Be a Smart Loser

I've never had a problem losing weight. In fact, up until I got pregnant I had always been below a 100 lbs. I'm not sure if it has to do with my metabolism, my bone structure, my genes or all of the above but for most of my life I've been on the slender side. It's not that I am doing anything to keep the weight off in fact, I'd always wanted to have a fuller figure but no matter how much I ate I never gained enough weight to achieve this, until I got pregnant that is. I gained about 30 lbs. altogether and promptly shed most of it a month or two after giving birth. I have breastfeeding to thank for that.

I guess I could say that I'm one of the lucky ones in this department. I have friends who constantly complain about needing to lose weight. Although I argue that gaining weight is even harder, they just roll their eyes at me. One friend has tried every imaginable diet there is: South Beach, After Six, Three-Day Diet, name it, she's tried it. She's even taken some diet pills to boost her weight-loss program. Until now, she's still in search of the best diet pill in the market. There are pills that make you lose your appetite or make you have to rush to the bathroom after a meal. I've even heard of diet pills laced with drugs. A former officemate got addicted to her pills and kept taking them even after she had already lost a considerable amount of weight. I got worried about her because she experienced bad side effects to the pills and could not function properly. It turns out that the pills weren't even approved by the FDA.

I believe the best way to lose weight is to eat right and exercise. If you must take a diet pill, be sure to consult a physician first. Don't just buy whatever is available at the drugstore. Do your research and find out as much as you can about the pill before you take it. Be a smart loser (of weight) and you end up a winner.

Blast from the Past

A few posts ago, I talked about being a Facebook newbie. Since then I've added dozens of friends to my list. At first it was just people I currently know, like my siblings, cousins, former officemates, and classmates from high school and college. But lately, I've also discovered old friends from way, way back, as in people I had known before I was even 10 years old! You see, I went to one school all throughout elementary and then transferred for high school after grade 7.

It was so much fun looking up my former classmates because the last time I saw most of them was when we were all about 12 and 13 years old. Based on their profile pictures and photo albums you could easily tell who gained weight, who looks practically the same, who changed drastically. There's the frivolous girl who's now a responsible mother of three, the one who I caught cheating off my test paper now married with twins, the tough bully who's become a surgeon, the thin and awkward seat mate who's become a top fashion model, a couple of happy-go-lucky guys still enjoying their bachelor days. The quiet nerd-turned-photographer. The list goes on.

I remember them all, some vaguely, some quite well. I remember playing jackstones, patintero and cops and robbers with them during recess and lunch. I remember my first barkada and the name we gave our little group. It's amazing to see how everyone has turned out.

I was a bit apprehensive to invite some of them, especially those that I wasn't really very close to since I figured they might not remember me from so many years ago, but it warmed my heart to get notes from some of them reminiscing about our childhood.

Dreaming of a Cruise Holiday

As a little girl one of my favorite TV shows was the “Love Boat”. I found it so amazing to go on a holiday aboard a luxury cruise liner. It seemed to be the height of sophistication and romance. It also seemed pretty expensive. Fortunately today, there are a number of cruise lines available to cater to the different tastes of discerning vacationers. Gone are the days when only the ultra-rich could afford such a trip.

Cruise holidays are the ultimate haven for the traveler who wants to get away from it all and visit one picturesque destination after another without ever leaving the comforts of his hotel room, which in cruise-speak is more commonly known as a cabin. This is not to say that cruise ships are merely moving hotels. The best ocean liners boast of well-appointed cabins and luxurious modern facilities. Elegant dining rooms that serve international cuisine enough to whet your appetite, an entertainment theater for musical shows, shops for the shopaholic, a well-stocked library for the bookworm, even special fun activities for the littlest member of the family. A gym and swimming pools are also de rigueur on cruise ships for the health buff. There are so many available attractions on deck that one might even be torn between sampling all of them or disembarking to go sightseeing.

I have been to parts of the U.S., Hongkong, Rome and Australia and currently reside in Marshall Islands but there is still much of the world I would like to visit and would very much like to go on a cruise on my next travel abroad. I have my eye on cruises to the Mediterranean, Europe and the Greek Islands. A trip to Alaska would also be wonderful. Other popular destinations are the Caribbean, Baltic Fjords, Scandinavia, the Far East, South America and the Indian Ocean. Each location has a charm and ambiance distinctly its own.

To travel the world is indeed an exciting privilege, but now it is also within more people’s reach.

Photos with a twist

I discovered the website dumpr.net through fellow n@wie blogger Peachy's site. It renders special effects on photos. Here are the top three:

Rubik's Cube - Lolo and Raine in the garden
Wedding photo - Good enough for a museum?
Pensive Raine - See the details of her lashes and the flower tucked behind her ear.

Facebook Newbie

Are you on Facebook? I was invited by my best friend Hazel to join a couple of months ago but I dilly-dallied until last week to complete my profile. And now, I must say I’m quite hooked. For those not familiar with Facebook, it’s very much like Friendster. It’s a social networking site where you put in your basic info much like a slambook. You search the site for people you know and add them to your friends list. You don’t have to worry that some stranger will be able to access your personal info because before a friend can be added to your list, you’re sent an email to verify if you indeed know the person who’s inviting you, the same goes when you invite someone.

The great thing about it is that when someone sends you a message, you can easily see it on your profile page. Called “The Wall”, it’s where your friends can post short notes or messages to you. Here they can also send you videos and even “gifts”. You can add different applications that will allow you to send a variety of gifts such as Starbucks drinks, stuffed toys, Easter Eggs, pastries, alcoholic beverage, even luxury bags, shoes and watches. Of course these are only pretend or virtual gifts that you can freely giveaway. You don’t actually receive the gifts. There are also applications related to charitable institutions such as feeding the hungry, cancer awareness, saving the environment, etc. There is even an application that gives you super powers. While another lets you play virtual poker with your friends. I’m pretty sure there are a lot more applications I have not discovered yet.

A feature I also like is that unlike in Friendster where you are notified who viewed your profile or took a look at your albums, in Facebook, it’s kept private. Hehe! So you can spy on your ex’s profile, take a look at his pictures without him knowing about it. Sneaky, sneaky! Of course, he has to have you on his friends list for you to be able to access his deets.

At first, I found all the applications too overwhelming. Some of my friends would invite me to add all these things to my own account and most of the time I’d feel obliged to accept, especially since we’re abroad and don’t get to see them much. Although now I’ve learned to decline some of the invites I find too strange, like being a vampire. I prefer searching for old friends and I have to admit I’ve been pretty successful at it. I’ve even found a number of classmates from grade school and my prom date! It’s nice to be able to see how everyone turned out and catch up on old times.

At this day and age when relationships come and go, it's great to have the chance to reminisce about the good old days and keep in touch with friends who are half way across the globe. Sites such as Friendster and Facebook, just makes it so much more cool and fun!

Credit cards: boon or bane?

The first time I had my own credit card was right after college. It was a pre-approved card but nonetheless made me feel really grown-up. There’s just something about making a purchase without the exchange of cold cash right then and there. I have to admit being a young urban professional then I used my card a lot. To me it felt like, a “buy now, pay later” scheme. At the back of my mind I knew I would settle my credit card bill come payday. Reminiscing on my past spending habits now just makes me shake my head in absolute bewilderment at my spendthrift ways. Youth is indeed wasted on the young. I sure am glad that I didn’t end up being a slave to my credit card. I know of someone who half-jokingly used to say she actually works to pay off her credit card debt.

Some people fall prey to the many attractive sales promotions and spend money they don’t even have. Before they know it, they have maxed out their credit card and are up to their necks in debt. How can one easily get out of such a daunting dilemma? Paying just the minimum amount due every month is certainly not the way to go. Fortunately, help is readily available through online payday loans. However, it should be stressed that loans such as this should be for emergency purposes only since they usually have higher interest rates. Although loans such as these usually have higher interest rates, I believe that’s the price you pay for speedy and worry free service.

Online Shopping: The Wave of the Future?

I love to go shopping. Part of the thrill other than the final purchase of course, is how it tickles all five senses. For clothes, shoes and bags, it’s seeing all the different colors and styles, trying them on, seeing how they look on you, how the material feels against your skin. For gadgets, it’s tinkering with it, turning it over in your hand, inspecting it with a careful eye. But with the advent of the internet and the surge in popularity of this new way of shopping, I still preferred to shop the traditional way.

But since we moved out of Manila, where malls sprout up faster than you can say “SM”, we have had to deal with very limited shopping options.

It was actually my hubby who encouraged me to try out online shopping. He had tried it himself a few years back when he worked on a military service facility on a remote island. After work, while waiting for me to go online to chat, he would just surf the net and see what's out there. Since the credit card is the main transaction mode, he made sure to research on reputable online shops. His favorites were tgw.com (the golf warehouse) where he bought golf clubs and jr.com for gadgets. He was so amazed at the ease of his shopping experience and surprised at the affordable prices that he even bought electronics and eyewear and re-sold them to his colleagues for a profit.

I had only shopped online through a friend's online store called nuiclothing.com. Her site is patterned after many international online shops, where at the click of a button you can see the color of the top you want, inspect it up close by zooming on the product and even see how the back looks. Recently, I bought athletic shoes from JC Penney and was even able to view every angle of it, from top to bottom. My favorite though is amazon.com mainly because the shipping cost to Marshall Islands is a steal at just $7.93.

Of course buying online does have one setback, delayed gratification. Hehe! After purchasing what you shopped for, you have to wait at the most 2 weeks, depending on where you live, to get your items. But there's no need to worry that your items get lost in transit. Most big online shops have a tracking system where you can check when your stuff were shipped and the estimated arrival to your place. If ever you are not satisfied with your purchase there is almost always a 30-day moneyback guarantee. Great huh?

Online shopping right now hasn't really caught on as much in mainstream Philippines, but with the escalating gas prices, more people are opting to stay home or at least stay close to home and forego the usual Sunday trip to the mall. Shopping online may just be the thing to whet your shopping appetite.