At the Petrin Hill

Whew! Another full and tiring day for me. After the morning Mass and lunch at the mall, off we went again to see some Prague sights. We hiked to the Vltava River, then walked over to the other side and crossed the bridge while enjoying the scenic view. After which we headed to the Petrin Hill where the Eiffel Tower version of Prague is located at the top.

Going up the hill we rode the train. When we were at the foot of the tower, I wanted to climb up to the top but seeing the long winding steps going up, I simply lost my enthusiasm…yeah, I was just so tired that time. Anyway, heading back we walked the long and winding road going down. It was sooo tiring, and I was feeling sleepy. If there was a pulse oximeter to test my pulse rate that time, it would have registered more than the normal rate. What an experience walking among the thick trees in the dark while having a top view of Prague on the side. 

So little time left

With less than a week left for me to make the most of my stay here in Prague, my cutie sis would think of places I have yet to visit. Yesterday, we went to the city center even when it was almost midnight. Yeah! So imagine what time we went home…and I still had to tinker with my laptop (check on my blogs!) as soon as we arrived. Naturally I slept late as a result and woke up so tired. I hope my face won’t be a candidate for some treatments for acne…well, not really, just need to rest enough to have lots of energy for more touring around.

Assistance with travel planning

Planning for a trip can take a lot of time especially if it’s a major one and you’re with a big group. What’s good though is when you plan ahead for a group trip, you get big discounts on early purchases for accommodation and plane fares. There are great travel deals when you travel with family as well.

For those who plan on having a holiday in New York City, there’s New York Bus Charter which offers assistance on planning your trip itinerary. Their travel consultants help you plan out and customize your touring needs. Their charter bus NYC services provide tours not just within New York City but within the New York Tri State area as well, including Baltimore, Washington, Philadelphia and more.

It’s good to discuss with their travel consultant about your trip details and whether you would like to include some shopping in your sightseeing tour, or if you intend to have multiple day outings, or go around multiple states. They can also provide customized trips for school kids, senior citizens, business employees while managing the tour accordingly. For those who are busy with work and have little time left for planning their next major vacation, it’s best to ask assistance from the travel experts. 

Web hosting issues

Recently I had a chat with my techie bro about web hosting. He just transferred his domain and hosting to another provider and the domain transfer process was a bit tricky and gave him some problems. Thankfully, everything’s fine with his site now. With my plans of also transferring my blog to another web hosting provider, I am often hesitant about it. I have worries that the process might take longer and my site might be down. Anyway, I know techie bro would be there to help me out when the time comes, which is about a month from now.

Choosing a web hosting package that works for you can be tricky as well. It’s good to browse through the plan details and ask questions from the technical support by all means to clear up some doubts before finally deciding on one. For business websites, check out HostingMetro.com - business web hosting packages for ordinary business websites and advanced ecommerce sites. They have a Cpanel demo and a Plesk demo for those who would like to test drive the features offered. Aside from business packages, they also offer personal plans with affordable pricing at 10 GB data transfer and 500 MB storage. Add on services such as domain name registration, transferring domain name, and changing DNS settings are also provided.

Website templates for businesses

It’s been months now that I’ve been thinking of revamping my travel blog’s template. As I browse over some websites and compare them to my blog, it just dawned on me that my template has a lot of space consumed by the header image plus the shadow effect of the content border. Even if I try to clean up some sidebar texts, I can’t seem to move up my advertisers’ logo on top of the page so that the visitors didn’t have to scroll down to view them. You can say that my website design is not optimized yet.   

When it comes to business websites, having a streamlined and optimized template is essential. Each design element counts and every detail is important in creating a lasting impression to the site visitors who are potential business partners and clients. For a webhosting company such as Canadian Web Hosting, they have a varied range of website templates for their clients to choose from in their Site Builder Design Gallery. Their webhosting services include standard hosting packages, dedicated hosting, reseller hosting, and other web services such as search engine optimization. Clients can choose from their site builder packages - Lite Plus, Value Plus, Silver Plus and Gold E-commerce. Standard features for all packages include FTP, splash page wizard, navigation manager & page editor, quick start wizard, and hmtl editor.

Just some sleepyhead blahs

Brrr…it’s a cold summer evening here in Prague, a very good reason to head off to bed and hide under the warm sheets. I still have some unfinished tasks but my brain just seems to drift off to sleepiness. *yawns* I hope I can dream of something nice… being on a beach, donning a swimsuit while lounging on a comfy chair by the shores or maybe a dream about being in Paris? Oh well, my Europe vacation is almost over… and here I am, still busy working on my laptop. Even with almost three months of stay here, there’s just not enough time. Ugh, I’m off to dreamland now… isn’t it obvious I am just babbling away. *grins*

Pump up your brand!

Have you taken the Brand Strength Test for your product yet? It’s a free online test by the Brand Identity Guru, Inc. (BIG), an advertising agency that helps businesses pump up their brand. According to them, taking the Brand Strength Test is the first step to improving your brand and increasing your market share. All you need to do is answer 12 questions honestly about your corporate strategy, your clients and prospects, target market and other information about your products/services. The test is just an overview though but it would give you an idea about your company branding and marketing status.

Advertising and branding solutions are what companies need to promote their products and services otherwise they would just be among the many competitors. The need to stand out and be unique from the rest is what BIG wants for their clients. Aside from advertising and marketing services, they also provide search engine optimization (SEO) for those who want to hit it big in the World Wide Web. SEO is another important tool especially when you have a global market and you want to promote to a bigger audience. It ensures your business that it will be included in the top search results for keywords related to your products and services. 

Saying no

We’ve been invited to dinner today and though it was such a tempting offer, we had to say no. We just came home from an out-of-town trip and we’re just so tired and needing some rest and on top of that, we’re stuck with a lot of pending tasks.

It’s usually a difficult situation, saying no to a friend’s request that you’ll be with them for just few hours. Sometimes, they would even try to convince you with some lines such as, “work is always there, but this meeting is not”, or some other reason that make you feel guilty for not attending. They would almost sound like some sales agent persuading you to check out some cheap car insurance quotes.

But then again, good friends do understand and there would always be a next time. You just can’t have it all. I know we made the best decision about the invitation.

Creating buzz about your products and services

One thing that entrepreneurs are concerned about when starting a business is how to create buzz about their company, products and services. When a business is relatively new, there’s the challenge of how to make the buying public, particularly the target market, respond favorably to what you offer. And then you have to keep up with the competition from a lot of companies that offer the same line of products or services.

I remember when my sister and I started a small home-based business many years ago. We didn’t do a lot of marketing then, and for some reason the business didn’t grow as what was planned. Maybe we were just too excited about designing our products we didn’t give much attention to marketing them.

Businesses nowadays need help from the marketing experts. When it comes to choosing a marketing company to help you with advertising and creating buzz for your products or services, it is best to hire a company with solid and reliable background. Another must for the management is to attend workshops focused on branding and marketing such as the “Pump Up Your Brand” two-hour workshop given by Brand Identity Guru Inc. which provides a practical learning experience to ensure your success. 

Another busy weekend at home

I’ve decided to set aside this day for some unfinished tasks since we’ll be heading off for another whole day tour tomorrow. How nice it would be to simply spend the weekends watching classic films on DVDs with comfortable home theater seating. But I’m just here, typing away in my computer while listening to my faves Switchfoot, Waterfront, MAE and Relient K. Anyway, we would still be planning our trip itinerary for tomorrow later.

Have a great weekend ahead!

Increasing your online marketing presence

Competition is stiff among businesses, not just on TV and print but in the World Wide Web as well. Considering the many millions of sites begging for a surfer’s attention, companies had to resort to a lot of techniques and methods just to be on top of search engine rankings. This is where search engine optimization (SEO) comes in and it’s important to always stick to the rules otherwise a site will be penalized by the search engines.

I remember what my uncle, who’s an SEO expert, used to explain to me about the importance of SEO, and how some keywords should be optimized in the content, including a site’s over-all design. I didn’t quite understand his little lecture that time, but nowadays the concept of SEO and its importance is very much embraced by most website administrators, website owners and netizens.

When hiring an SEO company, check out their background first and learn more about them, or better yet ask for recommendations from friends. It’s also good to prioritize top SEO companies such as Brand Identity Guru (BIG) which offers Los Angeles SEO, and serves other states as well such as San Diego or Oakland. Hiring SEO experts save you from worries about your rankings, and helps increase your online marketing presence. 

Finally…the 4-digit PayPal code is here

This is just an update on my previous ‘rant’ about UnionBank’s unreachable customer service hotline. My friend just texted me yesterday that she was able to contact them finally and got her PayPal 4-digit code for expanded use verification. Yey! After more than a week of calling them (and with lots of wasted time and money), finally she got through. I’m glad my friend will be withdrawing her much-awaited money soon. With the slow processing for UnionBank accounts for PayPal verification, I really hope there would be another bank that could offer better service and features. 

Related post: Help! UnionBank EON processing for PayPal

Buildings on the rise

It seems like wherever I go, there would always be new buildings being constructed. Back in Finland, near my big sis’ flat was an ongoing construction of a mixed-use building. Everyday I would see it taking a more developed form and rising at a relatively fast pace since they’re using modern technology with pre-fabricated concrete for the walls and slabs. Here in Prague, we also passed by an upcoming building by the corner, and right here beside my cutie sis’ flat is another residential building being built. As somebody commented about it, “the building is growing!”

I just remember how my Mom, who’s a civil engineer, would always be interested with the building construction methods here in Europe such as the building materials or the material handling system. She would always take photos of the construction site (and even the roads being repaired) whenever we would pass them by.

Most high-rise buildings employ the latest and modern techniques for building and construction. Mobile gantry cranes such as those from Shuttlelift are some of the building construction essentials for industries involved in steel, modular buildings, aerospace and other engineering and manufacturing purposes. It’s a must for contractors to use safe and reliable equipment especially with handling and lifting bulky and heavy loads at the construction premises.

Help! UnionBank EON processing for PayPal

My friend who just signed up for a PayPal Philippines account is currently having a tough time having her account verified. She doesn’t have a credit card (Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express) which is usually the easiest way for a PayPal account to be verified. I advised her to open an EON cyber account from UnionBank since this was how my sis got her PayPal account verified.

So last May, my friend applied for an EON account online and chose a UnionBank branch in Bacolod to pick up her ATM card. Unfortunately, there was no card after weeks of calling the bank and we even dropped by the branch and inquired about it from their staff. My friend was advised to re-apply again and since she was about to go home to Cebu, she decided to have it there instead. But it took weeks again for the application since the bank was updating their services, and she was advised to wait.

I am blogging about this since you may know of some options for PayPal verification in the Philippines. Are there other banks aside from UnionBank with debit cards which can be used to verify PayPal accounts? Please help.

Related posts:
Verifying your PayPal account with UnionBank eWallet
Adding UnionBank eWallet to your PayPal account
UnionBank and PayPal processing takes longer than expected?
UnionBank PayPal updates
UnionBank update
New withdrawal and receiving features for PayPal Philippines

Party at home

There’s a party going on at our home back in the Philippines right now…it’s mom’s birthday today (it’s already evening over there) and she invited some relatives and friends for dinner. I could just imagine how they prepared for the celebration, from cooking to cleaning and sprucing up the place. Too bad I’m not there to help in the preparation.

Anyway, cleaning up and tidying up a house can be challenging especially if you lack the space. That’s why there are lots of space-saving furniture that helps with this dilemma… just like sofa beds which can be folded and kept easily, or those TV lifts for neatly storing audio and video equipment.  

At the Vyšehrad castle

Yesterday we went to another tourist attraction here in Prague, the Vyšehrad castle. It was a long walk to reach the Cathedral of Saint Paul and Saint Peter. We also climbed uphill to reach the massive walls of the castle fortress where we had a grand view of the city of Prague. On our way home, we even dropped by Tesco for some groceries.

I felt so exhausted and sleepy, my legs were so tired. Well, at least we had a nice afternoon at the castle particularly with the breathtaking view of the Prague cityscape, and another good thing was that we lost few pounds with that long walk! Yup, no need for prescription diet pills to slim down with all that walking we did yesterday. 

Moving somewhere?

Life is always about changes and it usually involves adjustment and acceptance - a new career, meeting a different set of friends, transferring to another place or a long-term trip abroad. One very important change for our family was when we decided to go back to our hometown after many years spent in another province where we had our business. It was tough looking for a large vehicle to accommodate all our belongings accumulated through the years.

Moving to another place can be stressful, especially with deciding on which items to keep and which to leave behind. For a Boston moving company such as Humboldt Storage and Moving, their clients’ trust in their service is their main responsibility more than just the packing, storing and moving stuff. They have high-tech storage which is temperature-controlled and equipped with security cameras for monitoring. This ensures safety for the clients’ prized possessions and fragile items such as art work, decors, furniture and other valuable items.

For the clients, a smooth process of transferring to another place would somehow lessen the stress which usually comes with it. Giving good service to customers ensures good reputation for the moving company, thus resulting to referrals by satisfied customers to their friends or repeat requests for future transfers.

At Kutna Hora

We’re back from Kutna Hora, where its city center is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Going there took about more than an hour’s drive from Praha. It was a sunny afternoon for the four of us (cutie sis and hubby, baby C and I). Good thing, baby C was behaving nicely with me at the back, strapped in her car seat, while I fed her with chocolate wafers. We dropped by McDonald’s for burgers and fries for our lunch.

Here are some photos:

Cemetery Church of All Saints with an Ossuary

Interior of the Cemetery Church of All Saints with an Ossuary

Cathedral of the Assumption

St. Barbara’s Cathedral

Streamlining the production process

I recently saw on TV a documentary on crab meat processing, how the shells are taken off and separated from the meat, and the other details that goes with it until it ends up packed into a plastic wrap ready for delivery to wholesalers and shops. It’s interesting to see how food is being processed in an automated way, particularly with canned products and beverages.

Companies with huge production needs usually employ automation and use conveyor systems which are very much part of the processing. Custom conveyors are very much important to streamline the process and result to a more efficient system. For instance, Conveyor Systems & Engineering, Inc. provides customer solutions for food handling, material handling processes.    

Going out on tour!

Dobry den! It means good day in Czech! Well, today’s a good day for touring to Kutna Hora. It’s still morning here in Prague and cutie sis’ hubby just arrived from a business trip, so we can go somewhere far, about an hour from here. It’s a place plenty of UNESCO world heritage sites. I’ll post some updates about our trip on my travel blog. Cau!  

Home at last

Mom and Dad are back home now after an almost two months vacation in Europe. I know they immensely enjoyed their tour and might be thinking of visiting again… the world is just too huge for us to travel over, yeah? But I know being away from home can also bring feelings of homesickness even if you’re enjoying a grand holiday somewhere. Well, I bet Dad is now back to his usual stuff at home, tinkering with his tools and carpentry projects or fixing some leaky bathroom or kitchen faucets. And I know Mom is back to her typical daily community and parish activities. Yup, life goes on…

Exercise and discipline

Cutie sis and I had a great afternoon today! We visited a friend and brought baby C with us. We had a nice and interesting conversation with her and I was even given a gift! Yey! I got a Czech souvenir without even going to the stores yet. Anyway, going to her place and back was not really a long walk for us, not even enough to make me think it would make me slimmer. Aha…so I am still thinking of getting back to the hip hop abs dance session with sis…but with baby C around, I wonder if she’ll let her mommy dance without ‘sticking’ to her at least for 20 minutes. You might think I am interested in some diet pill articles or Fenterdren reviews and doing a research on a potent slimming pill. No sir, I am still going to do it the natural way – regular exercise and proper diet! Now all it takes is more discipline, yeah?

Enjoy your weekend!

It’s a weekend and I’m thankful that I have time for some extras today like going out for a walk outside, dropping by a nearby grocery, getting a nice afternoon nap and even watching three episodes of a Koreanovela just now. Tomorrow we will be off to another store. Nope, we won’t be buying some high tech gadgets or office furniture, just a small mouse for cutie sis’ laptop. We will be visiting somebody too. Here’s to a great weekend ahead.