Thoughts on Hair Loss

My sister recently narrated to me a funny episode of TMZ she saw that was dissing Jon Gosselin. They showed him showing off on his motorcycle and the captions/voiceovers were so hilarious. The Gosselin (I have another word in mind, but I made a promise not to do any more name calling at this point in time) did some sort of bike trick and they called it EXTREME. They made a play on that “extreme” thing, at one point, focusing on the Gosselin’s head and labeling it “Extreme Bald Spot”. It’s not nice to make fun of these things, but if it’s the Gosselin, I’ll call it funny, lol. Perhaps hair loss can drive people to behave in certain ways, hence his recent actions. For those who are concerned, they should look into Provillus. Provillus reviews state that it’s made up of natural ingredients and is very effective. It lowers levels of DHT, which promotes the weakening of hair. It also encourages the body to grow new hair. The effect is expected to be long lasting.

Our Lovely Valley Will Rise Again

The thing about Mother Nature is that she's very democratic. She spares no one. In Marikina, everybody, no matter the status (financial, social, civic, etc.), is united in our grieving. We were all affected by the tragedy that befell our area last weekend. I'm including here an excerpt from the email I sent our family abroad to update them on how we're doing.

***
Everybody's okay although the houses (nanay's and mom's) were both flooded and most of their things were damaged. My apartment in Mandaluyong was not affected although we were traveling to and from Laguna this weekend so we had to brave through floods as well. Dad's Tita Fely's burial was on Saturday morning and he was caught in the flood and horrible traffic along EDSA going home. He decided to walk home from that point (water was chest deep in some areas). He reached Marikina late Saturday night. Everybody, including the family of Brenda's kuya, was on the second floor of Nanay's house. Chipi was forced to wade through waist-deep water because they stayed inside even when water entered the house, expecting the flood to stop rising before it reached the bed. Nobody was expecting the rainfall to be that much (more than 30 days worth in under 6 hours) and we were all caught off guard. The last time the house was flooded, and never with water that high, was back in the '80s before BF fixed the city drainage and put up river and creek walls. Mark and his brother went over there to deliver water and food (their supplies were low) after we got back from Laguna Sunday evening. Chip and Jaymee are staying with us while the others continue cleanup in Marikina. The flood is gone but it left thick mud from the mountains on everything. The water outside submerged the gate while inside it rose until just above the waist. Power is still out making cleanup extra difficult... They basically need flashlights and lots of candles because there's no power... Our church members are all fine although many of them lost all of their possessions to the flood.
***

I wish Husband could take time off work so we could help with the cleanup at my parents' place. It's really slow going. With Chip sick, the ones left working there are my 62-yr-old father, my 58-yr-old mother, and Lala, their helper. The power is still out. My mom, who's very sentimental, is just so heartbroken with all the damage (my grandparents' antique china, a set from their wedding, photo albums, special gifts and letters, etc.). She just reminds herself that they did not lose all of their possessions, and more importantly, we didn't lose any of our relatives, friends, and churchmates.

Intelligent Marketing

I have always found telemarketers bothersome. My mother went through a Home TV Shopping phase and in the process left our phone number forever recorded in hundreds, maybe even thousands, of telemarketers’ call list. I personally do not mind receiving catalogues or any other form of marketing mail (I actually like getting them and I recycle so the paper doesn’t go to waste; although electronic is also good), but calls can be such a nuisance. At one point, we had a baby and a sick person in our house and I would practically pop a vein every time I answered the phone and discovered it was a telemarketer. I knew they were just doing their job, but considering that we were all exhausted pretty much all the time and that I had already made several requests, all unheeded, for my mom’s name to be removed from the list, I think my reaction was but natural.

Businesses should be equipped with a comprehensive and updated (I’m thinking of my now deceased grandparents still being hounded by telemarketers) National Consumer file. This way they do not waste not only their time, but also our time, with calls that were doomed to be cold in the first place. Consumer Leads should come from a multi-sourced file that will help marketers to zero in on interested customers. Really useful and helpful commercial leads, such as those provided by Endless Resources, are usually hard to obtain. They are, however, very necessary. It is best if a business’ efforts are used intelligently towards steps that would elicit results.

Climate Change Is Certainly Very Real

Hi. Just want to let you all know that we're fine. We left for Laguna early last Saturday, taking the Rizal route. We got "stranded" a few times, the interior of the car got wet, and once we could feel the car being borne by a mini wave, but, by God's grace and protection, we were safe the entire time. Husband had a photo shoot in a resort in Sinaloan(?) and, yeah, we basically did not realize that 30 days worth of rainfall would fall in under six hours. The first time we got stranded, we were two kilometers away from our destination. We vacillated about continuing or turning back. Fortunately, we picked the right move and braved the flooded two kilometers left (as opposed to the, well, I'm not a good judge of distance, but going back meant passing through at least 7 other municipalities, all flooded). Husband's strategy was to wait for huge trucks or buses and, like some parasite, tailgate it through the flooded areas (the large vehicles parted the waters, not exactly in biblical terms, but it was wondrous enough to let our compact - hooray for Ude, our little Honda Civic and, oh, thumbing our noses at those who smirked whenever they passed by us, thinking, hahaha good luck to you and your non-4WD). The final stretch of flood was a long one and, oh my, look at that sign that says "Caution: Flood Prone Area". Really. The place was flood prone during normal rainy weather. What this weekend was far from normal. Useful sign, that. I'm not sure what it's supposed to do though ,except state the very painfully obvious perhaps. Anyway, we got stranded again. Waited a couple of hours, I think. Barged in on locals and brazenly asked to use their bathroom. The flood ebbed a little, enough to let Ude pass through it. Yay! And that's when we were confronted with a bridge, probably about 50 meters away from the resort, closed off by the military because it had a crack. We waited a bit until our light vehicle was allowed to pass through (see all y'all large 4WDs later). Anyway, we finally got to the resort and it was flooded. It was a day of waiting and water. That show was probably brought to you by the letter W. Finally got to watch Cars and Across the Universe (Nothing's gonna change your world? Try climate change). Anyway, we were well fed and safe the entire time. I'm not going to complain. I won't even dare. It was a horrible weekend with much devastation and many lives lost. It's definitely a dark time for us here in the Philippines.

I think for the first time in... well, ever, our church didn't hold the Sunday Service. All of our church members are fine although some had to be evacuated from their homes. Many of us had their houses flooded, my parents included. They're fine, but the entire house is muddy. Many of the appliances are goners. Many of the clothes (we actually still have some there) had been submerged in the water. Now, it's time for cleanup, but, of course, the washing machines are probably busted. I want to go there and help clean up, but one of Mark's clients is insisting on a meeting (um, hello, we're under a state of calamity?). I mean, if Congress suspended its session so the affected solons can clean up their houses (I heard that on the radio on our way home yesterday and that did not sit well with me at all... I thought the radio announcer was going to say so they could devote their time to assisting their constituents, but no, the suspension was for their own personal houses which were probably going to be cleaned by their legions of househelp anyway), why can't the normal person be expected to do the same? Talk about insensitivity and lack of consideration. Our apartment is fine, but we would like to help my folks out. This is some serious cleaning they're facing. The power is still out over there, probably for safety reasons. Mud from the mountains (oh, to live in a valley, no matter how beautiful - whatever. I still love Marikina! It's a town my own forebears helped build. It's part of my identity.) is all over everything. It's not your usual flood filth and yuck. It's thick clay. And then, of course, most of their things have been damaged. Transitioning back to normal takes time. How can some people act as though nothing but a simple drizzle happened? Whatever. (Husband will go to your dumb meeting. Hopefully, you'll realize that you can be a scumbag. - okay, that's it. I promise no more namecalling during this difficult time.)

We took the SLEX route on our way back since Rizal was still pretty much flooded. Husband found it in his heart to be a proper tourist and bought lanzones and kesong puti from roadside stalls. We passed through such interesting towns. Normally, we would have stopped and checked them out, but since times were thus, we'll have to do it another time. I believe we're going back at the end of October. Maybe then. In the interim, prayers and active participation in efforts to restore things to normal. Btw, we learned on our way home that a couple of those soldiers from the closed off bridge went missing during rescue efforts. One private at that time had been found dead, but they said that before he succumbed to the waters, he had already been able to save the lives of 20 individuals. That's a true soldier and hero right there.

A Site for the Fashionable

Women can be passionate about many things. It so happens that fashion and beauty are two of those right at the top of the list. If truth be told (and to dodge accusations of stereotyping), men can be just as fascinated with these things. I suppose it’s a foregone conclusion that people generally want to look nice and to be regarded as attractive. They simply have different ways of going about it.

The true fashion buffs know which brands are truly iconic and worth investing on. They know that Kate Spade makes shoes that will make other women green with envy. They are familiar with Michael Kors’ work outside of his Project Runway critiques and they know that Kors comes up with gorgeous footwear. They have boundless energy when it comes to shopping and hunting down great deals. Their feet, probably shod in something signature, have some sort of detector that leads them to just the right shops.

In this age of amazing technology, shopping has been brought to a whole new level. The nose that can scent in the air stores of great quality can also scent shopping sites that offer amazing items and are trustworthy to boot through the internet. Women can go shopping for their favorite brands without even leaving their home.

I'd Say That Looks Happy

Today, Marguerite and I spent the day in our bathing suits and worked on art projects. Anyway, inspired by the smileys on a Hi5 video that was playing on YouTube (Juegos - Listo o no), Marguerite announced that she was going to draw a happy face. We had a huge illustration board on the floor that she could go crazy with. She picked up a marker and made her first attempt, saying, "Here's a happy face, oops, that looks angry, " and she looked up at me to demonstrate an angry face. She kept on trying until she got the mouth right.

Naturally, I had to record the moment via video and voilà. She's using her left hand here to draw, but Marguerite is still very much ambidextrous. I'm hoping the trait will stay. :) She's also saying something here that sounds like snowcone. I think it has something to do with "Cars" the movie, but since I have yet to see it, I can't be sure.

Next time, I'll post scenes from our attempts at piano lessons.

A Fishy Birthday Treat

As part of Marguerite's birthday celebration, we decided to take her to Manila Ocean Park. We meant to take her on a Manila Bay cruise as well, but they weren't able to get at least 7 more passengers (10 is their minimum). Oh well, another time. We did stay in Harbor Square (the terminal for the cruise) for dinner and ice cream.

The Ocean Park was fun, but I suppose I was expecting it to be like Sea World. They say it's more like Singapore's Sentosa, but since I haven't been there, I wouldn't be able to tell. Anyway, Marguerite enjoyed herself. We were smart to go late in the afternoon so most of the field trip groups were already gone. I think the place will continue to get bigger and better developed, but for now it's really mostly just an aquarium.

Here are some pictures of Marguerite, not really of the place, lol:

manila ocean park

Anyway, I've joined another program that allows bloggers to earn by posting reviews. Hopefully, LinkfromBlog can offer many earning opps. Check it out:

Still Going On About Having a 3-yr-old

I still don't have much time to blog. With articles to write, homeschooling, art projects, household stuff... I'm pretty exhausted. Anyway, Marguerite seems to have enjoyed her birthday immensely. Many of our efforts have been big hits with her, so that's something we're very glad about. She received some early gifts last Sunday, but a big chunk of the celebration will be happening on Sunday. Chloe gave her a darling charm bracelet, which Marguerite absolutely loves. Her Aunt Cheska (aka Tita Patch) gave her a lovely matching crocheted dress and hat (they're in the album). Basically, this is what Marguerite woke up to yesterday:

Marguerite's 3rd Birthday

Btw, last Sunday after service, the kids wanted to have their picture taken with Chip (although that's really the 3rd consecutive Sunday she attended). This is it (I look fat and high). If you're wondering, there's nothing wrong with Marguerite. That's actually Chip's wheelchair. The kids take turns riding it.

Happy 3rd Birthday to Our Lovely Girl

Happy birthday to my darling daughter, the marvelous Marguerite, the bestest little girl ever. I'll post more about her birthday as soon as possible, but right now I'm still taken up with making this an extra beautiful and fun day for her. :)

One minute she was this:



and the next this:

What the Girls in St. Scho Were Singing 20 Years Ago

I almost forgot to do a revertigo this week. I've been watching a lot of Les Miz (it comes and goes) lately and from Les Miz, I would go to my favorite songs in Miss Saigon (Lea Salonga is the connection here for me). I found this video of Lea's audition and it really brought me back. That was from 20 years ago. 20 years! That's just crazy. I was in sixth grade and the songs all the girls in my school were singing were "Sun and Moon" (btw, this was a source text for one of my translation classes and up to now I can still sing the Spanish version my partner and I made, hehe) and the Little Mermaid's "Part of Your World". Gosh, I think the most recent Disney song I know is "Reflection" (Lea Salonga again! And of course, my sister and I really loved "Dark Side of the Moon" and then we learned it was Donny Osmond, yessss! lol). Do they still make animated movies of fairy tales, myths and legends or is it all new stuff now? I haven't been keeping track.

Anyway, here's the audition video. Lea's so young and cute here, 17 or 18, I think:

The Nose Knows: Matters of the Sun

On the day of the wedding, Marguerite spent a couple of hours in the morning at the resort's different pools. I swear I slathered her with sunblock but her nose still ended up a little burnt. I noticed this in the van going to the church. I kept on fussing and fretting about it "Does your nose hurt? Does it feel hot? Is it sore? Blah blah blah?" She got bored with that and finally told me, "It's working!" Well, okay then.

Anyway, in relation to this, I saw a product featured on Fox News Extra that measures the sunscreen protection you're receiving. It's a wristband that changes color when it's time for you to reapply sunscreen. How it works is you apply sunscreen on your skin and the band, which is made of a material that is sensitive to the sun's UV rays. Generally speaking, application should be done every two hours, but it's easy to lose track of time when you're out and having fun. Have you heard of this or even tried it?

Bacolod Pics

Finally, I'm able to blog about our trip to Bacolod, but, um, words? Not so much. Pictures? Yes, loads of 'em. Voilà!

Here are a few I like:

From Bacolod

From Bacolod

From Bacolod

From Bacolod

From Bacolod

And the rest are here:

Bacolod

What Are Your People Up To?

Entrepreneurs certainly take a big risk venturing into business. There is the matter of the return of investment, for starters. They usually need to have enough put away to sustain their livelihood as well as operations for about a year before they can expect any real profit. When it comes to operations, employees contribute a great deal to the potential success of a business. Trustworthy, responsible employees are gold, but, as in most cases, trust needs to be earned first. Employee monitoring is an effective way to see how professionally employees are behaving at work. With ActivTrak, one can follow employee’s computer activity, usage stats for applications and website, the active application titlebar, etc. It comes with alarms and lockout features as well.

Week 7 Drops

The following are the top Entrecard droppers from Sept. 6-12:

When 7 Is a Bad Number (A Post About BPA)

I've just been googling TheDrs. and... I knew that guy looked familiar! Of course, he was in The Bachelor (I've never watched - not one episode! really!- but I've seen loads of commercials). Anyway, it was actually Dr. Jim who caught my attention, not just because he's the pediatrician there, but because he's also the son of one of my heroes, Dr. William Sears.

One of the episodes I got to watch while I was in Bacolod (it takes a trip to Bacolod for me to get to watch the Lifestyle Network, lol - our cable provider doesn't include it, although we do have Discovery Travel and Living) had something to do with the immune system and the hazards that could attack it. That's how I learned about BPA (Bisphenol A - a compound that's been suspected of being hazardous to humans since the '30s). I've heard about BPA before, but I didn't really understand how that worked and which types of plastic to avoid. Anyway, Dr. Stork (The Bachelor guy) repeatedly reminded the audience to look out for the #7 at the bottom of plastic bottles (it's the one within the recycle symbol). If it's there, then the bottle would have been made with BPA. I don't think they mentioned about Type 3, but PVC bottles may also contain BPA. Anyway, I quickly found the plastic bottles we had with us. I was relieved to find that the baby products didn't contain BPA, but when I checked the two Lock & Lock bottles we used for drinking water, there was the #7. :(

The moral of this post, I suppose, is to look for the BPA indicator under your own stuff and just pick BPA-free plastic containers the next time you shop.

This Week's Revertigo: MacGyver

Back from Bacolod. The apartment seriously needs to be cleaned, but what the hey; I missed blogging.

Anyway, got to watch a lot of Martha Stewart and TheDrs in our hotel room. Somehow, I always just managed to catch MacGyver as it was about to end (my uncle observed that when MacGyver got this dumb duh look, that meant that the screen would freeze right there and the credits would start to roll). MacGyver, that really brought me back. Too bad (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it) we don't get the FX channel at home or I'd be "following" the show again (how weird that I recently saw the guy who played the seemingly indestructible and immortal Murdoc on - shush - TMZ, hehe). My Mom had a crush on MacGyver, btw, and there were all sorts of stupid jokes about his name back then (and for that matter, his first name was Angus and not Menemis). I first saw the following people on episodes of MacGyver: Teri Hatcher (of course), Mayim Bialik (she was the kid who studied in an international school in Switzerland?), Mila Kunis (she was the kid who could mess with jetplanes via her computer?)... Also, I'm against the use of guns because of MacGyver. That's plain influence right there. I'm probably in the right, but I can't give a good argument. I just say, "MacGyver didn't believe in using guns."

If you're nostalgic about MacGyver too, here are a trivia quiz and a video:

Keeping the Home

Sometimes it still seems unreal that I am now a person who worries about household stuff. As somebody who had always left all the housekeeping nitty-gritty to my mother and her helpers, I feel very green and kind of overwhelmed by everything that has to be learned about maintaining a home.

Some of these details are fun to engage in, of course. For instance, I like browsing through bathroom organization and storage items. There are simply so many cute things. For an unlimited inventory, ShopWiki.com is the site to check out. It really includes everything for sale on the Web and not just ones that had paid for placement.

Keeping the house clean is something that I’m, in fact, struggling with. I clean, but probably not up to what my standards used to be when somebody else was doing the cleaning for me. Of course, it would be easier with all the conveniences, hence the novel interest in shopping for items such as the ones used for cleaning and organization. It might feel a little bit industrial, albeit its fascination, but it’s got to be done. Humidifiers, vacuum cleaners, deep carpet cleaners, steam cleaners, and other houseware and home maintenance stuff are just some of the things in a previously uncovered territory I now consider checking out.

Off to Bacolod and Week 6 Drops

Back in 1996, I was in a college org called Le Club Français and one of my orgmates introduced his high school friend to us. Because of that moment in time, my life ended up taking the turn that led to things as they are now. So, yeah, that friend who unknowingly influenced the path that my life took is getting married on Wednesday. We're not about to miss the event. Tomorrow, we leave for Bacolod. It also happens to be Husband's birthday. I can't wait. I pray for sunny skies and cooperative toddlers.

In the interim, I'd like to thank all those who dropped their cards here last week. The following are the top droppers from August 30 - Sept. 5:

The IAU Is Whack, Do I Hear an Amen? XD

Oh hai. Remember my last revertigo post? I mentioned something about back when Pluto was still a planet and I got a comment saying that Pluto should in fact still be considered a real planet, which led me to do a little research (just a little, really need to do more), and, yeah, there is, in fact, a campaign to restore Pluto back to its rightful position as one of the 9 planets. I started a conversation about this over at MyLot and I was heartened to find so many who share the same sentiments about dear Pluto. Anyway, got to see this video on YouTube (music by Tim Ophus, lyrics by Chuck Crouse) and really liked it. I was trying to google the actual lyrics, but only found somebody else asking for the lyrics, lol. Anyway, tried to transcribe the thing. I'm posting my transcription here and you tell me if I have a career in doing subtitles for pirated DVDs, lol. (e.g. actual lines: You know what you must do. Make him suffer. Make him wish he were dead... pirated DVD subtitles: You know which must be done. Make he suffer. Making expectation he will die... hehe).

Poor Clyde Tombaugh’s spinning in his grave, he’s losing his dearest friend

‘Cause of the position of its barycenter, Pluto’s life approaches its end

It’s broader than the moon, dope is a typhoon

Circling the sun in autumn, winter, spring and June

9th from the epicenter, methane clouds its only weather

Pluto’s gonna rise once again

Bring my Pluto back, the IAU is straight up whack

Bring sweet Pluto home from out beyond Neptune alone

Bring my Pluto back, the IAU is straight up whack

Bring sweet Pluto home from out beyond Neptune alone

Tried to put my boy in any other class

Ceres and Aries couldn’t match him

He sits below the Kuiper Belt

you don’t wanna know the schemes he’s hatchin

Bring my Pluto back, the IAU is straight up whack

Bring sweet Pluto home from out beyond Neptune alone

Bring my Pluto back, the IAU is straight up whack

Bring sweet Pluto home from out beyond Neptune alone

Named for a god, contains all fertile sod

The perception of smooth terrain is only a façade

Put it in ... Charon

Cruel like an evil baron

Knocked down by the rules and laws of men

Pluto’s gonna rise once again

Bring my Pluto back, the IAU is straight up whack

Bring sweet Pluto home from out beyond Neptune alone

Bring my Pluto back, the IAU is straight up whack

Bring sweet Pluto home from out beyond Neptune alone

Bring my Pluto back, bring my Pluto back

Remaining Gentle

I had such concrete ideas of how I'd go about parenting before I actually became a parent. Of course, I had a long list of things I'd do differently from my own parents, lol. Along came one daughter and I'm constantly learning that, sigh, theories and execution are worlds apart. Discipline is something I'm struggling with. And it doesn't help to read about parents who never get mad and frustrated at all because they completely understand and accept that children's behavior mirrors their developmental stage - well, I understand too, but then, there's my temper and other factors like the weather and house work and exhaustion and hormones... I'd love to have better control of myself and my reactions, but as with most things, I'm a work in progress. And then there's the fact that the discipline philosophy I've opted for is not anything like those I've been exposed to, so there are times when I feel confused and even doubtful. I'd love to be guided by somebody coming from empathy. This is why I'd love to have a copy of Elizabeth Pantley's "The No-Cry Discipline Solution - Gentle Ways to Encourage Good Behavior without Whining, Tantrums & Tears". Here's an excerpt from the book that will help me diminish my snarling moments:

What Triggers Your Anger?

Family life is complicated and unpredictable. Day-to-day expectations and responsibilities can create angry emotions in both parents and children. No matter how skilled you are at parenting, no matter how wonderful your children are, you cannot eliminate or avoid the unpleasant situations that occur in all families. However, once you understand where the anger comes from you can modify the situation and learn ways to control your reactions, so that anger can occupy a smaller place in your home.

Our children bring us incredible joy. Yet, there are times that they can bring out the anger in us. It is helpful to identify the things that provoke your anger so you can make positive changes in your household.

What sets you off?
Most parents get angry over issues that are insignificant in the grand scheme of life, yet happen on such a regular basis that they become blown out of proportion. Some of the most common parenting issues that trigger anger are whining, temper tantrums, sibling bickering, and non-cooperation. Determine which behaviors most bother you and set about making a plan to correct each problem that sets off your anger.

Notice your hot spots
In addition to triggers, there are “hot spots” in the day when anger more easily rises to the surface. These are typically times when family members are tired, hungry or stressed. These emotions leave us more vulnerable to anger. This can happen in the early morning, before naptime, before meals, or at bedtime. You may also encounter situations when misbehavior increases, and so does your anger: grocery shopping, playdates, or family visits, for example.

Set a plan
Determine if there are things you can do differently to ward off some of the issues that spark your anger. For example, if the morning rush brings stress, you can prepare things the night before: set out clothing, pack lunches, collect shoes. Then create a “morning poster” that outlines the daily routine step-by-step.

If you find that tempers are shorter in the hour before dinner, set out healthy appetizers, enlist the kids’ help in preparing dinner, get the kids involved in a craft activity, or plan an earlier meal time.

Doing things the way you’ve always done them and expecting different results only leaves you frustrated and angry. Instead, identify your anger triggers and take action to change things for the better.

Learn something new
Once you’ve identified a problem, consider several options for solving it. Jot down possible alternatives on paper, or talk it over with another adult. Read through a few parenting books and check the indexes for your topic. Visit an online parenting chat group or posting board. There’s no reason for you to make decisions in a vacuum - I guarantee that the problems you are dealing with are common and there are lots of sources for solutions.

Be flexible
Anger is not something that can be dealt with once and then will go away. Your children grow and change, and new issues appear. From time to time take a fresh look at the issues that create negative emotions in your family and take action to change things for the better.

Let love help
And, finally, at times of anger, hold on to the feeling of love that is the foundation of your relationship with your child. Take time every day to bask in the joy of being a parent. Take time to play, talk and listen. Hug, kiss and cuddle your child often. When you build up this foundation of positive love and emotions you will find yourself less likely to experience intense anger.

Finding Cars

I used to write for several car websites and my experience doing that really sparked this interest in cars. Now, I can even knowledgeably discuss automobile whatnots with my husband, the car nut. As a writer, I had to do plenty of research and keep myself up-to-date when it comes to launches of new models and the upgrades going on in the different marques. New cars are always fascinating to learn about, what novelty they have to offer, how they compare to older makes and models, how the experts have reviewed them, etc. If you’re looking for a car, BuyYourCar.co.uk has everything you may require, from new and used cars for sale or lease to car reviews and links to loans and insurance sites.

This Week's Revertigo: Hi C and Alyssa Milano

Hey there. I'm doing revertigo posts weekly now. I enjoy feeling nostalgic and remembering buried memories. Also, it keeps on occurring to me (which pretty much means I'm still in denial) that the '80s and the '90s are no longer the recent past so they might not be as easy to remember. Like if you see a back issue magazine and the publication date is 1998 (the year I graduated from college), you actually think it's an old, old copy from back when Pluto was still a planet (I don't care what they say; Pluto is not just some dwarf planet or planetoid or plutoid -what did they say it was again? Dear Pluto, in my heart, you will always be a real planet.<3)

From Coke (btw, found the Lilet/Tomorrow's People commercial I couldn't find before), we're going to revisit another favorite drink from childhood: Hi C.

I loved those Hi C commercials because they always had an oldies song as a jingle. The ones I remember in particular are Hi C Pear (Neil Sedaka's "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do") and Hi C Strawberry(?) (Puppy Love - And they call it Hi C love...). Couldn't find those, of course, but found these and I remembered them as soon as I watched them. However, back in the day, I didn't know that Alyssa Milano was in them.

Alyssa Milano. I was 13 or 14 and had a 16 (or was it Tiger Beat?) that featured her and I saw she had five studs on one ear and wanted to copy that, but my Dad wouldn't let me.

August Top Droppers

Hello! Here are the top droppers for the month of August. There was a tie between Harmony in Motion and A Taste of Both Worlds as you can see on my right margin. The following are the ten "runners-up", lol. Thanks again for stopping by. :)