Holidays! Holidays! Holidays!

Posted on September 16, 2009 by greg
Holidays speak of long afternoons, meaningful walks in the park, and, if we have money to spare, shopping. Holidays are like company bonuses, albeit in the form of time and not money. During holidays, we find ourselves resting and lounging, catching up with some things we missed due to work or school. Some of us find it fun, but a number also find themselves bored during such days. Here are some fun things to occupy our holidays:
1. Home BBQ – Grill juicy red meat for lunch or dinner and couple it with beer and a lot of singing! Spend the day with your college buddies. If you’re feeling a little more reminiscing, you can hang your college flag in on the grill side and chat your favorite college moments away.
2. Board Game day – This is a great activity for families. Board games are fun, educational and most of all, cheap! You can drink (non-alcoholic) punch while you’re at it too! Careful not to stain the custom table banner! My top picks are scrabble, monopoly and Chinese checkers.
3. Shopping – Well, if it doesn’t burn a hole in your pocket, go shopping! Reward yourself with new things for working so hard during non-holidays! Give the ‘sale’ and the corporate logo flags some justice now and pull out the wallet!
4. DVD Marathons – Now is the time to make up for all the episodes you missed because you were too busy with your regular drill. This can also double as a movie day! Whip out the popcorn and it’s time to get in touch with your inner potato couch today!
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Simplicity is Beauty?

Posted on September 15, 2009 by greg

There have been numerous articles expressing how ‘simplicity is beauty’ and how outside appearance don’t really matter. The truth is, no matter how much we try to reaffirm ourselves that what’s inside is really what matters, we cannot deny that impressions help a lot in building our perceptions towards people and that something good or grand looking has a bigger chance of winning us over.

Take, for example, you are at a bar. You see two women, one looks really gorgeous and one just looks so-so. The latter is actually slightly smarter and than the former but you ask the former’s number anyway because she caught your eye. You began getting in touch with this gorgeous girl because she caught your eye. Then you realize she’s not so bad after all and that she has, in fact, a very bubbly personality. If two of them had exactly the same attributes then you wouldn’t have found out anyway because the one is as plain as the Libya flag, and the other as elaborately beautiful as the Fiji flag. Obviously, you’d go for the one who’s elaborately beautiful and won’t mind the other one.

Simplicity MAY BE beauty but it takes more than mere beauty to capture hearts. It takes a great personality, good countenance and manners to do that. I guess the saying simplicity is beauty was made popular because we don’t like seeing people overdo things. Too much make-up, too much accessories and too much spunk at once seems like a personality hurricane rather than a becoming lady.
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Dreams and Nightmares

Posted on September 14, 2009 by greg

Is there anything sweeter than dreams of love and more hurting than a recurring nightmare?

For people, having dreams of love gives them a reason for existence. It’s amazing how love can turn someone’s life around. A total change of personality, from being cold and nonchalant to being so jolly and friendly, a result of a sweet dream. The moods swing from a cold winter’s breeze to an array of poly pennant streamers that signify a fiesta. Yes, people say that nothing compares to a sweet dream. Like being in love, people think that it won’t ever end. A sweet dream containing false hopes unless the love they have is true. But, when they see they’re sweet dreams end everything falls apart. Love turns into hurt. Smiles turn into tears. Hearts melt and the nightmares start.

Pesky and recurring, these nightmares haunt us. A dead love, never seize on telling us that there is still a chance. We accommodate the thought that there is still hope but when we see fall banners we can’t help but cry. We know in the back of our minds that the love we had is losing its sight on us. Like the falling leaves of a tree every time fall comes. The hard part is accepting that the dream you had is now a nightmare that haunts you. So sweet yet so distant.

We dream of being with the ones we love but when we wake up once more realty bites us in the face. A thought that constantly brings us to regret. Reality is the nightmare we live in. The real things that are temporal. We have always been in this nightmare but we have the choice to make it a dream. A dream that would never end or at least last until our last gasp of air.

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Dreams and Nightmares

Posted on September 14, 2009 by greg

Is there anything sweeter than dreams of love and more hurting than a recurring nightmare?

For people, having dreams of love gives them a reason for existence. It’s amazing how love can turn someone’s life around. A total change of personality, from being cold and nonchalant to being so jolly and friendly, a result of a sweet dream. The moods swing from a cold winter’s breeze to an array of poly pennant streamers that signify a fiesta. Yes, people say that nothing compares to a sweet dream. Like being in love, people think that it won’t ever end. A sweet dream containing false hopes unless the love they have is true. But, when they see they’re sweet dreams end everything falls apart. Love turns into hurt. Smiles turn into tears. Hearts melt and the nightmares start.

Pesky and recurring, these nightmares haunt us. A dead love, never seize on telling us that there is still a chance. We accommodate the thought that there is still hope but when we see fall banners we can’t help but cry. We know in the back of our minds that the love we had is losing its sight on us. Like the falling leaves of a tree every time fall comes. The hard part is accepting that the dream you had is now a nightmare that haunts you. So sweet yet so distant.

We dream of being with the ones we love but when we wake up once more realty bites us in the face. A thought that constantly brings us to regret. Reality is the nightmare we live in. The real things that are temporal. We have always been in this nightmare but we have the choice to make it a dream. A dream that would never end or at least last until our last gasp of air.

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How to be Financially Secure While You’re Young

Posted on September 11, 2009 by greg

A lot of people find it difficult to handle money when they’re young. As evidence, a lot of young adults who just had their first job spend their salaries on things which are wanton or extravagant. Usually, they end up with nothing, or gadgets which depreciate faster than your toenails grow. Here are a few tips for the young to be financially secure:

1. Get an income source. The first step, is, of course, to make sure that money is coming in. Find a job that you actually like, not one which only pays well but bores you to death or tires to the point that you bad-mouth it everyday. Good vibes, right there. Find your passion and look for ways to earn while you’re at it.

2. Save! This is a staple! You should CONSISTENTLY SAVE a portion of your income. Set up a percentage of your income and save regularly. It doesn’t matter how big or how small as long as you remain faithful to your saving scheme.

3. Build up a nice credit standing. If your salary can afford it, open a credit card account and engage in it responsibly. In the future, when you decide to get a loan (a car loan, a house loan, an investment loan, etc.) the clean slate will be useful.

Now, aside from those three, you have to really spend your money wisely. Be frugal. Don’t let your wallet itch everytime you see a Pizza Hut flag or a Burger King flag. It’s about time that you take charge of your money matters. If it’s not now, when?

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When Business is Not Doing So Well

Posted on September 10, 2009 by greg
When we start a business, we put all our love and time into it. We plan out well, we hire the best people, we amp up our inventory and top it off with really good marketing. A lot of businessmen say that during the first year to two years, the business may start out weak and losses will be incurred however, during the years after that, it should be doing well or it is not meant to go anywhere. If you find yourself caught in the loss rut for quite sometime, maybe business isn’t really going anywhere unless you put some action.
First, take a look at your office or work place. Is it something that is nice to look at? If you work there, would you look forward to seeing it and being in it, or does it bore you to death and work just seems harder because of that? If it is more of the latter, change it! Revamp it! make it look like a hub of creativity and love. If you want to put feather flags to make it look more exciting, do so!
Next, be mindful of your staff. How do they work with customers? How do you treat them? Are you doing something to up their morale? Take them to vacations once in a while and ask how they’re doing. Be their friend rather than a dictatorial boss.
Lastly, how much are you doing, really, to promote not just your product but your brand? Find something you can differentiate yourself from others with and play it up as an advantage. Promote this advantage and connect it to your product and your brand and people will view your business with a totally different outlook. If you want to launch a new image, do so grandly! Have miniature flags, custom table banners and even new corporate logo flags to show it off!
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When Business is Not Doing So Well

Posted on September 10, 2009 by greg
When we start a business, we put all our love and time into it. We plan out well, we hire the best people, we amp up our inventory and top it off with really good marketing. A lot of businessmen say that during the first year to two years, the business may start out weak and losses will be incurred however, during the years after that, it should be doing well or it is not meant to go anywhere. If you find yourself caught in the loss rut for quite sometime, maybe business isn’t really going anywhere unless you put some action.
First, take a look at your office or work place. Is it something that is nice to look at? If you work there, would you look forward to seeing it and being in it, or does it bore you to death and work just seems harder because of that? If it is more of the latter, change it! Revamp it! make it look like a hub of creativity and love. If you want to put feather flags to make it look more exciting, do so!
Next, be mindful of your staff. How do they work with customers? How do you treat them? Are you doing something to up their morale? Take them to vacations once in a while and ask how they’re doing. Be their friend rather than a dictatorial boss.
Lastly, how much are you doing, really, to promote not just your product but your brand? Find something you can differentiate yourself from others with and play it up as an advantage. Promote this advantage and connect it to your product and your brand and people will view your business with a totally different outlook. If you want to launch a new image, do so grandly! Have miniature flags, custom table banners and even new corporate logo flags to show it off!
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Control Your Portions

Posted on September 9, 2009 by greg
The eating world is slowly moving towards a generation where everything is served bigger and bigger. Take a look at fast good meals and their servings. Upsize costs lower and lower, plus, there are bigger sizes of servings: giant burgers, bucket of fries, and unlimited gravy. And we can’t deny that these kinds of food, albeit brimming with fat and the advertisement of cancer heavily recurring, they actually taste good. And sometimes, we seriously think we deserve a little bit of what’s (seemingly) forbidden. See the danger flags just yet?
Here are some tips to control fast food bingeing:
1. Always consider how hungry you think you are. Sometimes, you’re not really hungry, the display just looks really enticing. If such is so, order just the small serving and savor it.
2. Eat slowly but not as slow as losing taste. A lot of people eat very fast and get full longer that’s why they tend to eat a lot more. They end up carb-filled and find it hard to stand and sometimes, dizzy.
3. Drink water before you eat. This applies to people who are initially planning to go on a diet, but can’t really follow a strict food plan. So just fill your appetite with liquid instead of other carb-and-calorie-filled fast food serving.
4. Share a sinful serving with a friend. Sometimes, dessert just looks so tempting. So next time that you are craving for a slice of the uber chocolatey cake, order it with four other friends and share it! That’s bonding and diet-watching still, and you didn’t have to skip the cake!
Surely, there are a lot of ways to watch what we eat. So next time you think youre bingeing, you don’t need to look away when you see the Pizza Hut flag or the Taco Bell flag. You know the ways around it!
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Discipline Your Child the Right Way

Posted on September 7, 2009 by greg
When you child starts to pout and starts putting weight onto his steps, when he refuses to talk to you, when he shuts himself out and wears a frown all the time, he might be turning into….a monster. Just kidding. He might be turning into a brat! Danger flags waving already! There has never been a better time to redirect the disciplining route.
First, approach your child in a mild, gentle and loving way. No matter how angry he is, you will eventually break through the fortress by showing him that there is a nicer way to deal with things. Do not use force immediately. If you are just as mad as he is, be the more mature one and just deal with him lovingly.
Talk to him starting with retelling the story. Tell him that he is being difficult and this is upsetting you. Talk to him about bad behavior and don’t rush into punishment. Explain, calmly, the importance of discipline. Tell him how it will help when he grows old. Kids like the idea that they can be entrusted like grown ups so this part is crucial.
Lastly, explain the beauty of recognizing a mistake and apologizing. Don’t fret if the child takes time to say sorry. Even if it’s as small as forgetting to say ‘good morning’ to the visitors or smearing your custom table banner with watercolor, your child may not be ready to accept he’s mistaken so just give him time.
Finish off with an affectionate gesture, like a hug, a kiss and an ‘I love you’.
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Discipline Your Child the Right Way

Posted on September 7, 2009 by greg
When you child starts to pout and starts putting weight onto his steps, when he refuses to talk to you, when he shuts himself out and wears a frown all the time, he might be turning into….a monster. Just kidding. He might be turning into a brat! Danger flags waving already! There has never been a better time to redirect the disciplining route.
First, approach your child in a mild, gentle and loving way. No matter how angry he is, you will eventually break through the fortress by showing him that there is a nicer way to deal with things. Do not use force immediately. If you are just as mad as he is, be the more mature one and just deal with him lovingly.
Talk to him starting with retelling the story. Tell him that he is being difficult and this is upsetting you. Talk to him about bad behavior and don’t rush into punishment. Explain, calmly, the importance of discipline. Tell him how it will help when he grows old. Kids like the idea that they can be entrusted like grown ups so this part is crucial.
Lastly, explain the beauty of recognizing a mistake and apologizing. Don’t fret if the child takes time to say sorry. Even if it’s as small as forgetting to say ‘good morning’ to the visitors or smearing your custom table banner with watercolor, your child may not be ready to accept he’s mistaken so just give him time.
Finish off with an affectionate gesture, like a hug, a kiss and an ‘I love you’.
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