Last summer three of my cousins decided to travel around the US and as soon as, Jennie decided to tell me all about their trips. She told me that they booked their ticket with a travel agency and had managed to get a big discount on air tickets, motels and guest houses. When I asked her what was the major mode of transportation they used when traveling from one state to the other, she told me that they had chartered a big bus that could accommodate almost up to 60 people! I thought it was a huge group that she and my other cousins were traveling with but obviously I was wrong. Jennie told me that although this bus can accommodate that number of people, the agency did not like the idea of a crowded bus! So they set a limit that one bus would only have 30 passengers and the left overs would go into another bus that could accommodate the same amount of people as the first bus.
I thought wow! How considerate and my cousin told me that they didn't have to pay for a double price either! At this point I was reminiscing my van ride back then when I was a student in MC. The van wouldn't leave until it was completely, totally pack that one or two people at the very back seat would almost suffocate because of the squeezed up butts! I reckoned that they have changed and I hope that they really do.
Speaking of busses and transportations, you might like to check out Bus Charter NYC for they are one of the good ones to hire especially when traveling in a big group. You deal directly with a leader in the transportation industry for over 20 years and those who have used their services before testified about their satisfaction in using NYC busses. Their busses are clean and well maintained, on time departure and pick-up plus the rates are considered low compared to third party sites that usually tack on broker commissions. They also provide safe, coureous experienced drivers. In short, NYC Bus Charters really knows their way to provide customers with safe and pleasant trips.
Most people in the States and European countries are turning to the net to find cheap auto insurance. There is a site called Insurance Bureau that gives out reliable information on what customers need to know before selecting and purchasing an insurance policy. If you have doubt about how fair their information are, they are an independent company and so you can be sure you will be getting unbiased information from them.
Those of you who are not acquanted with auto insurance yet, it is one of the most useful forms of insurance and practically every state requires a driver to carry this type of insurance. If you don't hold an insurance like in Thailand, it may cost you lesser other than paying for the car installment each month but think about it, it may cost you more when you get into an accident! So, what better alternative other than to find cheap auto insurance quotes right? :)
Have anyone heard of BetterWorld Books? I came across their website when I was searching online for a book that I was interested in and found it in this site. Hence I browsed through a little bit more and found it to be a cool hub to get both new and used books. If you browse their online sidewalk sales, you thought that they must've used online self storage to line up all their books for customer's conveniences.
If you love books, why not purchase books from BetterWorld Books for now until October 2 (I know it's tomorrow but still), with every purchase you will get a 12% discount. Don't forget, you have to use the code "Qumpus" at checkout. "Qumpus" was once known to be their corporate name! :) Besides the offer, you might want to check out their swanky urban loft here. See if you can meet your very soulmate! :)
I would love to just pack up and empty up this blog so that I could use my theme, blog name, etc...but the thing is I can't for several reasons. One is my registered "blog assignments" that is nontransferable! So I still have to blog here to keep my assignments going. Thus, I will update this blog with current news and other stuff of interest instead of my ramblings and such. So readers, do pop in once in a while for "Current happenings in Thailand" or the like that I would be blogging about here. My new personal blog is still empty. Mostly copied and pasted posts from this blog just for the sake of filling it up. :) I couldn't find time to mess around with it yet! If you stop by, do drop me some "hellos/love/holla&q uot; to let me know that you're with me! Thanks for the endless support guys! *XOXO*
Good news friends! According to the business section of today's Bangkok's Post, Fan of Swedish retailer IKEA will be opening their first store in Bangkok next year. It will (let's hope) be on the Bang Na Trat road as many speculated it would.
Many of my friends in Malaysia are big fans of IKEA. I was first introduced to IKEA in 2004 when my friend insist that I should love this brand and hey, when I went home and had the chance to preview their furniture and other cute and elegant stuff, hey...it's even better than Home Deport although I love some stuff from Home Depot. The other day Hobbit and I were checking out on Miele vacuum cleaners since we liked the idea of spreading a nice carpet in the living room. Then again we thought, who is going to do all the extra cleaning?? Talking about taking turns in doing house chores! :)
I went to the dentist again yesterday and the doctor just couldn't find out the caused to my aching upper right molar. Last week when I went to see him he and I both thought that it must be the previous filling but when he refilled it again it made no difference. Actually when I came to notice and feel where the root of the pain is coming from, I thought it was in between the premolar and the molar! So yesterday my ever generous dentist inspected the whole area and did a thorough cleaning even and found nothing wrong! Then finally he came up to a conclusion that maybe it's because of my gums. Something could be sending signal somewhere that it triggered my in between molar gums! He told me that he would be monitoring this and I have another appointment early October! Today, the pain is not as intense as the past few weeks and I could at least chew properly and drink medium cold water. Now, let me munch these smelly tablets of LifePack that is nothing like orovo.
What was I thinking putting down the title "Taxi's in Thailand"! It's supposed to be Taxis in Thailand. Changed the post title.
Just after realizing my so boohoo fingers had just typed an extra apostrophe, I quickly decided to edit it and only to find that the school had blocked my blog! Now I can't even edit nor can I view my blog. Arrrrrrrgggh!! I know why now...must be the word No Uni Dogs Exist or So Emo. X. Y get it?? See, now I also need to be careful of using words under school age! Tsk! It's so irritating!
Spotted this n.u.dd.ee going-all-ss.ee.xx.yy poster pasted on too many Bangkok taxis. Anyone enlighten me the meaning of putting this poster/picture up? Or is it another 'Only in Thailand' thingy?
Edited after 12 hrs: See, I've separated the prohibited words with a dot. See if the school's server will still dare block this blog!!
Hm..Can't believe I'm doing another post today but somehow I am moved to do so. It's especially for my girlfriends out there and also those guy friends with girlfriends/wives.
*LOL! Found this in Wiki. Don't laugh lah, it's not funny and guys, what were you thinking??
LOL! Adakah berdiri...
The explanation to this picture:
The shamefulness associated with the examination of female genitalia has long inhibited the science of gynaecology. This 1822 drawing by Jacques-Pierre Maygnier shows a "compromise" procedure, in which the physician is kneeling before the woman but cannot see her genitalia. Modern gynecology has shed these inhibitions.
Remember I blogged about going for a pap smear and a regular check up here? Well, I've learned from experience that women (in fact everyone but lemme direct it to da ladies first) should not take advantage of their health. You don't feel any pain doesn't mean that there is nothing wrong with you inside. Even though your external health is A+, inside could be slowly failing in terms of your internal health. Recently I am aware that not many women know about Endometriosis. I first heard this from my gyne. He made sure I knew what it was and warned me about all the possibilities of other ovarian complications that might occur to women at my age. Since I am married and of course plan to have children someday, being aware of things like this really can save women from having to go through other complicated problems in the future.
Oh, lemme get back to this Endometriosis. I am no expert but am really concern about friends who often complain about period pains. Those of you ladies with serious menstruation pain and other related symptoms (must read about this!), go get a thorough check up for this kind of dysmenorhea is not the common "Ah-it's-so-a-common -pain" kinda thing but you'll never know (knocks wood) if you have chocolate cysts or other surface lesions blocking the ovaries and is causing pain. There are pages and pages of things you need to know about this and some things are just unexplainable. So please mighty please go read about it. I was really concerned about all the possibilities of diseases that I was made aware of by my gyne that I basically read everything there is to be read in a gynecologist dictionary! However, some things are not new to me since my family doctor back home is a well-known gyne. He used to warn us girls including mom and sis about woman's reproductive system and health. Growing up, I do suffer from menstruation pain, 95% of the time regular and heavy, so chances of endo is there. What scares me is that it is hard to detect if you have it or not unless you go for laprascopic surgery. However, the funny thing is, the only way to stop endo from occurring is to stop having periods. Either you take some recommended medication,(drug treatment) ,get pregnant or get an early menopause! I don't want to take the risk and suffer later on. So friends, educate yourselves with the "Eve's clan" information.
And yes, please remind me if I do forget.
p/s: Don't listen to crap doctors who tells you there's nothing wrong when you totally feel the opposite. It's your body not his/hers.
Yay! The fridge is finally home and thank you Mr Repair for being on time this time around.
I went to the dentist again yesterday to fix a broken filling. The doctor insist on giving me an injection and as far as I remember the last injection I had from a dentist was 3 years ago that I have totally forgotten about the joy and pain it gave. Well, I said
"Do I really need the injection?"
"Yes you do. Otherwise you'll feel the grits from the amalgam fix!"
"Okay. Is it painful?"
"Oh come on!"
(1 mins. later)
"Please rinse your mouth."
"Done?"
"Done!"
What??? It was totally painless and I didn't even feel the ants bite! So I happily enjoyed my short nap while the doctor worked hard on my tooth! I was too worn off from work and to be able to sit in a dental chair with soft music and good hands fiddling through your one half rotten tooth (treating this tooth like a prince), where else the mind could go but to totally shut off and relax?! Oh, this doctor had a slingbox! After an hour or so, I was finally done. My oh my did I feel part of my face had gone numb!
Me: "Can you please punch my right cheek?"
Hobbit: "What for?"
Me: "'Coz I can't feel anything!"
Hobbit: "...!"
Inside me shutter so random:
*Practicing with the background
*Hobbit's attempt. Blurr lah!
*Bought another FOF heels. Yay background w/out photoshop!
*Shadow!
*Flooded soi. Bad drainage!
*Daddy Dough. I personally think Dunkin Doughnut is yummier!
Our refrigerator broke after Hobbit tried to defrost the accumulating ice. It was Artic in the making until I fussed about it again that the shoving was done! We called Mr Repair yesterday to come to our rescue and was told that he would come and inspect in 30mins since the time was 11:55am. I told him that we would wait for him and prepared ourselves for a 1pm appointment with a friend at Emporium Tower EL floor.
Well, time passed and it was 30mins pass 12 and Mr Repair is nowhere to be seen, not even calling to appologize that he will be late. At 12:45pm Hobbit called his cell again only to get a reply "I am still working. I will come." What the flickening?? Who cares if you're still working? You've promised to come at 12:30pm?? Not even a sorry and not even arranging at a different time. Fine. Let's wait for a few more minutes. The clock stroke 1 and hello? Where's Mr Repair? I still managed to get a hairwash while waiting sir! Now we called him again and now he said he can't make it. So we told him that we were going out and arranged for him to come whenever he is available. So he told us that he will come in the evening say around 5pm. Frustrated, we left for our next appointment. Yes we were late but the meeting was not something new for us. We still managed to complete our business and get things done.While at the meeting, our landlord called and told us to not worry for he would just let Mr Repair in if he comes. So we were quite relief!
We came home at 5 almost 6 in the evening expecting our fridge to be well and working again but it was still summer inside. So we called our landlord only to be asked to call Mr Repair by ourselves! So we contacted Mr Repair several times but no one was at the other end. Arrgh! Right then I thought there's so another blog about Thai time! After both of us were all fresh, browsing our digital frame and ready for bed at 8:37pm, darn Mr Repair called. Arrgh! You're coming now?? Yes, I'm on my way. Is it zone A bla bla bla bla...Yes! Get your sorry face Please come now because we are waiting!
Mr Repair did come at almost 9pm and after a bla bla, took the fridge for repair. So we will see his sorry face again somewhere Tuesday! Amazing Thailand!
It's 4:30pm and I am still in school. It is pouring outside but thankfully it is at the speed of "drizzle" at the moment and I am so not looking forward to wading in the water again today for I know chances of doing this will be a dozen due to the torrential rain. Nevertheless I am thankful that the sun managed to give a bit of a preview with a smile on its face at noon time.
Unpredictable weather!
My first class today started at 8:30am with 2A and I was in for a surprise that most of my students are super hyper already at 8:30am! Was there something in the air or was it the breakfast that gave them all the AM energy? Usually I wouldn't have problems managing this classroom for I have them labeled as one of the nices bunch but today they almost pinned me on the wall! I talked to their homeroom teacher and she related the same thing and I say it must be due to the "raining cats and dogs" that these students have transformed into cats and dogs with the weather!
I was struggling with my thoughts this morning. I woke up wanting to go to church and by the time I was ready, it was already late. We woke up on time, we did everything on time but it was an issue within the torn-apart heart. So I kept distracting myself by trying into different clothes, setting my wet hair, and complaining about how heavy my handbag was...while thinking about whether I should still go to church or not. The on-time Hobbit told me that it was still okay to go because the homely part was yet to start. In fact it wasn't too late. Then when I was about to step out of the door and slip my feet into my heels, I pulled my feet back and threw myself onto the cushion again. Confused, Hobbit sat beside me and ask"Don't you think that our spiritual life is going downhill lately?" There, he started me thinking. Then it struck me, didn't I just prayed this morning that God will reveal Himself to us today through His sermons and fellowship in church? I did. No wonder I have this sense of guilt, feeling that Satan is trying to distract me from attending church. Well, we did go but the sermon was halfway through and some people were walking out already. So we prayed for forgiveness and deliverance. But the fact that we still made an effort, made us feel much better and at peace.
Well, here's something I read today that I thought was God-sent. I just wanted to thank Him for showing me a piece of answer to one of my questions following Hobbit's question this morning-- How can we enrich our spiritual walk with God? Obviously known but too often distracted, this is one way.
Look to Jesus First
by: Dr. Bruce C. Swaffield
Who we are in the world is much less important than who we are in God. In fact, our place and our position do not matter at all as long as we are doing the work the Lord has called us to do. The problem comes when we try to please coworkers, friends and acquaintances more than God.
People everywhere, even well-meaning Christians, have a way of accepting or rejecting us based on what they see and think. They look at us through their eyes and perspective, not through the pure heart of God. At times, we do the same of others, too. We judge someone from what we have heard, what we have experienced and what we feel – even though we know all of these can easily deceive us.
Jesus knew well the trappings of our own temptations and sins. As a human, he faced the same emotions and situations. Yet, he was able to overcome his physical humanness and be guided completely by the spirit.
We can never go wrong when we follow the Holy Spirit. In God is where we find our true validation and worth. We cannot allow anything, even our own thoughts or hurts, to separate us from the Father. We need to forgive those who try to judge us, accept those who try to reject us and love those who try to ignore us. Jesus taught us what to do in each circumstance. He is the example. We are his followers. There is a choice we make each morning: whether to follow God gently into a new day or to be jolted awake by our hectic thoughts and schedule. From the time we open our eyes, the world comes racing toward us with problems, concerns, anxieties and fears. But God offers us peace, comfort, strength and faith. Which one we choose determines what will happen during the next 15 or 16 hours, until evening falls and we rest again.
You and I need to work at letting God guide us as we take our first tentative steps into another day. Our hearts and minds must be listening to him, looking to him and walking toward him. We must actively seek him, doing whatever we can to push aside the sounds that call to us from everyday living.
Taking time with God every morning requires practice and discipline. There are dozens of things that try to pull us away and distract us – most of all time itself. The argument we hear most often in our heads is that we do not have time for prayer and meditation; we must get to work or school; we have an appointment; we cannot be late. We fool ourselves into believing we will set aside time later in the day to spend with God. In the meantime, who knows where we will be or what may happen.
Being with God at the beginning of each day lets us see his path and plan. He can give us the calm and order we are seeking in our lives. He sends us off in the right direction because he knows what is waiting for us just ahead. Trusting him means taking time with him to set our course on his will for the day. Better we follow him than our unpredictable thoughts, emotions and plans.
Things are getting so much easier nowadays. Convenience reaches you just by making a phone call or through online booking. I recently found out that travelers no longer have to queue for taxis upon arriving the airport and could enjoy a benefit of getting discounts upon their return to the airport. Go Airlink Shuttle runs such businesses that often gets praises from customers who have benefited from their services and what they consider better than compliments is that customers keep coming back!
Why Go Airlink Shuttle (or name it JFK Shuttle if you like)? Simply because it offers affordable, reliable and safe ground transportation services throughout New York City and the surrounding suburbs. It provides on time, economical and safe share-ride transfers, door-to-door in each direction between Manhattan and JFK, LaGuardia, Newark airports, hotels, residences and businesses between Battery Park and 125th Street. No doubt why most of the clients widely ranging from top business elites to the general homemakers.
As I was logging in to their website, I thought ah, it must be another full of unnecessary schedules and other complicated stuff but boy was I wrong. First I have to compliment on the wise choices of colors. It gives that "Go Green" feeling which immediately translated into my happy-browsing mood! The site is very user friendly and it provides all the information that you needed to know prior to your bookings. Besides information and bookings, they also have special offers, links on tours, and fare quotes.
So, if you are interested and currently are worried sick about how you are going to get to your destinations from the airport, you know where and who to contact. They operate every day of the year and also offer $5 discounts on round trips when booking online.
Well, I don't have to bitch about it here. It's loud and clear on the medias. The rest of the nation are nothing but treated like fools. The emergency state order didn't do any good to stop the rally. With all the news reporting violence, the world is assuming everyone is in danger but ask the media to tilt their camera focus onto the streets other than the government mob area, and you could witness that life goes on. Hawkers still push their carts selling food on the streets, some International students still go to school, clubs still keep the same hours, traffic is still as bad and hotels and other holiday resorts are still occupied.
Nevertheless, I now sort of see why (without Lasik), after much reading and particularly watching at his many interviews with the medias and public. I rather have Aaron, brother of Moses, when given no choice to lead the pack than having a snort! Watch this...
*It was a holiday for me (state of emergency) and the day is already called a "today" (past 12am)*
It's past 12 am and I am eating yummilicious noodles! How come packet noodles taste so much better at midnight? I slurped the whole thing greedily!*where's the diet pills?*
I visited Samitivej Hospital again and this time went to the Srinakarin branch. I loooooove going to hospitals where you don't get those awful medicine smell and other odd hospital smells that stinks so badly that you know the next time you encounter that smell elsewhere other than a hospital it will for sure reminds you nothing but hospitals. *catch breath*
The last time I went was to the same hospital brand (Samitivej) but different branch (Sukhumvit). Comparing these two branches, I personally felt more relax and calm by going to Srinakarin's branch since this place is less crowded, cleaner environment, lots of parking space, peaceful and not noisy. Each floor is categorized accordingly. What is considered a plus to parents is the children hospital corner. The whole floor is dedicated to child care alone. Also, nurse sitters are available to watch the kids while parents run their small errands, etc.
Why am I visiting Mr. Hospie you might ask? Well, age and time has thought me consciousness about a lot of things and that includes my health especially lately ,am conscious of common women's health. I went to the obigyne department for a yearly pap-smear and ultrasound (women, go do your papsmear & mammo. if you haven't already!). My luck maybe but when I arrived the nurses at the counter warned me "...but at this moment we only have a male doctor. Are you okay with that?" while one of them made a hand gesture pointing towards a fine adult in white (looked like he is in his 50s) who was reading a newspaper at the lobby. One look, I immediately said "YES!" The service and doctor both deserved my thumbs up because when I compared this visit to the obigyne in Sukhumvit branch, the gynecologist was a mid-age woman and the process was rather a bit here-and-there. It was good that I had a quick preview of who the male gyne doctor was, otherwise I would have followed my wishes while on my way to the hospital which was "I hope I get a female doctor...I hope I get a female doctor.." Yes, I like female doctors but not also have higher confidence in male doctors. I refrain from having to consult with young, single and available doctors!! As for now, I think I can say I would stick to this doctor for I can tell from the way he examined me that he has lots of experience, he has all the technical terms handy in his head and could explain it in good, clear English (he's very soft-spoken btw) and he practically made my visit worth the money! Oh, I paid 4*** freaking figure!
How does one tolerate with a bitter friend? It seems that the more you get around them trying to help, the more they make you feel guilty. That is why, I keep a distance from these type of friends. Not that I hate them or they are bad but just keeping a distance helps the friendship a lot! This evening a friend came to me and poured her heart out about a person that ever since, filled with bitterness. Of course I wasn't much of a help but at least she felt relief when we concluded that the guilt she felt inside was not self-inflicted. She was feeling guilty and blamed herself for adding the bitterness to this already bitter person and thus was trying hard to find ways to fix the problem. The way I see it, the problem is not with her but with this bitter person. Looking for answers myself (ahh...I'm used to this person's bitterness and truthfully am sick of it and wish I could give this person a big 'grow up' hi five on the wherever!), I then found this site on reason of bitterness and how to overcome them. If you're interested, then here it is: Overcoming Bitterness. I learned to pray before I go near this bitter person and seriously I think this person needs much of my prayers than I do to see this person. Anyway, when all we can is help and help is pushed aside, the last resort is of course surrender it to God and let God help this bitter person to overcome all the bitterness.
It's past midnight and I am still wide awake. Last week was sort of a movie marathon again until last night. So far I've watched
1. Wo Ai Ni (Indo. movie) which is based on a true story. It's all about a Chinese community living in Indonesia, their daily lives, poverty, dreams, etc. What made it interesting to me was that the Chinese dialect used is actually my mom's spoken dialect. Now I see the migration patterns better.
2. A Love Story (Filipino movie) that depicts a love triangle and how all three learned from the bittersweet relationship. Recommended for it makes you go through a thinking process at the same time. :)
3. Kala Malam Bulan Mengambang (Malay movie). Haha...This is actually a reenact of the well-known PRamlee movie. Well, not actually reenact but similar concept. Reviving the popular 50s or 60s black and white, full of wit, funny, weird, larger than life kind of plot. Not bad.
4. Made of Honor. You know this one.
5. Cintaku Forever (Indo. movie). Kinda like the Indo. movie Heart. Also full of sickness like the girl is sick then the boy also turns out sick and bla bla bla the love blossom kinda plot. If you really have time, then watch.
Went to the mall to get some banking stuff done today and heck, sale again! From discount furniture to all the bling-blings. I quickly walked passed the store putting the amount of our car insurance to every discount labels that I see! Arrgh!
