How do you feel about this?

I decided I would make a question post to start a discussion on the bailout. Well we know that the Bill has been passed, and is effectively signed as a law. With so much resistance to the bill, despite the revisions, debates of why it would not fix the root cause of the problem, and so much opposition to bail out, we have added another 700 billion dollars to our national debt.

My question for you is, how do you feel about this. Was it a good choice, bad choice? What do you think is in store for the country now.

I would like to gain some perspective.

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Insurance: Are you and your teeth covered?

If you're like 46 million Americans (give or take a few million) then you probably are without dental insurance, or have opted NOT to take insurance because of costs.If you're like another 40 million, then you probably don't have enough to pay for a dentist even with coverage. Source For a nation that obsesses so much about health and health coverage, oral care is in most cases, at the bottom of the priority list.

Today, it seems common that a lot of health insurances provided at work don't offer dental insurance, and even with insurance, dental care is still unaffordable. However, remember fixing a problem when it starts to get worse will be much cheaper than waiting till it gets out of hand. Avoiding to see a dentist because of lack of coverage will in the long run, eat away at your teeth, and your pocket. Let's not forget that taking care of your teeth thoroughly is extremely crucial to your help, and will cut costs on future treatment.

In some cases, people let their teeth go bad, and they they feel that they are not in a position to receive insurance or see a dentist. The fact is that there is a solution. Letting your teeth go bad can lead to tooth decay which can lead to a cavity, and in worst cases a root canal and extracting a teeth. Letting a tooth problem go too far can lead to heart disease, diabetes, even death.

If you are currently without insurance, there is an alternative especially for emergencies. One alternative is Denta Choice

Denta choice is NOT insurance, rather it is a reduced fee for service program that can save you a substantial amount of money, similar to insurance. It is one of the largest national dental networks in America. 15% to 50% can be saved on almost any procedure. Costs are determined by area/location. An individual plan is 8 dollars a month, a house hold plan is 18 dollars a month. Members pay month by month and are free to cancel any time.

Your teeth are important to your health, as well as your physical experience. Don't avoid oral hygiene or care. You will end up paying a lot more than money if you do.

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Woman purchases a house cheaper than a Big Mac

Well its not everyday you can buy a house on Ebay, furthermore, its not everyday you can buy a house for pennies. However, a Chicago woman took advantage of the bid, and won the house for 1.75. Yes, that's right. Pick your mouths up from the floor please. There is a cost though, in order to keep it from facing foreclosure, she must pay 850 in back taxes, not to mention clean-up costs. Lets also not forget how much she would have to spend to fix up the house. Overall, it is a really smart buy. Perhaps I can find an abandoned mansion through Ebay once I graduate.

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Economy nonsense mix-up

I have recently read blog posts where there are some uncertainties about this bailout. It really is funny how the administration thinks that renaming a bail out as a rescue plan will change the bill for what it really is. I always thought a "rescue" plan should be reserved for those who are worthy of rescue, not crooks, greedy CEOs, and definitely not people from the incompetent Bush Administration.

Today I witnessed a real live example of how a bill works and how it is passed. This would have been a wonderful example to my third graders last year of how a bill is made and passed . Anyway, congress favored the bill, and it is now going to the house. Do I hope it will pass? I don't know. Do I think it will pass? Who knows.

I am still against the bill somewhat, but now I have mixed feelings. I see to much of blaming, pointing fingers at others, and complaining that the bail out makes me unhappy. It makes me enraged, and I am skeptical about its workings. However, something needs to be done to fix this. Will the bail out fix it? Maybe it will temporarily, but if these greedy people responsible for this mess do not devise a strategy to keep this from happening again, the back lash will be much worse than protesters shouting "You broke it, you bought it" on Wall Street

What bothers me the most is how reckless these companies were, and how reckless Paulson and the administration were in putting the bill together. If you have a financial crisis, and a bill asking for several billion dollars, you better have a book's worth explaining your plan. I belieive whole heartily that these people cared nothing about the American people when they made bill. If they cared, that would have reflected in the first draft of their bill. Instead it was 2 pages and contained no oversights. What does that tell you about the original intentions of these people?

If the bill passes, let us pray it will work. I do not want to have to be put in a position where I have to introduce my kids into a country where the economy is in complete turmoil. My parents came here from India, because the life here was so much better, and there were so many opportunities for them and my brother and sister. Will the bail out bring positive change that intentionally attracted my parents to come here?

How do you feel about this?

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The top ten entrecard droppers

I decided I would dedicate this post to my famous top ten entrecard droppers, and to those that have visited my site whenever they could. I have been with Entrecard for about a month, and I am very happy with the progress I made. So with further ado, here are the top ten droppers, with their links. Thank you Sanjay for the idea. Its about time I recognized my droppers. By the way, if you like poetry, I highly suggest his site

Dropper	# of drops
The Truth About Lies	15
Breeni Books	15
Wedding Cake Hints	13
Blog Fiction	12
the Social Arrow	11
WTF Do You Blog About!?	9
Where the Walls are Soft	9
The Writing Nag	9
PoeARTica	9
READING LOUNGE	8

Again thank you to those who visited my site. I'm learning a lot from visiting your blogs :)

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Perfection and changes: my weakness or my strength?

Well, I've made a few changes to my blogger layout. O.K., well A LOT of changes. I really was not happy with my previous template. The Indian Bride picture was too big, clashed with my background, and I had way too many widgets cluttered onto one side. The blog just did not seem to flow right, sort of like an outfit that was trying too hard.

Being the type person I am, I took no breaks (eating or stretching) and ventured online to perhaps a dozen sites to find a new template that would display what I thought was important in a sufficient way. I found that sites with 3 columns were a lot better since I could spread out my links, favorite blogs, and the other tid bits I want to display on my blog. It also let me organize everything more efficiently.

I know a few days later, I will still want to change something about my blog, and that I won't take a break until I have everything perfected. I'm not only like this with blogging, I'm like this with everything. My theory is, if you're going to change, at least do it right. Mind you, I still have a lot to add to my new template lay out, and I probably won't give myself a break till I am happy with its look and performance. I have a long way to go before I can attain the status I want with this blog.

As I was saying, I'm like this with everything. When I student taught in a third grade classroom, I over-worked myself when forming my lessons, hardly took a break, because I wanted it to be perfect, whatever that was. If I'm cleaning, which is not a lot, I tend to go overboard and I don't give myself a break. My best friend always tells me that I need to step out of my apartment and breathe some oxygen once in a while. I realize I get this need for attaining perfection from my father. Although I hated his lectures, his speech "Just don't get something partially done" has resonated with me now.

Not only do I overwork myself, but I have a habit of changing things a lot. I am known to change outfits twice a day by a few, and I just can't listen to a full song on the radio or on my mp3 player. Once I've heard half of the song, I get bored and switch off to another song, and repeat that process at least a few times. I find that now I can't stay focused on one book. I find myself changing books after a few chapters. I have 2 book shelves of books that I've never read, and the only way I will be able to finish a book is if I chain myself to a chair, and then chain the book to my hands.

Anyway, that's me, the girl that is always changing her clothes, her music, and overworking even over sleep.

On a brighter note, happy first of October! Only 30 more days till Halloween!

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A smart shopper's guide to purchasing text books.

If you’re like me, then you know what its like to fork over hundreds of dollars just for text books. Although financial aid might be covering some of your book expenses, there is no reason why you should pay so much for books you will have only for a semester. Buying books at book store price and selling them back for flea market price is something that disappoints college students. In order to get a good deal on your text book, as well as sell them back for more than store book price, you have to shop smart.

The first tip is to do your homework early. What I mean by this is find out what textbook you will have to buy.

The next tip is to search for your textbooks. What I suggest doing first is going to your university book store and writing down the ISBN numbers of your book. This is the bar code number on the back of your book. Sometimes the bookstore will cover it up. You can also find the bar code on inside of the first page. Write down the list of isbn numbers and the cost of the books. You will need your isbn numbers when searching for books and comparing prices. This number identifies the exact book. Most numbers have 8 or 10 numbers.

Once you have your barcode, you will need to find the best deals on textbooks. There are several ways to do this.

• Look for textbooks on ebay or half.com. Make a wish list if you have to

• See if other people at your university have the books you need. Many of them will offer a fairer price than the book store. If you’re part of a social networking site, such as facebook and myspace, you can join groups where people are selling their textbooks at your school.

• Contact your professor and ask whether the textbooks are needed. You will be very surprised that you will buy textbooks only to use them a few times during the semester. If that is the case, it might help to borrow from a friend or make a copy of certain pages when needed.

• You might also want to contact your professor and ask if using the previous version of a textbook is o.k. I’ve used previous versions of textbooks for a few classes, and there is no difference between the new version and the old version.

• I highly recommend buying the international editions of your text. International editions are significantly cheaper than the U.S. editions. The abe textbook website has a way to search for textbooks. For general courses like math or science, you'd probably have better luck finding an international edition.

Using these tips will help you immensely. Conversely, selling books through other methods will make you more money. Many times, if you sell your books back at the book store, you’ll make far less than what you paid. I recommend selling books online and with your friends. The following links are a just a few places where you can start your textbook search.

Book Finder

Campus Books

Cheap Text Books (Valore)

Abe Books

Campus Books for Less

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It's peanut butter jelly time!

As I was surfing through blogs on entrecard, an interesting gadget caught my eye. The VAN VACTOR PBJ bagel knife. This was found on the very famous The Peanut Butter Blog. According to the blogger who was skeptical of the product, "
After just one use I was hooked. This knife is amazing! Its wavy blade makes it the perfect tool with runny peanut butter--no more drips all over the outside of the jar or on my plate. It works great with cold, stiff peanut butter from the fridge, too. No need for jelly spoons--it holds the jelly just as well as it holds the runny peanut butter."

Now, this blogger is being given the chance of giving away this amazing PBJ knife for free :) All you have to do is read here

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Winners and Losers (BREAKING NEWS!)

In breaking news, the House has rejected the bill!

The 110 page revised bill issuing a 700 billion dollar bill bail out in three installments will come out with winners, and of course, losers,

Wall Street, financial institutions, CEO’s, Bernakne and Paulson could all benefit from this massive bailout. CEO's of failing companies will be allowed to keep their jobs. If the bailout works as intended, it will enable Americans to get loans for cars, student loans, and the opportunity to open a credit card account. However the confidence that the bill work as hoped is very slim from those on Main Street.

The losers, unfortunately, include those that are facing foreclosure, loosing their homes, or whose homes are less than what they owe. This bill will do little, if anything at all to assist them. According to an article I read on Yahoo, it will also do little to halt the slide in home values. This is said to be one of the root causes of the economic slow down.

This bill will also affect tax payers that will foot the bill. The congress made it clear during their discussions of this bail out those tax payers MUST be protected. The bill will add 700 billion to the national debt. One of the tax payer protections includes that if the bailout fails, tax payers will be compensated in full.

Proponents of the bill claim that the bill could even make the tax payers money. The reality is that very few people believe that the provisions will fix the market. The main criticism is that the bill still does not address or even solve the fundamental problems of why the financial crisis came about in the first place.

The bailout, as mentioned previously, will include 3 installments. The government will be allowed to buy billion of dollars of devalued assets. 250 billion will be available immediately once the bill is passed. The next installment will be released at the authority of the president, and the last installment may be requested by the president if the congress does not act against it.

My thoughts: I hope this bill does not pass because all it does is protect Wall Street and the Bush Administration. If our Founding Fathers were to see the mess we were in, they would be ashamed of us, and all their efforts would have gone in vain. As many protesters have been shouting on Wall Street: "You broke it, you bought it!" It's time these irresponsible companies take responsibility for their actions. Let us hope this bill does NOT pass.

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Guide to finding a legit GPT site.

If you’re like most people, the thought of filling out surveys may seem time consuming and not worth the effort. The fact is, while there are many sites out there that tend to scam its users, there are also those that will value their members’ effort. A lot of skeptics may question the purpose of GPT (Get Paid To) sites. Simply put, marketers are looking to get exposure for their products. In return for that exposure, they pay the GPT website and you get part of that profit. Online marketing has become a major tool in promoting virtually every type of product. Usually you will answer questions on a survey with valid information. They can take anywhere from 5 minutes to 20 minutes.


Before you click “join” on any GPT site, make sure you do your research first. Often times, we are referred by someone who wants to make commission off of what we will make. While there is nothing wrong with this, it’s always important to look into the legality of the site before you join.

One thing to do is to look for payment proof. A site can boast and brag about how they pay so much survey, but it won’t mean anything unless its members get paid, and they are sharing that proof with others who are skeptical. In addition to that, you need to look into how often you get paid. Some survey sites require you to accumulate a few thousand points or a certain dollar amount, while the few good ones don’t require you to build up so much money or points in order to get paid. Payout is something to take into consideration. If you want to make some extra money fast, then it is best to pick out surveys where the min. payout is very low would be the best choice.

Whenever I look to join a GPT site, I look at thesed three things: Proof of payment, the positive things people say, and the criticism they have. If the good outweighs the bad, and I see proof, I am assured that my time is not going to be wasted.


The next thing to look out for is responsiveness of the administrators on the sites. I believe that the GPT sites that are legit are the ones that have established members forums. Often times, whenever a member is experiencing problems in offers crediting, or payment delay, they will ask for help on the forum. The sites which I am a part of all have a membership forum where the administrators are attentive to members’ concerns. If you do decide to join a GPT site, visit the forums first. This will prove to be your best friend during your time on the site.


The next thing you should do is check if the site you want to join is on the GPT boycott list. This is a very helpful tool and its purpose is to inform internet users of possible scams out there.

Once you have found your GPT site, make sure you read the guidelines. Often, if you do not follow the guidelines of a site, your account will be suspended. It will be in your best interest to find out how to fill out offers correctly and what actions will get you banned.


My next post will address tips on how to fill out surveys. Keep on reading!

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