Other than blogging and surfing the internet, what do you do when there is nothing else to do?

I play with my daughter.

Take naps with her.

Just stare blankly at the wall. Ha ha.

[source: That's My Answer]

When I wrote my Payperpost entry promoting SocialSpark, I registered for an account with the latter to learn more about this latest offering from Izea. I wondered how the process works seeing that it is not only a paid blogging site but a social networking site as well.

As soon as I got an account, I received email notifications from fellow bloggers who would like to network with me by increasing “props” (which means a good feedback; an opposite of “drops”). “Props” help increase the blogger’s popularity within the program, which is favorable in getting more ad opportunities.

The system of getting ads to work on is different. There should be an open slot for the ad and if no slots are available at the time, the blogger can queue or request for a slot to be opened.

From what I gather SocialSpark is pretty much driven by blog traffic unlike other paid ad programs that are driven mainly by PR or Alexa ranking. This means that despite a zilch PR ranking, you can still grab opportunities so long as the ad suits your blog theme and that you are quick enough to reserve them. Yes, the ads run out fast!

The people behind Izea surely are very creative and innovative. With the success of Payperpost and now SocialSpark, I wonder what they will come up with next. Maybe a paid blogging cum social networking site where you can also share video clips and music within your blogging network, well, who knows?

Right now, I’d just really like a ____________.

good full body massage!

[source: That's My Answer]

I like hosting lunches and dinners at home. Never mind the efforts in cooking, preparing desserts and cleaning the house to make it presentable. It is the joy of having good conversations with good friends over good food that makes it worth it.

It is also nice to cap a heavy feast with a good cup of coffee or tea. Even though my husband and I are not avid coffee fans, it might be worth investing on coffee or espresso machines. I definitely need help in whipping up good coffee that our friends will enjoy.

One thing I terribly miss in Singapore is my access to beauty treatments. In every mall there, there is at least one salon and beauty care center. I used to go to Leonard Drake for my facials and acne treatments and I miss it terribly.

Eventually I have to find a good facial care centre here in Sydney. I may not be able to go as frequent as I used as I’m pretty sure it is expensive but a once-a-quarter treatment should be fine.

What is the oldest thing you own? What is the newest?

The oldest thing I own is a pair of pants and shoes from 5 years ago. I still love wearing them! The newest thing I own is a foot spa kit, a gift from my husband.

[source: That's My Answer]

In the US, one of my family’s favorite activities during Thanksgiving is shopping. I was told that most (if not all) stores go on sale and people arrive in malls in droves to avail of the huge discounts. I think they have something similar to that here in Australia called Boxing Day which happens in December.

One can imagine how it’s like to shop during crazy-day sale like this, but what if there is an alternative to shopping during “Black Friday” or day after Thanksgiving Day? Wouldn’t it be nice to avail of the huge discounts without joining the rush and the long queues? One can zero-in to the store and get the products they really want to purchase instead of spending a lot of time checking items from store to store. The answer to that is black-friday.net.

This online website lists the participating stores like Target, Toys R Us, Macy’s, Babies R Us, Costco and a lot more. There are direct links to these stores where you can see and choose the products you want to purchase. They send newsletters about the sales that are sent way ahead of Black Friday compared to the usual Thanksgiving Day newspaper ads. When you select the store, like Babies R Us, the items listed show the discount percentage or the actual price.

The site is a big help if you’d like to maximize the discounted shopping opportunity.

Ako ay nangangarap na nakaupo sa tabing dagat
kung saan banayad ang pagdaan ng hangin
kasabay ang pagaspas ng mga ibon sa kalangitan.

Kung mapapahinto ko lang ang oras
para manatili ako sa ganitong pakiramdam
di alintana ang mga nangyayari sa kapaligiran.

Ngunit hindi posible sa totoong buhay
tuloy-tuloy palagi ang laban
mabuti na lang madaling balikan ang ganda ng kalikasan.

… It’s the next best thing to be.

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When was your last vacation? Where did you go?

I had my last vacation in November to January this year. We stayed in the Philippines that long as part of our transition from Singapore to Sydney. Barring any problems, we are all set for our holiday trip to the Philippines in December. We just need to pick-up the tickets!

[source: That's My Answer]