Oasis Dried Up but other Opportunities are Open

Gone are the days when I was making a substantial amount of money each day from doing paid blogging and writing articles. My online work has becomes scarce like an oasis being dried up. With the global recession and economic upheaval, it would become worse and I can only depend on Google Adsense to make online income which took months to hit USD100, the minimum for payout. But thank goodness, I am also selling Herbalife, a slimming product plus cosmetics through my blog and this has make more than RM1,000 for me since last year. All my contacts are from emails sent to me to request for orders, money paid online to cash bank into ATM and then the order is also done online through my supplier in KL. All Herbalife delivery are through courier service when clients have to pay additional RM20 for the products to be delivered right to their door steps.

Going to Langkawi in a Short While

I am going to Langkawi by Firefly which was booked and confirmed last night. It takes about 30 minutes to arrive from Penang Airport to Langkawi's Airport. We need to take measurement for a sports court for a customer before flying back the next day on Sunday. Most likely, we will stay overnight in Langkawi after doing the necessary. This is a short business trip. And I just found out from my sister that a return trip by boat is about RM100 plus. Had I known that earlier, we would have taken the boat and save us about RM620 for 2 persons return by flight plus airport tax.

Financial Meltdown

Since late last year, we have been bombarded with a slew of news of job cuts, credit crunch, lay-offs and financial meltdown of big institutions like banks that have been around for more than 100 years. Millions will be jobless this year as more and more companies retrench their staffs especially in USA, Europe, China, Singapore, etc. Malaysia is not spared from this punishing economic woes though the government refuse to admit that recession has come to our shores. Every day, as I read the newspapers in business section, I see more job cuts everywhere and people are getting desperate. Families with young children to feed are turning to the parish priest of our local cathedral of the Holy Spirit to share their stories in the hope of securing new employment. According to Pastor Joseph Prince, prosperous economies previously will be awakened while developing nations will rise up.

Happy Chinese New Year 2009!

This Chinese New Year, I will be in Haadyai with my family for 4 days 3 nights. My second sister came out from Suchou in China to be with us this CNY and to celebrate as a family doing things together. We plan to do some shopping for clothes and go for massages which are so affordable. The three of us will treat our parents sumptuous dinner, one for each night during this occasion. A chartered van will come pick us up from our home in Penang and drive up north to the same hotel that we have stayed last year, also for CNY. I would like to take this opportunity to wish all my Chinese readers, "A Happy Chinese New Year 2009"!

Health is more Important than Making Money

When you are over the age of 50, go for blood pressure check up to see the systolic and diastolic figures. It should be 120/80 which is normal. Anything above and much higher than this figures spells CVA (cardiovascular accident) which may lead to stroke or heart attack. Life is too precious to take chances and the risks are increased if you are a smoker, above 50 years of age, drink alcohol or have high cholesterol levels. You should also go for complete blood test to check for cancer, blood glucose, liver function, etc. As we age, we need daily medication to keep us going and to keep the engine in good condition.

Wrote 2 Short Articles Today

I have just submitted my 2 shorts articles for a blog of 300 words each. It only pays USD 1 cent per word, so you can calculate how much 300 words will bring in. Christmas is just over but the Yuletide spirit still lingers on. And I was in bed almost the whole day to recuperate from my stubborn flu after taking 2 rounds of anti-biotics for the last 1 month. As I felt better today, I decided to work a little by writing articles for income. My mind is clearer now and no longer drowsy from the medication and cough mixture. And Belated Christmas to my readers!

Merry Christmas 2008 & Happy New Year 2009

I would like to take this opportunity to wish my readers a very Merry Christmas 2008 and a Happy New Year 2009. As I am currently down with flu and taking medication that makes me drowsy, this blog will take a 1 week break. I will be off to somewhere later today and then to a mountain resort for the holidays for 3 days 2 nights. After that, it will be a busy week with many calendars to send out for 2009. Wish me journey mercies for the trip and speedy recovery for my flu. Till then, have a good holiday!