Edmund – Page 63 – Edmund Loh

Moving Into Casa Tropicana

Posted on May 31, 2009August 8, 2012 by Edmund

It’s been a month since I last posted any solid updates to my Personal Blog! I’m still swamped with a lot of things on my table now – one of them being the customer support for my recently launched Mega Red Packet, the other being just getting settled down at my new crib in Casa Tropicana, PJ. 🙂

It’s 3:00 in the morning so I gotta do this fast before I sleep. But then, I supposed you’re more interested in seeing the pictures than reading what I have to say!

Moving Into Casa Tropicana

It was just after the Mega Red Packet launch I’ve pulled with my business partners, Vince Tan and Stephen Luc, and my family and I drove down to Klang to stay for a night. We were to get me a new place in PJ the next day. We secured a nice apartment over the weekend to rent!

Since it was a Sunday, the Management office was closed and so were many places, I spent the night in the empty hall.

Okay, meet Elle Wong. My new friend and neighbor. 😛

We went on a shopping spree for the next few days to get new stuff for the house. Elle had her own design company and she sure lived up to her trade name. If it were anything like the last 2 houses I used to stay back in 2007, I would have stayed in another ruined environment owing to my poor taste. LOL

It was amazing eye opener to me. Before this, I would shop on impulse and get the cheapest thing I could get. I paid little to no attention to details and like most guys, I hated shopping.

Typical guy, I know I am.

So alright, with Elle’s help, over the next couple of days – the apartment went from nothing to homely!

Seriously, the house wouldn’t be anything this nice and cozy if not for Elle’s help and her good taste in design. 😛 Thanks a heap Elle!

(On a side note, I have to admit I was embarrassed that she’s much better at handiwork as well and I clearly have 2 left hands. I shouldn’t have told her I used to serve the Scout troop last time.)

Winning a PSP And The Grand Prize For Web Fusionology Sales Contest

They used to say that when it rains it pours. But good luck and good things sure come in a streak too!

While moving to Casa Tropicana and getting new stuff for the house took up most of my time, I had the time to participate in Khai Ng‘s Web Fusionology launch. I bagged the Grand Prize of $1,000 with my friend from Australia, Aurelius Tjin, and also won a PSP!

WOO HOO!

Okay. Okay. The full gist is here.

Sweet – now a PSP to play when I’m bored. 🙂

New Clothes, New Fashion?

I used to dress REAL sloppily (for like what? 22 years?) until I became more aware of my self appearance not too long ago. I expect to meet more people – new and old – and I could really begin with dressing more properly this time. 😛

Never took shopping seriously in my life – up until now that is.

Meeting Old Friends and Acquaintances

Just when I thought many of the people I used to know are out of the country, there are still some familiar faces loitering around PJ. One of them happens to be Kimmy Foo.

Met by freak chance while shopping at IKEA! I needed to catch up with her again as I sure missed a ton of things that happened back in high school when I left prematurely in my final year. So yes, that makes her my old high school friend.

An old church friend of mine, Siew-Ann, got back from the States. We kept in touch now and then on FaceBook and so we caught up too! We played a game of Scrabble just last night with Khai Yong and his friend from Outward Bound School, Cindy.

I’ve known Khai Yong since we were 13 (almost 10 years!) and he hasn’t changed one bit. Especially the way he laughs.

So the 4 of us played a game of Scrabble at Dessert’s Bar, just downstairs from where I live.

It was good fun catching up with people I thought I wouldn’t be in touch again, since I left PJ for my own roller coaster adventure some 6 years ago. 🙂

And hey, they all creamed me at Scrabble.

Should hire them to write for my digital products next time.

Moving to KL Postponed

Posted on April 29, 2009August 8, 2012 by Edmund

Originally, I had planned to move to KL alone towards the end of this month. But looks like that plan has to be postponed to a later time i.e. early May.

I’ve been working around the clock to prepare the Mega Red Packet event and as I’ve been working on this for the past 6 months with my partners Vince Tan and Stephen Luc, we are only days away from the big day and I have to see to it that the online event becomes a success.

I look forward to making the event a smashing success and I am quite excited about this. It’s the first time I’m doing an online event this huge and at a product price point never this high before.

After this, I have plans to re-enroll into college and continue pursuit of my travel goals to visit at least 4 more countries this year. While I’ve already got my own car (with the Myvi being given to my mom), I need time to hunt for a new place to stay in KL and start over.

SIDENOTE: If you have been emailing me but received slow response from me lately, this is what’s been taking up my time now. 🙂 I apologize for that! Will get back to the rest of matters when I’m finally done with the Mega Red Packet launch.

Business and Leisure in Penang

Posted on April 16, 2009August 8, 2012 by Edmund

It’s been 3 years since I last visited Penang.

I had been invited to speak at the Global Internet Summit and this was going to be the first time GIS is presented in Penang. I had prepared my presentation a few days before the big day and I would be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous at all; this was also going to be my first speaking engagement as a main speaker.

And to top that, I was also going to be the first speaker to climb the stage to kick start the event!

One day before the big day, I caught a flight to Penang and checked into the Evergreen Laurel Hotel at Persiaran Gurney. While I was looking forward to having more fun and going around Penang, the presentation occupied my mind most of the time. Couldn’t wait for it to end.

Inside the 5-star Evergreen Laurel Hotel - sea view!

Thankfully, the Success Resources team had arrived earlier and since I was going to be the first main speaker to start the event – I wouldn’t have the luxury of observing and learning from other speakers before my turn – I rehearsed my presentation in the empty room. I rarely spoke in front of large crowds and I had to learn almost everything I could from “Great Public Speaking in 10 Days”… in 2 days.

My biggest worry was whether I would exceed my allotted time of 1.5 hours. So I spent whatever available time I can rehearsing my presentation (though I paid little attention to the details in the final 15 minutes i.e. selling).

Other speakers arrived shortly and I met up with them for dinner to get acquainted, especially Benjamin Teo and Andy Hun since I’ve not met them before.

We ate at Gurney Drive and yep, Penang is well known for its food! Here’s Andy Hun (right) and Feebie, Benjamin Teo’s girlfriend. Andy’s from Johor Bahru, to my surprise ~~(just when I thought I’m the Sultan of Johor)~~.

I don’t have a profiled picture of Feebie but she looks really, really familiar. I was certain I saw someone who looked like her back in Sydney (and maybe true since she and Ben Teo came from Sydney!)… and she looked like an ex-classmate of mine.

“Common face,” said Ben.

Oh yeah, here’s Alvin Phang too. His first time in Penang. Since I won 2nd place in his Atoming Blogging 3.0 contest, should’ve asked him to hand me my prizes while in person. 😛

Of course, Benjamin Teo himself. He may speak in a monotone voice but hey, he’s THE social media expert. He was from Malaysia (surprise, surprise) and then moved to Australia at an early age. He’s got like… what? 36,000 followers on Twitter? Follow him on Twitter: @upicks

And of course, here’s the star and the hero himself. What’s this blog without THE MAN? 😉

Global Internet Summit

The long awaited 1.5 hours of presentation finally came… and go! 🙂

I think I did pretty well for a first timer, considering many of the audience didn’t quite believe this was my first time speaking on stage, my fear of exceeding the 1.5 hours of given time was un-found (I finished on time), and I sold some of my back-end programs too at an acceptable ratio for a crowd that I heard was hard to please.

To add to that, my hairstyle was at its best. 😛 I can’t think of anything I’ve goofed up badly and I must say I did well. 🙂

I haven’t got the photos of me speaking on stage so when I get them I’ll post them here. But I want to show you the photos of some of the people I’ve met at the GIS.

UPDATED 16th April

Thanks to Jaz Lai and Edmund Toh for the pics! Here they are…

Okay now that the business trip is covered, let’s talk about leisure for the rest of the blog post!

Red Box Karaoke

In no sequence, let me show what we’ve been doing when we’re not speaking for the GIS. 🙂 Hope this convinces some people that we’re totally nerds behind the comps – or that we spend the rest of our free time at the cyber cafe. lol

Jaz Lai, Edmund Toh and Khai Siung signing up at Red Box

This is the third time I’ve gone to a karaoke session and though I’m not good at singing (actually, the extreme opposite) I can’t believe I’m going to say this but I’m beginning to like it too. 🙂 Look forward to go to more of these Red Box outings next time when I’m in KL. Khai Siung is a MUST in the group, really.

“Takes me one step closer to the edge… and I’m about to break!”

I didn’t know Jaz Lai could sing, though.

And even Edmund Toh. I suspect we came from the same factory that produced us.

And hey, it’s our guest and friend from India, Alok Jain!

Finally… me. 🙂

Kenko Fish Spa

It’s been everyday that I go to Gurney Plaza while I was in Penang but I’m most fond of the Kenko Fish Spa while I’m there.

I’ve seen people blog about their experience at the fish spa and I think it would be sad if I didn’t try it out at least once in my lifetime. Now I’m certain I would do it once in a while. 🙂

Trying to maximize my value for money by dipping both my hands into the pool and still get away with paying for only foot massage fees.

Here’s York Min whom we’ve briefly got acquainted with. I’ve also tried out the full body massage at Kenko’s the next day since the massage service at the hotel left a lot to be desired.

Dinner and Food!

What’s Penang without all the amazing food and friends right? 🙂

We also had Speaker’s Dinner on the last evening of the GIS. Here’s me and Vince Tan – damn he sold many seats too many for his back-end program, well done!

L-R: Vince, me, Alok, Andy

Thanks to Success Resources for helping me out with my first speaking engagement!

Special credits to: Jessie, Yan Ang, Henry Chee, Henry Wong, Purple Chin (and of course, the rest of the SR team!)

Last Day – Going Around Penang

I was the last speaker to leave the island (Patric Chan doesn’t count since he’s a native here!) so I checked out Bukit Bendera and the Kek Lok Si temple.

Also caught a movie at Gurney Plaza’s GSC – Shinjuku Incident starring Jackie Chan. Even though it’s like what Jackie himself said in an interview, “1% action 99% drama” I think this is one of Jackie Chan’s best films. The premise of the show is that in the early 1990’s – based on a true incident that really happened – Jackie plays the character “Steel Head” and was one of the many of the illegal immigrants from China who settled in Shinjuku, Japan… illegally, of course.

Steel Head would go on to find that his former lover is now married with a kid to a Yakuza leader called Eguchi. From here on, Jackie went from doing odd jobs to starting multiple illegal businesses like selling fake phone cards and tampering with the jackpot machines until he seizes substantial power within the ranks of the Yakuza semi-legitimate organization and controls a pure Chinese territory for his Chinese ‘brothers’. There are a lot of heart wrenching moments when you can see how good people turn bad, and yet how some things don’t really change – and the racial issues between the Japanese and the Chinese.

I can see why this show is banned in China because of how it portrays the Chinese people. Nonetheless, I’d say put it in your “must watch” list.

Okay, this is it. I’m sorry if I didn’t mention some of you in my blog post and I’m still waiting for new photos to add here. Hope you’ve enjoyed reading and it’s been a pleasure to meet new people while I was in Penang! Talk soon and until the next time!

The Shopping Spree Continues

Posted on April 4, 2009August 8, 2012 by Edmund

If you’ve been reading my messages on Twitter and Facebook then you’ll know it’s obvious I’ve been on a shopping spree. I’ve been spending a lot more than usual as of lately, though I could use some indulging in luxury. That’s for making up all the years of window shopping. LOL

Getting a Custom Tailored Suit

My first Internet Marketing speaking engagement as main speaker is coming up and I need a new suit. Real bad.

Because of my small built, the suit I currently have appears to be one size bigger than I am. So a week ago, I walked into the nearest tailor shop to get a suit custom made to fit my size.

The first try out to get the measurement…

A week later, I returned to test out the ‘prototype’ suit. Because it is still being tested for fitting, I won’t put photos of the by-product suit here yet.

I also need to get one done for the pants. I’m done with wearing over-sized pants with legs longer than mine.

I hope the suit and pants will be ready in time before I fly off to Penang for the speaking engagement!

SIDENOTE: Worse comes to worst, I’ll just borrow Vince Tan’s suit. Good thing he’s coming to Penang to speak too, and our speaking schedules are different! 😛

PlayStation 3

When I got the word that Resident Evil 5 came out, I knew it was time to grab a PS3. There are many other games I want to get my hands on too later on. 🙂

It wasn’t easy finding a PS3 here though. Many of the shops at City Square have declared a sold out on this hot baby. My hunt for the PS3 ended at Tebrau Jusco. So here it is: Playstation 3 with 80GB memory.

Since my schedule’s pretty packed this month and the games are pricier than I thought, I bought one game first. Resident Evil 5, of course.

I have finished the game in 3 days. I’ll chalk up a quick review on the game over the weekend when I’m free.

Need a New Laptop While I’m At It…

I’m comfortable working on desktop computer but it would be too inconvenient to take it with me when I move so I have to invest in a new laptop. The Acer laptop is old and too slow for my workload, and using it was frustrating for me.

With the help of some recommendations from friends, I bought a customized version of Dell XPS M1530. Though relatively a noob with laptops, I’ve heard mostly positive and favorable reviews about Dell laptops. Anyways, I’m already convinced that any laptop is perpetually better than one I have now!

This is going to be my portable work station when I move to KL.

And A Second Car? Hmm…

Yeah, a lot of my heavy expenses lately are motivated by my move to KL. And this is the biggest of them all – I need a car. VERY badly.

When I was in PJ/KL, I relied heavily on public transport. And it’s no secret that public transport in PJ/KL are horrible. This may surprise some of you, but the taxi and bus services in Johor Bahru are much, much better anytime than that of KL’s!

So yes, I need a car to go around.

I was contemplating between the Toyota Vios and the BMW E46 model. The Beemer, at first glance, appears to be a very tempting choice. I mean, who doesn’t want prestige and status?

I had to think with my head than with my ego though. For many logical reasons, getting a Toyota Vios is a smarter choice over the BMW. The Toyota Vios is fuel savvy, easier to maintain and the parts are affordable and easily replaceable.

The second hand beemer: RM100,000 for a 10 year-old car that’s expensive to maintain and consumes fuel like a German man on beer?

Hmm…

Not really wise spending on the BMW after making many considerations in spite of its high prestige value, since I also don’t foresee myself driving the same car for many years.

Plus, cars depreciate in value real easily – it’s 70% its price the moment I drive it off the parking lot – so it’s better to put more money into business and investment than on a liability that depreciates in value over the years.

So Toyota Vios it is!

Generous space in the boot - for sub woofers?

I won’t make the same financial mistake this time i.e. being in a hurry to pay up entirely for the car like I did with the Myvi! I’d rather use the money to invest plus as mentioned, I don’t foresee myself driving the same car for after another 3 to 5 years.

So yep, done deal. Getting this 3 year-old Toyota Vios. Will be mine in a week. 🙂 Letting my mom have the Myvi so she can drive around places in JB and do her shopping with ease.

UPDATE: 7th April

Custom suit and pants are done! Alright, this is exactly what I’m talking about… No more over-sized coats and pants! 🙂

Vince, you can keep your suit. Thanks. 🙂

Weekend in KL and ‘Makeover’ Program

Posted on March 24, 2009August 8, 2012 by Edmund

Hi All,

First and foremost, I want to thank my friends and readers who have commented on my previous blog post. Some of you have also expressed concern and kind words of encouragement over FaceBook and Twitter. They truly mean a lot to me. 🙂 So thank you all!

Dealing with my first relationship-turned-friendship-later break up wasn’t easy at all that I felt emotionally down for months and then almost crippled for less than a week.

It was a big wake up call nonetheless. It meant I have a lot to work on my personal development area instead of my business. I suspect this will be a looong battle but I really want to win in life and not just one particular area called “business”.

Honestly at this point, I didn’t know exactly what to do so I decided to take the opportunity to meet up with some people on my trip to KL this time.

Dinner with Xinch

First step… getting re-acquainted with some people whom I’ve not met in a long time. Meeting Xin-Ci for dinner at the Japanese Restaurant in Mont. Kiara was a good start.

I have to admit when Xinch casually invited me out for dinner I was a little embarrassed. The last time I met her was slightly more than a year ago and not too long later, I entered my first relationship and I neglected other friends, and my acceleration of meeting new people became less for me too. Classic mistake I know.

I kept in touch with Xinch sparingly and only through the Internet… when I needed a hand with some transcription work, that was. Now Xinch isn’t exactly a close friend and we have little in common to begin with. But hey, to my surprise, the dinner went on for hours longer than I thought, and there was plenty to talk about! 😀

The Forex Seminar

Had to sub-mentor some friends when they attended the Forex seminar by Orange Roshan International. I was introduced to the possibilities of Foreign Exchange last December and I traded well on a demo account. 20 consecutive wins in a row to date. 🙂

While I’m going on a live account soon, I introduced some of my close business associates and my sister to the same Forex seminar I attended back not too long ago.

Seminar ended with a buffet dinner at the Grand Millennium Hotel.

(sorry not many photos taken at the buffet plus due to poor lighting many other photos were too poor in quality to be posted here…!)

Shopping at Sunway Pyramid (The ‘Makeover’ Program)

Was supposed to head back to JB by Sunday but extended my stay at the Shah Village Inn Hotel for another night. Glad I did. Went for an impromptu meeting with Khai Lee at Sunway Pyramid. Don’t think I’ve seen him for about a year too.

I needed advice on how I can start anew and expand my social circle, and there’s no better person to ask for advice than “The Animal” himself. Xinch happened to tag along and unexpectedly, they took me on a shopping spree.

Now shopping isn’t exactly my favorite past time but I was more enthusiastic about this one. First stop was the book store. Got myself a copy of “The Game” on Khai Lee’s recommendation. Then Khai Lee and Xinch helped gave me the “extreme makeover” on my choice of clothes.

“You gotta wear clothes that channel your inner self, your personality!”

“What accessories should he wear that shows it’s uniquely HIM?”

“Ditch that shirt, makes you look more serious than you already are.”

“Pants too baggy for you…”

“Nope, won’t do. Not suitable for a small built person.”

Yada… yada…

Man, I had little idea clothes really make a difference. I mean, I knew it theoretically (so do most guys anyway) and I hardly paid attention to the details. I usually wear for comfort (but at the expense of style, bleargh).

The shopping spree took hours and I don’t remember carrying so many bags of my own stuff from a shopping mall in my life. 🙂

I have to admit, I was gung ho about changing myself and my current situation. Yet I had no idea that changing my taste in clothes proved to already be so difficult. One step at a time, I told myself.

So okay, here’s BEFORE…

… And AFTER!

What do you think? 🙂

Gotta thank K.Lee and Xinch. I’m glad they had time for me and patiently took me through stores and helped me pick new clothes, and discussed with me how to improve my outward appearance in general.

Next Steps…

My next steps are to move to Kuala Lumpur on my own starting middle to end of April, get another car, and start anew. As I am writing this, I am considering to re-enroll into college. Unfinished business.

I feel like I’m running through a house of burning cards now and I think life for me will change drastically in another month or two. This may mean changing my initial plan for this year to migrate to another country after all… and significantly at that.