3 degrees n, 101 degrees e: July 2005

Great News to Share!

I just wanted to share some great news with everyone...

Last Tuesday, I was promoted to Business Development Manager! I'll be in charge of creating the company's Grassroots Marketing Strategies for one of our sites that I've helped to optimize since I've started working for MindValley.

I'm so excited about my new opportunity because it focuses on growth for the company as I identify new marketing strategies that go beyond the traditional "4 P's of marketing: Product, Price, Place and Promotion". This also allows me to add even more skills to my resume as I finish up my time here in Malaysia.

The other 'great' news is that we just received our best review of our latest product. BlinkList Beta - a knowledge management tool. Think of it as a bookmarking manager for all the internet sites that are important to you.

Here's an Extract from the Review:

"The MindValley folks are clearly on the verge of something big with BlinkList. To be fair, it’s still in an early beta stage and will require some tweaks. Moreover, at this point, all of the social interchange is asynchronous. And while they are more than aware of the fight ahead of them, their infectious enthusiasm (in conjunction with their terrific product) is sure to propel them to the front of the pack. By now it should be clear that BlinkList is so feature rich (the “scary” part is that they’re just getting warmed up!), and full of possibilities they can’t all be discussed in one post...

...MindValley has created an impressive product with so many applications that learning communities--from grade school to corporate training—will be looking for ways to integrate BlinkList into their curriculum...

..For the last several months there’s been a lot of buzz about a renaissance on the web. And with the arrival of BlinkList, the optimistic, passionate team over at MindValley seems to be shouting, “Enough talk, let’s get this party started!” Game on."

~ Derek Baird of blendededu.com

Our team will continue to come up with innovative ways to create web applications. BlinkList is just the beginning.

~ Jill Adelle

Click Here for the Full Review on BlinkList.

In response to your AIM away msg

"12 hrs away, let it be known the sun never sets on our love, my
throne waits 4 no 1 but u, the world has spun 4 many centuries just 2
stop for a love so elementary, it is everything I dreamt it 2 be, I
changed like j legend and snoop d o double g..eternity waits to take
off with the union of u and me...lovers rock baby ji."

-Sharath, via Hip Hop

--------
Dear Sharath,

You are my lyrical poet of a lifetime and You always keep me smiling.

*kisses*
Jill

p.s. - see Lovers Rock

Why?

You know how people say, "Bad things happen to good people"?

Well, I'm wondering this at this very moment...

...and for the first time since I've been here, I feel like I really, really need to be Home.

That's all I have to say, and that's all I will say...

Bali, Indonesia

The trip to Bali was our favorite part of our 2-week vacation.

The company I work for, MindValley, paid for the hotel and flight for 3 nights. We were still on a strict budget, but it's amazing how far USD can go in Indonesia.

Bali's economy is driven by tourism. The number of tourists traveling there rapidly declined after the 2002 terrorist bombing. Many families had to shut down their small businesses and only this past year has the number of tourists started to come back.

One word to describe everything about Bali is 'Amazing'.

The island doesn't have street lights, stop signs, or lines on the road. Small villages are everywhere. Balinese people are so friendly, beautiful, and hardworking. They live very simple, yet happy lives.

Sharath and I can talk on an on about our trip here, but let the pictures speak for us and tell the story of our amazing experience in Bali.

Some Common Sights in Bali

*Women balancing a large bucket of spring water on their head for long distances to have clean water to drink at home

*One, two, sometimes three young children riding on motorbikes with their parents. . .NEVER wearing a helmet

*Daily offerings called 'Canag' are placed everywhere in front of hotels, homes, shrines/temples, stores. . .practically every business!

These offerings contain flowers, fruit, rice and incense placed in a tray made from banana leaves, held together with splinters of bamboo.

The flowers are white for the god Visnu and pink or red to represent the god Brahma.

The offerings for the gods are always in elevated positions whereas the one made for demons are on the ground. The idea is that the gods will come down to enjoy the essence that was meant for them and demons will keep away.

The person performing the offering lays the offering down, sprinkles a few drops of holy water and gracefully offers a prayer, eyes closed with one hand slowly fanning the smoke left, right and upwards.

Because these offerings were everywhere, the whole island smelled like incense.

Our Favorite Bali Pictures

We have over 400 pictures of Bali, here are some of our favorites. . .

Balinese women hand-make Batik clothing as beautiful as they are.

A Balinese woman teaches me the process of making a Batik print

Balinese artwork is breathtaking

This Balinese boy works for about $25 USD a month selling hand-made Silver jewery. I spent about $41USD there...

Hand-made Woodwork

Attention to detail

A Minor Detail

On Sharath's last day in KL, I took him to KL Sentral to catch the KLIA Ekspres train back to the airport. His flight to LA was at 8:30 am, and it was 6am when I hugged and kissed him goodbye. *sniff,sniff*

I got on the train headed back home. . .alone.

I started to get ready for work when my phone rang at 8:33am.

It was Sharath!

I was sure he boarded the plane and was about to tell me that it was ready to take off. . .instead he said, "Emergency. I checked in, went through customs, and was about to board the plane, when the flight attendant asked for my paper ticket. The problem is that my paper ticket is back there. . ."

To make a long story short, Sharath and I fly frequently within the US and we're so used to e-tickets. He already had a boarding pass and his name was in the database, but Singapore airlines would not let him board without the paper ticket.

We met again in KL Sentral and spent a few more hours together at the KLCC park. It was the best 70Ringgit gift ever.