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New Blog?

I've been itching to start a new blog.

I have this very strong urge to break away from this very old blog.

Yeh..alot of memories here.  Too much..

Many crappy silly posts too..

I wanna start afresh....

Too much had changed over the years.
I'm a totally different blogger now.
In fact, I think I'm quite different as a person now, relatively speaking.

But..I need a name for a new blog address.


????.blogspot.com

Blogging Still?

Looks like I've really slowed down.  In my last post, I blamed my aching back and the change in working conditions for blogging less.  Were those the right reasons, I've been wondering.

I used to blog every other day..every other day I'd have some stuff to excitedly blog about.  Well, those days, whatever stuff I blogged about, I thought they were worth blogging about.  Now, reading back to some of them makes me wonder why I bothered blogging about them at all. Ha ha.

Somehow, it seems harder now to have something worthwhile to blog about.


May be my life has become so boring that I don't have anything to share anymore?

Have not travelled for some time..so no travelogues.

Food blogging? Nah..too many out there..and I'm quite active on foursquare and foodspotting.

Photoblog? Nah..have not touched my camera for a long time :D

:-o  Oh no


May be I should stop blogging :(


Or shall I start a brand new blog :)

There's still new blogging platform called GHOST


I'm very tempted to give it a try..in fact I've already signed up.

Now..to decide ..what would be the title, theme, content...

Shall I move to a new home?

Talking to air ll

I rambled about Talking to Air before..back in 2009 to be exact (read HERE)

Boy..it was THAT long ago.  Back then I was referring more to the changing forms of communication..starting from the creation of mobile text messages and instant messages, we talked less and less.

Then we move on to blogging, social networking, micro blogging and now with smart phones taking over our lives...we started to Not even text....for instance ..with Instagram ..we post pictures and like pictures instead, some of which belongs to people we don't even know.  With foursquare..we check-in as a way to let people know where we are hanging out...what we're eating..who we're with.


Hmm..what have we become of.


Anyway..i digressed.

I wanted to say that I  agree to this totally as a so called blogger myself.

As I type away now..I am in fact holding a conversation between myself and nobody.  I'm talking to the air.

Similarly..I think..our lives has become like that in some ways.

Right..I better log off and go down have dinner and TALK to my old dear old Dad, who's not connected to the internet.

Thank You

Source: pusheen.com via elifesl on Pinterest

How long have you been following this blog?
Been keeping this for some years..I know a few close friends check in to read quite often....I wonder if there are other regular followers out there..

If you're a regular..Thank you :)

What's popular here ?

Guess which post in here were most popular ? i.e. Searched for in search engines and arrived here via search results

I'm not surprise by the all time results...I see new visitors every other day because of Latio related posts.

But.I still wonder..why there are so many searches on Tesco Kepong..till today.

What about in the past month?

Chatime is still the craze in town, I guess...but check out the post on Go Sport ID. 

It was posted on Apr 11..there were already 87 hits to date.  You know why?

Cos Earndit detected the post and twitted about it ..haha.

That's why ...it's the most popular hit for the week too.

Elife : Just Photos

I just started a separate blog just for photos - http://elifejustphotos.blogspot.com/

Just photos.
Just for fun.

Will see how it goes :)

My Contribution in Personal Money's April Issue

Just remembered that I have not posted this :P
This was published in Personal Money's April issue.  It will be slightly different in the published version of course..the editor must have made some fine tuning.


How did this come about? Well, I remember it was after I wrote about what I did with my credit cards during one of my bigger purchase, a writer from Personal Money emailed to ask if I'm interested to rewrite a similar topic and submit to be published in a column - I think the column is called In My Opinion, meant for the public to write in to share their ..opinions on how they manage their financial related matters.


So..here it is !
Oh..they even sent a professional photographer to take a profile pic of me for the column..but I'm not gonna post it here :)

In December, I had no choice but to hold on to paying for quite a number of items that I carefully chose as Christmas gifts just because I didn't have the right credit card with me. Well, I did have a choice, which is to pay using the only card I had with me at that moment and not enjoying any discounts.

I was quite impressed that this bookstore has a good practice by telling customers about available payment options to get better deals.  Many outlets do not. What’s the point of participating in merchant offers programmes when you don’t inform your customers about it, I wonder.  

So, anyway, back to my purchase, I was told that a particular card that I left at home offered a 10% discount on all items when the total purchase hits RM90.  I decided to hold purchase and returned a week later to another outlet in a different mall.  Why another outlet? Cos' I wanted to check out decorations of another mall. That's killing two birds with one stone!  Plus, I'd always choose getting presents from bookstores. Why? Cos I can get tax rebates!

I ended up spending an hour or so short listing and choosing gifts all over again because about half of what I chose in the first outlet weren't available in the second outlet. Not a big deal to me since it wasn’t about getting the same items anyway, it was about getting a better deal, I saved a total of RM17.01. Not much? 

Depends how one sees it.  I’d think the savings was a nett gain, as it wasn't an out of the way trip, it was a Friday and I made arrangement to have dinner there anyway.  In a way, the savings paid for dinner!  To me, it’s not about the amount, it is about our attitude, our mindset. 

On one occasion it may be only RM17 but on other occasions it may lead to greater savings. 

Just like when a friend casually asked if I have a credit card from this particular bank.  She jumped in excitement when I said Yes.  Why? Because the card entitles her to get a 15% discount on a birthday cake she ordered for her sons' birthday.  As that was the only day I was available, she "begged" me to drive all the way to Sunway (from Mid Valley) to swipe my card for her.  It was 6pm in the evening!  Sigh ~ things we do to get savings.  She saved about RM67 from the RM450 cake.  If she didn’t ask she would have to pay RM450!

Well, I did have to drive a distance but it was a favour I didn't mind doing for a dear friend. It's good food for the soul to be able to do something nice for someone.

Do all these make sense to you?   Going a little bit out of the way to get some savings by making full use what your credit cards entitlement?

Some may seem small and unattractive but it really depends on how one looks at the picture, similar to the phrase that says "is the cup half empty or half full?"

For instance, I went out of the way applying for additional credit limit just so I can use this particular card for a kitchen cabinet and wardrobe purchase to enjoy their cash back offer. I got back RM120 hard cash.  One can either say: “RM120 is so little, the whole bill was over ten thousand, what's RM120?”  Alternatively, I'd like to see it as: I can use RM120 for a good meal with my family, why not! Or RM120, that's my one month's gym membership fee.  Why not?

It's not about being kiasu, it's about having the right mindset, spending wisely and making the best out of what we have and mind you, we paid for the cards.  And, it's money, hard earned money.

Some of you may argue that it is not worthwhile keeping too many cards when we have to pay RM50 annual service tax for each.  I had that in mind too. 

Well, at the end of the day, it’s all about learning to be smart consumers.  First, make sure that the cards that you are planning to keep are worth keeping i.e. they have regular and good programmes.  Diligent consumers will probably have a spreadsheet with summaries and calculations!  Otherwise, it’s quite easy, just keep your eyes, ears open and be sensitive and observant to advertisements. 

Hint : Normally the popular ones have less attractive offers. 

After short listing one or two that are worth keeping, cancel the rest.  Cancelling cards can be another ordeal especially when the card has many auto debits linked to it i.e. utility, insurance, charity donations, etc.  I’m in the middle of sorting out one! It’s painful.  

The best solution is of course to keep only one card, load all your purchases into it, maximise the points and use the points to offset the RM50 tax.  Oh, how I wish life is so simple.

I need to keep Card A due to some outstanding instalments and it always offers very good cash back deals.  Card B gives me 0.5% instant rebate on all purchases, better than nothing right?  Card C was my main card, it has numerous auto debit linked to it, but it has been pretty useless in terms offers and discounts – I think I shall dump this. 

Do you have the same problems? How many cards do you keep? And do you believe in having a few cards to enjoy different kinds of discounts and offers?

Blogging vs. Writing

I started blogging in July 2005, that's like 6 years ago!
Reading back some of the trash that I blogged makes me cringe in embarrassment.  I shall slowly remove some of those crappy stuff to upkeep my image :P

Well...I'd like to think that I've matured over the years as a blogger... apart from occasional rambles most of the stuff I blog about nowadays are pretty much topic specific..(I think)

It's becoming harder actually.....some days there's just nothing to blog about or sometimes I'd be too tired or too lazy to blog.  Beats me too, how I still managed to come out with one post a day most of the time :D

I believe I haven't mentioned here that I was invited to contribute an entry to a magazine? That was some time  last year...yeah..apart from telling a few close friends..I've been keeping to myself mainly because I wasn't sure then if it will materialise.  Now I can safely say...Yes, it will materialise, the entry will be published in the Personal Money's April issue =)

Although it was merely re-writing an entry that I've already posted here before, it sure wasn't easy to write a proper piece.  Unlike blogging, where there are no rules and boundaries..where we can practically go frenzy without worrying about consequences and such, writing a proper piece for official publication is totally different.  Conscious effort needed to ensure sentences are somewhat correct, grammatical and typo error reduced to minimum, shut off my rambling mode...etc etc.

I think I must have sat on the task for a good few weeks ..just couldn't get into the right mindset to write seriously.  Obviously, I failed miserable as a professional writer!  Will probably starve if I rely on writing as an occupation.

However, am glad to say the entry had finally been approved, look out for it in April!

Meanwhile, here's a poem from a Charles Bukowski, no idea who he is but what he said is so true.

So You Want To Be A Writer 
if it doesn't come bursting out of you in spite of everything, don't do it.
unless it comes unasked out of your heart and your mind and your mouth and your gut, don't do it.
if you have to sit for hours staring at your computer screen or hunched over your typewriter searching for words, don't do it.


if you're doing it for money or fame, don't do it.
if you're doing it because you want women in your bed, don't do it.
if you have to sit there and rewrite it again and again, don't do it.
if it's hard work just thinking about doing it, don't do it.
if you're trying to write like somebody else,forget about it.
if you have to wait for it to roar out of you, then wait patiently.
if it never does roar out of you,do something else.

...CLICK  HERE for the complete poem.

New Blog Header

Do you like this new blog header :)

Ad Sense!

If you have not notice, there are all sorts of adverts in this site.  From Adsense to Nuffnang to Advertlets.  How kiasu ..  It's not that I'm hard up to earn lot's from blog advertising, oh well, since it's here..and it's effortless to include them..why not.  Just as a form of experiment to see if these ads really work earn.

Adsense had been in my blog for more than three years.  I doubt any of you regular readers had ever clicked into any ads. I don't expect you to.  I don't even pay attention to them.  Well..I did click before..accidentally :D  but I'm sure Adsense has ways to detect self-clicks !

As expected, the earnings are painfully slow although I noticed some movement over the last year especially when specific entries started to generate random visitors.  The entries about Latio and Crocs for example were quite popular but I'm not sure how the earnings are caculated based on random visits.

May be these random visitors are more likely to click the ads?
Or..the arrival of these visitors triggered ads of the relevant category to appear?

Anyway..I saw a surprise message today at the Adsense page.  Finally, I will get paid!
hahahah..my first ten USD from Adsense after three years of ... sharing my space with them :D

Apparently I will be getting a card from Adsense with a pin that I will have to key into the site before payment is released.

So..is it worthwhile..?

Well, I did have to 'work' for the ten bucks :D Keep updating that is.  Like now..half the time I donno what I'm writing as I'm extremely sleepy and tired.  Still recovering from yesterday.

Hilarious really.  Why am I excited over Ten USD ?? It's no big deal to most people but thank you :) After all...blogging is a fun hobby for me..I love sharing my thoughts, experiences...and now I get paid so I should be happy right ??

:-D

As they see it

I couldn't decide whether I should blog about a kiddie blog or my new buy :-p Yes..I spent again. Will leave that for next entry..if I don't change my mind.

As We See It is a blog from four adorable kids, my friend's children.

It's been founded for about a week now and I find it increasingly therapeutic to read.  The blog is shared by the four siblings aged between 7 to 12.  Haha...ya..quite a wide range.  So..it can be quite challenging to the mind especially when you have to read four different entries (at one go) written by a seven, then a nine, then a ten, then a twelve year old.  Basically one has to adjust the mind set accordingly when reading different entries.

Click on it..you will know what I mean :-)

Quite a fun 'place' to visit after a long day in the adult world.  Brings us back to kiddie land where FUN is all there is ...ahhhh....bliss.

Okieee..oh..here's a sneak peek into what I bought today ;-P

Talking to Air...

Blogging is like talking to the air... can ramble and rant without even getting a response. It can be an illness when blogging too much. I am beginning to think that I'm lacking basic socialising skills..talking and interacting with a human being for example :D


Blogging, Intant Messaging, Facebook, Twitter, SMS...all these are supposedly THE socialising and networking tools for the current era but I think a serious social stigma is in the making.



It is indeed amazing that I can keep track of what's happening to a friend or a cousin living on the other hemisphere of the globe just by logging into Facebook without even lifting a finger to write a personal message. For instance..."oh..I saw a Facebook update the other day..she is attending baking classes"......another good example would be..FY just updated via mobile FB about the arrival of his little princess...instead of calling..we left messages on FB instead. Is that a better way? then calling? When was the last time we make an effort to 'talk' or at the very least write to each other. Sending virtual poke and hugs doesn't count k...

Same goes for mobile text messaging -- the telco companies are earning more from text messaging than anything else. Yesterday, I had at least 5 sms exchanges with SM while trying to arrange a day out with her on Friday. A simple phone call would have been much simpler, I think. Especially..nowadays..sms gets lost in transit. I have a few people telling me that htey didn't receive my messages..again talking to air.

By the way..how many of your Facebook friends are close friends?

When do I use what? I had a choice of using MSN, Facebook, Twitter or on the blog here itself. Let's see..



....I twiit when I wanna say something silly...or something that I don't want too much attention ..e.g. things like "I m bl**dy sleepy" (Facebook has too many contacts..from friends, to ex colleauges to family). Twitting is like talking to the air....don't need or expect a response. Now that SY has her phone linked to Twitter...sometimes I twit rubbish just to irritate her :p




...I blog when I have more things to ramble and rant about. Like ....now ..and all the other stuff that I've been flooding this blog with. Things / Thoughts that I wish to share..or to gather feedback..so comments are appreciated and welcomed. When there are no comments...again..it's talking to air. Ermm..I must admit..sometimes I blog just for the sake of blogging...pressure ma...must keep you people entertained.



...I put up a Facebook status update or note when it is something I want to share with more people. Something more substantial and relevant. In Facebook..I have an image to upkeep :) Can't post rubbish.



...Lastly..instant messaging. It's suppose to be instant as in you get a instant respond. But.recently..there were alot of problems...lost connections. Messages don't deliver. I've had several 'arguments' with KT..I assumed she was busy while she was waiting for me to respond or vice versa. In actual fact..some messages got lost in transit. Again..talking to the air.

So..am I talking to the air now or what...?

Let's just make more effort to talk with a voice..it will make a diffference...I think.

Elife is so useful

I've been thinking about asking GHY and WK for a meetup this evening but then I have tai ci this evening wor. I missed Monday's class to have dinner with JH. I shouldn't miss again..I really shouldn't. But it's a holiday eve. Going home for tai ci....so "membosankan" (i.e. boring). Moreover..I am so sian today ler. Still..I shouldn't miss anymore classes.

Great minds think alike.
Riiinngg..riiing...mobile phone rang.

GHY:Oi..you have tai ci tonite ah?
Me: err..yes..

GHY:I wanna buy u birthday dinner..but u hv tai ci...BUT..i oso know that u can skip tai ci for dinner!


Hmm..Elife had done a good job in promoting my birthday and also promoting my bad habits :D
And...GHY may have just read that I'm so bored today...and came to my rescue!

Ahhh..Elife is so useful :D

But..one needs also to have great friends to make such effort la. Unlike 'some people', me for example, can't even remember birthdays. Worse still..don't even make an effort to find out about birthdays. hee hee...

Somemore negotiated to have GHY wait for me until I finish BC at the gym! Terrible Terrible :p

Have I mention that I have great friends?

FYI --GHY is an ex schoolmate. WK is an ex colleague. And co-incidentally ..GHY and WK met when thery were working in the D company. So..we became mutual friends! Isn't that great? And..to make things even better..we were all born in the same year of OX. Three moo moo cows!

e-lifesl -- what do you like it to be about?

Just re-visited my previous msn blog ..omigosh..I started blogging as early as 2005!!! First entry was in 7th July 2005. I named the blog Elife..after being inspired by a deejay's quote that says "Life should be an Enjoyment, Not Endurance". So..Elife...should stand for "Life Enjoyment"..something of that sort : ) It's been four long years of crap blogging. KT complained that it is too 'rojak' i.e. I write about anything and everything--lol! Especially recently, Elife documents more about what's happening in my life and everyone and / or everything around me. So..now..in a way..it can now stands for 'Electronic Life'....just like 'Electronic Filing'. Hey..did you notice...e-life and e-file are spelled so similarly....people like me who has dyslexic symptoms would have misread :DDD



Enjoy Life ...or Electronic Life...it's still full of ramblings from good old WSL :) Keep visiting!





P/S:


I just felt dried up rashes all over the front of my lower neck/ upper chest. No wonder it was pinkish yesterday and I thought I was tanned -_-

Why do I blog?

RAMBLES: Am actually quite sleepy and tired now. But..still feel like blogging. Just realised that I didn't have any entry today :p. Had quite a good workout at the gym..although BC wasn't as fun..they stop doing the new BC 39 liao..I miss BC 39 :( Purged a few times this AM so tummy was a tiny bit uncomfortable today. Oh..I confirmed today that even eating a small portion of energy bar before a work out will cause stomach cramp during the work out. So..never eat no matter how small portion the food is..best to eat at least an hour before ya.


I am indeed happy to see you guys enjoying some of my crappy jokes here. Keeps me motivated to keep blogging. Not sure if I have written this before..but what the heck..I want to write again.

Why do I blog?


...love to see that e-life keeps you guys entertained (not always but at least some times la)
...blogging also keeps me sane and entertained
...sometimes blogging helps me to say things I would never say aloud
...e-life also keeps track of my life (not everything..but to some extend)
...i also think that blogging helps to improve my vocab and writing skills indirectly


*YAWN*...very sleepy. cannot think liao. will updatein the morning..if I think of more "reasons to blog"

**UPDATE:
Just thought of something. You know what I find interesting about blogging. e-life is not just about my life and trash talking..it also amazingly and mysteriously provides a dotted-line linkage ..sort of like a little network amongst my friends. For instance..the Blogroll (Bloggie Friends) that I have here is a mixture of ex-colleagues and ex-schoolmates and you guys don't know each other before this. Busybee doesn't know and have not even met Cowie or Gina for example..but ..funnily they know what's happening to each other's life via the blogs they keep. There's a setback for me though...alot of times..I assumed that I've said all that I want to say in here and I tend not to say again in real life. So...those who do not read e-life may not know latest developments in my life ..lol!

Many times ..I told Cowie (heavy user of the blogroll -haha) that..she may even know my friends better! Bloggies aside...there are also regulars who drop by ocassionally and exchange comments in selected entries. Not forgetting ...a few new regulars who 'emerged' recently..milee, RH, GHY. Anymore 'invincible regulars' out there that I am not aware of? Well..of course there are other successful bloggers who receive thousands of unique visits daily...e-life is nowhere near there...but then when there are thousands of visitors each day..it's a totally different platform already right? For now..let's just enjoy this little community :)

Lunch Indigested

Sorry..picture quality not very good as it was taken from my phone. That was my lunch - Smoked Salmon Angelhair (tossed in Cream, served with Caviar & Parley) from Delicious, Bangsar Village. It was indeed delicious! But...

I think my digestion system can't handle angelhair :( It's been 12 hours...I can still feel chunks of angelhair floating around poking against my stomach. Had very little for dinner. I'm actually abit hungry now..but *whimper* ..I'd better not eat too much before the indigestion settles down.

Btw..lunch was with SY and SM..my college mates. Oh..but..SY was also my secondary school mate. confusing..I know. Never mind. Thanks for lunch SY! She said it's a treat for me..for providing her daily entertainment in e-life here :D Aha...my fisrt pay check as a blogger! Hooray.

I am so happy

And I thought I will succeed in my Not Blogging For One Day campaign.
But I am so happy now :) Just found out about this other friend ..long lost friend ..has also been visiting Elife here. Welcome Milee! Well, I'm not dreaming to be a prominent blogger, I'm just so thrilled that Elife is providing updates..and entertainment to more and more people...some close friends, ex colleagues..and now I have old friends whom I haven't met for years coming on board. I'm just so happy. Oh ya...I mustn't forget..Elife is also a valuable chat platform for my dear fren SY ..it keeps her her sane --haha!

So..who is Milee? Someone I have not met for ...say ...18 years? Someone that I had some of my naughtiest moments in life with. Boy..I miss those days!

Psst..

Guess what I had for breakfast?

Calories information calculated from HERE

Not the healthiest breakfast to have but what the heck..it's Friday!

Yeah..I've been posting crap. It's because I am running out of things to write.

Errmm...wonder if I will ever get tired of blogging.

Birthday Cards Now and Then

When I was young, I received Birthday Cards from friends and friends and friends. Now..at 36..I received Birthday 'Cards' from no one but...Jusco, Parkson, Eu Yan Sang, Brand's Essence of Chicken and god knows what else is coming in the mail.

Please don'y get me wrong...I still have wonderful friends. It's just that we've grown out of sending Birthday Cards. Few years back..we still send E-Cards...but now...a Facebook Hug or Heart or Poke or may be as simple as a HAPPY BIRTHDAY on the Facebook Wall will do :D Sometimes when Facebook is too slow in loading..a quick email or MSN/Yahoo or SMS wish will be just fine too. Of course..what's different now is..we can now afford to go out for a good sumptuous dinner...and ocassionally with drinks too. Unfortunately..friends that I celebrate my birthday with nowadays are not mostly not friends that I used to receive birthday cards from. Speaking of which..I seriously cannot remember when was the last time I receive a physical birthday card ler. Was it from you PPL? And that must be like 7 years ago (!) when we were working together in the S company?? I think I did receive a card from OMM (childhood best friend) few years back....I told myself I will send her one in return. But...ehh..I don't even have her home address LOL!

So much about Birthday Cards. Oh dear..this is like what..the 4th entry for the day! Help...I can't stop blogging! What to do...blogger is a blogger..when I see, hear or smell something that is worth blogging about I can't resist doing it immediately, well, as long as there is access to the net and 'time' permits. By the way...Streamyx is having problems Again..can't login to Facebook. No MSN. Most pages are not loading properly or worse still do not load at all. I can't even go into Cbox to clear the chat messages as promised to SY. Since there is nothing left to do..I blog lor.

Oh yes..me and Daddy are friends again :)