Marriage License by Norman Rockwell
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Sunday, October 29, 2006

Trying out Beta

Current Mood:

I switched from Blogger to Blogger beta today. There were some handy features that I wanted to use, but it turns out that I'm going to do some MAJOR script editing to incorporate the features with my blog.

Long story short, I want to keep the way my blog looks, I just want to add a couple of features from the Beta version:
However, Blogger Beta requires you change the look of your blog altogether.

Well I'll play with it a little while and we'll see how it goes :-).

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Posted by Unknown | 10:07 AM | 4 Comments |
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My Short Retail Experience

Current Mood:

My boss decided to have a booth in this year's Merry Marketplace Trade Show to sell her jewelry. She usually does trunk shows and house parties, but she had so many pieces she decided to have a booth this year.

I was involved in it, from setting up to manning it to disassembling it. It was a great learning experience because I got to meet so many people and have learned to become more comfortable selling to people I don't know. I was nervous the first day because I'm not really a seller type of person. By the end of the last day I was chatting it up with customers like they were my girlfriends, and that level of comfort definitely helped with the selling of the pieces. I've even had a few comments where I was told, "You have been SO helpful, thank you."

It was also SO gratifying that people were complimenting the way the booth was set up, how we showcased the jewelry pieces. Mary Ann and I worked hard to convince Teresa (our boss) that we shouldn't use glass display cases and use our office bookcases instead, because that will save money and we can use those battery-operated stick-on pin lights to spotlight the jewelry. We've had so many compliments from customers. They all said that we had a beautiful display, that it just calls them in, and that it looked more like a jewelry store than a booth.

If you were to ask me, "So do you prefer working at the office or working at the booth?" I'd have a tough time answering that question. Working at the office gets me tired mentally, but it's very satisfying. Working at the booth tires me physically, but it's easier to leave behind at the end of the day. Each has its pros and cons. But I'm glad that I had a chance to experience what it was like, especially since Teresa is toying with the idea of doing another one next year, out of town :-).

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Monday, October 23, 2006

Wotta Vacuum!

Current Mood:

Steve and I bought a new vacuum cleaner yesterday, the Dyson DC17 Animal (the Animal models are recommended if you have pets that shed). If you've never heard of Dyson, they advertise that in most vacuum cleaners, the dust and dirt clog the filter, which reduces the suction power the longer you vacuum. Dyson uses a different technology (i.e. cyclone technology) to separate the big parts from the smaller parts to the fine dust so you never lose suction.


What's my impression of it? I can see why it's so expensive. It really works :-). It's almost unbelievable how much that thing picked up. You know how sometimes, you vaccum your carpet and it looks clean from one angle but when you look at the carpet from the other side of the room you can still see stuff that the vacuum cleaner left behind? Not with the Dyson. Even if you vacuumed in only one direction it's clean from ALL angles.

And yes, Dyson vacuums are expensive but hey, it's an investment :-). The Dyson DC17 was $549 before taxes. For my Filipino readers, you can use the currency converter that I have on the left sidebar to see just how much that is in Philippine pesos. Imagine spending that much on a vacuum cleaner!

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Sunday, October 22, 2006

Don't adjust your sets...

Current Mood:

Hmm, something's wrong with blogrolling. My blog list on the left menu is supposed to show stars only when the blog authors update their blogs. Right now there are stars after EVERY item on that list.

And it's not just on my blog either. I've visited other blogs that use blogrolling and the same thing is happening to them. Ah well, I'm sure they know about it by now and are fixing it :-).

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Friday, October 20, 2006

Biltmore was the Best!

Current Mood:

Biltmore was SO cool. It was one of those experiences where it doesn't really hit you until the day after just how awesome that place is.

If you're ever going to the Biltmore, I suggest you get the guide book first and read up on it before you do the actual tour. There were many things that Steve and I didn't know about until we were reading the guide later that night and we were like, "Oh MAN I wish we took a closer look at that."

Some of the things that impressed me:

  • The Vanderbilts, as rich as they are, were not "evil rich." You know what I mean, you've seen it on TV: abusive and demanding rich people who ruled their estate by striking fear in their servants' hearts. The Vanderbilts were not like that at all. As a matter of fact, Mrs. Edith Vanderbilt, even though she had the money to buy the most expensive dresses, started the trend of wearing the dresses that the estate employees made. The servants' children and grandchildren still work on the estate today, and I think that's one of the best indicators that the original employees felt they were treated well.
  • George Vanderbilt was considered one of the most well-read men in America at the time. Beginning when he was 12 years old, George made a list of all the books he read. During his life, he read 3,159 books (about two books a week). The huge library, with its 10,000 books, only holds half of his 23,000 book collection.
  • When she was 13 years old, Cornelia Vanderbilt (the last Vanderbilt) received 25 cents a week for her allowance. In 1913, 25 cents was worth $4.62 of today’s money.
  • I SO want to take a tour that shows me where all those secret passages lead to. You're told where it leads, I just want to actually walk through them :-).

The tour was wonderful (and I recommend you spend the extra $7 for the audio), but it was a little difficult to enjoy it to the fullest when you're surrounded by people, all of whom are trying to see the same thing. Sometimes they become impatient, sometimes YOU become impatient. I would LOVE to walk through this place again without the traffic, just taking my time :-).

Click here to get a sample of what the audio tour is like.

Steve and I have decided that we'll be going back there again for another vacation some time in the future, and next time we're going to take it one step further: we'll stay at the Biltmore Inn, a 4-star hotel right at the Estate. We would've loved to stay in one of the estate cottages, but we think it'll be WAY too expensive especially since it comes with your own butler and chef :-).

The guidebook is available at the Biltmore website for $11.95 and you can order it by clicking here.

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Monday, October 16, 2006

You Know You Needed Your Vacation When...

Current Mood:

You know you needed your vacation when you're not used to having your husband in your hotel room and you have to remind yourself that you're not in a hotel room because of a business trip :-).

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Friday, October 13, 2006

As good as I remember

Current Mood:

I couldn't wait until the weekend to watch Flight of Dragons. It's as good as I remember :-).

One of my favorite parts is when Sir Orin Neville Smythe makes his final speech before battling the evil dragon Bryaugh:
"Blade with whom I have lived,
blade with whom I now die,
serve right and justice one last time,
seek one last heart of evil,
still one last life of pain,
cut well, old friend, and then...farewell."

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Posted by Unknown | 5:01 AM | 0 Comments |
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The Flight of Dragons

I found the whole thing in one file on Google Video.
You can watch it right here on my blog!

If the player doesn't launch for you here, you can watch it from the Google Video page by clicking this link .

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Thursday, October 12, 2006

Still undecided, would appreciate your input

Current Mood:

I'm in a quandary. During our vacation, Steve and I only have enough time (and money) to see one major attraction. At first I wanted to go to Dollywood because it's been YEARS since I've ridden an honest-to-goodness roller coaster and I've missed it.


The Tennessee Tornado is a triple spiral-looping coaster makes you feel like you've landed inside a funnel cloud as you zoom down a 128-foot drop through an actual mountain at speeds of 70 mph.

Daredevil Falls is the highest, fastest waterfall ride in America


The Mountain Slidewinder has been voted the number 1 non-roller coaster thrill ride in America

We'll be able to see craftsmen showing their skills

Then today I learned that 2 hours away from Pigeon Forge is the Biltmore Estate, reputed to be one of America's Castles. I would LOVE to see that because I've never seen a real castle before and it's going to be a long time before Steve and I can actually go to Europe to see one :-).

The Biltmore House has 250 rooms

Approximately 10,000 volumes fill George Vanderbilt's Library

The Banquet Hall has a 70-foot ceiling

One of Biltmore Estates' 6 huge gardens. This is the Italian Garden.

The gardens boast an array of blossoms and blooms in spring, summer, and fall.

Steve and I will be discussing this matter further when he comes home from work, but I thought it'd be cool to ask which you think is the better thing to go to. At the bottom of the left sidebar is a poll that asks if you think we should go to Dollywood or to the Biltmore Estate. Please note that the poll only allows for one vote per unique computer. Don't worry, your votes will be anonymous :-).

The poll ends Monday night :-).

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Posted by Unknown | 5:54 PM | 2 Comments |
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Oh MAN!

Current Mood:

Oh my GOD! The FLIGHT OF DRAGONS! I absolutely LOVED LOVED this movie!

And wow, someone saved what I think is the *entire* movie on youtube! I won't have time to check and see until I watch it on the weekend. I can't wait :-D!


Flight of Dragons part I of XI
Flight of Dragons part II of XI
Flight of Dragons part III of XI
Flight of Dragons part IV of XI
Flight of Dragons part V of XI
Flight of Dragons part VI of XI
Flight of Dragons part VII of XI
Flight of Dragons part VIII of XI
Flight of Dragons part IX of XI
Flight of Dragons part X of XI
Flight of Dragons part XI of XI

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Posted by Unknown | 6:18 AM | 0 Comments |
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Down Memory Lane

Current Mood:

Oh man running into these on the web the other day certainly brought back memories. These were my two favorite anime series growing up:


Candy Candy
If you want to see the Candy Candy opening theme song click here




Angel the Flower Child (Japanese name: "Hana no Ko Lunlun")
If you want to see the Angel opening theme song click here

Angel was my favorite though :-). She had this flower-shaped locket with a mirror and what she'd do is catch a flower's reflection on it and she'd get a really pretty dress inspired by that flower. I remember as a kid I'd borrow my mom's compact mirror and pretend that it would work for me too :-).

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Posted by Unknown | 5:35 AM | 3 Comments |
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Saturday, October 07, 2006

Our New Pet

Current Mood:

I hate it when I'm at the pet store with Steve and it's Dog Adoption day. It breaks my heart to visit with each of those dogs and know that we can't take them all home with us.

This one dog in particular, Tachee, I got so attached to so quickly that I couldn't leave her without tears in my eyes. Our lease only allows for two dogs so we can't adopt another one. So I went into the store with Steve, heavy hearted that I had to leave Tachee behind.

Then we saw the hamsters and rats available for adoption, which are free.

You got it. We have a THIRD hamster now :-). He's adorable--he's got cream-colored fur that almost looks light orange in the right light, and it looks like he's got big dots of black ink for eyes :-). We decided to name him Tachi :-). It's spelled with a more Japanese flair, because we wanted to be consistent with the Japanese way we name our hamsters (one's named Keiko and the other's named Matsui :-).


According to web searches, "Tachi" can either be a type of samurai sword, or the nickname for a Tachikoma, a spider-like robot from the Japanese anime series Ghost in the Shell (which is perfect because Tachi climbs his cage just like a Tachikoma can climb the side of buildings ).

Oh, and Steve called me later with good news. Tachee (the dog) was adopted by a loving family today, and so was another dog--a white lab named Spooner :-). It was a good day for animals that needed a home :-).

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Posted by Unknown | 7:43 PM | 2 Comments |
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Trying to figure myself out

Current Mood:

Steve and I watched XMen 3 for the first time last night (on DVD) and one of my biggest gripes about it was that Colossus didn't speak with a Russian accent. He's the male X-Man I like the most.

Eventually this led me to thinking about all the comic/movie character men I've always found myself drawn to, and it started to make me wonder what's common about them:



Colossus a.k.a Piotr Nikolaievitch Rasputin. He's with the good guys. His mutant power turns his body into organic steel. He's quiet and soft-spoken, though, and very innocent in many respects. Reminds me of a big teddy bear. LOVE his Russian accent :-).



Snake Eyes, from G.I. Joe. Awesome ninja/weapons expert guy (I mean geez, look at him. Even just standing there he looks so cool :-)). Was severely injured rescuing fellow G.I. Joe agent Scarlett O'Hara where he lost his vocal cords and his face was disfigured. Out of all three men listed here, he's my favorite.


V. Flawed hero. Incredibly well-read, cultured, suave. Like Snake Eyes, wears a mask because his face (and pretty much the rest of him) was burned as he escaped from the laboratory/prison he was being experimented on.

They're all so different and yet there's got to be a common thread that runs among them. The only thing that I can see is that they're good guys and they're strong on the outside but soft on the inside, but big whoop there, right :-)? That's just way too cliché. There's got to be more to it than that :-).

LOL--then again, maybe I AM just that cliché .

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Thursday, October 05, 2006

Happiness is...

Current Mood:

Happiness is when your husband stirs from his sleep, sees you, whispers "You're pretty," then closes his eyes and goes back to sleep.

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Posted by Unknown | 7:33 AM | 1 Comments |
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Wednesday, October 04, 2006

Oh cool :-)...

Current Mood:

Oh cool, I've always liked him :-)...

You Are Batman

Billionaire playboy by day. Saving the world by night.
And you're not even a true superhero. Just someone with a lot of expensive toys!

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Posted by Unknown | 9:49 PM | 0 Comments |
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I knew it!

Current Mood:

Yeah, we're just taking online test after online test today :-)...

Your Geek Profile:

Geekiness in Love: High
Academic Geekiness: Moderate
Internet Geekiness: Moderate
Fashion Geekiness: Low
Gamer Geekiness: Low
Music Geekiness: Low
General Geekiness: None
Movie Geekiness: None
SciFi Geekiness: None

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Posted by Unknown | 6:16 AM | 1 Comments |
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