Dreamt of Puzzles

Seems I've been dreaming more often lately.  I had a difficult time waking up today because I wanted to stay longer making puzzles.  When I was a child, I loved puzzles especially the 3D ones that were prices highly and sold at Rustan's.  We used to go to Rustan's on a weekly basis.  My mom would visit the kitchen section and my siblings and I would always check the toy section.  I'd always check for the latest puzzles as they were displayed in large glass cases.

Growing up, I had to wake up to the truth that time has become less available.  Puzzles were too time consuming and basically useless after I've formed the pieces together and has seen the image similar to the box cover.  I had to stop wasting time and stop wasting money so I quit that silly hobby and be more matured by doing the best acceptable hobby which is to learn the skill of earning money.   Apparently, in my dream its nice to stop and relax once in a while and have time to do pointless things like doing puzzles.  I wanted more of it but I had to wake up and do what I need to do.  I'm glad I had a glimpse of that even for a short while though.

A Recollection of My Weird Dream

I often don't remember my dreams.  In fact, I believe that most of the time I don't have one.  But, for quite some time now I've had a recurring dream.

I was in a grand place, well-lighted with shiny tiled floors.  In every dream I am always on my way to the fourth floor.  This time, I finally reached the fourth floor.  It was an exclusive floor for the prestige suites.  It felt familiar to me like I was a frequent visitor.  The entire floor is covered in dark maroon carpet.  For the stairs, it has a good railing with black grills elegantly designed.  It has a lounge area with a large tall English chairs with thick cushions and a table in between.  There were a lot of people hanging out in that area.  Many would prefer to stand up and socialize.  Some were leaning on the railings.  People were of different races as shown by their appearance.  But all of them were properly clothed.  The women were wearing jewelries and in dresses.  While the men were wearing coat and slacks.  I noticed some people were coming out of their rooms to join in. 

I was casually seating while a small group of people with reddish orange hair and noticeable fair skin were having some sort of occasion.  The tall woman who seems to be in her early twenties with long straight hair wearing a beautiful lightly creased skirt and high heels happily gave a speech and called an old lady handing her something.  The old lady receives it and gave a thanking speech.  The tall young man laughed and also did the same thing and another person came to receive it.  After that, they were doing something I didn't understand so I was merely observing when an old lady noticed me and invited me to join in.  I told her I was not familiar with their custom.  She told me it was simple.  I just need to toss some coin into the pile filed with them to give my blessing and I did.

I was again seating alone when a woman sat beside me.  The woman initiated the conversation by expressing her frustration of her being a sham doctor after an operation had gone wrong.  Because of it, she explains that she had gone through depression and some therapy.  I told her she didn't look like it.  She called the attention of her husband who I didn't notice was just beside her.  She said, "Ain't that right honey?".  Her husband who seemingly looked calm and younger, affirmed with a warm smile as if he fully supports and understood what his wife had went to.  Then their young daughter around 8-10 years old approached her.  I noticed that the girl had the same nose as her mother.  I then told them I was going to leave and stood up.  I Noticed the woman whispered something to her husband as he tried to go after me.  He was quite charming as he told me that they'd like to invite me for dinner sometime and asked my number.  I hesistated at first then took out a piece of paper with something already scribble on it so I wrote at the bottom part.  I tore the bottom part and handed it over to him.  He was stating something about introducing then everything slowly faded as I was warped out by my alarm clock. 

I think I am watching too many dramas and movies lol.  =p  How about you?  Do your dreams have stories too? 

Firmoo Giveaway: Get a Pair of Shades and E-Vouchers from the World's Most Popular Online Eye Store

Does Firmoo sound popular to you?  If it is, it's because its the world's most popular online eye store.  Firmoo offers trendy eye glass and sunglasses which passed through its strict inspection to assure 100% in accuracy in terms of prescription.  But, what makes it competitive against local stores and other online stores is its affordable pricing which is around 80-90% lower than the rest.  For as low as $8, you can have a stylish pair of glasses.  They have a good after-sales warranty too.

They have a wide range of selections which is easy to browse with their user-friendly navigation.  You can choose whether its for male, female and based on the shape, frame and material too.  They also have a try on view so you know how it looks like on your face.

Check it out and I'm sure you can find an awesome frame that will fit your fashion style.  Through Firmoo First Pair Free Program (http://www.firmoo.com/free-glasses.html), you and your family can test the products for free by paying only the shipping fee.  Ain't that cool?  Who doesn't love freebies right?

GIVEAWAY!
I'm also giving away the following:

• Grand Prize Winner of a Pair of Glasses (If giveaway reaches over 50 qualified participants. Includes shipping to the winner)
• 6 $20 E-vouchers (The voucher includes the frame and 1.50 single vision lenses! Some frames are under $20, so winners just need to pay a little on shipping because the voucher doesn’t include it)

I'll make the mechanics really easy so every one can join (Yes! Everyone internationally as long as you are covered within Firmoo's shipping range so be sure to check details on shipping and postage, please visit http://www.firmoo.com/help-c-10.shtml before joining)

Mechanics
Step 1: Visit www.firmoo.com (Mandatory)
Step 2: Visit http://www.firmoo.com/classic-series.html (Mandatory)
Step 3:  Choose your preferred design at http://www.firmoo.com/classic-series.html and comment with your name and email (Mandatory)
Step 4: For more entries you can follow the rafflecopter options (Optional)

Contest will End on August 10, 2013

DISCLAIMER:
Blogger did not receive monetary compensation to run this giveaway.
Shipping + tax of prizes will be shouldered by the winner unless stated otherwise.

Rainy Day Farewell

We meet again, on a rainy day…  We’ve been together for so many days that even rains hold so many memories.   

After the long silence with your usual frowning face, you utter, “You know you’re the one who broke up with me right?”  This time, I can firmly say “I did”.

After 5 years, I dreamt of you.   We had a long and meaningful conversation... It brought the same feeling as serious conversations we had that tugged my heart and where it reaches the very depths of my soul.

As usual you pointed out, what I missed and what I didn't understand.
You said "Don't you get it?.  We're different now.
Before we were lost in fear and surrounded by darkness, but now you only know love.
We've learned to see things in the light.  Even in the midst of our arguments, our anger, our struggle to defend our fears and our pride, we can no longer hold on to them as we once embraced them... instead we have developed the understanding to only see beyond and feel the our true nature with warmth and care.

We can't help it.  We've changed.  You've changed.  You have no more fears, no more hate, no more darkness... All you have is light.   You've earned it and live on."

I knew you were right.  I am different.  I am stronger.  And, I know I can go on because our experiences taught me.  You were always the better half.  And, I'm really the worse one you know.  I was just too spoiled.  Behind every person is another person who pushes them to be better.  For me, perhaps, the biggest catalyst aside from family is you. 

Thank you for your parting message...  I'm glad you found new love.  It's true, beliefs can change everything.  Change is the only thing constant and in order to survive we too can change our belief in love.  I'm sorry I lost my belief that we are meant to be.  Love is really only about that and never letting go.

“Belief, like fear or love, is a force to be understood as we understand the theory of relativity and principals of uncertainty. Phenomena that determine the course of our lives. Yesterday, my life was headed in one direction. Today, it is headed in another. Yesterday, I believe I would never have done what I did today. These forces that often remake time and space, that can shape and alter who we imagine ourselves to be, begin long before we are born and continue after we perish. Our lives and our choices, like quantum trajectories, are understood moment to moment. That each point of intersection, each encounter, suggest a new potential direction. Proposition, I have fallen in love with Luisa Rey. Is this possible? I just met her and yet, I feel like something important has happened to me.”
― David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas 

Life goes on regardless.  I will continue to do my best... I hope I can be kinder, understanding, forgiving, wiser (even if not smarter)  and confident (but not proud).  In this life, I can only pay it forward to anyone else except you.  And maybe, just maybe, in the next life, I can pay you back.

Who Saved Who

Behind the door, inside the walls
Sinking under the weight of it all
This old house is bound to fall
Can you hear me, can you hear me call?
Little did I know when I was reaching out
To help you
I was just as much in need of a rescue
Tell me who saved who, now?
If I showed you my old scars
My war wounds, my broken heart
Would you let down your iron guard,
Your armor, show me who you are
Little did I know when I was reaching out
To help you
I was just as much in need of a rescue
Tell me who saved who, now?
Tell me who saved who, now?
Love is devotion
It's more than emotion
It reaches in and it pulls us out
It lives in the moment
That can't be stolen
The more you give it just comes back around
Little did I know when I was reaching out
To help you
I was just in need of a rescue
Tell me who saved who, now?
Tell me who saved who, now?
Tell me who saved who, now?

极星

兜兜转转 生活像画圆圈

逃脱不掉 后退不了

早就习惯 这嘈杂世间

但我能感到 你在此间

靠近你以前

我倒数时间

想找到你 想抱紧你

为此我宁愿再等一千年

直到遇见你

美好得不真实

如此无与伦比

你的双眼像钻石 凝视着我

你是黑夜中的耀眼星火

别让我

在世间坠落漂泊

引着我

像极星守护着所有的角落

你让我

也爱过

谁都不曾 看到黑暗中间

真正的我 灰色的我

一边寻找 又一边思念

一次次感知 你在此间

靠近你以前

我狼狈不堪

害怕总是 重新开始

拉住我伸出又缩回的手

是你给我的勇敢

美好得不真实

如此无与伦比

你的双眼像钻石 凝视着我

你是黑夜中的耀眼星火

别让我

在世间坠落漂泊

引着我

像极星守护着所有的角落

你让我

也爱过

(Revisited nth time)

The Art of Storytelling: Why Stories Have a Place on Any Blog

When running a blog, you have to do what you can to create a unique online presence. While it can be difficult competing online, you can gain an advantage if you let your inner storyteller run free. In fact, here are 4 reasons why stories have a place on any blog:

1. Stories help put readers into specific situations.

Stories are great to use on blogs because they help the readers see the world through your eyes. Depending on your niche, placing your readers in a specific situation can easily encourage engagement or drive a sale. For example, if you tell a story about how you cannot get to sleep at night and what horrors are attached to it, people will better understand the feeling. If your readers experience similar problems and you present them with a solution that works through your stories, they will be more likely to make a purchase.

2. Stories help make you more human in your readers' eyes.

When browsing online for certain topics, you are bound to find content that sounds more mechanical than human. Unfortunately, people do not tend to respond to such content since there is no emotional connection. Yet, if you tell stories that allow your personality to show through, you will become more human than machine to your readers.

By showing a human personality online, you will create stronger relationships with your readers. When you eventually sell a product or service, you may find that you are more successful with the campaign. Such an instance is more likely to occur since people often prefer to buy from friends than complete strangers.

3. Stories help create personalized content that ranks well.

It is becoming more and more evident that search engines such as Google desire personalized and unique content. By writing from a personal point of view, you will be able to create more compelling content that will keep users (and search engines) coming back for more. For example, you can create:

• Reviews on products and services that you have actually tried
• Guides on how to solve a problem that you have successfully defeated
• Humorous content about daily observations or experiences that have gone wrong

There is really no limit to what content you can create with a personalized spin to it.

4. Stories help you share what you are passionate about.

If you want to make a successful blog, the most important thing you can do is choose a topic that you are passionate about. By choosing topics that you are passionate about, you will find it much easier to create content on a regular basis. People will also respond more to your passion, even if they do not completely understand or agree with what you are presenting.

The art of storytelling should not be lost in today's online world. By letting your inner storyteller take over, you will create stunning content that will bring your blog to new heights.

Edward Olson is a business professor at a small University. He frequently writes about how to use content in business for small business blogs. Click HERE to learn about internet services in your area.

Stem Cell Research Focuses on Turning Back the Clock on Aging

Regenerative medicine originated in the early years of genomics and DNA research. Researchers achieved a degree of success in their quest to repair aging tissues of the human body by creating young cells through cloning. Today, regenerative medicine uses stem cells, particularly embryonic pluripotent stem cells, to regenerate tissue affected by the aging process.

The deterioration of the human body through the aging process begins when reproductive cells lose the ability to divide and proliferate to repair tissues damaged by disease or the passage of time. The continued decline in the ability to produce new cells to repair the body ultimately ends with death.

Scientists and researchers identified adult stem cells within the human body with the ability to repair tissue damaged by injury or disease. These adult stem cells have a finite life and eventually lose their ability to regenerate tissue.

In 2001, researchers succeeded in cloning human embryos. The purpose of the experiment was to replicate embryonic stem cells for use in making adult stem cells regain their regenerative properties. The cloning of human embryos led to debates over the ethics and legalities associated with such research.

The controversy surrounding embryonic stem cell research led researchers in another direction. Scientists like Susan Lim worked with adult stem cells to find a method of restoring the regenerative abilities of the adult cells. In her presentation entitled “The Role of Stem Cells in Anti-Aging Medicine” at the First Asian Conference on the Science of Aging and Regenerative Medicine, Dr. Lim discussed the future of stem cells in reversing the deterioration of tissue as people age.

Researchers in Japan and the United States developed a method for taking an adult stem cell back to its embryonic state but without the use of human embryos. The researchers succeeded in reengineering the adult stem cells into induced pluripotent stem cells, or IPS cells. The IPS cells have the regenerative properties of embryonic stem cells, but they avoid the controversy attached to embryonic stem cell research.

The IPS cells work without the need to clone a new embryo. Additional research with IPS cells continues as scientists look for a way to create IPS cells that will allow a doctor to treat a patient with a damaged heart muscle by implanting IPS cells with regenerative properties to rebuild and restore the damaged tissue.

As promising as the current strides toward reversing the aging process might appear, scientists are quick to caution that IPS cells continue to have a finite life span. An issue that arises when the aging process is delayed or reversed involves the risk of cancer. Research indicates that the finite life of some cells within the body might be a natural protection against the onset of cancer. Scientists want to determine if extending a person’s life expectancy could be exposing the person to a greater risk of developing cancer.

How to record an electric guitar - 3 easy solutions

Like playing the electric guitar and would like to record your performance but do not know how to do? In this guide we will explain how to record your guitar directly with your PC without having to spend astronomical sums! I'll show you three possible alternatives, all very valid and simple. It's up to you to choose the most practical solution to operate.

1. Miking the amp: This is definitely the most used technique. Its use is prominent in the recording studio as the quality of the resulting sound is closely related to the quality of the instruments used and therefore it is necessary to use amplifiers, microphones, cables and guitars of a certain thickness. You can find all you need at a store with large selection of acoustic & bass guitars. However, it is possible to obtain satisfactory results by simply using a dynamic microphone positioned a few inches from the case of your amp and directly connected to the PC sound card. Move the microphone laterally and horizontally with respect to the cone of the amp to get the sound that you like best.

2. Using software simulators:  this way is perhaps the most traveled as a hobby because it does not require special instrumentation. Just plug your guitar directly to the sound card of your computer and by using appropriate software to find the sound that best suits your needs! Internet really offers a wide range of choices in this regard.

3. Registering with hardware simulators: this way requires the use of equipment that can act independently from one sound card to your PC. The result is really good (personal experience). About the way to make recordings on the HDD to the PC I would recommend investing some money and buy one nice simulator. The most famous and popular is definitely the POD, but there are several brands on the market. Their price is of a few hundred euro (from 100 to 200 on average ) for a good quality product. These tools serve as "amp modeling" so you can choose from many varieties of amp and effects models inspired by the historically famous of the most renowned brands (Marshall, Crack, Vox ...). Located on "your" sound, simply connect the simulator to the computer via the USB input. As this type of device is an external sound card, it is quite clear that during the recording will not hear your guitar sound from the speakers of your PC, but you just have to insert the headphones in the specific output on the simulator.