Korean Noodles at Foodcourt

What lies between me and the noodles is its spicy appearance. My sister, who can take spicy food better, is an easy target to try the food with me. I have been hounding her for weeks to try the noodles with me. In case I cumble under the extreme spiciness, she can save me.

How? She can finish up the said noodles.

Well, given the current food shortage, we should not waste food.

The noodles are springy and go well with the slightly spicy and piping hot soup. The kimchi in the soup adds crunchiness to the flavour. My rating? The noodles are good but can be abit pricey given the use of ingredients.

Grey News: Additional Workload

I was told that I would to handle the total corporate product revenue consolidation permanently as an addition to my portfolio as the current colleague handling this will be asked to do another project. Is this good or bad news? I do not know at this juncture. On one hand, I am excited as this is a more important role than my current portfolio of supporting a few departments and products. On the other hand, this change will involve longer working hours permanently as consolidation means that I will always need to wait for everyone to finish their pieces before I can roll-up, do final review and submit to my bosses and management.

I see this as grey news because it is neither good or bad or rather it can either be good or bad news.

Boss from Hell

Claire has reunited with her crush from college who introduced her to the cut-throat successful publisher, Vivian Grant. After being a family-like corporate culture publishing house, Claire braced herself for the worst with the rampant rumours of Vivian as the boss from hell.

On the first day of job, she witnessed a Vivian’s tirade against some of the more senior editors. Claire was loaded with impossible deadlines. She burnt mid-night oil, was on-call 24 by 7 and had no time for family or friends. The working environment was not helping as her colleagues were either equally tired or scheming to get in the good books of Vivian.

Vivian was not just a workaholic who expected the same from all her subordinates. She was condescending and believed that no subordinate was good enough or could not understand what she wanted. She spared no mercy with them and loaded all expletives. She was manipulative and preyed on the Achilles’ heel of Claire – comparison to Claire’s arch rival, Lulu, to get Claire to agree to taking on more assignments.

Sounds familiar? Yes, for those lovers of the movie The Devil Wears Prada, the plot of Bridie Clark’s Because She Can has a similar theme. Claire resembled the eager, impressionable and enthusiastic Anne Hathaway while Vivian Grant was evidently the character played by Meryl Streep. Although all these may edge on the verge of exaggeration and clearly fictitious, don’t we recognize a sliver of truth and resemblance of these characteristics in every day life?

Bootlicking colleagues, impossible deadlines, manipulative bosses or colleagues and endless over-times have become synonymous with successful careers, much to the chagrin of the likes of the Stepford wives. Whoa, when has the definition of a good career becomes so warped? Is working life really that cut-throat?

Why was I able to relate to Claire?

Despite hearing the rumours, Claire was determined to give herself and Vivian a chance as the stint at Grant Books will certainly enhance her resume. She gave herself a timeline of 1 year. Regardless of how bad the situation was, she would hang on for a year. When I first started on my current job, I was filled with apprehension as it was my first job change. I was worried how I would be able to survive in a private and dynamic organization. I had also given myself a timeline of about 2 years to ‘strike it out’. No matter what happened, I would certainly stay on for at least 2 years. Fortunately, I had enjoyed my job in a cordial environment that the past 2 years flew by like a breeze.

I am a sucker for happy endings. This is no exception. Claire managed to call it a stop after a while and despite just weeks before meeting her one-year cut-off. The day she walked out of Grant Books was the day that she could finally see the beautiful Manhattan skies again.

Homework?!?!?

We had a piece of reading - from Harward Business Review as homework from the course. Looking at the columnar 6-page reading in font-sized 10, it was as if I was transported back in time to my University Days. After distancing myself from such heavy reading for a long while (about 6 years ago), it was difficult to get into the momentum.

Actually, I simply could not bear reading it at all. My reading was cramped to the morning train trip before the second day lesson. Fortunately, I managed to finish the reading during the journey from Ang Mo Kio to Raffles Place. Phew, my speed reading had not failed me, even though I had a strong nudge that I was reading but not understanding.

Oh my, I believed I would certainly need to go through a long adapting period if I need to hit the books again. :-(

Buried in the Sea of People

I have never worked in the CBD - the stretch from Tanjong Pagar to Raffles Place. I will only go to these places for course or meeting consultants / vendors. After getting used to the more laid-back area such as Jurong East and Orchard (on weekdays), I nearly drowned in the sea of people when I was at Raffles Place MRT station in the peak hours to attend course.

I was already confronted by hordes of people once I was out of the train and waiting to reach the gantry via the escalator. I was surrounded by people where each of us was probably separated by a strand of hair. My heart nearly went into hyperventilation for the lack of air. I was literally being pushed forward by the people surrounding me. Glancing up, the escalator was COMPLETELY overflowing with people.

The nightmare was only beginning.

The same crowd gathered in front of the gantries waiting to get out of the train station. At this time, you prayed hard that your EZ Link card worked well and allowed you a smooth passage through the gates. Any delay in your passing through the gates could only result in two consequences - either you were stampeded by the crowd behind you or you suffered the impatient "tsk" and stares from the people.

The worst was yet to be over.

The escalator leading from the train station to above ground was equally thronged with people. Another round of jostling and pushing ensued. Everyone was desperately trying to get out of the train station and be in office in "Olympic-record" time. I thought I was already not a slow walker. Here, I was relegated to a 'tortoise' speed relative to the ladies in killer heels and the gentlemen in crisp shirt and ties. They literally zoomed past me. I better gathered my speed in order not to be a road hogger, or worse, a road block.

Finally, I was out in the open air. Although it was not as squeezy as before, the race to the office continued. Many of them carried their bags in one hand and a cup of coffee in another with the papers pressed under their armpits, they could still move along in top speed without dropping anything or spilling a drop of their coffee. Moreover, not a strand of hair was out of place or a bad of sweat was seen. Suddenly, I felt very out of place and frumpy walking alongside these super-power gentlemen and ladies.

Boy, was I glad when I finally reached my learning centre - a rather dilapidated building squeezed between two skyscrapers - OCBC Centre and One George Street. The fight for the morning had ended. I was sure more battling with the office crowd would continue during lunch and on the way home. For once, I was so glad my office was in the more relaxed area of Somerset. :-)

Negotiation and Influencing Skill Course

I think I am one who buckle quite easily when it comes to confrontation. This places me in an extremely disadvantageous position especially when discussing with the line on changing their assumptions or budget. Hence, learning how to effectively and cordially convince my line managers of Finance's perspective is an essential life skill. Hopefully, the Negotiation and Influencing Skill course will impart the necessary tools.

Some of the interesting insights shared by the coach are important while some are slightly impractical from my personal opinion.

1) Win-win are for losers
How often do we paint the ideal picture of a "win-win" situation when we are negotiating? We always strive for the best solution where no party will lose out. However, these are almost impossible. In any negotiation, some people will certainly lose out out more than the others - it is a matter of how big the win is.

2) Business Style
Each person has different business styles. Where negotiating with another party, we should know his or her business style so that we can build a better rapport. Business styles include analytical, driver, amiable and expressive. Analytical people tends to focus more on details. Driver are less patient and prefer to look at the big picture. Amiable people are more people focused. Expressive people prefers concepts and tend to be more articulate. However, sometimes, a person may not fall strictly into one category but may have a mixture of 2 to 3 dorminant traits. Knowing their characteristics, we will be able to present in a manner which the other party is more comfortable and heightens our chance of influencing them to our stance.

3) Listening
Before we can influence or negotiate, it is critical to listen to their concerns. We can improve our listening by actively asking open ended questions to gain better insights. More often than not, we may often focus more on thinking what we should say next rather than actively listening. Sometims, we may even interrupt before the person has finished speaking.

4) Different strategies and tactics
There are different strategies and tactics we can employ in negotiating. These include appeasing, indifference, competitive and cooperative. Appeasing involves more like creating buy-in through buying lunches and gifts, flattery, etc. Indifference means stalling for time or avoiding. Competitive is slightly more aggressive as it includes more intimidating acts. Cooperative seeks better understanding and collaborative efforts.

5) Handling difficult person
One way of dealing with difficult person is to identify his traits and thinking something good about the person so that we will not 'close the door' to this person. For instance, a pushy person may be due to them being too stressed while a person who is temperamental may have personal problems. Hence, we should be more understanding and focus on the better traits of this person.

I agree to some of these tools / concepts but not all of them. Moreover, when it is pertaining to the actual situation, most likely such tools and concepts will not be recollected and we will rely our instinct to handle the situation.

Local Fare

I am certainly a Singaporean at heart. Nah, I am not referring to the less desirable characteristics which are often associated with Singaporeans but more of Singaporeans' hobbies. I am both as much a gastronomic as a shopping fan - both leisure activities which are ranked among the highest in the popularity list of Singaporeans. Food is the favourite past-time of many Singaporeans. Singaporeans' taste are also wide-ranged from our round-the-corner Char Kway Teow in hawker centres to the fine dining by Cordon Bleu / Michelin certified restaurants.


I am too a foodie at heart. However, being a lady, I am also very aware of the side-effects of having too many good things at a time. To prevent my calories piling and tipping the weighing scale, everything has to be taken in moderation. Singaporeans, being highly knowledgeable of the 'hazards' associated with some of our most loved food, will have to refrain from indulging in our 'food spree' too often.


Let me not digress to much from the 'star' of the day. One of my favourite food indulgences is that of barbecued seafood which can be found in almost all hawker centres. The sizzling of the onions and balachan on the stingray placed strategically on top of the banana leaf in the hot plate will whet your appetite and send anticipation to your stomach. The smooth and sweet taste of the stingray is enhanced by the spiciness of the balachan and dried shrimps. The sweetness of the fish, the onions and shallots will also aid in neutralising some of the spiciness. For those who opt for a more balanced meal, the stir-fried kailan, spicy kang kong or spicy sweet potato leaves are equally mouth-watering.



Both are excellent dishes to go with rice. Before you know it, you would already have gulped down a large bowl of rice. For those of us who may be blessed with a very high tolerance of spiciness, the scorching spiciness lingering in our mouth, the sweat and sometimes runny nose from the high spicy level may not put us off. In fact, we feel more 'shiok' from the entire experience. Moreover, spiciness is an acquired taste. The more you eat, the more addicted you are and the better will be your tolerance level.


Don't salivate yet, dinner is still a few more hours away.

Continuing Financial Turmoil

Just as we thought the storm had blown over in the financial markets, the tenacles of the bad assets (I wondered if I could still call them assets when they caused the financial institutions to write-off as losses and be laden with debts) extended across the Atlantic Ocean to the Europeans. Panic gripped the markets worldwide with stock markt plunging and government rushing to put in emergency funds to rescue these stricken organisations.

With some of the familiar financial institutions going under, the question is no longer whether this is the last to be hurt but rather who will be next. Retail investors like you and me start wondering if our miniscule savings stash in the bank are safe. Despite them being miniscule, they can represent our life-time wealth. For the extremely cautious people, they contemplated if not already act on their decision, to withdraw from the banks. In spite of progressing, we seem to be regressing to the times when people hide their savings in tin cans and hang on their roof or place below their bags or maybe even sew them into their pillows.

Therein lies the greatest dilemmas. When you have savings, you worry about where to put these savings and how to make money work for you instead of vice versa. When you have no savings, you worry about your future, your retirement and keep praying hard that you keep your job and no one in your family falls sick. Regardless of which side of the 'grass' you are on, it seems like we will still be burdened with worries. Different worries plague different people.

Which side would you prefer?

Fear

Knowledge can make you more powerful and confident. Knowledge can also make you more fearful and wary. Ignorance is sometimes bliss. Why is this so? Simply put, once bitten, twice shy. Contrary to popular belief, the older one gets, the more fearful one gets especially one becomes increasingly aware of one's mortality.

Maybe you are already busy shaking your head or dying to rebuke me, perhaps allow me to elaborate with some anecdotes.

My boss recently came back from a holiday in Maldives. Much as she enjoyed the blue sea, the white sand and the sunny skies, she was also sharing her thoughts during a snorkeling trip. My boss used to be quite adventurous when it comes to snorkeling especially in very clean and clear waters. She used to think next to nothing about the sports as it is pretty safe even for very novice swimmers. In this trip, as she paddled her way in the waters, she was struck by how precarious the seabed terrain was. The seabed could be quite shallow here and suddenly dipped sharply just a few steps away. While she was contemplating this, she surfaced out of the water and noticed how far she was away from the main boat. Immediately, panic flashed through her mind when she realised that if she were not careful, she could have drifted too far. If she ran into any problem, it would be difficult for anyone in the snorkeling trip to extend any help. That was when she was acutely aware of her mortality and how dangerous snorkeling could be.

The first time I was on a sky ride in Sentosa - ie those benches which ran on cable and hang overhead to transport people from downhill to uphill quickly, I was pretty excited by the prospect until I sat on the bench which started to move. The free hanging legs, the height above ground, the relatively unprotected bench (except for a metal bar on our legs near our pelvis which served as the only safety measure) increased my insecurity and fear. As much as I was excited by the beautiful sceneries on such height, I was simultaneously trying to keep any physical action to the minimal. Having experienced the nervousness of being on a chair at great height, I was gripped with fear when I was confronted with the chair lift in Hokkaido. Relative to that in Sentosa, this did not even have a metal bar as a precautionary measure. Fortunately, for most part of the trip, our legs were only a few feet away from ground except for certain stretches of the journey.

If I had not gone through what I had in Sentosa, I would probably think nothing of the chairlift and may even be pretty excited about it. Having tried something before may increase our confidence about doing something again. It can also put us off something totally. Anything can cut both ways. As we grow older and acquire more experiences, sometimes we may be more wary and fearful than when we are younger, partly because we start to associate different experiences, especially the less pleasant ones and partly because we have more to lose, with our commitment to our family and dreams.

The Right Word at the Right Time

This is an encyclopedia of English by Readers' Digest which I have won in a Stomp's English contest a couple of months ago.

By encyclopedia, you can already imagine the thickness of the book. It looks somewhat like a dictionary as well as it lists words from a to z - no pictures, with font size of about 10-11 and each page is separated into 2 columns. Erm, it is not exactly easy reading because reading it is tantamount to reading disctionary with meanings and phonics.

Since it is not easy reading and in order not to tax my degenerating brain power too much, I try to read only 1 to 2 paragraphs on some nights. Hopefully, these grammatical rules and vocabulary will be absorbed so that my English standard can show some signs of improving from its current rather dire state.

The first rule that I read about is on the use of articles - whether it should be "a" or "an". If you are sniggering behind my back now and wondering why I even bother wasting my time on a rule which a primary school child can rattle off the back of their hand, you will certainly fall off your chair if I confess how enlightened I have been from this precious paragraph. Well, actually it is more like a 2-page write-up on this, so you can imagine the importance of this.

Raise up your hand.

How many of you think or have been taught that "an" is to be used in front of words starting with vowels (ie "a", "e", "i", "o", "u") and the rest "a"?

If you are fully cognisant of the nuances in "a" and "an", I applaud the success of your grammar teacher as well as your proficiency in the English language. For the rest who are completely oblivious to the correct grammar and presume than "an" is to be used with words starting with vowels, allow me 5 minutes to summarise what I have learnt from THE book.

"An" is to be used in front of words with vowel-sounding first syllable regardless of how it is spelt. Hence, we should use "an" with "honour" because "honour" sounds like starting with "O". We should NOT use "a" simply because "honour" is spelt with a "h".

Of course, there are more rules but I am still in the first few pages of "A". You see, once you read a paragraph, you must ponder about it before understanding, so a page takes longer to read than a simple novel. I will certainly work harder to do more reading and understanding. Hopefully, the next time you read my entries, you will see some (I will refrain from saying "marked" and setting too high an expectation for myself) improvements in my writing, especially with respect to the grammar.

Let me continue with my journey of English "upgrade" for now. Till then, please forgive me for any grammatical boo-boo.

A Diagnosis of My Immunity

I noticed a trend - a trend on my immunity. Once my body succumbs to the tyranny of the common flu, cold, sore-throat viruses, my immunity level is adversely affected. It takes a long way to build itself up again. Thus, during this recovery period, I am more susceptible to the attack of another bout of viruses.

The worst is not over. Even after my immunity strives to stand on its own again after the last failed battle, it is not as sturdy as before. It loses its stamina quicker than the previous fight, making me more prone to showing the symptoms of the maladies at an earlier stage. Running nose, sore throat, aching body and drowsiness weakens my willpower to "thrash" it out with the viruses. Before my willpower can be boosted, my body again takes a surrendering position. Once again, the viruses triumph over my immunity.

The side-effects tend to be more long-lasting and stronger with each win of the viruses. Not only do I end up with running nose and sore-throat, I end up having an infection and minor allergy of my eyes as well. It is time for a visit to the doctors again. Urrgg, this is another taint on my MC record. I must really watch out in order not to cause further convenience to my colleagues and bosses.

Maybe the back-up immunity comes too late? I should not have started consuming Vitamin C only at the onset of the flu but rather take it conscientiously and regularly to give my immunity the boost. When I consume Vitamin C too late, my immunity is so weakened that it can no longer ride on the benefits of the Vitamin C. Not only is this another ravage of my immunity, the Vitamin C taken is also wasted.

If my immunity is kept at a tip-top level through a regular intake of Vitamin C, can it ward off all the viruses. I should really take better care of my immunity and my body to prevent it from becoming frailer. To do that, I must really watch out for pharmacies' sales and stock up on my supply of health supplements.

Big Megamalls

Talking about big megamalls, you may frown and think that there are hardly any big malls in Singapore. Maybe you may think of Vivocity, Ngee Ann City or Marina Square. These malls are not small but perhaps they are constantly thronged with people that they give an illusion of a smaller space.

Strangely, I seemed never been able to completely explore Causeway Point and Vivocity. Yes, you have not heard wrongly. I really meant Causeway Point at Woodlands. It was the third visit yet I have not visited all floors of the place. Is it because it is too big? Likely, because the few times I dropped by, I spent at least 2 hours there. Alright, maybe I should discount the first visit because that occurred before the place was fully renovated and opened its doors to the public. At that time, Metro was the anchor tenant of the mall. On the second visit, I was there for lunch and shoe shopping because my sister spotted a pair of shoes that I desired but could not find the right size and colour in other outlets. On this third visit, other than spending a long time queuing for dinner, I basically visited about 3 shops and it was time for the mall to close.

I think the times I visited Vivocity should have outnumbered that for Causeway Point. This is if I have not counted wrongly. If you merely linger around its main lobbies, then you would have missed out on many interesting eateries and boutiques which are hidden at many corners. These shops and F & B outlets are located either facing the sentosa or the side facing the main road. Till today, I doubt I have fully explored all these places, because normally after I have explored the main lobby, I am either too tired to continue walking or again it is time to head home.

Given the high turnover of some of the shops in these popular areas, by the time you fully explore the mall, the mall may have a change in tenant mix again. So why shop overseas when we have not lack of shopping at our doorstep?

Happy Children's Day

It has been ages since I last celebrate Children's Day. If I did not recall wrongly, the last time I celebrated Children's Day was probably when I was in Primary School. As Hari Raya Puasa fell on Children's Day this year, we adults could finally get a day off on Children's Day after so many years. It is perhaps a reminder for us to celebrate our forgotten childhood.

How have you celebrated yours?

Happy Children's Day. May you look forward to each day with the innocence and happiness as a child.

Ms Chan's Big Day

One of the musketeers - Ms Chan finally promoted to "Mrs" with effect from today.

May she live in eternal marital bliss!

F1 Craze

It has been the talk of the town for many months. Some of my colleagues are even taking leave to personally witness the booming cars, the seamless workings of the pit crew as well as the handsome drivers.

Of course, I am clueless about the cars, the engines and all the mechanics. Obviously, I cannot understand some of the hype surrounding the event other than the beautiful city view having been lit up specially for the event.

Clearly, I am in the 'out' group. When I was returning home after a wedding dinner, the hotel whichis just a street away from the F1 track was simply congested with traffic - both vehicles frm the diversion of roads as well as people from returning after catching the finals.

Although I never watch any of the race, I do feel the craze when because of the traffic, I was stuck in the jams for at least 30 minutes.

F1 Grand Prix

The tickets for the inaugural F1 night race are too expensive. However, I can busk in the excitement by getting up close and personal with the trophy. Although I cannot touch it, I can certainly snap a picture of it.

Playing with Video Calls

My colleague and I were suddenly piqued with curiosity about 3G phones. Despite having a 3G phone for years and under a 3G plan, we have never used it beyond a 2G means, ie just normal voice calls and texting.

Since we are working in a telco, we should be more familiar with the services that we are offering, so we attempt to do a video call. Wow, we got really excited when we saw images of the party we were talking to and our own face in the screen of the phone.

We thought 3G phone calls would be a solution for friends and families who were separated geographically, ie when we were posted overseas or were travelling overseas. My colleague even suggested that she could call me using video calls when she got lost driving in Ang Mo Kio so that I could see where she was and provided her directional guide.

Wow, it would really be very convenient with 3G calls. It was a pity that we only discovered its usefulness recently.

P.S. My colleague and I are sitting only side-by-side.

Technical Knowledge Overload

As part of our training program, free Financial Reporting Standards (FRS) updates seminars are conducted by our auditors. It has been ages since I last attend such a session. Moreover, keeping abreast with the changes in the accounting world is part of the professional requirement of ICPAS. Hence, I signed up for the course immediately.

The Partner started off by sharing about the latest business consolidation standards, ie adding the financials of 2 related companies together. Given that I was already very confused during uni days about consolidation of accounts. As he quoted the numbers to illustrate, I was certainly lost after a while.

Everything went downhill from then on. The information came in waves that merely overloaded my mind. My brain had not worked as hard since I last sat for the qualifying exams for non-practising accountant. Being rusty from use, it was never at its tip-top position to fully absorb and assimilate the information passed on. My mind started to drift after a while.

Looks like it will be very hard for me to pick up the books and go back to school. I have never known that it is this hard to be a student. :-(

Pow Sing Peranakan Cuisine

I am a big fan of Peranakan cuisine with its sweet, sour and spicy taste. Pow Sing Restaurant is one which offers fairly reasonably priced dishes at Serangoon Gardens. When the restaurant opens a stall in Food Republic, I always order its grilled set as it is a set without my having to think of what to eat.

Street Sights

I got off at the wrong bus-stop because I remembered the route wrongly. As bus 124 was going in a loop, I recalled it stopping at Capitol Building but I forgot that it was en-route to Telok Blangah and not from Telok Blangah back to Whampoa. Hence, I ended up alighting at SMU and had to walk back to Cityhall.

Sometimes, a little de-tour was also good because I passed by places that I would normally ventured to. I walked through SMU and seemed to be transported back in time to my uni days. I passed by the very-well-preserved Stamford House which currently was hosting a variety of cafes and boutiques. I was also greeted by the used-to-be MPH building just opposite the already demolished old national library when I was waiting at the traffic junction.

In the not too warm evening, I suddenly felt very touristy and stopped by to snap a picture of the ageless MPH. Just as it used to be a great landmark, the old MPH continued to captivate passerbys with its rather colonial façade. I felt guilty. Having travel far to other cities and be wowed by each city’s unique personality, I seemed to be less interested in exploring Singapore.

The Singapore Flyer is the latest icon on the bayfront. Although I have yet to have a chance to ride in the cabin overlooking the bay, I can at least see for myself its full glory as it lights up the night skies.

As a Singaporean, I ought to very ashamed of myself. I should really spend more time exploring Singapore.

Bus Ride

My love-hate relationship with bus-rides is almost like riding a roller-coaster.

When I was a child, I used to like buses. The rides were smooth and I could nap throughout the ride so that I woke up refreshed. With the advent of MRT, I preferred MRT as they were cleaner, faster and more comfortable. At that time, many buses were still non-air-conditioned while train cabins were certainly air-conditioned. I used to shun away from buses as the journeys were long-winded. The increasing crowd heightened claustrophobia and created a rowdier ride. Bus drivers who were more reckless with intervals of fast driving accompanied by fast brakes exacerbated car-sickness. Thus, given a choice, I would opt for MRT over buses.

Recently, I become more acceptable to buses again as buses can offer me a faster and more convenient mode of transport than MRT. My residence is between 2 train stations. This means it is a long walk if I would to take train. Even if I take train, travelling to places in the East will take at least an hour. As some buses will only take 45 min (eg Bugis), I turn to the buses instead. With the new airconditioned buses and the wider seats, at least I felt less claustrophic in a bus. Some of the revamped routes are also less long-winded so it made me less susceptible to bus-sickness.

When I was going to Hui's house for ber baby's showers, I took a 30-minute bus from Plaza Singapura to her house. She was surprised when she heard I took the bus. She thought it was a pretty long journey while I took a 30-minute ride was quite manageable, frankly. When I overcome the jerkiness of certain rides, I am able to better appreciate the journey - the local sceneries that are often not available in the underground tunnels.

Hey, I start to enjoy taking buses. :-)

Singapore Biennale 2008

I took a bus and as the bus turned at the junction, I saw people standing in front of sheets of red and blue film and staring hard. My curiosity was piqued. What were they looking at?

When I had the chance to pass by the place a second time, I made sure that I seized the opportunity to look through the films to seek ‘enlightenment’. Oh, I finally see what the rest see.

The red and blue films filtered out certain colours so that different pictures revealed under the different lights.

Dismal News

Incident 1: Bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers and the financial difficulty of AIG.

Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae or Bear Sternes are names too remote to cause any alarm to Singaporeans. However, Lehman Brothers and AIG are certainly close to the hearts of many. The former offers high yield-high notes which are tied in with DBS where many retail investors in Singapore have subscribed. AIG, on the other hand, is the parent company of AIA which is also one of the largest insurance companies in Singapore. The ripple effect of the subprime mortgage crisis of US has finally hit home and gradually evolved to a widespread financial crisis.

To many people, money placed with Lehman Brothers and AIG could be their life-long savings. Any loss in money would be a pain in the heart, much less these are their life-long savings. Given the spate of the financial turmoils, it is inevitable that many laymen like you and I are increasingly more wary of placing our heart-earned money in investments, including insurance. Maybe we will retract to the time where we will place our money under our pillows where we can feel it every night we sleep to know that they are still safe with us.

Incident 2: Melamine found in many dairy products of China

Again, initially it sound remote with some of the Chinese brands being affected. Then, it hit home when some of the familiar household names such as Dutch Lady and the White Rabbit candies are also affected. Then, more brands are being named as Chinese milk powder is one of their ingredients. As we recalled that we have once consumed some of these products, we began to fear for ourselves. Has the toxin already taken root in our bodies? What other problems could there be in other food that we consumed and waiting to be uncover.

Sometimes, I wonder why businesses cannot be conducted with greater responsibility and ethics?

Change of Taste?

Everyone goes through different phases in life. We fall in love with certain things at one point and fall out of love at another time. It applies to all things - hobbies, fashion, music and even books. I used to like books on philosophy. Jostein Gaarder's Sophie's World has kept me hooked for a long time with provoking questions like "Who am I?" and "What am I?".

Sophie's World is almost like a Pandora's Box which invoked my curiosity and interest on philosophy. Yet, it also resulted in puzzlement and apprehension when I could not fully comprehend the ideas that the author is trying to convey. I have subsequently read Jostein Gaarder's other books, such as The Solitaire Mystery. Yet, none left as deep impression as Sophie's World.

Years later, I tried to read Maya which is also by Jostein Gaarder. Philosophy no longer keeps me as captivated as before. In fact, I have much difficulties trying to follow the flow of ideas. I understand the meanings of the words on their own but when they are stringed together into sentences and paragraphs, the meanings eluded me. It is so difficult that I finally decide to give up as somewhere along the paragraphs, I have already lost the flow of the story.

Can this be a change in taste? A taste in reading... ...

Bustling Chinatown

I have not been to Chinatown since the renovation of the Chinatown market. My 'foray' into Chinatown are typically concentrated in a few buildings where the tour agencies are concentrated. Being one of the most famous places of interest in Singapore, it is pity how little a home-grown Singaporean like me know of the place.

One of the latest attractions along Chinatown - Buddha Relic Temple. The facade of the temple in itself is already a feast for the eye. The building consists of 5 storeys with each floor either devoted to prayers or as an exhibition hall sharing the history of Buddhism and showcasing the Buddha Relic. There is even a rooftop garden opening up to the skyline of the Central Business District. As it was the Mid-Autumn festival, many lanterns created by the members of the public hang on the ceiling outside the entrance of the Temple.

The latest Chinatown market is bustling with many stalls just like before. With its sheer size, I can easily lose my way in the maze of stalls.



Outside the market, there is a bazaar selling many souvenirs of Singapore as well as many food stores selling 'international cuisines' which include the Germans' pretzels and sausages, Korean barbecued food and the Chinese pomelo.




I wish I have arrived earlier so that I have more time to leisurely explore my way around Chinatown.

My dinner at Chinatown

Mid-Autumn

It is a drizzling, so it is probably difficult to sip our tea, eat the mooncake and admiring the moon. Although the moon has hidden behind our clouds, so we can still eat our mooncake. Mooncake can be very filling after a while, so it is better to share.

Mid-autumn should be spent together with your family. Good things (eg mooncakes) are meant to be shared. *Wink*

Stress Time: Maybe a Baby

The host - Flying Dutchman invited 4 male guests whom included Hossan Leong and Willin Loh to share why Singaporeans are not getting married and making babies. Before you go "Oh! No! Here again?!?!?", I assure you that it was pretty interesting to hear this issue from the perspective of another gender. For some time, we focused on the Singapore women and what stopped them from having babies. Now, we hear from the men why they too had a part to play, especially when a sloppy guy who wore flip flops to his first date was cited on national TV.

Before we even talk about having babies, we need to get people to tie the knot. The rising prosperity of Singapore's economy and the educational level of women had once been attributed as the main factors for later marriages and rising divorce rates. I wonder if these were the sole reasons. However, to completely dismiss them appeared illogical as trends showed a correlation. Increasingly, other reasons such as how it could be stressful juggling both careers and family for working mothers and the high cost of raising a child (from education to infant care) started to take centre stage. Such concerns normally came from the female perspectives. What were some of the thoughts of the men?

While women complained about the lack of social graces of some men, the men were stressed by women who judged each date on potential husband material checklist. This robbed the joy of dating. Indeed, this might put many men off. This was also one reason why some older men chose to date younger women to avoid this stress.

It was certainly entertaining and insightful to hear from the men. Let's face it. Sometimes, we women can get too preoccupied by our concerns, our stress, our difficulties that we inevitably influence our better halves. So, are the men freed of all charges? Well, personally, I have also had my fair share of lousy "dates" (both the persons and the events), mostly non-chivalrous men. To quote a few examples, I have met dates who are grossly late. Erm, if you are so busy with your other appointments, maybe I should not take up any more of your time. I have also met dates who completely disregard my presence by walking way ahead of me. Hello, I do not think I am such a disgrace to be walked beside. Moreoever, we are not in a short sprint here. I have met dates whose wallets miraculously disappear when it is bill-time. Come-on, many Singaporean women are financially independent these days. We will often offer to go dutch.

Does this mean that Singaporean men are beyond redemption? Certainly not, we women must also do some self-reflection too.

We shake our heads when our dates appear in flip flops and bermudas. No doubt, our dates have to be blamed for making such a social faux pas, especially when we are attending a concerts or dining at a restaurant, maybe it is signal that our dates are more comfortable in a more casual setting. Or, in the worst case scenario, our dates hinting BIG-time of their disinterest in us by simply not making any effort and appearing obnoxious?

We complain that the men are not helping enough with household chores and taking care of the family. Well, Singapore men, get off your couch and start vacuuming right away. Women, please keep out of the way, instead of being a commando, giving instructions and criticising continuously before jumping in and taking over. We have our fair share of being scolded by our bosses or snubbed by our peers at work, let us not create the same environment at home. Furthermore, everyone learns from mistakes. So what if the dust still accumulates at the corners or water drips on the floor during the mop. It can only get better the next time.

Everyone dislikes being judged as a potential husband or wife material on the first date. Everyone hates it more when the likelihood of the next date is determined completely by this first judgement. Hey, there are some late bloomers where their true potential will only reveal at a later stage. Much as we are anxious of ensnaring the most eligible male out there, we also want the feelings to be mutually reciprocated. By bringing out our checklist too prematurely, we will only be shooting ourselves with our guns. Do not do unto others what you do not want others to do unto you. In the same manner, we also do not want our dates to judge us as a potential mother or wife material on the first date. Just relax and enjoy each other's company.

As much as it sounds very cliche, it does take take two hands to clap. While women always lament about men not understanding them, have we always try to put ourselves in the shoes of the men? If it is tough for women, it is similarly tough for men.

Cut the Slack

To disappoint you, I have not cut the slacks on my job. If you think I am referring to my exercise regime, I am certainly a self-declared slacker and I have no intention of changing this in the near future. The slack here refers to my dressing.

I was abashed when my boss asked me why I had looked so casual on a weekday. She thought I was wearing jeans. I was donning a white blouse and a pair of green pants. It seemed like the ‘culprit’ was the pants. In fact, I thought I looked pretty formal until she questioned this. It was never intentional.

Uh-oh, I better watched out on my dressing. The safest bet would always be at least a shirt and a skirt despite such combination being a bore at times.

Tough Decision - Do not Make in Haste

The below is an extraction from an email that has been forwarded to me. The words in italics and purple are adapted from its original form. It really set me thinking, so I thought of sharing with you. Unfortunately, I do not know who is the original author to give him or her the due credit. Whoever he or she is, thank you for sharing this and set us thinking so that we do not lose sight of the bigger picture when we have to make a tough decision.

A group of children were playing near two railway tracks, one still in use while the other unused. Only one child played on the unused track, the rest on the operational track. The train is coming, and you are just beside the track interchange. You can make the train change its course to the unused track and save most of the kids. However, that would also mean the lone child playing by the unused track would be sacrificed. Or would you rather let the train go its way?

Most people might choose to divert the course of the train, and sacrifice only one child. Yet, have you ever thought that the child choosing to play on the disused track had in fact made the right decision to play at a safe place? Nevertheless, he had to be sacrificed because of his ignorant friends who chose to play where the danger was. This kind of dilemma happens around us everyday.

The kids playing on the operational track should have known very well that track was still in use, and that they should have run away if they heard the train's sirens. If the train was diverted, that lone child would definitely die because he never thought the train could come over to that track! Moreover, that track was not in use probably because it was not safe. If the train was diverted to the track, we could put the lives of all passengers on board at stake! And in your attempt to save a few kids by sacrificing one child, you might end up sacrificing hundreds of people to save these few kids.

This is indeed something is worthwhile pondering upon. Sometimes, in a haste to make decision, we may be lured into thinking short-term.

Bibimbak

Hee hee, I finally lay my hands on the bibimbak.

What is bibimbak? It is a traditional Korean rice dish mixed with colourful vegetables such as carrots and cucumbers, a half-boiled egg and barbequed meat in a stone bowl. When served, it has a tinkling sizzling sound.

I have been intrigued by the dish for a long time, since the opening of the foodcourt at Ang Mo Kio hub. It is one of the most popular stalls. My line of sight inevitably drift to other patrons who order the dish every time I visit the food court. For fear of the spiciness of the dish, I have always resisted this temptation. Until recently, I have been assured by another patron that it was not spicy at all did I have the courage to take it on.

It was scaldingly hot as the heat was maintained by the stone bowl. The crispy rice at the bottom of the bowl added more crunchiness to the dish. it was not spicy initially, but the spiciness grew as I took more mouthfuls. For someone who do not have a high tolerance for spicy food, I would rate the spiciness as still manageable.

Ah, finally, my curiosity for the dish was satisfied. Nothing beats having a wonderful dish to end off a hectic day. :-)

Ichiban Bento

I always like Ichiban Bento and their sushi. I am always attracted by their colours. My sister has cravings for Ichiban as she has not had Japanese food for a while, so we order one of their bentos to share. This bento comes with 2 mini rice-bowl. We are both watching our weight, so the mini rice-bowl suits us fine. The softshell crab is crispy without being oily. What a satisfying but not too filling meal. :-)

Lamenting About Time

I still believe it is a sign of age. Reminiscing about the past and talking about the impending old age become more frequent as one gets older. Come on, when you are in your primary school, you hope time will pass by faster, so that you can do things on your own. Then when you are in your teens, how often to reflect and brood over the past memories in your childhood? When you are in your early twenties, you will think that people who are past their 30s are already considered ancient.

However, when you are in your late twenties, you start to feel the first sign of age, when you take longer to recover from your common ailments, such as flu or cough. You will also start to recall more and more fondly of your more havoc lifestyle in your school days where fear or beauty sleep are practically non-existent in your vocabulary. You start to look towards the big 3-0 with dread. You only think people who are in their sixties as being ancient. During those times when you are engulfed by work, time really flew by at the blink of an eye. Come year-end, all the unfulfilled resolutions would again cast a grey cloud over the festive mood.

We were working late again and my boss' boss dropped by and lamented that he seemed to pass his career prime and approaching the big 5-0. He counted the number of forecast and budget exercises that he had gone through and could not believe the numbers. My boss chipped in to comment that she used to think people in their thirties were old, now she felt that people in their fifties were still ok. My boss' boss added that he now paid more attention to obituary as there seemed to be more of his peers leaving this world.

You will be surprised at how all these complaints about lost time can be severely demoralising and depressing. Yet, it remains constantly as a nagging thought because time will always be a limited resource. If you feel that all these sound extremely foreign, congrats! You are probably still basking in your youth with all the parties and fun. If you are busy nodding your head with each paragraph, welcome to the club. All is not lost, we can still make up for as much lost time as we can. If you are in the mood of chatting about the past, you can always count me in and we can happily reminisce over tea and scones on a lazy afternoon.

Happy Teachers' Day

Happy Teachers' Day to all teachers (past and present)!

Teachers play a very pivotal role in many of our lives, especially to many Generation Yers, Xers and Baby Boomers when our parents often leave the teaching and often the discipline to the 'professionals', ie teachers in schools. Teachers are often our first mentors to our studies, our values and our protocols. In fact, many of us are so inspired by our teachers that one of our childhood dreams is to become a teacher.

I always count myself very lucky to meet and to have Mrs Lim-Tan as my form teacher when I first entered primary school. She was the one who eradicated my fears and built my liking for school life. She was always patient even to the most mischievous student. Coming from a Chinese-speaking family, it was almost frightening to go into primary school where all teachers and students (except during Chinese lessons) had to converse in English all the time. To be frank, I only knew words but not sentences. Yet, Mrs Lim-Tan would explain words slowly to me and gradually built my confidence for English. She also encouraged my love for arts and drawing by displaying some of my completed pieces on the class' noticeboard. I believed no one could surpass her as the epitome of a perfect role model, not even my mum (but please do not let slip this to her).

When I was in secondary school, my poor command of English continued to take 'centre stage' on the 'billboard' of problems. Again, I had to thank my lucky stars for being in the English class of Miss Thng. Not only did she stay back after 'official' classes to run through grammar practices with me, she also patiently listened to my grumbles of life when it was one of my most diffident phases.

Study stress peaked when I entered into JC where complexities of the concepts increased tremendously. Being a studious but not very intelligent student, I started to lag behind. Trust me, I was not being humble when I defined myself as not being intelligent. Adjectives are often used in relativity. Standing beside classmates who topped O Levels with their more than 9 A1s and who made it to the Chemistry Olympics or the then-prestigious TERP programs (in conjunction with NUS), my mediocre results paled in comparison. In fact, at one stage, I was always at the bottom of test list with my 'O' and 'F' grades.

Science has always never been one of my strongest subjects. Yet, I was doing both Physics and Chemistry. When I started to flunk or borderline pass Physics, I was granted a separate session with my CT tutor - Mrs Tan. Again, such sessions were conducted after official school lessons and yet she had patiently ran through different 10-year series questions with me. In fact, Mrs Tan was very well-liked by the entire class.

There are many other teachers who had helped me both academically or in character-building throughout my school days. The three named above are just three who have leaved a more lasting impression. They have all contributed to who I am and where I am today. I am not perfect. Nor am I extremely successful. Yet, I will continue to strive on both in my work performance or my values and character-building with their teachings as guidance.

I am sure you too hold fond memories of your teachers. Happy Teachers' Day.

New Dish at Crystal Jade?

It is the time of the year to start redeeming my credit card points. There are not many choices given my pathetic credit card points. Usually, I will settle for F & B vouchers since eating well has always been one of my primary guiding principles. Stop sniggering! You must be wondering that this must be one of the greatest joke of the year - how can someone who eats bread for lunches have eating as a principle? Much less "primary principle"? Well, though I eat rather plainly for weekday lunches, my desire and 'quest' for food unleash over the weekend.


Given the rather limited choices, I shortlist Crystal Jade for redemption since my family patronises Crystal Jade more than any other restaurants I know of. The waitress recommends one of their signature dish - claypot stewed spring chicken stuffed with fish maw and mushroom. Apparently, it is so popular that the waitress has to be check with the kitchen if there is any left for the day. Hmm, strangely, I have frequent Crystal Jade for so long and yet I have never known of this dish's existence.


Although it is a spring chicken, the size is not small (at least for 3 ladies). When the dish is first served with the entire chicken, we are delighted with the tantalising look and aroma of the well-cooked chicken. We are more surprised when the waitress cut the chicken to reveal the mushrooms and fish maws.


Yummy, I must certainly come back for more.

Before the cut

After the cut

Hong Kong Cafe at AMK Hub

The last time we were there, the strong aroma from the yun yeung (Hong Kong - coffee and tea mix) on the neighbouring table had us hooked. While we were sipping our almond paste, we were busy commenting about the yun yeung whose aroma kept filling up our noses. Of course, when the opportunity for an after-meal beverage arose, we were immediately lured to the Hong Kong Cafe's yun yeung.

We had one coffee and one yun yeung. Frankly, I personally prefered the yun yeung. Can you tell which is which in the picture?

Other than the hot drinks, the wall-length 'night sceneries' of Hong Kong also brought back fond memories of the vibrant city. Looking at the wall paper, I could almost imagine myself sipping my beverage on the highest floor of one of the highest sky-scrapper and overlooking Hong Kong's Central. You could call this cheap thrill, but I would think it was closer to simple pleasure.

Cheers.

Life and Death

Life is often viewed as the anathema of death. As mortals, we are fully aware that death will be our eventual outcome. Regardless of how successful, wealthy, or famous we are, we will finally disintegrate into ashes. Despite knowing that we have finite time and energy, we often ignore the enormity of this until death is but a breath away. Many of us live our lives in limbo and while our time pursuing seemingly inconsequential things. When we realise our folly, many may no longer able to make up for lost time.

The Oprah Show invited 2 guests who are valiantly fighting cancer to share their experiences and their outlook of life. Contrary to our impression that it will be a tear-jerking anecdote after another, the sharing was full of positivism.

The first guest was a young lady in her twenties who suffered from stage 4 lung and liver cancer. She would not be able to get rid of her tumours completely but had to learn how to live with them. Her life changed after she was diagnosed, not for the worse but for the better. She went through self-denials, threw tantrums and plunged into despondency initially. She confessed that it was tough being confronted with death at such a young age when there was so much more to do. She too went through a 'why-me' phase. She was demoralised when therapy and treatment became her full-time job. It took her some time to change her perspective and embrace life. Her positivism buoyed her spirits.

On the other hand, a Carnegie Mellon University lecturer was informed that he had terminal pancreatic cancer and only had a few more months to live. He was saddened to leave his wife and his three young children. The video of his last lecture was downloaded thousands of times. He repeated his last lecture on the show. The topic of his last lecture was "To Chase After Your Childhood Dream". The lecture was injected with humour and personal experiences. I might not have done justice indescribing his speech here, but I wuld attempt to highlight some of his salient points.

He started by stressing that his lecture was not about death but about life. Then he shared a few approaches to live.

1) Don't worry about brick walls that you ramp into while chasing your dreams.
The walls are there to tell you how badly you are doing things. In fact, he had kept his rejection letters from his job applications to continously motivate him.

2) Show gratitude.
When he got his doctorate, he treated the students who had worked with him to a vacation. Many praised him for his generosity but he dismissed this and commentd that the students worked a few years so that he could work a life-time on his ideal job.

3) Be humble and keep things in perspective.
When he complained to his mum that PhD tests were difficult, his mum told him that when his dad was his age, his dad was fighting the Germans in World War II. When he finally got his PhD, his mum told friends that her son was a doctor but not one who could make you well.

4) Differentiate between things and people.
His parents allowed him to paint on his walls so as to give him a free rein to express his creativity rather than maintaining a pristine wall. When he got his convertible and was ferrying his nephews and nieces, his sister warned them not to dirty their uncle's new car. At the same time, he poured soda onto his leather seats himself. He was glad he had done it. One week later, his nephew threw up all over the back seat because of flu. Due to his soda pouring episode, his nephew did not feel guilty because of his flu.

When he was asked how cancer has changed his life, he replied nothing. He had already lived life to the fullest and was having fun. His shortened life accelerated everything and only affected the logistics issue. He concluded by saying that his lecture was not meant only for his students but also for his three young children when they grew older. His passion for life and to do more with his finite time shamed all of us. Many members of the audience's eyes were wet after his lecture, not from empathy but more from respect.

These two guests did not despair because of life's adversity but their personal experiences reminded them of what remained to be done. We should learn from them and accelerate our pursuits of our dreams. It was really a wake-up call, albeit an inspirational one, on a Sunday morning.

P.S. The lecturer was Randy Pausch. He passed away in July 2008. His last lecture was published into a book known as "The Last Lecture".

Mooncake Galore

It is time for mooncakes again. This is the time when each day holds a new treat as different hotels and bakeries will 'invade' our Rec Club to promote their mooncakes.

Fairmont Hotel was one of the few which offered mini-baked mooncakes. Most of the time, we could only find mini-snowskin mooncakes while the traditional baked mooncakes often only came in larger sizes.

I was asking my neighbour of whether Fairmont Hotel (previously known as Swissotel) was good. She had instead given me one mooncake for me to try despite my numerous decline. Finally, I decided not to reject her generosity further and took the mooncake.

Thanks, Chrys.

Ice-Cream Treat

With the release of the first quarter results, Management decided to reward us for our hard work with another ice-cream treat. This time round, it was still Haagen Daz. This time was a cup version rather than the stick version.

Haagen Daz is still the best. The creamy vanilla with the nutty Macademia. World best!

Demise of Proper English

Has Singlish's filtration into English finally resulted in Singlish becoming the mainstream? Is the triumph of Singlish signified that the demise of proper English?

It is no doubt that Singlish has become part of Singapore culture and a way of life. It is increasingly harder not to punctuate our sentences with 'lah', 'loh', 'meh'. Where such sound-words used to add more 'colour' and distinction to the Singaporean communication, these were one of the main stumbling blocks for Singaporeans to speak proper English - English that would be understood and respected by the rest of the world instead of only by Singapore.

However, the greater stumbling block of proper English seemed not to arise from such sound-words but more from our sentence structure and grammar. How often do we use "How come you are here?" rather than "Why are you here?"? How often do we add a question mark to a sentence and use this loosely as a question, "You do not know?" instead of "Don't you know?".

Speaking good English does not mean speaking with a different accent but more of using the correct words and adopting proper grammar in sentences. Proper vocabulary and grammar take long practices and are essential for non-Singaporeans to understand our English.

When Today featured a column commenting the death of the proper English, perhaps it was yet again to highlight the degenerating of Singaporeans' English standard and calling for more attention to be paid to rectify the way that Singaporeans are writing and speaking in Singlish even in formal occasions. Much as Singlish among locals can be affectionate and draws on camaraderie, there are more formal occasions which call for the use of proper English especially when Singapore would soon play host for the inaugural Youth Olympics.

Pink Sky

I stopped short in my track on my way home.

I have never seen a pink sky before.

I am a hopeless romantic sometimes and this is the time when I am simply imbibing the pink of a sunset sky.



(Think I am not doing enough justice to the mesmerising beauty with my rather inadequate photographic skills)

Generation Y Workers

How to motivate Generation Y workers have been plaguing the management consultants for a while, especially when Generation Y workers enter the workforce and having significantly different characteristics from the the Generation X workers. Generation Yers are defined as those who are between the age of 19 to 30 this year. Many of you who are reading the blog now could be falling under this category.

In the latest HR study conducted to determine what motivates the Generation Yers, the responses highlighted some of the key differences that corporate culture has to be shifted with the influx of these workers. Generation Yers are motivated more by intrinsic factors such as career development and job satisfaction. Most of them are more willing to job hop to find their ideal job. They also want more work-life balance.

How do you feel as a Generation Yer? Do you agree with them? What do you think as a Generation Xer? Do you agree with the findings?

By being more open about what they want and chasing after what they want, Generation Yer can change some of the corporate practices when they take up a greater and greater proportion of the current workforce. Yet, many companies are advised not to undertake drastic measures to accomodate the needs of the Generation Yers yet. This may be the advice given by the HR consultants. On second thoughts, is this plausible?

When the Generation Yers are not motivated, they can easily pack their bags and make a dash for the door at the sniff of a greener pasture. For those of us who have worked long enough, we can fully understand the cost to an organisation with every turnover. Cost comes not just in terms of the apparent recruitment cost (from hiring headhunters to setting time for recruitment) or increasing the compensation package to retain or attract new staff. Cost also comes in the form of disruption to existing work processes, demoralising of remaining workers (from increased workload to starting a turnover trend) and retraining of new staff. The situation is execerbated when the hired staff leaves only after a year as most workers can start contributing and adding value to their work only in the second year.

Am I criticising the Generation Yers then? The answer is no. In fact, Generation Yers can cause a shift in the corporate paradigm if their 'wishes' are fulfilled. To motivate and retain Generation Yers, some of the key factors are career advancement and work-life balance. This means that companies will need to take a more serious commitment to helping employees develop themselves and to communicate and fine-tune the employees' training and development plans constantly. Where this important aspect used to be side-stepped and kept hush-hush to among HR and the management, employees now can have a more direct influence over their progression. This means that career opportunities can be more customised to enable a better job fit.

Work-life balance is essential to inculcating a healthy culture and promotes a happier and efficient workforce. Work-life balance is greater emphasised with the increasing sophistication of the Singapore workforce as many are more aware of being more personally and professionally satisfied. How many used to forgo their personal time in pursuit of their career goals. This belief that work and life are mutually exclusive are being shattered. With advancement in technology, telecommuting and flexi-working hours can support a highly responsive workforce and yet allow them to enjoy time with family and friends.

I hope companies will move towards a more open and supportive culture as more and more Generation Yers join the workforce. In fact, these changes are essential in preparation of the Generation Zers for the Generation Zers are certainly more sophisticated and confident than the Yers, don't you think so?

Continue Missing Japan... ...

One month has passed since my return from Japan. Yet, I continue to suffer pangs of missing Japan. This is especially intensified with each episode of Japan Hour - from the kaiseki ryori (Japanese traditional meal) to the wafu heya (traditional tatami room) and to the scenic autumn coloured highlands. Ahh, I wonder what the other islands of Japan will unveil and how they transform through the various seasons.

Looking at the photos that Ah Peng has taken with her camera, I was grinning from ear to ear as each picture unfolded - our pretentiously coy poses in Yukata, my trepidation and Ah Peng's strong support on the chairlift journey up Daisetsuzan and our lamenting of not wearing nicer clothes when we were visiting the Furano Lavender Farm.

Each scenery and each incident continued to etch on my memory. The sense of longing for Japan continued to occupy my mind. Actually, the desire to go on another holiday remains strong. Ah-hem, of course, what's stopping me now is resources, ie dollars and cents. *Frown*

Long Awaited Gathering with Musketeers

We missed July's outing mainly because two of us were in Hokkaido.

We missed our original planned August gathering because Ms Chan was busy with her house renovation.

We were unsure about this gathering because Ms Chan needed to go to her house before joining us.

Fortunately, she finally made it. Despite all of us feeling lethargic (from work and from other personal commitments), I was touched that all of us still made time for one another. I was glad that we still had each other. Even if we were just sitting together without saying much to each other and silent in our own reverie, the companionship and the unspoken understanding and support outweighed all the chatter in the world.

Maybe because of our lethargy, we have for once forgot to take any photos of our food despite Ms Chan's newest camera. A pity, but I am sure we can catch up with this soon.

No Excuse, Just Pure Sloth

Both the musketeers have noticed my less frequent, albeit delayed, updates of my blog. I will not try to redeem myself. It is just pure laziness and coupled with a dry spell for inspiration.

This does not reflect only my writing, but also my life. I have bummed around so much that my life has sunk into a monotony that is too comfortable for me to 'disturb'. Since my life has become relatively uneventful, I do not want to inundate you with entries after entries which do not differ from one another. After some time, I may even sound like a broken record.

Rest assured, Blur Queen will not allow herself to continue with this lazy lifestyle. I will try to get a gripe with myself and prevent my body functions and brain from further degeneration. Cheer me on. *Grin*

Hui's Princess

Hui has delivered after a good 17 hours. Welcome, Princess!

(Hui and CY have not thought of a name for Princess yet, so we tentatively call her Princess)

New Gate at Office Lobby

To enhance our security system, new gates which look like MRT gantries are places at the lift lobby. We will need to tap our cards on the card reader to gain entry to take the lift. New measures draw more opinions.

My colleagues and I were full of speculation on what would happen during a fire drill. Would the gates be opened perpetually then? Would it be time consuming if each and everyone of us needed to tap on the gates to get out of the building?

Yup, we know. We must be abit bored to be speculating and imagining such issues. *Grin*

Singlehood = A National Concern

All of us are fully aware of the top concern of the Singapore Government - our declining birth rate. Despite dangling carrots in front of many young Singaporeans, the birth rates have not shown significant improvement. More drastic measures are required. This time round, not only are there more attractive baby bonuses being dished out, the Government decides to address the root of the problem, ie helping Singaporeans get married. For many who wish to get married but seemed not to be able to find the right one, the Government's intervention may be the long-awaited life-line.

Speaking from a perspective of a rather typical single Singaporean girl, being brought up with traditional Asian values, I totally agree that marriage and having children complete one's life. Yet, armed with the ability of being independent, I never see marriage as a 'ticket' to survival or a better life. Instead, marriage and having children becomes a choice rather than a necessity. I want to be sure that when I get married or when I have children, it is because I am ready to share my life with another person and to nurture the next generation. I certainly do not want to rush into marriage and parenthood to follow the Jones or succumbing to societal pressure.

The steps taken by the government are encouraging. Yet, as a single, I am not sure if my concerns are adequately addressed, especially with some of the pro-family measures, for eg, the 4 month's maternity leave.

I am certainly supportive of the 4 months' maternity leave as I understand from the experiences of many colleagues that infants in the first few months can be extremely demanding. These infants will wake up in the middle of the night for feeding and require more close attention. However, from the interests of singles, this policy hinders the ability to have a more active social life.

Why so?

With the competitive economy, many companies are lean and do not have 'buffers' manpower. With a full team, many of us still end up staying a good 10 to 12 hours or more in office each day. Inadvertently, when someone in team goes on maternity leave, the work is often spread and covered by the remaining team. Yes, the company can also hire a contract or temp to cover for the employee on maternity leave. However, it is not as easy to hire a contract in the current tight labour market. Moreover, it takes time to train up the contract for the contract staff to effectively take over the job. By the time training is completed and the contract staff can run on his own, the 4 months' time may be up. Hence, many companies often just make do with the remaining team to cover the work. With such long days, it leaves many singles no energy and time to 'meet new friends'.

Maybe, to have more personal and family time, the singles can choose a less demanding job. Well, in today's economy, knocking off on time is practically unheard of. Moreover, other than trying to resolve Singapore's social problem, we also have to safeguard Singapore's economic interest. Singapore already has a higher labour cost than our neighbouring economies. If we do not work harder and longer, more foreign investments may pull out of Singapore to the cheaper alternatives.

It was also pointed out that a lady whose main activity outside work is to bring her nephew out may unintentionally create a barrier and prevent other interested guys from chatting her up. From my rather superficial observation, most Singaporean guys are rather shy. Very few of them will take the initiative to 'chat someone up' on the streets. As Singaporean girls are generally not used to being chatted up, our first instinct when someone does make an attempt is to run for our lives, because that person may be a pervert or a crime-doer (burglar, cheater, murderer, all weird and unpalatable thoughts will run through our heads). This also stems from the constant inculcation (or nagging?) by our mothers not to talk to strangers.

So does this mean the Singaporean boys should then stop trying? No! All the more, they should take more initiatives to change this rather 'backward and protective' mindset of the girls. To share a secret with all Singaporean boys, although many Singaporean girls appear highly educated and confident, we are still pretty traditional in our thinking that proper girls should not take the initiative. Hence, if a girl reject your attempt once, do not despair. It can be an act of trying to be demure. Try again, for she is simply waiting for you to ask a second time.

This is not an easy problem because getting singles to marry require a softer approach rather than through implementation of hard policies. The Government can only facilitate a conducive environment while the rest of the responsibilities still lie with individuals and the community. Hey, for those of you who want to get hitched, get out of your office or your home. Join an activity or chat out that girl whom you find attractive for she may be waiting for you to make the first move. On the other hand, as a single, I too hope that while the Government takes care of the parents, the Government should also be mindful of some of the less-than-desirable spillover effects to singles.

Loss of Friendship... to Marriage?

I am going to write a sobbing sad story about some of my lost friendships. If you are sick of my self-pitying wallowing, I will strongly recommend that you skip this journal. Well, I may appear self-centred, non-understanding and juvenile in my later confessions, but I believe one cannot be as rational when it comes to the matters of the heart. *Frowning*

The whole story started when suddenly, a beep beep of an incoming SMS on my phone shattered the dead silence of a lazy Sunday afternoon. It was a piece of good news. One of my best friends - Hui, was going to deliver her Princess in the coming week. She was one of the most loyal friends who had stand by me all these years when I always ran to her for both family and work problems. I was jubilant for her.

This was when I suddenly recalled some of the other friends whom I had gathered over the years but gradually lost touch as they got attached or married. Actually, I should have expected this as my group of friends were very family-oriented. We shared the same values and priorities on family. Thus, inevitably, their definition of family soon extended to the boyfriends/husbands and the families of their boyfriends/husbands. Gradually, I heard less and less from them. Finally, it came to a point when I heard nothing from them at all, ie our friendship came to a screeching halt.

As I recalled, I am puzzled about the sudden loss of contact with a friend. Indeed, our gatherings reduced when she became attached. To be frank, I too felt awkward if I continued to stick around any friend when she clearly needed more time for her boyfriend. The attached friends would typically engaged in couplerly activities with other couple friends. Nevertheless, this friend continued to warmly include me in some of the larger gatherings. I joined them occasionally, more to see her.

Suddenly, I hear almost nothing from her after her marriage. It was also partly my fault. I had not really initiated any gathering or SMS since. I was partly too lazy to initiate any gathering. At the same time, I was worried that she was busy with juggling between work and family - as she would now need to do household chores and take care of her husband. From knowing what were the events that spiced up her days to now not even knowing if she was still in town, I was saddened with this development.

There was once when I wondered if I had done something wrong which unintentionally offended her. Knowing how blur I am as a person, needless to say I am as clueless as before. Being quite close friends, I was quite certain if she had been unhappy about something, she would have voiced it out by now. Could I have lost our friendship to her marriage. Perhaps marriage really required a lot more work and energy than I could imagine. Marriage might have left her so drained and prevented her from keeping in contact with friends.

She was an example but not the only example. There were other friends who I hardly saw after they became attached, married or have their children. There were no SMSes, no emails or phone calls.

Yes, you could argue that not hearing from them may not be tantamount to the loss of friendship. There are many cases when once friends, remain friends forever. Time and distance may not separate true friends. Long-lost friends who reunite can remain as comfortable and close, as if not a single day has separated them. Perhaps I should not give up yet. After all, what is a year or two on a life-time friendship?

Yet, for many cynics, we know full well how time can be an extremely cruel nemesis of many relationships. More often than not, friends who reunite after being out of touch, are welcomed by awkwardness rather than intimacy. To avoid this awkwardness, many friends remain out of touch despite knowing that the friendship can be picked up by just a call, a SMS or even an email away.

For those friends who are just shopping or tea buddies, I believe many of us will not miss them that much if they forsake you. I am more disturbed when the friends with whom I have lost touch are those who might have 'braved through thick and thin' with me. Moreover, with modern technology, keeping in touch does not require an arm or leg. There are so many conduits available which are almost cost-less and available 24 by 7, even while you are on a bus or waiting in a queue.

Enough of my whining. Should I or should I not give these lost friendships one more chance by sending out an SMS? *More frowning*

Way to Go, Singapore Paddlers!

If you think that Olympics is quite distant from the minds of Singaporeans, you will be proven wrong from the support that Singaporeans show towards our table tennis team in their semi-finals match. It is the pivotal match which will decide if Singapore will be guaranteed a medal or another enduring fight is necessary at the bronze medal match.

The match against South Korea was in the late afternoon on a weekday. Many of us were slogging in front of our PC. Yet, many were still lured away from their mountains of work towards the TV at our lobby which was broadcasting the match via MioTV live. The match started late afternoon and continued even past knocking off time. Yet, many still lingered in the lobby and stared intensively into the screen, completely oblivious to the knocking off time. Seldom did we witness such a crowd in front of the TV screens. Even for those of us who could not catch the match, we were hearing news here and there from other colleagues about the latest development of the match. We were all rooting morally for Singapore.

When the news finally broke that Singapore has won, the whole country was elated. Finally, a confirmed medal after 46 years! Congrats, Singapore's Table Tennis Team! You have done us proud!

Hitched

Hitched? Not me!

I am only referring to the movie starring Will Smith. I am not exactly a fan of Will Smith, but thought he is still pretty good looking hunk with a sense of humour (especially in Shrek). 'Hitched' has a pretty cliche plot, but who cares? We all love a little predictable, funny, romantic and a happily ever after love story?

Boy and Girl are both love cynics. Boy is a love expert whose profession is to help other men secure their love of their lives. Boy becomes an expert only after suffering a bad heartache in college. Yet, Boy will only help people who are really in love and not lust. Boy and Girl fall in love. However, Girl is a reported who wants to interview the love doctor - Boy. When Girl finds out that Boy is the love doctor, Girl becomes angry and exposes him. This causes him to lose business and credibility and affects his clients. Boy also becomes angry. In the end, Girl realises that she still loves Boy and the same applies for the Boy. Boy and Girl get together again.

Simple plot. So what's so interesting about the movie?

I was very impressed when Boy wanted to win the heart of the Girl. He went through a thorough research about the Girl, including her ancestors. He planned a breakfast date but he refused to call it a date knowing the girl was adamant of romance. He brought her water jetting and lured her to an island with a museum for the first immigrants of New York. Girl was surprised to find grandfather's name in the namelist of the immigrants.

Hmm, few guys will go the extent to plan for such memorable dates. No wonder, even the love-sceptic Girl was moved. It is difficult for any Girl not to be swooned by the Boy or to resist his charms. Of the entire movie, I liked this part best because of the efforts that the Boy has put in and the creativity of the date design. *Wink*

Happy 43rd Birthday, Singapore!

Happy birthday, my homeland!

Thank you for everything!

Opening Ceremony of 2008 Beijing Olympics

I am truly impressed.

The Beijing's 'Bird Nest' has drawn opposing opinions for its design and architecture. Its prowress is showcased to the entire world during the Opening Ceremony. China, which used to be perceived as backward and traditional, has wowed viewers worldwide for both ceremony and the venue for the ceremony. From the traditional dance and songs to introduce Chinese grand history to the Taiji performance which is the pride of Chinese martial arts, the performances were stunningly beautiful. The beauty was certainly enhanced by the lightings effect.

The fireworks were generous and resplendent - lighting up the Beijing night skies. Well, this is the first time, where audiences are treated to a generous eye-feast.

The rainbow walk by the representatives and athletes as they marched to the centre of the stadium was truly innovative. With 200 over countries participating in the Games, the marach was rather long. I hang on because I was eager to see Singapore's representatives. Unfortunately, they were one of the last few countries to march into the stadium.

Well-done, Beijing. I am sure all people world-wide are proud of your opening ceremony. I am sure we will be continously surprised by the Olympics.

Going Crazy Over G2000

For many office workers, I am sure G2000 is a familiar brand where we can stock up on our shirts, suits, skirts and pants. Every year, there are two main periods where I will go on a massive shopping sprees - once during the GSS and once during the post Christmas sales. Of course, G2000 is a brand that I will certainly patronise, especially when I can literally grab the size and go.

Just like some people who will go on "Mango-hopping" during Mango sales, I will often go on G2000-hopping. What this means is that we will visit the different outlets of the same boutique because certain sizes or colours missing in certain boutiques could be found in another. When I find the right size and the right colour and in perfect condition, the satisfaction surpasses any fatique to be endured for all the walking, waiting and searching.

If I open up my wardrobe, I guess a sizeable proportion of my working attires are from G2000. The collection is built up over many years because I do not change my size significantly - often just 1 size up or down. With more cautious washing, some of my shirts and pants have 'accompanied' me for close to 6 years!

For those who know me, I am not exactly very adventurous with style, sticking to evergreen (an euphemism for safe and bordering boring) clothes. Hence, clothes for G2000 are great 'investments' because they hardly go out of trend. Moreover, most of its materials are relatively comfortable which suit me perfectly in the hot and humid weather of Singapore.

Needless to say, the current end season sale of G2000 has again left a dent in my wallet. The best way to safeguard my wallet from further damage is to avoid going shopping at all. See no evil (cheap and good clothes); do no evil (buy and buy).