Merry Christmas to All

Today is 25th December 2009 and I would like to wish all my readers a Blessed and Merry Christmas. It is just like another day for me with the usual activities - eating, napping and logging to the computer to play around. I also added this blog to PPP and just claimed it for future sponsored posts. Later on, I need to submit and email 2 sports quotations which need some measure of calculations as the size is not standard. My youngest sister has gone to her church friend's house for a Christmas lunch and she sang in the choir this morning. She also went to church last night at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit. I did not attend church as I just came back from KL yesterday.

Jigsaw your Way towards Christmas

No, it's NOT Christmas yet! And yes, I'm still in a Christmassy mood. So, let me furnish you with a couple of X'mas jigsaw puzzles to start you on your journey towards the BIG Day!! They say that "a picture paints a thousand words" and you certainly don't need a "creative" mind to figure the 2 images I've selected for you. When you see "Santa Claus", you know X'mas is here, and if you see "3 Snowmen", you either think of winter or... yes, X'mas, naturally!!

So, take a few minutes off your "busy" schedule, rest your "tired" mind, and just enjoy the following jigsaws. Allow yourself some "offtime" to re-charge that tired "brain" of yours. After all, everything else needs re-charging - your handphone, your laptop; your TV and VCR remote controls need new batteries, and so does your calculator; then there are those light bulbs - don't they need changing?? That's right!! All those "energy-related" items. We have to take real good care of them or they'll be of no use to us. So, what ofour "brains"? Should we take even better care of them??

Therefore, now that it's "December", let me wish one and all, a month of "Happy Holidays" and an oncoming "Merry X'mas & A Happy New Year!!" And, do enjoy putting together the following jigsaw puzzles. Here we go...

First, there's "Merry Christmas"...

My Trip to USA in 1998

The most expensive trip I paid for myself was my trip to the United States of America in 1998. At that time I just resigned from my job and having gone to the US embassy to renew for 10 years to go to the USA, naturally I was excited. I had spare cash to spend and it was once in a lifetime experience. I went to USA alone with a group tour and visited places like San Francisco hotels Union Square, Golden Gate Bridge, Mann's Chinese Theatre, Fisherman's Wharf, etc.

There are also several hotels like Union Square hotel San Francisco which caters to the tourists and people on business trips. You can also contact Cartwright Larkspur for their details on how to book a hotel if you are planning your trip to San Francisco. I also visited the Grand Canyons and toured Las Vegas which was formerly a desert turned into a very happening place with more than 10 themed hotels like Caesar's Palace, MGM, Circus Circus, The Sahara, etc. There are also many casinos and people come here in their best evening gowns. I just wish I had more time to spend in Las Vegas as it is a very beautiful man-made attraction.

It has been more than 10 years now since I visited USA but it was an experience not to be forgotten. I am glad I took the opportunity to visit this marvellous place when I had the money.

Back from Kuala Lumpur

I was in Kuala Lumpur (KL), the capital city of Malaysia just a few days ago. I went with my colleague for business and to meet up with a supplier. We stayed at the rented condominium in Subang Jaya which is just a stone's throw away from Taipan, a happening satellite city in KL. And majority of the residents here are Chinese, the richest race in Malaysia despite their dwindling numbers as most of the younger Chinese would rather emigrate to other greener pastures with no racial discrimination. Like what Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew said, the Chinese in Malaysia are marginalized because they are richer and more hard working than the lazy Malays who call themselves 'bumiputeras' or 'prince of the earth' in literal translation.

As an aside, I am quite happy with my investment of a pair of titanium spectacles which was bought in 2008 in Gurney Plaza - a high end shopping mall in Penang. With the specs, I can see clearly when I work with the computer, watch movies in the cinema and watch Astro on tv. Sometimes, I wish I have more hours in a day to accomplish the many tasks that I have at hand. I can only work so much for a limited number of hours each day. And very soon, I have 300 calendars to send out together with a marketing letter to all the potential clients in Malaysia.

Going to KL sometime this week

I will be going down to KL sometime this week - either this evening or tomorrow with my colleague for business. I am still having my back pain and cannot stand up immediately after sitting down for some time. I have to stand for a while, let the muscles get used to it and then only I can start walking. This happened ever since I sprained my back 2 years ago after coming back from Tesco to buy window curtains. I hope my back gets better before going down to KL and lugging my bag and laptop along. And today is Monday, time to get my second half salary payment for October. Luckily I don't have to drive to work and my office is just downstairs - otherwise my colleagues will find it wierd that I cannot walk immediately upon standing up.

Technorati Tags : Kuala Lumpur, business trip, back ache, salary, Penang, Tesco

Feeling quite sleepy this morning

Last night I slept at 3:30am as I was too engrossed reading Personal Money Magazine for November's issue. Normally I will read this in MPH for free in the reader's circle lounge as I am a member. But for the last few weeks, I have avoided going to MPH in Gurney Plaza as it was awkward to keep meeting the security guard there so often that I prefer to read this magazine at home and have purchased a copy from the news stand in e-Gate near Tesco. And I feel like subscribing to it together with The Edge weekly news on politics, business and finance. And this morning, I woke up at 7:00am and hit right off to the computer to print out some product details for my company. This is made possible because I work from home and it is very clear cut - I work downstairs in the home office while upstairs is for resting and napping away when not working.

Collecting Coins as a Profitable Hobby

Do you know you can turn your coin collection into cash? You can check out silver coins with the link given for anything about coins and to even purchase online. Coins do not take up much space unless you have a big gigantic collection that takes up much space. And the longer you keep your coins, the more valuable and rarer they become. From a childhood hobby, you can even turn it into a profitable venture later on. It can be your side income to help pay for the electric bills, water bills or even to buy some gifts to pamper yourself. Many people collect coins and the serious collectors store them away and own expensive collection. There are also gold coins which are even more valuable and are collectors' items. There are many hobbys to choose from but collecting coins is one of the most profitable ones. And you will never lack money in the near future.

Continued to Write Articles Again

I have continued to write articles again after a few months of break. With my Adsense so slow in generating revenue for me, I have to turn back to writing articles that pay more than the market rate. And if you can type fast and think in the spot, you can earn quite a lot per day, every day. There are new orders frequently looking for writers to complete them and the web site was found by chance. My youngest sister is in Oregon now for work and training for 3 weeks and she should be back on the 1st of November 2009. In the meantime, I continue to work by my computer checking emails, typing quotations plus writing articles for cash - paid to my Paypal account twice per month.

Looking for Douglas Premier Tennis Net Posts

I was working today and my boss informed that we need to look for Douglas premier tennis net posts for our current client. I have searched online for Douglas premier tennis net posts but there are not many links given by Google. Douglas premier tennis net posts are the elite in the market for tennis net posts. There is good quality and Douglas Premier tennis net posts are second to none comparatively. So, anyone with knowledge of where I can buy Douglas Premier tennis net posts, drop me a comment or email me.

Going for an Overseas Vacation is Long Overdue

I went to China in 2007 with my parents and also to Bangkok with my youngest sister the same year. My initial plan was to go to Europe last year but that did not materialise because my friend could not renew his passport on time. Well I hope I will get to see Europe in the near future with my sisters when time allows. Sometimes, I wish I am vacationing now like going to riviera maya all inclusive vacations where you can check online for the availability of the hotel rooms based on the specific dates that you key in. At this point in time, I guess I have to be contented with travelling around Malaysia. Going for another overseas holidays will take some time and I don't even know when. Currently, my life has been revolving around work and work every day. I just hope to get the opportunnity to visit Europe one of these days just like all the other members of my family.

Disney 3D G-Force Movie 2009

"G-FORCE" is a comedy adventure about the latest evolution of a covert government program to train animals to work in espionage. Armed with the latest high-tech spy equipment, these highly trained guinea pigs discover that the fate of the world is in their paws. Tapped for the G-FORCE are guinea pigs Darwin, the squad leader determined to succeed at all costs; Blaster, an outrageous weapons expert with tons of attitude and a love for all things extreme; and Juarez, a sexy martial arts pro; plus the literal fly-on-the-wall reconnaissance expert, Mooch, and a star-nosed mole, Speckles, the computer and information specialist. Along the way, the G-FORCE encounters myriad other members of the animal kingdom, including pet shop layabout Hurley and the rabidly territorial hamster Bucky.

Selamat Berbuka Puasa

I would like to take this month of Ramadhan to wish all my muslim friends Selamat Berpuasa. Last year, my church sold boxes of dates for us to buy and give them as gifts to our muslim friends but it is rather quiet this year. Last year we have bought 5 boxes of dates or kurma to give them to our Malay workers but they have all left the company since February 2009. It was a blessing in disguise that all of them left when we later found out that they have done their own things outside during working hours. Anyway, that aside, my second sister will go to the airport this evening for a flight back to Suchou. She has 8 weeks of holidays in a year as a lecturer in China but she really works hard as the assistant head of the English department.

Should I invest in Shares?

I have some savings in Fixed Deposits (FD) and now contemplating whether I should invest in the share market or unit trusts and leave the money for at least 10 years for about 20% profit. Leaving it in the FD brings only 2.1% every 3 months since the rate has dropped marginally. I have never invested in shares before and don't intend to speculate the erratic moves of the market. I have read a book that Warren Buffet, the world's richest man overtaking Bill Gates, made his fortune from the share market alone. Perhaps I should read his book and learn from this pundit how he made his millions or even billions from investing in the shares. Making money for him seem to be like drinking water every day.

Second Sister came back from China

My second sister came back from Suchou, China yesterday evening. She bought a lot of gifts for the family, each one having some things. I got 2 nice silk chinese blouses with embroidery, an umbrella in the shape of an alcohol bottle and some tees. My second sister is very generous to everyone especially my dad. She bought him so many ties, an embroidered cloth of scenery to be framed up amongst others. She is doing well lecturing in a Hong Kong affiliated university in the English department. Her contract ends in 2011. She also intends to do her pHd in UK later after getting her Masters in English Literature from NUS, Singapore some years back. I wish her every success.

Went to Kota Bahru for Business

Last week, I was in Kota Bahru, Kelantan for business. I stayed there overnight and the next day, my colleague drove back to Penang. He went to see a client and measure the sports court. As there are very few hotels around, we stayed at the Renaissance which is next to a shopping complex. So it was quite convenient for us to do our shopping for drinks and water. I also bought 4 long pants there as they are only half the price of what you would get in Penang for the same type. They range from RM29 a pair to RM34. So it cost me slightly more than a hundred ringgit to cart them back. On the way back, we stopped halfway at a rest area and had our dinner there. As my colleague needs to get back to Penang quickly, he drove quite fast, overtaking many slow cars in the 2-lane road. It can be quite stressful hoping that there are no cars coming in the opposite direction.