Happy Valentine’s Day

Happy V-Day everyone! May it be filled with heart-shaped things, chocolates, flowers and lots of love.

Using Slugs to Your Advantage

I’ve just discovered slugs.

No, not the garden variety, but the WordPress kind — Post Slugs.
(Note that I’m a newbie to WordPress having used it for less than a month).

You can read the WordPress explanation here. However I feel that Adesblog explains it better by giving an example of how to use it properly to benefit your blog.

I’m very excited about this feature because what this mean for me(and WP bloggers in general) is that I can have my Killer Titles(which may only have a faint allusion to the actual content) AND have the option to include more straightforward titles optimised for search engines.

Disposable

Do you know how much I love paper cups?
Sometimes I wonder if my love for coffee has more to do with the cups they come in rather than the coffee itself. I have a habit of collecting paper cups(properly washed, of course) only to have them thrown away by someone else.

In my previous job, located in the middle of a busy shopping belt, I frequently buy coffee for breakfast, lunch and sometimes dinner from one of the many cafes dotting the area. Of all the coffee houses, I frequented Starbucks the most, not because they had the best coffee, but because it was located nearest to my office. Every Christmas season, my cubicle will see the addition of another red Starbucks Holiday Cup. I kept one every year since I first started working there. I’d even find a good use for them – potpourri holders.

I loved looking at them. It’s amazing how many times I’d been inspired to do something creative just by looking at the paper cups lined up on top of my monitor. Once I wrote a story about a sad coffee bean. Another time I designed a book cover based on the color scheme of the cups, just for fun. The cleaning lady at the office would make sure she put the cups back in their exact location when she was done wiping the top of my monitor, something I greatly appreciate. The people I worked with were aware of my love for paper cups, some even offering their cups for me to keep. But paper cup-collecting is a very personal thing for me. I like to get to know the cup myself before welcoming it into my life.

One day, out of the blue, I find my cups missing from their usual location. I tried to locate the missing cups in the pantry but was met by a stranger from the cleaning company. He said the old cleaning lady was sick, so he’s taking over for the day. I asked him if he’d seen my potpourri-filled paper cups. He said he’d thrown them away because he thought they were filled with “mouldy things”. The next day, the regular cleaning lady resumed work and the first thing she did when she saw me was to apologize for the loss of my cups.

…

My most prized possession was a set of slender, unusually-sized cups(too big for an espresso, more like a generous demitasse). I bought them for a few bucks from a shop selling odds and ends near my house. They came in a pack of about 10 pieces and each one of them was beautiful. The base color was off-white. I’m not sure whether this was on purpose or because the paper had slightly yellowed with age, but it made a nice canvas for the main element – an exquisitely-rendered watercolor painting of different flowers. It stayed in my kitchen drawer for probably 7 years before I decided to use one for a special occasion (I got a pack of fancy tea as a birthday present), then another, and yet another, until only three cups were left. After that I decided I don’t want to be using them anymore as they were too precious to me. A few months ago, I find them gone. My mother had thrown them away, without my knowledge. She said that the cups looked too old to be useful.

Each time my cherished collection was thrown away I’d feel a little sad, but only for a minute. No matter how sentimental I feel about something, I accept that most material things in life are disposable.

I love paper cups a lot, but I treasure relationships with people more.

PS: Sticking a “Do Not Throw” message helps. :)

Inspiration: SARK

Imagine the world in pink, yellow and turquoise where everyone embraces their creative spirit and the right to enjoy life.

The first time I bought a book by SARK (Susan Ariel Rainbow Kennedy) was for a friend who had just won a battle against depression. I didn’t even read the book prior to that, I was just drawn to the colourful cover and its promise to uplift your spirit (or something like that) AND most importantly it suited my budget.

A few days later my friend called to say how much she loved the book and how grateful she was that I took the time to pick the perfect book for her. I didn’t tell her the actual reason why I chose the book, but her phone call piqued my interest enough to pick up a book myself. The book was Succulent Wild Woman And it became my first SARK book in many to follow.

SARK has a way of writing that’s magical and thoroughly heartfelt. With her childlike drawing and handwriting (most of the text in her books are handwritten), it feels a like reading a someone’s sketchbook/diary, one who has the ability to inspire you to abandon your inhibitions, free your inner artist and reach for the stars. If you or someone you care about needs a little cheering up, trying reading one of her titles. If the writing doesn’t touch you, at least her drawings will make you smile.

Happy Lunar New Year!

According to the Chinese zodiac calendar, the year of the Rat starts 7 Feb 2008. A little late(okay, make that 4 days late!) but here’s wishing all a Happy Lunar New Year! May you be blessed with great health and prosperity!

StumbleUpon

I’d like to say a BIG HELLO and WELCOME to all my new friends! And a big thank you to those who bookmarked me! Cheers!

I’ve just created a StumbleUpon account and am pleasantly surprised at the amount of traffic generated from it(more than 30 in the past few hours). If you are starting a new website, StumbleUpon is a great way to announce its arrival into the Internet world.

PS: Also read this useful article how to drive traffic using StumbleUpon via the very informative ProBlogger.