Of Hair Tonics And Creams

Don't you know that hair tonics and hair creams can be disastrous to the skin?

Yes. If not used cautiously, these can get on the skin and because they are greasy and may clog the pores, they can cause acne. Worse, when you sweat these will spread and aggravate the acne. So apply when they are only necessary and only with the needed amount. Lastly, watch out that they will not touch your skin or have the chance to get in your skin -especially the forehead, the cheeks and the shoulders areas (if you've got longer hair, watch your back).

Now, anyone need mortgage life insurance? Just click the link.

Labs in Many Language

No, the "labs" in the title is not a typo error. It actually means the Gmail Labs features - they made it global! Yeah that's right. The Gmailblog says that everything in the Labs can now be translated to languages supported by Gmail. Check this post.

Lovely Wedding

The wedding (a garden wedding) we attended was a beautiful one. It started a little late -I dunno maybe they waited for the sun to set before starting it. But the ceremony was a solemn and short one.

The bride and groom looked dashing and happy. Everyone was clad in nice getup (no tuxedo but the traditional Barong Tagalog for the males and formal dresses - with hints of the wedding motif which are orange and deep purple - for the females. There was fireworks and a band played lovely music all night long.

And the photos are beautiful. We were able to view the shots right after the ceremony -and while the reception was on-going. We -hub and I- didn't know that the official photographer was our friend and the one who also covered our wedding, too. It was a happy reunion.

And more importantly, no boo-shoe episode for us. :-)

Making Sure

We will be attending a wedding tomorrow - a friend's wedding. And the hubster can't help but remind me to check and recheck his shoes.

After the boo-shoe episode during my sister's wedding, I surely don't need to be reminded. After what happened, I mean how can forget checking and rechecking everyone's shoes?

Surely, never.

I am not Using the Deep Freeze Software EVER

I've just came out from a technologically harrowing experience of reformatting my drive. The cause of which was because I mistakenly installed Deep Freeze on my PC.

A couple of days later, I noticed that some of my recently saved files were missing. I made few edits with some recent photos, saved them but later on, when I checked PC and all its drives, I could not find the photos. It went on for a couple more days and I still couldn't figure it out what's wrong. I tested, investigated and practically racked my brain for the possible cause of this phenomenon. *smile* At one point, I was led into my Installed Program and lo and behold I saw that Deep Freeze, a software that completely turns back your PC's original setup* everytime it is rebooted, was installed in my PC just about the time I noticed something's wrong with my PC. My further checking confirmed that no files were saved in my PC right after the installation of Deep Freeze.

So that was it! Thinking that uninstalling DF was the same as other software, I went about removing/uninstalling it the normal way. But that didn't prove successful because as soon as I turned off the my PC and then rebooted it, I saw the DF was still in my Installed Programs.

I googled the issue and I learned that uninstalling DF was done in a much more complicated way. *read: nosebleed* But anyway, I tried the complicated way without much success. I also ran the Deep Unfreezer which is supposed to thaw/unfreeze everything but that also failed. *sigh*

And so I was forced up the wall to reformat my drive. Everything's okay now but I have learned a valuable lesson here. Simple lesson, really -and that is to really be careful with software I install on my PC. Now we all know that, don't we? But there are really times when we make bad/wrong judgement.

To recall, I have installed the DF software at a less than good time, at a time when I was battling the powers of Sleep and thinking that it was my copy of a file recovery software, and just wanting to get it over and done with, I just double clicked and installed it -(ithout even reading the file name properly. But never again - I've learned my lesson only too well.

So my tip to everyone: never install Deep Freezer -unless your life depended on it. Or unless you want to have sleepless night trying to uninstall it. Methinks it's also one of the natural best weight loss pill. You lose sleep and lose weight! Not to mention losing your sanity too. *chuckle*

*original setup means the PC setup (applies to all files, folders, memory, software...) at the time Deep Freeze is installed.

Diet For Healthy Hair

I've read that the following are rich in melanin, iodine, iron and mineral copper which are essential for healthy hair:

Cashew nuts
Almonds
Fish
Sea food

So there's no harm in trying, ayt? *smile* So incorporate these in your diet.

On a side note, the mention of sea food reminds of me of another thing I've read recently. It says that the fewer the legs it had when it was alive, the better for us (as food). This means fish is the best, followed by chicken. But I wonder, where would my favorite crustaceans fit in? Yummy shrimps have lots of legs, right? I hope it doesn't mean that I should forget about them because I honestly couldn't bring myself to ignore their presence on the dinner table *chuckle*

Have a wonderful day everyone -gotta look at this site showing area rugs.

How to Avoid Blotches When Appying Mascara

Easy.

The trick there is to use tissue or a strip of paper when applying mascara. From my experience, it's easy to make blotches when stroking on the lower lashes. To avoid this mess, simply put a thin sheet of paper underneath the lashes to trap/catch the blotches. Then let it dry before the second coat application.

Also I find it easier to apply mascara when I'm sitting down, with my elbow on a table or any surface to support it, thus, keeping my hand steady. My strokes are smoother that way.

Hope you find this post helpful - like these moth traps. Have a wonderful day!

Dang, I Lost Some Photos!

So not in the mood as I've just lost some of my photos from my recent travel to the province. About 25% of my shots.

I don't know what happened because the last time I uploaded them into my PC, I was able to review all of my shots. But now, after copying it to my external drive, some are gone. The sad thing is I've performed deletion of these files from my camera memory card. *sigh*

So it's a lesson learned for me to not immediately delete images from the memory card unless I've performed a second back-up. Haaayyy.

lights - not sconce- in my hotel room (one of the few remaining images during the said trip)

Chances by Gmail

Regret comes later... a sec later, 5 minutes later or so much later.

Applies to almost everything in this life. I believe.

But do you know you Gmail has wonderfully crafted a 5-second chance for everyone to save one's face, to undo the sending of an email? Hold your breath, you read that right. Hop in the Gmailblog for the details.

Now, you have one less thing to worry about (or regret of).

Preview of your Photos, Videos, etc..on Gmail

Hello Gmail buddies. Have you seen what's new on Gmail?

Surely, you've heard that Gmail can now detect links and then show videos, photos, and ratings right inside the messages as well? Not? Okay, hop in the Gmailblog and read this post.

I've been busy this week but I've read the Gmailblog (the only one I've read online so far) and it says exactly that. I've tested it by sending a Flickr link to my own Inbox and I've seen that it's true (but of course!). The preview is just right there on the message box. Kewl.

So how about trying it with your buddies?

Tip of the Day: For Your Health, Skip the Styro

Avoid styrofoam containers.

Also known as polystyrene, these plastics, known as Styrofoam (a brand name) and marked with the recycling code 6, can be fashioned into soft or rigid foams, and are widely used these days. Cups, plates, carry-out containers, these are just few examples of the available styro products available in the market. I think some pool supplies i.e. floatation devices are also made of these too.

But polysterene are a hazard to one's health.

Chemicals like styrene, used to make polystyrene plastic and therefore a contaminant in all polystyrene foam packages, are known to indiscriminately attack tissue and the nervous system.

Styrene has been detected in factory air, as well as in ambient air, rivers, drinking water, and food that sits in polystyrene containers.

Absorbed through the lungs, skin, and intestines; styrene biotransforms into a carcinogen and a mutagenic compound. Source

Not only that, styros are bad for the environment. Not only do they require petroleum to make, but they take eons to break down in the environment.

Choose Life, Choose No to Plastic

Earth Day is coming up soon. In connection with this, let's do little good things for the environment. It won't take much but it goes a looooong way -maybe it benefits up to the next next generation.

So the tip of the day is to kick the plastic water bottle habit. I know, I know it's tough. Most products we see in the grocery are contained in plastic ( water, milk, fruit juices and whatnot). And then plastic containers are so handy...but.

Let's help save resources by drinking from a glass whenever we can. Better yet, use a refillable, stainless steel bottle when you are traveling. I actually opt for food items in glass if I have my choice. So between the Gatorade in plastic and Gatorade in glass, I actually take the latter. (Did you know that I shopped for glass bottles -nursing bottles for my son before? But that's another story worthy of a separate post).

Because, Because.

Because most of those plastic water bottles that we knock back from every day go into landfills, where they live on and on and on and on. Thus, polluting our home - not just your Outer Banks home but the whole of this planet! Horrible, ey? So take your pick: biodegradable or non biodegradable?

Freshen Laundry with Vodka

This one bit here I picked from our online bulletin. Very useful I believe.

Use a spritz or two of vodka to freshen up clothes in between laundry loads. You can reduce the amount of laundry you end up doing, saving time, energy, water and cleaning chemicals. We all need clean clothes, but actually doing the laundry uses a lot of resources and cuts into our free time. Many times, an item worn once doesn't really need a full washing. So instead of lugging it to a laundromat or down to your basement machines, spritz your duds with a little vodka, then hang to dry in a well-ventilated area. (Do a spot-test first to be safe.)

By the way, hop in to the Gmailblog for an update to the Tasks feature.

Getting a Pedi/manicure?

Be creative when you give yourself manicures or pedis. It's not really a bad thing if you go the adventurous route and choose wild colors.

You can even add stickers designed to perk up the look of the nails. Okay just make sure you won't go overboard. Or simply put, the look suits the occasion or the day. I just don't think it's sensible to wear wild colors on a job interview.

Anyway, to achieve the desired effect you want, you'll need a good surface (nail) to work with. Try these basic nail care tips for healthy and smooth nails.

My Ish With Gmail's Virtual Inbox

Since I've activated my multiple "virtual inboxes", something has been making me twitch with slight irritation. *chuckle*

See image below for the clue.

Click image to enlarge.

Notice the overlapping area at the middle part? THAT is making the OC me annoyed. I've been looking for a way to adjust the columns but couldn't find any (I hope it's not a user issue. lol).

I'm using a small monitor - a CRT at that!- in the office so maybe that's the issue. Also, I don't have this kind of problem with my 17'' monitor at home.

Anyway, wouldn't it be a nice improvement if we have a way to adjust the division of the columns? I mean, if I wanted to make one side wider (or a column to dominate the other) , wouldn't it be great if I could just click and drag?

Okay, gotta drop a line for the Gmail peeps about this. BTW, they have a recent post about importing and exporting filters.

Tips for Those Who Want to Successfully Secure Papers from NSO Region 10

All of the following tips are based on my firsthand experience with the National Statistics Office Region 10.

1) Early birds get served first. The earlier you come, the better. They are giving out priority numbers, which are only up until 500, sometimes as early as 7AM (even if they start to serve you at 830AM).

2) Bring food or extra money or something to keep you entertained (for like more than 4 hours!). The wait is maddeningly long, I'm telling you. And if you don't find resources with you, chances are you'll find yourself mad from boredom or mad from hunger. If you didn't bring a PSP, cellphone, TV, DVD etc... the trick is to be creative, i.e make fun of the people around you (but do so mentally or you'll risk a bullseye!)


3) Be ready for their famous system downtimes. They unbelievingly get 50% outage in the system. For only 1 document, I had been in there for 7 days total. I'm not making that up. And 3 out of the 6 unsuccessful days, I had to go home because of "system outage." (The other 3 days were not successful because I wasn't able to get a priority number.)

4) No priority number, no transaction. That's right, you will NOT be served without a priority number. But I've seen few instances when they make concessions (maybe it depends on the situation or that if you have friends there *smiles*). But in general (or if you don't have "the right" connections, get yourself a priority number first. Oh how to do it, check #1 tip.

From my experience, all of the 500 priority numbers get distributed even before 10AM. So make it really early.

5) If your priority number says 250-plus, don't wait to be served before 12noon. Go home and be back in the afternoon. One time, I got 499 (how lucky of me!) and the man there says to be back at 2PM. Of course when I try to calculate, I was sure I won't be served at 2PM. So I came back at 4PM but in reality I was served at exactly 5:10PM (and this was only the verification stage mind you).

6) Ask. Asking is free. You might never know it but asking will really save you from waiting (and more hassles).

So okay, there's this one time when I was served at 5:10PM. As instructed, I went to the cashier to pay my due and then waited for my name to be called. I had waited there for more than 5minutes already but I had yet to hear my name called. As it looks like the people there were already preparing to leave, I went to the Releasing Counter and asked for my documents. Do you know that I was told to be back the following day to claim my docs? So had I not asked, I would have waited til my eyes turn white and without getting my docs. So I went home, but not without giving a piece of my mind. I told the guy there that they should have me advised me about this earlier. He was trying to make excuses (no apologies!), which didn't ring right to me. I would have loved to give him more of my mind but I reckoned that no matter what I say, this man, who was dressed like one of those immigration lawyers, really has no idea about "feedback system" or customer service (and to think I paid all of my taxes!).

7) Be prepared for rudeness. Need I say more?