My Very First Korean Perm - Oh Jun Hair Salon (Jln Ampang)

Just two weeks ago, my sister and I decided that we both deserve a "good" hair cut. Asked around and did our very own research on the internet and came across a Korean Salon near home.

"Why not?" we thought.

The first attempt on calling the salon for slots was disappointing. It was fully booked and because of that it makes us both want it even more "fully booked  woh, must be damn good!".

Following weekend, we managed to get us, and another friend slots in the afternoon. We arrived at 1pm.

We were all greeted by friendly shampoo girls and hair stylists. It felt like home and it made us feel very much welcomed. The owner then came over himself and brought me a "nightgown-like" to put on (this is to ensure that our clothes will not be stained. I felt like a princess)

My experience was pretty pleasant - they serve coffee/tea and sometimes korean food (i heard), except the part where my sister and I did not get to look at the color palettes (when we told them that we want to color our hair) and they pretty much dictates how you should have your hair like (i wanted something above shoulder, but the hairstylist disapproved and went on with something slightly longer than what I have asked for).

The outcome was amazing nevertheless.

 I paid RM750, invested 5 hours of my weekend for:-

• hair cut
• treatment
• relaxing
• korean perm
• coloring

Would I go back? Yes. :)

More details on Oh Jun Hair Salon.

Reasons

Hey.

I know we haven't seen each other, or even talked, in a long time.
Despite all the lies, I've been doing a alot of thinking lately and I want you to know that I miss you.

Not like "I regret what happened" or even "I want to see you again."

I just missed you.

Because its so fucking strange to think that someone I used to know and love so dearly, is now a total stranger.

Most of the time, I let myself forget... simply because it's easier and it hurts a lot lesser. But forgetting you entire is close to impossible; especially when an old letter or a picture of us, slipped in the pages of a book I haven't read in months. And the full weight of what's been lost comes crashing down on me. That's where it hurts the most. But this isn't regret.

This isn't regret,

because we had reasons for ending it, and they're as valid as ever. But back at the start, we didn't need reasons for anything. It all just happened. We didn't have common interests, or similar goals. We didn't even really get along that well. But one thing I know, we didn't need a reason to fall in love. We just did.

The reasons came at the end, and everything that's happened since has been all about reasons.

Reasons you being so cold to me.
Reasons why we never talked about the problems.
Reasons you decided to give up.
Reasons you being so heartless.
Reasons for you to leave a heartbroken girlfriend, ok ex-girlfriend, outside your house. For hours.
Reasons, reasons and reasons.

And that's good, I'm not saying it's bad.

It means one day I might find someone I won't have to say goodbye to.

But a part of me misses just loving someone, and knowing that they love you back, and that's all. It's not about you anymore.

I guess what I'm saying is, I hope things are good with you. I hope everything is great. I hope you found a love (or already did before the break up) that's all the things ours couldn't be. And I hope I find that too.

But a small part of me hope that you still remember what it was like before all the reasons...

... and that you miss me, too.

Okay. Enough of being so nice. I want my sexy polaroid pictures back, dude.

Workaholics are no Superman

For the life of me I cannot recall the last time I had caught a glimpse of the sunset, sat down for a proper dinner, watched a full-length movie, or had a real conversation.

Mondays to Fridays have always been like a long-distance cross-country road trip, when the mind is focused only on one thing – the destination. Stopovers would only be for absolutely necessary reasons limited to sleeping, using the bathroom and getting a quick bite.

Throughout the journey, I would pay attention to nothing else except for the milestones. All I want is to cross the finish line as quickly as possible and grab yet another trophy.

The only motivation that has been keeping me going is, nothing is more important than making a better living for tomorrow. The lifespan of the average Joe would usually show an equal distribution of time for work, sleep and pleasure/leisure i.e. 8 hours per day for each of the three main “activities”.

In the case of a workaholic, work-life balance does not exist in his/her vocabulary at the “pre-better living” stage.

Hard work does pay off, as it demonstrates one’s commitment to the job. It is one of the key elements that would set one apart, as a high performing employee, from the average group considered as those merely meeting the minimum job expectations.

Additional income is expected, either from working overtime, salary increments and performance bonuses. But how and when can one really enjoy the hard-earned money, when all the waking hours are spent in the office, and the weekends are dedicated for “energy-recharging”? Workaholism may be good towards the corporate world, but is it good for us?

For some reason that we may not know, people tend to praise the idea of the workaholic. Some people share their stories about weekends spent in the office, or pulling all-nighters, as if all these were an achievement. Some organizations; whether big conglomerates or small companies, reward this kind of behavior.

Our culture also promotes hard work as a competency that would get us ahead. Statements and comments such as “You should work like Ben. He works 24/7, and he will one day get promoted as he is really dedicated to the job”.

In my personal opinion, working hard does not necessarily mean long hours. Spending more time at work may not mean getting more work done.

If we put in more effort and focus into something, chances are we are going to accomplish more than if we work at it in a half-hearted way. Knowingly that spending 2 hours on a report with effort and focus and spending 5 hours on the same report half-heartedly makes a big difference.

The outside world is a rat race and to be on top, we must always outshine the others. Workaholics may create a hype that leads to peer-to-peer competition. It sounds good as competition are good in terms of getting the best of the best outcome. However, working long hours brings workaholic into conflict with others like peers, family, partners and friends.

All these heated up competition that breed more and more workaholics; slowly turn workaholism into a “trend”. Now that it became a trend, is it a healthy or unhealthy trend? Could it also possibly be a death-threatening trend?

This desire for hero recognition is so strong that they may not even look for more efficient ways of solving problem, but rather, run around the office saving the day in an attempt to seem important. Employees like these are just adapting to the culture and trend, but also damaging the organization in the long run.

The workaholism trend is highly seen in Japanese organizations. A study showed that in Japan, over 1,000 deaths per year occur due to overwork. (Sreekant. S., 2010)

Truth is, they are not heroes. Yes, Superman may be faster than a bullet train, but a workaholic could be just another ordinary Jane. In fact they tend to have lower levels of job performance than non-workaholic employees. Instead of just working hard – putting lots of hours in our job – look for ways to work smart because smart work means we are more likely to reach our goals. Being up to date with all the emails does not mean bringing us closer to winning a promotion.

Plus, when we are working hard, other areas of our life get neglected. Working long hours may contribute to eating disorder and the chances of us exercising are very low. It might not seem to be a problem now but when we run into health problems a few years from now, we would probably wished we had a better balance back then. One always say, never gets so busy making a living that you forget to make a life.

Hong Kong 2013 - Of Sourcing and Shopping (Day 1)

Just incase you don't know, I work with a distributor company in Kuala Lumpur. Of many big fashion brands that we have been carrying over the past 20 years, BRC (which is an acronym for Boardriding Company) is now venturing into many new industries including F&B.

I was lucky to be able to travel with my fellow colleagues to Hong Kong for a trade fair. Bear in mind we went to Hong Kong with one objective: to source for interesting products for one of the fashion brands we carry.

I wasn't that excited at first, simply because I was in Hong Kong for 11 days just 3 months before this mini business trip. But little did I realize that I actually find it excitement in taking selfie pics next to  my dying colleagues (sorry Su). I was so ready for HK. It was my birthday the night before and I had enough sleep. Whee, not. Isn't it obvious that I had a dull birthday?

Upon arrival at the airport's baggage claim, my colleagues and I discovered a freaking blower. Though it was freezing cold but we wanted to take "super model hair blowing" photos before we leave. I don't know why the blower didn't work for my hair but it sure did blew something else off :P 

Anyway, we took a cab straight to some warehouse area, forgot the district name, but we found food!

I think this cafe/fastfoodchain is called LMX. I got this set that comes with iced milk tea that only cost HKD38. Not too bad, people. The duck rice is REALLY good! We didn't spend much time in the cafe because... it's shopping time!

To be exact, it's sourcing time! This is the place where we source for top notch accessories, designed by French Designers. Please don't be fooled by the pictures here. There were MORE designs, styles, and taste. These are the ones I personally like and I think it's nice.

We headed straight to our hotel and checked in our baggages after the sourcing adventure. Stayed in L'Hotel at Causeway Bay. I think it was fairly good. Let me tell you why.

Cleanliness: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆☆

For a tiny hotel room, and rather old, I find it rather pleasing to see that every corner of the room is clean. For someone like me that suffers from chronic sinusitis, I enjoyed staying in this room because it's dust-free with clean sheets.

Sleep Quality: ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

Clean sheets, however, the bed is so HARD. Maybe for others they'll find it comfortable.

Location: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Located right infront of Tin Hau MRT Station and some Bus hub. What do you think?

Services: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

Should be the Hongkies, poor communication skills and most of them are rude. Also, they do not have Wi-Fi access in the rooms but only in the lobby.

Value: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

I think its fairly alright. 

Took a good one hour rest before we headed out again. This time, for good food. The whole dinner for 7 adults cost us HKD3,000+

And after dinner, I brought my colleagues to the nearest Sasa and we all bought so many things I redeemed some freebies almost instantly on my FIRST night in Hong Kong. 

There, end of Day 1. Stay tune. Day 2 and 3 coming up next.

Asian Extreme Sports Championship 2013 with Skullcandy Malaysia

I spent 8 hours promoting Skullcandy Crusher under the hot weather.

Have you gotten the new Skullcandy Crusher?

You better! as stocks are limited. Keep coming back as I'll be writing a review in a short while! :)

Customer Service 101 - What They Really Want

So, it was a boring afternoon. You can't wait to go for your short break; not because you're hungry but simply... you just needed a freaking stick of cigg. You're standing behind the counter, staring at all passerbys.

Part of you hope that they would come and buy something from you, the other part of you just couldn't be bothered with the sales. After all, whether or not you hit the daily sales, that's somebody else's worries that needs no consent from you.

Imagine the "you" in the above story, as "you".  Yes, that's a pretty fucked up life. Hahaha. 

Now get back into the character.

Five mins before you're off for your pathetic 30 mins short break, a customer approach you and started complaining and within split seconds it escalated to a bigger problem - the angry customer started screaming and making alot of noises; also to attract other people's attention. You're screwed. 

What would you do?

A. Be a listener, and feed to all her demands?

or

B. Fucking screw the shit out of her, she'll probably shut up by then.

If you answered A, you're a fucking pussy. and if you answered otherwise, it's best for you to just kill yourself. I know right? Tell me about it!

You do this, WRONG. You do that, ALSO WRONG. How, brown cow?

So, here's what I've gathered after working in a few fast food chains and fashion retails over the years.

1. Give Credence to Your Customers' Complaint

Okay. Really, just act like you fucking give a damn. According to some lame studies that I googled, customers are willing to do business with you again IF you can successfully resolve their "issue" the first time around... better still, within 24 hours... or if its a female customer - immediately.

What they really want: To be acknowledged with an issue

2. Surprises

Don't act surprise to find out that as little as a dime could make a difference, showing that it really the thought that counts! They just want surprises, best if its unexpected. When I say surprises, I mean freebies lah. But then again, who wouldn't be expecting freebies when customer complain so hard, it feels like they are trying so hard to get something out from you. THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT THEY WANT. Suckers.

So, why go round and round? Just give them some free coffee or whatever they asked from you. And also, remember, an act of kindness leaves a bigger impact when it is unexpected - that goes back to my point 1 - act like you really care. Throw in some sympathetic intonation in your pathetic "script" if necessary. 

What they really want: They want freebies lah, what else?

3. Find Common Ground

If you couldn't, simply make up one. Like "Yea, I understand how you're feeling right now. I had a similar issue just last week."

There you go, customer will not feel they are battling the same issue, alone... even though, the ARE doing it alone. Hahaha. Losers.

What they really want: They want to know that they are NOT the only one that is feeling all fucked up.

To sum things up, just follow the CARP (not CRAP) Theory.

Control - the situation

Acknowledge - the issue

Refocus - digest, and work hard on the issue

Problem Solve - offer a solution, make sure its a good one

On another note,

When Managers Butt in and Say "Customer is Always Right"

Do you believe that customers are always right? Most of the time. But the fact is that some customers are just plain wrong, that businesses are better of without them, and that managers siding with unreasonable customers over employees just make you wanna jump of the cliff... or building: if you're living in the concrete jungle, that all these crappy shit results in worse customer service.

Perhaps Managers Could: Put their people first (your loyal and hardworking employees who contributes in your annual revenue). And watch them put the customers first.

There, everybody goes back with a smile.

Akachan no Hoppe - Grand Opening @ Mid Valley Megamall

Even Jinnyboy thinks mo-cheeks taste heavenly. (source: @jinnyboytv instagram post)

So if you're wondering what the fish is mo.cheeks, head down to Mid Valley Megamall (Level 3) and get a slice of heaven yourself... or continue reading - and then head down to get one! 

Try touching one gently and you will definitely feel the soft, love-filled fluffiness that comes naturally in their products just like Akachan no Hoppe; which means "Baby cheeks" in Japanese.

Officially opened its door to Malaysia on the 6th July 2013, Akachan no Hoppe in Mid Valley marked its first opening after its first, one and only home-turned-into-confectionary in Itoigawa, Japan. As a quick summary, the brand was birthed in the city of Itoigawa, a city blessed with natural abundance. Artisans at the long-established Yamakawa confectionary exquisitely harmonized the techniques of traditional Japanese confectionery together with the charms of Western delicacy, creation an exciting, never-before-taste texture and delicious pastries.

(In the morning before the grand opening)

(pretty visuals and decos)

In conjunction with the opening, Akachan no Hoppe was giving out Buy10 Free 1 promo to everyone! and as generous as they can be, the samplings were just as good as the ones we paid for!

(The ribbon cutting ceremony with Mr. Yamakawa, the founder of Akachan no Hoppe, Ms. Seiko from Jetro, Kevin Choo and Chris Choo both from BRC Group)

Now you must be questioning, "How is Akachan no Hoppe different from the rest of the mochi in Malaysia?" Not sure how others are done but Akachan no Hoppe's mo.cheeks only contains carefully hand selected, asuki beans, paste and glutinous rice. These are made daily with sincere devotion and care every day, according to the strict techniques and craftsmanship initiated by the Yamakawa's themselves. With that, you can have a taste of real Japanese pastries, just like having them in Japan itself!

Comes in 10 different flavors, Akachan no Hoppe is definitely one of a kind!

  Best Sellers!  

The #1 favorite, Double Chocolate. Choco lovers rejoice as this ultimate piece of mo.cheeks will bring you up to cloud 9. Red Bean, as classic as possible, brings out the delicate taste of the carefully picked beans. As for Black Sesame, who doesn't love the aromatic smell? and need I say more for Green Tea? Like I said, mo.cheeks come in 10 different flavors and the rest are as follows:-

Edameme is a type of Japanese bean, it taste really good. I guess the pictures are all self-explanatory and oh, Jungle Banana is for a very limited time only! So quick, try em as you don't wanna missed not indulging in any of these mo.cheeks.

Now the best part is, these mo.cheeks come in really cute packagings! It's great to be given out as a gift, or simply for personal indulgence. 

Lastly, if you're lucky... this amoy will serve you. Okay, just kidding... but no, really.

Info:

Mo.cheeks are sold at RM3.80 per piece.
No minimum order, however, purchases above six mo.cheeks will only be entitled to a box.
(If you're a paperbag/packaging enthusiast, just like me, then take note!)

Akachan no Hoppe opens everyday from 10am - 10pm.

For more information, visit Akachan no Hoppe's website or keep up with their current promo at their Facebook.