumpur recently and he was able to compare their standards.

John said that he would be going over to visit more places of Scotland soon or perhaps visit more Edinburgh festivals.

Ringgit Continues To Strengthen

Whoops, more bad news. The Ringgit continues to strengthen to a 9 - 10 year high. Sometimes I wonder, is the Ringgit really strengthening as claimed by the central bank or is the US Dollar weakening? In any case, all I know is that what we will be getting gets lesser and lesser.

I just did a rough calculation, USD1000 will only get us MYR3300 + 1% (MYR33). I don't really know how much this translates to per USD because I don't have a calculator here and I would need it and pen and paper to get the figure out. Hah!

With the lower PR, lower earning potential of the blogs, rising living cost and other commitments, it will be a tougher year ahead in 2008. Yes, I am ever the pessimist until I DO otherwise then I will think positive.

Anyway, I can’t really concentrate on writing this post because I just woke up *yawn* It’s funny that I almost forgot what I wanted to write about after blog hopping! Back to dreamland ZZZZzzz

Homeowners' Headache

Have you heard that interest rates have risen AGAIN? This is going to have an impact on homeowners who have a variable interest mortgage. At times like these, I am glad that I am not responsible for any mortgage but at the same time, quite sad that it means that I do not own a house under my name.

I guess I can't have my cake and eat it! I wonder how many lucky people are rich enough to buy their homes with cash without having to take out a mortgage. However, in Malaysia, if someone does that, the IRS will be knocking at their door so people usually will take out a loan even if they have enough money to buy something as expensive as a house in cash.

I am sure you know, my sister committed herself to a thirty year mortgage while some of my friends took out bad credit mortgages just so they could buy their home. It sure sounds scary to me. It's the long term commitment that puts me off from buying my own home. However, I may change my mind one day!

Finally Got It Charged

A couple of days ago, I tried to charge my new KOSS UPS but since I do not see the light or any indication that it is being charged, I called up the shop and the guy told me to wait for a few hours to see if there is a blinking light. Half a day went by and still no light. By then the shop has already closed and in the morning, I did not have the time to call them up again to ask.

I only managed to call then during lunch time and this guy told me to press the button for a few seconds until I hear a TEEEEEEEEEEEEEETTTT sound the only let go. Aiyoh.... say so earlier la, dammit! The manual also did not mention anything like that!

Made me waste one whole day as I had to give it a full charge "again" and it took another ten hours. I know this is a user-problem but then should have at least mentioned it in the manual, right?? They can’t expect everyone to know something like this ma!

Where to Buy Law Enforcers Gear

Have you wondered before where do policemen and other law enforcers buy their uniforms and gears? I came across an online store that sells everything and anything that law enforcers require from uniforms to weapons to footwear and accessories for men and women.

So now I know where they can buy these! One of the popular brands is called 5.11 Tactical. This is the first time I heard of it but it is possible that it is like Gucci of military gear.

I am going to ask a few of my friends who are police personnel and see if they know of this brand name! And maybe they will find something suitable from this store too!

My Sister So Dumb

You know, few days ago, she told me that she cannot send out email because she cannot find the COMPOSE button. She is using Hotmail which I also am using but I get all my email from Outlook Express and don't log into my web based Hotmail account because I don't have to.

I told her that it's there and she just has to look more carefully. Then today, again she says that she cannot find it. So I logged into my account and let her know that COMPOSE is NEW lah. Aiyoh.

I remember pointing it out to her some months back but she has forgotten, I guess. Now, same question. If she really could not find it, she could simply select one email, click REPLY and change the email address of the recipient, right?

I asked her why she does not use Outlook Express to retrieve, read and compose her Hotmail, she said, "I am using Internet Explorer." Aiyoh... these two are not one and the same also. Doh!!

Voodoo Tiki Tequila

I know of a few guy friends who never fail to get-together to have a drink every chance they have. I am not sure if they know that Voodoo Tiki Tequila is the new Vodka. That's what I read earlier today.

I went to the Voodoo Tiki Tequila website and was surprise that they have a Tequila University. It would be interesting to get a real certificate from there!

The uniqueness about Voodoo Tiki Tequila is that they come in handmade bottles that are inscribed with a "magic word". When you register your bottle online, you will have to quote the magic word so that their internal tracking will know which bottle has been registered.

What a fun concept isn't, it?

Holding My Fire

Today, one guy made me so damn mad at work that I really wanted to shoot a long email to him to FFFffffff him. But I read somewhere that if we have nothing good to say then we should not say anything at all.

The problem is that this guy did not read instructions properly and messed up an issue and now I have to be the one who right it. i hate picking up after people especially when it is a problem that was caused due to plain stupidity. I think more often than not, people are sleeping on their jobs or something and created extra work for others. I really was so angry but I held my tongue and my breath and counted to ten. I am going to wait till I have calmed down first before replying him in a civil way.

The advantage of communicating via email is that unlike a face to face encounter, we get to collect our thoughts and compose our emotions before putting words to text. We can't do this if we are talking face to face because our anger will show in our face and voice.

When I left the office, I was still very angry. I'll only attend to him tomorrow. GGGGGgggrrrrrr

Compare Your Bad Credit Offers

It comes as no surprise that many of my friends and family members, including myself, are in debt one way or another. Most of us had to take out car or home loans. We are sometimes forced into such circumstances like we need a car to get to work to pay off our bills. And at the same time, with a car loan, we have incurred more expenses. We just can't escape, I guess.

Some of us, on the other hand, are in deep financial trouble no thanks to the ease of applying for credit cards which was approved to us even when we cannot support so many credit cards on a single pay check. And we sometimes wonder why our application is approved when we already have a handful of credit cards to our name!

Having all these loans and struggling to repay them make it difficult for us to get more loans. This is good, of course, but sometimes we require more loans. This is why there is something called bad credit offers! Offers like these are for people with bad credit and are not able to get more credit. Bad credit offers come with interest rates that are a little higher.

Therefore, we need to check and compare these offers first before committing ourselves to yet another loan!

Why "NO" To Old Folks' Home

If you have read one of my previous posts, the new owners of the home opposite of mine have applied to the municipal council for a licence to run an old folks home in the house.

Because the house is rather large, it's a detached house, they are going to name it "Premier Old Folks' Home" ad charging RM750 per person. These old folks get to enjoy cable TV, air-conditioning, assistance from three Indonesian maids and of course, meals. Do you think this is worth it? Before they bought the house, it was being rented out at RM750 per month only. And now they are charging each inmate this price. Hah!

Anyway, some neighbours have rallied to sign a petition to protest against the setting up of an old folks' home here. No, we are not against old folks but we are not going to let the value of our property fall. With so many strangers coming to visit these inmates, it would suddenly be a very busy neighbourhood with cars parked every available spot.

And then our security will be compromised because there will always be somebody who would "check the place out". Already we are not feeling very secure here what with the three break-in attempts at my house in the past few years. So no, we do not need more strangers. Thank you very much!

Magic Loans Online

A friend who has lived in the UK for years told me that banks are very strict with their loans. They make stringent checks to ensure that borrowers could really repay their UK Home Loans and other types of loans.
However, you can now apply for a secured loan online via Magic Loans. You will have to pledge your property against this loan and depending on the amount of your loan your repayment schedule can run from three to thirty years.

It is all very simple and luckily there is a footer note at the bottom of the homepage that reminds us that pledging our property against a loan, which is called secured loan, is serious and we may lose ownership of it if we default on payment. This is something that we have to remember when we take out a loan.

If we get a secured loan through Magic Loans knowing full well the risks and consequences, then I think the ability for us to apply online is an advantage to us!

KOSS UPS

I just bought two units of KOSS UPS yesterday and sort of regret it now, even though my electricity has tripped three times yesterday morning. The darn thing is so not user-friendly. The shop told me that I have to give it a full charge before using it. A full charge would take eight to ten hours. And with two units, I had them plugged into the power point since last evening.

I say that it's not user-friendly because after I have plugged in the power and switch it on, there is absolutely no indication of whether it is charging or not. How the hell can I tell wor???

I called up the shop to ask and the salesman told me that there should be a blinking light a few hours after charging, even though it is still not fully charged yet. Right now, it is already dunno how many hours. And the light is still not showing. WTH??? The units are also cold to the touch. Not as if there had been electricity going through!

Yesterday, after I bought my UPS, I called up my friend, "EH, I bought KOSS UPS la. KOSS good ah? I never heard of it wan???" Yeah, I KNOW I should have called BEFORE buying but it's only RM149 each and I didn't have time to loiter around the store waiting for a decision.

Anyways, my friend said KOSS is an "OK" brand but when I told him that it's only RM149, he said that I should have bought a more powerful unit. SIGH!!!

How do I get the damn things to work now, powerful or not???

The Big Blue Hotel in Blackpool

A couple of posts below, I wrote about Pleasure Beach which is the NUMBER ONE theme park in Britain. Did you know that just adjacent to this theme park is the award-winning hotel, Big Blue Hotel? It was voted as Hotel of the Year at the recent Blackpool Tourism Awards which means that it is the best among all Blackpool Hotels.

Many people now love staying at the Big Blue Hotel due to its proximity to Pleasure Beach where there are almost 150 rides. Can you imagine that?

Based on user reviews, Big Blue Hotel in Blackpool has unparalleled customer service, value for money and family-orientated. I read that the rooms are very spacious and built to accommodate "American size".

I think that vacationers who are in Blackpool would be spending the better part of the day exploring the city and Pleasure Beach but it would be great to come back to this warm and friendly at the end of the day. Don't you think so?

Depressing

So bad! I was offline when Samm text me saying that Google had another update on Page Rank. It looks like it's not an update but a downgrade. Most sites have been demoted. Some even went unranked. Is that scary or what? Is this permanent? I hope it is just a glitch. Granted, Google can assign whatever rank they want to our blogs and sites but when this happens en masse, it just makes everything look like a farce.

I am praying that everything will be all right soon and this is just a bug in the system. Some people are saying that a few data centres are not reporting values and that is bringing the overall score down.

Since there is no official word on the Google blog as yet, let's just keep our fingers crossed that this is just temporary. Google should not penalize us for feeding our family in a way we know how and legally.

Pleasure Beach, Blackpool

Don't know that is the attraction about Theme Parks that make people go on rides over and over again. If you have been to Genting, you can see people from ALL ages queuing up to get tickets on one of the many rides. Hah... I personally find that a waste of time so I will buy tickets in advance. Wonder why the others do not do so as well.

Have you heard of the Pleasure Beach in Blackpool in the UK? Well, I did not until my cousin sent me pictures of her trip there a few months ago. According to Jasmine, Pleasure Beach has one of the most famous rides attracting six million people yearly. Can you imagine the crowd? Wow... I wouldn't want to get caught in it without my full day pass!

Check out the website of Pleasure Beach. They currently have an unlimited ride promotion for only GBP20. I have included some shots of the rides. Don't they just make you want to go on an exhilarating ride?

Motor Doggie

This afternoon, I was at a pet shop to buy pet food and saw the cutest thing. See this doggie that was sitting quietly on the bucket of the motorcycle that was parked outside the pet shoo. Of course, I could not resist shooting a picture. And it was so clever to pose to boot.

And this was the poodle in the cage inside the pet shop. FOR SALE! I did not ask how much, cute as this was, because I have given up on rearing pets already. I SURRENDER!!!

OK, I know the picture quality isn't perfect but it will do for now for the time being!!

P/S: I see so many cute pets all the time in town that I think I should start a blog on cute animals and their antics. But does that mean I would have to buy a better camera? I lazy to carry so many things, though!

Spanish Vacation

If you read my earlier post about my friend, Lawrence, he just sent me an email informing me that he is back from his holiday in Spain. Lawrence is based in Europe and he is trying to visit as many neighboring countries as possible before he is posted elsewhere.

Lawrence told me that due to the nature of his job and a very tight schedule, he does not even know when he will have the time for a holiday. That's why all his holidays were booked at the last minute. I asked if he would have to pay premium price for that but he said that with sites like CheaperThanHotels.com, not only does he not have to pay extra, he may even be eligible for a discount!

According to Lawrence, hotels in Barcelona start from as low as EUR19 per night and that is considered very cheap even if these are only one-star hotels. Lawrence told me that "hotels in Barcelona" is called Hoteles en Barcelona in Spanish. It was a tongue-twister to him and he was very happy that he could make reservations from an English language site!

Apart from Barcelona, Lawrence also went to Madrid. He said that hotels in Madrid are slightly more expensive but still, it was a great vacation experience for Lawrence.

Check out the photo. It was one of the places that Lawrence went to in Barcelona. I love the old architecture and hope that one day I could go there in person!

Obsessed

There is this friend of mine whom I shall not name because he reads this blog occasionally, who is obsessed with his truck. I don't know what the connection is between guys and heavy vehicles but people like him treat their big toys better than their wives.

Last week, I was invited to his home for a garden party and he purposely parked his truck outside of the garage and asked us if we noticed a difference. Of course some of us did and some did not because it is not as if we look at the truck 24/7, right?

He told the party that he installed a tonneau cover and was so proud of it and the fact that he got it for cheap. How cheap, only he and his wife know! I think his wife has already given in to his obsession over his truck.

Somebody Farted!! EEwwww

A couple of days ago, I was at the bank during my lunch hour waiting for my turn. I was a Monday, the first day of the week and coupled with lunch hour, it was naturally packed.

I could not even find a seat and had to stand. Suddenly, it was so damn smelly that I suspect somebody farted but I could not pinpoint who did it in a public place!!! My goodness, I was so tickled, I nearly could not contain my laughter because that place was so crowded, don't tell me I was the only one who noticed that?

I sent a text message to my friend telling him that I was GAS-BOMBED hahaha! He asked me if I was the one who farted. Dang him! Where got people fart and don't realise it? Hahahaha!!!

Goodness it was so funny, even if it was smelly! And writing this post makes me want to puke my breakfast out! Wait a minute… I haven’t had my breakfast yet this morning. Hahaha!!

Nourishment Inside Out For Healthier Skin

As someone who does not have very good skin, I am very aware of products that are said to help in our skin complexion, appearance and general skin health. While there are people who are blessed wit great skin, I am one of the many people who need to put in more work to look "good".

Did you know that the latest trend for healthy skin is to nourish the body and it will automatically be reflected in the radiance of our skin? There is this product called R.G. Skin Revitalizer which is a dietary supplement made from the oil extract of the sub-tropical fruit called Gâc. I was told that this fruit grows abundantly in Vietnam. It is weird that being so close to Vietnam, I have not heard of this before or I would not have to suffer from bad skin for so many years now!

When you hear of R.G. Skin Revitalizer, you would think that this is a product to be used on your face. Well, you are wrong because it is a dietary supplement, like I mentioned, and taking it daily, it replenishes your skin with lost or inadequate nutrients, working from inside and reflected outside on your face. It is said that you are what you eat and this is truly the case.

As R.G. Skin Revitalizer is an oil extract, it will be easily absorb by the body and I expect it to be very effective with fast results too!

Pisses Me Off!

I was supposed to go into joint venture with a friend of mine to go into online business. So he asked me to source for the product because I have a contact who works in a local hypermarket in the procurement department and he could inform me of the source.

So I did my homework in souring what we want and I wrote him a proposal. Whoa... so long did not give me an answer. So I asked him, "Are you interested in this business or not??"

You know what he told me? He said that looking at the proposal, doing this business is not as easy as he thought it would be. Dammit! Did he think that money falls from Heaven or what? If we do not work at the business, did he think that it would be successful?

That made me so mad because I was the one who did all the ground work, invested time, money and energy into it and it's lucky that I did not pay for the stocks or I would have to go at it alone and I could hardly spare the time on a new venture.

GGrrrr

Professional Help To Convert VHS To DVD

I asked my friend how I could salvage my old VHS tapes which already have fungus and he told me that those that already have fungus could not be salvage. I am not sure if he is right because I have a tape which holds memories of my late grandmother's tour in China.

My friend told me that in my case, I would need to seek the assistance of professionals in video transfer and he recommended me APM Studio which he says may be able to help me with the tape.

Also, my friend says that APM Studio has one of the most competitive pricing. Well, he should know because he is also in this business but he is an agent haha!

I checked out the website and they have a few very attractive plans to convert old format videos to digital format. I would love to also convert my old tapes to DVD apart from the one of my late grandmother. DVDs last longer and could even be passed down from one generation to another if they are well kept!

It's Not For Everyone

Yesterday, I was with my friend Marc and I told him all about blogging and asked if he wanted to set up a blog as well. Marc has a very good command of the English language so I thought that he would find no problem blogging.

As I was explaining to him, he asked me how many posts do I write daily and based on the ratio of 50:50 whenever possible, he came to the number of 600 posts per month which means an average of 20 posts per day.

Well, I don't even know how many posts I write per day because some I publish, some I keep in drafts. Some I moblog and write on the spot so everything is very random and there is no fixed schedule to write X posts per day.

Even before starting, Marc told me that he surrender already. hahaha! So easy meh? He could always start by writing two per day but then why force him when he does not need the money?

Customizing My RSS Feeds

If you noticed, I removed my RSS feed on my side bar for my other blogs last month because it was slow in loading. Since then, I have tried to look for other feed alternatives. Some people questioned why I need it. Well, I have so many blogs that when I do a feed syndication on all my blogs, I would be able to pull in readers from other blogs when they see an interesting headline.

Today, I was introduced to topicks.info where we could customize our feed. The site is really very simple. you just need to register for an account and then enter all your feed URL to your custom page. You can then add topics to your feed.

What I like about topicks.info is its simplistic set up. There is no learning curve at all and it is so easy to add/delete feed or topics. I have used other feeds before and they were all so complex offering too many features that I never bother to use!

Right now, I have only played with one of my feeds. I will most probably add all my other feeds to my Topicks page.

Celcom Bill On Demand

It's down, isn't it? I tried to send in my request for three days numerous times per day and yet I did not even receive a reply! I remember being so impressed with the swift SMS service the past couple of times I used it. It was almost instant!

I ended up giving Customer Service a call and there is an option to get our latest bill, which I selected but the machine gave me the total for my previous bill! Bah... talk about automation. I had to speak to the operator for the real LATEST bill.

I also took the opportunity to raise my credit limit from RM150 to RM250. IO tried to do it last month but did not qualify. They only allow this upgrade for people who have subscribed to their line for at least four months.

This month, they finally allowed it. I was the one who chose RM250. It's just right for me, I think. That would solve the problem of them chasing for my payment every month because my original limit was RM150 only and my data line already took up RM99. Urggh and to think that I already paid for my voice package in advance for a year!

No Problem In Data Recovery New York

I am sure anyone who has been using the computer would have experienced data loss at least once! Well, if you are in New York, there is a company that would guide you in data recovery. According to Paul, data recovery New York no longer is a problem with Data Hotline.

Data Hotline offers lots of data recover solutions for anyone who has lost their data on their computer hard disk drive, server storage, CD-Rom and other disks and memory cards. Although we try our best to preserve these things, accidents do happen and we now should know that it is not the end of the world if that happens thanks to Data Hotline which even offers Raid Data Recovery Service.

Many years ago, when I was new to the computer, my hard disk went dead. I did not throw away my hard disk because I know that there is a way to recover my data. It is just that I haven't found out which company can offer me such services. Now that I know, I may just try it out.

Data Hotline, after all has a No Data No Fee policy, which I take to mean that we would not have to pay any fees should we fail to recover our data. I think this is a great policy! In any case I will request for a free evaluation first!

Why I Don't Reply Email Anymore!

I notice that since I got myself the mobile device which receives my email automatically to my phone, I have almost stopped replying to emails! This is because that although I read most of my email from my phone, I hardly want to reply from my phone because writing on the phone and on the computer just isn't the same. And since I already read all my email, I see no reason to even log into my email client.

And as the days go by and more and more mail are piled up on top, the mail that is in need of my attention is being pushed off and out of sight. And then I forget all about it.

Of course, I am not talking about really important stuff or official email. I am talking about social mail. Heeeee I am so lazy to write or keep in touch. Remember my friends Wendy and May whom I bumped into a couple of months ago? I STILL have yet to write to them! And Markus! I'm supposed to give him the Google Earth place mark of my house!

GGGGrrrrrrrrr

Car Transports For Your Vehicle(s)

According to my sister, America is such a large country that traveling from state to state seems like traveling from country to country. The land mass is just too huge. She said that many of her friends have trouble moving their personal effects cross country when they have to move due to work or other reasons. It's especially difficult for large items and if their destination is too far away. It's not like in Malaysia where the country is small and we could pack everything into our car and drive to our new home.

Luckily though, my sister says that America has EVERYTHING!

One of her colleagues had to relocate recently and they used the services of a company that provide Car transports. What this company does is ship vehicles to anywhere within America.

Of course, if you are using a company like that, you will make sure that the company has a solid background and experience in Car transports like Aplus Auto Transport LCC.

You have to find a company which would deliver your car or any other vehicle in a fast and secure way and make sure that your car is in one piece when it arrives! That's why it is important to look for a company that could ensure all these things. Not forgetting insurance! It is compulsory when you ship something as expensive as cars!

Reliable Ashop Shopping Cart

My girlfriend was so frustrated the other day because her shopping cart for her replica sunglasses online store was broken. I don't know what happened but somehow her customers could not check out. I know how that would drive a Seller up the wall seeing the buyers losing interest and missing out on sales.

That was why, I advised her to implement an ecommerce software that is reliable and don't just look at the low cost. There is no point in getting cheap but then see it breaks down like that without adequate technical and customer support.

I have recommended Ashop's shopping cart software to her when she first set up the store but she said her other friend told her to get the one by Company X which is supposed to be a lot cheaper.

I tried to convince her and even told her that she could try Ashop's shopping cart for free for ten days. I don't know if she did try it out but if she did not then I think it is pretty dumb of her!

Online Casino Reviews At Pro360

Some of my readers were shocked that I am into online gambling. Well, I see anything wrong in it as long as we are in control of our emotions. As you know, I surf the internet heavily and Pro360 is the latest website with online casino reviews that I came across.

Actually, I have read many online casino reviews before but what makes Pro360 stands apart from other similar websites is that there are a total of FIFTY casino reviews on the homepage itself!

At first glance, you can get a low down on each of the top fifty online casinos, especially if they allow US players. You can see the Editor's ratings and Player's ratings too. This are important details that you would want to know before committing time and money on the casino.

To be honest, I did not even know that there are so many online casinos! I am going to have a field day reading each and every one of those reviews, compare them and see which will give me the best benefits.

Consolidate Your Student Loans!

Loans may be a part of modern lifestyle nowadays but that does not mean that we have to live with the heavy burden of loans without doing anything about it. Of all the loans, to me student loans are the worst. This is because I feel that a student should not have to worry about money matters when they should concentrate on their studies.

Having said that, if there were private student loans available back then, I would have taken one and continued with my tertiary education but what is past is already history.

Students who are bogged down with loans should know that they have the option for student loan consolidation where they can combine all their student loans into one loan for easy management and repayment and at a more favorable interest rate too.

With a lower interest rate thanks to a student loan consolidation, monthly repayments will also be lower. Students of course can opt to pay the same amount monthly, thus shortening the time frame of the loan. This will improve their credit score and it will be easier for them if they require extended lines of credit in the future.

John Clinebell's Stomping Grounds

One of the things I love doing what I do by blogging is that I am introduced to so many different websites, products, services, entertainers and up-and-coming singer songwriters.

Last night, I was introduced to John Clinebell. I must admit I have not heard of him before. What can I expect when I have my music player looped on Bon Jovi perpetually? Haha!

Since last night though, I have been listening to John Clinebell's debut album, Stomping Grounds, exclusively. I have to say his music actually grows on me and the more I listen to him, the more I like his music and strong vocals. I will describe his music as pop-cum-soft rock.

If you would like to preview John Clinebell's full album, you can go to http://clinebellmusic.com/singer-songwriter.html. Each track is only 2.00 minutes in length for preview purposes.

Listening to his music, I can feel that John will be a big time singer musician if he can get the big break. We can give him a helping hand by introducing him to other music listeners and mention him in all our social profiles!

If you would like to buy the CD album, which has ten tracks, it is $12 only. Buying more than one copy will entitle you to a 10% discount. Buying the album in downloadable mp3 format is also $12. John Clinebell may just turn me into am mp3 buying music lover! One music lover at a time, John!

Woolley Food City

If you live in my cow town, you would have heard that Woolley Food Court was taken over by a new boss from the Woo family and underwent total renovation. I had the opportunity to shoot this photo but it was raining hard so everything looked rather blurry. If the weather was good, I would have taken more photos.

According to a reliable source, the toilets here are air-conditioned. They think like 5-star hotels meh?? Hah... and it is free for all to use.

I haven't gone in yet but I was told that food here is not cheap because of the high rental. Everything looks so nice and clean right now because they just recently opened for business again.

Let's see how long they can maintain the building in this spic and span condition! I hope to eat out here before they get dirty and rundown! lol

Is A License Required For CB Radios?

My friend recently passed his Morse code and ham radio exam but he told me that to actually obtain the license, he would need two senior members of the national amateur radio club to countersign his application for a license. Is that ridiculous or what?

Now my friend says that he would rather operate CB Radios for family use but am not sure if this requires a license or not. I told him that in Malaysia, he can be sure that it will have to be legalized with a license. It was only until recently that the TV and Radio License was scrapped!

I told my friend to find out and make doubly sure first before buying his CB Radio. We don't want to end up at the wrong side of the law!! I was afraid that he became too enthusiastic with his research of the various CB Radios that he bought them without remembering that is may be illegal to own one here!

So Out Of Touch

I am so out of touch with the real world no thanks to the continuous stream of work that I honestly do not know what's going on anymore. Heck, I even lost track of the day and time!

Last evening, I was out and was supposed to go to a shopping mall but got caught in a traffic jam. I went there not that I have anything specific to buy though so I was not that aggravated when there was not even one parking lot available.

My poor cow town was crowded because Astro's starlets were here for a road show over the weekend. And I didn't even know about such a "big" event!

From the banners, seems like they came for three days and were at there different locations. The banner, however, did not specify the specific date and time and location but just general information. I wonder how these folks knew about it.

I didn't even know who came and I couldn't care less anyway, but the crowd made up of teenagers to senior citizens haha! Really, if you are a public figure, you will be open to admiration from people from all walks of life!

Dial For Cheap Dubai Flights

Have I told you about my friend, Fariz? He works as an engineer with an Oil & Gas exploration company and gets to travel all over the world. His is currently based in Dubai while his family continues to live in London. They can't be traipsing all over the world together with him, right?

Fariz told me that thanks to cheap flights to Dubai, his family can visit him as often as they like. He says that for the past year, thanks to DialAFlight, they have had numerous holidays in Dubai without going out of budget.

According to Fariz, other Middle East flights are cheap too and what they need to do is give DialAFlight a call. This is a UK based, company, by the way. Fariz said that while he is in Dubai, they are going to get the most out of DialAFlight's cheap flights to Dubai and hope that when he is transferred to another country, DialAFlight would still be able to cater to their need for cheap flights!

Lamb Stew At Secret Recipe

I met my friend over lunch at Secret Recipe and since he is not a blogger, he does not understand the need for Bloggers to shoot whatever food they have ordered first before digging in! Now, since I am not a food blogger, I also have no qualms about showing the after effects of what was supposedly Lamb Stew!! Hahaha!

If I were a food blogger and all I have is a shot like this to show, I would feel like I have committed a big crime or sin. Ah! Who cares, right?

I only took out my camera (mobile device) when my friend left the table. He is not a cam whore too :D

I still have lots of emtpy plates to show but I shall not publish them. Boy, two people can eat a lot too, you know? :p

Shopping At The Vine Store

In a previous post, I wrote that my friend, Philip, has a bar in his home. He wanted to have the bar renovated to reflect his preference and no longer his father's who passed away a long time ago.

Philip was looking for a refreshing design with contemporary touches including the bar stools and wine racks so you can imagine the research that he has done online for items that will suit his new bar.

I told Philip of The Vine Store at http://www.thevinestore.com/ which I came to know of a few months ago. I thought that Philip would find something suitable here due to their vast selection of wine racks.

If you are looking for any kind of wine rack from wall-mounted to wooden wine racks to wrought iron, vertical or even hanging wine racks, The Vine Store is the place to check. Also in their inventory are wine rack furniture and specialty wine racks that will command a second look due to their uniqueness. If you do not believe me, then just take a look at what is being offered by The Vine Store.

Philip was surprised that we can actually save more money by buying online with their special internet price than buying from a retailer. Perhaps it is due to the extra expenses in shipping costs but then there is no added Sales Tax unless we are living in Ohio. So that is extra savings too.

Apart from wine racks, The Vine Store also carries a range of wine accessories and wine cellar accessories. Shopping at The Vine Store will be a breeze as we can shop according to product type or price range.

Hopefully, Philip will find what he wants here!

Withdraw or Not???

I have a little free time tonight and I could get to the bank to withdraw some money. However, the currency is at a pathetic rate of 1 USD = 3.36545 MYR. HHmmm shall I withdraw or shall I not? When will the USD strengthen wor???

A couple of days ago, it was at 3.34 . My heart nearly fell to my stomach and now that it is a little better, shall I go and grab that opportunity? Aiyo, dilemma. I don't want to lose and yet I don't want to lose MORE. Who knows how much it will be when a new week starts in a day or two? Will it dip to 3.34 again or worse?

Once again, I wish that it would be pegged at 3.80 but that is only wishful thinking! OK la, I will compromise. Give me 3.50, OK?

I think I will just close my eyes and go get that money out *sigh*

Renovating The Bar

I mentioned before that my friend, Philip, has a bar in his home. There are only three people I personally know who have a bar at home and they are all rich guys :-)

Philip inherited the bar from his father years ago. Recently, he told me that it is high time he upgraded the bar and decorate it to his taste. I guess that he became bored with how the bar looks like and it was built according to his father's old fashioned taste.

I showed Philip the website of Furniture From Home where I went to look for online dining sets for my own house. By the way, check out the site for the widest range of dining room sets. Most of the dining sets are in dark colors so if you have a suitable theme for your home, this is the place to look. I find the designs very classy and carry a clean cut. They are solid looking yet elegant.

Anyway, what we went to Furniture From Home for is actually the bar stools that Philip wants to buy. Boy, you should see the vast selection of bar stools here! At a glance, I think that there are about 120 different stools!

Philip got confused and I told him that there is really no hurry to browse through the products on by one. He said that he is really taken in by the wrought iron bar stool and I do agree that it is very elegant looking. However, I told him that he should get something that matches the design of his bar, which he is still waiting for the designer to show him the plans.

Counter height swivel bar stools are great too. It is really hard to decide when all of them are so exquisite looking and exude class. They sure won't look out of place in Philip's elegant home!