By George...

She got it! Pygmalion aka My Fair Lady. Well, I met George today. George is a big guy during my army days. He has been called upon to do all the heavy lifting. 1981 was when George and I were in the same unit. At that time, I had a bad back. My back was "sprained" and I was on light duty. It is interesting to meet old friends like George after a long time. He still looked the same except the aging effect..hehehe meaning he is older looking now. I am not sure, I also think he is shorter than before. I think his slipped disc may cause his height to drop. I recalled meeting George after I RODed and he told he suffered the same fate as me and downgraded to light duties permanently.

It was good to meet after 26 years and he recognised me immediately. Nostalgic.

The Middle Way

Seek happiness from within. Do not believe in what I says. Do what you find is true.... Buddha.
I try to follow Buddha's philosophy and teaching. It is timeless. It is applicable 2,000 years ago, it is applicable today. Ask and you will be answered, Seek and you shall find, Knock and the door will be opened.

Buddha counselled "lesser gods". Buddha can move to many dimensions of existence. Best of all, whatever he has done and achieve, any human beings can follow.

Happy Vesak Day!

Hard Crash!

Actually, my hard disk crash! First the system turn deep blue. Computer geeks call this the Deep Blue Sea. A couple of blue screen incidents is an indicator the hard disk is unstable and ready to crash. Crash it did. Frantically, I called my office for help. IT manager suggested I have to go to HP.

HP has Customer Service Centre in Alexander Road. I send in and requested for express service. The technician managed to recover some of my files. Unfortunately, my extended warranty expired three months ago. So the replacement of the hard drive cost $338 and some cents. The drive costs $155, labour costs $95 and express costs $60. Balance must be taxes. Nowadays, the memories are not made to last. It seems hard disk drive will crash in a couple years of use. Please remember back up your files.

I was lucky that my files can be recovered. I am back in business:)

Am I Chauvinistic?

One reader says I am sexist and chauvinistic. Charles comment "Do you always gender stereotype?Women not akin to gadgets, your wife stopping work to stay home... you CAN be the one to give up work and stay home too you know."

Do you agree?

Farewell Lunch with a Good Friend

I have a long lunch today. It is good to just talk about everything and nothing. My good friend is leaving for good for now anyway. She may be back. Likely to be a long time as she is going to be a mum in a few months. Sigh! Goodbye is a sad thing. The good thing about having colleagues is some become friends. Others remain...well just colleagues.

Thorny Car Park Issues

We live in an estate that residents have more cars than their allocated space. Cars are parked everywhere. The people with more cars loved the convenience of parking in a shelter carpark for free. The people with no extra cars have to put up with the inconvenience of cars blocking their garage. What is no problem to some is a huge problem for others.

What can we do? Is there a solution? Harmony seems impossible...

Life is Up and Down...

Up 40,000 ft and the down to sea level. Last 3 weeks my life was going up and down. I will have my feet planted on the ground in the next few weeks...at least this is what I hope.

Kate, another open-minded American

Two years ago, Kate come to Singapore to work and live. She wears the pants at home (this is my opinion anyway). Come to think of it, she is another open-minded American. She thinks she is adventurous in food. She has no idea the iron stomach Dave has. She tried durian puffs, ya! Not the real durian. That really earns my respect. Dave enjoys durians, curry fish head, la la, sambal and food I do not even try. Ok I admit I am a wimp. No duck embryoes or caterpillars for me. Snake blood is something I cannot stomach too. Well, Dave have tried them all.

What is Kate open-minded about? She is willing to learn and accept what she does not know. She listens to other views even though she may differ. Another female colleague of mine told me that she have never hear anyone who has anything negative to say about Kate. I must say she is a smooth operator too. She is genuine and sincere. I enjoyed bouncing opinions off her. She is a good listener and a good friend.

Crab Crab

Dinner is at a famous Shanghainese crab resturant in Central Hotel. The menu is crab everything. Steamed crab, crab fried rice, crab bean curd skin, sharkfins with crab, more than 100 items all contains crab or crab meat. We had crab siao long bao, crab sao bin, crab fried noodle, vegetable and some cold dishes.

Maybe it is not the season, maybe because seafood is not my taste, maybe my expectation was set too high... I thought the food was ordinary. I like the stir-fried vegetable, cucumber salad and drunken chicken. I am an omnivore!

Competent Colleagues

It is nice when your colleagues are competent and have the right attitude. Work become a pleasure even though it still take time. Also it become easy to delegate when the person doing the project know when to ask and when not. My work with other team members in the company broaden my horizon and give me a chance to meet and know other capable colleagues. While work has become onerous at time, it is also rewarding when progress are made and people makes things happen.

Tomorrow, it is another trip out again. This time to the comsopolitan city of Shanghai. I like Shanghai. No, I love Shanghai. It is the best city to live in in China. It is safe and clean (but not the air). Shanghai girls are legendary for the beauty. Actually the beautiful women come from the historical Suzhou and Han Zhou. Starbucks is ubiquitous in Shanghai. Starbucks coffee is my comfort drink in a foreign place in the absence of teh halia.

Shanghai, here I come...

The Hidden Agenda con't...

Gordon sat down and stare at the screen. "48 unread messages!" He learn back on his black leather executive chair. There is something nagging in his mind. He wonders if he is spending too much time working in the office. For 3 years since he joined as a Sales Manager, the sales reps were very happy. Why half of them left in the last 6 months? All the Reps says they have too much work and pay is low. Are they asking for more pay? He recalls reading "First Break the Rules". Research by Gallup showed that the biggest reason for employees is their immediate superior. Could it be him who cause the turnover? Why now and not two or three years ago when he first joined? Could it be the changes the company going through right now? Benefits have been cut recently... Sales reps' enthusiam are gone, the energy and "the we are ready to conquer the world spirit" seems a little lacking...

With some many issues up his head, Gordon decide to go out for a smoke to clear his mind. He returned to his office minutes later and started tapping on his computer. Meanwhile Priscilla is back at the office. She sends out a couple of emails asking her staff to call up some company to do survey and gather information on sales rep's responsibility and pay. Then she pick up the phone and call her counterparts in other countries. She ask them to forward the sales reps salary scales and job descriptions to her by email...


Two weeks later, Gordon meet with Priscilla to discuss the process of his sales reps turnover issue. "Gordon, your sales reps are fairly compensated. They are getting more than 100% of their compa ratio. On top of that they have better incentive plan than sales reps in other countries..." Gordon interrupted "Priscilla, this is not possible. All those who left told me they were overworked and underpaid. They all have another job with higher pay..." Gordon's voice trailed off. "From the information I have your people are overpaid!" Priscilla was firm and her voice was cold.

To be continued....

Meeting Thomas

Thomas sat beside me on the way to Seoul. We talk a little as we have one thing in common. It is our first experience on the new business class seat. He told me has pressed every depression on all the covers to see what's inside. We were like kids in a new toy store!

On my left is a young, comely woman probably in her late twenties or early thirties. She does not seem to be excited over the seat. Maybe women at not thrilled over gadgets. The drinks were served in different kind of glass big heavy base with no stem. The magazine racks are now outside the kitchen instead of the prominently displayed at the back. The quantity and quality of magazines selection drops further. I did not talk to Thomas much and we both went our ways when we deplane.

On the return trip, the passenger one row in front of me looks familar. I touch his arms and he gave a me look of surprise. It is Thomas. We meet again. This time we discover where we each worked and a little more background of each other. I notice Thomas is a very fit and muscular guy. He exercise regularly and take care of his diet. He is an unassuming guy with no airs. His wife is going to stop working and stay at home. I told him it is one of the best thing for me when my wife stopped working. There is a clear division of duties and responsibilities. Our quality of life has improved even though we have less money than dual income. I am an advocate of homemakers. They play an important role in keeping the well-being of the family, kids or no kids.

The New Business Class SQ Brags about...

On the way to Seoul, it was the new B777 aircraft fitted with the new Business Class Singapore Airlines has been crowing about and advertising aggressively. The seat can be folded down into a flat and HORIZONTAL bed. The previous long distance biz class seat can unfold to a flat bed but it is inclined at an angle. So it possible to slide down while you sleep.

The configuration take up more space and is like a little cubicle. The window seat is in a single row and two seats in the middle. So it is four seats abreast. It offers plenty of privacy to the point where it create a cold and unfriendly environment for passengers to talk or interact. The rectangular profile of the seat makes it quite uncomfortable to sit. However the wider space allows me to seat crossed legs in half lotus. So it is good for budding meditator like me.

To transform the seat into a bed, you have to get out of the seat and fold down like the seats in a station wagon or minivan. There is not enough legroom for tall guys like me. I have to sleep diagonally across and stick my feet into a small recessed area of the seat in front of me.

I think back of the first time I experience the flat bed. Like this time, it was very novel. Unlike this time, I had very positive feel about the change. I like it that I do not need to get up to convert the seat in a flat bed. It can be done with a push of the button. The current flat bed version has a good balance between privacy and interaction between passengers. The biggest issue with the current inclined flat bed is the table is too close to the thighs and it is possible to spill food and drinks if you accidentally pressed the wrong buttons.

I have mixed feeling about this new business class seats. Over time, I may fall in love with it....

Internet connectivity - rather the lack of

I am so dependent on internet connectivity for my work. Landing on world renowed airport, Changi, I received a call from my teammate. She needs me to review a file for next week's presentation. My first stop was Coffee Bean and Tea Leaves where coffee tasted so much better than Starbucks. The Free Wireless does not work there unless you are a Starhub subscriber. Half an hour later and $6.80 for a drink I do not need, I gave up.

Then I adjourn to Burger King. They have Singtel wireless according to the staff. I learn not to buy anything this time unless I can connect. Since the internet is free, I have no idea why id and password is required. Another 20 minutes wasted. My frustration has reached the nth degree by now. I decided to go back to my home office where internet always work since I pay Singnet a handsome $50 per month.

Today is a bad day for me me with regards to internet connectivity. After spending another futile hour of resetting my computer, clearing out the old profiles, etc, I found my Aztech homeplug burnt out. It is almost as if fate is playing with me.

Finally, I reinstall a old linksys card to try and hey presto! I am back with internet connection. It is almost midnight now:) Sweet, very sweet!

The Hidden Agenda

Priscilla is a HR Manager work a medium size company in Singapore. She is slim with short straight hair. She is soft spoken and her cleavage will show up clearly in low cut dress even though she is petite. Priscilla is a type-B personality when it come to responding to emails. The usual period for her to reply to any emails if she does reply is two to three. She is a wonderful mother to her two daughters.

Beneath the regular surface, harbours something darker. Priscilla offers help and counselling to managers in needs. She is good at dispensing information and advice. She is very supportive in her unassuming ways. Gordon is a manager working in the sales department in charge of 6 sales representatives. Gordon went to her for help as his team is suffering from "overworked and underpaid" syndrome. In her usual helpful manner which is "have no fear while Priscilla is here", she assured Gordon that she will do everything in her power to help. She will survey the competitors with the comparable size company and get their pay and benefit packages. She organized all the information and put them together a package so that Gordon can go to his boss to secure pay increase for his sales reps.

Gordon is desperate. In the past 6 month, turnover is 50%. Before his sales reps learn the products they are selling, they left for another company. The sales told Gordon they are leaving for better pay. Gordon felt so much better after approaching Priscilla for help. She has assured him that his problems are in good hands. With a sigh of relief, Gordon walk back to his office to read and reply to his emails.

To be continued....

Sandy - Open Minded American

Travelling alone can be lonely especially during meal time. I was waken up by morning call. It is time to get up for breakfast before my meeting. I took the elevator down to the resturant. It is nice to have breakfast included in the room. The hostess asks "table for one?". I nodded. She ushers me to an empty table right between to white women. One of them make eye contact with me and smiled. I reciprocated. I set my papers down and pick my food. I was eating silently and observing the customers moving about. Finally I decide to break the ice and talk to her. "Are you alone? Where are you from?" She is from California and yes she is alone. It is unusual as the Americans from my office rarely travel alone to Asia. They believed in "safety in numbers" She notices my t-shirt says Toronto Maple Leafs and asked if I live in Canada. She was right, I used to live there. Now I live in the tropical island of Singapore.

Sandy is an interesting conversationist. She was in India last week and today she is going home. Sandy, I find is adventurous when it come to food. She ate at the road stalls in India and she knows the names of all the different varieties of food offered by the street vendors. I am impressed when she rattles of some of the food she ate. She is very open to tasting and trying out different food. To Sandy, refusing to try is almost rude and is like rejecting the culture. She also trained her nephew and god son to be open by bring them to a trip to Paris and not allowing them to eat in McDonald's.

Sandy reminds me of my ex-boss, Dave. Dave is adventurous. He loves durians and Indian food including curry fish head. Sandy is the 2nd American I know that is willing to try and enjoys the food in Asia. She won my admiration and respect. I am very glad to meet and know another open minded American.

The Trap...

The next evening, the police came to set up their ambush. John is there as well. The police found suitable hiding place. Dee was briefed on what to do. She has to bring her cellphone and call the boy and ask him out. Not knowing that his misdeed has been uncovered, the boy came out of the house with his German Shepherd. Once he is out, the trap is sprang. The police came out of their hiding place and identify themselves. John told Dee she can go now. Dee had no choice but to go.

Knowing his game is up, the boy tied his German Shepherd to the tree. The police told him he has two choices. One is he go back into his home and tell his parent or he can be handcuffed and brought to police station. Handcuffed in front of his neighbours does not look too good isn't it? He went back in and informed his parents. The police went to his room to search. They found the bicycle hidden behind his stereo speakers.

How do you hide a bicycle behind of a pair of speakers?

More facts about the boy. He is no longer a boy but not yet a man - nineteen year old. He is a good looking and speak well. His English is excellent. He come from a well-off family. His father is a grass root leader and the MP come to his house to watch soccer matches.

Beside the bicycle, a bag with car tools belonging to my next door neighbour was found as well. The shoes they lost was not. My wife has an explanation. How would the police know which shoes do not belong the family.

The boy's father called John the next day and pleaded to him to drop the case. We found out that this boy has a previous conviction. He was caught tresspassing and stealing from another house and is currently in probation. The father told John he will get the MP's help on this case. John response was to question the father if he believe in the system? He should let the investigation process go on and see the outcome.

The boy is still out. He invited Dee to his birthday party two days after he was caught. Dee was busy and cannot attend...

Stolen Bicycle cont'd

By now, the Husband is pissed. He took over the phone and this is "John Tan(not his real name), Assistant Police Commissioner. Who are you?!" I could not hear the answer but could imagine the police officer on the line is peeing in his pants. I could "see" his pants getting wet. "You get the investigating officers over here right away." Guess what?!! In 15 mins, 3 police cars showed up in our estate. Dee(not her real name) is a tall and slim girl studying in the university. She wanted to follow her father's footsteps to become a doctor. Unfortunately, her "A" level results did not qualify her for medicine. Anyway, Dee was asked out of her home and interviewed right away. Mind you, it is 11pm at night now.

She says she recognised this boy. He is interested in her. She does not know what he did. However she knew where he lives. In a house with 3 dogs. I cannot recall the breeds except one is a German Shephard. The police decides on a course of action. They want to set up an ambush and Dee is going to be the bait...

To be continued....

Stolen Bicycle

To be frank, when my neighbour requested I looked into the record of my CCTV, I was a little reluctant. I am very busy with my work and have plenty of paperwork as well as reviewing the work of my colleagues. My cameras were all looking at my house and not outside unless it is leading into the entrance. My curiosity was aroused and I wanted to help. I am also the Chairman of the management council. So, it is kind of difficult if I did not do anything. I reviewed the video on the night when the bicycle disappeared. To my surprise, the camera caught a young man walking past my house at 3:15am. So I downloaded the scene and give it to the victim.

The other surprise is the thief rode the bicycle past our house. The evidence is quite concrete it is the man who walked past my house is the same guy who took the bicycle. My wife did some investigative work and questions some of our neighbours' kids. One of them inform her she recognised this guy. The victim's wife called up the police station to report that she has a suspect. The police officer on the line was not helpful. The investigating officer is not on duty and he is looking for his contact number. The police officer told her they will request for the witness or contact to go to the police station for question. By now she is so frustrated that she pass the phone to her husband...

To be continued....

Kleptomania

The new word I learn in the Straits Times recently. Well, in our estate we have a live experience. Our neighbour lost his S$4,000 bicycle on Sunday night. This cause a huge alarm and concern as we felt unsafe and violated. Since this was reported and made known to all neighbours, we starts to get reports of other items lost. The question arises "Why are we not aware of loss earlier?" We lived in a gated community. Everyone knows everyone. It is like a village or kampong. Our estate was only two and half years old and we know each other on first names basis. The thefts taught us not to be complacent. Our neighbour report the loss to the police. She also requested I check my CCTV.

To be continued....

Beyond Certainty - Charles Handy

It is hard to leave a bookshop without buying anything. I pick this book by Charles Handy. This book contains a series of articles published in Director magazine, the journal of Britain's Institute of Directors.

I like the essay on "Be Good, Stay Small and Get Rich". This is a 3 page article on family businesses is the backbone of the economy of Italy and how stay continued to stay small and relevant and produced goods and services that are invisible and stay get rich. He gave the example of German company Mittelstand make an unseen but vital component for the lift in the fork-lift truck or burners for gas cooker.

Another essay on portfolio of work rather than a job in an organization. This observation is similar to The Free Agent Nation by Dan Pink. One become a microbusiness instead of having a job in a large organisation. And work and income come from a series of projects sometimes overlapping and sometimes spread apart.

When I read these ideas, I realise I am getting ahead of my times in my current organisation. While I have not reach the Free Agent status, I am working from home and in the mind of a traditional Singaporean HR, this beyond her comprehension or acceptance. This may have cause discomfort and tension for her.

Tapei 1010 Bookstore

Four storeys of books! Most in Chinese. Every section has an English selection. The Classics Section has a lot of more titles than those in any other bookstores I have been.

Taipei

Grand Hyatt Taipei is a nice hotel. It is right beside 101 or tallest building in Asia as at today. Dinner was at the sixth floor of bookstore building. Hunan cuisine is tasty and spicy. If I have time, I may be able to check out the bookstore on Saturday morning. My flight on Saturday is at 1345hr. So I do have some time to spare. Hopefully, the store open early.

Sea Teeming with School of Fishes

It is a wonderous sight. Lots of fishes in the sea. Our sea is productive with plenty of fishes at high tide. I am very happy to see abundance of fishes in our waters. For the water that support life is a good indicator of us caring for nature and nature rewards in return. There are schools of fairly large fishes. I love it!

I have read 320 books before Nine, so can you!

This book is written by a 10 year old girl. I just browse throught it in Times Bookstore. Makes me wonder what is happening to me or rather what is not happening to me. Author is a Singaporean and Adam Khoo, another Singaporean author "I am Gifted, So are You" wrote the foreword. This book talks about reading habits and why books are important. A book lover, I shared the similar views.

Boy! Was it Hot Today!

Temperature is rising and heat is sizzling. It is hard to concentrate unless you are in the cool comfort of an aircond office. Minister Mentor, Lee Kuan Yew in an interview says it is hard to concentrate in the hot, humid afternoon of Singapore. He says the best invention will be a personal cooling suit. I heard the technician responsible for keeping his office in a very specific and constant temperature at all times died of work stress. It must be stressful to keep the room at constant temperature while the outside is perpetually changing. Boy, I hope the job pays well.

Fish!

Stephen Lundin, author of Fish! was in town today. He was in Australia yesterday with American Express and tomorrow will be in Dubai. He is balding with a prosperous belly. A fun guy to be with. Stephen has a book signing session in Times Centrepoint from 2 pm to 3 pm. The mall is rather deserted. Only ang mohs are there. Traffic to Orchard was good too. The reason is clear.... exams. This is why my kids are not with me as well.

I asked Stephen how many books did he published before successful. He says it is easy to get a book publish nowaday. He had a book that was sold for 5 copies. It is all about writing. Plenty of writings. Keep writing. Fish! took 7 months before it became a bestseller. He writes a lot. A lot of people asked him where he writes, inspiration, etc. He thought I am asking the same questions. The answer is simple - hard work, write a lot and keep writing.

The Pig That wants to be Eaten

Was having some thoughts during breakfast. I was thinking of this book and how farm animals feel. If the pig just eat, sleep and grow, how would it feel? Really bored and waiting for death to be salvation? Do you remember or know the movie, Logan's Run? In this movie, there are no old people. Once you reach certain age, you will be summon to a machine who will suck up all the humans and convert them in food or energy.
Thought experiment - pretend you are an animal in the farm. You are ignorant and you are doing everything you know. Would you know any better? The animals in the farm make love and have fights. They are doing everything in their in their natural state. How would you feel? Eating, living and growing...eventually provide energy and growth of the being that farm you.

Ignorance is bliss. I may also feel I am part of a greater good to be food of someone else.

Hurray! The Weekend is Here Again

TGIF! The time to do shopping, bring kids for tuition, have late lunch, long lunch, browse books at bookstore, laze around or simply doing nothing. Yes, no more deadlines, get this done, do that, ask why, justify why and rushing around like a chicken with its head chopped.

Is your office like a zoo or mad house? Weekend is the best time to shift gears. Yipee! Time for sanity.

Impressive SMU Attachment Program

Upon hearing from niece P that she is working, uncle(me) becomes curious and kaypoh. So I call up her mom to find out where she is working. She is actually on attachment program. She is working for peanuts during her holiday. However she is gaining valuable experience. It is a fantastic company she is working for. The MDs (Managing Directors) there are paid millions of $$$. They travel first class and wine and dine is their primary responsibility.

SMU has positioned itself well and work closely with businesses to get its students exposure. Investment banking is something I read about in Wall Street Journal and Fortune magazine. Now I know students are getting their feet wet.

Kudos to SMU!

Dim Sum at Thomson Road

I am a little obsessed by food as you can see. I tried the dim sum a few shops beside The Prata Shop during lunch today. The food was ok, not really that good. It is quite expensive too. Every plate cost $1.80. Most items are 90cts each. The food a tad too salty for me. I do not understand why it is so popular during the holiday.

I would say the dim sum in the hawker centre beside Parkway Parade is much better, tastier and more value.

An old acquaintance

Met an old acquaintance on the way to the resturant. This guy was a technician in 1984. Today, he is running a business with several partners. He sells oscillators that has no competitors and inverters for industrial motors. He has aged a lot but he was younger and more junior when we started and today, he is hell a lot more successful. Sigh! I am still an entreprenuer wannabe.

Lunch at Peach Garden

Peach Garden is on the ground floor of Thomson Plaza. We had Beijing duck, kungpo prawns, homemade tofu, noodles and dessert. The food was above average but not the best. I prefer the Beijing duck in Crystal Jade in Takashimaya. The yeefu noodles was not bad. We had some tim sum as well. I would rate the tim sum as regular. For 6 of us, the cost come to a total of $230 approximately $40 per head with no drinks.

I had good conversation and have some potential business opportunities to followup on.

Crispy Prata

I read the review of Crispy Prata in Asiaone last week. Sounds interesting. So I decided to try out this place when I woke and was feeling hungry. So instead of going to my usual place for teh halia, I went to The Prata Shop in Thomson Road. The prata was very crispy and tasty. The curry is the best curry I have tasted among my favourite prata shops.

I am not sure if it is because it is new that I have tasted. I would rank the curry much better than my regular Prata Shop at Causuarina Road. I avoid Jalan Kayu Prata as the price is high and quality and taste is a poor second compared to Causuarina Road. The other reason is Jalan Kayu Famous Prata does not treat her customers well.

Oh, on the same row of shops as The Prata Shop is a Dim Sum shop that is very popular and crowded. I think I will go there to try out the food. It must be good to attract a large crowd.

Yes, I just measured my weight and I am gaining back again once I am home. Sigh! Good food, Good life, Poor Health, Terrible Looks.

Vacation Time in SMU?

I notice my niece P who is studying in SMU has not visited for quite some time. Probably due to the vacation. She will drop by to be entertained by her uncle's blog when she get tired of studying. Niece P is the first among her cousins to be the first to go to the University. I am very proud of her.

Big Picture, Global Problem, yet...

I am just thinking, we have many problems that could change our world in an instant. It boggles my mind that we have global warming, nuclear weapons and dramatic climate that could kill us in an instant. Yet every day, we worry about our work, worry about food on the table, worry about homework, worry about exams, worry about money, worry about such small insignificant things.

We could all be wipe off the face of the earth any time. We still worry. We worry because if we are not wipe off, then what! We need to eat, we need to work, we need to go to school, we need to live....