Life happened

It's been a really long since I last blogged and a LOT of things have happened since then.

Here's the lowdown:

• I made it through my exams. Instead of a pair of socks as expected, I have two leg portions. Heh.
  
  
• I ended a three-year relationship. It was definitely a big step but nevertheless, the right decision. I couldn't see the point of moving on. What else can you do when the man you thought you knew for three years turns around and ignores you when you need him the most without giving any reason?!
  
  
• I am single after over three years! DUDE...I've forgotten what that was like!
  
  
• My little brother turned 21.
  
  
• I've to get used to everything I own being covered in bales of cat hair *gasp*
  
  
• I am STILL working on my wonderful sweater.
  

Now in other knitting news, I received a fabulous package from Here Be Knitting as a prize for her very very very awesome contest. Take a gander won't you?

Approximately 1100 yards of the softest merino yarn in laceweight and a tube of delicious blueberry body lotion. I love the colour! Thank you Deb!

Next, I received the final package of SP 11.Wooooot! And my SP really outdid herself. Look at all the yarny goodness. I was speechless!

Two balls of bamboo-wool in a gorgeous blue-gree-purple mix (extreme lower left).

One gaily coloured Sockotta - it's cotton and the colour just cheers me right up! And I really needed that!

One beautiful purple-pink mix of Tofutsies, get this, it contains chitin along with soysilk. Now that's really funky.

Two skeins of purple-blue-green-white Cascade fixation. I love this yarn!

A cute notions case containing a chibi (yay!) and a very cute tape measure. Thank you very much Laura!

Now interrupting all regular scheduled programming for some big news: my little bro bought a car. Like OMG. This is a BIG BIG deal to me because those who know my family and our situation would understand what a big deal it is. Here's a peak of the new mama sita:

Isn't she a beaut?

I thank God for the favour he has bestowed upon my family. We've been through terrible ordeals but He has held us together making sure we wouldn't crack. So those of you going through hard times out there, remember it all happens for the best and I myself certainly believe that with all of my heart.

Therefore you see, it has been a bittersweet month with both good things and bad happening, but eventually I've come to see the good and the reasons for the bad and I am grateful. I also want to thank Mira for helping me in ways I cannot even begin to express. Thanks babe and I miss ya too!

Oh btw, am sorry I haven't been reading many blogs lately because my internet server *insert a lot of colourful language* has BLOCKED FLICKR. How damnedly insane is that? So you see, I haven't been able to access most blogs.

Well, that is all for now. Excuse the digusting cell phone pics. Next on my wish list, a kick-ass digital camera. Heh.

I hope all of you are keeping well and had a fabulous Thanksgiving too.

Cheers!

Thinking aloud

I'm confused. It's exam time. Hair getting fried. Brain cells exploding everywhere. Blood vessels threatening to burst.

I. must. knit.

And so the Bayerische Sock was born. Perhaps I shall have pair of socks to mark each time of year the exams roll in. Perhaps not. But I certainly am enjoying this pattern to bits.

But right now, a sock doesn't seem to cut it anymore. Must. cast. on. multiple. projects.

Something simple?





Something CROCHETED?


Pattern here.


Something more substantial?

I cannot decide. Perhaps you'd help me =)

Oh yes I finally manage to take a picture of my very long-awaited SP 11 package.

A skein of Euroflax, a pair of 4mm addi turbo needles, rosebud salve (I love this), sachet of wool wash, keychain and a tin of mints. Thank you SP. I also want to make an apology to my SP for the misunderstanding on Ravelry. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings.

I think that's about all for now. I must return to knit-cough-study.

Toodles~

I am blessed

It's been over a month but it's never too late to show birthday goodies now is it? In random order.


My very first affair with tweed.

I think Sally read my mind because the little flecks of colour caught my eye just the day before while admiring someone knitting with some gorgeous tweed.

Lo and behold, I have my very own tweed.

Thank you Sally! I think a scarf is in order with this yarn but I am hunting for the perfect pattern for it. I've been knitting and scrapping so many swatches in search for perfection.

Then I was pleasantly surprised with a gift that made it all the way from Singapore. Thank you Regg, it was so thoughtful of you. The cotton yarn is just so soft.

There was more....two hairbands and a cute set of buttons, all being put to good use =)


Then this arrived in the mail. My very first pair of Addis with a gorgeous load of yarn. Thanks Annie.

I've already experimented with Magic Loop using the needles. Loving it so far. The yarn is wonderful too.


And last but not certainly not the least, the wonderful package from my buddy Mira. Gorgeous cotton yarn, stitch-holders, aromatherapy oil and a face mask.

Thanks babe. I love everything!

Thank you ladies, you made the day extra-special. And of course I want to thank each and everyone of you who remembered and were kind enough to wish me. Y'all turned a frown upside down.

Also, thank you for the kind comments on the demise of my hamsters. It was good to share.

Further grim news, exams are upon me. Hence the scarce blogging. What's even worse, I can't seem sit still enough to knit anything - I should be talking about studying but y'all know what it's like. But let's just not ruin it shall we?

Anyhoo, here's to great friends, good times, blessings and better year! CHEERS!

Over the rainbow

Last week, two of my beloved hamsters crossed over to the otherside of the rainbow into Hammie Heaven.

I dearly miss them. From the rambunctous family of four, we are now left with Meta (mumsy) and Rinky (the brat).

Ed (dad) and Binky (sweet thang) have left and I was pretty much in shock at losing both of them so suddenly. Ed was old, sure, but Binky was ill. She pretty much refused to eat, drink or do anything despite our best efforts. I just hope she didn't suffer.

Now however, we are focused on keeping Meta and Rinky as happy as ever and they are simply overjoyed at the increased amount of attention they're getting. I can see the happiness swelling in their content tummies.

I tried to get Meta to keep still for a photo but it's a losing battle. But I got an angelic shot of the little one (R) as she napped.

Here's to wonderful pets who make life much more special.

ps. Thanks to Kessa for giving me the nudge to post about this. I pondered for too long making no headway at all.

Shopping Cart Software

Ashop Commerce, is a prominent company in the web world who are well-known to be the providers of shopping cart software for use in online shops. Everyday now, you can see bloggers putting up shops with their creations and other lovely handmade things that are for sale. As simple as it may sound, setting up shop however is not so effortless.

This shopping cart software however strives to help merchants start their shops with a bang, but without all the stress. It contains everything you may need to start your own online shop and its fantastic features allow your shop to stand side by side with the most powerful and popular sites in the web nowadays for a very low monthly fee.

If you are wondering what features does this software contain that makes it better than its competitors, all you have to do is try out their 10 Day Free Trial and see for yourself! Not only that, they also provide an offer where clients can get a free design for their online shop!

So if you are going to start your own business online, why not give Ashop Shopping Cart Software a go? It might be the best thing you do to boost your business!

~This is a paid post~

Uncanny

How the heck? I mean seriously how?

No I am not loco.

I took a Quiz which I thought was like any other. But then - some stuff rang very very true! I iz confounded.

You're Confessions!

by St. Augustine

You're a sinner, you're a saint, you do not feel ashamed. Well, you might feel a little ashamed of your past, but it did such a good job of teaching you what not to do.

Now you've become a devout Christian and have spent more time ruminating on the world to come rather than worldly pleasures. Your realizations and ability to change will bring reverence upon you despite your hedonistic transgressions. Florida will honor you most in the end.


Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

Do take the quiz and tellz me if you iz confounded too.


ps. Who/what is Florida (not the place I assume)?

Tagged!

Recently Lis tagged me with the 8 things about me meme and I've been meaning to do it earlier but the fact that this would be a boring and pictureless post put me off.

Anyhoo, I decided to suck it up and write it.

Rules:

Once tagged, you must link to the person who tagged you. Then post the rules before your list, and list 8 random things about yourself. At the end of the post, you must tag and link to 8 other people, visit their sites, and leave a comment letting them know they've been tagged.

8 things about me:

1. I was a rebel in school. Imagine the hate-loathe relationship I had with my teachers. Heh. Teachers those days loved to mentally torture students into submission, I was their Everest. But at the same time, a nerdy rebel.

2. In reference to #1, I made one of my teachers cry.

Why? She went mega-nasty on me for something I didn't do. I won out in the end. The look on my nemesis' face? Priceless.

3. Honestly, I am a nice person. Picking on people for kicks is just wrong.

4. I hate spelling mistakes. They just irritate the crap out of me.

5. I hate geckos. Geckos scare me enough to shriek like a banshee if they catch me unawares.

6. I only knit when I'm in a good mood. I know many who knit to get rid of bad moods etc. but me, I could never. I feel my knitting should only embody feelings of happiness.

7. I love rain and gloomy weather. Big surprise. LOL.

8. I love dark chocolate =)

I tag: Mira, Sam, Ayumi, Jollin and whoever who'd like to join in because I do not know who else who hasn't been tagged! Let me know, I'd love to read more about you.

**ETA: Adding Kitman and Sharon to the tag list. You're it!!

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.

Worldwide Wednesdays from PPP!

I know that most of you may already know about the very supremely cool PPP - Pay Per Post.com

If not, here’s a refresher: it’s a fantastic organization that gives bloggers around the world a chance to post about products, articles or topics in their blogs and get paid for it! Honestly, it’s as simple as it sounds.

Though this organization is based in the United States, I noticed, it has a very large following / fan base all around the world. Their advertisers are mainly from the United States and sometimes the companies target the population of U.S. bloggers. International Posties (that’s the cool name for us bloggers outside of the U.S.) are usually not entitled to these Opportunites (Opps).

Ever since I joined, I’ve had the most fantastic time looking out for Opps and posting about them in here. And sometimes I see awesome Opps for U.S. bloggers and I think…. “sigh….” Heh.

No more sighing for me bebeh! PayPerPost has now introduced Worldwide Wednesdays that run on Wednesdays at noon EDT to Thursday noon EDT and are available ESPECIALLY for us International Posties!!! How awesome is that?!!

YEP it’s true, between the times mentioned above, special Opps under Worldwide Wednesdays are expressly available to bloggers outside of the U.S.!! That’s me ME!!! Wooooot!

Oh trust me; you’d want to get your hands on these Worldwide Wednesday Opps: two US$50 Opps and one US$150 Opp!!! Bring it ON!

Thank you PayPerPost for thinking of us international posties and making this possible for us! Worldwide Wednesdays are simply awesome and I can’t tell you how excited I am waiting for the Wednesdays to roll in =)

Who’d have known Wednesdays could be such fun eh? Got to freshen up and get ready to grab those awesome Opps hot off the oven!

Thanks PayPerPost for being so considerate because Worldwide Wednesdays just made my day!

Belated Bloggiversary

Just this morning I realised that I actually missed my own Bloggiversary - one year of blogging. Here, I was thinking that I surely must have started somewhere at the end of this month only to find out, well...I was wrong.

August 6th 2006 was the beginning of Rain's Knit-Bits (formerly Knit-Addict), the rollercoaster ride and it was an amazing ride. I started out in an empty car with no one riding with me and now look, there're so many new friends sharing this odyssey with me.

I want to say that I'm so grateful to all you wonderful people out there and to the numerous good friends that I have made in this journey. For each and and everyday you have brought a smile to my face as you shared a part of your life with me and I with you, distance never hindering the long and wide bridges that we built.

The good times and the bad, sharing it with all of you made the pains bearable and the joys more exhilarating. Your kindness and generosity has been overwhelming and I know I'm very lucky to have known all of you.

So here's to another year of blogging, making new friends, sharing hopes, dreams, highs and lows!

Source: http://bushwhacked.net/bits/hugs.jpg

Good CTR on sponsored posts!

As y'all may have noticed, I have been posting some sponsored posts on this blog after joining PayPerPost.com. Sometime I did wonder whether there was good exposure for sponsored posts till I came across this a very interesting post that shed some light on the matter.

I was actually surprised to learn that based on a study of a population of over 40,000 bloggers and over 8,000 advertisers that the average Click Through Rate of sponsored posts was 10.545%!!!!! That is pretty amazing when what some people are saying that sponsored posts are not the best choice of advertising medium that should be used. Here is proof proving them wrong, hands down! This is an average value of course and based on individual posts, I am sure that there are much higher rates than the average here and even lower rates too. This average just levels out the fluctuation and still comes off with a good rate.

The results of this study have been compared with other advertisers and found to be much better. Different advertising strategies like Google Adwords and campaigns on MySpace have been studied and it was found that the average click through rate for these were approximately between 0.5%-1.5% CTR and 0.05% CTR respectively. Comparing this with the average ctr of 10.545% shows how well sponsored posts are doing. But this does not mean that the other media used are not successful but instead adds to the diversity that represents the marketing world.

What does this all mean for us bloggers you might ask? Well honestly, this does what every blogger strives to do best: blog interesting posts and increase traffic to our sites! The extra exposure to a wider audience never hurt anyone.

Now with the study on Click Through Rates, you can see that sponsored posts do indeed direct good traffic to your site and the advertisers get more exposure too and everybody wins!

Singapore Loot

It's long overdue and I only just managed to get some good pictures. Here is what I brought back from my awesome trip to Singapore.

This is the collective loot.

The grey yarn and the orange on top of the pyramid was a lovely surprise from the fabulous Regg. Thanks gal! I love it.

It has an unmistakable sheen and is so soft. I was at a loss at what to say when I received it.

Sigh...thank God for wonderful friends!

Moda Vera - Merino Acrylic, I love the colour of this yarn and it seems soft enough. Well that should be expected from merino and acrylic I guess.

The colour pretty frickin' awesome. A lovely shade of magenta.

Destined to be a top? Tube? Cami? My crystal ball wasn't too clear on that.

I've never heard of this brand but since it was 100% mercerized cotton, I snapped it up.

Okay I lie, I think I thought about this for at least one and a half hour before impulsively buying just before we left the store.

I'm quite awful when it comes to deciding what to buy. But then if I don't get it and my gut says I should and didn't: I can't sleep at night. It's true. I swear. Then I'd fret till I finally get it.

I'm neurotic like that.

This is 100% acrylic that was within my little budget. There were six balls originally.

But one has become this:

It's the back of a hoodie that I'm knitting.

Notice the rope cables? Thats from Knitty's Mariah. The rest is my own pattern. I HOPE IT'LL TURN OUT NICE.

Sorry...just had to break the jinx that I might have brought upon it by blogging about it so early.

One of the balls is currently doing this:

'Kay the ball ain't doing that. I am.

Last but not the least, the gorgeous Peony which has become this:

Back of a cropped jacket using a lace chart from Kitman and the rest of it is my own pattern.

*dances around the room twice on one leg* - jinx-breaking ritual from the tribes of Knittingville.

OMG I love this yarn. Soft. Shiny. Soft. Shiny. Yeh, I could go on. It's frickin' wonderful to knit with. Who wudda thunk acrylic cud be so love-ley eh?

That's all for now. Back to pretending to study =D

Cheers Chicas

Rockin' Bloggeroo

I've seen this cool pink badge floating around the Blogsphere and well, heck I wanted one too!

Oooo lookie, Sally and Annie nominated me for it:

Ain't it cool?

Thank you:

Sally who is a knitting speedster I tell you! This Rockin' Girl (Mom) ought to be given a speeding ticket! Her FOs are super fab! And Annie - *drool* check out her FOs, worthy of all Rockin'-gness bestowed upon her.

As a Rockin' Chica now, I get to nominate five more Rockers. Since most of you already rock...here are my nominations:

Ennairda Knits - Lovely blog with all her yarn eye candy and cool FOs. She has the cutest hamsters.

All Tangled Up - I'm sure all of you know this wonderful blog. I don't think I have to say more!

Knitty Kitty Kat Chat - a soon to be mum and she's got her own etsy shop and podcast!

Frog in Knots - Another Rain who's lots of fun and has lovely FOs.

Compassion Knits - love your Yugioh pattern over n over! Here's to many new patterns from you =D

Keep Rockin' Gals!!