My new year's resolution 2008

1. Enlightenment, Wisdom & Ego-less.

2. Good Health.

3. Child.

4. Mulist & BakinCow dream to reality.

5. Good relationship with love ones, family & friends.

childhood memories

dont ask me why.. but i can only remember things from ten years old onwards.. anything before is a blank! perhaps something serious or major happened to me.. perhaps not.. ;P

but i do remember 3 key things when i was ten. ;-)

1. Ng Su San. She was a classmate from another class. She's a sweet and kind hearted gal. I liked her sunshine smile and her soft, warmth & friendly voice. Over the span of 25 over years we have contacted & lost contact many times over.. But this time we really lost contact.. somehow i couldnt reach her using her mobile no, home and all.. btw, she's married with 2 pretty & handsome kids (one gal & one boy). Also, we once make a pact to stay in touch till we grow old & die.. i miss my friend and wish we will meet again one day.

2. 'Ah Suay' aka small bro. i remember when i was ten, i had an enemy (cant remember why - just cant see eye to eye i guess).. we fought or almost.. coz my small bro would come with flying kicks and beat him off.. so i didnt need to raise a fist! ;-) He was my saviour. My hero! We lost contact when we went to secondary school.. however, as we live in the same neighbourhood, we sometimes knock into each other, and we would chat for a while.. that's good enough for me since we have different lifestyle now. Then, i moved.. and then one day on a bus i met another old school gal.. she told me small bro met an accident in JB months ago.. her galfriend was the driver.. lost control and crashed. He died in that accident. Makes me realised that life is so fragile. Must treasure life indeed! His death motivated me to live a fulfilling life.

3. Programming. When i was ten, my elder bro bought the world first 1k RAM computer with the screen using the TV.. that's how old.. He was using basic language and hit a bug which he couldnt resolve. i, a little ten years old boy, sitting there, never touch a computer before, was watching my elder bro trying to solve the bug in vain. Then, i called out to him "Brother, your line xx is incorrect.." The last thing i remember is my brother scolding me! ;-( He must be jealous - for a ten years old to tell him, a sixteen years old, how to do programming.. In the end, he did what i pointed out to him and it worked!! That was a defining moment for me - coz since then i aimed to be a software guru when i grow up. Well,.. i waited for 17 years before i actually held the title of programmer! But that programmer lifespan was short lived.. i was top in class when it comes to programming.. the sad thing is that as a hobby it was fun.. not so when it's your job. no more fun. stressful instead. and my eyes hurt when i stared on the screen too long.. still, no regrets.. my interest shifted into business. now i can leverage on IT knowledge to grow the biz.

Good service: it's all in the attitude

Was reading the Today newspaper 24 Dec 2007 and found the article on Good Service interesting..

Here're the key points:

1. We do not eat somewhere just because service is good but we may avoid a restaurant if the service is bad.

2. Good service is about knowledge and care-based. While we dont expect every service staff to know all products and in depth, we do expect certain level of assistance.. the extent of that knowledge can make or break the customers' experience.

3. Care is an attitude to a customer. It can be explained but cannot be trained. Corporate culture may play a role in customer care attitude but it's still up to the individual to exhibit that passion in serving..

4. You will know good service when you see it.. but you will definitely know when you dont.. ;-)

Christmas gifts

i dont really celebrate Christmas but it seems to be more of a tradition to buy gifts for some of my closest friends.. i still send Christmas cards though eGreeting cards are so common and cheap (free!) these days..

Still, i'm happy to buy gifts for people whom i think will appreciate them.. i dont buy for the sake of buying though some times u cant avoid it.. i enjoy most in buying gifts that he or she has been looking for it.. actually i like to give surprises.. ;-)

Strawberry Jelly Tofu Cheesecake

Have you tried Strawberry Jelly Cheesecake before? If yes, you may like to try the Tofu Cheesecake version. It's less 'filling' and you will definitely like to eat a few more pieces.. If no, you wont wanna miss this tasty cake.. Kids love it.. Adults too.. ;-)

BakinCow is devoted to creating more healthier and interesting 'home-made home-bake' cakes. Lots of love and care have been put in for each cake so that every mouthful has significant contribution to your favorable taste buds experience..

Dont believe me? A kid ever told me that just by looking at the pictures already cause him to salivate.. ;P

Apart from cheesecake, BakinCow also make American Carrot cakes.

How to Improve Search Engine Ranking

4-step approach:

Step 1 - Find keywords that are not too competitive
Step 2 - Subdivide keywords into theme groups
Step 3 - Create website with good content and theme-focused linking
Step 4 - Gather inbound links to your theme pages

That really is the extent of it, and it really does work. When you set out to improve search engine ranking, the most important thing is that you get started. Plan your strategy according to the four steps we discussed here, but then get started. It takes a bit of time before the search engines index your site, but when they do you'll be delighted with the steady flow of free traffic to your website.

Article Source: http://www.ArticlesAlley.com/

Happy Birthday Miko!

This is really me talking to u.. ;P

8 different types of personalities

The art of persuasion and selling.. extracted from Nido Qubein article.

1. The Baulkers. Indecisive people. Cant make up their mind. Takes lots of patience to deal with such people. Squeezed, you will be forced to ask "What would keep you from signing the agreement letter today?"

2. The Talkers. Control and pull them back by asking questions to which they can answer Yes or No.

3. The Clams. Keep the conversation with questions to make them talk. Ask for advice or for their opinions.

4. The Sceptics. With cynics, use lots of raw data. Show proof statements and documentation. Keep getting agreements as u go along.

5. The Sarcastic Souls. Sometimes they are hard to take, but keep yr cool. Find out what's behind those sarcasms. Just laugh them off..

6. The Egotists. Resist temptation to tell them off. Feed their egos by asking their opinions and giving them compliments. Win them over by giving in on all minor issues.

7. The Bullies. They get their way by acting tough. Be nice but stand firm your ground. Dont run. Dont fight. Just stand.

8. The Timid Ones. Take it nice. Dont rush them. Concentrate on building their confidence.

Final words: Clients always do things for their own reasons - not yours. U need to give your client a strong benefit for acting promptly. Dont simply give discounts to get yr client to sign on. On contrary, yr client may think otherwise regarding yr abilities to deliver.. So, be professional and focus on fulfilling yr client needs, yr client's key benefit for buying immediately.

Lastly, someone said "Show people what they want most, and they will move heaven and earth to get it."

a new beginning..

i felt born again.. am tired but content, at ease, at peace. a recent report says that Singaporean lives till around 70 years old on average. guess i've lived half my life aledi.. must make full use of my remaining half to do good and achieve happiness. Buddha happiness. ;-)

Heroes

I'm now addicted to the TV series Heroes.. started renting from my nearby DVD store.. The show really brings me back to my childhood imagination where ordinary folks acquired superpower.. and save the world! ;-)

The cast were great and i liked the fact that different races, cultures and places were featured. A true reflection of present times.

One very big downside though is that it keeps repeating the earlier parts of the show in the beginning of each episode.. and it's quite long.. and thus rather irritating to wait or have to fast forward it.. Am i paying for that and the show is shortened due to that? Mmm.. i think that would not be wise of them..

Anyway, cant wait to rent the 3rd DVD.. ;-)

Is this magic?

This is really interesting! Must try! ;-)

http://www.learnenglish.org.uk/games/magic-gopher-central.swf

money, greed & good

i cant help but feeling a little down after talking to friends about the future.. everyone is busy creating a future which they think will make them happy. most talk about financial freedom, early retirement,.. most schemes required the participation of more friends to join in order to make you rich.. and i can see the changes in people after they embarked on this wealth journey..

must say that not all are bad.. though majority are still driven by greed.. worst, usually they think their way is the only way and expect u to follow them.. and their attitude change if u think otherwise..

i had to remind myself too. not to be stuck into this whirlpool. happiness is not about money. it's about contentment, love and passion. but money is good if u know how to use it wisely. and earn it wisely too.

i shall keep Buddha's words at heart while i walk the unchartered waters..

At the Museum - really funny!

BakinCow packaging..

we finally firmed up the packaging.. guess most of it was her idea.. yup,.. she is talented. i agree. i love her the way she is.. ;-)

Interesting talk..

this morning after accompanying my wife for her first time ever, 4 cakes deliveries in one day feat, we drove to Changi village for lunch. heard that one stall selling Nasi Lemak at the market is good.. true enough a long queue was there.. then there was this 60 yrs old man queuing in front of me started to chat with me.. he was friendly and we spoke about which Nasi Lemak stalls were good, then he shared that it was her daughter's good fren wedding at the hotel nearby.. then i shared that my wife just started her part-time baking biz.. and we talked about live, work and family.. all in all we spoke for 20 mins i think.. ;-)

When we reached our turn to place order, we bid farewell.. he even wished me all the best to fulfilling my dreams including my wife.. i wished him well too! ;-)

It was a very interesting conversation. i enjoyed it very much especially it was a nice stranger.. i sincerely wish him good health, happiness and quietly i wished i would meet this uncle again.. ;P

Tofu Cheesecake (topped with Blueberries)

This is really delicious and 'healthy' some more! coz over more 60% is made of real tofu.. of course there's still real cheese used.. but i dont feel 'full' eating them.. tats wat one of our client said too.. Dont believe? order one and make believe! ;P

Lastly, not forgetting the blueberries toppings.. it totally complete the experience! i was never a cake lover.. but now i know what is good quality cakes are made of.. and taste like.. heehee.. thanks to my beloved wife.. I wish her all the best in your foodie adventure! Blessings.. ;-)