tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64685749281349724532024-02-07T18:25:35.274+08:0028 and still countingAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04151010507920638679noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6468574928134972453.post-79218281139927589052014-07-29T17:43:00.004+08:002014-07-31T08:17:19.978+08:00Intercontinental travelling tips<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt; margin-left: .375in; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt; margin-left: .375in; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: 12pt;">I
love reading different kind of "lifehacks" and productivity tips, and
as I was actually looking for some travelling tips myself, I thought I have a
few to share myself. I am not what you would call a frequent flyer, I do not
have any airlines' cards (though I think I should get one from Cathay Pacific),
but I have been living half-a-world away from my home country for last 8 years,
and traveled between Asia and Europe at least once a year.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt; margin-left: .375in; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #20124d;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt; margin-left: .375in; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #20124d;">It
might not be very frequent, but it sure has been intense. To get from Taiwan to
Poland, I need to transfer twice (or if you're rich, you can just do it once),
so the trip usually takes around 24 hours altogether. I buy my tickets based on
price, and I fly Economy, but I do have my personal "black list" (at
the end of this post) of airlines I do not use, even if they are cheaper.
Finally, my tips might not be "the best", but maybe you'll find them
useful. Here it goes:</span><br />
<br /></div>
<ol style="direction: ltr; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.75in; margin-top: 0in; unicode-bidi: embed;" type="1">
<li><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold;">Ordering
tickets:</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
I first search on-line on at least 3-5 platforms, though usually </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;"><a href="http://skyscanner.com/">skyscanner.com</a></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> seems to have best offers,
and then I go to a local travel agent and only suggest to check the
flights I found myself, and see if they can find something better with their own internal
system. Sometimes agents have really great deals, and since my flight is
more complicated (remember the 2 transfers?), I feel better if I can buy
through them.</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; vertical-align: middle;" value="2"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Booking management: </span></li>
<ol style="direction: ltr; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.375in; margin-top: 0in; unicode-bidi: embed;" type="a">
<li style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; vertical-align: middle;" value="1"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I always check if
I can reserve my seat early through the on-line booking management
system. Sometimes I can, sometimes it's only possible 24hrs before the flight (still can get you better
seat than if you check-in on the airport), sometimes it's not possible at
all. At least I try. Now, choosing the seat! I don't know about safety,
but as for convenience, I choose aisle seat for the long flights (quick
bathroom access without need of waking up your neighbors, plus extra leg
space), and windows seats for short flights (like HK to Taipei).
Emergency row is good, because it gives you more leg space, even though
you'll have to listen to 5 minutes lecture about what to do in case of
emergency. The most front row also tends to have more space, but I don' t
like it due to inconvenient TV screen location (it's take out of your
armlet). </span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Another thing I always do
with my booking, is setting all meals to vegetarian. I eat meat normally,
but I found that my stomach feels better ("lighter") when I
skip the inflight "chicken". Plus, specially ordered meals are
always served first :-).</span></li>
</ol>
</ol>
<ol style="direction: ltr; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.75in; margin-top: 0in; unicode-bidi: embed;" type="1">
<li style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; vertical-align: middle;" value="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold;">Packing:</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> I love making lists, and I
start composing the gift list at least 2 months early, so that I won't
forget about anyone, have all gifts on time, and I know how much space
they will take in my suitcase. Then around 2 weeks before the flight I am
compiling the luggage packing lists, both carry-on and main suitcase. I
travel with plastic suitcase, to keep all the gifts safe, but actually
plastic cases tend to be heavy and the small plastic elements break easily
while handling by airport staff (clasps, wheels, etc.). The carry-on of my
choice is a backpack, because outside of airports it's hard to roll two
suitcases, and also because I often carry extra laptop bag, already
hanging on my side. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Furthermore,
I have tiny travel bag that is ALWAYS on me. It can be worn over shoulder or on
the waist, and usually I choose the first one while in the airport, and the
second while on board. This is where I have my passport, my ear plugs, tissues,
lip balm, cash, and medicine. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">While
packing, weight is often an issue. Most airlines accept only 20 kg main luggage
(in practice up to 23 KG will usually be fine *wink wink*), and 10 kg carry-on.
From my experience, carry-on is almost never weighted, so if I have no other
choice, I put some of heavier stuff in it. I also choose to wear the heaviest
shoes, since I will take them off once in the airplane (and wear socks
instead). If you can pick airlines with 30 kg limit, then go for it. My plastic
suitcase, full of gifts and clothes usually weights 26 kg :-|</span></li>
</ol>
<ol style="direction: ltr; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.75in; margin-top: 0in; unicode-bidi: embed;" type="1">
<li style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; vertical-align: middle;" value="4"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold;">What I take
with me in my carry-on:</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> other than passport an some cash in USD (I have no
credit card), I always have a copy of my travel plan (all transfers info,
all flight times and numbers, etc.), small bag with cosmetics plus extra
ziploc bag in case the airport will require it to be in transparent bag
(otherwise my bag is not transparent but let's me organize everything
nicely, which is not possible with a ziploc bag). Wet and dry tissues are
a must. I also have lip balm because it's dry up there in the air. I also
have fully charged Kindle with me, so I can read while waiting on my
transfers (usually can't focus to read in the plane), and my own
headphones (sometimes they match the plane's inlets, sometimes they
don't). I also have small towel (microfiber?) that is really small when
folded and dries fast. Another thing, is </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: underline;">paper</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> nail file as the metal type
is not acceptable, and will be taken from you on the first security check.
For some magical reason I always happen to nick at least one nail while
travelling, so it is a must have for me. I also make sure to have socks,
light scarf and jacket with me, as it gets very cold on the long flights,
and the airlines blanket is not enough, even in summer.</span></li>
<ol style="direction: ltr; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.375in; margin-top: 0in; unicode-bidi: embed;" type="a">
<li style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; vertical-align: middle;" value="1"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Cosmetics</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
- most airports will approve cosmetics as long as their each container is
not bigger than 100 ml, and in total of 1000 ml. I don't usually buy
special travel kits, but rather choose cosmetics that are originally
small (most face creams will not be bigger than 100 ml). I take: face
cream, face wash, tiny tooth paste (I used to have sample sized ones from
my dentist), tooth brush, eye cream, stick deodorant. Otherwise I have my
make-up kit: mascara, eye shadow, concealer, powder, but I will only
apply them just before landing in the final destination, because 24 hour
make up is a no-no, and I don't really want to add on the make-up
removing kit to the pack. Oh, and let's not forget a small comb not to
look like a lunatic after landing. My cosmetic bag will also hold small
pharmacy: headache pills, something for stomach problems, and possibly
allergy pills. </span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Sleeping Kit</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> - I have trouble sleeping on the planes, buses, trains, and
such, which is quite a torture when you travel for 20+ hours. That is why
the plane HAS TO have personal entertainment system (your personal TV
screen with on demand movies, music, etc.), without that it's really hard
to sit 12 hours and look into the back of the front seat. Yes, I have my
Kindle, but usually I get small headaches in the plane and I can't really
read. However, over the years I have become better in helping my body to
at least nap for a few hours, and so my sleeping kit consists of: travel
pillow (you have to find the kind that you like, though even with it my
neck hurts afterwards), ear plugs (they help for the constant plane
murmur, neighbors' snoring, and
ear pressure block), eye cover, and mentioned scarf + socks + jackets +
blanket (or best two if the flight
attendant agrees to give me one more) set to keep warm. Oh, and very
important - travel medicine, which generally will make you feel sleepy. </span></li>
</ol>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold;">On the
airports:</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> I
usually try to eat something while I can, because honestly, the plane food
is not enough (quantity-wise), and I end up quite hungry. I get to the
airport usually around 3 hours early, so that I can check-in smoothly and
then find a restaurant to eat. I do enjoy window shopping, or sometimes I
shop for last-minute souvenirs in Taipei airport, the prices are quite
alright there. Then I wait, yes, because 3 hours is plenty of time, but I
want to have a buffer in case something goes wrong.</span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold;">On my long
flight:</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> That is
the one that takes 8-13 hours. At the beginning I'm usually still quite
fresh and energetic, so I enjoy going through the duty-free catalog, then
I watch some "light" movie (usually the meal is served as I
begin). When I start to feel tired, I take my travel medicine, put on my
sleeping gear and usually am successful in getting a nap. I will wake up
early though, when it's dark, and flight attendants are nowhere to be
seen. I'll call them or go find them, and ask for hot tea, maybe a snack.
After that it's back to the entertainment system, trying to find even
"lighter" movies or TV series, waiting for the breakfast.
Breakfast is good news, because it usually means you're getting close to
your destination. That's how the flight time flies ;-)</span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold;">Clothing</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">: Generally, I believe in the
onion layers rule. In summer that would be leggings and comfy stretchy
dress, plus usually the heaviest shoes on my luggage (so they don't add to
the weight of main luggage, and I change them to socks once in the plane
anyway). I want to be comfortable, but don't look too weird. I've once
seen a documentary, in which airlines employees were giving tips, and they
said that if you dress smart you have bigger chance of being promoted to
First or Business Class. They said, airlines like to give the feeling that
they fly rich and fancy people, so they want these classes to be full, and
will for free upgrade people who look rich and fancy. Well, so far never
happened to me :-|</span></li>
</ol>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt; margin-left: .75in; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt; margin-left: .375in; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #20124d;">I
think that's all. At least for now. I
have mentioned the black<span style="font-weight: bold;"> list of airlines</span>
that I have in my mind, so below I write shortly about my airline choices, but
I can only talk about European/Asian companies.</span></div>
<ul style="direction: ltr; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .375in; margin-top: 0in; unicode-bidi: embed;" type="disc">
<li style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt;">As my personal rule I don't
fly with: </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Russian airlines</span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt;"> (heard LOTS of stories about
bad food, lost baggage, and did you know that even in 2000s there was a
woman leaving in Moscow's airport, just like the guy in the Terminal
movie?) and </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Chinese Airlines (Mainland Chinese</span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt;">, I have no problem with
Taiwanese EVA or China Airlines, other than the second one surely has a
confusing name). I've never flown with any of these, but the stories of my
friends and experience of both Russian and Chinese customer service in
general keeps me away. Long flights are exhausting, and I'd rather spend
some more money that suffer for 24 hours. </span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt;">Special "You Suck"
award though goes to</span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: bold;"> KLM</span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt;">, which I did used once. Flight from Taipei to Amsterdam, with
extra sub-landing in Bangkok. Oh my, where to start my rant. Firstly, I
got really bad seat (next to the toilet… smelly and noisy place), AC was
leaking on passengers during take offs and landings (made me a little
nervous), flight attendants didn't speak Chinese, even though this route
obviously had a lot of Taiwanese tourists going to Thailand, and I had to
help translate "chicken or noodles" to a very rude flight
attendant who was rising her voice at older Taiwanese man who did not
understand English. Later, at night, I failed to call any of the flight
attendant ladies (I badly needed something to drink), as they were busy
chatting together. Yet, the worst offence was the lack of personal
entertainment system (that was in 2009)! There was only one TV hanged in
my part of the plane, and it didn't even show any movies at night. That
night I swore to never ever again fly with KLM. Now you know. </span></li>
</ul>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt; margin-left: .375in; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #20124d;">Good
experiences:</span></span></div>
<ul style="direction: ltr; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .75in; margin-top: 0in; unicode-bidi: embed;" type="disc">
<li><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Singapore Airlines</span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt;"> - my very first time coming to Asia, and I was lucky
enough to go with them. Famous for their great service, and it was really
good. Had great deal on a stopover 1-day trip in Singapore too. But
pricey.</span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Cathay Pacific</span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt;"> - I often fly with them, at least on the first flight from Taiwan
to Hong Kong. So far very reliable, nice service and food quality. Once my
personal TV screen was broken on a 9 hours flight, and I've got apology
and a 50 USD coupon to spend in their duty-free, which kept me a happy
customer.</span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">British Airways</span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt;"> - so far the best European lines I've used. Very nice service,
actually maybe better than in Singapore Airlines (though SA's uniforms are
just beautiful). Surprisingly good food (enjoyed my blueberry English
muffin breakfast). </span></li>
</ul>
<ul style="direction: ltr; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .75in; margin-top: 0in; unicode-bidi: embed;" type="disc">
<li style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Eva Airlines</span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt;"> - I went to Japan with them, and everything was up to standards,
plus on the way back we've got the Hello Kitty plane, which was great!
Even food was shaped as Hello Kitty :-)</span></li>
</ul>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt; margin-left: .75in; margin: 0in;">
<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt; margin-left: .375in; margin: 0in;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhYrX8wvxwPVqg0rcn-b_n0n8MDKfp1xgiBZjWB6CMcsodYaESHIMjwpcBP6mDbIyuJe1qFXIvzcsoESIxASFtKCRvgAIeBc_kOwzrQ2m-iM74t0wK0gPiQ4y6Hh_KuZ5DRMYuN4oSVcs/s1600/DSC03968.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhYrX8wvxwPVqg0rcn-b_n0n8MDKfp1xgiBZjWB6CMcsodYaESHIMjwpcBP6mDbIyuJe1qFXIvzcsoESIxASFtKCRvgAIeBc_kOwzrQ2m-iM74t0wK0gPiQ4y6Hh_KuZ5DRMYuN4oSVcs/s1600/DSC03968.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a><span style="color: #660000;">Oh,
random reminder - make sure to turn off alarm clock alerts on your phone! I've
almost had a heart attack when while somewhere above Himalayas my phone started
ringing. It was obviously powered off, but apparently it will turn itself on
for the alarm clock (plus due to the time difference, the morning alarm clock
was middle of the night on the plane). Luckily no one awake was around to hear
it, even though it happened twice (first time I hit snooze apparently, in the
end I had to turn the phone on and switch off the alarm, then power it off
again). Luckily, it didn't cause a plane crash either. But you can imagine how
it startled me. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt; margin-left: .375in; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt; margin-left: .375in; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #20124d;">I
will be flying back to Europe for vacations soon, so do you have any other
tips? I'm going to take <b>Qatar Airlines</b> this time, any reviews (so far I've read
only positive comments about them).</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04151010507920638679noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6468574928134972453.post-23020144963525463812014-07-09T13:39:00.001+08:002014-07-09T13:41:04.529+08:0030 and still counting<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;">
I have started this
blog three years ago, when I have had at last felt as an "adult".
Well, now I feel so even more. There's no more calling me a "girl",
from now on, please refer to me now as a "young woman", you can skip
the "young" in another ten years I guess. </div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;">
This year I have
been reading and thinking a lot about life in general and what's important,
what's not, what's necessary and what's not. I have even started meditating
just to get a better grasp on what I want to do in my life. Because no matter
how many LinkedIn's articles I will read not one of them can give me specific
ways to know this, and surprisingly, even at my age (roll your eyes with me
please) I really have trouble to figure it out. </div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;">
Sure, I have lots of
hobbies, even passions, but who knows, maybe I will hate them if I HAVE to do
them, and do them every day from 8 AM to 6 PM, Monday to Friday. Though I must
say, I have lost my faith in this kind of "fixed place and time" working
system, and I really want to try remote working (from home or any place with
free wifi and AC). So the "where" part is quite clear actually, the
"what" and the "will I survive with it" questions still
stay strong. </div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs1fFg1Ml_-v6HgKZ5gHsedkmxxHydF5eoDNo7ZoJfBY9smdpd6_haqQUa602PjdotjA_I7n-SVO5ukEPrU-xqs5A-8RPx2QGPkHDJ4RpqEZbJIZQ0-Aw7V9uvbKQ24htE77yEcefoEpM/s1600/IMG_1260.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs1fFg1Ml_-v6HgKZ5gHsedkmxxHydF5eoDNo7ZoJfBY9smdpd6_haqQUa602PjdotjA_I7n-SVO5ukEPrU-xqs5A-8RPx2QGPkHDJ4RpqEZbJIZQ0-Aw7V9uvbKQ24htE77yEcefoEpM/s1600/IMG_1260.JPG" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">Here's my very wanted BD gift! Now I have the power :)<br />
(P.S. Instagram is truly amazing)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;">
The "what"
part is tricky because it has to be something that I both enjoy and am good at.
I can list quite a few things I enjoy, but as a person who is continuously
working on self-esteem on top of having high standards, it's hard to list the "good
at" things. I hate selling people what I don't madly believe in (that's
why I can talk you to death about how cool meditation or Body Combat is). </div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;">
Yes, my homework for
this year is definitely working this out. I have some good and even maybe great
ideas, but as any change they are risky and the life of an unmarried expat is
always restrained by visa issues, so shaking the career situation might be costly.
That is why, if you want to wish me something, please wish me courage and luck,
as it's time to stop putting things for later, and start acting <b><i>NOW</i></b>. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04151010507920638679noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6468574928134972453.post-2224795473285805532014-04-17T15:25:00.003+08:002014-04-18T10:08:20.758+08:005 Reasons Why I Pay for Digital<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt;">I don't live in the
US, nor am I a US citizen. I'm from Poland, and I live in Taiwan, that means
the Internet content, free or paid, is very different for me, compared the "average" Internet user we seen often described on social media. Among my circles, paying for digital services and content
is still considered stupid. It's ridiculous, but when I talk to my friends, I'm actually a little ashamed to admit
I buy apps, or pay to download music, because my friends think that's waste of
money (and they voice it out loud). Yet, I'm willing to pay, more and more.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;">
In the past, I was
on the "Internet should be free" side of the story. Generally, no
private person (or even not many businesses) was paying for software in Poland
in 2000s. I haven't been living in Europe for a while, and I do think some
things are slowly changing, but generally, there is this strong thinking, we
should be able to download things for free. Of course, there's plenty cool free
stuff, but I must say… less and less as the companies are realizing how to
monetize the "e-". </div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;">
So here are my
reasons, <u>why I'm moving from free to paid</u>:</div>
<ol style="direction: ltr; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.375in; margin-top: 0in; unicode-bidi: embed;" type="1">
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: middle;" value="1"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><i><b>Because I can.</b></i></span></li>
</ol>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.375in; text-align: justify;">
I've
started using the Internet when I was 16, and that was considered early for
Eastern Europe standards. I know what modem is, I had one. Social media? The
first I've used was mIRC. At that time, as long as you had the PC and the
modem, things were free mostly. No one even considered if it was legal or not, because it was considered a nature of the Internet that its content was free.
With time, the pirating issue grew, especially for downloading movies and music,
with some spectacular cases of arresting the pirates. At that time, I could not buy anything on-line,
even if I wanted, simply because I was still a student, I had no money really,
and surely I had no credit card. </div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.375in; text-align: justify;">
Now
I'm an adult, I have a debit card (credit is not necessary anymore to pay
on-line), and spending 10 USD is not such a big deal anymore. I easily spend $10 for a coffee (very overpriced coffee) or for lunch, so why not spend $2.99 on an app that I will enjoy using much longer? Yet, I see around me, many of my peers did not make the leap, and stubbornly cling to the idea of "everything should be free". </div>
<ol style="direction: ltr; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.375in; margin-top: 0in; unicode-bidi: embed;" type="1">
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: middle;" value="2"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><b><i>Convenience. </i></b></span></li>
</ol>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.375in; text-align: justify;">
Obviously,
as most of the apps is really just selling you convenience as a product. Obviously, I can still download almost any album or e-book, but sometimes I want them <i>right now</i>, without
the hassle of going to shady websites, converting files, without waiting. Even though I
have a pack of 1000+ e-books somewhere there on some DVD disc (LOL! I
mean, disc! My new netbook doesn't even have optical reader), I prefer to
purchase through Amazon, so that I can read the same book on my netbook, phone,
and Kindle (I love how it syncs to the last page read). </div>
<ol style="direction: ltr; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.375in; margin-top: 0in; unicode-bidi: embed;" type="1">
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: middle;" value="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><b><i>Because there's no other
option anymore.</i></b></span></li>
</ol>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.375in; text-align: justify;">
In
the past downloading "free" Windows or MS Office was not complicated,
or there was always someone who could give a copy to you. Not anymore. Companies
have learned how to protect their software, and it is not easy to pirate,
unless you have some decent hacking skills. </div>
<ol style="direction: ltr; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.375in; margin-top: 0in; unicode-bidi: embed;" type="1">
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: middle;" value="4"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><b><i>Cloud subscriptions.</i></b></span></li>
</ol>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.375in; text-align: justify;">
You
can't pirate that. It's somehow interlaced with the convenience, but even deeper.
Having your files, photos, books, music, contacts on the cloud changed the way
we do and plan things. As I mentioned, I'm an expat, and cloud helps me so much
with handling my matters between my home country and the place where I live, especially when I travel.</div>
<ol style="direction: ltr; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.375in; margin-top: 0in; unicode-bidi: embed;" type="1">
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: middle;" value="5"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><i><b>Quality.</b></i></span></li>
</ol>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.375in; text-align: justify;">
Seriously,
the quality of free stuff is getting worse. "You pay for what you get"
is very true with digital. </div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.375in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;">
Saying all that,
<u>there are still some barriers that are too high for me to cross,</u> and often really annoy
me and influence the way I feel about brands. This is what still needs to be done:</div>
<ol style="direction: ltr; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.375in; margin-top: 0in; unicode-bidi: embed;" type="1">
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: middle;" value="1"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><i><b>Geographical barriers! </b></i></span></li>
</ol>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnh5PbtISoSxMlSwIe5x3RdYTkzpObDGvE5OdNSqJwB0hwtUO6zBFHPQpmYHWchVRQxiayQ11NKwnMzbUyK11FosZ-ql_pRzfhGvVw87Yq1j__VB-WgEN2SRMTtoOdb1RptpUDfMsjeRa7/s1600/IMG_0743.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnh5PbtISoSxMlSwIe5x3RdYTkzpObDGvE5OdNSqJwB0hwtUO6zBFHPQpmYHWchVRQxiayQ11NKwnMzbUyK11FosZ-ql_pRzfhGvVw87Yq1j__VB-WgEN2SRMTtoOdb1RptpUDfMsjeRa7/s1600/IMG_0743.JPG" height="132" width="320" /></a> </td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taiwan is beautiful, but not everything is available here <br />
(<i>Photo by 28andstillcounting</i>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.375in; text-align: justify;">
I.HATE.IT.SO.MUCH!
Yes, that much. Around five years ago I wanted to buy a movie soundtrack in mp3
form. I was in Taiwan, with Polish credit card, and Polish iTunes account. I
literally have spent a day looking for a website that would sell this album to
me. I found none! It's getting better in 2010s, I can buy on iTunes and Amazon now (not
everything though), but still I feel discriminated. Even when things are
restricted to Poland only, based on my IP address, I am blocked out anyway! I
wrote more about payment problems in my <a href="http://28andstillcounting.blogspot.tw/2013/12/shopping-on-line-globally-my-christmas.html" target="_blank">previous post</a>, but I am continuously frustrated every now and then. Brands are marketing things so well, creating
needs in me, and then won't let me buy because of my location or nationality, or both. I know there are legal issues here, but
please, we need to solve this ASAP so companies can make more money and users can get the products they want. I would love to have Netflix, I really
want to buy Kindle Fire, but I'm not allowed.</div>
<ol style="direction: ltr; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.375in; margin-top: 0in; unicode-bidi: embed;" type="1">
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: middle;" value="2"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><i><b>Prices.</b></i></span></li>
</ol>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.375in; text-align: justify;">
I
say I can pay, but you need to be reasonable. I know you've invested a lot of money and time in
your service, but unless the price goes down I will not consider it. I
mentioned MS Office above. Last year I've bought new netbook, and it came with
Windows 8 built in, however no MS Office. I was thinking of buying it (I think
Microsoft's cloud is actually really well-done and would work great with the Office), but for my private light use,
the price is not adequate. Instead I'm paying for more space on my Google
Drive and use Google Docs. Also, I was delighted to get e-mail from Google, about a month ago,
informing me that monthly fees will be cheaper now. If your app costs below $10, I will not think that long before hitting "buy", but if it costs
more, you will need to really use some convincing. </div>
<ol style="direction: ltr; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.375in; margin-top: 0in; unicode-bidi: embed;" type="1">
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: middle;" value="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><i><b>Free Trial.</b></i></span></li>
</ol>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.375in; text-align: justify;">
That
convincing is a free way to try your services. Fortunatelly, most companies already offer
this option, but not all of them. <a href="http://www.getsomeheadspace.com/index.aspx" target="_blank">Headspace</a> is not cheap at all (really, I'm
still shocked that I've actually subscribed, and I'm scared that my friends will
find out about it!), but the 10 days free program got me so hooked, that 3 weeks after ending it, trying other similar apps, I just knew I couldn't live without it. I don't really regret, because I love it and use it <i>daily</i>. However, it was not an easy decision for me, and the free trial was the best hook. </div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.375in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;">
So these are the
reasons to buy or not, from my perspective. I think it's different than, for example,
perspective of people from the US or the UK. When I talk to them,
they tend to see less of a problem with the price levels than me ($100 a year? no problem for them). But I hope my
parts of the world won't be overlooked by tech companies anymore. Otherwise, don't be
surprised that "we" find other ways to access your products. One of
the biggest reasons why I like Amazon and continue to buy from there is because
they are quite open to international clients (I think they were one of the
firsts to accept foreign debit cards as payment), even though their newest
products are US-only. I hope they will continue pushing on the geographical
barriers and truly make the Internet a global platform.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6468574928134972453.post-787495250477635722014-03-07T11:56:00.003+08:002014-04-17T17:16:34.852+08:00I'm Getting #Headspace<div class="MsoPlainText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">Last time I
made a list of my favorite apps, some already were deleted from my phone though (step-counting
app, because after 2 weeks it has started killing my battery with light speed,
and also because I've got Fitbit Flex at last, and I don't need it, woot woot).
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">With the New
Year, I made new resolutions this year, and the key resolution was to keep my
resolutions this time :-). I am glad to report that so far, it's going well. I
keep track of them with my spreadsheet on Google Drive, and update it at the
end of each week with comments why the results as they are, and I added monthly
evaluations too. This approach seems to work... I mean, it's March and I'm
still remembering the resolutions at all!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://b.vimeocdn.com/ps/304/944/3049440_300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" src="http://b.vimeocdn.com/ps/304/944/3049440_300.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">One of things I
have started in 2014 is meditation, though I prefer to call it "practicing
mindfulness", because meditation has so many weird stereotypes, and often
is connected to some religious views. I am not doing it with spiritual mindset,
but rather with self-improvement one. I have started my mindfulness journey
with googling "best meditation apps for iPhone" (duh!), and
downloaded Headspace, because the "Emma Watson is using it" is a
really good marketing trick to get nerdy people like me. I must say Headpsace
is doing it so well in so many aspects... I fell in love with it, and I'm at
the stage, when I want to scream to everyone and force them to use it, because
it's so awesome. So yes, their marketing, and content marketing especially, are
brilliant! As a marketing enthusiast, I can appreciate a job well done. I don't
mind it too, because they do not over-promise, and the communication is so
honest and straightforward, it was exactly what I wanted from my meditation. No
religious talking, no spiritual talking, but rather facts, techniques, and
encouragement. With Headspace I'm getting it. The only thing that I'm not happy
with is the price, because for a person that is not in the UK or US, it's quite
a price. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://cdn2.healthynomics.com/wp-content/demo/uploads/2011/04/meditation_andy_puddicombe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://cdn2.healthynomics.com/wp-content/demo/uploads/2011/04/meditation_andy_puddicombe.jpg" height="200" width="133" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The founder - Andy Puddicombe</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">Back to
beginning though, I downloaded it and went through the free Take10, 10 days 10
minutes meditations program. Andy's (the founder and the person of the
Headspace) voice is soothing and doesn't distract me like voice of people in
some other meditations. He doesn't talk too much, or too little for beginners
who are not yet ready to be left in silence. He has great talent to explain it
all in such simple ways. After a month+ of using I now have bought his book,
because I am so hungry to hear more about what he has to say. To my surprise,
the 10 minutes was actually passing pleasantly and I wasn't bored. What's more,
I have now developed a hunger for more than just 10 min! When I have finished
my 10 days free program, and found out how much the year of Headspace cost I
was quite depressed. I refused to spend that much, and instead downloaded 3
more apps, that were paid, but much cheaper. These apps are Buddhify, Calm, and
Mindfulness. Actually, all of them are quite good. Buddhify has cool design,
and I love the sessions for so many situations, and also how I can track my
stats with it. Calm add the white noise music, which helps me to quiet down,
and I love the gong sound in Mindfulness. But after 2 weeks of using the other
apps, I couldn't forget Headspace, I missed it so bad... that at last I gave
up. That's what I usually do with things I want to buy, but that are on the
expensive side. I wait and see, if after 3 days I will still be thinking of
them. If yes, then well, we were meant to be. So I did purchase the year of Headspace,
and I am still loving it, being on my Take20 now (20 min for 20 days). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.thenategreenexperience.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Headspace-App-Meditation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" src="http://www.thenategreenexperience.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Headspace-App-Meditation.jpg" height="112" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">I am not maybe
a septical person, but I only give as much of my effort to this kind of
natural/healthy/hippy trends, to see if they really work. After almost 2
months, I am still hungry for my meditations, and I am growing daily meditation
time... I can see how I feel more under control over negative thoughts. I still
get them, but now I can realize that much quicker and that helps me let them
go. So far I feel happier, and I really think everyone should give it a try. I
do think Headspace Take10 would give you great basics, and maybe you will be
stronger than me and able to move to other cheaper/free app to continue. But
please, give it a try. It's like exercise for the mind. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6468574928134972453.post-52120921755248804192014-01-07T17:28:00.002+08:002014-04-17T17:10:59.354+08:00Must Have Apps (According to Me) <div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">Among my friends I'm considered as a tech savvy person, and so I find myself often recommending them what apps to use. I'm an iPhone 5 user, as I found iOS easier to handle than Android (ok, I've got very frustrated with my old HTC, but it was old, and I believe that Android is much more "comfortable" now), so no all of the apps reviewed below can be accessible for Android, however most popular apps is supported by both.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
My usage of course changes over time, I tend to install lots of cool "sounding" apps that I end up not using, but I won't write about these (unless it will be a warning such as "total waste of time and space"). So here it goes:</div>
</div>
<div style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">
<a href="http://coenraets.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/f_logo-45x45.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" src="http://coenraets.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/f_logo-45x45.gif" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">1. </span><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Facebook - I'm a FB user, and this is where I get most of my communication now. So for me the FB app is a must. It's not bad, though I wish they at last managed two things: allow flipping the screen to horizontal view and built-in the messenger into it (not a separate app). </span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/Job9_qgqOvCyioe_qvILqlNbO0yqM_gNMK-UEs_M_idnrXOR2ESPy4NmrLqBsNmLIxWfQT3AY7yQGz2cdbXnz6g=s96" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/Job9_qgqOvCyioe_qvILqlNbO0yqM_gNMK-UEs_M_idnrXOR2ESPy4NmrLqBsNmLIxWfQT3AY7yQGz2cdbXnz6g=s96" /></a><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">2. </span><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Sleep Time (Paid) - I rarely buy apps, but if it's promising I just might. Sleep time so far seems to work well, I don't feel more refreshed when it wakes me up, but I do enjoy tracking my sleep, and that seems very accurate with this up, and offer many graphs and comparisons. If it only gave some advice (example how to change my sleeping habits for better).</span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://wscont1.apps.microsoft.com/winstore/1x/1081bff1-2972-4800-b36e-19b1997100fb/Icon.68876.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" src="http://wscont1.apps.microsoft.com/winstore/1x/1081bff1-2972-4800-b36e-19b1997100fb/Icon.68876.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
3. Line - that messenger might be only popular in Asia, but now everyone here uses it. It's cute (I love the Bear and Bunny stickers), and offers free calls and file sharing. But I think the winner aspect is just... cute. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://qph.is.quoracdn.net/main-thumb-t-298472-50-dI06ts4NELIjjnwwgcP7jylXLAC6cFME.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" src="http://qph.is.quoracdn.net/main-thumb-t-298472-50-dI06ts4NELIjjnwwgcP7jylXLAC6cFME.jpeg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
4. Google Maps - if I need to find my way when outside (as long as there's 3G connection access) I use Google Maps. They will show me where I am, and the "dot" will move with you, so it works as GPS system when driving too. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://i.i.cbsi.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2012/02/24/fmimg6622383135084506514_32x32.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" src="http://i.i.cbsi.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2012/02/24/fmimg6622383135084506514_32x32.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
5. P Tracker Lite - for the girls, cute and easy to use free period tracker. Not much to add really, but it worked well for me over 3 years now (used to use it on ipod touch, data is in cloud, so when started using iPhone, it was still there).</div>
</div>
<div style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.mobileburn.com/media/apps/ifttt/ifttt_launch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" src="http://www.mobileburn.com/media/apps/ifttt/ifttt_launch.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
6. IFTTT - this magic apps claims to do a lot for you. I am still trying to figure it out, but mostly I use it to automatize photo transfer to my google drive, where I pay for storage. But it's very interesting, and I do recommend trying it. The idea is, you create tiny "programs" that automatize tasks between various apps on your device. Example: you can set your e-mail app to send an e-mail to you if there's a rain forecast in your area for the next day (never forget the umbrella again).</div>
</div>
<div style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<span style="text-align: justify;">7. Instagram and Line Camera - other than the built-in iOS app, I use these two. Line Camera for the cute stickers, and Instagram for best and easiest to apply filters. I've tried other apps, but I must say that Instagram still gives better results. The only problem with it is that it is THE hipster app.</span></div>
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8. Skype - one of the basics apps to have... I've never tried FaceTime because not many of my friends/family has iPhones, but most importantly - my parents can only use Skype. </div>
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9. Plant Nanny - one of newer additions, but I have been using it daily for 3 weeks now, and plan to keep using it forever. It's a cute game that generally makes sure you will drink enough per day. It's simple as that. Some people argue that coffee or alcohol are liquids but shouldn't count, as they can actually dehydrate, but compared to my life before Plant Nanny, I drink much more water. Did I mention it's cute?</div>
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10. Endomondo - I've used to use Nike+, but then I lost it a few times, and obviously I've changed shoes, and so on. Endomondo also allows to track all kind of sports, not only running, and it gives you so much insight (distance, speed, elevation, kcal burned, etc.), so recently I always use it on my long bike rides. Quite a few of my friends uses it too, so it has some social media nature to it too. It's pretty reliable, and I hope to get a heart rate monitor one day to go with it for even more accurate data. What is important, my iPhone battery can live through 4 hours of GPS tracking with it, which is quite amazing.</div>
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11. Yogify (Paid) - as you can see through my app choices, I've decided that my phone will be my gym (as I left gym a year ago). So I invest in good apps for workout. Yogify is good - the directions are clear, it offers many programs, own calming music. I just roll out my mat in bedroom and turn it on. I just wish they had more slow paced classes to choose, instead they offer more energetic yoga type. Still, I use it 1-2 times a week.</div>
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12. NTC (Nike Training Club) - best workout app, seriously. It's clear, the coaching is amazing, and it's FREE! Many trainings to choose from. But it's quite intensive, you will sweat like a little pig, so I am not always in a mood to do it, but it is good, and I highly recommend it.</div>
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13. Lolo 7 Minutes (Paid) - I've bought it recently, because NTC usually has 30-45 min workouts, and I already know myself, I am not that motivated. So I'm trying Lolo 7 min app, I doubt it will make me slim and all, but at least it makes me move everyday. Somehow 7 min a day it's easier that 45 min once a week. Other than that I like it for clarity, coaching, the fact that I can change 1 exercise from the pack. I have actually purchased another lolo exercise app (Boot camp) but haven't had time/motivation to try it yet. </div>
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14. Drop 7 - for a change a game app. I hardly play on my phone now, but drop 7 by Zynga is really a simple puzzle game, but one that I could play for hours. Good time killer for train rides.</div>
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15. Spirit Stones - me and my boyfriend were quite addicted to this one, and have already finished all levels. We wait for a big update from the developer now to keep playing. It's fantasy-like card game connected to puzzle game. Hard to describe, but you just want to get more and more card (of sexy ladies in skimpy fantasy costumes) while killing monsters by quite simple puzzle game. </div>
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16. Pocket - this is a cross-device app, I use it on Google Chrome at work and at home, and can access it on my phone too. Generally, it's like having your browser "favorites" on the cloud. Instead of saving pages to favorites, I save them to pocket, so I can read them later. </div>
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17. Evernote - I am writing this note in my desktop Evernote software, I could do it in the browser or on the phone, and they will be all synced in. I often put shopping/to-do list or recipes in it, so I can access it while doing grocery shopping or when cooking in my kitchen. Evernote can give you as much as you put in first, but overall - worth to try.</div>
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18. Jango - from many on-line radios, I like this one (recommended to me by my boyfriend first). It's simple, free, and let's you choose different types of music, plus suggest some small bands as well. </div>
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19. Taptalk - it's a forum client. I use it for Forumosa, and it's quite convenient to read through the post or even reply straight from your phone. I am not sure what other forums it supports though.</div>
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20. Currents - news app, you can choose different news "channel" and view them in there. Very intuitional and "smooth". Works best for internations/US news though (for example not many Polish channels, for Polish news I use Onet's app). </div>
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21. Kindle - I'm a Kindle fan, on all devices. And I do read my books (beautifully synced) on all of them, including my phone. It's very simple, so there's not really much to say. Compared to other reading apps I've tried in the past, it's most convenient and easy on my eyes.</div>
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22. Triptomatic - I don't use it often, however I've used it the last time I've traveled, and it was great! Exactly what I needed to plan my trip and to keep this plan in my pocket. I could create a schedule on a map, with locations I wanted to visit (chosen from their database or added by me), and once on the trip, I could use this map to find way to these places just as if it was Google Maps.</div>
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23. Allrecipes Pro (Paid) - as I am more and more interested in cooking, I've decided to pay for a good cooking app. Allrecipes is one of biggest recipe databases in the world, and the app is very conevnient (finding recipes through ingredients, creating shopping list). I often use it while planning a meal, while shopping for groceries and while cooking (in my kitchen).</div>
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24. Vine - it lets you record and share 10 s video. It's like gifs with voice. I don't really record them myself, but when bored I like to browse the comedy and the cat categories. It can be quite funny. It's like a video Twitter.</div>
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25. Argus - started using recently, and this is now my daily health app. Basically it's a pedometer - it tracks your step count. It also allows you to track other things too - water intake (here water, tea, coffee, alcohol are all different categories), food, sleep (connects to Sleep Time), exercise and so on. You can set your goals and the app will motivate you. However, once I get my Fitbit Flex band, I will switch to fitbit app for this kind of tracking. Big plus of argus - it's free, however I feel my battery is dying faster since I've started using it.</div>
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I do like gadgets, and I do like to try new apps. I believe a smartphone, that is actually quite powerful computer, can make so many greater things in our lives, if we can just stop playing angry birds on it (personally, I'm not a big fan of the birds). I am especially excited about the wearable devices (such as mentioned fitbit or its competitor Jawbone UP) and apps that will work with them. Technology is just a tool, and it's up to us how we use it.</div>
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What are the apps you use daily? What would you recommend?</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6468574928134972453.post-15192068457726219022013-12-11T14:58:00.002+08:002014-04-17T17:11:23.086+08:00Shopping On-Line Globally – My Christmas Shopping Nightmare<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="orphans: 2; widows: 2;">"Despite the reluctance of governments to liberalize immigration policy, however, the number of people living outside their countries of origin has risen from 120 million in 1990 to an estimated 215 million in 2012 (The World Bank, 2012), which is approximately 3.05 percent of the world population." (1) </span><span style="orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">And it will most likely continue to grow. As Polish citizen, I am one of the 3.05% too, as I have been living, working and paying taxes in Taiwan for over 6 years now (well, working and paying taxes for 3 years). Also, it is now estimated that 1.5 million Polish people lived abroad in 2012 (2). I just want you now to remember this numbers, while reading my "rant" below.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In recent years I have observed big growth of on-line shopping/stores in Poland (and obviously globally, but in Poland the process was somehow slower that, ie., in the US). It is also now possible to use debit cards (Visa, MasterCard) to make payments on the Internet. It is possible and more widely used, yet this Christmas I am still frustrated that the use is still not wide enough.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When you live abroad, however you might love the country you stay in, you will start missing familiar things from your homeland and culture. Many things is not available locally, so it is only natural that migrants like myself need to search for products on the Internet, and that means on-line stores from different countries or even different continents. Not only I shop on-line for myself (women's shoes in size 41 are almost impossible to get in Taiwan) but also I use it to shop for gifts for my family. It was like an enlightenment when I have first ordered flowers from a local florist in my hometown as Mother's Day's gift for my beloved mom. This year I bought a TV that was shipped straight to my parents house, as it was easier to support them this way than sending a money transfer (which would require me to physically go to a bank -which in Taiwan means I have to take off from work, since banks' working hours are 8:00AM-3:00 PM, and no weekends - fill tons of documents, and pay almost 17 USD just as transaction fee).</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Going with the new way of shopping, I thought I will do all my Christmas shopping on-line this year. In Poland, we have now a few companies that service on-line payments for stores, with range of options to choose from for payment methods, but most importantly they do allow credit/debit card payments. These companies (at least that I found on my search of stores who will be willing to take my money) are PayU, DotPay, and Przelewy24. I have had successful experiences with the first two, so I have been especially looking out for stores that uses these.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am an organized person, so I have prepared a list of people I want to buy gifts for, then thought of what would be the best stores that I could find most of these items at. I came with Leroy Merlin, which is a huge DIY retailer in Poland. In their on-line store, I could find presents for my parents, sisters with their husbands and even for my niece and nephew. It took me around four hours to browse the store and decide on the right things for the right people. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://logonoid.com/images/leroy-merlin-logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://logonoid.com/images/leroy-merlin-logo.png" height="130" width="200" /></a></span></div>
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Leroy Merlin on-line store claims PayU is one of available payment methods, so I placed an order and was redirected to the payment site...but not to PayU, but Przelewy24. Ok, I have never used this one, but it seemed they also accept card payments. I have tried to make my payment, input all the information, clicked enter... and sorry, but it's not accepted. Bummer! I have then mailed both the LM store and the payments company for help (I was out of Skype credits so couldn't call them). After few hours Przelewy24 answered me (till this day I did not receive LM store's answer), and explained it was the settings of the store itself that block payments from accounts with different country and the card location settings. But the problem was, it was not possible to change the country setting while creating LM account (Poland was a fixed preset), which generally means you cannot make payment from abroad. Two days spent on this website wasted, leaving me with rather negative feelings about this company, especially that such restriction was not clear to me (a customer) throughout the initial steps of the process. However, I must say, I felt that Przelewy24 handled my case very well, and the service person was truly caring and tried to help, and I would not mind giving a try to their services again. Such basics as Customer Service, but even huge company like Leroy Merlin overlooked it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Already upset, I have started looking for same items in different on-line stores in Poland. Sadly, it meant I had to buy each thing in different store (which obviously wasn't good for my shipping fees). Took me another two days to find such stores that allowed credit/debit card payments. Again, I have placed five orders in five stores, from which two were successful (payment) and I was clearly informed of that. To the other three did not offer clear information about success, so I wrote my e-mails again, and also e-mailed PayU that was a service provider in these three payments.</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.payu.pl/sites/default/files/regulaminy_i_pliki/PAYU_LOGOTYPE_POSITIVE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.payu.pl/sites/default/files/regulaminy_i_pliki/PAYU_LOGOTYPE_POSITIVE.jpg" height="79" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What is interesting, only one store had automatically informed me about unsuccessful payment, while two other stores, neither PayU itself, did not. Surprisingly, one of the successful payments that day was also made through PayU, which proved they are not consistent in giving their authorizations (because all payments were authorized by my bank, it was PayU's employees choice to cancel them as potentially risky).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Furthermore, only one store replied to my e-mail within a day, another one after two days with suggestion to try again, and also saying they have contacted PayU as well, but I need to call them myself. So in the end I had to call PayU, because their support team did not react to e-mails, and did not provide any other communication channels.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That meant I had to add Skype credits, and it was not easy. Not only Polish E-commerce treats me as a "worse kind of buyer", but it's the same with Taiwanese side, as here I am a foreigner that is not to be trusted. I had to e-mail scans of two ID documents to Skype, wait for their authorization, after which I still could not use on-line payment to buy credits! Even I wrote to them in English, they kept answering me in Chinese. Thanks for nothing Skype! They advised I buy credit voucher from local 7-11 convenience store (according to Google Translate), so I did. There the clerk told me it will be automatically added to my account - but it was not. My Taiwanese boyfriend had to spent ten minutes to figure out how to activate it. At least he succeeded. In summary, it took me half a day and a lot of frustration to recharge my Skype account. I remember in the past that was actually easier. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Finally, I called PayU, and they asked me variety of questions, and made note to my account that I'm abroad buying gifts for family. Then they told me it improved my reliability to 90% now. If still PayU decides that my payment is suspicious they can still block it and I can do nothing more (because a Taiwanese hacker who would stole my card would surely be ordering a Snuggie with a delivery to a Polish address!). That day, I have at last received e-mail response from PayU, about inqury I made 3 days earlier, saying that sorry, but they have right to cancel suspicious payments, and with no solution being offered. Fortunatelly, their staff on the telephone support was more practical.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I replaced the three orders, and at last... after a week of fighting and testing my determination, all my gifts were successfully purchased (not yet shipped as I write it).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have decided to write this experience down and share as widely as possible because I love all "E-" things, I like how globalized the world is becoming. I have expected on-line shopping to be easier. I have believed on-line shopping was made especially for people like me - global people, whose lives are spread out around the globe, and so they need globally accessible services. And yet, I feel that as a person living abroad, I am discriminated by service providers globally and locally (3 years ago I have tried to buy mp3 album on-line, but I had to give up, since no store could sell it to a Polish citizen living in Asia due to localization restrictions. Now I can use Taiwanese iTunes at last). That is probably the price I need to pay for the choice I made in my life to be where I want to be, but still... we have technology, it is possible, and it should not be so difficult. I put the statistics at the beginning to show that there is market, and I believe that most of emigrants, like me, is much more willing to shop on-line, that consumers that actually have a choice to purchase same product physically. I feel that marketers loose by not addressing our needs, and I hope that by chance such marketer will see this article, and try to make a change at least in their own stores, so next year, my Christmas shopping will be a little easier.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(PS. I know that a lot of barriers I met, is caused by security policies, but I think they're overall "overprotective".)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(1)<a href="http://www.globalization101.org/migration-introduction">http://www.globalization101.org/migration-introduction</a></span></div>
<div style="orphans: 2; text-align: justify; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(2)<a href="http://forsal.pl/artykuly/683141,mapa_emigracji_1_5_mln_polakow_wyjechalo_z_kraju.html">http://forsal.pl/artykuly/683141,mapa_emigracji_1_5_mln_polakow_wyjechalo_z_kraju.html</a></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6468574928134972453.post-56908590320523099752013-12-06T09:43:00.003+08:002013-12-06T09:43:55.534+08:00Christmas Coming Into Town<div style="border: 0px; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.428571em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
I am the kind of person who enjoys holidays. All kinds almost... birthdays, Christmas, Valentines, Children Days, Fat Thursdays, and what not. I can hear people calling these being commercial... and yeah, companies earn money on this, but I'm gladly buying this feeling I get when participating actively in some holiday.</div>
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Christmas is sure one of my favorite. I already have my little Christmas tree and the light up in my living room. I have already written 16 Christmas cards that will be mailed soon. I'm already planning gifts for family and my boyfriend, and the Christmas dinner that I hope to have even here.</div>
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I think I'm more of a Christmas lover here in Taiwan, than I've ever been in Poland, but I need to overcompensate and try to get as much as possible here, because it still will be much much less than I would get without effort in my country. It has been 6 years since I've had real Christmas at home. 6 years of working on Christmas Day, of no-snow, of plastic pink/white/black Christmas trees in Taiwanese stores with crappy plastic ornaments. I need to do all I can to stay away from depression during that time, because it always seem terribly close. </div>
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I like Valentines too. I've said it. It's very unpopular opinion nowadays. Because we should love our special ones everyday - it's true, and I do tell my boyfriend "I love" at least once a day. I mean it too, not like a silly "love ya" thing, but really... I say it so that he never have to doubt it, and also in case that would be the last chance I had to say it... because we never know. And I think that's not a bad idea to take a day, when you can sit down and celebrate it. But hear me right... CELEBRATE. That doesn't mean buy gift, that doesn't mean go to expensive dinner. That for me means, taking time, to be considerate of what the other person likes, to make a special effort to make them happy, to sit down and look into each others eyes, to take time and talk (not chat) to each other, to acknowledge the feeling and embrace it. Sure we should do that all year round, but the real life proves we're too busy for that, so I won't believe anyone who tells me they do it everyday so no need for Valentines. I wish! My boyfriend hates Valentines, and is rather unromantic person. But I must say I feel he's missing the point... it's not that I want him to buy me a gift... I just want him to slow down, look at me, and make me feel that he loves me, because that feeling sometimes gets lost in daily routines. </div>
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It's similar with every other holiday. It's because we don't pay enough attention to important things daily, that's why I like holidays to help me make this stop and celebrate, feel warm inside, and feel that life is beautiful, even with all those awful routine days in it. Different holidays make me keep going, give me something nice to look forward to, and I feel help me pause, think, and be the better person I want to be. </div>
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Therefore, let yourself celebrate, let yourself feel the warmth. Merry Christmas! (living in Asia also proved to me you don't have to be a Christian to enjoy it).</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6468574928134972453.post-32458271298224426382013-05-07T11:41:00.000+08:002014-04-17T17:11:58.261+08:00This is How You Get ANTs<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I have ANTs. Not in my kitchen, not in my apartment
even, but worse – in my head.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I’ve learnt this is how the voice in the head is
called professionally, the Auto Negative Thoughts. I have them, possibly, many
women does, or so I want to believe.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I think it’s somehow important to realize there is
professional term for that, because then you will think that this is something
happening to others, and generally since it’s a thing, it’s not real. ANTs are not
real! This is quite a relief, but then… who if not me myself is responsible for
them? That is not so good, because maybe it would be more convenient to blame
someone for them, but it’s only me. This mean the responsibility is all mine,
and it should be mine to stop it. It might be good news, in a way, that I can
stop them, but it’s not easy process of reprogramming yourself. I did try that
before, saying those optimistic stuff to yourself in the mirror. Never go far
with those, mostly because ANTs will bug in and take over.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Found <a href="https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehappinessinstitute.com%2Ffreeproducts%2Fdocs%2FExamples%2520Of%2520Unhelpful%2520Thinking.pdf">THIS</a> article about types of ANTs, and I must
say they’re almost quotations of my own mind:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; mso-para-margin-left: 0gd; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US">-<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US">Overgeneralization: It will always end bad!
I will never succeed<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; mso-para-margin-left: 0gd; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US">-<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US">Filtering: I said something bitchy again to
my boyfriend because I was stressed, he must hate me know and will probably
break up with me in near future.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; mso-para-margin-left: 0gd; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US">-<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US">All or nothing thinking: He doesn’t love, he
can’t, because he did/didn’t do/said this and that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; mso-para-margin-left: 0gd; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US">-<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US">Personalizing: My boyfriend looks angry, it’s
probably because I said something.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; mso-para-margin-left: 0gd; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US">-<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US">Catastrophising: I will start this new work and they will realize I have
totally no idea how to do it!</span><span lang="EN-US"> They will fire me and I will lose my visa
and will have to move back to Poland.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; mso-para-margin-left: 0gd; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US">-<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US">Emotional Reasoning: I am so fat and ugly, everyone
must think so too.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; mso-para-margin-left: 0gd; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US">-<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US">Mind reading: I’m sure he cares more about
those friends from there, and I’m just for the time he’s here. He probably
already plans to leave me when he moves there too.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; mso-para-margin-left: 0gd; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US">-<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US">Fortune Telling error: I will surely get
even fatter and he will hate me and leave me.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; mso-para-margin-left: 0gd; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US">-<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US">Should statements: I shouldn’t overthink
things, I should be more patient.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; mso-para-margin-left: 0gd; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US">-<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US">Magnification/Minimisation: His mum asked if
I still go to gym, it must be so obvious I gained weight.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Those are actual ANTs of mine. They’re not there
all the time, that would be unbearable for myself and people around me. But
they pop out once in a while and cause little break downs over nothing. The
irony is that I am worrying (ANTing) that those break downs caused by them will
destroy my relationships with people making the ANTs come true. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Surely, too much free time tends to cause ANTs. I
hope my new job will occupy me more and won’t let me have time for this BS. Otherwise,
I need to seriously try to start fighting with them, and I hope people around
me can be understanding. Usually, the first positive feedback from them
(showing care and asking if I’m fine, a friendly “awwww” and hug, etc.) will
kill an ANT on the spot, and leave me feel silly and guilty of making drama out
of nothing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Same website propose some ideas to fight ANTs, and
I will try to apply those myself too:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; mso-para-margin-left: 0gd; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US">1.<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US">Be aware of what you are saying to yourself.
Ask yourself: </span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: SimSun; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“</span><span lang="EN-US">What
is going through my mind?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">2. Challenge your thoughts. Remember, just because
you think something doesn’t mean it’s true.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">3. Look for evidence.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">4. Put thoughts into perspective.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">5. What is a more helpful thought?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I’ve decided to come out of the closet with my
ANTs, so that maybe someone who reads my blog can feel better about their ANTs,
and realize those can be killed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6468574928134972453.post-66339129724782909432013-04-23T16:20:00.000+08:002014-04-17T17:12:43.217+08:00Virtual Pet Adoption - Get Some Karma!I really want to adopt one more cat. Not because Oscar is not "enough" but because I feel bad seeing all those homeless kitties, and I feel that even though it might be difficult, especially at the beginning (making 2 cats friends), it would save a life to one more cat.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaK11dgEGk-ivz9ILfpvi4upSFe3Ewfe-u7WUSKib9ckJxf7kg7l-hkBp_cSMRxcqlrkwGNqgrkm0qinPtBa6NtJnzieFtzv34NLkVRsgEqLJIYOKe78v9Cai_IeoZIZ0V4x8mfOrJXart/s1600/IMG_0029.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaK11dgEGk-ivz9ILfpvi4upSFe3Ewfe-u7WUSKib9ckJxf7kg7l-hkBp_cSMRxcqlrkwGNqgrkm0qinPtBa6NtJnzieFtzv34NLkVRsgEqLJIYOKe78v9Cai_IeoZIZ0V4x8mfOrJXart/s320/IMG_0029.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That is Oscar in his sexy pose</td></tr>
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<br />
And there's many cats, I know, many many little poor cats that need help. I can't help them all. But it doesn't mean I don't want to try to change it for at least one more.<br />
<br />
A week ago I've started sponsoring a cat from Taiwan Animal S.O.S.' sanctuary in Taipei. They have many animals that need sponsorship (<a href="https://www.facebook.com/TaiwanAnimalSOS/posts/189605821187397">https://www.facebook.com/TaiwanAnimalSOS/posts/189605821187397</a>) but I've chose Reese.<br />
She's from Taichung originally, I saw her rescue story on Forumosa.com, her photos with her still in blood after the car accident. She was lucky that the Taichung PAWs guys (or Tuapa?) was passing by and saved her, then she was lucky to be taken to Taipei's Sanctuary where she has place to live till the end of her days, and I hope she will feel happy to have her life ensured by my donations. Here's Reese as for now:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-GcP8WOyHkZXLicr9FQUBEBjp6ykhXSx7M9owHVTqz76QkD7PE1heMCgihzzY45T1hcUCdhrzLIE6T3y32dDGcFur641AmHdCumMhPzCsPl5Q5GOiJBclFQ1NB8fm_SJO6DSDfUBQ45cg/s1600/537467_478407608879292_685744352_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-GcP8WOyHkZXLicr9FQUBEBjp6ykhXSx7M9owHVTqz76QkD7PE1heMCgihzzY45T1hcUCdhrzLIE6T3y32dDGcFur641AmHdCumMhPzCsPl5Q5GOiJBclFQ1NB8fm_SJO6DSDfUBQ45cg/s320/537467_478407608879292_685744352_n.jpg" height="320" width="234" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reese - from Taiwan Animals S.O.S. FB page</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
So, I still want to adopt... but I know NOW is not a good time. Not for Oscar, nor me and D. But I hope it will change in near future. Meanwhile, I hope I can support Reese.<br />
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I'd like to encourage anyone of you to also try find a way to adopt or sponsor an animal... cat, dog, pig, whatever. We made the world difficult to share with other animals, so I think we bear responsibility to help them live in it.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6468574928134972453.post-21624018621642508772013-04-03T14:55:00.003+08:002014-04-17T17:13:19.885+08:00Spring Holidays in TaiwanWestern world is probably getting back from Easter holidays, while the Chinese part of it is starting Qing Ming Holidays 清明節 tomorrow (also called Tomb Sweeping Day, something we do in Poland on the 1st November). Obviously, like most local holidays, it doesn't mean much to me (sorry, I have no childhood memories about it, no tombs to sweep - which I am thankful for!, no I am a Taoist/Buddhist). That is also why I am trying to get over the fact no one cared for Easter in here, and people were asking me why it is called "復活節" (Fu Huo Jie - Revival Holiday), since they have no idea it's about Jesus, and learning that they have felt bunnies and eggs are misleading (I agree!).<br />
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"Karpatka" cake I've made for Easter :) </div>
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My Polish friend's Easter eggs</div>
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Celebrating or not, everyone enjoy free time! And that is why I am looking very much forward to this holiday, and quite unusually it is a long weekend holiday! Even my boss decided to give us (the office peeps at least) a day of on Saturday. Heh!</div>
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Anyways, that means tonight I am making muffins in my new silicon heart shaped muffin cast, packing myself and Oscar, and the three of us (+ D.) are going north to D's home. Now you know why muffins are required, I continue my "through the stomach to heart" strategy with his family ;) Although it seems they already love Oscar, and that is much in my favor. </div>
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After the first storm about me quitting my job for a new job, now it's all settled and I calmly await the end of May, when the change will actually happen. Oh, I'm pretty sure I will s*it my pants then from stress over new responsibilities. But I think it will be good, I am already loosing myself into e-commerce, SEO and coding articles, undertaking a HTML5+CSS course on <a href="http://codeacademy.com/">codeacademy.com</a> (great site!).</div>
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So yet again - life is good! My swing is up!</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6468574928134972453.post-64607157821110272152013-03-28T11:10:00.002+08:002014-04-17T17:13:44.422+08:00Shaking Foundations (Literally!)Pretty literally. We had a 6.1 earthquake not too far, making it 5 points in scale in Taichung/Changhua area. Our office started bouncing suddenly, lights were blinking, after around 10 sec, when it was not stopping we have decided to run out. And I was probably the first one on the stairs. Even when it stopped my legs were still shaking. Not fun. D.'s company evacuated for over an hour to make sure everything is safe. My old university made it to the news with the video of super shaky, books-falling library (and the made afternoon off on the campus too).<br />
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At my place... we were ok. One bathroom shelf collapsed, my eye shadows fell and broke (damn), and we have a few new wall cracks now (we had some from old earthquakes... but those are very clear, though shouldn't be a danger really).<br />
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It had shaken everyone, made us remember about our mortality and that nothing is ever sure.<br />
Everyone remembered the 921 earthquake that had place in Taichung in 1999, killed over 2000 people.<br />
Taichung is generally very calm city, and doesn't have much shaking... but the 921 proved even here it can happen. Well, the good thing is that usually there are long periods of calmness between such monstrous quakes. So we should have it easy for at least another 10 years. I hope.<br />
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Other than that, spring in Taichung is beautiful and comfortable.<br />
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As for other shaking foundations, metaphorically, my job change is confirmed with both companies now. I will stay in current work till the end of May, and start in the new one on 3rd June.<br />
I am scared but also excited, and trying to catch up on e-commerce trends in the market and trying to learn some website coding languages (started with refreshing html :). <a href="http://codeacademy.com/">Codeacademy.com</a> is trully awesome place for self-learning.<br />
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Happy Easter to everyone too!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6468574928134972453.post-72973013161232009392013-01-10T11:23:00.002+08:002014-04-17T17:14:36.759+08:00Hello 2013, What Will You Bring?<br />
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<span lang="EN-US">Happy New Year. Though it already seems old </span><span lang="PL" style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ansi-language: PL; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span><span lang="EN-US"> Well not too old, but its beginning is busy at work, so I don’t
have much time for big new year’s reflections and resolutions. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Most of them is old too, the new ones I are
not really dependent on me only, and as I wrote in last note – they are pretty mature
and standard for a woman that is heading into my 30s. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I must say I am recently catching myself with
the little nervous voice in my head saying “30 years old… SOON”. It’s worrying
me only because I feel like I might be wasting time in my life on thing that I
don’t like and that overall don’t matter. I am not really panicking. Or I am in
denial. Don’t know.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">All in all, time just flows. No big
difference between 2012 and 2013 so far. I will be going to Poland soon, then I
will be waiting for spring, that I really, really miss, because it’s cooooold
(and it will most likely be like that till April). Then… who knows. By then my
handsome boyfriend will probably start working full-time, maybe we would even
move to a new apartment, maybe I will succeed in changing jobs, maybe. Maybe
not. So in a way, I am expecting some big changes from 2013. But I did expect
the career change, I was SURE it would happen, also at the beginning of 2012.
Well, it didn't happen, so I am worried, but at least I need to keep trying. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">In a way I am content more or less now,
just tired with the work, just wishing to for more family warmth. But even here
and now, I have those moments from time to time. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><i>Fireworks above NCHU, the New Year's Eve 2006/2007</i></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6468574928134972453.post-80500514238027813332012-12-26T15:59:00.001+08:002014-04-17T17:14:53.089+08:00Ho ho hoI just can’t believe it’s the end of the year
already. Each year speeds up, and since 2012 was already pretty quick, I am
worried how my time will pass me by later on.<br />
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<span lang="EN-US">I am starting to feel mortal. I am starting to feel
that there might be no time for certain things if I won’t hurry up and get
them. And though I am starting to slowly feeling this ticking, I am aware not
everyone around me do, so I should not push it on them. Making some decisions
based on „I will be too old soon” argument is not acceptable (to them at
least). Memento morum is getting me, maybe because of the death of my classmate,
very likely. It’s never the right time though to take action, and so I am
waiting and waiting for this right time to come, wishing it will make those
little life dreams come true. They’re not any special dreams really, and yet
they might get very difficult.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Anyway, the workers company trip was quite ok, just
the Karaoke in bus was painful on my head. Christmas then…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Oh, Christmas was good! I cooked a lot (cookies,
tomato soup, cake, fish stew), I had good time in church, good time watching
Christmas movies with D. and awesome Polish Christmas Eve’s Dinner with my
Polish friends in Taichung. I got great books from D. too! Including the Game
of Thrones cookbook! I must say, just to be with D. and other people I care for
– it was one of best in my life. Too bad I was working during Christmas though
:/<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Darth Vader and Pirate Santa</div>
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Me, moderately fast on a go-cart</div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6468574928134972453.post-91530495576125753202012-12-06T16:52:00.000+08:002014-04-17T17:15:12.336+08:00Winter Has ComeWinter is here. I am wearing sweaters, UGG shoes and my mountain style jacket and I still feel cold while driving a scooter. Welcome winter, please don't overstay.<br />
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During the days I am sleepy and lazy, my brain not especially active for multi-tasking. I am counting hours that are between me and my cozy home, with my cat and boyfriend. Home is such a comfy, nice place now, I could just stay there till spring.<br />
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Oscar, our cat tried to give us heart attacks yesterday though... little escapist cat Houdini silver ninja. Thanks God, we've found him after 8 hours, at 11 PM 2 floors above our apartment. If cat is so stressful, I can't imagine how it is to have kids.<br />
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I must say, I don't like winter in Taiwan. I like it quite a lot in Poland... I like all seasons in Poland for the first month, then I am getting bored and waiting for the change. In here though... there's nothing nice in winter but the one week off for Chinese New Year, that I will spend in Poland anyway. Spring... I miss you.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6468574928134972453.post-30597129599049957722012-12-03T11:57:00.001+08:002014-04-17T17:16:05.533+08:00Sad Class ReunionLast Saturday was the first time to attend Taiwanese funeral, and 3rd in my life to attend any funeral. I must say, it was in a way a funeral that touched me most. The first one was when I was maybe 13-14, it was my classmate's father's. The second one should have touched much more than it it, it was my grandmother's. I don't know why I didn't even cry that much, but maybe because I've never really knew my grandma closely as a person, just as grandma, or maybe because she was old and sick for long time, and well... it was a natural thing to happen. I did love her, but I don't know, I maybe felt it must have been a relief for her from all this pain.<br />
And then, the third one this weekend. My classmate, someone who I still remember so vividly. Someone my age, who I knew to be a very very kind-hearted person, whose girlfriend was also my classmate. Someone who died so tragically, proving that we do not know our time, that you might be taking a inter-city coach bus and die in it, from an accident that you have no influence on. Just bad luck. Just "God's plan". It was sad, and I don't want more funerals in my life. Let's just say so.<br />
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But that Saturday was also the first reunion of our Institute. We haven't really seen each other in most cases since the graduation. Now we're all working, we're all are serious adults apparently, but we're all the same. I would say everyone looked the same, talked the same, seemed the same really. And though it was a sad reunion, I think we enjoyed to meet each other. Promised for more meetings were done, but those kind of promises are usually not very strong. Some old problems between people seemed to be gone too, which I welcomed gladly. And just the one person was missed, and it seemed so unfair to us. Yet, I think it gave us all a feeling of urging. We might have no time. We need to be meeting our friends, enjoying our free time. All I can think of is my own boyfriend now, and that I should be with him the most, and don't let any small things bother us. Even though we were both sick this weekend, it was very happy weekend. I hope we will remember that warning that my ex-classmate gave us all.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6468574928134972453.post-1446770981298984702012-11-29T11:03:00.000+08:002014-04-17T17:16:19.805+08:0028 and still counting - the BeginningDue to unexpected boredom at the office on some days (opposite to sudden busy times) I've decided to reactivate my English blog. I have been blogging for over 10 years now. Man! Doesn't feel this way, but my 1st blog - the Polish one - is still alive, archive doesn't lie. For all these years, I have had a few blogs... for long time my Live Journal was the main thing. The second blog I've started was already on blogger, but after few posts it died and I went back to the Polish one.<br />
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But what is weird, the things I have to say (and I mean as "I just have to do it", not that I have them so I say them...) in Polish and English are quite different. And well, blog.pl - the first Polish blogging community - has just changed for such more worse that everyone hates to use it now and leave it.<br />
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Other than that, I must admit quite proudly that I feel like a global person, so I think I need a blog in global language. Daily I mostly use English and Chinese, Polish is the minority now. I live abroad, I travel, I work with people from all around the world. I am global, so should be my blog.<br />
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Finally, I do like blogging not because my local friends, who know my personally, are reading and commenting on it. Hell no! I always hope they won't find my blogs ;) I enjoy meeting total strangers through blogging and sharing with them parts of my private and professional thoughts, and find the reassurance in their similar (or not) thinking.<br />
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Therefore, here it comes. A new one, because since the other blogger blog I have graduated, I have been working for 2 years, and I am in a relationship. I feel like an adult. I want this to be an adult blog (not in the pornographic sense). I am 28 now, want it or not, my 20 something student life is behind me, and I feel both relieved and anxious of what the future brings. So I'm 28 and still counting... for long time I hope.<br />
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