Our 1st Article in Cycling Evolution Magazine!

Hi there!

Have some good news to share :)

At long last, we received an invitation to share our stories in a cycling magazine! 

Thanks to Cycling Evolution Magazine for this opportunity. More articles to come in the next few months :)

Cheers

Our First Interview In A Chinese Magazine!! :)

Hi there!

Sorry for staying quiet for awhile now. Have been busy!

Anyway, just like to share here that we got featured in a Chinese magazine recently! Our first interview!

For those who can read Mandarin, enjoy! :)

Cheers

My next talk......Times Pavilion KL :)

Hi there!

For those who might be interested and are around the Klang Valley this weekend, do drop by for my wee talk at Times Pavilion in KL this Saturday, 5th September, 2015 at 3pm

It's been awhile since I have done a public talk! So far, it's been with schools but I guess it should be fine hehe

Well, there's only one way to find out!

Hope to see you this Saturday! 

Cheers

We were LIVE on National TV!! :)

Hi there!!

A few days ago, I received a call from a TV host, Sayed who was interested to do a live interview with me about my book on national TV!! He told me it was going to be a 10 minute segment. Actually, he reminded me that he did ask me before about 2 years ago but the timing wasn't right then.....

Now, if I thought public speaking was nerve-wrecking, try being interviewed on LIVE TV! Triple the anxiety!! I tend to freeze up when the camera is shooting at me and to make matters worse....the interview was done in Bahasa Malaysia (BM), our national language which I am not so fluent in! Help!

So you can picture me trying to answer his questions in BM, mixed in with a good dose of English, while trying to stay as natural as I can be in front of the camera! It was the longest 10 minutes I have ever endured!

I didn't let anyone know about the upcoming interview because I knew I would be like a robot but alas, someone who knew me watched it and he was kind enough to send me a snapshot of the interview! But actually, that worked out fine.....just a snapshot will do for marketing purposes.

So I thought I got scot-free without having to watch my own interview and nobody else could either !! Yahoo! I was a happy camper for all but 5 minutes when I found out some of my friends managed to find it on youtube and were watching it! Yikes!!!

But wait a minute.....how did they find out so fast??!!! I thought it was owned by the TV station??

Sigh.....

So now that I know it's already out there, .do I want to watch it?? Err....not really! But I felt I had to because if I wanted to improve myself in front of a camera in future, I have to see what needs to be improved on. Just take a look at my host.....such a natural in front of the camera but then again, he had 18 years of experience!

So with a thumping heart, I searched for the segment online and found it and started watching.When I saw myself talking at the beginning of the interview, I cringed! I felt so embarrassed! I couldn't continue watching it....

Then I told myself to stop being such a drama queen and to step it up! So I forced myself to watch the whole segment again with critical eyes. Yes, I know I am my own worst critic!

Well, the more I watched, the more I realised it wasn't as bad as I thought it was because some parts, they did focus on my books and not on me! Phew!!

But still, there were some parts that still made me cringed inside!

Anyway, I am very thankful to have had this opportunity to be on air to promote my book. At least, now I can say that my book has been promoted nationwide!

Besides, how often do I get a chance to say that I have been on TV? (although it was only 10 minutes of fame!) hehehe.....

Oh....life is indeed full of unexpected surprises!!! :)

Finally...my promotional video clip!! :)

Hi there!

You know something? There's always something new and exciting for me to learn everyday and for the past few days,  I actually learnt how to make my first promotional video online! Woohoo!

Ever since my book was published 3 years ago, I had to learn how to make video and powerpoint presentations for my talks but I never attempted to make a promo video and upload it online because it always seemed so complicated! But then, I discovered PowToon and that opened up a whole new experience for me!

Well, I was introduced to PowToon quite by accident actually. I was doing my last book talk in Penang at an international school and they were having a short presentation before my turn and boy, when I saw their presentation, it blew me away!! It was so fun and captivating! It certainly kept the students alert and attentive the whole time!

What got me thinking after was that I needed to do one promotional video for my book.....a short but interactive one that will keep my viewers interested until the very end! I found out from the librarian that she was using a programme called PowToon.

I then spent 2 whole days learning about this wonderful programme and playing with it and I am very excited to share my video to the world, although at a beginner level!!

So without further ado, let me introduce you my very first promo video clip....just remember to switch to HD first!!

Enjoy......and don't forget your popcorn!! hehe....


Pedalling Around Peninsular Malaysia

from Sandra Loh on Vimeo.
.

A week long of talks!!!

Hi there!!

Recently, I went to Penang to do a week long of talks to schools, both public and international schools. It was seriously tiring for me since I have not attempted such feat before and travelling to an unknown territory sure added to the stress!

But it was a good experience for me, an opportunity for me to practise and improve on my talks and also, to see the response from these schools. Well, I must say, out of the 6 schools I visited, only one school really stood out for me......Convent Light Street, Penang.

From my past experience, I now know that it is the principal or the teacher in charge who plays a big role in making my visit either a huge success or a mediocre response. For this school, it was their school counselor who made that impact, Ms. Shirley Capel.

Ms. Shirley is a cyclist and she was very enthusiastic about me coming over to do some sharing with her students. So excited was she that the whole school attended my talk! And I did receive a very warm welcome from the whole school, which was very heartwarming for me. 

These are the times when I really felt appreciated and that my time and effort to promote Malaysia and cycling didn't fall on deaf ears! 

They had everything ready for my talk....the laptop, projector and PA system. All in good working condition and we started on time, without any technical glitch in between! It was certainly a great pleasure sharing some of my tales with them and hopefully, this school will start a cycling club soon!

It would be awesome if my talk did help to encourage some of them to take up cycling and to venture out of their comfort zone eventually. Like what Ms. Shirley said, my sharing might have helped to plant the seeds in their mind and hopefully, it will slowly grow in the years to come!

Go forth and start pedalling, girls!

Ms. Shirley Capel, a shining example and me

See....I wasn't kidding when I said the whole school attended my talk!

 Future cyclists??

My First Talk For 2015! :)

Hi all,

I started the year with my first talk at Dignity For Children Foundation in KL recently. Well, I have to admit it was pretty nerve wrecking since my last talk was about 3 months ago at an international school in KL. 

I tend to get the butterflies in my stomach the first few minutes but once I have warmed up, my stories come out more naturally and I'm on a roll!.

Judging from the many questions the students had for me, the teachers said they (the students) seemed to have enjoyed my sharing....phew! The teachers themselves found it to be an eye opener and educational as well! Now that's pretty encouraging news for me!

But as always, I will still look back at my presentation and think of ways to improve it for the next talk. (must be the perfectionist in me!) 

Well, I do foresee more talks in the horizon and this will give me plenty of opportunities to practise, practise and practise until I get it to near perfecto! :)

Stay tuned!

Cheerio

It's A Brand New Year!! :)

Hi there!

Happy, Happy New Year!! :)

Well, 2014 has been an interesting year for me, meeting people from different parts of the world and learning a bit about their experiences. I like to say thank you to 2014 for being a year of reflection and contemplation as well. Thank you for all your blessings and also for the lessons learnt throughout the year. 

2015 is finally upon us and I will continue to work on my goals :)  I'd like for this year to get me closer to my goals or even close the gap between  me and my goals! Whatever it is, I will definitely make big strides forward in all areas of my life (just like what the above sign states!) hehe.....

 

Here's to a GREAT, GREAT year for everyone !!!

Cheers!