Most of the time, we are able to find recycled parts with really good price and most of them this parts come with warranties. If you are afraid of getting problematic parts, you  or you can get someone to test drive, visually inspect the parts!

Of course we cannot afford anything expensive, was thinking of getting him a functional watch that he can wear everyday. We are not really going to buy breitling watches or a name brand like patek philippe for him. This patek phillipe watches certainly are nice, but they do not come cheap though! The other day I saw one Patek Philippe - Gondolo 5030 J 18K Yellow Gold watch selling on Ebay for $12k !

Do you know of anyone who owns an expensive watch like this? Personally, I don’t. Even ourwealthy friend who lives in a big mansion and retired at 40+ years old wears a watch that costs a few thousands ONLY. :-)

About 10-15 minutes after I fell asleep, the phone rang and I got up to get the phone in a daze. Guess what? I stepped right into the glasses !!

The frame is a bit bend and the string that held the lower part of the frame is broken now. I hope it can be easily fixed and the string is replacable. This glasses cost me an arm, man. It’s expensive affair to be short sighted, all this money spent on contact lenses and glasses is easily more than what a lasik procedure cost. :-)

Many people were actually watching the commercials as they have nothing to do while waiting for their turns. Looks like a win-win situation for the said government offices, by giving permission to the ad agency to do television marketing at the waiting areas, they probably get a kick back plus free supply of big flat screen televisions.

We actually got to know some local businesses that we never heard of through some of the commercials. Isn’t it a good idea for local businesses to get some exposures?

The families who have their loved ones injured badly or died in such accidents may find this a traumatic and horrendous experience! Many may not look into engaging a truck accident lawyer to claim damages while they are grieving. If your loved one was involved in a truck accident in Nebraska, you may seek out the help of a Nebraska Truck Accident Lawyer. Demerath Law has attorneys who are able to offer their experience in handling personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits resulting from such accidents.

It’s trues that money cannot bring the people back to life but any damages claimed will probably make life easier for the surviving, especially if the people who were injured or died were the sole breadwinners of the family.

The big boy was worried how a person who lived in the tropics her entire life (..yours truly) is going to adjust to this extreme weather. I told him jokingly that he can start stocking up  warm clothings and boots made from Emu Australia to keep me toasty.

Or he can get me an air ticket to fly home and stay until the cold winter is over. That way we can avoid turning the house into a big oven and paying through our nose for utility. For all you know, the utility may come up to be more expensive than an air ticket to fly home. :-)

They don’t usually come back to our hometown, seldom attend weddings or funerals, so it’s not surprising that the younger people won’t recognize them even if they bump into them on the streets.

I bet they probably book into places like Branson hotels that have golf course, so that their children and spouses are occupied while they play golfs. We also heard that they have gone for skiing trips in Europe during the CNY. Guess the rich doesn’t really need relatives. :-)

It can be quite nerve wrecking to speak publicly or to give a lecture to a group of native speakers. That’s why I am not looking forward to go back to teach in the university without first going through an accent reduction course to get rid of my accent. Are you in a similar predicament? You may want to check out the accent reduction course at ELT. It is designed to help non-native American English speakers tackle American English language skills and improve their American accent.

I know too well how critical the students can be of an instructor who have an accent. In the former university that I was teaching, we have instructors and professors from many different countries, thus many different types of accents. The students themselves are not native speakers, may speak with an accent and may not speak perfect English (in fact, many of them speak lousy English), but they always blame the accents of their instructors for their academic failures. I won’t want to be the scapegoat and lame excuse for their indiscipline and laziness.

In the States, background check is like a consumer report. An employer can get a Employment Background Check before hiring. To protect the right and privacy of a job applicant, the employers are required by law to notify you in writing and get your written authorization. If the employer is simply conducting inquiries rather than running reports they should also ask for your consent. That way you could withdraw your application if there is information you would rather not see disclosed.

Why do employers want to check your background? It could be for one of several reasons. If government security clearances are required for the job you are interviewing for, an employment background check may be required. The employer may want to make sure you are telling the truth. The employer may perform a background check to find out whether your resume is accurate and truthful without any “enhancement”.

Nowadays, most companies include the background check and drug test as part of their Employee Screening process. At a minimum, a background check will verify your social security number. At most, it can include an analysis of your work history, the people you know, along with a full credit report. It can also include your credit payment records, driving records or criminal history. The inquiries should also be related to the job i.e. if you are applying for a job in a bank, it would be reasonable to find out if you have a history of financial crimes, embezzlement or theft.

We can say the background check is used as the Employers Reference Source, but like everything else, there is a chance for abuse and discrimination. That’s why the law prohibited the disclosure of school records without the consent of the student. Employers also cannot request medical records and may not make hiring decisions based on an applicant’s disability. They may only inquire about your ability to perform a certain job. Driving records and bankruptcies are not confidential and can be released without consent, but the employer cannot discriminate against you because of the bankruptcy. Some states don’t allow queries about criminal history beyond a certain years, other states only allow criminal history check for certain position. To protect the right of the job applicants, if an employer decides not to hire because of this report, they must give a pre-adverse action disclosure that includes a copy of the report and a copy of your rights. They must then give you notice that they have decided not to hire you and let you know the name and address of Consumer Reporting Agency and information on your right to dispute the report.

In this age and time, people in the heath care industry are probably the only ones left that still enjoy job security. We know the demand of health care professionals and the employment opportunities in the medical field are high. But, it’s not easy to get into this field and it costs a lot of money to go through the training.

Many young people were attracted to career choices in medical field for the wrong reasons without much understanding what it entailed. When I was teaching in a pre-university program, part of my job was to counsel 17-18 years old about their future course and career choices. I have always told those who want to go to medical schools that the decision to go into the medical field should not be made based on the easy ability to find a job or a high salary.

They must take the demand of extremely hard work, irregular and long hours, and the need to constantly fulfill the demands of clients and patients into consideration. They must have the interest and be prepared to persevere before choosing to pursue a career in medical field. Having said that, despite of the demand that this type of career can put on you, it is an extremely fulfilling career that put you into a position that you can be directly contributing to the health and well-being of other people.

Sometime this parents are so much in denial, when they found out that their children have been experimenting with drugs, they couldn’t accept the fact, some choose to ignore it. Actually, it is not all lost if the parents will take hold of the situation, admit that there is indeed a problem and get the child enroll into drug rehab.

Nowadays with so many drug rehab centers with start of art facilities like Stone Hawk Rehabilitation, they can find a comprehensive and holistic treatment program that works for their child. Most of the centers are able to provide individualized treatment plan as well.

Of course it doesn’t help that we regularly hear almost like every single day, there is one celebrity who just checked into drug rehabilitation or just came out clean. Or just came out but going back again. If you have teens who worship these celebrities, you do want to talk to them to make sure they understand that this drug rehab merry go round lifestyle is not glamorous at all. And the recent death of the young actor Heath Ledger is one good conversation piece to start the ball rolling.

He is actually quite down to earth consider the fact that he is ultra rich and own many properties in town and oversea. He probably could afford all the expensive gold plated new pocket watches, but I saw him wearing a very humble old watch. He must be a good saver and an excellent steward of his money.

There are alternatives to buying new. Used lots are overflowing, and millions of cars come from expired leases. We save money by buying a Used Car is because of the car loses its financial value due to its use (depreciation). Whenever you buy a used car that had already depreciated (at least 50% in the first 5 years), you allow the person who bought the car when it was new to eat the cost of the depreciation.

If you want to know what used cars are selling for these days, look online, call some of the banks in your area and ask them how they dispose of their repossessions. If they have a repo auction in your area, this is a great way to find good deals. But the best deals you can find are usually from individuals because they are trying to get rid of their vehicles. Look in your area papers and find what’s for sale in the classifieds.

We were sharing a car and used a piece-of-junk car for a while. It was horrible! But, we were set in our mind to not borrow money. We ended up saving what we would have put into a car payment and saving it toward paying down the mortgage faster. It was the best thing we could have done!

The big boy did go to work (retailed business doesn’t rest on public holidays)  but got off earlier, he called at “seven early eight early”, woke me up from slumber. I was not in the right frame of mind to talk, we ended the conversation quick so I could start the day and get my breakfast.

In North America, most people live in single family homes in the suburb. Some people prefer to custom build a home with a house plan unlike the others. Since getting an architect to draw up a custom house plan may cost a lot of money, many people turn to pre-drawn house floor plans. These plans are ready for you to purchase and build. But, it can be used as a starting point to custom design a floor plan that includes all of the amenities you could ever want.

You can choose your favorite  architecture style, whether you prefer the Ranch house plans or Log Home Plans, they are basically thousands of house plans in each of the category to choose from. My personal favorite is the Cape Cod/New England style, they are timeless design that will add a touch of charm to any neighborhood. Don’t believe me? Go to Province Town in Cape Cod, you will understand what I mean. :-)

She was hopeful and trusted that her husband has been clean and ready to start a new life after going through the drug rehab. But the hope crashed when when she found a used needle with some brownish remnant in their bedroom again.

What would you do in her situation? I guess it takes a lot of courage and strength to leave or to stay in the marriage!

Now that we have folded up the business, we have about 30-40 T-shirts of various sizes left. We gave all of them to the part time cleaner the other day. We told her that she could wear them to work and wear them as sleep wears.:-)

After comparing, sure enough, he was able to get one that cost less than half of what he was paying previously! I was tempted to say “I told you so.”, but bit my tongue and said “That’s good!” :-)

Mom is doing spring cleaning in preparation for CNY. She dug out all the book collections that my sisters and I left behind. She was rearranging them on the shelves and asking whether she can give or throw some of them away. I picked up some of my books and told her to send to the recycling center. But, I couldn’t stay long, the cleaning stirred up so much dust in the air, causing watering eyes and itchy nose, and I was sneezing non stop.

The day temperature in IL right now is about 20 F( -8 C, about 8 degree Celsius below freezing point) during the daytime and lower at night. What do you think I am moving over only after April, when it gets a little warmer?:-)

One of the first things we need to do is to get some warm socks and leggings for me. I think I may need them even during the spring. The temperature can still hover around 50 F (about 12 C) in May, and that’s “cold” for me. It is definitely going to take a few years for me to get used to the cold weather in IL.

Selling 1000+ books already caused me running around like a chicken with the head chopped off. Can you imagine what kind of chaos it will be if the wholesale book distributors do not have automated systems that take care of the warehousing, inventory and purchase order processing of the books?

I am just a one time book seller, so don’t expect me to be able to process book orders like Amazon or Barnes and Noble.:-) I am sure they have sophisticated automated warehousing system, unlike my super unreliable human brain powered system. Sometime I do wonder do they outsource their shipping and packaging to the fulfillment center ? The books you ordered from them are shipped from different warehouses though.

I need to go out to run some errands this afternoon, also have a class in the evening and then will go straight to a bible study group after the class. I won’t be home until after 11p.m. So, it’s very unlikely I get a chance to email you, send you photos or talk to you on the MSN today.

Saturday is my busiest day of the week as I teach a few classes from 9.00 a.m till 5.00 p.m. So, I won’t have a chance to sit in front of the computer until Sunday, or Saturday night if I am not too tired. At the meantime, be patient with me, bear with my slowness, I will get back to you, ok?

There are two boxes of books left (down from about 15 boxes).

One box is mainly chapter books and English classics like Gulliver Travel, Little women, … and some James Howe’s horror stories. They are for fluent readers and probably going to be hard to sell, because most mummies I know have younger children and prefer picture books. FOC, any mummies want to read them?

I really wasn’t too optimistic that I can sell most of the books. Previously, I helped a friend to sell her library collection to parents of my students, and I managed to sell less than 10 of them. Now I know many mommy bloggers like to read and want to bring up readers.:-)

Here are the Little Golden Books that I have for sale, they are used, most are printed in the 80s and 90s, some may even be 70s, (They are collector items in the States, just google for “Little Golden Books”, you will find a lot of collectors’ websites), some may have the names of previous owners on the cover or inside, they are old and the cover may be soiled, but the pages are all intact and the bindings are tight, they are in fair to good condition.

I am selling them 4 for RM10.

I would have to let go of my babies. There is no way I can lug all this books onto the plane and bring over to IL.

Have given some to my nephew and niece, but I am not going to beg them to take all as they prefer the idiot box. Since their own parents don’t care to cultivate reading habit in them, these books are going to be thrown out one day when they are running out of space to keep them.

They are more than one thousand story books I have collected over the years. They are for sale for 2-5 ringgits, cheap, cheap only. My lost will be your gain!

Hard cover science books for RM5!

Colorful books with Disney Characters for RM2-RM3.

Hard to find picture books here or they will cost you a bomb, only for RM3-RM4.

Books with familiar characters like Clifford, Winnie the Pooh and Berenstain bears are selling for RM2-RM3 each.

Hard cover Dr Seuss for RM3-RM4

Funny Amelia Bedelia, Arnold Lobel’s story books and books that you can’t find in our local book stores, selling for RM2- RM3 each

These books are used, but in good condition, the bindings are all in tact, most of them are shrink-wrapped with plastic cover, some of them may have the stamps of “This books belong to XXX” and the library pocket on them as they were in the library of the preschool that I owned. I will try to take more photographs and list them on flickr. But, let me know if you are interested ! [Edit: Most of them are gone before I had a chance to upload the photos]

As for the logistics, my sisters live in PJ, you can either pick up from them, or I can mail them to you if you live outside Klang Valley, of course, you are welcome to “cuti-cuti in Melaka” and pick them up.

I also have tons of Montessori stuffs for sale, leave me a note if you are interested, I will email you when I am done sorting them and taking photos to put on flickr. [Edit: All are gone except for the dressing frames, some trays and baskets]

Some car parks are indoor and covered, but many will be full as early as 7.30am. One has either to get up really early to get a nice parking space or has to endure the stinky-dingy and multi-storey car park that may not be safe even if you are a man!

Now, many car owners have discovered that they can Rent a Garage from tenants and landlords who wished to fully utilize the garage that they may not need during the normal working hours. There are services that connect both the needs of a car owner and the landlord or tenant with an unused garage, thus benefiting both parties and leaving both parties feeling safe and their properties protected.

It’s also a safe and hassle free arrangement because the company will do all the negotiation until both parties reach an amiable solution. It is the best business arrangement as car owners no longer have to pay an arm and a leg for a parking space, no more worries about not finding one when you need to get to work on time. At the same time, the tenant or landlords are making some extra money off the space that otherwise wasted.

My sister’s ex boy friend works in London, he doesn’t drive into London, he parks his car near the station and takes the tube to work everyday. According to him, if you live in London and must drive a car and unfortunately work downtown, you might end up spending a big chunk of your pay on a parking space in the city. London Parking is scarce and therefore the economic theory of scarcity applies.

I was told many people also make private arrangement with landlords and garage owners, so they can park their cars in safer compound, without worrying about vandalism and theft. Some folks leave their home as early as 6am in the morning, just to get a parking space for their cars.

I can only imagine a bicycle probably gets people through cities like London faster than cars and public transportation, takes up far less road and parking space than vehicles, and emits no greenhouse gas.:-)

Didn’t feel like talking, so I hang up the phone and switched off the computer, took a break from blogging and had a pity party with myself. :-) Feeling better yesterday, got up to cook some comfort food and went for a walk in the neighborhood. Finally I am feeling normal !

I have never aspire to be in the medical care profession because I cannot stand the sight of blood. But I really admire my friends who have chosen to be in this caring professions.Though many may think they are going to have great jobs that makes a lot of money, it takes a lot of hard work to go through the training and one must really likes it to be able to endure the torturous schedule. :-)

My cousin is one of those people who are passionate about the medical profession, she wanted to be a doctor but could not afford the medical school, so she decided to become a medical assistant. She took one of the medical assistant training programs a few years ago and got herself certified and graduated from one of the top medical assistant schools. With sheer hard work and dedication, she was able to graduated with flying colors. She still works in the hospital and enjoyed her work very much.

I believe one must chose what they love to do, so that they can enjoy what they do, not just endure. If you are interested in a medical career or considering a career switch, you may want to check out the links above, to find out more about the medical assistant programs.

If you live in Dallas, Houston and San Antonio in Texas, you can check out this Dallas Chat, Houston Chat and San Antonio chat. You can call in for free to chat live or leave voice personal for others to hear. You don’t have to reveal your personal information and identity, so it’s safer.

I have been slacking in completing the assignments in the past two weeks, have waited for the deadline approaching then only rushed like hell. That’s bad, I know. I often complained about the big boy being last minuter who procrastinates and takes forever to do things that I want him to do. Think about it, I am not any better in that. He, he…..

Hubby has the day off work and he is supposed to fill up the form for him to start filing the immigrant visa petition (I-130). The form has been emailed to him two weeks ago. He is yet to fill up his part and email back to me, so that I can print out, fill my name in my native language and send it back to him by snail mail together with photos and other supporting documents.

Uh huh. I’m really pleased with that (sarcastic), he needs to put a rush on it if we ever going to be reunited. Anyway, I am not going to nag him, I am going to go out and get my hair wash and cut. I also wanted to do a little more shopping, but I’m just not feeling like battling the weekend crowds.

Many businesses are switching from the traditional call center phone system to VoIP call center phone system for money saving. Furthermore VoIP call center phone systems do not require a large upfront capital investment nor long time to wait for the installation to be done. It doesn’t even require as much site maintenance and labor.

We would first advertised on the campus bulletin about our flower delivery service, then ordered the fresh flowers from this place that wholesale flowers. We do the packaging and delivery, the profit margin was very good, we raised enough money to kick start the library project.

If you live in the Boston area and need some advice on Boston Real Estate particularly how to locate and compare different boston condos, you can check out the website of http://boston.condodomain.com. You can find condos for sale in the Boston Real Estate market from the Back Bay to the Waterfront to Charlestown to Fenway, what a fantastic source for Boston Condos and most current condo developments in Boston. Whether you are looking for high-rise Boston condos or loft condos, you can use the search condo function to find the most exciting new and re-sale Boston condos for sale.!

We even have computers in the preschool and tutoring business that we used to run. Since we have folded up the business two months ago. We are in the process of liquidating the business, selling all the teaching materials, computers and furniture. We do not have too many pieces of school computer furniture for sale, since we have moved some of the computer furniture back home for me to setup the home office. However, we have a lot of Montessori materials and low shelves for sale.

Since I do work from home most of the time now, it would be nice to have a proper place where I can put my computer and do my work at home. I am rather happy with the work station, with a space for working at the computer, and a separate space where I can write or organize my bills to pay.

When I was at this house warming party of a relative last night, met my ex-teacher who also happened to be the daughter-in-law of my relative. Technically, she is my cousin-in-law, which make her children my second cousins.

I think it’s pretty rude for my teacher’s adult daughters to treat us as invisible at their grandmother’s house. It’s true that we have not seen each other for years and they may not recognize us. But, the way they pretend they didn’t hear my mother, (and the look on their face that clearly say, I don’t even know you, why should I answer you?)., it’s totally stuck-up and lack of basic courtesy and manners, IMHO.

I also think it was their mother partly to be blamed for not introducing us or clearly show these young adults the acceptable social behavior since they were young. My mother always taught us to greet people at a family gathering like that, even if you don’t know who they are, you just greet them or ask how you should address them if you are not sure.

It’s not very uncommon to find businesses start to offer their service in Spanish like this hotel booking site, it is specially designed to provide Hoteles booking service for Spanish speaking people. We know for most people finding the right hotel room at the best price is the top concern. But if the booking can be done in the language they are familiar, that would be making the task easier. It’s only a matter of time other businesses catch up and start to design their businesses specifically to meet the needs and interests of Spanish-speaking individuals in the United States.

Though plane and helicopter crashes may not happen everyday, it seems they happened frequent enough to have lawyers who specialize in aviation law. Statistical report by the National Transportation Board actually showed that there are more than one thousand of aviation accidents and hundreds of fatalities in the US every year.

I am sure most of the survivors or next-of-kin of the victims would be seeking compensation from parties that are potentially liable for the crashes. Most lay person would properly need to engage an aviation lawyer to identify the party or parties liable for the accident and therefore determining all possible claims. Tragedy of any kind will be heart wrenching, a good lawyer who takes care of the nitty-gritty would have made a lot of grieving parties a little less burdened.

I taught in a college back in my home country, if I would like to get back to teach in a college, I would have to go through an accent reduction course. I think speaking English fluently with very little accent creates a better impression and students may not have an excuse to blame my English when they do not do well. LOL In fact, some of my ex-students like to complain about the foreign teachers’ accents when they don’t do well academically. So that they can hide the fact that they never put effort into their work or partying too much.

If your job requires you to deal with a lot of people then going through a course that helps you with accent reduction may just be the thing for you. It would certainly boost your confidence when you can the language without an accent and command the respect of those who hear.

The shopping malls are all geared up for Christmas, with all the decorations and carols singing at the background. The businesses are all capitalized on Christmas because it’s a season of shopping and consuming for a lot people. From November onwards, it is impossible to forget that Christmas is coming. Coloured lights decorate many town centers and shops, along with shiny decorations, and artificial snow painted on shop windows. In streets and shops, ‘Christmas trees’ (real or plastic evergreen ‘conifer’ trees) will also be decorated with lights and Christmas ornaments.

I don’t do much of Christmas shopping, not really in the mood to decorate up the house, it would be just quiet celebrations at the Church or with friends in the bible study group. Christmas indeed is a time of celebration, to celebrate god’s goodness and love for us.

I remembered it was not easy for them to get the tickets for New York Yankees Spring Training and they were was not really good seatings. However, it was my first time attending a baseball game, all the hotdog and sauerkraut were exciting and memorable experience for me. :-)

With the availability of online brokers, I am sure it’s easier for people to get their Yankee Spring Training tickets at their respective cities now. If you are a fan of New York Yankee, you may want to check out the http://www.teamonetickets.com/ for Yankees Spring Training Schedule to find out when do they play in your city so you can book the tickets!

We certainly want to look back one day and see that the one we married is the RIGHT one for us. But, unless we have many choices, we may just end up marrying the only person that ever ask us for a date, whether he is the right one or the wrong one! You gotta start looking around for a partner that will last you for years and years and not just anyone you meet randomly.

As Internet access becomes more common and more people have high speed Internet service, more people are spending more time on the net socializing. It has become quite a popular way to meet people and finding love. Free Online Dating site opens up many opportunities and give you more choices to find someone right for you. In fact, I greatly endorse this convenience way of finding love because it is very economic and low maintenance and has virtually no pressure. Unless of course you’re doing something nasty with it :-).

Though it’s convenient way to meet people at the comfort of your home, common precaution and common sense still prevailed. But this is not to say that meeting someone online is dangerous. However, you would certainly appreciate being able to socialize in your pajamas at four in the morning. After all, many of us will appreciate the fact that we don’t have to get all dolled up everyday and sit at a bar just to have some company. And how lucky or successful have you been, trying to strike up an intelligent conversation at a bar or a lounge? :-)

Isn’t dating so much more fun these days, without all the ceremony? Albeit, the mind games and heart ache are all still there but everything can be over in just one night without you spending a cent or even met the person!!

So, what are you waiting for? Join online dating for free today, you’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain! Start create a profile, provide some information about yourself, upload your best photo and write up an introduction about yourself. Members who are interested can then email you directly. Or alternatively, you can search the site, there are millions of single members registered with the database. You can search by location, age, interest and other criteria. Of course, you can pay a small fee for a premium membership, which entitle you to some privileges that non-paying members don’t.

Thought after hooking up the computer with Internet and getting the expiring paid posts done, I  would be able to leave the house to go to the hairdresser. But, it’s raining cats and dogs outside for the past two hours. I hate to go out when it’s raining. If it doesn’t stop in another hour, I can forget about going to the hair dresser today. Let the bush grows another day. :-)

Initially wanted to setup the work space in one of the spare bedrooms, but after consideration, thought this arrangement would be more convenient. I can watch what’s cooking in the kitchen from here, thus can avoid burning another pot. :-)

All this clutters were screaming out loud for an electronic medical records software that can turn them into electronic form. The paper files may take up half of the room, electronic data will probably only need a PC and some storage gadgets. However, I doubt his equally old receptionist and nurse could do the data entry. They still hand written everything!

Like all forms of advertising, the production cost can vary greatly, so before setting a budget, contact a production house for advice. There are also different price ranges within the TV medium. Prime-time commercials are going to be pricey even locally, but audiences can be huge for popular shows. If you’re in a situation to be able to buy nationally, find a media buying service or an ad agency that will do your buying for you on a commission basis.

Veterans Day is an American holiday honoring military veterans, it’s largely intended to thank veterans for their service and to acknowledge and appreciate their contributions to the national security of their country. It’s mean to remember the sacrifices of all those who served - not only those who died.

Traditionally, hubby’s family will visit the graveyard, presenting flowers to their deceased family members who fought in the wars before i.e. Korean war, World War I, World War II and Vietnam War. You can say it’s almost like the Chinese version of Ching Min festival, minus the burning of papers.:-)

I bought the blank CDs from a wholesale store, so they come in a dime a dozen. But, the CD burner of my desktop is rather slow speed, it takes time to do the burning. So sometimes I sent out to a media store to do the burning, they have CD duplicators that work much faster. I have been thinking may be I should invest in a CD duplicator since I need to do the duplication so often?

Nowadays the modern grocery stores or super markets also package the produce excessively. It’s actually become a burden to the consumer and to the environment. Even recyclable packaging wastes energy and resources in manufacture, transport and processing.

Do you notice how much of this excessive packaging end up in the bin in a week? My mother collects a month’s worth of rubbish before she sent the recyclable to the recycling center and the not recyclable to the dump site. She collects somewhere between 40-60 lbs of them weekly. That’s for a household of two with occasionally more people during the weekends!

I thought buying a New York CityPass is quite a cool gift idea. (Can you buy me one, please?) If your loved one is planning to go visit NYC, this will be the prefect gift. If they have no plan to visit NYC, with the booklet, they may start planning one. :-)

The booklet of tickets is quite affordable. For less than $100, you can get tickets to six of the major attractions in NYC. The best thing about this CityPass is, it allows visitors to jump ahead the line at most main entrance ticket lines thus it saves time and time is money..

Currently there is a Winter Special runs for CityPass, the special rate is valid from December 15 to March 15. The booklet is valid until march 15, which give people up to three months to begin using the CityPass booklet. So, if you are interested to get some of this tickets, you can check out the links provided above . Please don’t forget to let me know if you purchase the tickets. May be we can work out a fun plan to visit NYC.

You will be surprised many churches got torn apart during the fund raising process. Getting into debt to build a new premises and fill it with church pews can be a very stressful task to the pastor and leaders of the church. In my humble opinion, church leaders can learn to manage church finances through careful cash flow planning by creating healthy budgets and strive to fund the building project debt free.

The bible says, the borrower is the slave to the lender. (Proverbs 22:7). Debt burdens people and it prevents the churches from realizing their full potential and maximizing their impact for God’s Kingdom. The church can teach the members about managing their personal finances instead of keep preaching about giving and tithing. Members who can manage their personal finances will be able to beat debt, build wealth, and give with generous heart and make a deeper commitment to live their faith.

The next is to get connected to the world.:-) It’s funny that both the phone and Internet services are offered by the same service provider, but we can’t apply for the internet service until the land line is fixed and activated. Doesn’t it make more sense to apply for both at the same time and they go figure out the installation dates instead of making their clients go to the sales office umpteen times. Don’t you think this people can use some tips and advices from the business coaches instead of going around pissing their clients off.

If I have a choice, I would have scheduled the classes on weekdays. But, nowadays, the school keep the children until quite late and the children have multiple classes to attend in a week. It’s a headache trying to accommodate everyone.

In the past two years, parents who want teaching to the tests were weeded out, the present students in the class are quite nice and pleasant to teach. They don’t feel the pressure and they like the multi-sensorial kind of learning environment. They do not just sit there listening, they get to participate and play games.

I went to pick the tiles yesterday. For some reason, the guy who is supposed to give me a price quote hasn’t called yet. Though I am not worried of being overcharged as he works for my uncle who owned the tile dealership. My cousin always gives me good discount for the tiles and get his best man to do the job. But, I would like to know whether the total cost comes out to be within our budget or we can change the tiles if the price exceeds the budget. I must call to find out today.

It was an air condition repair shop that I could trust, I passed the key to the boss and went to the next door’s Indian Restaurant for lunch. I could see 2-3 workers working on my car from the restaurant. By the time I finished lunch, they were about to complete the job. They told me the fan of the air condition was malfunction due to a faulty time relay.( Or something like that? I don’t really understand what they said.:-)) However, I am glad it costs less than 20 bucks to fix that.

I have recently discovered this workshop, the workers and the boss there are honest people. Few months ago, another place told me that I needed to pay 300-400 bucks to get my car’s air condition fixed. In fact, all it needed was a refill of gas and it only costs less than 20 bucks at this place. I would never go back to the first workshop that tried to cheat me. But, this one had a loyal customer now.

I was so exhausted unpacking stuffs, reorganizing the closets, clearing the messes, no energy to blog about the meeting yet. I took a long nap this afternoon and sort of recovered from the exhaustion.

And, these are corners that still waiting to be cleared.

I brought back the metal cabinet to set up a home office.

Just in case you are curious why I am moving and where to. I am moving the stuffs back to our house. In the past two years, we (more like I have been, since hubby hasn’t been around for almost a year) have been staying on the second floor of the premises that housed the preschool. I am moving the stuffs back to our house that has been vacant and neglected for two years. I will be working from home mostly and teach part time at the ground floor of the same premises since we have sold the first floor.