$10 Off + Free Panty with BIOFIT Uplift or BODY BY VICTORIA Bra

If you have been planning to purchase a Victoria's Secret bra online, then here is good news for you. Purchase any BIOFIT Uplift bra or Body by Victoria bra and you will receive $10 discount PLUS a free Victoria’s Secret panty!

What you need to do to claim your freebie is to enter the coupon code BRAS10 upon check out. Remember to apply this code BRAS10 or your freebies will not be included in your order!

Also, do bear in mind that this offer is only valid until 3rd August, 2008 so hurry if you want to take advantage of this offer! Personally, though, I don’t like BIOFIT Uplift Bras or BODY BY VICTORIA Bras because they don’t look feminine or sexy enough so I shall pass!

Answers To "PIDM & You" Contest

Have you put in an entry to the "PIDM & You" contest? PIDM, or Perbadanan Insurans Deposit Malaysia [Malaysia Deposit Insurance Corporation] I have. But I am thinking that this is not an easy contest to win because it requires us to submit the most entries in order to win. Frankly, who has the time, even if there is a grand prize of RM25.000 up for grabs? So easy meh?

I did, however, submit a couple of entries whenever I have the time, hoping to win a lucky draw prize.

If you would like to participate, you still have plenty of time. Don't know the answer? Don't worry, here they are!

Answer to Q1: B. Perbadanan Insurans Deposit Malaysia (PIDM)
Answer to Q2: C. RM60,000 per depositor per member bank
Answer to Q3: A. Current and savings account
Answer to Q4: C. Investment banks

If you do not know yet, what PIDM does is to sell you insurance to protect your bank deposits. Hhmm this does sound scary right? Imagine the money that you have been saving gone suddenly just like that overnight. I think that no matter if we have insurance or not, Bank Negara should protect all depositors no matter how much money we have saved with a Malaysian bank!

The New Dollar Coins

As an online seller who keeps up with what is hot and what is not online, it never fails to amaze me that there are people who would pay a high price for collectibles. I still remember when I was a noob in online auctions and I sold a Shania Twain collectible at a price which I thought was good but the guy who bought it resold it at ten times my price. Since then, my perspective on collectibles changed.

Right now, coin collectors are all abuzz with the new dollar coin. I may not be a coin collector but it is very interesting to see the new dollar coins available. I told my mother about it since she collects coins, though not as an investment form but more as a hobby, and she told me that these Presidential coins will surely worth a whole lot more in years to come.

Check out the link provided to view the latest dollar coins if you are interested in coins!

Round Up Or Not?

As you know, we are supposed to round our one sen since 1st of April, 2008. From what I understand though, we do not need to round up our sen is we were paying our bill via online payment. But surprise, surprise…. I paid my Celcom bill as usual via internet banking and guess what? They now tell me that I owe them ONE SEN.

So do we actually round up or not? If we were to round up our sense every single time over the counter and via internet banking then we are losing. Don’t think that one sen is small value because it all adds up. I believe that I mentioned before that a retailer said that from all the one sen that they collected, they actually profit a six-figure sum in one year!

I am amazed, actually, that they want to say that I owe them one sen. They could easily put that one sen in the bill, right? Anyway, it is not that I am pissed off or anything, I already know that corporations are very strict with monies. A guy I know died and the IRS even chased the family after ten sen that the deceased supposedly owe them!

Unique Personalized Photo Blankets

My friend was wondering aloud what to get for her mother’s birthday which falls in August. I told her about the personalized custom print photo pillows this morning but I soon realized that she should also make a personalized photo blanket to go with it. Then only will the unique gift be complete.

My friend was very excited about the idea of making a custom photo blanket as well and she said that her mother would definitely be very surprised to receive such a thoughtful gift and would be impressed with how the photo print would turn out so real life like, like an art piece.

I told many of my friends about this unique gift and they all said that they have heard of this before but have not tried giving these as gifts before but now that they know that it is so easy to make personalized photo pillows and blankets, they would be going for these the next time an occasion comes up. I was hoping that they would remember my birthday!

Home Office Business Is Not For Everyone

While I have a handful of female friends who are successful in their home based business, I also know of friends who wanted to stay home for the family and yet earn a decent amount of income so as not to depend on the husband entirely and also have some extra spending money for the children.

However, having observing different people, I come to realise that home office business is not suitable for everyone. For one, you will be working for yourself and most of the time, working BY YOURSELF, if you know what I mean. It could be extremely boring on some days and you will definitely miss the busi-ness and noisy chatter that all offices have.

And you will not have any colleagues whom you could gossip with or go to lunch with. Then there will be children, parents, husband, neighbours, pets and everything else distracting you from work. One could easily slip into a wrong routine. Working from home basically needs a lot of discipline and way more sacrifices but it could be absolutely rewarding too!

As a single woman, it will be harder still because the only motivating factor is YOU and there's no immediate support in the form of husband or family. Having said this, after working for myself for years, I can say that there is no better feeling than to know that I will work when I want to not when I need to. It's very fulfilling.

Custom Photo Pillows

As someone who is in an online business, I keep tab on what’s hot and what’s not. One of the things that is very popular, especially among girls and young ladies are photo pillows.

I am not sure if you have seen these before but you can check out the website of Vision Bedding, who specializes in personalized pillows whereby we could upload our favorite photos to them using their uploading tool and then select where we would like to print them on.

If you did not know yet, custom pillows could be great gifts, especially to commemorate a big event or happy occasion, like a wedding or birth or special birthday.

Check out Vision Bedding and see how they managed to print your photos on their pillows and beddings without loss of quality of the photos. In fact, these photo print pillows look like real photos! Can you imagine the surprise on the face of the recipient of a gift of a pair of personalized pillows?

Midwest Auto Recycling Used Car Parts

Have you heard of midwest auto recycling? This is a company that sells used car engines and transmissions with nationwide warranty.

Although I do not own a car, I know that it is not easy to find used car parts. Also, most of the companies that specialize in used car parts, particularly in used car engines and used transmissions do not provide any warranty. This is very risky, that’s why I refrain from purchasing items, particularly used car items.

Midwest Auto Recycling is different, in the sense that they inspect and test their products thorough before selling them. If you have a used car that you have been searching for a compatible engine, then the first place that you should choose is Midwest Auto Recycling.

Destination Summer

Victoria's Secret claims that they have the season's hottest styles,. I don't know about you but I think that their Summer clothes are great but their Summer lingerie are not so.

Anyway, after receiving their newsletter update, I decided to check out what they have that they called their Summer hottest styles. Well, these are the clothes that I have seen before during their semi annual sale.

And if memory serves me right, now they are selling way cheaper than during their semi-annual sale! This makes me wonder if we should buy anything during the semi-annual sale if we could get our hands on the same items a little while later.

And it also makes me wonder what is the point of running sales like these where one item will be cheaper than a same item just a short while later.

Affiliate Programmes

I have wanted to start an affiliate and try to make some money online via affiliate programmes since I started my blog but somehow things got in a whirlwind not long afterwards and I did not have the time to concentrate on it or pick up one that would bring home the bacon. I did check out some programs though. I even signed with a few companies but I have yet to pick out the items that I would want to promote big time.

So far, a few of my friends have managed to earn a little money from affiliate programmes. It's nothing to write home about but it is a good start. They tell me that pushing sales in affiliate programmes need a good strategy as well but of course they are not sharing what they know.

Anyway, I guess now that I have plans to sell ladies fashion on line, I would not have time to explore the opportunity to make money from affiliate programs. I would like to try this out, though and hopefully this will bring in the residual income that I long for.

Utilizing Blackberry To The Max

If you have a Blackberry, you may want to know of this free drug reference for blackberry. If you are working in the medical field, then this is a MUST. You will be able to refer to any drug information or refer to dosage or side effects.

This software isn't only available for Blackberry as other smart devices are supported too. You need to check up with the website of Epocrates, the developer of this free drug reference software for your Blackberry and smart devices. It is said that there are already over 500,000 healthcare staff using this very useful software.

I think that even if we are not in the medical field, it would still be great to have drug medical reference in our pocket. Sometimes, we may come across two drugs and since we are not familiar with drugs, we could refer to this free drug reference by Epocrates.

*** This announcement was paid for by Epocrates. ***

Shopping With Credit Cards Online

My friend told me that a lot of his girlfriends love to shop online. That's because they could use their credit cards and do not have to fork out cash until the end of the month when their credit card bill arrives.

While I think that credit cards are very convenient, I also think that if one does not have the ready cash to make a purchase and purposely do so with credit card as an alternative, I think that this could form into a bad habit that would not be easy to shake.

I personally know the temptation of charging and charging the card and I restrain myself from doing that. Well, I could but most people could not, like these girlfriends of my friend.

Whatever it is, I hope that they will spend their money on my store. Yay!

La Senza Spirit Summer Sale

I told my friend that I have been meaning to hit the gym since the beginning of the year. It's almost August now and I have yet to take out a gym membership. Ekkk!!

She said that I would need to get special gym clothes and tipped me off that la Senza Spirits are currently running a sale where we could get up to 60% off regular prices. That is a pretty good deal, I must admit.

However, now I remember why I hate going to the gym. We need gym clothes. Unlike working out at home where we could don any old or even torn t-shirt, we would need proper gym clothes if working out in a gym.

Yeah, I know, old t-shirts do not offer any support but they are so comfy and familiar!

All Inclusive Summer Vacation

My sister tells me that she will be getting a week's paid vacation. Boy, am I envious of her! She says that working in retail, Summer is always a slow month as everyone would have gone for a vacation with their family and friends. That's the only reason her employer allows them to take a week off work one by one. But it's paid!

My sister plans to go on an all inclusive resort vacation during that week, though nothing is tentative yet. She says that she will not have the time to plan a good, value for money vacation and she would end up getting more stressed out over the planning that it would spoil her holiday.

I agree that it is best too and if I were her, I too would prefer an all inclusive vacation. It’s not that I don’t know how to plan a vacation, just that I am lazy. When I go on a holiday, I prefer not to have to work at anything or worry over minute details!

Customers Should Always Be Right

It has been more than three weeks since I sent in my wireless router to claim warranty. Since the first week, I have been asking the guy who is in charge of warranties if my wi-fi router is back yet.

One day, he said, “You have asked this question for many times already!”

Oh yeah, of course I will keep asking until it is back, right? It’s my wifi router and I need to be concerned about when I will be getting it back since I do need to use it.

But this guy, to say that to me, whatever it is, I am a customer and it is my right to ask until the end. He has to entertain me. If I asked him the question even after the wifi router is back then I know I am wrong. Don’t you think so?

See, now, it’s already 3.5 weeks and I am not even seeing the shadow of it. For things like that, we customers need to CHASE it back. I have not been calling him up this week because I am busy but he better not make me call him to ask or I would give him a piece of my mind!

Victoria's Secret Summer Dream Swim Styles

If there is one fear that I would like to overcome, it is a fear of swimming. I know that it is an irrational fear but I think that when I was a kid, my father implanted the fear in my by throwing me into the pool. I screamed like a psycho LOL and the other kids thought that I was mentally ill or something.

Anyway, since that episode, I did try to learn how to swim but I never did. And I think that it was because I did not have a proper swimming instructor. Whatever it is, I don't think I will ever learn how to swim anymore.

I have a friend who shares my fate. She does not know how to swim as well but that did not stop her from buying and wearing swimsuits and hang around the beach or pool side. I think that's very brave of her. LOL

Victoria's Secret has over thirty styles of swim wear to meet any taste. Check them out if you have the time.

Savings In Paintball Gear and Equipment

As an online retailer, I visit a lot of online stores, not because I want to chekc out the competition but because I love seeing if there are new features that other online stores are utilizing that I do not have on my own store yet.

I had the chance to visit Zephyairsoft.com earlier today. This is an online store that specializes in paintball gear and accessories, so if you are looking for airsoft guns, for example, this is the place to come to.

I am a little surprised to know that they only opened in 2003 and have since expanded so well in their inventory to include a complete range of paintball guns and airsoft equipment.

My friend, a paintball enthusiast, told me that paintball is picking up among youths and they willingly spend all their money on paintball gear and equipment. Perhaps they should check out Zephyairsoft.com to see if they could get a little savings.

Good Health In Our Hands

My friend tells me that if there is one thing that she regrets as a mother, it is that she did not take the opportunity to store the cord blood of her baby when he was born. That is the most precious thing that a mother could do for the baby. It is more important that a good education, if you come to think of it.

That opportunity passed and there is no way to turn back the clock. A good chance would be when my friend has another baby but that is not happening anytime soon. She soon learnt that what she could do to rectify that is to collect her menstrual fluid, processing stem cells from it and preserving it, she could actually make good use of her stem cells should her son needs it for medical reasons sometime in the future. Of course, we do not think of that but it is great to have stem cells preserved like insurance.

Did you know that there is a good chance to match a mother’s stem cells with that of her children, siblings and parents? Stem cell innovation has become so advanced, you will need to read about it fully from the C'elle website. Further reading would be C'elle Client Testimonial.

I am sure you will realize how empowering it is to know that our future health is actually in our hands!

WaMu Free Personal Checking Account

When I went to open a checking account about a year ago, I did not know that there were so many types of personal checking accounts . I took what was offered to me, which was a free checking account. After a few months, I asked my bank why I did not receive my checks, well, they told me that I have to BUY them. OH.. OK!

Today, I had the chance to go through the benefits of a WaMu Checking Account and was a little surprised that it comes with so many things that my own Checking Account lacked. For one, WaMu’s checking account comes with FREE checks, FREE check safekeeping and FREE wire transfers.

Customers of WaMu’s checking accounts could opt for interest bearing checking account, called Platinum Checking which also come with FREE checks, money orders and identity theft services. Plus, all WaMu checking account holders will be provided with a Debit MasterCard to access their funds via WaMu’s ATMs at no charge.

A long time ago, a friend asked me why I have an account with quite a few banks. Frankly, these banks could not offer me what I require, in one single account. If there is an account that could do everything for me, of course I do not wish to keep so many. It’s not easy to remember all those passwords and PINs, you know!? I think that WaMu’s checking account is an all rounder. If you are looking for a checking account, you should look at what WaMu has to offer.

Complete Your Wardrobe

I received an email from Victoria’s Secret a few days ago where they are advertising their new range of bras saying that these are what every woman should have to complete their wardrobe. I need to say that generally, this latest newsletter is one of the best that I have ever received from them artistically.

Out of curiosity, I checked out their online store and they have their twenty most popular bras. I remember writing about their previously twenty most popular bras on one of my blogs. There have been some changes, although the ranges of bras are still from full-figure bras, strapless and convertible bras, demi bras and push up bras.

There are some that would be really good to have, but I personally dislike full-figure bras. LOL

The Convenience of WaMu Savings Account

A couple of days ago, my sister mentioned that she plans to open a new savings account. She has one with a smaller bank and since moving house, has found it a hassle to drive over for banking. It makes sense to open another savings account where she would be able to perform banking transactions conveniently.

My sister asked me if I know of a hassle-free Savings Account. Well, I don’t know about her but when I opened by savings accounts, I have four, by the way, I specifically looked savings account that come with free internet banking, free e-statements, $0 monthly charge and ATM facilities.

Frankly, these are not too much to ask, right?

A Savings Account with WaMu comes with all the above provided we maintain a minimum daily balance of US$300. Failure to do so will cause our account to be deducted US$4 per month. Also, to encourage new depositors to open a savings account online, WaMu’s Free Checking Account has no monthly service charge as well. You could also link it to a current active WaMu checking account for $0 monthly maintenance.

WaMu also offers the convenience of signing up for Overdraft Transfer Service which allows you to transfer funds from your online savings account to your WaMu checking account which you have linked earlier. This means that you could issue check easily without worrying about lack of funds in your checking account, and avoid carrying cash.

Actually, all these features should be offered for any savings account. Don’t you think so?

My Recipe Collection

I started a recipe collection blog not too long ago. Some of you already know about it but I have not publicly released my URL yet mainly because I want to add as many recipes as I could before going public. It currently has thirty posts only but search engines are already picking up my posts but traffic is seriously low.

These recipes are not my own but from various sources that I collected from the web, magazines, my parents and my late grandmother, who could cook the best Sri Lankan curry. YUMMY!

Although I enjoy cooking, it is too bad that I do not have time to indulge in my hobby. I tell myself that I would spend more time in the kitchen when I am not so busy, probably once I have retired so I hope that my interest in cooking will hold till then!

Right now, I just hope that readers will enjoy my recipes and let me know how their preparations have turned out to be. I encourage them to improvise on the recipes and not follow them to the T.

Well, what about you? Do you like to cook, or just eat? LOL

Birthday Party Ideas For Children and Adults

My friend invited me to his baby’s birthday party. It will be his first birthday. Modern parents like my friends try to celebrate their children’s birthday every year. I remember when I was a kid, I did not even have a birthday cake until I was twelve or so. Times certainly have changed.

Planning a birthday party for a baby or an adult is different. I have no idea which is more challenging because I have never planned a baby birthday party before but I think that no matter what kind of birthday party we plan, we need plenty of creative juice.

Luckily for people who need help in planning a birthday party, they could check out websites like Celebrations.com where there is a host of great party ideas that would make any birthday party memorable to the guests. It is important that guests not only enjoy themselves but also talk about what a great party it was and look forward to attending more parties in years to come.

If you need party ideas and tips, you may want to check out Celebrations.com. They do have many great party ideas that you could adopt no matter for a kid’s birthday party or an adult birthday party. Enjoy yourself planning it!

eBay Fixed Price Listing Offer

eBay.com is running a listing promotion for all Sellers. It now costs only 25cents to list a FIXED PRICE item for sale on eBay.com, the mail eBay marketplace.

This offer is valid from 16th to 29th July, 2008 and is valid for most items listed at any price. Check out items that do not qualify for this offer by going to THIS LINK.

Normally, fixed price listing fee starts from US$0.35 to US$4 depending on the price of your item. During this promotional period, no matter what price your item is listed at, it will still only cost you US$0.25, that is, if it qualifies for this promotion.

An offer like this is great for Sellers who seek extra exposure for their products. Grab this opportunity to break into eBay.com

Shortcut to an Online Business

This afternoon, my friend was telling me that a couple of his friends are planning to start an online business together. I told him that many people would like to start a home-based business without knowing the work involved.

I also have some friends who kept telling me that they could like to run an ecommerce site too like me but it has been years and none of them managed to get one started. Like I said, many think that it is easy to set up a store. They think that they could sack their boss or fall back on it should they resign from their current job.

I told my friend that owning a store is one thing, owning a successful store is another. It takes a lot more time, energy and commitment to run a successful ecommerce store.

Coincidentally, just now, I was told of iSpeedway, a home-based business package especially for people like our friends who would like to own an ecommerce store but do not know how or where to start. The best thing about this, I read, is that iSpeedway has ready products that a merchant could stock in her own store.

I do not know how well this could work out for them but reading the testimonials of iSpeedway, they seemed to have found success in running their ecommerce store. I guess, like any business, the more effort is invested into it, the more fruitful the venture will be.

When The Unfortunate Happens

Sometimes, I am so glad that I work for myself in my own office. The horror stories I hear from my friend in his manufacturing plant could be made into a movie. Sure, there are safety measures in place but human error occurs and accidents happen. My friend says that working in a plant like his requires full concentration and enough rest at night.

I wonder if accident victims here have access to good lawyers who would help them to fight for their rights and seek adequate compensation. I’m sure you know how some lawyers here are.

If they could seek consultation from an attorney like the Omaha Personal Injury Attorney that I read before, then they know that the lawyer would negotiate to the best to his ability and have his clients' best interest at heart.

SEO Issues With A New WebStore

The other day, I was discussing with my friend, and business partner, if we should start a new online store for our ladies’ apparel business. We could use my existing store or we could start from scratch After all, we will be selling a new product and this is going to be a partnership so we have a little more capital to play with.

My friend says it is up to me since I have the experience doing business online. I figured that if we start a new store, we would have to allow for at least six months for search engine optimization to take effect. Using my existing store would eliminate that except that I would be ranking on the search engines with a different set of keywords.

I read on the website of a Boston Search Engine Optimization company that they could offer cost effective expert search engine positioning services that would help any company gain the much needed exposure in the world wide web.

If my friend and I were to start afresh with a new online retail store, we definitely would need the assistance of experts for inexpensive, yet quick and effective SEO results for leverage on the world wide web.

Is Selling On eBay Still “Fun”?

I read on a couple of international eBay forums where Sellers are complaining that it is no longer fun to sell on eBay, especially after changes on eBay feedback policy have been implemented where Sellers are not able to leave neutral, let alone negative, feedback on errant Buyers. Like I said, there are plenty of dishonest Buyers as well. I wonder if eBay knows that Sellers are being victimized by Buyers who abuse the new system. Suddenly, we see a surge of negative feedback on Sellers who prior to these changes, have little or no negative feedback at all.

Remember the early days of eBay? It was fun and exciting. People were finding stuff online that could be bought for cheap, or selling used items lying around the house and most importantly, these people were making friends and forming a community.

Well, then eBay became huge and turn commercial. This is not to say that they were never a commercial entity, but to say that they started tin increase their fees and sort of protect Buyers over Sellers when in fact, eBay is in fact making money from Sellers. However, without Buyers, there will not be transactions and business.

So if selling on eBay still fun for you or do you find it a chore? For me, I am still having fun. I try not to let the bad apples bother me.

Oceanico Group’s Award Winning Fractional Ownership Solution

A little while back, I wrote about the exciting real estate property development company in Portugal and how well received their luxurious, ocean fronted properties are, especially by foreign investors and holiday makers who prefer their own vacation home. If you have checked out the website of Oceanico Group, I trust you will agree with me that they have some of the most interesting contemporary properties. Don't we just wish that we have enough money to BUY a home in Portugal?

I believe I did not mention that Oceanico Group is an award winning company with their fractional ownership solution for purchasing properties overseas.

For in-depth information on this, please read the following press release.

Oceânico Group Steps Up to Success in Homes Overseas Awards
Oceânico’s Stepping Stones Fractional Ownership Purchasing Solution Wins Gold

18 December 2007 – Oceânico Group, the leading developer of quality beach, leisure and golf resorts in Portugal, has won a Gold award in the Best Fractional Ownership Scheme category at the 2007 Homes Overseas Awards for its Stepping Stones solution.

The Gold award recognises the best fractional ownership purchasing solution worldwide, with this year’s award seeing over 100 companies shortlisted, representing more than 20 overseas property destinations. Stepping Stones won a Gold award for the choice of quality developments at which it is available, together with its ease of use, clarity and investment potential.

Oceânico launched Stepping Stones as a quarter share ownership solution in 2006, with 12th share ownership launched in 2007 providing prices from just €25,000. Stepping Stones is available at the four-star Vila Baia resort in Praia da Luz and the five-star Amendoeira Golf Resort near Silves, which features two championship golf courses designed by Nick Faldo and Christy O’Connor Jnr.

Simon Burgess, director of Oceânico Group, said: “Everyone at Oceânico is extremely proud to win the Homes Overseas Award for Stepping Stones. We are committed to providing all of our customers with a high quality property investment, and have spent a lot of time ensuring that Stepping Stones offers the best possible solution to fractional ownership.”

Brigitte Urbano, Fractional Sales Manager at Oceânico added: “With luxury properties, a stable Portuguese property market and a range of mortgage options now available, Stepping Stones offers a strong investment opportunity for anyone looking to get a foot on the overseas property ladder, or for those who want to spread their investments. This award highlights the quality that now exists in fractional ownership, and we are very pleased to be recognised internationally for our service.”

To support purchasers Oceânico offers mortgages for UK homeowners on the Stepping Stones quarter share scheme, with either a 60% mortgage secured on the membership certificate or a 95% mortgage secured on a UK property. Subject to terms and conditions.

The Homes Overseas Awards were established in 2004 to recognise and award quality in the overseas property market. Since its launch the awards have been expanded to cover a broad range of countries and products that are now attracting interest from British consumers. The 2007 awards were held at the Royal Garden Hotel in London on 3 December.

For more information on Stepping Stones call 0871 990 3388 or visit our fractional ownership page.

eBay Neutral Feedback Discounted

Did you read the recent eBay announcement that come August, 2008, eBay will no longer take neutral feedback into our percentage count? Do you think that’s good or bad? I think that it should have been like this right from the beginning since a neutral is exactly that, neutral = zero points so it should not influence our feedback percentage.

eBay will begin to recalculate feedback retroactively for worldwide eBay members but they have reassured that eBay PowerSellers should not see any changes in their PowerSeller status despite the revision. I guess the percentage of people affected by this recalculation would not be that so great that it would sway the percentage levels of Sellers.

Having said this, if you read my earlier post on changes in eBay feedback, you will know that eBay sellers are no longer able to leave neutral and negative feedback to Buyers. I think this new system is a little lopsided; after all, Buyers could be baddies too.

Perhaps It’s Time For A New Computer

My desktop computer has been in “hospital” for three days already. I don’t know if it is user problem, software or hardware problem but it appears that the computer has been giving me trouble too frequently. I checked my receipt and was rather surprised that I bought it 2.5 years ago. Maybe I should just buy a new system since prices of desktop computers continue to fall.

What I need in a desktop computer is just fast processor, sufficient memory and large hard disk space. I just need it to surf the web, do some word processing, handle some images and watch some movies or listen to music sometimes. A basic home computer wouldn’t cost that much, right? Oh yes, and it is high time I upgrade to a flat panel display too!

A friend asked me if I am interested in iMac instead. HHmm I am not sure I want to take the trouble to change to something I am totally unfamiliar with, except for its Safari browser!

Driving To Singapore

This morning, my friend, her husband and son, will be driving to Singapore from Kuala Lumpur. I was a little worried as my friend is heavily pregnant and it is not a good time to travel but my friend insists that she will be fine and eagerly looking forward to shopping for maternal and baby items in Singapore.

Isn’t it a little weird? Another friend who is originally from Ipoh but now working in Singapore came back recently to buy baby strollers, bed and other items to decorate her nursery in Singapore. Her baby is only due in November but she made the trip home to shop because she says that things are cheaper here.

LOL I guess when it comes to shopping, we women could do it anywhere! We would even cross borders for the sake of shopping!

VS Semi-Annual Sale Ends @ Midnight

Whoa, finally, Victoria's Secret semi-annual sale is coming to an end. I forgot how many times VS bombarded me and all of us on their mailing list with their promotional email. I'm not saying that it's a bad thing but they sure are aggressive in their marketing.

By the way, if you are unaware, Victoria's Secret semi-annual sale will wrap up at midnight tonight. Those of you who had held off making a purchase of Victoria's Secret lingerie, clothes, swim wear or accessories, this is the last call.

The good thing about shopping online is that stores are available to shop at 24 hours a day, so even if you only have internet access for certain hours of the day, you would still be able to shop, at your own convenience.

Outsourcing Profit Recovery

I was chatting with a friend who came down from Kuala Lumpur the other night. He works with a major construction company in the city. He told me that this company, a company that is quoted on the Stock Exchange, has debts. I was pretty surprised too but I think that the bigger the business, the more money we owe or are owed!

This friend told me that they may higher a Collection Agency to help them with recovering debt from various accounts.

He said that by letting an agency that specializes in collecting debt handle these accounts, they would be able to better concentrate on business and do what they do best. After all, they don’t have the experience in managing debt collection, nor are they able to afford the time required.

While there are companies that I know that would provide the same service in managing debt, the difference between them and American Profit Recovery is that APR only charges a flat, low fee, no matter which industry you are in or the amount involved.

With a company like APR to take care of recovering your profit, you will no longer have to worry about expanding time and staff on profit recovery or that services like these will eat into your profits.

Open A New Maybank Savings Account

My friend told me that the Maybank Visa Debit Card that he successfully applied for, is linked to his Maybank Savings Account. This is definitely a NO-NO when it comes to cards and especially when we use it online so often.

Like our Public Bank Visa Electron Debit Card, it is independent and is not linked to our savings account with Public Bank. This is because if there is a fraudulent charge or our card got stolen, our loss will be limited to the amount in our card and not the limit that we have set on the card, which may dip into our cash kept I our savings account.

This concept is only workable in an ideal world but as we know it, it is no longer safe to use a debit card as our “main” account. If you have a Maybank Visa Debit Card or plan to apply for one, the workaround to this security loophole is to open a savings account with Maybank specifically for the purpose of your Maybank Visa Debit Card.

The Efforts Of Losing Weight

My friend, Serena, has been trying to lose some weight. However, sometimes I wonder if it’s her genes or diet or hormone. I do see her putting in the effort to keep her weight down like hitting the gym a couple of times a week, jogging, cutting down her food intake, etc, unlike me.

Serena said that she has not been successful in keeping her weight down even if there is slight improvement at first and it will rebound. I feel quite bad that I am not able to help her. Although her weight “problem” is not really a problem, and we all love her just the way she is, it is an issue in her mind and is affecting her self-esteem and confidence.

Right now, Serena is trying out Phentermine without a prescription. She said that she may go for liposuction for quicker results. Eekkkkk I draw the line when it comes to plastic surgery!

Funny Dream

My friend is someone who could not resist good food just like I could not resist shopping. Every time we go out together, we will have to accommodate both of us in eating at one of the most popular restaurants in town followed by shopping.

The funny thing is that I am trying to slim down but hanging out with him is really bad for me. If this goes on, I will need diet pill to help me keep my body shape.

What is worse is that this friend told that he dreamt of me one night and that we were dining and I said, why do you have to make me eat even in your dream? Urgh… time to pack in some exercise. Perhaps I could exercise in dreams only? LOL

Salvaging My Mailing List, Or Not?

If you have read my post a couple of months ago, or was it longer, you will know that I have lost half my mailing list, a mailing list that I have accumulated since the beginning of trading online. So I lost half of it because I did not make a latest back up of my file and then my hard disk crashed and it was deleted.

So now I've been thinking, since I am going to start a new business in selling ladies' fashion, I wonder if it is worth spending time going through a few thousand emails and compiling the mailing list once again.

I don't know but it surely will be a lot of work. Even if I go through the 4000 emails, I will not be getting back the mailing list 100% because some of my Buyers contacted me via other means and not email.

Sigh... I think I would rather just start all over again. What do you think?

Silver Coast Properties In Portugal

I mentioned that if I have the money, I would prefer to invest in property overseas. Did you check out the website of Oceanico Developments? I am very impressed with their silver coast properties.

I was recently told that Portugal properties are much sought after by European property investors and also other international investors. I am not surprised based on the beautiful developments in progress and the settings these properties are on.

I am familiar with the hospitality of the Portuguese people and their warmth. If you have been looking for overseas property to invest in, do check out the multiple property developments of Oceanico Developments. I am sure you will not regret it.

Business In DVD Movie Vending Machines

My sister told me that whenever she wants to watch a movie but would not want to go to the cinema, to save money, she would rent DVDs from vending machines near her place. According to her, renting through DVD movie vending machines is cheaper than going to a physical movie rental store because she would have to pay sales tax then. Oh, so renting via the vending machine is tax free.

If I remember correctly, she said that if she does not return the DVD, by slotting into the vending machine for X days, her credit card will be automatically charged $x amount, I think it’s US$25 or something, which is comparable to buying a DVD from the store, sales tax and all.

I think that this is a pretty awesome business model except that from the website of this DVD movie rental vending company that I browsed through, their choice of movies to rent is rather limited. However, they sometimes have blockbusters and the movies are quite recent too.

I wonder if, now that the fuel price has escalated so much and everyone is forced to stay home, people here would want to watch movies that they have rented from the neighbourhood DVD movie rental vending machine.

However, most people here already have cable TV so people like me would rather be forced to watch whatever’s on TV. What do you think?

Hot Properties In Portugal

I didn't know it but this morning, I learned that properties in Portugal are "IN" right now. For people who have the money to spare and looking for property to invest in long term, they should check out property in portugal .

I used to have a friend who was based in Portugal and he told me that the weather there is awesome and the people are friendly. They welcome foreigners with open arms and wide smiles. My friend, Paul, who is an architect, recently mentioned about looking into properties in Portugal as a holiday home and he is pretty impressed with the architecture on the new property development.

If beach fronted property is your dream home as well, you should check out what The Oceanico Group has in store for you.

What’s Missing In eBay Feedback

I wrote a post on eBay feedback and changes that have been implemented recently. Well, I am not sure that I have mentioned before, but despite its top class system, eBay feedback lacks something that I am sure a lot of us Sellers would like to see implemented.

Each time I received a feedback on my eBay profile, I wished that I was notified via email. It would be great to know instantly that a Buyer is satisfied enough with our transaction and the way we handled the sale to leave a positive feedback, or dissatisfied enough with the over trade to leave a negative feedback.

As it is, each time I log into my eBay account, I have to do a mental calculation to see how many new feedback I have received since the last time I logged in. Receiving an instant email notification would be most convenient and the email does not even have to say a lot, except that we have received a new POSITIVE or NEGATIVE or NEUTRAL feedback.

What do you think?

The Algarve - Luxurious Property In Portugal

My friend, Paul, told me that even though the economy seems slow right now, times like these are the best to pick up property. Well, he should know since he has been buying property like a game of Monopoly.

This morning, I was introduced to beautiful beach-fronted property in The Algarve, a very popular residential property development in Portugal.

Properties like these are great for long term investment or could even be for personal use as holiday homes. Yes, Portugal is a culturally rich country offering you sights and sounds to make your holiday there unforgettable each time.

I understand that The Algarve is also equipped with sports facilities, particularly water sports and golf. Did you know that they have some of the best golf courses? If I have the funds, I surely would prefer to invest in a holiday home outside of my own country. What about you?

Platinum Credit Card

I was quite surprised when my cousin told me that he managed to apply for a credit card. Actually, he did not apply for it but he was given a platinum credit card after his application for a student loan was approved.

I was surprised as he is not even working and does not have an income ad yet the issuing bank thought that he would be a good candidate to own a credit card, a platinum card no less.

Moreover, my cousin, who now has a study loan, would have to repay the study loan at 3%. So how does the bank expect him to repay the loan AND settle his credit card bills? I marvel at their rational of targeting people who are not that financially stable. Perhaps they like to chase their customers to settle their bills, or they like to see their customers with accumulated credit card debts.

Affordable Fashion Frames

Do you have friends who change their glasses regularly? Some of my friends even have a different pair of glasses every day. Of course, there are also some who will wear the same pair of glasses through a few years but that's becoming rare as frames are getting cheaper and more fashionable.

For friends who change their glasses so regularly, I have often wondered who they could afford to do so. Well, with stores like Zenni Optical, of course they could do so. Check out Zenni Optical at zennioptical.com. They have a great range of frames starting from US$8 only. That's a very competitive price, I tell you.

Apparently, they are able to maintain such a good deal as they manufacture their own frames so they do not have to go through middlemen. Besides, they keep their advertising budget low. After all, such cost will only be passed on to customers, right?

eBay Important Changes To Feedback

I had wanted to report on the new changes to eBay's feedback policy but it always seemed like there were more important issues to write on! I don't remember how long it has been since this screenshot sat on my desktop. LOL

As you can see, each time you are about to leave a feedback to your trading partner, you will be shown this message, unless you dismiss it forever, and it says that Buyers will no longer fear of getting a negative or neutral rating because the system will not allow that to happen.

While I think that this is good in some ways, there is also negativity in it. This means that Buyers will be totally protected from a negative feedback even though they may be in the wrong, even though they may be at fault.

In any transaction, there will be the Buyer and Seller. When things go wrong, it may not be the fault of the Seller entirely. I have met ad Buyers before too though I did not leave a negative rating but this new system means that I CAN'T even if I wanted to.

As Seen On TV Revisited

When was the last time you watched an As Seen On TV informercial? I think it was a long time ago since I stayed up so late to watch all the innovative products that had to be bought over the phone since they are not available at shopping malls. I wonder why they showed these programs so late at night.

Today, when I was told of As Seen on TV Bargains, I have a feeling of déjà vu. On this website, I am seeing again all those "As Seen On TV" products back on the 1980s and almost always got a shock with their prices! I was still in school then and did not managed to purchase a single item although I think that some of them are utterly useful.

With As Seen On TV Bargains, though, not only will I have the chance to buy all those products that you missed out on, I can purchase them at further discounts too. No matter what you are looking for, it looks like As Seen On TV Bargains would most probably have It.

Now that I know of As Seen On TV Bargains, I guess I will not longer buy any product without first checking As Seen On TV Bargains to see if they have what I want, at bargain prices!

For Ourselves And Loved Ones

We have often been told that when there’s life, there’s death and death is a natural process of life. Back in my grandparents’ time, I have seen them suffer unnecessarily. We did not know of and medical solutions that could help them, or even cure them of diabetes, heart disease, osteoporosis and perhaps even cancer.

However, now we are in 2008 where medical science has advanced so much that with just stem cells stored right now, we can determine the turnout of our health and life should we be struck with a disease or another.

I used to think that women are the “unlucky” lot but after reading the article on CNNmoney.com, I think that men are worse!

That’s because women could secure their health right now with stem cells harvested, processed and stored from menstrual fluid while men have to depend on possible matches from family. Read the C'elle Client Testimonial and you will understand that if you love life, this is something that you MUST do for yourself and your loved ones.

5p Listing Promotion on eBay UK Is Back!

Here’s great news for everyone wishing to list their item on eBay UK for auction. If you have missed previous promotions, don’t worry. Here is one again which begins on Tuesday from 8th of July 2008 from 00:00:01 BST until 23:59:59 British Standard Time. This is the promotional period.

The trick with catching the maximum benefit from listing promos is to list your items in advance and schedule them to go live during the promotional period. That means that you will receive the promotional listing fee without wasting time trying to list as many items as you possibly could on the day itself.

There are, of course, terms and conditions to follow. To find out if your items are eligible for this upcoming 5p listing promotion on eBay UK this 8th July, 2008, check out this page.

Laptop or Netbook

A friend of mine asked me which laptop to buy after reading about my new laptop purchase. Well, his budget i s only RM2000 - RM3000 and he said that he will not demand too much from it. This guy may travel a lot but I think due to the nature of his job, he does not require a laptop.

I suggested that he buy a netbook since it would be cheaper and it would be able to do all that he wants like word processing, emailing, browsing and many more features. The price is very reasonable and within his budget as well.

I have contemplated buying a netbook too but decided that although it is small, light weight and highly portable, I could not do serious work on it. In the end, I bought a laptop.

Are You Tempted By Summer Sales Yet?

Some of you may already know that I write a shopping blog. In that blog, I share with you bargains from various online retailers. After writing a few weeks about online sale, clearance sale, Summer sale, discount and promotion, I tell you, I am so tempted to let loose a little and go on an online shopping spree!

Shopping online is so addictive that if we do not control our spending, we would find ourselves charging our credit card way too often and then induce a heart attack at the end of the month when we receive our credit card bill. LOL

My friends Amy and Doris are great shoppers. They know when to get a bargain, yet they would not bate an eye splashing $1000 on a jacket or handbag. Eeekkkk! Haven’t they heard of coupon codes??

Shopping During Work Hours

Just now, my friend called me up and asked if I would accompany him to shop for tiles, accessories and furnishings for his home an. You may remember that I have a friend who is building his home. Yes, it has been almost two years already! Thank god he is in the final stages. Phew!

My friend told me that he had to get matching tiles, plasma tv mount for his entertainment room and look for bathroom vanities.

At first I thought that he meant tonight so I said OK, I will go. But then he said, right now, in the afternoon! Huh... just because he could go or leave anytime he likes because he is the son of the boss does not mean that we all could do the same! I need to work also!!

In the end, I had to turn him down. Cheh.... the weather was so hot this afternoon I would rather stay indoors with the air-conditioner!

New Zealand Man Auctions Soul

A New Zealand man put up his soul for auction on a New Zealand specific auction marketplace and received over a hundred expressions of interests. Surprisingly, there was a winner and the auction closed at USD189. His auction was approved by the auction site as there was something tangible that exchanged hands: The deed of soul ownership.

According to this New Zealander, he has no use for his soul but he could sell it and sold it he did. However, the new owner will have no hold on him except to the deed of soul ownership. This guy is pretty much still the same person, sans soul, and US$189 richer.

If you have read my other blog, an Australian man recently placed his entire life on eBay for auction, including his home and a trial at his job, because he wanted to start life afresh after a failed marriage. That auction closed at US$383,200.

On the other hand, eBay halted the auction the soul of a 20-year-old university student in 2001 when bidding reached US$400. I guess he should auction off a "deed of soul ownership", instead of just his soul.

What It Takes To Build A Successful Company

My friend, Paul, will always tell me that if one believes in himself, he could achieve just about anything that he wants. When I read about the achievements of Andrew Wilshire, I have this feeling that Andrew Wilshire, within a short span of a decade, started his own financial newsletter and grew it into a full-fledged brokerage house because he believed in himself.

Of course, knowledge and determination play an important role in building a successful company, especially a financial enterprise and Andrew certainly made full use of his early training in Beddows Commodities Inc. and his technological know-how to provide an edge to his company.

Andrew Wilshire runs two websites, which you can check out at Andrew-Wilshire.net and AndrewWilshire.com

Air Asia Big Big Sale Unbelievably Low Priced Airfare

My friend tells me that he will be going to Vietnam for a holiday at the end of this month. He'll only be gone for four days. I asked him if he will be taking Air Asia but he says no. He'll be taking Vietnam Air. Ho-kay!

Anyway, he is keeping tabs of Air Asia's promotion and he asked me to check it out. Seriously unbelievably low priced at only MYR0.05, even for international flights. Can any airline go lower than that? Yes, there was once a $0 promotion.

Is there anyone now who still could not afford to fly? I remember the days where if you do not have MYR10,000 cash to spare, don't even think of going overseas. Yes, now everyone could surely fly. Of course, the return ticket will not be MYR0.05, sorry to say that but still, it will be a whole lot cheaper.

Quality Yet Cheap Auto Radiators

Although I may not own a car, I am responsible for maintaining the family car. It is an old car and maintenance could get costly. Besides, it runs on diesel and diesel price recently rose by 60% and yet the road tax has not been reduced.

When it comes to repairing it, I leave it to my father or brother, though I am still the one to settle the bill. That's why when I read that one could get a cheap Integra Radiator from Radiator.com with lifetime warranty, I gave them the heads up and hope that they would check the suitability of that radiator.

I believe that Radiator.com, one of the largest online retailers of auto radiators with warehouses across America, is the only retailer of quality yet low priced car radiators that come with lifetime warranty.

Sharing Driving Duties

My friend, the late Boon, used to keep drilling into my head the importance of the three Rs: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. He was an environmentalist, you see. I thought of him when I read about Divide The Ride. He would have been s happy to know that there are people taking the initiative to carpool in an active and involved way.

The difference between Divide The Ride and other carpooling system is that this only will match people who already know each other. This means that information, especially of children and their movement and activities, will be safe.

Arrangements and reminders are sent via email and text messages so that parents will not miss their duty. After all, they have a carload of children waiting for their ride. If you are looking for ways to manage your children’s numerous rides to school and other extra mural activities, check out Divide The Ride. You just may have your driving duties shared with a neighboring family!

Chinese Investor Wins Charity Auction Lunch With Warren Buffett

Did you read the news about the Chinese investor, Zhao Danyang of the Hong Kong-based Pureheart China Growth Investment Fund who paid US$2,110,100 to win a charity lunch with Warren Buffett? I don't know if there's anyone other than hi who would pay that much just to have dinner wit Warren Buffett but then this is all in the name of charity.

Zhao Danyang and up to seven other guests will have lunch whenever Zhao and Buffett could arrange it. Warren Buffett only auctions one lunch per year and has been doing so since year 2000.

All proceeds go towards charity and Glide Foundation has been the lucky recipient. What gave everyone a pleasant surprise was that this year's closing bid was so much higher than last year's auction at US$650,100.

The opening bid was US$25,000.

No More Phobia About Moving

I don't know if I am weird or something but over the years, I have developed a phobia about moving. Perhaps this is because I have moved too many times and each time when we had to pack and unpack the whole house gives me nightmares.

However, now that I am an adult, I know that if I were required to relocate, and I am hoping that one day I could move overseas, I can hand the job over to professional movers if I do not want to do it myself. Yes, it's as simple as that!

A friend told me that when it comes to looking for professional moving companies, it is very important to know that we could totally rely on the moving company with our personal possessions! Of course you do not want to see half your items broken or missing, right?

If you are moving to Boston and looking for Boston movers, you may want to check out Humboldt.com. They do have years of experience in helping people in the area with their relocation. I am sure you know what a hassle it could be especially if you are moving out of state, so handing the job over to a company that knows what they are doing will give you peace of mind.