Air Mattress

Just when we thought that the economy is going better, those financial reports are saying the opposite last week. Well, I guess my idea of asking clients for a raise is down the drain.

Now the question is: what can we sell in such terrible time? Two words: Air Mattress. Okay, six words: Air Mattress in a Show-stopping Backpack. I am talking about those air mattresses that have “built-in pump for easy inflation in 90 seconds.” Drop it in a big backpack along with an iPad, instantly you can start a new lifestyle.

Imagine: a young worker in his 20s lost income and got kicked out of his apartment. What’s the better way than to change his Facebook status to “Need a place to crash.” And if he’s lucky, he probably get offers from tens of friends out of his 1,000+ friend collection. He then can show up in front of a friend’s door with dignity (his own bed) and style (the cool backpack). Seven days later, deflate the air mattress and move on to the next. Come to think of it, what a fun way to live. Just like rock stars on world tour, sans hotel.

Hey, let’s pack an air mattress and go rock (or just walk) the world!

The easy life of an underdog.

I never pretended to be a hero – not to my family, my friends, my colleagues nor my clients. I never claimed that I have solutions for all the problems. I figured long ago that this attitude would reduce my stress level to zero – so I could just do my best, do the right thing, grow and learn at my own pace, enjoy the process, and not to worry about looking bad when I fail.

Seem to be working well... But now I have doubt.

I just pissed off my son. I showed him a wrong note when I accompanied him practicing piano. After a couple tries, he recognized the mistake himself and cried, “Mom, you made me do it wrong 3 times!” He was totally upset that I failed him. So, I replied, “Hey, I just started learning this with you. I never got a chance to learn piano when I was a child. So, just take it easy and give me a break here.” But my excuse sounded pretty lame even to myself. He is only at piano level 1. If I was paying attention, I wouldn’t got it wrong.

Lesson learned: People want heroes. Kids want the dads who can fix anything and the moms who know everything. So, either you are stressed to get everything right so you can be the hero, and the people look after you would have a peace of mind. Or, you have a peace of mind and admitting you are an underdog, so the people look after you get frustrated... (which is the way? think. think. think.) Sigh! Time to fetch some chocolate.

On the other hand, for those of you who have the guts to claim leadership to change the world, I salute you.

Pokémon Masters!

My kids are crazy about Pokémon.
So I made them hats and gloves for pretend play.
I asked if they were Pokémon experts.
They said, “NO! We are Pokémon masters.”
Oh well, see if they can master this one:
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#999
Pokémom Evolution

Basic: WAICHIU
TYPE: Fire
ABILITY: Run Away
HEIGHT: 5’ 4”
WEIGHT: 120 lbs.

Stage 1: MOMCHIU
TYPE: Grass
ABILITY: Grounded
HEIGHT: 5’ 3”
WEIGHT: what?

Stage 2: GRANDMACHIU
TYPE: Water
ABILITY: Follow The Flow
HEIGHT: 5’ 2”
WEIGHT: XOXO

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Oh, Actually - they have already mastered this one long ago... If you would excuse me, I need to go turn off the AC for my masters.

My name is Sau Wai. And this is My Movie Pitch.

I was browsing YouTube and see that there is a My Movie Pitch Contest going on. Looks very interesting. But since I have Cameraphobia, this is hard for me to pitch my idea in front of a video camera. I would much rather write it down here to share with friends only.

This story is about an Ad.Man turns into an Ed.Man (or Edu.Man)

It starts with a handsome, smart and highly successful 40 year-old advertising man who just won a Cannes Lions. When he gets home feeling he is king of the world, his wife tells him that his 8 year-old son got expelled from school because the kid has a very short attention span and distracts the class. The man feels a punch in his heart. He thought, “All these years I keep discovering new ways - smart ways - to engage my target audiences. Everyone have short attention span in front of advertisements, but I keep conquering them. And shouldn’t educators do the same and not to blame my son?”

And because of his anger and ego, thinking he is better than any educators out there, he quits his high rising advertising job and takes on a role to become a revolutionary educator at his own cost. At first, he uses what he learned from the ad industry and develops a set of multimedia plan for the school system. Then, his son proves that his plan is not useful at all. Trial and error, heartbreaking moments over and over. At last, he moved a small step forward and has made a tiny improvement. And yet, the man thinks it is totally worth it. This time is not about the ego, but about doing something and making the difference.

This movie got to be made. Ask around your friends and find out how many kids are going through rough times. If this movie can inspire just a few talented people to contribute a little to the educational field, our future generation will benefit from it… And of course if there were a way to make this film comical and have John Cusack play the part, it would help, too.

Flag Paste

It was 9:15 at night in a school day. While I was blah-blah-blah asking my daughter to “start brushing your teeth already”, she took her time and came up with this (see image above). I impatiently asked what it was. She started her business pitch: “When I grown up, I am going to buy a lot of strawberry toothpaste, some blue toothpaste with stars and Thomas training toothpaste. Then, I will combine them into one tube and make it look like American Flag. Then, I will call it “Flag Paste”. I will put all the flavors down on the package. The whole world is going to buy them and love them...”

Wow, didn’t see that coming. The whole world?! She is officially beat her parents on entrepreneurial spirits.

Bravo, baby. You just won the “mom will stop rushing you and let you think of ideas” award!

A bedtime conversation with my daughter tonight.

Me: (telling my made-up story)…then all the jelly beans in the Jelly Bean City live happily ever after. The End. Okay, grandma will hug you to sleep tonight. Mommy needs to go finish up a project, or else the client will fire me.

Daughter: And then you will be starved?

Me: Oh yeah. And you will have to starve with me.

Daughter: No, I will be fine. Dad will still have a job.

Me: But daddy loves mommy very much. He will feed me before he feeds you.

Daughter: Hum. That’s how people do it in China. In here, the youngest get to eat first. From youngest to the oldest.

Me: …(speechless)

Instantly, this sculpture by Charles Ray popped up on my mind. I have seen it many years ago at MOMA. Didn’t think much about it then, totally get it now.

To cry, or not to cry.

I haven’t cried in 3 years. In fact, I cried only 3 times in the past 11 years. I remembered exactly when and why I cried at that three times, and all had big solid reasons.

I read a UK research said, “The poll of 3,000 women - conducted by www.TheBabyWebsite.com - found that after the age of 19, women wept for two hours and 14 minutes a week.” This is no way sound believable to me.

I don’t know why I am not like some women to cry at a sad film or at some unpleasant things that happened in life. Maybe I have unbreakable EQ. Maybe I have suppressed emotion that I don’t know about. Maybe I am too optimistic to care about any imperfections at the moment… I don’t know. But I start worrying… I don’t talk much and I don’t cry… man, I may be a man.

And then, Winter Olympic appears on TV. Seeing the athletics, feeling the tear and pain behind such achievements. All of the sudden I realize, I have been living in a comfort zone for a long time, it was natural not to have tear. Not a good thing, need to push my limits now! …nah, maybe tomorrow.