Are you a casual blogger like me? Or are you making serious bucks out of your blog? If you're the later, please oh pretty please share some of your tips with me cuz I could use extra cash >.<

In any case, if you have a blog of your own, then you'd understand how gynormously huge a task writing a blog post can be! Add a deadline to it, then you're in for some serious slaving hours in front of the screen. 

No worries though! I have a thing or two to help you out with the bits and pieces of what makes a blog post great, regardless of the blogging platform you're on!

1. Storage, schedules and connectivity

Here's what most bloggers do when they're on a generic blogging platform i.e. Blogger and Wordpress - Draft a post, add a few photos here, another photo there, proofread, some final adjustments to the post layout, fonts etc. and hit "Publish". Yeap, your's truly is guilty as charged too. 

The thing is, a lot of us don't realise that the photos, and any multimedia content that were uploaded to the blog post, they take up space. With the use of DSLR camera, one photo can 'cost' anywhere between 5MB to 30MB. Add a video to that, you might be overlooking how much you're actually 'spending', in terms of capacity.. 

Wait what?! So you're saying that I'm 'paying' for the photos and videos? Yeap - although not yet. Even with your own domain and hosting, you are usually allocated a certain amount of storage capacity for your multimedia files. Let me introduce you to one nifty trick that I learned. It's called Google Drive. 

At this point, it is safe to assume that if you have Gmail, you have 15GB of storage space shared across your Gmail, Google Drive and Google Plus. If you inspect closely at Google Drive management screen, you'll notice under Google+ Photos - Photos bigger than 2048 x 2048 use your storage. Everything smaller is free. Yeap, that's right. This is the magic threshold that can save you a ton of headache in the future. Sadly, your videos will always take up a portion of the allocated space, but if you manage your photos right, you'll have more space for your videos - among other stuffs. 

This comes with the exception for photo bloggers who need to put up very high quality photos. But fret not! Another solution if you run out of space are cloud storage services i.e. Dropbox and Copy. Do check them out. They're also free - to a certain extent, of course. 

As for schedules and connectivity, if you're already on Gmail, do check out Google Calendar and Google+. They're both handy if you're blasting out your posts. One thing I have yet to figure out how is to simultaneously post to both Facebook and Google+. There seem to be no integration between these services yet - but correct me if I'm wrong (and please, do provide a step-by-step guide. Thanks)

2. Photo Editors and Manipulators

Remember what I told u about Google+ photo trick? Well, to execute it, you need some sort of photo editors. I highly recommend Photoshop if you have the cash, skills and patience. Wait what?! Patience? Yeah - editing a photo is a time consuming process, and probably the most wonderful yet dreadful experience in drafting a blog post. 5 to 10 photos are manageable with Phototshop, but what if you don't want to touch up the photos and just want to resize them so that they are free on Google+ photos? 

My tool - Image Resizer for Windows. Trust me when I say this tool has helped me tremendously. With as little as 4 clicks, you can resize one photo, or a whole folder of photos seamlessly! Best part - it does not replace the original photo (unless if you specify it to, but why would you want to do that?) You can then feel free to further edit the photo however you want to.  

Ok so you've resized your photo. There's still that daunting task of uploading it. Well fret no more fellow bloggers - Picasa is here to save the day! Simply sign in to your Picasa account using your Gmail, and you should be able to sync the photos (and folders) to Google+ Photos. From there you can change the permissions, and import it into your blog post. Easy peasy. 

3. Proofreading and post-publising
I am very particular with my writings - finishing every few sentence and then deleting the whole paragraph and restructuring them every so often so that I am able to get what I meant across in a manner and tone that I meant for it to be delivered. Honestly though, I can never tell if my tone of writing is delivered as I imagined it, because everyone has their own 'reading voice'. I do try my best though. 

In any case, I do want originality - and I do want my writings to be my own. Save for when I am citing or referring to another, then I may state my source and credit as necessary. Plagiarism is the last thing I wanna do, and so should you. Make your content your own. 

But how, you may ask? Try using Plagium. It will definitely ensure that your text is your own, or will tell you (and your possible readers too), otherwise. The first 25,000 characters - read characters not words is free, but if you're willing to fork out a few bucks, you can use the member benefits such as Deep Search and File Uploading. Why is it important? Well generally you won't need to submit your writing to a plagiarism checker, but say you're paraphrasing from another source, you might want want to do so. It's really your own call, but it's a nice to have option in my opinion. 

For post-publishing, I use a nifty tool called NetworkedBlogs. With a few simple setup steps, you can post your published blog post to Facebook and Twitter. Unfortunately, it does not put in the #tags to allow for more coverage. I can live with that - for now. Otherwise, I would actually go to my published posts and manually click on the share to social media buttons. Troublesome, but needs to be done. 

What if the title and URL is too long? Especially in cases of Twitter which only allows 140 (please correct me if I'm wrong) character limits per post? I think Twitter has it's own URL shortening feature and it is automatic (again, correct me if I'm wrong) but I personally use bit.ly to shorten my URL because it allows me to count how many clicks each of my URL has. 

So with these collection of blogging tools, you're off to a better and enhanced blogging experience. So go ahead and enjoy creating contents for your readers with half the worry and effort! Give me a shout out if you're already using the tools - any one or a few or all of them. Don't forget, if you have better tools other than listed above, do let me know in the comments. I'll definitely check it out!

I honestly don't know what prompted it this time - maybe it was the possibility of meeting (according to my significant other) 95 business owners in a visitor's event for a certain prestigious world class business community (I  have no affiliate with them so I'll play it safe and not mention the name just yet). But as it turned out, I didn't even go to the event. I trust my significant other had a blast meeting new people. It's who she is and what she does best. Plus it's good for her current venture too. 

In any case, I updated me my blog layout. Going minimalist this time, I opted to hide all my widgets in the front page and keep them neat and tidy! Trust me, most of them are still there once you get to the posts, but let's agree to keep the homepage clean, alright? 

So, a little bit about the theme itself. Created by  ThemeXpose I tweeked a very minimal amout to my liking, mostly removing the gadgets that comes with the theme but I don't use. It is in my future plan to actually get my own domain name and then creating my own theme, but for now I am mostly happy with the result I have. But what's more important is that you, my dear readers, like them too! Let me know how you feel in the comments! 

So a fellow blogger Dinah (read her blog here) in the good spirit of competitive blogging (is there really such a thing? I totally just made that up) said and I quote "The first to post about a cat story wins! Lol". So here's a story about cats! Hahahaa!

To say that my family are all cat lovers is an understatement. At one point, we had well over 20 cats (kittens included). They had their own little hut almost the size of my room (8 x 10 ft - ish) and about 10 ft tall. The males would've been separated from each other to avoid fights, and we'd let them roam the house compound in the late afternoons and while cleaning up the hut. 

My dad is the one who's most obsessed about cats. His current favourite is a male Maine Coon he named Preemo. Healthy and lazy, he just recently moved back into the hut in his own large cage. When let out, sometimes it would play with us, sometimes it would chase the chickens (playfully), but most of the time he'd be hiding around my mom's flowers. Wanna see him in action? 

ROAAARR!!!

Gotcha!

Cats are naturally curious - even if the cage itself is familiar

Here's Preemo playing in slow-mo

Dad also has other breeds - and this one is a British Shorthair named Wocup. Sadly it has passed on but not before proving the family with solemn company and moments of hilariousness - some were caught on camera! 

If you're somewhere in Kuching, and since the festive season brings about reasons to come over for a visit, I would love to show you in person what the cat hut looks like! So hit me up in the comments below and we'll work it out, ok?  

It's tech talk time! (Try saying that 10 times over as fast as you can). If you're like me who's constantly online (except when I'm socialising with other people cuz that'd be rude) you'll know about the small little voice behind your head that constantly warns you "internet quota - how much do I have left this month - can I play this video without exceeding my quota - can I visit this page without getting a bill shock at the end of the month" and of course the relief of WiFi connection. 

Maxis has recently launched a new product named MaxisONE Plan - aiming to provide customers the freedom to connect and communicate the way we want to. We all know that calls and sms are a thing of the past with the emergence of smartphones and mobile data connection. Sure, in selected cases (mostly parents) calls are still frequently used, while among peers, friends, even business communications, instant messaging are preferred so as not to incur any extra charges. While in years before postpaid users worry about bill-shocks due to excess calls and sms as the end of the month, these days we worry more about being excessively charged for mobile data. 

So Maxis spearheaded a breakthrough - paraphrasing Dusyan Vaithiayanathan, the Head of Consumer Business "we as service provides has benefited from charging calls and sms rates, and now mobile data rates to the users. It is time for us to give back". And honestly, I could not agree more. With MaxisONE, one does not need to worry about how much calls and sms they use at the end of a bill cycle - it's free! 

Wait, what? Free Calls and SMS? 

Yes, free calls and sms. MaxisONE offers a simple plan that focuses more on what our generation use - data. With a special interest of providing not only high-speed LTE coverage on top of wide 3G network but also providing reliable connection wherever there is coverage! Cheers to that! Just as much as we hate dropped calls and undelivered sms, we also hate having to reload a website or replay a video because we were abruptly disconnected from the data network. 

So yes, free calls, free sms - not just between Maxis to Maxis, but to ALL network! This is great news for those who pay for both calls and sms with a data plan every month! It really saves up on your bills! With both calls and sms free and unlimited, what you only need to choose is how much data you need! 

Facebook? Youtube? Instagram? Whatsapp? How much data do I need?

In the race to provide specific group of consumers with what they specifically need, network service providers tend to confuse their customers. Honestly, I am just as uncertain about my plan as the dude next to me! But Maxis has made it easy by giving you a choice of 1GB, 2GB and 3GB quota a month. Additionally, it's a flat rate of RM30 for every extra 1GB you need a month, or if you just need a slight boost, it's RM10 for 200MB, and RM20 for 500MB. 

So what's the difference? I'm still bound by quota! 

Hold your yappin, I'm not finished yet! MaxisONE offers something thy call an Always ON internet experience - which means that even though you've used up all your internet quota for that billing cycle, you're still connected, albeit at lower speed. 

Okay.. sounds reasonable.. What else is there?

Together with MaxisONE, new devices are also available such as HTC Desire 310, Hwawei Y530 and Samsung Galaxy Ace 3. These are FREE when you sign up for the plan. Other higher performance devices are also available. 

If you're also a frequent flier especially overseas, you'll rest assures that Maxis roams in 106 countries at a flat rate of RM38 per day. With that in mind, you won't have to worry about pay-per-use data and bill shocks ever again! 

Great! Where do I sign up?

The simplest most effective way to sign up is to visit any Maxis center near you or any Maxis Exclusive Partner store nationwide. You can also visit Maxis Online Store here and read more information on the MaxisONE plan here. 

And as usual, a gallery of shots! >.<

Photo Gallery by QuickGallery.com

What happened??!! Sh*t happened, that's whats happened.. I was distracted when exiting the Summers Mall and took a corner too short that my left hind tyre caught the side ramp. I guess the sudden, uneven change in air pressure inside tyre was too much that it blew. It only took a few seconds for the air to escape the tyre completely. 

Luckily Petronas was nearby. I drove slowly there. I don't think the tyre can be saved as when I tried to pump air into it, it would not inflate. Man.. just when cash is tight.. 

Whining is for losers, right? So I went ahead and changed to the spare tyre. Here's a neat reminder to every car owner out there - PLEASE make sure to maintain your spare tyre. Just because it is not used, does not mean the air pressure stays static or the tyre stays inflated indefinitely. So as you read this, as a gentle reminder, please pick up your phone and put a reminder to check the air pressure of your spare tyre. And check also if the tools are complete and in good condition. Please do. 

Anyways, being near to Petronas is just lucky. My spare tyre was flat like the chest of someone I know >.< (OMG that's actually mean.. sorry dude >.<) Managed to pump it properly and changed to spare tyre in about half an hour with so much sweat and dirt. 

The damaged tyre - loosen the "screws" by using the tool first before you jack up the car. Use your body weight if necessary (it should be necessary >.<) Otherwise, there is no way you can unscrew it unless you're Superman.

Jacking up

This part was difficult - taking out the tyre from its axle. Use plenty of force if necessary. Its built to last years, it can take a little rough handling. 

Slide in the spare tyre and tighten the "screws" as much as you can. Not yet time to use your body weight as the tyre may spin and can be dangerous.

After the jack is removed and the tyre is firmly on the ground, use the same tool to tighten the "screws". Use your bodyweight to really tighten it - you do not want the tyre to come loose when you're driving. 

And there you go.. Of course, being the a typical person I am with social media, I Have to take a SELFIE!

Day in and day out, days and days gone by, I find myself swept away by the tides of time. Barely having any time just to sit down and write a post. Couldn't steal an hour or two just running my imagination over the chapters of a book. Tending less and less to the friends I miss all too much.

A good rest was well earned, and rested I did at BB Bunkers, Damai Central. A fresh change from the typical hotel getaway, BB Bunkers offers a hostel-style place to stay (hey, they didn't come up with the name 'Bunkers' just for the sake of a name, did they?). With all basic amenities well built at an affordable rate, one can just dump their luggage and start enjoying the nature straightaway without much hassle. 

And boy did I enjoy myself. Credits to BB Bunkers, along with co-organizers Damai Central and Escobar for hosting the Bloggers Night out! Not only did they invite us bloggers, but we also get to bring a guest of our own too! Much fun!

Honestly, after a helluva week at work, a break like this is just in the nick of time. I arrived at Damai Central just in time for dinner at Escobar. I managed to just catch up with fellow bloggers I met almost a year ago at the Rainforest World Music Festival 2013, snapped a few shots and popped my head into some of the amenities available in BB Bunkers before making my way to dinner. Owh the food was very delish. What's even more funny tho, is that when the food arrived, everybody tried to sneak a picture or two of each dish before they were all enjoyed. At first, everyone was shy, barely catching the macro shots of the food - but when we all realized that most of us are bloggers and we all will want good food shots on our blogs, the shyness evaporated and it was as if "NOBODY TOUCH THE FOOD! WE NEED TO GET PICTURES! THIS IS SPARTA!!" kind of moment (well obviously I exaggerated but nonetheless, it was hilarious to be in that situation!)

Later that night was when things got interesting. Because of the configuration the 'pods' in BB Bunkers, there is very little privacy. If you're looking for a quiet getaway - honestly, you're looking at the wrong place. If you're not into mingling with others and prefer to be left in your own peaceful and quiet self, this isn't the place for you. But, if you're looking to meet new and random people, spend the whole night awake chit-chatting and merry-making, boy you couldn't be any closer! BB Bunkers, as the name suggests, offers 'pods' as oppose to rooms. 

Pod Types and Configurations

1 x Family Pod (1 x double bed & 1 x sofa bed)

6 x Double Pod (1 x double bed)

2 x Single Pod (1 x single bed)

2 x Twin Pod (2 x single bed)

3 x Triple Pod (3 x single bed)

1 x Dorm Pod (5 x single bed)

Rates

Weekdays: Single bed (in any pod) : RM50 Double Pod : RM80 Family Pod : RM120 Entire Venue : RM1200

Weekends: Single bed (in any pod) : RM60 Double Pod : RM100 Family Pod : RM150 Entire Venue : RM1500

RWMF 2014: Single bed (in any pod) : RM110 Double Pod : RM180

Damai Central as the co-organizer lined up the activities for us to try out. At first I opted for jungle trekking - but considering the drizzle and that most of my fellow bloggers signed up for the bicycle ride, I jumped ship and joined them instead. I can't remember when was the last time I rode a bicycle, but it was so very worth it! A few runs up and down the hills, we arrived at Kampung Santubong, after visiting the tomb of Sultan Tengah, the first and last Sultan of Sarawak. That hour and a half, about 10 km ride in the drizzling rain made me forget about the troubles I was carrying and even though I was completely and utterly exhausted by the time I got back, I was completely refreshed! I managed to get some spheres too! 

BB Bunkers | Damai Central | Pantai Puteri | Klinik Kesihatan Kampong Santubong 

Photo Gallery by QuickGallery.com 

If you're planning ahead to attend the Rainforest World Music Festival 2014 this coming June, BB Bunkers is definitely a good choice. It is strategically located just opposite of the main entrance to Sarawak Cultural Village where the annual international music festival is held every year. Or if you're just looking for a simple night out with some outdoor activities, do book ahead. You'll find almost all your needs met - from 24 hours 7-Eleven convenience store just next door, Medan Food Court, Bayridge Seafood Restaurant, Escobar, Movie Night, to kayaking, bicycle ride, jungle trekking or a good visit to Sarawak Cultural Village! All-in-all, a great experience. 

classy  .  chic  .  cosy

BB Bunkers

Unit C1 Damai Central 

Pantai Damai Santubong 

93050 Kuching Sarawak

T : +608.AT.HOTEL (+6082846835)

F : +60.82.846835

E : talk2us@bbbunkers.com

W : www.bbbunkers.com

Note : 

* All information is correct at the time of post. 

* Some photos courtesy of credited photographers :
Lets ngerepak ... with Tia

NTGravity

PreciousMad Photography

So my blog recently got featured in Sarawak bloggers for the month of September. In a mood for celebration I headed to the Sarawak Regatta Fair. I’ll have another entry for that later, but right now I am fully content with my own company having a bite of Steak Beef Pie at John’s Pie. I’ve heard of John’s Pie from someone, I don’t recall whom though. Also came across the name while covering for the Rainforest World Music Festival 2013.

The entrance

I gotta there was a small misunderstanding about John’s Pie. Though the name was familiar, I was never able to find it. Instead, I came across John’s Place. Boy they are worlds apart. Where John’s Pie serves pie and pastries (as the name implies), John’s Place is a kopitiam which also offers a bed & breakfast on the first floor. I have a feeling that they are related - perhaps of the same business owners. If you know dow put it into the comments below! Thanks!

Inside - rather cozy albeit small

John’s Pie is a small quaint little cafe on the street of Song Thian Cheok. Common landmark is the 360’s Hotel, Liwah Hotel and Wisma Pheonix across Secret Recipe Padungan. I have to say after spending a whole day at the Regatta Festival with a bunch of awesome friends (a couple of which I just met) this quiet little place with its mellow jazz music in the background is all I needed while my other half is doing her own thing, if I may be to bold to point out.

Well anyways I I tried the Steak Beef Pie and boy was I pleasantly surprised. It was delish. The crust was thin but not too thin –it simply crumbles away revealing the scrumptious fillings inside. I have to point out that this is not a good place if you have large numbers in your party. Solo coffee time, couple’s date, that’s just the right number. Three, four or more would be a crowd. As it stands, I will definitely bring my better half here.

The receipt - not expensive at all!

John’s Pie also serve Shepherd’s Pie among other things ~ for those who fancy juices with their pies, there is bottled orange juice, but I like my pie with a cup of plain old coffee. They also serve a few types of quiches - a type of baked flan or tart with savory filling thickened with eggs (or to me it's a much larger version of egg tart - except instead of just egg, you get chicken or meat on it as well >.<) 

There is also a new pie on their menu - a locally inspired Laksa Pie! I might head over there to try it out soon! Who's coming with me?   \(^_^)/

Laksa Pie

I was here! At the Rainforest World Music Festival 2013! Marked as an annual event in Sarawak Tourism Board Events calendar, the 3-days world class festival features a lineup of performers from many different parts of the world facilitating workshops in the afternoon and concerts in the evening. 

When the clock stroked 5 pm I was already very anxious to get to Sarawak Cultural Village to soak in the festival. First photo I took, a panorama of the early evening. It was only 7-ish, the crowd was bustling at the Village Craft stalls set all over the venue featuring spray on tattoos and hair tattoos. Not to mention the Food Mart and Heinekabana where most go to grab some bites and cool off the heat.

At 7.30 pm, the concert opens with the Native Festival Blessing. From my vantage point, as the chanting progresses, the crowd began to draw themselves to the stage as if mesmerized by it. The chanting was the local native's way to welcome visitors and spread peace, harmony and goodwill. 

Here's a snippet of the chanting. 

As always, there are two stages prepared for the night concert, and adhering to the theme of the rainforest each stage was named the Jungle Stage and Tree Stage. The performers alternated between the stages, and the crowd of festival-goers follow along as the concert progresses. 

The welcoming performance began with a lineup of local performers : Juk Wan Emang, Lan E Tuyang, and Rythm in Bronze, followed by Chet Nuneta from France, Rey Vallenato Beto Jamaica from Columbia, Alp Bora from Turkey, Nunukul Yugera from Australia (yeap, complete with the diggeridoo) and finally at closing with Kila from Ireland. 

There were so many highlights I could not just pick a few! For starters, I'm a local Sarawakian, have only heard about nose flute but never seen it being played live. It is a dying form of music. In the old days, some of the native tribes in Sarawak namely Kayan played the nose flute (called Selingup, Selingut or Keringut in the local dialect) as part of the courtship process between an man and a woman, as well as during funerals to appease the spirits. To watch and listen first hand brings much appreciation to the land I live in. 

I was especially proud when Lan E Tuyang followed the nose flute performance with their sapé, another local instrument of profound history. The music that comes from this boat shaped lute is soothing and tells a story that comes alive with your imagination. 

Next was the performance from Rythm in Bronze. Here's a small snippet of their song called Suntuk Masa or Out of Time. 

After a dose of local performers, the audience moved to Tree Stage. Chet Nuneta from France. What can I say about them. Their performance was A.M.A.Z.I.N.G! Perfect harmony, deep underlying message, energetic, colourful, mesmerizing, so many adjectives I could use to describe them but none will probably do justice. They sang songs from their album called Pangea, what they describe as borderless, of wanderings, of emotions, of vivid imaginations inspired by unrecognized languages, soon to be extinct, the history of a people or a popular poem. Pangea is a tribute to the people's memory. Chet Nuneta performs with a myriad of wonderful instruments that looked like they came from a forgotten place or tribe, or of fairy tale altogether. One of their song called Pigmees Blues sang about deforestation, and I just barely caught the lyrics "No more forest for us, we could build no more forest for us". So very profound message from their music, and such passion!

*Pictures credit to Seth Borneographer

This is when my phone battery went flat. Sux to not have a powerbank or charger handy. 

Next was the Alp Bora and Rey Vellenato Beto Jamaica - both featuring very different, very unique, very elegant styles. Rey Vallenato Beto Jamaica with their accordion and percussion  - Alp Bora with their unforgivably electrifying funky strings. 

The closing number from Alp Bora was very very familiar. The lead singer introduced it to be featured in Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction, and Black Eyed Peas sampled it in one of their tracks. Unfortunately I don't have the recording because my battery completely died on me much to my frustration (but on the lighter side I reallly get to soak in the performances!) It's called Misirlou. 

Happy as I was to be there, I was unable to stay til late (times like these is when you have to do errands or be at some place before God-knows-what o'clock) and missed Kila's performance. No doubt they rocked it anyways!