quaint melody

As you can see I have added a line ad and referral buttons on the blog. Decided to try out AdSense, just for the heck of it. Oh well, who am I kidding, of course the ultimate goal is the same as everyone else; to earn some side income. Seeing that my blog is still very new, I am just hoping that it will help to generate a wider audience at this point. I aim to place the ad subtlety and hope it doesn’t interfere with the flow of the main content.

I don’t know, still pretty uncertain about this. Please kindly share your experiences and opinions with me.

On a day of my usual blog hopping, I came across this blog. It spotted a banner of flashy cars. On my first impression, I thought to myself, oh great another egoistic flaunting blog. Well, it turned out not to be the case.

The blog author John Chow is a self-titled dot com mogul. The blog recorded his various subjects of interest, from his daily go-about, random thoughts to sharing his knowledge on how to make money blogging. Unlike some of the blogs with the similar content out there with dead serious tell-you-what-to-do ways, John uses a more approachable, easy-going tone. What came across the posts is a sincere, creative and humorous person with guy-next-door quality who shares his trials and errors of making money online generously. I really enjoyed browsing through his archives and have learned a lot about things like blog monetizing and Search Engine Optimization (SEO). As a newbie to the blogsphere, his blog really opened my eyes to the endless possibilities.

The only problem I came upon is the search function, its result is not specific enough. It’ll be better if it can be more specific. But nonetheless, a great blog not to be missed. Especially for dummy newbie out there like me.

I truly enjoy and learned many things from his site and hope you would too. Of course, the added bonus from him doesn’t hurt either.

This blog will go into a hiatus for a little while. My father went through a body check and found out that one of his heart arteries is block. He needs to receive surgery soon as the situation is quite serious. I am trying to get back to be by his side as soon as possible.

Please keep a prayer for him. I appreciate your kindness whole-heartily.

Update: After a day of running around like a headless chicken, I could finally calm down and think things through clearly. Thank you for all your well wishes and prayers. My dad is ok for now and the date of surgery has yet to be set. The doctor recommended it to be down within a month. I’m told not to go back for now. Decided to continue blogging as it helps to keep me sane and not worry so much. Once again, thank you for all the messages, sms and calls. Me and my family will get through this difficult time.

Just a random photograph from a long time ago. Miss the days in the darkroom.
Technorati tags: photography

Now, before anyone get too excited and started jumping up and down in joy. Nope I’m not pregnant. Just want to share some funny/weird moments that happened after I become a MRS.

The one and only hot question 101, mother of all questions for newlyweds is this, “when are you going to have a baby?”. I have heard questions like ‘got boyfriend?” “when are you getting married?” etc, but I was not prepared for this question. Don’t get me wrong, I understand people who asked this question are out of concern and good will. But after being asked a hundred times, one might get a bit paranoid. Isn’t that quite a private question to be asked by every tom, dick and harry?? I mean at least get to know me a little before you ask me this question! You would be amazed of the people who have asked me the baby question. Even someone I don’t know that well did. Why is everybody getting more excited than me? The baby will come when the time is right, we are not in any hurry.

Now I really can empathize with those who’ve been asked similar questions. Especially my aunt P who’s in her late 30’s and single. She gets the whole ‘question and frown’ treatment from my relatives whenever we have a family gathering. I am glad she can see the funny side of it. (Well, I guess she has to. After receiving the same treatment for so many years, one has to humour herself or go totally crazy.)

I thought I was the only one being bombarded left right and center, but little did I know my dad had it worst. During his visit on November 2006, I was complaining to him that I was so sick and tired of answering the same question over and over. In his usual calm self, my dad answered,

“Really? Then I guess you wouldn’t want to be in my shoes right now. Ever since you got married, everyone I know kept asking me whether I have been promoted to datukship (grandpa in Malay). And before I came down to visit you, the frequency doubled and some of them just presumed you have given birth and almost started to congratulate me.’

Come to think of it, the other day one of my friends told me during their recent gathering that one of my old college mates announced to them that I have become a mum. MY friend almost fell down from the chair laughing. Now don’t you just love the power of presumption?!

While I’m on the subject, apparently my dad had it a lot worse back then. After my mum gave birth to me, they had problem conceiving another child. My mum had miscarriage twice and they tried everything there were but to no avail. That was not the hardest part though, it was the harsh questions people threw at them without thinking. There would be questions and comments like ‘only one daughter ah? Why don’t have more?’ ‘Why no more children?’ “One not enough, should have more!’ etc. I just wonder, what answer did these people expect? If it were my parents’ decision to have only one child, then they should have respected that. And if it was because they had problem conceiving, why did they dwell on that and cause them so much grief and pressure?! I mean, be a little more considerate!

Anyway, my friends and family, for now, please restrain yourself from this question. We’ll let you know when the good news arrives. Please try to curb your enthusiasm, ok?!

p/s: Now please don’t jump the gun and think I’m offended. I’m just airing my frustration as I have just been asked 5 times in two days.

I don’t usually read forwarded mails, but this one caught my eyes today. I thought about it deeply and would like to share with you.

There once was a woman who woke up one morning, looked in the mirror, and noticed she had only three hairs on her head.
Well,” she said, “I think I’ll braid my hair today.”
So she did And She Had A Wonderful Day.
The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and saw that she had only two hairs on her head.
“Hmmm,” she said,
“I think I’ll part my hair down the middle today.”
So she did And She Had A Grand Day.
The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed that she had only one hair on her head.
“Well,” she said, “today I’m going to wear my hair in a pony tail.”
So she did And She Had A Fun, Fun Day.
The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed that there wasn’t a single hair on her head.
“YEAH!” she exclaimed,
“I don’t have to fix my hair today!”
Attitude is everything.
Be kinder than necessary,
For everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle ……
Live simply,
Love generously,
Care deeply,
Speak kindly…….

Fella blogger yumcha over at relax.blogsome is recommending this great tonic. I thought I’d put in my two cents worth as well.

K and I been having this drink for years. It helps to detox our body and is especially good for cold and sore throat. This refreshing drink has helped us through many flu seasons. Also great when you have abused your system with junk and oily food. Taste great too!

The recipe for this is simple. Just mix 2 tablespoons of pure lemon juice(about half a lemon) and 2 teaspoon of honey. Add warm water and stir(not hot water as it destroy the properties in lemon). Adjust sweetness according to your taste.
Woolah! A great soothing drink!

Just when you thought you’ve read every possible blog writing about this…
Here I am blogging about snippets of my life in 2006, a month into 2007. HA!

2006 was the year…

(1) I started getting used to be called Mrs. instead of Miss.
On the wedding dinner, I looked at the table placement card, saw the name Mrs xxx. My first reaction was, hey, that’s not my name! I actually said it out loud to my mother in law, ha!
After the buzz of the wedding and banquet at the end of 2005, K and I finally get to slow down and started our life as husband and wife. I am very thankful to finally be able to address K as my husband. Though in this age and year, many might say a piece of certificate is not necessary. But for us, it is symbolic of our commitment for each other. It is so nice to know that no matter what happens, someone will always be at home waiting for me.

(2) Registered for our own business.
After serious considerations, K and I decided to set up our own company. Hopefully everything go well and we’ll be able to work on it full-time in the near future. We understand there’s hard time ahead, but with our sheer determination, we are confident to get pass the difficulties and achieve our dreams. As my favourite quote says:

Nothing in this world that’s worth having comes easy.

(3) Moved again for the fourth time.
We moved again, to a bigger house so that we have an extra room for our parents when they visit. Haha…I’m a packing expert now. Hopefully, this will be the last time we move before we buy our own place.

(4) Grandma passed away.
After being bed-ridden for 9 long years, grandma passed away in August 2006. It came as quite a shock to us. Even though she had been bed-ridden after 2 strokes, she was in generally good health. But we all felt relieved for her. For she’s in heaven with my great-grandma now, rid of the illness and suffering. I am thankful that I could make it back home in time to say my final goodbye. She will always be in my heart.

(5) Started blogging on the very last day of 2006.
After spending quite a long time browsing through various blogs reading about other peoples’ lives, I finally decided to start a blog of my own. This is quite a big decision for me, as it allows others to share parts of my life. So far, some familiar names appeared, and to my surprise, other more experienced bloggers stopped by too. I am really touched by these kind souls, whom I’m slowly getting to know. It is such a pleasant surprise that I get to meet people from all walks of life via blogging. Thank you, every one of you, for your words of encouragement.