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).