Come to think of it, don’t think I’ve changed much.
What I Used To Look Like Back In School
Where To Next, Edmund?
Since I’m taking a break from my latest Private Label Rights project, thought I’d blog for a while.
It’s been more than a month since Mega Red Packet was launched (and a great product launch, I must add). And it’s been three weeks since I’ve moved into my new place. Am growing more accustomed and used to it.
While I have stayed in places and traveled on my own many a times before, I had totally underestimated quite some things about staying alone in PJ this round. And of course, what’s that without making my own share of mistakes right?
Living alone in the apartment meant taking care of the every square feet all the time. Sure, I get a part-time maid to give my place a thorough cleaning once in a while. But there’s still loads more – car wash, watering the plants, vacuuming the floor frequently, list goes on.
Throw in the barrage of other important and urgent things to do, I’m now tight for time.
Maybe if I haven’t met Elle I’d probably be living in another small room with cheap stuff again, like I always did. And hey, maybe if I didn’t meet up with Khai Yong often I’d finish half of the things in my to-do list by now.
Admittedly, I am frustrated but I’m convinced this is just temporary. Gotta rub in those time management and outsourcing skills right about now. I am already planning my time management and outsourcing success to write about when all these are over. 🙂 Visualization, visualization, visualization! We shall see.
So what’s in the list of to-do that I can’t wait to get over with?
Short Term (this month)
1. Attending a Press Conference for a company I am investing in, that is going public. Thank goodness that’s tonight and another chance to wear that sleek suit again. 🙂
2. The Millionaire Mind Intensive seminar by T Harv Eker over the weekend. The hours are crazy long so best be devoting all of my focus and learning to the seminar!
3. My next 72 hour Private Label Rights sale with Elle on 15th June. It is also my sister’s 21st birthday. She should be happy. 🙂
4. Recruiting temporary staff to the technical team to handle Mega Red Packet support issues.
Medium to Long Term
1. To shop for a course and re-enroll into college.
2. To take a more serious interest in Forex trading.
And above all, to continue the burning fire and desire to succeed to greater heights! Can’t afford to stop here and celebrate my recent success for too long. Need to keep moving on or I’d just grow complacent. 🙂
Moving Into Casa Tropicana
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
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
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.
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
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.
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!