How to kickstart your writing

May 13, 2009

Working as a freelance writer now, I’m reminded of the “writing anxiety” or “writing apprehension” my college students faced when they got their assignments (engineering, business or IT).
Many of them had no idea where to start or what to do with the information they had gathered.
In most cases, the average student bungled their way [...]

Read the full article →

Shall we have a conference call?

April 16, 2009

As I’m finishing up a feature article on HIV/AIDS, following up on some French translations, a multimedia DVD and website updates, I’m also coping with food aversions
In the midst of all this hustle and bustle, seeing another published article brings a smile to my face and adds a spring to my step! I wonder [...]

Read the full article →

Wild Ride to Wuyishan

March 27, 2009

Original article in The Star’s “Travel and Adventure” column (28 March 2009).
Wuyishan is south-east China’s most scenic wonder.
“A good traveller has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving.”
This quote by Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu perfectly sums up a recent trip of mine to Mt Wuyi or Wuyishan in Fujian province.

Visitors scaling Mt Wuyi.
Travelling [...]

Read the full article →

Keep your mother tongue alive

March 19, 2009

Do you speak languages or dialects other than English? If yes, use your mother tongue whenever you can with your child.
Because language is the key to open the doors of success in our globalized world, knowing more than one language means that you have a special access card!
Growing up with an English-speaking father and a [...]

Read the full article →

Hong Kong International Airport

March 5, 2009

Voted the world’s best airport seven times in a row, Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA)’s clear communications, well-designed layout and thoughtful facilities make it one of my favourite stopovers.
For starters, the minute you get off the aeroplane in Terminal 1, clear signs
- in English and Chinese;
- with internationally-recognized symbols;
- in large, bold lettering visible from far [...]

Read the full article →

English is A Confusing Language

February 25, 2009

This humourous poem about the the inconsistencies in English grammar and vocabulary has to be one of the most forwarded emails.
While it pokes fun at English and the English, the poem also captures the frustrations a student faces in the process of learning English as a foreign or second language.
Does anyone have the [...]

Read the full article →

I was a Telemarketer

February 18, 2009

During a semester break, I answered a newspaper ad looking for telemarketers to promote a holiday resort in Cameron Highlands.
After qualifying the phone interview, I went up to a hotel room at Merlin Hotel (now Dorset Hotel) in Penang and met a friendly 30-something year old American in a business suit.
The two adjoining hotel rooms had cubicles flanked against [...]

Read the full article →

Accept or Except?

February 5, 2009

Original article “Cunning Couples” in The Star’s “Mind Your English” column (5 Feb 2009).
YOU can easily acquire an American, Australian, British or Canadian accent with speech training or from living several years abroad and come across as someone fluent in English. But you give yourself away if you use words wrongly, especially in e-mails, faxes [...]

Read the full article →

Are you ready for media interviews?

January 11, 2009

Have you received a telephone call or email from a journalist requesting an interview? Congratulations! Your organization’s work has caught media attention.
Are you ready for that interview that will promote your organization, your people and your work to the public? Use the checklist below to review or prepare a media kit ready for that moment [...]

Read the full article →

Entrepreneur: Packing It In

December 15, 2008

Original article in Sunday Star (Metro) on 14 December 2008.
Tempt the fussy eater with a home-cooked bento set.
Every mother knows the frustration of dealing with a fussy eater. It’s the toddler who rejects the Omega 3-rich steamed fish or the pre-schooler who turns up his nose at anything green.
Perhaps a bento is the answer for mothers [...]

Read the full article →

REVIEW: Awake at the Wheel by Mitchell Lewis Ditkoff

December 11, 2008

Unlike other motivational books, “Awake at the Wheel” begins with the fable of Og, the caveman who invented the wheel. Og is portrayed as an average Joe or Jamal or Jee Yee with a job, a wife, a house (or a cave) and a son.
One day, he stumbled upon his Big Idea and he:
“…found it [...]

Read the full article →

No. 1 Most Emailed, No. 3 Most Viewed

July 18, 2008

Thank God It’s Friday? Today, this phrase brings a special meaning to me because one of my articles “All About ASAP, FYI and FYA” in the Star newspaper is:
The No. 1 Most Emailed and the No. 3 Most Viewed Article
If you click on the photos below, you’ll be able to see what I mean.

Imagine that! [...]

Read the full article →

All about ASAP, FYI and FYA

July 18, 2008

Original article in (The Star, “Mind Your English”, 18 July2008).
ONE day, a colleague turned to me and asked, “What’s FYI?”
“For your information.”
“What’s FYA?”
“For your action.”
“What’s WRT?”
“With reference to…”
Before the conversation dragged on any further, I quickly looked up a website on acronyms used in business communications and sent it to him via e-mail.
This conversation made [...]

Related Posts with Thumbnails
Read the full article →

← Previous Entries

Next Entries →