Just a little update on the excitement at the Roland Garros.. as of now, all my favorite players are through to the second round! No casualties.. yet.. thank goodness.. :)
Amelie had a good game against Meghann Shaughnessy on Sunday, kicking off the championships. Felt a little sorry for Meghann though.. I think it was unlucky for her to have to face Momo in the first round 'cos I felt she was playing well.. if she were playing some other lower-seeded player.. she might have gone through.
ESPN of course showed Maria Sharapova's match as well.. where she was lined up against Mashona Washington. Sharapova was noisy as usual.. and I had to try to mentally block out her shrieks from my head. The first set was typical of a no-brainer as Sharapova sent Washington scrambling left and right with precise heavy-hitting shots down the sidelines. Yawn.. and I kinda dozed off. Felt so sorry for Washington.
Things must have turned around in the second set 'cos when I awoke, Washington had actually managed to carry the match to a third set. Whoa! I immediately sat up, and began watching the game. What a turn-around. Washington was now sending Sharapova left and right.. and even though Sharapova was still hitting balls to the sides, Washington was actually doing a pretty fine job of chasing the balls down and returning them good. She was so good that she was actually up 5-2 at one point. I was actually getting very excited! Twice, Washington had broken Sharapova's serve.. and at 5-2, I was really thinking that Washington's gonna pull off this heavy upset! Now, if only Washington can maintain her level of play and just take down one more game.. and she would have sent the beautiful Maria Sharapova packing...
Sigh, alas.. obviously it didn't happen. Down 2-5, Sharapova started grinding her teeth and armed with super-strong will and determination, she actually staved off 3 match points and went on to win 5 straight games to close out the match at 7-5. I was so disappointed. When Washington didn't carve out her win and the scoreline went on to 5-4 with Sharapova on serve next, I knew Sharapova would prevail. Washington had her chances and didn't make use of them, a player of Sharapova's caliber would never allow her to get away with it.. hell, no. So that was it, Sharapova went through.
Ai Sugiyama is through to the second round as well, disposing off Eleni Daniilidou in a 3-setter. Ai is nice and sweet.. and I hope she goes as far as she can. Her form hasn't been that good in the past 2 years.. and from a top-10 player, her rankings have pretty much slided. I enjoyed the times when Kim and she were partners in doubles.
Kim had an easy first set against Virginie Razzano, capturing the set at love. The second set was much tighter though.. as Virginie started playing better and better, and the winds got more and more gusty.. and Kim lost a bit of concentration (this is according to the commentators). Still Kim managed to close out the set and the match in a tie-breaker, winning 7-6(4). I actually had a whim of hope that it would be fun if it had gone to a third set though I had no doubts that Kim would eventually prevail.. heheh.
I almost always have my heart in my mouth whenever Venus plays 'cos her playing can be so erratic at times. When Venus is good, she can be really good I guess, but when she's not.. she can be so bad that it actually frustrates me to see her play during those times. And for a top player like Venus, she's considered to have a pretty high count for early exits in major tournaments.. so I was really keeping my fingers crossed that things would go smoothly for her and she would have a good game and move into the second round. As luck would have it, ESPN chose to feature Nadal's record-breaking match against Robin Soderling over Venus' match which coincides at the same time, so I was never able to see Venus in action. But won the match she did, and to me, that was most important. One thing bothers me though.. and that is, Venus seems to have a history of not being able to hold serve. I can only be glad she was able to break her opponent's serve as well. High unforced errors count, erratic first serves.. oh dear.. can't help feeling that Venus is playing a dangerous game here.
Martina played earlier.. against Lisa Raymond. No surprises here, she won in straight sets. Just a little incident though, just before the start of the match, Martina had to remove this little patch that says "Sony Ericsson WTA Tour" on the left of her chest from her top.. probably due to some violation of the rules or something. Looks like this little patch isn't that little after all.
Anastasia Myskina had a good game against the "Indian Sharapova" - Sania Mirza. I was able to watch a huge part of the second set on tv after Martina won her match. Anastasia played confidently and her strokes were swift and clean. I was happy for her, 'cos like Venus, she can be pretty inconsistent and I really didn't want her to be ousted in the early rounds. Sania Mirza proved no threat to an in-form Anastasia and Myskina won the match 6-4, 6-1. Good scoreline there! :)
Justine Henin-Hardenne will be playing later.. so will Hewitt and Andy Roddick.. and oh yes, the gorgeous-looking Marat Safin as well. Don't think any of them will lose.. though I certainly wouldn't mind an upset in Henin-Hardenne, heheheh. Oh well, I will hope but I won't pray.. nay, I'm not that evil.. hahah.
Oh, and on a last note, Svetlana Kuznetsova is through too.. gosh, how could I have almost missed her out?? I know, 'cos ESPN didn't show her match on my tv. Sorry, Kuzzie.. ;p
a.k.a The French Open!.. lol.
It's the time of the year again! Tennis Grand Slams.. the 2nd of the year. I'm excited. No, I'm definitely not a player.. hahah.. don't even think I can hold a tennis racquet the right way. But I'm a great tennis fan, and will definitely make a great tennis spectator when I get my chance to go to a Grand Slam.
I am so hooked.. and have been so for the past 3-4 years. Everytime a Grand Slam comes by, I will, without a doubt, try my best to work my schedule around it.. yes, even my work schedule.. just so I can plaster my face on the tv screen and catch my favorite players in action.
I started watching tennis with my focus and preference on men's tennis, but in the past 2 years or so, the women's game has rapidly caught my attention.. and now, I would say I'm definitely more into the women's game than the men's. I still watch the men's game.. but these days with the dominance of Roger Federer in the past 2 years, the men's game has become so much more predictable. Yes, I agree with all the tennis critics out there that Federer is so good, that his style is so graceful to the point that he makes the game look easy, but after a while, it gets kinda boring knowing that it'll always be Federer against some other top guy in the final.. and no matter who this top guy is.. it will always be Federer who would prevail in the end. No more element of surprise.. and that becomes boring for me. I had been rooting for Lleyton Hewitt for quite a while now, always hoping and praying that he would eventually carve out a win against Federer in the past Grand Slam finals, but it hasn't happened, and I doubt it's ever gonna happen now.. not with Hewitt anymore anyway, especially when it seems like he's going downhill. Not to mention that I don't quite like Hewitt anymore as well after he and Kim Clijsters split.
The dominance of Rafael Nadal on clay is such a welcome.. as are his recent wins over the Almighty Roger Federer, but still.. we all know it.. it's still Federer on everyone else's lips.
Meanwhile, the women's game is where my favorites are. Let's see.. there are quite a few players I am so so into... first off.. would be Venus Williams. Not sure why, but I started liking Venus when Serena was so outshining her back in 2003. I guess I've a penchant for the underdog.. but that was how my liking for Venus started. And I still like her now.. but I've added a few more onto my list after she was repeatedly kept off the courts due to injury and stuff. Anyway, when Venus won Wimbledon last year at a time when no one even thought of her as a serious contender, I couldn't stop grinning from ear-to-ear for at least a week.. hahah.. I still smile when I recall her hard-fought victory over the beautiful (but oh, so noisy and dislikeable) Maria Sharapova during the semi-final.. hahahah.. finally! That would be a classic match etched in my memory.
When news broke that Hewitt and Kim Clijsters had broken up, I didn't think much of it. But when news of Hewitt's engagement to a beautiful Aussie soap actress (I think) were splashed just a few months later across the Aussie newspaper while I was in Perth, my heart went out to Kim. Gawd, laid off from the circuit with a serious wrist injury and then dumped(?) by Hewitt.. I felt for her.. and I started liking her. When she returned to the circuit last year and played even better than she had before and finally won her 1st Grand Slam title at the US Open, I added her to my list of favorites.. and it hasn't changed since.
Amelie Mauresmo and Anastasia Myskina are also players I like.. and most recently, I've added Svetlana Kuznetsova onto my list. When Amelie played Kim during the semi-final at the Australian Open early this year, I was kinda sitting on the fence.. because both are players I like. But then maybe I was also rooting more for Amelie because I would love her to win her 1st Grand Slam. Kim had already won the US Open last year, so it would be great for Amelie if she could do the same also. Of course, Amelie did go on to win the Australian Open.. and boy, was I elated! Even though she won it in the most strange of circumstances, still, Amelie was definitely most-deserving of the title.. and nothing should take anything away from Amelie.
One other player who's caught my eye this year is none other than Martina Hingis. When she came out of retirement and played her first Slam this year at the Australian Open, I was blown away by her demeanor during play. Having never seen her play before, I was mesmerised by her cheerfulness.. the smile she has on her face when she played. It was unbelievable.. I haven't seen anyone with a smile on their faces during a competitive tennis match before. And that is such a stark (but great) contrast to the stern look of concentration Venus wears during matches and the seemingly-dark and unfriendly look Sharapova has on her face. And seriously, Martina is really good. She's a very smart player.. and it's really a joy to watch her play. I was happy for her when she won the Italian Open last week before coming into the French Open.. though I'd also wished Venus hadn't lost to her instead. But then, I'm still not exactly decided if I like Martina 100% 'cos I read somewhere that she's pretty homophobic.. having commented Amelie Mauresmo to be "half a man" or something like that years back after Amelie outed herself to be a lesbian.
As the critics will tell you, there's no clear favorite on who will win the women's title for the French Open this year, as has been the case for nearly all the past Grand Slams eversince the "Belgium Pair" and "Russian Army" broke the Williams Sisters' dominance. But I'm rooting for Amelie Mauresmo and Kim Clijsters to reach the finals.. and no, I definitely don't want Justine Henin-Hardenne or Maria Sharapova to win the title.
My cousin-in-law Alicia is pregnant again! Okay, lest I paint her out to be a woman who's pregnant ever so often, she's not. This is her only her second pregnancy, her first child is a cute boyish young punk named Darren. Darren's not really a punk, heheh, he just reminds me of one, hahah. Anyway, Alicia came by my house during the weekend with a new big fluffy pillow she had just purchased from Robinsons. Something about needing more pillows to decorate the bed and to make herself more comfortable. So you see.. she's actually the inspiration.. or reason for my publishing the following article.. :)
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Pillows and Pregnancy
by Charles Kassotis
Pillows are generally though of as giving us a comfortable place to lay our heads, or as something that we use to lean against on couches. But there are other uses for pillows. Many of them have special shapes to fit special uses. And one of those uses is during pregnancy. You can use regular and special pillows to add comfort during your pregnancy.
A pregnant woman often finds that she is stuck carrying an increasingly large and uncomfortable load. Her body becomes awkward, and even when laying down she is uncomfortable (special note: during the third trimester one should spend as little time on one’s back as possible). This is because the belly is unwieldy and the body isn’t quite built for comfort in such a state. Using a pillow can help provide support and help ease the discomfort associated with being pregnant.
When using a regular pillow, there are ways to help feel more comfortable. One these ways is to lie on your side, holding the pillow between your legs. Other women find it is more comfortable when sitting to have a pillow in their lap. This gives the belly something to rest on rather than just pulling downward with gravity. Both of these uses for ordinary pillows can result in more ease. These methods both help take some of the pressure off the back, and can help the woman’s back hurt less during pregnancy.
There are also special pillows that can be used to help ease the body during pregnancy. These pillows are specially made to fit the contours of a woman’s body so that they fit easily and comfortably. They are simple to use, and do not require a great deal of extra shifting around and special measures to hold them in place. When the pillow fits the body, it is just easier to work with.
One of these pillows is a pillow that looks like an inner tube with an open end. This snugs right around a sitting woman, just as an inner tub might. It holds up the belly and can provide great relief. A regular pillow might slip out of position, but the special pillow is made to wrap around the body so it stays put. And this pillow is also helpful after giving birth: it can provide an arm rest of sorts for a mother holding or breast feeding her baby. There are other pillows that are made in a shape that fits comfortable between the knees. This sort of a pillow is ergonomically designed for comfort and simply provides a level of comfort unmatched by the regular pillow.
As one might expect, the special pillows do cost more than a regular pillow, but the intangibles in the form of comfort and ease of use often outweigh the cost for many people. These pillows come in a variety of colors, and with the ability to order pillows containing different designs. You can usually find the special pillows in a baby store, a mother supply store, or easily on the Internet.
Find out how you can order special and regular pillows, as well as a variety of throw pillows and accent pillows, by looking at The Pillow Cart
Article Source: http://www.advicelibrary.com
Enjoying a Healthier Pregnancy
by Charles Kassotis
While sometimes pregnancy is just difficult, it is possible to have a less stressful pregnancy by following healthy practices. Even though you may not completely get rid of some of the inconveniences (like morning sickness), you can feel better about yourself and your situation if you are careful to indulge in practices that help you feel good. Some of these include exercise, diet, and rest.
Exercise is an important part of a healthy lifestyle. However, it is important not to strain your body too much when you are pregnant. Consult with your physician before beginning or continuing any exercise regimen. Walking is usually fine, and if you have been jogging before the pregnancy, it is usually okay to continue. But you should ask your doctor first. Additionally, there are special yoga workouts designed for pregnant women. Many of the moves in more conventional yoga are stressful to the fetus and can cause problems. Avoiding strenuous aerobic activity may be recommended if you do not already do aerobic exercises. And swimming is one of the best exercises you can do for yourself while pregnant. But make sure that you find out from your doctor what is allowed in your condition.
Eating well is another important aspect of pregnancy. It is healthy to gain up to about 20 pounds over the course of your pregnancy. However, this does not mean that eating junk food all the time is a good idea, although everyone needs their fix of it every now and again. Healthy foods like fruits and vegetables, whole grains, dairy products, and lean meat and poultry are good ideas. Try to avoid fish, as the mercury content can be dangerous to your developing baby. Ask your doctor or a nutritionist whether some types of fish, on occasion, might be acceptable. Avoiding alcohol is important, as is limiting caffeine. The problems associated with alcohol are well known, but many people don’t realize that caffeine can restrict blood flow, making it more difficult for the fetus to receive nutrients from your blood. And be sure to take your prenatal vitamins. This will ensure that your developing baby gets all of the nutrients she or he needs.
Rest is very important during pregnancy. You want to make sure that you get adequate sleep each night. Sometimes this can mean as many as 10 hours. But it is important to give your body and the fetus adequate time to recover from the strains of the day. If something seems too much for you, say no. When you are pregnant, you have other demands on you. You will have a much better pregnancy if you can get rest. If sleeping at night is difficult (as it can be especially in the third trimester), make sure you take some time during the day to lay restfully on the couch with a book or to sit quietly with some other activity that you enjoy.
Taking good care of yourself can contribute to a healthier, happier pregnancy, and one that is a little easier.
Learn more about pregnancy, and about other issues that affect women at the women’s resource site For A Better Her
Article Source: http://www.advicelibrary.com
Use Natural Health Products To Help You During Pregnancy
By: Gregg Hall
When you are pregnant, you are constantly worried about your growing baby’s health and your own health. Investing in natural health medicine can help you reach those goals that are vital to your health and the health of your child.
With all of the products on the market now that are causing unwanted side effects in adults there is no question that anyone who is pregnant would want to stay away from them. Fortunately there is a healthy alternative available for the expectant mother in natural health medicines and natural health supplements.
Doctors often advise pregnant women to be highly selective of the type of medications that they take. This is the reason why so many women opt for natural health medicine when they have any kind of illness during pregnancy--and also why you should consider using natural health medicine if you are pregnant.
Natural health medicine will help you and your baby to achieve a more consistent state of natural health without experiencing those nasty side effects most chemical medications can cause.
It is important to remember that if you have an illness, you should always consult your doctor before you undertake the task of purchasing any medicine, including a natural health medicine.
You can tell them you are interested in using natural health medicine to help you deal with the discomfort that your pregnancy is causing.
That is the best way to ensure that you will not put your baby at risk by perhaps taking medicine which even though the ingredients are natural could have some effect on your growing baby in some way or the other.
Remember that every pregnancy is unique and therefore has unique needs, which you should be aware of. There is no greater feeling than knowing that you are doing the best to ensure your baby’s health.
And normally most natural health medicines will be able to provide for both you and your baby’s needs. They help your growing baby’s immune system as well as your immune system that is working hard to help your baby grow.
If you are pregant or are thinking of becoming pregnant be sure to discuss the natural health alternatives for treating any illness you may have during pregnancy with your doctor.
Article Source: http://www.advicelibrary.com
Gregg Hall is a business consultant and author for many online and offline businesses and lives in Navarre Florida with his 16 year old son. For great natural health products go to www.shop4betterhealth.com
I've always been somewhat fascinated with the idea of detoxifying my body. I feel it would require extensive discipline and perseverance. Body detox is good for health as toxins-eliminating - that's something I've long known - and for slimming too.. but I've never known detoxifying as a factor that would aid conceiving. Wonderful...**********************
Detox Your Body to Conceive
By: Sandra Kim Leong
You would like to prepare your body for pregnancy. You take your daily dose of chromium and prenatal vitamins, exercise, sleep well, and chart your cycle so that you are sure to know when you are most likely to conceive. You've done just about anything your friends, magazines, mother or mother-in-law have to advised on this subject. Yet, you find it difficult to conceive.
Now, have you considered an alternative healing method: body detox? Detox is simply the process of eliminating toxins from your body. An overaccumulation of toxins occur with an unhealthy diet, unclean water or in a polluted environment. When this is an excess of toxins, the functions of your body organs slow down and do not perform optimally.
In fact, it is believed among fertility specialists that difficulty to conceive results from a body imbalance. Imbalance can happen emotionally or due to excess stress, hormones or an excess of acidity. When you detoxify your body, you stop feeding it large amounts of sugar that affect your hormones and that throw your acid/alkaline levels out of whack. These sugars come from the processed foods in your diet. Without the process of digestion to focus on, your stressed body can focus on cleaning out toxins. Once your body is sufficiently cleansed, your body is well prepared to "house" a foetus.
It is not just diet alone or fasting or special teas that will aid you in detoxifying your body. Just eliminating highly processed foods full of additives and sugar is a start. More fruits and vegetables will help in a gentle cleansing program. Healthy bowel movements to eliminate waste from the body every day is an absolute must!
Exercise plays an important part in cleansing our body. Lack of exercise allows toxins to accumulate in our bodies, thus affecting balance necessary for smooth functioning of all organ parts. Benefits of exercise for the purpose of detox include speeding up the removal of toxins and waste materials from the cells, increased blood flow that carries oxygen and nutrients to the cells, lowered blood pressure and increased lymph circulation. Exercise stimulates the development and maintenance of bone tissue, muscle mass, strength and endurance – all necessary for smooth labour and delivery later on.
Just as physical toxins need to be cleansed, toxins that affect the mind and spirit must also be dealt with. Stress can create havoc to an otherwise healthy body. Stress can have a vast impact on the ability to conceive. To deal with stress, seek out meditation, deep breathing, healthy relationships and situations that boost your self-esteem. Alternative therapies that you can try are energy balancing and EFT.
Article Source: http://www.advicelibrary.com
Sandra Kim Leong writes on detox and cleansing; including colon cleansing, liver cleansing, kidney cleansing, detox diet , juice fasting and alcohol detox . Read updates in her popular blog at www.Detox-Cleansing.com.
I came across this survey during one of my blog-roaming.. and found this on one of the blogs and sought permission to make a few changes and replicate it here. This is mine! Do try this out and we could share the info.. :)
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Place an X by all the things you've done, or remove the X from the ones you have not. This is for your entire life! Special thanks to Marlow for the contribution!
( ) Smoked a cigarette
(X) Drank so much you threw up
(X) Crashed a friend's car (indirectly caused an ex to crash his parents' car, heheh)
( ) Stolen a car
(X) Shoplifted (as a kid)
( ) Been laid off/fired
(X) Quit your job
( ) Been in a fist fight
(X) Snuck out of your parents' house
(X) Had feelings for someone who didn't have them back
( ) Been arrested
( ) Gone on a blind date
(X) Skipped school (oh yes, who hasn't? ;p)
( ) Seen someone die
( ) Been to North Pole
( ) Been to South Pole
(X) Been on a plane
( ) Purposely set a part of yourself on fire (what the hell???)
(X) Eaten sushi (of course!! and super-yummy too!)
( ) Snow skiing
( ) Water skiing
(X) Met someone from the internet
(X) Been to a concert
(X) Been to the Opera
( ) Had a root canal
(X) Taken painkillers
(X) Love someone or miss someone right now
(X) Laid on your back and watched cloud shapes go by
(X) Made a snow angel
( ) Been to a pajama party
(X) Had a tea party
(X) Walked in the rain without an umbrella by choice!(X) Flown a kite
(X) Gone puddle jumping
(X) Played dress up
(X) Jumped into a pile of leaves
(X) Walked in a rain forest
( ) Gone sledding
( ) Gone snowboarding
(X) Been to a ballet
(X) Been lonely
(X) Fallen asleep at work/school (all the time! i also mastered the art of tapping fingers while sleeping.. :D)
( ) Used a fake ID
(X) Felt an earthquake
(X) Slept beneath the stars
( ) Been robbed
(X) Petted a reindeer/goat/kangaroo or jackalope
(X) Won a contest
(X) Run a red light/stop sign
(X) Been suspended from school
( ) Had braces
(X) Eaten a whole pint of ice cream in one night
( ) Danced in the moonlight
(X) Liked the way I looked
(X) Witnessed a crime
(X) Questioned your heart
( ) Been obsessed with post-it notes
(X) Squished mud through your bare feet
(X) Been on the opposite side of the globe
(X) Swam in the ocean
( ) Been to Africa
(X) Cried yourself to sleep
(X) Played cops and robbers
(X) Recently colored with crayons
(X) Sang karaoke (definitely!)
(X) Paid for a meal with only coins
(X) Made prank phone calls
( ) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose
(X) Caught a snowflake on your tongue
( ) Danced in the rain
( ) Written a letter to Santa Claus
( ) Been kissed under the mistletoe
(X) Watched the sun rise with someone you care about
(X) Blown bubbles
( ) Made a bonfire on the beach
(X) Crashed a party
(X) Gone roller-skating (and sucked badly at it)
(X) Ice-skating (no talent with wheels on my feet)
(X) Had a wish come true (power of prayer, believe in it!)
( ) Jumped off a bridge into a lake or river
Ah Beng The Silly Singaporean..
Q: Why did Ah Beng go to a movie with his 18 friends?
A: Because "below 18" not allowed lah!
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Ah Beng wants to buy a TV set. He goes into an electrical appliances shop.
Ah Beng: "Do you have a color TV?"
Salesgirl: "Yes!"
Ah Beng: "Give me a green one, please."
*******
Ah Beng is filling up an application form for a job. He supplied the information for the columns on "Name", "Age", "Address", etc. Then he comes to the column "Salary Expected", but he is not sure of the question. After much thought, he writes "Yes"...
*******
Ah Beng goes to a store and sees a shiny object.
Ah Beng: "What is that shiny object?"
Salesgirl: "That is a thermos flask."
Ah Beng: "What does it do?"
Salesgirl: "It keeps hot things hot and cold things cold."
Ah Beng: "I'll buy it!"
The next day, Ah Beng goes to work with his thermos flask.
Boss: "What is that shiny object?"
Ah Beng: "It's a thermos flask."
Boss: "What does it do?"
Ah Beng: "It keeps hot things hot and cold things cold."
Boss: "What do you have in it?"
Ah Beng: "Two cups of coffee and one cup of ice-cream."
*******
After making photocopies of documents, Ah Beng always compares it with the original for spelling mistakes.
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Ah Beng always smiles during lightning storms because he thinks his picture is being taken.
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Q: Why can't Ah Beng dial 911?
A: Because he can't find the number "11" (eleven) on the phone.
*******
Ah Beng had just bought a new computer and was using it. He then encountered some problems, and decided to use the 'Help' command after some tries. Soon after, he became very irritated and called the computer retailer for support.
Ah Beng: "I press the F1 key for help, but it's been over half an hour and still no one came to help me?!?!"
*******
Ah Beng went to his doctor with two ears red. The doctor asked him what happened to his ears.
Ah Beng answered, "I was ironing a shirt and the phone rang lah.. but instead of picking up the phone, I accidentally picked up the iron and stuck it to my ear lah.."
"Oh dear!" the doctor exclaimed in disbelief. "But... what happened to the other ear?"
Ah Beng replied, "That stupid dumbo called back again lah!!"
*******
Ah Beng is on the phone with a long-distance telephone operator.
Ah Beng: "Could you please tell me the time difference between Taipei and Las Vegas?"
Operator: "Just a minute..."
Ah Beng: "Thank you!" and puts down the phone.
*******
After completing a jigsaw puzzle he's been working on for quite some time, Ah Beng proudly shows off the finished puzzle to a friend.
"It took me only 5 months to do it," Ah Beng brags.
"5 months? That's too long," the friend exclaims.
"You're a fool!" Ah Beng replies. "See this box, it's written for 4-7 years!"
*******
At a bar in New York, the man sitting next to Ah Beng tells the bartender, "Johnnie Walker - single." and his companion says, "Jack Daniels - single."
The bartender approaches Ah Beng and asks, "And you, sir?"
Ah Beng replies, "Tan Ah Beng, married lah!"
*******
I managed to accomplish some work on my blogs today.
I finally finished decorating my new blog. It looks pretty okay to me now.. in fact, I feel it's actually quite pretty in its blue template. But I have a feeling my online prince might think I've over-decorated it, which might be true, hahahah. But me being me, I guess I've got so many things that I wanna put up and since I refuse to drop either, that's how the blog's gonna be. So now, I've got a pink pretty blog and a blue pretty one. The next and perhaps the most important thing now is to inject some good content.. which I definitely will. Well, good or not, I already have some stuff in mind.. so I'll probably work on them tomorrow when I can find some time.
Also, in the past one hour or so, I finally managed to figure out just how BlogRolling works. I came across it couple of days back whilst browsing thru' some other blogs. These blogs that I had come across had tons of other blogs that were powered by BlogRolling. And by tons, I really mean tons.. easily over fifty other blogs listed on their own. And one even had hundreds! I went to BlogRolling's website and found they had a huge list of blogs listed there. Naturally, I wanted to be part of it. Well, so I registered myself.. and then I got stuck. Somehow, the hundreds or perhaps thousands of different blogrolls listed there kinda intimidated me. Plus, the navigation was kinda complexed.. and made me quite confused. Hence, I left it at there.. and decided to have another go at it when I feel more intelligent.Well, I did feel a lil' smarty-ass earlier and decided to launch another "attack" on BlogRolling. Heh, I emerged victorious.. and as a result, my new blog is powered by BlogRolling now.. instead of BlogLinker. Actually, BlogLinker has a more attractive and more user-friendly interface, but BlogRolling seems more popular and seems like it has a bigger database so I think I'll give it a try. We'll see how it goes.. :)
I also managed to finally do up a poll on my other blog, something I've been wanting to do since eons ago. I kinda cleaned up the blog a 'lil.. took out some of the ads that didn't seem to be serving their purpose.. and found that I suddenly had more space. I had seen BlogPoll from earlier when I was reading some stuff from another blog.. and so I decided to create a poll myself. And hey.. it didn't seem so difficult afterall. I actually managed to do it on my own.
So you see.. I feel kinda accomplished today.. so I took it one step further and updated my profile a bit. And then, here I am.. making this entry to mark my accomplishment, lol.
It works! My replication of my baby was a success! And so, my new blog is now up and running.. :)
I've just finally completed the 1st feature for my new blog.. so if you guys would like to take a look.. here you go.. click here.
There are still many things yet to be done though.. for instance, I've not done much to beautify my new blog.. it's still pretty much wearing its default look.. which also means there isn't much to look at. And also, to be honest, I'm still wondering if I should change the template of the blog.. 'cos I kinda feel a lil' weird about its color and the functionality of this particular template relative to the nature of my blog.
Well, if you do take a look and if you've any suggestions, comments, opinions, whatsoever.. please voice them out here at this blog.. or that one. I welcome anyone who's willing to share.. :)
So, once again.. my new baby is here.
Oh, and before I go, Technorati is still not accepting my claim on this blog (and I'd really wish I know why).. but it's connecting like clockwork to my new baby. Pinging has been a breeze today.
Day 4 in Lock-up now.. that's the life of my new empty blog. So I decided I have had enough. I'm not gonna wait for the guys at Blogger to show me the keys anymore. Since the blog had no posts.. just drafts, I decided to save the drafts and template in my laptop and delete the blog. And I did.
I have not re-created a new blog yet. Maybe I'm grieving for the death of my baby. Actually I'm hoping to replicate the whole thing, from the blog name to the blog url.. I'm still contemplating if I should use the same template. Hmmm.. I think maybe I will. I'm just gonna try everything the same again, and see if I'm really so jinxed. No matter what, I'm determined to resurrect my baby.
Anyway, a ray of light has shone thru'. Earlier, I deleted the claim of my blogs at Technorati.. and re-pinged again. About ten minutes later, presto! my blog posts finally showed up on Technorati! Heh, you won't be able to imagine how happy I felt. Silly me! :P The blog I failed to re-claim is this very one I'm writing on now. I've tried re-claiming a few more times since, but it's still not happening. Guess I'll just have to keep on trying. Meanwhile, I'll just have to try my best to keep her afloat. Well, at least one is in recovery mode now.
So, for anyone who's having problems with Technorati, try re-claiming. It half-worked for me, perhaps it'll work full for you.. :)
Well, life is tough.. so is blogging. But I'll keep on going... :P
I don't believe it.
My new blog is still locked by the horrible bots at Blogger's. The one that has a clean empty template and no posts. I definitely didn't know that an empty blog with only a name was capable of causing spam. And the even more unbelievable shocking ridiculous thing is that while it's clearly stated there that the blog would be unlocked in less than a working day once I have verified that there is a real human being working at the blog (which I have faithfully done immediately), it has been more than 3 working days already and my blog remains steadfastly locked.And while there is the saying that good things come in pairs (or something like that), I can swear the same goes for bad things too. Five days ago, the crawlers at Technorati decided also they didn't like me very much, and decided to stop "pinging" my blogs. So, as a result, my blogs have seen a dramatic drop in traffic.. and are now officially drowned in cyberblog world. And I might as well be blogging offline, 'cos I am almost sure that no matter how much I rant, grunt, scream, curse and swear here, no one's gonna give me his or her time of day.. 'cos Technorati and Blogger have declared w-a-r on me.
Now, at this point, I will explain why I'm typing w-a-r with hyphens in-between. 'Cos my online prince has intelligently enlightened me with the information that there are certain words that can effectively prevent normal Adsense ads from displaying. And w-a-r is one of them. Writing "w-a-r" without the hyphens can cause the Google Adsense bots to place public service ads on my blog for good. And while I'm convinced hardly anyone reads all the nonsense I'm typing these days, I still like my blog to look pretty and sweet.. and public service ads certainly don't cut it for me.
Dear Heavens, what have I done to deserve these??.........
By the way, the blogger here is me.
A letter from a good friend.. excerpts from her personal offline blog. She has given me permission to publish her letter here, cos this is what she's written to show me.. and also primarily she's not sure if she'll ever talk things over with her partner or show her the letter.
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Feeling down. Haven't been feeling fine the past week.
Firstly, I felt I wasn't getting the respect I deserve in my relationship. When we finally got to "chat online" about the state of our relationship, I unravelled more problems. My opinions, views, suggestions, words of concern, though appreciated, are not welcomed in this relationship. I am instead deemed to be naggy and interfering.
I realise I am viewed as an angry woman whose any attempt to talk about the problems that exist is considered as "picking a fight" or "an attack". I also come to realise that I should not expect to be coaxed or pacified when I get angry and/or upset. Instead, I should calm down or cool down by myself.
And when I achieve that, the relationship will then resume its normalcy. Life will go on; problems should not be further discussed because my partner does not like to talk about problems.
My partner also does not believe in changing oneself to suit the other in a relationship. One should be allowed to be him/herself naturally. Therefore, there is no need to discuss problems. You just have to get over it, accept it and move on.
Here's the problem. I am not a talkative person, but I can be vocal if the occasion calls forth. I have strong beliefs in the importance of communication in my relationship. My partner has to be someone with whom I can share my views and opinions with. Therefore, when I am snapped at and told I am naggy and interfering when I'm expressing my concerns, views or suggestions.. for a moment I am bewildered. Hurt and indignancy then subsequently settles in. I feel like I have been deprived of my rights.I'm someone who has to talk about a problem when there is one. I believe in addressing the problem.. so as to understand the root of the problem and also to understand the other person better. Even if opinions ultimately differ, there has to be a resolution in order to agree to disagree.
My partner doesn't like to talk about problems. She doesn't believe in talking. And ultimately, that is what I'm most uncomfortable with. It saddens me to know that there seems to be no room for discussion when a problem surfaces.. I am expected to get over it myself and find a way to accept the way things are and will always be. I don't want to have to beg and cower for a chance to talk about problems, this is not what I want in a relationship.
What my partner wants is to have a happy, lovey-dovey relationship where there are no quarrels, no fights.. where no temper flies and anger subsides as fast at it arises. I would love that too.. and perhaps that is possible in some other relationship with someone else. But I have to be realistic and say that it's not going to happen with me. I am definitely someone with a temper, and I hold strong views about how certain things should and should not be. I want a happy, positive and fulfiling relationship where there is mutual respect, where we can communicate and talk about problems as they come.. not sweep them under the carpet and carry on the perfect masquerade.
Feeling lost and helpless now. Emotionally drained also. If I go along with her, she's already there waiting for me.. to carry on the relationship as if nothing has happened. But deep down, there will be this nagging feeling that will bite at me and eat me up. I want to talk, not "chat online". I want to be assured that in the future when problems continue to surface, when differences arise, we will be able to talk about them and not be left wondering, pondering over if I can bring the issues to the table.. or would I have to force my way thru' to lay the cards out.. or would I have to drain myself of all emotions and pretend nothing has happened?
This is my dilemma. What goes on from here from now? Do I have the courage and persistence to insist on an answer now? Or do I stick my guts out and hang on.. and see what happens the next time a new storm whips up?
I don't know.
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Just a little update on the excitement at the Roland Garros.. as of now, all my favorite players are through to the second round! No casualties.. yet.. thank goodness.. :)
