My Pink Shoelace

I brought this to myself out of sheer impulse and now I think am loving it. So how busy can a person get? Am busy not cause I got promoted (hahah very unlikely) but because I just enrolled in a crash course. So on a daily basis here’s my somewhat routine.

1:30 AM - 10:30 AM : Working as a human switchboard

11:00 AM to 1:00 PM : You’ll find me in the gym (after a month’s hiatus am finally back)

1:30 PM to 3:00 PM : Facing my notebook

3:00 PM to 5:00 PM : Dozing off

5:00 PM to 6:00 PM : Preparing for school

6:00 PM to 7:00 PM : Somewhere uptown grabbing dinner and waiting for the class to start

7:00 PM to 9:00 PM : Class

Around 9:30 PM to 1:00 AM : Sleeping in the lounge (my new home lol!!!)

1:30 AM : Comes the human switchboard

RD on Fridays and Saturdays but a full time Grad School stud on the whole of Saturday and then back to work Sunday morning. Whew!!

Busy eh? Heheeh then I gotta insert a few meet ups here and there … a few food trips with peeps from work … a few malling every now and then.

Lovelife? waaaaaaaaa no room for it. Think am heading towards spintersville … lol!!

In a neighborhood of a bustling city its hard to give a hundred percent trust to everyone in the area. With movies about undercover serial killers or killer barbers its safe to remain cautious at all times. In the States where the population is growing continuously and in huge numbers crimes both petty and big are rampant. You’ll never know if you could be someone’s watch list of the next victim to be, in the attempts of crime awareness several NGO’s and concerned citizens put up a site containing the Sexual Predator List in any state, city and county to bring awareness to women, old and young. Rape and murder seem to be very rampant in the US especially in those neighborhood known for crime and violence. To date there are about  644,865 sexual predators living in the US. Now isn’t that scary? Your next door neighbor could be one of them or the guy who collects your garbage. So better be aware and cautious, check this list out and see if any names look familiar.

Kuya Dan gave me this neat tag. Whew!!! So unexpected and am happy to snag it and share it with my blogging friends. My sincere thankies kuya for sharing the tag.

He has this rules so, you must follow. I Heart Your Blog award:

1. The winner can put the logo on his/her blog;
2. Link the person you received your award from;
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs;
4. Put links of those blogs on yours; and
5. Leave a message on the blogs that you’ve nominated.

Am sharing this tag to the following wonderful people … who has given me so much personally and in the blogosphere.

* Lex

* Eds

* SoReal

* Michy

* Bena

* Momie Mier

So what places do you get to see if you embark on a Mediterranean cruise? I searched for this online because I can’t stop thinking about it … anything that has to do with laag and the likes they’re stuck in my head. So anyways almost all Mediterranean cruises go about these ports.

• Venice
• Athens (Pireaus)
• Naples/Capri
• Rome
• Florence/Pisa
• Marseille/Provence

• Monte Carlo/Cannes
• Barcelona
• Dubrovnik
• Kusadasi
• Istanbul
• Gibraltar

Imagine that?!!! I’ve been dying to see Venice and Athens … to stand amongst the ruins of an ancient civilization. And there’s Rome and Barcelona, usually trips like this lasts for around 10 to 14 days and based on my research departure would be on any major cities in Europe … huhuhu … I don’t see any departure from Asia and the rate are … whew!!! What’d you expect its a cruise amongst the world’s finest cities.

Someday … gosh someday am praying I’ll be able to embark on such luxurious travel.

Monday Shift , there was low call volume as expected and with the day shifters coming in at 7 and 7:30 the avail time was really long. So as expected there was VGH, they laughed at me when I said am a changed person lol! Told them I won’t go VGH and this time its for real and am sure of it. But when the offer arrived damn!! ’twas so hard to refuse. So the three of us (moi, bena and diva) went on VGH and together with Jao and April went on another series of food trip.

First stop was McDonald’s were we had our fill … we’re s’pose to go to Madeleine’s in Waterfront but changed our minds and decided to head on somewhere in the Fuente Circle to eat “ginabot”. Diva has been craving for it for weeks and finally he’s getting it. From McDonald’s we went to Fuente were there’s the infamous pungko-pungko, the same spot where Kitoy and I ate once and where Daddy Joe, Jep-Jep and I ate once too.

So the 5 of us ate like there’s no tomorrow … foodtrip at its height and I’ve never felt so full and so heavy. Whew!!

Till next time mga vayyyeeeettt …

I’ve known of quite a number of people who are struggling between debts. It sometimes puzzle how they manage to juggle from one loan to the other, take for instance I know of a friend who’s payroll goes directly to his credit card bills plus the loans on the side. Sometimes I wonder how he gets by but I think its goes to down to how you manage to make do with whats left after all the deductions. Run across a site during the course of my wandering in the web of a debt consolidation site … its a first for me to hear such a term and was a bit intrigued by what it means. Based on what I’ve read its intended for credit cards, medical bills and collection accounts. This is targeted to users or consumers who are having difficulty meeting monthly payment requirements or are un-able to reduce their balances should apply. Should he apply for this type of program? Maybe its worth mentioning … but wouldn’t it hurt his ego?

I find it awkward discussing other people’s finances but he’s a close friend of mine and though I cannot help him pay off his debts but at least in a way I’d be able to help him find ways on eliminating them one by one. Now am wondering if plans like this or services like this exist in the country, there’s even a government debt consolidation program that of which am not acquainted with the details but just the same its targeted to those who need help with their finances. Or maybe I can ask him to attend credit counseling before he starts getting another loan. Whew!!! Seems like he’s style is to get another loan to pay his existing loan, which I find strange … don’t understand it really.

The view and the chaise lounge looks enticing, the perfect combination for that dream vacation by the beach. I know of someone who’s house is situated on the beach front it often made me wonder why he has not converted the area to a beach resort seeing that its just got that perfect touch. He said if he’d do that then the place would lose its charm and would be jampacked with people.

As we went through his collection of outdoor furnitures, ones that he put in the storage and would only take them out when friends came over, he’s got a collection enough to set up a pool barbecue party. Tables, chaise lounges, umbrellas and a lot more. As he places them away he used patio furniture covers to make sure the dust wont stick to the furnitures after all almost all of them are white.

Passed by a furniture house yesterday on my way home and was enamored by the multitude of rugs available. Most of them are pretty colorful while other have this very intricate designs. Cheap rugs are available online most of which have this classy oriental design, there are also area rugs in pink which are very tempting to buy. They’re s’pose to add color and beauty to the area where they are placed. What amazes me though is the fact that creating these rugs not only require skill but also an appreciation of beauty and color symmetry. I mean how can they put up those patterns if don’t have an inkling of beauty and color combination?

On an article online it states that Oriental rugs have long been appreciated since ancient times for their beauty. That beauty is achieved in these Oriental Rugs through the choice of colors and designs, as well as by the manipulation of designs and colors to form pleasing patterns. Patterns in Oriental Area Rugs are never quite what you expect - a surprise here, a flourish there, a change of color, the flip or rotation of a design where you might not predict it. The more you look, the more variations you will find in Oriental Rugs.

Isn’t that interesting?

This is a bit overdue I’ve been feeling terribly busy these past few days so uploading these photos went off my head. As I was cleaning my bag I saw Ed’s memory card reader which triggered the fact that Diva’s mini SD is with me … so I finally got them uploaded. This was right after our shift as all three of us work from 1:30 AM to 10:30 AM … we decided to go eat somewhere and the nearest fine dining was Golden Cowrie. My first to eat there and it was “swell”. If Mitchy was with us she would have asked for the recipe of their dinuguan … it was very very yummy. Too bad we didn’t have a photo of it.

Sa uulitin mga vayyyyeeeetttt … with Diva and Bena.

~ Garlic Rice ~

~ Pork Belly ~

~ Fried Kangkong ~

~ From left to right: Bena, Diva, Yours Truly ~

Images : Courtesy of Diva … tosha yotch

Guess what are they? Wrought iron moon and star bookends. I was searching online for something to contain my growing pocket books. Not a cabinet as I definitely don’t have the space … my pocket books and school books are in a clutter on the floor in my bedroom. Waaaaa talk about over delayed general cleaning. So anyways I saw that bookend online and I find it cute not to mention unique, I can just arrange my books on top of my dresser and use those bookends to hold them in place. Double checked on the site once again see if there’s anything else I can use or make it anything else that might take my fancy and use at the same time. They also have curtain rods and a wide variety of garden decors. Now the next question is how to order one and have it shipped to where I am . lol .

Working as a mediator between construction companies and the local government this friend of mine has much know how on suppliers and dealers. Of late the project he was on was the construction of a highway road somewhere down south. This jobs of his entails the gathering of suppliers for the materials needed for the project, he mentioned once that there were close to 5 bidders for construction materials but he’s vote was on Jensen Precast. This company is a supplier/manufacturer of  Precast Concrete products and related fabricated steel products primarily for underground utilities/infrastructure construction. He said he’s had a good working history with them on a previous project where in he got the company as the supplier for Precast Concrete Septic Tanks, not only were they of good quality but they were cheap as well.

So he closed his latest deal with them once again as the supplier for the project, seems like this company is making a big impression.

Online casinos are pretty rampant, a lot of people who want to unwind with just at the comforts of their homes would opt for playing poker online. Question now is how to choose amongst the various options, how to make sure that the reviews you are reading from so called review sites are not phony. After all you wouldn’t want these people getting a run on your money do you? Eager as any gamer you must be, it’d be best to be cautious, check out each casino reviews as closely as possible, do an extensive research before venturing in. Hard earn money is so hard to come by that spending it carefully for relaxation purposes should be dealt with a bit of extra caution.

With Online Casinos Links, not only do you get editor and user reviews, you get to check on the features and amenities each of these casinos have to offer. Ratings are real time and are provided by users and for the benefit of novices, various articles on beginners guide to online gambling. The Do’s and dont’s of online gambling and much more.

Might as well check them out before you start shelling out your hard earned cash.

I can’t seem to control the itch in my feet its not athlete’s foot mind you but when things like this happen, it only means one thing I want to go somewhere again. So out of the country is what I have in mind but where that I do not know yet. Was looking online for places to visit, am not looking for just a typical beach resort with white sand, or a theme park alone like Disney Land. Am looking for something unique, with a twist and preferably its one with a combination of a theme park and an opera. Too demanding? Well its just wishful thinking.

What I came across was surprisingly more than what I hoped for, there’s a museum … multiple museums that is the one I want to see would be the Hollywood Wax Musuem and they also house the world’s largest antique toy museum. Plus they have this thrills and rides for the kids and for the not so kids but are still young at heart. They also have water rides fit for all ages so long as you know how to swim …lol. There’s also a kart track so anyone has the option to go kart racing. Whew!! And the adventure does not end here, for those who love to explore well they have caves and caverns open for exploration.

Now you must be asking where this place is, its in Branson Missouri, the place is just ideal for that perfect getaway either with friends or with your family. They also offer vacation packages you get to choose from and to date there has been 117, 758 individuals who purchased vacation packages from them.

So next stop? Yeah most definitely.

I can no longer remember the number of times I’ve been to Cafe Georg but last night I find myself there again for the nth time with Doi and Eds. We had a busy afternoon taking pics of the stocks and we rewarded ourselves with good food.

- Cafe Georg’s Logo

- the menu

- the lights

- the couch

- yummy

- the counter

- Moi and Doi

- Doi’s Lychee Fruit Shake

- Moi Coke Float

- Drinks

- Chicken with Pesto Sauce

- Red Saigon Pork Belly

- Singaporean Style

- Oreo Cheesecake

- Swiss Choco Mudslide

- Choco Mint Chip Cake

Food - courtesy of Doi

Images - courtesy of Eds

Moi? - Nah just tagging along.

I haven’t been able to get enough sleep these past few days … work, stress at home, school and who knows what else has kept me busy. The effects are of this are visible on my countenance especially with the growing visibility of acne on my face, my ill tempered manner and who knows what else. Chocolates and cakes can’t seem to eradicate my stress and I dunno what will.

I don’t know if you have heard of the term Nouveau Riche. It is actually used for social class distinctions between those who acquired their wealth in his or her generation and those people who came from families who has been wealthy for multiple generations. Nouveau Riche means “new money” in English. The first time I heard of the term was in the movie Titanic. It was used as a derogatory term for Rosie O’donell’s character by Kate Winslet’s social class who were the “old money” in the movie. I wonder how the people in the past would react now that there are a lot of parvenus (people who has recently or suddenly risen to an unaccustomed position of wealth or power and has not yet gained the prestige, dignity, or manner associated with it) like Rosie O’donell’s character. “New money” people like Ronald Reagan and the likes of David Filo and Jerry Yang who are the creators of Yahoo!. I bet they will be raising their eyebrows even higher when they hear of a university that was named Nouveau Riche whose sole purpose is to help individuals who want to improve their socioeconomic standing through investing in the real estate industry, which is one of the most lucrative industries these days not only in the US but all over the world.

So how do they do it? They do it through courses that were designed to teach their students “how-to” real estate investment concepts and strategies. Understand the advantages and disadvantages of several short-term and long-term real estate investment strategies. On a personal note, I admire Nouveaux Riches more for they acquired their wealth through their own abilities. Although, I’m not saying that those whose families remained rich all these time shouldn’t be admired. It’s just that the recognition to “old money” shouldn’t go to just one individual. The recognition should go to their family for it was a shared effort to keep their status.

Talked to Kitoy via IM earlier seeking his opinion on my plan of getting a house for myself. Just like those previous opinion I sought from him, there’s always those questions that I need to answer, questions that I find myself with no answer. So this time was no different, it end to the statement that am too impulsive. Impulsive yeah I know, heck my notebooks are proof to that but adding the word “too” just before it, ’twas shocking.

I want a house (take note I used the word want and not need) because living in this house with my uncle is one hellish experience. I don’t have as much freedom and solitude.

But are these reasons valid enough to make myself commit to a very long term housing loan?

I’ve talked to Brad and Kitoy, there’s just about 6 persons I need to talk to before I make up my mind.

I’m young, but I don’t make it as an excuse to just slack off or waste my hard-earned money off to some temporary respite that I may never get to fully use in my lifetime. I’m still in the process of discovery when it comes to money matters and decision-making.

Having been able to read Mr. Kiyosaki’s book Rich Dad Poor Dad sometime last year, I resulted to finding out more in finding a way to understand more about the real estate business. Nouveau Riche University where a visionary CEO in the person of Jim Piccolo has a way of learning to realize the concepts of earning much and getting more than what you’ve invested.

Nouveau Riche University has an extensive way of opportunities to go beyond your norms so that you can maximize your time living life while staying young. That’s why the goal of Jim Piccolo is to make sure you get value for your money as they don’t want you to be compromised as well.

I plan to do everything I can so that I won’t get burned out when the time comes that I no longer want to work for the same job. At least in the future, I’m more or less insured due to the number of savings and investments that I’ve come up. So for now, I still like to be in a rat race cause I want to experience to learn.Reading all about Nouveau Riche University and Jim Piccolo is surely enlightening and encouraging hopefully someday I’d be one like him.

Whew!! I have been quite busy these past few days and when I checked my chatbox … here it was an awesome award from Lou  the KICK ASS BLOGGER Award, thanks sis.

 Do you know any bloggers that kick ass? Maybe they’ve got incredible, original content. Or they’re overflowing with creativity. Is it someone that helps you become a better blogger? Or a bloggy friend you know you can count on? Or maybe it’s someone who simply inspires you to be a better person… or someone else who sends you to the floor, laughing your ass off. Whatever the reason may be, I’m sure you know at least a couple of bloggers that kick ass. Well… why not tell ‘em so? LOVE ON ‘EM

* Choose 5 bloggers that you feel are “Kick Ass Bloggers”* Let ‘em know via email, twitter or blog comments that they’ve received an award* Share the love and link back to both the person who awarded you (Lou) and back to MammaDawg to get the code for the kick ass image.

Now, I’m passing this award to these unique and talented bloggy friend : Edcel; Bena; Momie Mier; Avee; Sheng. Keep on blogging guys!!!

  Reloadable prepaid cards are rampant nowadays. They seem pretty ideal for cashless shopping both online and in retail shops. Now many would ask what prepaid cards are? They function more or less like a credit card but without the credit as you only get to spend whatever amount is on your card, somewhat like a debit card but with much wider acceptance, especially those with the Maestro, Mastercard logos on them. Plus using these cards as there are many types of them one of which is the cashplus cards users get discounts with online purchases. Seems like online stores have had collaboration with these prepaid card companies regarding offers, discounts and freebies with their clients.

So if you’re thinking of applying for one then it’d be better if you get started on reading some of the prepaid card review to get a background on each type of card before rushing on with the application.

Back in the late 80’s when I was a toddler I remembered hearing often my mom talking to my grandma about minimizing her use of cigars. I used to find it captivating, the way the smoke comes out of her nose and the way it seemed to relax her in the hours of siesta. It also reminds me of those elegant men in movies in their fine suits playing poker or who knows what with a cigar  in their mouths. Whats with these cigars anyway? What made it different with the cigarettes that even teenagers used now?

Used to think that with time these cigars would be phased out and would be replaced by the growing number of cigarette brands haunting the market. But apparently I am wrong, as these cigars are still in existence and are in increasing high prices. Made it seem like its for the older generation who has done their part in the world and are now just relaxing, compared to the youth with their cigarette sticks still on the look out for their purpose in life.

The past few days found me crying miserably guess I just miss my mom and am miserable knowing that in my loneliness she’s no longer around to give me comfort that in my mishaps she’s no longer around to give me her sound advice. I mess up at work lately, I was on VL last Sunday for the nth time only to find out that it ticked the hell out of other people, I was on half day last Monday and on VGH after only two hours of working. I went to work with swollen eyes … the reason why I went half day. I can barely open my eyes and I’ve never seen them that swollen, when I arrived in the office one of the team leads jokingly asked, am I bitten by bed bugs again … I said yeah.

But we both knew better. When I went on VGH it was already daylight, I didn’t like the idea of going out and have people stare at my face so I went to the lounge and curl up into a ball and sleep.  If only I had one of those fashionable womens sunglasses I would have had the nerve to go home without fear of being stared at.

I was miserable and I guess I still am, but my problems shouldn’t interfere with my work and I’ll try my damnedest to follow that mantra.  I guess its never to late to start over.

Right across work, well not directly across but a couple of blocks away there’s a hotel one of the finest in the area and they have a casino flocked by locals and foreigners alike. As I was told this gambling establishment is the main one in the area and has all sorts of games imaginable. Poker, slot machines, and all those card games, what amuses me is that casinos are flocked with people at night just like a bar and am not quite sure why. Also people going there are dressed to kill and are almost always in wheels. Is it an indication that only the wealthy gets in?

What about those who has the capacity to gamble yet are just comfortable to wear their baggy jeans and yesterday’s shirt? Are they blocked at the entrance by those guards in black suits? Waaaaaaa I guess just like shopping instead of dragging your ass to the mall one can just shop virtually, now who would care what your wearing?

Online casinos are rampant nowadays the same way virtual shopping stores are, giving you the luxury to play in your pyjamas without leaving the comforts of your home.

Do you enjoy making cute friends online? If you’re over 18 years old then that is not a problem. Connect with a number of teens in your area via the free chat room or chat lines. You can grab the opportunity of unlimited free chat to one of the cutest and hottest teens from your local area. What are you waiting for? Teen chat is just a phone call away or better yet holler them up using the phone chat. Forget being shy, make your move, men and women are just waiting to meet you. Join the chat lines and meet new friends. They also have what they call the adult chat I guess this would be for those well over twenty. But its free nonetheless so grab your phones and start talking.

With the site I created to showcase some of my stuff and most of the items Doi purchased in Bangkok, I was enamored with the thought of starting a business of my own. But for now I guess I’ll settle with what am doing since I don’ t the capacity to start on my own, though small business loans are readily available but am not ready to venture out on that yet. You can say am still learning and business financing is something that I still need to fully understand. Am not sure if the capital they’ve used on this business venture is acquired through a small business loan but if it is then am sure they’ve fully recovered the capital by now and some more.

The purchases done in Bangkok were numerous blouses, blouses and more blouses and am very eager to get my hands on the stocks since they’ve arrived already. Weeeee more pictures and more items for D’ Pink Shopaholic. Hopefully, we’d get to take pics of them before the week ends.

The boom of the word wide web made everything almost possible. Shopping can now be done online, used to think it wouldn’t work but after trying it out I think am getting addicted.  I do my banking online, paid for my bills online and move money around my savings online. Heck, sometimes I think I hardly move my butt anymore hehehe, so with this boom its hardly impossible to see online casinos popping up in every corner. Most of them are US online casinos which accepts international players, other USA online casinos specify that only US players can join. The complexities of the rules in casinos made me hesitant (not that am much of a gambler) to join. But it would have been a nice past time. Like a friend of mine who’s addicted to poker online … he said its good a past time. Just don’t count the money draining out of your pocket. lol!

Filed for VL, got it approved and bought my tickets. This was last June … in a span of a month there has been numerous changes.  And when I say numerous I literally mean numerous, I went with a friend and an office mate and she has been changing her mind every so often due to various reasons.

But at least she made up her mind somewhere around the third week of July to just go through with the trip.

So here are some snapshots of my latest “laag” in the Shopping Capital of Asia - Bangkok, Thailand.

~ this is right inside the Central World, what could he be thinking? lol ~

~ Sawadee Ka (did I spell that right?) with Ronald McDonald, Thai style ~

~ emo ~

~ with Sony’s Bravia ~

~ the multi-flavored gelati (did I spell that right?) is very very tempting~

~ this boutique breathes “expensssssiiiiiiiveeeeee~

~that’s Doi, standing in front of Siam Paragon’s entrance~

~ outside Siam Paragon, can you see the water?lol~

~ that bench stretches to the far end entrance, it a good place to see and be seen … toinks!!!~

~ In the streets of Bangkok ~

~McDonald’s Mocha Frappe~

~Dumbo? Is that you? lol~

~Spices or Sweets? We never get to ask … but I bet they’re spices~

~ Got my hair braided in Khao San~

~ See the lines? toinks!!~

~ Didn’t I tell you I adddoooorrrrrreeee PINK? ~

Jenny’s birthday is fast approaching and am thinking of throwing out a birthday party for her. Something small and homey so as early as now am on the look out for birthday party supplies. Cakes, balloons, confetti, give aways and what not. Hopefully I’d be able to find a party package or discount party supplies so I can focus more on the food and possibly hire a mascot for the kids.

She’d turn 8 this October and am planning to hold the party at their classroom so she’ll have fun with her classmates. But first things first, looking for the needed party supplies.  October is fast approaching and so far I haven’t decided on the theme of her party. When Mier’s lingin had her birthday it was a Disney Princess sort of theme, am not sure if Jenny’s too old for that. *sigh*

Didn’t know planning a party of an 8 year old entails a lot of thinking ang work. Grrrrr

I’m wondering where I can get a right unsecured loan or line of credit because I’m planning to expand my business directly. Of course my store isn’t that big yet but it would be nice to be able to secure yourself so that if I plan to shell out big on this venture, I already have the resources available. I’m looking for some of Our unsecured loan agents, specialists and the like who are serious in addressing my plans. Besides it’s hard to just find a following unsecured loan and/or line of credit that wouldn’t damage my pockets off much.

Next to buying  a house is buying a car. Yeah, so maybe it did cross my mind to  get one but not until am 25 or older. A house is in my top list and am loving the idea of owning one already. Doi has a car and so is RJ, with RJ she has an insurance for it paid for by her dad and she said its a must of all vehicle owner just in case of emergency. Was searching for auto insurance online when I ran into a bunch of stuff I find complicated. Heheh goes down to the conclusion that it’s best to have an insurance agent explain it to you in person.