i shall not stop writing.

Having a reliable and speedy broadband connection is so important to a work-at-home-mom like me. I have plenty of things to do during the day taking care of the kids while juggling work at those stolen short intervals when my children are occupied with other stuff.

I am heavily dependent on internet connection almost 20 hours a day as my work hours are erratic, where I would normally go all out to focusing on my work after 10pm when most of the house chores are done and since I am based at home, I would always need to keep in touch with the ‘outside’ world like connecting with friends via twitter and facebook during the day just to keep me sane and not be an island.

My journey with the Malaysian broadband experience is aplenty but I have yet to try out P1 W1MAX. Found out about their new W1GGY but I guess I could only test it when their coverage reaches my section in the Kelana Jaya, PJ area. I have always been intrigued by P1’s innovation ever since they started their very catchy (and, somewhat controversial) advert (ahah!) on TV and I think they have somewhat captured a big interest to their services due to this fact.

And if you haven't yet checked them out, do visit their user-friendly website and look for the most suitable plan for you.

Well, for now, I could only hope that P1’ll arrive soon to my area. So for now, I would just have to be satisfied with whatever service that I’m using ☺

Project Alpha Season 2 is presented by Adidas Action 3 and supported by P1 and MAS.

Ok.. it’s been almost a month since my last post as I’ve been very pre-occupied… well, mostly due to the constant Twitter updates that is just as satisfying; a little more due to facebook and their addictive games which I could always participate in between breaks; but more so because of the endless attention required of a growing toddler who has learnt to walk and always able to grab mommy at any time and every time. *phew*

Anyways, I have been very busy with work and I thought it may take me another one week or two before I have the energy to blog again but something just hit me tonight and I have this strong urge to write an entry.

See, there was this discussion on blogging and how some people could still regard blogs as an unimportant marketing tool. Really, at this age and time (and this, I meant the 21st Century – not my ‘age’) I am perplexed at such an opinion. No, it’s not because I am a blogger myself. I am saying this because anyone who’s familiar with the internet and use the internet as a source of info would know and could see how much has changed over the years… how blogs have evolved from what they were before – an avenue to voice out concerns/sharing of information to one of the most effective marketing tools nowadays.

I was even more perplexed that this opinion came from a successful entrepreneur who was taken in by the advise of her friend (also a successful entrepreneur in the same industry) that a blog is not important, and that she should focus more on revenue-generating efforts – an advise given by a person who owns a personal blog with plenty of links to reputable connections in the industry, advertisement spaces and clearly stated contact details for, what else – income generating opportunity! I was about to open my mouth wide but stopped immediately since my advise doesn’t come free that easily and I shall say no more ☺

No longer can one say that blogging is a waste of time or rubbish. Yes, you get some people who writes rubbish but who’s to judge when they have hundreds of ‘followers’ on their blogs. It’s no longer about the content… but more of the following, readership and connections on a personal level. Some say it is no longer fun blog-hopping because one tends to read too many advertorials and entries on online contests but I guess, this sort of marketing and promotions work… or else no advertisers or sponsors would venture into such tactics – it works!

One is no longer subjected to the confinements of one’s home with house chores to be completed. Instead, many housewives have now started to blog to gain additional income (although I am not sure how much one can really earn from sponsored posts/ads like nuffnang, on average). Housewives are also smarter by pursuing their hobbies and selling their products online, through their blogs, that are also filled with links to other bloggers and a huge number of online conversations.

Big corporations in Malaysia have started to open up and welcome bloggers to their events and functions, as they know how powerful it is when certain messages are exchanged in blogs. In this case, bloggers are treated somewhat similar to media practitioners because some people (moi included) do not have that much trust in paid media due to the perception that adspend always (or most of the time) influences the angle of an article unlike independent opinions of bloggers, who at most times provide an objective opinion and approachable at a more personal level through the interactive environment - be it in the comments section or ‘Shout Box’ displayed in their blogs. I, for one, was privileged to be invited by MAS to their Cabin Crew Training for bloggers as they felt that it was important for us bloggers to educate the public of their new motto of Malaysian Hospitality and that cabin crewmembers are not just pretty faces.

Many companies have adopted and accepted the concept of including bloggers into their PR and marketing acitivities. One just cannot discount the importance and strength of published information on a blog, as I learnt back in 2005 just after the Tsunami that badly hit our neighbours and some northern parts of our country. In the news sense, information traveled faster than the main news channels; footages from the catastrophe that were aired on national and international news networks were sourced from blogs; and what I remember most was how a mat saleh baby, whose family had fallen victim to the giant waves in Phuket, was identified by their relatives in Germany (I think!) from photos of him posted in blogs. These, I found out based on my research for an IT article I was required to submit for a client's newsletter. From then on, I discovered the satisfaction of blogging, made many friends through blogging, and of course, met the one from blog-hopping.

Now, almost 5 years later, companies not only welcome bloggers' opinions, many have built special blogs for employees/customers/registered bloggers to post entries/reviews on their blogs. Even politicians have accepted this fact – that opinions posted on blogs can be powerful and how many have tried to create a monitoring system for Malaysian bloggers. Of course, this ain’t easy. Hence, we can now find many blogs of our politicians, all who fell into the saying, "If you can't beat them, join them."… some write their own entries, while some probably use the services of ghost writers.

In the US alone, the acceptance of blogs as a powerful source of info is so overwhelming that even CEOs blog. Sad to say, the only CEO in Malaysia who blogs is none other than Tony Fernandes (I’m not sure… is he a Datuk Seri now?). No wonder he can be such an admired corporate figure… it’s this acceptance and moving along with the times allow him to be the pioneer of many wonderful opportunities…

I, for one, who’s an internet savvy individual – who uses the internet to find information and learns from what she discovers every time, would have to totally say that blogging is an important tool for whatever reasons – be it for marketing purposes or even branding… not necessarily branding/portraying a certain image for your products. Blogging also creates branding for yourself, through the eyes of your readers from what you write. This is because you allow people to get to know you better since what you write is usually seen as a personal opinion; you reach out a massive audience as your blog can be accessed publicly (if you do not choose to make it private) and there are millions out there, at least, who, like me, uses the net as a main source of information. Heck, just one keyword typed in a search engine will display hundreds if not thousands of blog lists that relate to a certain view or reviews that you are searching for. More often than not, those opinions count because those are the information that you obtain FOC.

Heck, I no longer buy beauty magazines as I sometimes find them with too many adverts that do not appeal to me and articles that are downright boring. For now, I am very happy to read two beauty blogs whom I have begun to trust in their suggestions and recommendations, even though I have only been following them for a couple of months. Part of my decision to try out a facial session at Lancome was due to limited information on some beauty brands that I was looking for and the Lancome Beauty Institute in Bangsar Village II was at the top of the list, written by one of them. That was enough to get me curious and how I got totally hooked after the experience under those warm, magical hands of Tiffany ;P

Same goes for you, if you have not been blogging yet. I am not persuading you to… but if you underestimate the power of blogs, get these facts:

- 22 of the 100 most popular websites in the world are blogs

- 51% of blog readers shop online

- blog readers average 23 hours online each week

- 89% of companies surveyed say they think blogs will be more important in the next five years (this is an American survey

- there are 500,000 active bloggers in Malaysia, ranking us among the highest in the world after Indonesia and EU (70% of the election results were influenced by information found in blogs)

- more and more bloggers have garnered additional income from blogging

If you are seeking to reach your audience and brand yourself to be more approachable and accessible, this is one great way to do it. But if you can’t see that, then you lose out in the massive opportunity and just be a follower, rather than the force that you want to portray to them. Hence, you lose out to your competitor who actively blogs.

Geesh... now this is definitely a free advise, huh?

Malaysia Central - Blog Directory

Ok... I am in my excited mode now... I should already head to bed but do not feel sleepy at all, partly due to coffee but partly also due to this one universal bluetooth keyboard that arrived today.


Frankly, I never thought myself a gadget person. Never. I was just happy with a normal phone and although I got an ibook G4 years ago, I just liked it functions but never used it beyond the usual microsoft office applications and frequent blogging sessions.

Well, that seemed to change after I met the one and him spoiling me with my first cute, white Palm Zire on our first Valentine :) From then on, he kinda unleashed the techie side of me and although I won't be able to compete with his knowledge of technical stuff, there are some techie side of me that even he cannot compete with :)

Throughout the years, I bought many many phones, all due to his 'smart' suggestions. They were partly due to him wanting to try the phones as well but rather have me be the guinea pig... many of the phones he suggested have those imperfections that I couldn't live with. But, the best buy was definitely the E90 that I so loved... it even has a blackberry capability which allowed me to reject the boring blackberry set I got at work as I was able to integrate the blackberry account with my phone account. The best part was being able to view microsoft office and pdf documents when the blackberry set the office gave me then could not even retrieve. But... gone are the corporate heydays for me and the phone was too 'big' for my housewifey image.

From then on, the one got me new phones almost annually so that he could indulge in other techie stuff like the Sony PSP and Nintendo DS, without me trying to stop him hehe... it was like an effective bribery. But, in my defense, I would not have stopped him from buying them as I always believed that once in awhile, a man's gotta indulge in the things he love and reward himself for a hard day's work... of course, within means :)

The phones that I use should always have a cosmetic appeal and feels good to the touch - the key pads must be sleek and the phone should look sexy. But when the baby was born, the one thought I should get a camera phone for those priceless moments with the baby's developments. And since I had used a SonyEricsson and a Motorola briefly before, I was adamant to maintain with Nokia, at all cost. Hence, the N82 was the best choice albeit moi not really liking it for its lack in appearance and feel - it was black, plasticky, its key pads were weird and the body was no where near sexy. Heh. But... I guess, the baby was most important and I happily (and reluctantly) chose the N82 over the E71 or E66 and boy, did it capture all those sweet and important moments of little jj, without fail.

Now that Nokia came up with the N86 with an 8-megapixel camera, the one thought it was time for me to upgrade. Well, I was again reluctant because I was eagerly awaiting that sleek E72, a much sexier upgrade from the E71. Plus, it has a 5-megapixel camera which is about similar to the N82. What I like most about the E series is its business-friendly function. I love the shortcut keys and I love it for the thin alloy-like body. But... somehow or rather, I had a quick switch of mind just before little jj turned 1 as I seriously thought an 8-megapixel camera would produce better images of her. Don't get me wrong... I know a separate digital SLR would definitely be 100% better than a camera phone but I am being practical here... I would like my gadgets to be easily accessible rather than realising I have too many cables and wires, and that I need to plug in so many appliances to charge them. Worst of all, I hate having so many things to carry and as much as an SLR would have me looking oh so chic, practicality is always a priority.

So, there. It came to me all of a sudden and the one was more than pleased when I told him I might actually consider the N86 - only if it comes in white. Hehe. What do you know... the shop that we usually go to actually had the last set and it was in white... as if the phone was really made for me, huh?

Finally, I thought I had everything I need with the phone looking sleek, sexy and as white as my Mac... and, it also meets the one's requirements, for him to feel that it was all worth the spending on his other half ;).

Anyway, to backtrack a little... once my ibook G4 displayed a faulty screen a few months back, I started to browse for a new computer. And since an iMac was parked on my desk for an editing job I was doing, I instantly felt I needed a desktop, not a laptop. Furthermore, I was only working from home and do not need to lug a laptop around. So, after much deliberation, the one suggested that a Mac Mini was a perfect choice for me since the 19" LG flatscreen that I won in a lucky draw 2 years ago was still intact in its box and collecting dust... and the fact that a Mac Mini is energy-saving, I guess I got so much value from the purchase even after upgrading its RAM and all.

However, the recent power failures at the condo kinda left me frustrated and I needed something on the go... I know I really do not need a laptop because all I need is a function to type documents and I do not want something so heavy especially when I also have a baby to carry with me when I seek refuge at my parents' house during the power trips. Thus, I suggested getting a Nokia-compatible bluetooth keyboard. Although the one didn't think I would really need it, he seemed to have changed his mind immediately when the keyboard we ordered on ebay, arrived today.


So, yes, I am excited... and I can foresee myself blogging away, anytime, even when I am at my parents' place, while the baby sleeps :)

Hehe... quite a lengthy history to justify why I need a bluetooth keyboard for my Nokia, eh?

The thing about pregnancy that I dread most has come to haunt me… starting this morning – leg cramps. Oh god…

I had always feared getting leg cramps this time around as I strongly recall how excruciating it was in the last pregnancy. It was bad. Horrendous, I must say. I guess I’ve realised that I was probably low in calcium (which I admit without hesitation) and the fact that I wanted to avoid water retention in my legs, made me put my legs straight up when I slept which in turn resulted in poor blood circulation resulting in leg cramps - a nightmare for me each night even at the early stages.

This time, I was happy since I’m already way past 6 months and no signs of leg cramps… that is, until this morning. And it was only in 1 leg… and the pain is much milder. But since I had already fixed the idea in my mind of how painful it is, no amount of ante-natal classes could make me recall any of the steps to massage the leg cramps away.

Now, I am dreading the next nights of the next 3 months until I am due.

Other than that, things have been pretty fine and dandy. The last visit to the gynae was something else. The doctor told me to eat less since I’m putting on more weight than I usually would. Geesh. I asked the one why he didn’t rebut her cos I strongly remember our first visit when she told him to allow me all I feel like eating and not force me to eat things I don’t like to eat. So… isn’t he making me happy by taking her advise?? Heh.

But ya la… I know I have to cut down a bit on my portions during meal times hehe. Hey… I’m just providing the comfort for my baby as she’ll have enough ‘cushions’ to bump into when I move.

So, I now eat less (er) hehe… and always feeling hungry. Uhuk uhuk uhuk…

Everything is Alhamdulillah, fine. My blood pressure is at a healthy level and the position of the foetus seems to be good. Am hoping that it’ll maintain at a healthy and safe level.

We spoke about our concerns and things we’ve learnt at the ante-natal class. Hmmm… I guess, it’s safe to say that in Malaysia, couples don’t have to waste time and money for independent ante-natal classes because the doctors and the hospitals they practice in, have their own set of beliefs and no amount of knowledge you get from the outside will make them flinch.

Suffice to say, we’ve wasted quite a bit since the doctor is not open to the suggestion and consideration. See, even if you browse the websites and books on pregnancy, one of the things they’d advise you would be to put down in writing things you’d want and things you don’t want to happen during delivery, with a disclaimer that reads in case of emergency, all of the points can be compromised, up to the discretion of the medical practitioner involved. But, as we learnt in our last visit, all those things are not really acceptable in even the best/most modern private facility.

See, part of what we thought we could do was to let’s say…. Bring extra pillows or have an aromatherapy candle or a small stereo for soothing music while being tense or changing positions when mommy’s not comfortable or being able to walk rather than be strapped permanently with the baby monitor instead of at strategic intervals or for the dads to be able to be an active participant, and the list goes on.

Turns out – nope. Bring yourself, bring several pairs of comfy night gowns and undies, and that’s it. The belief system is set in that all mothers will give birth lying down as that is the most comfy position when it was so clear to us in the video that we saw of how this woman who seem to be able to bear the pain until she was asked to lie down for them to check the opening of her cervix. Logically, the pain is worse in that position as we defy the laws of gravity.

The only consolation I have from the discussion was that the doctor did not believe in episiotomy unless very necessary. So there. My positive experience will be dealt with in the most conservative way and I’d just have to let it be as they know best.

I know that what we want at the end of the day is for the baby to be delivered safe and sound. But there are many ways for us to reach that same result and I would want to have the choice because it is my body, and my experience. I don’t care if a million others were strapped in bed because this is me, and I’d like to at least be assured that yes, my needs will be cared for.

Hmmm… easier said than done, I guess. So, we’ll just see then. At least I have the comfort from friends who've been under this doctor when they say that she is just as patient and will work with the mommy and daddy the best she could, rather than impose on procedures that are truly unnecessary.

The doctor then told me there’s nothing for me to worry about since it’s my second and it should be a much easier labour. Oh kay.

Yes, I am stubborn.

On another note, I managed to convert the one into a Nokia user. Yeay!

I’ve handed over to him my precious E90 since he loves that phone so much. Oh well, he subsidised that phone in the first place or I wouldn’t even dream of buying a phone at a price more than RM3k.

But, I asked him many times if he was sure he’d want to trade in his beloved 3.2mp sony ericsson phone for a replacement phone for me, a 2mp Nokia. I guess he didn’t mind it one bit as the E90 is not only 3.2mp but also has all the features that his phone didn’t – including GPS, a keyboard, wide screen when opened, that surround speaker sound and bla and bla and bla. Therefore, he kinda took it as a good bargain.

I, on the other hand, managed to get my hands on the Classic Nokia 6120. It is so slim and beautiful. Comes in 2 hues – black and pink. Of course, carrying this girl in me, I seem to want everything in pink.