What a start, lol. Just look at my new year's post. Most people would start with a resolution of some sorts and here I am with the dampest of posts to herald the new year. But I think it should be okay. Look at the number of 'feel-good' posts every new year and then the end result is quite the same for most. Not everybody has a good year even with the best of starts. So, perhaps for a change, (hopefully), this might not mean that my new year is going to suck the whole year through. Anyway, things didn't turn out as bad as I had expected. Don't they always! Still, there is a lot ahead. We'll see how the months go. Let me cheer everyone here who's reading in, chin up, may the economic bad times not hit you. May you ride through it smoothly. <br>

What would I write myself if everything were to end soon..<br>Perhaps I would go like.. You are a stupid gal. You blardy wasted your life. You have always thought there was enough time, didn't you? Well, it's too late now. And you deserve it. <br>

Give a gift of love, give CEIVA. I really think this is one of the best gift for anyone you love. And especially if that someone is living far away. The CEIVA <A href="http://socialspark.com/metrics/click/post?slot_id=30194&amp;url=http://www.ceiva.com/?utm_source=b" rel=nofollow>Digital Photo Frame</A> lets you connect with your loved one instantly. I know my parents always loved seeing photographs of their children and grandchild and it gives them peace of mind to know that they're healthy and fine. Bless their golden hearts. <BR><BR>So, this is a perfect gift to keep in touch with grandma or just about anyone. It could come in handy when your kid's studying tertiary level at another country, and you have to know if he's eating well. Ya, those sort of thing that every mother needs to know. *wink* <BR><BR>The beauty of this product is that, you do not need to be technically savvy. It is as simple as plugging in your phone line to the back of the digital photo frame and voila, you get your instant photo update! Sending photos is equally easy. Just a handphone camera or the computer can do the job. Think of all the postage and envelopes you'll save sending pictures to and fro internationally. This is instant and you can file it all up on the album even. <BR>I remember the time when I had to wait for weekly letters from my brother when he was studying in Rome. And mom would smile the whole day when she sees those photos. So you can be assured this will brighten up anybody's face when they get up in the morning and see a brand new photo right on their table. Can you imagine how much quality of life this is going to bring to the recipient? I am all excited just typing this out for you. Go check it out. I am sure you have someone in mind already for this wonderful gift of love. <MAP name=map2125><AREA shape=RECT coords=0,0,206,45 href="http://socialspark.com/metrics/click/disclosure?slot_id=30194&amp;url=http://www.ceiva.com/?utm_source=b" rel="nofollow"><AREA shape=RECT coords=207,0,225,45 href="http://socialspark.com/code_of_ethics" rel="nofollow"></MAP><IMG alt=Post?slot_id=30194&amp;url=http://socialspark src="http://socialspark.com/metrics/view/post?slot_id=30194&amp;url=http://socialspark.com/images/disclosure_badges/disclosure_badge_grey.png" useMap=#map2125 border=0>

I am smiling. This is going to be funny. To me ie. <br>I am ... *giggles*&nbsp; going to call 2009 anti-men year for me. hahhaha. <br>That IS so funny, coming from someone who used to think that men are nice people. Okay okay don't bash me if whoever reading in thinks I'm some bra burning bitch. I am not. It's just that (some) men really give a lot of headaches to girls. I have had enough of swallowing. Think straight you pervert! *giggles*<br>Okay, I wanna wish whoever is reading in, a Happy Fabulous New Year 2009!<br>And if your man is treating you right, you're one lucky gal!<br>

What happens when you wake up one morning and realise that you've been living your life all wrong?<BR>And there is no time to re-live it. After all, a human lifespan is only that long and when one wisens up, it would usually mean that you've squandered three quarters of your life away. <BR>Do you quickly clean up your act and try to make amends with the remaining years or do you just slither away and continue with the life that is, but with widened and most likely more jaded eyes. It is even worse if you've snapped out of your dreamworld and realise that you've living with snakes. There's hell of a lot of exorcising to do. A priest is needed for the job. Hell.

I just lambasted an agent who was handling my property sky high. On top of that, I sacked one a month ago. I am sounding tyrannical. Damn it. It's the people around me!!!! They are driving me bonkers. Not me not me!! *screams*<br>

Something's going to change soon. And I hope the change does not hurt anyone. Hurting myself is okay because I am used to it. Bleh.<br>If only I can be unfeeling and execute my moves 'business like'. This is not a win-win anymore. One side's gonna lose. I really don't know what to think, without it giving me more stress and acid. I hope there will be a good way out of this, soon. <br>

<P>Love is all healing and at the same time totally destructive. So is it safe to fall in love? I think when compared with the problems it brings, sometimes the cowardice way to avoid it seems safer. Anyway, you can't really avoid Cupid's arrows. There's blind shooting sometimes. On this note, stay safe everyone! Keep your heart armored. It's a tough ride when you get it broken. </P>

I know how hard it is to have to struggle with Maths. Perhaps I was not born with a wizard head that can see numbers and their relevance to formulas. I used to envy those kids who have a knack for figures and they somewhat seem to be amongst the high scoring students. There was a prefect student from another school who was prepared to coach me during the crucial streaming years. He had a magic about him, ya ya besides his good looks, LOL! <BR><BR>Numbers became less intimidating when he showed me how to break down the units into measurable bites. Yes, for people like us, we need to be able to see things more logically than others. Blame that on&nbsp;my genes. I have one less a molecule that can figure out obvious things in Maths. So if you have a kid who is not as confident in his Maths like me, do seek help in the form of committed and innovative tutors. Make those lessons become alive again. Club Z provides one-on-one instruction in the comfort of your home. You will feel safe in your own environment and have no fear of what goes on if the kid has to travel out of his comfort (and yours) zone. You could get a <A href="http://www.clubztutoring.com/mathematics.php">Math Tutor</A> to help your kid get over the hump in his learning cycle and be assured that he is going to be coached under the world's largest one-on-one tutoring program. <BR><BR>Over 100,000 students have benefitted from Club Z's professional approach and they have improved their grades, raised their test scores and learned productive study skills. This also helped build their academic self-confidence and enables the student to reach his full potential. Take a hop over and check them out. You can easily locate an instructor when you call the franchised office and the Club Z! Area Director will take it from there.

Humans are packed with so much emotions that sometimes we confuse ourselves. I would like to lead a simple life. I really do. All this business and things around, they are not stuffs that I want to burden myself with forever. I am just laying the foundation for the business to be really solid and then I can take a rest. The trouble with me is, I always start a new venture when the 'old' one is settled. I am crazy I know. Perhaps I cannot stand boredom. I need challenges and thrive on them. <br>But there comes a time when age takes precedence, and the time for me to conquer another mountain is no longer on the agenda.<br>I am going to retire soon. I want to. I hope things will go smoothly from now on. Wish me luck.<br>

Famine in any form is not a good thing. Hunger can never be justified. The world is too screwed if I may say. Anyway I'm no historian or politician to understand all this stuff. I just know that seizing grains from peasantry and exporting them to another country to sustain it's own economic growth is highly questionable. Such is the controversy of <a href="http://holodomor-truth.org">holodomor</a>. Otherwise known initially as 'golodomor', the word has been transformed. The reasons for the Holodomor has been heavily debated and is a subject of scholarly dispute. An estimated 6-8 million peasants died during the Russian famine of 1932-1933. It is considered one of the greatest national catastrophes to affect the Ukrainian nation. Knowledge is the key to a better understanding of how the world evolves, thus this post. Read it with an open mind and do your own findings if you'd like. <br><br>No one knows if golodomor was a genocide. The European Parliament in its resolution on 23 October 2008 rejected
to call the famine of 1932-1933 in Ukraine as "an act of genocide". Such is the controversy of the "Industrialization" and "Collectivization" policy that had millions starving to death or had otherwise died unnaturally in Ukraine, as well as in other Soviet republics. Men with intelligent brains sometimes do behave beneath themselves. I hope this sort of thing will not happen again, under whatever reasons and justifications.<br>

Sometimes I wonder if it's worth my slogging so hard to get by. I'm not greedy or over ambitious. Admittedly, life was easier a couple of years back. I gave up that business because I couldn't stand kowtowing to people who needed their egos lifted everyday. I could have had it easy if I was willing to praise them sky high and went along with their shenanigans. But what did I choose? I chose freedom and happiness, and along with that, I chose a lifetime of struggles too. That didn't sound too smart eh? LOL. But ya, I couldn't live the other way too. I see those who went along with the game, losing their souls and identities. But they're richer, materially. So is this the way to go? To numb oneself and just go for the prize of a bull? <br>

It's all about Christmas and more Christmas these few days. I am so in love with Christmas and I wish it can go on and on. And I also love Santa to bits. My family introduced him to me when I was five and from then on, his magic lives on in me. So you can imagine my joy when I found that I could have a chance to sit on Santa's lap and re-live that magic all over. <br><br>I got to see Santa's elves at his workshop and I even managed to upload my picture at his work desk. I'm not telling a lie and I've been a pretty good girl all through the year. You can see him for yourself when you upload your pic and see yourself appearing instantly in a CEIVA Photo Frame at North Pole.<br>The CEIVA Digital Photo Frame is a gift that never ends. This special gift keeps giving itself over and over and it'll bring endless joy to the recipient. You can upload your photos through your computer or handphone camera and send them immediately to the recipient. Isn't that amazing? <br><br>The CEIVA Digital Photo Frame works as long as you're connected on an existing phone line or Wi-Fi. You'll be able to get endless pictures and it will be so heartwarming each time a new photo comes through.

<br><br>Santa's in a good mood this year, but isn't he always? LOL!<br>If you've <a href="http://socialspark.com/metrics/click/post?slot_id=28934&amp;url=http://www.sitonsantaslap.com/?utm_source=b" rel="nofollow">got a wish</a>, he will most likely be happy to grant you one. You can give it a try if you're staying in America. They're giving away $500 to a lucky winner each day. Whisper to him that you've been extra good, and quickly find that mistletoe to give him a big kiss on the cheek. Anything to get him in a good mood to grant you your wish eh? Ho ho ho... Merry Christmas Everyone!<br>
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We had an early Christmas present today. It was a sweet thought. Our principal from overseas sent us a food hamper! Yes, you heard right. Who would have thought of such a sweet gesture.

My third business venture was franchised based. So I am no new babe to the scene of handling my own business. I was lucky that it took off immediately and we had good hand holding from the principal company and everything was done without hassle. But not everybody has it this good. I know of some franchisees who had nightmarish experiences from the word 'go'. They were not a good match. Sometimes it takes more than just a business plan to have everything going smoothly. It entails a good mix of factors that somewhat makes the whole thing workable. Being well informed is important if one wants to even entertain the thought of going into business, because running a successful business requires full commitment. <br><br>Despite my many years in business, I still have lots to learn. And even after holding a well known franchise for 7 years, I find that there are still things to learn along the way. I must admit that it would be way easier if I have done my research before I even started. For those of you who are keen to start your own venture on a franchised based scheme, head on over to this website. I can tell you from experience that they know what they're talking and on top of it, it's a free service. MatchPoint Franchise Consulting Network helps Franchise buyers with finding the <a href="http://www.matchpointnetwork.com/articles/best-franchises.asp">Best Franchises</a> Opportunity and this in turn will save lots of headache and time for Franchise buyers.<br><br>I know a few of you have been asking me questions about the running of my own business and asking me tips and pitfalls to avoid. This is a good site that gives concrete help and suitable advice. Take a browse and find out more. I would be delighted to give you any advice that I personally have garnered over these years too. Good luck!<br>

Christmas is coming and it's too soon. *bawls*<br>I don't feel it coming and I've been looking forward to it all year! It's now just a couple of days away and I haven't gotten myself into the Christmas mood yet. No presents to give away, let alone having shopping done. My store's in front of Cold Storage, we can't be talking about giving canned food or frozen chicken huh!! I cannot afford their hampers, or anything that's going to cost $80 and above.&nbsp; Looks like it's going to be a bleak holiday season when everyone's cautious about their spending. <br>If you ask me, I think there's a bit of paranoia everywhere. Yes the economy is bad but sentiments are just going to make it worse. But people are still booking holidays everywhere and no one is cutting down on that. I have many friends who have just returned from holidays in Korea, Japan and Australia, all armed with loads of holiday spending. A handbag costing $1,000 is the norm. Oh my I seem to lead a pathetic life. I've never had such luxuries.<br>

There's no need to scratch your head this Christmas wondering what to get for your friends and relatives. They will finally be able to get their hands on the perfect gift and everyone will be pleased as Punch. The solution? <A href="http://www.giftcardmall.com/">GIFT CARDS</A>! No double guessing and worrying if the gift fits or it's a wrong size and the recipient has to go back to the mall to do an exchange. 40% of Americans return at least one holiday gift as researched by the National Retail Federation in 2007. So this makes complete sense to give a gift card where it's guaranteed that the receiver will totally enjoy his gift. There will be heavy markdowns after the Christmas season where everything from clothing to electronics and household gear will be slashed in prices. So the lucky recipient of your gift card is going to have a jolly good time hunting for the best buys in January! <BR><BR><IMG src="http://images.quickblogcast.com/102932-95776/giftcard.jpg">Gift Cards does not have to mean only items found in the departmental stores. Think food, think steak, think Black Angus! Do you know you can now get the <A href="http://www.giftcardmall.com/p-349-black-angus-traditional-gift-card.aspx">Black Angus Steakhouse Gift Card</A> that can send any steak lover to the moon! The way to a man's heart is through his stomach. And for that matter, any lady's too. I love food and so do all my lady friends. We get all excited when we talk about which joint we're going to celebrate any coming birthday. As if we needed an excuse actually! <BR><BR><A href="http://www.giftcardmall.com/c-106-holiday.aspx">Blackhawk Network's Gift Card Mall</A> reaches out to 165 million consumers each week and their network includes more than 80,000 storefronts. There will surely be something to please even the fastidious of customers. Wanna go take a peek there?

An innocent rice dumpling led to indigestion and then a tummy upset. And to think that I took only a quarter of it, I'd hate to think what would have happened if I had down the whole greasy lump. Because I have sensitive stomach due to stress, and that stress is due to pressures of work, I have to be ultra careful when consuming anything remotely oily or spicy. Even cheese upsets my stomach. Totally not fun eh? Anyway, thank goodness my condition's getting better as the stress gets less these days. <br>Running a business is highly stressful when you're low on funds. And funds get eaten up like no tomorrow when you order goods in container loads and are a representative of a few lines of products. It is no wonder my stomach is eating itself up.<br>

<A href="http://s167.photobucket.com/albums/u150/itchibum/?action=view&amp;current=swing.jpg" target=_blank><IMG style="WIDTH: 221px; HEIGHT: 130px" height=128 alt=Photobucket src="http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u150/itchibum/swing.jpg" width=203 border=0></A> one day the swings will really stop swinging....this will be my legacy...<BR>(edited post)