Since today is the last day of the year 2009, I’ll take this opportunity to reflect on my 2009 – the best and the worst. 2009 has been quite an uneventful year for me, if compared to 2008 where a lot of things happened. But well, 2009 is not too good a year for me too. Better than 2008 though.

The worst

• I received a pay cut towards the end of March. It was a reduction of working days, from 5 to 3. So it was around 30-40% pay cut. A huge amount, and I was very disappointed because I really loved working in that company. But life goes on and I’ve managed to find another job within 1 month.
• I joined a large company after that but it’s not what I expected it to be. Different job scope and it’s really quite a stressful job. But still, at least I should be glad that I do have a job. I should count myself more fortunate than a lot of people out there.
• My skin allergy is getting worse. Yes, I have ringworm problem (it’s not a worm, but more like a fungal infection which is quite common in tropical countries like Malaysia). It got better in 2008 but in 2nd half of 2009, it got worse. Some people stayed away from me because they think it’s contagious. Well, it is, if your skin is exposed to it for long period of time. But still, some people do get scared. Hopefully it’ll go away in 2010.

The best

• When I got my pay cut, I sent a lot of messages (MSN, Yahoo, emails, SMSes) out to my friends, asking them to help me get a job. And I can say I am very very blessed to have so many good friends by my side. Most of them have helped me (in one way or another) during that difficult period. Kudos to all of them and a sincere “Thank you” from me. Thanks for all the help, all the support and thanks for being there.
• In 2009, I finally brought my family to China. We went to Shanghai. It was quite a tiring trip for me, but I’m very happy because it’s one of my dad’s lifelong dreams to travel to Shanghai. I plan to bring my family to another place in China in 2010.
• I continued to pursue my passions in writing stories, drawing, gaming and technology. Looking forward to complete a light novel/graphic novel in 2010.
• I finally started a webcomic called Cubic Nation. It’s quite plain and not popular. I’ve received a lot of good and bad feedback. Some people called it a Dilbert clone, but well, it’s just something I love to do and those ideas were not from Dilbert. In 2010, I will try to update the comic on weekly basis, and also change the appearance a little.
• After thinking about getting a MacBook Pro and an iPod Touch for more than 6 months, I finally bought these 2 items for myself. I love them and I do feel they’ve helped me to increase my productivity. I’m currently playing around with the iPhone SDK. Hopefully I’ll be able to publish my first iPhone application/game in iTunes in the year 2010.
• In 2008, my total investment took a plunge of > 40%. Yeah, that was A LOT of money. But in 2009, I’ve more or less recovered what I’ve lost in 2008. So it’s a good thing and looking forward to continue this in 2010.
• I’m not someone who loves to travel around but I do know that I’m very lucky to actually get the opportunity to do so. I’ve learned a lot (and tasted a lot of good food) by traveling to different places this year – Kuching, Bangkok, Sydney, Shanghai, Suzhou, Xi Tang and Hangzhou.

So what’s for 2010 then? Well, it’s going to be a big big year for me. But to summarize, here are some of the things that I plan to do in 2010:

• Continue to pursue my passions in drawing, writing, gaming and technology. So expect me to continue writing in this blog, drawing in my webcomic, playing my PS3 and coming out with some applications.
• Improve things in terms of career and finance.
• Go for more family vacations.
• Stay healthy.
• Contribute more – blood donations, blogging, etc.

Simple as that.

What about you? Has 2009 been a good year for you? And what do you intend to achieve in 2010?

Hi folks,

I’ve finally launched my webcomic. It’s called Cubic Nation – a webcomic on office life.

It’s currently in beta version and the design is quite messy. Not much customization as well…and well..not much identity. =_=

I’ll try my best to do as much as possible within these 7 days. I schedule to upgrade the webcomic into a “full version” (from beta) before the month of June.

Stay tune.

p/s……. the first comic is a bit…deep, as claimed by some of my friends. And some also said it’s not very funny. Sorry if that’s the case. I find it quite funny though. LOL. *syok sendiri*

Some people believe that we should always think of doing things for ourselves, and not on behalf of other people. While I do believe this should be the correct way (only useful for those who are very much a self-motivated person), I also believe that we shouldn’t ignore the importance of doing things for other people especially people who are important to us.

In fact, it’s quite a different feeling for me. It’s as if you do have a very strong purpose for doing something and you know that there is someone out there who is depending on your success/failure. It actually allows you to withdraw a great deal of emotional strength from within yourselves.

Life is not just about doing things for yourselves

Actually, we see this all the time in movies and stories (er..mostly those movies with a big name hero ). In fact, some of the motivational gurus even insist that one should always be willing to help others or do things for other people. It is what make us human and it is also what makes whatever we do more meaningful.

Just in case some of you don’t get what I mean, let me give you a simple scenario.

Let’s say you are going to do this very very difficult and scary task – maybe a medical operation (touch wood). You’re afraid, very afraid. After all, it’s your first time in the operation room and you’ve heard scary stories before this. What you can do then, is to try telling yourselves that you can do it, and you want to be fine for the people you care about including your family. Repeat this for a few times. I believe that you will feel the confidence building up within yourselves.

I personally experienced this before. I was admitted to a specialist to do a kolonscope at the age of 22 or 23. I was very scared. The entire waiting area was filled with uncles, aunties and I was the youngest. And it was the first time I was admitted. So when I entered the “room”, with those scary-looking spotlights……. one thing came to my mind – my mum’s worried and crying face. And at that time, I told myself that I’ll be perfectly fine because I don’t want my mum to worry.

I know it’s not a big operation…er…it’s not even an operation. But it did help me overcome my fear. Because at that time, I had a purpose and a very strong reason not to fear of anything. Some people call this willpower….er…whatever it is, I believe it’s the same thing – the strength to achieve a particular goal for the people who you really care about.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not a spiritual or motivational guru. I’m merely sharing my belief and my experience. I do hope that this piece of article actually help some of you out there who are struggling to overcome the many obstacles that life always throws our way.

p/s…….. if possible, try to manage properly the things which you are doing for yourselves and also the things which you are doing for others. But also try not go overboard with this – some people might start feeling themselves as very important, in a wrong way. Sorry if this article is making you feel that way =_= Maybe these individuals who feel they are so “great”, should learn how to be humble before practicing the things here.

I will be starting on a series of “What customers want?” articles from now onwards. These articles are actually written based on my personal observations and opinions (and rants). Hopefully it’ll help people understand more about what customers really want.

Or more like, what does Alvin Lim really want? LOL

Anyway, the topic here is Security. Everyone wants security especially during economy crisis like this. People want cheap and lasting stuff so that they won’t have to spend money to buy a replacement. In other words, they want to get something which is gives good value for money, or good return of “investment”. Why? Simply because buying a replacement can be very expensive. Imagine buying a new 32 inch LCD TV to replace the 2-year-old 32-inch LCD TV. With the combined price (which is very expensive), you can easily get a 42-inch Full HD LCD TV (I think…but well, it’s just an estimation).

I wonder if there's any company giving this kind of warranty coverage?

I know that few years ago, when people are still spending a lot, some of the cheaper stuff do not come with warranty period because it’s just too expensive for the businesses to offer that. Still, people will buy because if it doesn’t work, they can just buy another one. But now, situation has changed. More and more people are starting to feel the heat from the economy downturn and they are not willing to risk their hard-earned money on something which is not “secured” or without a warranty……unless it’s dirt cheap…like 80% off the original price.

Funny thing is, most businesses do not realize this and they still think customers are willing to risk their money to get something which can break down anytime.

This happened to me today (start of rant). I went to IKEA to look for an office chair and I found a RM 350 chair which is the type that I’m looking for. But it was over my budget. So I went to the furniture shop near LDP (Kelana area) and found an office chair which is pretty similar but RM 290. After some “discussion” with the sales guy (kudos to my mum who is very ruthless when bargaining for cheaper price), I managed to get the price of RM 260. Here’s our conversation after the “discussion”:

Alvin : So if I want this chair, do you think my car can fit in the box?

Sales guy : What box? This is cash & carry. This is the unit you’ll get.

Alvin : Oh.. display unit eh? Then is there any warranty period?

Sales guy : Aiyah, won’t break down one. It’s brand new.

Alvin : How would I know? Maybe you’ve put here for many months. So, is there a warranty period?

Sales guy : Nope. We don’t give warranty period for something this small.

Alvin : Ok, then I’ll get from IKEA.

Seriously, I rather fork out the extra RM 100 to get something brand new and also to buy the “security”. I don’t think I want to spend another few hundred buying yet another chair if the RM 260 breaks. It’s just too risky and certainly not a good investment.

That’s why if you’re trying to sell something to your customers, you must remember that most customers want security or some kind of assurance that the item will not break. If it does, at least, they want to know that they can replace the item with zero fee. Either that, or give them an extremely cheap price which will allow them to buy another new item if the existing one breaks.

As for me, I will still prefer to pay that extra money to get that “security” or warranty. No security, no deal. No assurance, no deal.

P/S….not sure if it is Assurance, or Insurance, or.. ? Ah well, I know “if” statement more than English now.

Everyone has their own priorities when it comes to spending their hard-earned money. Some people spend on toys for kids, some people spend on games, some gadgets, some cosmetics, etc. Honestly, there’s no right or wrong since it’s personal preferences even though we still get to hear pretty often things like “Aiyo, why are you spending so much on such gadgets?” or “See? Spending 40k to go to Timbuktu, such a waste of money”, etc.

Louis Vuitton (LV) bags

But to me, we will never understand why people spend on those things unless we are in their shoes. Guys will never understand why girls spend so much on cosmetics and fashion stuff (LV bags…omg… =_= so freaking expensive bags). And girls will never understand why guys love gadgets so much.

So the next time you want to comment on other people for spending a lot on something that doesn’t make sense to you…..think again. It might not make sense to you….just like the things you buy don’t seem to make sense to other people.

I think in the end, the most important thing is for you to know what you are spending on and your own priorities especially during recession period. Is the thing you buying really worth it? Can you live and enjoy life WITHOUT it? Will the value depreciate a lot after you’ve bought it? Ask yourselves such questions and hopefully the answers will be able to help you in making the right decision.

P/S… by the way, I don’t know how much it cost to go to Timbuktu. I assume you’ll need at least 40k in order to come back alive.