Mar 22, 2009

New Hobby - Paper Crafting

Scribbled by Perky | Chucked away in , , , ,

I've realized that my blogging pattern has been rather erratic these past couple of weeks. It's been rather hectic at my 9-to-5 job that when I get home, I'm just too darn tired and sick of staring at the PC screen.

Anyway, while I was "away" from the internet, I actually picked up a new hobby - Paper Crafting. It actually combines my love for stationery and my nature of being a very meticulous person.

Check out my very first handmade card:





I was quite surprised that I was able to cut a foam sheet into a flower petal. Cutting curvy corners is definitely not for the impatient people. Lol!


I also made this dove tag for my sister as she demanded requested that I made something for her.







I've got so many ideas on what to do next, and so I've been busy sourcing for materials, cutting and gluing the pieces together to make something nice. Let me know what you guys think of my hobby ya! :D

If you've enjoyed this post, please subscribe to my blog.

Your say (21)

Mar 9, 2009

On Being a Lousy Friend

Scribbled by Perky | Chucked away in , ,

I had installed the Blog List widget (pictured below) with the intention of bookmarking the blogs I read. The other cool thing about this widget is that it displays/sorts the blogs based on the most recently updated (because nothing can be more frustrating to me than visiting the same blog that hasn't been updated since my last visit).



Apparently installing the Blog List widget alone isn't enough.

For some unknown reasons, there are certain blogs where its rss feed doesn't get picked up by my Blog List widget, such as Savante's blog. Even though his latest update doesn't show up on this widget, I still hop over to his blog knowing that there's always something new to read (I have no idea how this doctor is able to blog every single day! lol!).

However, in the case of Samantha, this one hit slightly close to home because she is someone whom I personally know and is one of a handful of my sister's friends whom I instantly liked the moment I met her (I think I just gravitate towards crazy people *wink*). So when I didn't see her blog update on my widget, I just assumed that she had stopped blogging. So imagine my surprise when I read about her updates from another blogger! Lol!

(Anyway, turns out the reason why her blog updates didn't show up on my widget was because she had changed her url and I didn't update her link *Doh!* My bad!)

Though it's good to have a Blog List widget, in my case for instance, it's not the most reliable when it comes to staying in touch with my fellow blogger friends. I find that it's also better to subscribe to that person's blog *insert my shameless plug here*



By subscribing, you will instantly get updates straight into your mailbox. This works great especially if you're at the office and you don't have time to personally visit your friend blog.

There are some companies who are a bit anal with how their employees spend their working hours. Some have even taken the liberty to block certain websites, such as Blogger, thus making us blog-whores a unhappy bunch. Though my company is way too cool to be doing such thing, there are certain days where the internet connection is so slow, it feels like we're back on the dial-up connection days. Some blogs/websites take forever to load! But if you've already subscribed to that person's blog, then this wouldn't be an issue because you would've already gotten the updates into your mailbox.

So yeah, subscribing to one's blog is a pretty good way of always being in the loop. If you haven't done it, it's really worth considering.

If you've enjoyed this post, please subscribe to my blog.

Your say (12)

Feb 24, 2009

Being an Associated Content Producer

Scribbled by Perky | Chucked away in , ,

Thanks to Kat (who btw writes great articles on how to be better bloggers/writers), I now have another outlet for my writings. You see, there were certain things that I wanted to write about, but they didn't quite fit in with the theme of my blog (that's not to say it's sad or gloomy. Perhaps I should've used the words "more mature" instead of heavy).

Therefore, as of the end of January, I became an Associated Content (AC) Producer.



And what exactly is Associated Content, you ask?
AC is a place where anyone can submit a content in any topic in any format (text, video, audio and images). For instance, if you love all things fashion, then you can submit in articles on fashion tips (e.g: how to hide your love handles, fashion do's and don'ts, etc). Or say, if you've just finished listening to Kelly Clarkson's latest album, you could write a review on what you think about her album.

The topic is completely up to you. And if you happen to run out of ideas, they give you ideas on what to write about(under the "Calls for Content" section).

What's great about AC is their ability to connect contents to consumers, partners and advertisers. Let's say, I have an article about tips on how to select a guitar teacher. Any time someone looks up "how to choose guitar teacher" for instance, my article and other related articles pops up in their search engine. What this means is that I have a high chance of getting more exposure for my article.


Show Me the Money!
The money part, too, provides extra incentive to come up with better articles. Not living in the U.S. does have its disadvantages as that meant I won't be eligible for Upfront Payment (where they PAY you an average of USD $3 per article you submit).

The good news is that I'm still eligible for Performance Payment (or "royalties", as I like to call them). My first article was published on 3rd Feb '09 and as to date I have written another 3 articles. About 115 people have viewed the combination of all my articles since then and I currently make USD $0.18.

Which by the way is paying me FASTER than my AdSense and Nuffnang ads. Just do the math: Barely a month on AC, with only 4 articles written and already making 18cents. How long have you been putting your ads up before you even see a single cent?

And unlike paid blogging, AC doesn't limit the number of articles you can submit in a day. There's also no time limit on when you need to submit your post, and there's no need to wait 30 days to get paid.

This figure will continue to climb each month for as long as my article stays in AC. That's why I prefer to call it as royalties. You can just let your article sit there and watch as it continues to make you money.


My plan as an AC Producer is to publish a content each week (afterall I still have a blog to maintain). So far I've written about:


I have also created a widget located on my sidebar especially for my AC contents.

You can view my Associated Content Producer page here. Alternatively, you can also choose to subscribe to my rss feed and get the latest articles I publish when I publish them.

If you enjoy writing, perhaps you should look at Associated Content as another outlet for your creativity.

If you've enjoyed this post, please subscribe to my blog.

Your say (9)

Feb 11, 2009

The Constant Traveller

Scribbled by Perky | Chucked away in ,

Based on my blog, I think most of my readers could make the conclusion that I'm constantly on the move, and that I can't stay put in one place for too long. I do admit that I enjoy going on road trips; I love driving to a different town and experiencing new things there.

I believe that the love for traveling has something to do with my upbringing. Due to my dad's work, we were constantly moving, living in different cities in different countries. I've lived in places as rural as Limbang (where you need to take the speedboat upriver for 4 hours to get to my father's village), to big cities such as London.

I hate flying, though. I wish that we could just drive to any place in the world. Flying sucks for me. I hate being strapped to the damn chair, I hate being in the air, I hate that I can't sleep in the plane, and I especially hate the fact that I have absolutely zero control on the plane.

Anyways, as much as I love traveling, I don't really like the packing part. You men got it easy when it comes to packing. You can pack a pair of boxers and that can last you for 4 days. We ladies have it hard - bras take up a lot of space in the bag, need at least 2 fresh pairs of undies each day, facial products, toiletries, make-up, etc etc etc...

After years of having to go through the hassles of packing my stuff, I actually developed a peculiar habit, which is I don't unpack my bag when I come home after my trip. My bag from my trip to Australia - still unpacked. My bag from my recent trip - it's still unpacked and will remain that way until my next road trip.

Sure, I do take out the dirty clothes and my toiletries from the bag. But the rest of the stuff (like the clothes I buy), they're all still in that bag (I only take them out if I need them or when I remember about it).

It's just so much easier this way. Should I need to skip town for some emergency, I just need to chuck my toiletries and fresh undies into the bag and I'm good to go. Now, whoever said packing was hard?

If you've enjoyed this post, please subscribe to my blog.

Your say (15)

Feb 10, 2009

A Box Full of Brown Goodness

Scribbled by Perky | Chucked away in , , ,

With Valentine’s Day just lurking around the corner, some of us will have panic attacks because we haven’t gotten a gift yet. These panic attacks are made worst especially if you have no idea as to what to get for your loved one. If there’s one gift that I think will always work no matter the circumstance, it is definitely chocolates.

But you don’t want to just give any kind of chocolate. Valentine’s Day is a special occasion, so you’d definitely want to go for gourmet chocolates. Gertrude Hawk Chocolates has one of the most delicious gourmet chocolates. Well, from what I read on Wikipedia, they’re the same company who supplies chocolates and confections to Nestle, The Hershey Company, Fannie May Candies and Marshall Field’s/Macy’s of Chicago.

So when you’re looking for the perfect Valentine Chocolate, think of chocolate smidgens, or a combination of dark and milk chocolates, CHOCOLATE DIPPED STRAWBERRIES, caramel dipped apples, sugar-free candy, milk chocolate almonds! Oh my, oh my, oh my, just typing those things out has got me salivating. So can you imagine how happy your lover will be if they are to receive gourmet chocolates from you on Valentine's Day?

If you've enjoyed this post, please subscribe to my blog.

Your say (7)

Jan 27, 2009

Shopping for a Special Occassion

Scribbled by Perky | Chucked away in , ,

This coming February 1st will mark my 3-year anniversary of togetherness with McChef. The downside of this particular date is that it’s fairly close to Valentine’s Day, so that means I would need to get him something really special to mark both the occasions. Well, of course, the good thing about these 2 dates being so close to one another is that I only need to get him just one gift.

So immediately I thought about the Playstation 3. Yes, the one that he was supposed to buy after selling off the Nintendo Wii months ago. Now apart from the Wiimote controller (which was why I love, love, loved the Wii), I don’t know why is the PS3 better than the Wii. But since my boy wants it, I better start getting to know this PS3.

So I turned to the bible that is the internet and read on what to look for when buying a PS3. Since what got me hooked onto the Wii was its controller, I thought I’d start my research there. Turns out, the PS3’s controller is also equipped with motion sensor technology. So what that means is that it follows the user’s movements, just like the Wiimote but with more buttons.

I can’t believe I gave him such a hard time for selling off the Wii. Think he’ll call it even if I got him this one instead?

If you've enjoyed this post, please subscribe to my blog.

Your say (8)

Jan 26, 2009

Utilizing the Space that You Have

Scribbled by Perky | Chucked away in ,

Over the years, we tend to accumulate junk. Most times these so-called junk would end up in the storeroom or the garage. Many may not realize this but your garage can also be treated as an extension of your house. If you plan properly (or to save you from all that trouble, you could just call in the experts), you can actually maximize the space that you have by turning it into a garage storage. Not only will you have the extra space to keep your things, but it will also make your place tidier and more organized.

If you've enjoyed this post, please subscribe to my blog.

Your say (4)

Jan 19, 2009

Traveller’s Guide: International Phone Calls

Scribbled by Perky | Chucked away in ,

When I left for my Australian trip in December, one thing that had "magically" slipped out of my mind was how expensive international roaming could be. Well, granted, that my mind was occupied with trying to not forget my passport.

But still, I thought it was good enough that my mobile phone could make calls when I’m overseas. Hah! Wait ‘til the bill comes, and you’ll be crying your eyes out.

So I learned a pretty expensive lesson, considering that I was making phone calls to McChef who was in Malaysia while I was basking away under the Australian sun.



Oh if only I had known how much I'd be saving with a calling card instead of depending on my international roaming service


So guys, if you’re going to be traveling or working overseas in the future, remember to bring along a calling card so you can keep in touch with people back home.




Let's say, you’re in Malaysia and you happen to be seeing someone from US and trying out that whole long distance relationship thing, having a calling card will definitely help reduce the stress in your relationship. Just check out how cheap it is for him/her to call you from the US. Now you guys can talk for hours and hours and not burn a big hole in your wallet ;)

If you've enjoyed this post, please subscribe to my blog.

Your say (7)

Jan 16, 2009

The Skills That I Should've Acquired

Scribbled by Perky | Chucked away in , , ,

I'm not ashamed to admit that I have a certain level of appreciation towards alcohol. But as much as I love drinking it, I wish that I could be more involved in the preparation part.

Back when my days were filled with trying out all sorts of cocktail beverages, I used to sit at the bar and look at the bartenders preparing the drinks. I envied them, the ones who could do flares, I mean.




It's so Coyote Ugly, minus the dancing on bar counters. Though in my case, I did more of that than learning how to do flares with liquor bottles.

But when you're a natural born klutz, throwing liquor bottles in the air is definitely something that needs to be avoided at all costs. My brother tried to teach me once (he used to be a part time bartender many years ago and he was pretty good at flare bartending). Anyways, the skill that I acquired at the end of his lesson was how to catch the bottle with my head. And I gotta say, I'm pretty good at it, judging from the number of bruises on my head ;)

So I've lived with the fact that I will never ever be that cool person who could do cool stuff when mixing drinks.

Next on my agenda was to learn how to open champagne bottles with a knife.



Now this is a cool skill to have, especially if your job revolves around hosting parties. But I'm not very good with handling sharp objects. I mean, I can't even cut a package without nearly cutting the tip of my index finger off. And that was with a pair of blunt scissors! Can you imagine what disaster I'll be inviting with a knife?

But I haven't given up entirely on trying to acquire this skill... If only McChef would allow me to handle knives.


Anyways, if there's one thing I'm ashamed of is my lack of ability to open wine bottles. I'm quite the avid wine drinker, but I have never ever opened a wine bottle on my own successfully. Even with the easy-to-use cork openers, somehow in my hands, I'd still be able to damage the cork to the point that the only way to open the bottle is to break it. So over the years, the skill that I acquired from drinking wine is the ability to avoid opening wine bottles myself and getting others to do it for me.

I guess I'll just stick to being the drinker huh?

If you've enjoyed this post, please subscribe to my blog.

Your say (13)

Jan 15, 2009

Dare to Live Different

Scribbled by Perky | Chucked away in ,

On some evenings, I enjoy driving around a housing area and looking at the types of homes people have. I call it my little escape from reality before I head home to my tiny condo.

I love landed properties. Some people have really exquisite homes, while others just have a “huge box” for a home. But once in a while I’ll happen to drive by an area where all the houses look the same that I begin to wonder if I’m stuck inside the Matrix.

Don’t the residents feel a bit weird? I mean, if it were me living there, I might have trouble finding my own home, especially on nights where I’ve had too much to drink. Can you imagine being tackled to the ground by your neighbour because he thought you were some robber when really, you just got home to the wrong house?

So won’t it be nice to custom build our home? To build a home the way we imagined it? Of course you’ll have a hard time trying to find the best custom home builders. Sometimes it’s good to do your own research by reading unbiased opinions from others before you have gone through, just like the ones written for Schumacher Homes.

Schumacher Homes Reviews are opinions submitted by people who have had their homes custom-built by Schumacher Homes. When it comes to forking out money to make your house a better home, finding a good contractor is very important. That's why it's a good idea to read on the experiences of those who have tried the services provided by Schumacher Homes as that will let you know what to expect when engaging one of the most popular custom home builders in the U.S.

If you've enjoyed this post, please subscribe to my blog.

Your say (6)

Dec 16, 2008

The Land Down Under

Scribbled by Perky | Chucked away in , , ,

I'm pretty psyched about my upcoming trip to Australia this Saturday. Yes, people, I'll be celebrating Christmas and New Years in the Land Down Under! Woohoo!

But as much as I love the sun, I'm really not looking forward to the summer heat. That, and the bugs and spiders that are Australia's version of cockroaches to me. *shudders at the thoughts of those God-forsaken creatures*

Anyways, I'll be spending about 10 days in Perth. So I did some Googling and realize that Perth and I don't have much in common. I'm not much of a shopper kinda girl. I don't buy material stuff. I prefer to "buy" the experience/adventure... and food.

I definitely wanna go surfing (although Perth isn't well known as a surfer's paradise). But still, it's better than nothing. Hopefully I'll get to see some hot surfer dudes, like the ones you get in Gold Coast ;)

I envy Carly Smith - pictured here doing what she does best



Oh, and I definitely wanna go to the Zoo coz it won't be an Aussie trip without me hugging a koala or feeding the kangaroos.

I dont' care how much they stink or how rough their fur feels. I just wanna squeeze a koala



The one that's at the top of my to-do list is visiting the vineyards. Mmmm... Australian wine. Just thinking about the wine tasting trips is already making me warm and bubbly. I absolutely love wine (something I "inherited" from my dad, much to my mom's displeasure).

The second closest thing to paradise on earth - vineyards!



I'm not quite the wine expert like my dad, but I'm slowly getting there. I can basically tell you where the wine's from (Australia, France, South America, etc). Some people can tell the year the wine was made, the flavor, the body, etc. I'm not there yet, but I'm sure with practise (and I don't mind lots of it), I'll be quite the expert myself ;)

I could do this everyday! (Taken from the movie "A Good Year")



So apart from these 3 things, I'm not sure what else I'm going to do with my time. I didn't fly there just so I could get drunk on wine and eat fish-n-chips everyday. So, if you guys have any suggestions on how I can fill up my time in Perth, let me know! :)

If you've enjoyed this post, please subscribe to my blog.

Your say (20)

Dec 6, 2008

Undecided on My Facelift

Scribbled by Perky | Chucked away in , , ,

I've been toying with the idea of getting my own domain for quite some time now. It's most likely going to happen... I've been reading up a lot on this matter, so I suppose the transition will be rather smooth (I'll still have my blog hosted by Blogger as it's easier that way).

Anyways, getting a new domain does bring out certain issues. I mean, I like almost everything I've done for my layout, except...

Except my blog header. I honestly hate it. I simply put those pictures up because
I couldn't come up with anything better (I don't have pics that hid my face or me looking too hoochie).

So Big Fat Witch took some pics of me this evening. Mind you, the following pics are just concepts of what I intend to put up as my new blog header for my new domain, so it's very raw.


Concept 1:




Concept 2:




Concept 3:




Concept 4:




As you can see, my new prop is the pink feather boa. The reason behind that is my new domain name has got something to do with the pink feather boa (doh! Do I really need to state the obvious??) Currently, I have this wacky idea of calling my new domain "Chronicles of the Pink Feather Boa". Wacky, but my darling McChef thinks the name is too long & boring.

So I'm really, really torn. Anyways, let me know your thoughts on the concept for my new blog header as well as my new domain name. And don't hold back on the bitching criticism! :)

If you've enjoyed this post, please subscribe to my blog.

Your say (9)

Nov 8, 2008

Seeing Frugal with ZenniOptical

Scribbled by Perky | Chucked away in , ,

Times are getting tougher with everyone predicting more economic hardships in the near future. But for most of us, cutting back on expenses, even though it’s the sensible thing to do, will find it hard to readjust our lifestyle.

Some of us may feel that the eyeglasses we wear is an extension of our sense of fashion. Which is why some of us are willing to spend bucket loads of money for style. But now, just because you need to cut down on your expenses doesn’t mean you have to be less stylish. At Zenni Optical you can buy a stylish prescription glasses for as low as $8!

They offer a wide selection of frames, with bifocal lens, single vision lens, progressive lens, photochromic (sun sensor) lens and tinted sunglasses lens. Zenni Optical is able to sell their stylish eyeglasses at such low prices because they sell only their own manufactured brand ZENNI without the middlemen, no retail overhead, and almost no advertising budget. Seriously, you can buy a stylish prescription glasses for as low as $8!


Zenni Optical was even mentioned in the book Living Rich by Spending Smart, which basically reaffirms to us that buying eyeglasses from them especially during these tough times is a wise choice indeed.

If you've enjoyed this post, please subscribe to my blog.

Your say (2)

Oct 24, 2008

It Can Be More Than Just Storage

Scribbled by Perky | Chucked away in , ,

In my line of job I'm always looking for creative ways to do things. When your clients comprise of people from the corporate world, chances are they've already seen and been to similar functions. So it's always important to think outside the box in order to make my event more memorable.

One of the fun aspects in my job is thinking of what door gifts to give to our guests. Of course it'd be great if we had lots of money to throw but more often than not that is not always the case. So if I can turn a cheap gift into something that makes my guest go,"Oooh, this is cool!", then half my job is already done.

Take the flash drive, for instance. It's a popular door gift because it's cheap and it's useful. But let's face it, it doesn't make much of an impression to your guests if you just gave it out like that.

So here is where I get a bit creative. You can actually turn it into Personalized Flash Drives by making it as your invitation card to a, let's say, a party you're organizing. You can even further personalize the flash drive by having the names of your guests laser engraved onto it to make them feel special (and we all know how special everyone wants to feel, right?).

In the Personalized Flash Drives, you can have the location map to your party, the program, the dress code, etc etc. Whatever you want your guests to know about your party, you can have it all in the flash drive.

And the best part is you can also get your guests to be more involved in your party via that very same flash drive. For instance, you can ask your guests to upload their favorite music into the flash drive and bring it along to the party. Isn't it more fun when everyone contributes to making the party even more fun? :)

Personalized Flash Drives


It's personal touches like this that makes people remember you. Of course I could come up with more ways to make a simple gift even more interesting but I don't want to give out all my tricks away (at least not for free! Lol!) ;)



Support My Sponsor
Code Of Ethics

If you've enjoyed this post, please subscribe to my blog.

Your say (3)

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)