The Rookie

As soon as I left my corporate job, I was hit first by a wave of panic. What no more 9-6 job??!! What I need to drive around KL??!! Argh!!!! But one can't get anywhere if you never want to step out of your comfort zone. A month later, yea it's not bad. Pretty good actually. Hours are flexi, thank God for that, else I would have gone nuts if I was to be stuck in traffic day in, day out. And I've met some very interesting people along the way, learned that a smile gets you a long way and breaks ice pretty well. One important note I've made to myself, most successful people are humble.

I was somewhat ill equipped for the job, at least for the start. My good ol' Kelisa was making all kinds of funny sound, and one day the brake behaved weirdly while I was on the highway. Scary. That's how I found out what happens when you drive with your hand brake up for a long time. Sigh. After nearly giving myself heart attack more than once, I sent the Goldie to the workshop. Three times. Now, driving around isn't too bad knowing my car will not die on me. And I learned how to use Waze to get around, finally I stopped getting lost, well not much at least. Waze is pretty awesome. I even use it on my routine trips from home to work and vice versa, to avoid jam. Also I got myself a Smart Tag. Hah! So now, only my crappy driving skills needs improvement. Perhaps by year end, Goldie will be replaced. This time I am going green, and have my sights on Honda Insight. Maybe blue, I like blue. Well, they don't have purple!

Uber stylish, and environment friendly!

My iPhone has became my lifeline to most things. The voice recorder for interviews, press releases or when I just need to record something. And the camera for all the snapshots, not just the vain ones anymore. For now, it's fine and except for the battery life, it's ok. But soon, I'll need to get a camera. I don't want those fancy DSLR ones that's huge and complicated. I really don't need another thing to muddle me further. Perhaps a simple one, point and shoot. If I decide on a smart camera, it would be Samsung WB250F. It connects via WiFi making photo uploading a breeze and has a Hybrid Touch User interface. Plus the red one looks like purple, and it's light on the pocket!

Samsung WB250F

This was a huge change from my corporate life, to a more relaxed environment, let's see where does my next adventure lead me to.

Pandora, and I opened the box

I am making a promise, yet again, to keep blogging. When I say keep, I mean keep. But with so many delights out there it is hard to keep my sights on only one topic. So I will write of all that catches my fancy as of when and what. Well at least I get to talk about it without my friends grumbling that I don't shut up. LOL.

My last birthday present was a much coveted one. And when it was finally mine, I couldn't help dancing with glee. My very first Pandora bracelet! My darling finally got it for me, with my first charm, a teddy bear, reminisce of my term of endearment for him. And thus, the madness began.

My Precious

The Bear

I admit, when I wanted the bracelet, I promised to add charms as I go, perhaps with memorable occasions. But after getting it, I got impatient. Well patience was never one of my virtues! The very next day off I went to the nearest Pandora outlet, in Alamanda Putrajaya. The price tags of the charms did set off alarm bells in my head and the impatience of the sales girl was grating on my nerves. I decided to start off with the basic and got myself a safety chain for a whooping RM180. Sigh. Jewelery ain't cheap, reminded me why I prefer not to accessorize so much.

Basic Safety Chain

Knowing the shopaholic in me will not be satisfied with just this, I started sourcing for cheaper Pandora jewelery, and I don't like fakes, so Ebay was out of the question. I found two ways to get my hands on the pretty baubles for a fraction of the price. One, Pandora outlets in US and Canada often has good promos. Something like purchase charms for USD100, and get either a free sterling silver bracelet or some limited edition charm. Two, there was a certified Pandora online seller!!! And yes it is cheaper and they do ship to Malaysia for free!!! BINGO!!!! All Pandora-holics head over to perlenodense.com and shop your hearts out! I've purchased a couple of times from them, including as a gift for Mom. I didn't pay extra for tracking, it was a gamble but I've not had any issues thus far. *touchwood*  When I got it as a gift for Mom, I did ask for the card that I could get for free, but she didn't even notice it as the bracelet and charm did not come in a box. If I am not mistaken, you only get a box when you purchase above USD100. Oh well, it didn't matter. I still saved some money, and the charms are sooo pweeety!

As of today

The two purple Murano beads were gifts from Mom, for my birthday. And yes before I forget, one effective way to stop oxidization is to keep the bracelet in the box with couple of silica gel packets. The silica gel absorbs moisture and prevents the silver from tarnish. Or you can get the anti-tarnish pouches from Pandora, not too sure if you can get them here in Malaysia. I think it is high time to add couple of charms now, perhaps something signifying luck and dreams coming true!!!