~3:56:00 PM

My birthday just passed. How many people remembered?

Thanks to those who sent me sms.
Eddie, Zixin, Hui Jun, Shu Qi, Suet Fong, Wei Wei, Qi Hong, Jennifer, Boo, Hui Ping, Hui Min, Zhi Ming, Sok Zhen, Rui Han, 54, Hui Yu, Amanda, Wei Ying, Priscilla, Ying Hao, Eunice Lim, Xiu J ing, Hui Lin

Thanks for the tags and Msn Msg
Takeuaway, 54, Ruiz, Big Guy, Jeanette, Sharon, Sang How

Thanks for the email and E-cards.
Eunice Phua. 54.

Thanks for the Friendster comments and messages.
Kai Rong, Li Rong, Edwin, Ee Seng, Jia Liang, Dennis, Guo Rui, Esther, Hui Min (hall 4 toiletmate)

Thanks for the cakessss...
One cake with my family, 2 cakes at QH house. *faints*

Thanks for the presents from my dear people, near or far. :)
*Shall continue to grab people out ya.. :P
Erhem.. my best friend WY forgot my birthday while her sister remembered. =\
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I have my own ways of dealing with people.
To some, I will treat them with extra care and concern. Afraid that I will accidentally hurt them with words.
To some, I put up with them for as long as I can, till they cross the line of my patience limit.
To some, I just can’t be bothered.

Recently, I’ve read a few books. One on the skills of persuasion and one on observing human body language. I have just embarked on Harry Potter and the Half blood prince.

For such self-help books, the important things to be carried out are to remember what is read, to learn how to apply what is taught and conveyed.

The book on the observing human body language taught me how to “read people like an open book”. It’s not easy because some postures or facial expressions are difficult to capture and it definitely takes a great deal of effort to solve the body language puzzle. On top of that, it always involves contextual reasons for such body language. So I can conclude that it’s really very tough. Imagine catching the widening of people’s iris. I guess understanding the book is enough.

The book on the skills of persuasion taught me how to persuade people and get what you want by making use of some psychological thinking. All those laws taught sound very logical. Not that I want to persuade people at the moment, but I feel that it’s always useful to know and recognize the tactics those “professional” people use to get what they want. By the term “professional”, I mean those people who used their glib tongue to boast and ultimately achieve their motives.

I came across a coffee/tea maker in the neighbourhood. It is a simple device which separates the tea leaves or coffee beans from the drink. Plus points? It is cheap and can be washed easily with just a dip in the pail of water. Minus points? The metal sieve has a tendency to rust.
I dare the promoter to drink the coffee he made.
Haha. No la. I’m not that bad. I just said it loudly (to make sure other people heard me) to my mother when I was standing in the crowd listening to him. =)

Another famous digital camera is claimed to be waterproof. Some samples are displayed underwater as a form of demonstration. But the screws on the cameras which went underwater were rusty. I asked the promoter why the screws rust. He said the camera can still functioned. Har?! Ok.
Waterproof camera with rusty screws. What more can I say?

Hot steam expeller which kills dust mites in pillows and blankets. Have you heard of it? The promoter is a caring one. He allows the on-lookers to feel the steam at a safe distance and reminds them to be careful of the 120-degree steam. Everything he said makes sense. But I guess it’s cheaper to change the pillows and wash the blankets than to own the 200-dollar gadget. At least that's what I think.

Health products. The promoters always claim that the products are able to perform wonders on the human body. Curing illnesses, easing aches, fight weariness, etc.
Well, where’s the scientific proof?
Some clever promoters are armed with statistics of satisfied customers or even show you the proof you want to see. Fine, then. Ask the doctor.
The doctor may agree on the functions of those health products, but will also suggest to you that those “formidable” functions are only useful to a very small extent. The effects may be so small that they are negligible. Conclusion: No effect, hence useless.
So, would you pay a significant amount for something that is deemed ineffective?

Nonetheless, sales promotion is still a career. Someone has to do it. But it would be good if it’s done with professionalism. With this, I mean to see enthusiasm, sincerity and the sales ethics. When a person turns you down, be it politely or rudely, it would be professional to thank that person and continue to look for other potential customers. Persistence in this situation is rather useless. Be glad that that particular person doesn’t pretend to express interest, play around with you and waste more saliva of yours and then reject you in the end. If things are really that good, they would be selling like hot cakes. Would you still be needed to promote them?

Besides that, those people who grab other people on the streets to do survey for them are just as pitiful as well. “5 minutes only” is always a lie. They never study economics and don’t know what opportunity cost is. :P
Although there are wicked people like me who don’t usually help them, there are also kind souls who have plenty of time to spare to do surveys.

Same for the sales promotion. There are lots of rich people who are willing to pay for whatever things which are claimed to be good and useful. Sad to say, I’m not one of them.

Will I be angry if I’m pestered by them? No, definitely not. They are earning for a living too. I pity them for focusing on the wrong customers, to be exact, poor wicked people like me. I’ll just laugh about their claims and continue to expose their tricks and flaws to my friends. :D

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Wandering.. Wondering.. .
Sunday, July 01, 2007
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