I know it's plagiaristic but this is for my Russian friend ~Peace~

How markets determine price is simple enough to understand for a single good or service in a single location. But consider what happens when there are markets for nearly all of the goods and services produced and consumed in an economy, across the entire country. In that context, this reasonably simple process of setting market prices allows an economic system as large and complex as the U.S. economy to operate with great efficiency and a high degree of freedom for consumers and producers.

Efficiency here means producing what consumers want to buy, at prices that are as low as they can be for producers to stay in business. And it turns out this efficiency is directly linked to the freedom that buyers and sellers have in a market economy. No central authority has to decide how many shirts or cars or sandwiches to produce each day, or where to produce them, or what price to charge for them. Instead, consumers spend their money for the products that give them the most satisfaction, and they try to find the best deal they can in terms of price, quality, convenience, assurances that defective products will be replaced or repaired, or other considerations.

What consumers are willing and able to buy tells producers what they should produce, if they hope to make a profit. Usually consumers have many options to choose from, because more than one producer offers the same or reasonably similar products (such as two or more kinds of cars, colas, and carpets). Producers then compete energetically for the dollars that consumers spend.

Competition among producers determines the best ways to produce a good or service. For example, in the early 1900s automobiles were made largely by hand, one at a time. But once Henry Ford discovered how to lower the cost of producing cars by using assembly lines, other car makers had to adopt the same production methods or be driven out of business (as many were).

Competition also determines what features and quality standards go into products. And competition holds down the costs of production because producers know that consumers compare their prices to the prices charged by other firms and for other products they might buy. In markets where a large number of producers compete, inefficient producers will be driven out of the market.

For example, at one time most towns and cities had independently owned cafes and drive-in restaurants that sold hamburgers, french fries, and soft drinks. Some of these businesses are still operating, but many closed down after larger fast-food chains began opening local franchises all around the nation, with well-known product standards and relatively low prices. The increased competition led to prices that were too low for many of the old cafes and drive-ins to make a profit. The private cafes that did survive were able to meet that level of efficiency, or they managed to make their products different enough from the national chains to keep their customers.

Prices for goods and services can only fall so far, however. Even the most efficient producers have to pay for the natural resources, labor, capital, and entrepreneurship they use to make and sell products. The market price cannot stay below the level of those costs for long without driving all of the producers out of this market. Therefore, if consumers want to buy some good or service not just today but also in the future, they have to pay a price at least high enough to cover the costs of producing it, including enough profit to make it worthwhile for sellers to stay in that market.

Once market prices for various goods and services are set, consumers are free to choose what to buy, and producers are free to choose what to produce and sell. They both follow their self-interest and do what makes them as well off as they can be. When all buyers and sellers do that in an economic system of competitive markets, the overall economy will also be very efficient and responsive to individual preferences.

This economic process is extremely decentralized. For example, it is likely that no one person or government agency knows how many corned beef sandwiches are sold in any large U.S. city on any given day. Individual sellers decide how many sandwiches they are likely to sell and arrange to have enough meat and bread available to meet the demand from their customers.

Consumers usually do not make up their mind about what to eat for lunch or dinner until they walk into the restaurant, grocery store, or sandwich shop. But they know they can go to several different places and choose many different things to eat and drink, while individual sellers know about how much they are likely to sell on an average business day.

Other businesses sell bread and meat and drinks to the restaurants and grocers, but they do not really know how many different sandwiches the different food stores are selling either. They only know how much bread and meat they need to have on hand to satisfy the orders they get from their customers.

Each buyer and seller knows his or her small part of the market very well and makes choices carefully to avoid wasting money and other resources. When everyone acts this carefully while facing competition from other consumers or producers, the overall system uses its scarce resources very efficiently. Efficiency implies two things here: taking into account the preferences and alternative choices that individual buyers and sellers face, and producing goods and services at the lowest
possible cost.




Sergey, I hope this will do you good. Go to "For NonEnglish Readers" and select the language that u wanna translate into....

Awaiting for the unexpectedness...

Tomorrow is the day - The Nizhny Games!!!!

The highest authorities are working their ass out to make the event smooth and successful.

The teachers are running here and there just to help us to get everything done in order to make this event successful. Moreover they didn't receive a single cent for this job.

The players are training hard, during days and nights, for the hope of taking down the title of champion.

The dancers are practising and rehearsing for the perfection of their terpsichores, for the sake of entertaining the guests.

The cheerleaders are repeating their routine, yelling "Nizhny Go Go!" and shaking their booties.

The choir group is warming up their vocal cords and harmonizing the song "Setia".

The deco-group is busy drawing and coloring to brighten up the hall with an amiable and welcoming ambience.

The MCs are memorizing their scripts for the hopes of not screwing up the whole ceremony (HAHAHAHAHA!)

Our fellow Nizhnians have shown their passions, sacrificing their time and energy just for the sake of making this event a happening and an unforgettable moment.

Kudos to all people who have been helping all along. The highest authorities, the teachers, the players, the dancers, the choir, the deco-team, the MCs are the most appreciated people for this event.

Let's hope all things will go fine as planned.

Let's hope the players retrieve the high skills and tactics.

Let's hope the dancers recall the steps and routine.

Let's hope the cheerleaders cheer louder and boost up the players' spirits.

Let's hope the choir sing harmoniously.

Let's hope the deco-team decorates the hall with cheerful drawings and ribbons.

Let's hope the MCs to not forget their scripts and heat up the crowd.

Let's wait and see what will happen. Let's await for the unexpectedness.

(Unexpectedness in this case, meaning something extraordinary.)

Hidden meaning of my noble name (Kinda true though~)

What Chia Kok King Means

You are very open. You communicate well, and you connect with other people easily. You are a naturally creative person. Ideas just flow from your mind. A true chameleon, you are many things at different points in your life. You are very adaptable. You are truly an original person. You have amazing ideas, and the power to carry them out. Success comes rather easily for you... especially in business and academia. Some people find you to be selfish and a bit overbearing. You're a strong person. You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It's easy to get you excited... which can be a good or bad thing. You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly. You don't stick with any one thing for very long. You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start. You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection. You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive. You have the classic "Type A" personality. You are a seeker of knowledge, and you have learned many things in your life. You are also a keeper of knowledge - meaning you don't spill secrets or spread gossip. People sometimes think you're snobby or aloof, but you're just too deep in thought to pay attention to them. You are well rounded, with a complete perspective on life. You are solid and dependable. You are loyal, and people can count on you. At times, you can be a bit too serious. You tend to put too much pressure on yourself. You are very intuitive and wise. You understand the world better than most people. You also have a very active imagination. You often get carried away with your thoughts. You are prone to a little paranoia and jealousy. You sometimes go overboard in interpreting signals. You are deeply philosophical and thoughtful. You tend to analyze every aspect of your life. You are intuitive, brilliant, and quite introverted. You value your time alone. Often times, you are grumpy with other people. You don't appreciate them trying to interfere in your affairs.

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

*POTENTIALLY MISLEADING REMARKS :-

1. You are also a keeper of knowledge - meaning you don't spill secrets or spread gossip.

2. You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection.

3. You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive.

4. You have the classic "Type A" personality.

I never knew that my name has such a profound hidden meaning.... I wonder if my name was "King Kok Chia", would it have a different kinda definition?

Gotta try again....LOL

Updated
The sequences of the definition were just upside down when I changed my name from "Chia Kok King" to "King Kok Chia"....HAHAHA

I think I know why.....

So.... 70 obstetrical questions to go and I am so drifted away by so many things. Having no time to study at all. Primarily due to my laziness, secondarily I guess are due to the following :-

1. The Nizhny games. As a manager of the contingent, I don't know a single thing of what i must do. Apart from waking them up from sleep, I do not know what else should i do more. Since the players are living in Nizhny, i don't think i have much to do. But i don't know why, i feel myself as busy as a bee. Really can't figure out why. So confused. Maybe that's why i feel myself busy, coz i was thinking about the unnecessary. I'd like to live my life with no stress, but how????



2. Medical check up. As i've mentioned before in my previous entry, the stupid medical check up had eaten up my 2 days. As for 1 of the day, i was supposed to attend the obstetrics' lecture. But this troublesome thingy was time consuming. I've heard from my friends who had attended the lecture that the lecturer, who is a student's-soul-eater asking them "So you are not afraid that we will get angry?"...and she started eating their souls up. Nevertheless, right after the medical check up which i was supposed to be in the lecture, i still managed to give myself a McD treat...wakaka...bad student, but what i must say, i enjoy life like this.



3. Dance practice. Well the dance for the opening ceremony is completed, but the dancers (im one as well) do not coordinate. We have our own styles, of course. But as for dancing in a group, all must be coordinated with each other and the beat of the song. It's not like u can dance with your own beat!! If you wanna dance like that, dance in your own room la~~ Even the nerds know how to nod their heads, shake their hands, tap their feet with perfect tempo. Yeah.....so we're like dancing once in a weekend. It's been about 10-14 times already but still it's not perfect, how??



4. Blogging here instead of studying. I should be studying Narrow Pelvis and prepare for the next class and also for exam. Look what am i doing....I guess i can't deny the fact that im a procrastinator. If i did not blog, i'd watch Family Guy again and again. Watching Peter Griffin is my ecstasy. I am so fond of this show. I do enjoy stupid jokes and making them, like Peter Griffin. I just can't help it.



5. I guess my last reason of having no time to study is - SLEEPING. What else can I do besides sleeping in such a nice, warm and sunny weather + listening to songs. Shit!! I know it's my own fault but it's a conditional reflex. When the weather is nice, I sleep instead of jalan-jalan. Oh im so like a pig or am i already a pig? hahahaha....



If all these stupid reasons go down to 2, i might get a shot of finishing all 70 Qs.

Please just don't eat me....

I'm still laughing over this one

Poor girl, but you made my life wonderful by laughing at you, HAH!!

Medical Check Up in Nizhny Novgorod

I don't know if this is normal in the whole Russia, but my god, to make a medical check up in Nizhny Novgorod is so troublesome!!!

So this medical check up is not required if one's not gonna do the summer practicals here. But since I'm not going back to Malaysia, so i have to run for the tests.

At first I thought everything could be done in one day. To my surprise, it took me 2 days and the tests aren't done yet. "THANKS" to the working hours of the departments, I have to go to the stupid hospital again for a few more test.

It's troublesome because I had to go to another building next to the hospital, and I was supposed to get a medical record book from there. So I went there since I was asked to get it over there. After reaching there, I told them that I wanted to get a medical record book. You know what they told me?

"You have to go back to the hospital, pay to the cashier, take the check and come back again"

So fucking tulan la!!!! So I went back to the hospital and paid and then went back again to the building to get the rotten book. They made me waited for almost half an hour there just to find the record book and fill in my details. So there gone my day. Couldn't manage to do any of the tests because the babi there wasted my time.

They could only do some tests at a specific time from 8 - 9.30 am, after this time, nothing can be done already. Since my day was friggin' eaten up by the slowcoach, nothing was done for that day.

I don't know if it was my fault coz I went the first time one day before the Labour's Day and the second time before the Victory Day of Russia. They could not perform tests on me because "TOMORROW IS HOLIDAY". So no one would swab my throat for laboratory investigations, no one would draw my blood for blood test, no one would perform for infectious screening test. They really fucked my brain up!!!

And one funny thing is that they have to fucking draw 2 times of blood in 2 different departments for different test. I wonder why they can't do all test with one tube of blood in one go. So sick. My pain threshold is high but it's not comfortable for the patient. Being fondled superficially too much may cause irritability, needless to say about needles into your flesh and vein for 2 times.

I was asked to see the dermatologist, so I thought "okay it's good! I can ask about my hideous acne"
Wrong!!!
You know what the dermatologist did on me?
She took a curette and asked me to take off my pants, then put the curette into my urethra and scraped. IT WAS SO FUCKING SORE!!!!
And that's the test.
Now I piss with burning sensation without a pathology in my urinary tract.
I tried to control my frequency of going to pee pee, but I couldn't help myself coz I drank water. I wonder if I could get an inflammation perhaps balanitis? Hope everything will be alright HAHAHAHA
But yeah, they're psycho. Though it's a legitimate test, but it's causing a mental perturbation. Shit!

I fucking skipped classes for the medical checkup which was a turned down at last. And they wanted me to go once again on 19th of May.

That's not right.

A waste of time.

And certainly I hope all my test would come out as absence of any pathologies.

...No air, No air...

Sigh.....Nizhny games, nizhny games.....
So many things happened prior to its coming. One time about the sponsorship, next time about the money matters, following with problem with buses, then about the account thingy ....... bla bla bla ........

If u're really capable of doing it, then u must make it at least 90% perfectly.
If u're not, then let the others do the job.
If u wanna tell lies, then make sure u're smart enough to cover ur ass up.
If u're not, then better don't tell lies.

I really like this phrase which goes like this :
If you wanna get a 100%, make sure that u're a 150% prepared for it at home

Well, we grew up from the mistakes we've done. You get 1 level up after learning from your mistakes. But I don't encourage making mistakes, of course. Coz only stupid people make mistakes. Yeah and definitely those who've done mistakes really do deserve a second chance.....but if the second chance failed to save one's ass, hence he/she's a real sucker.

I wonder when and who can put these problems to an end.

I like to watch when they're arguing about who's right and who's not, why did this and that happen. It's just fun to have clowns like them around. Without them, life would be way so booooooooriiiiingggggg~~~
At least they make life here go up and down.
PS : I'm a clown myself, ngehehe....

Enough talky about the drama happening here.

I don't know I should brag about this or not, but I'm feeling myself like a celeb lately. Started with singing a song on stage with Taufiq and Amir last year. Thereafter, got literally "booked" here and there, by teachers of course.

I know I know.....that I've got talent, tssk tssk.....but i buried it and kept it low. And i'd finally unleased it, and got lots of positive feedbacks though. I like feedbacks, I like compliments, however I layan the positives only....
I would cry over the bad comments................haha asshole, wait a minute I'm no pussy......anyway, yeah today i've performed on stage again during the Foreign Students' Day. As usual, people who have first seen me performing were shocked pretty well.

"Wow, I never knew that you could sing that well. Way to go, man!"

"Man, you definitely sang better than this guy"

"Damn it man, you gotta sing for me sometimes"

"Great voice, you rocked"

Oh how i like quotes like this......it makes me feel a little bit less guilty about myself......for being a douchebag for most of the time,haha

Exam mode is so on now. Just done exam for Dermato-Venerology. And coming up next is Obstetrics, which is like 12 days away from now. I don't know if i could do well for Obstetrics coz it's really complicated by the Nizhny Games, but who to blame if i didn't do well? It'll be definitely me!

Sometimes when all these things come all at once, you feel so tangled inside, messed up, suffocated, no air no air...........................Good lord,i think i should consult a neurologist and a psychologist, HAHAHAHAHA!!!!

How marvellous life would be if we could live without stress.....like this song here : No Stress by Laurent Wolf