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Saturday, May 4, 2013

COMPARING AND EXPECTATION ARE DANGEROUS



By comparing with others, you are insulting yourself.

By expectation, you are letting this bondage to hold you back.

Friday, May 3, 2013

IF YOU WANT THE RAINBOW..



IF YOU WANT THE RAINBOW
THEN YOU MUST EXPECT A RAIN

DON'T BE AFRAID WITH WET
BUT GET THE RAIN

AND DANCE WITH IT
ENJOY WITH IT

THEREAFTER YOU WILL HAVE A CHANCE
TO SEE RAINBOW

IT NOT WAIT FOR ANOTHER TIME
RAINBOW WILL SHOW UP


TO READ OTHER POEM WRITTEN BY JAMES, PLEASE CLICK THE LINK BELOW:-

Thursday, May 2, 2013

DR HO KAI CHEONG AND HIS LEGACY


DR HO KAI CHEONG AND HIS LEGACY

 Dear Readers,
Recently, while I was doing some research for my article in my tea art blog and bumped into this man, who was none other than Dr Ho Kai Cheong, the founder of Ho Yan Hor Herbal tea. He is the man who truly turn his passion into an enterprise that lasts for more than half a century, which is still thriving into the year 2013.

The story of his legacy begun like this.

The streets were no longer deserted when evenings came. People no longer had to be terrified of men in army suits. World War II had come to an end.

In the midst of the unsettled post-war period, while people were busy restoring buildings and businesses, houses and homes, this man in his 30`s, preferred to enjoy the tranquility which was taken away from his homeland when he came back to Malaya in 1941.

Having graduated from China`s Canton Wah Lam National Physicians School in 1941, he was then one of the very few young chaps who received tertiary education. Still young and not having the faintest idea about his next step in life after the war, he obliged to the request of a friend to bring into creation a blend of herbal tea for folks in town who were deprived of the wonders of Western medicines as a remedy for common ailments.

With his passion for herbs and the knowledge acquired, he embarked on a journey of discovery leading to a concoction of 24 kinds of herbs. Till today, Ho Yan Hor Herbal Tea has remained a masterpiece of extraction. The meticulous extraction process of the 24 selected kinds of herbs bares every leaf of its nutritional and therapeutic assets! A class of its own, this novel process is repeated several times to ensure thorough extraction. The extract is then absorbed onto tea leaves, dried and packed into sachet tea bags for consumers` convenience. When taken, this all-natural extract enables immediate absorption of its goodness into the body. Today, the 60-year-old Ho Yan Hor Herbal Tea remains a favourite among many and it is much sought after to relieve body heatiness, nausea, indigestion, and waning appetite.

Over a lapse of more than half a century, Dr. Ho Kai-Cheong`s humble herbal tea stall has grown to a modern manufacturing plant with WHO GMP status. Modernization has not deterred the house of Ho Yan Hor from bringing its ancient goodness to consumers of the 21st century. From formulation to processing, these have been carefully preserved over the decades. The modern manufacturing plant has not short-changed consumers of its invaluable goodness, but only adding to it hygiene and health.

More than a health heritage, Ho Yan Hor Herbal Tea is truly an illustration of `when east meets west`. This aged-old concoction has managed to strike equilibrium between alternative medicines and mainstream medical approaches. With every cup of tea, come not only nutritional and therapeutic values, but heritage and history! 

By now, we hope you are able to see how this young man adds value to his community by offering his solution to the pressing issue faced by his community at that time.

Thank you and hope that you find it useful and helpful.



Tuesday, April 30, 2013

YOU ARE SPECIAL AND UNIQUE


SO LOVE YOURSELF
VALUE YOURSELF

LIVE AND SHINE
DON'T CHANGE FOR ANYONE

IF YOU ARE CONVINCED, PLEASE READ THE BOOK, BETTER THAN THE BEST.
YOU MAY BUY IT AT THE LINK BELOW:-

BETTER THAN THE BEST


JAMES OH

AUTHOR - BETTER THAN THE BEST

BETTER THAN THE BEST

Monday, April 29, 2013

GUEST AUTHOR INTERVIEW WITH JOLEENE NAYLOR



Katelina has barely recovered from the chaos of Malick’s revolt, yet she and Jorick must go to Munich to testify before the True Council. All hopes of a vacation are dashed when they’re assigned an entourage that includes Verchiel, a vampire Katelina never wants to see again.

Her hatred is forgotten when Malick and his henchmen penetrate the stronghold in Munich. Jorick hijacks the trip and diverts them on a quest to reclaim the Heart of the Raven. Said to be the disembodied heart of Lilith, the relic may be more reality than myth, and if it falls into the wrong hands it could have disastrous consequences for the world. Can they reach its hiding place before Malick?

The fifth installment of the Amaranthine series sees Jorick and Katelina draw closer as they surround themselves with their own miniature army to outwit the machinations of the ancient master. Katelina grows stronger and learns to stand on her own because there’s no room for the fainthearted in a world where darkness is eternal and the night tastes like blood. 

****
About the author:

Joleene Naylor grew up in southwest Iowa surrounded by soybeans, corn and very little entertainment - so she made her own. She has been writing and drawing since she was a small child, with a particular leaning towards fantasy, horror and paranormal. It is this love of all that goes bump in the night that led her to write the Amaranthine series.

In her spare time she is a freelance artist, book cover designer and photographer. Her current projects include the sixth novel in the Amaranthine series, and The Terrible Turtle Conspiracy, a web manga collaboration with writer Jonathan Harvey. Joleene maintains blogs full of odd ramblings and hopes to win the lottery. Until she does, she and her husband live near Bolivar Missouri with their miniature zoo. However, unless she starts buying tickets she may never win anything.



Append below is the Q and A session. 


When did you begin to write?

I started writing before I could read. My first “book” was about a girl who got a phone call and went roller skating. Though most of the words are spelled phonetically (and there are a lot of vowels missing) it was fully illustrated. I still have it somewhere.

When did you first discover that you were a writer?

My mother was a poet, writer and artist, so it didn’t occur to me to be anything different. I remember when I first discovered that everyone didn’t have stacks of blank paper in their house. I couldn’t figure out how they could draw or write without it. Ha ha!

How much did you write before you were published?

There’s a trail of random stuff out there. I have some unfinished books, some finished but un-publishable books (mostly YA horror), lots of short stories and even some poetry.

What is your favorite part of writing?

Discovering the story. I don’t write from an outline, so I rarely know what’s going to happen and during the first draft I’m often as surprised as the readers.

Tell us about your latest release.

The Amaranthine series is about Katelina and her vampire lover Jorick. Heart of the Raven is the fifth book in the series and centers on Jorick and Katelina’s hunt for the object of the same name .Rumored to be the heart of Lilith, the mother of the vampires, it is said the artifact will grant unlimited power to whoever possesses it. But, they aren’t the only ones searching for it. Malick, an ancient vampire master who hopes to start a war with humanity to cure his boredom, hopes to procure it for himself. Can Jorick and Katelina find it in time, or will they lose the race and possibly the world?

Wow! This book sounds really good. Are you planning on writing more in the years to come?

I plan to write this series as long as I can get away with it. I’ve actually started the sixth book and a second short story collection, this time about The Executioners, the vampires elite “police” squad.

So far what is your worst criticism/attacks, and how have you overcome it?

It was my first bad review. It was on a blog written by a Mrs. Chuckles, or something like that, who tore the first book in the series to shreds. I was upset and told my husband that I needed a chocolate muffin, because only chocolate could soothe my injured soul. We went to the grocery store, but they were completely out of chocolate muffins. No big deal, so we went to wal-mart who, oddly, had no chocolate muffins. Next we tried a gas station, but again, no chocolate muffins. After stopping at every one in town (it was now the principle of the matter! It was a quest, by god, and I *would* succeed!) we finally found one chocolate muffin at Kum ‘N Go. We bought it and headed home. I got in the door and had just settled in to get back to pouting when my mother called (she lives next door), so I left my muffin sitting on the coffee table, still in it’s plastic wrapper. When I came back, the wrapper was there and the muffin was gone. Furious, I yelled at my husband, “I can’t believe you ate it!” He denied it, and it was then that I noticed that the paper muffin cup was also missing. And the dog was smiling. Since then the dog has become a chocolate fiend (he begs for it whenever I have any) and I’ve given up pouting because, in the end, the dog just eats the muffin anyway, so there’s no point. Better to move on and put it behind you.  

What is the accomplishment that you are most proud of?

I find it hard to think of a list of accomplishments because once I’ve “accomplished” something, I sort of put it in the back and move on to the next thing. There’s just so much to do and so little time to do it all in.

What does your writing process look like?

I write a rough draft and then go over it and over it, hand it off to some beta readers, go over it some more, then send it to the final editor, and then go over it and change a few things again. That’s why I can never remember exactly what made it into the final version of the book and what didn’t.


How did you get published?

I started querying agents, but in 2009 the climate was very anti-vampire because everyone was doing it after the success of Twilight (sadly I hadn’t read Twilight at this point and didn’t know what it was!). I knew a variety of authors through MySpace, who were all published differently, and after looking at some of their disasters I rejected the idea of looking into small presses. So many of them are bad (whether because they’re a scam or because they’re poorly managed) and many of them have really horrible covers on the books. Plus, even among the good ones, most don’t do the promotion, and that was the main thing I didn’t want to do. If I had to do the marketing, it seemed like a better idea to just do everything myself, then it would belong to me, and be the way I wanted it. So, I started researching self publishing.

How do you come up with title of your books?

Each one is different. I actually came up with the title Heart of the Raven back when I was writing the second book, and made up the relic and worked it into the storyline just so I could use the title. I hope the title for the next one comes to me in a dream, as that would be a lovely answer to an interview question.

Can you enlighten us a little more about your books?

There are five books in the Amaranthine series, and a collection of short stories about random side characters called Vampire Morsels.

I’m going to cheat and give you the series synopsis: Pulled into a world of darkness, Katelina’s fate becomes intertwined with that of Jorick, a dark, enigmatic vampire. To stay by his side, she must navigate fields of intrigue, terror and bloodshed as they are drawn from one vampire war to another. Dreams of peace seem elusive, and complications abound in the form of mysterious vampires, old relics, and an ancient master. Join Katelina and Jorick in a world where vampires don’t sparkle and night is eternal.

Tell us your guiding principle that governs your life?

Never take anything at face value because everything is a matter of perception. Truth varies from one individual to another (this is why police will get a different story from every witness- it’s affected by memories, prior experiences, how much attention they were paying, etc.) This isn’t just limited to testimony, it includes everything, even whether something is good or bad. It’s all a matter of how you see it, which is affected by our own prejudices, ideas and experiences. Nothing is concrete or black or white, and you have the power to make something bad into something good, or something good into something bad.

How have you cultivated these values?

By always trying to find the good in every given situation. Sometimes it can be hard, such as the death of a loved one, which we recently experienced, but in the end, just like with the criticism and the chocolate muffin, I can’t change what happened; I can’t bring someone back from the dead or un-do something that has happened, so rather than wallow in it, I try to find the lesson in the event and move on. And there’s always a lesson, even if it’s just that you’ve earned something about yourself.

Do you have any advice for writers looking to get published?

Learn to take criticism. No matter how good you are, your story isn’t perfect. No story is perfect. Everything can be improved. The trick is to learn which criticism is helpful to your “vision” and which ones aren’t. If you can do that with grace, then you’ll have a fantastic book when you’re done.

Where can we find your book?
Heart of the Raven is available on My books are available at AmazonBarnes and Noble,SmashwordsKoboSonyApple and in paperback.

(in case the embedded links don’t work:

Amazon US (paperback) - http://amzn.com/dp/1475183771/

Where can we find you on the internet?

I blog about series related items, including releases, story extras, vampires and more athttp://JoleeneNaylor.WordPress.com or you can find me on my website athttp://JoleeneNaylor.com or like me on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/joleenenaylorbooks.


Sunday, April 28, 2013

FROM THE CHESS KING TO PURPOSEFUL LIFE


FROM THE CHESS KING TO PURPOSEFUL LIFE

Back in the seventies, there was this little boy in Georgetown, who was born with a big head and handsome face, interestingly he liked engaging in all kinds of mind boggling, creative and imaginative activities!! He neither had many toys with him; nor did he know of any cartoon characters. To him all these were of not much benefit to him.

Very active, adventurous, naive and of course the real description would be “playful”, he was well-known as the chess king among his childhood mates. The name “chess king” was not given but awarded, due to his active participation not only in playing good chess, but always sustaining his number 1 position in his school and residential areas. He even represented his school in individual and team event in the Penang State Chess Competition under 12- category in 1973. The chess activities can be mounted at any time, week day or weekend, so long he has time to do so. He was so persistent that he would steal any of his available time. He even can play solo, by either playing both sides of the players or analyse every possible move of his past game he could remember.  His circle of players could come from players that are more than 5 years older than him. They even organise their own tournaments with their own ranking in mind, but without trophy.

The game would begin with any chess set, regardless whether Chinese or Western form. His standard of playing good chess also deteriorated as he aged. This was because he almost stopped his chess game after he failed to deliver his mentor's expectation in the individual event at the State Chess competition. Today he is still a reasonably good chess player, once in a blue moon he plays at home or in the office!!

Ladies and Gentlemen, yes that is me, James Oh!! I still have a big head with handsome face. Very obvious I am a man with a young heart. I am 52 years old, born 25 Feb; my birthday has just passed. Married with one wife, one daughter, three sons, but one is in heaven.

I come from a “big” family of 6 siblings with 1 girl and 5 boys of which only 1 is single and available, any takers? Dating can be arranged secretly, openly or indirectly.

I am, the only one in the family, with two professional degrees specializing in Accounting and Law. I graduated with my first degree in a local university and second degree from the University of London, UK. I am self-financed since my secondary school through some part time jobs to cover the fees and pocket money. I worked as a lottery seller, tutor, marketing surveyor during my university breaks.

Though it was not easy, I enjoyed these challenges as they shape me stronger, better and tougher. No regrets! Honestly, I appreciated my studies more compared to my other university-mates. I picked things up fast and achieved much greater results. My working experiences allowed me to understand my studies faster, better and deeper. Similarly, I had opportunities to apply my acquired knowledge to gain an edge in any workplace. I love and enjoy whatever challenges, because I do not like routines and am more inclined to think.

I began my very first professional career in 1987 as audit assistant. I learned how to develop audit plans, audit report and assess clients' internal policies and procedures effectiveness. Though I have slightly more than 1 year in the audit field, I gained a name for having most up to date IAS standard, company act whereby I even qualified the audit report due to significant effect on its financial report arising from non compliance of foreign exchange loss, which I was the first person to pick up this issue. I moved to commercial sector due to the denial of the recommended promotion put forward by my immediate superior as I was much junior than other staff in the office. At that time, I had gained a well diverse and broad exposure in the various industries such as Insurance, Manufacturing, Trading, Plantation, Co-operatives and professional firms.

I had spent a short span of my professional life with each company I worked with, except the Aviation company. This did not stop me from contributing significantly to the respective companies. I have proposed a change of accounting policy, from operating lease to finance lease that resulted in the company booking in more than RM two million before its right issues exercise; to generate a million in the form of interest income through managing the treasury more appropriately; eliminate the issuance of official receipt; improve the internal control through extending a copy of Purchase Order without unit price to the store; restructuring of loan to cater for the company's expansion program; to tap public fund through listing exercise in order to obtain cheaper borrowing rate and turn around the company after the financial crisis.

I love to read and travel. Reading and travelling are eye openers for me as I learn and see new things. Hence, I wish to leave my foot print in as many hearts and countries as I could so as to leave a good legacy and to repay those kind souls and people who have touched my life.

I have found an unusual path of re-fire-ment instead of retirement, what I would love to see myself hanging around with my buddies, actively involved in writing, contributing to society and coaching people to live more fulfilling lives.

Therefore, I urge more people to embrace lifelong learning and pass our learned knowledge to the young generation, to have a better tomorrow.

As such, you are strongly encourage to join this Lift you Up community so as it can function as what I have planned one day.


James Oh

http://my.linkedin.com/pub/oh-james/12/a11/29b