LOVE, Kloudiia

I was at the popular furniture supermall Ikea on Sunday, which happened to be the last day of its annual sale. What was supposed to be a wait in the car while my sister do her shopping turned out to be a wait in the hot dog bun stall, and my ‘revelation’ of something special that is found in the hot dog buns and the secret formula to a loving and lasting relationship.

I was there, yes, enjoying my hot dog bun as usual (how can one ever visit Ikea without eating a bun?), and waiting for my sister. For the whole of at least 30-40 minutes I was there, the queue was never shorter than this …

and this …

Ever! I was very amused at such popularity of a mere bun with nothing but Swedish sausage! And guess what, while queueing, a young couple right behind me was having such a conversation:

HE: What’s so nice about a hot dog bun? It’s just something sooo normal!
SHE: But it’s really very nice. The last time I was here with my family, each of us ate 3 buns! It’s really very nice, I don’t know how to describe it. You want to have one?
HE: Nope.
SHE: You sure? But it’s really very nice you know?
HE: No I don’t want.
SHE: Ok, then I eat myself.

Yes, this is almsot as verbatim as I can get it. Well, what the girl wasn’t able to describe the uniqueness of the hot dog bun is this – the bun has a very thin ‘crispy’ outer layer but yet very soft texture inside that makes the bite (fill in your adjectives here). The infamous sausages, that was imported from Sweden, are cooked just as it should be, tender and juicy. What’s more, even their sauces (chilli, tomato and mustard) taste really good (I mean, my boyfriend was hooked to the chilli!).

So you see. Ikea has invented their very own unique secret formula in a seemingly ordinary and normal snack, a hot dog bun. coupled with a soft-drink which you can refill to your heart’s content, that go at a reasonable price of S$1.70 for a set.

The secret of its success could be maybe just the bun, or the sausage, or even the sauces, or the whole combination, or well erh, you get the point.

The fact is, as I really wasn’t sure how the response was when it first started, but assuming they may have done some modifications along the way from the first day they start selling this delicious snack (which I’m sure they would have), till the day when they really found the secret formula that won the hearts of all their customrs who ate their bun and continued craving for it, that must have taken quite an amount of effort, and yes, probably they may have surveyed their customers too.

And, what did they do after they got the secret formula working? They repeated it, day after day, with no glitches. Which means, no matter if it’s the 1st, or the 10th, or the 100th, or 1000th hot dog bun that I had eaten, I am very assured and confident that they will taste the same! Even the chilli sauce would have the same portion of sweetness. The result is constant satisfaction from their customers, which includes me.

What does this tell us? From some of the questions I get through AskKloudiia.com, there are always this question in their head: What is the best way/tip/advice to have a loving and lasting relationship?

I will not be revealing too much here, as those answers will be given in my new book that’s in the progress. But what I’d like to share now is, behind every successful relationship and marriage, there will certainly be a secret formula. This formula do not surface the first day you and your loved one get together. Neither does it happen at the snap of a finger. It is a result of discovering, testing, compromising, checking out with each other, modifying before you really get the ultimate secret formula! And this may consist of not just one, or two, but maybe even up to a dozen secrets that combine to form the lethal and powerful machine operating and supporting your relationship.

But is finding out what the secret is the real secret? My answer is, no. Because, it takes time to find out what works, yet it takes even more time and love to make sure it is constantly acted upon, improved on so that you get constant results and a certain outcome, which is a loving and lasting relationship.

Many times a couple laxed and get conceited after been together for a certain period of time, as they get so used to each other’s habits and lifestyles, that they forgotten to apply those specialites that used to be the magic lighting up their relationship. Remember what I said about Familiarity Breeds Contempt?

Constant action moves mountain. Without the determination and patience to repeat the formula, how would you reap the reward of the seed you sowed?

Remember, it is not the idea that is worth a million dollars. It is the execution and the passion to see it through that makes an idea worth the amount it is worth.

[tags]Familiarity breeds contempt,Relationships,Loving,Formula,Determination,Satisfaction[/tags]