a "wonton" post

For those who loves "wonton" you will know how much ingredients it goes into making just one wonton ... so for this post, I've called it a "wonton" post because, I've decided to lump everything that happened (since i last blog) into one posting :)

CSR : Corporate Social Responsibility (RRD Initiative) - 4th September 2010

It has been almost a month since my last posting, and so much has happened that quite simply, time flies. Right after our Merdeka Day event (the Bungy Jump challange), we had another event the following week for 4 orphans from SUNBEAM and RACTAR in lieu with our CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) initiative. To kick start this initiative, we contacted 2 orphanage and held a simple competition to the orphans, and 4 lucky orphans were chosen to experience our RedRibbon Days KL City Sky Tour. Having met this kids personally, literally changed my opinion about life - and to what extend do we measure from one another. Being compared to these kids, I'm way luckier and fortunate. These kids has never been up close and personal near a plane what more being on one.

Here are some pics taken on the day :-





Open for Business - RedRibbon Days with Freda Liu (BFM 89.9) - 21st September 2010

When Katja from BFM contacted RedRibbon Days in regards to an interview slot on BFM - Open for Business, I was thrilled. Firstly, I have always been an ardent listener of the radio station, and yes, I've always tuned in to Freda. I was nervous, unsure of what is going to be asked on air - and certainly the thought of my voice live on the radio kinda freaks me out ! Anyways, the day came and I marched up to the radio station. I was brought to Freda - and her comforting voice and genuine smile put me at ease and eventually calms me down. The butterflies were still fluttering in the stomach but it was manageable.

I chat with Freda for couple minutes before we went on air - and in that few minutes, I felt like she's a friend from the past. An old school mate or someone I have met before. Even Freda herself mentioned that I looked awfully familiar - but she can't remember where we could have met. The interview went well, and the 10 minutes was over in a breeze. I flipped a little, fumbled for some words, but all in all, it was a good experience.

Here's the link to the interview:-




And here's two pic I took with Freda in her studio :-




IDEA Forum @ Sunway University - 23rd September 2010

Next up, I was invited to be one of the speaker for a forum held in Sunway University in lieu with 1Malaysia - Entrepreneur Week. It was my very first time as a speaker - especially one that geared towards being an entrepreneur and tips of how to be one! It was a nerve-wrecking moment for me, of course. I had no time to prepare for anything, so the day before the event, I kinda quickly put everything in a word document and PRINT. I thought it should be fine now that I have a hard copy on my hands. But I was wrong !! I was shocked to find out that the other three speakers were so well prepared that they do not even need a piece of paper on hand. And one of them even said, well, thats what entrepreneurs are all about - you just wing it ! Gulp! So I am NOT an entrepreneur now that I have a piece of paper on my hand? Geez..I'm just trying to be prepared and I need to make sure I'm sharing substantial stuff with everyone present and not just utter rubbish!

Well, as usual, since I'm not that much of a speaker nor am I born to be one, I endeavour to share as much as I can on my entrepreneur journey. I shared everything that I know with everyone present that day. And at the end of it, though my speech was not as entertaining as the other speakers (mine surely did not attract much laughter), I sure hope I did impart some valuable lessons to the students. I may not inspire all, but I hope at least 1 or 2.

All in all, it was a good experience. I met few interesting people that day, learnt few new tips from the other speakers and definitely honed my public speaking skills!

Here's a picture of me with the other speakers:-



And a plaque (pic below) that was given to me towards the end of the forum as a token of appreciation. Hmm....perhaps, they should start giving out experience vouchers instead of a plaque?

The JUMP for Merdeka Day

It was an exciting moment for everyone at RedRibbon Days. Just days before Merdeka Day (Malaysia's National/Independence Day) we released a competition in our Facebook fan page for a new experience in lieu with our Merdeka Day. This experience is like no ordinary experience - it is after all the very first in Malaysia! (it may well be common in other countries, but it is certainly new for us). BUNGY JUMP ! Everyone in RedRibbon Days was eager to try out the new experience once news broke out that Bungy Jump is ready to be experienced !

So hastily we released the competition and crossing our fingers that Malaysians would be brave courageous enough to do this experience. To align it with our Merdeka Day, interested parties were invited to write in a simple sentence on why they deserve to win this experience in lieu with the special day. Many interesting answers came in, however we were only allowed to pick 3 lucky winners.

After much deliberation, 3 lucky winners were picked out and the best answer goes to Reuben Rethinalingam :-

"Though its a working day tommrow it doesn’t stop me from giving this challenge a shoot to overcome one of my greatest fear which I still haven’t been able to conqeur apart of my other fear which is, SEA WATER.
I personaly think I should be given a chance to experince this challenge of bungee jump to break free myself and getting me to conqeur my fear of hights. Its makes it more signifact in conjuction with Merdeka Day as it perfectly resembles of me being able to MERDEKA myself from my fear and how I’m able to rule my own fear like how Malaysia fought for its independence and now is able to rule its own country and not being a slave to others. It’s 53 years we have got the independce and I think its time for me to get my indepence of overcoming my fear of 27 years."


On the fateful morning of 27th August, the three lucky winners were gathered at the location and were all geared up for the jump. The weather was perfect, scorching sun and no sight of possible rain or thunderstorm. Nik and Ming Nu was sent to location to capture each and every jump, to interview the winners and of course to be part of the experience.

Here's some pictures taken on that day :-

In orange : Wei (one of the winner), Rueben (in stripe red and white) and Donna








The winners are grouped together to fill in an indemnity form, briefed on safety and etc, donned on the Malaysia flag around their shoulder and waited patiently for the moment. Reuben was the first to do the jump, after all he has the best answer. It was all dandy for Rueben until the moment came for him. His fear of heights finally took over him and he was hesitant about jumping (for at least 5 minutes). After calming himself down, Rueben finally set his fear aside and plunge! It was such an exhilarating moment seeing him shouting hysterically and triumphantly with our Malaysia flag.

The terrifying moment was finally over for Rueben and Wei was lined up next. Without much hesitation, Wei took the plunge shouting "This is for Malaysia!". It was a beautiful dive and was over within minutes. Donna, the only female winner in the competition took the challenge with a pinch of salt. She even requested for her head to be dipped into the water !

So now that all the winners had experienced this experience, I know it will be my turn soon. I have no fear of heights, in fact, I love flying fox and high ropes. Perhaps, this will be the experience for me on my upcoming birthday?

Though a bit late, but hey, its better late than never, right? So to Malaysia - Happy National Day/ Happy Merdeka Day !



Here's a video clip taken on the day - enjoy !

truly blessed

I recently read a book and it asked me to list down all the things that I'm grateful for in life. Without hesitation, I picked up a pen and paper, and start penning down the list. And as I was going through my thoughts rummaging for other things that I am grateful for, I stared at the two names that I've written down. My two business partners - both who are my best friends in life.



Indeed at this moment, I felt very fortunate to have them both as my business partners. I've known both Nik and Ming Ne for close to a decade, but our relationship is still going strong and working as a team with them makes me feel wonderful about doing what I'm doing.

Never did it crossed my mind before that I would be doing business with my two best friend, and to achieve such amazing result as well. Each of them brings along with them a different set of skills and know-how, and this I strongly believe is the reason to why the three of us can work so well together, harmonically and happily. Of course there are days when we do get a bit under the weather, but we are always there to support and cheer each other on. When time gets rough, we will pat each other and motivate each other to persevere and move on.

I've known them both since university days - and have gone through thick and thin together. We partied together till wee hours, supported each other when we are broke (overspent on our allowance) and of course, those days spent on playing "shithead" and cooking "mee soto" and devouring the whole chicken between us!

And now, we are all sitting in the same office, working towards the same goal - doing our best for RedRibbon Days.

To my two best friend and best business partner, Nik and Ming Ne, this post is dedicated to you both. Thank you for believing in me, and supporting me throughout ; without qualms and hesitation.

Looking forward to our "mee soto" session tomorrow !! :)

The Adventurous 4

Couple months ago, I purchased an experience from RedRibbon Days for TY (we also call her moley) for her 32nd birthday. TY is adventurous, definitely an outdoor person and loves to have fun ! So, I chose a ballistic experience for her - and yes, you can imagine her response when she received the gift pack on the morning (while recovering from a massive hungover from the excessive, crazy drinking the night before). She went totally ballistic and messaged me saying "Wow ! This is the best gift ever!"...

And few months down the road, TY booked in for her experience (Oh! I got her a package experience called "The Adventurous 4") and she decided to make Alice and Howie who was visiting to do the experience with her! I knew she will like this gift because she had on numerous occasion mentioned to me that she really wants to try it out. And I clearly remember the personalised message I included in her voucher "Happy Birthday, have a great one - and roll yourself silly and get drunk!". So yes, kinda like a riddle - the experience is a combination of two experiences ! One involves rolling and another involved, yes drinking !!

Everyone arrived on time on that very morning - perfect weather conditions, albeit a bit cloudy. No sun ! It was perfect for me, because I was personally doing the delivery of the picnic basket and champagne myself. And I am certainly no big fan of the sun! The new site for the experience is at Serdang - a good 30 minutes drive away from Bangsar. A quick scan around the new area tells me there is a lot of new potential for development and for our suppliers to add on and bring in more exciting experiences. Compared to Lake Titiwangsa, this place feels almost abandon - it is lacking of the ice-cream man, yelling kids and couples strolling hands in hand. Let's hope our supplier can bring Gackaroo and water orb there soon!

The adventurous 4 looks slightly nervous now - not knowing what to expect ; but the big plastic ball that they are soon to dive in certainly intimidate them a little.



Without much delay, TY and Howie did their first dry sphereing together. TY was looking slightly pale and worried. So while they are getting strapped up and all, I poked my face into the ball and took some pics.





The wet ride certainly was a favourite. All 4 of them were drenched from head to toe. The verdict ? They finally get to feel how it is to be inside a washing machine!! It was hilarious seeing how wet they were and how much fun they all had.




What better way to end the experience but with a delightful picnic basket and a bottle of bubbly ? By now, everyone was famished and the food in basket was quickly and quietly devoured within minutes.



I have personally tried our Dry Sphereing Ride before - it was done very spontaneously; I was not mentally prepared at all. In fact, we were there to oversee an event, and somehow, I was convinced to try it out. After all, we have to personally try out our experiences to make sure they are safe, fun and exciting enough to package it as a gift ! I thoroughly enjoyed the ride, though Nik was yelling at my face for the whole 30 seconds! I literally had to yell back at her to make her calm down !! It was indeed a very unforgettable experience for us both, as every time we talk about this particular experience, it never fails to make us laugh !

Seeing all my friends enjoyed their experience definitely made me feel proud and happy of what we do here at RedRibbon Days. Not only we provide people with memorable experiences and unforgettable memory ; we also have the power to make people happy.

if "the secret" is true...

Everyone is talking about "The Secret", "The Laws of Attraction" - and I've recently watched the dvd and read the book. It says, if you think hard enough, and imagine yourself always owning it, and how happy you are - the universe will then work it to your way and voila you will have the thing you wish for. Because the universe said "Your wish is my command".

As such, I shall command to the universe to bless me with this lovely, to die for - black and sexy red sole : Louboutin so when I wear my red-sole Seed shoes no one will tease me.

Hello Universe ... are you listening to me? I believe in the secret so you shall bestow it to me. NOWWWW !!

blogging essentials

I simply love reading blogs. Not those mambo-jambo blogs, but proper blogs of influential people, Of recent, I've taken liking to Anita Roddick's blogs. To me her blogs are not superficial (like some blogs that I've come across); truthful and rantings of her life encounters and etc.

I do wish sometimes I could be as transparent as some when it comes to blogging. Prior to this, I have never blogged and never even heard of the term blogging. The whole blogging phenomena began almost 3-4 years ago, when RedRibbon Days was still being conceived. Anyways, my point is - when it comes to blogging - how much truth are we blogging, and how much information about yourself can you put out there? Some bloggers are paid to blog about something (which to me defeats the whole purpose of blogging) and some people blogs about nonsense. Why would I be bothered to read about someone that blogs about what they dream of when they sleep or how they sleep?
(trust me, I've indeed come across such a posting!)

As hard as I want to put my heart and soul into blogging, certain things do hold me back. Can I really be that politically correct about everything I want to say ? In the first place, I don't even know who is reading my blog, and who will be reading my blogs. I've written many blogs only to have "select all" and "delete". In fact, to some blogs posting, I do not even have the courage to put it up. These I am referring to very petty and insignificant happening around my life and of course, in RedRibbon Days.

So, if I can't blog and rant as much as I want, what is the point of blogging and why bother?

Celebrating RedRibbon Days' 2nd Year Anniversary

Here's the delayed posting on how we celebrate RedRibbon Days' 2nd birthday ! My apologies for the delay as I was busy with so many projects and juggling it between a rather extensive travelling schedule..

Since we missed our 1st year birthday/anniversary, we thought it was necessary to celebrate RedRibbon Days' 2nd year birthday as much as we can this year. The morning started out perfect - weather was beautiful; it was a Friday - so everyone was clad in our RedRibbon Day's official Friday uniform.

We kicked start the day with an early lunch - with our favourite duck rice from 'sunrise'. It was perfect. The duck rice was extremely delicious and everyone enjoyed it including our new addition to the team, Shiva and Theing. It has become a custom to eat rice at every RedRibbon Days' birthday as this was the very same food that was served to us an hour prior to our official launch back in 2008. Somehow, this very 'duck rice' reminds us of that very day when RedRibbon Days was born, inaugurated and how happy and excited we all were back then.



We then introduced the girls to our launch song - Mercy by Duffy. Don't ask me why that song - all I remembered was I had to pick a song for our photo collage, and I do not have much choices then. Besides, it was the year when Sex and the City (the movie) was launched, and I thought it was a good/nice song?

For cake, we have chosen Tiramisu from Alexis - accompanied by a bottle of Pink Champagne of course!


The Three Musketeers : Nik, me and Ming Ne


The RedRibbon Days Team

We sang a birthday song, cut the cake, and eagerly devoured the bottle of champagne. Claudine our "temp" was knocked out within second, joined in by Nik. (and she only had a glass!)


Claudine & Nik - smashed and drunk at 3pm !

Nah ! No one got drunk !! It was a picture we took just for fun to commemorate the day ! Since it was a Friday, and it is RedRibbon Days' birthday, everyone was in their joyous and in the mood to celebrate. We headed next to dinner at our favourite joint at Vincenzo.










The food at Vincenzo is always good ! Remy diligently served us and attended to all our needs. It was a very joyous moment for me to see the whole team sitting together, enjoying each other companionship and most important - the spirit of RedRibbon Days.










We were honoured to have DK to join us for our dinner - and the night couldn't get any better! Remy even arranged a small chocolate cake for us with the message " Happy 2nd Anniversary"