Welcome back to the second instalment of the Bali series. Some interesting activities and sightseeing in Ubud covered in this vlog.
As I continue to edit the rest of the vlog, it seems like this trilogy may turn into four parts!
Enjoy!
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Sunday, October 27, 2013
Vlog #1 - dnata lounge and Qatar Airways business class
Last week I went to Bali for a short weekend getaway. I've split it into two (or more) parts, the first vlog on the flight and airport lounge, and the second vlog on the island's galore.
Some post-birthday indulgence, thus the J class booking. Trying to sound technical & guru here with a 'J class'. Typically, F/P for first class, J/C for business and Y for economy.
So, for this first vlog, it's a photo and video sharing of the new multi-million project - dnata lounge, which is the business class passengers' airport lounge for Qatar Airways and Garuda Airlines in Terminal 3, Singapore Changi International Airport. Then, some peeks into the J.
No stranger to Qatar Airways, this 9th time on board a QR plane really made me felt at home. Even after comparing both legs of my journey, FA Sujit really upped the game. Kudos dude. It was like having a personal butler in flight. Update: QR's business class is world best for 2013 (skytrax).
Enjoy!
Some post-birthday indulgence, thus the J class booking. Trying to sound technical & guru here with a 'J class'. Typically, F/P for first class, J/C for business and Y for economy.
So, for this first vlog, it's a photo and video sharing of the new multi-million project - dnata lounge, which is the business class passengers' airport lounge for Qatar Airways and Garuda Airlines in Terminal 3, Singapore Changi International Airport. Then, some peeks into the J.
No stranger to Qatar Airways, this 9th time on board a QR plane really made me felt at home. Even after comparing both legs of my journey, FA Sujit really upped the game. Kudos dude. It was like having a personal butler in flight. Update: QR's business class is world best for 2013 (skytrax).
Enjoy!
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| FA Vishal extending QR hospitality right from the moment you take your seat |
Saturday, October 26, 2013
my cut of action!
Media never fails to amaze me. I've never thought of appearing on national TV, let alone SBS. So let me bask in it a bit more. 10 mins to edit and cut out this piece. bear with me. enjoy.
Thursday, October 17, 2013
Birthday is a day to count blessings!
Every birthday, it becomes a time for me to reflect on the past year. What are the things I've achieved and what had I not achieved.
The past year had been particularly good for me. I had expected a first class honours, but, it came with a bonus and surprise to get a prize along with it at my convocation. However it is very disappointing for me to realise that a fch serves no purpose in the corporate world unless it's from a local university. Perhaps I just haven't found the right job. I will continue to work hard. Otherwise, work had been smooth with nice colleagues.
Went night safari with family, meals with friends, and first time celebrating it at work! Colleagues bought me a cake and backpack! Thank you. Oh! And my excited niece had been talking about how she was going to invite her playgroup little friends to my 'birthday party'! HAHAHA. Of course it didn't come true.
I am indeed grateful to the advent of my life, and have not forgotten the less fortunate. I always believed that education is the way to grow. That is why when I visited the orphanage in Nairobi, I brought along a package of stationery and books.
This year, I am very fortunate to be able to join another 70 donors in giving out a total of 108 student scholarships to the less fortunate students in Thailand. I donated two normal shares within my limited capability.
The annual ceremony at Wat Thamfad, kindly coordinated by brother fazhu, hosted a total of 108 students from 10 different schools in Kanchanaburi, Thailand. The scholarship ceremony this year, presided by Luang Phor Watchara is also in celebration of the 100 years of Somdej Sankaraj. It was coincidentally held on the day of my birthday this year, on 12th October.
I am very happy to be able to help them. Even though public education is free in Thailand, however, the students would still have to purchase their own uniforms and books. This is how the annual scholarship issued by Wat Thamfad helped the poorer students there.
Phor means father in Thai language. Look at how happy and respectful the kids are when they are receiving their scholarship from Luang Phor. So heart warming.
Sharing some of the ceremony's photos with you all. Photo credit: bro Fazhu.
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| The banner for ceremony |
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| LP Watchara of Wat Thamfad |
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| Little boys kneeling in line to receive their scholarship |
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| Displaying appreciation with a Wai |
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| This boy is so cute! ^^ |
Etena sacca vajjena sothi te hotu sabbada! [By the firm determination of this truth, may you ever be well]
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
Been a while....
I apologise for the lack of enthusiasm in blogging recently, but I assure you I'm not giving up, and am having something brewing in my pot.
In the wee hours of the night, sitting cross legged, staring at a pile of leisure reads on my study table, as well as youtubing on my laptop, feels totally like the time machine. Back to exactly a year ago when I was studying in Liverpool. Albeit different cause.
Today, I am just trying to fill the gap of time. Tomorrow is a public holiday (reads: bank holiday in uk context), thus I have the luxury to forego a bit of my sleep to do some non-constructive stuffs. It is kinda like... How can I waste my night when there's no work tomorrow? And then the irony sets in.
However, during my schooling days, pulling an all-nighter meant serious business. Doing your tutorial won't need an all-nighter. Researching for your dissertation don't need that either. All-nighter usually meant that there is a submission coming up the next morning at 9 am. Usually I'll make a trip to our communal kitchen in our flat at about 2 am to grab a bite. That is also when I'll bump into my flatmates, some of whom happens to be my classmates as well. They would sometimes be groaning about how I have not started my papers and still get a manageable grade.
This boils down to planning, really.
Because, by then I would have done my research, got the arguments drawn up, and only left with the work of typing. I wrote the outline for my papers soon after the modules start and put it aside, beefing it up along the way. I start my research early by hitting the books before the other 101 classmates get the books I want from the library.
That is how I start my papers at 4 am, ensuring a final check and manage a comfortable submission at 8:45 am . Also, to avoid problems during submission, I would have opened the submission page at 8 to 8:30 am to ensure its work-ability.
I would say I have learnt a great deal through all these trivial matters. Time management, research ability and work priorities. And most importantly, analytic skills.
My lecturer once warned us at the start of a particularly module that by the end of our course in Mass Communications, we will either go crazy or become fat. Crazy because there is so many standpoints (e.g. intended audience, producers etc); but this is what honed us to be analytical! =) Fat because the stress will make us eat more junk food! It is pretty obvious I am the latter hahahahaha! You know, Thorntons' brownies are such good comfort food at night! Thankfully but sadly, it's not available in Singapore. It was my drawer staple!
Something's weighing down my mind but not apt to share publicly. Agony.
Anyway, everyone be well, stay well!
In the wee hours of the night, sitting cross legged, staring at a pile of leisure reads on my study table, as well as youtubing on my laptop, feels totally like the time machine. Back to exactly a year ago when I was studying in Liverpool. Albeit different cause.
Today, I am just trying to fill the gap of time. Tomorrow is a public holiday (reads: bank holiday in uk context), thus I have the luxury to forego a bit of my sleep to do some non-constructive stuffs. It is kinda like... How can I waste my night when there's no work tomorrow? And then the irony sets in.
However, during my schooling days, pulling an all-nighter meant serious business. Doing your tutorial won't need an all-nighter. Researching for your dissertation don't need that either. All-nighter usually meant that there is a submission coming up the next morning at 9 am. Usually I'll make a trip to our communal kitchen in our flat at about 2 am to grab a bite. That is also when I'll bump into my flatmates, some of whom happens to be my classmates as well. They would sometimes be groaning about how I have not started my papers and still get a manageable grade.
This boils down to planning, really.
Because, by then I would have done my research, got the arguments drawn up, and only left with the work of typing. I wrote the outline for my papers soon after the modules start and put it aside, beefing it up along the way. I start my research early by hitting the books before the other 101 classmates get the books I want from the library.
That is how I start my papers at 4 am, ensuring a final check and manage a comfortable submission at 8:45 am . Also, to avoid problems during submission, I would have opened the submission page at 8 to 8:30 am to ensure its work-ability.
I would say I have learnt a great deal through all these trivial matters. Time management, research ability and work priorities. And most importantly, analytic skills.
My lecturer once warned us at the start of a particularly module that by the end of our course in Mass Communications, we will either go crazy or become fat. Crazy because there is so many standpoints (e.g. intended audience, producers etc); but this is what honed us to be analytical! =) Fat because the stress will make us eat more junk food! It is pretty obvious I am the latter hahahahaha! You know, Thorntons' brownies are such good comfort food at night! Thankfully but sadly, it's not available in Singapore. It was my drawer staple!
Something's weighing down my mind but not apt to share publicly. Agony.
Anyway, everyone be well, stay well!
Sunday, September 29, 2013
Marketing dynamics of TheWritePerson
It has been an encouraging journey thus far in trying to get visitors to my blog.
Since its inception in June this year, there has been a steady stream of visitors. Averaging about 400 page views per month. Not a lot, but it is really encouraging as it is like a bonus for me as I started this blog as a media to exercise my passion in writing.
Frankly speaking, it started off primarily as a mean for me to publish my soccer articles, which wasn't too up to standard to be sold off for publication. Then I decided to spread my wings into lifestyle writing in a bid to expand my portfolio.
The first baby step in marketing for myself began with the naming and branding, in the conceptualising of name, TheWritePerson. I had wanted this blog to be part of my writing portfolio for a writing-related job. Thus I wanted a name which can creates the right impression, which sets the scene. I had job search at the back of my mind, thus was thinking about being The Right Person, but it sounded so jaded and cliche. I added a little twist to it and made it The Write Person (blog site) at The Write Space (blog title). Still slightly cliche, but does good enough to separate from the pack. In fact I have received compliments from friends who thought that this is a rather appropriate name. Thank you.
But really, I am indeed proud of TheWritePerson. It had served as a way to get my articles seen, a way to keep in touch with my numerous overseas friends, as well as to keep up with my passion. After starting this blog, I felt like being a journalist, or not, does not matter as much. If I just wanted to make my articles seen, I can do it here. If I want to get down to reporting news, I can also do it here; citizen journalism.
TheWritePerson has taught me a lot. So, I'm going to talk about how this blog went from zero visitor to its current state.
There are numerous media online for hosting personal websites and blogs. A careful selection is needed in my opinion. Having tried a few blogging platforms, I found Blogspot catering most to my needs. It has a slightly more casual image than WordPress which fits my pursuit. I didn't want my blog to start off too seriously. Probably a bit more fun like I am; getting the right audience.
Then, comes the issue of convenience. A heavy user of Apple, the Blogger application allows me to blog from my iphone, as well as ipad. No problems at all even if I am not with my laptop. Easy interface and stability a plus. Also, the set up was easy and had tonnes of template for me to choose from! Talk about all the convenience offered in this fast pace world where users starts to get irritated when their Google search exceeds 400 milliseconds wait time.
As always, the first post was a self-introduction which almost does not have any selling point. That practically explained why there were no visitors. Plus, how to get eyeballs if I am not even letting people know of my product? *Slaps forehead* So I decided to start off my marketing for this blog through direct marketing. I started to text my close friends with the web address and finally managed to get the counter rolling.
Then I started to blog more.
I realised I cannot depend solely on just the handful of visitors I was getting. I needed more visitors to read my articles and hopefully give my feedback for improvement. I started to promote my blog by posting direct post links with a short copy as my Facebook status. True enough, the blogspot statistics showed an encouraging figure for the direct post linked visitors. Moreover, I was getting comments on my Facebook status more than what I get on my blog! A more direct form of communication with my visitors. I value all feedback. Really grateful.
All these communications had me all excited. After all my interest had always lied in the area of computed mediated communications, which prompted me to do my university dissertation on the communications on Social Networking Sites and its educational value.
Then I found a simpler way to cross over and post my link on Facebook. I realised there was a share icon at the end of every blog post for me to share on social media. Saved me the trouble of going into my blog, then into the specific post to get the permalink, and open another browser for Facebook to update my status with the link. I could push my article onto other social media like twitter and Google+ too.
Big plus! All these media are free for everyone, so ROI is 100% !
Lastly, I saw the potential in marketing my blog on my personal name card which I gave out to industry professionals whom I met at sports events which I was covering and along the way. You know how cute my name card was designed to be in order to leave an impression as I did not want my name card to be thrown away without serving its purpose. Moreover, my name card allowed me to display my creativity as well as Photoshop skill in doing up the entire thing on my own.
I noticed that most people whom received my name card will flip to its back to check out how it was done, how the attachment is secured. Thus, a plain flip side would be such a waste! Perfect opportunity to advertise my blog.
However, even though results had been satisfactory, there are still much to be worked on. The next thing to work on is definitely on my Search Engine Optimisation. I can't find my blog on google and yahoo even when the exact words 'thewriteperson' is entered. I need SEO skills. Learning is crucial to improvements, time to hit the library soon.
Thank you everyone for being with me here!
Good night!
Since its inception in June this year, there has been a steady stream of visitors. Averaging about 400 page views per month. Not a lot, but it is really encouraging as it is like a bonus for me as I started this blog as a media to exercise my passion in writing.
Frankly speaking, it started off primarily as a mean for me to publish my soccer articles, which wasn't too up to standard to be sold off for publication. Then I decided to spread my wings into lifestyle writing in a bid to expand my portfolio.
The first baby step in marketing for myself began with the naming and branding, in the conceptualising of name, TheWritePerson. I had wanted this blog to be part of my writing portfolio for a writing-related job. Thus I wanted a name which can creates the right impression, which sets the scene. I had job search at the back of my mind, thus was thinking about being The Right Person, but it sounded so jaded and cliche. I added a little twist to it and made it The Write Person (blog site) at The Write Space (blog title). Still slightly cliche, but does good enough to separate from the pack. In fact I have received compliments from friends who thought that this is a rather appropriate name. Thank you.
But really, I am indeed proud of TheWritePerson. It had served as a way to get my articles seen, a way to keep in touch with my numerous overseas friends, as well as to keep up with my passion. After starting this blog, I felt like being a journalist, or not, does not matter as much. If I just wanted to make my articles seen, I can do it here. If I want to get down to reporting news, I can also do it here; citizen journalism.
TheWritePerson has taught me a lot. So, I'm going to talk about how this blog went from zero visitor to its current state.
There are numerous media online for hosting personal websites and blogs. A careful selection is needed in my opinion. Having tried a few blogging platforms, I found Blogspot catering most to my needs. It has a slightly more casual image than WordPress which fits my pursuit. I didn't want my blog to start off too seriously. Probably a bit more fun like I am; getting the right audience.
Then, comes the issue of convenience. A heavy user of Apple, the Blogger application allows me to blog from my iphone, as well as ipad. No problems at all even if I am not with my laptop. Easy interface and stability a plus. Also, the set up was easy and had tonnes of template for me to choose from! Talk about all the convenience offered in this fast pace world where users starts to get irritated when their Google search exceeds 400 milliseconds wait time.
As always, the first post was a self-introduction which almost does not have any selling point. That practically explained why there were no visitors. Plus, how to get eyeballs if I am not even letting people know of my product? *Slaps forehead* So I decided to start off my marketing for this blog through direct marketing. I started to text my close friends with the web address and finally managed to get the counter rolling.
Then I started to blog more.
I realised I cannot depend solely on just the handful of visitors I was getting. I needed more visitors to read my articles and hopefully give my feedback for improvement. I started to promote my blog by posting direct post links with a short copy as my Facebook status. True enough, the blogspot statistics showed an encouraging figure for the direct post linked visitors. Moreover, I was getting comments on my Facebook status more than what I get on my blog! A more direct form of communication with my visitors. I value all feedback. Really grateful.
All these communications had me all excited. After all my interest had always lied in the area of computed mediated communications, which prompted me to do my university dissertation on the communications on Social Networking Sites and its educational value.
Then I found a simpler way to cross over and post my link on Facebook. I realised there was a share icon at the end of every blog post for me to share on social media. Saved me the trouble of going into my blog, then into the specific post to get the permalink, and open another browser for Facebook to update my status with the link. I could push my article onto other social media like twitter and Google+ too.
Big plus! All these media are free for everyone, so ROI is 100% !
Lastly, I saw the potential in marketing my blog on my personal name card which I gave out to industry professionals whom I met at sports events which I was covering and along the way. You know how cute my name card was designed to be in order to leave an impression as I did not want my name card to be thrown away without serving its purpose. Moreover, my name card allowed me to display my creativity as well as Photoshop skill in doing up the entire thing on my own.
I noticed that most people whom received my name card will flip to its back to check out how it was done, how the attachment is secured. Thus, a plain flip side would be such a waste! Perfect opportunity to advertise my blog.
However, even though results had been satisfactory, there are still much to be worked on. The next thing to work on is definitely on my Search Engine Optimisation. I can't find my blog on google and yahoo even when the exact words 'thewriteperson' is entered. I need SEO skills. Learning is crucial to improvements, time to hit the library soon.
Thank you everyone for being with me here!
Good night!
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