brainstorming-session between me and myself..

wow..
this is going to be my third posting for the same day..!!
i must be having plenty of things on my mind right now..!!
as usual writing and listing them down would help me think better and clearer..
yeah hopefully, mmm.. ;)

but on second thots..
i will do this the traditional way as i've been doing the past many years..
writing them down on my scrap-books, pieces of papers and tissues.. ;)
with iced nescafe, air suam and some light-snacks beside me..
at some secluded table in a busy restaurant cafe somewhere..
with nobody but me and myself in deep conference..
oblivious to our busy surroundings..

eh, time for my afternoon kopi-session, lorr...

my net-guru, Irfan Khairi..

I first attended Irfan's seminar last oct 2005 with two other then-enthusiastic future netpreneurs, my aussiegals-mates sherry and mimi.. And two months later i moved my whole family, locks and barrels, from upmarket subang jaya to slow&steady bukit beruntung..

Plenty of other things both related and non-related, happened the next two years after that seminar but Irfan's book which i bought at the seminar and was personally signed by him, and his langkah 1-2-3 manual which i bought a year later via post.. have kept him close at the back of my mind these past two years..

Yes Dr. Irfan.. I must now try to emulate and take actions on the various steps that you've clearly listed down in your book/s and manual/s..!!! To have spent my hard-earned money on the seminar, then book, then cd-manual.. and still not doing anything internet-ty about them is such a waste of time and money, huh...?? Bloody stupid (ooppss..) of me too!! Considering now that i have two work-websites, e-shopping-lists, new items to dispose off, and wirelessly surfing/emailing/blogging with my 1.2kg Sony Viao at the comforts of my home..!!!!??

What have i been thinking? And not thinking?? To have my mind wandering all over the place searching and looking for something which i'm not sure off..?? And most of the time just to stimulate my creative juices...?? Or was it just my internet unsavviness that have kept me away from getting closer and closer to cyberspace...??? Or was it just that.. mmm, ok, ok, let it be, let it be..

For now i just want to berguru with Irfan Khairi...

thank you awesome blogger..

My very first blog-commentator was the awesome blogger, yaayy...!! I would have liked to blog about this sooner.. like last 21st aug when azwanhadzree first came visiting my blog.. but non-cyber activities have kept me away until now..

My mind has been occupied with some net-readings as well.. the past week has seen me catching up with irfan khairi's rahsia jutawan-jutawan internet terbongkar and adam ginsberg's how to buy, sell & profit on eBay . Too mind-boggling for some, and even me at one time.. but the past three years have seen me getting more and more interested in what they have to say.. guess i'm getting less and less inclined to continue my business the traditional ways.. mmm...

Whilst irfan's book was very straightforward, concise, easy-to-read, clear typeface on good quality paper.. i wished he'd write in english for MY better/faster understandings. Yeah, yeah, yeah.. i'm a true-blooded malay who thinks, reads and writes in english more than in her mother-tounge..!!! so sue me.. ;)

And Adam's book was entertaining due to his first-hand experiences in starting his e-bay business.. i just wished he had used bolder typeface, more elaborate content-list, and non-recycled-looking paper.. or was it my failing eyesights that i found it difficult to focus on the prints against the brownish-coloured semi-rough-textured paper...??? i sometimes felt like i was reading an old romance novel, or something..

But both of them have provided me greater insights into what i should be doing next. Blogging for the past 3 short weeks have actually cleared a few important things in my cluttered mind.. i still have my products to sell...!!! Regardless of how informative azwan's and other's bloggers' tips of making-money-through-blogging have been to me.. i still have my products to sell...!!!! My dear-half, the solid rock behind my creative venture and sanguine character.. should be very proud of me coz i'm now back into FOCUS... ;)

So dear azwan.. thank you, thank you again.. please continue visiting my blog coz who knows.. we may be able to benefit together in other ways than just blogging.. i will continue to blog as this has become a brainstorming-session of sort, between me and myself.. ;)

May God bless us both..

blogging to make money...??

mmm..
a nice thought, huh...??
but, i'm more passion-driven than monetary-driven.. so how??

and writing down my thoughts on my passions has taken more time & energy than i anticipated..
it's been like a brainstorming session up there in my little head of having to think thoroughly before i write..
in case i'd not end up writing gibberish-es, like now...!!

and how do i sound 'professional' when writing down about my passions...??
my passions are my loves, my life..
they are very, very, the very personal stuff, man..

mmm..
gibberish, gibberish, gibberish.......

my notebook and me at home..

Yes, i finally bought myself a notebook after thinking and contemplating about it for 5 years!! Why did i take sooo long...?? Because i was still struggling with my PC-basics. Because the normal laptops were too heavy for my weak shoulder to carry around. Because the lightest laptops were too expensive. Because hubby said i didn't need a mobile pc when i already had a stationary one all the time...

I bought it last valentine's day, approx. 6 months ago.. I was actually still unsure whether i should eventually buy it, infact i was still nagging zed my architect friend to accompany me and help make the decision for me..

But she had other more important things to do that day, therefore... after some briefings by the sales person and me the IT-novice asking all the relevant questions all pertaining to my simple needs.. i decided, oh what the heck!! 5 years is too long a time to still be thinking about it!! Let's just do it!!!

So here I am with my less than 1.2kg Sony Viao.. sitting comfortably at my veranda near the pool overlooking my garden.. watching over my young son playing masak-masak whilst skating around the house.. and me, wirelessly blogging my time away..!!

What, blogging...?? To spend RM7000++ and I'm just blogging away...??? Haha.. I'm having problems explaining this to myself, let alone to my better-half.. but reading more on azwanhadzree and dorischua would help justfy this eventually.. I hope!! They both blog and make money on-line.. mmm, nice..

working from the comforts of home..

I'm now in the middle of completing the construction of my newest website. Yes, work-related website..

This will be my second work-related website in less than 3years. And for the past three years eversince that very first website, i'd like to think that my web/IT/pc/cyber knowledge has improved and expanded as well..

For a novice like me, this is a big achievement. With most of my IT-insecurities behind me, with some tiny hiccups still trailling my progress, i'm a re-born entrepreneur.. a much more efficient communicator and marketer.. all from the comforts of my home, by the touch of some buttons, and at any times of the day..!!

It's amazing what internet has helped small business owners like myself.. we've become so much more faster and efficient now that we have surplus time on our hands to do other things that we never had time for before.. like meeting up with friends for coffee.. every day!!! My friends are now saying that i actually don't do anything else beside 'disturbing' them.. ;)

Oh yes, i could have used those extra time to work harder and make more sales.. but after 15 years of chasing after my dreams.. achieving some and failing at others.. i'm now contented with where things are and what i've become. How much more do i want to achieve...?? I had a very small simple dream anyway.. i just wanted to design and have a brandname, that was all..

Now my priorities have changed.. the changes have actually started to take place since i turned 36 some seven years ago, and have now permanently positioned themselves on top and above my work.. most of the times!! But hey, please don't worry my dear clients & customers.. whenever i make promises to deliver.. we will definitely deliver!!

ratatouille, ikmal and me..

Ra-ta-ta-what????

Ratatouille (pronounced as rat-a-too-ee).. is the latest pixar animated movie currently being shown around town. It's about a rat in france which aspires to become a chef in an expensive fine-dining restaurant..!!

Mmm.. while i'm not particularly crazy about animations, this story came into our life a few weeks ago via hubby who bought a set of pirated-dvds for his children whilst enjoying his teh-tarik session with some friends at some mamak-stall near his seremban office. That's my hubby's style of impulse-shopping.. With his lack of time pursuing other things apart from working and teh-tariking.. he'd buy whatever things that'd catch his fancy from direct-sellers who come direct to his coffee-table. Cheap dvds seemed to be the cheapest and easiest way to please his 3 children, then!!

My 3 & a half year old Ikmal has been watching the movie almost continuously the past 1-2weeks.. I've been glancing at it many times as i work from home whilst monitoring his morning activities and rituals.. Call me a bad mother, but daily watching of cartoons has been his most reliable babysitter!! The likes of Barney, Elmo, Mickey Mouse, Totally Spies and Powerpuff Girls have been his English teachers since he turned one!! ;))

Back to Ratatouille..

As Ikmal was watching and laughing and really enjoying his rat-movie.. i took a sudden interest in some of the opening scenes which showed Remy the rat enjoying a piece of cheese then later, a bite of strawberry. His facial and verbal expressions as he savioured each of the 2 foods one by one.. eyes closed, nose wiggling, mouth chewing ever slowly, head swaying.. was being immitated by my boisterous boy!! And when Remy mixed both the cheese and strawberry together in his mouth.. both Ikmal and the rat exploded in ecstacy.. and my interest in cooking was re-ignited!!!!!!!!!

My cooking-lesson on enjoying food ala french fine-dining for that day was.. cooking is about mixing the correct combinations of ingredients.

My teacher for that day was.. Remy the rat.

My inspiration for days and days to come.. Ikmal Arfudi, the other man in my life.

My future posts would include a new-found passion.. cooking!!!!! ;))))))

i just wanna be IT-savvy..

i must write this down..

i started my own business in feb1993 when the internet was still largely alien to most of us..
well, yes i was already introduced to pc-usage during university but that was only one subject out of the 5-yr course.. and i didn't like it very much at all!! oh my.. cross-tabulations of many tables..!! the very technical pc gave me low self-esteem then..

by the time i was employed straight out of college in early 1989, CADD was just being introduced among the technical support staff ie. the draughtsmen in my then architectural department.. design & drafting done by the push of some buttons was intimidating even for on-lookers like me.. therefore i'm not sure whether the internet was already in existence back then coz i'd try my best not to be involved in anything pc or IT..

with these limited IT-background, i now wonder why did i purchase a pc and a fax-machine as soon as i tendered in my 24-hr resignation letter and ventured out on my own searching for my dreams..?? i was confused, angry and frustrated with my then predicaments.. i just wanted to design and play around with colours.. but that didn't sound like something a degree-holder should be doing..!!?? but what the heck, i just wanted to do something creative with my hands and mind.. i guess the pc and fax-machine would make my venture look more 'professional'..!! :))))

the next seven years with my pc only saw me using it for letter-writings, quotings and very simple & basic 'tablings'.. i heard of some friends and former colleagues having their own email addresses and would get a little bit intimidated by my almost total lack of knowledge in the internet.. but my life back then was focussed on getting orders and delivering them on time, and i was happily and efficiently doing that by communicating and transacting through faxes and other 'old-fashioned' ways.. i was contented!!

then year 2000 came.. and my ex-school-mates were planning our first grand reunion after leaving school.. it involved more than a hundred of us living/working all over the country and therefore, it was naturally suggested by those internet-savvies among us to use the internet for fast&efficient organizing and communicating.. i offered to be the master promoter, and later persuaded hubby to create an email-address for me.. all the while not telling my ex-schoolmates that their master promoter had never entered cyberspace before!!

it took me a week to finally learn how to open my yahoo-mails.. ;)) and another few more weeks to successfully open any mail-attachments.. i was all scratching, crawling and kneeling the next few more weeks.. but the excitements leading up to the reunion motivated me to face up to my insecurities.. and later after everything was over and many years passed by, i discovered that in my on-going quest of overcoming my IT-insecurities, there are now still plenty more of my friends that feel the same way as i felt, pre-internet..

it hasn't been smooth-sailing, me and my IT-knowledge.. most of the time my lack of patience with any technical glitches would see me 'abandoning' my pc for weeks.. those technicalities dampened my spirits, so to speak.. and what is a designer without spirits aka passions...?? i'd see myself going back to basics countless times, enjoying again those time-tested and trusted traditional ways of doing things.. we humans have survived without pc and the internet for centuries, right...???

mmm.. writing these down really has taken some time.. must go now.. will write again later..

why i start this blog...??

quite a few reasons actually...

1. i've always liked writing down my thoughts.. infact, i'm still harbouring a not-so-secret desire of becoming a regular writer/contributor to some well-known local publications.. yes, yes.. anybody out there please take note eh.. ;)

2. i've been running my own ceramic design & manufacturing business the past 15years and set-up my company website a few years ago.. and i thought blogging would keep me regularly connected to my existing and potential customers.. but having said that, this blog doesn't reveal my real particulars/details, and not publicised to anybody i know as yet..!! just in case i may sound too self-indulgent and not so professional, that's why.. ;))

3. i'm sanguine in character and always getting excited about any creative ventures that i think i could pull off.. writing them all down and get them published/shared in cyberspace would make me more committed in following them through(?).. i feel that i have still so much passions in other areas beside ceramic designs.. :P

4. i'm having problems getting my 10yr old daughter to read anything.. and recently set-up a blog solely to get her interested in reading my stories about her daily/weekly activities and endeavours.. but when dear hubby commented that my first post sounded more like my own personal blog.. i just had to separate the two of us, melissa and her mum, away from each other!! i'm not so sure how though.. :0

5. i think i have a few more reasons to list down as my blogging-motivators.. but my youngest 3++ child is now demanding my attention away from cyberspace..


yes, yes, yes... this blog is solely and self-indulgently about my passions, my loves and my life..