Liking the Coach Kristin Collection

Something has caught my eye lately, and it's the Coach :: Kristin Collection of handbags!

Previously, Coach handbags were never in my radar of must-have items, mostly due to the fact that I didn't really like their signature logo that were plastered all over their canvas bags. If there was a design I liked, I never got it because it only came in the canvas material with the signature logo.

The Kristin Collection is different (at least to me)! I love how soft the leather looks, and the soft, feminine colors. The styles are very versatile as well. And although there are designs that bear the signature logo (it's great if you like the signature logo, it's just a personal preference), those in the plain leather look fantastic to me!

Here's another thing to add to my growing list of 'want' items... :)

Things that annoy me..

Don't you just hate it when some bird droppings fall onto your car window just few hours after you've sent it for a wash?

That happened to me yesterday. And although I know these are things you can't control, I just felt so annoyed! My car had only been clean and shiny for a few hours. If it happened the next day, I wouldn't have minded so much...but on the same day?

Just wanted to have a small rant on one of the things that annoy me...

I want to go to wonderland...

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Okay, I don't literally want to go there, but I absolutely can't wait to see the world that Tim Burton has created in his new film Alice In Wonderland!

I guess this is one of my most anticipated movies, especially since Tim Burton is working with one of his most frequent collaborators - Johnny Depp. The images look fantastically dark - this is nothing like the previous animated version! Wonderland (or Underland as it is called in this movie) is almost like another character in the movie, the way Tim Burton brings it to life.

I won't look up any more spoilers images or anything because I want to enjoy the movie when I'm watching it next week! Can't wait!

Another day, another month

The month of February just zoomed past. It is the shortest month of the year with only 28 days (29 on leap years). And this year, February seems even shorter with the Lunar New Year holidays. Time just seems to fly by when you're on vacation and not needing to worry about work.

Today is March 1st. And the beginning of a long two months before another holiday for us working folks here in Penang, Malaysia. Now that I'm working, I really look forward to the public holidays that we get each year. This year, there are no holidays in March and April. So that makes it 60 days before our next holiday on May 1st. That just seems so far away. But somehow, even when working, I know it will pass soon, and then I'll be enjoying my three-day weekend again.

Oh, how I wish to be studying again and getting those long breaks between semesters! If I could tell my studying-self back then one thing, it would be to cherish and enjoy those breaks. Cause in the working life, there are no such things. There are only public holidays observed several times throughout the year. But some is better then none, right?

Sexiest phone ever - new LG chocolate

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Is this not the sexiest mobile phone ever?

The LG BL40 Chocolate phone is the latest addition to LG's Black Label line. The Chocolate phone is unique as there's none quite like it. The sleek lines makes it a very fashionable phone, and the specs are not shabby either. A 21:9 cinematic screen? Gimme this phone now!

I saw this phone in person recently, and the length is longer than most other phones. But it does fit perfectly in the palm!

I would love to get this phone! Anyone kind enough to gift it to me?

Mascots of 2010 Winter Olympics

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One of the things I look forward about the Olympics, whether Summer or Winter games, are the mascots that they come up with each year.

This time, for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada, are mascots inspired by First Nation creatures.

According to the Wikipedia entry on the 2010 Winter Olympics, here are the description of the mascots:

• Sumi: An animal guardian spirit who wears the hat of the orca whale, flies with the wings of the mighty Thunderbird and runs on the strong furry legs of the black bear.
• Quatchi: A sasquatch, who wears boots and earmuffs.
• Miga: A mythical sea bear, part orca and part kermode bear.

Miga and Quatchi are the mascots for the Olympics games, while Sumi is the mascot for the Paralympic games.

The design team must have very creative been in order to come up with the Olympic mascots that reflects the culture and people of the host country every Olympic game.

A Perfect Match: Video game consoles and HDTV

For gamers out there like me, just having a game console such as the Sony PlayStation 3, the Nintendo Wii, or the Microsoft Xbox 360, is not enough. Sure, you can hook the console up to any TV, and you can start playing the games of your choice. But video games and their consoles have advanced tremendously, especially in the quality of their graphics, that one can only fully enjoy their gaming experience with a high-definition TV (HDTV). That is precisely why video game consoles and HDTVs can be great together, a perfect match if I do say so myself.

My personal favorite video game console is the Sony PlayStation - this includes all the series from the first PlayStation (PS1), and including it's successors the PlayStation 2 and the current PlayStation 3. Maybe it's not fair for the other video game consoles such as the Nintendo Wii or the Microsoft Xbox 360 since I do not have much experience using them, but one big reason why the Sony PlayStation remains my favorite is because of the Final Fantasy role-playing game (RPG) series.

At first, I was entranced by the Final Fantasy games is because of their fantastic graphics - and what kept me interested are its recurring plot themes. It is my personal opinion that nothing beats the graphic capabilities of the Sony PlayStation series. Combine this with the graphically awesome games of the more current Final Fantasy franchise, this is another perfect match in my eyes. This is a huge reason to get a HDTV for your video game console. With a HDTV, you can enjoy your gaming experience at a different level with higher quality graphics - and this is a perfect match for me!

Happy new year of the Tigger & Happy Valentines Day!

It's not everyday that the first day of the Lunar New Year and Valentines Day falls on the same day. But it does today, so whether you're out spending it with a significant other or celebrating the festive season with family, Happy New Year of the Tiger and Happy Valentines Day!

Vancouver 2010

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It's that time again! February 12th 2010 marks the start of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. I'm getting super excited!

If you're living in a tropical country like I do (Malaysia), winter sports are probably the last thing on your mind. However, since I grew up in countries that do have four seasons (Korea and US), this has given me an appreciation for winter sports. Skiing and snowboarding? Absolutely yes! Winter sports are just few reasons that I wished I lived somewhere other than Malaysia (or to have Malaysia be a country with a winter season)!

Some interesting things to know:

• The 2010 Winter Olympics Games logo (as above) is named Ilanaaq the Inunnguaq.
• Ilanaaq is the Inuktitut word for friend.
• This logo is based on the Inukshuk (a stone landmark) that was built for the Northwest Territories Pavilion.
  

So, for 2 weeks from February 12th to 28th, you can enjoy watching skiing, snowboarding, skating, and all those sports that are done on the ice or in the snow.

Categorizing your website

If you are like me, you'd want any website of yours to be popular and get many hits. Unless it is something personal and private, I guess most people would want to share it everyone else on the internet. And what better way to do it than using a web directory?

At first, I thought web directories were some sort of search engines. It's not hard to confuse the two: both have listings of websites. The difference is, web directories categorizes their list of website by category and subcategories, whereas a search engine will display theirs by keyword. It's a minor difference, but this makes all the difference for some websites owners that are looking to increase traffic on their pages.

You probably know all about popular search engines like Google, but I'm sure you've even been on several web directories. Yahoo! Directory is a pretty well known web directory. You can see that they not only have many categories and subcategories. I remember using Yahoo! Directories back in the day - it's very useful when you want to search for websites under a specific category. It's a good tool to be used combined with search engines such as Google.

Another web directory that I only heard of quite recently is called the Open Directory Project. This one is interesting because it is maintained by a group of voluntary editors. At first when I heard of this, I didn't get how Open Directory Project correlated with its URL (dmoz.org). But upon further findings, it seems this comes from directory.mozilla.org, which is it's original domain name.

One type is website that I could think of that will benefit a lot from using web directories are businesses. Since web directories are based on categories and subcategories, this makes it so much easier for consumers to search for things they want to buy. Not only for shopping, but this also applies for businesses websites looking for clients who not necessarily are looking for consumer products.

These days I probably don't use web directories as much, but I can say that when I do need to use it, it's very helpful. You probably already know the category of something you're finding (and maybe even the subcategory), and it's just that easy! So next time when you are in need of something specific, maybe you can try out a new way of searching. Probably some people are not used to searching in web directories since search engines have sort of become the go-to for a lot of folks, but I do say that it's good to try out something new as it is good for our minds!

Red and Pink for February 14th

This coming Sunday February 14th is a day to wear red and pink. There is not one, but two reasons for the donning of the colors red and/or pink.

Valentine's Day falls on February 14th every year.

The first day of the Lunar Year of the Tiger also falls on February 14th this year.

Traditionally, Valentine's Day has long been associated with the colors red and pink. And for Chinese people celebrating the new Lunar Year, red is also traditionally used in clothing and decoration for this festive season.

So, let's all bring out all our red clothing and accessories this coming Sunday!

Blogging: not just a hobby anymore

I'm sure everyone who goes online and surfs the internet on a regular basis knows that blogs are everywhere now. Blogs are not limited to regular people writing about their personal lives - even many companies now keep and update blogs. (On a separate note, I wonder who updates the companies' blogs? Do they hire a blogger? If yes, then I would so love that job!)

When blogs were still in their infant days, they were just a way for people to talk about their everyday lives, perhaps to update their day-to-day happenings to friends far away. But today, blogging has become something entirely different! You can see things like celebrities bloggers, video bloggers (vlogs!), wedding blogs, makeup blogs, and the list just goes on! In fact, the way of blogging has changed so much that we can even get paid to blog!

What started out as a hobby has evolved to a full time job for some, and a way to make some side income for others. Besides, if you do get paid blogging opportunities, you get to choose the subject, writing on what interests you. Basically, you get paid for writing things that mean something to you. You have the knowledge to share, and besides, isn't it awesome to get paid doing something fun like blogging?

I don't really have much experience doing this paid blogging thing - but I have done a few in the past. Blog Advertising is something I found to be quite interesting, and I'd love to really get into the action. I have always wanted to blog consistently, but laziness always takes over, or I'd find something else I want to do. So, what better way of motivation for blogging other than taking up some blog advertising opportunities? Besides, sometimes writer's block does get in the way, and these opportunities just provides you with a subject to write on.

Girls Generation: Oh!

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Girls' Generation, or SNSD, has returned with Oh!, a catchy electronic-pop tune for the title song of their second album of the same name. Although different from previous hits like Gee and 소원을 말해봐 (Genie), the unique melody paired with the catchy Oh, Oh, Oh~ chorus, this song will surely be repeated many times, both on the radio, as well as listener's head. I myself can't get the tune of my head as well.

Another standout song from the album is 별별별 (☆★☆), a sorrowful ballad that shows those girls have great vocals. You can really feel the emotion in their voices. This just goes to show SNSD isn't just a pop group that sings and dances to pop music; maybe this will bring them to the next level of being a group recognized by their vocal abilities.

Asides from the songs, I love the image they are having for this album - like the funky colors, stripes, and knee high socks - most likely this will be a spring fashion trend for girls in Korea!

Here's to wishing SNSD a successful album with Oh!

égérie spring mode by Shu Uemura

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Shu Uemura is one of my favorite makeup brands. Their products are of good quality, and many of the products are favorite's of many makeup artists and users. One of my favorite Shu Uemura products are their eye shadows - great texture and lots of color options to choose from! And not to forget their award winning eyelash curler!

This spring, Shu Uemura has released their 130th spring mode makeup collection, called égérie:

the 130th shu uemura spring mode makeup collection invites you to be an "égérie:" a rebellious and daring spirit who never loses her sense of elegance and sophistication. the collection is inpired by the glamour of rock n roll. flashy, glimmering shine is complemented with delicate satin sheen finishes to transport you under the spotlight of the captivating rock stage.

Looks like this collection is perfect for that sophisticated rebel, a juxtaposition perfectly in line with the image of Shu Uemura's spring mode makeup collection. I can't wait to be checking out the products!

Album of the Year for Taylor Swift

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Country music darling Taylor Swift won four (4) awards at the 52nd Grammy Awards - including the top prize of the night - Album of the Year. I can't believe she's only 20 years old, and has already accomplished so much!

I heard Teardrops on My Guitar back when it was first released, but somehow, I never got into her music then. Later, when Love Story came out, the song just stuck in my head. Maybe it was the melody or the lyrics, maybe it was both - I just couldn't get it out of my head. Then came You Belong With Me, I really started getting into more of her music.

Her album Fearless - for which it won the Album of the Year at the Grammys - is a strong album. I can listen to it from beginning to end, and not have to skip any songs. And that's saying something.

She's just on the rise, this girl, and I can't wait to hear more music from her. Congrats, Taylor!

CNY To-do list

Chinese New Year (Lunar New Year) is coming in two weeks. And there's so many things still left for me to do in preparation for this celebration.

1. Spring cleaning - although this is something I should be doing on a regular basis, cleaning up my room before I leave for Chinese New Year is a must.
2. New clothes - I love shopping, but somehow, I can't seem to find any clothes that suit my style this year.
3. New hair - Undecided on what I should do. Cut? Color? Both? Salon in Penang or KL?

Being green

Green is one of my favorite colors. Forest green, emerald green, you name it; I love all shades of green.

But today I'm not talking about colors. The green I'll be writing about today is about being environmentally friendly and reducing pollution. I know a lot of us are very conscious about this, but it can't hurt to have another advocate for it.

One way of being green is to reduce the amount of water we use in our daily lives. Saw these Dual Flush Toilets, and they seem like a good way to save water. After all, the toilet is one of our daily needs.

You don't even need to install any new toilet; it comes with a conservation device for standard toilets in your homes right now. This is a very simple way to save water.

All house holds could use one (or more!) of these Dual Flush Conversion kits. Go check them out if you are looking for another way to go green!