Posted on by crystal · 11 Comments

Luck vs presentation: Celebrating Pointblank

I like nice people. I know the world isn’t full of them, and they mostly have no place in business, but I like nice people. Be nice to me and I’ll probably buy your product, even if it’s slightly sucky. Lie to me, and your business is history as far as I’m concerned. And last week, I put this into practice in a very curious way.

I was looking for Bouncy Castles, so I Googled ‘Bouncy Castles in Nairobi’ and ended up on this page. I skimmed and realised the prices were basically the same, so I looked for other methods to sift the wheat from the chaff. My first concern was contacts. They all listed phone numbers … and hotmail/yahoo addresses. Not good. I next checked for websites. Nada. I looked for anything else that would catch my attention – a pretty name, descriptive info, a dancing turkey, anything to give me a sign. Nothing doing. So I dialled the first number on the list. I figured if I didn’t like it, I’d inky-pinky-pon-key, or maybe just call them all.

The phone rung like ten times before it was answered, and I came that close to hanging up. When the guy finally picked up, he was professional and courteous. I asked lots of questions and he answered every one. I was going to ask where his office was, to see whether I could get a closer provider, but then he offered me a discount, which pretty much sealed the deal. I really like this guy.

The lesson here is that people will tryout the first service they see, so you need to be visible. If you’re on any list, you should be at the top. When your client drives by, make your pitch so good that they don’t want second opinions.

I needed an artist too, and after a bunch of great coincidences, I got two names. I thought I’d call them both, but instincts said to try the second name first, so I did. He answered his phone promptly and was very well-spoken. I like that. He took all of my questions, answered them immediately, and set up a meeting, though we ended up doing the whole thing online. He even gave me his plan of action and the project started right away. I gave him a deposit through Mpesa and he got to work. Everything was sorted in minutes, and I knew I was getting my money’s worth. I was quite happy with this guy. He has a nice voice, and some Google sleuthing suggests he works in radio …

A few hours later, I figured I should still call the other guy, just in case. I called and explained my project, and he suggested we talk it over on email, which was fine, except I felt a little brushed off. I was glad I’d called the other guy first. Still, I played it to the end, sent an email with my brief and everything. A few hours later, he replied, giving me the first guy’s number. Hurray for intuition!

The results of are phenomenal. He worked fast, he worked well, and I would gladly do a cartwheel for him. Please note that I don’t generally do cartwheels. The project was to build me a Manga character, and as you can see, the resemblance is uncanny. He did this piece too, and it’s truly my favourite.

Ladies and gentlemen, credit where credit is due. If you need animation done, Pointblank is the guy to call. I don’t think he has  a website … [or does he? I didn’t ask] but I can give you his details if you need them. For now, bow at his awesomeness and check him out on Facebook and Twitter. And yes, my hair really is purple – but only in sunlight.

Posted on by crystal · 138 Comments

Random Friday

I had a mild headache last night, and it developed into a migraine at some point. Coupled with disturbing nightmares, the pain made it hard for me to sleep. I tried massaging for a bit, but it only relieved the pain slightly.

Since I’m a believer of The Secret, I know I drew the pain with stress. The premise of The Secret is to stay happy. Keep yourself positive and good things will be drawn to you. It seems pretty easy, and who wouldn’t want to be happy? But it’s hard for me. I’m wired for depression. Give me any scenario and I’ll find you a sad ending. I’m an expert at finding every silver lining’s cloud.

It’s not something I enjoy. It’s not even something I’m proud of. But each time I have a daydream, someone gets killed. I could start out riding the banana boat and eating cotton candy, but at some point in my reverie, somebody will die. It’s going to take a lot of will power to overcome that, and on some days, it’s harder to put in the effort.

I have some issues I’m dealing with, and I have three more deadlines to live up to, but these three at least are workable. Meanwhile, I’ve done some email and some tweeting, so here are some random thoughts for Friday.

Last Monday morning was set aside for a breast exam. I chickened out last minute because I don’t want some stranger working my tatas. I know that it’s important and it’s free, but it still feels quite invasive. I’m seeing a client near The Women’s Hospital next Monday, so maybe I’ll man up and get it done. Maybe. Hopefully, it’ll be done by machine.

I was listening to Eminem all yesterday. I liked a lot of his stuff, but by the 5th hour, I was deleting most of the tracks. I only kept half the Marshall Mathers LP, and only one track survived in Off The Wall. It’s the song where he sings ‘Drugs are baaaad’ with an awesome hillbilly accent. Love it. Re-up was mostly skipped over, though I’ll listen to it again, just to be sure. I suspect the music didn’t change, but my mood sure did.

I think there’s depth to Eminem. He talks a lot of trash, and sometimes sounds quite violent. I don’t know how much of his persona is real, of whether it’s all for publicity. But he’s a father of three – two adopted – and he married the same woman twice.

I’ve no idea if that was love, pity, or media, but I think is says a lot when you marry the mother of your baby twice, especially when you know she’s messed up. I think it shows family values, which is an odd trait in a person who regularly slams Kim and his mum. I think there’s a lot more to Slim Shady than we’re willing to see.

I met some interesting people last week – a guy and a girl. I talk a lot one-on-one, but usually, when I meet a group of strangers, I operate in silent mode. I sit back and observe – unconsciously – and it takes me a while to realize that I’m not talking. But this time I was pretty loud. I’m not sure why. Possibly a sugar high.

By the end of the lunch time meeting, both strangers were giving me odd looks. They were both pretty good looking, and I don’t think I said anything weird. I’d love to get into their heads and see what they were thinking, but for now, I’ll just assume it was the purple hair.

A few days ago, I wanted some illustrations done. I was referred to one guy, who referred me to a second guy, and then a third. In the end, I had two phone numbers. Intuition made me dial the second number first, and the guy was good. We agreed on terms and he soon got to work. Later, I called the other guy, just to see what was up. He wasn’t as cool as the first guy, and after I mailed him the brief, he referred me to the guy I’d already chosen. Hurray for intuition!

On a whim, I decided to get a bouncy castle. I Googled ‘Bouncy castles in Nairobi’ and got a comprehensive list, complete with emails, websites, prices, and phone numbers. I called the first number on the list and got a discount. I.Heart.Google.

My conclusion is that The Secret is working for me. I was worried about attracting money, but I’m drawing a lot of it indirectly by getting great deals and discounts, all by listening to the voices in my head. I’m also hearing about a lot of good gigs. So far, none of them is stuff I want to do, but the fact that I hear about them tells me I’m on the right frequency. So, thank you Mr Universe. You rock.

♫ Amityville ♫ Eminem ♫

Posted on by crystal · 6 Comments

My journey through The Secret

I got into The Secret about a year ago. I had just read Conversations with God by Neale Donald Walsch, and was toying with the idea of chakras, accupressure, and yoga. I even started the root chakra humming meditation thing, but I kept daydreaming , and I’m too unfit for lotus.

[Accupressure is just like accupuncture, except you use pencil erasers instead of needles.]

I was discussing it with a pal who said:

‘I’ll tell you something, but only if you promise to shut up .’ I didn’t really understand what he meant.

[Turns out he finds The Secret blasphemous, and went nearly senile when I wouldn’t stop talking about it. So much for following instructions.]

I spent a whole morning looking for the PDF online, and even sent a friend to get one from the local bookstore. It cost Tsh 25,000, but I paid it gladly. I then sat down and read it cover to cover.

At the time, I was into curly hair, green eyes, and soul mates, so I made that my first project. Two weeks later, I had a date. I took this boy out for soda and Morocco burgers. He had curly hair and beautiful green eyes, and he completely confused me for about two weeks.

I’d known the guy online for a while, but the pictures didn’t clearly show eye colour, and he always wore a baseball cap so I couldn’t see the hair. It was so cool to see The Secret in action.

Green Eyes wasn’t the right guy for me, but he still felt awesome to manifest. And a few weeks after that, I hooked up with the love of my life. I had known him and adored him for years, but we cloaked it as friendship, and I’m glad we finally took ourselves out of the closet. He makes me so happy that I cry sometimes, and every time I think of him, I smile.

I made a Gratitude list last November, as part of my Secret Journey. The book says to start a sentence with:

‘I am so happy and grateful now that…’

You complete the sentence with all the things you desire – dream car, dream house, soul mate, everything. Then you believe you have received the items on your list, imagine yourself having them, visualize yourself enjoying them.

Some weeks back, there was a guy at Maendeleo House selling ‘Free’ Audio bibles with the purchase of any DVD, so I bought The Secret. I watched it three times, then wrote a new Secret list. It has 5 items.

I dug out my old notebooks to see my original Gratitude list. That one had 15 items. As I read through the list, I noticed that the Top 5 had come true! Sweet!!

In the past few weeks, I’ve been thinking of getting a good watch. I’ve been operating on 100 bob timepieces that die after a month, so I wanted something to last a little longer. Last week my mum sent me a package that had two watches – one for me, and one for princess. Yay!

We switched. I gave her the pricey digital one and kept the cheap clockface with an shiny ornamental strap, because I’ve also been shopping for charm bracelets. When I went to a watch shop to get  battery, they all commented on how unusual my watch was. Apparently, it’s not as cheap as I thought. Double yay!!

I’ve also been thinking of getting a nice set of headphones like the DR brothers. Yesterday, my little brother brought me that exact pair! Granted it’s made in China and is clearly a knock-off, but it looks just like iCon’s! Baby brother wondered why I wouldn’t stop squealing.

I recently upgraded my dream car to a Burgundy X6, and I have a very clear idea about my dream house. It’s a 25th floor penthouse with attic-style roofing, a master suite jacuzzi, and a heated pool. As far as I know, they don’t make such buildings in Nairobi, but I Secreted it none the less. Yesterday afternoon, a link on twitter led me to this.

Can you say  yay?! It isn’t quite my dream home, but it’s a good start, and I totally did my spazzy dance. You know, the weird one from The Ugly Truth?

I still have five items on my list, and big dreams to fulfill. But I’m not afraid, because I know love and The Secret will get me there.

PS: Rhonda Byrne has a new book out called The Power. I’ve tried reading it, but it’s a harder to get through than The Secret. It’s a lot prettier though.

PS2: The Secret is actually a conc-sounding name for The Law of Attraction, which is a roundabout way of harvesting kharma. It’s difficult to accept, but it works, and I’m happy, so yay!

♫ Hot ♫ Avril Lavigne ♫