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Dressing Up For The Holidays

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howtolose-yellow.jpgIf you are like most people, you probably have a wardrobe full of the little black dress. It’s perfect for all occasions; except this one. Get ready to kick your heels up and add some color to your closet. It is Christmas time after all.

Take a page from the December issue of O Magazine and brighten up your days. You’ll feel the immediate lighteinging of your spirit as you go about in your vibrantly coloured frocks. No crows hanging around this holiday season.

Instead of going for your usual somber shades, go for some reds, yellows, blues and greens. Choosing a material like satin brings an added texture. Think of it as your gift wrapping. You take the time to wrap your presents in beautiful gilt paper. Your colorful dresses go around your best gift – yourself. Isn’t that a great reason to leave the little black dress in the closet this month?

Gifts For the Holidays

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Metal Gear.jpg

It can be difficult to find gifts for one’s loved ones these days. With the increasing emphasis on technology and gadgets, gifts are often just too expensive. The sentiment still holds true though: as long as it comes from the heart.

Speaking of which, if you’re looking for a way to your game loving boy’s heart, keep abreast of what games are coming out this December. Today, the newest addition to the Metal Gear Series hits the stands. Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops is perhaps the most awaited PSP game of the year. It provides a link between the popular Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater and the original game, Metal Gear.

Another game released today is Star Trek: Legacy. For those who’ve always wanted to know how James T. Kirk would fare against the relentless Borg, this is the game to have. The game spans all the generations of the Star Trek TV Series, from Enterprise, to the Original Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine and Voyager. Definitely a game that any Trekkie or Trekker would be looking forward to. Available for PC and XBOX 360.

Website Petition To Make Tips Madatory

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If you are not from the US, one thing you’ll notice when dining out in America is that you HAVE to tip at least 20%. Unlike the UK, Spain, or even Asia, many tourists travelling to the US have found that their hometown practices are often greeted with a less-than grateful remarks, or worse, insults, simply because they don’t understand the tipping culture of America.

So its not a surprise that restaurant workers in the US have taken this a step further, and are not hoping for a new law to be passed, making their 20% gratuity a requirement.

In May of this year, website Fair Tip, as been gathering petitions for the 20% tip to be automatically added to all bills in US restaurants. Fair Tip‘s founder, Yakup Ulutas, who was originally from Turkey (where he was a waiter – and no, they don’t tip in Turkey) and now manages a restaurant in Georgia, sees this new measure as a way to lift up the status of servers, and make it into a more respectable profession.

Making several media appearances on radio and television to promote his cause, Mr. Ulutap felt that tipping was at a standstill in the US and it was needed to protect servers from small tippers.

Ulutap explained:

”They work overtime, they work holidays, they work anytime you’re not working.. It’s time for the country to treat the servers with the quality they deserve as a professional. The system is not fair to servers.”

Secondhand Comeback: 10 Things To Buy Old

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Apparently too many people in the world today are wasters ? succumbing to commercialism and always buying new when what makes most sense to both our wallets and the environment is buying second-hand.

So the next time your wages start burning a hole in your pocket, think twice before you buy brand new. You?ll be doing those polar bears a favour.

Here?s the list:

1. Books
Used books are so easy to find and can be fantastically dirt-cheap.

2. DVDs and CD?s
Unless you cant wait for the latest Hollywood release and every discounted copy you find has skip-prone scratches, a good-condition disc with a low price is worth its weight in gold.

3. Toys
Toys on discount are a parents dream, as most kids prefer their friends ?used? toys and the smallest ones cant tell the difference anyway.

4. Jewelry and Carpets
Fine items like these actually increase in value, so it is no problem to buy or sell ?used? pieces.

5. Sports Equipment
Aside from shoes, mits and other body-close things, it makes sense to pick up weights, exercise balls, tennis racquets etc. Look in garage sales, newspapers, and the like.

6. Timeshares
?Used? time shares from people who want to dump it fast are very cheap and a good deal if you like the location. But do check resale values independently first.

7. Cars
Most people know that new car loses 12.2% of its value in the first year, and cars depreciate even faster, depending on demand, incentives offered and other factors. Besides, that new-car smell can now be bought in a can.

8. Software and Computer Games.
Used items of this type cost half or less what the software cost new.

9. Furniture
Take a cue from those shows on HGTV ? old furniture can be given a new lease of life, or even be an unexpected great buy.

10. Hand Tools
Non-motorized tools like good hammers, saws, wrenches etc. can last ages so garage sales are a good bet for these.

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