Premarital Intimacy

Prologue

I miss writing English. These days I don't write anything as practicing, except chatting. So this morning, feeling very good after a hard time doing gym, having a quick breakfast and enjoying myself with music and coffee, I spend time writing some fun because to me writing is really fun! I was back to the old apartment I used to live several months ago, start life over now.

Well, Pre-marital Intimacy, it is the hottest, most sensitive topic debated throughout the world and in Vietnam, in specific speaking, those recent decades. Actually, it is such obsolescent topic already when applying into Western countries---people get used to it---but in Vietnam, a typically feudal society, still a big deal. Daily, the most attention-catching news published is something indicates to sex, just next to religion and world economy respectively. Lately, Vietnamese society expresses its special concern into pre-martial intimacy as the prevailing life-style of such bunches of people, most of those are young. In contrary to western countries, Vietnamese people take this issue serious as more a bad side than a good side. Is it really?

I divide the so-called "Pre-marital Intimacy" into two different issues: Pre-marital Sex and Pre-marital Cohabitation, due to different specific aspects of each. I want to write my own viewpoint about this topic so long time ago, but until today I squeeze out to write something, as I feel myself experienced enough. Still, in the usual conservations among close friends, we often share the viewpoints toward things, so that this entry is in reply to some of my close friends' question for such topic.

Pre-marital Sex

According to some statistics and surveys, we learn that the average age of Vietnamese people start having sex has rejuvenated significantly for at least two recent decades, as early as 15 or 16 years old. Some isolated cases, it could be even younger. It means that an amount of teenagers in secondary school have sex already, just exactly the same period of time compared to western teenagers. For example, in USA or England or France, most of people have sex at the age of 14, quite early. Now, Vietnam seems to follow the world trend quickly. Granted, if people in Europe, American, African or elsewhere except Asian, feel this trend naturally---Vietnamese people and of course some other typical Asian countries like China feel this trend ugly. In the extent of this writing, I just aim to analyse Vietnam case, no other countries, where I have a full clue about.

As I say, Vietnam is still a deeply feudal country even she has been modernized nowadays, but her culture core is still ingrained by feudalism. And under an archetypal feudal regime, early sex is always considered forbidden, or a serious taboo people (should) obey. Many people, most of those are old, keep saying that in the past, our previous generations never had sex before marriage. Gosh, I feel myself this saying mere a shameful lie! Many oldies blame the present generation for having sex too early but I believe that trend happened in all time, not just today. The thing is just today, communication facilities publish more and more news about this, from the past they didn't. Hence, people misconceive all the time that previous generations lived the pure moral life. I don't think so. People always do the pre-marital sex regardless of age!

Anyway, I concede that it seems the number of people have pre-marital sex is now increasing today. But I must say it is normal, and natural. As long as it isn't too early, it is acceptable. When too early? Vietnamese law stipulates that having sex with people under age of 18 is illegal. So, at least be sure that you don't break the law, then it's okay. When I say it's okay, it does mean that just okay with law, not the morality or society's prejudice or else. Personally, I support that law. There must be reason why people rule it. People under 18-year-old still do not grow up enough to be ready for sex; both the physical and spiritual aspects---science proves it. But until people grow up enough, still they are under strict society's prejudices which disallow them to have sex freely. Now, the problem stems from...

Society's prejudices

Vietnamese people generally stick their unwilling attitudes toward pre-marital sex. As Vietnamese culture, sex MUST happen only after marriage. It is the code of morality which unreasonably people obey. Children are educated not to have sex early, especially girls are warned not to lose their chastity before getting married. Pre-marital sex is always considered unprecedented, but ridiculously it is truthfully precedented!

The second prejudice is that Vietnamese girls are immured by that strict curfew so that many of them unworthily end up ruining their lives for having lost chastity. They fear that their future husbands will not accept and forgive them for that. Well, most of Vietnamese men wish to be the first one to possess a girl's maiden---I mean, deflower her, sorry to say---but we (men) can easily dump a girl after having sex (deflowering) with her. It is about men's egoism. Most of men wish to have as many girls as possible to play them, but of course we cannot get married with all, so those girls become miserable. Paradoxically, men wish their wives to be virgin still they marry them, but before marrying them, they have done many other girls. Is it fair to girls? Of course it isn't.

Two big above prejudices lead to other matters in relation with pre-martial sex, such as unintended born children or the alarming increase of abortion, or STDs (Sexually Transmitted Diseases). I will say about this later on this entry. Before coming deeply into those above problems, it is necessary to define the pure meaning of sex.

What is Sex?

Sex is a human instinct, a natural need just like eat or drink. Essentially, there is nothing bad about sex because it is meant to be a method of preserving lineage, but people make it bad themselves. By the civilization of the world over time, sex has been transformed into a sort of art. Methinks, sex is the cream of two lovers' emotion. It is the highest image of unity of two people who fall in love with each other. When the aspiration reaches its climax, people have sex to release their message that they want to melt into each other, like the story of Twin Flames. Sex is one of milestones of a person's life. All I want to imply is that Sex should only be made once you really love the other one. Sex goes with Love, a true Love, not the amourette or transient affection.

Besides, there are people who view sex as a game, I mean wild sex---one night stand or else---I don't support this idea. As I think, sex without love is plain a game, nothing more. Easy come, easy go. After the game over, what else you can feel? Not so much, yeah?

Of course those open-minded, self-abandoned people feel sex easy. Grab someone, and do them. That's wild sex. What they are doing is exactly like coming back to the stone age, when people just considered sex as basic instinct and a method of preserving lineage, not as enjoying an art. I don't blame these people, at least they know how to live freely, better than feudal people who jail themselves into unreasonably prejudice---hypocrite, I mean. So yeah, feudalism is just hypocritical!

Wild sex is another story, perhaps can be talked in other time. Remember, there is no right or wrong about sex, just the right or wrong person. And, each culture, each country has itself a standard on criticizing sex. I don't support the idea of wild sex doesn't mean I find it bad.

Resist prejudices?

That personal definition of sex is used to resist against the society's prejudice that sex shouldn't be made before marriage, of course when people are over 18 years old. Many couples now have sex before marriage, once they are mature and are responsible enough for what they have done, sex is no longer a taboo. If they love each other and be willing to share the highest affection, aka sex, then just do it. It is them to decide, not the society. Furthermore, imagine that if we all follow the rule of having sex after marriage, is it really possible?

It is real that people get married later and later, at the age from 27 and older, compared to the early age ranges from 14 to 25 from the past. So, since sex is a basic instinct, do you think a person can wait all the way long to have sex? I don't think so! Adolescents are ones who love sex the most! And at that time, their needs for sex are more intensive than ever, how can they wait? Again, science proves that a lack of sex in casual life leads to bad effects on people's health. People lose balance, they cannot do anything, just like they are starving if they don't have anything to eat. So that, sex is to help people get balance! For the advantages of sex, I suppose I don't need to write more, yeah?

However, people should keep in mind that once they have love-based sex with someone, at least they should have certain responsibilities on sex partners later on. Men dump women after having sex even men feel good with them. Men dump women just because they want other targets, all about the men's egoism and unsatisfactoriness. Thus, if you feel even after having sex couldn't you two be together, just try to treat each other good. A cold dump hurts your sex partner much. Be mature, be responsible is all you should be before considering sex.

Still, Vietnamese men should be more open-minded about women. Men have the rights to have sex---deflower---with women, so why bother requesting your wife to be still virgin? Men make the exploitation of women, and it is just unfair. As far as I know, many young Vietnamese girls commit suicide just for the thought that they won't find a forgiving husband to accept their losses. Hey men, we are all human being, not the tyrants vs. servants so that feminism should be appreciated. Men have the rights to have sex. So have women. Women have their own emotion like us, so they just react as their emotion tells. It is better if our society takes it easy and frees women from that ingrained prejudice. For human being's sake.

After all, the misconception stems from the damn stupid feudal regime should be eliminated outrightly as soon as possible. Our country, our society has been under stupid fuckin' feudalism for too long, and now it turns to 21st century already, why don't just kill that out-dated and brutal misconception? C'mon, let people free! Freedom of sex should be appreciated!

However, once thinking objectively there have certain dangers that people should be aware of before the sex freedom is accredited. As far as I know, those western countries---as I mention---don't take early sex serious because people all know about the SAFE sex while most of Vietnamese people do not. For this point, it is what we lack and should fix.

Sex Education

The truth is that we are in shortage of a good sex education.

Sex Education here means not only educate people to have a SAFE sex but a GOOD sex. Safe sex doesn't bring STDs or bad consequences, basically. And Good sex doesn't get people hurt after it is done.

For the Safe Sex, everyone can be cognizant of the shortage of sex education in Vietnamese education system. Pupils ain't educated fully and usefully about sex. Adults, teachers or parents avoid talking about sex to the children with the fear that children will have sex early---or worse, adults think children don't need to know about sex. Hell, it is ridiculous that the neglected attitude of adults does lead the children to have sex early! Once reaching a certain age, children will be curious about the new concept "Sex" and try to figure out what it does really mean. If adults ain't ones who guide them, they will surely discover it themselves and easily end up detouring. Like what? Stuffs like surf porn through the net, or experience a real sex themselves with friends to get to know it. Consequently, with the incomplete knowledge about sex, children even don't have a clue to protect themselves. STDs appear, many young children end up killing themselves because of diseases and pressure.

No wonder why there has increasing rate of abortion now, when children don't even know how to use contraception. Consequently, many unborn babies to be killed, many pupils become parents. After all, it originates for almost society maladies: robbery, murder, divorce, prostitution or else. It is all about the bad education!

For the GOOD sex, as I told already in the part of defining sex, when children cannot find help from adults, they must experience sex themselves to satisfy their curiousness. Many of the young come to compromise to have sex with someone to whom they don't even have a feeling. Of course, sex without love cannot bring something good so that it is likely the young will misconceive about the solemn meaning of sex. Then, once they don't understand the meaning of sex, they end up living the wild life which is full of dissoluteness, orgy, revel, dalliance etc. It is the problem of morality, and probably will originate for, again, society maladies: robbery, murder, divorce, prostitution or else. It is all about the bad education!

Apparently, Vietnamese people ALL know that we are having a bad education, but it stays unchanged for decades! Hell, everyone calls for refreshing education but not so much positive reactions to be made so far. The problem really comes from the government and ones who are responsible for setting up law and education in our country. What are they doing? Busy developing national economy? Oh yeah!

Conclusion

After all, my consistent viewpoint is that pre-martial sex should be accepted rather than be forbidden, or avoided. But once you decide to do the pre-martial sex, be sure you collect these suggested qualifications:

1. Having a full grasp of What is Sex and How to do Sex

What is Sex, I have mentioned.

How to do Sex, sounds ridiculous but it turns out to be important. Sex requires specific skills, not just like to plug the electric wire into adapter, ha ha. Sex is all about inspiring your sex partner, so just make it soft and carefully. Treat your sex partner well, make him/her relax. Notice your sex partner's feeling! Get to know what he/she likes or doesn't like. Don't just pay attention to your own feeling, your own satisfaction. Sex is Art, remember!

Early sex might be bad because since the human body still not fully growing, yet it isn't meant for sex. In fact, Medicine claims that too early sex actions might harm your ungrowing body or badly affect your grow-up. Be careful, young!

2. Safe and Good sex is essential

So yeah, try to self-study about how to have a safe sex. If you don't want to have a baby, or don't want to be injected diseases, let them not happen! All about the survival knowledge!

Moreover, choose your right sex partner, the one you are sure not make you down after that. Now, it comes to another issue: paid sex! You know that paid sex is the oldest profession appears in the world so far. And it works in the law of supply and demand. For more information, I suggest you read this interesting article: 'John schools' try to change attitudes about paid sex.

3. Be responsible and be willing

Many young guys force their girlfriends to have sex with them, with the faked convincingness that sex is the representation of a true love. It appears to make sense, but it's just boys' deceit. All most of boys want is to bang a girl, not have her love them. Hey men, think of the girls! They are vulnerable when you leave them, and I'm sure you can firstly just don't care that. But sooner or later, the hurt you make will obsess you the lifetime! How come you live freely with the image of a miserable girl always crossing your stupid mind? Even the very cold, heartless guy has the moment of confession and repentance, so just be responsible for what you have done. Life is fair, people will repay for what they did. Believe me or not?

And for the girls, be wide-awake! You, girls, are ones who must suffer more from this society's prejudice so that don't even ruin your lives by a wrong decision! Honestly, I feel sorry for girls for our stupid goddamn feudal society. If girls feel that they can't defy this society, so protect themselves beforehand.

After all, a forcing sex doesn't bring the good feeling at all. So, never try to force someone to have sex with you. All you get is just bullshit, not sensualness. Indeed!

4. Willing to confront the consequence

No one can say there will be a completely safe sex, it is something beyond human's abilities. Thus, in case you ain't that lucky after having sex, and some bad effects appear like the break-up of a relationship or the unwanted baby born, just explicitly confront it! It is the responsibility we should appreciate, too. For example, some exterior people could criticize you once they know you have sex before marriage, could you be bearable? Can you be willing to solve every likely problems happen after sex?

If you say yes, why hesitate to have a good time with your beloved? C'mon, just do it!

So yeah! Forget all about the morality, all about what outsiders or society keep telling about it, if you are qualified to have pre-martial intimacy, don't miss it! Appreciate sex, keep it as your mindset, then your sex life is just incredible!

Co-habitation

to be continued...

05:54 pm

01:54 pm

Seinajoki

310809

When to go back?

Alright, that question is always crossing my mind these days. When to go back? Of course, next year I will be home, but when? Which month? Which period of time?

Does it differ if I go back earlier or later just several months? Yes, indeed! The fact that if I can go back now, it's the best, so yeah! There are three options of the returning time for me: 1/next January 2/next June and 3/next September or later.

I have just registered many courses to study for the coming school-year, that can ensure my graduation. The sooner I graduate, the sooner I can go back my home country. But beside study, I have another big reason to procrastinate; finance. I can just go home right after I finish my study, but I won't have anything in hands but the certificate. And it isn't sure that I can grab a good job right away after I am home, like many others. Hell, go home, and still ask my parents for financial support when hanging out with friends. It's just bad, and shameful...

Finland has a very supportive policy for the grads. You still can extend your staying time here after graduation, as long as one year. It means that they don't kick your ass off immediately but give you a chance to keep enjoying the North European great summer. Hellyeah, due to the fact that I can do some chores to earn money here, haply I must lengthen the returning time. The first option, nearly, to be eliminated.

As planned, I wish to chill out at least 6 months in Vietnam before applying into any firms. The Vietnamese market is just strange and insane, so that I need time to get acquainted with it. Many bachelors after years studying aboard have come back and faced the Inverse Culture-Shock in their own country. I have researched many articles through the Internet, and find out that it's true. My major is International Business, and compared to theories I have learnt so far, they seem to be inapplicable into Vietnam case. What makes Vietnam-based business differ from the rest of the world includes many reasons: culture, people, viewpoint, poorness or other bullshit. Even you are quite a very smart Businessman or Marketer, it doesn't always guarantee for your success once operating your business here. Vietnamese market is quite potential and gripping, but just like a trap, too. And, you are a starving rat. If you want to take the suave piece of cheese away safely, you must react consciously or else you are simply trapped. Many foreign famous firms are doing good in other markets but bad in Vietnam because they mechanically apply inappropriate strategies against Vietnamese characteristics. Strange and insane, you know.

Back to the point, 6 months or more is time I plan to self-study about Vietnamese market as well as cultivate my mind with profound knowledge served for my future job. Question here: how can I be survival during that long? The problem turns to the finance matter, aka money. Money is always the big deal. Sigh... I have estimated myself the amount of buck needs to live in Vietnam for one year, and I have earned half of it. In the coming school-year, I just can earn quite little sum of bucks so that in case the school-year ends, in May, I still don't collect enough, I will stay here the whole next summer.

In fact, I think September next year, 2010 is quite the right time to return home. First, I can avoid the tremendous hot summer. Second, I have more time to work and to save money for the perfect returning. However, it would be a regret if I miss the summer time because my best friend suggests me a vacation which I am really eager to take it. Summer is meant for relaxing and traveling, not working! Still, many people are all waiting for me to be back. I just cannot wait to hug them all. All of those make me struggle a lot to decide the time. It doesn't mean I put friendship and family behind money. Money is just shit, but without shit, you cannot even have fun with your kith and kin. That's why...

Anyway, I promise to someone to be back ASAP. And I'm sure to protect that promise.

Kauhava 230809
0815 pm
0415 pm

Preterm weakening?

HP Pavillon HDX9200

I'm in bewilderment now. My laptop significantly weakens recently. I have just bought this machine for more than half a year, and everything is still okay since last month. For several days ago, I notice that when I am playing games as the same time with playing music, surfing webs and chatting etc, it appears to be pretty slow in reaction. The games don't go really smooth, in fact it crashes sometimes, pauses working for a while or the loading time is just lengthening. Strange. I used to do many things simultaneously with this machine, even twiddling Photoshop while playing heavily graphical games or wandering through the Internet, using Window Media, it doesn't matter. Its processing speed is 2.4GHz under Core 2 Duo processor T8300, with 4GB RAM installed and a strong video card, NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS. 3MB level 2 cache. 20" wide bright screen. A monster laptop! The peripherals are strong enough to allow the user to run multiple applications simultenously. But now, hmm, it really matters.

When I play game, surprisingly I notice the screen shakes! I mean, the characters in the games' motions ain't smooth that causes the visual effect as if it is shaking. I just thought that my eyes have problems for having used the computer too long but they are all good actually. Hell, I am worrying that because I used some hard things to touch the screen to clean it, so there might have some "death points" as the consequence. Once the screen has death points, the image cannot be displayed smoothly in the broken areas. C'mon, it is just nightmare to me if what I'm worrying is real. It is the unrepairable error excepts replacing a new one, and you know laptop isn't supposed to be able to change its screen. :(

For the running speed of this machine, now I must stimulate it by software, like SpeedUp My Machine, very often. If I use multiple applications at one, the procrastination appears to be easily noticeable. In theory, this machine is quite strong enough to run all of those, but now it is like defending against me from overdosing it. Am I really overdosing it?

More than enough, it drives my crazy with the consecutive crashes of web browsers. Firefox. Safari. Chrome. Even shitty IE. All these craps suck hard very often while I'm accessing the Internet and sometimes it results in my sudden loss of uncompleted works. Hell, I just ponder whether it's my crazily slow connection's false but logically there should be nothing to blame about the speed of connection that crashes the browsers, right? It should come from the browser itself or the machine, though. Now, it is more confusing to me 'cos I'm sure there shouldn't be no thing wrong for the up-to-dated browsers and I see nobody reports that error to Google, Mozzila or Apple. OMG, after all, my machine seems to be in trouble...

Furthermore, my HP laptop becomes overheating after a short time working now. Even I equipped one two-fan-laptop cooler for cooling down its hotness but it's still quite hot. I google through the Internet and figure out that HP laptops generally often calorify intensely for a long usage. I have no idea, becoming hot is inevitable for any machines, but becoming hotter and hotter should be considered seriously, shouldn't it?

I'm running Vista-fucking-SP1 inside this HP, and I doubt that it might be because I have installed too much stuffs from Window Update function provided by Microsoft, which makes it overload. Microsoft claims that their update patches solve errors in Operating System, but I don't see any positive change in processing at all. Instead, I can feel the prominent slowness it gets. Why the hell I am too stupid to install myriads of stuffs from Microsoft without selecting? Of course I'm not blaming Microsoft for my laptop's weakening, but I think I waste my hard-disk capacity to store their useless updates. And you should agree with me that Vista sucks itself, like many other users respond. Anyway, I am waiting for Window 7...

I plan to use this HP for 3 years, but it just goes one-sixth of the planned life. I wonder if it has reached its lifespan? No way, even the warranty time is still not expired, how come it is obsolescent? I have thought of virus injection but it shouldn't be problem, either. I update my anti-virus software very often and I don't access poison sites. Still, I have the good firewall system in Firefox, so that virus cannot be the gist. The OS gets trouble? Could be. So a clean reinstalltion can help? Hell, I'm sick of re-installing OS for this machine, it requires too much time. And more important, I can almost sure the OS doesn't encounter such seriously errors at all since I use it under strict caution. Besides, I do the hard-disk defragment once a week as well as cleaning the clusters to make it best performance. So after all, I really don't understand what the gist of its slowness is...?

C'mon, be healthy as you used to, hon. I cannot live without you so you know you should be okay. :(

I have problems with my belove damn laptop so often...

Anyway, happy weekend!

Reunion

5E Class, Le Van Tam primary school, 1993-1998
full size: click here

Today, cheerfully, is a Day of Reunion. Suddenly, I can regroup my old class-mates in the primary school through Facebook. It is almost ten-year-plus since we graduated from the primary school and ended up separating. Still, there are ones I have never had a chance to re-meet them. But today I found some. One guy posted a picture of the whole class into Facebook and we went there to comment, a long day chatting though. So much fun. It is so great to see the friendship is still cool after years. Thanks, Sơn.

I must say I just laugh my a** off seeing myself in that age. I look like a funny moron, ha ha. Nah, everyone looks cute and funny, too. :P

More than enough, funnily and surprisingly, I meet again a girl who once had a crush on me in that school. She was at the same class in high-school with one of my primary class-mates, and thanks to that guy---Sơn, again he he, we had a very nice time chatting after a decade. It is a hilarious affair. The girl seemed to fancy me, and she asked me out. I seemed to fancy her, too. But I was just too puerile that time and didn't know how to do with that frivolous, fugitive affection so that I ended up fleeting from her without saying a word. Such a behavior! I was unreasonably scared to confront her so that I weasel out of any possible meet. She misunderstood that I disfavored her thus she evaded me, too. We were like playing hide and seek together since the childhood until growing up! It was just funny, when I saw her on the same road, I automatically, immediately changed into another direction. The equivocal attitude of ours pushed us further and further and eventually nothing serious happened to us, not even a crush. I forgot her by the time.

Finally, I meet her again today, in cyber-space. I am just a bit thrilling to add her nick into my instant messenger list. She is very astonished when I catch her, and she still keeps the hesitant attitude at first. But the more we chat, the smoother the dialogue is. We, together, retrospect that funny memory and enjoy it. The silly misunderstanding between us is explained, and solved. She is still a cute girl now, I mean, she still can retain her cute, babyish look even it isn't as pure as she was a decade ago. Enjoyable time! Oh baby, thanks for a day.

I love it when I can re-meet someone in the past and we have good relationship, but unfortunately by some reasons we cannot stay together. Reunion is amusing that way.

Today I wrote on my facebook wall: "Time passes by, yet the memories remain, survive, retained and retrieved". Friendship is what makes memory, and yes, friendship should never fade away, or dilute by time. It always remains! My life's biggest fortune is that I have so many good friends. I have an unique chum, many like-minded buddies, and quite plenty of intimate old class-mates. All these relationships shape my life. And thanks them, for just delighting it.

Since I went aboard, one goal I achieve is that I realize the magnitude of such things like Family, Friendship and Love. You will never know how these things are important to you once you have never experienced the completely, utmost loneliness. If your family is chaotic, it is your true adversity. If you cannot find love in your life, you are really unfortunate. And if you do not have good friends, or any buddy, it is your regret. You life cannot get the true bliss if you lack one of these. And vice versa, it is just your ineffable joy when you have all of these.

Talking about friend and friendship, I used to think that only close friends are necessary, other loosing relationships ain't, now I rule it out. Chums or buddies is still essence of life, but I should appreciate other friends as they deserve, too. Friend is not just one who stays close to you or one who understands you, fathoms you, or one you could confide in. Friend could be anyone who even you don't meet much, for a decade or more, but once you meet them, you can have fun with them and feel relaxed, that friendship is worth being appreciated and well-treated. That is all. Maybe it is what friend is truly meant to be. Friend is born to be your bliss, friend is destined to delight you. It is my mindset! Be friendly!

I cannot wait for one year more to come back Vietnam to grab my kith and kin de novo.


Off-the-track

I am thinking about saving money to buy a new camera, Canon EOS 5D when I am back Vietnam. A luxury asset which needs a long-term saving! Lucky me, I still be able to get a part-time job here to earn some bucks monthly. But I'm never a wise money-saver. I often lavish much in miscellaneous things, and buy stuffs casually. Maybe I should learn to manage finance since then, or else I never can buy anything I wish...

A short writing to mark such a happy day.

120809
Kauhava, Finland

Right-on CV

Off-the-track

The picture is the book I'm into now, Marketing: An introduction, co-written by Prof. Philip Kotler and Prof. Gary Armstrong, the 7th edition. As the title, the book comes up with all what a newbie needs when starting learning about Marketing. Can say, I'm swallowing every single words of both two authors because they express their ideas in such a very clear and convincing way. The book rings a bell to my mind that agitates it to re-think the misconception of Marketing beforehand. Only after reading this, and some others, could I know what is real Marketing. Very helpful book. It is my recommendation from me to you.

Containing 700-page-plus, the book is more involving than you expect because coming up with theories of Marketing, two that geniuses add loads of case studies; insights of famous organizations or firms to help readers be clued up on their Marketing strategies. So informative and comprehensive! I keep myself from reading at least 10 pages each day, a little slow 'cos I need to ponder about and to link information on the book together, for a full grasp. It isn't easy for me to read, but I am trying since I know I love Marketing so much. Secret: I used to hate the subject I am studying: International Business (BBA), but thanks God I chose it anyway.

Now, the question risen here is whether I could apply this theory into practice when coming back Vietnam and working in a firm? Let's see.

...


When applying for any firm, the people who recruit you always require a CV comes along with all other papers. The more impressing it is, the better chance you have. I am thinking of a CV which is not just plain a paper but a set of stuffs which really could indicate Who I am and How I am. Recently, I like LinkedIn, thanks to bro Duc Ban's suggestion. It is like an online profile maker for you. Give it a try. All you need to do is to give your personal information, the website will help in designing and forming the profile appearance. Useful!

Pretending yourself as an employer, what do you expect from your future employees, and current recruiters? Do you want to fathom them out? Do you wish to get inside them in order to ensure the person you choose is Mr(s). Right? Well, if I am an employer, I really wish I could know them well. In contrary, once I am a candidate, I really wish the employer should know me that well, too. I don't think a plain paper with some texts could figure out how a person is. The interview doesn't help, either. Because in an interview, many exterior factors can affect its quality: candidate's mistakes, disconcertment, overreaction or just the employer's unwisdom, irresponsibility. You can be IN or OUT unreasonably and wrongful. Hence, instead of qualifying someone just by their manifestations, I suggest the funnier way, figure them out deeply. You could miss an effective and interesting employee as a gift for your competitor if you make the decision carelessly, recklessly quick. So, read on!


Right-on CV/Resume?

The idea is I build up my CV/resume by the available tools instead of self-writing and designing it.

As said above, I like LinkedIn for its utility. I plan to use it as the official personal profile to send/show off to my future employers. In case of on-line application, instead of filling the suggested form the firms provide, I just give them my link address to my LinkedIn page. Profile is there to read. But LinkedIn isn't perfect, it doesn't support users in self-customizating (am I wrong?) so that the employers could think of me as lazy or uncreative. To solve it, I think of using another service called Tumblr. The draft page is here. The theme is so well-designed, simple and clean with the charming font style used. A typification of minimalism! I still cannot define what Tumblr really is, it's quite huge in scale, but it helps me in designing an indispensable thing accompanies with CV, the Motivation Letter, aka Cover Letter. Conventionalized Motivation Letter is meant to be formal and in order, I hate that. I want something new rather than just a statement-of-purpose essay. Well, when you apply for a job, the Motivation Letter is supposed to answer the big, harsh question from the employer---Why should I hire you? Therefore, instead of boasting about your "dreaming" qualification, why don't let them discover you?

Confronting that question, I will answer, "Well, I believe I will please you in the position you offer. But listening me fussing about myself is not more interesting than reading my papers. So that I suggest you evaluate me yourself by surfing through those websites. My identity, personality and qualification are all placed there".

In my current Tumblr page, yet it has been done 'cos it's a draft. I plan to write a Motivation Letter to publish there, accompanies with some decoration (yes, decoration) which could indicate me such as interesting Quotes from interesting people, my writing about things, my other link addresses etc. The idea is once the employer visits my LinkedIn page, he/she reads my profile. Then, he/she goes to my Tumblr page to see my flourishing Motivation Page (not just a Letter anymore). By turns, he/she keeps going through my Blog, my Gallery, or my social network pages. Everything is to get to know me well enough. This whole progress shapes my real, fully CV! He/she can see multiple sides of mine. And those websites are all very trendy! People should appreciate if you are active enough to follow the trends. Be active! It is a good point one should have. After all, I think it expresses the creativity. Creativity is essential for everything, especially for a marketer or people working in Marketing field---my target. Besides, it express how much I appreciate my profile. And of course, a set of resume like that can truly reveal Who I really am and How I really am. Indeed.

If you notice, in the right-side menu of this blog, there has one section I set, "Havens". Why Havens? Well, I like to think of cyber-spaces as where I haunt; where I self-efface from the real, hustle and bustle life. I list some websites there, they are part of my on-line world. It is what I wanna put on my CV to employers. Still, I'm in search for other better services, Tumblr seems not to be meant as I use.

You will say there is no employer could be that patient to go all the way long to discover a recruiter. Well, you are right. Many employers are like that. Why they bother discovering you? Okay, as said beforehand, you could miss an effective and interesting employee as a gift for your competitor.

CV is your personal thing, so just make it personal. Just like the slogan of HP in one of its best Marketing campaigns, "The Computer is Personal again". Stereotyped CV is tedious, and poor. There are many available tools and services which the Internet provides, if you find them helpful and useful to make the best of. Like Apple or Steve Jobs says, Think Different!

Be personal.

My two cents.

01:15 120809

Beeline, the newly-come conqueror

I am sleepy now, it is currently afternoon and I don't wanna take a nap, so that I force myself to write something, to resist against the sleepiness. Each time I sleep at noon or afternoon, I always feel dizzy and dazzle after waking up so that I almost do not sleep in the day-time. Recently, I sleep very late at night but wake up early in the morning to go to work, so that I lack of sleep. Tired! Anyway, it is what summer's meant to be.

...

There are more and more foreign firms jump into Vietnam market to launch their businesses, in all possible fields. Cannot be greater! I love it when the foreign investors come inside Vietnam in search for expanding the market and in exchange of technologies and ways of doing business. For an imminent grad like me---and many others---this is mere a good news. Many possible chances are waiting for us out there! I will be possible to work in a foreign firm in Vietnam when I am in the homeward journey after finishing the abroad life as a student.

Working for a foreign firm is always my dream, not because of the high-paid salary but for its business professionalism. I don't believe Vietnamese organizations or firms. To be honest, I don't think there is something can be considered "professional" in Vietnam up to now. To be called "professional" is not simply like you set up a company, produce something then sell them. Professionalism is not that easy, but many people often misconceive it. Anyhow, once the foreigners mingle into Vietnam, they have brought up a new fresh wind here. At least, they bring us the professionalism in doing business---what Vietnamese people still have no clue about. Thanks to them, Vietnamese people have chance to experience such professional products and services, which they cannot search for within domestics firms and organizations.

I am talking about Beeline, the new-comer who has been booming up Vietnamese telecommunication market lately.


Beeline

In the website of Beeline, they state:

Being the joint venture established in 8th July 2008 under the cooperation agreement between Vietnam’s GTEL Corporation & VimpelCom, the leading integrated telecommunications operator in Eastern Europe & Central Asia, GTEL Mobile Joint Stock Company aims to provide GSM/EDGE voice & data services to cover all Vietnam with over 86 million people. This establishment was initiated from the Principal Agreement to establish a mobile telecommunications joint venture in Vietnam under the name of GTEL Mobile signed with Vimpelcom Corporation. GTEL Mobile is not only a business enterprise purely but also the international combination aiming to bring Vietnamese people a new trend and style in telecommunications industry.

GTEL Mobile has also cooperated with different branded Telecommunications companies all over the world such as: Alcatel Lucent, Ericsson, Huawei, Comverse, Avaya and Comverse & IBM to deploy its GSM network.

GTEL Mobile will use “Beeline VN” as the brand-name to launch in the Vietnamese Telecommunications market.

VimpelCom is the Russian second largest cell-phone operator and it operates in both Middle Europe and Center Asia. The brand Beeline is rated to be one of the world top 100 brands---and to be one of top ten brands in the field of telecommunication---and its value estimated as high as 8.9 billion dollars. This says that the new-comer is a tough competitor to domestic firms like Viettel, Mobilephone and Vinaphone, three top providers in the same field in Vietnam. Co-operating with GTEL, VimpelCom has been under a contract to officially establish its business in the new market, Vietnam, as you can see above. So yeah, here comes the new mobile telecommunication provider!


Wed-design style

Once you visit Beeline, the only word you can comment is CUTE! It is so cute, and user-friendly. An eye-candy site with the clean and simple layout, decorated by very cute icons. The outstanding logo in black and yellow with the cute brand-name, Beeline, really make you feel funny. You will think of a bee, so lovely.

More than just a brilliant design, the whole structure of the site really surprises me a lot. If you are in search for detailed information about the firm, you will have not so much but the above paragraphs describe briefly about the firm minimalistic information. Very little information but quite sufficient! In short, they do not say much but people still can catch the keywords to be cognizant of them as one of the world leading companies, and it is just enough. People just need to know that the brand is world-class and it will be appreciated automatically. Great! They are the big name in the world but once talking about themselves, they are very unobtrusive!

From my point of view, they are quite wise. By half unraveling themselves, like seriocomic, they tempt people to keep learning about them. In fact, when I have a certain clue that they are world-class brand, I can't help but to keep searching more information with Google, and after half a hour reading some referencing articles, I can have a clearer view towards them. A very big brand-name with a very successful business! All come to me with astonishment, wow, the big man comes to the small pool to fish. Amazing! Now you understand my idea, by letting people self-study about them instead of giving out a fully introduction, it turns out to be the most effective way to go inside people's mind quickly and deeply. If you face a full-length article to introduce, you will be slothful to read, and eventually you forget what you have read easily.

Still, all other information about their services, tariff, prices are all sufficient and clear while being displayed in the simplest way to relax viewers' eyes. Your screen will never be flood with myriads of information coming simultaneously, everything is set into a simple structure. Very good design! If you wanna find something, you find exactly it. For example, come to the Services, they list all services offered, with very brief but sufficient descriptions!

I often evaluate a firm by its website construction because nowadays website is face of any firm where displays its identity. If the design is smart, I very much appreciate it. Here, Beeline shows us a piece of art which builds up a strong impression in visitors.

In comparison to other providers' websites like Viettel, Vinaphone and Mobilephone, you will realize the difference. It is Simplicity versus Complexity. It is the Sufficiency versus Redundancy. Sometime, Less is More. To rate the efficiency of the web-design style, Beeline is worth getting 10 out of 10. Vietnamese firms never can be as smart as the foreigners in web-designing.


Marketing Strategy

Quote from Professor Philip Kolter:

Selling starts only when you have a product. Marketing starts before a product exists

It is exactly applied to Beeline case. Since Beeline has not released in Vietnam yet, people have heard about the upcoming new telecommunication provider already. The marketing process of Beeline works really well. And then, when it comes...

Remaining the principles based on such keywords as "brightness”, “friendliness”, “effectiveness”, and “simplicity” and “positive emotions” which has captured people’s hearts and minds all over the world, Beeline VN is expected to be the best friend of all our customers. With our slogan “live on the bright side”, we desire to bring a new trend and brighter life to all our customers as well as to win their sympathy and their love to make them choose us as their heart - friend. We also desire to bring our customer a new inspiration and to help them link with each other and to the world.

Like other Beeline brand name licensed in other countries, Beeline VN maintains our brand core value as followings:

- Close and ready to help: Our goal is to listen to all needs of our customers and to serve them at our best efforts.
- Easy: Our products are simple and clear. It’s also quickly and easily to use and understand.
- Fascinating and inspiring: We always go ahead. We are interesting, we are able to carry out and support interest of clients.

It is the rule that once a new comer aims to invade into new market, they must do something to attain attention. Here, is the shocking price. Beeline, after officially operating, has made the first strategic move by offering the cheapest prices ever in Vietnam. As cheap as unprecedented and unanticipated! Many experts forecast that the new one will set a reasonable price but when the tariff is publicized, everyone is shocked! The price is nearly like free! People are delighted and eager to try the new service. As a consequence, three other big firms start to fear then end up declaring a cut in service prices in order to stay competitive. Positive reaction, but not good enough. All three firms are too naive, they just think that if they reduce the price, they will gain the customers. Stupid as they are. Marketing is not that simple!

Notwithstanding, in a interview, Mr. Alexey Blyumin, general director of GTEL Mobile, states that Beeline doesn't aim to be a low-priced provider. Their target is to become the best provider which can offer reasonable prices and great services. He says that the target customer is everyone, but prioritize the young whose ages range between 15 to 25 as the main customer segmentation.

In fact, I can see that everything Beeline has done is dedicated to the young: the cute logo , the eye-candy website, the special offer are really for the young to enjoy since they are the dynamic force in society who are willing to experience the new thing. In contrary to the oldies, who tend to be loyal and hesitant to change stuffs they are using, the young is ever-changing. And the strategy of Beeline just fits the young so well.

It isn't hard to realize that Beeline marketing strategies have been being promoted in many ways; both off-line and on-line. TV ads appear periodically to intrigue people to discover; the black-and-yellow logo is available in some websites; promotion campaign; discussion topics created in online forums by future customers; and most important, all sorts of news in relation to Beeline are now ubiquitous in most Vietnamese e-magazines and even some foreign ones. Every Beeline's single move is under people's following. Beeline is too successful in gaining public attention.

To sum up, I love Beeline marketing strategy. Simple, easy, and effective. They are very professional! The interview of Mr. Alexey Blyumin makes me know that Beeline has researched about Vietnamese market quite carefully before coming inside. They have a very solid knowledge about Vietnamese market background as well as consumption habit. According to one market survey, 55% of the interviewees have a full grasp about the newly-come brand, Beeline. It is a very good signal. You can ask why Beeline could make a big impression like that? I answer, the brand.

The brand is the most valuable asset of a firm, and once be rated as the world top 100 brands, it is the guarantee of high quality. People, especially Vietnamese, all appreciate a firm if it has a famous brand so that Beeline is indubitably welcome in Vietnam! We really need a high quality service that can satisfy our demands instead of dissatisfying us like other providers have done so far.

After all, a good marketing campaign is crucial.


Why Vietnam?

As I have heard, Beeline claims to invest 1.8 billion dollars into Vietnamese market.

The first reason is to expand the market, of course. Vietnamese telecommunication market is very potential. With the population of 86 millions (2008) while 55% of those are ones who use mobile phones, it is an attractive amount to every investors. Moreover, the age of people using mobile phone in Vietnam has dramatically rejuvenated; we can see the children in the secondary school use phones becoming more and more popular. Even in some isolated cases , pupils in primary school are equipped hand-held devices by their parents in order for them to surveil. All of those tell that the percentage of people are, and will be, using mobile phone is going to spectacularly increase for a few upcoming years. It is the promising chance for a mobile telecommunication service provider.

Personally, I don't think Beeline can get benefit from that highly discounting prices at first, but it doesn't matter to them. Why? Because they are have a solid financial foundation, so they will accept to get loss in income for some first periods of time. All they need now is to gain the market. Hence, in order to reap the market share, cheap price is essential. According to Vietnamese people's behavior, we all prefer what is cheap, so that I think many people will change into Beeline service quickly. It is just the first attack of the whole campaign!

Besides, due to the current situation in Vietnam, all of domestic firms are involving into irresponsible services---especially the customer care services---that deterred the customer quite seriously. Following the daily news, we can easily encounter successive articles reveal all the technical errors or the bad services that Viettel or Vinaphone or Mobilephone are giving their customers. All the stuffs like that make me feel my belief on them is effing. We are always wishing for a better service, and Beeline happens to appear just the right time!

Furthermore, Beeline is professional, and I believe other firms would be able to learn from Beeline the way to do business professionally. Beeline undertakes to fairly compete within their own capacity with other firms. It is amazing to see how small, domestic providers rival against the big obstacle.


Anticipation

Beeline is trying to gain 2%-4% of the market as the end of 2009. After, they will run a long way to set up the services in almost 60 cities in Vietnam. And, it needs time for them to be accredited.

As a personal anticipation, I believe Beeline will be successful in Vietnamese market in the near future. They will quickly dominate over others and gain the market leader position in the next few years. Why?

Well, let choose me as an example. Once I am at Vietnam, I will use Beeline immediately without any hesitation. I know that when I am served under a world-class brand, I will receive a high-quality products and services. Why I bother using bad services from domestic firms when there is a better one waiting for me there? Many young people think like me; if you are a customer, you should have customer value. You have the right to choose the service and you are worth being served by the best services. Some bad firms will never improve if there are people who are willing to compromise and keep using their bad services. Vietnamese customers should be more aggressive and decisive to choose what best suits them.

I hope that Beeline will promote Vietnamese business into a new level. Let's see how other firms imitate the top-brand.

04:26 am
090809

PES2010

I am a game-aholic, and the game I am most looking forward to playing this year is PES2010. We are, the PESfan, all the viewers of the next innovation in the forthcoming version of Pro Evolution Soccer, aka PES. Due to all the revealed information Konami has told so far, all we know is that PES2010 is being undergone an overhaul!

Each year, there have many games to be released but only a few of those are what gamers really yearn for, based on their qualities. Personally, last year my most longing game was GTA IV, and this year is PES2010. I am counting every single day passing by to be able to have this game in my computer and to install it. I cannot wait until October for its release. It isn't because the game is so great that I wait, there are many other greater games out there, but this time the next version of PES is promised to be redesigned as a new innovation. There are several reasons I appreciate what Konami has done so far.


Customer-driven marketing strategy

Konami is considered to be arrogant and lazy of changing the game-play. For PES, they keep producing a new version each year without any remarkable up-growth at all. It seems that thay never listen to what the fans want, and need. They just concentrate on their own business: make the new versions of the game and sell them, and don't even bother thinking whether the gamers like it or nor. Because they know that whether the gamers like it or not, they will buy it no matter what. We have no choice but to buy it or else we have nothing to play! Konami has only one main competitor produces the same Football Game so that two of those firms conquer the whole world market. It means that even some of these people could play Fifa, but many of those people will play PES. There always has a stable number of people playing their game so that they have nothing to worry about. It is very bad! I really wish there would have more games suppliers operate in this field of business so that gamers would have more choices, too. More than that, once many companies operate their businesses in the same market, the rivalry is intensive. After all, customers (gamers) get the benefit when every company must take care their customers well enough, not like Konami.

But this year, Konami has shown their listening and understanding that they will make the game as the gamers want. It is the greatest new to the fans ever! Konami has shown their respectfully effort in the work of redesigning the game based on suggestions from PESfans from over the world. They absorb fans' ideas and amend the game that ways. They also launch a website dedicated only for the PES2010 and display the slogan as "PES wants You". You means Fans. Very wise marketing strategy!

As a customer, I think Konami has been aware of the boredom of the gamers toward their product. Many people I know say they will give up PES if it still is unchanged for years and try other kinds of games, and Konami has learnt about this thing themselves. So that, in order to avoid losing customers, aka gamers, they MUST change. To establish a marketing strategy declares about the revamping throughout the game, it immediately has attracted many attentions from gamers all the entire world. Every PESfans now is all eager and looking forward to it, which has never happened before. People know that each year a new version of PES will come to the market, and all they can do is to wait to buy it. But this year, they wait it intensively because they all know that the next version has been exhaustively improved so that the thing they are gonna buy is not just a game, but a masterpiece! It tempts them very much. Consequently, the income of Konami will be undoubtfully increased, too.

You should know that, due to the world crisis, Konami income has reduced terribly this year, and they are suffering through considerably recession. Their business doesn't go well and they cannot product any good games for years. That's why they are all working their best to give birth to a greater game that can help them get out of the financial problem. If they false this time again, I assume they will be in huge trouble, so that it is the reason why they change their business style into customer-driven. Konami now knows that if they don't focus on the customers, they will be kicked-ass sooner or later. They are doing exactly what Professor Philip Kolter tells about the Marketing; to satisfy the customer's needs and wants and to keep track with the customer relationship, instead of just trying to sell products for once. Never before has the interaction between the game producer---aka Konami, and the cutomers---aka gamers, been reformed like this. People can come to the blogs of the Konami top-leaders to see how the game will be; many in-depth details publicized there. It is unprecedented! Konami is really trying their best to fast-track a new achievement!


Master League improvement

I am a fan of Master League, one kind of off-line gameplay of PES. And since Konami has declared that the Master League is being remade to a completely new style, it just captives me a lot. I wish that I could have a feeling of being a real manager like when people play Football Manager, but still I can play the match myself, not just an outsiders as the Football Manager game.

According to what I have heard about, the new Master League is a dreaming remake. I am really shocked because all the new changes are what come from PESfans' ideas but Konami seems to follow that. So great!


2 months to go

I am very interested to see all marketing strategies that Konami has launched so far, they let me know that they appreciate the gamers and are willing to serve them well, as they deserve. Very promising! I really hope that the game will be as good as it is meant to be. So now I almost cannot concentrate on anything else, how much days left to October?

02:34 am
080809