Life's Missing Instruction Manual

Was reading the above book last night,,came across some interesting points. Ive summarized it.

1. Growing Old May Be a Choice
Bad diet/ poor health choices (drinking, smoking etc), stress, our deep rooted beliefs/programming that aging is normal and the biggest factor of all: the baggage that we drag around with us every day makes us old.

Aging may be unneccessary and should be classified as being a disease, rather than something that is a normal part of life.

2. Are you playing a role of victim?
So, before you choose to be a lifelong victim, ask yourself "Where are my opportunities? Should i relocate? Should i pick better friends? Find a better job? What does my intuition say?

And i am sure you can think of many more questions that will help guide you to self-betterment and get you closer to your goals. Listen to your heart and make choices that actively serve to better yourself. Anything less is choosing to live as a victim. You are the only one who can choose the life you live.

3. Failure is not death
A famous businessman once said, "i'm 74 yeas old and a millionaire now, but i had to try alot of things and fail at alot of things to get here. Her's what i learned about failure: Nothing bad ever happens to you."

Nothing bad ever happens to you.

There it is. It's the secret of handling failure, You go on to the next thing. You dont give you. You take a deep breath, You dust yourself off. You learn.

And you do the next thing.

Failure is not death.
**********************************************************************
This book is soo motivating.

Vonnie, sorry to hear about your dad's arm and your mum missing the ge tai and blaming ur dad. I think it is natural ba..coz ppl tend to automatically blame other ppl.

One of my friend, her dad had stroke and now her family becomes not so well to do (coz her father cannot work for the past 10years). Her mum would openly tell ppl and relatives it is her husband's fault tat now they are living in a budget, without ever caring for her husband's feeling (at least ur mum is telling u secretly). They used to live in a banglow but now "downgraded" to a 5 room apartment. Her mum is soo grumpy and angry over her situation that she was dignosed with breast cancer 2 years ago (Your illness is caused by wat u think. For eg, ppl with leg problem is because they had a hard time moving ahead with life). Now, my poor friend had to earn alot of $$ to pay medical bills of both her parents and also the family's expenses. Her 2 other elder siblings got married and dont bother about their parents... Sometimes, my friend will still say "last time my father will drive us to orchard road for shopping and dinings." Oh well, tat was Last time....Unfortunately, she borrowed $ but spend it on her leisure items (like ipod and agnes b wallet) rather than her family. The secret was leaked out and now, nobody dare to lend her $ or walk near her. She has no friends coz she havent repay some of them the $.

Quite excited about my sat's outdoor sale..wonder what would the situation be like coz never done it on a pushcart before. Had packed 2 cartons of stuffs.. Maki and cockroach is coming. After that, they will go to the Vivo's jrock matsuri. I dont like Spore's matsuri..To think some1 at sgcafe asked "got japanese bands come anot?". Sooo Newbie..

And Xuann, i still own you tako balls,,i didnt forget.

Funny dreams and fake h,naotos (beware!)

Last night dreamt i got a job in japan. I went there with a friend to meet her friend and both of us got a job!!! Then, im walking along the Ikebukuro street with blocks of shopping malls and my eyes just rolled. I felt tired seeing these shopping malls..dunno why leh....

Last few days dreamt i met a gal at a venue (dunno what is this place) and she is holding 10pcs of Arashi tickets waiting for ppl to buy. I stopped by and asked her why she got so many tickets. She said "my customers asked me to order for them, then they last minute back out." I feel sorry for her. I didnt buy but walked away. Arashi ...err,,not my type.. Would prefer Kinki kids, Kanjani 8 and Kat-tun. If she is selling KK, i will buy,,scully i dream i go to the concert too..hahahaha

One ang mor mei mei email me this (havent close bid leh!)
http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=280258357419&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=018

Mei mei want the burst into the blaze pamphlet but im not sure if can find any, so ask her to go ebay or LJ to search..den she send me the above url. She dont trust to buy from LJ..I wonder hw much will the Burst pamphlet cost?? It is only one show ,,, da tour goods must be very scarced. Maki said a Sporean gal went and she is letting fans bid for the tour goods at LJ. Of coz,,Maki went to bid,,,US$50, for a start. I wonder hw much wld it end up,,lolz.... *expensive hobby*

Yday met LP after my meet up. It's been 3 weeks i didnt meet her. This time is to pass her Bday present to her. We went for lunch at far east and was talking about one of my friend who was a headhunter and suddenly remembered and asked her " Did you go to job agencies to find out about your market rate?"

LP: No,,my life is routine one. My job is ok lah..

Me: ... ... (never reply her coz i kan kai liao. Dunno why, im no longer pissed with her passive-ness)

LP: Oh yes, are you going to Japan?

Me: (surprised by this question) Hmm, not sure, maybe next year ba. U want to go arh?

LP: I cant lah,,the visa question lor

Me: Huh? Now you can start to save wat..only need $9000 for at least 3mths in ur bank account, den can apply for visa liao. If no $, borrow fm ur father just to put in ur bank for show.

LP: Orh,,

Siao right???? She never do a thing to enable her to go to Japan..she knew all the requirements since March,,,but till now,,almost half year liao,,she did nothing..Super jia lat!

She is really playing victim...sooo passive..omg,,,but i take it easy liao. People like her is most suitable to be in their comfort zone till the end of their time.

Told her abt my sis,,she is in UK now with her husband for a 10days holiday and will be moving to a condo in Oct.

LP: Wah,,i envy ur sis leh...what does her hubby do?

Me: IT line..he got promotion lately,,so can go holidays and upgrade house

LP: Wah,,her hubby is sooo capable leh..(she must be thinking her bf is incapable. Her bf owns a small biz selling his handmade kuehs to his nearby neighbourhood in Penang)

Me: ... (didnt reply,,dunno wat to say)

Me: Eh, so, when are you going back to Msia for good?

LP: Dunno leh (her fav words), my mum also ask me to go back,,but i havent earn enough $$

Me: Earn enough $$? How much is enough and u want to use it for wat?

LP: Alot lah,i want to buy a house in Msia..but i dunno how long it will take for me to earn enough $ here..maybe 10more years??

Me: Aiyah,,ask ur bf to buy the house lah,,not you. Or u can ask ur father to help you (her dad is well to do)

LP; No lah,,dont want to depend on my family.

Jia lat again...want to earn more $$ but dont make a small effort to check out her market rate with job agencies. Imagine such a small effort can probably accelerate her earnings???

Yesterday was a peaceful day out with her....im soo calm yday coz i really dunno wat to say liao.

Went to Haru Goth (the new Haru shop) at far east after lunch. Gosh,, they sell fake h.naoto's hangry and angry stuffs. The paper tags were placed at the bottom of the tees.. Original ones are placed near the collar. The label is genuine but was placed on fake apparels. Real ones have 3 paper tags (item code tag, S-inc/hangry and angry tag and care instruction tag). They only have 2 paper tags.. The fake hangry and angry wallet is S$40,,the real one ive sold before was S$46...jia lat siar. One bee said her friend bought alot of things from tat shop. Her friend kena cheated liao and they think is the original item...

They most original item i saw was the hangry and angry plush,,tats all. What an unethical shop! I must stop this,,will do a h.naoto spree after my outdoor sale. I cant believe they cheapen the h.naoto brand..it is really an insult to the Japanese brands. Yucks! Btw, i think they also mass print the h.naoto plastic bags,,hahahaha.. no wonder bees think it is the Real thing.. To think they write at sgcafe that their h.naoto is real one and their mark up is 50% from the website price if ppl want to pre-order. Scully u pay so much,,den get fake one? Tsk tsk tsk..They have Zero respect for original brands.

This noon, a local mei mei smsed to ask me "hey, i read tat the phantas concert goods at shibuya ax is sold inside the venue. It means i must have ticket before i can buy"

Me: Eh,,tot u had a ticket?

Her: No,tat one is Osaka tour..i dont have the Tokyo tour ticket.

Me: Den you;ll need to go to the venue to find tickets or ask fans to help u buy. Tell them u r from Spore but u didnt manage to buy the tickets

Her: Den i dont need to go early right? The door opens at 1630

Me: (??) You will need to go early if you want to buy the tickets or find fans to help you with the goods.

Her: orh,,ok.

Funny siar..shld go early to the venue rite? If i were her, i go there by 1oam..hahaha. Kiasu is the best policy.

Everytime encounter such kuku questions,,wo yao bian bai fa mo nu le.

6 things to do everyday

Yday dont know why, suddenly remembered a theory which i read from a book 2 weeks ago..but ive forgotten it's title. It means something like,,in order to improve and keep on moving ahead of life, one must list down 6 things to do each morning. If you cannot finish all the 6 things, you roll over the balance things (put them 1st on the next day) and create a total of 5 things.

So, this morning, i listed my 6 things.
1. Eat more healthly food
2. Reading
3. Label all my items for next weekend;s sale
4. Help my brother check the new government's baby bonus
5. Order some hp straps (cutie ones, got ramen, japanese keitai, cakes styles) for next weekend's booth
6. Cut up a big box and make it into a smaller one.

Completed 5, except labelling of items..it is 80% completed,,still left accessories to go.

Wah,,,Vonnie,,ur Wishlist got shape somemore,,so well co-ordinated!!~ very sui and creative. Btw, dont say "You Cant afford it",,instead, say "how can i afford it". Remember, your words makes you, Dont send messages to your subconcious mind by saying "i cant". This is how i rephrase my questions whenever i tot i cant. Cant is like a dead end....how is like being able to find the answers.

Ur babies concert is starting this Sat,,Maki is drooling over the long list of tour goods!~ Got Gaze Water somemore,,i wonder how does it taste like... Oh yes, thanks for ur support Vonnie,,,the visual konbini is run by a 20yo girl..she brave!~ I dont have such courage when i was at the age,,

This Sat is the Natsu matsuri,,some of our bees are excited to put on their lovely yukata set, One bee said on last friday "eh,,the geta (clogs) is too small leh,,,how?". Too bad,it is too late to order,,so she went to find some flora sandals....

Off to think about my next 6 things to do tomorrow...Oyasuminasai~

Most amusing questions

From a customer (Unfortunately, it is from a Sporean)

Her email - Enquiry

1. How long will it take to be delivered
2. How will it be delivered
3. How would I pay

Our Reply:

Pls inform your location. Pls refer to the instructions at our webshop before ordering

Her Email:

*She follows format* and under mode of payment, she uses bold capital letters:

MODE OF PAYMENT - PERSONAL CHEQUE

Do you accept personal cheque?

Our Reply:

Sorry, only inter bank transfer, paypal or meet up. (Wish could reply "did our instruction say there's cheque payment?)

****************************************************************************
AND,,the most lembek part----> The amount is only SGD$16!!

Amusing and amazing right?? If SGD$1600, can consider to accept cheque ,,but for a measly S$16??? Bu shi ba?????? I have a problem understanding their thinking....

bad seller despite impressive ratings! *beware!*

Bought a nu bra from a seller in USA. This site (It was a Chinese seller - known after i receive the package.) got more than 1000+ good ratings. Well, even this couldnt be trust. It is because they allow returns of goods. SOOO,,due to this, i got a "used" item. The seal of the bra's box was torn off (barely sealable) but the condition seems ok to me. However, while I used it yesterday, i dun feel the silcon is sticky...so i wonder how many times the previous owner had used it before returning to this shop! (The ebay ID is "justprettybridals"). The most unfortunate thing is, this site has been suspended by ebay (perhaps due to many complaints?) 3 days before this item arrives. Sooo, i cannot complain! Gosh,,spend US$40+ and den got a 2nd hand item!! Dishonesty is always looming around!

Met 2 customers today. The first girl was going to be uber late,,so she last min called her bf to collect for her. This nicey guy was only 10mins late (it is not the 1st time she asked him to collect stuffs on her behalf) coz he rushed down from bishan (vs his gf from Sengkang). Wat a nice guy! hahaha.

Today's Grand final ping pong match vs China was very exciting. It was really hardwork for our team!~ Glory to them and thanks to them for bringing us the long awaited Silver Medal!!~ For Olympics,,i like only swimming and gymastics..lolz.

Guru accepted paypal since a few mths ago. Many customers dunno yet,,,but i ask them to order themselves rather than go thru me..not all $$ must earn lah,,,

That "cannot wait gal" replied the next dayl after i "scolded her gently." She said "I tot u will be interested in the details." Sianz,,,Zzzzzzz i cant be bothered to reply her.

For my website,, the IT guy will summit it end of aug...so,, i wonder hw it will turned out to be,,hmm.. Oh yes,,there is another new v-kei site called visual KBN by another sporean gal (can find it at sgcafe). Thanks to Maki..he told me this,,,lolz *he's my secret spy*. Visited the site,,not bad lah,,mostly indies. Despite they say the promote indies instead of Major bands,,u can find Alice nine in there. They also do some jpop..u can find Arashi in there too..abit chap palang.. they also do bodyline and other brands of clothes..seems like these brands are carried by cdjapan. 1 regular bodyline customer also noe this site (she always visits sgcafe) but she said "nvm lah,,ive been ordering so long from u liao,,why change leh?" Super heartwarming!!

Btw, these days, gaze fans seems lagging..lolz,,perhaps they are tired of them liao? Sales arent so good for their items now,,esp at ebay. The bids were bare minimum. Vonnie,,if u want to sell da goods must faster,,else if they "fades"...den....ur items will be depreciated rather than appreciated..

Talking about Omotansedo,,i realised recently ive missed the Burberry Blue Label store. Recently a customer was enquiring about this brand,,den i realised,,omg,,,it is located at Omotansedo. Zen gai si!!Eyes stick stamp at tat time!!!~~ Will visit next time..dunno when,,,maybe jan,,coz im interested to go to the ps company 10th anniversary live..to see Kagrra!!! Well, depends lah,if can get da ticket and also,,the stupid fuel charge. It's now at such an exorbitant price!! Next aim is Kagrra but shun bian see the rest also not bad (esp Miyavi,,want to see his height!)

Next Wed, a friend will be going for V6 concert at yoyogi on 8/29. Every year, she will go to V6 concerts religiously.. And,,the interesting thing is..she is a almost 60 years old Aunty!~ Dont play play. She loves V6 for more than 8 years now..so almost every year, must go catch their summer tours *I Salute!*

Went to the National Library on Sat after da meet up. To return my books and also borrow some book. These are the titles ive found. They are from the trolley where the librarians were in the midst of shelving the books.

1. Life's Missing Instruction Manuel by Joe Vitale

2. The Real Warren Buffett by James O'Loughlin (Perhaps he has some attributes like Li Jia Cheng - the HK Tycoon. His life story and how he became rich was very admiring - but interestingly none were written by him)

3. Instant Confidence - The power to go for anything you want by Paul McKenna

4. Chinese book - Fu Nao Dai, Jie ji sheng dan fa da cai by Wan Du ( i think,,coz i dont know how to read the 2nd character. It is san dian shui + Du guo de Du)

After i fa cai,,i will invest in the Grameen trust. They will use this money to invest. The profits will be use to provide scholarships to a poor children (you can choose too) in Blangedash. After this child graduates, the profits will be used for the next child and so forth. They have another similar system for Social business too. So, it is up to you which trust you are interested to invest. I think the minimum amount is US$1000. I think this system is better than World Vision where every month you donate a fix sum to a child under their Adopt a Child programme. Under Grameen Trust, the usage of funds goes a longer way. *Some food for thought*

Dont get it man!!~

Hey vonnie, did you enjoy the gaze live dvd?~ Long time no hear from u :) How have u been? A boy boy said the camera man for the dvd sucks,,,another girl girl said the recording is bad. I didnt watch,,but i think tat venue (yoyogi) is lousy and old. Perhaps the equipments are old too... I liked the packaging though,,,reminds me of the nameless liberty (the purple one).

This afternoon, a bee (my customer;s nick) smsed to inform she got an A2 for her chinese O levels~~ Wow,,nowadays, it is rare for students to score As in Chinese. I got a B3 last time...lolz.. Met her last sat for the gaze dvd. As it was National day, she said "later i go home, when the national day ceremony starts, i will start to watch my gaze dvd too." Wah,,she is soo "creative". She said "every year, the ceremony is the same lah." She is a Korean and Chinese mix.

Received a bugging email today. This fan (well, unfortunately is a Sporean) has been waiting for her band's FC only dvd since June. This FC is super slow and this fan kept emailing to ask for status. Told her it will take at least 2months and every now and then, she will email to check. Dunno hw many emails has she sent so far. The last time was last week where she said "the fc website said it was sent out end of July and can i receive it next week?". I said "if that is the case, we will receive it early aug. Will update u again". Today, she email again "the fc website said it will be sent out one 8/12 for first batch order and 8/18 for 2nd batch order.. so hope to see u next week.". She waited for sooo long liao,,does it matter for another 1-2 weeks? Why must kept emailing? This is what i dislike about Sporean customers.,,dun understand engrish or wat? Will definately inform u to collect (she is not a first time customer). Tat's why now for customers who orders from FC sites, must tell them the wait is 2mths or more. If not, they will be like this pestering customer.

Had replied her "Sorry, but think you are overly anxious about this item. Pls wait for our notification. We will definately receive it." im doing my best to be polite and put my point across. Just like a friend who said "tour goods only wat, why need to be urgent?" Only if it is ltd edt or ltd qty den urgent rite? But this dvd has since long been ordered wat.. Super BTH.. Vonnie is soo rite,,sporeans CMI

Monday, my neighbour's 10year old boy went out to play till 3.30am. Cant believe man!~ His father went around our neighbourhood to search for him till 12.30am but cant find him. The boy returned home only at 3.30am sneakly. The boy is very smart. His parents gave him a hp and he switched it OFF so he can play for as long as he like. Funny rite??? His father beat him till very jia lat on Tue afternoon. He also play until he lost his house key (was left at his friend's house),,,i wonder how he managed to open the door (i think it wasnt lock by his parents so he can come home). He went to 15th floor (we are 8th fl), his classmate's house. Wonder why his classmate's parents didnt ask this boy to go home when it is soo late... Now, he is very kuai,,,dont dare to go out...hahaha.

Btw, DM called me from his home phone on sunday and i answered (coz dunno who mah). He said "u very busy lately arh,,wat r u doing.?" Wah,,heng i quickly say "coz my brother's wedding is around the corner, so my whole family is very busy." He said "oic,ok lor." Den i said "i gtg now coz im going to msia now." Oh,,ok,,,byes. Den, immediately, he smsed "if got time, pls help me check this ??#@! dvd". Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz zzzzzzzzzzzz boh chap man... he still dont get it.. BTH

Tako balls

Finally made the tako balls on monday nite. It wasnt soo successful as you can see in the picture. The turning of the tako balls were the most difficult. One ball even fell out of the tray when i flipped *clumpsy*!~~Some went out of shape. Followed the receipe from the machine but think the mix is too thick. Next time will add more water.

Xuann..u see da pic,,err,u dare to eat?~~ I will make sure it wont be burnt like picture 2...

It was a fun experience. Gave some to my neighbour's primary 3 boy. He didnt know what is that..lolz....Told him it is hot inside, pls eat with care.

My neighbour strike 1 prize today. She strike 1st prize last Sun too!~ Super lucky de lor!!~ Total prize is S$11k. It was a great windfall for her. She just came back from Australia with 6 of her relatives.

Learnt something new today, from the channel 8's Beauty show (forget what;s da title. Wo zui wan meh? Happen to catch the part where a cook introduce the benefits of vinegar. It was host by Desmond koh and lin cui fang).

To be able to allow our bones to absorb more calcuim, drinking of vinegar helps. The cook mixed apple flavoured vinegar into milk and let the guests try. They all said it was yummy. I didnt know the purpose of vinegar till an hour ago. Wow,,,it has great benefits. No wonder the Japanese are sooo crazy over black vinegar. They have such drinks at supermarkets and also vinegar soup base noodles. I scare to try the black vinegar..

This is better:
http://item.rakuten.co.jp/lecdirect/u-st/

Tako ball machine is up and running!~~Finally!

da gal who enquired abt da dir's 09 calendar in May smsed last nite..she's looking for some diru old fc limited dvds. all are above S$180 and she kept asking about the condition. Aiyoh,,2nd hand ones..im so afraid she expects the 2nd hand one to be like da brand new (her friend, our regular customer has such thinking,,so im worried she has the same kind of thinking too),,so better ne "kiasi" and told her "their "good condition" might not be up to your expectation and i cant guarantee coz i didnt see the item before i order. Thus, pls order at ur own risk". After all, their "good condition" might not tally with her "good condition". Sometimes i feel it is good condition but others might not dont think so..

Cant help but have a feeling that she is a very particular person like her friend. Her friend once laments a hide guitar pick which she bought from us got "scratches" and wants to exchange it. When i saw it,,oh my,,the so-called scratches are sooo feather fine lines (which is usual for picks)..Still, i let her choose among among my stock till she's satisfy. Imagine,,a S$5 sale have to do after sales svs? Cant imagine a S$240 one..

I am wary and sensitive to such customers..

Bought the converter at sim lim square yday,,it was S$90. The 1st shop charges me S$105. I said "will consider" coz i know it was overprices. The 2nd shop (the one i bought a silent keyboard before) was S$100. I asked "huh? so ex,,got discount anot"? He said "S$96". "Err, is that the best prices?". He went to get a calculator and come back "S$93". I said "Aiyoh,,make it S$90 lah..coz it is soo heavy (think got 2kg) and i have to carry back to jurong". He said "Ok lor." Funny right,,have to hassle for 3 mins..lolz..but i saved S$10.

Went home to try it out,,wow!~ It works!!~ Finally!~~ Within 1 min, the machine is heated up..Im soo thrilled!!~~ will make tako balls tonight!~

Tako ball machine: S$30
Converter: S$90
Experience: Priceless!!~~

Okonomiyaki & no tako ball..sigh

Tako Ball machine. It is 26cm and 1.15kg. So cute,,it's like a mini steam boat machine

Tako ball ingredients and tool.

Japanese canned fish, salad dressing and rice crackers,,complimentary from supplier

A trip to sim lim square today made me realised the previous step down converter ive bought has an output of only 70W, no wonder it cannot work on the tako ball machine. It needs 500W of output. Went to a shop at sim lim square and the auntie said must see the machine's output watt. Alas,,then i knew i bought the wrong converter. A quick check at ebay,,wow,,it cost about S$90bucks~ Must still buy lah,,if not,,cant make tako balls ..tml will go to sim lim square again.

Im excited to make tako balls.

Hi Xuan,
This is the okonomiyaki :)
http://visualrecipes.com/recipe-details/recipe_id/120/Okonomiyaki-aka-Japanese-Pizza/