Thursday, August 30, 2012

The Governess Affair by Courtney Milan review


If you want to read the synopsis, you've probably been to Amazon and have read it there. If you haven't, here's the summary of the Governess Affair by Courtney Milan

The start of a new series from New York Times bestselling author Courtney Milan...

She will not give up.

Three months ago, governess Serena Barton was let go from her position. Unable to find new work, she’s demanding compensation from the man who got her sacked: a petty, selfish, swinish duke. But it’s not the duke she fears. It’s his merciless man of business—the man known as the Wolf of Clermont. The formidable former pugilist has a black reputation for handling all the duke’s dirty business, and when the duke turns her case over to him, she doesn’t stand a chance. But she can’t stop trying—not with her entire future at stake.

He cannot give in.

Hugo Marshall is a man of ruthless ambition—a characteristic that has served him well, elevating the coal miner’s son to the right hand man of a duke. When his employer orders him to get rid of the pestering governess by fair means or foul, it’s just another day at the office. Unfortunately, fair means don’t work on Serena, and as he comes to know her, he discovers that he can’t bear to use foul ones. But everything he has worked for depends upon seeing her gone. He’ll have to choose between the life that he needs, and the woman he is coming to love…

My review:

1. The characters
These are not your usual prince, princesses, dukes and duchesses. Serena Barton and Hugo Marshall are actually common people.  And yet, despite not having an illusion of grandeur on these characters, Milan still writes a compelling tale of two people falling in love in the historical times.

2. The reality
Not all people are good people. In usual regency novels, we read about the fat, greasy looking, old or not so old  earl/duke/viscount assaulting the governess, chamber maid or some other poor random people. But we never got to meet that person. What ever happens to her?

3. Love vs Ambition/Wants/Practicality

Will you give up your lifelong dream for love?  How much do you want it?
Here we see a reality of choosing and finding out what really matters the most.

4. This book only costs 99c! It's a short novel but meaty. ^_____^

I.Link Optical Mouse Review

I often get motivated to review items I just bought/ regularly use/ discovered. Mostly because I consider myself as your basic average consumer. I'm not too techy but I get the hang of new items. I'm not a perfectionist but I appreciate quality and I look at the price tag.

I bought a new optical mouse on a whim. This Ilink optical mouse is sold at SM City for P299.75
I bought it for its catchy design and one of its features that caught my attention is:

Ilink mouse size
Motion on Virtually ANY Surface.

Here's what I thought:

Pro: It really works on most surface even without the mouse pad.

Cons: The 3D wheel does not roll easily. It feels stuck.
It is also thinner than I thought it would be so it's a bit uncomfortable for my hand use.

Here are some Ilink Mouse pics.

Ilink Mouse Back
Ilink mouse pic


Iphone auto-complete - how to turn it off

Tired of your iphone finishing your messages for you?

When you're used to shortcut messages in text, this feature could be annoying.
I sometimes cringe at the messages I send, when they're way off on what I really meant to say.
I was a bit bummed when I first googled the answer to this problem. When I went to the first hit on google, this forum conversation told me that there was no way to turn this off. When I read the posts though, they were posted 2008.

Four years later, here's the solution for this problem:

How to turn off Auto-Complete

1. Go to SETTINGS
2. Go to GENERAL
3. Go to KEYBOARD
4. Then Switch Auto-Correction OFF

Check out Funny Texts caused by Auto-correct.


For more funny messages go to http://fyouautocorrect.com/

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

IV Insertion Video

Reviewing IV insertion Youtube Videos



Whether you're a nurse, doctor or other professionals in the medical team, inserting an IV line is tricky and requires some skill that can only be brought about by experience.

Learning about IV insertion procedure through books and lectures may not be enough. With the advent of Youtube videos, our method of learning has improved. Now, we can see actual demonstration of starting an IV line.

Though watching this video is not a guarantee that you'll get it right on your first try, it will give you some helpful tips when starting your IV line. This could also help refresh guidelines and procedures for those who have done this before.

There are a lot of youtube videos about IV Cannulation, IV insertion, Starting an IV line. However, there are a lot of videos that are grainy, have unclear sounds, not ideal and incomplete. I found these two videos that I think are most helpful in starting an IV line.

It also includes things to watch out for or the complications that may happen when you insert an IV line incorrectly.


Peripheral IV Cannulation 1 - uploaded by amola36


Peripheral IV Cannulation 2 - uploaded by amola36

This picks up where part 1 ended. Both are uploaded by amola36.




Saturday, August 18, 2012

How to Pay GCASH when you're a SMART user

GCash


How to Pay GCASH for online purchases when you're a SMART/SUN/Talk and Text user or other subscribers.

Requirements:

1. Bring photocopy of valid I.D.
Not sure if back-to-back is required, but I just made sure mine was, so that I don't have to back and forth to have it photocopied again.

2. Make sure you know the NAME of who you are sending it to, NOT just the NUMBER.

My experience:

I was trying to pay for an online purchase. And here are some points to consider:


  • The queuing is way too long so once you have a number you can come back for it. Just make sure you don't go PAST your number.
  • I had to go back and forth cause I didn't have a photocopy of my I.D.
  • I had the wrong name of the person to send it to so I had to postpone my transaction.
  • There's a 20 pesos fee. 

Thursday, August 9, 2012

Oiran Girl, Manga

I love reviewing things I'm passionate about. And now, I would like to share my newest Manga discover from MangaFox, Oiran Girl!

Oiran Girl Cover Pic


Tsubaki was a rich merchant's daughter when her family lost all of their money because of a fire that burned down everything. She was sold and now lives in Miuraya, a courtesan house in the red-light district. She now aims to become the top courtesan, beating Takao her mentor. Unbeknownst to her, Takao has a secret. Takao is a man and he is also Shin, Tsubaki's former servant, her first love and the one who destroyed her heart by his cruel words.

It's really quite fun! After the first chapter, Takao's secret is revealed to Tsubaki and things get interesting.

If you like Hana-kimi, Tokyo Crazy Paradise then this is for you. Aside from the gender bender tag, this could also be an ojou-sama type manga.

What is an Oiran? (From Wikipedia)

Oiran (花魁?) were courtesans in Japan. The oiran were considered a type of yūjo (遊女?) "woman of pleasure" or prostitute. However, they are distinguished from the yūjo in that they were entertainers, and many became celebrities of their times outside the pleasure districts. Their art and fashions often set trends among the wealthy and, because of this, cultural aspects of oiran traditions continue to be preserved to this day.

Oiran Girl (2010) Manga was written or made by Hibiki Wataru. It is being scanlated by Doko Demo Doa. Here's their Forum.

Hope they can finish this manga.