Ahead of Times at Work

Reading Charles Handy's Beyond Certainty - The Changing World of Work, I realise I am way ahead in my thinking at work. This is causing tension and angst in an organisation steep in tradition and conservative thinking. I will reproduce Charles Handy's insights. I can say we have been there and done that!

In Chapter 35, HOW DO YOU MANAGE WHEN YOU CAN'T SEE THE PEOPLE?
Insight 1
The choice of people becomes more important than ever. One bad apple ruins the batch. Recruitment, placement, and promotion become key managerial priorities. An interview may no longer be enough. I suspect that we shall see more probationary contracts give people time to be sure.
This is how we hire new members of our team. They come in as a temp and will be converted to permanent only when we are satisfied that she or he fits the teams and produces good work.
Insight 2
How many people can you know well enough to trust? Probably not more than 50 at most. Organization units must become small and more stable so that people can get to know each other over time. Teams are now the fashion, but for teams to stay together the team have to be flexible enough to tackle a range of tasks. Trust, therefore, leads to a demand for constant updating and re-education.
We invest in training and education of every team member. Training is not limited to job related responsibilities only.
Insight 3
Trust is fueled by talk. E-mail, voice-mail and every other sort of mail are essential if out of sight is not going to mean out of mind. But hi-tech needs to be balanced by hi-touch. Video conferences work better when the participants are friends not strangers. Virtual organizations make a point of meeting together, not necessarily in offices or in office time, so that they can know each other personally as well as electronically.
We hold regular gathering that is offsite. We get to know each other personally as well as know the family of each team member.
Insight 4
The vision and values stuff really matters. If there is no common goal, people put their own goals first. If, however, those who are out of sight think that they are only working to make some anonymous shareholders a bit richer, they are unlikely to do more than they need to. There has to be more point to their work than that, and many hi-touch meetings of the group will be concerned to reinforce the mission and goals of the organization in order to win the commitment of its people.
Our values is very clear. We invest in our team members to improve and increase our capability and our Customers are number priority. Making things happens for the Customers and responding to their needs are the key purposes of our team.
Insight 5
Trust is tough. If people let you down, you cannot afford to trust them anymore. Virtual organizatons require loyalty and good performance. They reward results, but they have to punish incompetence and repeated failure. If they don't, they will have to reinstitute inspections and controls. Do not expect a guaranteed job for life from an organzation based on trust. The security has to be earned.
We help team members to move on when he or she does not meet performance expectations. Feedback is candid and improvement is expected. Otherwise timeline to move on will be set. Two members had moved on in our team attesting our practice of Insight 5.

Like it or not, the times are changing. More of us are going to have to run organizations that we cannot see and learn the ways to do it.
Since Oct 2001, I have managed the team based in Kuala Lumpur from remote. From Oct 2001 to Dec 2001, I manage from Toronto and Jan 2001 to today, I lived in Singapore who the operations stays in KL. Our performance and results are clear indications that the future of work in Charles Handy's vision has arrived.

Teach Your Children Well

I am reading Charles Handy's Beyond Certainty. In the chapter, Teach your children well, Handy summarise a study done on the education and development of Arab executives where nearly 200 executives were identified as notably successful and interviewed at length. The results is universal.

The top factors in order of importance:
1. Good education - 91% of executives had a degree or a diploma
2. Exposure to early role models - what the father does is always the best predictor of what the son will do.
3. Early responsibility - little jobs and bits of responsibility in one's youth help to build self-confidence, the willingness to make decisions and to stand the consequences which some people learn too late in life.
4. Ethics and Values - hard work and integrity, loyalty and honesty.
5. Self-development - an active inquiring mind, the urge to seek out opportunities for learning or for study, push oneself into new situations or risk mistakes, suffer rebukes in search fo experience.
6. Training - nine days per executive per year
7. Problem-solving culture

Success starts young...

Feedback from Niece P

Niece P notices I am not writing as often thinking I may be on trips. She is right. I am tied up and then get exhausted by all the activities required at work. Sometimes, it is the mood to write as well. Write is hard when face with an empty page. Although I am not as wordy as my fellow bloggers BT and SL, I will continue the discipline of writing everyday whenever and wherever I am. Sometimes, I may miss a couple days. China does not allow blogs, so I cannot update the blog whenever I am in China.

Please keep coming. I will keep writing....

Spirits Uplifted!

I have no idea why. I feel so much better being busy. I am working and working non-stop recently. A lot of the work have no clear returns. Yet, I feels good. I know I am a workaholic and is addicted to the adenaline of pace of activities. Maybe it is because other people in my peer group are in the same boat. Other colleagues have similar observations about our work culture. Maybe it feels good just to gossips or nottry to change something that is impossible to change.

I know I am feeling good because I recognised what I cannot change and now flow with the system and processes. It is great not to feel frustrated anymore. I attained samsara in the corporate world. It is peace and tranquility...

Reading

My reading has been put on the backburner recently with the dramatic increase in workload. Paul Cohello, the author of Alchemist was featured on Sunday Times and he reads a lot. He gave his books away. I strongly recommend Alchemist. It is a very interesting read and mythical as well.

Happy

Happy-go-lucky.
If you are happy, you will be lucky.
Lucky you mean a happier you.
Go lucky, be happy.
Let's all be happy and lucky!

Blogspot is Dysfunctional

Blogspot is not working properly, at least for me. The cursor refused to go to the Title. It disappeared when I try to put it up there. So now I cannot type in the title of my entries. Yet sometimes, it work ok. Frustrating!

BBQ Night on Saturday

My sisters dropped by for barbarque dinner on Saturday. I was busying cooking up a storm. I loved outdoor cooking. It is important to have a good stove. I have a heavy cast iron grill. This give my meats a professional looking grill lines. The burnt like that you get in a resturant. The meats were succulent as the juices were sealed in once the meats were seared by the hot grills. Mmm, yummy! It is nice to have family over and cooking is therapeutic as well.

It does take up a lot of time as I spend the day buying groceries and preparing the meal. It was a good day.

Chronic Headache

Seems like my headache is becoming chronic. I wonder if it is the weather. Low pressure cause migraine and maybe my migraine is returning...

Chirpy is Well Again

Chirpy is in good shape. He has totally recovered. Chirpy keep falling into the water as he think or pretend to be a kingfisher. The trouble is he has not caught any fish except almost drowning himself. We have to save him everytime he falls in. He will be like a drown rat standing on the flower pot of the water lilies waiting to be rescued:)

My Apologies for Not Updating my Blog

The last few days was busy at work and preparing for meetings and dealing with all the emails...you know all the traditional excuses. Partly, also no mood to write. I am just back from KL.

I ate something that my body did not agree with. I woke up at 5am in the morning with a royal headache and sweating profusely in a cold airconditioned room. I vomited gastric juices and it tasted terribly bitter and sour. YUCK!! Thought hard about the food I ate the night before. I think it may be too much durians or the sweet sour crabs or fried chicken wings or maybe the satay. Whatever it was, the resturant go into my blacklist of "NO GO".

The trouble with enjoying food is it come back to bite in the night or the next day. So far I have bad experience in China and Malaysia where I get really sick due to food.

Donuts at Vivo City

We were lucky today. The popular donuts shop usually a perpetual long queue and super long wait. We were third in the queue! We had half a dozen donuts, plain, sweety cheese, cheese, chocolate with nuts, almond and rich chocolate. The whole family take a bite of each type so that we can all taste the different flavours. The donuts tasted good. However I am not sure if it is worth the wait. Half a dozen cost $6. Sharing the donuts foster a our family togetherness. The donuts was kind of lunch for us. The boys were were fooling around with each other the rest of the day. They were laughing and enjoying each other company. The simple act of sharing goes a long way in promoting harmony and joy of brotherhood.

Chirpy Improving...

Looks like Chirpy is improving. He can stand on the horizontal bar in the cage. His wing look a little off as well. Chirpy had a treat today. I bought worms for his meals. He seems to enjoy them. The only worry I have is he keep his beak open after eating lots of the worms. They are not really worms but caterpillars of beetles. I wonder how it feels with so many wriggly worms in the stomach.

Affluenza

B2 has this new term for his school work. He learn the socioeconomic stratification of family and their kids. The rich kids do not know they have things that the not so well off kids dreams of. The society is moving towards the haves and the have-nots....

Chirpy is Injured

Chirpy is limping. His right leg seems to have problem taking on the weight. Chirpy no longer jumps up and down quickly. I am feeding Chirpy with earthworms and some fruits as recommended by the experienced "old bird" in keeping birds as pet. I hope Chirpy will recover as it hurts to watch it limp about in the garden.

Sanity Check

Free Agent Nation was very engaging and motivational. It makes becoming a Free Agent looks and sounds like the best thing since sliced bread. I have positive feeling this is the right way forward for me. Reading The Rise of the Creative Class is a sanity check. It shows statistics that is not as optimistic as painted by Daniel Pink in Free Agent Nation. It also talk about the reality of being a Free Agent. Once a Free Agent gets a project, there will be deadline and pressure. Hence no different with working in a big company.



Daniel Pink is in an idealistic world. He is talented and writes well. He is also a practising Free Agent. Whereas creative professional demand other dimensions in work e.g. stimulating atmosphere, teamwork, camaraderie, flexible work hours or caring environment, stability is still sort after.

Homework Time!

My boys are doing homework now. It is half past 11 and they are still trying to complete their homework. School hours are long. One in P6 and the other in Sec 3. Both come home in the late after. I have no clue why do we load our school kids with so much work. Stress in Singapore starts young.

The Rise of the Creative Class

City tolerant of the creative class are more vibrant and grow a lot more economically. What is the Creative Class? The creative professions are scientists, engineers, copy writers, authors, movie makers, etc, etc. There is a strong direct relationship of population of gay to economic growth of the city. Maybe this is why Singapore is now promoting it openness to Gays. I think our government must have been given the statistics and convince of the positive aspects of "tolerating" homosexuality.

School Term Starts Tomorrow

The third term of school starts tomorrow. It will be early start again for the boys. Holidays are over. Routine starts again. It is good that school is back. After relaxing and certainly lots of fun 4 weeks, it is time for the boys to start to study again. We will have peace and quiet at home on weekday mornings.

Kate!

Had a good chat with Kate recently. Missed having her in Singapore not that she is in Singapore. Somehow, it is different feel. Now she is half the world away and busy settling into her new role. She is a good listener and has the patience to hear me rambling away and repeat same old story. Back to her home country, she must be adjusting to reverse culture shock...like having to do everything by herself, listening to weather reports and attending meetings after meetings after meetings. We did not really have much time to catch up as she was in a conference call and then have to go for a meeting. (Read work is just talking and listening.)

HELP NEEDED!

Does any of my readers know where we can seek redress for Developers who does shoddy work and stall for time by not responding? FAR EAST ORGANISATION is taking advantage of MCST all the time. He claims he win all the lawsuits as this is what he is hired to do. He make it clear to us that he has no desire to address our issues or concerns with the property Far East develops.

Far East Developer

We just had a meeting with Far East, the condo developer. It is very sad that a large organisation like Far East do not exhibit the spirit to take responsibilities to make sure the estate is in a good condition after selling their properties. We live in a development that is built by Far East. There were many things in the estates that do not work after we moved in.

While many complaints had been lodged, Jimmy claims he had not heard of them or he only heard them after the warranty period of 12 months is over. For such a big organisation taking a stance to bully customers by quoting legal acts and throwing all the legal terms at us and making us cringe and giving veiled threats. Best of all, he even boast he fights alot of legal cases and he wins them all.

I come out of the meeting feeling discourage and cheated. It is really caveat emptor or buyers beware. I guess one of the way to get rich is to be unscrupulous.

FRIDAY!

Thank God Its Friday! Weekend is here again. I have an extremely busy day at work. I am starting to feel energised. I meant energised by the work rather then the weekend. Weekend is nice too! School will start next week. I have a couple of trips lined up in July. Will have to go to Manila soon. So many places to go and so little time.

What is my plan for the weekend? Do nothing. Just relax with a good book in a cafe. My favorite haunt is Gloria Jean Coffee in Vivo City. The staff are warm and welcoming. They pay attention and know how to make my boys happy. PageOne has 25% discount if you own DBS card. If not, 20%. Same discount as Kinokuniya but no membership required. So much more competitive than Kino. However, Kino still offers broader selection.

Reflections on the Changes at Work

I was thinking and reflecting over changes that has occurred at WORK. I was up in KL two days ago to give a talk on How to Develop Brands. Usually, when I go to the office, the whole team will go out for dinner. Dinner is the time to get to know each other better and build relationship and fosters team spirit.

I noticed our team has more new members than old. There were 6 of us at dinner. Only me and one more colleague that's two of us is in the company for more than one year. Three in the dinner are in the company for less then 3 months. This sets me thinking... Our team were merged into a bigger entity in May '06 for "financial consolidation purpose only" in other words, our profits were attractive to others. "Every thing else was going to stay the same."

In the previous 5 years, it is the last 12 months our team experienced the highest turnover rate in personnel. Our growth has slowed down dramatically. Recently, I visited our office in Singapore. There were many pretty girls. Unfortunately, I do not know any of them because they were all new. I was in the Singapore office only a month ago when I had my farewell lunch with my good friend, Kate. The economies in Singapore and Malaysia are doing well. This may be the reason why our turnover rates have increased.

With the constant change of guards, I wonders how much we spend on cost of hiring and training, how high is the opportunity cost for lost knowledge and experience and the impact on our business. Change is good. For change to be good and healthy, I believe turnover must be kept to 10 to 15%. Any higher will likely to cost the company alot.

I thought about it. Anecdotes are not strong arguments in large companies. There must be facts and figures. Business performance is no longer at the historical rates 30% or more any more. It is in line with the rates of all other divisions. Through its actions, the company has got what it wanted. So the words that we want higher growth and stronger performance are just words. It is interesting to watch everyone repeating the mantras and doing and behaving in a totally different manner to ensure we get mediocre performance.

This is what I call "Actions speaks louder than Words."

Bird

The surviving bird is doing well. I decided to call it "Chirpy". Chirpy gets foster out to a friend every time I have to travel. I do not trust the boys to look after him. I have no idea if Chirpy is a boy or girl. Since we have a family of boys, it is natural that we treat Chirpy as one of our boys:)

Million Dollar Apartments

House prices continues it rise. Condos are now in million dollars and up. So we have lots of millionaires in Singapore. Granted, banks do own a big chunk of the value of the house. If you own a condo, remember! YOU are a MILLIONAIRE.

Colleagues

A busy day interacting with my colleagues. Many conversations and learn and share many things. My colleague, Pat has improved her outlook in work life. She looks brighter and more pleasant. I am impressed by the mind over looks. Looks improved when one is positive psychologically. I believe she probably have some cosmetic surgeries or facial treatment. Whenever it is, I had a pleasant meeting and it is a huge u-turn for her. Hurray! I hope she keeps it up.

BRAND!

Today, I gave a talk on Brand and Branding. I have a series of questions on my presentation slides by did not complete my slides. The questions have a life of their own and I did not follow my prepared slides and just let the talk flow freely. My audience was a group of senior managers from SMI or small medium industries. They are very keen learners and asked a lot of questions, very penetrating and relevant questions on how to develop their brands in a market place that is crowded and everyone compete on the same basis.

Building Brand is a simple exercise. It is not easy and it take time and patience. The message must be simple and clear. It must be consistent and repeated over and over and over, again and again. The attributes must be delivered consistently to fit the message.

Heartware

Money, it seems required for modern living. We must alway worry about money and day to day living. I always look at the life of monk and wonder if it is a good alternative. More Japanese in a survey says they prefer to be born a bird and I can understand why. A bird is free. Just forage for food and free to go wherever and whenever. Yet is this perception true? I wonder how it feel when there are not enough or no food. As a bird, what will I do? Have anyone see birds playing? I have seen birds fighting over food or courtship display, even making love. Life as a bird is survival and passing on the genes.

How about becoming a monk or hermit? Food is a bland affair. All vegetarian and no fancy flavours. Meditation and cultivating the mind. Imagine sitting for more than 20 years? National Geographic had a picture of a monk who meditate for more than 20 years. What would he have accomplished? Inner space or our mind is the Final Frontier, not space. No kids, no family, no love, no sex!, just peace and tranquility.

Ahhh! Maybe a monk is still better than a bird.

Millionaire's Reflections

I am thinking on reading Fooled by Randomness and when I read Millionaire Next Door. I felt good after reading Millionaire Next Door. This is why I bought the 2nd book by the same author, The Millionaire Mind. Fooled by Randomness was entertaining. It is has a point. Whatever recommendations Millionaire Mind has can also be applied to non-millionaire.

So the question is "Is it Karma that determine whether we are Millionaire?" I am just thinking of a friend of mine. He bought a condo a few months ago. This condo is just a paper condo. The foundation is just being dug. With the price going up, he has made $800,000 as at today. Is this luck or random event? Why did I not buy a condo? This guy is 15 years my junior and he is much richer than me now because he bought at the right time. He do not even have to come up with much money to buy as it is on differed payment scheme. With maybe $15,000, he earns $800,000 in about six months.

So if this is a random event, why not me? Lady Luck did not smile on me? It is because I did not participate in the property market that is red hot right now. Should I jumped into the bandwagon now? Sigh! I believe in destiny. What is not mine will not be mine. Although I have a Scientific and Logical mind, I also believe in fate. This is why I am blessed with a great wife and three expectionally adorable and handsome boys. They are worth more than millions. Of course it will be nice to have a million dollars to buy them whatever they want....

Finding Forrestor

This is a movie that I do not get tired after watching over and over again. William Forrestor is a gifted reclusive writer who wrote only one novel in his life. He stopped writing after his novel, Avalon Landing was published as he was upset with all the critics. Jamal Wallace, a black student who scored extremely well in a states test. Jamal break into William's house as his friends dared him to. While in the house, Jamal was surprised by William and ran away leaving behind his bag containing his notes. This is the start of the relationship between a master and his apprentice. Jamal's writings improved dramatically under the personal tutelage of Forrestor. In school, Jamal offended a frustrated Professor Crawford who thinks he knows a lot about writings. Crawford accuses Jamal of plagiarism. Jamal maintains his integrity of not revealing his relationship with Forrestor and was in danger of expulsion from the prestigious private school. At the last minute, Forrestor came up to reveal the truth in the annual competition of novel writings. Jamal was vindicated in a heroic fashion and the story end with Forrest willing all his books and apartment to Jamal when he died.

Sad News

I am sad to report one of the mynah birds pass on the bird heaven. I am heart-broken. Now I may have acquired bad karma. I resolved to ensure the other bird do well and grow up healthy and strong. Now I am feeding it with rice and moist bread. For a small bird, it sure does eat a lot.

Luck is the way to your Millions

Random luck is your ticket to your Millions. I am sure Warren Buffet and Bill Gates will disagree. Me? Since I am still on my way, every time when the jackpot go past a million, I will join the queue.... Lady Luck will smile on me one day with TOTO:))

How to be a Millionaire

Accord to Nassim Taleb, in his book, Fooled by Randomness, it is by chance that anyone get to become a millionaire. Taleb was featured in our Sunday Times column. He came from a well-known political family in Lebanon. His family was rich before the fall of Lebanon.

He put up a very good point. The formula to accumulate wealth is similar to observing swans. There may be 4000 white swans, the conclusion is all swans are white. Accumulating wealth for most people will be like concluding swans are white e.g. riding the stock market or investing in property where the long term trend is up. It takes one black swan to prove "all swans are white" wrong. So it may take 10 years to accumulate a few millions but a few minutes to lose them all. His strategy is to take advantage of the rare event and make the most of it. George Soros is a good example where he make billions on unique events.

FOOLED con't

I am at Page 93. So far the anecdotes are on traders who get rich even though they are bad traders. The position of "Risk Managers" is a recent creation and a job that is secured and gives high returns as Risk Managers do not get fired. Traders may make more money in their good years but their career life can crashed anytime. Usually no traders survived more than 10 years. Stay tuned as I unfolded the secrets of earning Millions....

Catching Birds by Hand

As we were walking back to the car park at AMK Ave 1 and Ave 10 junction market, we saw two mynah birds hopping about. Mynah birds are very common and is every where especially where leftovers and food scraps are available.

I notices the birds were hopping away and expect them to fly away as we get closer. I saw both cannot fly well. So I caught one of them by hand. B1 was worried "daddy, they may have bird flu?" The birds did not look sick. They just cannot fly well. With one bird on my hand, I ran after the other and catch it with my free hand. B3 was excited. He wanted bird seeds to make a bird feeder. Our trip to buy bird seed ended with two live birds! B1 wanted me to leave the birds alone. At their current conditions, the birds will not survived too long. Cats will hunt them down and eat them up. I have seen a cat catching adult mynah before.

We went to buy a bird cage immediately and put them in a cage to bring them home. We will let them grow strong so that they can fly and release them when they are ready. Hopefully, they survived. We had tried to save a baby yellow mynah before from crows. Unfortunately the yellow mynah died. This time the birds looked more mature and I hope they can eat by themselves.

Unique Building along PIE right beside CTE

Every time I drive by the building that look like a ship, I wondered. Infineon with a giantic symbol that looks like a swoosh similar to Nike. It is very modern and unique. The design is very attractive. I thought it must be very expensive for a company to build an architectural significant building to house their operations.

Today, I learned that the building was built by Ascendas. It has feng shui elements. The building looks more like an office building inside even though it house manufacturing operations. There is a childcare center and the canteen is open to public. Carpark is free! Inside is glass and steel, very zen. I really like the building and everything still smells so new even though it is 3 years old.

My electronic engineering knowledge got updated significantly today. Visiting Customers is the best way to learn.

FOOLED!

I have finished reading A Passion for Success and now on Fooled by Randomness. I am only on chapter two. It is a consolation to know I am not rich because of random chance. I give a review once I finished reading. This book comes highly recommended by many readers.

The author challenge the findings of The Millionaire Next Door and The Millionaire Mind. Both I had read as well. Basically, he is of the opinion that it is chance that one become millionaire. That all millionaires were persistent, hardworking people does not make persistent hard workers become millionaires. Plenty of unsuccessful entrepreneurs were persistent, hardworking people. The author of Millionaire series also looked for traits these millionaires had in common and figured out that they share a taste for risk taking. Clearly, risk taking is necessary for large success --- but also necessary for failure. Had the author done the same study on bankrupt citizens he would certainly have found a predilection for risking taking.

So, how can YOU get to Millionaire status?
Will let you know soon...

Books at Great Discount

Page One, the bookstore in Vivo City is offering 20% discount for the Great Singapore Sale. DBS card holders get additional 5%. A total of 25%. Much better deal than Kinokuniya. Kino requires membership that cost $20 per annum. The selections are quite comprehensive.
There are seats with paranormic views of sea and Sentosa. It is a great place to read and relax.

A Passion for Success

by the CEO of Kyocera, Kazuo Inamori.

This book is light reading. It is hard to put it down once I opened the covers. The advice are sound and practical. The business principles he establishes may run counter to everything we have ever learned about business management.

"To excel in life, you must be willing to encounter many barriers. The biggest of all is your own mind, which seeks comfort and ease. In school, a student with "C" average who studies just enough to pass can graduate just like someone who studies intensely and achieves straight "A's". However, the difference between these two people is much greater than just two letters grades. To excel, the "A" student had to break through many barriers - some of which must have required excruciating efforts to overcome."

To be truly successful and achieve great results, we must first fall in love with our work.

New Look

With help from Boh Tong, the famous writer of Cabin Crew stories, my blog has a new look! Hope you like it....

White Clouds, Blue Sky

I am sitting right in my home office and gazing out. The weather is beautiful. The sun is bright, the sky is clear and white clouds billows moving about slowly. It is peace and transquillity. Kids at the computer playing games, wife reading the papers... a great Sunday morning.

I "harvested" about 15 limes, larger than those you get in the market from my garden. I washed and cut them up and squeeze very drop of juice out. I added loads of sugar and add boiling water. Hey presto! Home-made lime juice fresh from the garden. Fresher than the brand "Fresh" fruit juice in the supermarket. As I was making my home-made lime juice, I told my eldest the lime was in the tree 15mins ago, lime juice can't get fresher any where else. Dad, you can get it in the farm. It feels good that to have a minute slice of a farm!

Altantis

I am reading Altantis as bedtime story for my little one. He asked what is a legend? I told him legend is a long about long long time ago before daddy was born and before daddy's daddy was born. He asked why aircond is called "aircond" and why is there A B C? I explained ABC is a language that helps us communicate so that we can understand each other. For example, if he is in pain, he can tell me and I know what he meant. If he says aircond, I know he mean the object that cools our room. If he is given to our next door neighbour, then he will grow up knowing French rather than English.

I think he is satisfied with the answers and fell asleep right after. It is a good evening. Kids asked the darnest questions.

Family Down with Fever and Sore Throat

The infection is going around. B1 was sick last week. During dinner on Sunday, B3 took a piece of ice from B1 drink. Only two drops of ice water dropped into B3's hot milo. The next day B3, had high fever. We should have stop B3 from drinking the Milo and washed his hands right away. Two days ago, B2 fell sick and this morning, Mummy is down with fever. Meanwhile I am feeling lethargic with sore throat.

The power of microorganisms. My family is like a domino, one at a time. Family doctor is happy. My total bills should about $300. Antibiotics are expensive!

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....

Honey-Do

A new term we just learn from our colleague from US. He took his "honey-do" vacation. He take his leave and stay at home to fulfil his Honey! Do this. Honey! Do that! Working on the house. I had lots of memories. Memories of living in Canada. Living in a house in Canada requires lot of maintenance. Cutting grass in summer, shoveling snow in winter. Do-it-yourself home improvement. Finishing up basement, upgrading the kitchen, paint it yourself, wall paper, plumbing, lights, electrical wiring, just about everything. My ex-boss remodel and rebuilt his house in San Diego all by himself. He consider doing all these activities therapeutic. Come to think of it, I do enjoy the sense of accomplishment after completing the work.

Making millions with Internet

This guy have a business using internet with more than 300,000 subscribers. He nows make "five figure" monthly. This guy spent $50,000 on books and training.

The other featured making millions are hawkers. The top ranked sells $132,000 per month of prawn noodles. His kids do not want to sell the noodle as it is hard work, long hours and have to face the heat all day long.

Money is not everything, it sure helps.

Books and Knowledge

Books are the storehouse of knowledge. Books transmits it ideas, concepts and stories. Knowledge build on each other. Knowledge is increasing at an accelerated rate. The current estimate is knowledge doubles every 4 years. This mean in a 4 year college program, half of what you learn is obsolete in two years.

3,000 new books are published every day. Books expand the reservoir of knowledge.

Knowledge however is not wisdom. Wisdom is attaining insight of all the accumulated knowledge.

The Pleasure of Exercise

Finally, swimming and walking after 3 days of sitting and sitting and sitting. Maybe I need to do some meditating as well...sitting, sitting, the grass grows green.

My weight stood at 86.6kgs. Not bad....

Best way to gain weight is going to meetings

All I do is sit all day long drinking caffeinated hot tea and coffee and snacks on high calories cookies, kueh, cakes and curry puffs. I guess it is boredom or trying to keep awake or just trying to move my body so as I do not fall asleep.

We finished the day long meeting with heavy dinner accompanied by drinks packed with sugars. No wonder we get health problems with this kind of lifestyle.

Long day but good

Today is training day. I have a total of 12 trainees and the feedback was positive. The training programs that are not commonly available and are of interest are Influencing Skills, Managing Your Boss, Strengths, Selling Skills and Windows on Habits.

I will do another short and sweet program next time around:)

Ram Charan

Ram Charan is now the world top consultant as reported in the latest issue of Fortune. CEOs loved him and he travels around the world constantly. He does not own a house until recently. Nothing was mentioned about his immediate family except those in India he left behind. The journalist says Ram talks only business.

My ex-boss had dinner with him as he was the consultant for my previous company as well. His impression of Ram is Ram is all business. There is nothing else in his life. Another colleague of mine attended his talk in KL.

Perception or Reality

My Japanese colleague notices that I have slimmed down. My weight is at 86.8kg at night. So the reduction is only 1 kg. Is it so noticeable? I am happy to hear this. I need to continue to work on the calories intake. Tonight's dinner was Indian food at Kayu's. It is Penang style Indian food and it is very good. I eat loads and enjoys the meal a lot. Have a teh halia and mango lassi. Mango lassi was very sweet. Must have loads of sugar. Teh halia although I asked for "goran manis" or less sweet, it is still quite sweet. This mean my dinner may have set me back. I will have to continue to be viligant on my food intake....

Books seems to be more expensive in KL

The book Happiness I bought in Singapore at MPH was S$26.25 and with 20% discount I pay only $21. In Borders, KL the same book cost RM60. I guess with exchange rate it has almost the same price at list. Borders do not give discount. Kino and Times have 10% for members. Kino membership cost $20 per year. Times membership is free. Once in a while Borders will give 30% coupons published in Straits Times. Borders like to rotate a selection of books giving 3 for the price of 2 deals.

For books both in selection and price, Singapore is more appealing and competitive.

Noisy Thunderstorm

Plenty of lightning and thunder in this afternoon thunder shower. I was on a conference call and the thunders keep roaring. The lightning were scary too. I felt bad that I am disturbing the call. I keep saying sorry, it is me. I should have said sorry, it is God! I was not the one to give the deafening boom.

During lunch time, the tide was low and plenty of fishes right at the shoreline. There are schools of a different species of fish. I am glad our sea is teeming with lives. The water is healthy and sustaining life even though it is not that clean.

Happiness by Matthieu Ricard

Ricard is a French living in Shechen Monastery, Nepal. He spends two months a year in a hermitage facing the Himalayas. This is book have a lot of practical advice and at the end of every chapters there is an exercise you can try. Executing the exercise may be a challenge. If we have the discipline, then we will be able to get the benefits. This is no different with the physical exercises that keep our body fit, trim and healthy.

The following is the extract of the exercise at the end of Chapter 2.

Examining the causes of happiness
Take a quiet moment alone and try to find out what really makes you happy. Is your happiness derived mainly from outer circumstances? How much of it is due to your state of mind and the way you experience the world? If happiness comes from outer circumstances, check how stable or fragile they are. If it is due to a state of mind, consider how you can further cultivate it.

Dream

One of the many dreams I have is to retire in a University with a massive library and just do reading and research. Maybe teach young kids some courses or coach them. If I have all the money in the world, I always wonder which University who I live. It should be in a small city with good medical facilities and a reasonable selection of recreational activities.

Arthur C. Clarke is a well known science writer and futurologist. He wrote science fiction as well. He is actually a Professor teaching in the University of Ceylon. He has lived in Ceylon for many years and is very old now. He was interviewed on TV once many years ago. At that time he is with the current communication technology he can live anywhere in the world. Cellphone or internet was not invented yet. Today, the world is a lot smaller and better connected. This mean living anywhere should be easier than 30 years ago.

Where would I live when I retire? I am still pondering...

Mid Life Crisis

I just heard a 53 years old man who is thinking of retiring from his senior level job and selling speakers and other audio products. In the newspaper, a 42 years old who is a high flyer(he is a VP in a multinational) with a homemaker wife and 3 kids worrys about losing his job and thinks he should start his own business.

Is it natural to worry? Why do we worry so much? Is this a subliminal thoughts of everyone? Is it mass media celebrating the richs and the successfuls cause us to feel left behind? How about alternate lifestyles? How can we attain peace and happiness? Are our thinking and values swayed by the information we are exposed? We are hurtling into the future and into the unknown. Is it the fear of unknown? Do we need to think so far? How about the happy-go-lucky type? No worries, let tomorrow worry itself.

NOW, live for the present moment is the Way to achieve enlightenment.

You cannot edit blank!

You can edit bad writing but you cannot edit blank! Jodi Picoult. She writes every day and is bestselling author. Writing is discipline and hard work. Do not wait for inspiration. Do not worry of critics. Do not worry about nasty comments. Just keep writing...

FREE WiFi

It was in the news many months ago that Singapore will have hotspots all over the country offerring free internet. The Wife is busy and I have to assigned to wait for the boys during their tuition. I took my laptop and camp at Swenson's Resturant. Since it is not a Starbucks, I asked if WiFi is available and the waiter does not know. "Try!" he says. I did and wireless@sg came up. All I have to do is to register and it is free. Staying connected is getting easier now in Singapore. Blogging, emails, surfing,... becoming a Free Agent is so much easier now with all the information and connectivity.

I did my work while waiting. Multi-tasking and working anywhere is a cinch. Singapore, the Wired Society.

Accelerated Learning

I am preparing for training next week and consulting a book on accelerated learning. This is interesting concept. Since nineteenth century, printing and textbooks has revolutionize education. Printed words use only a small part of the brain. It is left-brain oriented as well. Current western thinking separate mind from body. Accelerated learning integrates all the different senses for the learning experience. Creating the right stimulating environment and creative teaching methods, accelerated learning help both adult or child to learn faster and retain more.

I am doing adult training. This is a good resource to have.

Walk-a-Jog...

Brisking walking and jogging is a good way to reduce weight. The effect is immediate! Just kidding - it is water loss. However, I am bringing my weight down slowly with the regular walk-a-job in the last few days. My neighbour commented that my waist has reduced. So I am encouraged!

Walking and jogging is good for the heart as well. Running is not as good for the heart and joints. Mildly strenous exercises is better for the body than the extreme types.

Disbelievers

Someone commented that Lobsang Rampa is a fraud. I should not believe in him as he is a Canadian White and not a Tibetan monk.

My favorite Buddha saying is "Do not believe just because I tell you. Believe in what you think and feel is true. Go experience yourself." Another is "I can only point you the Way, you have to walk the path yourself."

Lobsang Rampa is not the only author on Astral Travel and Akashic Records or Reincarnation. He is one of the earliest author I know of. There are a lot of mysteries in this world. Our minds are limited. So jumping to conclusions one way or another does not mean the answer is right. The more we know, the more we know what we do not know.

MPH - Raffles City

The MPH in Raffles City has some books on offer. Think and Grow Rich is at 20%. There are others with $4 discount. On the 20% discount display, I like the title Happiness by a French Buddhist monk. He had a high flying career and decide to go to Himalayas to study Buddhism. There were a lot of exercises to help in achieving peace of mind and happiness. The author uses a wide range of knowledge from east to west. So it is an interesting perspective. I quite like it but like to come at the time when it is not so rush to browse and review before purchasing.

Science Fair at Anderson Junior College

B1, the eldest is in Secondary 3. He took part in Science Fair with a group of classmates. They decided to extract reservatrol from grapes. Reservatrol is a phytochemical that prevent cancer and can be found in red wines. His team has to compete with about 40 other projects. They have to do presentation and draw charts and presented their findings. Some of the projects that won prizes are very simple in concept and have good application at home. One is a watering system - Silver. I was impressed by the group that tested boiled water for bacteria over a long period. This team won the gold award. The findings was easy to remember. Bacteria is at highest level at day 9 and day 10. After that the quantities come down again. So it is very safe to drink boiled water that is stored for a long time, the only challenge is to avoid day 9 and 10.

B1's team won silver and he is very happy to get the award and Mum and Dad are proud, very proud.