Suspend-It

During our Management Committee weekly meeting, we found out that the CPU of Christian, one of the project managers, was accidentally included in the PCs to be reformatted. It would have been okay if it was just the Drive C, but apparently, the entire hard disk was reformatted. Consequently, he lost a lot of important and highly crucial data.

The first thing we asked was if he backed up the files in our file server. Christian shook his head. Everyone was horrified at the thought of losing all those data… then Christian smiled and said, “I did an online backup though”. *whew!* Thank God for online backups. It would be hard to reconstruct and revive all the lost files, not to mention expensive if we have to avail of those high-end data recovery software.

So, my dear readers, the lesson? Have a regular backup schedule! 0:p

My friend recently moved to an apartment and asked me to help her list down appliances and furniture she need to invest on. Aside from refrigerator and gas stove, I told her it’s very important to buy a Salt Free Water Softener. This is because it will help her save money in the long run.

You see, salt free water softeners greatly reduce hard water scale formation on appliances and will reduce the amount of soap needed for showering and doing laundry. It’s sort of an investment you can never go wrong with. To cap it off, having a salt free water softener is a virtually maintenance free alternative to conventional softening.

Did you know that molds can cause serious health problems? I was told by a friend that one of our office mates was hospitalized recently because of black molds. From the test done on him in the laboratory, he was diagnosed with severe parasite infestation in the blood which caused nose bleeding and other serious symptoms.

The black molds originated in their tiled kitchen sink, along the grout. To think that molds are just mere annoyance, this is alarming for those with tiled kitchens. Fortunately, our kitchen was build using copper kitchen sinks which are very much resistant to molds. Anyhow, in any area of the house, cleanliness is still the key to good health.

Uh-oh… I’ve been so busy with work I didn’t realize there are only a few days left before Christmas! I normally buy gifts only for my family and Nth level friends. But for my Nth level friend Jehan, who’s a continent away, I always get her one of those funny or unique holiday cards with some trinket inserted – she loves accessories!

It’s a good thing I saw a beads and accessories shop on my way home awhile ago. I was able to purchase a bracelet with a preserved four-leaf clover! For those who don’t know, here’s an excerpt on why I’m very ecstatic to give Jehan that particular bracelet:

The four-leaf clover is an uncommon variation of the common, three-leaved clover. The four leaf clover is a universally accepted symbol of good luck. According to tradition, such leaves bring good luck to their finders, especially if found accidentally. According to legend, each leaflet represents something: the first is for fame, the second is for wealth, the third is for love, and the fourth is for health. [sic] It has been estimated that there are approximately 10,000 three-leaf clovers for every four-leaf clover.

I also bought one for myself. ^_^ The bracelet is simply gorgeous and who knows, it just might bring me good luck. 0;)

I just love that good night’s sleep. Yesterday was so cold that the my bed sheet felt like the walls of the fridge. Fortunately, I found my old heated blanket to keep me warm through the night. Never have slept this good in months.Hmm… About that blanket, it was a memorable gift from an old friend of mine. She is Japanese girl that I met on Facebook. She was a member of an NGO that provides shelter for homeless children. One time she told me that their organization assigned her to the US. I picked her up in the airport and gave her a tour around the city. In an instant we became good friends. Before she left for Japan, she game me a heated blanket with a note saying “warmth of friendship”.

Ruth, my younger sister, prefers to buy backpacks instead of shoulder bags. I guess she was a bit boyish. Most of the time, she insists on buying sporty stuff because she believes that sporty items are robust and more comfortable. But then, when she saw my newly purchased raspberry-colored BCBG Max Azria, her view on shoulder bags went 360! I can’t really blame her. This bag is really quite something. With its pebbled leather, perforated detailing and removable shoulder strap, who could resist it? She asked me to lend her the bag, but it turned out that she enjoyed it that much she rarely returns it to me. Hehe. I guess I’ll just buy another one next week.

Yipee! Finally, after 3 long years, I managed to see my credit card statement with zero amount due! I didn’t think that was even possible considering that I’m a self-confessed shopaholic and the discounts and bargains just keeps getting better. Fortunately, I attended a company sponsored seminar on wealth building. It’s some kind of a “rich dad poor dad” seminar. It tackled a lot of things, some were pretty much common sense but there were stuff that made me say to myself, “Why didn’t I think of that?

It was really an eye opener for me. Especially when they defined the real assets and liabilities. They even tackled the pros and cons of life and business insurance. which was very helpful for those who want to start their own businesses. Anyhow, getting rid of my credit is the first step in being wealthy. Next step is how to have income generating assets!

Did you know that in some states in the US, it is a criminal offense not to have car insurance? Our three year car insurance will expire this year so I’m planning to get a better insurance that can cover the necessary stuff without the high price. Then again, we’ve also been planning to get a motorhome for the longest time now. Hmmm… maybe we’ll just ditch our old car and get a motorhome? That way, we need not renew our car insurance and instead get the free one year motorhome insurance that’s currently being offered upon purchase of a motorhome. Now don’t you think that’s a better idea? Feel free to share your thoughts

Dashing through the snow, in a one horse open sleigh…
That “Jingle Bell” song has been playing over and over the mall awhile ago. I guess Christmas is really in the air! It has been a tradition for us friends to give Christmas invitations. And for this year, it’s my turn to design the invites (finally)! I have decided not to follow the stereotype card designs. I’m going to give them chistmas cards without any image of santa clause, christmas tree, or nativity. Instead, I’m going to place comic pictures from our previous Christmas celebrations and add some dialogues to the characters. It will be more like a comic book invitation card - weird but definitely extraordinary, don’t you think? ^_^ I’ve been planning that for ages! I can’t wait to see their reactions when they open their Christmas invitations.

I’ve had it! That’s the last time I’m ever getting that cheap vacuum again. I had enough of those cheap china made vacuums. Worked well for two weeks then boom! Either it becomes too noisy or it suddenly explodes. Our house is well ventilated with large windows. This is good if you want a cool home with fresh air to breathe. The disadvantage though is that dust easily gets in the house. So a vacuum is more of a necessity for us. The problem is, the branded vacuums are much too pricey.

Our neighbor suggested that we get those industrial types vacuums. Those used in offices and malls. They may cost a little higher but they will certainly live up to their price. I saw some of this central vacuum system in the net and the price was fair enough. I’ll look for some other brands this weekend but it seems the first one I saw is good enough for me.