Suspend-It

My high school friend Angela had her baby Christened yesterday. It was the first time I had seen her since we graduated high school. She’s still pretty, as usual, but a bit on the plump side compared to back then.

When she laid her eyes on me, she gushed over my figure stating I look exactly the same as I was in high school. She asked me what I did to maintain my figure cause she’s been using best weight loss supplements just to get her high school figure.

I couldn’t help but laugh because my current figure should actually be credited to the stress I have been getting from my obstinate, ball-less General Manager who uses the managers under him as escape goats. I was honest of course and told her the truth. I did advice her to try out Biram Yoga. It’s great not only to help reduce her weight, but it also helps improve your skin and disposition as well.

Well, there was this one time when our French client gave us a visit in the office. He went to the office looking like he slept in a bush or something. As I remember he came there ranting about how stupid US cars are. About the poor suspension and gear stuff (I had no idea what he was talking about obviously). He explained that Italian cars are still the best cars ever made. And I respectfully agree.

I’m no car expert, but I know what it feels like to drive an Italian car (Ferrari). From the perfect looks to the beautiful interior design, nothing beats it. It’s like the car is made by an artist. It’s a well known brand, yet you don’t see much of them in the streets. It’s because Ferrari parts are sometimes hand made, carefully crafted to perfection. When you got a hold of one, it’s like you’re in a high.

I had a chance to drive one while doing an interview for a sports car magazine. I was asking more than I should with the driver so he just said there are not many words to describe what it feels like to drive the car. He gave me the keys and let me drive. It was amazing. Oh well, just bragging.

A friend of mine was experiencing some pain in the back of the neck. At first she thought it was just muscle pain from the long hours of work in front of the PC. She took some pain relievers but the pain persisted. So, she got a check up and what turned out to be a minor problem became a major health concern.The neck pain she experienced was caused by high blood pressure – the doctor said. Because the back of the neck has lots of arteries, an increase in BP will give you an uncomfortable feeling or maybe pain in that area. The doctor suspects that she had high cholesterol and her weight is causing her hypertension.She was advised to have laboratory tests and stress test to determine the cause for the hypertension. For now she was given medications to lower her BP. She was also advised to get more exercise and to eat more vegetables as diet and no exercise also causes hypertension. She was asked to use diet pills with caution for it might have some effect with the meds she’s taking.

“tell me what your car is, and I’ll tell who you are.” But what if you have a pimped up RV? The family was in the middle of being disappointed and amazed when my brother suddenly brought home a large RV. We were disappointed because he told us he’d get a sports car so the RV was way beyond our expectations. We almost killed him actually, hehe, but when we saw the interiors of the RV, we were amazed. Suddenly, ideas of having a family road trip came rushing through our minds.Dad was obviously excited for the road trip, but my brother had other things in mind. He said that he got the RV for a very cheap price and had it upgraded to be sold. So basically he just used it as an investment. He already posted a “used rv for sale” item in the net and he did get lots of inquiries. Anyhow, he gave us a ride around town and we had a mini road trip for a day. We obviously enjoyed the RV and we’re trying to convince my brother not to sell it anymore.

I came by the pet shop yesterday to get some cat supplies for a friend. I saw this big poster saying “hypo-allergenic cats and dogs for sale”. At first I thought it was just an ad for pet shampoo of some sort, but to my surprise, the sales person explained that they are really selling “hypo-allergenic pets”.Some people, especially those in the urban areas, are allergic to cats or dogs. This is because urban people are not used to pet allergens. Pets produce hormones that are treated by the human body as allergens. These allergens can be transferred by your pet’s saliva, or even sweat. It can also be airborne, staying in the air for weeks.(did some research) Doctors found some way of preventing these pets from producing hormones that cause allergy, hence the term hypo-allergenic. Although I am not pro-genetic altering, it seems that the pets retained their natural qualities so no harm done. I think this is great news for those allergic kids who love to get their hands on cuddly pets. Oh but I guess their parents will think twice before buying them, ‘coz these pets cost like a car.

You’ll probably have seen those electronic fat burning devices on your favorite shopping network. I know you are tempted to buy one, especially those with infra-red stuff that claim to burn layers of fat instantly while giving you a massage. Well, a friend of mine got one and decided to experiment on it. He’s an electronics engineer so he knows for sure if the device is effective or not.

At first glance of the infra-red device, he already knew that the claims cannot be true. He explained that the infra-red is a spectrum of light which cannot be seen by the naked eye. Those red lights you see in the device are certainly not infra-red. They’re just “Red lights”. To make it simple, a common TV remote uses infra red (you don’t expect it to burn your fat when you point it in your belly right?). Regarding the fat burning effect, you’ll need a large amount of infra-red light just to burn the fat, that is, if you don’t burn your skin first.

Anyhow, at least the massaging part works but not that great. So as a conclusion, don’t get fooled with those impressive info-mercials. There are a lot of fat burners available in the market which you can try anyway.

During a lunch buffet gathering of my department in celebration of the September birthday celebrants last September 25, I overheard one of them say, “Let’s go Green shopping!”

I was at a loss. Green shopping?! Huh?

Thanks to Google, I soon found that “Green shopping” actually refers to “shopping online”. The phrase originated from the result of the study conducted by the Green Design Institute of Carnegie Mellon University.

As you know, individual consumers generally drive by or commute via car from their homes to the nearest retail store to pick up the product and then return home. The Institute made a test wherein they discovered that you can decrease your impact on the environment by shopping online. In fact, “shopping online consumes less energy and reduces carbon dioxide emissions by 35 percent compared to shopping at traditional retail stores.” A good example of this is Buy.com wherein, “Buy.com’s model fared better in reducing carbon dioxide emissions and energy consumption with fewer steps in getting products from manufacturers’ warehouses to consumers’ homes.”

Amazing isn’t it? So next time you need to buy something, I suggest you opt for Green shopping!

My friend, Hazel, recently got a scholarship in the Netherlands and asked me to help her buy a laptop which she can carry around the campus and the country in general. She only has a CPU right now and it would be such a hassle, not to mention extra cost, to bring it all the way to the Netherlands.

I recommended to her the leveled up version of my current notebook computer – Lenovo IdeaPad S10 – which my friend Mark helped me research and purchase last October 14, 2008. I told her to go for either a Lenovo S10-2 or IdeaPad S12. Although the latter is half a pound heavier, it shares traits with the smaller S10-2, but its keyboard is also reminiscent of the larger IdeaPad Y450. This makes the S12 is a good netbook for touch typists like her.

The best part of getting the Lenovo IdeaPad S10-2 or S12 is that it is easy to carry with its 2lbs 11oz, 3lbs 5.4oz travel weight (3.4 pounds for S12). Having a small, easy to carry netbook is great because it does NOT scream out “laptop” to robbers.

However, we do suggest you use a backpack when carrying netbooks. By utilizing the age-old technology of carrying your load on your back, you’re not only hands free when walking; you also lessen the risk of straining your neck and shoulders. After all, compared to single-strapped bags and purses which can cause excess strain on your neck and shoulders (putting you at higher risk for spine and muscle problems as well as other injuries), backpacks are a much healthier way of transporting your things. This is because you’re spreading the weight over both shoulders when using a backpack.

After pointing out all these to Hazel, she immediately and unhesitatingly purchased the Lenovo S10-2 (which is lighter) AND a backpack that same day. ^_^ Hmmm… I should get paid for promoting Lenovo. Hehehe.

I was chatting via skype with my friend in the Philippines asking how they are doing. As you know, the Philippines was recently hit by Typhoon Ondoy (international name Ketsana) and two more Typhoons are arriving (Typhoon Parma over the weekend). I was surprised to find out that while everyone else in their building was being sent home to prevent casualties, their office are firm about not letting them go home until 5:30 p.m.

Being a manager, I understand the company’s side of that. However, and in general, safety of the people should always come first. There’s no use in keeping an entire floor of panicking people on hold in the office. They’re pretty much unproductive by that time so it’s quite useless already. Besides, no amount of insurances, like the cheap term life insurance that they provide for their employees, could compensate for the life and/or safety of a person.

Anyway, my friend just skyped me from home informing me that she had a hard time finding transportation but is now safe. I hope everyone in their office gets home safely and stays safe.

I was doing some shopping last weekend when I saw this water purity test stuff in a store. It’s a portable test kit. Dip it in a glass of water you are testing and it will show if the water is pure or contaminated.

When I tested it at home, I tested the tap water in the kitchen and it turned out to be positive for contamination. I was skeptical at first but I remembered having diarrhea often when I drink tap water at home.

I asked help from a friend of mine who was an expert in water filtration. He gave me some ideas on how to set up a water filtering system for the kitchen. I was also advised to change the faucet (which was the cause of bacterial contamination). He advised me to use better quality faucets like the Grohe faucet which by the way is very stylish. I’ll probably but the filtration system next week. So much for that.