Sunday, September 27, 2009

'State of Calamity' as Philippines Flooding Leaves 106 Dead and Missing - International News | News of the World | Middle East News | Europe News - FOXNews.com


'State of Calamity' as Philippines Flooding Leaves 106 Dead and Missing - International News News of the World Middle East News Europe News - FOXNews.com

Please help the people of the Philippines by sending donations. Food, water, clothing, blankets and monetary donations would definitely help the devastated nation. Please follow these links to know more about ways to donate:

http://tourism-philippines.com/philippines-flood-donation-appeal/
http://www.redcross.org.ph/Site/PNRC/Default.aspx?S=48&SS=972

Animal Shelters are also in need of donations.
PAWS is opening its’ doors for the dog and cat evacuees! Please have a heart and extend a helping hand to the innocent animals.You can also help by donating dog/cat food and cages/shelters with roofs. The shelter is located in Katipunan. Please repost. Exact Address and Contact numbers are: Aurora Blvd., Katipunan Valley,Loyola Heights Q.C.Telefax:4751688

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Thursday, September 24, 2009

Laptop Schmaptop

I recently saw this contest ad on the papers that gives you the chance to win a brand new laptop (left) just by submitting an essay that states why you should win the laptop they’re giving away. I know I’m too old to be even joining the contest but since I am currently free-loading off my boyfriend’s computer, I thought it’d be a good chance to actually have my own. And so the letter-writing drama begins...

Why do I deserve to win the limited edition Disney Netbook? Well, for the simple reason that I have never owned a laptop/netbook before.

In the (insert age here) years of my life, I have never ever been graced the pleasure of having my own computer and this contest might just be the only chance that I have in getting one – well, that, and buying one for myself out of my own pocket which I don’t have the budget to back me up for.When I was in Grade School, my dad bought a Compaq Presario PC for the whole family and I was ecstatic! But of course that is for all of us (me plus my parents and three other siblings) so that does not count as my own. When I was in university, I had to borrow my sister’s laptop to do my homework, papers and research and it was ooooooone slooooooow coooooooow – which she still uses up to now, by the way, God bless her.

Whenever I go to parties with my friends and I take photos from my phone camera, you can count on the fact that it will take me about 3-5months before I upload the photos up on friendster or facebook since I don’t have the means to upload the photos. This is after much badgering from my friends and colleagues to “just upload it already!!!!”. Of course, I can’t always use my office PC (even though I’ve done it quite a few times -- sorry boss!).

There are days when I am expected to work from home so to do that, I have to put on my doe-eyed, pity-me look and knock on my flatmates’ doors to grant me a couple of hours with their beloved computers. That is, provided they, themselves, are not using it to update their own personal web blogs or read about the latest news and gossip. Oh, how it breaks my heart…

I am a frustrated writer-slash-blogger but I haven’t had the chance to show off my smart antics to the web world due to fact that I have limited access to a computer. In our house, which I share with 5 other people, I am the only one not paying for the internet bill since I am not using it – how can I when I do not have anything to connect to the internet with?

As I am writing this email, I am using my sister’s ever-reliable 6-year old laptop, who, thankfully, still serves its purpose one way or another. I look forward to having my pitiable state knock on the doors of your heart and hope you will consider granting me a once-in-a-lifetime Oprah moment by knocking on my door with a big smile – hopefully, with a Limited Edition Disney (insert laptop brand here) notebook at hand.

Peace,Autumn Riley

PS:I love Disney movies and cartoons since I was young, by the way! I memorize dialogues from Fairy Tales! Big – no, huge fan!

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Save Karyn, a delightful read :)

I was at a book sale a few months back and saw this book called “Save Karyn: A True-Life Shopaholics’s Journey to Debt and Back” by Karyn Bosnak (mine was the UK version). Since it was a second-hand paperback, it set me back a mere $2.

Now, I gotta admit I’m an impulsive buyer when it comes to clothes, shoes and bags – especially if it’s like love at first sight – but when it comes to books, I’m a bit more cautious. I mean, c’mon, literature is like an important thing and it does NOT come in cheap packages :)

So as what any chick-lit-fan would do, I scanned the back to make sure it would be worth the read (I also bought another book at the same sale, “Good Girls” by Laura Ruby, trust me, the only time I would ever read that book again was if I was held at gun-point in an attic of a decrepit warehouse in the middle of nowhere and the only chance I have of survival was if I read it). Going back, at the synopsis was a mention of www.savekaryn.com, a website I was sure I have heard of in one of the random episodes of Oprah, so I decided for 2bucks, it might not be all that bad.

Now, I didn’t read it as soon as I bought it nor did I start skimming through it when I got home. It’s not one of those, “I fell instantly in love with it upon reading the first paragraph of the first chapter”. Since my boyfriend and I were members at probably all the major bookstores in the country, I still had a few more purchases that I had yet to break into. So, I brushed Karyn aside to make way to my Old English Era obsession (Oh, the dear Philippa Gregory and the wonderful Margaret George).

A couple of months later – when I ran out of mint fresh books – I decided “Save Karyn” would be my next “take a break” (you see, I read a lot of heavy literature, I just somehow have an unexplainable passion for it, so once in every two, I take a break by reading a light-hearted chick lit selection).

It took a while before I was grabbed by the story. I mean, the story wasn’t all that fresh. She was a woman who had everything going for her; an apartment in New York that was a couple of blocks away from Bloomingdale’s and Saks Fifth, a great producer job on a brand new TV talk show, dating a guy who was really hot and had a steady-income, and shopping for big-time brands which some I can barely pronounce. This is all a been-there-done-that but what makes it different is that it is a memoir, a true story. Though, I don’t know if the author made a few things up to make it funnier (Karyn, I hope not).

Basically, her perfect life escalates after much disregard on her part when she adds up one too many purchases on her credit card (which happens to the best of us, let’s not judge) and was out of job after 9/11 that bought her to a debt of a staggering amount of $20,000/+-. She loses contact with hot-banker-boy-toy and moves to Brooklyn as she can no longer afford paying her ridiculous Manhattan rent.

And so her journey begins when she sets up a website asking people for money to help her pay off her debts. You would think no one would be stupid enough to actually give her cash but in matter of 20 weeks of donations and ebay sales, she was able to pay off her debt! Fancy that!

Now, people, it may seem like a good idea and some of you might want to try it out. But it doesn’t work as effectively as it used to anymore. Remember, she made her site in 2002 and published her book in 2003 so by now everyone has made their own websites asking for money and most have no success at all. There is even a term for it “internet begging” which I only found out about two months ago! So if you’re thinking about it, I advise you otherwise, but I’m not the smartest person so don’t take my word for it 100%.

What I do advise, though, is get a copy of the book. It is such a fun read, Karyn is witty, hilarious and the way she tells her story makes you feel for her. She didn’t just go out there and expect everyone to pitch in to pay her debt while she lives a carefree lifestyle – she actually made an effort to contribute what she can and make a stab on drinking Brita water (God bless her). But ultimately, she entertained so many readers with her antics posted on savekaryn.com and inspired a whole lot others in various ways.

Even if I don’t know her, I feel like I do and I completely relate to her (I do have a lump sum slowly being cleared on my credit cards, too). Visit her website, I’m sure any shopaholic as well as career-challenged individual would enjoy one way or another.

Monday, September 14, 2009

The Slacker in Me

So... I know I made a blog account thru my real name before but for some wierd reason, I can't find it. So here I am creating another one but I thought it be best if I make this named under my nom de plume, Autumn Riley :)

Not that it's gonna be any different, I guess I just was inspired to be anonymous when I read SaveKaryn.com, a hilarious, educational book for the jobless shopaholics by Karyn Bosnak. Really, that's a find!

Anyhow, from what I have decided in the last hour I've been trying to come up with a blog title - which was not much of a success, this is a temporary blog name, by the way - I would like to use this blog as my space for breathing. An answer for my search for "Something to do when I've got nothing to do" emergencies. I've always had nasty opinions about some stuff and sometimes smart anecdotes that I guess will be more or less worthy of a few reads from the general public.

Of course, I do apologize for straining your eyes from my future posts of nonsensical experiences --> i.e. my childhood (trust me, funnnyyy), my past relationships (I might border somewhere near here as much as I'd like to forget them), my recent purchases (oooohhh shopping!) and my past jobs and bosses (yes, definitely not to be missed - the bosses!). This is how every post will basically be tagged (or labelled).

With that said, I'm keeping my fingers crossed in high hopes of generating hits for my blog and well, at the least be able to entertain a few jobless shopaholic with a smart-alecky personality such as mine :) Cheers, people!