Passionista

Social pdf on Social Behaviour Written Socially

2008-11-17T17:56:00.006+08:00

It's freebie season.
I've told you about the Tribes free audiobook.
now, here's the Tribes Q&A pdf--also free.

Seth Godin has this thing about spreading his ideas far and wide.
I'm happy to oblige.
he's got some great ideas.
the idea of Tribes--that people want to belong and not just buy--is highly recommended.

go get the free pdf!

Business Is Selling

2008-11-11T15:31:00.002+08:00

I occasionally come across articles that are too good or too timely not to share with you.
here is one such article, which speaks about many people's distaste of selling, why it's misguided, and how to overcome the aversion.
—Alpha

Understand that you need to sell you and your ideas in order to advance your career, gain more respect, and increase your success, influence, and income.
—Jay Abraham

Business Is Selling
By Michael Masterson

As we keep telling you, just about anyone can start a business. But there's an important caveat - and it jumped to mind when I got an e-mail from Lynn, who wants advice on starting a newsletter. She writes:

"I've worn many hats, juggled them off and on in my years as Mother, Grandmother, Realtor, Concessionaire, and Artist Retailer/Wholesaler. Love, divorce, custody issues, death, inheritance, bankruptcy, accidents, health issues, friendship, betrayal. I've either been through it or carried someone through it.

"What I seem to do best is calm nerves and give good advice, to the point where it often interferes with other endeavors. I've seriously thought about ETR's copywriting/ Internet ideas, but I'm wary of selling things. It seems that, among family and friends at least, I am the oracle of issues, the witchy woman matriarch with the final answer. The trendy term 'life coach' isn't quite it. I want to be like an e-mail comforter. A listener of last resort. A sounding board.

"It's the only thing I think I'm really quite good at. Could this be a business?"

Yes, it could be a business. But not if you are leery of selling.

Business is selling. You can't make money unless you sell something. As Robert Louis Stevenson said, "I find it useful to remember, everyone lives by selling something."

So the first thing Lynn needs to determine is what it is she is going to sell.

People will pay for comfort... but not if it's billed as comfort. Think about what therapists do. They charge pretty good money to give people comforting advice. Yes, there are some who deliver discomfort, but they don't stay in business very long. People pay money to have their therapists make them feel good. If you've ever been in therapy with a successful therapist, you already know that.

But if therapists said that they were in the business of comforting their clients, no one would take them seriously and no one would pay them good money for their comforting advice. Rather than advertise what they are really selling, therapists advertise their methodology (Freudian, Behaviorist, etc.) or the type of "problems" they deal with (addiction, obsessive compulsive disorders, etc.).

Since Lynn isn't a trained psychotherapist, she can't honestly advertise those sorts of things. So she will have to come up with her own ideas about why people get themselves into trouble and how they can find solutions. These ideas will form themselves into a unified whole, if she thinks about them long enough. This unified whole is what we call an "intellectual franchise." That's what Lynn needs to develop. And then she needs to test it and see if it sells.

Remember, starting a business and making it a success is not just a matter of having a good idea. The idea has to be one that people will be happy to pay money for.

So if you are in Lynn's position - looking to turn your idea into a profitable business - you have to become comfortable with selling.

How do you develop the skill of selling when you are "wary" of selling, as Lynn puts it?

The first step is to understand that there are really two kinds of selling:

1. pushing people (to buy things they don't want)
2. helping people (to select those things they do want to buy)
Pushy salespeople - the telemarketer who calls you while you're eating dinner, the broker who calls you on the weekend with a "hot deal," the proverbial used-car salesman - take delight in persuading you to do what you don't want to do. Such salespeople see the selling process as a kind of battle where they bully and beat you into submission. It's an ego game for them, and your acquiescence - even if you really do want the product - is an indication of submission.

Such salespeople should be tarred and feathered, run out of town, dunked, and pilloried. They are the same people who delight in not letting you merge in traffic and cutting ahead of you in the supermarket line.

Helpful salespeople are actually more common than their obnoxious cousins.

If you understand that the job of a salesperson is to solve a customer's problem or help him meet a need, selling won't seem so odious to you.

Let's say your prospect's main concern is the future of his marriage. What you would do, in this case, is ask him questions about it and find out, in as much detail as possible, what his worries are. Having done this, you are then in a great position to address each one - to explain how your product (in Lynn's case, her advice) can give him effective solutions. By driving home the benefits of your product that the prospect cares about, you are making a very strong sales presentation. You are telling him exactly what he wants to hear.

Remember - your prospect wants to be sold. So long as you help him understand how your product can help him achieve his desires or solve his problems, he will be prejudiced in your favor. You lose your prospect when you start talking about other things - your interests, for example, or product features that he doesn't really care about.

So don't sell him, help him. Begin by finding out what he wants and needs. And then (if and only if you can really help him), make the strongest, most specific case you can make to convince him that his desires will be achieved and his problems solved.

Once you've figured out how to sell your product, and have gotten over your distaste of selling, you need to start testing... preferably on the Internet... until you find some way to position the product that catches on.

And then, to grow your business, you will have to produce lots of products that tie into your initial business idea and lots of sales letters to convince people to buy them.

Does this sound like something you can do? If so, you are on your way!

This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, an e-zine dedicated to making money, improving your health and quality of life. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.

Verbose Verbiage: A Lament

2008-11-10T13:48:00.003+08:00

There remains almost no other way by which I might express my consternation at how, across the face of the planet, certain quarters of humankind insist on utilising ostentatious verbiage in circumstances in which more precise and concise definitions would suffice – except to say:

Why on earth do some people use big words when small ones will do?

Why are spam girlfriends always named Irina?

2008-11-06T22:29:00.002+08:00

Helo mine blog reader,
today I'm been having an other yet spam inbox mine, asking for to be my friend for to be married maybe.
asking you me, why always they name Irina?
Russha, Germanian, whatever, always Irina their name been.
you reading at bottom and seeing.

maybe Irina friend you wanting bekoming...

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: --address deleted--
Date: 2008/11/6
Subject: my new friend!
To:

Hallo mein Freund! Mich rufen Irina! Ich habe entschieden, den Mann zu finden! Eben ist zur Agentur der Bekanntschaften gegangen! Mir haben gesagt dass sie darin mir helfen konnen! Und mir der Ferne deinen E-mail! Ich wollte dich sehr kennenlernen! Ich hoffe mich dass du nicht gegen wirst, mich kennenlernen! Ich bitte sehr damit du mir so bald wie moglich antwortetest! Ich werde von dir der baldigen Antwort sehr warten! Hochachtungsvoll Irina! Hello my friend! My name is Irina! I have decided to find the man! Also has gone to agency of acquaintances! To me have told that they can help me with it! And me a distance yours E-mail! I very much would like to get acquainted with you! I hope that you against will not get acquainted with me! I very much ask that you answered me as soon as possible! I shall wait very much from you for a fast reply! Yours faithfully Irina!

--photo deleted--

Routines Rock!

2008-11-06T10:53:00.005+08:00

Here's an article on developing daily routines as an aid to greater productivity. it seems to be skewed toward work-at-home moms, but I still found it useful for my day-to-day writing work ;). I hope you'll garner some good ideas from it too!
—Alpha

Routines Rock!
By Colette Robicheau

Having a routine doesn't mean your life will be boring or predictable. Routines are an awesome way to get more out of each day and to allow us to do more of the things we really want to do. Complete everyday activities in the most efficient way so that you have more free time to be spontaneous. Creating routines for different parts of your day such as morning, when you arrive at work, before you leave work, when you get home, dinner time, and before bed, reap the greatest rewards.

Here's how to create a rockin' routine or to rework one you already have:

1. Make a list of some of the regular activities you do in the run of a day like getting the kids ready for school, exercising, email or a report at work.

2. Estimate how much time it takes to do each task. This is often where people go wrong. We tend to underestimate the amount of time needed or have no idea at all.

3. Try to group actions by similar activity and location to minimize the amount of time you spend running back and forth, such as preparing supper, getting dressed for work, or items to be photocopied or sent out at work.

4. To finish your routine, write down your tasks in the order you will perform them along with the time allotted for each.

5. Use the times to limit the amount of time you spend on an activity (like getting dressed or primping). By knowing your start and end times you will always know if you are running on schedule or not.

6. Add up the times to determine a start time to begin your routine.

7. Be sure to give yourself a buffer zone of extra time for unexpected events. As you repeat your routine it will become easier and you will be quicker at getting things done.

8. Save time and adapt to curve balls by completing tasks before you need to do them. Try packing your lunch and briefcase the night before, making a week's worth of meals at one time or answering all your email at a set time.

9. To create some new habits try linking them to ones that are already in place. Put a load of laundry in as you start to make supper.

Once you make your routines rock, you'll see how it can save you time, toil, and trouble every day. You'll avoid some unnecessary stressors leaving you free to run your day by design and enjoy it however you choose.

Colette Robicheau, President of Organize Anything, is a consultant, coach, and public speaker offering corporate, residential, and personal organizing services. Colette's humor and positive attitude are a great asset in her roles as professional organizer and life coach. An extensive background in professional organizing, project management and business development, have given Colette a no-nonsense approach to project completion with the ability to deliver on budget and on schedule. Email Colette or for more information, including great organizing tips, visit www.organizeanything.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Colette_Robicheau
http://EzineArticles.com/?Routines-Rock!&id=1559226

How to Write Pieces That Get Read Through

2008-10-28T16:16:00.003+08:00

Clutter.
we all have it, we all want less of it.
your readers want less clutter, too.
how can you give them less?

1. Cut word clutter
let your writing be simple and direct.
not sure how? try this:
define the problem, supply the solution and illustrate with an example.

for example...

problem: "not sure how?"
solution: "try this: define the problem, supply the solution and illustrate with an example."
example: "for example..."

get the idea now? ;D.

2. Discipline your design
just because you have dozens of typefaces, it doesn't mean that you should use them.
think of reading as listening. your typeface should not be a visual distraction.
instead, your typeface should be "invisible", lulling your reader into an almost hypnotic reading experience.
use one or two typefaces (plus a third to emphasise special text or computer code, for example) and no more!

3. Cull your word count
this point is related to the first, but is different.
with point 1, you're trying to cut out unnecessary words.
with this point, you're trying to limit the number of words in the first place.

the average reader reads 150 words per minute.
keep that in mind when deciding how many words to aim for.
(always aim a little high and then edit down.)

how many minutes would you spend reading an email? three minutes, tops?
then aim for 450 words, maximum.

so here's how to write pieces that get read through

1. Cut word clutter
2. Discipline your design
3. Cull your word count

your readers will thank you for giving them more info, with less annoyance.

subscribe to the Passionista mailing list and get more relevant resources for paid, self-publishing writers...

Inspired to Lead: Surprised by a Social Marketing Book

2008-10-21T22:25:00.006+08:00

Late last night, I downloaded Seth Godin's Tribes audiobook.
I was prepared for more of his uncommon insights into marketing and also to see what he had to say about social marketing, The Next Big Thing. well, I was surprised.

not let down. surprised.
although, I can see where the complaints will come from.

this book doesn't weigh heavy on how to make money.
in fact, Godin reiterates numerous times that leading a tribe is not about money.
he goes so far, once, as to say that if you try to cash in on your tribe, you'll ruin it.
and I can just imagine how wonderfully that's going to go down with the marketing types who'll buy this book.

I was surprised.
this is not another marketing book. this is a book about leadership. one of the best I've come across, and leadership is a genre I follow quite closely.
(I even got Guiliani's post-9/11 tome, eh.)

over and over again, Godin says that we need leaders; leaders who will do the right thing.
he emphasises how each of us needs to connect--to each other, to a higher purpose.
he talks about the difference between faith and religion, how faith is what we believe, and religion is what we construct to try and nurture that belief.
and how religion can sometimes go awry, in that it may not promote belief but rather imprison it.
and how when you then challenge those concepts of religion, people get offended because they think you're challenging their faith.

an episode comes to mind, when I was preaching that the Bible does not forbid alcohol but rather intoxication.
that sermon was not well received.
how can we know that we believe in an eternal faith unless we're willing to put our religion to the test?

Godin surprised me with this one.
it's like the time I went to watch Click, expecting another trashy, brashy Adam Sandler gagfest.
and found myself choking back embarrassing man-sized tears.

it's like the time I signed up for a preaching course to learn how to communicate better and found out what grace meant for the first time, despite being a lifetime Christian with most of that lifetime spent in a movement named after grace.

sometimes it's nice to sign up for one thing and get another.

are you looking for some inspiration?
Tribes the audiobook is available for free now on Audible.com. follow the promotional link from Seth's blog post announcing the release of Tribes.
and if you're feeling generous, you can tip me by buying the hard copy of Tribes from my Amazon link.
This is one of the best books on leadership that I've read (actually, heard) in a long time.
and it's got some good points on marketing, too.

Inspiring Yourself: What Makes Your Day?

2008-10-19T21:10:00.004+08:00

Isn't it interesting how some things can make your day?
say, for instance, someone shows up at your front door brandishing the keys to your Lamborghini, a surprise gift from a loved one.
or a lost love from yesterday is found anew.
ah, that's the stuff of movies.
and on the silver screen (or flat panel display) they'll remain, for most of us.

Seth Godin recently reiterated that you can get lucky, but luck is out of your control.
so appreciate the lucky breaks, but forget trying to build a strategy around them.
what you can depend on, is the joy of the mundane.
what do you love doing that you can do consistently?
do it, and it'll be motivational fuel for your life's work.

for some people, it's taking a bicycle ride (it was for me, as a kid). for others, it's a workout at the gym.
for me, it's writing in my journal—by hand. typing on the keyboard just doesn't turn me on in the same way.

what's your "make my day" activity?
what are those one or two things that after doing, you can rest your head on the pillow knowing that your day has been full?

it might take some reflection to rediscover your "make my day" thing, but do it. it's worth it.
take a moment right now to identify that "make my day" thing you do, and you'll be set to have many full and satisfying days ahead.

go on, contemplate; I'll wait.

What's Your Passion? How Can You Apply it to the Real World to Actually Benefit People?

2008-10-16T21:04:00.001+08:00

By Diane Corriette

'Reduce your workload by 30% and increase your fun load by 30% and you will increase your revenues by 100%. More fun, less struggle. More results on all fronts.' Abraham-Hicks

I remember being asked this question years ago and it took me a long time to finally express my passion for writing because I really didn't think that anything I wrote would really impact people. Once I began writing articles and receiving emails from people who had read them and enjoyed them I knew I had to overcome my insecurities and reach out for moments of brilliance because in those moments I write my best work :)

We all have a passion for something and we do not always have to save the world or make it a deep far reaching impact kind of passion. You can put all of your passion into raising healthy, well rounded, loving children who are ready to live their life according to what they are passionate about. Or you can choose to take in damaged and abandoned animals giving them a loving home where they can flourish and overcome their fears/hurt.

Having a passion helps to take you out of any concerns, fears and worries you may have and place you into a place of joy and 'in the moment' living because when you are truly engrossed in a passion you forget everything and every one around you!

In all my years of coaching when I listened to someone in the workplace talk about why their performance is failing fast I always knew it wasn't whatever reason they presented. They had convinced themselves that the reason they were not getting as much done, or hitting their targets was become of something related to their job.

However I knew something different! Because living your passion doesn't mean you have to give up your job. I have a passion for dancing but being a dance teacher or a professional dancer at 41 is definitely out of my reach... I am a realist after all. But just being able to go out and dance, whether it was to salsa, in a club, to African drumming music... whatever I was dancing to I didn't care just as long as I got to dance. Dancing brings me a sense of joy that cannot be matched by anything, it makes me laugh, and provides me with some exercise.

Dancing is one of my greatest loves, my biggest passions (next to writing) and I give thanks every day for being able to get up and shake my thang!

If your passion involves helping others this has a wonderful effect not only on the people you help but on your life, especially during times of uncertainty. When life is not working the way we feel it should be it's very easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of not knowing what to do and trying to fix the problem. When your passion involves you helping others it gives you some time away from your own problems and in those moments, when we are not focusing on what's wrong, it is easier to find solutions.

Whenever I meet an under performing employee my first task would always be to identify what their passion is and how they can apply that to the real world to actual benefit not only themselves but also other people. Everyone has a passion, even those people who believe they really do not and all it takes is the willingness to look at what it could be.

Of course a few clients went on to leave their job and actually live their passion - which I always love to see happen because none of us should be doing anything we are not 100% passionate about (not even for the money!) But the majority found a new lease of life, a new sense of purpose that changed their perspective.

When you have something in your life you are truly passionate about life becomes a joy. It doesn't matter how much work you have to deal with, what your colleagues are like, if you are worried about money, whether your children are driving you crazy... in fact what you find is that all of that stuff seems to 'magically' change yet nothing has really changed except your outlook on life!

So please take the time to discover your passion especially if you find yourself in a place where you are fearful about the future or uncertain about what to do next and allow it to give you some 'me time' because during those moments we can receive our greatest answers to whatever questions we may have.

Write if you love to, paint if you love to, walk for miles if you love to, make plans to visit a different part of the world every six months. Do whatever you have to, to ensure that every day you have something to look forward to, something that fills you with passion and makes your soul sing with joy.

Diane Corriette is a Personal Growth Coach who works with women to help them re-connect to passion and purpose. You can read her perspective on all things transformational at Inspirational Guidance http://www.inspirationalguidance.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Diane_Corriette
http://EzineArticles.com/?Whats-Your-Passion?-How-Can-You-Apply-it-to-the-Real-World-to-Actually-Benefit-People?&id=1571608

Branded Girl: Marketing Gone Too Far?

2008-10-14T01:56:00.002+08:00

PICT5506, originally uploaded by Luke Luo.

I ask you: is that Samsung logo emblazoned on her bosom going too far? is this the sexploitation of brand ambassadors? we're used to their outlandish, revealing costumes by now, but Samsung's upped the ante with this one, taking "branding" a little too literally, if you ask me. as if to say Samsung owns her. or that she's a Samsung product. so I ask you again: is this a case of branding gone too far? (of course, if it turns out that she's the latest humanoid robot, from Samsung, then I'd say they did an awesome job. oy. is this then the objectification of women?)

Mooch My Books

2008-09-25T14:06:00.001+08:00

Here's how it works:

1. you list the books that you want to give away.

2. 10 listings give you 1 point.

3. you use that point to mooch a free book.

you can check out the books I've put up for adoption here:

http://www.bookmooch.com/inventory/alphalim

note: I just cleared my bookshelves, so these are books I want to give
away because they're no longer relevant to me, or I found duplicates.

these are not necessarily books that I recommend ;).

to read more about BookMooch:

http://www.bookmooch.com/about/overview

A private screening of The Dark Knight

2008-09-24T00:40:00.004+08:00

I finally watched The Dark Knight today.
4 pm show, right, and there are only four people watching it.
Adeline and I were two of the four.
halfway through the show, the other couple walks out.

how about that, ay?
one whole Premiere Class cinema to ourselves.
one whole Premiere Class cinema for 32 bucks! haha...

yea, it's a great show. my favourite part was the sequence with the two ferries.
and Boone--"magic trick with the pencil"--I get it now! aha...

I won't say any more for fear of spoiling the plot surprises for the remaining two or three people in the world who haven't watched it yet.

Yahoo asks staff to dress like yahoos

2008-09-20T23:03:00.002+08:00

Separately, in a bid to shore up morale within a company that has been besieged by competition, a tough advertising market and the so far unwanted takeover gestures of Microsoft, Yahoo has introduced a campaign to encourage employees to dress in purple--the company's primary color--at work.
--ZDNet

You know things are bad when management tells the people to pull "morale building" stunts like this.

hull taking in water? arrange the deckchairs.

it's dark and you have no lights? just start whistling.

predator approaching? bury your head--if you can't see him, he isn't there.

okay, maybe that's a bit harsh--they are trying to rearrange their homepage, after all...

but could you just leave the Barney costumes out of the equation, Yahoo?

in related news, an overdue rant:

have you tried Cuil, the (latest) Google-killer?

apparently, its founders believe that the reason we all left Yahoo is the reason we should now leave Google for Cuil: web page content analysis.

remember the early days in search when Yahoo would try to determine the relevance of a page by examining its contents? and so we ended up with oodles of webpages with paragraphs of text at the top and the bottom that said sex sex sex sex sex sex sex sex sex... and the page was about some guy's holiday in the Alps or something.

now, Cuil isn't that dumb, but the Cuil team somehow believes that Google's PageRank tech is "superficial". you know, the tech that changed search forever by ranking pages democratically: pages about holidays rose in relevance the more they were linked to by pages about holidays...

well, the founder of Cuil once poached salmon from the River Boyne in Ireland, where the Salmon of Knowledge was caught. this was a magic fish, see. it knew everything there was to know about everything. so maybe, just maybe, the Cuil folk know something about search that the rest of us don't.

you use Cuil for yourself and be the judge.

Use of the Internal Security Act in Malaysia

2008-09-19T18:26:00.003+08:00

U.S. Department of State
Press Statement
Sean McCormack
Washington, DC
September 18, 2008

The United States views with grave concern recent use by the Government of Malaysia of the Internal Security Act (ISA) and the possibility that it might be used again to detain opposition political figures. The statement by a government figure that a leading member of the opposition had become "a threat to the economy and national security" is extremely troubling.

The United States firmly believes that national security laws, such as the ISA, must not be used to curtail or inhibit the exercise of universal democratic liberties or the peaceful expression of political views. The detention of opposition leaders under the ISA would be viewed by the United States and the international community as a fundamental infringement of democratic rights and values.

I hope I'm not labelled an "agent of America" for posting this press release here, heh.

Re: An invitation from a 1-year old

2008-09-13T18:10:00.002+08:00

Dear uncles and aunties (that includes granduncles and grandaunties), thank you for celebrating my first birthday with me.
I had a lot of fun and I hope you did too.

I didn't really know what was going on, being just over 12 months old (and falling asleep midway through the lunch all the way past the cake-cutting ceremony), but what I was aware of was some familiar faces as well as some strange-looking ones.
but I don't judge, because mama and dadada do their best to raise me up social.
I think it's part of their plan to have me be comfortable being carried by as many people as possible, so that they have their hands free at events like this.
maybe.

anyway, thank you for your presence and your presents.
thank you for your ang bao.
I have no idea what money is, but mama and dadada assure me it's useful.

dadada has uploaded a few pictures of the party here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/alpha/tags/sethsfirstbirthday/

I think he and mama were a little distracted during the lunch and not doing a very good job being cameramen.
so it would really thrill me if you could email me any photos you have.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djpIbg_a7uo
dadada will keep them for me until I am old enough to recognise your face and thank you in person for having been at my first birthday party, which I will likely have no recollection of.

thank you for enjoying the Chinese cuisine with me as I tucked into my generic baby mush.
thank you even if you couldn't make it, because I know you would have loved to have been there...
a special baby shout-out to goong goong for putting the whole thing together, too. one, two, threeeee!

much love,

Seth
(as dictated telepathically to dadada)

--
Are you a writer who doesn't write? http://tinyurl.com/srfsqsig
--
Work is the new Job http://tinyurl.com/3zp4hl
--
Abortion: Two wrongs don't make a right. How about three? http://tinyurl.com/yvt9oy
--

Definitely don't call fox

2008-09-04T14:22:00.006+08:00

I came home one day and announced that I was tired.

my wife said, "you often say you're tired. don't call fox."

of course, what she had meant to say was, "don't cry wolf."

she's cute like that.

God did make haiku

2008-09-02T18:33:00.000+08:00

God did make haiku
so man could wait and worship
and perhaps find wisdom

What compels you to write, really?

2008-09-02T18:16:00.002+08:00

What is reading, really?
it is listening.
he who reads well, listens well.
when reading was first invented, no one read silently. reading was aloud.

what is writing then?
it is thinking aloud.
when we simply think, it all goes on internally.
no one's the wiser.
often, not even the one doing the thinking.
why? well, thoughts get muddled up inside our heads. they need an outlet.

thinking needs to be out loud.
even talking to oneself helps.
but writing helps even more.
it is more precise, and more flowing.

Stephen King says that the whole thing about writing is telepathy.
invisible, unspoken thoughts travel from one mind through time and space, and take residence in another mind.
and once that thought gets in your head, it never leaves, does it?
you might agree with it, disagree with it, even build on it and modify it, but there it is.

and there's the power of writing.
there's your power.
to get your thoughts out into reality and then into other minds.

My amazing last week at Rapp Collins

2008-08-08T22:14:00.011+08:00

Last week was an amazing week.

Monday, admin came up to my desk and quietly asked me if I would mind leaving before my official last day on August 11. would I mind leaving on July 31?
that would've been just Thursday, you know. three days hence.

some people balked when I told them.
but when it comes right down to it, I always value time over money.

besides, I had asked God for two weeks off between this job and the next.

Tuesday was my last time presenting at Rapp.
I decided to share a book review on Purple Cow.
it was unexpectedly well received, with quite a few superlatives thrown around. it's a good feeling, shedding light.

Wednesday, I had lunch with Adrian, the big guy of Malaysia Airlines account servicing.
Vivian and Boone came along for the meal at Delicious (something like Rapp Collins' unofficial supplier for lunches).
it was a splendid meal with good friends. I had duck confit spaghettini and an espresso (what else?).

Thursday, lunch with Fazlee, Carol, Soo Fun, Guay Chin, Boone and Shune.
most of us have been in the same creative team for some time now.
it was good to sit down and eat together for the last time, officially.
we sat down at this humongous 18-seat dinner table at first, before moving to a more appropriate spot when it opened up later.

shortly after we arrived, Guay Chin and Soo Fun disappeared for some time.
when they returned, that's when I discovered that Soo Fun is one of those people who has to step into a bookshop if there's one in the building.
my kind of person.

end of the day, I stepped downstairs to Dragon Head for "a beer" with Martin, Eugene, Pam, Armi, Elaine, June, Elisa, Zak, Adrian... quite a gang.
it was supposed to be "a beer" because I had one last job to finish before I left; a website update for Malaysia Airlines.

I went back upstairs after some time, my face red, and met Shune.
"there's no such thing as 'one beer', eh?" I said.

I had two.

Thursday was a memorable day.
I have grown attached to the folks at Rapp.
the farewell email I wrote was also unexpectedly well received, with more superlatives thrown about.
it's a good feeling to connect, and remember people.

Friday, my iMac was ready for pickup.
I'd ordered it more than a week ago.
so I went to "machines" at The Gardens, with Adeline, to pick it up.

did you know that when you buy an iMac at machines, they have a hot babe in high heels deliver it to your car for you?

well, yes and no. this is what happened.
I asked Eugene, the store manager, if they had a trolley I could use to bring the iMac back to my car.
it's about 9 kg, maybe 10, with the box.
a doable carry, but I always try not to waste energy when I can help it.

anyway, Eugene said he would carry it to the car for me. very nice of him.
when he picked up the box, Janice, a sales assistant, spoke a few words with him and took over.
she carried the iMac box up two levels; along corridors, up an escalator and a lift.
I assume it was because Eugene was supposed to man the store or something.

so here was this slip of a girl in a denim skirt and heels cradling a giant box in her arms followed by a guy in brown corduroy shorts an an iPod shuffle around his neck, in turn followed by a tiny woman holding an Isetan shopping bag with an adorable pink lace top inside.

it was really good service, yea. but a bit hard on the ego.

setting up the iMac was a dream.
plug in the power cable. the keyboard. the mouse.
switch it on.
connect the FireWire cable to the iMac and the old iBook.
click a button, and everything's transferred.

click, click, click, and you have a new computer with all your old files and settings.
it's like I just picked up where I left off, except with a more solid keyboard and a humongous screen.
oh, and much better audio.

of course, real men wrestle with Windows and really real men do it with Linux.
but writers who want to write instead of fiddle endlessly with computers, well...

that was Friday.

Saturday, I went for Life Group at church with John and Su Shen, and Li Shuan.
and guess what I hear?
two close friends are expecting a little one.
apparently he was conceived during their Penang holiday and made his presence known via morning sickness during their Bali holiday.

did I just say he?
they don't know the gender yet, actually. it's still too soon.
but I just feel like he's a he.
I could be wrong, but that's what I feel at the moment anyway.
and a little aside:
I was looking at my two bracelets and realised that I have been wearing them for one and a half years now.
I just thought to God, "it would be nice to have something else to wear".
just like that.

Saturday, John brought a bunch of man-jewelry he'd bought while travelling, heh.
I have two new bracelets now.
nice timing.

it's a small thing, but small things matter too.

so that was my fantastic thrill-a-day week.

update: the following Monday, my next employer called up and asked, "do you mind if we pay you for the whole month of August, instead of just the second half of the month? and you do some work over the phone?"

well, I told him I didn't mind. I didn't mind at all.

some people were concerned that I was not being paid for the days between my previous job and my next job.
now it's all covered.

life isn't always so good, but when it is, I've learned to go with the flow and stock up the joy for days that are less than exhilarating.

Feed Your Writing Habit: where passion = fun + profit

2008-08-04T18:57:00.018+08:00

A few years ago, my wife started baking as a hobby.
(you've not tasted bread until you've tasted homemade bread fresh from the oven, still reassuringly warm.)
she started with bread and then took on a personal challenge to bake a chocolate cake.
she'd thought it would be hard to do; but people loved it.

"Why not sell your cakes?" I asked her.
"that way, your hobby pays for itself and you'll have capital to try different things."

she had her misgivings, initially. the kind most of us have.
would anybody want to pay for her cakes?

they did. premium prices, they paid.
for her made-from-scratch, butter-not-margarine, cake-not-air signature pieces of edible art.

long story made short, she's now made fondant cakes, flourless cakes, brownies, cartoon character cakes, doll cakes, wedding cakes with live flowers, muffins, art cakes with piped curlicues, et cetera, et cetera...
and her collection of cookbooks now takes up 25% of our library, filling one floor-to-ceiling bookshelf by itself.
(feeding her other habit--reading.)

she got to try things she'd never dreamed of before, develop her hobby and internalise skills that will last for life – all because she took one bold step to sell her cakes, instead of baking for nothing.

what's wrong with baking for nothing?
nothing's wrong with baking for nothing, except that eventually she'd have run out of people to try her ideas on, and then she would have stopped growing as a baker.
by selling her hobby cakes, she expanded into new fields of baking as the "market" demand for new ideas grew.

I know you're already writing.
you write for fun; you write to satisfy your soul.
you don't think you're the best writer in the world, but you know that you can do better than much of the stuff you've come across out there.
wouldn't it be great to provide avenues for your writing to grow?
writing for sale expands your breadth and the depth of your reach.

and don't let anyone tell you that selling is "selling out" or a dirty job.
readers don't buy if what they're paying for doesn't give them value.
when readers pay you, it simply means one thing. you've benefited them.
and in exchange for that blessing, they're returning some of that value to you in the form of money and what money can buy.
(plus, some of what money can't buy--gratitude expressed via email, word of mouth via blog post, etc.)

do you want to expand your breadth, reach further with your passion and change the lives of your readers?
then keep developing your writing and try selling.
join the Passionista Writing Posse and I'll show you how!

Consistent hits are hard to do

2008-07-11T11:40:00.001+08:00

When the 2007 Camry first came out, I took one look at its sleek, perfectly proportioned lines and said, "whoa".

a la Neo.

and I continued the conversation with myself stating categorically that Toyota had found their way home (look at the previous Ultraman-inspired Camry).

and then out came the swollen Vios.

and then out came the blistery Altis.

and I realised, sadly, the new Camry's a fluke.

She's beautiful, she sings, and she can laugh at herself

2008-07-11T02:31:00.002+08:00

Natalie Imbruglia and Whatshisname do "Torn".

depression is a small fiend

2008-07-07T18:18:00.001+08:00

depression

is a small fiend

quiet

till its garrote is round your neck
silent suffocating necklace of death

a sweet face from decades ago
emerges from the murk of time
lifts me
with a glimpse of paradise

in a time past and not yet come

The Talking Cure 2.0

2008-07-04T15:25:00.002+08:00

The talking cure?
that's what people call it, when a person hires a shrink or a psych and sits on the couch—real or proverbial—and talks and talks and talks and talks until his problems disappear.

couldn't people do this—for free—with their friends?
in a perfect world, I guess.
fact is, not too many friends are adept at listening, speaking only when it would facilitate more listening—i.e. more talking on the listenee's part.

it's because few friends are good at this, that shrinks and psychs can hire themselves out by the hour or part thereof, simply to listen as mommy did or should have done.

am I oversimplifying? you bet.
but it's for a point to be made.

anyway, for those without listening friends or money for shrinks, there's always blogging.

heh.

It's a blinkin' ad

2008-07-03T22:04:00.002+08:00

Farnee!

Feed Your Writing Habit! Turn your passion into fun and profit. Join and get a free report – 30 Tips for Online Writing – now.
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