As a business owner, nothing is more time consuming than standing in line at the post office to buy 1 cent stamps with each frequent increase. There’s a stamp called “forever” stamps that will allow you to use stamps forever even when there’s an increase. Pretty cool.
Electric Toothbrush May 15, 2008
I’m obssessed with a clean mouth and most electric toothbrushes do a better job than a manual brush. Currently using Sonicare and the only problem is liquid gets inside the brush and makes it hard to clean. Here’s a better alternative
Best Phone Deal- Sprint May 14, 2008
I like the unlimited texting and web surfing the best. Go to http://delivery.sprint.com/m/p/sprint/epc/epclanding.asp , put in this email savings@sprintemi.com
- Unlimited Text Messaging
- Unlimited Nights & Weekends starting at 7pm!
- Domestic long distance
- Unlimited Mobile to Mobile
- Unlimited Web/Data Access
- Unlimited Picture Mail (with compatible devices)
| Anytime Minutes | Monthly Price | Additional Anytime Minutes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 500 | $30.00 | $5.00 for every 30 minutes for 501 – 800, 800 + minutes are $.20 each | ||
| 1250 | $49.99 | $5.00 for every 30 minutes for 1251 – 1550, 1550 + minutes are $.20 each |
*My next new toy? Blackberry Curve Titanium
RSS feeds-one of the coolest invention for an avid read like me May 14, 2008
I read 50 blogs/websites a day with a scroll of a mouse and without clicking multiple web pages. I took Evelyn Speed-reading in college and have developed a skill for briefing information that I need. Not everything I read is valuable so briefing allows me to take what I need.
I sort my reads into:
Daily: pertains to my work
Weekly: for enjoyment when I have a break
Monthly: topics I’m interested in and when I have time like when standing in Starbucks lines
Below is a link to a great explanation on how rss feeds work. I hardly buy books anymore because there are so much great info out there.
http://cravingideas.blogs.com/backinskinnyjeans/2006/09/how_to_explain_.html
My trusted contacts May 12, 2008
Here are lists of people who deserve repeated business and praise from me for providing great products and services over the years (Orange County, CA)
Dentist: Dr. Long Trieu (714) 573-0379 (super gentle, super clean, super immaculate with his work, specialize in cosmetic dentistry)
Optometrist: Optometry Unlimited Dr. Jeff and Mylinh Duncan
3940 South Bristol, Suite111
Santa Ana, CA 92704
(714) 557-7373 duncanoptometry.com
Insurance: ChoiceMax Insurance 714-263-0103 (lots of reputable companies, big savings) ChoicemaxInsurance.com
Honda: JR Nguyen (714) 232-9275 (Costa Mesa Honda. No game playing, gets you in and out)
Yoga guru: Brandon of CorePowerYoga Hungtington Beach
Caffeine Addict May 12, 2008
Trying to quit coffee for the last 2 years and still trying. I like the European type with a strong kick which pretty much has 3x’s the caffeine. Here are the tools I’ve used:
1-Starbucks Barista: too many steps to do (4 total) for a morning routine. Not fun to clean. Pricey.
2-Nespresso: easy to use, pricey. Great coffee if you chose the level 9-10 dark kick.
3-Phillips Senseo: easy to use, affordable but coffee pods are not that great.
4-Mukka Express:I own 2 stove tops and one electric. The stove top one is a bit time consuming and messy. The electric is very cool and easy to use. Cool cup of cappuccino, great for lounging around.
5-Bodum French press: on most days, I use this since it takes 2 seconds to prep and 2 seconds to clean.
*I buy the Crate and Barrel Espresso beans or Illy Medium Roast. Bottom line, I want a rich cup of coffee without the extensive work involved. Perhaps that means just having a boyfriend run to Peet’s Coffee….
Lessons I’ve learned- In Business May 6, 2008
1-make sure I cover my ass: 70% of business colleagues and clients exaggerate or lie. I listen with open ears but I will still do my homework. Those who are rich filthy rich aren’t telling anyone for safety reasons anyways, so that leaves those who “think” they are rich. Whatever success people boast about, discount it in half.
2-Listen: even when you think your idea is brilliant, listen to the not-so-good feedback, otherwise you’ll spend all the money and time to put it out on the market and wonder why no one is buying.
3-Act: when having an idea, it’s better to put pen on paper and just do it already. By the time you work out all the kinks and perfect it, someone’s already doing your idea. Few things come out to the market perfectly. Refine it as you go. I think that’s why they have Beta testing.
4-Failure: losing $500k hurts when your business idea fails. It hurts (alot!) but don’t go jump off a building. Money is made and lost in business. It’s just business. You took calculated risks and invested $ and obviously your calculated risk wasn’t calculated well. So take notes on how to take better calculated risks next time.
5-Success: and when you make $1million, don’t let it go to your head. “When times are hard, don’t let it rock you…. when times are good, don’t let it plump you” It’s only business.
Gmail rocks!- 7 top things to do with it May 6, 2008
1-Spam: It’s got a lot less spam than yahoo which has like 100 spams a day
2-Documents: I write speeches, take notes on books I’ve read, and write, write, write in “documents” and I can access it from home, work, and anywhere in the world. No need to look for documents when I need it.
3-Lists: I make lists for everything and “excel” allows me to analyze finances, make travel lists, to do lists, and I can access it from home, work, and anywhere in the world.
4-Organizing events:I’ve thrown many events which requires collaborations of many hands and I use excel to update everyone on their “duties” and “share” this list. I can give everyone the rights to make changes or just to view depending on what I want. No more 50 emails going back and forth from multiple people when you can centralize and update on document. (Kinda like Evite)
5-Picasa:I use this software to quickly upload and share photos “in minutes” and it’s got simple edit features unlike Photoshop’s 1 zillion ways to edit a picture.
6-Reader: need I say more about this? Why browse 20 websites when I can have them all on one page. Saves so much time especially since I love to speed read through.
7-Storage:I scan my passport and other important info and save it on here so that if I’m in Bali and lost my id’s and passport, I can print it from gmail and have it in an instant.
Camera Reviews- Digital SLR – possibly another new toy May 6, 2008
Big single reflex lenses are bulky but they take great pictures. Nikon has announced a new model in its ‘P’ (Performance) series of digital cameras. The Coolpix P80 comes with a 10.1 MP sensor and a whopping 18x zoom (27-486mm equiv) which should hardly ever let you run out of focal length. There are also a 2.7″ LCD screen and a CCD-shift image stabilization system. (Can do video clips, compact, lcd display, awsome zoom capabality, a sexy looking thing). Here are some great sites for camera research.
Lessons I’ve learned- from the people who crossed path with in life May 2, 2008
1-My grandmother: she had 21 children, owned several businesses in a country where women had no voices, at a time where women weren’t even supposed to be career women nor given so much opportunity as today yet she thrived and raised successful children.
“Just because others tell you you can’t do something doesn’t always mean you can’t”
2-The pedicab: as much as I travel, I’m cramped on the little coach seat of a plane alot and I always squirm and moan about how tight and hard the seats are and that I can’t get comfortable sleep. And then I land in Saigon where men sleep in the hard metal pedicabs about the size of my coach seat day in and day out under the starry night with just a plastic cover over their heads, that they used to drive tourists like me around all day. They weigh about 90 lbs, probably ate 1 meal for the entire day, and yet they managed to smile at me without teeth the entire day without whining about how hard life is.
“No matter how shitty your life is, you can choose to have a great attitude”
3-My aunti: left at 16 yrs of age on scholarship to another foreign country (Belgium around year 1960), learned a new language, learned medicine in a new language, graduated with honors as a doctor among her classmates consisting of 95% European men. Women back then didn’t opportunities like women today.
“Step out of your comfort zone”
4-The little beggar girl: I was raised in a country where there were no welfare, no food shelters, no government assistance of any sort, and no organized charity. Nada. I was a little girl then, about 6, when I ate at a outdoor market with my mom. There was a little beggar girl about 5 or 6 also who went from table to table to look into the left over bowls of noodles that people left behind. Whatever leftover she found, she scooped it out and gave it to her little brother that she was carrying on her hip to eat first. I watched her made her rounds and figured she was hungry too but she took care of her baby brother first. I often wonder what became of her now, whether she even lived to be my age.
“Even when you don’t have enough and you don’t feel like sharing, still share”
*In a land of plenty, we often forget 80% of the world isn’t this fortunate. Have gratitude.
Yoga-aspiring to have Madonna arms May 2, 2008
I’ve done yoga 15 yrs ago before it became popular. I’m still doing it now because it keeps my arms solid (not as hardcore as Madonna’s) and my whole body flexible. Yoga is a lifestyle. I can’t seem to do the gym stuff. Anyone who thinks it’s sissy light weight stuff should try the level 2-3 where you have “cirque du soleil” moves and you will guarantee to break a sweat.
Buying online May 1, 2008
I have to pinch myself at how nice it is to buy things online. I buy most of my things online like cameras and computers especially when I know exactly what I want. Saves time running around, saves gas, saves the environment…. A 22 inch Acer LCD monitor is on sale at a Microcenter for $229.99 (which they are known to have great prices already). Online it’s $219 no taxes, no shipping, and no hassle of going to the store. I have to pinch myself at how efficient technology has made us. (But before buying, consume less, see “the story of stuff” ). Here are some favorite sites.
Power of paperless at the office and home April 29, 2008
My main reasons for going paperless at my business is to save a huge amount of time and reducing the amount of trees we consume.
- what took us hours to do before at my business now takes about 10 minutes so I can go lounge at Starbucks longer
-no need to get up and look for files, paper, etc, etc. Efficiency peaks!
-no buying paper, toner, folders, fax machines so I can spend that $ on travelling or charity.
Crucial tools I use:
1-Fujitsu Scan Snap: quick! Scans business cards too.
2-Faxing program from Windows XP Ultimate version
3-Adobe writer, not reader: this is so crucial because everything like forms, website receipts, etc. get printed to Adobe and saved on the computer. I also create my own Adobe check list to email to clients for them to fill out so the job gets done quickly. I create a lot of helpful forms on Adobe. Adobe rocks!
4-External hard drive: backup all files weekly
*Doing my part to keep this beautiful earth beautiful and not to mention freeing up so much time to do what I want to do:-)
Photography freak April 29, 2008
Part of roaming this beautiful earth is to capture the memories via a digital camera.
I carry 2 on my trips, one compact one where sometimes I’m in awsome places like hot baths in Japan and need to be discreet. You don’t want to be lugging a huge slr camera into a night club and places like that.
I carry a bigger one because of it’s higher optical zoom lens for landscapes and it takes better pictures at night with stronger flashes which a smaller compact won’t be able to do.
Compact: Canon SD800
Bigger one: Olympus 10x optical zoom
In between a compact and a bigger one is: Panasonic Lumix TZ3 10x optical zoom
*oh, and read the manuals on that long 23 hour flight so you can take knockout pictures.
To tour guide or not to tour guide? April 29, 2008
I’ve resorted to booking a tour versus back packing on my own for several countries because I don’t speak or read the language and thought it would be easier like Japan and China where places are not written in “alphabets”. Here are the pro’s and con’s of doing a structured tour:
Pros:
1-don’t have to think about what to do, where to eat, where to sleep
2-it’s cheaper than booking your own hotels
3-you meet interesting people with similar interests and getting to share travel experiences
4-they take you to places you would’ve otherwise missed
5-they force you to get out of your hotel room earlier so you can cover more places
Cons:
1-you see things and places you don’t necessesarily want to see
2-you gotta wait for every slow poke before moving to the next activity
3-you gotta get up very, very early to get on the bus
4-food is usually just average
*My preferred choice is to go on my own. Carry Frommer’s book and make sure you put a book cover over it so you won’t stick out like a tourist. Life is much more adventurous when you figure exciting places on your own.
Outlook- managing emails at work April 29, 2008
I use Outlook at work and this is how I cut down clutter. After reading inbox, move to these 4 folders:
1-”to do for me”: things I need to take care of for myself
2-”to do for my client”: just as described
3-”waiting for reply”: things I’ve done and waiting for a client to reply
4-”archive 2008″: for things I may need in the future
*Then I make sure folders 1-3 gets cleared out as quickly as possible to zero. This method ensures that I don’t miss anything among the 100 emails that sits in inbox.
Cruising- the art of it April 29, 2008
Friends always ask me the most relaxing way to travel with kids…cruising. I’ve been on 7 cruises and always had a blast.
1-I like Royal Caribbean, Princess, and Celebrity. Avoid the Carnival and lower end ones where there are too many loud teens and drinking
2-plenty of things to do while you are on the ship: ice skate, see shows, golf, climb rock walls, spa, swim, tennis, eat, sunbathe, disco dancing, watch movies out under the starry skies, take cooking classes, or do nothing
3-sea sickness: most ships are too big for most to feel anything
4-especially for Europe, it’s the best bang for your $ since a hole in the wall hotel in Europe averages $180
5-oh did I mention awesome food even at 3am?
6-where to find deals: travelocity.com, vacationstogo.com
Gmail-how I keep my inbox to 3 emails only April 29, 2008
I like to keep my inbox very clean and clutter free, so I have about 3 emails in my inbox at all times and only create 1 folder to save time from dragging and dropping into multiple complex folders. After years of experimenting with different systems, I found one that saves me a lot of time :
1-trash what I don’t need (short cut key …..shift, #)
2-archive to save what I do need one day which can be searched later (e)
3-archive and label what I need to do later in a folder called “to do later” (x)
*I travel sometimes 4 weeks at a time and not touching email and using these tips clean up my boxes quickly when I am back so I can move on to better things like eating. The less time I spend in my inbox, the better. Gmail rocks!
