..be transformed by the renewing of your mind

Some friends who have gone over to Aussie, is able to speak the Aussie slang, but they can switch back to Singlish again. Quite amazing.

The other day, my handphone was in my pocket at work and due to my job nature, some fluid (won’t specify hehe) seeped into my scrubsuit, through the pocket, into my handphone. I didn’t notice it until when I picked it up, the whole LCD screen fogged up and it cannot be switched on. I tried using the hairdryer at my workplace to dry it, and managed to clear the fog, but it came back again in a while’s time. I also tried opening up the parts and drying it. But it didn’t work. I tried to switch it on again and again on my way home, but it is still dead.

So when I reached home, I wanna try something that I’ve read somewhere in a magazine or digest. And it worked! Really amazing.

Very simple.

Take a big mug, put your handphone inside and fill it with dry, uncooked rice grains. Within a few seconds, my handphone immediately revived. Really! The dry uncooked rice is really a good dessicant for many purposes. Try it next time! Of course you can no longer cook that rice that you have used, keep it in a bag for future purposes.

(Well, it’s late and I’m still waiting for my hair to dry. Not that I’m very free. hehehe.)

*Always read about Wal-Mart in US magazines, but I found out that another name for Wal-Mart in Japan is Seiyu. It is the 4th largest utility or commercial employer in the world. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) is an American public corporation that runs a chain of large, discount department stores. It is the world’s largest public corporation by revenue, according to the 2008 Fortune Global 500.^[4] Founded by Sam Walton in 1962, it was incorporated on October 31, 1969, and listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1972. It is the largest private employer in the world and the fourth largest utility or commercial employer, trailing the British National Health Service, and the Indian Railways. Wal-Mart is the largest grocery retailer in the United States, with an estimated 20% of the retail grocery and consumables business, as well as the largest toy seller in the U.S.

I’m quite interested in how Sam Walton started as a humble student into becoming one of the most wealthy men in the world. Praise be to God for that too…

Growing up during the Great Depression, Walton had numerous chores to help make financial ends meet for his family. He milked the family cow, bottled the surplus and drove it to customers. Afterwards, he would deliver newspapers on a paper route. Upon graduating, he was voted “Most Versatile Boy.”

After high school, Walton decided to attend college, hoping to find a better way to help support his family. He attended the University of Missouri and majored in economics and was an ROTC officer. During this time, he worked various odd jobs, including waiting tables in exchange for meals. Also during his time in college, Walton joined the estimable Zeta Phi chapter of Beta Theta Pi fraternity. He was also tapped by QEBH, the well-known secret society on campus honoring the top senior men. Upon graduating, he was voted “permanent president” of the class. He was also a member of the professional business fraternity Alpha Kappa Psi.

Walton joined JCPenney as a management trainee in Des Moines, Iowa three days after graduating from college. This position earned him $75 a month. He resigned in 1942 in anticipation of being inducted into the military for service in World War II. In the meantime, he worked at a DuPont munitions plant near Tulsa, Oklahoma. There he met his future wife, Helen Robson, in April 1942. She and Sam were married February 14, 1943.

Soon afterwards, Walton joined the military in the U.S. Army Intelligence Corps, supervising security at aircraft plants and prisoner of war camps. In this position he served in the continental United States. He eventually reached the rank of Captain.

[edit] The first stores

In 1945, after leaving the military, Walton decided he wanted to own a department store but would settle for a variety store. With some help from his father-in-law with a loan of $20,000, plus $5000 he had saved from his time in the Army, Walton purchased a Ben Franklin variety store in Newport, Arkansas. The store was a franchise of the Butler Brothers chain.

It was here that Walton pioneered many concepts that would prove to be crucial to his success. Walton made sure the shelves were consistently stocked with a wide range of goods at low prices. His store also stayed open later than most other stores, especially during the Christmas season. He also pioneered the practice of discount merchandising by buying wholesale goods from the lowest priced supplier. This allowed him to pass on savings to his customers, which drove up his sales volume. Higher volumes allowed him to negotiate even lower purchase prices with the wholesaler on subsequent purchases. Walton’s store led in sales and profits in the Butler Brothers’ six-state region. One factor that made this store successful was its central location, making it accessible to a wide range of customers. In an attempt to limit the expansion of his main competitor, the Sterling Store, Walton leased a nearby Kroger store and opened it in 1950 as the “Eagle” department store, but it didn’t fare as well.

Due to the variety store’s enormous success, the landlord, P. K. Holmes, refused to renew the lease when it expired, desiring to pass the store onto his son. The lack of a renewal option, together with the outrageous rent of 5% of sales, were early business lessons to Walton. Despite forcing Walton out, Holmes bought the store’s inventory and fixtures for $50,000, which Walton called “a fair price.”

What am I doing here in Singapore. Wished I could help them practically.

China. 12000 dead… and counting…

Myanmar. 100000 dead…and counting..

The day is nearing.

Keep them in prayer…..

Zhifang emailed me telling me she’s going over to help the area, and that the tremors are non-stop over there. She says the possibility of the high hill collapsing onto the city is very great. She’ll be going over for 1-2 months. Worried for her safety. Hope I’ll get to hear from her again.

Below is a poem from one of my sis’ friends, James. Find it easy to relate to..

———————————————————————-

Psalm 139:

13 For you created my inmost being;
       you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
       your works are wonderful,
       I know that full well.

 15 My frame was not hidden from you
       when I was made in the secret place.
       When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

 16 your eyes saw my unformed body.
       All the days ordained for me
       were written in your book
       before one of them came to be.

 17 How precious to ^[b] me are your thoughts, O God!
       How vast is the sum of them!

 18 Were I to count them,
       they would outnumber the grains of sand.
       When I awake,
       I am still with you.