Mika who?…and A Musical Passion

If Mika Hakkinen is the first name that comes to your mind, you ain’t seen nothing yet.

I’m actually referring to Mica Penniman, who’s a singer that goes by the name of Mika. His latest single Grace Kelly, is my absolute favorite song of the moment – have you heard it? If you haven’t, you should… His voice is reminiscent of Freddie Mercury and the song reminds me so much of The Proclaimers’ 500 Miles. The Grace Kellysong always leaves me smiling, although I haven’t mastered the lyrics yet. Mika hails from Lebanon and although he sings well, believe it or not, he can’t read music, he suffers from dyslexia and on top of that he was severely bullied in school.

I am always in awe of musicians who do well even though they can’t read music. I think that is nothing short of phenomenal. It actually makes me ponder and rethink my career path. I’m a music lover and my hubby says I am musically-inclined, but why did I not venture into the music industry? I met this hotel lounge pianist in KL a couple of weeks back; he’s about fifty years old and he had the awesome job of entertaining hotel guests by playing the grand piano in the lobby of the hotel. He was playing all sorts of jazzy tunes, and I could tell he could play by ear. We got to talking and when I told him I played the piano till Grade 8, he was stunned that I didn’t pursue it further. He added that it wasn’t easy getting to that level… and I’d have to agree with him. It definitely was not a bed of roses to get that far. Well for one thing, to continue with this musical passion of mine, I’d first need to get a space to fit a piano… okay, I’d make do with a clavinova now. The thing is my apartment now is short of space…which leaves me with only one other option: get a house.

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Crazy about Denim

Okay, I confess.  I am a fashion maniac.  I love watching fashion runway shows and rummaging around in my wardrobe for stuff (old or new) which can be used as accessories or as a fashion item.  That’s why my hubby complains that I hardly throw my clothes away; on the contrary, I keep getting new ones!  In school, I am proud to announce that I have won an award for being “best-dressed” at a school function before. 🙂

But you know if there was one item of clothing I would hold on to forever, it would be that pair of denim jeans.  Jeans are so versatile, they will take you from work to play, and they match anything!  Tank tops, baby tees, sneakers, heels… endless options are available.  Gosh, I need some retail therapy pronto… so glad it’s the weekend tomorrow.  Don’t you think these Rock & Republic Jeans would look glam on me?

Silver Chain Print Denim Pant

And wouldn’t you agree that this denim dress would almost certainly NEVER go out of fashion?

Denim Button Up Dress

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For Love or Money

Is the age-old cliche that states money can’t buy love a hundred percent accurate? Money can buy fancy clothes and jewellery. Money can buy beautiful houses with perfectly-manicured lawns and landscaped gardens. And money can certainly buy footballers… in fact AC Milan is rumored to have made a bid for Chelsea’s John Terry as we speak.

But if a woman is wooed into marriage by a very rich man who buys her everything she’s ever wanted, will she eventually fall in love with him? If she claims she does, is she falling in love with him or his money? Hmmm….the line is getting very blur, don’t you think? In my opinion, money can certainly buy lust BUT never love. No matter how someone claims that money *might* eventually buy love, it will never ever bear any truth in it.

However, if you love someone who is not THAT well-off, a little bit of extra moolah is certainly useful. 😉 That much cannot be denied.

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Just Apogee It!

As bloggers, we all definitely want to have our site listed in the top few result matches in popular search engines.  This way, more people are liable to click on our links and in turn, generate website traffic.  After all, why rant and rave in your blog if no one is gonna read about it?  Nowadays, many people are turning to Search Engine Optimization (SEO) services in an effort to have their sites ranked at the top of the natural results of today’s most popular search engines.  Apogee, a Houston SEO company which started its operations in 2001, claims not just to increase site traffic, but also to drive quality visitors to one’s site using something known as natural search.  The methods employed by Apogee are nothing short of unique:  they use proven techniques, powerful analytical tools and statistical analysis to generate results at every stage of the search engine marketing process.

There is also an interesting link on the Apogee site that directs us to its Search Marketing Blog.  It contains the latest news in the field of Search Engine Marketing and is a must-read for all bloggers who want to drive traffic to their sites.  In addition, there is also a Search Engine Marketing Glossary available, which gives us a clear and concise definition of search engine jargons which we encounter every day; this includes the famous Page Rank!  So to sharpen your competitive edge in today’s search engine marketing environment, check out Apogee!

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Ta-daa! Get giddy with my New Theme!

Yup, I’ve decided to change my theme and here it is.  A 3-columnal theme, which is (hopefully) pleasing to the eye.  I like my old theme too, but more often than not, I have had to make my pictures smaller to fit its narrow column.  Now, with this new theme, although the width of the post is relatively similar, I have an additional column for sponsors and other blog statistics (like who visited and what they clicked).

After many weeks of toying around with the theme, adjusting it here and there, and creating the header (better like it ok?)…I’m done!  This new theme is still in Beta stage for about a week or so, while I tidy up details and tie up loose ends (I’m trying to figure out how to remove the image padding – I’ve set it to 0 in the css but it still doesn’t work… hmmmm…).  So do let me know what you think… does this bode better with you compared to the old theme?  Do you have another theme you’d like to suggest?  I’m open to all comments, complaints, bouquets and brickbats.

As for the logo, it is probably a temporary one for no; my most-artistic hubby will create another logo when inspiration discovers him… heh heh…

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