Posts Tagged ‘opinion’

BzzAgent to the rescue!

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , , ,
13 February 2013
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bzzagent word of mouth marketing site logoSo I mentioned in my MorningStar Farms post that I got it for free from BzzAgent, which I joined just a few months ago.  Since then, I’ve gotten invited to two more campaigns, both of which have been really fitting and timely for my current needs!  One was for Schick’s Hydro Silk razor and the other was for Garnier’s Olia hair dye.

I’ve been using the same brand of razor since I started shaving and since I shave so infrequently, I actually have the original handle and am only on the third blade.  Granted, I’ve used some disposable ones here and there and once got another brand attached to the shaving cream I bought, but for the most part that original razor has lasted me for a decade or so.

When BzzAgent sent me the new Schick Hydro Silk razor for free, I was pretty excited to try something new.  My old razor would sometimes give me knicks and I was always wary of shaving around my knees and ankles because of it.  With the Schick though, it glided so smoothly that I had to try a second and third time just to make sure it worked!  I couldn’t believe it was so slick against my skin.  I love that it has 5 blades that are close together, providing a really smooth shave.  Now I have a razor that will probably last me another decade!

Most recently, I was offered to join the Garnier Olia campaign.  It’s a revolutionary new hair dye that uses oils to provide permanent hair color with no ammonia.  Love it already!  Apparently it has a bunch of natural flower oils so it smells great and it conditions and restores hair.  I’m about to get my hair cut this weekend and I was literally just thinking to myself how nice it would be if I could get it colored.  At this point though, I’m not about to pay for a coloring at the salon.  Then along came Olia, which I am getting a coupon for a free box of.  I can’t wait to try it!!

I’m pretty pleased with BzzAgent and I’m really excited to keep getting to try out great products like these.

On furniture innovation

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , ,
29 January 2013
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I can’t seem to find a “perfect” spot for my desk.  Today’s the third time I’ve moved it in the past few months and I’m still not fully satisfied.  I think what I really need is a swinging desk that can rotate 90 degrees from an L shape to an I shape. I’d like to sit at the desk and have the wall/window on one side, the bed on another, and the desk filling in the other two.  So far I’ve tried it parallel to my bed, perpendicular to it, and at two random angles.  Triangles don’t seem to work since I can’t get out and keeping everything at 90 angles to each other leaves one side gaping.  I suppose I could use the back of my chair as the fourth side, but I like having my back somewhat against the wall.

I’ve always liked cozy corners and being tucked in tight, but I still need to be able to get out of my chair without having to climb around furniture like a monkey.  It’s definitely a challenge with conventional furniture that assumes people like having their space.  It also seems to be assumed that furniture shouldn’t be easy to move.  Why is that?  I am constantly rearranging my furniture, wishing that they were designed to be more mobile.  After all, a single change in your furniture  arrangement can greatly change the look and feel of a room, so it’s like moving without ever leaving!  I think it’s good to exercise change periodically.  It’s amazing the new perspectives you achieve!

I’ve actually conceived of a variety of alternative furniture ideas that I’d really like to see become a reality someday, if only for myself.  We as people are mobile and flexible, so why shouldn’t our furniture be more so?  Sure, we’ve got lazy boys that protract and retract, but what else?  Surely someone can design a desk that can change just as easily.  Alas, until then, I will probably have to continue exploring creative ways to try to achieve that effect with the stubborn bulky furniture that currently exists.

Love, Missy (& sometimes Molly)

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , , ,
09 January 2013
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Every single day that I’m with my cats, my heartstrings get their exercise.  The way that they just plop down on me and purr contentedly would make anyone smile.  No matter how many times I see them sleeping, playing, or doing other cute things, each time is special.  Missy is especially loving and comes to nap by me a few times a day.  She gets into some crazy positions that don’t seem comfortable at all, but she appears to love twisting in weird shapes.  It makes me want to take pictures of her all day long.  Molly’s taken some time to warm up to me, but lately she’s been quite cuddly too, and purrs nonstop when she’s in a good mood.  Both of them bring so much joy to my life!

In honor of them, I just had to put together a collage of some of their wonderful pictures.  Having pets is truly one of the most rewarding things and I’m particular to cats because they’re adorable yet not needy and they don’t smell (sorry dogs).  It’s really true that they help lower your blood pressure – they keep me calm and happy even when I’m going through a tough time.  How could you look into those faces as they adore you and not feel your heart open to them?

Click on image for larger view!

collage of cats missy and molly in cute positions

Driving thoughts

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , , ,
11 December 2012
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Driving is a great time for me to think – in fact, I think it’s even more effective than showering.  It used to be that I’d get tons of reflection and inspiration while showering, since you don’t have much to think about beyond your routine.  However, now that I’ve taken to really enjoying all the bath products I’ve gotten, I tend to think just about those brands, why I like the products, and how I feel about it all.  Doesn’t leave me as much thinking space as I used to get.  Nowadays I’ve found that it’s driving time that is really precious and useful.  From reflections of life to rehashing business ideas, it’s an ideal way for me to get some creative juices flowing.

Unfortunately it’s not like I can sit there and take notes about what I’m brainstorming, and I always found it challenging to try to dictate my thoughts to remember.  So, I’m getting used to summing up those thoughts into a few to-dos and dictating that to my phone.  I set a few reminders to trigger sometime after I get home, and then I can sit and reflect some more.  It’s a decent system and I kind of wish I had more driving to do!  Perhaps I’ll take up some other similar activity like biking, jogging, or getting back on my beloved longboard.

Drizzly day

laelene Posted in video blog，Tags: , , , ,
02 December 2012
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I love sitting on the porch when it’s raining out. It’s refreshing! Now if only my electronics played well with humidity…

raining by porch from Mary Qin on Vimeo.

Drop by drop

laelene Posted in video blog，Tags: , , ,
07 November 2012
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I love a warm summer rain and I’ve always been fascinated with when it first begins and the drops evaporate from the ground fast enough that the wetness doesn’t “stick.” The one thing I’m not fond of – that wet asphalt smell that starts to waft up with the humidity.

raindrops on cement from Mary Qin on Vimeo.

Down time

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , ,
05 November 2012
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What do you think of when you hear work from home, self-employed, entrepreneur?  Do you imagine someone huddled over their laptop all day and all night, tapping away at those keys?  Do you imagine someone kicking back with a cool drink on a warm day, enjoying the sunshine?  Or maybe you think of someone lounging around in pajamas and slippers, cupping a steaming cup of coffee and a book.  Whatever the case, people usually consider working from home and working for yourself to be less stressful than a typical office job.

When I first started working from home, I imagined being able to enjoy myself no matter where I was (and being able to go anywhere no matter when it was).  For the most part, that has been true, but another thing that I’ve wrestled with is being able to set boundaries with my time.  I’ve enjoyed far more freedom in terms of where I am and when I work, but then it all blends together.  Lately I’ve found that I think so much about work that I even dream about it and disrupt my rest.  Without realizing it, stress has creeped up on me because I am the one responsible if things go wrong and I am the only one managing all that there is to take care of.  The pressure of that doesn’t seem so bad, yet here I am, needing a break.

In a way I feel guilty – my days are hardly ever as busy and fast-paced as my previous job, so I often feel like I’m not working hard enough.  However, just because I don’t have 9-10 hours filled with work and then a respite before it all starts again doesn’t mean that I’m working less hard.  As it turns out, the entire night and weekend concept no longer applies to me and any day, any time is work time.  Whether I’m home, out eating or shopping, or taking time off for social activities, work is just a few taps away (thank you phone apps).  So in that sense, I never get rest and I never get away from the looming work that follows me around.

This weekend, it finally caught up with me.  I’ve been so overwhelmed by the constant checklist of things to do for work that I just had to mentally check out for awhile.  So, for the past two days I hardly did anything for work and instead vegged out to a variety of random entertainment.  I buckled back up and got a bunch of work done today, but I’m still not ready to throw myself back into things again.  Perhaps I need to learn to set better boundaries so I periodic bouts of worklessness.  Harder said than done though!

Traveling saleswoman

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , , ,
14 October 2012
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Ever since I started selling things on eBay, my choice of products has been affected by my physical location.  When at home, I list the items we have there; when at Panda’s I list the items we get here.  These things vary based on our interests, as well as what stores we have access to.  So, when it came time for a bit of traveling, I found myself packing a suitcase full of products so I’d be prepared in case something sold while I was on the road.  It certainly made for some interesting packing!

It’s funny how I’ve become a sort of new-age “traveling saleswoman.”  Rather than traveling around the country to try to increase sales, I’m traveling as I please and bringing my inventory along for the ride.  As my needs change, I hope to one day travel to discover new products to add to my offerings.  That way I’m enjoying myself while still managing to get plenty of work done to further my business!  Plus, I can find excuses to travel to some awesome places around the world, searching for the best gift items out there.

Entrees just aren’t my style

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , , , ,
29 September 2012
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table overflowing with plates of food including soup, salad, appetizers, breadsticks, and pasta

I love having tons of smaller items to eat!


For a period, Panda and I were eating out consistently (something like 3 times a week).  In that time, I came to a realization after he commented that I seemed to gravitate towards appetizers and desserts.  Indeed it’s true that I tend to prefer appetizer dishes, soups, salads, bread, tapas, dim sum, hors d’oeuvres, finger foods, and desserts.  These are generally things that come in smaller portions, don’t usually include much if any staple items (like pasta or rice), have stronger flavors, and are fun to eat.  All of that make them so much more appealing to me.

Smaller dishes mean you can try out a more varied set of food and it’s all the better when you can get a sampler platter!  This also fits really well into my snacking eating habit, where I can’t seem to eat much in one sitting, but I get hungry again soon after.   I have to eat about 4-5 times a day, just a little each time.  There are probably other reasons I can’t quite pinpoint, but non-entree dishes just feel right to me.  Meanwhile, full-on main courses are over-sized (especially in America), more bland, and generally less exciting.  Don’t you think so?

What I love about AT&T

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , , ,
24 September 2012
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at&t website countdown to iphone 5 pre-order launchI did a lot of research leading up to the pre-order of my iPhone 5 (I even wrote a full-on how-to about it).  One of the things that I spent time looking into was whether I should stay with AT&T or move to another carrier.  And you know what?  For all the bad rap that AT&T gets, I really think they’re not that bad.  In fact, they’ve got some great selling points that made it easy for me to decide to stick with them for the foreseeable future.  So while a lot of people may have jumped ship, I’m going to remain a loyal customer… which I’ve been, ever since the Cingular days!

First of all, I got scared when I read that Verizon customers would be losing their grandfathered unlimited plans once they went from 3G to 4G LTE.  It hadn’t occurred to me that this could be an issue, so I quickly set about looking up whether the same thing would happen to AT&T customers.  Some online searches didn’t provide the answer, so I called up customer service and spoke to a very nice lady who assured me that it wouldn’t be a problem.  Whew!  AT&T: 1, other carriers: 0.  (Oh, though she did note that I wouldn’t be able to use FaceTime over cellular since that’s only for people with shared data plans… and shared data plans meant forfeiting grandfathered unlimited data plans.  That doesn’t matter to me since I wasn’t planning on using it anyway.)

Secondly, I’ve been so used to being able to talk and surf at the same time that it didn’t even occur to me that others can’t.  I assumed it would just be something you can do across all devices and carriers, but for iPhones, the only US carrier that supports it is AT&T.  I happen to be a huge multi-tasker so I definitely put this feature high on my list of “needs” for my phone service!  After all, if I can’t look something up while talking to someone on the phone, I end up being very inefficient having to call them back or text them a reply.  If nothing else, I love being efficient.

Also, I find that AT&T has a good balance between 3G and 4G LTE coverage areas and the types of plans offered.  To the first point, Sprint I hear has limited coverage so getting a consistent signal on the move might be more challenging.  I took a look at the AT&T 4G LTE coverage map and found great coverage in all the places I’d spend 99% of my time in.  To the second point, Verizon forces new customers to sign up for a shared data plan, which makes no sense to me… explain to me again why I’d need to share data with myself?  Oh, that’s right – I shouldn’t.  Plus, there was the earlier point that you can keep the unlimited data plan if you have it already.

Granted, I don’t really use my phone for phone calls very often, so I don’t usually run into the issues that people complain about with AT&T calls dropping.  As for poor customer service, I find that when you start off the call on the right note, you can almost always get what you were looking for (assuming you’re being reasonable, of course).  In fact, I had a grand time chatting with my customer service rep the last time I was on a call!  And so it is, AT&T is most definitely the best carrier for me.

Oh yeah – one last thing: bonus points for having their site up 12 minutes before midnight for pre-orders.  If I was going to be at my normal billing address the day the phones were being delivered, I totally could have completed my order with them before the Apple Store was even ready.

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