Bee Stung Lips

When I read an ad in the local newspaper a few days ago that Clark’s is having a warehouse sale at Corus Hotel, KL on 15-16 Jan 2010, 10 am to 5 pm, I knew I had to make it there on 15-Jan itself if I were to be lucky enough to grab some decent shoes/sandals for Chinese New Year.

What to do? CNY is good enough a reason to spend some dough even if I haven’t earned any in the past month :-p

I miscalculated the traffic conditions this morning, and by the time I arrived at 11 am, the queue had already snaked from the ballroom (where the warehouse sale was being held) to the carpark outside the hotel!! Man, I wouldn’t believe there’s an economic downturn judging from the number of boxes carried by most happy customers.

Sure enough, most of the popular-sized shoes/sandals were out-of-stock by the time I got in the ballroom. Luckily for me, I managed to snag a pair of turquoise sandals and black work heels. They weren’t cheap, but at least much cheaper than normal retail price.

Which brings me back to what people would do just to get a good/better price or value-for-money. Wait in a queue for 1.5 hours, squeeze with total strangers to snatch a pair of to-die-for chearper-than-retail shoes/sandals? Drive all the way to the other side of town to save a few dollars on groceries?

Someone once told me TIME = MONEY, to save TIME we’ll have to spend MONEY.

But today I wasted TIME and still spent MONEY. Hmm… something’s not quite right with the equation.

One down side of using the free version of Wordpress is that bloggers aren’t allowed to post advertisements. That’s one of the reasons why I signed up with a web host… I wanted to put up Nuffnang ads in my blog.

In collaboration with Friso, Nuffnangers now stand a chance to win a fully sponsored 3D2N trip to Hong Kong Disneyland for 2 adults & 2 children aged 1 to 8 years. Just what my little princess has been dreaming of – to see Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and all the Princes in real live. Well sort of, anyway.

And spending quality time with my princess, whether at home or outside, is one of my top priorities. It’s part of her upbringing process. Monkey see, monkey do – as some say. So, Family Day might be a event held by specific sponsors, but to us, Family Day is every moment of any day when it matters most.

Human beings are indeed a creative lot, especially when imaginations are allowed to run wild free. When I read this article today, I remembered the first time I saw a mannequin wearing the Islamic swimsuit in a store in the new wing of Sunway Pyramid.

Too bad I’ve deleted the picture from my mobile phone. So here’s one taken from today’s The Star:

I wonder if any swimmer in the same league as Michael Phelps will don this swimwear in the international arena and bag some gold medals as well as shatter world records?

The musical is scheduled to hit Malaysian shores at the end of the year. I’ve not seen it before and I’d really love to go watch it. Alas my other half thinks watching the show in the cinema is way much more economical than watching the musical at Istana Budaya.

Anybody kind enough to sponsor a ticket? I’ve been unlucky in getting free tickets from Red FM

I was driving home yesterday when the radio played a popular song by Wilson Phillips back in the 1990s. It was one of my favourites and I still find the lyrics meaningful and inspiring, especially when life is filled with challenges, excitement, stress and disappointments.

So I dedicate this song (lyrics below) to all of you and to anyone who needs some positive encouragement to hang in there a little longer to see the fruit of your labour. Enjoy!

[Chorus]

I know that there is pain
But you hold on for one more day and
Break free the chains
Yeah I know that there is pain
But you hold on for one more day and you
Break free, break from the chains

Some day somebody’s gonna make you want to
Turn around and say goodbye
Until then baby are you going to let them
Hold you down and make you cry
Don’t you know?
Don’t you know things can change
Things’ll go your way
If you hold on for one more day yeah
If you hold on

Don’t you know things can change
Things’ll go your way
If you hold on for one more day,
If you hold on
Can you hold on
Hold on baby
Won’t you tell me now
Hold on for one more day ‘Cause
It’s gonna go your way

Don’t you know things can change
Things’ll go your way
If you hold on for one more day
Can’t you change it this time

Today Apple Inc launches their latest iPhone 3G across many countries in the world. Check it out:

http://www.apple.com/iphone/specs.html

http://www.apple.com/sg/iphone/features/

http://www.apple.com/iphone/appstore/

But what pisses me off is, after waiting for about a year, this phone remains elusive to Malaysians. Even our neighbour Singapore will get the iPhone “soon”.

I want one and I want it NOW!!!

Many have seen it coming, and it’s finally happened! International gold price hit US$1,000 an ounce. This steady increase in gold price is due to a weakening US dollar as well as an increase in crude oil price. There is no gold bubble, but a signal of a economy downturn. The higher the gold price, the more severe the downturn.

I first got interested in gold investments when I read Robert Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad series back in 2004. At that time, gold price was hovering around US$350 an ounce. I followed Paul Van Eeden’s daily gold commentary for a couple of years, where he kept analysing how gold will perform in the coming years.

I like gold for the security it provides as a hedge against inflation. Cash in any currency may devalue (remember the banana notes during the Japanese occupation of Malaya?). But gold’s intrinsic value is recognised through the ages and is still widely accepted as an alternative to cash. Other commodities such as crude oil is just too out of reach for the rdinary Joe’s and Jane’s.

People from the olden days like to buy gold to be given away as gifts. Today it’s just too expensive… so treasure all the gold jewellery anyone has given you. Don’t pawn it away unless it’s a matter of life and death.

But if you’re thinking of buying some gold as investments, don’t buy gold jewellery – up to 30% is deducted from its resale value. Buy pure gold (999 or 99.99%) wafers, bullion coins or bars where only 5% is deducted during resale. If you can spare a few hundred ringgit every month (to put aside as savings), why not consider buying some gold? Think about it…

My earliest memory of watching Heath Ledger on screen is the movie “10 Things I Hate About You”, a modern adaptation of Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew”.

Next I saw him in “A Knight’s Tale” [inverted Nike logo], “The Patriot” [ink staining his teeth] and most recently “Brokeback Mountain”.

 Heath Ledger [L] & Jake Gyllenhaal [R]

This was an actor touted to be one of the best leading men of my time. And his life got cut short today… of suspected overdose.

The current news headline across Malaysia revolve around 2 topics:

- a scandalous video clip (not the one shot in a hotel room)

- the upcoming general elections

Since elections is a sticky topic to blog about, I shall give my 2 sens worth about the video clip where a conversation between a well-known lawyer & a big fish brokering the appointment of justice upholders in the country was recorded.

Several witnesses have come forward and testified in this big case. Evidence were presented and validated by experts. Yet the lawyer refused to admit or deny the charges against him. What’s the meaning of this?

When questioned if he was talking to big fish A, the lawyer said the conversation never took place.

When questioned if he was talking to big fish A about someone, the lawyer said he don’t remember saying that.

If it never happened, how can a person remember anything at all? Let me put it this way… If a person can forget something, that means something happened!

I wonder how long it’ll take to conclude this case. It’s been a year and the other big case is still not resolved.

Kids are often told not to play video or computer games for too long on ends. Some experts have even concluded that children who stay indoor miss out on certain aspects of growing up, like interaction with other children (learning communication skills) & nature (being inquisitive).

Well, lo and behold! Gamers have proved it’s ok to play… because at the end of the day, your kid could be the next true hero!

If only we can earn real money playing virtual games…