Quick Bytes..

Hi guys! Sorry for the lack of posts lately. I’ve been very busy in my real life, lol! =) I have two BIG events coming up in my life this 2008, and I’ve been actively “laying down the foundation” for both events. One event is my medical board exam this August, and the other event is still secret. Hehe! Watch out for the formal announcement about it before February ends *wink* And before this current month ends, here’s a quick post about a great site I found. If you are strong woman who is independent and everything a modern woman should be, I highly recommend you go to Grapevine.com — it’s a lifestyle website for women with sections on Style, Home & Family, and Travel and Entertainment. They even have a Boutique! =)

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According
to the grrrrls who run the blog, their website is an “interactive and
serialized story of 4 strong women who are professionally brilliant,
captivatingly stylish, fiercely independent and role models for the
female generation from 25 to 49 years old.” Neat huh?? The Grapevine Girls
consist of Gabby, Liv, Shannon and Raqui. They “cannibalize” their
lives to give their readers shopping tips, professional insights, love
and fashion ideas. Hence their tagline “Style and Such for the Sophisticated Woman” =)

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The coolest thing in their website is the Grapevine Serial.
It’s kind of a video diary (or webisodes) that the girls made to
document their current project and what-nots. There are voice-overs,
illustrations and animations to provide you with your daily
entertainment dose. Personally I found each episode fun and interesting
to watch. Not to mention, I learned lots of stuff! Especially about the
most excellent food out there, hehe =) The best thing ever? You can be
a Grapevine Girl yourself! Just sign up and be ready to embrace life!

Everybody wants a happy marriage but few knew how to "cook" one. Hehe! Here’s a happy marriage recipe I snagged from Chikai. Digest it and apply to your relationships! Not just marriages.. =)
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Ingredients:
1 cup consideration
1 cup courtesy
2 cupfuls flattery carefully concealed
1 gallon faith and trust in each other
2 cupfuls praise
1 small pinch of in-laws
1 reasonable budget, a generous dash of cooperation
3 teaspoon pure extract of "I’m sorry"
1 cup contentment
1 cup each confidence and encouragement
1 large or several small hobbies
1 cup blindness to the other’s faults
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Instructions:
Flavor with frequent portions of recreation and a dash of happy
memories.  Stir well and remove any specks of jealousy, temper or
criticism.  Sweeten well with generous portions of love and keep warm
with a steady flame of devotion.  Never serve with cold shoulder.

The US economy is said to be entering recession (with another alleged tech bubble on the horizon) and is very obvious in the downward turn of the US dollar’s value. If you’re a financially savvy person, now is the perfect time to invest in gold. In fact, stocks of gold mining companies (Lepanto, etc) have increased since the dollar became cheaper. However, gold investing is not a new concept.
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If you remember your World History, precious metals were used directly as currency in the olden times. To preserve their wealth, rich people hoard their gold. And so modern man stumbled on the idea that gold is an investment product. Today, gold can be bought in coin or ingot form. Ingots are generally gold ingots of pure bullion cast in a convenient size and shape while coins have a currency value. So friend, wanna buy some gold? I have some for sale! In electronic form, that is =)

Last week I was stunned with the news that Brad Renfro died. The cause? Probably drug-related as he had drug problems for the past few years. The night before he died, Brad was drinking with friends, and was later overheard snoring. The next day, he was dead. And guess what? He was just 25, such a young age to die! I have always loved him in The Client and Apt Pupil but since he was out of the limelight for quite a while, his death was not that hard to bear. And yes, I’m usually this sentimental about dying! I was 25 early last year! Imagine if I died, I would not have felt what it is like to just BUM around o_O Anyway, more info about Brad Renfro’s death HERE. The Associated Press and other news services got it all wrong — they were preparing Britney Spears obituary (article HERE) but instead we now have two young promising actors dead. Life.. you really never know what’s gonna happen!
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Obviously, the more shocking news (which constricted my heart!) was Heath Ledger’s death TODAY! Yes, THE Heath Ledger of Brokeback Mountain fame! He was only 28, and his death was what prompted me to write this post. I was still recovering from Brad’s death when this one hit me! Heath’s death I couldn’t believe coz he wasn’t really into drugs and stuff. In fact, he has become quite mature ever since he had a baby girl (Matilda) with Michelle Williams. Unfortunately, the Aussie couple separated last September 2007. The last time I saw Heath (personalan na ah!
hehe) was early this year in the trailer of The Dark Knight (a Batman movie) where he is the Joker. He was really good — menacing, crazy, creepy, diabolical Joker — he had it down pat! A very promising, talented actor he surely is. And now, he’s dead?? *shakes head*
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The cause of his death, again, might be drug-related.  Heath was found in his bed, naked and face down, surrounded with prescription pills. Media outlets are reporting the pills found were sleeping pills. But his family said he was not the kind to take his own life so this must be an accidental death. Heath was sick with pneumonia so the drugs and pills he might have taken reacted adversely, causing his death. For now we don’t know but an autopsy is scheduled tomorrow to rule out foul play. Heath was filming The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (that’s his creepy character in the photo, hanging himself) when he died. I wonder who’ll take his place in the movie now that he’s
dead. Lastly, I strongly feel something’s amiss with Heath Ledger ever since he separated from Michelle Williams. He had been doing creepy, strange and depressing roles (a hard core drug addict in CANDY, psycho Joker in
TDK, and now hanging himself in The Imaginarium). I wonder what’s really wrong.. More info about his death HERE and HERE.

We all dream of starting a business someday — a restaurant, a printing shop, a boutique, a flower shop, etc. And most of you will agree that what hinders us from achieving this is the lack of money for start-Up financing. If you’re not too scared of getting money over the internet, I suggest you check out the start up financing service offered by EZUnsecured.com =) They process loans quick, you’ll have fast funding and receive excellent service at that. Again, for your StartUp financing needs, check out EZUnsecured.com … Good luck!

You should try the new HEPA vacuum cleaners especially if there are those who suffer
allergies in your home. These vacuum cleaners have been tested for particle emissions, as well as power, dependability, and ease of use. Brands such as Miele, Bosch, Electrolux and Sebo all make excellent HEPA vacuum cleaners so if you gave a favorite manufacturer among them, just go visit their sites. Sanitaire even has a pink one (pictured at right), oh yeah! Hehe!

Then Danze faucets might be for you! They have bath faucets, kitchen faucets and faucets for the entertainment areas. Danze has over 1,000 unique designs for you to choose from. They have everything from sleek to ornate to retro with a twist. For sure, there’s a Danze faucet that would fit your personal style! My fave is the one pictured at left, love the sleek minimalist design! =)

Brand not familiar to you? Well, that might be because it’s a VERY high-end product. An Audemars Piguet watch typically has a 5-digit price tag, and that’s in dollars my dears. Just imagine buying one $10000 watch, that’s P400000 already! But to some of us, that’s just loose change. Audemars Piguet is one of the oldest and most established Swiss watchmakers, the company was a partnership between Jules Audemars and Edward Piguet officially formed in 1889. The AP Offshore is easily the most noted part of their product line. Jay Z (pictured above, click to enlarge) and Arnold Schwarzenegger have limited edition watches under that line. Cool huh?? But for P400000, no thank you! LOL!