I was in China this week and as I wait on the swnaky new terminal 2 of Shanghai-Pudong Airport, I have nothing better to do but blog!!! Especially since its 2:20 am and my flght's not scheduled to take off till 3:30am....

So here's what happened/I learned in this trip:

Sweet gentleman that I was travelling with picked up Femina Magazine to read when he had plenty others that are supposed to interest men!
Jet's international service as well as aircrafts are truly international. Lovely experiance!
The 180degree flat seats are amazingly comfortable! You can sleep like a baby!! (Oh, how I wish they start boarding and I hit the sack...hmmmm)
I like Shanghai more each time I visit here.
Saw a Volkswagen's Beetle in convertible format on road. I want to buy one. Maybe not convertible though.
Ferrari sounds better rev-ing past on road than the race car counterpart through the idiot box. Why does a red Ferrari seem to - even, sound better?? Any ideas??
Watched an amazing Acrobatics show today evening at Shanghai Central Theatre. Awesome stuff. The write up hardly does justice to the quality of the show. Its quite superlative. Try this You Tube version. Watch this as well. We got fourth row seats and watching these artists perform right in front of you is even more mesmerising than the you tube versions. After this 90-100mins show was over I realised that throughout the show either my hand was clasped on my mouth in amazement or I was clapping!
Discovered a few more nice cafe s on Nanjing Street and enjoyed dinners there. My lovely little Italian place that was closed when I visited last time was found to be operational again this time around and needless to say I hogged there! Didn't miss breakfasts at Wagas-my fav diner either!! Went out to a 'lovely old bungalow converted into a fine dining restaurant' with ECADI team and ate most amazing lobster I have ever had! Whoever says decent food's a problem in China?!!!!! Ohhh and had lotsa Starbucks as well, as per the custom!
I want to find some report on whether the malls make money in China. The shear amount of retail space has once again defeated all my 'understanding' of retail real estate.
We have planned really nice lofts. I enojyed the process of design after an long time!! And also the heated discussions!!
Bought a whole lot of Architecture and Landscape books. The system ECADI has for buying the books is ultra-convinient. A lady brings a boxful EVERYDAY to their office!! The flip side of this, though, is my bag is now supernaturally heavy. And not only that I have had to purchase additional bag to fit it all in!
And the JET is boarding now~~ so Goodnight!!!!

PS this is a lagged post as compared to the blogspot one... I could not log into the wordpress then to copy and past. Anyways this two blogs things is getting really tedious... I need to stop writing in either of the two and soon...

Let me share you a scenario of everyday happening but yesterday turned me off damn bad..

while checking a car, I found a plastic bag of chewing gum. Fair enough one you do not bother to keep it away from me but just put it in the dashboard, two you knew by SINGAPORE LAW, chewing gum is ban in Singapore. BY the law.. So there was an arguement there abit ..

abang ada rokok lagi tak selain kat dalam poket je..?
takde dik.. biarkan dia check semua, kalau jumpa, bagus lah, tak percaya cakap orang.
abang, let me ask you, is chewing gum allowed in singapore?
alarrrr.. kan personal comsumption je.. tu pun takle keeee..
BY SINGAPORE LAW, is chewing gum allowed in Singapore SIR?
I don't want to argue with you on this..

and the rest is history....

And after a big hoo haa, before he closes the door, I heard him saying to his colleague this and very clearly,

Cakap besar punya budak! Ni lah anjing gahmen!

So yeah, this is one of many nasty remarks that not only me have to face but the rest of my colleagues too.  It's more disappointing that it's my own kind of people doing it most of the time from all the sharing views and experiences among colleagues in the team. Why is that so? Do you think I deserve it? If I were to live dwelling on this, I would have gone bonkers by now like some colleagues of mine but everytime this kind of shitness happened, I learned to return it back to them the soft way - by smiling.

If you are nice to me, I will be nice to you. If you are rude and nasty to me, I will make sure I give you a piece of my thought. Nowww, I need to replenish my body energy after a good nap. Happy Saturday people!

tonight i write from an airplane, something i don't do so often.  first of all, i don't really like flying.  or really being stuck in any other mode of transportation, either.  it's nauseating for me.  anyway, as you probably already know, that doesn't stop me from flying all the time.  see, i love being in lots of different places, even if i don't always love the actual act of traveling to those places.  and so i tend to like to go to sleep while i'm in transit.  i never get much sleep, so taking advantage of a plane ride often seems like a good idea.  and if i decide, for some reason, that i'm not going to sleep on a flight (or if i can't get to sleep), i like to read a book.  i love reading books, and i don't take enough time out of my regular life to do so.  but without an internet connection or someone interesting to talk to, it's easy to sit and just read for a few hours while at 35,000 feet.  but tonight, my eyes are tired (more on why coming up), so i'm falling asleep reading (i just started "this side of paradise").  and i don't want to go to sleep because i'll do that once i get to the house.  i don't want to make sleeping there more difficult for myself by having napped on this plane.  so the point of all this rambling is that i pulled out my computer and am composing this journal entry to post as soon as i can get back online because it'll occupy me for the hour or so i'm here.

so my birthday.  that's what i really want to get to writing about tonight.  yesterday, i turned 25 in wonderful fashion.  i was busy for about 20 hours straight.  i haven't had an actual birthday day that packed with stuff in a long time, i'm sure.  it was awesome!

first up for the day was going to work.  it's a busy july and this is a particularly busy time of this month for us at the office, so there was no taking the day off.  plus, what would i have really done with that day off?  i'm not sure.  it was more fun to go into the office and hang out with the boys whose company i always enjoy.  but just to make it a little more special, i wore this really cute purple dress that i've had for a while but don't wear too often.  it's dressier than what i usually wear to work (jeans), but not entirely inappropriate for the office.  anyway, i wore that.  it was lovely. ;)  and work was lovely, as well.  the boys (minus andrew, who is in brooklyn right now playing volleyball with the avp like the rock star he is) kept me thoroughly distracted from actual work all day long.  we went and bought the "batman begins" dvd and some toys from the 99-cent store at lunchtime.  then we took the projector from the conference room and set it up in the art department to project onto one wall, and that's how we watched the movie.  we even had pizza delivered while we watched, which made for an especially delicious lunch.  it was pretty awesome.  we will definitely do that again!  :)  and we played with all our new toys--which include ping pong paddles and balls, safety goggles, badminton rackets, a plunger, a basket, and lots of other strange odds and ends--throughout the day, as well.  yes, they let us get away with a lot at work!  haha!  it's so great, especially on my birthday when i really didn't want to have to accomplish too much.  also, i'm now the only person in the company with a birthday in july, so we had a cake and some ice cream just for me as a company.  everyone sings "happy birthday" terribly, as that is the company tradition.   and the candles on the cake were the kind that re-light themselves, unbeknownst to anyone.  after i blew them out twice, i didn't really know what to do once they re-lit themselves.  i mean, i am only going to blow on a cake for so long; otherwise, no one would want to eat any of the cake.  so anyway, that was a fun little company tradition. :)

next up, i headed home right on time.  i changed and went directly up to the gym for a run.  and it was my fastest time ever.  awesome!  i'm feeling good about this lately, and it's nice to start out my 26th year feeling like i'm on the road to being physically fit. ;)

then i raced back down to my apartment, showered as quickly as i could, and got dressed and headed right back out again.  no time to waste!  i headed to emmaus.  right now, i'm just remembering that i haven't really talked about emmaus here before.  emmaus is a group of people in their 20s and 30s who gather at zoe (marke's dad's church) on thursday nights for worship and a message.  yes, i think that's an appropriate description.  i'm sure as i continue to write about it in the coming weeks, you'll get a better understanding of what it is.  anyway, i went for the first time last thursday and enjoyed it a lot.  the people there are really cool, and i like the way their speakers present a message about the scriptures.  there are a couple main reasons why i am going there.  first of all, the message is a great addition to the catholic masses i usually go to.  it's of the same faith -- christian -- but presented differently.  for me, that means a great contrast and more for me to learn.  secondly, i am really liking becoming part of the emmaus community.  my life's a bit lacking in community sometimes, and it's something i'm trying to work on.  so anyway, i should get back to yesterday.  i went to emmaus yesterday evening.  it was awesome, and dave (the guy who seems to run things) presented a great lesson on communion.

this is where the plane starts landing, and i realize how long-winded i've been thus far.  time for me to shut down.  more writing when i'm back on solid ground. :)

okay, i'm all the way to san carlos now.  sitting at the dining room table while dad and adam watch "monk."  this is very us.  now, back to my birthday celebration.  i can't believe you're even still reading.

after emmaus, marke and i hung around a while to talk with everyone else there.  that's kind of part of it, actually.  community, like i said before.  so i met some more people there, which was cool.

eventually, though, it was time to get going to the movie theatre.  it was about 10:30 when marke and i headed over there, stopping for coffee at the bookstore before meeting up with chris and mallory, who were already in line.  in line for what?  in line to see "the dark knight," of course!  in case you live on mars or something, the movie opened last night at midnight.  so we waited with all the other crazies to get into the theatre so we could stay up all night watching a movie.  anyway, it was really awesome.  the movie was so, so, so, so great!  i can't even believe it!  a few months back, marke talked me into reading a batman comic book, the long halloween, which was part of the inspiration for this movie.  i'm glad i did.  it made the movie even more interesting, i think.  anyway, i love love love loved going to see a midnight movie with a few friends.  it was a perfect way to wrap up a great birthday.  :)

and then the alarm went off this morning at 7:30, 4 hours after i fell asleep.  i did alright at work today.  it's a good thing it was pretty chill there, though, because i know i couldn't have done anything super complex on that amount of sleep.  ;)  the boys were so funny today!  they're such great entertainment, i swear.  and good friends, too, in the quieter moments.

and after work (i snuck out a little bit early), i headed for the gym.  have to keep working out.  then i got cleaned up and packed and everything and headed for the airport.  and after that flight i mentioned before, now i'm here with mom, dad, and adam.  i really am excited about this weekend.  it's pretty packed full of fun activities.  i'll try to keep you updated...

]]> http://grezakster.wordpress.com/?p=91 Sat, 19 Jul 2008 05:43:59 +0000 grezakster http://grezakster.wordpress.com/?p=91 So after all my bitchin' and moanin', I am finally employed - at the basterdchild at Staples. My gut instinct told me as I filled out the 40 page application online that this would be the place I would end up working. Quite frankly, I love it so far because the whole store just belongs in a sitcom. I keep reminding myself that that's why I'm commuting in 100 degree weather instead of strolling calmly to the Staples 5 minutes away from Third North. (Well, assuming that I stay at this Staples in the fall, it'll be two blocks away from my Broome loft-dorm.) You can pretty much get a sense for the personalities upon first impressions and conversations, since everyone is used to constant interaction.  The store is tiny and doesn't cover the majority of the products you see in most Staples, and the copy center is half the size of my dorm room. (If you saw my dorm room or got an impression from my blog entries, you would understand the significance.) The [copy center manager? I don't know her official title] told me that even though she needs more people to work with her, they won't give her more because there's just no room. I agree on both counts. Regardless, the copy center position was really pushed on me with all four people I interviewed with, but then again I'm pretty smaller/shorter than most of the employees there.  And that's how I ended up with the blue polo shirt.

Actually, that's not how I literally ended up with the blue polo shirt. The general manager couldn't find my shirt around the basement offices so he called up another Staples, "V*, this is B*. I'm gonna need two shirts, medium and x-large. Wait, make that a medium blue and x-large red." He got off the phone and turned to me, "You wanna go on a field trip?"
Twenty minutes later V* approached me and my "co-worker" with two packaged shirts in hand. "I can't believe B* sent you here" were the first words out of his mouth. About two other people commented on this field trip in the same manner. (BTW, I ended up with a small size that's longer than most of the dresses girls wear now-an-days.)

For once I have mostly positive things to say about something, but training sucks harder than a prostitute. The daily couple of hours I spend on the computer taking "training" tests are useless when I get put on the floor. I just wish they wouldn't throw me in a pool and expect me to learn how to swim without wearing a life-jacket first. The machines were broken yesterday so I just stood around, but today I made copies and bounded spiral notebooks before I stood around.
It's incredibly awkward when there's a line of people and I'm forced to just stare back at them since I'm utterly useless without repeated direction. My mom and a random customer told me that it's obvious to detect since I had that "deer in headlights" look. A lot of it has to do with the fact that the copy center is incredibly unorganized so I can't even find completed orders let alone fail at ringing them up.
A girl approached me with a bunch of random papers in hand, including stapled receipts and other crumpled pieces of paper. She was having trouble operating the self-serve machine and made this trip twice to state her lack of progress before asking for us to do it. Like most people who walk into any copy center or similar store set-up, they expect the employees to stop EVERYTHING they're doing and cater to their needs THAT instant. I tried to explain that we're behind on orders so it will take two hours. "It doesn't take a genius to make copies," says the person who couldn't make copies on the self-serve copier. I guess it takes a genius to detect hypocrisy.

BUT no one seemed to notice, and everyone was very kind and complimentary about the cake. It sat untouched for a while, afflicted by what Jeremey labelled "hot chick at the bar syndrome", being too pretty for anyone to dare approach. But once it was cut into, it disappeared quickly, much to my relief as it was still at this point gradually melting.

I didn't want to get in everybody's faces while they were eating, so here's just a quick shot I grabbed at the potluck. It was really fun; nice to have a good break on a Saturday afternoon and sit and chat with coworkers.

The PM took a few of us out for drinks.  It was great to sit, talk, relax and celebrate!  I've been invited back for the wrap up meeting, to teach and advise on video software and a process they can use for their newsletters, and for the celebration dinner sometime within the next few weeks.  Awesome!

In the field across the way there is a family or a bunch of families that seem to be playing cricket.  I don't really know if that's what it is, but they are playing something that looks like baseball but with a flat paddle thing and the pitcher is throwing the ball REALLY fast, underhand.  The kids attached to this group are the ones that asked the morsel if they could "ride her kite" a few months back when we were flying her kite in the field.  It was interesting and funny, the mistake in language and the awesome implication that they were going to ride the kite.

I talked to D1 tonight.  It was great to catch up, discuss things, plans, future, inspire each other and reflect on how things are going. He's sick, at home.  We talk about his getting out of his job, about options, goals.  We pump each other up and validate each other's skills and efforts.

And I looked again, for the missing sofware, After Effects, which I needed for a gig on Wednesday but had to turn down (for want of the software...)  And there it was!  Hidden from me by me, in a strange box in storage.  It should allow for some really great jobs here in the near future.

My acupuncturist was painting her attic when I called for an appointment yesterday, saying she would call me back to schedule.  I got a voice mail today telling me that she was now in Disneyland, and would call me when she got back to Seattle.  Funny, no?  I love it.  She's a very measured and careful person, so I'm actually enjoying this bit of silliness from her.  I hope it frees her in ways that she likes.

Tonight, after my one small glass of pinot noir, I almost started telling my companions about my blog.  I wanted to share some of the good parts but then realized I would be compromising my ability to disclose things from afar.  Darn.

I survived this week and not only that but it turned out well.  I'm spoiled by always having success, and think maybe this was a good lesson that it seemed that it wasn't going to work out.  That I'm not always going to be the rockstar and that there are so many possibilities.  But to tell you the truth, I don't really buy THAT either.  I always think there is a way.  Always.  I just can't see myself giving up.

This weekend is the family reunion with many people arriving from the East Coast.  I'm tired and don't want to attend.  I played hooky tonight but should go tomorrow.  There are times when an absence is to much worse than attending and having nothing to offer.

Last night in school, after a hard day, hard week, I felt as if I was stupid to even be trying to design, to start a company, to make a line of clothes.  I felt old and that it was too late.  The other girls were great, pointing out that there were many haute couture ladies who were 42, 56 when they started.  It's true, I know.  But I was feeling fragile and overwhelmed.

The sidewalk at the bus stop smelled like summer.  Dirt and heat, the smell of weeds and the air didn't move.  It felt freeing to prop against the little wall with the other women, waiting.  Ease and sun, exhausted and relieved.

What is my story behind the curly cued willows that grace hundreds of homes worldwide and garnered such acclaim?

And so it goes . . .

It was in the beginning of 2005. I was overworking myself, burning the candle at both ends, so to speak. I found myself constantly nodding off at the dinner table or theaters, and had a scary visit to the ER. My art was successful after only a year of it's beginning, and I had been working 18-20 hour days to keep up with demand.

One particular evening, I began to start obnoxiously doodling on the canvas.

The exhaustion was catching up to me, and I stood there, stressed. Disconnected. I had no idea what to create. And I didn't honestly want to. I was creating what people wanted. I loved to paint. And normally the ideas just come to me instantly. Miraculous unorchestrated creations being made each time.

This time, however . . .nothing.

I wanted to quit so badly and never paint again, or at least go on a sabbatical for a couple of years. I even attempted to do so around that time.

Right then, looking down at my comfortable abstract, I began to make a mess of it.

- First a few circles here and there.

- Then, swirling lines extending from the bottom of the canvas to the top.

- Repeat of more circles floating from the "branches".

At first, it looked like a alien vegetable was taking dominion over my poor sweet, innocent painting. What is this hideous beast creature-plant thing doing on my elegant work of art?! Somebody get a broom! It was a total takeover, and an eyesore at that.

Normally, circles and geometric work were a natural stable in my designs. I started painting more recognizable work. Paintings that would be classified as representative work.

But this time, warfare between an alien plant and my circular heaven. No, in two hours, there was this spackled mess. I came to the conclusion I had made a tree. It reminded me much of Klimt's work and I felt honored by that. Perhaps an unconcious tribute to him, I thought. But, I felt like the circles didn't make ANY sense being on a tree.

There is no reminiscence whatsoever..of leaves! I hated the swirly mess. I jokingly said, "I am going to burn this crap", "Who would want this?"

Ironically, to my suprise, ALOT of people.

I listed the piece on ebay along with my usual work, and the trees were being snatched up instead. Recieving unanimous emails of exciting feedback regarding the trees, I realized that there was something here. I would talk about the series with others, and they'd reassure me, "Most of the work we artists create, people absolutely adore. And it's more than likely the art we hate the most. The work we feel is our worst. Every. Single. Time." Their statement held true. Again and again. The trees began to grow on me, (no pun intended) and I really enjoyed creating them. It was fun to evolve and improve my designs until there were several different kinds of trees.

Because of this harrowing time, this one particular evening, I have developed the Jeweled Tree series that has won awards, and gained attention around the world. That's surreal and humbling. Out of the hardest, the darkest times of my life, something so bright and whimsical and happy has been created. Like a pheonix out of the ashes. I'm glad I was able to create something that makes so many happy!

That is my origin story of the Jeweled Trees series.

Fact: I lost my phone today. At Albie's. I then went back to Albie's on my lunch and retrieved it.

Fact: I'M WORKING SUNDAY MORNING! WHAT? This news comes with me scrambling to find a Saturday meeting to go to.

Fact: My mommy will be home soon. Woo!

Fact: Paramore is the awesome. 

Fact: Yesterday I wrote this whole three page (typed) letter to my Granma then deleted it. Because I realized that I didn't actually want anyone to read it, I just wanted to write it. Also realized that everything I was freaking out about in the letter is NOTHING TO FREAK OUT ABOUT and clearly I just need to stop comparing myself to others and thinking everything is a competition.

Fact: Over 3,000 words BOO-YA BABY!

Fact: Taylor the Lovely just told me my foot looks funny. How sweet.

Sorry for the lame post. Maybe I will post again tonight, but in case I don't... this is it for today.

Work is stupid. By stupid, I mean I've been asking for overtime and I'm still broke. Yeah. A 56 hour week all went into new brakes for my car. Sigh. Funny thing, though, is I'm knitting a scarf out of $50 worth of yarn. Oh, yeah, and I bought enough (that's another $50, yes) for a second one. But I haven't really bought anything else, so I guess it's okay.

I found out RIT got approval for a philosophy major. Damn it! Right before I'm supposed to finish! Oh, well. It may take me years, but I suppose I'll get over it.

Pictures of the $50 scarves as I finish them. The rest of my current knitting isn't as exciting. Pictures of camp if I ever get them. Bwahaha.

About an hour before I got off we got a call for a car down an embankment. Someone got on scene before we did and advised we had two patients. An adult who was walking around and a child that was "pretty bad".

When we got on scene, the SUV was more than 40 feet down in a gully. The vehicle had overturned and the child thrown out. She is three years old.

It took me two full minutes to climb down the steep embankment to get to her. She was unresponsive from a very significant head injury. My partner was up at the top and the loyal firefighters that were volunteering made sure that everything I needed was handed down the hill. I was working very quickly to try to clear her airway for this little girl. Her daddy was down there with us, with minor injuries, crying hysterically, and pleading for me to help her. I was working as fast as I could. He was apologizing to her for not putting her in her carseat. It was only a short trip. She made it to the hospital, but the prognosis is grim. Please pray for this little girl and her family.

And please, please, please put your child in their carseat, even if you're only going a mile. You never know what could happen.

I've been to calls like this before, different child, same story... but I guess that this one hit harder because of the finalization yesterday. I came home and hugged my little one, oh so tight!

Also, please pray for the EMS and Fire guys who show up, many for free, to help these people. Sometimes it's hard to sleep at night.

of Me!

- Happy because 1 yr finally gone, no need to face certain people -〉 脱离苦海

Well, a new chapter of my life is just about to begin...

When hubs had cancer in 2001, he was without health insurance and we were fortunate enough to find out about a program that eventually covered his surgery, chemo and radiation treatments. There was one month where his coverage lapsed and the oncologists office would not give him chemo because we could not come up with the $2000 for EACH TREATMENT (one a week...), but other than that, without MSI I know hubs would be dead. His surgery alone was over $100,000.

In the last two days at work, I have had to hospitalize two clients. Yesterday, my client was "fortunate" enough to have Medi-Cal, which is state sponsored insurance for people on SSI. He came in with his brother and sister. The client was homeless, smoking crack, not on his medications, and incoherent and delusional with psychotic features. He had Medi-Cal and I was able to find him a bed in a hospital within an hour. He was out of my office in three hours.

Today was a completely different story. I was doing intakes today and had a client who was "Short-Doyle." Basically, that means the client is without Medi-Cal or Medicare and we are supposed to refer them to an agency that receives funding to work with that population. The client and his son came into my office at noon. The client had not eaten in three weeks, was paranoid, anxious, depressed, unable to take care of himself and generally categorized as somebody who is "gravely disabled." I had the client evaluated by a psychiatrist who concurred with my diagnosis and agreed that the client needed to be hospitalized on a 5150 hold. I had the hold completed at 1:45pm.

So then I called ACCESS, through LA County Department of Mental Health, to help me find a bed. I was told I'd get a call back in an hour. Because my client had no health insurance, it was going to take some work to find him a bed at a County hospital. 

So I waited. 

And I waited.

And then I got the run-around. And got told there was nothing available from two county hospitals.

And then I got some more run-around. 

All in all, I spent over six hours with the client and his father in my office. He was finally accepted at a local county hospital and will be out in three days. 

If we had universal healthcare coverage, shit like this wouldn't happen. A sick old man, his anxious son, and a social worker wouldn't have wasted six hours of a day trying to find the help that he needed. I shouldn't have had to watch a son worry about where his father was going to go. I should have been able to immediately get the assistance I needed, and I should have been able to have them out of my office much MUCH faster than in six hours. I didn't leave my office until 6:45.

Universal healthcare coverage is going to solve a lot of our problems that we have as a nation. With 47 million Americans lacking health insurance, and eight Californians dying each day because they lack health insurance, it is time that we start recognizing that we are the only (ONLY) industrialized nation without health care coverage for our citizens. We need to do something to change this. With the amount of money we are spending each day on a war based on lies, you'd think we'd be able to give each citizen comprehensive health coverage that would allow them to get the help and care they deserve.

It's this idiot manager Mike that just pisses me off.. He never does crap.. Ever... Hell, he's not really even a manager, just an acting manager for a few days while the General Manager is out of town. Even when he isn't a manager, he tries to act like he owns the place, and owns the employees.

I just can't take it any longer. I need to find a new job, or I'm going to end up killing (not serious) someone there. I can't wait for the day that I never have to step foot inside Staples again. Because when I stop working there, I will never shop there. The store sucks, and I advise NO ONE to go in it. It's worse than Best Buy, and that's saying something.

Generally, one wants to 'test burn' lights while they're on the ground, as it's easier to repair them there than it is when they're 40 feet up in the air.

These particular lamps are called spacelights.

Although it sounds strange to you, to hear your own voice over the P.A, in fact it doesn’t sound any different to the audience than if you were talking to them in normal conversation.

The trick here is to be Yourself, if you haven’t got the skill to project a warm friendly personality at the functions where ice breaking is required then being an entertainer isn’t for you. The trick is to find a balance, most people would simply hire the gear - saving around 50% of a D.J’s booking fee and throw a NOW Cd on - if human input and personality wasn’t important to them. At some functions, if they pay for an entertainer and get a human jukebox who doesn’t own a mic and just sits there playing music then they occasionally feel cheated!.

I can’t stress the “BE YOURSELF”, advice enough, don’t put on a radio style zany DJ voice - that will sound false and doesn’t fool anybody. If you are lucky enough to have a D.J training you, or are a young person helping an older mentor D.J then DON’T be tempted to become a clone of him or her. Adopt your own mic style (not a false voice), use your own tag lines but don’t rely on the same cliche’s 20 or 30 times a night - this becomes boring and predictable.

Don’t rely on “that was”, “This is” introductions all night. At some functions going out with a Radio Mic and creating banter with your audience is a great way to break the ice at the beginning of difficult, non formal functions - and a good way of enouraging them onto the dancefloor early on. You can relax the mic work and the frquency of them - once the dancefloor is filling.

Of course there are always going to be functions where you need more mic work than the last, and other functions where it is going to be little mic use, but the key is to develop a style and strength and confidence in your mic working ability and not to rely on non stop music alone to do the work for you.

Just be yourself, and talk normally into the microphone. The thing to work on is to speak confidentally and clearly and try to pace yourself. Speaking too fast will make what you are saying sound garbled, speaking too slow will make you sound like you are addressing a bunch of village idiots . Pretty soon, with a little time and practice you’ll develop your own individual skill and style and that is the most important aspect, don’t try to copy anybody else or put on a different voice, it will sound false and make learning and maintaining the technique a lot more difficult.

If being a comedian is not you, then avoid the jokes unless you are good at this sort of thing , forced comedy can sound false and you may find yourself laughing alone, after all the Client has booked a Mobile Disco and not a stand up comedian!. One of the best pieces of advice I was given my the D.J who trained me, was to “Stick at doing what you are good at and have been booked for, and if in any doubt then leave it out”.

Spontaneous one liners are another matter, if something amusing happens, then share it - use the mic to get requests, make a fuss over other people celebrating birthdays / anniversaries - people like to have their 30 seconds of glory and hearing their name mentioned, over the mic

My advice to those nervous about public speaking for the first time, is not to be frightened of the mic or avoid using one - its your closest and most useful ally, at all functions. Don’t talk all over the track, learn to pace yourself over the outro of the previous track and any intro of the next track - don’t gabble - talk clearly into the microphone as if you were talking to a friend. With time you should be able to familiarise yourself with how themore popular tracks end and finish, this way you can talk upto the vocal, similar to how they do on the radio - stopping your banter at the moment the vocal on the next track starts. Don’t rush to perfect this or gabble to do so, it all comes with time and practice. Keep it simple to start off with.

Start with the easy stuff first, just introducing tracks, and buffet announcements. Once you’ve built up a bit of confidence, you’ll move on from the ‘That was….. this is….’ routine. Try and include your audience, invite requests, make them feel welcome. Even if you are having a difficult gig don’t take it out on the audience and try and look like you are enjoying yourself, even if it’s not going to plan. Don’t worry about making mistakes on the Mic, we all do from time to time, but don’t draw attention to it, or dwell on it it’ll just make it worse - besides making mistakes shows that you are human and not a pre-programmed jukebox

Keep key information on the gig, such as the Bride & Grooms’ names, Best Man Name etc on a piece of paper on the mixer, so that you can casually glance down if you have a sudden memory blank, but don’t write your links down as a speech, otherwise it will sound like you are reading from a script and less natural.

Remember that once the dancefloor is full, you can ease off the mic a little, but keep doing the requests and don’t forget that it exists. Learn to find the balance, too much talking can bore the pants of your audience, too little mic work can make people think that you aren’t earning your keep!. There are functions where you have a full Dancefloor and it would be obtrusive to chat all over the music when people want to dance, equally there are more formal functions where there isn’t the room or inclination to dance, and so a bit of light hearted banter to break the ice and the empathsis on the entertainment side of being a DJ is required rather than just continuous music

All of this will take some time, don’t expect to develop a mic technique overnight just take it one gig at a time.

About The Author Chris Pointon, a UK Based working DJ since 1988 and Administrator of a mobile DJ Forum at http://www.dj-forum.co.uk. Called DJ's United our forum is intended for DJ's to assist other DJ's with advice and assistance and to mentor those who are new to the business and unfamiliar with the entertainment industry.

?“He stared at other girls the whole time he was on our date.”

“She had the most piercing laugh I’ve ever heard. Everyone in the restaurant stared, and I wanted to crawl under the table.”

As many single people know, finding a quality date is often comparable to finding a needle in a haystack.

Are you depressed because you can’t meet anyone within your work or school environment? Are you tired of answering personal ads in the newspaper, fearing that the person you meet may really be a crazed stalker or worse? Are you fed up chatting with someone on the Internet for weeks, only to find out that in person, your date has no teeth, a wife, and six children? Are you bored with the harsh bar scene?

Finally, are you just plain sick of wondering why you can’t meet someone face-to-face with no pressure, and get to know them a little before deciding to go on a date with them?

Now you can.

Allow me to introduce Speed Dating. For all of you depressed, bored, tired, and fed up singles out there, Speed Dating is a hot new trend unfolding in big cities as well as small towns all over the world. Speed Dating has taken dating to a whole new level – a simplified level.

Speed Dating was founded in 1999 by Los Angeles rabbi Yaacov Deyo, who wanted to give Jewish men and women the opportunity to quickly find potential mates. Since then, the fad has spread far beyond Los Angeles and the Jewish community. Nowadays, you can find Speed Dating just about anywhere. These events are often held at restaurants, cafes and coffee houses. You can find advertisements for them in your local newspaper, and even on localized online Speed Dating websites. A Speed Dating session usually costs about $25.

So how does this magical dating system work? It’s easy. Put on your sharpest clothes and your most sparkling smile. Then, simply show up to a Speed Dating event. You will be given a name tag, a score card, and ten seven-minute sessions to go on dates with ten different people. It’s like playing musical chairs… with a little bit of flirting involved. In your seven minutes with each other, you and your date are allowed to discuss anything except your age, occupation, or place of residence. This is done to allow you to get to know what the person you’re talking to is truly like on the inside.

After each seven minute session is up, a bell is rung and you move on to your next date. Following each session, you and your date mark on your score cards whether you would be interested in meeting each other again. If you both mark each other on the card, the speed dating organizers will provide the both of you with each other’s phone number at the end of the event.

The positive side to Speed Dating is that if you don’t like the person you are talking to, you don’t have to worry about spending an entire night with them. If the person has no teeth, you only have to sit with them for 7 minutes. Of course, you won’t know if they are a crazed stalker, or if they have a wife and six kids… but a first impression face-to-face will hopefully give your intuition something to go on.

One downside to Speed Dating is that if you are a shy person, and not very confident with making small talk with a stranger, you might find the whole thing a bit stressful. A solution to this is preparing some topics to discuss in advance of your dating session. Making a great first impression in 7 minutes is tough, but not impossible. The key to successful Speed Dating is being yourself, having a sense of humor, and just having fun it.

No matter where you are from or what type of person you are, you will encounter a room full of people, some who have the same feelings about dating as you. And with Speed Dating, you may just be able to find that right person in the nick of time.

About The Author Jill Dellamalva writes for SinglesDating247.com - If you are single and looking for love then this is the site for you. Articles, Reviews and Links to the best sites on the Internet and the DrDating Forum – a forum for people looking for help in love, relationships and dating. admin@internetdating247.com

A Mass Customization Revolution

The Industrial Revolution

The great social and economic changes due to the introduction of machine and power tools and large-scale industrial production began in 1760. Through the first 70 years of this century, the US was the industrial giant of the world. In 1960 the words "Made in Japan" was thought to be a joke. By 1980, those same words had become the standard for manufacturing. In 1985, U.S. manufacturing was in a deep depression. Products were too costly, of poor quality and not innovative enough.

Now, again, America is ranked No. 1 in manufacturing (World Competitiveness Report, 1996).

Mass customization

America’s No. 1 standing is primarily due to the manufacturing revolution that has been under way since 1985. This quiet revolution is built on the unsurpassed innovative spirit of the American people. Innovation is one of the qualities upon which America is founded. American manufactures are the world’s leading innovators. The right combination of technology and people is a good foundation for any company. These technologies are leading to a major new phenomenon: mass customization, which is the ability to customize products literally in quantities as small as one, while producing them at mass-production speeds. Mass customization in the Information Age is replacing the mass-production model of the Industrial Age.

The ultimate outcome will be simultaneous manufacturing. Here, even as the customer is giving the order, the product starts to be manufactured. It may seem like a fairy tale, but the time is fast approaching when a customer will stand at a retailers fitting room, download their personal measurements into a computer, choose the pattern and variety of material wanted for their clothing and before they leave the outlet their order is in production. Now that’s a truly empowered customer!

Over the past few years, there have been a number of articles written on lasers. Each author lists applications as it relates specifically to their area of expertise. However, what EdgeWISE Tools would like to do in this article is to stimulate you to visualize all the different ways you can use a laser to produce a variety of products. Let your imagination go. Don’t fear the unknown. Those that can see the future have the greatest opportunity to succeed beyond their wildest dreams. "Carpe Diem" - seize the moment!

Why use a Laser?

In 1985, thermal contact cutting tools were developed for roll feed plotters. The "Hot Tip" became the first large format cutting system introduced to the sign industry. This process became the corner stone that most plotter manufactures built on. Through evolution, the cutting hardware has changed and significant strides have been achieved. We have seen progressive steps taken to where technology is today.

Most old manufacturing technology uses contact cutting tools; where the tool actually contacts the surface, it is meant to cut. The cutting tools must be re-sharpened or replace often and as the tool wears out the quality is compromised. This antiquated method has become an additional source of income for the manufactures because they now get to market one or more consumable tools. Contact manufacturing with all its additional costs can now be replaced with a more economical solution.

The next giant evolutionary leap in cutting manufacturing is the replacement of contact cutting tools with non-contact tools. The next logical step is to use laser technology for mass customization. The traditional high cost of laser technology has delayed the development of the Roll Feed Laser (RFL). A day is like a year in technological development terms. However, recently the cost of laser technology has been reduced to the point where today it has become an affordable means of manufacturing.

Roll Feed Laser

In 1988, research and development began on the first Roll Feed Laser system (RFL). This research developed more than just a new product. It developed new concepts in manufacturing and new ways to manufacture. The realization of mass customization is appearing using lasers. The combination of these two things EdgeWISE Tools calls the laser manufacturing revolution. This laser manufacturing revolution we are beginning to see is becoming bigger than anyone has yet imaged. There are literally hundreds’, if not thousands’, of markets and industries that have yet to be discovered.

Can you change?

As history has proven, there are always those people that lack the foresight and intuition to respond to the changing trends of time. Ten years ago, in 1986, industry scoffed at the idea of a large format, computerized, cutting system becoming the main work tool for the trade. The resistance to change at that time was severe. Seven years ago most plotter manufactures laughed at the idea of a low wattage Roll Feed Laser system and could not see the potential for manufacturing one. Look at what is happening today, Since 1990, the number and diversity of applications for low wattage CO2, Nd:YAG and Diode laser systems have exploded. The CO2 laser market has grown on average of 60% per year. More people are recognizing the benefits of using a CO2 laser over other traditional manufacturing tools. Machinery like dies, routers, hot knives, and mechanical engravers are being replaced with affordable low wattage RFL systems. Ink jet printers, in some applications, are losing ground to the advancing low wattage laser used for marking.

What does this mean?

In what other business can you invest in a piece of equipment to produce such a variety of different products? Products can be manufactured using plastic, woods, fabrics, rubber, and metals. Because the kerf is very narrow and the laser controlled by a computer nearly any design can be cut. It is just as easy to cut one design as it is to cut a million. Comparing this too most manufacturing equipment, you could invest $50K to $500K on an offset printing press. However, you can only use this equipment to print on a specific type of material. A silkscreener, sign maker, engraver, or for that matter most everyone in the manufacturing field, will purchase a specific piece of manufacturing equipment to accomplish a specific task. A machinist may be one of the only people that will purchase a piece of equipment and be able to work a small number of different materials. The machinists’ limitations show up in the restricted types of designs he can shape. Nevertheless, even a machinist’s tools cannot work with the variety of materials and designs that one can attain using a Roll Feed Laser.

Acquiring capital equipment is usually difficult for a new or growing business. Capital investment is one of the major issues for a new or growing business. To a start-up company, or a company that is seeking to reinvest, capital investment is the one main issue that is becoming harder to justify. A piece of capital equipment that is designed for just one purpose is not cost effective when a multifunctional alternative is available. The capital investment to produce an exclusive product has become such an immense cost that these moneys are rapidly shrinking. Switching to the use of a laser for manufacturing is a contemporary new process. A process that, if not adhered to, could cost the business owner market share, and ultimately his market completely. Most of us have known someone that this has happened to in the past. Reluctance to change can cause the demise of any very good company. EdgeWISE Tools is unaware of any other process that can produce the variety of products and open up design creativity as much as what you get when you use the RFL. Nowhere else can you work with paper to plastic to wood and pretty much everything in-between and back again with one piece of equipment. The only challenge now is left up to the ingenuity of the owner or operator to produce the product.

Since a laser does not come in contact with or use force on the material being manufactured spoilage can be drastically reduced. Lasers will increase a companies yield. Some surveys show a yield rate of 95% to 99%. Having owned a graphic arts manufacturing facility in the late 1980’s, on the best of days the yield was 80% to 85% and on average the yield rate would be 75% to 80%. The lack of contact with materials attributes to the higher yield rates. Because the process of using a laser is automated, the process tends to be far more repeatable than most methods. Once the process starts, it is frozen and day to day repeatability is maintained.

The future is at hand!

Imagine the industrial revolution...now imagine the industrial revolution with mass customization. A comparable example mass-customization is the jeans industry. Only the affluent could afford to purchase a pair of custom-made jeans from a tailor. Most consumers can only buy jeans in sizes manufactured to suit the cost of production, not body shapes. As mass-customization technology is available, manufacturers need to again provide the American people with a quality product. The jeans and roll feed laser industries are forerunners in the race to make mass-customized products accessible to consumers

The industrial revolution made products affordable by mass-production. This mass-production required only one setup to produce thousands of pieces. The cost for tooling is one of the largest expenses, which controls the break-even-point. During the industrial revolution, customization was compromised to maintain low manufacturing costs. Today, however, you have the opportunity to choose to take the next step to processing power, user-friendly software, low wattage laser technology, and minimal to no setup time. As you contemplate capital investments, consider end-product quality, cost-effectiveness, and efficiency of roll feed laser technology.

Written in 1996 by:

Patrick J. Momany, Founder of EdgeWISE Tools, Inc. www.ewt-inc.com

Edited by:

Marty Kalberer, Laser Systems Engineer.

About The Author EdgeWISE Tools founder Pat Momany — didn’t start out at the high-tech edge of the fabric cutting industry. Problems that need solving get his inventive juices flowing, and his penchant for saying, "Sure, we can do that," before figuring out how, add up to an enterprise that’s reinvented itself several times. Now with that trademark inventiveness and can-do attitude, Seattle-based EdgeWISE is pushing the limits of fabric cutting, in a system custom-designed to cut out the huge scientific balloons NASA plans to send to the very edge of Earth’s atmosphere. pmomany@edgewisetools.com