In the eyes of a child

Charmaine: Judy, you're so small...
Judy: (Cuts in) Dropped her jaw and pulled a deep sigh..: I hate you, Charmaine, bo ho, bo ho! :'(
Mom: Charmaine, I told you you shouldn't tell people they are small. That's offensive. Look at her, she's crying.
Charmaine: Come on Judy, let me give you a hug...(Comes to Judy and hug hug) I was going to say, I wish I    
                  could give you my height.
Judy: (Dropped her jaw again and :-O) I love you, Charmaine. I wish I had your height.
Charmaine: I wish I would shrink.

Charmaine is 10 years old and stands 5.4

It's the longest Sunday and it's Father's day

Happy Father's day to all the fathers out there.. 

and 

happy Birthday to Wizan!!!

This is my first vlog and before I did it I had a pretty much idea what to say. But once in front of the cam I started to stammer and forgot all I wanted to say. I think this is the disadvantage of vlogging. I am not a spontaneous talker. I've got to think first what I've got to say.


By the way, to make up for what I missed in the vlog, I'm watching Italy vs New Zealand and listening to instrumental music online and also chatting with Miss Nice A. My word, can't I just focus on one task at a time?

Okay, now I get it

This is a continuation of my previous post.

I talked to my colleague about the £300 solicitors fee and he explained to me that the fee was for transferring the house ownership from sole to joint. So I thought, okay, that's not just a BS then as I had previously thought. Anyway, I still think that it's too much.

£300 to get my name on the mortgage

Last week, a solicitor came by to talk my husband into the supposedly "best mortgage". One good thing about the credit crunch is that the mortgage interest rate went down. That means we are going to pay less this year. However, since my husband bought the house some 5 years ago or 3 years before we even met, the mortgage was in his sole name. Now the solicitor suggested that it would be better to put down my name in a joint account so we could get higher value/loan as they will have to combine our earnings. But it would cost us a whooping £300! To be honest that would be my two-week pay! Are they serious?

I think there are more solicitors than doctors in this country. Why do they charge so much for things that are so simple?

Surprisingly, this is not just my bigoted opinion. When I googled for an image for "solicitor" to add to this post they suggested phrases and one of them was "solicitors from hell! Ha! Ha!
Take a look at this.

Happy Independence Day, Philippines!

112 years ago today, the Philippine flag was first unfurled at the house of Emilio Aguinaldo at the Proclamation of Philippine Independence from Spain. Long story but finally, the Filipinos gained their freedom at last after being colonized by the Spaniards. Many things have transpired since then. The Spanish subject, used to be taught in school, was abolished in the 80s. The Philippines was second to Japan in economy. Lots of foreign students from neighboring countries came to afford the high quality education. It was once an envy to many Asian nations.

But look where the Philippines is now. Where have all its glories gone? Sucked and drained by monster politicians.

Oh, Philippines, my Philippines! There is never a moment in my life where I didn't long to see you back in your glorious days. The days when your children didn't have to go to other countries to earn a living because they had enough of what they needed at home. Oh, if I could only turn back the time.

UK introduces language test for immigrant spouses - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos

UK introduces language test for immigrant spouses - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos

Here's an excerpt from the article...

All migrants from outside the European Union will have to demonstrate "a basic command of English that allows them to cope with everyday life before they are granted a visa," said the Home Office. To read more click the link above.

Tab Napping – the new kind of phishing

Tab Napping – the new kind of phishing

This is really scary. Cyber criminals are getting more sophisticated and they are always up to date to catch up with browsers' development. I'm afraid I could be one of those easily targeted because I always open multiple tabs at a time. When it comes to multitasking online I'm one of the worse offenders.

Thanks to Aza Raskin, mozilla security expert, who advises us what to do to be safe online.

Fruits for a healthy breakfast

Yes, you heard me right. For two weeks now I have been eating fruits only first thing in the morning and my favorites are oranges. Now is the season of oranges so it's the best time to feast on them.

I used to be a heavy breakfast eater. I have always been informed that rice in the morning is the best breakfast and I used to dwell on that thinking/belief until recently.

You see I've got a very sensitive stomach. Talk about hyper-acidity, heartburn, dyspepsia, constipation, flatulence, bloating... you name it, I got it. I loved orange but I couldn't enjoy a whole fruit without suffering from either heart-burn or acid reflux. It was very unpleasant. Thanks to my brother's email, now I can eat as much orange as I want and not feel acidic--I have to eat them on an empty stomach and that is when breaking my fast in the morning.

My sister-in-law used to brainstorm me about eating fruits for breakfast but I always argued that rice is the best because it keeps me going till lunch time. Talk about paradigm shift. Many people would not welcome the idea with just a flick of a finger.

An evening out with Vivaldi

No, not tonight. It was last month. I just forgot to blog it and I was too busy.

I thought people would be dressing up nicely or formally like I see in the movie. I put on a black dress and topped it with a black coat. But when I got there, some people were wearing jeans and summer tops. I felt like overdressed and uneasy. But there were some who came in formal evening dress as well, so in the end I felt comfortable.

Anyway, it was my first time to be watching the full concert of Vivaldi's Four Seasons performed by the Academy of Ancient Music (pictured above). Prior to that I have only heard the first song which is the "Primavera". I came rather early so I sat there by myself for about 10 minutes which felt like ages. I was going to come with sis-in-law but she stayed in Sicily when we went there in April. Husband wanted to rest because he was getting up early but was kind enough to give me a lift. When I bought the ticket I thought I was going to sit at the back of the backseat of the hall and me thought it was okay because the hall was not so big anyway. But when I asked the ushers where I could sit they pointed me the side of the hall behind the big pillars (gasped!). It's okay, I thought. I would still hear the concert even if I don't see the whole orchestra. So I picked a seat by the aisle just in case I wanted to go early.

Finally, the orchestra entered and I heaved a big sigh of relief. I could only see three of them because because of the enormous pillar in front of me. When they played Primavera it sets the mood of the night all right. It was a bit chilly outside Andrews Hall where the concert was but Vivaldi's ingenious composition warms the atmosphere. I couldn't help move my head to their music. Through the songs I could imagine the beauty of spring as the leaves start to bud and flowers begin to bloom. I imagined happy children playing in the park on a sunshiny day, hopping and running around. I also imagined the raindrops spluttering on the roof. And then the mood was moving to autumn. The wind was getting strong and dried leaves are falling. Then it's winter! It's snowing. Sometimes heavy sometimes light.

It was such a fantastic concert. Vivaldi is such a genius transliterating the sounds of the seasons into music.

I almost fell for Amazon credit card

0% on all Amazon.co.uk purchases for the first 9 months
0% on balance transfers made now for the first 12 months (3% fee applies)
£15 credited to your card when you spend £25 within the first 60 days

These are the baits that will whet your appetite when you make a purchase on Amazon. I saw it first time when I was buying my cellphone case. It was very enticing because it makes you believe that you're actually going to get the item for free because of the £15 credit you will get--IF your application gets approved, that is. However, fate had it that I didn't get one.

Today, I just purchased a songbook worth £5.85 and again they tried to lure me--and they almost did! Who wouldn't want a free stuff after all? Anyway, I went to the application page and did stages 1 and 2 which are personal and bank details respectively. Then before I hit the final button, my synapse functioned just in time to alert me to check for reviews of the product first.

So I googled "Amazon credit card review" and noticed one result shows 1 star (from reviewcentre.com) and another 4 stars (from dooyoo.com). I opened them in two different tabs. I happened to read the one star review first. At the time of posting the last review was posted 5 May 2010. I was petrified! 15 I was like "Phew! I almost fell for that!" Then I read the 4 star reviews. There was only one review made this year so far and the rest were dated 2008-9. So having been hampered by the lone star reviews, I went back to application page and clicked that little x in the top right-hand corner.