Where is that da*n chip?

I lost my chip again. I went to bed with the CieAura Rest Quiet chip on my temple, and this morning it's gone! Hello, I sleep quite peacefully without moving around too much, like any other normal person *ahem ahem* *cough cough*. Why can't it stay where it's supposed to??? Do you know how costly these things are to keep losing them everyday???

I did some research online and found this site
http://cieaura411.com/?p=995
After trying out many different types of bandages and tapes, they are now asking us to put a band-aid on it! And the recommended band-aid is Nexcare Waterproof Band Aids.

I am relieved to know that they are trying to come up with a solution for this. I personally met John Taylor, a.k.a. JT, one of the lead marketers of CieAura. He says that their R&D team have realised that the closer they are to the Equator, the more easily the chips will fall off. So in their next production for stickers in this region, they will be increasing the adhesive by 3X. Great! Send me the new ones!

CieAura vs Phiten

Have you heard of Phiten before? Originally from Japan, they now have many country websites all over the place. Some examples are
http://www.phitenmy.com/
http://www.phitenusa.com/

As what is shown on Wikipedia, Phiten products use a proprietary technology to change various metals into ionic states. Through what the company calls the "Phild process," titanium is supposedly turned into "aqua-titanium". By utilizing the property of each material to their maximum capacity, they are able to realize customers’ potentials in a variety of ways, leading to the restoration of the body's normal state of relaxation.

Since my friend was diagnosed with a slipped disc in 2009, she chanced upon a Phiten shop in Malaysia and purchased this back support belt, called Pro Waist Belt and it looks like this.

This belt has helped her immeasurably these past 2 years. Although it cost a whopping RM650 at the time, it was an investment she couldn't have done without. Apart from this belt, we have the Aqua Titanium Stretched Tape Roll, to be used along with the Relax Gel at the affected area. The tape + gel was going for RM199 at the time of purchase in 2009.

Having used Phiten intensely by my friend & I for the past 2 years, how do they measure up to CieAura products now? The following are entirely my personal opinion.

For injuries like a slipped disc or matters that involve the bone, the Phiten belt provided a support that holds your body together. This sort of relief is almost immediate the minute you put the belt on. A CieAura Pure Relief chip can no way compare to this kind of relief.

However, the effects of the CieAura Pure Relief chip is similar to that of the Phiten tape. Phiten tape has a slight edge over the Pure Relief chip purely because of the stick-ability of the tape/chip. You can cut however long a tape you want with Phiten, but a chip tends to fall off especially when you sweat.

I also wear a Phiten Rakuwa x50 necklace, which I use for energy. In my opinion, the CieAura Pure Energy chip wins on this hands down. One little chip is truly enough to last me the whole day. I am still waiting to order the CieAura CX2 Plus Wrist Band to see how it can further measure up to Phiten products.

In conclusion, I am KIASU and use both products! I still need the waist belt to help support the back especially when I'm walking a lot. I stick CieAura Pure Relief chips to help relieve the pain at certain areas. Can the two of them work well together? I am a walking testament of it. So the more the merrier!

Joining the pack

On 6th May 2011, I decided to jump straight into CieAura. Their products are useful to me, so I would want to buy it at the cheapest price possible. First, you need to pick a unique ID to represent you. I picked "everyday" because to me, everyday counts and I want everyday to be at my best.

So you would first need to purchase a Business Pack for US$39 per year. This entitles you to all their products at wholesale prices. I was shocked to find that there were so many more options of products now. One of the most exciting is this thing called the CX2 Plus Wristband. This wristband has a very similar effect to the Pure Energy Chip that I wrote about earlier, except that it's in the form of a band and it's a LOT more powerful. Have a look at the pricing

The price ranges from US$24.95 to as cheap as US$22.18, if I can find another 16 people to share this with me. Each band lasts 2 months in terms of effectiveness. This sounds to be a lot more cost effective than the Pure Energy Chip. I want to order some for myself, would anyone in Malaysia want to share it with me? Sorry for being cheapskate, trying to save on shipping hahaha.

Another very interesting fact is that I now get to purchase the Pure Relief Chips and Rest Quiet Chips at US$39.95 only! That works out to be US$0.74/day before shipping. This is definitely worth the US$39/year joining fee if I get to buy it at these prices. Not too bad at all.

If you would like to join in with me, I would be honoured to be your sponsor. There seems to be some marketing scheme behind this CieAura that is rather confusing. It took me days to figure out some of it. More to come.

How much does it cost?

So far, I have talked about products of CieAura. It was enough to intrigue me and want to consider buying it for my daily use. But how much does it all cost? If you go here, you will see all the prices for each product.
http://everyday.cieaura.com/shopline_category.html?category=Retail%20Shopping%20Cart

Each packet consists of 18 chips, and each chip lasts 3 days. At US$54.95 / 18 / 3 days = US$1.02 per day. That's quite expensive for me, can it be any cheaper? Yes, there is a Preferred Customer Price at US$44.95 / 18 / 3 days = US$0.83/day. What exactly is a Preferred Customer? It is for anyone who agrees to a monthly Autoship. This means, on a specific date each month, they will automatically charge to your credit card and ship your pack to you. You have the option to change what items are shipped each month, or whether to add more items. However, the minimum is one pack per month.

But wait, there is a shipping charge to Malaysia of US$5.00. I ordered mine and it arrived in 5 working days, mostly because the Shipper came from Johor Bahru. If I keep it at 1 pack per month, that becomes US$0.925 per chip vs US$1.11 per chip. OK much better. Even if I don't use all the chips in one month, I can pass it to my friends or better yet, sell chips to them MUAHAHAHA. But is there any way to make it cheaper still? You can Enroll with CieAura and enter into a world of starting your own business. I will investigate on enrollment and tell you more about it soon.

How does it work? Errrr ....

Highly intrigued with my new chips, I visited a pharmacist friend of mine and showed the chips to her. I explained how they have helped me in the past few weeks, and how wonderful they were in helping me. Her first reaction is, "Wow, so small. How much per piece?" I calculated and said about US$3.00, and it drew a slightly stunned look. Her next question was, "How does it work?". I felt really dumb at that point. In this 21st century, how is it that humans dare to paste anything on their bodies without first finding out what it is? Even if everyone says it is like a miracle or God-send, does it mean that you can jump in head-on without knowing anything?

So this morning, I went to do my research. According to their official website here, it blasts you with a video with many testimonials (incidentally their models are all good looking people). Very convincing video, but I am on a mission today, so I have to ignore its temptations of being satisfied with that answer. Reading further below, it says "3000 Years of Science in a 21st Century Delivery System". Great tagline, but it still doesn't answer my question. Then comes this statement "CieAura Transparent Holographic Chips™ use a proprietary combination of homeopathic formulas consisting of intrinsic energies that affect positive health responses."

What is homeopathy actually? I googled and got quite a few results, but this statement explains it the clearest.

What are intrinsic energies? The core human energy field, firstly discovered by the Chinese, as CieAura says, 3000 years ago. Most of us know this energy field as Chi (气).

Now we're getting closer. These chips contain diluted substances containing Chi, in order to reduce symptoms of pain, sleep disorders and lack of energy. That still sounds strange to me. Then I found another Research & Science section of the CieAura page. This is my interpretation of it.

The Chinese believe heavily in Chi. When energy is constantly flowing, it is healthy. If there are any blockages, you will feel pain/discomfort. How do you unblock any blockages? By stimulating the meridian points, which is the basis of acupuncture. So CieAura chips help to unblock these blockages. My original question is, how does it work? In the end, it's a company secret. They claim that it is non-invasive, so there are no tiny needles in that sticker poking your meridian points. They claim that is contains no chemicals, so nothing is seeped into the pores of your skin. Since I believe in acupuncture and Chi, I just have to accept that they have somehow found a way to trigger the flow of Chi in my body. Homeopathy is also linked to the term placebo. Perhaps it is one, but many placebos have worked on many people. This is a decision on your part whether to believe in these chips or not.

Next time someone asks me how does it work? My answer will be :-
Do you believe in acupuncture? This is very similar except that it uses a sticker instead of needles. These stickers will help to release the blocked energies in your body to make your Chi flow better. It doesn't contain any chemical but uses HOMEOPATHY (big keyword). It is not a cure, nor does it diagnose. It just gives you better rest, less discomfort, and better energy.

Jetlag + Alarm = Crazy Angie

Earlier this year, I managed to win 2 return air tickets to Paris! This is on the budget airline AirAsia, from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to Orly in Paris. So on 7th April 2011, we went to Paris. It was a 14 hour flight which took off at 9:00am Malaysian time and landed in Paris at 4:40pm Paris time. In order to make it for my 9:00am flight, I had to set my alarm for 5:15am after having slept at 2:00am. 

Those who know me will know that I am a light sleeper. The slightest noise or movement will wake me up. Which meant, I didn't get any sleep on the plane at all. After 14 hours of flying, and another 1 hour of battling public transport in Paris, we finally arrived at our hotel. Dr. B said, "Don't go to bed"! To conquer jetlag, one has to stay up as late as possible, at least wait till 8:00pm.

So the zombiefied me started wandering around Paris. We did not trust our senses to take the metro again knowing we'd get lost when we're half asleep. We walked here and there, bought some snacks along the way to munch, and lo and behold, we arrived here!

  

If any of you saw 2 jokers wearing shorts in freezing weather, wandering around like zombies below the Eiffel Tower on April 7th, that's us! Somehow, we finally made it back to our hotel at 10pm and went to bed at 10:30pm, after having stayed awake for 23 hours! Thanks to Dr. B's advice again, he told us to use 2 Sleep Chips, place one on each temple just before going to bed. He says it will help us sleep for a good 8 hours.

We had a really good sleep that night. Looks like Dr. B's advice was working after all. It was the kind of sleep where you have no dreams, and you don't remember dreaming about anything once you've woken up. But Dr. B didn't count on one thing though - that I have a crazy alarm clock!

This is my Samsung Galaxy S. If any of you own this, you will know that there's something seriously wrong with the alarm clock function. I set it for 5:15am the previous day, and remembered to switch to the correct time zone and turned off the alarm. SO WHY ON EARTH DID IT RING THAT MORNING?? ARGHHHHHHHH!

Since we were awake anyway, we still felt refreshed after a good night's rest. And went out early to enjoy the wonderful morning bread smells of Paris. So Thank You to Dr. B for his sound advice and these Rest Quiet Chips.

Oh my back!

Today is a dreaded Monday. I am finally back to the office after a 3 week break to Paris, Prague, Munich and Beijing. It was a relief being able to walk around all day long, and not have to sit on a chair at my desk. As you may already know from my About Me page, I suffer from upper and lower back pains especially due to my weight. It gets so bad that the back of my thighs feel like bedsores after sitting 1 hour in a chair. Many people have asked me to simply change chairs, and it will miraculously solve all your back problems. No such luck! I have spent thousands of dollars buying over 5 types of chairs that felt right at the shop, only to discover pain-in-my-bum problems after using them for a few hours. This is the chair that I am currently sitting on, ergonomically designed to fit my posture. Do you see anything wrong with it?

My office chair

My chiropractor Dr. B has set up an exercise plan for me. Plus plenty of stretching to the gluteal area. I do all that, but why does my bum still hurt? :( I was forced to take further action at the office, by setting up a timer device on my computer. Every 45 minutes, this annoying program will pop-up and lock my workstation and prevent me from using it for 5 minutes. I am supposed to get up and take a walk and do some stretches if necessary. Some days, I really really hate this program! So annoying! Ironically, it was me who set it up to be this annoying :D

So today, I decided to try out these Pure Relief Chips for the first time. I stuck one sticker at the back of each thigh this morning, and was curious how it would fare today. When I first stuck them on, I had already completed my first 45 minute on the chair, and was very slightly sore, maybe scoring 2 out of 10 (10 being pain until I am writhing on the floor). I must be crazy or imagining things, but the moment I stuck them on, I honestly felt relieved. I don't dare to tell my colleagues, they would just laugh at these stickers. And I don't have the confidence to talk about them yet. It is now 4pm, and I have obstinately sat through 2 45-minute sessions. Which means, I sat on my chair for 45 mins + 5 mins break + 45 mins again, without much of a problem. I stubbornly tried to last a 3rd 45-minute session but the pain came back after 15 minutes. Still, it was almost 2 hours worth of painless-bum instead of my usual 45 minutes. I am finding these chips to be rather interesting indeed. Since each chip can last for about 3 days, I will keep trying over the next 2 days and update you on my progress.


The official writeup on what I call Pain Chips, can be found at http://everyday.cieaura.com/pure-relief.html

First Encounter with CieAura

I visited my chiropractor as usual, and he excitedly told me that he wants me to be his test subject (guinea pig). He just got back from Canada and had ordered a shipment of chips that works surprisingly well on people. He gave me a sample pack, containing 6 stickers inside. He said to read carefully, 2 are for pain, another 2 for energy, and 2 more for sleep. Go try them all and tell me how you feel.

I was thinking quietly in my mind, what the heck is this, how does he expect these transparent stickers to offer me any help?? Why am I paying such exorbitant prices to see a quack doctor?? But then realisation dawned on me... what choice do I have? Surgery is not something I am prepared for yet. Surely at age 33, I can do something with my health! And he gave it to me for free, so I smiled at him skeptically and accepted those 6 chips. The stickers for pain look like this:



That weekend, I was scheduled to go for a Treasure Hunt. If you don't know what a treasure hunt is, it is a fun and actioned packed event where 4 persons go into a car, get a set of question papers, drive around the city based on a cryptic map called tulips, and solve 40 seriously nerve wrecking clues by finding the answers on signboards on shops. It starts at 7am and often ends 8 hours later. Why go through all that torture? To win prizes of course! Very often, electrical items are up for grabs, from LCD TVs to refridgerators and washing machines, and on one occasion even a car!

So what does Treasure Hunting have to do with those chips? With such a long hunt day, normally I'd be getting tired by mid-day, with headaches and tempers flaring at each other. I boldly stuck one of those Energy stickers on below my left shoulder blade that morning, and forgot about it entirely. At first I was a bit worried that it may fall off, so I made sure it fitted nicely below my bra strap :D

Surprisingly, I could last the entire day, all the way to the prize presentation that night. It wasn't like a burst of energy, or a zap to my heart or anything. In fact, it didn't bother me at all. All I knew was, that I was feeling fine throughout the day, and was upbeat and helped to solve many questions. I snagged the 3rd prize that day, hooray! Of course I remained skeptical about the chip playing a part of it, but it was quite odd that I didn't feel tired like I normally would on treasure hunts.

So that's the very first time I found out about CieAura. I will be writing more about my other experiences. Until then, you can find out more from CieAura