Jesshosy's Notes

Since Christmas and New Year is around the corner, I felt that it’s time for some home improvements. After browsing around for some ideas,  I stumble upon a great websites offering affordable deals, i.e. become.com. In addition to that, I also discovered some important points while shopping for some items such as wallpaper, bookshelf and storage bench.

Wallpapers are essential to add a touch of finishing to a plain wall. For any wallpapers, finding a matching pair wallpaper and adhesive wall borders is very important. First in the list, wallpaper and wall borders should be matching in colors. Buyers having difficulty finding complementary colors can always refer to color wheels available in search engine. Wall borders would also have to be match with the overall theme of the room. For example, if you are using a very earthy color theme for your room, a standing winter theme will match perfectly.

Wooden furnitures normally cuts a big chuck out of our overall home improvement budget. Purchasing high quality bookcases, bed frame, bench mirror, garden benches, dining tables and many other types of wooden furnitures can be a hassle if we fail to identify the appropriate type of wood for our home. The various types of wood used for bookcases include softwood such as pine, or hardwood such as oak and mahogany, or even manufactured wood such as plywood and particle board. Softwood and manufactured wood are often cheaper, however they can be easily damaged. Hardwood is therefore highly recommended.

Travelling is definitely one of my most enjoyable times with friends and family. But when I travel, one of my main concerns has always been…Where can I find a clean nice place, which is not too expensive to stay over? For avid travelers like me who do not want to spend a bomb on hotels, which I eventually spend less than 8 hours sleeping, B&B (Bed & Breakfast) is often my best friend.

Unfortunately,  it is seriously not easy to find a website where all decent B&Bs are centrally listed. Normally these B&B are listed independently or at times not listed at all. Well FOLKs, I definitely have a fantastic news for you!!! Guess what I found at google today:

Malaysia now has its very own Malaysia Bed & Breakfast one-stop website!!!

I personally think that this is one of the most convenient website to browse for almost any available short term place to stop over. Listing in the site is clean and easy to browse. Details and pictures of the available rooms were also clearly provided. Some responsible owners have even listed the location map, closest public amenities, price range, conditions, and even availability calendar.

I have a strong feeling that the rooms are really renting out fast too. Reason being, there were more than 1,000 average visitors per listed rooms. Even newly listed rooms that are less than 2 weeks old is already hitting 500 visitors. My instinct is telling me that this website is a perfect directory for B&B providers too.

Thumbs-up to the website owner for doing such a great service to the community. By the way, wouldn’t you want to check-in to the place (picture below) for a few nights?

Here are some of my newly read books. These are truly inspiring autobiographies: Amazingly illustrated, Soul Touching, Strongly Recommended!

My personal preference in descending order…

I recently got this book from one of the warehouse sales around. I would say it is one of the best and most realistic book that I’ve ever came across. Definitely worth a read. Most importantly it has opened-up my mind on many perspectives on various global slavery issues we thought could not have happenned in the 21st century, but unfortunately it still EXIST. The stories actually gets your heart pounding- imagining the severity of the victims’ situations, especially when the survivors tell shares their stories of non-stop tortures, rapes, close-to-death experiences, escapes, and finally FREEDOM.

Authored by David Batstone (a professor of ethics at the University of San Francisco), the book shared a few real life stories about survivors of slavery including:

• How girls at young age ended up in sex parlours and brothels in Cambodia and Thailand?
• How South Asians ended up being a bonded labourer for generations?
• How children at young age were abducted and trained to kill as a child soldier in Uganda?
• How Eastern European women were transported by the European sex syndicates from one country to another and end up in US, Middle East or Asia Pacific?
• How Peruvian children ended up in the sex market and controlled by pimps?
• How slavery take place in the modern-day America?

More info:

“Not For Sale is a campaign of students, entrepreneurs, artists, people of faith, athletes, law enforcement officers, politicians, social workers, skilled professionals, and all justice seekers, united to fight the global slave trade,” find out more about this campaign at http://www.notforsalecampaign.org/

You can also read more on global slavery updates from the Not for Sale website, i.e: Human Trafficking by US military subcontractor in Baghdad, UK Unveils Plan for Sex Trade Crackdown,FBI: Local child-prostitution roundup snares more than 100 in Bay Area, Project Censored: Not For Sale Featured in Top 25 Censored Stories of 2009,How China has created a new slave empire in Africa,Uganda: Churches, bars cited in human trafficking, and many more.

“Life and Death in Shanghai” by Nien Chang, is one of the best autobiographies I’ve ever read.

Nien Chang who worked for Shell in Shanghai was accused of being a British spy during China’s Cultural Revolution. She was imprisoned in the 1st detention house at that time for 6.5 years. Her daughter was killed by the Red Guards when she refuse to denounce her mother. Even after she was released, she still suffered from continuous harassment and intimidation from the people around her.

Not only that the author has fantastic English, her ability to re-exposed and describe every little detail of her tragic experience during the Cultural Revolution in China, has taught me a lot about the history of China. Her strong will for survival to prove her innocence is something we should learn from.

Life and Death in Shanghai – A MUST READ BOOK!!!

A kiss on the hand may be quite continental
but diamonds are a girl’s best friend.
A kiss may be grand but it w on’t pay the rental
on your humble flat, or help you at the automat.
Men grow cold as girls grow old
and we all lose our charms in the end.
But square-cut or pear-shaped
these rocks don’t lose their shape
Daimonds are a girl’s best friend.

…Tiffany’s … Cartier…
Talk to me, Harry, Winston,tell me all about it!
There may come a time when a lass needs a lawyer
but diamonds are a girl’s best friend.
There may come a time when a hard-boiled employer
thinks you’re awful nice
but get that ice or else no dice.
He’s your guy when stocks are high
but beware when they start to descend,
It’s then that those louses go back to their spouses
Diamonds are a girl’s best friend.

I’ve heard of affairs that are strictly platonic
but diamonds are a girl’s best friend,
and I think affairs that you must keep liaisonic
are better bets if little pets get big baggettes.
Time rolls on and youth is gone
and you can’t straighten up when you bend
but stiff back or stiff knees
you stand straight at Tiffany’s
Diamonds… Diamonds…
- I don’t mean rhinestones -but Diamonds, Are A Girl’s Best Friends

“Why the more you think and imagine about achieving something, you tend to achieve it and achieve it easier?”

“Why the more you think about your debts, your debts will never go away?”

The answers were held in the ‘The Secret’. The most important concept that every individual should find out about…’The Law of Attraction. (How positive returns could be attracted when you think and feel positively and negative returns vice versa?”)

Find out how by going through the journey which ‘The Secret’ would walk you through. The teachers of ‘The Secret’ were popular authors and speakers including:

John Assaraf – Entrepreneur
Jack Canfield – Author (Chicken Soup for Souls)
John F. Demartini – Philosopher
Marie Diamond – Feng Shui Consultant
Mike Dooley – Writer
Bob Doyle – Author
Hale Dwoskin – Author
Bob Proctor – Philosopher
Joe Vitale – Metaphysician
Any many many more…

If you’re not so interested in reading (thier book is available in major bookstores nationwide – RM60+, if im not mistaken), you are most encourage to go through thier website: http://www.thesecret.tv/ Do watch the trailers and the movie, if possible. I’m sure it will give you a sense on what you are currently doing to think about it if you want to achieve something more…