Writing = fitness training?

Writing is like fitness training, which requires persistence, perseverance, determination and motivation. I personally believe that the more you train (in terms of writing), the fitter (the more eloquent) you'll become. However, I'm extremely "unfit" at the moment because I haven't been "training" (my writing) for a while. Consequently, I'm feeling uncertain with my writing and often I need to revise a sentence multiple times before feeling content with it. I did try to write (a blog) daily, but failed to sustain this endeavour because of the lacking of motivation and determination. I do write momentarily, such as writing this blog right now, but this is not a good training approach because I'll never achieve the optimal performance. From today onwards, I need to get back to my writing training. I must set aside 10 minutes for writing, regardless the content of it. Eloquent writing develops from constant training and perseverance because writing is never a straightforward but an iterative process. It commences with drafting (accounting), revising, and expanding (elaborating) and the goes back to revising and so forth. Writing can be a never-ending process especially if you're aiming for perfection.  There are so many different ways to express an identical idea.

Back to reality

Spring is here; the sun is shinning and you smell the fresh grass busting from the ground. It has been two weeks since I returned from Malaysia. I miss my family dearly, my desirable life, personal and working, is here in UK. I have not written on my blog for a while and thus my writing fluency has suffered. I generally enjoy my job very much, but there are times I feel "throwing the towel" and call it quit. Occasionally I feel ungratified with the ratio of my workload & pay. Some people may argue that I am being unrealistic and ungrateful, maybe I am? Being an academic, one of our gratification stems from quality students, whom demonstrates original & critical thinking. This expectation is particularly expected at MSc level. Sadly, this expectation is frequently unfulfilled and thus results in our constant demotivation and job dissatisfaction. I know there is not much I can do, as an individual to the quality of the student cohort at a university. Blogging is of my whinging outlets.

Countdown to Christmas

14 more days before Christmas. People seem joyful and hopeful, and busily engage in various activities, such as, shopping for Christmas presents, hunting for 'look-at-me' party outfits, and arranging social events. Last Saturday I walked through the thoroughfare of the Guildford high street for my haircut appointment. The high street was heaving, the atmosphere was dynamic, and it was full of pedestrians milling around, and hawker stalls selling various knickknacks (e.g. handmade soft toys and hand painted, glass platters). It was really good to see a high street full of people and energy. However, I cannot help wonder how long this buoyancy and optimism will last, particularly in terms of retail trading. Do retailers have to intensify their sales promotional activities after Christmas and New Year to lure shopper traffic and spending? Before Christmas many retailers have already atypically and aggressively engaged in sales activities to drive their businesses. How much and how long can retailers continue with sales activities to sustain their survival? Consumers will undoubtedly rein their spending to prepare themselves for the hefty credit card bills that are lurking to arrive by the end of January. Maybe I'm worrying too much. Maybe I should learn more to enjoy the 'present' (the current state). While I don't celebrate Christmas much, I do look forward to the break that is bestowed by Christmas and New Year.

Is whining good or bad? Or some mix of both?

Whine, as a verb, refers to ‘complain in a feeble or petulant way’ (The New Oxford American Dictionary). Whining seems to be a natural skill we are born with (or we are inherited from). I am sure most of us would have indulged ourselves with some whining, sporadically or frequently. A frequent or obsessive whiner may be labelled as a whinger. Whinging seems to denote a repetitive and obsessive form of whining. As a verb, whinge refers to ‘complain persistently and in a peevish or irritating way’ (The New Oxford American Dictionary).

Why do people whine? A straightforward answer can be because people are disgruntled with a situation or an event. We whine about all sorts of issues, either crucial or trivial. These issues can span from job dissatisfaction, poor salary, failing to secure a job application, a domestic quarrel with partner (or a friend) to a bad haircut, poor customer service at a café, and missing out on a sales. The range of issues that can trigger whining is almost endless. Sometimes I wonder if whining is, to some extent, personality-prone. That is, are certain individuals more likely to indulge in whining than others? Are these individuals likely to be introverted, pessimistic, and attention-seekers? Of course, this notion needs further scientific testing and verification.

Besides the relationship between whining and human personality, I am also interested in the effects of whining on our well-being. That is, is whining constructive or destructive? Or, some mix of both? Does whining help alleviate our disgruntled feelings, reduce stress level, or encourage us to take corrective action in an unpleasant situation? Thinking from a reverse perspective, does whining do more harm than good? Does whining exacerbate dissatisfaction, develop avoidance behaviour, or infuse others with negative perceptions of a brand?

In a business environment, should customers be encouraged to whine? Can customer whining be harnessed to develop useful insights and business strategies? Is it why social networking sites are increasingly being integrated into a business’s media plan as a strategic attempt to encourage customer whining? How do businesses differentiate ‘good’ from ‘bad’ customer whining?

I never thought whining, a common human behaviour, can raise so many questions. Please feel free to contribute if you happen to have some answers to those questions.

Writing is a journey, not just a destination!

As compared to last week, I feel chirpier and more content with my writing performance. I feel that I am making progress albeit it is a little more. I feel I am in better control of my writing fear. Whilst I have not completely eradicated it, I believe I have managed to alleviate some of my obsessive-compulsive behaviour with editing. Yes, I am ‘editing addict’. In the past I could not refrain myself from editing. Now I have managed to do less of it. I hope one day I can totally get rid of my writing fear and editing addiction. It will be a major milestone I aim to achieve, and when I did achieve this it will give me great satisfaction and confidence-boost. I know I can do it as long as I stay focused and have faith in myself. Now thinking back, I am really glad that I have been asked to prepare the PGCAP portfolio as it has made me think a lot about learning and writing.

Writing is like a project management, which entails managing your thoughts, feelings, and behaviours. More specifically, writing requires you to organise your thought, tackle your writing fear, manage your time, positively respond to criticisms, either constructive or destructive, and so forth. To sum up, I am enjoying writing more than before, more than when I was writing PhD thesis. I only wished my supervisor was more encouraging with my writing. I, nevertheless, understand that she had many personal and work issues to deal with at that time. My passion for writing is growing as the process helps clarify my thought, question my existing knowledge about a topic (sometimes I thought I know plenty about a topic, which turns out to be not the case), and take a more critical approach when reviewing a concept (I need to consider the pros and cons or the various possible interpretations when reviewing a concept). Writing also helps me realise that the development of a concrete and sound idea is like wine making which takes time to develop and fine tune. The crystallisation of an idea is iterative, which often involves moving forward and backward in terms of thinking and writing, and experiencing trials and error.

Real Food Festival - mixed experiences



Figure 1: Demonstration on
how to butcher a lamp

 Earls Court 1, Warwick Road, London, a festival is taking place. It is called Real Food Festival, which has commenced since 5th May and will end on 8th. Because of my interest in gastronomy, I visited this so-called festival with some friends. If I were to be critical with this event, it is more like a convention than a festival. The word 'festival' conjure up the images of multiple food stalls, some bands performing their gigs, some artists singing and dancing, children running around with laughter, and roving entertainment. Whilst not all of these images were seen at this Real Food Festival, it did have a broad diversity food stalls, parents wondering around with their little ones, and food lovers milling around in their goodies bags. Instead of performances by bands and/or artists, there were cooking demonstrations, cheese-tasting sessions, and cheese-education workshops.

In some occasions I have the inclination of being a conspicuous consumer, and this was one of them. Instead of buying a standard ticket, I bought a VIP ticket with the intention of having some special experiences at the festival. To my disappointment, the experiences promised by the VIP ticket were somewhat ordinary. I didn't feel like a VIP after visiting the VIP tent. The word 'VIP' usually conjure up the images of glamorous, glittering decor, funky furniture, red carpet, well-dressed doorman and waitresses or waiters, scrumptious canapes, and cool music. None of these ostentatious, VIP attributes were evident at the VIP tent. Instead, the tent appeared to be hastily set up. The door-lady, although not grumpy, was somewhat lukewarm when greeting us. The floor was covered with maroon carpet and was scattered with leaflets and empty, plastic cups. No scrumptious canapes were offered. Whilst the VIP ticket promised one fine-quality cocktail, it tasted more like a low-priced sugary fruit punch. No funky background music. The goodies bag consisted of a recipe book authored by an ex-rugby player who later became a cook (he is not a chef as he doesn't own or work in a restaurant), a food magazine, and loads of promotional leaflets. Because of these reasons, this is why I classify my experiences with the VIP ticket as ordinary and disappointing.

Despite I was unimpressed with the VIP experiences, I was quite satisfied with the experiences offered by the food stalls trading the festival. There were many quality and authentic food stalls, mostly home-grown or home-produced. There were cheese makers, chutney makers, ice-cream manufacturers, producers of alcoholic beverages (eg wine, champagne, cider, and vodka) and non-alcoholic beverages (eg energy drink, fruit drink), bakers (eg cup cakes, breads, and fruit loafs etc), and chocolatiers. There were organic and non-organic food traders. In addition to the multiplicity of food stalls, various cooking demonstrations were scheduled at different areas and different times. Diversity and variety are, I believe, two major appealing characteristics of the Real Food Festival. As a conclusion to this blog, I would say my experiences with the Real Food Festival were mixed, both positive and negative.

Figure 3: Cooking demonstration
by Jun Tanaka



Figure 2: One of the many chutney makers



Managing my writing 'disease'

I thought once I have conquered my PhD, I could take a slower pace with my writing. I now realise that it is only a wishful thinking. Writing never stops after the conclusion of the PhD journey, not when one aims to succeed or excel as an academic. Writing is like the Never-ending Story in academia. Our promotion, job security, and eligibility for research grants hinge, largely and significantly, on our writing and publications. I took a few weeks off from writing between March and April; I now need to re-engage with it fast and aggressively. If I were to pass my probation and secure my lectureship promotion in August, not only do I need to write and publish two journal papers from my PhD, I also need to write a negotiated essay for Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice (PGCAP). I quite enjoy writing. However, every time I try to write, fear emerges. I seem to have writing-phobia. I cannot help or refrain myself from editing a sentence repeatedly before moving on to the next one. Sometimes, after several revision, I can still be discontent with the sentence. The editing process, hence, continues. I do wonder sometimes if I also have obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) for writing. Whether it is writing-phobia or OCD or some mix of both, it will not deter me from writing. Whilst I may not be able to remove my writing-phobia or OCD, I will do everything I can to learn to manage it. One way is to practise 'snack writing, which is to write a short narrative or blog regularly. This blog signifies my first step of managing my writing disease.

Quick update on a series of events



Exhibit 1

It has been a while since I update my blog. I admit, indisputably, I have been slack. Many things or events have taken place since my last entry. Firstly, I graduated on the 28th March in Malaysia for my PhD (see exhibit 1). After my graduation, I travelled to Kuching (the capital city of Sarawak, east Malaysia) with mum, dad and Samantha. Kuching literally means cats in English. It was a great experience, despite some domestic dramas during the trip. We went to see orang utans (jungle men in Malay) (see exhibit 2). One social aspect of Kuching that I really like is the harmonious interaction or assimilation between the Muslims and non-Muslims, particularly when halal and non-halal hawkers are allowed to trade under one roof. This assimilation is rare, in fact not sanctioned, in many major cities of West Malaysia like Ipoh, Melaka, Penang, Kuala Lumpur etc.


Exhibit 2

 Whilst Kuala Lumpur is the capital city of Malaysia, its economic development does not necessarily reflect its social-cultural development, especially in regards to the assimilation of halal and non-halal food trading. Instead, the Government seems to actively discourage such assimilation by introducing laws and regulations. For instance, a Chinese food hawker who sells 'char siew' (BBQ pork in Cantonese) will not normally be allowed to set up a stall right opposite or next to a Malay food hawker who sells 'nasi lemak' (spicy coconut rice in Malay). That is why the segregation between halal and non-halal food traders is fairly common in the major cities of West Malaysia like Kuala Lumpur. If you don't believe me, please look around when you travel to Malaysia.



Exhibit 3

I have recently taken up some horse riding lessons. I have done two so far and one more to go. After the third one, which is on this Saturday, I will decide if I would continue with the lessons as they are not particularly cheap. Each lesson costs £35 and it lasts around an hour. I am, nevertheless, enjoying the experience. In my first lesson, I had a colt named Billy (see exhibit 3). In my second lesson, I had a gelding, also brown, named Dodger.
A new flatmate has moved into our place. His name is Hideo and, obviously from his name, he is Japanese. He apparently used to work as a kitchen hand at his grandmother's restaurant. Like other Japaneses, he is very polite and friendly. He also seems to be quite keen to cook for u as he has been stocking up cooking ingredients and seafood. Maybe, he is organising a 'Come Dine with Me' night so that we can judge his cooking skills.

There is currently a lectureship vacancy at my School, Lecturer in Marketing/Retail Marketing. I am keen to apply for this position, but I am concerned about my research publications. I need to have a chat with my Head of School to decide if I will proceed with the application.

Getting back to blogging - a quick update

It has been a while since I update my blog. Life, both personal and working, has been full on. So many events have taken place. I do not know where to begin. Study wise, I have finally got my Doctorate degree. I have received the academic transcript, the completion letter, and a hard copy of my thesis from the University of Southern Queensland (Australia). The major event follows the completion of my degree is the graduation ceremony, which takes places on the 28th March. To top it up, I was invited, which I have accepted, to be the 2010 Valedictorian. I have three minutes to deliver my speech, which I have prepared and briefly rehearsed. It will focus on three key lessons that I have learnt from my PhD journey: be persistent in achieving your goals; be passionate with what you do; and be grateful of everyday we have and the people have rendered guidance and support to us. I will spend a week in Malaysia and travel to Kuching (the capital city of Sarawak) with mum, dad and Samantha after my graduation ceremony.


Work wise, things are going well. I have achieved most of my performance targets for 2010, except one which is the Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice (PGCAP). To achieve this, I need to submit a 7000-word reflective assignment on my teaching practice to the Centre for Educational and Academic Development (CEAD) by early May. If I pass this assignment, I will get my PGCAP. My teaching workloads are a lot more manageable and reasonable now. Initially I was put down to contribute to five modules, a mixture of undergraduate and postgraduate marketing modules. I was feeling overwhelmed and thus I sent a whinny email to my existing and soon-to-be Heads of Division. Both deemed my whining to be reasonable and thus have released me from one postgraduate module and also have reduced the proportion of my contribution for another postgraduate module. Both Heads are also looking into halving the number of my postgraduate supervisees by hiring an associate. At the moment, I have been allocated twelve students. I am really grateful of what the Heads are doing for me. They might fail to get an associate; I will still appreciate their intention and attempts.


I should head to the sack as it is already 2305. I should post a blog after my graduation ceremony and I will share some of my graduation photos as well. Buona notte (good night in Italian).

Guilty conscience or showing off?

Have you ever done something naughty and yet, without being provoked, you feel obliged to defend this act to others? I have and this happened yesterday. I went to a Starbucks cafe in Guildford with two of my colleagues. I ordered a grande-size hazelnut hot chocolate. When I received the grande-size mug, I suddenly realised that Starbucks is disposing their current coffee mugs due to an undergoing re-branding exercise. In this exercise, Starbucks is revamping its existing, ubiquitous logo and, consequently, it is replacing everything that is embellished with the existing logo. The re-branding exercise involves making the Starbucks siren (the face of the woman appearing in the existing logo) larger and dispense with the white-on-green lettering that surrounds her. Moreover, the black-and-white colours decorating the siren will also be updated to green-and-white. Because of this re-branding exercise, it has triggered a frenzy in people to collect Starbucks objects that are decorated with the existing logo, and one of these people includes me. Therefore, after consuming my grande-size hot chocolate, I decided to keep the mug as a memorabilia. As I did not wish to pay for the mug, I quietly 'took' the mug with me when I left the cafe. As a branding enthusiast, I strongly feel that I need to have ownership of a Starbucks object with the current logo before it becomes extinct.

When I was taking my new mug to the staff common room for a wash, I met a group of administration staff and, strangely and naturally, I felt the need to explain to them what I had just done. I did not know why I felt compelled to defend or publicise my 'naughty' act to them despite that I was not provoked or interrogated. I could have kept my mouth shut and not said anything to them and they would not have a clue. I doubted they would ask anything about the mug. One of the administration staff, indeed, said: "If you had not told us, I thought you bought the mud." Why? I ask myself this question after chatting to the administration staff. Why did I feel the urge to convey my act to them? Is it because I felt guilty of my act and consequently the need to seek approval and understanding from them? Or, is it because I was thrilled with my act and thus the desire to promote my excitement to other people? In other word, was I showing off? Or, is it a combination of both? What do you think?

More information about Starbucks rebranding is reported in 'Starbucks gets a new face – and drops the mugs' by Zoe Wood.

My PhD journey has now concluded!

I never thought this day would come as it was like climbing the Mount Everest. I have dreamed about it for many days and nights. It is a bit too surreal for me. What am I talking about exactly? I have finally finished my PhD and it is official! The Associate Dean of Research (University of Southern Queensland) has approved my PhD corrections and the senior research administrator (Research) is in the process of preparing the paperwork to be signed off by the Business Faculty. Following that, I should be hearing from the Office of Research and Higher Degrees about the requirements for my graduation.

How do I feel? Thrilled and relieved. If you asked which feeling was more dominant, I would say I felt more relieved than anything else. This PhD journey has been very long and bumpy. There were many downs, but few ups. Most of these downs were self-inflicted and some of them were simply out of my control like my principal supervisor was having a series of dramas at work and not being PhD-focused. Throughout this PhD journey, I have experienced so much anger (at myself, my ex-partner, and my supervisors), anxiety (wondering if I ever finished and passed this bloody PhD), fear (constantly worrying about my writing and research findings), and stress (juggling between meeting chapter deadlines and fulfilling my teaching responsibilities). The more I fed myself with these negative feelings, the less motivated I became in finishing my PhD.

At that time, I did not have the right mindset when pursuing this PhD journey. My initial prime objectives were to stay in Australia with my partner at that time (now ex-partner) and to apply for permanent residency once I had completed the degree. I did not envisage doing the PhD as a learning and self-actualisation journey. Only after I have joined Surrey University and working with some talented, research-active colleagues, I suddenly realised that my view about this PhD journey was too narrow-focused and lacking strategic directions. I needed to think bigger and wider! Doing a PhD should not be about finding a (legitimate) reason to stay with your partner or applying for permanent residency, but it should be about gaining knowledge, challenging and updating your mindset, and sharing your interest and knowledge through publications. In a nutshell, doing a PhD is about self-discovery and self-actualisation.

I could not have completed this PhD journey without the moral support of my family and many good friends like Ian, Phillip, Ho Yin, Frances, Eric, James, Avital, Gang, Vicky, Ginee and Atanu. Dawn and her beloved family have also played a major part in my PhD journey. Dawn and her family provided me with a shelter, which was never boring and full of love. During my stay with them, I learnt so much about self-respect, self-determination, positive thinking, and sharing your feelings with your family (something that I did not learn from my childhood). To my family, friends, and Dawn and her family, thank you! Thank you for your support, thank you for having faith in me, I did it! I have got my bloody PhD now! It is a bloody good feeling to have reached the mountain peak!

Never ditch your guests at a party, period!

This blog is about me ditching my guests, consisting of work colleagues and friends, at a dinner party that I co-host with my flatmate, Avital. Not only I woke up with a minor hang over this morning, I also woke up with a sense of guilt and shame. I have embarrassed myself again!

Towards the end of the dinner party, I unintentionally, went to bed without saying good night to my guests. My behaviour is inexcusable! I cannot say enough how shameful and embarrassed I am about my party etiquette. Yes, it had been a long day. I had an appraisal meeting with the Head of the Division and School, I had two lectures to deliver, and I had to prepare and cook the dinner. Still, I should have never, never ditched my guests at my own dinner party. Other than apologising, how else I can redeem myself?


Pic 1 - starters


Putting my inexcusable sleeping behaviour aside, I think I have cooked a nice dinner for my guests. For starters, we served dim sum (Sainsbury's), crumbed Mozzarella (Sainsbury's), and prunes wrapped in prosciutto (homemade) (see picture 1). For main courses, I cooked satay chicken (satay = a Malaysia peanut-chili sauce), Pad-Thai prawns with seasonal vegetables, and stir-fried pak choys with cherry tomatoes (see picture 2). For dessert, Avital made tiramatsu and it was very yummy.

Pic 2 - Pad-Thai prawns

Going back to my little saga, there is a number of lessons I can learn from it. First, I will discipline myself in terms of my drinking in future parties. I will really pace how much I drink even though there is a plenty of free alcohols being served at a party. Second, I will never desert my guests at a party. I will stay alert until the end of my party, say goodbye to my guests and probably give them a hug. Third and final, I will help cleaning after my party. Poor Avital, she tidied, put the dirty dishes into the dish washing machine, transferred the leftover to the containers, emptied and put the wine bottles into the recycle bin. Thank you for the hard work, Avital.

'Smart' use of smart phones by university students

This blog is about how university students 'smartly' use their smart phones in seminars, and the other possible applications of smart phones in facilitating students' learning and social experience at universities.

26th November, I conducted three seminars for Marketing Principles (an undergraduate level 1 module). In the seminars, students were divided into groups and asked to create a brand name for a moisturising cream. The main purpose of the seminars was to demonstrate the complexity of creating a brand name. Hence, when developing the brand name, students were asked to consider four key criteria: it should be distinctive in terms of its personality; it should convey the product's benefits and/or attributes; it should be easy to pronounce, remember and recognise; and it should be expandable to other product lines or categories. During the brain storming process, at least one student in each had naturally taken out his or her smart phone and started searching for ideas or information on the Internet. One group had even use the smart phone, as a prop, to assist with their presentation. This phenomenon fascinates me because it suggests the possible use of the smart phone in facilitating students' learning.

It is common knowledge that young people frequently use their smart or mobile phones to engage in social activities (e.g. texting friends, checking messages on Facebook, chatting on MSN or Yahoo Messenger). However, we have little knowledge on how young people also use their smart phones to assist with their research or learning activities at the university (or at the school).
In the retailing sector, many retailers (e.g. Tesco and Amazon) have created mobile applications (e.g. websites) for smart phones in order to entice their customers to engage with their brands more frequently and to encourage them to spend more. Perhaps, universities should follow suit of this retail practice. That is, universities should consider developing mobile applications that will enhance the learning and social experiences of their customers, namely, students. Examples of mobile applications that universities can create include:

• library database which students can easily browse for journal articles on their smart phones;
• timetables which students can easily check the room and time of their seminars (many modules tend to have seminars in alternate weeks);
• academic calendar which will remind students about assignment deadlines, exam dates, and major social events, and last but not least;
• digital discount bar codes which students can use to get discounts for meals and/or coffee on campus.

It is no denial that we have become more and more dependent on smart phones in our daily lives, and this is more obvious among young people who are born and bred with information technology. For this reason, universities should start thinking and acting like major retailers (eg Tesco and Amazon) by embracing this digital technology i.e. smart phones and devising plans that enable them to use this digital technology to add value to their customers' experiences, either learning or social experiences or some mix of both. After all, students will be paying a lot more for their education (the tuition fee may go up to £9000 in 2012) and, thus, universities need to find new ways to serve them better. The use of smart phones can be one of these new ways.

No one to blame, but myself!

On the 21st November, I came home at around 1710 after visiting some friends in Newbury (Berkshire) over the weekend. Like usual, I went to my room to drop off my travel bag and netbook. At first, I did not notice anything unusual in my room. But, a few minutes later, I realised that my Lenovo laptop had disappeared from my study desk. The laptop was unplugged from the power cord and the mouse. I got a bit annoyed as I thought one of my flatmates might have borrowed my laptop without telling me. I would not mind lending my laptop to any of them. But, he or she should have asked for my permission or should have, at least, informed me. I 'hate' people borrowing my stuff without telling me.

Call me a control freak if you wish, but I would like to know who is borrowing what from me and, preferably, when the stuff will be returned. Harbouring my annoyance, I thought I would unpack my travel bag first before questioning the flatmate whom I suspected to have borrowed my laptop. When unpacking my travel bag, I found some coins it. As usual, I tended to 'transfer' the coins into my work bag so that I can use it to buy coffee or snacks at university. Right at this moment, I realised that my work bag has also gone missing. That is really bizarre! I doubted that any of my flatmates would have borrowed my work bag in addition to my Lenovo laptop. It did not take me long to realise that my room has been broken into. The burglar(s) must have entered my bedroom through one of the windows and taken the laptop and my work bag. Neither of the windows in my bedroom was shut and locked. I seldom shut my bedroom windows, an act which now proves to be unwise. My bedroom is facing the backyard garden and I often get breeze flowing into my room. For this reason, I like leaving my windows to catch the breeze.

Because of my carelessness for not locking the windows, I now have to pay for the price. That is, a burglar has entered into my bedroom and nicked my belongings (a Lenovo laptop and a brown canvass bag). In the bag, it also contained my staff card, office keys, and a digital audio recorder. I have reported the burglary to the police. An officer named Ed dropped by last night to take a statement. Another officer named Eddie came by this morning to undertake the forensic test. This afternoon I also received a call from another officer (I cannot remember his name) hoping to meet me at my residence to talk about crime prevention procedures. Unfortunately, I was unable to meet this officer as I was at university preparing my lecture for this Thursday. I wonder if he was called Ed or Eddie. Edward seems a popular name in the Surrey police department.

This burglary has provided me with a learning lesson. That is, unless you have a sensor alarm at your residence, you should never leave the windows unlocked when you go out or go away for the weekend. I just wish that the burglar will treat my Lenovo laptop well as it has been a very good laptop (it seldom breaks down) and it has travelled with me to many places (eg Australia, Malaysia, and Switzerland). I have had this laptop for many years. Goodbye Lenovo, may you rest in peace!

How long will you wait for your Starbucks?

In a cafe, how long are you willing to wait to be served? Do you have a maximum duration that you are willing to wait until you will wait no more and leave the cafe and probably feeling annoyed? Last week I visited some friends in Newbury (Berkshire). Since we had no idea on what to do on Sunday, we drove to the Newbury Retail Park to have a bit of wondering around and kill some time. One of my friends, Ian, suggested to check out the new Starbucks at the Retail Park. Ian is a big fan of Starbucks. He thinks Starbucks is a fantastic cafe. Sadly, I do not share his passion for Starbucks.

This Starbucks at the Retail Park is not the first one. There used to be a Starbucks on the second floor of the Borders bookstore. But, the bookstore closed down in June this year so did the Starbucks. I presume this new Starbucks is the one from the Borders bookstore and it has made a geographical transition from a bookstore to a fashion retail store. This new Starbucks is located on the second floor of the New Look store. The collaboration between Starbucks and New Look is pretty novel, at least to me. I have not seen many Starbucks built inside the New Look stores, not in London, Oxford, Reading, and Guildford. When we arrived at this new Starbucks, it was not that busy. There was a queue next to the counter and a few people were waiting to be served. There were two female staff, also known as coffee barrister, serving behind the counter. Looking at the ratio between the number of waiting customers and staff members, our impression was that it would not take long to get served and to acquire our coffee. Sadly, our impression was wrong. Instead, we waited for around 20 minutes to get served. After placing our order, we waited for another 10 to 15 minutes for our coffee. More shockingly, the staff member had forgotten one of our order. It was my order actually.

After we had got our coffee, the queue extended from a few people to, at least, 10 or 12 people. I was surprised to see that these people were willing to wait for their Starbucks. This incident raises a question in my mind, namely, how long are customers willing to wait to be served? Is there a maximum duration that customers are willing to wait before they leave a retail premise before acquiring anything? I compared this incident with the incident of people queueing for hours to purchase an iPhone 4. I can understand why people are willing to wait for hours at the Apple store in either Covent Garden or Regent Street to buy iPhone 4. This is because the Apple store in Covent Garden and Regent Street are the few places you can buy a contract-free iPhone 4. Otherwise, you will have to sign a contract with a telecommunication service provider like O2, Vodafone or Orange if you wish to have a iPhone 4. The contract generally lasts between 18 and 24 months.

I do not understand why people are willing to wait for, at least half an hour, to have coffee at Starbucks. Unlike the iPhone 4, the types of coffee offered by Starbucks, I think, are not unique or innovative. You can acquire similar types of coffee, let it be cafe latte or iced coffee, at Costa or Cafe Nero. Going back to the incident at the new Starbucks I mentioned earlier, I noticed that people were queueing for a long time to have their Starbucks. No one, I mean no one, retreated from the queue. People did not seem bothered with the queue at all. I cannot help wonder why. Was it because it was a Sunday and people were not in a hurry and/or they had nothing else to do? Or was it because they loved Starbucks so much and thus they were willing to wait for the coffee? Was it because they perceived the coffee or experience at Starbucks was so unique and they could not get it somewhere else? Neither at Costa nor Cafe Nero. Maybe, I will find the answers for my questions from my friend, Ian. After all, he is a die-hard fan of Starbucks. Ian, can you tell me why people will wait for their Starbucks? How long will people wait to be served at Starbucks before heading to the exit?

A series of events between June and Oct

It has been a while since I update my blog. I have just checked. My last blog was published on the 27th August. So many things or events have happened since that date.

Completion of my PhD. On the 26th June, I submitted my PhD. But, you never guess how and where I submitted my PhD. I submitted it in Lausanne, Switzerland while I was attending a teaching workshop at IMD. I submitted it through email. The night before my submission, I hardly got any sleep. I finished my training at the workshop at around 5, I had a quick bite with my parents, and then I continued working my PhD until 3am the next day. I had, technically, two to three hours sleep. Then, I emailed my thesis to the Office of Research and Higher Degree at USQ. Off I went to attend the teaching workshop. I was dead tired, but I still managed to concentrate at the workshop.

Mum and dad visiting in June/July. While I was striving to complete my PhD in June, mum and dad visited me in June and they stayed for a month. Having mum and dad here gave me extra motivation and moral support to complete my PhD. We travelled to many places such as Brussels (Belgium), Lausanne and Geneva (Switzerland), Rome (Italy), and Paris (France). They were very relieved that I finally completed and submitted my thesis as they had been waiting for a long time. It was a great experience to travel with my parents. Of course, there were times I wished I were travelling alone as I could dictate what I would like to do and where I would like to go. Travelling with your parents, you need to put them first. Hence, I tended to plan the travel plan around their interests. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the experience of travelling with my parents as it was a great opportunity to bond with my parents and to get to know my parents better. Our travelling plan was hampered by an unpleasant incident in Rome. Dad's wallet was stolen and this had left a 'bad taste' in our travelling experience. This incident had also taught us a great lesson. That is, you should never take the train in Rome during peak hours, especially from the airport to the city, and especially when you have huge luggage. These are tell-tale signs that you are a tourist and, thus, you will become an easy target for the 'pick-pocketing' gang. Mum and dad left on the 16th July, and I missed their presence once they had gone.

Sisters visiting in Oct. This year must be the year of visiting Jason. Sam and Nat visited me in October. Unlike mum and dad, they stayed for two weeks only. They arrived on the 1st October and left on the 15th October. The next day after their departure, I flew to Spain, San Sebastian to be more specific, for a guest lecture at the University of Deusto. Since the teaching semester at Surrey started in early October, as compared to mum and dad, I had lesser free time to travel with Sam and Nat. Nevertheless, I still managed to travel to Amsterdam and Paris with them. They also travelled to Brussels, but on their own. It was an interesting and novel experience to travel with my sisters as we never did that when we were younger. I guess it was because we did not have the disposable income. Besides Amsterdam, Brussels, and Paris, Sam and Nat also visited London, Bath, and Portsmouth Harbour. They were very keen to explore the shopping outlets in these cities.

Guest lecture in Spain. As I mentioned earlier, I flew to San Sebastian for a guest lecture at the University of Deusto. Since there is no direct flight from London to San Sebastian, I stopped over in Madrid for two nights. I love both Madrid and San Sebastian as both cities are unique in their own ways. Madrid is very vibrant and dynamic, whereas San Sebastian is very relaxing and coastal. This guest lecture was a great learning experience for me as, before this guest lecture, I had never taught at a Spanish university. I was told by a Spanish colleague at Surrey that Spanish students are quite passive in class. Having this pre-conception, I was worried that the guest lecture was going to be very boring as I would be doing all the talking. Surprisingly, the students attending my guest lecture were not as passive as I had imagined them to be. On the contrary, they were quite participative and chatty. I had chosen experiential marketing as the focus of my lecture and Starbucks as the case study. The attendance was quite satisfactory as there were around 40 students attended the lecture. The coordinator at Deusto with the attendance rate.

Passed my PhD with minor revision. 1st November is a big day for me as this was the day I received the result of my PhD via email. To my greatest relief, I have passed my PhD with minor revisions. Out of the three examiners, two recommended minor revisions and one (an author I have quoted frequently in my dissertation) recommended major revisions. Based on these results, the independent reviewer at USQ, Professor Ronel Erwee, recommended minor revisions for my dissertation. Thanks, Buddha. I have passed my PhD finally. I never thought this day would ever come as I had spent a long time on my PhD. While mum and dad were extremely pleased and excited with the result, I felt mostly relieved than anything else. I am glad that the PhD journey is nearly over. Once I have completed and submitted the revisions and the Associate Dean of Research has approved the revisions, I should receive my PhD degree. I cannot wait to end this PhD journey so that I can start a new journey.

What is it like to be a MSc supervisor?

This is a reflection on my recent supervision experience with a group of MSc students. I must say the experience has been challenging and, yet, not very rewarding or stimulating. The experience has been very challenging because I have to work extremely hard just to get my students to produce a 'passable' dissertation.Very few of them, in my opinion, will get top marks (i.e. 70 and above). But, most of them should pass their dissertations if they work hard. Many of them are clueless on how to conduct a research project and how to write a thesis. Since they have to submit their dissertation in early September and many of them did not start writing until mid-April, I as a supervisor, basically have less than five months to guide my students on how to conduct a research and how to write a 'decent' dissertation.

The supervision process could have been less challenging if I only had two or three students to supervise. Unfortunately, I have nine students this year and some of my colleagues have twelve students. Each of my students has a different research topic and, thus, this has made the supervision process more complicated and demanding. As a supervisor, I basically have to familiarise myself with nine different domains of marketing literature, ranging from consumer involvement and consumer attitude to consumer experiences and consumer decision making process.

I do not mind the supervision experience to be challenging as long as it is rewarding or stimulating, especially, in an intellectual way. Unfortunately, the supervision experience so far has not been rewarding or stimulating. Many of my students seem to lack the ability to exercise independent and logical thinking. Many of them have constantly asked for 'advice' and their definition of 'advice' is 'tell me the answers' or 'tell me what to do next'. Many of them just want to be spoon-fed. Many of them tend to choose the easiest way to seek the answers for their questions, that is, emailing me. Very few of them will take other initiatives to seek the answers for their questions such as reading journal articles or textbooks.

As a human being, I do, sometimes, get frustrated with the flood of emails I receive from my students. As much as I try to be patient in guiding them through the research process, some of them do not seem to get it. Some of them do not seem to understand why they need to provide a theoretical framework in their Literature Review chapter, why they need to develop an interview protocol before conducting an in-depth interview, why they need to have a Data Analysis Strategy section in their Methodology chapter. Their lack of understanding on these basic research issues makes me wonder about the knowledge they have learnt from their undergraduate degrees (and other degrees). Surely, many of them would have studied a research module in their undergraduate degrees.

Maybe, I am being too harsh on my students. Maybe, I should blame the educational culture in their origin countries. Many of my students are international students from China and Thailand. In these countries, pupils are accustomed to being told what to do and what to learn by their teachers or lectures. In these countries, pupils are not encouraged to challenge the views of their teachers or lecturers, but merely accept whatever their teachers or lecturers say are correct. It is this kind of educational culture that have created a problem for their learning process in a Western country like UK. That is, they lack the ability to think for themselves, both independently and logically. Throughout this supervision experience, I do sincerely hope that my students have learnt to be more confident with their own ideas or opinions and to be more independent in problem solving. Am I hoping too much from my students?

Murketing - what is it?

I just finished a book titled 'I'm with the brand'. This book is written by Rob Walker, who is a columnist for New York Times Magazines. This book is not of those (boring) branding textbooks, which typically focuses on branding theoretical frameworks. This book is about the relationship between branding and consumer culture. Hence, this book covers many consumer-centric issues, ranging from rationale (not rational) consumption, self concept to media consumption, sub-cultures and ethics. I have mixed feelings after reading this book. I feel 'refreshed' and  'inspired' as Rob has put forward many ideas that challenge the current thinking and practice of marketing. I feel 'informed' because he has provided many examples about how companies constantlt tap into consumers' sub-cultures to acquire novel ideas and inspiration in order to develop their branding strategies.

Besides feeling positive after reading Rob's book, I also feel 'ashamed' because I realise that I am, what Rob described as, a typical 'rationale' consumer. Rob discussed the concept of rationale thinking and consumption in Chapter Three. Rob put a strong emphasis on the distinction between 'rationale' and 'rational' consumption. Rationale consumption is about consumers making a purchase based on their self-generated rationales or justifications. Put it bluntly, consumers convince themselves that they need to make purchase. On the other hand, rational consumption is about making a purchase based on one's needs, rather than, one's wants or desires. Hence, rational consumption, strictly speaking, should be based on an objective and functional evaluation process. According to Maslow's hierarchy of needs, our basic needs are generally related to food, a shelter, some clothes (to keep us warm and protected) and, maybe, an automobile. But, do we need to have more than one pair of pants? Two automobiles? Three types of breakfast cereals? Four jackets or blazers? Five underwears? Six pairs of socks? And, a dozen of shirts or t-shirts?

Because of this rationale consumption, it sparks the emergence of MURKETING. Let's get back to the key theme of this blog ie Murketing. Rob introduced this terminology in this book to highlight the fact that consumers and marketing often intertwine with each other. The distinction between these two entities is consumers and marketing is often murky. Rob argued that many consumers might like to claim that they can see through marketing or they are immuned from marketing, but the reality is no consumer is immune from marketing. We, as consumers, are part of marketing. We are, in fact, living in a marketed society. Most of us, knowingly or not knowingly, are the marketers of many brands, especially brands that we like. Look around your living room, kitchen and/or garage, many products or merchandises occupy in these spaces have brands. Perhaps, a Samsung or LG flatscreen tv, a Nintendo Wii, an iPhone or Blackberry lying on the coffee table, a BMW or Fiat parking in the garage, a set of Tefal cookwares in your kitchen's cabinet, a box of Kellog's cereal on top of your fridge and so on.

Inception - how does it relate to advertising practice?

I went to watch Inception last Sunday. I must say the movie is very interesting. It is about extracting (secret) information and implanting (manipulated) ideas in people's dreams. After watching the movie, I was a bit horrified, not by the movie, but by what science can do in the future i.e. manipulating people's dreams. My movie buddy told me that some scientists are researching in this area.

I know I may be being melodramatic. I surely do not want some strangers to 'poke' around in my dreams. What if I was having a wet dream? How embarrassing will that be? Similarly, I do not want some strangers to inject ideas in my dreams so that they can manipulate me to behave the way they want me to.

A large part of the movie, Inception, is about how a group of 'professionals' (I was not sure about their backgrounds as the movie does not go in detail in explaining that) 'hijacked' into a young businessman's dream. This group of 'professionals' attempted to manipulate this businessman's behaviour by implanting an idea in his dream and, consequently, his memory. I use the word 'hijack' because this group of  'professionals' did not seek permission to enter into this young businessman's dream. Instead, this businessman was drugged and then 'hooked' to a dream-manipulating machine.

Whilst I was a bit horrified with the possibility of our dreams being manipulated, I was also fascinated by this idea, especially from a marketer's perspective. Will not it be a golden dream for any marketer if he or she can manipulate the dreams of target customers? The notion about 'implanting ideas into people's dreams' is, indeed, parallel to the advertising campaigns of many products such as luxury products (e.g. Louis Vuitton and D&G), vodka (eg Russian Standard) and holiday destinations (e.g. Thomas Cook). These products constantly strive to motivate people to dream about the person they apsire to be (e.g. a successful, handsome business man in the Russian Standard's ad) and the holiday destination they desire to visit (e.g. relaxing, having fun and making love with your lover on an exotic island in the Thomas Cook's ad). By promoting these dreams, marketers hope that consumers will then take necessary actions to fulfil these dreams. Stated bluntly, by promoting these dreams, marketers hope that consumers will buy a Louis Vuitton product, purchase a bottle of Russian Standard or telephone a Thomas Cook branch to book a holiday. After all, that is the main objective of many advertising campaigns. That is, to influence consumers' minds (cognition) and hearts (emotion) so that they will act(behaviour) upon the idea communicated by an advertising campaign . Many advertising campaigns are designed to manipulate consumers' cognition, emotion, behaviour or a combination of these three components.

To give you an example, I will use the Russian Standard vodka ad, which I have seen many times in the cinema. The ad features a fairly young, good looking man asking for a shot of Russian Standard vodka at, what appears to be, a high-end night club. After a sip of the vodka, he started to visualise a series of dreamlike events such as being seduced by a gorgeous, blond-hair female, escaping with this female to a country side and ice-skating in Russia. The ad obviously uses a fantasy appeal and aims to provoke several dreamlike fantasies or desires such as sexual seduction, escapism, thrill and mystery.

What is your thought on manipulating people's dreams?

• From a marketer's perspective?
• From a consumer's perspective?

Where to park my shopping trolley?

I was shopping at Tesco (Guildford) yesterday. At the car park, I saw a lady leaving her trolley to a corner. At first, I was not paying much attention as that is what we, as shoppers, do after finishing our shopping. We empty our trolleys and leave our trolley at designated trolley bays. Then, I got curious because the corner where the lady decided to 'park' her trolley is a not a designated trolley bay. Instead, it is the corner that some patrons have randomly chosen to 'park' their trolleys after finishing their shopping trips. The corner happens to be a 'busy' corner which automobiles must take in order to exit Tesco.

This trolley incident makes me think about people's learning behaviours. This lady, obviously, has observed other Tesco patrons parked their trolleys at the corner and, thus, she decided to follow suit. But, has she wondered or questioned if it was 'appropriate' to do so? Stated differently, was it logical to leave a trolley at the car park's corner which cars must take to exit a supermarket? After all, the corner is not a designated trolley bay. By leaving trolleys at this corner, it can seriously hinder automobiles exiting Tesco. More seriously, some automobiles may hit the trolleys 'being parked' at this corner and, subsequently, damage their automobiles. If it did happen, did the patron(s) involved have any right to claim compensation from Tesco?

Many psychology theories have talked about people learn by observing others such as children learning from their parents and/or siblings. But, I am also surprised to see that we, as adults who are supposed to be more cognitively mature than children, are also easily influenced by others' behaviours. We, as adults, seem to follow the behaviours of other people and, sometimes, without questioning if the behaviours are 'appropriate' under certain circumstances. Have you ever done something because others do it?

The lady who I mentioned in this blog, next time, please park your trolley at the designated trolley bay! You should question if a behaviour is 'appropriate' under a circumstance and avoid the 'other people do it' mentality!