Winning Voucher From McDonald's

McDonald's is having a Monopoly promotion, where for every value meal you get, you are entitled to a stamp. The trick is to collect all the stamps (for every different colour and road names) and then submit to McDonalds to claim your prizes.

Of course, there are also other prizes by the sponsors, like a car voucher, McDonald's meal vouchers, watch vouchers and so on. My colleagues and I were at McDonald's for lunch earlier. They collected a total of ten stamps and I collected two. Unfortunately, we could not get the stamps of all the colours as there were quite a few repeated ones.

However, I managed to get a stamp for a one-for-one ride up the Flyer! Which means I can bring someone else up the Flyer for just the price of one! And the voucher expires in March next year, so I have a few months to utilise it. That is great!

Perhaps I will bring my dear there during his birthday next year, since he has never been up the Flyer before. Hope it will be a great experience for him!

A New Product : Pinhole Glasses

A couple of weeks ago, I was asked to do a review on a new product. A couple of days back, I received the new product - the new breakthrough in eye glasses : pinhole glasses! The eye glasses is of tortoise-shell big frames, reminescent of those I wore when I was a child. Instead of the lenses, the space is replaced by a piece of black film each, with holes poked in them. I took a couple of pictures to let the rest of you have a better idea what it looks like.

In any case, the new pinhole eyeglasses is supposed to correct one's vision, whether you suffer from myopia or long-sightedness. Perhaps I stand corrected - it is not to correct one's vision, but to help make one's vision better without the use of normal eyeglasses. So I did an experiment. I removed my lenses and put on the sample for about an hour.

The result? Looking through the pinhole glasses is clearer to a certain extent. It is not as clear as if I have worn my normal glasses or lenses, but still, it is better than not wearing any glasses at all. To be more convinced, I let my family members try it out (all of them suffer from myopia). Their verdict? The glasses is still not as clear as if they are wearing their normal glasses, but clearer than if they are not wearing any glasses.

Thus, I believe this product is marketable. I guess some improvements need to be adjusted, but that is solely my own opinion. Afterall, I am totally blind without my glasses or contacts, so I cannot speak for all. But if the packaging can be more attractive (ie make the frames smaller and cooler looking), I believe it can be a new breakthrough for those myopic people. This is one pair of glasses that can become popular with young and old alike.

Do check them out! These pinhole eyeglasses will likely become the newest thing in eye care!

Commonwealth Short Story Writing Competition

The Commonwealth Short Story Writing Competition 2006 is up! The deadline is mid-May. I do have some skeletons of a short story coming up, ideas which I thought of recently, but have never been materialised. If I am able to formulate a good enough story, perhaps I will take part, but then the few short stories I have written were not that good in the first place.

I first knew about this competition way back in secondary school. I had a British contract teacher as my English Language and Literature teacher. He happened to be the Head of Department for English. In order to let us unlease our creativity and improve our essay writing, he introduced a few writing competitions in his native country, the school-wide project being the Commonwealth Short Story Writing Competition.

Ten stories would be chosen from each class, but only fifteen per level would be entered into the competition. My story was one of those chosen from the class, but when pitted against the whole school, mine was not selected. :-(

A couple of years later, I tried entering again through my school, but again, it was not selected for entry. However, my teacher took the short story I submitted and entered it into the Singapore Press Holdings Short Story Writing Competition for Students. I felt flattered and proud, but I did not win anything.

So now I am trying means and ways to improve my writing. Hopefully I can see one of my articles in print for once! Afterall, that is the dream of almost every amateur writer!

"Something Old, Something New" Photo Competition

Calling all photographers (or budding photographers)!

Want to get a free five-night’s stay at one of the coolest resorts in the world, right at the heart of the beautifully landscaped Shangri-La?

Want to get a new Sony SLR camera?

Want to see your works being exhibited?

Then come join this competition!

The theme reflects the promotion of Asia’s rich cultural heritage through creative re-invention of museum artifacts into contemporary functional merchandise.

Any entry that is creative or thoughtful, and demonstrates a juxtaposition of “old” and “new” can be submitted.

There are no fixed rules that determine what qualifies as “old” or “new”; it can be traditional culinary traditions, technological gadgets, or even a newborn puppy.

Check this out for more information and terms and conditions for participation. Hurry! Competition ends on 31 October 2006, 12:00pm.

Just a pity I am not allowed to take part. :-(

Have fun and enjoy! Best of luck!