The Chinese New year holidays are over and regrettably, it means that I don’t get to sit around the table with my friends and cousins playing poker. Now, I am not a really sociable person in real life but this Chinese New Year has been extremely fruitful for me. I used to hate playing Poker because I always lose; as if the money I collected from hung bao isn’t meager enough! This year, I easily tripled my collection!

Obviously, my friends and family are surprised by my improved poker skills. They used to laugh at how I played, the wrong decisions I made, especially the guys. The guys think that poker is a male game, you see, and now, of course they felt threatened that I suddenly am so well-versed in poker rules and can play the game almost better than them!

I still put this down to luck – call me humble. I just don’t think that I can win all the time because I’m just now as good as I would like to be. I think I won a few rounds because my opponents were caught by surprise, that’s all. Whatever the reason, I am so thankful that I get to pick up my new poker skills just by playing online.

Of course, it isn’t the same playing online and offline but the games are almost similar and I get to ask silly questions when I play with virtual opponents. I don’t mind being laughed at as long as they don’t know who I am! Another good thing is that there are plenty of tutorials to read up on and even demo videos to see how a game is played.

Doing all these homework coupled with good luck will surely increase one’s winning chances in poker. And I always pray for weaker opponents! LOL Well, what do you think of my strategies?

I came across a website of a hotel in Vegas that offers free rooms to guests. I asked my sister if that’s true and if it is, she should take advantage of it. My brother-in-law always has luck at the casino, according to my sister, so they usually get their trip to Vegas paid for just by playing in the casino, especially texas hold em. My sister doesn’t have such luck, though.

According to my sister, such free accommodation offers are very common and if she could, she would take it up. However, the weather has not been conducive for air travel In fact, snow has been so thick she couldn’t even get to work. She could just as well play poker online from the comfort of home! It’s a great way to rest and relax after a hard day spent plowing snow!

My sister told me that just like in a real environment, she is no good at Poker but playing at home, she doesn’t feel the pressure. The good thing is that whatever her losses, even though she is just a small-time player, her husband, when he comes home from work, will help her to recover her losses! How lucky!

I also play poker regularly on Facebook and I think that one day, when I am good enough, I would like to pay for money, starting with small bets, though, until I am confident! To me, though, it’s not about the amount of money I win, but the excitement in winning. I feel a rush of adrenaline when I win even though there is no money involved. Yes, I know I sound crazy but then it’s probably because I don’t really understand the game, so to me, it’s more a game of chance, unlike some players who would spend time analyzing a game and get all technical!

Anyway, I don’t know when I will be ready for the “big time” but meanwhile, I’ll just continue honing my skills at free games. LOL

My friend, Doris, will be moving to Australia with her family in early December. She said that at first, when they have decided to make this move, she thought that she has plenty of time to pack. Now that there is just five weeks to go, she is feeling slightly panicky when she realise that the entire house needs to be emptied since they are putting up the house for sale and have no idea when they will be making a trip home. It wouldn’t be so soon since they do need time to settle down in a new city, especially for their kid.

Leaving the furniture is easy since they could always sell the house furnished. Packing books and clothes is also not too difficult though those books are heavy. What is problematic is the husband’s collection of musical instruments. They come in odd shapes and sizes!

I thought that since he wouldn’t have as much time to make good use of his collection of musical instruments when in Australia, it would be a good idea to sell them off through Cash Generator. It is a company that buys and sells used items from popular personal electronic devices, domestic appliances and of course, musical instruments.

It surely will be a hard decision to make but I am sure that once he sees the advantage of offloading his belongings prior to the move, he will be receptive to the idea.

*** This post has been sponsored.

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of NMEDA. All opinions are 100% mine.

I recently purchased a car. While being a new car owner is not such a big deal to me, my friend, who is disabled, told me that he wishes that one day he could have his own car too. That would mean independence to him. What freedom! My friend thinks that it’s going to be expensive owning a customized car, so much so that he never bothered to find out the cost.

So when I came across the website of NMEDA, I thought of him. I know that NMEDA, though doesn’t sell mobility vehicles for the disabled, would be able to help people who are in need of such vehicles by connecting them to the nearest NMEDA qualified dealer, who would then help to evaluate which vehicle is the most suitable and how to go about getting one.

NMEDA, which stands for National Mobility Equipment Dealers Association, brings together mobility dealers, manufacturers and rehabilitation professionals, carries out the Quality Assurance Program (QAP), the only nationally recognized accreditation program.

To help my friend look for a NMEDA qualified dealer near him, I typed in his zip code, 37135 in Nolensville, Tennessee for the addresses of nearby dealers. It’s very useful that a map is provided too. If you know of a disabled or elderly person who would benefit from a mobility vehicle, do direct them to a NMEDA qualified dealer by locating for one by just a zip code. Putting someone back on the road, literally, not only benefits the person but also the caregiver as well.

My mother has lost a lot of weight since she hurt her ankle walking on uneven ground almost two years ago. Since then, my mother couldn’t exercise and because of the pain, she even lost her appetite.

A friend told me that my mother should consult with a chiropractor. We have heard of chiropractors before but have never thought of going to them. My mother leans towards traditional medicine but since that’s not helping her, I too think that she should give chiropractors a try.

I was surfing the web when I came across the website of a Des Moines Chiropractic clinic and I am very impressed with how they have changed the life of their patients by taking their pain away. Sometimes, pain can be so crippling that there is no longer quality in living. I understand that chiropractors can sometimes successful turn that around.

I would like to send my mother to the Des Moines chiropractor but we live too far away so I guess we will have to settle for the services of a chiropractor in our hometown instead of a Chiropractor in Des Moines but I hope that my mother will respond to the chiropractic care just the same whoever she consults.

My friend forwarded this photo to me the other day, saying it’s a sad day for tennis. It’s a photo of promising Romanian tennis star, Simona Halep, who declared that she would be going for a breast reduction surgery because the weight of her breasts is hampering her tennis play. Her fans, though, are crying foul, for obvious reasons.

People are very funny. While every other person I know wants to get a breast augmentation surgery, Simona Halep is blessed with naturally big breasts. What a lucky girl! If she isn’t a professional tennis player, she shouldn’t even go for a reduction surgery, shouldn’t even think about it!

I have seen my friends who underwent breast augmentations transformed not only physically but their whole personality changed. I think they are more confident of themselves and their self-esteem seems sky-high.

I too need to boost my self-confidence but I certainly don’t need the extra weight on my chest. However, I can do with a tummy tuck surgery since my tummy seems to grow bigger by the day and no, I am not pregnant! It’s all fat, unfortunately!

But knowing myself, I’m just all talk. I dare not go under the knife unless it’s absolutely necessary. A tummy tuck is certainly not a matter of life and death. I can still live with a little fat on my body.