Lanta Island

Jan 13 2008
Lanta Island

Here's some photos from the Lanta Island trip I had last month. A few photos were taken from my friend's house built on top of the hill. It was a nice get-away trip. I'm glad I decided to go.








There are so many social activities to attend to this month. Our friends from a far-away land keep coming here for
a visit. The last one will leave the country in Feb. Well, now I don't know what I'm going to do after they all left.
Last night we're up until 4 am to hang out with Tony. He's leaving tonight for Chicago and no doubt we'll miss him lot.

The golden month

December 2, 2007

I mentioned in the last entry that I was expecting Matt B's arrival. Matt was a good friend from work back in Chicago. He was one of the two people at DDB that I think
would appreciate the culture differences. Matt proved my assumption was right.
Initially I was planning to hang out with him throughout the trip. Just a week before his arrival, I got a job offer and had to start on a short notice. So, the whole plan was cancelled and Matt had to wander on his own most of the time. But he never ceased to impress me. In deed, he was doing great on his own.

So, Matt, my hat's off to you. And I hope to see you back here again next year.

Last Friday was my last day at work. After 5 weeks at work that seemed like forever, I finally called it quit. As much as I like working, or call myself a workaholic, I do have limit. I can tolerate long hours of work on occasions, but not every day until my dedication has become part of job description. It seems normal here that business hours could be extended into to midnight or 3-4 am in the morning. Employees don't complain because other companies are doing the same thing. I can't help but wonder why people work this hard but the country doesn't go anywhere. Why is Thailand still a developing country? (note: it's my sarcastic joke, you don't need to find the explanation.)

Anyway, my life theory is hard work brings success, overwork brings death.

By the time I got burned out from work, the other job offer came along. It's from an Australian design consultancy company based in Bangkok, offered me a Design Manager position. My new job responsibilities include managing people and overseeing all the work. I won't design anymore, which is perfect because I will have time to do my own work for my own company.

The best of all is I feel like I'm back in the States again. DDB has a great work culture that's become my standard of what the company culture should be. The Australian company offered me the perk and benefit similared to that and beyond. They allow employees to be off on both Thai and Western holidays. It's the kind of company I want to work for. It's the company that cares about its own people that, in turn, will be awarded by great work from people with appreciation. I for one, believe, great work comes from happy people.

The end of the year is right around the corner. December is a month of long holiday break and celebration. Bangkok at this time of year is looking great with holiday light decorations and out-door beer festivals across the city. The weather is decent. It's cold enough that I'm thinking about wearing kneel-high boots to work. (not common here) I love Bangkok in December. Tim and I agree if the weather is like this
all year round, we will never want to move elsewhere. Tim is also doing so great on his new role at Citibank, which reassure us on our moving home decision. And myself - things are coming together after rough months of adjustment. I'm feeling obtimistic about my future. I'm hoping I will fit in at a new place so I can end my job hunting. On the next entry, I will update you about my new job and my journey down on a remote Island, South of Thailand.

Is life full of surprise

NOTE: the last day of October is approaching and it occurred to me I should write something before the month ends.

Q and A

Q: Where have I been?
A: Having a few job interviews here and there, eventually decided to take a job offer from a decent design firm. My employment started a couple of days ago.

Q: My own business?
A: Still do it. Will do both at the same time until the business's strong enough I can do it full time.

Q: Life in general?
A: No fun. Getting back to work is not fun as I wished. In fact, it involves too many cups of coffee, stress, headaches, and long hours of dedication. I feel like I'm losing passion over those factors. Being independent for 7 months was boring BUT peaceful.

A: Life is full of surprise. I thought things'd get better after Tim and I landed a job. We both now have a decent job. But I haven't yet felt contented. Confusing.

A: LOST and not (yet) found
My passion. My willpower. And my sparkle eyes.


In case I don't have time to update anything next week, just want to give you a heads-up that Matt B. is arriving next Tuesday (Oct.30) I'll write about him when I have a chance next time.

Brand Building - Bean&Leaf

September 19, 2007

Part of my future plans is to build my own brand, which led to my current interest in developing a brand identity for domestic tea Market. Speaking of its taste, Thai tea is second to none. However, it's been a big disappointment after seeing a number of tea products in the Thai market, none of those has differentiated itself from its competition. Thai consumers still opt for well-known and/or imported brands because of its worldwide recognition. Bean&Leaf is created based on the need to refining tea packaging, and to creating brand identity that has equal standard to internationally well-known brands.

Below is some samples of Bean&Leaf tea package;
Let me know how you think about it. Would you pick them up from a shelf?









Herbal Tea packaged in a clear bottle. Ideally the plastic bottle
will be replaced by tin can.

The good, The bad, and The ugly

September 13, 2007

The Bad
Three weeks ago, I got home late, one night, to find my dad lied unconscious in his bed. My sister, brother, and I tried to wake him up but he didn't seem to respond to our words. So we called an ambulance. After a preliminary diagnosis, the ER team immediately placed him in ICU. Dad was suffocating. His heart beat was 165 bpm that put him at risk for sudden cardiac arrest. That night, we had to go home because they didn't allow visitors to stay over in the ICU. By the second night, his condition worsened. He couldn't breath by himself so the physician team decided to intubate him. A nurse informed me about side effects of having a tube down his throat and inside his body. But that's the only choice we have. It wasn't pleasant experience to see him on a mechanical ventilation. I cried so hard that night.

My dad wasn't healthy to begin with. As far as I remember, he was always overweight. His obesity caused him several diseases including congestive heart failure, hypertension, and gout. Due to accumulation of fat in his trachea, his sleeping posture was merely sitting up. If he lied down, his trachea'd get pushed by the fat which let only small amount of O2 passing through his lungs, and causing him to suffocate.

The blood tests came back and confirmed he had lung infection or Pneumonia. It could be malignant in elderly people, specifically people who have congestive heart failure. The doctor tried to comfort our feelings but didn't make any promise on positive outcome. Most hospitalized patients had weaker immunity to fight diseases and were likely to develop onset diseases later on. On the forth day, a sign of his underlying mental issue emerged. His mouth and nose were covered with the O2 mask and intubation, yet tried to give us a sign language. He insisted he saw dark evils who were trying to kill him in a middle of the night. He seemed nervous about it, then asked us to stay over. After a visiting hour, he began to yell and pull out his intubation and IV that left the nurses no choice but re-intubating him, which consequently caused the bleeding and swelling in his trachea.

After a week, his lungs started to clear up and his physical condition recuperated,
However, not for his mind. His severe physical illness,later, developed Delirium - a condition of severe confusion and rapid changes in brain function. We decided to have him transferred out of the ICU and to a private room that we were able to stay with him. We took turn to stay up in order to watch him 24/7, and did everything to regain his memory. Our great effort started to pay off by the end of following week. He's starting to come back.

Now, dad's back home. He still needs special care so we got him a professional
caregiver. Over all, our lives are getting back to normal. Having too much stress
put me into getting sick, but I'm getting better as well.

The Good
• Tim and I accepted an offer from ExxonMobil to host its global Team Building Seminar held on September 12. The timing wasn't perfect due to my dad's situation but we tried to work it out. Considering our zombie condition, I was so grateful with the outcome. We got to meet 12 management attendees from the US, which gave us a little excitement.
• After doing a marketing research for 6 months, I've gotten familiar with Thai consumer behavior that, in turn, led me to the idea of opening my own business. Currently, I am in the process of forming a brand building company. If things go as I hope, it'd be launched by the end of year.

The Ugly
It's growing stronger inside me. It's the feelings I've been trying to reject. But now I have to admit it. I miss Chicago. I miss my life, my friends, and my work. I have to repeat myself over and over I've moved on. Thailand is my new home now. But deep down, I still think of it. Maybe this is life. We always yearn for something we don't have, and careless of what we already have.