Why Is Indoor Air More Polluted Than The Air Outside?

Recently, I’ve just completed a website project for a client who deals in air purifier and circulator.

From the information they gave me, I found that even Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says the level of indoor air pollution is, on occasion, 100 times greater than outside air!

Come on, how could this be?

But well, EPA says this. In fact, The World Health Organisation (WHO) has also supported this fact.

Then, I went about asking around and doing some research.

What I found out is – when you’re in an enclosed room, meaning, the air in that room remains inside, it is indeed possible that it is more polluted.

Electrical appliances release chemicals into the air when in use.

Pollution from the outside, e.g. dust etc comes in and ’settle’ happily in the room.

You get someone to sneeze or cough in your room, and the germs, bacteria, virus (better not be H1N1) will remain in the room until it ‘expires’.

Other than indoor pollution – there’s odor.

Odor is caused by bacteria. Thus, by just using air freshener alone, it’s just mask the odor temporary.

You’ll have to solve the root cause – removing the bacteria. Otherwise, it’s only temporary and may be even more dangerous!

As someone who teaches other about the importance of breathing and air, I know I must share this information with people.

Go get a decent air purifier. (Alright, I’m not advertising for my client, OK?)

I’ll be getting one for myself soon. And well, I’d probably getting Blueair air purifier, which is represented by my client in my country.

And if you’d like to know more about air purification information, you can have a look at my client’s website: Air Purifier and Cirulator Dealer

Til then, have a great breathe today!

What Do The Numbers Mean To Chinese?

Ask around any Chinese about numbers, most probably they can explain which numbers denote good luck, and which are to be avoided.

 

Four Is Considered Unlucky…

 

For example, they will consider four to be unlucky because the character four (Si4) has almost the same pronounciation as the word ‘die‘ (Si3).

 

 

For Cantonese, this is even more obvious because they pronouce four as ‘say3‘; which is also sound like ‘die‘ (say2).

 

Therefore, it won’t be surprise if you go around Asian residences and found that they don’t have the house number 4, 14, 24, 34, etc; or even there’s no 4th or 14th floor in some buildings.

 

Instead, they will put 3A, 13A, 23A, 34A or 3A Floor or 13A Floor etc in replacement.

 

Fascinating, isn’t it?

 

Well, I’m not exactly a number guy, for I believe in the working of the Karma: you reap what you sow.

 

To me, believing in these number is a kind of superstition.

 

The Number Eight…

 

But well, since it’s very common for Chinese, and because Chinese New Year is coming, I’m going to share with you a lucky number: E-I-G-H-T.

 

The word eight (ba1) sounds similar to the word ‘prosper‘ or ‘wealth‘ (fa1), short form of (fa cai).

 

If you’ve noticed, most Chinese will greet each other “Gong Xi Fa Cai” during the Chinese New Year period. The word Fa Cai is the same word as the one above, meaning, “Wishing You Wealth” or “Wishing You A Prosperous Year!“

 

For Cantonese, the word eight (baat3) sounds the same as the word ‘prosper‘ (faat3) as well.

 

Looks Like Double Joy

 

Another saying is that, the roman character 88 has a visual resemblance with the word ‘double joy‘, a popular decorative used for weddings, birthdays of a very senior person, festive celebrations etc.

 

This word ‘double joy‘ is made up of 2 ‘joy‘ (xi) characters.

 

Some decorative paper arts cut into ‘double joy’ character.

 

There’s also a claim that a telephone number with all the digits being eights was sold for USD$270,723 in Chengdu, China!

 

And if you’ve notice, the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics in Beijing began on 8/8/08 at 8 seconds and 8 minutes past 8 pm (local time).

 

So, I guess Beijing must be very prosperous since then!

 

Paying Hefty Sum For Car Number Plate?

 

In addition, a man in Hangzhou offered to sell his license plate reading A88888 for RMB 1.12 million (roughly $164,000 USD).

 

In my country, people will go to the extend to get good numbers for their car number plate, 8 are normally included. And they have to pay an arm and a leg to get those numbers, and it’s good money for the road authority in my country.

 

Frankly, I wouldn’t do that for my car number plate.

 

But, this is what I’ll do… for you.

 

From today… err… yes 18 January. (There’s an 8 in it *wink*)

 

From today onward until February 9, 2009, I’ll be running a Triple 8 Promotion for all my websites.

 

2009 Chinese New Year 888 Promotion!

 

This means, you’ll get to save from $8.88 up to $38.88 from your purchases:

 

1. Tai Chi Breathing:
A direct discount of $8.88 for all Tai Chi Breathing packages from now until February 9, 2009.

 

To find out more, go to http://www.TaichiBreathing.com.

 

2. Eliz Spa Sea Salt with Ginger Root Oil:
A set of online coupon codes will be given with any purchase from now until February 9, 2009.

 

You can USE these codes again and again until they expire on 30 June 2009, meaning… unlimited savings with unlimited use within this period!

 

The coupon codes let you save from $8.88 up to $38.88 per order.

 

To find out more, go to http://www.SpaSaltGingerOil.com.

 

 

So, go and claim your $8.88 ‘red packet‘ today; and to all of you, I’d like to wish you “Gong Xi Fa Cai“, a “Happy Successful New Year” and may you 8! 8! 8! (Prosper! Prosper! Prosper!).

 

 

 

Guan
Save $8.88 today at http://www.TaichiBreathing.com
Save up to $38.88 at http://www.SpaSaltGingerOil.com

 

P.S. – I remembered saying I’ll write something about ‘red packet’. Well, I didn’t write it, because Janice has written about it in 2007. I asked her to let me share the article with you. You can read about it at: http://www.ChineseVegetarianRecipe.com/hongbao.htm

 

P.P.S. – Janice will also be doing her own 888 promotion at her vegetarian website: http://www.ChineseVegetarianRecipe.com

Chinese New Year Traditions And Their Origins

I believe Chinese all over the world are getting excited.

They will flock the shopping malls, hypermarts, markets etc to stock up for the festive season, which is beginning on the 26 January this year; while some will buy new dresses to be worn on the New Year day.

Chinese New Year, also known as Lunar New Year, Spring Festival (Chun Jie) celebrations actually begins on the eve, that is on the 25 January.

This is the time for all family members and relatives to return to their parents’ home for reunion. That is why the dinner on the eve is also known as Reunion Dinner (Tuan Yuan Fan).

There are some interesting traditions been practiced during the Chinese New Year in general.

Let’s see some of them and their origins…

 

1) Red: We’re Loving It!

 

It was said in the ancient time, the earth was full of venomous snakes and ferecious beasts. One of these creature is known and Nian. (The character Nian also means ‘Year‘)

On the New Year Eve, Nian would roam in the city and devour people.

The people were depressed and would lock themselves indoor during that time.

Then came an old man who volunteered himself to fight Nian.

The Old Man Challenged Nian…

This old man went straight to the mountain and challenged Nian, “If you think you’re so strong, prove yourself. Would you dare to eat the venomous snakes in the forests?“

Nian accepted the challenge and sucked up all the snakes into its stomach.

“At the back of the mountain, there are many fierce beasts. Can you defeat them?” The old man threw another challenge.

Again, Nian accepted the challenge and crushed those beasts and drove them away.

“Ahh, now you’re qualify to eat me. But let me take out my robes first,” said the old man.

The old man took of his robe and revealed a red undergarment.

Nian Defeated By Red

Nian was afraid of seeing red! Nian was so scare that it pleaded with the old man, “Please, I’ll do what you say, but please put away that color!“

“Alright, I’ll put it away. But you must not harm the people ever again,” the old man demanded.

“Yes, yes! I’ll do what you say,” Nian nodded. “I’ll be your humble servant from now on!“

The old man had finally defeated Nian, and went back to the city and told the people that Nian would no longer appear in the city from then onward.

He told the people that Nian is most terrified of red, and so from then on, people would paste red paper on the front door to prevent Nian from coming back again.

Now, you can see Chinese pasting red paper couplets (two rows of writing, usually rhymed.); hanging decorations and paper arts in red and gold; hanging red lattern; giving red packets (Hong Bao); wearing red dresses or clothes etc.

Here, these are some pictures of the ‘red’ stuffs I’ve just mentioned:

Simple red paper with bamboo drawing and the word “Peace”

Latterns are usually red in colors

A Chinese lady in red, with Red Packet (Hong Bao)

A sample paper art, with the character “Fu”, meaning Luck or Blessings

Another paper art, with the words, “Spring Returned To The Land”

 

2) No Broom And Sweeping, Please!

 

There was once a man by the name of Ou Ming who was swept away by the storm when the boat in which he travelled in capsized.

He was washed ashore on an unknown island. A owner of the island, Qing Hongjun saved him and treated him with great hospitality.

Before Ou Ming left the island, Qing offered a gift to Qu Ming, but on one condition – he can only choose one.

Qing had a big collection of precious stones, gems, jewelleries, gold bars etc, and Ou Ming didn’t know how to choose. Qing’s servant gave him a hint: Ru Yuan was the real treasure.

Ru Yuan, The Treasure

Ou Ming decided to listen to the servant and asked for Ru Yuan. It turn out to be a beautiful servant girl.

Qing honored the request and sent them off. Before that, Qing gave Ru Yuan a box of jewelleries as the dowry.

When they returned home, Ou Ming treated Ru Yuan well until one day, Ru Yuan gave the jewellery box and the key to Ou Ming saying, “Please do not take me as an outsider. You may keep the box of jewellery.“

Ou Ming Changed…

From then onward, Ou Ming changed. He treated Ru Yuan badly; put her to work long hours; hit her whenever he’s in foul mood; and served him like a king.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, Ou Ming wanted to hit Ru Yuan because she got up late that day.

Ru Yuan ran while Ou Ming kept on chasing. There was a broom outside the compound, and when Ru Yuan ran pass it, she jumped into the broom and vanished since then.

All Gone!

All the jewellery from the box flew and vanished together into the broom!

Ou Ming became a beggar since then.

Therefore, after cleaning the homes on the New Year Eve, the Chinese would hide their brooms, and do not allow sweeping on the New Year day, fearing that it will ’sweep’ their fortunes away.

 

3) The Bamboo Firecracker

 

The bamboo firecrackers are red in color, in the form of a small cylinder. Most of the time, these small cylinders are tied up together in a line. When lit, it will make quick successive cracks, as one explodes after another.

Decoration made to look like the bamboo fire cracker

There’s also a story of how bamboo firecracker is been lit during Chinese New Year.

It was said that once, on the mountain full of bamboo grove, lived a group of strange creatures which were only one foot tall and had only one leg.

They Attacked On New Year Day

Anyone passed by the mountain during the New Year day would be attacked and robbed by them.

One one New Year day, these creatures attacked a man, and the man resisted, and managed to capture one of the them and tied up.

The man wanted to bring the creature to the magistrate and when others saw him with the creature, they asked him to release it immediately because it would bring sickness to whoever came near it.

True enough, that man fell into sickness on the spot, and other built some fire to keep him warm. In order to make the fire bigger, they threw in some bamboo pieces into the fire.

Suddenly, there were creatures surrounding them, ready to attack! Before they could come near, the bamboo pieces in the fire exploded and made loud cracking noises.

Defeated By The Cracking Noise!

The creatures were terrified and ran away.

“Aha! So these creatures are afraid of the sounds of burning bamboo tubes! They are so terrified that they have fled, ” exclaimed one of the man.

Since then, people would burn bamboo tubes to scare these creatures away. This became a tradition during Chinese New Year – burning bamboo fire cracker to scare away evil beings.

When I was a child, I loved playing fire crackers with friends on Chinese New Year… too bad our government had banned this practice years ago!

 

4) Other Traditions…

 

There are other Chinese New Year traditions which I didn’t write about yet:

1) Writing Spring Couplets
2) Hanging Red Latterns
3) Dragon Lattern Dance
4) Lion Dance
5) Origin Of New Year Cards
6) Red Packets or Ya Shui Money

Perhaps, if I can get more information on these, I would love to share the stories with you.

Up And Coming…

Now, there’s another tradition, or rather superstition believed by some Chinese, which is not related to Chinese New Year. I’m doing some research on it now, and I’ll write about it in 3 day’s time, that is, on the 18 January 2009.

Till then, have a great day, and if you’re a Chinese, “Happy Preparing For Chinese New Year!” (I’ll wish you Happy CNY on 18 Jan, OK?)

 

Guan
Tai Chi Breathing
Spa Salt Ginger Oil
Chinese Story Wisdom

 

My Confession For 2009

I have to confess one thing…

I had been lazy!

You see, I started using Spa Salt on my tummy about a month ago…

One Inch Off… Only!

I could have been slimmer by at least 2 inches, but I only managed to shred off about an 1 inch. I noticed this more obviously 2 days ago when I went to buy jeans and trousers for Chinese New Year.

Actually, my belt has shown this earlier…

You see, I wore my belt on the third hole… it went to fourth now. In fact, it had once went to the fifth hole, but well, thanks to my laziness, and all those partying and good food.

Here’s the picture of my belt:

Click the picture to enlarge

I didn’t capture the photo of me wearing the belt on 3rd hole, but the buckle mark can be seen as the prove of my ‘fatness’.

Now that I’m wearing consistently on the 4th hole, the buckle mark can be seen there as well.

Now, was it the other way round, from 4th to 3rd?

Let’s see me wearing it now:

Click the picture to enlarge

1 inch may not be an achievement (that’s why it took me until now to mention it), but another two confessions:

1. I hardly do any exercise during this 1 month period.
2. I didn’t reduce my food intake, and feast quite a fair bit during the festive seasons…

Actually, I just wanted to test whether I can lose fat without dieting, and it turned out that, I can still lose fat by eating a lot… it’s just slower.

On top of those, I didn’t follow the correct way to slim with Spa Salt…

The Correct Ways To Slim Down With Spa Salt

OK, this is I’m supposed to do:

1. I should use the Spa Salt twice a day for greater effects. Sometimes, I only use once a day, and sometimes, I didn’t use at all. (My bad… laziness did creep in at times.)

2. I should press down when massaging. I only realised this much later.

3. I should apply the Spa Salt dry, not with water! (Liz just told me this.)

If I have time, I can wrap up with my tummy with Spa Salt for 5-10 minutes for even faster effects. (Yeah, Liz just told me this too!)

On Top Of that…

Of course, top up with some exercises, and eat reasonably, anyone could shred off the inches and pounds easily with Eliz Spa Sea Salt.

So, from now, I will be doing all these! You know that I must throw out ‘laziness’ from my vocabulary.

Let’s say this is my 2009 New Year Resolution.

Because, if I were to share with you some news, you’ll know why I’ve made this resolution…

These People Motivated Me To Make Firm Resolution To Slim Down!

Just after the new year, me and Janice met up with Liz and we’ve shared a lot of things. Yes, those tips above were mentioned at that time.

Liz showed us some photographs and told us some amazing stories:

1) Roslinah Md. Ali of Kelana Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia, bought Eliz Spa Sea Salt with Ginger Root Oil on the 8 Dec 2008, and within the short 25 days, she has shredded 2 inches from her tummy! *Looking at her admiringly*

Roslinah: Left was before, and the right is after

Roslinah returned on 29 Dec 2009 and bought another 4 bottles.

2) Charmaine Low of Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia, a 23 years old lady shredded 1 inch within 2 day with Eliz Spa Sea Salt with Ginger Root Oil! She did it mainly because her metabolism rate is much higher, and she’s young.

3) Suzanne Yeo of Seri Kembangan, Selangor, Malaysia slimmed down by 7kg in one and a half month’s time.

Suzanne Yeo posing after slimming down

4) Mrs. Lai, a 55 years old lady, who has used Eliz Spa Sea Salt with Ginger Root Oil for 1 year plus has a very smooth and beautiful skin… well, let the picture speaks for itself:

Mrs. Lai & Liz, Aug 2008

Now, now, now… I really can’t wait to shred more from my tummy… because Chinese New Year is coming!

Chinese New Year Coming!

That means, more food and goodies!

And oh, I’ll be writing something interesting about Chinese New Year in about 2 days’ time…

Those of you who knows that I translate Chinese stories at Chinese Story Wisdom would probably know that I have a lot of cultural stories to share, e.g. Chinese New Year stories etc. *wink*

So, be on the look out of my next blog post, scheduled on the 15 January 2009. Till then, see ya!

Guan
Spa Salt Ginger Root Oil

A Weekend In Port Dickson

Janice and I, and another 3 friends went for a short trip to Port Dickson over the weekend.

We rented a simple apartment for only RM140.00 (USD40.00), and the place was really comfortable.

Most importantly, the sea…

Clean And Clear Sea Water

Surprisingly, the sea water is much cleaner now than the last time I was there in 2004.

And it’s cleaner than most people rumored about.

On the evening of Saturday, four of us went for a dip in the sea water.

Though not crystal clear… the water is clear enough for us to see 1-2 feet deep.

And besides the sea weeds, there’s absolutely nothing else in the water.

Dinner By The Beach…

That evening, we had our dinner by the sea side.

Not many hotel or apartment offers such a facility. This place, Regency Hotel, offers such a nice place, the Coconut Grove, a nice restaurant just by the beach.

You got to savour delicious cuisines from various cultures, e.g. Western, Japanese, Locals, Vegetarians etc while the cool soothing sea breeze dances constantly on your face.

…With Live Band Playing…

And it’s a coincidence that our telecommunication company TM Bhd had their staff dinner there.

The 4 piece live band hired by them were simply splendid! Both the male and female vocals had powerful and beautiful voice.

Their lovely musics made us felt as if the sea breeze were dancing to their rythym!

Too bad we didn’t get to grab hold of the band’s name…

…And Fireworks On The Night Sky…

Then, suddenly there’s bang, boom, bang across the horizon!

Someone, for some celebrative reasons perhaps, fired up the fire crackers and it decorated the night sky with colorful and vibrant patterns and flowery displays!

It’s a wow for all of us! How lucky were we!

Truly A Night To Remember!

The dinner by the sea side… it’s a great night for all of us; something to remember for a long, long time!

Too bad I forgot to bring along my camera… but, my friends took quite a lot of photos using his mobile phone. I’ll post them up here once I’ve gotten the files from him. *wink*

Early next day, we went to dip in the sea water again.

The beach was empty. Guess most of them were still tired after their partying last night.

The golden morning sun added brilliance to the otherwise dull quiet beach.

We left Port Dickson on Sunday afternoon, and all of us came back feeling more rejuvenated and energized.

A Special Tips To Share…

Now, this is something I want to share with you…

My right hand was stiff and painful when I went there. Well, too much computering around. Yup, that’s the hand which grabs the mouse for endless hours.

Like we have shared before, sea salt has cleansing effects. Not only it can cleanse away your negative emotion, it can also cleanse away your negative energy.

By cleansing away negative energy, it’ll let your body (or whichever part) heals faster.

The Healing Sea Water

In another word, sea water (sea salt) can heal. I believe some of you had this experience – after a swim or dip in the sea water, you’ll feel lighter, more energized, more comfortable, more relax, or you just simply feel good, haven’t you?

Now, you just have to do it more deliberately in order to heal faster…

So, this was what I’ve done: While dipping in the sea water that evening, I visualise grey and black matter (representing dirty energy) broke away from my right hand and got disolved by the sea water.

I did that for only few minutes.

Well, not because I was worred about how my friends were looking at me closing my eyes and stood there as if I did nothing. All of them were doing their own cleansing visualisation as well!

Just A Few Minutes Will Do

It’s simply because few minutes was sufficient.

I had a good rest that night, and when I woke up the next day, I can move my fingers flexibily and the pain was no longer there!

Hmm… sounds unbelievable, right?

How about this, why don’t you try it yourself before making conclusion yourself?

And please, try it with an open mind. If ever you have doubt about this, leave it. It’s because when your mind has doubt, it will not work because you’re sending the wrong message to your mind, and it’ll just carry out your instruction impartially.

Doubt is an instruction to your mind, asking it not to make it work!

Have faith, and it’ll work for you!

A Side Note: Spa Sea Salt With Ginger Root Oil Extends The Offer

Because we were away, having a good time in Port Dickson, we didn’t have the time to change the pricing for our spa sea salt with ginger root oil at http://www.SpaSaltGingerOil.com in time. Yup, it was supposed to be increased back to the standard price after 30 November 2008.

Therefore, we decided to extend the promotional launching price further until midnight next Monday, 8 December 2008. So, if you want to have a fairer skin and slimmer body, grab the opportunity to save $10.00 now at: http://www.SpaSaltGingerOil.com

The same goes to our affiliate program for the product, which is supposed to be up by 1 December 2008. We’ll put it up after 8 December 2008 as well.