how to pack a suitcase

from the weather i'm sure people in the uk can tell that summer is coming. some welcome the warmth of the bright sun, some (like me) are already miss wearing layers of clothing before stepping out the door. i'd choose winter over summer any day. like i said before, i would live at the North Pole if it wasn't for the lack of internet connection, civilization and melting ice.

anyway, before i go off-track even further, summer means holiday. and to the bruneians in uk, summer means flying back home. after everyone has finish their respective exams, i'm sure they're walking around with a smile on their face and very eager to start packing. i shall now share eHow's tips on how to pack a suitcase!

packing a suitcase is a strategic exercise in maximising space and minimising creases. you may already have a favourite packing system, but read on for more suggestions.

pack clothing

1. remmeber this order of operations: shirts at the bottom, then dresses (if applicable), then trousers.

2. stack tops, unfolded, by placing creases-prone tops towards the bottom of a pole and less easily creased ones towards the top.

3. fold the sleeves in towards the shirts' torsos.

4. fold the shirts in half from the bottom. you now have a rectangular bundle of shirts; place it in your suitcase.

5. drape long dresses in the suitcase so that the ends hang over the sides.

6. place trousers and skirts on a flat surface; fold each in half length ways.

7. stack trousers and skirts on top of one another, with easily creased ones at the bottom and sturdier ones, such as jeans, on top. fold the stack over, so that its length is halved.

8. place your stack of trousers and skirts on top of the dresses, then fold the ends of the dresses over the trousers and skirts.

pack accessories

1. roll ties losely.

2. stuff socks in shoes. pack underwear in mesh laundry bags or side pockets to save space.

3. arrange each pair of shoes so that the heel of one aligns with the toe of the other.

4. wrap pairs of shoes in separate plastic bags, and place them along the border of your suitcase.

5. protect clothes from leaks by placing toiletries in a plastic bag.

6. pack essential toiletries in a carry-on bag. include your toothbrush, toothpaste, makeup, medication and other important items.


tips: pack items snugly, leaving little room for them to shift. consider surrounding them with plastic dry-cleaning bag to minimise creases; use a suit carrier for suits or dresses.

pack an easily flattened extra bag, such as a lightweight holdall, for carrying purchases you make on your trip.

label both the outside and inside fo your suitcase with your name, address and phone number. remove old baggage claim stickers.

travel light. check with your airline regarding restrictions on size, weight and number of pieces of luggage allowed.


warning: avoid packing money, jewelery, travel documents, medication, keys and other valuables in your suitcase. carry these items with you.

i hope that some gave you good ideas on how to pack. good luck with exams and enjoy your summer, everyone!

how to flirt

i mentioned a few months ago that i bought a fantastic book - eHow: how to do just about everything. to be honest, i haven't even cracked it open - until now. i was glancing through the index and found that there a lot of really good stuff in it. for example, a step-by-step guide on how to flirt.

this caught my attention because, ofcourse, i don't how to flirt. i'm just too shy to do that. *notices a topic on how to overcome shyness in the index*

i think i mentioned this before but one time, a girl i never met flirted with me and you know what i did? i turned red, smiled and walked away.. uggghh.. smooth mr. lover boy..

so if you're not a natural flirt like me read on!

steps:

1. be confident -it's the magical charm that makes other want to get to know you.

2. smile, smile, smile.

3. think playful thoughts when gearing up to flirt. flirts are fun and engaging, and they love to play with others.

4. compliment a stranger or acquaintance on his or her clothes, eyes, smile or sense of humour, for starters.

5. keep your body language open and inviting: make eye contact, lightly touch the person's hand or arm when telling a stroy, toss your head back when you laugh. (personal note: i think this is a bit much.. especially the laughing like a maniac bit. ':s but a good tip: if you can't look a person in the eyes, stare at a point between the eyebrows. they can't tell.)

6. initiate stimulating conversation. at a loss for words? ask open-ended questions about the flirtee's job, home town, family, recent films seen or thoughts about a painting on the wall.

7. open up about yourself, giving some even more reason to like you. but don't go on and on - the goal is to engage and intrigue, not bore.

8. gauge the person's interest carefully. if you sense a red light - or worse, smug ridicule - make your exit graciously and immediately. you've got nicer people to meet.

9. progress in your flirtation, paying attention to cues from the object of your interest. if you perceive a sensual or sexual connection, make a bold move - ask for a date.

tips: avoid negative body language, such as crossing your arms, scowling, appearing overly stressed, looking downwards or walking in a hurry when you don't really need to.
give yourself time to learn the types of conversation starters that work for you. practise flirting wherever you can - at a local shop or laundrette, or with your friends.

warning! sexually suggestive remarks or touching is inappropriate among colleagues. keep any office flirting innocent at all times.


for more wonderful tips of just about everyting click here -> www.ehow.com
go get 'em tiger!

how to buy a laptop

I mentioned that I was looking for a new laptop but the shipping arrival date was not in my favour. My current laptop is old, not for public display and could be faster. When I bought it, I had no idea about computer specs and what makes a good laptop. After 3 years of slowly building my computer know-how, I now can go and buy with confident and be intimidated by the sales person’s complicated tech-talk. If you’re thinking of buying a laptop, read on. I’ll be giving tips on the best laptop for you and avoid wasting your hard earned cash on something useless to you.

Note: the following is for PC people only. I have no idea about Mac.

The most basic and yet very vital in laptop-shopping is the specifications (specs). At the moment, there are a few road shows in brunei (the Mall, Gadong & Indoor Stadium). And they tend to give out brochures but you haven’t the foggiest of what they mean!

Example:

Super Awesome Laptop
Intel® Core 2 Duo Processor T5550 (1.80GHz)
Mobile Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100
120GB SATA Harddisk
1GB DDR2
Wireless WiFi link
Bluetooth

This is just a basic example. There are actually a lot to know in term of specs but these are the ones to look for and be explained briefly in this tutorial. What do they all mean?

Processor: Intel's Core Duo and Core 2 Duo processors have helped notebooks gain ground in the power department. The CPU determines how quickly a notebook runs applications and performs on-screen tasks. Notebooks using these dual-core processors performed considerably faster than notebooks using single-core processors, particularly when multitasking. On my browsing trips, I’ve noticed that most of laptops today have Duo processors. So, if you see one without the ‘Duo’ in it, avoid it even though it’s dirt cheap and it comes in your favourite colour. The processor speed (1.80GHz in the example) is easy. The bigger the number, the faster it is.

Installed memory (1GB DDR2). The more installed memory your notebook has, the more applications you can run at once, and the better your notebook will perform. Ease of access aside, upgrading memory in a notebook is a bit trickier than with a desktop, so buy as much memory preinstalled as you can afford. Notebooks with 512MB or 1GB of RAM are optimal. So please, please, PLEASE avoid 256MB or, God forbid, 125MB like the plague! It will give you nothing but problems in the very near future after purchase.

If you have the money, spend it on picking the best installed memory. (there’s up to 4GB of RAM currently)

Graphics card (Mobile Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100): this is important depending on the main purpose of your laptop. If you’re just getting a laptop for internet/work/dvd watching, then most graphics card (especially with the current technology) would be enough to accommodate your needs. But if you’re a gamer or might use it for your gaming pleasure once in a while, then more attention should be given to this spec. there are a lot of graphics card out there and too many for me to mention. It’s best to ask the salesperson about how good the graphic cards are. Or researching it online is best. But all I know is, anything with a GeForce in the spec would be a very good gaming laptop.

Hard drive (120GB SATA Harddisk): this is basically each person’s preferences. How much stuff do you want to put in your laptop? If you’re like me and have a huge music and digital photos collection, the bigger the better. I think it’s such a hassle transferring all those stuff to an external harddisk. Especially annoying when you have to plug in an external just to play a song you want. In the market, laptops with a harddisk of 320GB are in store. If you’re not a pack rat, then please save your money on other things. External harddisks are getting bigger and cheaper. So, lack of space won’t be a huge problem for you.

Other stuff (WiFi & Bluetooth): these are usually a given. A laptop without a WiFi is ancient (*cough* like mine.) but Bluetooth and other stuff are bonuses really. Some need them and some can do with an external one. So, these are your personal choices. Of course, the more the better right?

That’s it from me. Without going into excruciating details, I hope that helped a bit with your laptop-shopping. Questions are welcome.

happy 2008 everyone!

top 10 crime reduction tips for students

first off i'd like to say that i'm going away to work tomorrow. i'll be gone to japan for a month or so, so this might be my last post for a heck of a while. although, i've heard that the ship i'll be on has internet connection, if that is the case i shall keep you posted with something special. the sea-log of a seaman. it'll be an account of the daily occurances while i'm onboard. so watch this space for that.

anyway, i shall leave you with this. it's a helpful guide on how to protect your home, yourself and your wheels. it's emphasis is on students but you can of course incorperate it in related situations i.e. on holiday or a shopping spree miri.

1. lock your bedroom door - even if you're only going to the kitchen or bathroom. (for people living in halls.)

2. check doors and windows are locked at night or when going out - don't assume someone else will do it. (for those who share a house)

3. make a list of your personal property including the serial number and descriptions - use an ultraviolet pen to mark electrical and other items

4. think ahead - don't walk home alone late at night - arrange in advance to stay with a trusted friend or pre-book a taxi.

5. never leave drinks unattended in pubs or clubs - when you go to the toilet, ask your friends to keep an eye on your drink. men's drinks get spiked too. if you suspect your drink has been spiked, contact a member of staff or tell a trusted friend.

6. don't show off your cash, mobile phone or laptop, or leave them lying around - never leave your bag, wallet or purse unattended and don't carry your chequebook and card together. take out protection for you credit cards and note all you card details at home, so you can cancel them quickly if they're stolen.

7. try to go to the cashpoint in daylight if possible - be aware of people standing too close to you and always conceal you PIN. if it's dark, go with a friend if you can and don't check your money in full view.

8. always lock doors, windows, the boot and sunroof when leaving your car - even if it's only for a few minutes.

9. never leave belongings in your car - even an old coat could tempt a thief if they think there might be something in the pockets. if you have to leave anything, lock it in the boot.

10. keep your car topped up with petrol - try to park in busy, well-lit areas.

that's it from me. have a good one.

how to thrive the uni life

first of all, i would like to congratulate to all those received their scholarships. you all will be in an experience of a life time. today, i'll share with you the general secrets of success in the new study environment.

it's not really any different from the previous academic experience you've been through before. many things are the same only at a higher academic level. the main differences you will find are that:

• you have more control and independence over what, when and how you study

• understanding and critical thinking are more important than remembering.

1. get organised!
it's not like O-level or A-level, where things are just relaxing and most things are done for you. it's up to you to organise yourself and your study. you may find that all of your assignments are due at the same time, so a bit of forward planning for staggered deadlines will save a lot of panic at the last minute.

2. get yourself informed!
about things like timetables, room locations, deadlines and guidelines for assignments. it’s your responsibility to do this – no-one will remind you! your Course Handbook is your best source for what you need to know about your course of study. make sure you know where you’ve put it, or how to access it online – you’ll probably need it later in the term.

3. make notes! - lots of 'em...
getting handouts is a rarity in university classes and if you try to write down everything the lecturer says you won’t be able to focus on listening. make notes of selected points and underline the important ones to make them obvious. add any thoughts of your own that arise, but make it clear that they’re your own ideas, perhaps by circling them.

4. understanding is key
at university, it's not about how much you know, but how you understand it. that usually means knowing the major issues and debates and putting what you’ve found out about the topic into that context. it also means being able to communicate your understanding, so knowing how to structure your work and write clearly is really important.

5. leave your procrastination back home!
again, get yourself organised. lecturers give assignments with a very long deadline. you have to have a really damn good reason to not finish or extending it. of course, most of us like to do things at the very last minute and managed to do so time and time again. but in university, it's just not worth the stress and most of the time, getting a low grade in the end. do it early and do it well.

6. ask for help when you need it.
there’s a lot to get used to when you come to university, and no-one finds it all easy. one of your most important responsibilities is to yourself - to recognise when you need help and to know where to get it. there are plenty of people whose job is to help you get yourself sorted. you can talk to your personal tutor, or a Study Adviser, or a Counsellor.

7. be financially aware!
it’s a valuable habit to get into and being a student, with all the difficulties of juggling expenditure, is a good time to start practicing it. keep a log of how much money you have coming in and how you are spending it. that way you can tell exactly where your money is going and make important conclusions from it. found out you are spending the bulk of your money on study books? look at buying them second hand (ebay or amazon) or using the library.

to put it simply, just be aware of what you're spending. i've seen people buy useless things and most of the time at the spur of the moment. this is especially for newbies. not even been in uk for a day, already buying expensive stuff like brand new £25 dvd (5 of them) and £100 shoes - very foolish and unnecessary. please be a bit cautious of your spendings and don't be so iski.(very stupidly eager)

8. explore your campus!
get to know your campus quickly. it’s where you will spend a lot of your time and by acclimatising yourself to it early, you will settle in much more quickly, making those first few weeks more pleasant. you will also learn the little quirks like the most quiet place to study, or the busiest time in the canteen. by knowing about your campus you will be able to make the most of the facilities. any half-decent college/university will host plenty of free/cheap entertainment and special events. they are much better for your finances than expensive nights out round town.

9. make friends! not just from the same nation.
not really meaning to sound stuck-up or anything but you'll be in a different countries with people from around the world in uni. and you're just wasting that culture-sharing by hanging with other people who are from the same country as you. of course, i'm also not saying to completely ignore them. i'm just saying use this time to spread your wings and your social network.

consider getting to know and befriend as many people as possible, whether it be other students or lecturers. It makes acclimatising to university much more easy if you have people you can talk to and trust. it can also open up lots of opportunities. a lecturer you can comfortably talk to may be able to provide advice on your work, and it can be so much easier to do group work if you have friends on your course. freshers week is great for achieving all this as there will be so many other people in the same position as you. Look to join groups that have the same interests as yours!

more importantly, be friends with seniors. they have experience and it would be a waste to not leech out every bit of tips and tricks, whether it be in studies or any other general tips on cheap transport and food.

10. have fun!
this is an experience of a lifetime for all of you. don't waste a second of it being cooped up in a room (except when assignments are due). go out have the best safe fun of your life!

how to speed up your computer

there's nothing i hate more than a slow pc/laptop. it just gets my goat when i have to wait more than 5 seconds for a program to start up or website to completely upload on the screen. *cough! my sister's laptop* technology is supposed to be fast! and especially today with all the new high-tech chips and super-powered thinga-ma-jigs.

you might say.. "but, oh wise sham, i have owned my laptop for years now.. so, it can't be as fast as it was once before. surely, there's no way around this other than emptying my wallet/purse buying a new one, is there?"

that's where you're wrong! if your pc wasn't that slow to begin with, then there's hope. i know what you might be thinking.. sending it off to a computer store and have it fixed.. not necessarily.. you can do your own maintenance. i've had my laptop for almost 4 years now and it's not high-tech or anything either.. i'm not even going to post a picture of it because that's how un-high-tech it is.. but it still runs fine with little glitches. it's all because of good maintenance. and today, i shall share my top pc maintenance tips.

NOTE: for pc people only. for mac users (that means you maurina), look elsewhere. i can't help you here.

pc/laptop maintenace 101

1. get rid of your junks!
a full pc means a slow pc. keeping your hard disk space to more than 15% is the minimum. this is important, which i'll tell you why later. and i'm not only talking about files you saved, music, pictures, etc. the programs that you've installed and afterwards uninstalled could still be in your pc somewhere.
say for example, you've installed a game from EA games. you played it for months.. bored of it.. uninstalled it. and yet if you go to :-

• my computer
• then, C:
• then, program files

you'll be surprised to find a folder named EA games with stuff still in it. sometimes, huge ones. this takes up unnecessary space. delete the whole folder. it won't matter that much. if it did, you wouldn't have uninstalled it to begin with. this is especially important to those of you who love to d/l those mini games (feeding frenzy, diner dash, burger island, etc) and uninstalled it after it expired. it's still in your pc! get rid of them!


2. a faster startup!
you turn on your laptop. went away to let it load. make a cup of coffee. finished drinking it. come back. it's still not on the finished loading your desktop. if this is you, i weep for you, you sad sad person. here's the problem...

it's the startup programs that's slowing you down. look at the bottom right at the system tray (next to the clock). if it's almost filling up your whole taskbar, that's the problem. those are programs that are running in the background. these are tiny programs that are robbing you of memory and processing power. some of them you need, while most you don’t. some of the programs you DON’T need are printer icons, CD burning icons, shortcuts to programs (such as video settings), any Instant Messaging Programs, etc. Just because these programs aren’t always running, doesn’t mean that you still can’t print, burn CDs or Instant Message. They can be run when you need them, from a shortcut. get rid of them! go to:-

• start
• run
• type in MSCONFIG
• you'll see the 'start up' tab. click on that.
• here, untick those that you don't need right away. example: ituneshelper, adobe reader speed launch, quick time task. you might have not used it in months! so, untick those and other that you're sure you don't need.
• click apply and on the next start up, it'll make a HUGE difference.

also, check your system tray regularly when using your pc. if you see the msn messenger icon on it even though it says you're offline, just exit it. it just sits there being useless and slows the pc down.

3. clean up your disk!
one of the simplest way to clear up the clutter and make your pc faster. go to:

• start
• all programs, accessories
• system tools
• click on 'disk clean up'

click here for a detail description of what it is but basically, it's just what it says. it cleans up your drive of any useless data you have on your pc. if you're worried that it might clean up something you still need, don't. it'll know what you need and what you won't need. there is also an option there for it to clean up 'temporary internet files'. those are data of past websites that you've visited. it kept a log so that the next time you visit that website, it'll load faster. by default, it'll already be ticked. but if you're the sort of person who can't remember website addresses and depends on the first few parts of the address and let the browser fill up the rest or you want it to load faster, untick this box. but personally, i think it takes up a huge space (in just 3 days, i accumulated about 60mb of temporary internet files ':s ) . and i just bookmark my favourite sites.

4. make your windows basic!
do you have a very impressive looking desktop? colourful backgrounds, a mouse cursor with blinking lights and colourful trails behind it, impressive visual effects and a theme that makes people go "wow.." that's good and all but is it making your pc slow?

just go back to basics people. it's pretty to look at but not very practical. below, an article i found that describes this perfectly..

By default, EVERYTHING is turned on in Windows XP. It isn’t very streamlined for performance, but rather for appearance. You can turn off a few of the unnecessary features, and Windows will still work just fine, and maybe a little faster.

To do this, right-click on My Computer and click on Properties. Click on the Advanced tab. Under the Performance section, click on the Settings button. On the Visual Effects tab, you will see a list of check boxes. By default, these are all on. You really don’t need any of them. If you choose one of the radio buttons at the top, say, Adjust for Best Performance, then all of the check boxes will turn off. This will noticeably speed up your computer. You can go through the check boxes one by one, and determine which ones you can and can’t live without. The one that will make the biggest effect is the very last one in the list. This is the Themes. If you turn it off, it will free up a lot of system resources and give you quite a bit more memory to work with, but Windows XP will look more like Windows 2000. For most people, this isn’t a problem. It is all eye-candy, anyway. Your pretty green pasture picture will disappear; your pretty green and blue buttons and task bar will go to a gray. If you can live with these things, then you will have much more performance. You will find that menus open up much more quickly and everything responds more immediately.

looks isn't everything.. especially when it comes to computers. it's the speed and functionality we want. don't you agree?

5. defragment, defragment, defragment!
i cannot stress this enough. when i see someone's laptop acting like a tortoise, i'll ask if they've defragmented it recently. i usually get a, "i de-what now?" or "no dude.. i don't have that kinda money" or "haha! that's a funny word! did you just make that up?"

here's how i like to explain what it actually is..
(NOTE: no comment necessary on the drawing. i know it's super cool.)

so okay.. here's mr pc working on your file.
then you ask it save those files. mr pc then works frantically and saves it in your hard disk as fast as he can because, that's what he does.. he tries to work as fast as his tiny processor can dish out.
BUT there's a downside to this.. the files aren't always in the same place as one huge chunk. most of the time, it's in pieces. especially big files like, programs or games you installed. mr pc does know where each parts are and when you load them up, sometimes it takes mr pc a few moments to gather everything together.
uh-oh.. here comes mr defrag-man and he is far from happy..
mr defrag-man now has to sort out the mess, so that stuff on mr pc works faster. so, the longer you haven't defragment your hard disk, the messier it is. remember when i told you you need at least 15% of free space? well, here is why.. mr defrag-man needs space to work with.. to place the separated files all together in one place temporarily while it finds a suitable place to place in, in one chunk. the best hard disk space it'll need is 25%. it'll defragment your files much faster.. here's how you do it.

a. To defragment your hard drives (in any Windows operating system), double-click on My Computer. Right-click on the c-drive and click on Properties. Click on the Tools tab and choose the bottom button, to Defragment Now… Click on the appropriate drive, and then on Defragment. This can take some time. Depending on your processing power, the amount of RAM you have available, the size and speed of your drive, and a few other things, this process can take 20 minutes, or hours. It is best to let this one run over night, as well, but it is well worth it.

it'll look something like this...
those red lines on the top bar are the mess.. and the blue lines are the neat sorted chunk of files. the bottom bar is the after picture. see how tidy it is? your pc will work much faster looking like that.

that's it from me but there are a lot of tips on how to speed up your pc. these were some of my easy ones that i very often do. questions are welcomed and i'll try my best to answer them.
click here for 10 top tips!