Rainy Friday

Had a really good week...woke up this morning to such a rainy day but it feels good. Cooling morning to start the day, so the rain doesn't disturb me at all, enjoying the breeze of it :)

On the contrary, got an email from a friend talking about something called Black Friday. I'm not familiar with what it is, but I believe it's some sort of a festive thing where she lives but the name itself doesn't sound very friendly, huh?

Never mind friendly or not, I'm enjoying my Friday. Some work to get done today but nothing that's too tedious :)

Looking forward to the weekend and another great week ahead.

Mess in web hosting

The other day I was helping a friend out with some web hosting issues he was facing. He had engaged the service of one particular company for a year but was apparently not very happy with the service after a year. So in the midst of looking for another while his current service is expiring, he asked me to help host him for a while and I agreed.

I didn't know it would be so much work on both our parts, as it caused some panic when he lost his entire blog because the domain name could not be found when I hosted it.

So he had to speed up his search to compare web hosts and find the next suitable one. I recommended the one I was using but he found it expensive. So I recommended some others I've tried before on a smaller scale so he could quickly get his site back.

As a quicker way to find a reliable company, I told him to read just host user reviews to get fair feedback on what other users feel about the many companies out there.

In the end he was happy with some godaddy user reviews and bought it. I'm glad he had signed up for his own hosting and we settled it all and his site is now back on track.

Don't know why it just didn't work on mine and I didn't want his stuff deleted whilst being hosted on my web host.

I think I won't want to do this kind of favour anymore...it's a huge responsibility especially if someone loses years or hard work blogging!

Friend in need

I've got a friend who keeps going around asking for anyone who can give her honest lipofuze reviews before she makes up her mind to go for it. Well none of us can help her as we don't touch such products.

Anyone knows of anyone who does and point us in the direction to get some of these unbiased reviews? Much appreciated. I'd be sure she'll be grateful for them too :)

Urge to eat but no appetite

Don't know what's up with me lately. When I feel hungry or have some cravings for some food, I go right ahead to eat and satisfy the urge. But the strange thing is that the moment the food is there, I don't feel like eating it. It's as if I've lost my appetite right away. I didn't take any appetite suppressants, so I don't understand why it's happening.

Maybe I just need to relax, take deep breaths and let things go a bit easy on myself. Hopefully then I'll be back on track. In all things, not just this appetite thing.

Thinking of getting a compact camera

After more than a year of getting our DLSR camera, I suddenly kinda long for a compact camera. It definitely is easier to bring around everywhere we go.

Right now we hardly bring our DSLR out because it involves carrying another bag around when we're out, plus the weight too. A small and compact one is good to go once I just slip it into my handbag.

So before you make a decision on what kind of digital cameras you want to buy, do consider carefully where you will be hardworking enough to bring one that's big and heavy! Don't make the same mistake.

All those beauties pay a price

Have you ever wondered whether the famous and hot celebrities are naturally slim and beautiful the way they are? For most of them, I don't think they are that "genuine". I think most of them go for some sort of plastic surgeries or even botox. Not to mention all sorts of weight loss programs too. Otherwise, how do you explain how some of them can look so gorgeous and shapely a short while after birth?

So I think all those beauty that we see on screen and in print actually come with a price that they paid. Nothing is really so perfect in the world, ain't it?

Love the internet!

There is really nothing quite as great at the invention of internet, don't you think? Most of us can't live without it these days. Kids grow up not knowing a world without the computer and internet. How different the world is now compared to the one that we grew up in.

How do you use the internet to your convenience? I love online banking. Hate going to the banks so that technology made available to us is really God-sent. Can't complain about the use of blogging tools too these days. Most people have blogs nowadays too.

Now I even apply for insurance policies online, like my home and car insurances. Yes, these services have come a long way from being agent-led to technology-led. I'm also eyeing a life insurance online site as I think I may sign up for one via this channel too.

Simply love the internet...if I can hug it, I will! :D

All sorts of donation drives out there

The other day I was in a coffee shop with a friend when I overheard some guy going around asking for donations for the building of a drug rehab. Honestly, I am quite skeptical of people who go around collecting donations for any kind of purposes because there are so many scams around.

I thought it was a new one to have a donation drive for drug rehabilitation. If I were to donate to such a cause, I would prefer to do it through some proper drug rehabilitation association instead.

I guess there are all kinds of donation drives these days for anything you can think of. Unfortunately, it makes it even more dubious for me!

Enjoy the pregnancy first, worry later!

Some of my colleagues at work are pregnant. I'm not very close to them but I do feel happy for them. After having gone through pregnancy and having a wonderful kid, I do understand how life changing it is and how great life is with some tiny feet pitter-pattering up and down the home.

However, before some of them are even close to their delivery dates, they are already worried about losing their pregnancy weight and have started to enquire about ways to lose weight effectively once they've given birth.

One of them was sharing with the rest to read up on some phenphedrine reviews that were said to be good. I just kept quiet.

I'm not sure that diet pills are the answer to losing pregnancy weight. For those who are breastfeeding, they should really find out the side effects of such pills before subjecting their babies to substances like that.

What are the necessities to run a small time business?

Since I had my little boy, I'm always thinking of ways to quit my job and be a work at home mum so that I have flexi hours and spend more time with him as he grows up. As such, I'm always thinking about starting some sort of business but so far I've not really ventured into anything because of so much uncertainties surrounding the economy as well as my fear of not being able to earn a decent income, not to mention losing money!

But lately, I feel like I am getting a step closer, hoping that what I have in mind to offer in the market is going to be something that people need. Lately I've been very occupied in doing my research and trying to plan on how to start.

I keep thinking of what are the things that I need to first set out so that my little business is reputable and not deemed as a run-by-night business. I thought of incorporating a company to run the business instead of doing it as an individual, investing in things like a receipt printer to offer proper invoicing documents, investing in nice packaging to deliver the products in, and some marketing efforts.

But all these little things add up to quite a lot and I'm stepping back to consider carefully again which are absolutely necessary and important. What I deem as important may not really be, so maybe I should ask around for people's opinions on this. Do you have any for me?

A mother's choice

With some bonus just in, I suddenly feel rather tempted to spend on some gadgets. I know this isn't a good time to indulge, and I should be saving up the bonus. But I just keep thinking about 2 things - a better lens for my DSLR camera so that I can capture better pictures, and one of those popular netbooks in the market.

Both are not necessities. It's just nice to have. I could easily put off buying them but once in a while I just feel the urge to check them out online or whenever I pass by the stores and see them on display.

Whenever I feel the strong urge and the voice in me that says "It's a great buy!", I keep reminding myself that times are bad, I don't even know if I will get the next bonus and whether there's going to be any salary increment. And the biggest demotivator for me to buy those stuff is my son. I keep thinking how much I could buy for him with that amount that I spend on the gadgets. And with that, I always end up walking away empty handed of gadget, but probably a few bagful of clothes, books or toys for the little boy :)

And it makes me smile and happy! A mother's choice is always clear. The child will always come first.

Last minute shopping for CNY

CNY is just around the corner! Have you done everything you need to do, spring cleaning, shopping and getting your life on track to usher in the new year? It's always a hectic time preparing for the new year, isn't it?

This afternoon my colleague and I headed to KLCC for lunch and just as we expected, there were still many people doing their last minute shopping. Well I was one of them, too! My colleague and I went separate ways to go get what we needed to buy and when we got back together, I was shocked that she had purchased something like a dozen books! No kidding!

Those books are supposed to last her through the CNY period since it is believed that it's not good omen to buy books during the 15 days of CNY. She initially wanted to order her purchase on Amazon books but found that delivery charges would kill her although the unit price of the books were a lot cheaper. I can just imagine how much her books would weigh after I saw for myself how many books she picked up!

Well those were her last minute CNY purchases, while mine were clothes. I actually haven't been buying any new clothes for the new year for a few years already because I don't believe in buying for the sake of buying new clothes for the new year. But today, I just felt in the mood for it, and ended up buying red tops for myself and Ray. The little one already has plenty of new clothes I bought in advance (including red ones, of course!) so I didn't buy him anything last minute.

Sometimes it can be quite fun to join the crowd in doing last minute shopping. It feels a wee bit merrier! Am I strange or what? :)

Anyway, here's wishing everyone a very Happy & Prosperous year of the Ox. I hope you will have a better year ahead in all aspects of your life.

Time flies, one year gone by and another to begin

When the year is almost up, I often look back and reminisce. Sometimes it sets me off to a pretty gloomy mood looking back at the year that was. Not because it wasn't a good year...but because I look back and think how fast time has zoomed past and we didn't really stop and smell enough roses along the way. And you can't go back in time and pick up those moments again. You need to move along ahead and you tell yourself to remember to slow down and smell them next year. And then the cycle goes on and on in pretty much the same way.

At every year end, I also think about making some worthy new year resolutions. As it turns out from my many years of experience, I never stick to them. So why bother, I ask myself. And so for the coming new year, I don't think I'm gonna make any!

This is also the time to crack my head thinking of Christmas presents. It gets harder and harder each year buying for the same people in your life, doesn't it? But still, I find it rather satisfying when I get something that the recipient totally enjoys. The sales are on and there are plenty of promotional products out there, so I'm going to get the shopping done hopefully in 2 weeks time. The only stuff I've bought for Christmas are some new clothing for my little boy.

And speaking of my little boy, it's been a really long time since he made an appearance here, huh? I'll end this post here with some latest pictures of him.

Are you disappointed?

September 16 came and went. Many people got themselves glued to the radio and internet, hoping to catch first hand information on what's going on. Apart from a couple of general press conferences, nothing major has happened.

Are you disappointed? As much as I would like to see better change coming along, I'm one who's willing to wait for it to happen than to see a forceful takeover. It can't result in much good that way. And whilst many are saying that it's all a bluff and mind game, it's too early to judge. Let's just wait and see. It's clear that someone is bluffing, but we will know soon enough who it is, won't we?

Happy 080808!

I hope you're having a memorable 080808. It's just as well that it should fall on a Friday where it's everybody's favourite day, right? :)

Happy 080808 and enjoy the Olympics!

Should I go?

Yesterday FIL smsed to say that he saw my name as one of the invited guests to the 50th anniversary celebration of some sports event here. He asked if I was going and said that I should since it should be fun.

It's going to be held in the middle of the week and it's all the way in Putrajaya. I'm not sure if I'll be able to bring guests or I have to go alone. I definitely won't be keen to drive all the way there alone, especially when the event will probably end late. If I am able to bring Ray and baby, it might also be too late for baby to stay up for.

I'm in a dilemma...should I or should I not? On one hand, it'll be quite fun to meet up with old friends. On the other hand, I'm lazy to go and I'm not even sure what the event entails. I guess there's only one way to find out - to call and ask. But before I do, I should decide how serious I am about going. It's not nice to call and ask, only to turn it down, right?

Blogspot vs Wordpress

I've recently been toying with the idea of switching to Wordpress. I signed up for a free account and was playing about with it. Many people like Wordpress for the professionalism it has, the easy navigation and usage, etc. But it does come with a price. It doesn't come for free if you want to customise your blog a lot. However, even with this setback, many are still willing to pay instead of using a free one like Blogspot.

So what is really so attractive about Wordpress? I'm curious and I want to know it all, pros and cons, before I make a decision whether to stick around or switch. And why am I thinking of switching, you ask...I don't know. Maybe because I just need a change :)

Wrong number??!

I'm sure you've received calls from strangers who called your number by mistake. I bet you've also been the one who made the mistake of calling a wrong number. Today I just realised something...

How do you react when you call a number, ask for your friend and get told that you've dialled the wrong number? A lot of people would just quickly apologise and hang up. Some sound rather embarrassed about the simple and honest mistake too.

Here are some behaviours I've observed over time and I find them rather peculiar. I hope you're not any of these! :P

1. The perfectionist

Stranger: Hello, can I speak with A?
You: Sorry, you got the wrong number.
Stranger: Wrong number? Cannot be wat...what's your number?
You (when in a nasty mood): Why should I tell you??!
OR
You (when in the best of mood): 012...(you give the number).
Stranger: Eh, correct lah...so, no such person is it?
You: No!
Stranger: Ok.
Line goes dead.

2. The chatter

Stranger: Hello, can I speak with A?
You: Sorry, you got the wrong number.
Stranger: Oh! Is this 012....(reads out your phone number)
You: Yes...
Stranger: Hmm...how come ah? It's the right number woh...
You: .... (what can you say to this stranger at this point?)
Stranger: Thank you ah...
Line goes dead.

3. The Non-Believer

Stranger: Hello, can I speak with A?
You: Sorry, you got the wrong number.
Stranger: Wrong number? Really?
You: Yeah.
Stranger: Oh...so A is not around la?
You: I told you it's the wrong number. No such person here.
Stranger: Where is this?
You: .....(do you see a need to continue this conversation?!)
You hang up on the stranger.

4. The Rude One

Stranger: Hello, can I speak with A?
You: Sorry, you got the wrong number.
Stranger hangs up on you immediately.

Have you encountered similar experiences? They're quite fun and entertaining when I'm having a good day...but totally annoying when I'm busy or having woken up on the wrong side of the bed.

What satisfies you?

No, I'm not asking an intimate question here, so don't get too excited over this post :) Actually, it's a very boring post ahead.

It's been a long day. In fact, it's been a very long weekend for me. Hubby is overseas on work and this is the first time I'm left with baby alone. Over the weekdays, it wasn't too bad because I only had to manage him when I got home from work and in the nights when he woke up for feeds.

Then came the weekend...we normally go out and baby is quite a breeze to handle when we're out. Well, almost all the time except when he gets sleepy and goes crancky on us. But since I'm alone, I didn't want to go out despite mom being there to help me out if I really wanted to go out.

Since baby can't differentiate between a workday and a weekend, he doesn't give me the time to sleep in on weekends. I still gotta get up when he does, which can be anytime from six to eight. Anyway, I've been up early and I quickly get through the morning doing laundry with mom's help to look in on him.

Then the day gets by quite busily for me, from feeding to washing to playing and carrying, trying to make him go to sleep, watching over him as he tries to crawl but falls. I don't get to stop to relax even as he takes a nap because that's the time I get to finish up whatever else I need to do. It also doesn't help that he doesn't nap long.

Now after 2 straight days of mothering and all the related work that comes with it, I finally settle down on a Sunday night after baby has gone to bed. It's CSI night and I sit down in front of the TV to begin the CSI marathon. But wait, I suddenly remembered I had earlier spotted two pots that badly needed scrubbing. I look at the clock and decided to miss one episode of CSI. So I went to scrub and scrub and scrub. It feels really good to see the pot sparkling clean! The one hour of CSI that I gave up was well worth it!

Now I sit in front of the TV again and catch the second CSI for the night, with a cup of steaming hot green tea. I feel so satisfied thinking of the sparkling pots. Then suddenly, it hit me. Have I caught on the Monica Disease (as in the sitcom Friends)? I'm not usually obssessed with cleaning, just the usual mood to spring clean every now and then. But with that dire need to scrub those pots tonight, it really felt like a Monica moment.

But since I had so much pleasure in doing so, I guess I won't mind even if it's a disease that hits me every now and again. At the end of the day, it's all about doing something in your life that makes you satisfied and happy. It can be the most mundane and useless task or thing to the rest of the world but if it makes you happy, why not?

I'll go to bed tonight knowing that I've had a full weekend. Though it was a lot of work and quite tiring, I had a lot of fun with baby...and scrubbing! :)

Queen B

At my work place, we love gatherings. We always find a reason to go out for lunch and always in a large group of at least 10 people. You could say that we love food, but more importantly I think we all get along so well that we look forward to such outings.

I gotta say my colleagues are a bunch of really fun people. They are smart, witty, funny, and sometimes downright bitchy but in a playful and fun way. Well, as long as you're not on the receiving end of the bitchiness, you would think it's fun right?

Anyway, during our last lunch gathering, we coined the term Queen Bitch B to be awarded to the person who shows the greatest level of bitchiness. Mind you, this "honoured" title is not restricted to only the females. Right now we have a Miss and a Mister who are neck to neck in competition to be crowned as The Queen B!

Don't get me wrong, we're a bunch of fun-loving people and the bitchiness about us is completely harmless. We are the direct type and pretty much talk "straight to your face". But it's all in good fun and we certainly know our limits. Being open-minded, we don't mind all the jests and insults we so casually hurl at each other.

But what we don't appreciate are people who do this behind our backs. Worst are the ones who, when they are busted for their back-talks, lie vehemently to cover their behinds. You know, once you're caught with damning evidence, there's just no way to redeem yourself. Instead, one should have integrity. If you had the guts to back-talk in the first place, you should have the guts to admit it, agree?

Anyway, I've digressed. Let me get to my point. The term "bitch" is often said in disgust and anger and it means a bad person. But I suspect that a person being labelled as a bitch is often a misunderstood person. Read the following poem and see if you agree with me.

When I stand up for
myself and my beliefs,
they call me a bitch.

When I stand up for
those I love,
they call me a bitch.

When I speak my mind, think my own thoughts
or do things my own way,
they call me a bitch.

Being a bitch
means I won't compromise what's
in my heart.
It means I live my life
MY way...
It means I won't allow anyone to step on me.

When I refuse to
tolerate injustice and
speak against it,
I am defined as a bitch.

The same thing happens when I take time for
myself instead of being everyone's maid, or when
I act a little selfish.

It means I have the courage and strength to allow
myself to be who I truly am and won't become
anyone else's idea of what they think I "should" be.

I am outspoken,
opinionated and determined. I want what I want
and there is nothing wrong with that!

So try to stomp on me,
try to douse my inner flame, try to squash
every ounce of beauty I hold within me.
You won't succeed.

And if that makes me a bitch,
so be it.
I embrace the title and
am proud to bear it.

I bet my colleagues who are in the running for the Queen B title now wants to be THE Queen B more than ever!