The X-mini Happy

Read about this X-mini Happy's product review on CNET. This is a portable music player with an all-in-one design. It is small enough to be portable anywhere, measuring a little more than 6cm when expanded.

MP3 songs can be loaded in microSD card or SD card (with SD to microSD adapter). It also allow connection via the 3.5mm headphones jacks. The navigation control for the mp3 player is not exactly the best you would expect for standard mp3 players, but the sound is loud enough considering its small size.

Too bad the price was not mentioned on the site. Well, not that I've any use for this mp3 player at the moment. But it would be kind of cool to be able to share music on the go. Hey, which means you could party anywhere! On second thought, if it is doesn't burn too big hole in my pocket, I might get one to put in my newly setup first floor family area, so that I can listen to my favourite songs while chilling out in my cosy nook.

What's Your Dream Job?

I was doing random surfing and clicked on this really good quiz. The analysis actually reflects my personality. You will get to know what you are really good at, and what are your preferences when choosing a job.

Here’s my score. What’s yours?

Score:
Number of A's: 2
Number of B's: 3
Number of C's: 4

Mostly D's: If you answered mostly D's, your ideal career is probably creative. Possible career choices include: writer, photographer, musician, interior decorator, graphic artist, fashion designer. Of course there are many more careers to choose from, but knowing your preferred type can help you narrow down the choices.

Mostly C's: If you answered mostly C's, your ideal career probably involves working with things. Tasks you might do in these careers include setting up, precision working, controlling, driving, operating, tending, feeding or handling. Possible career choices include: chef, repair person, carpenter, collectibles dealer, veterinary assistant and mechanic.

Mostly B's: If you answered mostly B's, your ideal career probably involves working with information. These careers may include tasks such as synthesizing, coordinating, analyzing, compiling, computing, copying or comparing. Possible career choices include: library assistant, editor, web developer, professional organizer, accountant or private investigator.

Mostly A's: If you answered mostly A's, your ideal career probably involves working with people. According to Human Resources Development Canada’s National Occupation Classification, these careers may involve: mentoring, negotiating, instructing, consulting, supervising, persuading, speaking, serving or assisting. Possible career choices include: teacher, human resources, flight attendant, life coach, daycare worker, personal assistant.

Happy Mother's Day baking class

I asked N if I can post this in my blog, and he gave me the go-ahead and suggested I put the "free advertisement liner" (see below).

N has actually went for this Mother's Day baking class sponsored by the company. So the cake you are seeing below is the cake he has done (*looks very professionally done, I must say. Not sure about the taste though because obviously it was not meant for me. According to N, it tasted awesome.)











Male, 28, "interested" in cooking, frequents the gym and a jovial person.
Single but not available.

Scarifices before marriage & why you wear the wedding ring on the 4th finger

Last night, I was doing idling surfing and read some interesting posts which I would like share them here.

I came across an interesting post about women by Twiggy. Speaking of which, makes me think about how much a woman sacrifices in her married life. I bet these sacrifces come along as we go about life, it's a continuous decision we've to make. Perhaps it's due to conventional perception of a woman's role in the family & the society, that these sacrifices are usually taken for granted. And failing to do so, that woman would be despised by the society.

As a woman, have you ever thought about :
1. How ready you are to make sacrifices?
2. If you are ready, what are the sacrifices are you willing to make? (eg. your work, time, dignity etc.)
3. Are you willing to compromise with your spouse?
4. If you are not willing to compromise or sacrifice your stuffs, are you going to "force" your spouse to do it instead?
5. If #4 doesn't work, will you think twice about getting married to the man you thought was your Mr. Right?

Of course there are more questions to think of, but it just got me thinking about the singlehood freedom I enjoyed currently. Of course there are certain sacrifices & compromises here and there, but I don't think it's not to a very serious of "magnificent" degree yet. But getting in a marriage is a big thing, it's a constant decision to stay true to your promises, to love your spouse and family, to be willing to give when the need occurs.

Also came across this interesting post by unknowngurl on why the ring (especially the wedding ring) is usually worn on the fourth finger. You may have heard of it before, it is basically :
1. Position your hands as if you are praying, all finger tips on right hand touching the matching finger tips on left hand.
2. Except for the middle fingers, you have to bend them in towards the palm of each hand, while making sure the other fingers stay in position as in #1.
3. While making sure the remaining fingers are still touching, try to separate these finger pairs in this sequence: thumbs, second finger, last finger and the fourth finger.

You will notice that it's very hard to separate the 4th finger no matter how hard you try. You will feel the pain when you force them to separate. And how does this relate to which finger you wear your ring? Here's the interpretation:

• Thumbs - your parents, you will leave them when you are independent, get married, and also they will leave you when they are of old age.
• Second finger - your siblings, you will separate when you are all grown up and have your own families.
• Last finger - your children, they will leave you when they are grown up and have their own families
• Fourth finger - your spouse, both of you stick together through ups and downs, and through your lives. And if you try to separate, you will feel the pain!

Got it? :-) Speaking of which, did u read the news about this man from China proposed to his girlfriend on AirAsia's inaugural flight from GuangZhou to Malaysia? I don't know if this sounds romantic to you ladies out there, but I certainly don't think I want that :P Think of what you are going to do and how are you going to react for the rest of your flight? Ish..nothing romantic about it at all. But something good did come out of it, the girl consented of course, and AirAsia granted the couple free return tickets to Phuket.

Guys, since you always say that you are the brainier lot, come out with better way to propose ok? ;-)

KL-Putrajaya Highway Toll starts 17th Jan

Just got alerted by my colleague, the toll will begin from 12.01am on 17th Jan (Thursday)!

There are 2 toll plazas along the highway, and toll rates are as follow:
Salak Selatan : RM1.50 for cars
Putrajaya : RM2.50 for cars

Looks like one month FOC travel is over, I'll resume my old route to work tomorrow then... :-(

Related posts

• How to get on the KL-Putrajaya Highway from Cyberjaya.
• My test drive on the highway

Planning and navigating your career

My mind is in a good planning mood today. I feel inspired, motivated and lots of ideas. But I needed to take some solid action, like putting my thoughts in black and white.

I want this year to be a good year for me, especially work wise. I want to map out which trainings I'm going to attend, any external conferences to join, any certification to achieve, and what are the great things I will deliver this year. Yeah..so that everything counts towards my year end appraisal and keeping my fingers crossed that I'll get a nice bonus.

I have been reading alot on personal development and planning your career. When I first started out my career path, I was naive in my thoughts and not sure where I'm heading to, or what could I do to go further. Few years down the road, you meet more people, read about stuffs, and you went through ups and downs, then you start to realise what are you going to do for the rest of your life? Then you start thinking...

I'm currenty reading How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be. Though I'm still early parts of the book, but I think it's a good read for this new year. So far, I've learnt to take 100% responsiblity of your life, explore what is the purpose of my life and what I'll try to achieve.

Then yesterday I read about a senior people development staff in my company who wrote about navigating your own career. It got me thinking, apart of updating my resume once in a twilight, having appraisal and planning my development plan end of the year, I don't think I've done pretty much navigation in my career, much of it are probably lucky landings or call it timely opportunities if you must. So today I sat down and stared at a blank spreadsheet on my monitor... here's what I did...

I inserted a few tables into the spreadsheet with these headings:
Professional Trainings
1. Trainings/Courses attended
2. Professional Certifications
3. Conferences/Seminars attended
I listed out the above, with few details : types of training (classroom/online etc.), Organiser, and when attended.

Academic Background
I listed out my secondary till my last education level, including any special awards I received during those years.

Career Path
I listed out my career history till my present position, I also made a note of the salary I got for each position.

Assignments
In this section I listed out what are the notable assignments I've handled. I included the assigment name, role description, duration, responsibilities/deliverables, achievements/track records, manager-in-charge, teams/depts.

I agree it is quite similar to your resume, but the difference is that this is going to be a very detailed resume for yourself. Think of it as your X-file, your ultimate information are to be in this file. And I plan to review this file monthly and keep the contents evergreen. Also remember to incorporate them into your new year resolutions.

I will tell you why this file will come in handy.
1. Good for work appraisals - just whip out this file, extract a fit-for-purpose profile and voila! Show it to your appraiser on your achievement over the year. This will save you alot of time and effort rummaging through old emails, or any reports you have. Speaking of which, I will add the compliments and feedbacks that I received into this file too. Trust me, words from other people sound more convincing eventhough you may think you have not done much. Everything boils down to EVIDENCE!

2. Navigating your career - when you have whole career path drawn out before you, you will get to see where you've came from, your progress, your gaps and your strengths. Use this for your own SWOT (strengths, weakness, opportunities, threats) analysis. Then you will know where your next step/position should be. When you know where you want to be, then you will also know what you need to develop, and how to build your people network/relationships.

3. Ever ready to apply for a new job - enough said.

This is just my personal realisation and thoughts which I've chanced upon and read about over the years. And I hope this will help your planning in whatever way possible.

KL-Putrajaya highway will be toll-free until Jan 13, 2008

Updates: The KL-Putrajaya highway will be toll-free for a month until Jan 13, 2008.

More links:

• If you happen to be in Cyberjaya, and would like to know how to get on the KL-Putrajaya Highway from Cyberjaya.
• Read about my test drive on Kuala Lumpur - Putrajaya highway.

Personalised M&Ms Chocolates as Gifts

On Xmas' eve, I received this pack of M&Ms chocolate as a Team's Year End gift. And it flew all the way from US.

Plain as it may seems, this is actually a customised gift. The colours were specificly chosen to represent the colours of the company's logo, and there was the customised message on each of the chocolate. Yeah, and it doesn't come cheap. I looked it up on the internet, and found that it costs about USD$11.99 per pack! But it's still cool and cute :-)

This is how you can order one custom print M&Ms for yourself . There are other cute packagings as well, and you could choose your favourite colours and put your custom messages. And of course it would be delivered right up to your doorstep.

And oh, this is not a sponsored post. I just thought it was a nice gift idea for season's greetings or as a door gift for any events! Of course, if you prefer something from Santa, you might want to try Santagram.

Getting on the KL-Putrajaya Highway from Cyberjaya

Here's a map provided by one of my colleagues on how to get on the Kuala Lumpur - Putrajaya highway from Cyberjaya. Click on the map for a larger view.

This morning, I tried driving to work using this highway. It took me about 20 mins from Kg Pandan roundabout to Cyberjaya exit, total distance was about 32 km. Driving was a breeze, and best of all, no toll yet at the moment! hehehe..

Test drive on Kuala Lumpur - Putrajaya highway

Since it was a public holiday yesterday, Dad decided to try out the new Kuala Lumpur - Putrajaya highway which has just recently completed, and to be officially opened in January 2008. I tagged along.

We went into the highway via the starting point at Kampung Pandan roundbout. It was easy to identify as the signages were clear & direct. Yeah, I can't afford to miss it since the construction works have brought so much inconvenience and traffic jams to that area. You may say I am one of the stakeholders haha..

The highway is opened to the public currently, and it's still FREE OF CHARGE (FOC). We asked the tol l booth operator, he said toll charges will only commence in January 2008. Though the toll rate is still undercertain and pending the announcement from you-know-who-minister (Datuk Seri Samy Vellu lah)

The drive was a breeze, there are few strategic entry and exit ramps along the highway. You can even see some of the photos taken of the highway here.

The highway connects to the existing Putrajaya/Cyberjaya - KLIA highway. So that's why you can take about 30-40 mins drive from KL to KLIA, but I doubt the toll will much cheaper than using the KL-Seremban highway route. Matapena here advises to use the toll-free Dengkil new road once you exit from the Cyberjaya/Dengkil exit, which goes to KLIA too. Personally I've heard about this road to KLIA, but have never use it though. This way you can save on the Cyberjaya-KLIA toll, which I think costs around RM3.50.

It's good to know that this highway is so near my new house! Travelling to KL is going to be breeze. You get the accessibility to the city center, yet far away to enjoy the peace and tranquility of the city suburbs. I'm going to give a try next week on my way to Cyberjaya for work.

So guys, no excuse for not visiting my new house next time when I moved in ya :P

Buying motor insurance cover

My car had just past its one-year mark and I have just switched the car insurance company for convenience sake. Car insurance are not cheap nowadays depending on your car value. My, my...the premiums do burnt a hole in my pocket this month.

Talking about car, few things I would like to share with you some things to consider when you buy motor insurance cover. I saw some of these useful info from my insurance policy brochure, perhaps some of you already known some of the things. But it's never bad to know more ;-)

Insurable Interest
Make sure you buy insurance cover as soon as you purchase a vehicle, even when buying a used car. This is to protect your interest as the previous owner's cover is no longer valid.

Insured Value/Sum Insured
Ensure you vehicle is adequately insured.
New vehicle : sum insured = purchase price
Others : sum insured = market value of vehicle when policy is bought

Under-insurance : sum insured is less than market value. You will only be partially compensated in the event of a loss.

Over-insurance : sum insured is higher than market value. The maximum compensation is the market value of the vehicle, so you will not profit from a claim.

So you need to determine the market value to avoid under- or over- insurance.


To read more, you can find out from these links:
Home insurance - http://www.nationsfinance.co.uk/insurance/home-insurance.html
Car insurance - http://www.nationsfinance.co.uk/insurance/
cheap car insurance

*Note : This post is sponsored.

How We Feel, Think and Behave

Things happen in our daily lives, and they will often affect how we feel, how we think and how we behave. If it's a bad news, we could easily sink into pessimism or we could happily think of all the opportunities when it's a good thing. But, instead of sulking our face and drown in gloomy thoughts, we can do something to take control.

Now among the 3 reactions, which would you think would be the easiest for you to control? Not suprisingly, it should be our behaviour. By controlling how you behave towards an event, it could affect the other two, which will in turn help you to look towards the bright side and start channelling your thoughts and energy towards resolving the problem or bracing the challenge. So instead of trying to control your emotions and thinking, do it the other way by first behaving the right way.

You might want to call it "acting". Act what you feel should be the right way, and your mind and emotions would naturally attune to the behavioural change. In fact, "acting" is a powerful way to build your self confidence, as you start visualising and act the way you want to be. Even if it seems superficial in the beginning, it will come natural once your self confidence kicks in.

3 Magic Words for Concentration

I read this in a book called "Hard Optimism". For those of us who have difficulty concentrating on current moment or task, here're the 3 magic words to tell yourself:

NOW...HERE...THIS

These 3 are very powerful words, when repeated to yourself, you are telling your brain and mind to focus on the current moment and focus all your energy towards the current task. You can call it a kind of hypnosis. Try this next time you feel distracted.

Guide to Renewing Passport

I heard the Immigration Dept has came up with a ATM-lookalike thing to speed up passport renewal process. Cool! I thought...I was a little sceptic how "fast" is fast. Since mine was expiring soon, I decided to see for myself how this thing works and whether you should be believing in the Immigration Dept's improved efficiency claim.

Things to bring:
1. RM300 for 32-page/5 years renewal fee.
2. 1x passport photo (write your name, IC no., phone no on the reverse side)
3. MyKad
4. Current passport

I reached Pusat Bandar Damansara around 8:15am on a Friday and parked my car in Blok I (which was where the immigration dept was). For those clueless souls, Blok I is block opposite the Giant supermarket. The Immigration Dept is just at the corner. If you decide to go the conventional method, take the escalator up to Level 1. To use the machine-way (which they called "KIPPAS"), then it's just at the ground floor, to the left of the main entrance.

The place was just like your neighbourhood bank's ATM area, there were 3 machines.

How to renew passport:

1. Get a white envelope from a table near the door.

2. Put in one passport photo into the envelope, envelope is not required to be sealed.

3. Write your name, I/C no, contact phone no on the envelope.

4. Line up at the machine, get your current passport, MyKad, RM300 and envelop ready.

5. Follow the instructions on the touch-screen:

Choose language - put your passport - insert MyKad - scan both left/right thumbs - insert money - insert envelop

6. Then wait for the slip to be printed out. Note the collection time on the slip, it will take abt 2 hours before you can collect your new passport.

7. Go to mamak/mcdonald to fill your stomach while waiting for the 2 hours to pass.

8. When 2 hours is almost up, go to Level 1, Counter 16. Show your printer slip to get your ticket number and wait for your turn.

9. When your turn comes, go the designated counter shown on the screen. Be handy with your Mykad and current passport.

10. Check your details and sign on your new passport. Get the payment receipt and you're done!

So the total time spent:

The process at the machine - less than 10 minutes

Processing time - 2 hours

Take number and waiting to collect - 35 minutes

So you can see it takes less than 3 hours to renew your passport. That's what I call efficient and fast! Way to go and thumbs up for the Immigration Dept.

One note, those under 18 or without MyKad are not allowed to renew their passport using the machine. You need to go through the conventional method (filling up form).

Birthdate branding

Your Birthdate: December 17

You tend to find yourself lucky - both in business and in life. And while being wealthy is nice, you enjoy sharing your abundance with others. You put your luck to good use: you are very ambitious and goal oriented. Often times, you get over excited and take on more than you can manage. Your strength: Your ability to make your own luck Your weakness: Thinking you can do it all Your power color: Bronze Your power symbol: Half Moon Your power month: August

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

Building your own image branding

Did you know that people do actually subconciously portray their own image branding? Take Jay Chow for example, what would you think of him when you think of him as a "brand"? Creative, quiet, playboy maybe... so you see that's the image branding that are subconciously in you.

I learnt about this image branding just last week when I attended a workshop session organised in conjunction with the International Women's Day on 8th March. There are many ways how people interpret "brand", ie. image, recognition, popular, unique, identity etc.

Just like what marketing people will do a for product or service, they would put in effort to build the branding for it. This is exactly how you would apply the same concept in building your own "brand" to stand out from your peers in an organisation on the way to the top.

So what's the key elements in building a brand?
1. Who's your target?
2. What's the offer?
3. Reasons to believe (RTB) in your offer ?
4. What's the personality associated with this brand?

By incorporating these 4 elements, your brand would be more relevant and convincing. By the way, a brand can be summed up with the following description: all tangible and intangible elements, which together make it unique.

Have you identified what's your brand?

Am I ever going to be a good first aider?

I had minimal knowledge/experience in first aid during primary school's extracurricular activities. But no actual first aid experience. And I've forgotten all what I've learnt, save for the endless marching under the hot sun. I couldn't understand what marching has to do with first aid. Even now.

Once upon a time, I was eager to acquire first aid skill. Then I threw the notion out of the window long ago. I thought it was interesting and useful to learn that then. It still does now.

This time I caught it in the wind, and volunteered for the first aid training offered that was being offered. This was weird, exciting, anxious...what if I don't know how to save a person? What if I faint at the sight of blood? And most important of all, do I really want to do mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to a foul-mouthed "ah pek"? Eueekk... :S

I counted with my ten fingers and ten toes, and it seemed to me chances of those happening are quite slim. So I threw caution into the wind, and asked to be nominated. So, the timid me is erm..going to be the FEARLESS & HELPFUL first aider! :P Emails were circulated to introduce the nominated first aiders, and suddenly I feel ... "POWERFUL" and "FAMOUS"...

But first will need to come the 2 days training. No worries, I won't faint at the sight of blood. Needles? No problem...maybe injecting into others may pose a teeny weeny problem. And lots of bandages, medicines, first aid kit...Oh, of course, there should be a dummy. For the infamous mouth-to-mouth resuscitation practice of course! What else did you think it was for?

The books have arrived!

Yay~ A big parcel arrived yesterday, and it's for me! :D Actually that parcel is from Lydia, she has promised to mail the books that I've won in her blog contest. That's 4 books, including one of her recent work, Honk! If You're Malaysian. I'm so excited, and she even autographed the book with a personal message to me. Cool! I've never had an autographed book before. I'm so excited that I dig my head into her book straight away.

The first story itself has made me giggle. How she described the china man in Pagoda singlet...haha.. the fact that it rings so true, that I can imagine the "apek" kissing her in front of before my eyes... yuccck!! :P I'm going to indulge in the book again tonight...can't wait to read the rest... Oh, and thanks Lydia!

I've won!

I was just reading through my usual haunt of blogsites, and wow...I was surprised to find my name chosen as the 2nd prize winner in Lydia's blog. Remember earlier on I had posted on her new book "Honk! If You're Malaysian" ? Yup, I guess I just got lucky and now I'm waiting to get my hands on the book prizes :D

Wanna know what books I'm going to get? Check it out here.

London flights from RM9.99 via FAX!

Good news for budget travellers! Fly Asian Express (FAX) will begin long-haul operations using brand Air Asia X starting from this July. Yay~ :D

Fares are starting as low as RM9.99 to London, excluding tax and surcharges. Wow! This is surely good if we do get to book through the tickets through the overloaded web servers of AA. Maybe I should start planning for trips to London.

My dearest has just left London last night, and I'm missing him terribly. Hmm... why didn't FAX offer this earlier? haiyaya...I would have been among the first to grab a seat :P

Source : AirAsia X London flights from RM9.99