Pertinent work

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , ,
26 August 2011
0

Recently I’ve found my work experience to be very valuable for a lot of people. Or at least they seem extremely interested in learning more about the details of what I do… I guess doing online work is pretty pertinent to everyone.

It’s really interesting to see how much I do know and have learned! I guess I didn’t realize the depth of my knowledge base until people started asking detailed questions about all aspects of what I do. What’s also great is that our company has such a broad scope that we end up doing a lot of things.

Having a general knowledge of how marketing works in the online world is a useful asset that I’m sure will serve me well in many future endeavors. I’m glad I stumbled upon this industry and have seen many facets of the business. Who knew that a Craigslist listing could get me so far!

Strangely motivated

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , ,
23 August 2011
2

Last week, I was innocently checking in to various listings on Yelp as I always do, keeping unofficial tabs on where I’ve been.  When it came to the 405 freeway, I found to my dismay that someone had ousted me from the Duchess spot (you become the Duke or Duchess if you have the most check-ins)!  This got me all riled up.  I refused to have someone beat me out like that, so I started a check-in war.

To better understand the context of this, let me lay down some of the rules we have to follow:

  1. You can check in to any given listing no more than once every 4 hours.
  2. You can only check in when you are within 1 mile of the listed address of the listing (with some exceptions).
  3. You can check in no more than 25 times in a given day.

So, immediately I started checking in every 4 hours or so.  Of course, life would get in the way and it wouldn’t happen that much, but I did log multiple check-ins a day.  I reasoned that I’ve driven up and down the 405 hundreds of times (if not over a thousand by now), so all these excess check-ins are making up for previous visits.  Thankfully, I live and work in an area within a mile of the freeway, so I can check in throughout the day without having to move.  I also don’t check in to places arbitrarily – I like for my check-ins to actually reflect my visitation to whichever listing, so I rarely ever get up to 25 check-ins in a day.  That’s a lot of places to visit!

Well, unfortunately it appeared that little Ms. Piggy saw that I was catching up to her, so she started checking in full force as well.  I call her that because she doesn’t have a real profile picture, but just a cartoon pigging saying something about pigging out.  Every time I’d check in after a few hours, I’d find that she was also checking in to keep her lead.  This went on for about three days and I was getting just one or two check-ins behind, but then came the weekend and my trip to NorCal.  While I was away, I wasn’t able to keep the pressure on her, but it appears that she eased up as well.  Maybe she thought I had backed down and let her guard down.

As soon as I came back from my weekend trip, I was checking in again at maximum capacity and today I’ve managed to tie her at times and be one check-in behind at others.  By tomorrow, I think I can take her down and reclaim my title as Duchess of the 405 freeway.  Once that happens, I plan on continuing until I have a healthy lead that reflects the hundreds of times that I have driven the 405.  It’s a silly little thing, really, but this really brought out some of the competitive edge in me.  I am not going to give up on this mission!  Why it means so much may be beyond most people, but it’s a fun challenge for me.

A lasting impression

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , ,
18 August 2011
0

I watched both seasons of Who Do You Think You Are?, which chronicles the journeys that celebrities take while tracking down their family histories.  One thing that stuck with me is that so often, they would find parallels in their ancestors’ lives and their own.  That made me think about how a certain trait can get passed down many generations, not necessarily just genetically, but behaviorally.  After all, the environment you grow up in greatly affects the environment you will create as a parent and I believe that a lot of those childhood influences stay with you for life.

Whether it’s an adventurous spirit or a strong foundation in faith, it’s more than just a genetic component.  It’s pretty cool how much of ourselves we can see in our pasts.  It makes me think of what imprint I will leave for future generations of my family.  I’m sure a certain stubbornness and inquisitiveness will shine through, and hopefully a fair share of entrepreneurialism or at least enterprising efforts as well!  I wonder if my willingness to be the exception and stand out will be shared over generations.  I am confident that education will be strong in our family.  I certainly expect post-graduate degrees!

I’d like to see what I can find out about my own ancestry and if there are hints about the type of people I came from.  I don’t know the quality of the records in China, since a lot was probably lost or destroyed over the years, but I can start with what my parents and grandparents remember.  It would be nice to know what I came from.  Were my ancient relatives scholars or farmers?  Were they poor or well-to-do?  Could I even have a connection to a historical figure or royalty?  Who knows!  I’m curious to find out.

I’d also be interested in doing a DNA test someday, to show me a breakdown of my ethnic heritage.  As far as I know, I’m pretty much all Chinese, though part of that originates from the Mongols.  That’s pretty normal in Northern China, since the Mongols invaded back in the day and became the new “Chinese.”  Who knows, maybe some Mongolian ancestry was also mixed with Russian or Eastern European?  There’s just a wealth of information that I am interested in finding out and I hope that future generations are just as interested as well.

Service-minded

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , ,
15 August 2011
0

I finally got inspired by the desire to read again, so Panda and I went to the Santa Monica Library on Saturday and I got two books. Currently I am reading about the Ritz-Carlton and how they continue to be a world-class institution, which has reminded me of my interest in what makes good service.

I often notice areas of improvement with every company I deal with, whether it’s Apple or a local restaurant. The only exemplary service I can remember receiving more recently is from my Chase Sapphire Visa Signature card. I’m not sure if it was because it was a Sapphire or a Visa Sig, but I didn’t have to wade through touch-tone menus to speak to a person and my issue was resolved quickly, without hesitation.

Compare that with most experiences, with a lot of navigating that ultimately ends with being on hold for a long time. Good service can go a long way to build customer loyalty and a positive brand name. If only more companies invested in the anticipation and satisfaction of their customers’ needs so that we’d all be happier in dealing with them.

I really look forward to someday experiencing the “Ritz-Carlton Mystique,” as they call it, and getting a glimpse into what going above and beyond AND above and beyond even more is like. And I hope I can build a business that has a culture as rich and rewarding as theirs appears to be.

Fluffy pillows

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , ,
10 August 2011
0
large 53-inch tall stuffed animal bear pillow

This sucker is a whole 53 inches tall!

I have this thing for pillows.  Ever since college, I’ve just loved to pile my bed full of pillows.  I lay on them, I hug them, they keep me warm, and of course they keep me from getting neck cramps.  I’ve had really soft ones and more firm ones, some small ones and some large ones.  I’ve had one made to look like a Tootsie Roll and now I have a HUGE bear one!  I also have a fantastic body pillow that has saved me from many a night there the blanket got away from.

I don’t know what it is, but I love when my bed is bustling with pillows.  In fact, sometimes they take up more space than I do and I end up getting buried in them (but hey, I don’t mind!).  I’ve actually wondered if I could get a bed set within a high frame so that I could kind of swim around in all the blankets and pillows on my bed without worrying about pushing them off.  It’s annoying when things fall off the bed, which is why I prefer having my bed pushed against a corner.  Then I can throw all the pillows I want on them without constantly losing them to the ground.

At the moment I have seven pillows with me, though three of them have made it to the floor.  Alas, even with two sides of the mattress against walls, pillows will slide off the bed on their own.  It just can’t be helped!

My iPhone chronicles

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , ,
07 August 2011
0

It’s been about a year and a quarter since I first got an iPhone and boy has it been a rocky ride!  I’ve been to the Genius Bar no less than seven times and had my device replaced 5 of those visits, with another where they replaced just the screen for me.  It all started off about two months in, when my 3GS wouldn’t send text messages.  The send bar would get to about the 90% mark, but never complete and send out the message.  This also appeared to affect my phone reception, where I often wouldn’t be able to get a signal.  When I took the phone to the store, I got a new one because they determined that the SIM card was stuck in too tight, which didn’t allow for proper signal reception.

Not long after, my phone slid off my desk onto our concrete floor at work.  The corner was cracked, so I went in to see if they could fix it up for me.  Lucky me, I got a friendly Genius in a good mood, so he took care of it for me.  I even blogged about that visit!  Unfortunately, it seemed that the sleekness of the phone made it prone to dropping, so it kept happening here and there.  One day I noticed that the metal part was splitting away from the plastic, revealing the inner workings of my device.  It was getting a little dusty in there, which was a concern.  I trotted back to the store and was once again given a new one.  This actually was kind of fortunate, since I was going to upgrade to an iPhone 4 and my dad was going to take my phone.  I certainly didn’t want to give him something all beat up, so I kept this one pristine!

I had barely gotten the iPhone 4 for a few weeks when I found that my mic wasn’t working and people couldn’t hear me.  For a phone, that’s a pretty big issue.  After all, the main function of the phone is to make phone calls…  So, I got a replacement and went on my way, but only for a month, when my camera stopped working and only showed me a black screen.  After this replacement, it looked like things would finally be ok.  It had been about a 4-month stretch of problems on a monthly basis, which finally ended in early October.

In mid-July, the Apple Store in Valencia was opening up.  With the promise of a free t-shirt, I was drawn to go to the grand opening.  While in line, I decided to take a few pictures with my phone, only to find that the app would try to open, crash the phone, and then restart it.  I tried again with the same result, so I tried a hard reset.  I got the same error, so at that point I was glad I was at the Apple Store, since I was going to need some help.  Guess what happened at my appointment?  After trying to do a reset via iTunes (and failing), my Genius got me a new phone.  Fancy that.  I was pretty happy since I’d started to get annoyed with the layer of oil that just didn’t seem to get wiped off my phone anymore.  A few taps would make my fingerprints stick and no amount of wiping seemed to slow that process.  Plus, I had dropped it a week or two earlier, chipping off a small part of the corner, so aesthetically my device was no longer in tip-top shape.

I’ve got just a few more weeks before my warranty runs out, and I am debating whether I should pay to extend it for another year.  I would definitely want to upgrade at that point, so I guess the question is if I can prevent any disastrous drops or breakdowns in the next year (or if I could deal with them until it was time for a new device).  I’d like to say I can, but I’m afraid that I’ll regret not paying for the extension.

Cat adoption, dating style

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , , ,
04 August 2011
0

One more day stands in the way between me and the long-awaited cat adoption!  I can’t wait.  I’ve tried not to overthink things this week, since many of the cats I saw last weekend looked like they were on the fast train to adoption.  The kittens in particular were very popular, of course, but I was happy to see that some of the more grown cats were getting a good amount of attention too.  I’m totally ready to spend all morning Saturday petting all the cats and also pairing them up to make sure they can get along with each other.

At first when my mom talked about getting an older one and younger one, I was thinking a baby and an older cat, but my mom is skeptical of the little ones since they are so small they could easily get hurt or lost under/in something.  While I really like them, I do know that they get adopted very easily, and part of the point of our adoption is to take ones that might get put down if not adopted soon enough.  I figure I can always go for a young little one when Panda and I start our own household, so I definitely want to pay more attention to the 1- and 2-year-olds.

I have a feeling both cats will probably be black or at least part black, since it seems those are the ones that aren’t as popular.  Is it a superstitious thing?  Are Americans really that prejudiced against black cats?  Or maybe there is some sort of personality trait that tends to do with those types of cats that makes them less friendly?  I did notice that my red tabby (orange stripey cat) was the friendliest of the ones we’ve had, and the black ones were more aloof and/or quirky.  But hey, quirky is still loveable!  And there were definitely plenty of cats who liked being pet, which is what I love to do.

Haha, I’ve been watching Millionaire Matchmaker and I just realized that the way I’m thinking about cats is very logical, with plenty of reasoning weighing into my decision, which is kind of like what the matchmaker does for her clients.  They come in with grandiose ideas of what type of person they can land, and she gives them a dollop of reality to whip them into shape and make them realize what is realistic and what is not.  I am open to giving up the kitten idea because it makes more sense of someone living my lifestyle and at my stage of life to focus on the more grown cats.  I don’t have time to baby a little creature, but I will have that opportunity in the future!

Rather than go for the “hottie pa-tottie” as they call them (aka the kittens), I will focus more towards the good fit.  I need cats that can take care of themselves, but enjoy my company when I am able to see them.  I just hope I don’t fall in love with a teeny little thing that looks at me adorably and fits into my hands so comfortably!  But hey, even if that happens, the good thing is we’ll still get a mature cat who can help with the duty of teaching the young one.

Theory of free t-shirts

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: ,
01 August 2011
0

Here’s the thing: if you’re going to give out free t-shirts, you might as well make it worth everyone’s while by getting a good sampling of sizes. Why? Well, nobody wants to walk out of the house wearing a shirt two sizes too big. And why does that matter? Ah, well you see, giving out free t-shirts is really a marketing AND advertising thing, or at least it should be.

First you start off with the marketing ploy: lure people in with the promise of free t-shirts. This draws their interest and creates hype around your brand. Most organizations have this down, but here’s where they go wrong – instead of offering everyone a reasonable-size t-shirt, they decide to go the easy way and order all the same size. The one size fits all approach just doesn’t work.

What ultimately happens is that the second part, the advertising part, doesn’t happen! If they had given most people a size that actually fit them, these people could add the shirt to their wardrobe and actually wear it out. Every time they put on the shirt it’s a free walking advertisement for you. Whether it’s people noticing your brand being worn a lot or them asking the wearer a question about it because of a striking design, it’s good news for you. At the least the person is reminded of your brand every time they put it on.

Instead, you pass out all XLs because most people can fit them and then only the XL people ever do wear them. All the rest of us stuff that shirt somewhere in the closet, or only bring it out for sleeping in. Your shirt never sees the public eye again and it becomes another bit of wasted fabric, not appreciated or recognized. Sure, it’s not as efficient to give people the size they want, but that extra bit of effort can lead to a long happy life filled with attention for your precious tees. Don’t you want that over being forgotten or even torn up for rags?

So that’s my theory on how giving free t-shirts is actually a bit of a science, with a formula to follow. I know that my XL from the Apple Store doesn’t get wear time like my M from the Sony Store! The formula of “right size, cool design” works for me and I bet it works for most of the world too.

Panda time

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags:
28 July 2011
0

Panda’s in town for a few precious days so I’ve been spending my time outside of work with him. It has been pretty tiring since we don’t get around to dinner until 8 or so, do by the time we eat and drive back, it’s nearly 10 and there isn’t that much time left in the night.

He’s leaving tomorrow morning and then I just need to get through one more day of work before I can rest! This week has gone by fast, but a lot has gone on and I’m drained. I can’t wait for the weekend to recover!

An addiction

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: ,
25 July 2011
0

Wow, I’ve been pretty addicted to popsicles lately.  Between the pure fruit bars and the creamsicle style ones, my fridge is pretty packed with sticks of frozen goodness.  I go through at least two or three a night (and this has been going on for nearly a month)!  I also have some ice cream and frozen yogurt, but it’s really the popsicles that draw me in.  Perhaps because they are pre-proportioned and fruity, so they’re a lighter alternative to a couple of scoops of ice cream, which would fill me right up.

I’m not sure how it started, but one day I decided to go get groceries and when I went through the frozen aisle, I couldn’t resist a couple of boxes of popsicles.  From then on I’ve been pigging out on them day in and day out, with no sign of stopping!  At least this weekend I got watermelon ones, which are very light and refreshing.  They remind me of the frozen watermelon juice my mom would make (aka watermelon ice cubes).  Still, refreshing as they are, I certainly didn’t shy away from stocking up on the creamsicles as well.

Now I’ve got popsicle sticks all over the place, and I even started using one for scooping out my body butter.  Those things can be pretty practical!  Too bad I don’t need dozens of them though.  Maybe I should look into making my own so I don’t waste all that plastic, cardboard, and wood.  That would be fun!

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