The Vital Ingredient

Posted on May 24, 2007 by The Giddy Tigress

What keeps a little girl playing the piano, day after day, night after night, practising it and perfecting each and every note, till there are no mistakes? Do you think it is not frustrating to play right till the end of a musical piece and make a mistake then and there? What is it that makes her go on despite her frustration?

What makes a straight-A student pursue a course in Dance & Art when society dictates that straight-A students should logically head straight for the medicine and engineering courses? What makes this student ignore society’s “rules” and go against them, embarking on a path less-trodden, not knowing what the future holds?

What keeps an employee coming to work, dealing with irate and angry customers, reporting to a big bad boss, only to leave work feeling tired, hungry and ready to plonk his head down on a pillow at the end of a gruelling day?

What keeps a stay-at-home-mom sane through it all? Do you think it is a bed of roses facing dirty diapers day in and day out, having a pile of laundry to wash and having to prepare meals for your family each day? What makes her keep that calm demeanour with an everlasting smile on her face despite all adversities?

And what keeps a loyal Reds fan true to his or her team, in spite of the disapppointing loss to AC Milan early this morning in the Champions League? So Milan had their revenge, and Red hearts are broken, as our dreams are dashed….So what is it that keeps us Kopites still singing the anthem You’ll Never Walk Alone, standing by our team through it all?

It all boils down to passion. The passion to pursue something despite the obstacles one faces, and the passion to overcome them no matter what it takes. The passion to love and the passion to believe. Without passion, nothing can be achieved and absolutely nothing is even worth achieving.

I’m in mourning over the loss but I strongly believe we will triumph in the next season. SIGH…. like what Steven Gerrard said:

“We gave everything but it wasn’t to be tonight and certainly this feels the complete opposite to what it was like after Istanbul.”

Posted in Thoughts & Scribblings | 4 Comments

European Vacation, anyone?

Posted on May 23, 2007 by The Giddy Tigress

I simply adore Europe.  With its beautiful scenery and gorgeous and intricately-designed buildings, Europe is a picturesque and dream holiday destination for most people.  If I have the golden opportunity to step foot in Europe in the near future, I would not miss the chance to visit Prague in Czech Republic, Paris and of course Italy.  The one thing discerning vacationers are concerned about is their lodging.  For example if you are making a trip to beautiful Italy, you’ll be amazed at your choice of Italy Hotels you can select from.  How to choose?  You will be spoilt for choice.  Thankfully, EuroBookings has reviews for all of these hotels to help you make an informed decision to suit your taste and budget.  And what better way to allay your fears about being taken for a ride than to have your hotel bookings done online without having to pay a reservation or booking fee in advance, but rather, you only pay when you check out of the hotel?  Unbelievable?  I kid you not… this is what EuroBookings has to offer.  Here, you can find the lowest hotel rates in Europe in almost all the popular destinations.  You can also check out their hotel guide section, which provides information and reviews on what you can do whilst in Europe.  Trust EuroBookings for a worry-free vacation in Europe.

Posted in Rainmakers | 2 Comments

Show me my money, PLEASE!

Posted on May 23, 2007 by The Giddy Tigress

So my virtual cash in PayPal is still stuck despite the many complaints I had lodged with their support desk.  Of course they replied, but with the generic “We are aware of the matter and are looking into resolving the technical glitch as best we can”… or something to that effect.  Looks like it is a MAJOR problem.  I know of a few people who have used the workaround method to claim their funds, and I won’t go into details here because I have reason to believe there are plenty of other bloggers who have blogged about it already.  My 30-day deadline on my unclaimed funds in PayPal is fast approaching and in desperation, I logged a support ticket with PayPerPost last night.  I received a reply within an hour and I was informed that PPP is well aware of the situation and in fact, they are currently in contact with PayPal too – getting the same response I got, I believe!  But…PPP gave me HOPE!  They claimed that if need be, PPP would be able to resend the unclaimed funds to the affected posties’ accounts, because they had a record of all unclaimed funds.  I certainly hope this is true.  But for sanity’s sake, I hope that PayPal would once and for all solve that massive pain of a glitch.  That would make us all sleep better.

And now…let me go prepare for the clash in Athens tonight 🙂 

You’ll Never Walk Alone…

Posted in Blogging | 8 Comments

Back it Up

Posted on May 23, 2007 by The Giddy Tigress

Data backup is something which is extensively overlooked by most people. In this day and age of technological advancement, when we can store data in so many different forms in our computers, be it in the form of images, videos or plain data files, having a reliable method for backing the information up is essential for our peace of mind. Murphy’s Law states that if something can go wrong, it will, so before you experience heartache and heartbreak crying over lost data, why not get your data stored and backed up online with IBackup? Now with IBackup, you can get an integrated solution comprising:

  • Online Storage – I am personally impressed with IDrive, which actually maps your entire IBackup online storage account as a local drive on your computer. What’s more, you could also choose WebFolders, which allows the user to use drag/drop technology to achieve data storage and retrieval. Seamless perfection!
  • Online Backup – IBackup makes backing up data a breeze with its desktop scheduler IBackup for Windows.

So for an online backup solution that is trusted by so many organizations, you know you won’t go wrong when you choose IBackup.

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The Game of the Name

Posted on May 22, 2007 by The Giddy Tigress

Do you ever wonder what goes into deciding the name of a shop or an establishment? Some take the easy way out and name their shops after their own names, like Versace, Gucci, Tag Heuer or McDonald’s. Then there are others who take the trouble to think it through and come up with classics like Burger King, T.G.I.Friday’s and Target, to name a few. These names virtually roll off our tongues and is incredibly easy to remember.

Lately I’ve noticed many new shops in the shopping malls with quaint names. Names that perhaps convey an underlying message, yet is subliminal enough to arouse the curiosity of the general passerby. Like this shop, for example. It is called SHINS, but I doubt it sells anything close to shin protection or shin beautification.

In fact, if I am not wrong, this shop sells beauty products and makeup. Could the name of the shop been intended to be SKINS instead? Hmmmm…that actually sounds gross, because then it will sound as if they are selling skins! Could it have been SHINE? Either way, it doesn’t make any sense to me…

Oooh, and what about this one?

Posted in Thoughts & Scribblings | 8 Comments