Saturday, July 23, 2005

Few things in life are free

I have been receiving quite a number of emails inviting me to join a certain website called TechGear4Free where you can get electronic gadgets for free simply by referring other people to the site. I’ve wanted an ipod for so long but am very wary of sites purporting to give away items for free without any cash outlay from the customer.

I tried reading their terms and ended up still confused about the whole thing. Why is it that a lot of sites use complicated jargon when explaining to the end user? Hmmm, so we can’t understand what they really are trying to con us into and simply click on the YES button?

So I emailed their tech support to have some answers. I wouldn’t want to impose my referral number if ever to all my email contacts, asking them to sign up too and end up looking like a fool because none of us would be getting any free items after all.

Here’s what I wrote:

Hi! I'd like to ask some things about your site. Some contacts of mine asked me to sign up so they’ll get the gadgets they’ve been wanting for a long time. I've noticed that in the sign up form, there is only space for the state/province and not country. So does this mean, offers are valid in the US only? But why is there a clause in the terms that your website ships worldwide?

Also, do we have to sign up for an offer before getting the free gift? Or is a sufficient number of referrals enough to help us earn credits for the getting the free gift?

Kindly enlighten me on this. Many thanks!


And here’s what they answered me with:

The spaces in the sign up form are just due to an outdated script that is running the site. It is perfectly secure and everything but we will be upgrading the whole site shortly to incorporate that kind of thing.

We do ship worldwide and if the address is from another country, we will simply confirm the address via email.

All users have to complete an offer in order to get credit. For your referrals to actually count as a referral, they must also complete an offer.


So there’s the catch! YOU and YOUR REFERRALS have to sign up for their offers BEFORE you get to have your free item! Being a non-US resident, I don’t have the capacity nor the propensity to spend in dollars. I’d rather have my most-dreamed of ipod the old-fashioned way --- by saving some money and buying when I finally have enough.

And that’s my final word on the matter.

Monday, July 18, 2005

Kindred Spirits Loving The Corrs' Music

A perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon? Listening to very talented young people who amazingly sound (almost) exactly like The Corrs. I attended a jamming session yesterday and got to finally meet some of my co-egroup members in the Corrs-ph mailing list. Some of them have been playing Corrs songs together for a long time and already formed a band which, I must say, definitely sounds good!

I have to admit it was a little intimidating at first joining a younger generation. After all, I am older than some of them by at most a decade! But take note, I was born the same year as Caroline Corr so I guess I'm justified :) But once there, I found that our collective fascination and love for the Corrs were enough to bridge any gaps.


I wouldn't go as far as referring to my new friends as "kids" though. They have shown such maturity in the way they show passion for their music (Congrats Kei and the Kaze gang! Your newest song, Rain, rocks!) which inspired me to practice with my tin whistles more (so I can really jam with them next time).

To all you cool gals and guys who made my afternoon a really special one, thank you ... for inviting me, for the free cds and the wonderful company. Here's looking forward to more get-togethers in the future!


Saturday, July 16, 2005

On PEGs and photos

A lot of my friends, when informed of James' PEG procedure via email, still couldn't imagine how a feeding tube implanted in the stomach looks like. I find it hard to describe too.

I recently joined two tubefeeding egroups in yahoo so I can share my experiences with fellow parents and learn from those who have been at it longer than we are. Somebody posted a site of a little cute girl called Emma where her mom posts how-to pictures about her daughter's g-tubes.

For those who are also curious what a g-tube looks like, visit Emma's site. I really appreciate the mom for sharing Emma's pictures. It helped me realize more that we are not alone in coping with James' condition.
Where are you from?

About two weeks ago, I tried out the NeoCounter after seeing it on a friend's blog site. Now at least I'll know from what countries my blog visitors are coming from and I think it's great thing :)

Monday, July 04, 2005

Oh, Yes!

I’m working right now on an article about organizing. In one of my researches, I came across this from the Idea-Pak email that Maria Gracia’s Get Organized Now website sends:

The Infamous Organizational Myth

Myth: To be organized means to be neat or tidy.

Yes, we will admit you can be neat and organized at
the same time. But, there is also a huge percentage of
neat, but extremely disorganized, men and women.

In fact, and this one's probably going to surprise you--
you can be the total opposite of neat (you can be sloppy)
and still be organized!

So, what does it mean to be organized?

Truth: To be organized means:

1) You get everything done when it's due.

2) You find everything easily when it is needed.

It's really that simple.

Keep these two phrases in mind, and you're well on your way
to optimum organization.


After reading this, all I could think about is: “I’m vindicated!”. Why? Because my workplace isn’t what most people would call neat. In fact, my OC hubby (he hates seeing anything out of place) always chides me “How can you work like that?! Look at the shelf of your computer table, can you still find anything there? Your desk is overflowing and there isn’t any space left for doing anything else on top of the table!” My usual answers : “I can work fine, thank you very much! And yes I can find every teeny-tiny thing I need when I need it. Just don’t mess around with my stuff!”

A long time ago, out of the goodness of his heart (or simply because he can’t stand looking at the mess anymore?), hubby re-arranged my things in the computer room without my permission. Needless to say, I almost went out of my mind and told him off “Don’t you ever touch anything here again! Now I’ll spend thrice the time looking for my files!” My hapless and clueless husband could only say “What did I do wrong? Look how clean the place is!”

Oh don’t get me wrong. I am not such the slob you are probably envisioning already right now. I do arrange my tons of files, scraps of paper and tiny notebooks every now and then, in my own sweet time (read: when I feel like it). That way, I still get to know where I’ve put everything and would still find anything when I go looking.

Nowadays, he would simply stare at my workstation, shake his head, look at me accusingly and then go away. Thank goodness! My workplace is still messy most of the time, but I’m happy, because that’s how I prefer it to be.