Shopping for the Chinese New Year

Chinatown/Petaling Street - Photo source: Yahoo! Travel

The Lunar New Year or more commonly-known as the Chinese New Year here in Malaysia is just around the corner. To be exact, it falls on Feb 18. Being a country with a good portion of the people being Chinese, they are busy making preparations for this auspicious occasion. One of the key activities is shopping for new things both for the home and for oneself like clothes and other personal items.

Shopping places like the Suria KLCC (KL City Center), the Mid-valley Megamall and Chinatown town or the Petaling Street area are packed with shoppers day and night.

Sports Illustrated

Are you a fan of the Sports Illustrated magazine or are you interested to know the latest in swimwear design?

Then you've got to watch out and get a copy of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit Issue due for release this Valentine's Day, Feb 14. Sports Illustrated not only carries contemporary designs, the icing on the cake is of course the supermodels who model the skimpy, yet lovely beachwear and in breezy and exotic settings too.


Can't wait for the release of the Valentine's Day issue, no worries. You can download the pictures of any supermodel of your choice as wallpapers on your cellphone from Sports Illustrated Mobile and have them permanently on your cellphone. The other big occasion on Feb 14 is the release of the 43rd annual Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. Wallpapers of your favorite supermodels are also available anytime from SI Mobile. You may be interested to note that these images come straight from the photo shoots featured in the magazine and each is only for $1.99 and are available for all major wireless carriers.

There are over 50 supermodels featured on the site. Some of the more popular ones include Victoria's Secret model Heidi Klum, Marisa Miller, Ana Beatriz Barros, tennis star Maria Sharapova, Molly Sims and 2005 Sports Illustrated cover girl Carolyn Murphy.



If you're also interested in classic Sports Illustrated cover girl wallpapers from past years, there are Elle Macpherson and Kathy Ireland. It's not only wallpapers that are available, Sports Illustrated Mobile users can also download video clips from the photo shoots, ringtones with video, animated screensavers and many more.

Please note that purchasing requires that you provide some personal information to ensure delivery. However, please be assured that your personal information will not be disclosed to any third party.

**Sponsored**

Furnishing a Home

I heard from a friend in Mexico the other day that his new house will be ready soon, round about the Chinese New Year time. I told him I was excited for him and congratulated him. From the pictures that he sent, it's a huge, beautiful double-story bungalow that he designed himself. He intends to have a minimalist decor. An uncluttered surrounding is what he prefers. I know he loves leather so he would have at least his lounge set in leather. However, he would need to get some knowledge about leather furniture care so that his lounge set will get the proper care.

Greatpricedfurniture.com is a site to visit if you are furnishing a home whether new or lived in. This site has a comprehensive selection of all categories of furniture for the bedroom, children and baby, kitchen, living and dining rooms, even office furniture. You can find great furniture on sale here too as well as budget furniture. Bestsellers are indicated as well as new arrivals. If you are someone who prefers to buy from familiar manufacturers, this site lists them.

Related articles on furniture can also be found here. You can find articles on decorating style and furniture care. These are helpful for homeowners. You can also sign up for their Newsletter to receive information about their new items and great deals. There is no better place to go to than Greatpricedfurniture.com for that great offer for furniture.

Switching to the New Blogger

No wonder there are so many grouses on the Blogger discussion site from bloggers who have switched to the New Blogger. Now I understand why. I was forced to switch by Blogger yesterday, Feb 3. (MM, I guess it was time for my blog to make the transition).

Everything seemed fine, then I spotted something amiss after my first post. "Previous Posts" does not get updated and keeps showing the same posts. Does anyone have a solution? I went to the discussion board but did not find any thread on this problem and worse still, I couldn't find a link to Blogger Help. Any help on this would be much appreciated.

I hope I don't find any other glitches. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Are Credit Cards a Necessity?

Are credit cards a necessity? Perhaps some ten years ago, the answer to this question may be a "No", but these days, not having a credit card could be a handicap. Would anyone think of carrying tens of thousands of dollars in cash around town shopping? Here in Malaysia personal cheques are normally not accepted for walk-in shopping. Generally, shopkeepers do not accept them. They would prefer a credit card instead. No wonder sometimes they are called 'plastic money'.

It is wise to learn about credit cards to tap their full potential as different cards do have different functions. For example, if one already has a few credit cards and would like to consolidate the balances to better manage the accounts, a 0% balance transfer credit card would be suitable. Having different cards for different purposes could be an ideal way to manage spending. The card used for shopping would be well to be charged to a 0% on all purchases or one where credit card loyalty points can be collected. Before you go out to sign up for a card, why not compare credit cards available to make a well-informed choice.

The Amazing Race Asia

Those of you in Malaysia, did you watch the final episode of The Amazing Race Asia on Thurs, Feb 1? I managed to remember in time to switch to the AXN channel to watch it. The pair of Malaysian ladies, Tee Joe Jer and Zabrina Fernandez, won it. When they were the last to complete putting the bench together, I thought they had lost it but was I surprised. They beat Hong Kong team, expatriates Francesca von Etzdorf, 27, and Sandy Sydney, 29; and Andrew Tan, 26, and Syeon Park, 28, (Tan is Malaysian while Park Korean-Australian) to win the US$100,000 (RM365,000) cash prize. The two are also the first ever all-girl team to win an Amazing Race competition. Pretty amazing, I tell you. Read story..

Mint Credit and Gift Cards

Almost every working adult has a credit card at least. Most have several. Are you planning on signing up for another one? Why not sign up for a Mint credit card if you are in the UK? Mint credit cards come in two versions, a standard credit card and the MC2 card which has the bottom right-hand corner removed.

From now until December 2007 Mint is offering 0% on balance transfers as well as 0%interest on purchases and there is no annual fee plus free online account management and many other benefits.

If it's not a credit card you are looking for, how about a Mint Gift Card? Valentine's Day is just around the corner, why not give a gift of a Mint Gift Card to allow your Valentine to pick out something for herself?

Thaipusam

Today is Thaipusam, a Hindu festival. Today is also Federal Territory day so the crowd is expected to be bigger at Batu Caves paying homage to the gods. An estimated crowd of 1.5million people is expected. Below are a few shots of this year's celebration. See The Star's Gallery for more pictures and you can read more about Thaipusam in Wikipedia.