Ahoy there!

During one of my daily traipses through the internet I came across something I thought I might share.

Do you own a boat? I certainly don't, I haven't seen a bed of water in three years - if you don't count the reservoir that recycles mucky water that is nearby.

Well anyways, if you do own a boat, did you know that you can actually insure it? From small dinghy boats to cruisers to luxury yachts marine insurance is apparently quite common. I seriously didn't know that. You can get a quote online for your boat's insurance costs. You can even insure a canoe too! Splendid isn't it? More reason to pick up fun hobbies.

Fresh air, salty breezes, vast expanses of blue and pure bliss, yep all that comes with a boat. So if any of you lucky peeps out there have a boat, why don’t you get it insured? From the looks of it, the process seems easy and painless! Oh and invite me for a day of fun in the sun please.

Bad knitting, good presents and leafy fun...and oh yes..a fly

Sweater news first. I managed to snap a lousy pic of the icky front. Go on, take a gander.

I've frogged it and am redoing without shoulder shaping, which you can see in the pic...looking horrendous. UGH.

On a happier note, I just received my birthday pressie - a day early (good timing!). All the way from home. I miss my family.

It's the very very cool Ipod Nano, from my little bro. Isn't he the best brother in the world?

Warning: Non-knitting content ahead.

Last week a bunch of us were taken to MARDI (Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute) by our university to understand and get a first hand view of organic farming. It was a mellow experience. This organisation however was making waves in Malaysia with their research that inevitably bettered the crop production of the country.

However, I do have a question. Would y'all prefer organic crops that haven't been sprayed with pesticides or any other chemicals to genetically enhanced, highly nutritious, high-yielding crops? Would you mind picking up organic veggies that have teensy holes...cos...well...no pesticides so it's really party time for that dang catterpillar.

I'm not too sure what I'd pick. No chemicals sure does appeal, but to me, so do the genetically enhanced ones.

Oh yeh, they have a couple of scary ass chickens, whose dung is used as fertiliser (!!!) in organic farming. I've never seen chickens so HUGE. Damn it's like seeing Chicken Little on steroids. Here's one that was camera shy:

Trust me, it was huge.

While we're talking about veggies, here's what our Crop science project looked like a few weeks ago:

Aren't they purty? Unfortunately, the whole lot is right now drying in an oven. How sad is that?

Warning: Grossness ahead

Just for funsies, a picture of a mutated fly (Drosophila). The red dots are eyes. And yes you do see eyes all over the fella.

The fella was knocked out using ether and then used for the photoshoot. I've got more, but then y'all would just be totally grossed out. Lets not have that shall we? =)

Lis, am still thinking about things about me for your meme. Will post it soon =)

That's all for today. Happy Knitting everyone!

Smorty

Most of you have been blogging for years now and well I know it has been a very emotionally and socially rewarding experience. But now the craze for blog advertising has caught the blogsphere and it seems very lucrative and can pan out to be an additional financially rewarding experience.

One of these services is Smorty. Smorty allows you to advertise on blogs and in return you get paid for your efforts. You get to post your opinions with links to advertisers' sites and Smorty reviews your posts and pays you. Reviews are done amazingly quick compared to other competitors and you get paid weekly too, through Paypal.

You get to select the subjects that catch your attention and blog about them and yes... you do get paid. Also you have the option to post on multiple blogs and earn more! Who wouldn't say no to that?!

Head on over to Smorty and start blogging for money!

~This is a sponsored post~

Knitting + Contest + News

Knitting is back on the books. I've got my knitting mojo up and running and I can't seem to stop knitting my hoodie. The front and back have been completed but oh horror of horrors the two pieces of the front......DO NOT ALIGN! I would show you a picture but I do not have a cam and I think y'all might have to grit your teeth and bare a few pictureless posts purty please.

I know that after a while, the knitting does stretch out and I'm hoping that will happen to the latest piece I cast off. Or must I frog it? The stitches are equal on both sides. Really. I'm so sad. Help. Anyone. Please.

Contest:

A super contest is up at Beckyknitstoo and I'm sure all of you would like a shot at the goodness she's giving away. A link on your blog earns you an extra entry. G'Luck!

In other news, another earthquake just hit Sumatra, Indonesia again. This is so bad. That country has been afflicted so severely by so many misfortunes that it makes my heart ache to see the poor people running for their lives trying their best to salvage what they have. Prayer is what I can give to this nation and I hope y'all would do the same too.

Time for a change?

For those of you living in the UK are thinking about renovating your homes, there's good news. Anglian Home Improvements is a reputed company based in the United Kingdom, dedicated to helping home owners improve their homes for more than thirty six years.

Their services are extremely personalized and efficient, with uttermost care taken in each and every client's home to provide quality service. They provide a range of services from Double glazing windows to different fittings like Sash windows, Casement windows etc.

Whatever your renovation needs, Anglian Home Improvements is the place to go for reliable and top quality Home Improvements!

~This is a paid post~

WOoooOOOT!

My ----'s best friend was supposed to drop by Malaysia some time ago and being that he was coming from Australia, I instantly resorted to nagging my ---- incessantly about getting his buddy to bring me yarn. Much to my chagrin, teaching some guys about yarn is like telling a darned hamster to stop biting its' cage - they never get it. Those of you who have hamsters can attest to this.

Therefore after giving him addresses, emails, websites, telephone numbers, fax numbers, brand names, content instructions, yardage instructions, weight instructions and even shop timings, I thought my work was done and I had educated two of the macho (cough!) lot to understand our kind.

But instead I got frantic phone calls from a yarn store saying "They only have 4 fla-ee!!! What IS that? Er.. what's merino again?"

For those keeping check: fla-ee= ply

The prices he told me where off the top and well, I meekly told him "Sorry for the trouble bro. You gotta get OUT of there." And he did and I...well....moped for a few hours and promptly forgot about the whole incident.

Well when we finally did meet him, he handed me gigantic bag containing these:

I think what I said was: "OMG OMG OMG YARDIBESDOODINDIHOLWORL" - roughly translated: "you're the best dude in the whole world" in a very very high-pitched squeal.

5...yes five balls of 8ply Classic wool in Cranberry...OMG! I'd never thought I'd ever get to knit with Bendigo yarn bebeh!

Turns out he did learn a thing or two about yarn and actually ordered these online for me =) OMG!! Yeh, okay, I did educate them about Bendigo wool and complained about four hundred and seventeen times that I had no credit card hehehe so perhaps that was the big big hint.

Okay - now that it's out of my system. I'm fairly calm. I know it ain't such a big deal because most of you do have Bendigo wools stashed somewhere but it's a biggie for me!

O'rite then. I'm off to talk to ma new wooly 200gm pets.

Cheerio~

Planning

November's a-coming and it's going to be awesome! Why you ask? Summer hols. Three and half months of nothing-ness. Hallelujah! No reports, no assigments, no essays, no waking up early, no studying. Y'all feeling what I'm feeling?!

Boy I can't wait. To go home. To travel. To knit. To be with my family again. Hopefully this time instead of sitting at home, we'll go places. After my recent trip to Singapore, the travelling bug bit me rather hard and I've been itching to go places. Ever since I've been a kid, my parents who LOVE travelling took us kids places. Well being a kid, we usually never do appreciate this - except for springy hotel beds that are just so dang fun to jump on. Oh yes and hotel breakfast buffets. Bring IT!

My mom's been on my case about booking tickets since...er...June? Yeh. She's afraid I might not be able to get a flight out. And she's a worrier (that's where I get it from). So basically I have to book a ticket in the next two weeks or get an earful. Bet she'd send me a Howler if she could.

For the first time, I went online to book my ticket and guess what, online deals won't necessary suck you dry and leave you parched. Hotel Reservations is a very interesting site that helps you find the best deals online. It's even great if you are touristy and are looking for hotels, ways to get around and of course....looking for the best deals!

Seriously, the prices for air tickets at Hotel Reservations were extremely competitive and almost exactly the same as you would get if you took time out of your day.....got a ride to an airline office that in my case is extremely FAR away.......wait in line till your hair turns grey....watch seethingly as people cut queues....and finally buy the ticket.

The hotel search is pretty thorough and lists everything out very accessibly. You can search for hotels, motels, resorts and even specify around which landmark you would like to stay!

I definitely believe that this site has made things for all travelers so much simpler by getting everything from airfares to travelling to accommodation with the lowest rates all together in one place. So next time you want to take a break and are looking for places to go without burning a hole in your pocket, Hotel Reservations is where you must visit to start your planning!

Decisions

I haven't been knitting much.

What with all the assignments and essays and reports and assignments and essays and reports - I could go on and on.

But then my ---- gifted me this:

Now how do you expect me to do anything? (Yes that's stunted knitting on the side)

I read way too fast for my own good. Heh. SO now I have decided to read it a chapter a day.

Yes. I CAN hear you laughing!

I do have a major essay due tomorrow. Anyhoo Chapter 7, here I come.

Tata.

ps. I can still hear you laughing.