Tough Job

I may not be a parent but I know that parenting is never easy. I have lent an ear to many of my friends who are parents when they just want somebody to talk to, somebody to let them know that everything is fine, they are doing the best they could for their children and that their decision is the right one to take.

Of course, my assurance is not good enough because I myself am not a parent so I am supposed to not know anything about parenting at all. That is why now I direct my friends to Lila Guide, a website for parents, especially mothers, since the bulk of the decision making lies on their shoulders when the children are young.

When it doubt, it is always good to look for another person to talk to and it is best when that person has been through the same issues with their children before. Lila Guide serves as an ideal avenue for parents to connect with each other when it comes to parenting and making decisions and plans for the children.

Edison Chen, Gillian Chung Yun-Tung, Cecilia Cheung Pak Chi & Bobo Chan Man Woon Sex Photos

A month ago, Malaysians were reeling from the Chua Soi Lek sex scandal. Now, the whole Chinese community who follow the Hong Kong entertainment scene would be talking non-stop about the Edison Chen, Gillian Chung Yun-Tung, Cecilia Cheung Pak Chi & Bobo Chan Man Woon sex video. So far, stills from the video have already been posted on the internet and the perpetrator says that he would be releasing the video soon so that there would no longer be any denial. Oh, what a Chinese New Year gift.

Sometimes I wonder why people never learn. Sure, they may make amateur sex videos for their own viewing pleasure but can you trust participating actors and actresses not to leak out the video or photos to third parties? For money, anyone would do something like that. The bottom line is, the only person we can trust is our self.

Why would somebody take videos of themselves having sex, I don’t know. It is as if Paris Hilton, Colin Farrel and Tammy NYP never happened. The sex videos of Chu Mei Feng and Chua Soi Lek are different. Those were traps set up to topple their political career. But to make videos for private viewing that accidentally got leaked? Pervs…

Fine Tuning of Blog Again

If you noticed, I have made a little fine tuning with this blog. For one, I have set only ten posts to display on my homepage. I used to set it to 7 days, then shortened it to 4 days but now I think that displaying by post count would be better and so I set it to ten only. On some days, I may be writing about five and that pushes recent posts to the back page but that can't be helped.

It is better this way because on some days when I am not blogging, at least my homepage would not be showing only two miserable posts because I may have only posted two posts in the past four days. It happened before. What happens if I did not post at all for four consecutive days? Would my homepage be empty of post?

Another significant change is that I have replaced all Google AdSense with Advertlets. Yes, Advertlets may have screwed up all our blogs earlier this year that caused me so much work going round all my blogs removing their ad codes but now, Advertlets is the better programme for this blog so I am going to use it for a while and see how it performs. I just hope that it will load quicker and not drag down the loading of my whole blog and slows down the user-experience of my blog.

Well, I'll be giving this set up a trial run. I may end up stripping this blog from ad blocks if none proves to be profitable.

Living Healthy With Pure Water

A friend of mine uses a certain water filter in his house which his mother bought for a few thousand Ringgit. He said that once he got used to the taste of this filtered water, he can't drink water that are unfiltered.

I did a little research on water and see how pure they could get for our daily consumption and it looks like o premium waters has managed to filter off all impurities from water to make the purest water available. It is too bad this company only distributes their pure water in Arizona, USA but I read that they have created a special beverage system called the Esio Beverage System that uses this concept of purifying all kinds of beverages and this system is expected to be available globally in June, 2008. That's just five months away to pure water!

When we try to change our diet, we focus on food but fail to realize that the supposedly clean food that we take has been off set by impure water that we consume. I would be checking out Esio Beverage System when they hit the global market later this year!

Old Folks' Home Approved

A couple of months ago, I wrote that a lady wanted to start an old folks' home diagonally opposite my house. Apparently, despite all the written protests, the home received an approval from the authorities. Although there is no signage put up yet, the lady operator has already brought in more inmates.

Well, she has plenty more inmates that she could stuff into this home as her father operates quite a few homes in and around Ipoh. It seems that this is a very profitable "business". I am sorry U have to use "business" here because I cannot why people would want to set up old folks' home and take care of old folks who are of no blood relation, if not for money. Can you?

As I was saying, there are more inmates now, and they are all in various states of health. It is, of course, not a good sign to be placed in old folks' homes. It is as if they are all there "waiting for time".

Anyway, this place is not cheap. A healthy inmate would have to pay RM700 while one who is sickly and need assistance and care on a daily basis would have to pay more. What do you expect when they have air-cond and Astro. Even I don't have air-cond at home!

Researching On Lap-band Surgery

If you have been reading my blog, you will know that I have a friend who is grossly overweight and who is contemplating lap-band surgery. When I first met him, I thought that he is a big eater but he is not. I thought that it could be genetic but I met his brother too and they are directly opposite in terms of size.

I did tell my friend that he should do a little more research before committing himself to the procedure. The best is to get a face-to-face consultation with the surgeon to find out what happens in the procedure and what to expect.

Just now, I saw the website of a lap-band Houston clinic and I think that it's great for them to offer weekly seminars that potential lap-band surgery patients could attend to acquire more information. Seminars like these provide an avenue for them to ask questions and to share information with one another.

I read that this surgeon, Dr. Richard Collier, has more than seventeen years in various surgical procedures. We definitely would want someone who has the experience! What do you think of lap-band surgeries? Do you think that my friend should get one? I can see that his size and weight are bothering him.

Faster Election Lah!

While the whole of Malaysia is waiting for the General Election, so am I, so am I. You know why? The USD has fallen so much to 3.23 only, the last time I checked, which was just a couple of hours ago and the lower exchange rate is hurting me.

I hope the election comes sooner than later although it is rumoured to be held sometime this March. After the elections, nobody will care about propping up the value of the currency and hopefully, by then, the US economy will recover a little. Just a little would be enough, I am not greedy!

Actually, I am not even surprised that the US economy is languishing like that. After all, it has enjoyed a long period of boom. And what with financing the wars and weeding out terrorists, what else can we expect?

So, actually, if the USD improves, I would be grateful and so would my sister!

Bon Jovi Forever

Friends know that I am crazy about Bon Jovi. I have lots of Bon Jovi premiums and collectibles, music albums and even use Bon Jovi desktop wallpapers. My excuse is that looking at Bon Jovi on my desktop and listening to their music that is perpetually looped on my player help me work better. What frustrates them is that even my e-cards are all of Bon Jovi.

What my friends don’t know is that I like to personalize Google with a nice image of Bon Jovi. I use Google a lot every day for work and play, although I know that I am supposed to change to another search engine already because of how the company treated my blogger friends and I, but the interface of my search page is so attractive that I think I will be stuck to this search engine unless the others could be personalized like this as well.

If you would like to have your favorite celebrity grace your Google search page, try Groovle at http://www.groovle.com/. There is a huge database of high quality photos that you can use for free or you can upload your own image. You will then be given a unique URL which points to your personalized Google search page. Try it out for a refreshing Google search page. It's free anyway!

Wah So Expensive!!!

This afternoon, I thought of getting a haircut. It seems like years since I had one LOL and a friend even asked me why my hair is so long and if it is because I cannot afford one.

Long story short, I popped into a nearby unisex hair salon and asked them how much is a cut. They told me RM25. OMG that's so expensive. Maybe it is because they see that my hair is this long LOL I can't hide it mah.

I know that some other people's hair cut are even more expensive than rm25. A friend told me that hers was RM50 and it was a cut only!! Eeeeekkk

I remember getting a haircut at this salon a couple of years ago, or was it longer, for rm10 only and that was an opening promotional rate. After that promotion, they raise their price to RM18 so I thought they would be RM20 now but RM25? That's ridiculous.

The other day, I walked past another salon and a haircut was only rm20 while a wash and cut is RM32. Ya, I think I will get my haircut here lah.

My mom has started to nag.... And it's Chinese New Year soon. Why must people get a new haircut just before Chinese New Year? Can sial be buang-ed just like that? Really??

The Place For Replacement Connectors

You know, sometimes I feel like an airhead. Last week, I had the chance to visit my friend at his workplace. This friend is the son of the owner of an industrial manufacturing plant. If you are in Ipoh, you probably would have heard of his company but I am not disclosing. Although I have known him for years, I never had the chance to visit his manufacturing plant before.

Anyway, the reason I said that I felt like an airhead because I was confused with all the different plugs! There were so many, of different sizes, shapes and usages, of course! Like, he would explain to me what a lemo connector is for and the next minute, I would have a hard time explaining it to him.

I wonder if this is a gender specific problem or if it just me. I have girlfriends who are electrical and electronic engineers and they don't seem to have a problem with mathematics and calculations. Well, I DO!

According to my friend, sometimes at the request of clients, they would use replacement electrical connectors. Of course, this decision is based on the client's budget. Although they may be alternative solutions to OEM connectors that are more expensive, this does not mean that replacement connectors are of lower quality or of sub-standard.

If you have the chance, check out the website of eConnekSM and you will see what replacement connectors they have. I would say that have replacements for ALL connectors! But I am not surprised as they seem to be one of the largest distributors of replacement electrical connectors at very competitive prices.

Even browsing through the website of eConnekSM, I get confused with all the different plugs and connectors. Like, what is the difference between plastic connectors and metal connectors apart from their material?

If you have a need for replacement electrical connectors, you know where to look for them. eConnekSM should be your starting point!

Why So Bad Luck Wan???

I've been having such a tough time at work and in my daily life I can't help but wonder if there is an animal sign clash for me this coming Chinese Lunar calendar. Normally, I don't even think about it but this thought will come to mind when I have challenging days ahead of me that make me wonder who is my path so rocky.

No matter how I think that I am modern, I am still Chinese after all!

Even before the New Year has started, I am already feeling the heat. I hope that the year ahead will not be too bad but I definitely will not leave it to chance and will do whatever is necessary at the Chinese temple to ward off all ill luck and evil spirits.

Whether you believe it or not, whether you are superstitious or not, at least it gives me peace of mine. Since the whole family will do it, I don't mind including my name in the list as well.

VoIP Solutions For Your Telecommunication Needs

Telecommunications, besides internet technology, is one of the most important aspects of running a company smoothly. However, using it is not cheap and many companies have to deal with high telephone bills. A company can be run more efficiently, without compromising on the quality and easy access to telecommunications without running a hefty bill every month. Companies need to cut down on their overhead cost and one of the ways is to use VoIP solutions.

Today, I as told that a company by the name of Advanced Communications & Maintenance, Inc., has over twenty five years of experience in offering VoIP solutions including implementing and supporting digital phone systems, voice and data messaging and telecommunications products and accessories for both residential and business use. See, even for homes, VoIP is just as useful if we are heavy users of the telephone. I never believed in paying for goods and services more than we should. If we can cut down our telephone bills, sometimes by up to 80%, why not opt for the cheaper telecommunication solution, right?

The most important factor is that quality is maintained and with twenty five years of experience behind them, I am confident that Advanced Communications & Maintenance, Inc. is able to deliver like they promise.

Advanced Communications & Maintenance, Inc. is a Massachussetts, USA based company. Their highly trained technicians use the most advanced telecommunication technology to implement the latest software and hardware to bring you VoIP solutions to fit your telecommunication needs, whether you are looking for a solution for your home or company.

If you are interested in reducing your telephony bills, check out the website of Advanced Communications & Maintenance, Inc. at http://www.acmcomm.com/ to see what this company can offer you in terms of service and products like PBX systems, Key & Hybrid systems and voice messaging.

For further information, you can drop them a line via the contact form available at their website or by email.

Chinese New Year Shopping

So have you done it?? I have not and there's only just two weeks to Chinese New Year. Feeling the heat now. Luckily thing is that Ipoh is so that I don’t have to wait for the weekend to go shopping. Malls are literally just at my doorstep. OK, they are not THAT close by but till it's way better than Kuala Lumpur and I don't have to get caught in traffic jams just to be able to run little errands.

If I were to live in Kuala Lumpur or some other city as congested, I think by the time I reach the mall, my mood would have died, man. No wonder my friends who work in the capital city says they don't want to go anywhere on their off days and prefer to chill at kopishops in their housing estates where they could walk there. Haha! Ultra sien already, I guess!

Luckily, I don't have anything special to buy except for the obligatory stuffs that are required for Chinese New Year like mandarin oranges, pomelos, sweeties, cookies and melon seeds. Eh... all food only LOL

I am more interested in collecting ang pow though I know that most of my relatives think that I don’t qualify anymore. Hey, I am single lah!

Let's Go Red For Women

As I become older, I am becoming increasingly interested in health issues. I find myself reading health articles which I never did before. Also, my parents are now in the senior club and it worries me that illness may strike them anytime. Of course, my goal is to seek knowledge in improving our lifestyle so that not only do we live longer but healthier too. Health is, as the saying goes, WEALTH. Oft times we take it for granted and only realize its importance when we fall ill.

Did you know that heart disease is the number one killer in America? I believe it is also the number one killer in Malaysia and many other countries too. I once read that the pain of a heart attack is only second behind childbirth and it is something we do not wish on even our worst enemies.

Yesterday, I was told of a campaign that Campbell's is involved in that educates women on the importance of heart health. Heart disease, though deadly, could be prevented and I know that it starts with education and lifestyle.

Campbell's, together with the award winning singer Toni Braxton and fashion designer Lisa Perry, will raise funds for the American Heart Association's Go Red For Women. Lisa Perry has created three dresses in conjunction with this campaign and one of these dresses is to be worn by Toni Braxton at the Woman's Day Red Dress Awards, kicking off American Heart Month which is celebrated in the month of February annually.

I was surprised to learn that Toni herself was diagnosed with heart disease when she was in her thirties. See, even when one is suffers from heart disease, it is not the end. It could be cured, but like I mentioned, it takes education. Read about Toni's story by clicking on this button badge.

As a woman and as a blogger, I feel that I should do my part in helping to spread the message that our heart needs better care and we need to start with a healthier lifestyle and diet. If you feel that you can contribute to the cause, you can blog about this as well and vote for the dress that Toni Braxton should wear at the Woman's Day Red Dress Awards. Watch this video to help you decide better.

Once you have decided on your favorite dress, click on the banner below to cast your vote. I should let you know that every vote counts because with each vote, Campbell's will be donating US$1 to the American Heart Association up to a maximum of US$100,000. The power is literally in your hands so just vote for your favorite dress right now as the closing date is 30th January, 2008!

Thank you for voting!

I Want To Win An iPhone La La La!!!

This morning, I was surfing around looking for WordPress themes for my blogs and I chanced upon a blogger giving away a free iPhone. A FREE iPHONE! You hear??

This blog called Upstart Blogger is owned by a guy by the name of Ashley Morgan and is a jazz trumpet player and independent record label owner. That sounds pretty interesting!

He is the one who is giving away a free iPhone and all bloggers have a chance so I am I am assuming that this lucky draw is open to every blogger in every corner of the globe! It's really exciting to know that the closing date is at the end of this month so I don’t have to wait that long for the winner to be announced.

By the way, it's Sunday again today and I am so free to go around my blogs writing about Upstart Blogger LOL

Searching For An Elusive Car Accessory

Last evening, I was out with a friend of mine to look for a car accessory. Actually, till now, I don't even know what he was looking for but I just went along for the ride and dinner too, of course. Well, the meal was on him as he wanted company! Who is so free to go joy ridding with him searching for an accessory for his Dodge Charger?

Already, his father told him not to buy the car but he wanted to get it and refurbish it like a weekend hobby. Well, I guess being stuck in the garage on weekends is better than going clubbing, right?

Unfortunately, I have to say that we could not find his Dodge Charger accessory and came home empty handed. I told him to buy it online! I am not going to accompany him a second time. Can you believe that he proposed to go to Kuala Lumpur to look for it? WHO HAS THE TIME???

Acquiring Real Estate Like A Game Of Monopoly

My friend, Paul, has been missing for a month and when he sent me a text message, I took the chance to ask him where he was and he told me that he is in China checking out real estate. Is he for real? I mean, he has been acquiring real estate like a game of Monopoly, when is he going to stop?

According to Paul, real estate in China is still cheap compared to other up and coming countries and although we sometimes like to joke that China is still way under developed, we would be surprised to see that the major cities in China like Beijing and Shanghai are way more advanced than Kuala Lumpur. OK... bad choice. How about New York City where Paul works?

If Paul, who has been a metropolitan guy for the past decade and a half see the potential in the major Chinese cities then I too would like to acquire some property there, if only I have the capital!!! GGGrrrrr

Body Clock Is Totally Screwed

What can I say? My body clock is totally screwed and I am doing nothing about it. And as usual, once I am stressed, you could probably play "join the dots" on my face once again. Yeah, I know. I'm freaky.

To make matters worse, I have taken on more and more projects which means less and less time for sleep. Personal time? What is that? Vacation time? WHAT IS THAT??

My friend asked me if I even have time to pakthor... and the answer is a big NO! Anyway, not that I am interested also la. Where have all the good guys gone? I know, Fatty will say that I am "expiring" aiya... maybe I HAVE already expired. Maybe I will be a spinster my whole life. Who knows? It’s not a crime, is it? It’s not something shameful, is it? It’s not a contagious disease, is it?

And you know what? What I never had, I won't miss at all.

AA Or Lithium Battery Powered Digital Camera?

A couple of evenings ago, I was at a digital camera fair. They have many cheap digital cameras for sale and I could not decide if I want to buy one or not. As you know, I am using my friend's digital camera and I would one day have to return it to him because it is, after all, on loan.

So I thought that I would get one sooner than later since there is a promotion. However, what confuses me is that my sister told me to get one that operates on lithium battery but a friend of mine, a semi-professional photographer, advised me to get one that runs on AA batteries.

According to this friend, it is more convenient to use an AA battery powered digital camera because should my batteries die before I had the chance to charge them at least I would be able to just buy some from the shops, which is logical also.

So which to get now???? I am getting more confused by the minute as more and more promotions are being run. I think that for the time being, I will enjoy my friend's unit first. Haha!

Colon Cleanse Or Not?

The other day, I met my friend for dinner. This friend is an advocate of health eating and living and will only take organic food. Eating out with her is always a challenge to find a place where we both can enjoy our food. When she saw me, she said, "Eyerrrr look at you, so many zits on your face! How old are you already that you still suffer from zits?"

It was embarrassing but I could only blame my zits on my stressful lifestyle. Hell, I know I am too old for zits but I can't help it if they want to pop up on my face right?

My friend suggested that I try colon cleanse. A long time ago, she told me that she puts her whole family on a colon cleansing program where they take turns to go through the procedure once a week. Eeewww what a weird family that is!

And she told me that flushing my colon will guarantee to cure my constipation, which also affects my complexion and cause more zits to flourish. Sigh....all these benefits and I dare not put myself through it!

Human Interaction Very Hard Leh

This past couple of days, I have been so stressed out. Besides the fact that we need to get the financial reporting done in time, I had the utmost bad luck to have to deal with some difficult people.

I would not want to elaborate here in case they stumbled upon my blog somehow sometime in the near future and then I "big wok"!

Suffice to say, I have had enough of human interaction for the time being and just want to shut myself up in my own world. I don't want people to disturb me and make me headache only!! But that is not possible lah and I will have to deal with these people until their issues are solved. Yerrrr

He Was A Dance Champion!

The other day, I had the chance to visit my neighbour, the lady who suddenly fell very ill and has now been sent to a nearby nursing home. Well, I was surprised to see many engraved plaques displayed on the shelf that the husband won in dancing competitions.

I know that the man was a dance instructor and he was even my cousin's manager for his break dance team and my cousin and his team members won many competitions under his management.

But I seriously never thought that he was a competitive dancer as well... an award wining one. Hhmmm I mean, THIS MAN? Hehehehe It would be priceless to see this man dance in a competition but there is no way that we can turn back the clock. I mean, he is already in his 70s.

I guess there are many things that I did not know as well.

Stressed!!!!

I am so stressed, you know why? For those of us who work in Chinese firms, financial reporting starts now, just before the Chinese New Year. Never heard of this, meh?

Although I am not working in the accounts department, thank God that I am bad with figures, I would still have to make sure that all internal department accounts are accurate and submit to Accounts. Blek.... I don't like to do it but like taxes, it's a once a year affair.

While all my friends who work in good proper companies have gone through this in December, I am only going through this now and yet I complain. Haha... I like to complain because this is the way I destress LOL

Chinese New Year Coming Soon

Aiyoh... how time flies! It's Chinese New Year in less than two weeks and I am relieved of a few thousand bucks for my mom to take care of the household bills AND do her Chinese New Year shopping.

My friend asked me if I have already done my Chinese New Year cleaning. Well, I have not and I really don't have the time to do them. My mom could get a hired help with the money I gave her and they should not expect me to be the maid and support the family financially, right?

This friend, whom I have known for a long time, doesn’t believe it when I told him that I have 7 fans, 13 window panes and two bathrooms to clean, on top of four bedrooms and the other parts of the house like living room, family room, dining room and kitchen. And let’s not forget the garden.

Well, he has not been to my house before but one day, I am going to invite him over before CNY so that he can help me with the job. Last time, when my sister was around, all household chores don’t seem that much because there were two pairs of hands but now that I am the only one going to dirty my hands over cleaning and scrubbing, it is taking a toll on me. I am so going to let things be from this Chinese New Year onwards.

Thank God For Executive Search Firms

I don't think I will ever have the opportunity to rise up till senior management level and even if I have the qualifications, I don't think I want to, looking at the level of stress my friends who are senior managers have to face daily.

A friend of mine who was a General Manager of a multi-national company was laid off work and it took him a long ten months to find a suitable job of the same level. I feel that the higher the post is, the fewer opportunities there are.

Luckily, there people like my friend can leave word at an executive search firm like A.E. Feldman and be informed of suitable positions.

Firms like A.E. Feldman specialize in filling senior management posts of companies with suitable candidates. From what I read on their website, the people at A.E. Feldman are all people who have experience in these posts that they are filling so they do know what the employers are looking for in potential candidates.

Do You Require Emergency Services?

A little while ago, I was at the mall and I came across a locksmith who posted his telephone number on the door with a note that says he is available twenty four hours of the day. I took down his number and told my friend who was with me that this locksmith certainly has a very innovative idea and would be very useful in an emergency especially in the dead of the night.

But my friend asked me, how trusted is this locksmith? We don't even know him. Dare I call him out in the middle of the night if I require his locksmith services? My friend certainly has a point there.

Just now, I was introduced to a company by the name of Basad Inc. This company does not provide locksmith services but runs a database of locksmith contractors who have gone through stringent checks to be included in the network and trusted to provide emergency locksmith services to homes and business at all hours.

Of course, now that I know of a company like Basad, Inc., [can you believe that they even have a Twitter page at http://twitter.com/BasadInc], I certain would not call up a private person to provide me with locksmith services. Going through a company like Basad is the best solution in times of need like this. At least we know that these locksmiths are reputable and not only for providing locksmiths contacts but also other skilled workmen like plumbers and electricians. I certainly would feel uneasy inviting a total stranger into my home.

Right now, Basad only serves selected American states but I believe that with the demand for emergency services, they would be expanding in no time!

Somebody Freaking Betrayed My Trust!!!!

Recently, I was so free, I went to a social network portal to check out who are on my friend's list. That was because I have been receiving weekly updates by email and I don't even recognise half the people there who were supposed to be my "friend".

Anyway, when I was logged in, I thought I would check out the profiles of my real friends to keep myself updated. Aiya... guess what I found! One of my friends uploaded a photo to her online photo album. It's a group photo of me, her and two other friends that was taken a year ago.

I explicitly remember that when they proposed to take a group photo because one of the people were migrating, I said I don't want to take but the persuaded me and assured me that these photos will not be circulated, distributed or published. So short of being a wet blanket, I agreed.

And now, she published it online. Not now actually because I don't even know WHEN she posted it online. Of course, she did not identify me but still, it's MY photo too. If I had wanted my photos to appear anywhere at all, god knows I have enough social network profiles, websites, blogs and online photo albums to use.

Yerrrrr so bad wan :(

Seriously Need To Shed Some Weight!

So I realised that I have outgrown two pairs of pants! Not exactly outgrown but then they are starting to pinch and when this happens, I know that I have more fat on my tummy than I should have. Sure, all girls will have a little spare tyre but this is getting too big already! Eeeeyerrrrr I don't want to be fat!!!!

I have tried to reduce my food intake but it is not east because my parents would keep piling up food on me, breakfast, brunch, lunch, tea, dinner and supper! I want to refuse but then they will say something like, "Shut up and eat!"

I think that now I will have to put in set aside time for exercise. I thought that chasing the monkeys around, doing housework and window shopping would be enough. Well, those used to be enough but I guess they no longer work. I'd have to dig out the old treadmill that my aunt gave us when she relocated. She used to have a mini gym at home. Well, I hope I don't reach that stage where I NEED to turn my home into a mini gym!

Helping Thy Neighbour

Talking about my neighbours, the wife may have been sent to a nursing home nearby but the husband is also sick. 2008 seems to be an extremely bad year for this couple but then they are not young anymore and being ill is already expected but it is very trying to have both sick at the same time.

I can thoroughly sympathize with the family because I know how it could be when both my monkeys were ill at about the same time. Even though they may be monkeys, they are like part of the family and with them sick, it was an emotionally draining experience.

So this old man asked me to help him buy some disposable gloves from the pharmacy. The pharmacy nearby had run out of stock and he is not fit enough to drive to town so I said OK la... just another shopping trip for me and a chance to get away from work.

To The Nursing Home

Do you remember a couple of days ago where I wrote that the old lady who livers opposite my house has been constipated for two weeks? Well, her doctor kautim the constipation already but she is now suffering from general weakness and also no strength in the legs already. This past week, she fell down twice wor.... so her family decided to send her to a nursing home nearby.

Well, it is said that one is not afraid to die but afraid to get sick. It's more expensive to be ill and old than to die! This nursing home is charging RM700 per month, which is about market rate.

The old folks’ home that just opened across the street, which is supposed to be a premier old folks' home charges RM700 for a healthy old folk but disabled one or one that needs extra care would have to pay more.

Didn't they already say it's a PREMIER home? Got air-cond wan, you know?

I Need Flame-Grilled Chicken Recipes!

My friend Paul asked me if I would cook for him. I said I would not because I have retired!!! Even if I would, he would not like my Chinese cooking after living in the United States for more than a decade and have gotten used to Western food but then he said that chicken dish will do.

Ah... I do have plenty of chicken recipes that I could dig out but for his favorite flame-grilled chicken dish, I really have no idea how to cook that. I will have to check the internet for that hehehe and perhaps steal some cooking ideas from the videos at http://www.wherestheflamegrill.com

The best I could do is only something like this. But it still looks delicious, right??

My Father Scold Me Woh!!!

The other day, I got scolded by my dad all because a guy that we meet almost daily at our regular kopishop came over to talk to me. Eh... it's not my fault that he came over. He has legs and he walked over at his own free will. Scold me for what? As if I was the one who enticed him over or gave him some signal or baited my lashes or whatever.

And then what I responded, my father asked me what for I talk to him pulak. Don't tell me that I am supposed to shut my mouth and pretend I did not hear him. Act dumb or something like that meh?

That is why I am so pissed off. That guy gave me his email address and my father asked me whatever for he gave me the email address. How the hell do I know??

For The Love Of Piano

My friend, Nancy, has been in the piano business since she left school. Heck, the business was started by her late grandfather which means to say that she is already the third generation in the business. I thought of her this morning because I came to know of the website of The Piano Man Inc. I am very impressed with the design and ease of navigation of the site. I am surprised that Nancy doesn't have a website for their piano business.

Just like Nancy's company, The Piano Man, which is based in Massachusetts, USA, carries a full line of leading piano brands and models in the form of new, pre-owned, reconditioned or antique pianos. On top of that, they have anything and everything that are piano related, including accessories, sheet music, piano lessons, piano service and care.

Although they are named The Piano Man, they also offer organ and other organ related accessories, just like they do for the piano. It is amazing how this company has grown since its inception in 1993. I mean, compared to Nancy's company which is already into its third generation, they have not expanded and grown as much over the years.

I noted that it is not enough for The Piano Man to already sell these pianos and organs at the lowest possible prices. Yet, they offer easy payment schemes for people who want to buy these instruments but do not have as much cash on hand at the moment. The Piano Man has made it very affordable and easy to own pianos and organs so that people could enjoy music and share the love for music!

To ensure that the pianos and organs last as long as possible, The Piano Man schedules regular visits to the owners’ homes to service and maintain their purchases. I think that Nancy should adopt some of the great services that are being offered by The Piano Man so that piano, and organ, buyers would be able to enjoy their purchases for as long as possible.

What's The Big Deal With Facebook?

Last night, I finally gave in and signed up with Facebook. I gave in to my friends who said that Facebook is THE social network portal and that everyone who is hip and happening MUST have a Facebook account. Did you know that a friend's mother even wanted to know how she could get a Facebook account? Alamak...

So I joined, added the friends who are already in the Facebook community and that's it. I know that we are supposed to build our profile and get a pet or a plant and play the games there but I thought most of us are old enough to be beyond those games?

I didn't even have the time to explore what is what and left without doing anything else. I think this, to me, will just be like any other social sites with me adding people as buddies, people who are already my friends in real life and logging in only to read my messages, nothing more.

Traveling America On A Super Bike

My friend Barry, owns a super bike. He told me that he picked up the love for big motorcycles from living in the United States. He told me that America has long roads and highways perfect for motorcycle travel and now that he is back home, he really misses those long road travels on his bike with his biker buddies.

Just now, I was told of a company in the United States called Discover America Motorcycle Tours which is like a tour company, but only for bike travel though out the country! There are many bike owners and lovers who find it hard pressed to enjoy their bike due to limited free time so what Discover America Motorcycle Tours do is arrange exciting motorcycle travel packages but that is not all. They also offer logistics services and arrange to have those treasured bikes shipped from the owner's place to the starting point of the bike tour.

With the nitty gritty stuff and red tape taken care of, the biker can truly enjoy the motorcycle tour experience. To reserve a spot on the bike tour, only a small deposit is required and payment can be made via major credit cards and check.

Dare I Start Winter Sonata?

I've got Winter Sonata waiting for me to watch but dare I start it? I have got this nasty habit that makes me feel like I MUST complete whatever I set out to do, even if it's only watching dramas!

If not mistaken, there are twenty episodes but what makes it less interesting is that after reading so much on Winter Sonata on the web, the story is kind of stale already and it's hard to work up the tears enthusiasm for the drama.

If I do start, I will have to clear my nightly schedule and sit in front of the idiot box watching three or four episodes consecutively. This means that I would have to delay my work probably for the next four or five days. LOL I know it's bad but it's just my nature.

If you have watched it is it worthy of my time?

Growing Money Through Stock Options

I had a chat with my friend on how to grow money; make money work for us instead of the other way around. My friend likes to play it save and keeps all his spare cash in Fixed Deposit accounts while I like to speculate in stocks. Perhaps it is because of our different mindset shaped by age and experience.

In any case, I told him to check out stock options trading, a good way to increase our money if invested properly. Of course, to know which stock option to buy, we would have to do a little research and compare the different options to get the most out of our investment.

It really is very different from putting money in Fixed Deposits where we don't have to do anything at all and wish for our tenure to be up to reap the interest. This is a sure way, but it is very slow and I definitely do not have the patience for it. Stock options are the way to go for me.

When You Are Old, Dignity Flies Out The Window

These past few days, my street has been very busy with people coming over. This is because one of the elderly ladies who live opposite my house is constipated and has not moved her bowels for two weeks.

It's awful. Not because she could not shit, has not shit for two weeks but that the neighbours see it fit to let everyone and his dog know about it. I think that when we are old and helpless, dignity flies out the window when things like these should only be shared by the person herself with others whom she wants to share with and not with "strangers" from the street head and street tail.

Sure, we could have been neighbours for years already but this is a personal issue and there is no need to let us know, right? It is not as if we could help her or anything since this is best handled and unclogged by her doctor.

Don't Fight!

This morning, I received an email forward from a friend that has the following picture. It's funny, isn't it? I am so geram with my friend for thinking that I was that crazy to bombard him with multiple text messages that that is what I feel like doing to him.

Come to think of it, he really looks like the guy in the picture and if I were to publish his photo here for comparison's sake, I am sure you will agree too. It is as if the artist drew a caricature of him. But if he knows about it, he will surely skin me alive too!

Luckily, I no way resemble the old lady in the picture. God forbid! But the emotions are there. Mad enough to beat him to a pulp LOL

Applying For A Credit Card?

My cousin brother has been contemplating applying for a credit card. It is so easy to apply for Credit Cards nowadays that even with a single pay check only, we can apply for multiple cards. My cousin is young and just started working so I am afraid that he may misuse his credit card.

The main consideration when applying for a credit card, I told him, is to ask ourselves why do we need it and what are we going to use it for. My favorite cards are those that come with cash back and rewards that are beneficial to me but that is my personal preference.

I told my cousin that he should compare the various credit cards from a credit card search engine and then decide from there. There are so many credit cards, surely we can't have them all, right? This site is a good place to start the elimination game.

Really Annoyed

Last night, I sent an SMS message to my friend. I am using Celcom and he is using Maxis. And little did I know that although I sent one message only, he received FIVE messages with the same text. OK, I don't know whose fault that was but it could be either Celcom or Maxis but definitely not his or my fault.

He was so annoyed that he called me up to scold me!!! He said I was mad to send the same message multiple times. And surely I am if I did it but I did not! He was mad because the message alerts woke him up!

Now I don't want to text him anymore because he would be ultra pissed if this glitch happens again. Cheh ... he's always sleeping wan la. PiG! I hope I was not billed for the multiple messages!

Time To Retire Already!

My friend asked me if I would cook him a meal when he comes down to see me around Chinese New Year time. Well, I do know how to cook but I have been cooking from such a young age that I have hung up my Chinese wok, ladles and spatulas. Sure, Yan can cook and so can I but I really don't want to.

Now, I just want to eat a quick meal and get back to my computer to work. Sometimes I even had to eat in front of the computer! I have retired from cooking and not going to take it up so soon again otherwise people will think that I should be the cook at home just because I can. Bah...

If possible, I would like to retire from work and go live in Branson Missouri! Last night, I was just surfing around and I saw a beautiful house there on a Branson real estate website and I've got the price tag stuck to my head. Although I know that I can never earn enough to buy that home no thanks to our weak exchange rate, at least I have a goal to work towards.

Confused

If you know me, you would know that I do not have a technical mind. You know, a couple of days ago, I went out with a friend to pick up some stuff for his little project. He wanted to build something - he explained but I did not get it what he meant so I will have to wait till he is finished with the project and then SHOW me what it could do.

Anyway, we went to this major electronic store and he was picking up cables. I tell you, there were so many different types of cables like multimode, micron or fiber cable and they come in so many different colors as well. I wonder how he could figure out which cable is for what function!

I am just so glad that I do not WORK there or I would be confused as hell and serve my customers with the wrong cables. Eeekkkk!

What Happened?

If you remember, about three months ago (WOW), a guy that was supposed to be my friend, stopped contacting me. Well, we did talk at first but he was so cold that I just let him be and he stopped taking the initiative to get in touch with me. Well, that hurt but I tried to forget about him because that shows what an insincere friend he is when he missed all my big days.

You know what, the other day, he sent me a message as if nothing has happened, as if there was no time lapse at all. I was thinking, bloody hell, he thinks I'm a swinging door or what, coming in and out of my life as he likes but then we are both free agents and I guess he is not obligated to be in touch constantly. It's not as if he has to report to me his daily life at all, and the same goes for me.

I hate this kind of people anyway, who think that we will accept them back into our lives after a long bout of radio silence like that. Pah!

Stylish Prescription Glasses Online At Low Prices

I went to look for glasses for my dad and I am surprised that they are very expensive. I remember that a few years ago, my grandmother had her glasses made which cost her MYR800. Can you imagine that? I no longer remember what sort of prescription glasses she ordered but I thought that it was pretty expensive.

Just now, I was told of a Great Discovery: www.ZenniOptical.com. This is an online store that sells prescription glasses online. I was impressed with the range of frames and lens available but I was more so with the low price that they are able to offer to their customers.

I read that Zenni Optical is not only an online retailer of prescription glasses but also manufactures these frames themselves and then sell them at cost to us hence the low prices that you see on their store. I think it's wonderful that we could buy quality fashion frames and glasses at attractive prices without involving third parties.

Perm or Not?

If you remember, last month when my friend saw my photos with my long hair, he asked me if I am keeping long hair because I have no money to get a haircut LOL

Well, Chinese New Year is coming soon and many of my friends are getting a "new image" so to speak. Last week, I was stuck in a queue at the ATM and I saw the lady in front of me with permed hair and I think to myself, if I should get a perm as well.

What do you think? Perm or not?? Will perming damage hair? And don't ask me about hot or cold perm because I absolutely have no idea about it! And what is the market price for it? Hhmmm I am not prepared to spend a few hundred on a hairstyle that would get out of style in a couple of months!

P/S: According to Microsoft Word, there is no such word as permed or perming. HHmmm strange. Then let me coin them lah!

Getting Rid of Excess Fat

The other day when I had the chance to meet up with my friend, who threw a birthday party which I was obligated to attend, I was surprised that he grew even fatter. If you remember, I have a friend that is the size of a baby hippopotamus, well, that's him.

I wonder how he could carry all the excess weight around. He knows that it is bad to his health because he failed his medical tests and no insurance company would day accept his policy because of his extreme risk. I wanted to tell him about an obesity surgery from JourneyLite that I read is safe and reversible but I dare not bring up the topic on a happy day like his birthday.

However, the last time I met him over drinks, he did say that all his dieting and exercising plans have failed and he is contemplating Lapband surgery. It looks like he has yet to take the plunge. I wish him all the best whatever he chooses!

Hookwinked Unfinished

Can you believe that the other day when I watched until the 18th minute of Hookwinked, I think it was a couple of days ago already, I can't even finish it yet? It's not as if the movie is extra long. It's only slightly more than 80- minutes LOL

I know, I know, I used to say that I am busy but I am no longer THAT busy with all the eggs that I am eating, if you know what I am saying but then I don't really know where my time has gone to. I think I am the world's worst time manager.

hmmm maybe I should sleep less AGAIN??? LOL I don’t know by how many minutes more I could reduce my sleeping time. One day, I will end up sleeping for one hour only. Oh-oh… a friend told me how his boss collapsed due to overwork. Eeeekkk!!!

Pantel Outdoor Weatherproof HD LCD TV

I cannot understand why some people, mostly men, love going to sports club to watch sports when they could do it at the comfort of their homes. I have a friend who would meet his friends at a mamak whenever a live football game is scheduled. He said that the restaurant has a large TV outdoors and the atmosphere is not the same as watching alone at home. I asked him wouldn't it be a hassle if it rains since we have rain almost daily. But he said that the large TV is placed under a canopy. I mean... DUH!!! What "atmosphere" is he talking about??

Just now, I was told of this Pantel outdoor weatherproof HD LCD TV whose website is at http://www.panteltv.com. I think it is amazing that a TV could be waterproof. Can you imagine watching football in the open air and not under a canopy?

Throwing a garden party would never be the same again when you can show off your all-weather HD LCD TV to your guests. Now you can entertain your guests outdoors without being afraid of missing your favoritre TV programs. I think it is fantastic and innovative of the creator to come up with something as advanced as this. I wonder how much this is. If I have this, I can just imagine the look of surprise of my guests when I watch TV under the rain and short circuit it!

My Complimentary Movie Pass

A few months ago, I won a complimentary movie pass that admits two people to a movie at any cinema in Malaysia provided it's Free List and distributed by this particular company. Well, it's all fine and good except that I only received the pass months after the contest closed and by now, the movie has already been taken off the cinema.

The problem will not be a problem if this is a large distributor which will always have a movie or another screening but this is a small player and after bringing in that movie, we don't even know when they will be bringing in another movie.

Unfortunately, this pass is only valid until 29th February, 2008. Now what? Although I won a prize, this effectively means that I can't go and watch any movie because it is no longer valid. Bah.... this kind of prizes I don't want lah unless they keep it open for an entire year!

How To Accept Payment on A Store?

A friend of mine wanted to start a store front so that she can continue working from home now that blogging for pay is half dead. I encouraged her to start a store and am prepared to help her with the technicalities of setting it up since I have experience in that. The only think is that she would have to decide on her store name, store host, shopping cart and payment processor. I can't make these decisions for her because these are her investments to run her store. While I can help her to implement them, I don't want to be blamed if she is dissatisfied with the performance of these service providers.

She did ask me about accepting credit cards on website and as a Seller, we should always provide maximum avenues for our Buyers to make payment. One company that I came to know of this afternoon that helps setup credit card processing is Aplus Merchant Services. Although I have not used the services of this company before, I told my friend about it so that she will have more options. She is currently compiling a list of companies that offer Visa & Mastercard payment solutions.

Well, I hope that it will work out for my friend. As you know, there's plenty of ways to make money on the internet but sometimes, we need a "push" or we would never get started!

One Day Holiday

Today is Awal Muharam holiday over here. Are you having the day off as well? Frankly, one day holiday for me, I don't get the chance to rest or take a break at all. Might as well don't holiday lah, right? There was also one day Christmas and one day New Year's holiday but then the whole world was so lembik that it felt like one to two weeks of holiday.

Blehh... even that as not enough to help me recoup my energy even though I went into holiday comatose. Do you know that after that, it took me quite a bit to get out of it and get up to speed? All these breaks aren't doing me good. Just when we settle down to work, we will be breaking for Chinese New Year again.

But I get tired just thinking beyond Chinese New Year because there will be no major holidays anymore but I hope that at least we get to be productive la, right? Making money is the most important thing in my life right now and I have to make the most hay when the sun is still shining, so to speak.

Working in a Chinese Firm

Sometimes I feel like I am stuck with this company with a management that drives me up the wall. I think that this problem only afflicts Chinese firms because of the mindset of the Chinese boss. I don't care if the company is a small firm, a family run business or even a public listed firm because they are all run in the same way, just on a different scale. I came to this deduction from my own experience and that of friends who are on the same boat.

For one, Chinese bosses do not care about their staff at all. Moreover, they know nothing about Customer Relationship Management (CRM) at all. At the last meeting, I told the guys that we need to get professional CRM consulting because I know that we are not able to identity the wants and needs of our customers hence not getting the maximum advantage of a customer's patronization.

Before that, I checked the web and found that there are companies that would be able to offer CRM solutions to a company like ours. The good thing is that companies who offer CRM solutions allow us to gradually implement different functions of customer relationship management and in various CRM packages.

All is well and good IF ONLY the management would listen, absorb, understand and implement what I was telling them!

My Latest Nightmare

Last night, I was mid-way, actually, I was at the 18th minute mark, watching Hoodwinked but I could not finish it because my head was so painful I felt like vomiting. I went to lie down and fell asleep but I had a nightmare. I dreamt that my parents wanted to cut off my mobile phone line and I could not even move because my body was like a dead weight.

It felt like a spirit was pressing on top of me but I did not feel anything eerie at all and my hair did not raise on ends like they sometimes will if I could feel something "dark" in my vicinity.

I don't know why I had this dream but I think sub-consciously, I am full of guilt and moreover, my father "caught" me chatting on the phone late last night, before I fell asleep. I hate it when they asked me, "Who is that?" Why they care lah, right?

Buying A Used Car?

I have been contemplating buying a car for a while now. While I could probably buy a new car by instalment, I don't really like the burden that I would feel monthly. Meanwhile, my dad says that I should buy a used car for the time being and upgrade later. I agree but then I am not familiar with the automobile market and I am afraid of being scammed by used car dealers. I know, I am chicken when it comes to spending more than $100 but money is hard to come by and I am not going to be scammed just like that, am I?

My cousin, Jasmine, who lives in London, told me about a used cars website that she used to search for her used car. I can imagine that buyers buying a used car in London and in Kuala Lumpur would probably be facing the same issues.

Using BuyYourCar.co.uk, a potential car buyer could search for his desired car and I can say that the site has listed out most of the popular car brands from Volkswagen to Alfa-Romeo to Japanese make cars like Nissan and Honda.

Besides the ability for us to compare prices, we could utilise the Buyer’s checklist for used cars. I believe it would be very useful to us first time car buyers, especially for ladies who may be taken advantage of because we lack knowledge in cars.

Cookie Cutter Children

The other day, I was with a friend and her family and she asked me if her children look like her. Well, they look a little like er but they don't look like her husband. Usually children either will look like the mother or father, rarely crossed.

I know of a few boys who look exactly like their father. The older they get, the more a like they become. Even if they don't look alike in looks, they will look like the father either in character or in their movements and it is kind of eerie.

I think to myself, IF you can't stand the looks of a man, better not procreate with him because you will end up having children that you can't stand the loos of later. Although they may not look like him when they are young, sooner or later they will.

This is also the same foe a woman. If you don't think that a woman is beautiful, but just passable, why make babies with her, right?

Looking Out For Cheating Men

Life as a single woman is very tough not believe the number of times friends and family try to match me up with some strange guy. I know that they good intentions but I am never comfortable going out with people I hardly know. What could I do but to turn them down? I don't feel safe enough after reading so many horror stories of date gone wrong in the papers so frequently.

Well, I was told that I don't have to worry about meeting the wrong people with a date screening website like WomanSavers.com. This is a site by a woman for women only and it aims to let every woman in the dating scene know that there are good men and there are bad men. Who are the bad ones then? It's up to the community to share this knowledge by rating the men!

Apart from that, there are many fun things to do at WomanSavers.com. It's a community site where we can read articles, ask questions, gain information and make friends besides looking out for cheating men and alerting our sisters about it!

Freaking Headache!!!

Don't know what is the matter with me today but I have been suffering from a freaking headache for more than five hours already! My head is so painful that I feel like vomiting. I sometimes have bouts of pain like that I put it down to headwind. I hope it's nothing serious because I cannot afford to be sick.

As you can tell, I really have no mood to do anything at all tonight but I have been sitting here watching movie after movie. Currently watching a movie called Hoodwinked that I had been keeping for ages but did not watch because I thought that I won't like it but I was wrong. It's quite a funny movie leh. It's an animation but too bad it's only an hour and twenty minutes long.

Funny movies like these need to be lengthier ma, right or not???

Wound Care For Diabetics

My maternal grandfather and paternal grandmother both suffered from diabetes and they were pretty bad in the last few years of the lives. You can be sure that the family was very stressed out taking care of them because we had to be careful that they do not get hurt as Wound Care is always more complex for diabetics.

Just now as I was surfing the internet and chanced upon the website of Allegro Medical, I was surprised that the carry so many wound care and treatment medical products some of which I never seen before. I didn't know that wound care is a complete aspect of medical treatment.

To treat wounds, we have to be very careful and sometimes we have to use sterilized products. Allegro Medical has them all and they are even selling them cheap too as they do sell in bulk for selected items.

Click

Last week, I had the chance to catch up on some old movies and I managed to watch Click, a movie that was popular a few years ago, starring Adam Sandler. The movie is rather funny and yet sad in the middle and has a happy ending.

It tries to convey the message to all of us to place family first before work and yea, I think that most of us are so caught up with work, with making money, with putting food on the table and giving the family a better life that we failed to spend quality time with the family. When there is no adequate amount of time allocated for the family, how can we expect any QUALITY time, right?

I think that for all of us who are caught in the vortex of work, work and work and feel as if we have no time for anything else, like I always do, we should at least spare the time, which isn't even two hours, to watch that movie and come away with a different mindset towards work. I am sure our family would thank us for that!

MYR33,000 Per Month

I got to know that a friend of mine who works as a senior consulting civil engineer in a subsidiary company of a public listed company in the country is being paid a freaking RM33,000 per month! And that does not even cover his allowance.

WOW... imagine getting a month's bonus, it would be an extra RM33,000 already! Most companies are able to declare 1.5 - 2 months' bonus and if the company declares a THREE months' bonus then he would be getting almost RM100,000 FOR NOT HAVING TO DO ANYTHING EXTRA!!!!

OMG I am so jealous!!!! OK, I'm just joking about being jealous! LOL

But the down side is that he is on contract basis and once the two years is up, he would have to seek employment elsewhere unless his company has a new project that could sustain his cost. If he has to go and look for a new job, I am not sure if he could find another job with a matching pay cheque!

Looking For Salon Jobs?

A friend of mine is so lucky that she gets to study whatever she wants. I m sure not many parents would allow their daughters to take up a beauty course but this friend managed to convince her parents to put her through a beauty school. It's not that the job is not good but then most people here with beauty training would rather open their own salon business.

However, this friend doesn't have that must capital to set up her own salon yet and in the mean time, is looking for a job in a salon to gain experience. I told her that she could look for salon jobs on the web and a good place to start would be at Beauty Jobs.

The good thing about this site is that this is a job classifieds site exclusively for people in this industry and it is free for business owners to seek qualified and trained staff.

Advertlets Ad Code Removed

Since 24 hours ago, I have removed the Advertlets ad code from my blog. I have read reports that this ad has been causing people's blogs to load slow but I stuck with the ads and continued to serve them on my blogs. But when something like that redirection of my blog to some other advertisement site, that s the last straw.

Of course, I read that we have a go-around for it but the main concern is not solely whether I could access my blog or not, not whether I could continue to post or not and definitely not doing stuff to my computer and flush the DNS or whatever.

The most important thing is to make sure that my readers can continue to access my blog normally. Flushing MY DNS will not help them to read whatever I post, IF I could post them at all in the first place!

The only thing to do right now is just to remove the codes and hope that all will be well again so that we can continue to serve those ads.

Why Is My Computer So Slow Wan???

I wonder what is wrong that I am feeling like my computer is sooooo slow. I mean, it feels like ages for my applications to open up and I am not doing anything different from what I have been doing recently. When I call up the Shut Down option, it takes almost a minute for the box to come up!

The other computer that I have runs on Celeron and this one runs on Pentium and yet even a simple thing like shutting down my computer is more tedious than the Celeron system.

What to do now? Don't tell me that I have to reinstall my Windows. Ughhhh I hate that because installing all my usual programmes and then customizing and personalizing them would take up lots of time.

I think I only did a Windows reinstall a couple of months ago when my computer crashed and refused to load. Bah.... I hope that I don't need to go that route because I simply have no time to waste.

Experience Is The Best Teacher

I am sure you remember that I have a friend who continues to fight with his body weight. Well, although he has been putting up a brave front, I can understand how he must be feeling. Heck, I am a little fatter than a few short months ago and yet I am feeling depressive already.

I read the website of Weightloss Doctors in San Antonio, Texas and according to them, if someone is opting for lapband surgery, like my friend who said that this shall be his last resort, the main thing to look our for and selecting the right surgeon is his experience.

I have to agree with that because experience is the best teacher. Luckily, according to the articles that I read, lapband surgery is not a major surgery and one could recover from that pretty quickly. I hope my friend does not need that but if worse comes to worst, at least he has that option!

The Natural Source (TNS) Green Tea Purifying Body Whip

There is a TNS [The Natural Source but everytime I will think tiu nia sing LOL] store in a mall in my cow town but I never been inside before. I wonder how much they sell those natural beauty products.

If you have read my blog a long time ago, I am sure you know that the green veins on my hands have all popped out so badly that they look like old woman's hands. My friend told me to buy cream to sooth my hands just for appearance sake although it would not be able to cure my Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

Anyway, I never did buy any cream because I dont even know what cream to buy but I recently received a tub of TNS green tea purifying body whip cream so now I could use it without having to buy any cream. Do you think this will help my tired hands or is it only useful for the "body"? LOL

If it's good then I will continue to buy it. It smells heavenly!

Life After Drugs ….. Or Is There Life At All?

Do you think that it is possible to come clean after being addicted to drugs? I tend to think that it is possible but my father says that people cannot totally kick the addiction. Perhaps it is due to a weak will. I don't know.

However, I have had friends and even distant family members who were drug addicts and underwent drug rehabilitation under law and when they were released from the center, they seemed fine and were able to start life afresh.

My father, on the other hand, continues to maintain that these people would still be on drugs secretly. Do you think that if that is the case, they would still be able to function and work normally? I don't think so because people who are on drugs, even if it's "just" recreational drugs, would not be the same.

Where Got Logic Wan????

I read that people who were caught in possession of the Chua Soi Lek sex DVD have been remanded by the police. Ha.... you tell me, got logic or not? Why don't they catch the producers, actor and actress and all who are directly involved in the making of the DVD?

When someone is caught with the DVD, when they are distributed freely and even dropped into the mailboxes of homes, which I read from the papers, then is that a crime? HHmmm it's as if people get hauled in for taking one of those flyers that are distributed at supermarkets. Don't you think that the logic here is skewed?

Let's say someone received an SMS, he doesn't have control over who sends him the SMS so why catch him, right? UNLESS he distributes it lah, betul tak???

Long Term Investment

A couple of nights ago, my friend was watching a TV program which says that we should buy OIL as it will go from the current US$100 per barrel to US$120 in the near term.

I told him that it will be a very risky move as US$100 is already VERY high and jumping in now would be pure hit and run speculation. I mentioned to him that should he wish to invest his money for the long term, he should bet on a commodity that is low now and wait it out.

Precious metal, like silver, is a very good long term investment. Of course, gold is already very expensive but silver still has room to grow. With the demand from China still going strong, prices for precious metal will be on an uptrend for quite a while.

Luckily, with a company like Monex, we do not need a huge amount of money to invest in precious metals as they are able to accommodate our investment size.

Inertia After The Holidays

I wonder how many of us are going through the after-holidays inertia. I know I am. I just don't feel like I have the mood to be hard working or productive. I know some people are already forging ahead with the New Year what with all the new resolutions to see to. But me, I'm thinking, it's STILL ONLY 4th of January, and I'll be whiling my time away and I know that in a few months' time, I will be wondering where has all the time gone.

I know that I have been complaining that I have "no time" to do this or that but in actual fact, I do have time but it's just mismanaged. I found out that a few of my blogger friends have started more and more blogs and I wonder where they are able to write so much on factual niche subjects on top of taking care of the family and household.

As for me, every time I have extra work to do that is unplanned, my blogs, the handful of it, will suffer! Like they are now! I think I have to shape up mentally and physically soon or fall behind again!

Save The Earth Searching The Web

I never knew there is a connection between searching the web and saving the Earth but last night, I was told of a search engine called Carbon Neutral Search Engine that is based in the United Kingdom that would offset a minimum of 300g of CO2 per search query we make.

This idea was developed by fooke limited. By coming up with such a search engine, they are helping us to do our part in reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and at the same time educate us the need to reduce carbon footprint and save energy.

According to the Carbon Neutral Search Engine, they are planning other energy projects to help offset CO2 in the future, on top of the current use of Climate Care and the Carbon Fund.

The Chua Soi Lek Sex Scandal

I admit that I haven't found the time to spare to read the papers but this Chua Soi Lek Sex Scandal is too good to pass up. I think he is rather stupid to think that we would forgive and forget and let him continue with his job as a minister. Minister like that, there are one is a million all over the world, just that they are not that ignorant to be caught on video.

I cant imagine how embarrassing it must be for his wife and family and it's dang funny that the media keeps showing photos of the good times.

While he thinks that he is being honest and should be rewarded for his "high moral grounds", the most ironic statement of the century, if you ask me, I think that finally, by stepping down, he is being the gentleman that all politicians should emulate. You can do whatever you want, with your power and wealth, BUT if you are caught then out you go. A ministerial post is a public office and the position should never be abused.

So Hot!!!

Chinese people cannot really eat hot and spicy dishes but my father is a chili lover and has conditioned us to eat chilies and curry from young. All we need now is a hot dish every meal and we are happy.

Just now, I was told of a chili recipes website called Good Chili Recipe. Honestly, I love eating chili dishes but I never knew that there are SO MANY different types of sizzling hot dishes as found on this site.

If you have been looking for Turkey or Texas chili recipes, this is the site to go to. Of course, there are many more chili recipes but I am not going to mention all of them here so that you will have the surprise of discovering something new when you visit this site.

My goodness, just thinking about the hot stuff is making me salivate.

Eat! Eat! Eat!

My goodness! I have been stuffed with food the whole day this past holiday, I can't even wear my old pair of jeans anymore. My parents think that it's so funny. They are the ones who keep stuffing me breakfast, brunch, lunch, tea, dinner and supper, I feel so grossed out with my own fat.

Of course, they think it's funny to buy me food with my own money. Isn't that ironic when I could buy whatever I want to eat IF I WANTED TO EAT them, right??? That's why I hate it that they stuff me as if I am still a kid.

Also, I keep telling them, money is not easy to come anymore, don't spend so much but they think that I am a money printing machine or something and I am EXPECTED to be a good daughter and give them even more for January because Chinese new Year falls in early February.

I am getting stressed out just thinking about it.... have to watch Chua Soi Lek DVD to de-stress... anyone has it? How come no one drops it in my mail box? LOLOLOL