Gimme A Break

Woot, here we at another long weekend. The sales are on at all the shopping malls in town so it’s either I get out there and grab a piece of the action, or I’m going to kick myself later .

This being the 31st of the month also means that Baskin-Robbins is offering a 31% off all their flavors. Yes, this is the day we’ve been looking forward to.

The kids have been reminding me endlessly and now they’re jumping on my back to get offline and to BR. Seems the ice-cream can’t wait!

• ice cream time
• lines, lines, lines
• window-shopping
• go away, flu bug!
• tis the season to be shopping

by minutechaser - No Comments →

I was at the movies with the kids and we were running late. In my hurry to get in line at the popcorn stand, I knocked over one of those metal posts leading to the concesssions counter.

Even as I was bending to pick it up, I felt someone push past me. It was a young college-aged woman who took advantage of the situation to get ahead of me in the line. She turned back to give me a smug look.

At that moment, I could’ve sworn I’d have given her a good ticking-off for her complete lack of consideration and courtesy. Don’t you have any manners, child?

• careless parents
• noddy on the road
• logistics brainwave
• drivin’ me up the wall!
• does he look like your dad?

by minutechaser - No Comments →

Yum, me and the kids had a sumptuous dinner of black pepper lamb chops last night. The aroma, as it was grilling in my oven, filled the house and sent hunger pangs through us all .

We just couldn’t wait to dig in. By the time I finished laying the table, I’d forgotten to snap a photo to post here (duh   ). So you’ll just have to take my word for it that it was the yummiest thing ever, what with the potatoes, carrots and beans!

Sometimes I can be so brilliant I just amaze myself. Instead of us all trooping down to Friday’s for a meal like this, which would’ve set us back 100+ bucks (at least), I bought the marinated lamb chops from the grocery store for less than 45 bucks.

If you do the Math, it’s easy to see how much we’ve saved. Quality-wise, I’d say my homemade version was just as good. Everyone had seconds, which wouldn’t have been possible at a restaurant without sending the bill skyhigh!

• Happy Thanksgiving
• changing batteries
• what’s for lunch?
• later, New York
• hibernating

by minutechaser - No Comments →

… when I think of the time I was on the Sydney Harbor cruise in Australia. What started out as a warm sunny day turned cool suddenly. Of course, I hadn’t thought to bring a sweater or anything.The sea breeze was pretty chilling but I tried to focus on taking photos of the mansions perched along the harbor front.

It started to get cooler as we chugged along so I went to grab a cup of hot coffee. Just as I was settling in on one of the benches to sip it, the boat started to tilt to the side. Thinking this was just a one-off, I put the cup to my lips again.

Barely had I had a sip when the boat began tilting to the other side. Pretty soon, it was quite apparent that there was something wrong. The wind was getting stronger and I could feel a light sea spray on my face.

Glancing around, I notice we were right smack at the mouth of the bay where it meets the ocean. No wonder the currents were so strong here.

Hold that thought ‘cos then I felt the warmth of my coffee on my hand. Our boat was being tossed from side to side. One minute we were riding high, the next we were plummeting down. I grabbed onto one of those metal bars, trying to still myself and my beating heart.

But the rocking wouldn’t stop. Everything and everyone went blur before me. All kinds of thoughts raced through my mind, coffee and cold notwithstanding.

I tried to block out thoughts of “we’re going down, this is it, the boat’s going to sink, we’re all going to … no no no, don’t say it, I still haven’t finished my coffee.. that’s better…” and focus on steadying myself.

I honestly couldn’t tell you how long this went on for. Once we were past the passage to the open sea, a sudden stillness descended and the boat continued its monotonous chugging as if none of this had ever happened. The wind had subsided, the sea spray had vanished and it was a sunny but somewhat chilly day again.

• caffeine withdrawal
• wild vacation (2)
• wierd weather phenomenon
• thoughts of hibernation
• can you keep up?

by minutechaser - 6 Comments →

Whenever I see Caesars Palace on TV, I’m reminded of the time I was there. I love strolling down the walkway into the hotel lined with little statues of Caesar in various poses. That’s so interesting in view of how much I love reading Shakespear’s Julius Caesar.

I was completely mesmerized when I entered the Forum Shops with its artificial sky that changes to reflects the time of day. Man, I could stand there for hours just watching the colors of the ’sky’ change.

I did lots of window-shopping but at the time, there was no way I could afford the designer labels at this Shopping Wonder of the World. Maybe next time, huh!

• a world of difference
• planning our getaway
• light or dark colors for guys?
• an alarm clock with a personality
• can I just zoom off?

by minutechaser - 1 Comment →

I accompanied my girl friend to the mechanic’s the other day to get her car’s body work fixed after her minor accident. The thing with women and mechanics is that we just never know if the mechanic is taking us for a ride (pun intended!).

The guy promised he would source the best body shop supplies for us and that he would do such a good job that we wouldn’t notice the difference in the car’s appearance after it’s repaired. Sounds good but I guess we’ll have to see it to believe it.

• walking computers?
• don’t call me, I’ll call you
• morning at the mechanic’s
• an afternoon at the mechanic’s
• moon and stars

by minutechaser - No Comments →

I met ex-colleague at the grocery store yesterday that I hardly recognized. She seems to look older and somewhat worn after her, was it, two kids? Taking care of two kids isn’t easy, I guess.

I thought she was still working fulltime but it seems she left to stay home with the kids a few years ago. Now that the kids are at school, she’s working part-time with a small company doing market research.

Raising kids don’t come cheap these days. She says she needs the money since her husband’s business is not doing too well. I hope things work out better soon.

• dealing with the business jitters
• strangers for daughters
• work hard but won’t spend
• a fun way to make money on the weekends
• one lucky girl

by minutechaser - No Comments →

Are you working for a company that wants to run its own intranet? So you’ll be needing a good intranet software to run it.

Epazz offers a total manage hosted solution that allows you to perform your site’s content management and group scheduling.

Its biggest plus point is that it integrates seamlessly with all of your enterprise back-end solution.

You can actually take advantage of their 30-day free trial to test drive the system yourself. It’s always best to do that so you get a feel for the real thing before you purchase.

• a small price for peace of mind
• one boo-boo makes two
• green tea, lovin’ it
• shiver me new drivers
• an alarm clock with a personality

by minutechaser - No Comments →