Yesterday I bought a new trash can. Or more accurately, Noodle Boy got me one. HAHA! IKR?! Whatever for? Well, if you're like me who only gets motivated to do things when there's something new, getting a new trash can proved to be very effective in getting me to clean up the mess I made in our room preparing for all the DIY party decorations and other stuff from Little Mao's 1st birthday.
Since I was (and still am!) pretty much in the "cleaning" mood, I was inspired to make my own boxes and holders for all my other thingamajigs, more specifically, whatever make-up I still own and other beauty products that you'll find scattered all over our bedroom. Think "I Spy" when you find some. Oftentimes I forget I'm co-habitating with another person now (two to be exact, Noodle Boy and NoodleLito!) so I need to tidy up my stuff once in a while.
I don't have much in the way of organizers because I've never been a bag person or have been OC about organizing things. Never been, never will be I guess. So I had to make some improvements. I got an empty 400g can of Little Mao's milk and found a discarded piece of cardboard from the party.
With a quick template layout I made, I was able to turn these two things into what I now have as a make-up tray and a beauty product holder.
I used a regular tape but you can use double-sided tape or glue it for a more polished finish.
Ingenuous isn't it? Who knew cleaning a room makes one's creative juices flow?
Here's the template I made for these two you can print out. Try it!
I have been a premium member of Multiply.com since I joined back in 2005, because before Facebook took over the world of social networking, Multiply.com was the place for sharing pictures/blogs with friends. Also I got to meet a lot of online buddies there. You can then upload and download albums from Multiply.com and link it/host it from there to wherever. We also get to customize our sites with themes and we get to save hi-res photos on their servers, too. But alas, all good things must come to an end and sad to say, the end is here. I heard about this a week or so ago but just tonight I decided to check on Multiply and found the letter they sent most probably to all their users.
So the big question. How to download all photos from my albums? I have about 208 albums and I don't know, maybe a gazillion photos! It will take me 48 years to download it one by one! I don't have the luxury of time... Huhuhuhu. I also have photos in my blogs that are linked from Multiply.com and those will disappear, too. The very same thing that happened to my 2003-2005 blog posts with missing photos because those have been lifted from Friendster. :( I guess this means, I should start hosting photos from my own server, huh? I wonder if Photobucket will shutdown in the near future, too. That will be the end of my blogging life. Just kidding. Oh yeah, all my Imagecave photos have been deleted also to my dismay. Must find a picture hosting site that will last forever.
But really, it's very tiresome to migrate photos and download them individually since I can't find any browser extension that would work with Multiply.com which allows downloading of *all* photos. I really hope they are going to roll out some albums downloaders for Multiply.com pretty soon so I can save what precious memories of the past I've got in there, even though I'm not very keen on dwelling on them.
Still...
I'm a little bit remarkably devastated right now with the news. Meanwhile, I'm signing up for their e-commerce and will be putting up a store in Multiply.com just in case I do decide to start an online selling biz (e-commerce users are *still* safe with Multiply.com). You can never really tell what the future holds. ;)
UPDATE 09/15/2012:
You can now download all your files from Multiply (albums, journals, reviews, listings, recipes, what have you!) with their EXPORT tool. Follow the instructions below:
Multiply Media Download
To properly use this page, depending on the browser you are using, follow these steps:
I was able export my blogs to my other blogger account (http://mymariatv.blogspot.com) and I was able to download my videos, photos, etc. to my hard drive -- all 10,931 of it! It took almost a whole day to finish downloading those but all's well that ends well. ^_^ Goodbye Multiply. It was fun! Thank you for 7 years worth of memories and the friends (haters & posers also, LOL!) that I've made. Although I know I'll stick around the Marketplace for sure because nothing beats the deals we can find online!
I had 15 days to come up with the best FIRST birthday party for my Little Mao. Although at 6 months of age, I already knew what kinda party to throw. My Mikko loves Sesame Street to my delight because I grew up with the characters so I already envisioned the kind of birthday event we will be having. I didn't want to splurge so much and stay practical so I made a 10K budget to make my SESAME STREET party happen.
Now I have this idea that in order to get things done I must make invitations first and give them early on for my motivation. To save $, I made, designed and printed the invitations myself.
Then I got T-shirts for *ALL* of us...
Everybody happy? That's right!
Along with other printed materials like the party banners and banderitas, I also made the goodie bag tags, play money for use to buy food (just for fun!), gift certificates as prizes for the party games (such as the classic Filipino "pabitin" and break the pot), and props for the photobooth.
And to add more color to the party, we set up a NAIL COLOR "booth" so everyone else can get colorful nails like I did. Kikayness. A sure treat for the yayas and the moms.
Along with the super fun photobooth by SALA Lounge + Café (ahem!) and nail color areas, we rented a local cotton candy machine maker, put up a hotdog/marshmallow table, and bought 6 gallons of delicious local Batangueño (dirty) ice cream. It's not dirty per se but that's what it's called and we kids here in Ormoc City grew up eating this awesome cheap local treat.
The cake & cupcakes were given as a gift from Ninang Ishshah Franco-Kangleon of Buttercup Boutique & Novelty Shop, my pretty sis-in-law and made by Julina Larrazabal-Algarra. The balloons and tables were from This & That, the premier gift shop here in town. Paid for as a gift from Mikko's great grandparents. :P Aren't we lucky? Hehe. We were also blessed by generous sponsors for the food prepared. Also we are fortunate to have people working and volunteering to get the party going. Shout outs to Yaya Mila, Tatay Bobby, Mianne, Liny, Melinda, Diday, Dorothy, Diane, Anrie, Yaya Maricel, Yayo Marjun as well as our cousins, friends, and neighbors Cecil, Rae Ann, Tita Agnes, Celsa, Tita Baday for all your help. We thanked the Lord above for the gift of life before celebrating Mikko's birthday even though he kept crying and screaming at church either because he got hungry or it was too hot. (Better than a rainy day, right?)
Okay, I think the rest of these photos below should speak for themselves.
It was indeed a truly remarkable and unforgettable birthday party that I hope Mikko will appreciate when he's older and sees the photos we've taken to remind us all of the fun we had celebrating his FIRST birthday party. It was tiring really but it was all worth it. Anything for our baby boy.
We love you, Little Mao. Wishing you many more happy years ahead!
Back in college I learned that an average person throughout his or her lifetime spends 3-5 years waiting in lines and queues. The average per day is about 45 minutes to an hour of waiting. You know, that's a lot of time wasted when you look at the big picture. Imagine the things you could have done with all that lost time. See random photos of me below taken years ago by my friends who also got nothing else to do while waiting with me. SO MUCH WAITING!!!
Average time spent waiting is 5-10 minutes.
Average time spent is 10-15 minutes.
Average time spent is 15-30 minutes.
More recently though when I started working (home-based), there have been times I have had to wait in line at remittance shops to get payment for my services rendered online as a freelance writer, blogger, link builder, etc. Most remittance shops in our city don't have air-conditioned waiting rooms so usually I end up soaked in sweat and melting under the sweltering heat of the tropical sun. The money I get is ultimately spent first at a nearby air conditioned food joint just to be able to catch my breath and relax for a bit, re-energize, then go home under the oppressive heat of the sun.
Sometimes though I go out at night to avoid the blinding rays since there are remittance shops that are open 24 hours, but I would then have to take the risk of getting robbed. It doesn't quite paint a pretty picture in my mind if you ask me. One cannot be too careful these days as these are hard times. I shudder at the thought.
I took this photo and reported it to the management because the security guard on duty was sleeping! Tsk tsk tsk!
I figured all these waiting and risk-taking will only shorten my life span so I wondered if there was anything else that would make my money issues less of a bother. I have used other safe online financial solutions which actually worked for me but those come with significant charges whenever I wish to withdraw money and my boss also needs to shell out some at his end to send money to the Philippines, the fee of which is actually deducted from my paycheck. *sigh* It's just like getting robbed sans the masked man and a gun. Where is the light at the end of the tunnel? I only hear crickets chirping. So I've been hoping for an ingenuous and innovative company to rise and offer more financial options.
This photo was taken outside a bank while people were lining up to use the ATM machine. If you want to avoid long line-ups go to nTrust.com.
This photo was taken at a department store while people were lining up to pay the cashier. If you want to avoid long line-ups go to nTrust.com.
This photo was taken at the mall while people were lining up to order from various food carts. If you want to avoid long line-ups go to nTrust.com.
This photo was taken at the lotto outlet while people were lining up to place their bets hoping to get lucky. If you want to avoid long line-ups go to nTrust.com.
This photo was taken at the pharmacy while people were lining up waiting for their number to be called and served. If you want to avoid long line-ups go to nTrust.com.
This photo was taken at a fast food restaurant while people were lining up to order food. If you want to avoid long line-ups go to nTrust.com.
1. Waiting for your turn to use ATM machines can be a tiresome experience simply because most banks don't have airconditioned waiting areas and you will have to be subjected to worse climate while lining up.
2. Most people don't mind getting in line at the counter/cashier to pay for their purchases. However, there are those times when you are in a hurry and the person before you is either using a credit card or a P.O. to pay, then your waiting time is certainly increased by a couple of minutes. That gets frustrating at times.
3. When you're hungry and must wait in line to order food, it can be quite exasperating. It adds up to the hunger more often than not.
4. Luck has everything to do with winning the lottery. Count yourself fortunate though when you get to a lotto station and don't need to wait in line. Waiting for the results also is quite taxing.
5. Buying medicine especially if you are rushing to get pain relief can only add to more stress or affliction to your existing condition.
WAITING, HUH!? Is there ever an end to this?
And so continuing my quest to better financial management and looking for ways to save the money I worked hard for, I came across nTrust.com from an ad by Nuffnang. It was free to sign up for so what have I got to lose, right? Scam or not, I didn't have to pay them anything to register.
A few weeks later, I received my card. WOW! They really mean business! THEY REALLY DO KNOW THAT TIME IS GOLD! Thumbs up!
It was only then I realized they were somehow connected with Security Bank! I know the branch manager of Ormoc City's Security Bank and a neighbor works there, too. It's a bank that recently opened up in town.
I activated my card and also read the letter they sent me. I got even more interested in nTrust because even though it's a fairly new company to me, it's legit. According to their Facebook page, nTrust has continuous governmental and financial industry regulatory reporting and auditing responsibilities. This includes Anti-Money Laundering prevention and compliance. Also, it's like getting your own Mastercard. And you know, "There are some things money can't buy. For everything else, there's MasterCard."
The timing couldn't be any better. I have an overseas trip coming up and I dare not imagine getting in line at foreign exchange booths. I could really use all the time I can get while traveling. Plus it's really nice to know Mastercard is accepted worldwide! I'm going to be relying on nTrust for sure. So how does it really work?
Pretty self-explanatory, huh?
It's the usual no nonsense deposit and withdraw method. It's very simple. You don't even have to pay for any transfers to your nTrust Cash Card.
The next time I take up a project online and my boss asks me how to transfer money to the Philippines or remit money to the Philippines, now I can say there's nTrust! And it's going to be so cool because we're going to be "neighbors"! I don't have to be stressed out and plodding on under the crazy weather to claim my money or spend some of it for a quick relief from the sun eating unhealthy junk just to get cooled off.
Sending money to the Philippines is so easy with nTrust. And if we're "neighbors", my boss does not even have to memorize all my details just to send me my paycheck!
To put an emphasis on it, I can easily cash it out without waiting in line at remittance shops or taking all those risks I mentioned earlier. *Still shudders at the thought of getting robbed because of a sleeping security guard!* As for nTrust, they use a 256-bit SSL encryption, which is the same thing that banks use for online transactions. For your peace of mind, VeriSign and TRUSTe validates and protects all your data.
Based on my experience, we clearly have a winner! Go nTrust!!!
More on how nTrust works at their YouTube channel. Check it out in HERE!
You know, this actually gives me an idea. I have relatives in the US who regularly send money to their loved-ones here. They still go through all those old-fashioned remittance methods and now I can spare them the trouble by showing them how nTrust works. They can create their own accounts and if they're too lazy to do it, then I can just offer the use of my own account. They can have money sent through me. It's like cutting down money remittance cost and time in half!
nTrust keeps people out of long lines so they can spend more time doing the things they love. Scrapbook page above put together by yours truly.
With nTrust, all of us can spend more time on the things we need to be doing instead of waiting!All those lost times can be made up finally by doing something else worthwhile and that really matters, i.e.:
1. picking up a hobby or taking up sports,
2. learning a new language or pursuing a career,
3. practicing yoga or focusing on health issues, 4. investing money on more important things for the future, 5. reconnecting with people you've lost contact with, 6. spending quality time with family and telling them you love them before it's too late, 7. saving the environment and trying to make the world a better place, and the list goes on...
-> Withdraw money to your CND or PHP bank account
-> Load your personalized nTrust MasterCard and reload anytime, anywhere!
-> Access millions of merchants and withdraw money at over 1.7 million ATMs globally!
From now until midnight on October 15, 2012, all WITHDRAWALS and nTrust Cards are absolutely FREE. Sign up today!
MyMaria also known as Ramen Girl and MrsNoodleBoy. Addicted to coffee, Dr Martens boots, Havaianas flipflops, scrapbooks, electronic & battery-operated devices. A lover and a fighter. Crazy about my husband and desperately trying to learn Math again for my son who loves numbers. Enjoys travel and photography. Shoots with a Nikon, a Panasonic Lumix, and my iPhone. Believes that you cannot be a good photographer if the magic isn't there. Fascinated by the moon and a huge fan of Greek mythology. Forever battling weight gain with my love-hate relationship with food. Watches anime and loves everything Japanese. A frustrated Miss Universe, daydream believer, island girl, app junkie, certified Apple fangirl and go-to-girl for Mac in the City of Queen Pineapples. Deadly with a light saber aka mosquito zapper. Current public servant for Brgy. Dist. 19/writer/shinobi by day and shinigami by night.
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