I have been doing interviews for the past couples of weeks. That is the main reason why I have not been posting for a while. I got a call from one of the recruiters last week and was asked to fly over to Alberta to talk about the job a little bit further. They said I am going to talk to the senior manager who had interview with me and also the director of the department. I think this is a good sign and hopefully I can score the job eventually. Let's keep my fingers crossed. :)

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I have finished my salary review for my current year. Not surprisingly, I got the average 5% increase as others. After tax, I will probably get $50 more each pay cheque. I have decided to put all of them into my mutual fund purchase. From now, I will be contributing about $500 each month to my mutual funds.

<span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;" lang="EN-US">I love traveling and hope I am able to go to a place which I have never been to before every year. Based on my own tracking on Facebook, I have been to fifty cities in eight countries. As I am searching for my next travel destination, it seems that <a href="http://www.islandgetaway.com"><b style="">hilton head south <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">carolina</st1:place></st1:City></b></a> is a fun place to go. There are variety of fun and safe activites offered all over <a href="http://www.islandgetaway.com"><b style="">hilton head island</b></a> such as tennis, golf, kayaking and even surfing. I have never surf before. It will be great if I can try and pick up that cool sport. If you have friends who love shopping, hilton head is also a great place to go as it has two </span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Verdana;" lang="EN-US">huge outlet malls offering over 100 stores! </span><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;" lang="EN-US">The climate looks nice on <a href="http://www.islandgetaway.com"><b style="">hilton head</b></a> as well. </span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Verdana;" lang="EN-US">Summers are warm, but the ocean breezes help to cool things down. Winters are generally mild and tend to be short. Spring and Fall are temperate and gorgeous. It seems to be a great travel destination for everybody. I think I will look into this place more. </span>

<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Many of you may have heard of Vista Print before. I have even purchased some products from them a long time ago. They are a huge online customizing, printing and distributing company. They have a large variety of products including business cards, business card holders, invitations and announcements, rubber stamps, business card magnets, postcards, t-shirts, and return address labels. The best part about their products is that they are attractive and affordable.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Currently they are having a </span><a href="http://socialspark.com/metrics/click/post?slot_id=15722&amp;url=http://www.vistaprint.com/vp/gateway.aspx?S=7929033272" rel="nofollow">Special Sale</a><span lang="EN-US"> on their website. Everything from business cards, sticky notes, pens to car door magnets, window decals and rubber stamps plus much more are all FREE! All you need to do is to pay a tiny shipping fee like you would for any other mail item. No catch at all! It is hard to pass by a FREE item. Maybe you are considering getting yourself a business card which can reflect you and your business; or you are having an upcoming event and you want to offer the t-shirt with your own design as a presents to the guests; or you want to send out a party invitation to your friends and families, you should check out Vista Print for their high-quality and affordable products.</span></p> <a href="http://socialspark.com/metrics/click/disclosure?slot_id=15722&amp;url=http://www.vistaprint.com/vp/gateway.aspx?S=7929033272" rel="nofollow">

August is the start of the new fiscal year for my current company. It is also the time of the salary review. Some of my friends has just finished theirs today. It looks like most of them have got a 5% raise this year. I have not got my review scheduled yet. Hopefully, it will come soon. As for the percentage raise, I think it should be at 5% level as well. We will see.<br /><br />How often is your salary review? What is the usual percentage of raise?

I am leaving this afternoon to SixFlags New England. It has been a long time that I want to visit this amusement park. Here I go! As a big roller coaster fan, I am so excited. We will be staying at the Sheraton in Springfield for two nights and then heading to the Wrentham Village Outlet mall on Sunday.<br /><br />Originally we would like to stay in Springfield for one night and then two nights in Boston. But due to the big conference in Boston, the hotel is so expensive in Boston for this Saturday. Therefore, we twisted our plan a little bit. We paid $60 per night for Sheraton in Springfield and $88 per night for Omni Parker House in downtown Boston.<br /><br />Also, there is a big promotion for SixFlags currently, everybody pay kids price! The admission is reduced to $29.99 if you buy online. I think it is a good time to visit SixFlags if you like coasters!

<span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size:85%;">The following post is sponsored<br /></span></span><span><span style="font-size:85%;">I, as a big seafood lover, like fish, shrimp, oyster and so on. I have some really nice seafood recipes that I can share with you. One of them is the microwave steam fish. Here is the steps and what you need to make it:<br /><br /></span></span><ol style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal">You need some fish, of course. It does not matter what kind of fish you are going to use. Cod, catfish, halibut, and even salmon are perfect choices. Chinese people like to use whole fish. But you don’t have to. However, I would recommend NOT getting fillet. The better choice would be fish steaks due to its thickness.</li><li class="MsoNormal">Green onions. You need about two green onions and cut them into green onion silks.</li><li class="MsoNormal">Light soy sauce. There are two different kinds of soy sauce. One is dark soy sauce, and the other is the light one. Please make sure you get the light soy sauce. Otherwise, you will have a very very heavy colored fish without much flavor in the end. I recommend the Maggi’s which I think is the best one to use for any seafood plate. <span> </span>If you cannot find Maggi’s in the stores you shop, don’t worry, you will be completely fine as long as you are using the light soy sauce instead of the dark one.</li><li class="MsoNormal">Last, not the least, cooking oil and the microwave.</li></ol> <p>Let’s start cooking. Firstly, you need to clean up the fish by just washing it under running water for a bit. Then place the fish steaks in the plate, cover them with another bowl or plate or anything you can find to cover it in the microwave. This is an important step. Do not put the fish in the microwave without cover as it will let the moisture escape and leave you a very dry fish in the end.<span id="more-6"></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Now, turn the microwave on for about five minutes at the high level. You can turn the fish once when it is half way through. After it is done, remove the plate from the microwave. You may find some water in the dish. Do not worry. It is normal. Just get rid of the water. Remember that we have some green onions silk prepared to use? It is the time to put them evenly on the fish.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The next thing we want to do is to heat up some cooking oil. Turn on the stove, pour some cooking oil into it (probably about 5-10 table spoons depending on the amount of fish you are having) and heat it up until you see a slight smoke coming out of it. Pour the heated cooking oil directly and evenly onto the fish. You will hear some nice sizzling.</p> The last step is to add the light soy sauce. Just pour the light soy sauce equally onto the fish and…..you are done!<br />This recipe is simple and easy to make and very delicious at the same time. I think it is a really great contender for a <a href="http://www.greatamericanseafoodcookoff.com/">Cook off</a>. If you like seafood, you should check out the GreatAmericanSeafoodCookOff event where you can watch all kinds of seafood cooking demonstrations from the chiefs across the states. It is One of America’s most prestigious culinary competitions, one chef and one state will walk away with the title of King of American Seafood. Governor Jindal issued the challenge for states to send us their best chef and most delicious domestic sustainable seafood. It is a fun event to attend. You can check out more information from their website.<br /><br />

I have finally got my GCR rebate check in the mail yesterday in the total amount of $65.05. It took me about 45 days to receive my check from the date I requested. I just had the worst timing. They process checks on the 15th of each month. I submitted my request on June 16th,one day after the dead line!<br />So if you would like to pay by checks, you should pay attention to when you should submit your request. Of course, the best date will be the 14th. Or you can simply choose to pay by paypal.

I have an interview scheduled on Aug 12 from a financial institution in Alberta. The job is exactly what I am looking for in an industry I want to work for. I hope I can score it on Aug 12. To prepare for the interview, I have searched on the internet for how to answer those questions usually pop up during the process. The particular useful one I have found is Interview Questions on About.com. If you are interested, you can follow <a href="http://jobsearch.about.com/od/interviewquestionsanswers/a/interviewquest.htm">this link</a>.<br /><br />Good luck to all the job seekers! :)

<p class="MsoNormal"><i>The following is a sponsored post<br /><br /></i>Have you ever wanted to buy the police gear such as <a href="http://www.lapolicegear.com/5tapa.html">5.11</a> tactical series , watches, Sunfire LED flashlights, tactical boots and so on? Check out LA Police Gear website on which you can find a lot of those kinds of stuffs.<o:p></o:p></p> LA Police Gear was founded by <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Los Angeles</st1:place></st1:city> area Police Officers. They have branded the company on extremely fast shipping, low prices, and outstanding service. LA Police Gear is a factory-authorized dealer for most of the brands you see on its web site.<br /><br />So if you are interested, check it out using the link in this post and gear up in the summer.<br /><br />

I have decided to do a passive income report each month. Right now, most of my passive income come from blogging and investment income such as interests and dividends. In the month of June, I have been able to generate about $285 dollars. It has been pretty good. I hope the trend can continue into the future.

<p class="MsoNormal">Information technology, computer, and Internet have become a must for today’s business and our daily activities. Without any doubt, IT industry presents many opportunities and has grown very fast in these days. There are many companies that need to hire someone who has IT background and knowledge. It is very important and necessary in my opinion to get yourself some IT certificates if you are considering a career in IT industry since without a proper certificate many companies will have doubts in your abilities.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">There are so many different companies who provide IT certificates and offer related trainings. You will have to choose very carefully based on both your career stream in IT you want to head to and the trustworthy of the company who is offering the certificates. You certainly do not want a certificate without any value. If you are considering a career as a Network specialist, I would recommend <a href="http://socialspark.com/metrics/click/post?slot_id=13182&amp;url=http://www.cisco.com/go/learnnetspace?utm_source=blog&utm_medium=media&utm_content=GeneralTech&utm_campaign=Inc" rel="nofollow">Cisco certification</a>. It holds a large value in today’s IT industry. The Cisco Learning Network is offering all kinds of Cisco certification programs such as IP Networking (CCENT), Routing&amp;Switching (CCNP), Design(CCDP) and so on. If none of those sounds interesting to you, specialist certifications are also available for fine-tuning your skills in particular areas such as wireless LANs, security and more. All the certifications would be a validation of your knowledge and skills for internet networking and at the same time a ticket to wider career opportunities. If you are interested, you can check out the website of Cisco Learning Network to find out more.</p> <br /><a href="http://socialspark.com/metrics/click/disclosure?slot_id=13182&amp;url=http://www.cisco.com/go/learnnetspace?utm_source=blog&utm_medium=media&utm_content=GeneralTech&utm_campaign=Inc" rel="nofollow">

I logged into my GCR account today. My account shows that the check has been cut and mailed. My total rebate is $65. Until today, I have not seen the mail coming yet. I will wait until Friday before I send them an e-mail. Hopefully, I will be receiving it soon.

Scotiabank Reaches Agreement To Buy E*TRADE Canada. The announcement has been made yesterday although the deal has not been finalized yet. It looks like there is going to be less and less competition for the discount brokerage firms in Canada.<br /><br />For more on this, please follow <a href="http://www.scotiabank.com/cda/content/0,1608,CID12300_LIDen,00.html">this link</a>

If you shop at Footsmart.com this week through <a href="http://www.GreatCanadianRebates.ca/register/14748/">Canadian Great Rebates</a>, you will get 10% in Cash Back Rebates. Plus, until the end of July save 15% Off the purchase of lower body health items with Coupon Code: WBFSS10.

<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">For the past two months, I have been able to bring a little bit extra money by taking the sponsored post opportunities from </span> <a href="http://socialspark.com/metrics/click/post?slot_id=10998&amp;url=http://www.socialspark.com" rel="nofollow">SocialSpark</a><span lang="EN-US">. The result is so much better than I have thought. On average, I am able to generate about $100 additional income each month. It might looks small, but it certainly pays for my food each month. I think it is pretty cool that I can eat free for the rest of my life. </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings;" lang="EN-US"><span style=""></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">These days there are many mommies who stay home, look after their family, take care of the kids and do the entire household work. Moreover, among those stay-home mommies, many of them are bloggers as well. They are writing posts about their daily life, the persons they care and love, the things they are passionate about, and so on. Blogs are their diary online. If you are a mommy blogger, I encourage you to check out </span> <a href="http://socialspark.com/metrics/click/post?slot_id=10998&amp;url=http://www.socialspark.com" rel="nofollow">SocialSpark</a><span lang="EN-US"> and join the community where bloggers and advertisers unite. At </span> <a href="http://socialspark.com/metrics/click/post?slot_id=10998&amp;url=http://www.socialspark.com" rel="nofollow">SocialSpark</a><span lang="EN-US">, you will be able to share your thoughts through your blog and earn some money from it. The typical pay out for each post will be in the range from $5 to $30 with the requirement of 50 to 300 words. Based on my personal experience, it will take about 15 to 30 minutes for me to write up a post, post it and submit the URL at </span> <a href="http://socialspark.com/metrics/click/post?slot_id=10998&amp;url=http://www.socialspark.com" rel="nofollow">SocialSpark</a><span lang="EN-US">. Don’t worry. It is a very easy task. If I can do it, you can do it too. So, take the time to sign up at </span> <a href="http://socialspark.com/metrics/click/post?slot_id=10998&amp;url=http://www.socialspark.com" rel="nofollow">SocialSpark</a><span lang="EN-US">, start blogging away and earn some hard cold cash.</span><span style="font-family: Wingdings;" lang="EN-US"><span style=""></span></span></p> <a href="http://socialspark.com/metrics/click/post?slot_id=10998&amp;url=http://www.socialspark.com" rel="nofollow"></a><br /><a href="http://socialspark.com/metrics/click/disclosure?slot_id=10998&amp;url=http://www.socialspark.com" rel="nofollow">

Today is a big day for iPhone lovers as it is the time the iPhone 3G comes to the market. For Canadians, Rogers is the wireless provider who will offer this phone in Canada. If you would like to get one from Rogers, here is the list of plans they are offering now:<br /><br />New iphone black 16G $299<br /><br />1st 2 month is free<br />1st 3 month is unlimted call time<br />each month $35 with NO data plan<br />250 day time min, free after 6pm.<br />free call display, call waiting<br /><br />$60/month - 150 anytime minutes, 75 outgoing SMS, and 400 MB data<br />$75/months - 300 anytime minutes, 100 outgoing SMS, and 750 MB data<br />$100/month - 600 anytime minutes, 200 outgoing SMS, and 1 GB data<br />$115/month - 800 anytime minutes, 300 outgoing SMS, and 2 GB data<br /><br />Basically, we are looking at, at least, $45 per month with NO data plan or $75 for a plan with 400 MB data. For me, that price is just too high. $900 per year is enough to pay for a small nice trip. I would rather go traveling instead of having an iPhone. How long will I feel it is a fun gadget? Probably 6 months maybe? After 6 months, I will be stuck for another two and a half year of it. I don't think I will be getting one.

As the change to the act, there will be no 40-year mortgage in Canada anymore. The maximum amortization period will be limited to 35 years. Also, 5% down payment will be required when purchasing a house/condo. The change will take effect on October 15.<br /><br />This is a sign of credit tightening. Apparently, the federal government is worried about the similar sub-prime crisis might happen in Canada.(Just take a look at the real estate market in BC and AB) Will this change cool off the real estate market in Canada? I think only time can tell. But this is a correct decision to make. Good move for the federal government.

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