Gift Cards for the Holidays

The holidays are almost over, but not quite yet. Are you done with your holiday gift-giving? I’m planning to go to the mall tomorrow to buy some much-needed groceries. I only hope there won’t be a swarm of people doing last-minute shopping for their New Year preparation, but that may be asking too much. Some are still not finished buying food stuff for their New Year’s celebrations, others may still be buying belated Christmas gifts and looking for gift cards to give away. The last time I was at the mall was the day before Christmas and I had this totally irritating and agonizing experience of having to line up for an hour just to withdraw money from the ATM machine. I had to because I was out of cash and I needed to buy something for the long days I’m going to be staying at the house. Now, if I only had gift cards then, I most probably would have used them instead of waiting that long.

The good thing about gift cards is that they allow you to get what you want without wasting your money. By giving gift cards, consumers will benefit from after Christmas sales while getting great deals on everything from clothing to electronics to household gear. Better yet, you can use them even after the big holidays to buy even more.

Neurolinguistic Programming

Ever heard of Neuro Linguistic Programming? Neuro Linguistic Programming, or NLP, was co-created by Richard Bandler and linguist John Grinder in the 1970s. It is a way of better understanding how people think and how you can persuade or influence them to think differently. It’s a set of ideas and techniques that can help people to make many changes in their own life, or to help others to change. According to Wikipedia, NLP is an interpersonal communication model applied in psychotherapy and other contexts of communication and change. It attempts to observe naturally self-taught expertise, and then model the processes and habitual patterns that experts intuitively use on the assumption that those behaviors were responsible for their results.
Paul McKenna, UK’s best-selling non-fiction author of books such as  I Can Make You Thin, I Can Make You Rich, and Change Your Life in 7 Days. He is a licensed NLP trainer and his books are all based on NLP.

Some of the topics currently being discussed at the forums are “Ethics and NLP,” “Is NLP Manipulative and Dangerous?,” and “NLP with Anger Issues.”  

BtVs

My introduction to Buffy the Vampire Slayer came about when I was searching for a new TV series to watch. Ok, that didn’t sound right because the show ended in 2003, so it wouldn’t fall to the category of “new.” Anyway, I realized I’ve been watching too much X-Files so I decided to shift my attention some place else. Now, I’ve never really considered myself to be a SciFi/fantasy nut; ironically, my favorite movies (Contact, Meet Joe Black) and TV shows (X-Files, Taken, and now BtVS) all go beyond the realistic. I wouldn’t overanalyze the “why” mainly because I don’t think I can point it out exactly. But the unique thing is, although I enjoy the visual effects and story progression of this kind of artistic presentation, I tend to focus more on the human aspects - the emotions, relationships, struggles, and parallels to real life. I guess maybe, for me, the “fantastic” provides a whole new layer of intensity in sending the message across compared with in-your-face representations like reality TV or soap operas. Take Buffy, for example. I initially dismissed it as a sophomoric show intended only for young audiences. I read about the musical episode, so I decided to start there, which is actually already on the second to the last season. Being generally considered as the “darkest” season (S6) of the entire series, watching it made me realize how uniquely different this show is to anything I’ve watched before. It’s fearless and it’s peerless in the way that it managed to wreck havoc on its own heroes to the point that almost everyone in the show act despicably (hence, their misery) and yet you still feel for them and can still laugh with them when they make their stupid jokes. For now, let me say for the record that this show is not for kids. In fact, you may have to be a mightily open-minded adult to take in a world where the line between black and white is hardly ever drawn distinctly. Here’s my ultimate Scooby group

(Front, sitting) Nicholas Brendon as Xander Harris; (left to right, middle row) Alyson Hannigan as Willow Rosenberg, Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers, Michelle Trachtenberg as Dawn, Emma Caufield as Anya; (back row) Anthony Stewart Head as Rupert Giles, Amber Benson as Tara, James Marsters as Spike Photo credit: The WB/Jeffrey Thurnher

Notebooks

Ok, so I’m trying to get as many writing gigs I can get my hands on and now I’m starting to think maybe I need to buy a laptop. Seriously, with blogging, and now writing essays, I need to have something I can bring with me everywhere I go. I’ll be like an on-the-go writer. Oh, to be honest, it’s not really that much of a necessity at this point. I just want it just because that sounds cool.

A friend of mine bought her notebook computer from an online buy-and-sell site. She really wants any of those Toshiba Notebooks and she actually got one for almost half its original price. The laptop was used by the owner, who apparently wants to upgrade, for less than 3 months, and it was really in mint condition. As for me, I’m gunning for one of the Vaio Sony Notebooks. I really like the pink one. I actually heard some rumors that they are being sold on 50% price-off lately because Sony is going to release new models, but I haven’t really found any stores that prove this news. It’s going to be a while before I have the finances to buy myself this gadget. What would be good, though, is if the company I’m working for will give me one of those Dell Notebooks the people from the management carry around. Gah, I can only dream.

Pearls

I think pearls are just so pretty! They can exude elegance as well as simplicity and purity. I don’t have many occasions to use as an excuse to buy several pearl accessories but I am very fond of pearl earrings.

Quite frankly, I buy the cheap ones you can find at the mall. That way, I can have them in different sizes and color without the guilt of spending too much on jewelries. But there’s nothing like the real thing. Big, small, round, oval, Akoya, Tahitians or freshwater, whatever kind you prefer, pearls are just a beauty to behold. I found this site that sells a wide variety of pearls, from necklaces, earrings, bracelets, rings, and others. Just looking at the pictures of pearls, from the gorgeous pearl necklace at the homepage to several pieces of pink and white earrings, makes me want to purchase anything right away. The prices range from $15 to up to $5000, depending on product and grade. The thing I like most about the site is the big selection it offers. Every kind of jewelry is accompanied by beautiful pictures that would make your mouth water. I don’t think I have seen anything close to those Tahitian pearls they have. (Tahitian black pearls are valued highly because of their rarity.) I’ll be happy to get my hands on some of the freshwater pearls in their selection.

Now, there are several stalls at the malls that sell pearls. The problem I have with that is that I don’t know how to judge their authenticity. The nice thing about shopping online is that you take the time you want to decide which item to buy. Pictures are also available to guide customers into choosing the right color or size of any pearl accessories they want. Plus, there’s the convenience of just waiting for the product to arrive at your doorstep.

Distance Education

I’ve been pondering about taking up an online course. After graduation, many people focus on finding a job, and keeping it, and I’m not any different. I just hope I’ll know how to choose from the several accredited online universities I’m sure are out there.

Well, you’ve heard of people being home-schooled. From  small kids’ early education to advanced post-graduate courses, there are available options for people who prefer to study at the comfort of their own homes. The good thing about enrolling in an accredited online university is that you get to study at your own pace (well, relatively I guess) and at your own schedule, so you can still do other things -  get a job, get a time-demanding hobby, pursue an artistic career, and others - while getting further education. Ain’t technology grand? Now all I have to do is decide what specific study area I’ll be pursuing. I’m thinking something that has to do with media and the arts. 

eLearners.com is one site that offers a wide variety of online programs.  It has a list of several online schools, in fact their database search will point you to 2000+ online degrees and online colleges and universities. It even has links to articles and resources for anyone looking for more information about online schooling.