Monthly Archives: January 2013

Meet Locals with Similar Interests through Meetup.com

Have you just moved to a new city? Want to meet the locals and make some friends trough a safe and friendly groups? Well, meetup_logothen try out Meetup.com It’s possibly the world’s largest network of local groups. Meetup.com makes it super easy for anyone to organize a local group or find one according to their interest.  The site has 10.8 million monthly visitors, and 11.1 million members (though this number is somewhat biased since many are inactive), but with 2 million RSVPs, the website mission to connect the locals through social groups is working.

Check out if your city is part of Meetup.com – there are apparently 45,000 cities that host these  Meetup events. For example, if you just moved  to Montreal and want to improve your French, you might decide to join the French Meetup. You don’t have to be a newbie in a city to join a group. If you want to improve your photography skills, or have started taken interest in hiking, you can find those too. Regions do play a role in how many members or how active a group is. The Japanese Meetup in Vancouver has over 1000 members and have 2 regular events every month for the last 5 years with each one with 20 people or more. Go to Calgary, and there is less than 300 members with about 5 members sign up for each event – not a sufficient  number to make good connections.
With so many things today being online, and connections only through the web, we’ve deprived ourselves from real socialization. This is a perfect opportunity to interact with real human beings once again – whether it’s to make new friends or for business purposes.
A lot of the Meetup groups are free to attend (unless specified for a special event, or if they charge a attendance fee per event – usually $1) This request for the small fee is usually to cover material costs and to have the Meetup.com group. The cost to run the groups on Meetup.com vary depending on the plan you choose: (all fees are in US Dollars)
  • $12/month for 6 months (a single $72 charge)
  • $15/month for 3 months (a single $45 charge)
  • $19/month for the month-to-month billing option

With any of the above plans, organizers can run up to 3 Meetup Groups without any further costs.

Again, for Meetup members to attend, it doesn’t cost anything unless the organizers ask for any, so start joining! As far as I know, there aren’t any limits to how many groups you can join, so let the fun begin! :D

Clinique

Do you suffer from acne? Are you an adult, but still breakout like you’re a teenager? Tried everything on the market and frustrated that nothing ever seems to work? Well, then Clinique may be the answer for you.

I was introduced to Clinique by a guy who didn’t seem to be having that much skin problems. But he was trying everything on the shelf, so he knew way more than I did. I have been suffering from severe acne since I was 11 or so. I don’t know how many times I’ve gone to the doctors to get it treated. I tried all kinds of creams, but nothing ever worked. It wasn’t until I went to live in Japan that I was given some TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) which REALLY helped. I was super happy. I stopped taking them, but it didn’t get worse again and stabilized.

However, it didn’t mean that I was all free from acne. I still broke out, never as bad as before, but still. When I went on the one year of being on a strict healthy diet, I noticed that my acne significantly decreased. Since then, I’ve noticed that if I eat chocolate, sugar, buttery food, or chips, I break out – so I mainly avoid those foods as much as possible.

To help the skin from the outside, I now use Clinique. I started using the 7 Day Scrub Cream Rinse-Off Formula $24.00 CAD and Acne Solutions Clarifying Lotion  $17.00 CAD. I wash my face with a gentle soap, then massage the scrub. I rinse and dry. Then I apply the Acne Solution with a cotton pad. After a week, I noticed that I was clearing up. I noticed that I didn’t break out as much. I was really satisfied.

 idearabbit-clinique3Acne Solutions Clarifying Lotion  $17.00 CAD

idearabbit-clinique27 Day Scrub Cream Rinse-Off Formula $24.00 CAD

When I bought the two items, they were doing a special at Hudson Bay where you got a free gift bag with samples inside. One of the samples was the Moisture Surge Intense Skin Fortifying Hydrator. I apply it at night around my eye and corner of my mouth to soften the wrinkles. I am hoping to buy the Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel next time since my Mary Kay’s moisturizer is running out.

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Free gift bag during promotion with creams, lipstick, eye shadows, mascara, etc.

The prices are pretty affordable compare to other competitors. And if you can buy when they’re giving out the free gift bags, bonus!  What I like about Clinique is that they’re 100% fragrance free. That doesn’t mean that they smell like crap. I’m really sensitive to fragrance so this is good.

However, after talking about acne with one of my friend, she said that Clinique didn’t work for her. So I guess it doesn’t work for everyone. Before taking the leap into investing into Clinique, go to one of their booths in major department stores like Hudson Bay or Sears and ask for samples. They’re really good out handing samples out (on certain items though).

Good luck!

Glenmore Printing: Promotional Piece

Recently at work, we received a promotional piece from Glenmore Printing. I couldn’t resist to blog about it, so here it is.

It came in a cute little box with 4 circles with 1950s illustrations of people. which opened up with 4 square boxes – 2 red and 2 yellow. Each with a tea bag inside which was supplied by Secret Garden Tea Company. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to try out the tea…

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idearabbit-glenmoreprinting2  idearabbit-glenmoreprinting3

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As you can see in the video they put together on how it was made (http://www.glenmoreprinting.com/packaging.php), the boxes were assembled by hand! Well, the boxes are really delicate, so I guess you would have to do them by hand.

I personally haven’t worked with Glemore, so I can’t really say about their service and print quality (other than the promotional piece), but if you need big print jobs, they are the printer to go to. Their website says they do custom printed paperboard, corrugated boxes, cartons & sleeves, large/small sized boxes or small, long run or short and much more.

“With full in house finishing, your packaging is printed and assembled locally under our roof to lower costs, improve turnaround times, and maintain high levels of quality. Our team of packaging experts can quickly provide you with a correct layout and printed samples to help you visualize your finished product.” – Glemore Printing

Website: http://www.glenmoreprinting.com
Tel: 604.273.6323
Toll Free: 1.866.333.6323
Email: sales@glenmoreprinting.com
Address: Unit 150 – 13751 Mayfield Place, Richmond, B.C. V6V 2G9