This is probably one of the most dreaded issues for young couples – the lost of an energetic life and the passion they have for each other that fades after the reality show begins. Which is why we have a modern saying that goes like this “????????”, meaning the grave is where the love shall lead to after marriage. That shouldn’t be the case at all!

Revolutionary Road is actually a very insightful and thoughtful film for every married/about-to-marry couples. Of course, we might have more things to worry about after married, the bread, the kids, the financial status…But, bear in mind, marriage/family should be the first thing you worry about, as if the foundation collapses, I doubt that anything else would seem mattered anymore. Marriage doesn’t have to be dull and lifeless, the fact that it needs the collaboration of 2 people to work things out. Easier said than done? It is.

Here’s a little reminder from Revolutionary Road:

- Be and stay as the person whom your spouse fell in love with,

(who knows?)

Difficult? How about just take him/her to somewhere you used to date/hang out; grab an ice cream cone together and take a walk at the park; Or a romantic walk at the beach.

What’s your secret of keeping the marriage alive?

Copyright © 2009 by Wong Ching Ya, All Rights Reserved, “Revolutionary Road of Marriage“

I can’t deny for the past 2 days I was in a roller coaster ride. Fortunately, it took less than 2 days for my new domain to be ready. Yay! Welcome to WWW.WCHINGYA.COM !

 That’s how I like to spend my 1st day of lunar new year, by giving my blog a new domain. Despite feeling fresh and excited, there are still some minor setbacks I need to deal with:

• Changing my domain name in various blog directories & social medias. — TONS of work!
•  The drop of my current page ranking & Technorati authority. — that hurts the most!

Oh well, It’s Now Or Never!

 Time to get over the past and work harder for the present – more diligence & patience so my little blog could stand the test of time and a better status in blogosphere. Of course, not forgetting why I started it in the first place — Doing What I Love, while pleasing the readers with informative and quality contents.

Hopefully you guys won’t get put off by some minor hiccups these few days. Hang in there. Don’t bale on me just yet.

How about A Little Welcoming-gift?

1. A Geek’s Guide To Promoting Yourself & Your Online Business In Twitter

 2. Viral Traffic Generation – 21 Ways to Flood Your Site in Traffic

To the newly signed-up feedburner readers, you’ll be getting 2x useful ebooks covering two hottest topics in blogosphere nowadays while confirming yourself to follow my blog updates along the way. No, I’m not the author, but I learnt some nice tips about Twitter & Traffic from these ebooks, hopefully you’ll get something out of it as well:

How Can I Claim It??

See that ‘Feed Via Email’ button at the sidebar? Simply click it and type your email address in the feedburner form; a confirmation email will be sent to you. The download links will be enclosed, don’t forget to activate your subscription as well in the same email. 

Thanks so much for your support all these whiles. Happy Blogging !

Copyright © 2009 by Wong Ching Ya, All Rights Reserved, “Welcoming Gift for New Subscribers!“

But if I wish to send him/her:

2. Public message – start with: @username + message

Example: @ching ya Hi, wish you a great day ahead!

3. Private message – start with: d username + message

Example: d ching ya Thanks for the add.

(only I can see it)

To me, these 3 are the most crucial ones . Other functions you can refer under the topic of Fun Stuff: friends, favorites, and stats!

A Twitter application, maybe?

Sure, lots of them here.

I’ll be trying out Twhirl perhaps, as for now, still downloading Adobe AIR for this application to work.

**UPDATES: Yes, and Twhirl worked fine to me. Easy to control and manageable. Just like any messengers.**

Today I found out…

1. A friend refers me to Twitter alert that allows you to follow close on particular subjects in Twitter world. Comes in handy if you wish to know what others had been discussing about you (& your products) in public without you knowing it! Same concept as Google Alert, I suppose.

A Lil’ Advice??

-Go slow and check out the member’s public discussions/sites before following, if you’re serious about finding those who are in the same niche as you;

-Love surprises? Interested in all subjects? Wanna get noticed by the public, fast? That’s the joy of following people randomly. However it could go a little messy sometimes. Why not take a browse at CrowdStatus to categorize your new friends.

- Don’t spam. It’s good to ‘share’ but never spam. I hate spammers, and only into sincere friendships. I like to visit the sites of my followers or those I followed, which I think it’s the best way to know a person’s activity better.

There’s Always a ‘BUT’!!
Apart from Spams, the twitter updates are flooding all over my mailbox! I really need to make some configurations before I go ‘aarrrgghhh…!’

So, You Twit? I’m at

http://twitter.com/wchingya

Enlighten me with your Twitting experience, perhaps?

(if you wish to find out how your Twitter Effect is, Click here)
Copyright © 2009 by Wong Ching Ya, All Rights Reserved, “To Me, Twitter is… “

The Venue: Gangchon Ski Resort, Gangwon-do. (???)
Date: 25, December 2008

70% of our tour members, great people, very outgoing!

Obviously, I was, still am, crazy about skiing. Totally a rookie, and fell down quite several times on the fluffy snow. NO complaints!! Since it’s a dream come true!

Korea has numerous skiing resorts, and Gangchon Ski Resort is one of them that situated quite near to Seoul. We went for skiing on the Christmas Day! Yay! One of the best present ever!

About 60% of the group joined in the skiing experience and we spent almost 5 hours there. The eldest couple in our group who almost/in their 60’s, was unexpectedly sporting. Although they didn’t ski, but they kept urging us to try out different slopes around, while helping us to take several snapshots. In fact, they claimed if they were younger, they would definitely try whatever things they had their hands on. I love their spirit! Thanks Jane, you guys are awesome.

Us, Michelle & her mom

If you’re a ski enthusiast, big possibility you’re going to enjoy gliding down from the long slopes, not only for the speed, but for a wide view of the natural scenery there as well. I didn’t get to climb too high up, but enjoyed the lower, long slope 100%! Just beware not to run into anybody else, especially little kids! Although the tour guide did mischievously advice,

“Saw any cute girl/guy? Just went for it, and hug her/him!” Well, maybe just the beginner slopes. Ha…

You bet there’s gonna be a next time!

Copyright © 2009 by Wong Ching Ya, All Rights Reserved, “KOREA TOUR (2): Gangchon Ski Resort“.

– All KOR trip slideshows were removed after WP migration –

It’s a whole new season for American Idol ! Somebody is going to have his/her singing career all marked up again. Personally, I’m pleased with the emerge of artists such as David Cook & Daughtry. Hoping more artists will have their dreams realized as the show goes on.

So, how serious you are about singing?

A leisure thing? Or you never touch the microphone on the karaoke stand, ever? Feeling shy? Or it’s just not your thing?

I like to sing, but I don’t sing well. So NO WAY for me to sing in front of the public, except behind closed doors. Nope, no hubby allowed either.

So, the other day when someone mentioned to me about ‘Songsmith‘, I decided to give it a go. It looks easy enough, no sophisticated gadgets needed, just your voice, PC/laptop, and your PC microphone.

So, how does Songsmith work?

It will generate music that matches your voice as you sing along. Get your self-wrote lyrics prepared, simply pick a musical style, click the ‘record’ button and sing to your PC microphone (even mic on webcam should do the trick). Later, it will automatically have the background music created for you. You can customize your song afterwards, by changing chords, type of instruments used or music arrangements. Make it original, it’s YOUR very own recording studio!

Is it for the Pro Only??

Nope. It’s for everyone, whether or not you’re a musician, you can easily play along with it, as all the edits are in sliding, choosing format. You’ll know what I mean when you go through the tutorial videos.

Just me? What If I want to share it with the WORLD?

Definitely. Your recordings could be saved in WMV, WAV, MIDI format. Posting them to any social network websites will be a piece of cake. Not getting the file format you want? File converter programs come in variety over the net. No worries.

Plus, it could be exported directly to your MovieMaker. Create your self-titled MTV? No problemo!

Is it Free??

Sadly, it’s not. However, it does give you a 6 hours trial period, counting from the point you start using Songsmith, and the timer will stop as you minimize or stop using it. Therefore, don’t’ leave it open un-attended; try to create as many pieces you can while it’s still valid.

Of course, it is said that features such as additional instruments are obtainable if you purchase the software. Depends on how serious you’re gonna get with Songsmith.

My tip is, try to explore the tutorial videos at Help & How-to first before using it. Time is ticking for the trial version, you know. Don’t waste it. Have fun! Perhaps share with us your materpiece when you’re done?^^

Copyright © 2009 by Wong Ching Ya, All Rights Reserved, “Songsmith: The Sing-A-Long! “.

Main attraction: ~ Metasequoia path; beautiful landscape, breathtaking mountain views & pine trees.

The ferry ride took us about 5 minutes before we reached the anticipated Nami island. Although I’m not a big fan of the show, but I’ve always wanted to see that Metasequoia path with my own eyes! And there it is, right in front.. or, behind me. ^^ Beautiful!

You know what? It reminds me much of Langkawi Legend Park, Malaysia. Check this out, what are the odds?

Alright, back to South Korea, shall we?

We enjoyed the view while strolling down the romantic path, and there are wooden picnic tables with benches along the way. It is a long redwood-lined road, also known as Metasequoia. It was Christmas Eve, families & couples were there, enjoying the peaceful atmosphere, with beautiful melody (music) in the air. It’s not really a big island, but we didn’t get to finish visiting every corner of it. We were just too excited playing with the snow mostly, and throwing snow balls at each other. hihi..

Along the path, there are other attractions as well:

Bicycle Rental ~ for people to cycle around, and playing with the scooters along the way, if you’re tired of walking that is. Did I mention it’s a LONG walk?

International Children’s Book Exhibition (and culture) ~ it’s a yearly function, so I heard. We were lucky enough to have a glimpse of it, and some beautiful snapshots of Nami Island were displayed, in different seasons.

Unicef Hall (Exhibitions) ~ using adorable, soft toy bears to depict Korean culture, while conveying the UNICEF message to the public/tourists.

Then we got all excited when it started to snow!! Even just a little bit, but the feeling was invigorating!!

At night, we went to a famous shopping street in Chuncheon (????), also appears as one of the filming site for Winter Sonata.

Just so you know, before the drama-shooting, this place was not even close of being a popular tourist spot. Guess the entertainment business paid off! Now, it’s a must-go for the fans of Winter Sonata. Even if you’re not, like me, you would still be amazed with what it has to offer.

See you in Korea Tour (2)! ^^

Copyright © 2009 by Wong Ching Ya, All Rights Reserved, “KOREA TOUR (1): Naminara Island/ Namiseom Island (???)“.

– All KOR trip slideshows were removed after WP migration –

Kam Heong Chicken Rice – Hot & Spicy

Black Pepper Chicken Rice

Singapore Fried Bee Hoon (Seafood)

Mee Goreng (Fried Mee) Seafood

Oh, not this one! Its price is reasonable, one of my favourite lunch choices! ????? (mi zhi fei mao tui) – a type of chicken rice as well. (Not that I adore chicken rice that much, it was merely coincidence)

A little close up, maybe?

the supreme Lamp Chop

I didn’t order this. Just for the record.

Copyright © 2009 by Wong Ching Ya, All Rights Reserved, “Something Savoury?“.

Ever since I started working, and have a life of my own, I don’t really bother about the word ‘resolutions’, except when my (LCD) screen display looks funny with strange colors/layouts, then I probably need to get its ‘resolution’ fixed immediately. Part of the reasons is maybe due to the ever-increasingly ‘I Hope I Can… … in the new year ‘, and the failings of achieving them made me even more miserable in the end. So, I’m getting the same old question for next consecutive years until, God knows when. Face it, it’s no kid’s play anymore. Perhaps I’m just taking it too seriously, but aren’t we supposed to? So, I figured what’s best for me, is to set an ultimate goal(s) for myself, and I will have a progressing check on it in certain time frames, and set a new challenge/target for it accordingly. I like to be encouraged by its on-going, progressive results, and then decide how shall I go about from there to have better chance of nailing it in the end. So, basically it’s all about the WordPlay, and I chose to have the word ‘Goal(s)’ of life, instead of ‘New Year Resolutions’. And as far as I know now, I’m happy for the way it is.

Copyright © 2009 by Wong Ching Ya, All Rights Reserved, “New Year Resolutions?“.