juls random thoughts

Tip #3: Don't forget to SHOP on the Black Friday Sale

As the timing of our secondment in the US is usually July to December, we're so lucky to be in the US during thanksgiving. More than experiencing the holiday, which is the most awaited and celebrated holiday in the US, we also got the chance to be there for the sale, the day after the thanksgiving, the famous Black Friday Sale.

On my two separate US assignments, I got to experience this. This is the mother of all sales and everybody "as in everybody" who are eyeing on big purchases wait for this moment. All stores put their items on sale, so the biggest key is planning and prioritization. Also, it is better to be in East Coast during this time, Delaware, to be exact as it is tax-free for everything. Though usually, some stores are tax-free during this day.

So again, what can help survive this very important date? PLAN and PRIORITIZE.

Few days before the Black Friday sale, sale info are already available on the web, so it is best to check the web for Black Friday ad. This site lists all stores participating and the items on sale including sale amounts, conditions like how many stocks available or are rain checks allowed, etc. The site is updated everyday until the day itself and send email alerts of new ads.

On my last visit, I want so much to buy a videocam, this Black Friday ad helped me look for the best deal. I compared deals offered by Best Buy, Circuit City and Office Depot and through the ad, I was able to buy my Sony HD video camera from Best Buy. I learned that they'll be selling limited stocks only, I already checked the price, so my sister and I woke up really early to be in Best Buy by 5am and so shocked we are that the line is so long already. We're really thankful for my research on the net, if we haven't searched beforehand, I wouldn't have known which store to buy my videocam.

From the same Black Friday ad, I was able to list all the stores where I can buy all the items that I want to buy. One, I bought Leap Pad books from Toys R Us as I saw that these will be on sale. Second, we're also able to buy a $20 Philips cordless phone from Circuit City (that's from original of $40). Third, my sister was able to buy a really cheap ladder from Home Depot, while we both bought two way radios from the same store. All of these, only because we researched before we hit the sale. Would you believe that by 9am, we're done buying our major purchases (the fast moving items)? that we're still able to enjoy a very good breakfast and after the breakfast, that's when we went back to the stores to buy the rest of the items that we want (these are the items that we know will not be immediately gone).

There are actually items that can be bought online. I bought my Apple IPOD Video online. I learned that Apple will be selling online refurbished units at half the price, of course, I grabbed the opportunity, I was able to buy an IPOD at half its price delivered on my doorstep.

In summary, one must really be prepared for the Black Friday sale. I was actually surprised on my first time to experience it. I was shocked that people actually camped outside the stores, just to be the first ones to enter the store once it opens. I've never seen that kind of sale, and we were not prepared on my first time, that's why on my second time, we were so prepared, we researched before we attacked. By afternoon, we're done shopping based on our list. Isn't it great?!

Just got back from Singapore, really tiring but fun vacation. We had a lot of bloopers, one of which was with the hotel we chose to book. You see, hubby was scheduled to leave last Thursday and we only looked for a hotel Wednesday night and to think we already had our flight booking since November! Talk about last minute and rush booking. Out of panic, we booked in a hotel in the red light district of Singapore. Yes, you heard it right, and those who know, you're right, we stayed in Geylang, Lorong 18 to be exact. Hubby's friends were actually laughing at us because according to them, the place we booked is actually a motel. You see, I am not really used to looking for a hotel on my own for out of the country trips, all my previous trips were work-related and it's our office who arrange my hotel reservations. I have no idea on where to book online, how I wish I know already about http://www.HotelReservations.com, they have last minute deals! And it's cheap I tell you, they actually have better deals than the one we booked. Hay, too late for us. They have a lot of good deals like rebates, where can you find a site that will provide you a rebate when you book through them? And what's even better is the "compare" functionality. Did you know that I did this manually?! Really poor me huh?
They also feature a city where they have a sale, this is useful when we don't know where to go but we know we want to go on a vacation. They have hotel offers worldwide so I finally learned my lesson, I will book through them on our next vacation, and it includes booking on our flight, car rentals and lodging. Did I mention that you can choose the type of lodging? Yep, they will not deceive you in a way that we were deceived; you can filter your search to show only hotel, suite, inn, vacation home or condo, resort or bed & breakfast. Not only that, they will let you also choose the amenities that you want to be present on your lodging search, like if you want one with business center, fitness center, internet access available (wahh.. again this one, I did manual search), kitchen, pets allowed, pool and restaurant on-site.
This is the first time that hubby and I traveled out of the country mainly for vacation as mostly we just extend our business trips, and now that we've tried and enjoyed it, I think, I'll be expecting more out of the country travels for pleasure. And I guess now, I really learned my lesson, I’m no longer a novice in online booking and having found http://www.HotelReservations.com I don’t think we’ll be fooled again.

Oh and regarding our hotel, even if it turned out to be in the red light district, we decided to stay and did not bother canceling our booking as we only used it to sleep :)

Ok, it's hard to admit but both hubby and I have this problem on thinning hair.

My case, well, I have a thick hair when I was young, I even hate that fact because I'm having such a difficulty when I shampoo my hair, I have to use a lot of shampoo you know. But then now, I have a thin hair. I think the culprit is the fact that I always have my hair rebonded. I have a kinky hair and I want to have a straight hair. I guess too much chemicals caused it. On hubby's case, I guess its genetics, he actually decided to have his hair cut really short since it's thinning anyway.

We're now both on a lookout for good treatment for hair loss, doing a lot of research as there are a lot of products that all claim to be good and effective. As I am doing my search on the net, I came across trustsource.org. They have a review on hair loss products and that's where we found that provillus is the best hair loss product. Why? well, according to trustsource.org, provillus aggressively seeds your scalp to create optimum environment for new, healthy hairs. It supplies the proper nutrition required to bring damaged, dead hair follicles back to life. Whew! a good explanation huh? and more to this, the site even contain provillus reviews, and based on the review, it seems that provillus indeed really works. Those who used this seem satisfied and raving about the product. Wow! Really great site, good info. At least now we know the best product to use. Thanks to trustsource.org

Would this mean that we'll finally see the regrowth of our hair? I sincerely hope so. I really want to go back on having a hair rebond, as now my hair is sooo curly but I have no choice but to stop, otherwise I'll go bald. LOL!

This is the question that we're thinking. You see, hubby's grandparents in the US loves going to the casino. They always look forward to the occasions that they can finally go there and play. Once they are there, they forget about everything. They do not notice the time and all. However, these past few days, they have been weak and sickly. Hubby’s relatives wanted to let them play because when they’re playing they feel good but taking them there is not an option as it is hard for them to travel.

So, we're thinking that probably online casino would do the trick. It may not exactly give them the same experience of actually playing in the casino but it will give them the same thrill of anticipating for their win. However, we are confused as there are a lot of online casinos available. It is hard to tell which one is reliable and can be trusted. Good thing I chanced upon Pro360. This is a big help in filtering out the different online casinos. Of course, we all want to make sure that our hard-earned money does not go to waste by playing on untrusted online casinos. It is good that they provide the following information about each casino: a general info, editor and player ratings, game experience such as selections, graphics and speed, and really important is the trust score: of course, we want to make sure that we are given fair play and has good customer support and payout. They even include reasons why a player should play on that casino. And best of all, they have a list of the top 20 reviewed casino! That will definitely give an online casino player greater peace of mind. And they don’t only just offer ratings, there are even beginner’s guide to gambling (not that hubby’s grandparents are beginners though!), how to play casino games, and online gambling tips – this I think will be of big help for hubby’s grandparents as they are newbies on online gambling.

So now that I learned about this, we can inform the relatives that online gambling is possible but they have to check Pro360 first to choose the best, safest and most applicable online casino for the oldies.

I lost my 20/20 vision when I was reviewing for the CPA board exams many years ago. The constant washing of my face to wake me up on a lazy afternoon or late evening while studying must have been the culprit. So, since then I have been wearing eyeglasses. I have a round shaped big face so looking for a stylish yet affordable frame is really difficult. I even tried wearing contact lenses but I have sensitive eyes that even if I wear the disposable type I always end up getting an eye infection. So, I am always on a search for an eyeglass frame that will definitely look good on me. Its kind a hard to look for this you know as most of the really stylish ones are super expensive, while the cheaper ones doesn’t look good on me. My futile attempt in looking for frames on the nearby optical shop made me search the net and that’s when I came across Zenni Optical: Sell Rx Glasses $8 with case! I was surprised that they have frames costing $8 only and mind you! They are of high quality. I learned that they can sell it that cheap because they manufacture their own frames thereby saving on the “brand” and they sell direct to customers. That’s a good business practice you know. Giving the customers the quality that they deserve without any imputed unnecessary cost. So, as I am looking at the different frames from their site, this one really caught my eye:

I know this will look good on me. I am so excited to get it. The reddish accent on the side adds extra class. This will look better if I get those photochromic lenses which will get dark when exposed to sunlight and becomes clear when indoors. Oh I can’t wait to get my hands on this eyeglasses.

Ok..ok..I am now definitely taking this paid blogging seriously. I spent a lot of time on research, even saving in a document all information that I have gathered regarding paid blogging. All the rules, terms, FAQs and the benefits. As most successful bloggers doing paid blogging recommend, I have to join PayPerPost. Why? according to them, this site provides good opportunities as a lot of advertisers chooses PayPerPost for their blog ads requirements. I checked the website and I can't believe I am seeing opps amounting to $35 and more! wow! that's a BIG amount of money! I realized that it's not that hard to earn, I just have to be active in checking out opps in the site and keep my blog active. Well, I don't see the second requirement as a problem as I often update my blog. I almost always record the daily happenings in our life. So, what does an excited newbie gonna do seeing this $$$ opportunity? of course, I signed up! I was so nervous and excited completing the requirements, which is not very hard at all, then I patiently waited for the approval. I was surprised when I checked my email tonight that finally my blog was approved. Yipee!! They are really fast in reviewing and approving the blogger's request to join. That is so good! very efficient service I am telling you. So, how does it feel? I am super excited! I am excited to earn $$$! It will definitely help us in the lot that we are planning to buy.

Thanks a lot Jody! your post in our egroup helped me a lot on deciding, most especially in joining PPP.

Now for me to become more familiar and confident with this, I have to go out and check their site for more tips. I think I saw a PPP blog, I'll look into it too as I think it will help me more.

I have always been curious on how to set up an online store. You see, I am a frequent online shopper. I started this when I was in the US last 2005, simple click there and there, accumulate everything in my shopping cart and wait for promo on shipping then check out. I continued with this back here for my scrapbooking materials purchases. I have always wondered how it was being set-up and how everything works. How can they keep track of everybody's purchases, how can they keep the items in the shopping cart for so long and even the purchase history. I thought it's all techie hardwork for the online seller. Little did I know that a shopping cart software can easily be availed from Ashop Commerce, very affordable and mind you that their service is reliable! A lot of online US merchants enjoy their peace of mind as they are backed up by a reliable ecommerce software provider. They even help first timers by providing trial software, advices, demos and almost everything needed to start with the business (with the exception of capital of course! LOL!) Hmmm...would this mean that I can now create my online store for the scrapbook materials gathering dust in our room?

I have been blogging actively since last quarter of last year with the original purpose of having an avenue for my thoughts and life happenings. However, as I am checking out other fellow blogger's blog, that's when I learned that there are a lot of earning potentials in blogging. Wow! to be able to blog and earn from it is really awesome. This paid blogging even became a topic in one of my egroups, so I checked it out. Most of my co-bloggers recommend Smorty so I decided to visit the website. I found out that this is indeed a great site. They provide you with all the information needed for a first-time blogger or advertiser. The site is user-friendly and I heard they give really good oppportunities too. I was able to understand all about paid blogging by reading the FAQs, rules and terms from them. Wow, I think I'll be enjoying this a lot, to be able to blog for money is something that I never really imagined possible before!