Christ is the Reason for this Season
We Are The Reason - Avalon (Joy)
As little children
We would dream of Christmas morn
Of all the gifts and toys
We knew we'd find
But we never realized
A baby born one blessed night
Gave us the greatest gift of our lives
We were the reason
That He gave His life
We were the reason
That He suffered and died
To a world that was lost
He gave all He could give
To show us the reason to live
As the years went by
We learned more about gifts
The giving of ourselves
And what that means
On a dark and cloudy day
A man hung crying in the rain
All because of love, all because of loveI've finally found the reason for living
It's in giving every part of my heart to Him
In all that I do every word that I say
I'll be giving my all just for Him, for Him
He is my reason to live
Touch a life this Christmas!
Was in Orchard just now to meet my girlfriend and it was really crowded. People buying last minute gifts for love ones and friends. There were also Roman soldiers carrying banners that say "touch a life this christmas". Shepherds and ladies giving out booklets compiled by a series of churches in Singapore regarding the performances in several places in Orchard from last week all the way till this Christmas day. Really warm my heart to see so many different churches coming together to present their items (dances, carols, skits). When you are out in Orchard any of these nights, drop by outside Paragon and experience a different Christmas this year! =)
End of one season, Start of a new season
After 4 and half years of perservering, finally lifted a big burden off my shoulders. Yes!! I've officially graduated when i saw my results online. I got a B for my "electrical minor", 2 Cs for my PE and 3 Ds for my core subjects. I thank God for all the favour that I can graduate successfully this semester.
Now have to start looking for job as I'm officially unemployed coz no more full time student. Hope my 6 month industrial attachment in aerospace company (which i got an A) and the fyp on nanotechnology (which i got an A+) would help in my resume. Other subject grades are "cannot see light one" haha. But also thank God for the good environment (both people and projects) during my IA and FYP that I could manage to get such a grade.
Finally NTU start to adopt something good from NUS besides all the tight schedule and super long vocation, which is the grading system. Without it, think many of us would not have just got a D but worse. A glimmer of hope for those people who are thinking of going NTU or NUS but was scared to go NTU due to "casualty rate".
I believe this semester is a good one whereby many NTU students will not be as gloomy as before yeah?
The Inn Musical Presentation
Christmas is less than a week's time. So how is everyone going to spend this christmas? I've been helping out in the sounds for church's christmas musical drama and I'm strongly recommending everyone to come and watch it! During the rehearsals, I've seen them practice and everyone really put in hard work to make this a wonderful production for everyone to enjoy.
Not just supporting me in the small role but also come and watch the story of Mary and Joseph and the birth of their son, Jesus. I'll gurantee plus chop that this is a show worth watching and the best of it is admission's FREE!!!!
On thursday & friday night, it'll start at 730pm but come early to have good seats yeah? On saturday, besides the night show at 730pm, there's an extra matinee at 4pm. Bring your friends along and after that your can go for supper or whatever after that. Let me know if you're interested but dunno how to make your way there yeah?
It's at 21 adam road. Trinity Christian Centre. Level 4 auditorium. See ya there! =)
One way?
As I've always stressed that the Internet is a double-edged sword. We can get information on every positive and negative aspect on any issue. We should have an open mind to look at both sides of the picture.
Recently, a friend of mine has recently gone full time to a multi-level marketing company and it has changed his character significantly. It has made him more confident & positive compared to previously being grumpy, calculative and likes to complain alot. I was quite impressed with the products that he sells but not so impressed with the PLAN.
To cut things short, I bought a few of his organic products (shampoo and toothpaste) to try it out to see if there is really a difference and whether should I switch my alliance from my faithful darlie and body shop products. I'm still in the testing stage but I feel the products are good but NOT extraordinary.
I went online to reserach more about the company and the products but surprisingly I read more about the negative issues and not much was said about the products. The link below pretty describes how my friend first spoke to me and relating to me how the PLAN works and even the answers to counter some of the negative thoughts that people have.
(View the site with caution if you're in a MLM company as it'll stumble your "faith")
http://www.cocs.com/jhoagland/index.htmlUpon surfing further, watched a video commentary on that company. Really interesting. How the top people do not make most of the money from the products but from training tools and audio tapes that they have made. Though they emphasise that it's 100% voluntary, they would say it's 100% necessary for your success. For those interested, click the link below and go to the 3rd point where the video link is.
(Again, view the site with caution as it'll stumble your "faith even more if you're not "strong")
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Amway/I really hope my friend is not too caught up with wanting to have the "luxury life", uncommon freedom, wanting to retire at age 39. If he does succeed, he'll be the 1-3% of the people who have joined the company. Probably to me, 97% is too risky for me and I choose to lead a simple life. Joining MLM and climbing up that so called entrepreneur ladder is not THE WAY or ONLY WAY, I believe there are other ways that people will feel successful in their own way, happy in their own way.
For those who read the link, would appreciate if next time your friends approach you, you can show your concern by asking some of the questions that are still unanswered (or answered very vaguely to brush it off) and if they really know what they are getting into. As long as they have chosen the path after much serious thoughts and not on impulse, I'll only wish my friends the best. Even if they succeed, I'll not be envy and jealous coz I've made my decision not to purse their way. =)
Quality vs Quantity
Yesterday bought a christmas present for myself. It's a reissue Galvatron in anime correct colors. For those who do not know what it is, it's a transformer toy that was featured and produced about 15 years ago. Happy not just of having it but also having it at a cheap price. It's considered a christmas present by the toy shop because it's selling way below any other toy shop. This is one way which the shop want to show their appreciation for us regulars who have been faithfully purchasing from them through the good times and bad times. Other toy shops are selling at least 1.5 to 1.8 times the price which I bought.
In this knowledge based economy, gone were the days of customer loyalty. Most of the people now only goes for whoever provides the cheapest. For example in Janurary, shop A sells toy X at the cheapest price. Alot of people will flood to them to buy the products and even try to be "best buddies" with them. However, their alliance will change when another shop suddenly dumps a particular sought after piece at rock bottom price. These people will just say to shop A," sorry, I'm not getting from you anymore coz I found a cheaper source." One can say that there's no agreement beforehand on the order but shop A gives the consumers the benefit of doubt. They allow pre-orders without having to pay up in advance any money. This can also let them gauge the demand and amount to bring in. When suddenly a big number of people cancels the pre-orders WHEN the products have arrived, shop A will be left with oversupply of that product. From that time onwards, shop A gradually filters out these people who are only price loyal and those who are regular customers who have been faithful. That's how this christmas present at this fantastic price came about. =)
When I was talking to the owner, he said that yesterday morning, "surprisingly" there were many phone calls that asked:" Hi, erm... I'm one of your regulars and I missed your preorder on galvatron. Can I get it at XX price?" Owner said:" The pre-order list was up for 3 and half months and don't you find it a bit funny that of all days, you call me on the day when the price is released? Well, giving you the benefit of doubt but also have to "appreciate" the people who had pre-ordered, I sell you at 1.5 times the price. Even at 1.5 times, the price is still the most competitive out in the market."
Do Singaporeans really like to complain so much that it's in their blood compared to other people in the world? No matter it's good or it's bad, also can find things to complain. lol.
When another shop dumps the particular piece at rock bottom price, IF shop A DO NOTHING, people will say," Not nice la, other shops selling at this price, how come you still keep at that price? So expensive compared to them"
However, when shop A counters the dumping piece with the same rock bottom price, there'll be people who say," Not good la, you sell so cheap now. Last time so expensive, I feel cheated"
I enjoy talking to the shop owner, let me realise the different kinds of people out there and it's not really easy to do sales. Besides good service provided, also have to have enough captial to "brave" through a price war if there is.
RESPECT
You respect a person because you look up to a person because of what she/he does or says.
In my opinion, you must respect a person before gaining the respect from the person. Otherwise no matter how good you do/say, you'll not win the person over. This is something I practice in my daily encounters with people.
Yesterday after service, I was quite upset over what a friend of mine had said. My girlfriend was sick and alone at home. I told my friends that she was sick and I wanted to go buy dinner for her. This friend said:" Since she is sick, leave her alone to have rest and you join us for supper. Don't go disturb her." Hello, she's my girlfriend and she's sick and alone at home, it's my duty to take care of her. Doesn't he have the sensitivity to think that way? Her wife is pregnant now. Would he neglect her wife and go out with his friends for supper if she's sick and alone at home?? One difference may be that I'm not married while he's married. However, the way I treat and view my girlfriend doesn't differ from a life partner. I'm committed to her.
I also regretted that I was taken in by his pressure and went for supper. I initially wanted to eat there and once finished eating, packet food back for my girlfriend. But by the time I finish eating, they stop cooking and beginning to close shop liao. When I went to my house area to buy food, she's already upset with me and don't want me to waste time find her as it was near midnight. Sorry maomi.... I'll not succumb to pressure by people whom dun respect people in a personal way.
this year this time for the past 4 years
Everytime after exams for the first semester in Uni life, especially if one stays in hostel, there would be the inter-hall games. It really brings back memories when you think of the joy and tears that you shed when you won a game or lost a game. The hall spirit, the friendship is something which money cannot be bought.
However as years passed, from freshie to senior, from senior to supersenior, it's inevitable that you'll be forgotten as the new batch of people come and older batch of people go.
Questions that I ponder at times:
1. Does it ever make you wonder that with all these commitment to hall while sacrificing your grades worth it in the end?
2. What does a gold medal mean if we're only interested in winning but not in getting to know teammates better?
After searching and pondering over these questions for quite some time, I feel that making a positive impact in someone else's life is more important than winning a gold medal. We are born to live in a community and thus friends & love ones are people that we shouldn't neglect.
It's the same analogy when brought to the working world's perspective. Some people are so focused on winning the deal, climbing the corporate ladder that they neglect the friends around them in search of the "better life". It's when their "better life" come tumbling down due to unforeseen circumstances then do they realise that their friends had built better friendships elsewhere. I feel the "better life" is a vicious cycle. You work so hard that make your body exhausted when young. When old, though may be successful, your beaten body may just collapse and end up paying huge medical fees for your body to recuperate.
Is it worth it?
- To have lots of achievement yet "lonely" in some sense
- or to live a fruitful and fulfilling life though may not earn as much as "chao pia" people
Well, we're given the right to choose thus choose wisely after measuring the costs.
The Sky is falling
Recently, I watched the movie Chicken Little with my girlfriend. Initially I thought that it's just a childish, no-brainer show but after watching I actually quite enjoyed it. It's a simple show that integrated spoofs of other movies eg, princess diaries, war of the worlds, King Kong and others which I may not had spotted. It also talks about friendship, love and parental love. Watch the show and recall the scenes, you'll find that it's actually quite a meaningful show.
The different characters in the movie definitely spiced up the show. Maomi like the porcupine because he's way too COOL. For me, I like the character of fish. Very cute and.... erm.... cute...haha... Innocent and a fun-loving.
Another thing I realised that an additional factor which made me enjoyed the movie so much is not just the content of the show but also who I watched with. Thank you Maomi!!! Here's this post specially dedicated to you!
I LOVE YOU!
It's a dog eat dog world out there
Gone were the days when customer loyalty is a norm in the society. People would buy stuff from same supplier irregardless of fluctuation in price. Meaning the people will share the good times AND bad times together with the supplier. How? When good time comes, supplier gets stuff cheap, sell stuff on offer, people buy. But when times are bad, no more offer, people in the past will still buy from the supplier (if the price difference doesn't vary too much la). This may be due to either imperfect information knowledge of the product in the market or just want to be loyal.
With the introduction of internet, every single consumer can get to know about the product without even stepping out of the house to find out, not even asking around. Just need to search in internet and you'll get the information you want. It's also a double edged sword (internet) whereby people can advertise their products in a more widespread scale, and also people can post offensive or negative remarks on certain stores due to some misunderstanding.
Why do I start talking about this? Well, I'm a transformers toy collector and if people are in the community will know about the recent price war and yup it's coming again. Good news for consumers (for the moment) and also bad news (in the long run). Transformer got 3 big players in the market. Let's call them A, B and C. In economics we know that as long as A, B and C control the price, the smaller players do not dare to do anything to the price.
However, when 1 of the big players (say shop A due to over-order of stocks and need captial urgently to purchase new stocks), lower down price of certain items, those particular items will have to be lowered for the other players (B & C) or else all the consumers will flood to A to buy the product knowing that A sells at a lower price. If B & C keep still and dun wanna adjust the price, their stock will just stay there and will just be backlog and unless they print money, they'll soon run into crisis. This vicious cycle of undercutting each other will only mean that the retailers are either making very little (compared to expected) or making a loss. In the short run (say 1mth, 3mth or 1year), it'll be a happy season for consumers.
But when this price war end up with one big shop close down, or even worse, left one big shop standing, it'll be monopoly. It'll be disaster for consumers as they control the market and will raise the price to gain back all the losses they make. They are not scared that consumers will run away coz they're the only source to get the toys and they're getting a much bigger portion of the pie compared to the portion they used to get.
I feel that once price war starts, it'll take some time for it to rest. One of the players broke the rules (keeping price consistent), then all hell break loose when it's too much for other big players. They'll join in the undercutting. See who has the most captial to last the longest. For some consumer (let's call them pests), they'll just jump on whichever wagon that offers the best price. To them, loyalty is not in their dictionary. CHEAP is the only word they keep deep to their hearts. When A offers the lowest price in town, these pests will just cling on to the shop. However after price war, when A offer at price X initially and B offer at price Y (which is lower than X), these pests who intially thought they got the best deals from A, complain how come so expensive. (they never thought of the times when price was dirt cheap and ask how come so cheap).
To counter B's attack, A also undercut B's price Y to price Z because B didn't abide the rules of keeping price at the price they set during the agreement for the price war to end. Now, A offer price Z which is lower than B. These pest again COMPLAIN that how come A's price not consistent. They felt cheated of their money and thus argue with A and decide not to have any transaction with A. This has caused the revival of the price war, and the pests will hop onto which ever wagon that offers the best price. As a consumer, I really pity the shops (big or small). Just pray that there'll not be too much "casualties" out of the war. RIP in advance for the shops that cannot tahan the price war.
Ok, another thing I want to say is that I finally bought this year's edition of EVIAN bottle!. the Pink one is this year's one. Red one is last year's one. On the flip side of the pink bottle got the 2006 numbers. I think it's a cool decorative piece to put at home. I missed out on the droplet series (where there were many colors, 1 for each year?). But now I've set myself to collect the "mountain" series. Will be great to have each year's design and place it in the room.
Comments anyone?
