To Market To Market

One month ago, I accidentally ventured into the world of business. A friend of mine from China imported a batch of polar fleece bed linen and asked if I could help her to sell them. I will get a small percentage of commission on every item sold. 

I have been making cake orders on a part-time basis since last year. People come to me to ask me to make their cakes. I don't push my cakes to them. They ask, I give them a price, deal or no deal. Simple. But but this is different. This is direct selling, SALES!! Something I dread terribly and decided since very long ago never to make this my career. So why I said yes to her that fateful day at the children's playground, I have no idea. Anyway, I reckoned there will be no harm trying since I have some time to myself everyday after the kids go to school.

Besides starting an online web page and promoting it to all of my friends in Melbourne, I decided to also participate in "market day" stalls. In Melbourne it seems, weekend markets are very popular shopping destinations. Some markets are permanently open every weekend while others pop up regularly here and there. Anybody can rent a stall and sell basically anything, old, new, used or handmade. I have been to a few but am not a fan of them actually, especially those that charge an entry fee. Nevertheless, these markets are great opportunities for people who don't want to invest in a long term lease or to get rid of old stuff and earn a few extra bucks on the weekends. For me, it was an opportunity to test the market and gauge the response to the products which I'm considering merchandising.

This first market I participated in was in a church. I thought it was a good start as the rental fee was not very high but I later realised that the timing of the market was only 4 hours (8am till 12 noon), compared to others which end at 3pm. On the day of the market, the weather forecast was gloomy - rain, rain and more rain, from morning till evening. Even though I was indoors, I had no doubt many people would not bother to wake up in the morning, in this kind of weather, to attend a flea market.

We all woke up at 6.30am that Saturday, husband and kids as well, to load the car and make our way to set up stall. It was kind of exciting, although carrying almost 50 bags of fleece blankets up and down the car was not very fun. This aspect of business, the delivery, logistics and set up, is something customers don't see. What we see are nicely displayed items, positioned strategically to catch our eyes and make us pause to admire. Have we wondered how much time and effort has gone into packing, unpacking and bringing those items there?

The stall got off to a jittery start when the organisers could not find my booking and did not allocate me a space. Last minute, they tried to find a suitable corner for me, which was not ideal as all the good positions in the main hall were taken up. Another lesson in business: Location, location, location. Certain positions have got no traffic or no visibility. In the end, I managed to take over a table that was no-show in the main hall, that was not in some obsure corner, so we settled happily.

The 4 hours sales window passed quickly. Some people came, looked and walked away. Others came to say some nice things about your stuff, but did not end up in any sales. A few of my friends turned up and most of them bought something from me. Thanks to them for their supoort :) Some items which I thought would sell fast did not move. Others did alright despite the poor turnout of the crowd. I was surprised, disappointed, bored and thankful all at the same time.

In the end, I made enough to cover my expense for the day though not enough to cover our wages of all our man hours combined. But I gained a whole lot of insight into market days, not to mention a few new friends (neighbour stall owners). It was also a good opportunity to teach a life lesson on earning a living for my son. 

KK was complaining how little we made after a 'whole day', which was really only 4 hours. We explained to him that this is how difficult it is to earn money. I believed my 10 yr old is under this impression that when he grows up, money will be automatically deposited every 2 weeks into his bank account, like his father. He did not see what his dad had to do and how he did it everyday to earn those money. But he saw how we took out all our fleece blankets from its bag and then put most of them back again at the end of the day. I hope he realised sometimes people can spend 4 hours or more outside and earn not a dollar. If after that day he learnt not to spend his money so thoughtlessly because it is not easily earned, than that would be the biggest profit of my market stall.
  

40th Birthday Message

Dear Family & Friends,

This year I will turn 40. When I was a kid, I never visualised myself beyond the 30s. That’s as far as it goes for all the exciting things to happen. Your education, romances, beauty, career, marriage and babies all happened within these first 30 odd years. What happens beyond this point, I’ve never really thought about it. My impression is things start to go either plateau or downhill from here.

By 40, the number of your children is more or less fixed. Your career, if you still have one, will be stable and it is likely the one you will have to stick with for the rest of your life. The only think you look forward to growing is your bank account and children. Hopefully your waistline does not follow the trend...;p Is this what life after 40 is all about? I really don’t know. If we are lucky, we’ll probably have another 40 more years on this earth. What do we do with it?

Currently as a housewife, I have not much care or worries beyond what is the next meal to cook and my children’s welfare. The working people would say that we are lucky, we can stay at home and “do nothing”. Yes, many a times, when I looked at the morning peak hour traffic, I thank God that I don’t have to beat that to report to work. But other days, I wondered how I should gainfully occupy my time when the children are in school, besides grocery shopping, housework, PPS.TV and Facebook?

Still, comparing other women who are 40 around the world, I guess I’m lucky to be 40 and in Australia. It was a choice I made 5 years ago, to leave my career, my family and friends in homeland and come to Australia. I must keep reminding myself why I made that decision. Sacrifices were made but I gained a lot as well. I just cannot measure it in monetary terms that’s all.

With this coming birthday, I hope to rejuvenate my life again. It is the beginning of a new chapter. I’m going to write it as best as I could. Even though I won’t grow prettier or younger, I want to live life with a purpose and with energy. I believe my future is still to be crafted and if I am determined, I will make something good for myself and my family.

To commemorate this milestone, I've had a few celebrations with close friends and my family. Fun and food we had but it was the feeling of friendship and love that I most appreciated. Birthdays are really a time to give thanks. I thank God first of all, for His mercies and grace everyday. I do not take for granted the blessings I have each day, just being alive and being together with my loved ones. And to all the people, over the past 40 years, especially my parents, family, siblings, relatives and including ex-classmates, ex-colleagues, my friends in Singapore and Melbourne, who have left your kindness in my life. You have accepted me, accompanied me, helped me and guided me. Without you all my life would be less interesting and meaningful. This birthday, I want to say “Thank you folks for being part of my 40 years of memories!” I wish all of you blessings and good health always!

With Sincerity, Love & Affection

E

Last Weeks of 2012

My little Baby X turned 6 last week and my elder reached double digit age 4 months ago. Congratulations to you both!! I can't believe (for the nth time) how fast you have grown.

There has been not been much time to pause and reflect on how they have changed though. The last week leading up to XX's birthday has been extremely busy. We decided to indulge in a birthday party for him this year and invited 8 of his friends to a 2-hour session of Laser Tag games. This is a fun game using laser guns and tagging opponents with laser beams. The participants wear special vests that records how many times you hit someone and have been hit. On top of making the birthday cake, which has become a tradition since we moved to Oz, I also decided to self-cater the party food as I don't think the party food provided outside are of value and nutrition. The kids had a great time, even the girls, whom I was worried initially may not like the predominantly boys game. 

The kids checking their "hit" scores after the game on the tv screen.

The partying did not end there. In the middle of the week, on the eve of his birthday, it was XX's Tae Kwon Do grading day. He went after a full day of school for the grading session. It was a hot day that day and I was pretty exhausted myself just driving them around. I expected him to pass but it seemed he did very well as well. When the results were out this week, XX came in 2nd overall best score amongst all the Orange belt gradings. Well done my little one! The next day, on the actual day of his birthday, I decided on impulse to bake a batch of cupcakes for his class. Although he didn't ask for it, I know he was really happy to have his class sing him a birthday song. 

On the weekend, KK also got to go for his grading this time round. After having missed the last 2 rounds because he wasn't ready, we were very relieved when he performed well to pass and get his Blue belt 2nd stripe. In fact, he got the 2nd best score amongst the blue belt 2nd stripe gradings as well and the instructors said he performed beyond expectations. I'm very proud of you too, KK!

A very exhausted 6 year old on his birthday

Soon the year will be coming to an end. The children has begun taking back the pieces of work they've done over the past year as the teachers started clearing up the classrooms for the next year. Reports and portfolios are back. The summer holidays will begin next week and we are getting ready for our planned break in the country with friends. What an exciting and fantastic way to wrap up the year! Like I said, there's no time to pause and reflect, we're well and truly aging rapidly!! 

My birthday wish is.....

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to everyone!!

Sorry, you don't have my support

This is a copy of the letter I wrote to my children's school principal regarding the teachers' industrial action. Sorry, I'm not supporting their demands.

Dear 

It is with deep regret and disappointment that I am writing this letter to you. This is in response to the letter many parents received a few days ago by AEU outside the school gate. Since it was signed from “the staff” of Seabrook Primary School, I have no idea who else to reply to except to the head of the school. Please convey my message to all the staff concerned.

Since my arrival in Victoria 4 and a half years ago, I have only sent my children to public schools. I have had great respect for the Australian teachers and readily appreciates their style of teaching as different from what we had back home. However the recent dispute between the teachers and our government has marred my impression. Their actions and now, inactions, through their union AEU, have directly shown me what kind of “poor” attitude and “lack of” work ethics they have.

During the last two strikes, full day or half, I had taken it in my stride but this did not mean that I agreed with it and the way it was done. You might think it did not have much impact on me since I am a stay-at-home mom but what about many other mothers who had to scramble for alternative childcare arrangements. The kids thought it good that they were having a ‘free’ holiday but seriously, this kind of disruption, where they stay at home being restless when they could have gained some enrichment at school cannot be good for them. So the statement in the letter ‘None of these bans affect the fundamental learning of the children at Seabrook and most do not impact on students or families at all…” is a lie. Stop trying to justify your actions!

Now the teachers are even going so far as to not give any comments on the individual school reports. I’m sorry, isn’t this just another example of how selfish and thoughtless the teachers can be in Victoria? Teachers claimed they want to “develop an employment agreement…that will provide for the continued quality education for all students in Victoria.” (as stated in AEU’s letter) but is this how you are getting it? By “DISRUPTING the continuity” and by a “NO QUALITY” report? By sacrificing the kids and sabotaging the welfare of the students that they are supposed to educate? What kind of maturity and example are they demonstrating to our children? We ask our kids to stop throwing tantrums and threatening to get their way, can the teachers listen too?

I have no issues with the teachers getting a fairer pay but from what I see, what the teachers want from the government is not exactly fair.

No introduction of performance pay. Everyone that works for someone knows that they are being measured by their performance, unless that someone is your father or mother. Why should lousy and lazy teachers (don’t tell me there are none) be paid the same as an excellent one? If that’s the case, what incentive is there to become a good teacher? What incentive is there for good teachers to stay in a public school? Perhaps some teachers are fearful that they will not be up to the mark when tested and are hiding behind the cloak of “equality” but I believe policies that encourage individual good performance will bring about a total better performance as a whole.

Experiments have shown that in a class of students where test scores were combined and averaged, the overall average score dropped over time. The theory is simple, over time smarter kids realised there is no incentive to work harder to get high scores since their marks will be ‘lowered’ anyway after averaging. And the weaker students will have no incentive to study hard too since their marks will be “higher” anyway after averaging. The teachers’ demand to have no performance discrimination can only be detrimental  to public school standards.

Reduction in face-to-face teaching hours. How can that be beneficial to our kids? Isn’t face-to-face teaching the fundamental role of the teachers? Compared to many other professions and occupations, teachers get their school holidays and many other occasions of ‘student free’ days to get their relaxation, upgrading time needed. If they honestly believe that their working time is too long, the door is always open for them to find a better job.

So I’m sorry but I’m not in support of the teachers’ actions as I don’t see any benefits and only more harm to public schooling and all our school children of Victoria. Already Australian education standards are nothing to boast about. Please ask them to seek their redress and iron out their conflict with their employer (the government) in a more reconciliatory and reasonable way, without compromising the long term benefits and welfare of our kids and in a way that better reflect the values and principles of the sacred calling of their profession.

Thank you so much for your time.

Yours sincerely,

Wet Weather Traffic

Traffic was really bad this morning. It seemed a universal trend that whenever it rains in the morning, the traffic would be really slow and dreary on the roads. On such weather, one should be in bed snoozing but everyone's outside, battling their way to work or school. The public transport was just as bad. The Metro trains were not working well (also positive correlation to the weather) and many people had to opt to either get on board a slow train, wait for the buses or drive to work, the latter two options just contributing to the already congested, tortoise speed highway.

I regretted it the moment I turned up the ramp into the freeway but there was no U-turn. I had to join the queue. We crawled our way to the next exit and I turned out to take an alternative route. We made our way to school after 45 mins, a journey that would have usually taken 15 mins. But it was probably better than if we had stayed on the freeway.

Still it was too nice a weather to be frustrated. The birds and plants probably welcomed this wet day as compared the hotter and dry days before. Hopefully the bosses would be just as welcoming towards their late arriving employees as well :)

Boom and Bloom Time

Do plants grow in the dark? Since when did that long branch grew out from the rose plant? Ah...Spring is here. Boom and bloom time for the plants not just in my garden but everywhere! 

It rained again last night and this morning. When I opened the window to take this photo, the air smelled and felt so good. It's cold but so refreshing! I never remembered breathing air like this in Singapore. That's one reason why I love staying in Melbourne. I love staying at home, looking outside at the plants and noticing the little changes in them. The grasses' gotten taller, that plant's got a lot more leaves now, hey look, rose buds are forming! and the fruit trees are starting to grow flowers! Small discoveries, little pleasures of life.

Korea

Our holidays over the last four years have mainly been within the country of Australia, except to Singapore, which I consider more of a 'home visit' than holiday. In fact, even before we moved to Australia, we have already started taking 'holidays' cum 'survey' trips to various states of Australia. If I'm not wrong, the last country we visited that is NOT Australia or Singapore was Canada, back in 2005. So when a visit back to Singapore became possible, we decided to extend the trip further to include a long overdue holiday to South Korea as well. 


Although I had visited Seoul before, I never went beyond Itewon and the hotel lobby then. That was how much time we had during the night stops as a cabin crew. My vague impression of Korea was 1) cheap and good imitation products;  2) a harsh place to be during winter; 3) rough people whose sense of personal space was very poor and 4) super sweet strawberries. What will my perception of Korea be, many years later? I'm pretty sure the harsh winter still holds. 



My first impression of Korea is one of a vibrant nation with a hardworking and creative workforce. I love watching Korean drama serials, one main reasons for my interest to visit the country that gave birth to Lee Min Ho and Kim Tae Hee. We love Korean food, often cooking them at home or visiting Korean restaurants in the city. We love using their inventions - LG washing machines, fridge, microwave oven, Samsung TV and my latest Samsung Nexus Galaxy smartphone. I think Koreans should be very proud of their country people for all they have achieved internationally.


Being in Seoul feels like being in Singapore sometimes, except for the weather and it being more chaotic. There are lots of people on the streets, in the malls and at the train stations, even late at night. The people work late and the shops are opened till late. Everyone is moving. Bright lights from the street hawkers light up the street and food tempt you every metre of the way.

Korea's cherry blossom of Spring

And the people are friendly. Mostly we have a problem communicating with them but when we do ask someone for help or directions, they always respond helpfully, despite spending a lot of effort trying to make us understand. Luckily, we have a picked up a few Korean lines to help us ask "where" and "how much" and the many English signs around the public areas helped considerably.


We spent a substantial amount of time in Korea feasting on their local cuisines. We loved to visit those shops operated by 'ahjummas' and have the traditional way of sitting on the floor. We have to take off our shoes and our feet get numb after about 1 hour but the experience is so authentic. I always look forward to see how many and what type of 'banchans' (side dishes) they will serve us. Sometimes, it can get as many as 20! And the food is spicy and delicious! Even my kids enjoyed it and they ate so much during that two weeks they both gained weight.


Shopping wise, there are no lack of Korean products to buy. The most common shops sell beauty products and clothing, targeting the young working female population. However I find their clothing not cheap although the Korean won is weak against AUD. I heard that the salary of the Koreans are not very high but looking at the prices of things, it doesn't tally. Many of the clothing are made locally in Korea and the vendors are proud to highlight that fact. Of course, the quality is better than some China made one. 


One of our favourite past time in the afternoon or night is to stop by one of those trendy donuts cafes to rest our legs, have a cup of cafe mocha while the kids have their donuts. This kind of lifestyle is very popular with the younger generation there but a cup of ice mocha can cost as much as A$5. 


The other thing I noticed about Koreans are how civic-minded they are. At food courts, they return their trays to the racks after eating. At fast food restaurants, they dispose of their trash AFTER seperating the food waste, liquids and containers. On the train, ahjhummas (aunties) will not hesitate to tell kids off when they put their feet on the upholstered chair. No wonder the trains are so clean and well-maintained. 


The Koreans are also very efficient and thoughtful in their services. At food courts, you are given a beeper so you can sit down to wait while your food is cooking. Water is always provided free and you collect the metal cups for water from sterilising cabinets. At one bank, there were even some nail polish for you to paint your nails and time away while waiting. When I bought a birthday cake from a mall, the candles were provided together with a knife and even 2 matchsticks! At the Haeundae beach, it even has wi-fi and internet stations set up. That, I think is a little carried away.


After 2 weeks in South Korea, I walked away with a deeper understanding of the Korean  culture, not to mention a few Korean words, and a renewed respect for its people. I will definitely want to revisit the country again. This time, I must remember to visit their public baths.