A Homemaker’s Diary

For local Malaysians, please be warned that the left side tiger has nothing to do with a local cereal and energy biscuit commercials. In fact, let me introduce you to Jean-Claude, the animated tiger who is the number 1 player for backgammon.

If you feel like playing online game, then try your luck with this backgammon game. The tiger is there to inspire you and he will tell his life story of how he became successful in what he do. Check his online video here.

In the opening clip you will find Jean-Claude, dressed in 70’s clothes (bell-bottoms and cream-colored shoes, a button-up shirt with a dice print and a large dollar sign chain around his neck) sitting in his trailer in the used junk car lot he manages. He will tell the audience about his life in humorous and mafia like style, full of weird French (or is it Italian?) accent. No, he doesn’t feel pathetic or sad amidst the junk in fact he sounds like a street smart tiger.

In these 5 part interactive animation series titled ‘Life According to Jean-Claude’, the company BackgammonMasters has managed to create a new dimension in online backgammon branding. The well-designed and cleverly scripted animation series are able to illustrate to a wide audience the appeal of backgammon as a skill game truly loved and played by all people, from all walks of life from around the world.

Viewers could win prizes for trivia questions after viewing, and are offered rewards for suggestions for any script ideas used. Clips can be easily forwarded to friends who will create the viral marketing buzz. So check out the tiger and try your hand at the online backgammon game.

This Friday will be a public holiday for Hubby’s office since we celebrate Maulidur Rasul on Saturday. So a friend of hubby emailed him and ask will it be OK for him – the whole family to come over anytime during the weekend.

I don’t mind having visitors as long they don’t mind the condition of my living hall. But if they have babies then I might have second thought. I don’t want to get sued later because their baby accidentally swallowed a piece of my craft wire..haha!

I guess if they confirm to come, I have to clear up enough path for them to walk into my living hall and sit on the sofa. I have to tell myself this – I love cleaning, I love cleaning..blek!

I have a friend, in fact she is one of my close friends since high school now working in UK as a medical doctor. Back then while she was completing her study, she was telling me that she was in need of money to pay for her accommodation during her last semester.

She went to UK 7 years ago on government scholarship and somehow during the last semester (while she was doing internship in a hospital nearby) the amount was not enough to cover the expenses of her hostel accommodation.

So she went to a good, reputable bank and requested for personal loan and after a while she told me that she got it. I was definitely happy for her but I was wondering how come it is so easy for a student, yet to be a full time working doctor to get a personal loan.

With that money she was able to pay for the accommodation fees and even supported her parents to go over to UK for her convocation ceremony.

Personally I feel using a personal loan is a big help if you know how to manage your finance well and responsible enough to pay for it on time. As for now, my friend is still working in UK because she needs to pay off the loans before she decided to come home to Malaysia for good.

If you are in UK and in need of loan, visit the website SelectLoans to compare loans. There are mainly two types of loans available, one is Secured Loans and another one is Unsecured Loans.

Make sure you have done a thorough loan shopping before you decide which one you will sign up to. The choice you should make will depend on your own personal circumstances and loan amounts. So think wisely and once you get the loan, don’t let it burst into the air in your haste judgment of wild spending.

The first guide to save money is to cook at home. It might take a few minutes of your time (if you practise everyday, the pace of cooking will get better) or hours if you intend to whip some gourmet dish. But a basic rice and chicken will do for an empty stomach.

The next tips is to only buy what is necessary although there are not-very necessary items at the moment on 70% sales. (I know it’s hard to resist the temptation, but you have to sacrifice for that bigger goal of your dream home)

The third one is to fully utilize certain items until they no longer can fit the purpose. Example, wear the blouse for 15 years if it’s still looking good and still in fashion and has no tear anywhere. Not that I ask you to wear the same blouse day and night, but if it’s still ain’t broken, don’t throw it away. The money you intend to splurge on the new blouse of the month could be saved for better use in the future.

How about that 3 tips to try today? Oh, the picture above is Ayam Masak Merah. I cooked it for weekend lunch a few weeks ago.

I’m a junkie when it comes to all the how-to and all those must-know tips. It’s not that I ever implemented all in my life, but it’s good to know, right? After all knowledge is power and it’s good to be in the know than to be ignorance.

So when I came across 43 Must-Know Tips for Every First-time Home Buyer, this is a must read for the day..haha!

Check the first tip they have: First things first – You need a budget if you ever hope to save for that home you want to own.

Well, I’m doing that now. It’s hard to switch from the lifestyle of the cold plastic money but I’m trying hard to restrain myself from all the Mega Sales in the country..huhu!

I hope I would be able to save enough money to pay for the down payment and all the extra expenses and fees of my first house in the next 2 years.

The tips no.20 is also very true. Make sure you have asked all these location related questions to yourself once you decided to buy the house.

I know few friends who bought houses at wrong location and regret their decision ever since. I have a friend who has to commute 2 hours every day to work and another 2 hours to come home because the location of her house is very far from her workplace.

Lastly, indulge in tips no. 36. You wouldn’t want to end up with house full of termite and having water leakage problem. Ask the neighbors around. Maybe the location of the house is prone to flood whenever it rains more than 4 hours non stop.

Protect yourself beforehand because buying a house is a big investment.