Day Trip to JB on Boxing Day

Hmmm.. 10%





Whoa.. 70% le








Trying out the shoes.... Nothing fits... yawnz






We took another nice christmas tree picture at city square.




We had yummy stingray and Kacang Botol aka four angled bean at first.










We continued with tasty char kuey tiao, egg tarts, kenny rogers infamous vanilla muffin, cheng tng.... disgusting popiah which is seen as a leftover in the below picture.









What a fun trip with my love!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Christmas Spirit Revisited

Once again, it's almost Christmas! If you asked 10 people what Christmas means to them, you'll most likely get 6-8 different answers. There isn't a conventional way how one should celebrate christmas, often we gather to catch up with friends, exchange presents, laugh and joke about everything under the sun.

In the midst of our celebration, most of us forget that it's the day of Jesus was born. We in actuality are celebrating his entry into our humble earth where he could have chosen to appear in power and majesty to escape the sufferings of this world. It is the love and the hope he carried in his heart that touched the hearts of many and hence till this day and forever more that we celebrate his glory.

Mmm.. maybe that's why people are so much friendlier, more generous and more helpful in this time of the year. Noneheless, something still lacks in the streets of Orchard where people stream in and out with huge shopping bags whlist flashes of light from the camera go by. Perhaps it is due to the commercialism and people becoming more self oriented.

I believe in that the christmas spirit is something strong and powerful that connects each individual soul from all walks of life... something I wanna indulge in... something I look forward too. May we make the best of our lives especially with our love ones, not only on Christmas but every other day.

Happy Weekend

This is our first weekend together after exams! Wee!

I have been so lazy, procrastinatinng all the things I should have done... should have packed my room since 3 weeks ago. Haha...

I went to the library to borrow some receipe books of which I ended up zapping pages on the day of its due date. Even the investment book I borrowed didn't manage to capture my attention and hence was left neglected over the course of 3 weeks.

I feel like cutting my fringe, but it's like such a waste of money when my hair is just fine.

So many things I wanna do, and so many more things I wanna do with Fred. Yippie!

Insanity

It has been fun spending the last 2 weeks trying to catch up with my life... meeting friends, shopping, crazy eating, reading, watching tv series... things that i deprived myself from doing for the past few months.

I will be running half marathon this Sunday while Fred will be taking his CFA Level 1. I think I am not mentally preapared for this race. The first 2 k was torturous... I felt like giving upthe ... next 3 k was a walk in the garden... guessed my body was used to the motion.

Many good things have happened to us of late.... really must thank the gods for hearing our prayers.

Business Trip

Business Trip was a success. I have met all the key stakeholders completed what I wanted to achieve there, now it's just following up for review and handholding. It was more tiring than anything. Imagine having to entertain big bosses like managing director, risk director and head of ops for wholesale bank after a long day at work in jakarta. I feel the toll on my health, on my complextion. Slowly I am losing my smile bit by bit.

But did I tell you that my dear Fred came to find me in Jakarta? It was great to have him there in a foreign land. We had a mini celebration with the guys from our Bank. I had the best bouquet of roses from him which is the longest surviving one. It is now sitting in my room, alive and kicking away with the water in the vase. hah, it's the only roses that I actually taken the effort to care for it that's why. Usually I would let it dry up naturally...

We played soccer yesterday in the cage with my family. I totally missed this. Wished we have less commitments to do more of the things we like together... life is Singapore is really tough. Work so hard just to live in hdb, in this stressed up environment?

Not going to my books today as I badly need rest. Good night!

More happiness to look forward to

I'm leaving on a jet plane to jakarta in 5 hours time. Quite excited about my first business trip. I have been liaising with them for the past few weeks, planning out the agenda, preparing materials for training and review and classfied the controls neccessary for each products. My dad is funny, he told me to eat pork there so that people cannot cast black magic on me. I wonder I can even get pork there? Frankly, I have always thought pork to be smelly.

I hope I won't have to work late or work in the hotel as much so that I can spend quality time with Fred roaming about the city. Besides, I kinda need to open my casted aside FRM books. I have been busy packing and catching up with friends this week which was great fun.

On Friday, I had dinner with David and Lisa at Lao Beijing. Lisa ordered too much food which explains why the bill amounted to 70 bucks. Thanks for the love! :)

I got myself a new silver SONY vaio laptop costing 1999, just below my budget by 1 dollar. haha. Freebies include upgrade to 4GB ram, 4GB usb, antiglare screen, travelpac mouse and creative headset. I would like to think that i got myself a good deal. At night, my dad came to pick me up and got me a orange ipod after badgering him for a birthday present. swee.

On Saturday, I met up with my best friends once again, Kerly poks and Lisa Tian. Lisa made me up to be like some taiwanese star which I unfortunately did not have the features to carry it off. I thought it made me look 2 years older. Nevertheless, it was great fun.

Thereafter, I met witht the smu asocies khakis at Marmalade Pantry and Ion, followed by coffeeless night at starbucks. Ion is huge with fancy shops and toilets, i felt like some small little girl roaming in the sea when i was attemping to locate the restaurant. Cake was yummy, thanks to Denn's quality pick. Very appreciative my friends remembering my birthday and coming out to celebrate my birthday on a Saturday night. :)

To top it off, my US penny stock hit over 100 percent returns just in a month on Friday! There was no point in converting it back to sgd when the rates against my favour. So happy about my judgement, not the money la coz i only invested like the remaining 900 usd of my funds in it hence minimal profits.

Really can't wait to see Fred on Monday in Jakarta after missing him for the whole week! He'll offically be the first guy who traveled for me. :):):)

True Love

I think that the measure of love would be how much one is sharing with the other half.

Sharing practically refers to everything in life, be in wealth, poverty, sadness, happiness, secrets, plans, news, goods, even including free stuff. You would just want the person to have everything you have or have everything you cannot have; even if it means having to sacrifice, you would have done it without hesitation.

I'm thrifty by nature, saving over 70% of my pocket money since young. Every penny owed is a penny remembered. Ever since, I met Fred, I stopped counting money. And this is very special for me, because I have never done it for anyone unconsciously.

rrrrr

i have to dress my wound everyday, so troublesome... it's taking so long to heal.

hul. fred waited for me at my beauty salon for me to finish my facial to send me home. he got me some tasty cakes from charity. mmm...

Memorable Evening Jog

It's been a really tiring week for me. My dark rings have emerged and I can feel my eye bags jumping out this very minute.

Today, Fred and I went gymming at my place. Then, we embarked for a job, intending for a 7k run. Around the halfway mark, we met a pile of muds who were hogging the pavements. When they finally gave way, I fell and scrapping my shin, resulting in a long and deep cut. Thanks to them, arshloch.

Immediately, we went to the nearest toilet to wash the wound. I didn't manage to get my dad to fetch us. Being penniless, phoneless and thrifty, we decided to go on foot. He piggybacked me all the way from Jalan Bukit Merah to my house, approximately 2 kilometers. Midway, we were stopped by a woman who told Fred told carry me from the front instead as he will hurt his back that way. We tried the enhanced way for less than a click. Shortly after, we reached home which he attended to my wound again as the bleeding got worst. I am very touched by his sweetness.

I had a hard time in the shower just now. As the pain was quite unbearable whenever the water ran down the wound, I bathed standing on one foot for 20 minutes. Thereafter, my brother Addison assessed the wound and said I got a minor fracture which will take 2 weeks to heal. Sian. Just wishing it will not leave any unsightly scars on my legs. Even if it does, it will be a unforgetable one.

Lady Gaga

The title has no bearing on this entry. haha

Today, Deejay Fred played all my favourite songs and there I was dancing crazily in his own little discotheque. How fun!

My best friend Lisa is finally back in SG! Esp when Fred is busy having training of some sort... ... I have more happy days to look forward to. :)

Parents

without them, i wont be here. with them, i used to feel like their puppet, succumbing to their whim and fancies. i hate it when they make decisions on my behalf, without any consideration of my feelings.

it takes courage to do the right things.. and it's never the wrong time.

Struggling bet 2 bosses

1 like to macro manage, 1 like to micro manage. i am learning everyday on how to adapt to both of them at the same time, careful not to look incompetent or unconfident while doing so.

FRM

I attended the Singapore Chapter Meeting yesterday on the Financial Risk Manager Exam.

Poof, the sharing only made me more anxious man. According to the them, it's the toughest professional certification man. One of the Risk Directors took it 4 times before he passed. Sigh.....

Somehow, I know I can do this this time. :)

New HairCut

Woohoo.... mocca had his new haircut! so freaking cute! I like him better now haha.

Ignorance is bliss

i think i know but i pretend not to, in fact i dont want to know because i am scared of what i will know...

Delayed Reaction

I failed my CFA. Hohoho. My dad says I fail coz i am not good enough; I think it's true too. I need to improve.

I somehow knew the exam was going to be a flop. Didnt even know what I was doing in there :X

WAH

Pinicing at henderson waves, goofing around in macritchie reservoir, pancakes at macdonalds, coffee at tiong bahru market, working out, dancing and lazing around...

It's amazing how doing the simple things in life with your love ones can be so fulfilling.

2 more days to CFA Level 2 results! *crosses my fingers*

I'm lovin' it!

I have never ever felt this sure before...

Just where are you?

i realised that you need not be rich, you need not be handsome.

but, you've got to be confident about yourself and everything that you do.

you've got to have this thirst in you. always wanting to achieve more and more.

you've got to be sporty and fun.

you've got to be smarter than me which is quite easy. haha

most importantly, love me for who i am.

though i am not in a hurry to find you, try not to play hide and seek with me. :(

Life is a mystery

We make choices every single day, each choice no matter how insignificant it may seem to you at that point in time may have a huge barrring on your future. Maybe if i go work by a different route, I bump into my old friend. if i decide to meet him for tea, maybe something will spark off and blossom into true love. Maybe if i'd applied to Harvard University, I might receive an offer.

Who knows?

I am just walking down this road of life being me. There's no need to pretend to be someone else for any reason at all. Even if you think someone you care about might get hurt. You have got to fight for your own happiness. Why let others dicate how you wanna live your life? Ultimately, you have got to be accountable to yourself.

If i want to try, I will go all the way to fight for the things i want. Even if i don't succeed, as least i know that i have tried my best. I don't believe it trying for things half heartedly. You either go for it all the way or not try at all.

I don't want to ever have regrets.

Sunday Blues - Injured and Aching

I was feeling moody and tired from all that activity in the week until Kong shared with me this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-94JhLEiN0&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Efacebook%2Ecom%2Fhome%2Ephp%3Fref%3Dhome&feature=player_embedded

This brigthened up my day somehow.

Leadership Essentials

I spent the last 3 days undergoing this course which i found to be really useful. Being the youngest of the lot, I have learnt a lot about myself and from others through sharing, experimenting and role-playing.

Though I do not have direct reports unlike most others in the course, I have 15 indirect reports consisting of the in-country risk managers. It has been difficult to influence them as they are more senior and more experienced than I am. Besides, I do not have power over them in deciding their job scope, workload and bonuses.

One of the more common mistakes managers fall prey when delegating is that they forget to provide the reasons for the task assign. With the big picture in mind, the staff will find meaning in performing the assignment, leading to greater motivation and productivity.

Basically, there are 6 ways of influencing others

• Reciprocation
• Commitment and Consistency
• Social Proof
• Authority
• Liking
• Scarcity

I find myself using the technique of reciprocation mostly, followed by liking, then Commitment and Consistency. I treat my team with care, consciously making time for them in attending their queries, always standing by them offering assistance whenever possible. I am doing alright so far. However, I feel that to become a more effective leader, I will need to learn how to successfully influence people using the 6 ways above rather than relying on the same few techniques.

My challenge is that I need to know the business in each country really well. This, I find it extremely difficult given the workload that I have. Preparing all sorts of MIS Reports and following up with risk issues takes up quite a bit of time. Against this, I have to complete the global uploads to make it in time for the rollout by the end of month.

I am going to start applying the rock, pebbles, sand perspective when I go to work tomorrow which will set the right priorities for me. Hopefully, it will lead to massive improvement in my productivity.

Happy Ending

I'm a free bird. No more disappointments and headaches. Woots!

Life is still good as we're both still friends. :)

Break Up

I finally broke up after withholding for so long ...

I hope things will get better.

True love

I have Chinese music blasting in the background as I write this. Though I don’t know the songs, it’s so melodic and heart spoken, makes me think about love.

“Love is patient. Love is kind. It does not envy. It does not boast. It is not proud. It is not rude. It is not self-seeking. It is not easily angered. It keeps no record of wrong doing. It does not delight in evil, but rejoices in the truth. It always protects, trusts, hopes, perseveres." --1 Corinthians 13

I know what I have with Dan is not...

David and Gina's Wedding

Yesterday was the big day for David and Gina. I remembered her gushing about him every week in church before they got together 3.5 years ago. I can’t believe how time has flies. Since then, each time we meet as group, they never fail to be radiating with happiness. They really looked their best in everyway and most importantly as one. I almost cried for Gina and David during solemnization as they pledging their love before God. It’s an amazing feeling I can’t describe. I am just so happy for them.

Above you see one precious group picture of us… it’s seems like our group is getting bigger. :)

Post CFA

I am so tired… I wanted to blog after my cfa paper but I was always carried away by something else more exciting. This is especially so since now that Daniel is back, I rather talk to him than write my blog. I seriously hope that I’ll pass as I have been putting so much effort into studying for it. Failing it and having to study for the next 6 months would be a suicidal. I try to remind myself that I have FRM and RMI courses coming up. I am just too lazy to start.

I have been working my ass off after cfa and have recently completed the integration of reports from 3 systems within a week which I am very proud of.

I have started to work out intensively at True Fitness. Instead of losing weight, my weight seems to be increasing after, not sure if it’s due to water retention or new formed muscles.

I just went to Chapter 2 today – pretty decent I would say. It’s one of the first few times that I am actually happy with the results. I cut and dyed my hair copper, all just in time for Gina’s wedding. Ah… so happy for her that she’s found someone so perfect for her. Can’t wait for the actual day!

Grouses

My family was just sitting together today to discuss about investments, cars, news, house etc. When I say my family, it can include my aunts and uncles, grandma, cousins... coz we all stay in one roof! Not in the same unit but in the same block.

The grandma offered to buy a car for me and cousin, Alan to share. My aunt said we can't buy a cheap car coz we're too young and it'll be dangerous if we buy a cheapo car, insisting that the new car must be of good make. Anyhow, Alan and I don’t exactly need a car. We're both thankful that we are able to borrow the car almost at any time we require. I think my grandma was very nice to have made the offer as we are not considered rich. My dad drives expensive cars purely because of business as he does a lot of hosting - it gives his clients a false sense of impression. Those Chinese we deal with places a lot of emphasis on Guanxi and MianZi. They wouldn't supply us if they think we cannot pay for the stock.

Also, my dad was kind enough to rent out half my unit to the warehouse workers. He considers them as family. Arrgh... That's the reason why Anthony and I usually don't invite my friends over to my unit. We don't hate them but we hate the fact that I have to share my home with them.

I don't need a big house or a good car, I need a home I can call my own.

Random thoughts

I'm glad I have friends to study CFA with, it makes studying a lot easier.

I watched wolverine yesterday with my family and I thought it was awesome.

My new boss is coming in tomorrow. I wonder what she is like...

May peace be with you

I am no longer angry with RT. Just that when the trust is broken, it is difficult to mend it back. There's just no basis for a relationship.

I'm rich and so are you!

I wanna to share with you this interesting article off the net. i think paraphrasing it wouldnt do it justice. :)

Money has no memory Experience has shown that:

You will never know what the total cost of your education was, but for a lifetime you will recall and relive the memories of schools and colleges. Few years from now, you will forget the amount you paid to settle the hospitalization bill, but will ever cherish having saved your mother’s life or the life you get to live with the just born. You won’t remember the cost of your honeymoon, but to the last breath remember the experiences of the bliss of togetherness. Money has no memory. Experience has.

Good times and bad times, times of prosperity and times of poverty, times when the future looked so secure and times when you didn’t know from where the tomorrow will come… life has been in one way or the other a roller-coaster ride for everyone. Beyond all that abundance and beyond all that deprivation, what remains is the memory of experiences. Sometimes the wallet was full…sometimes even the pocket was empty. There was enough and you still had reasons to frown. There wasn’t enough and you still had reasons to smile. Today, you can look back with tears of gratitude for all the times you had laughed together, and also look back with a smile at all the times you cried alone. All in all, life filled you with experiences to create a history of your own self, and you alone can remember them all.

The first time you balanced yourself on your cycle without support…..
The first time she said ‘yes’ and it was two years since you proposed…..
The first cry…the first steps…the first word…the first kiss…all of your child…
The first gift you bought for your parents and the first gift your daughter gave you….
The first award…the first public appreciation….the first stage performance….
And the list is endless… Experiences, with timeless memory….

No denying that anything that’s material cost money, but the fact remains the cost of the experience will be forgotten, but the experience never.

So, what if it’s economic recession? Let it be, but let there not be a recession to the quality of your life. You can still take your parents, if not on pilgrimage, at least to the local temple. You can still play with your children, if not on an international holiday, at least in the local park. It doesn’t cost money to lie down or to take a loved one onto your lap.

Nice time to train the employees, create leadership availability and be ready for the wonderful times when they arrive.

Hey! Aspects like your health, knowledge development and spiritual growth are not economy dependent.

Time will pass…economy will revive… currency will soon be in current…and in all this, I don’t want you to look back and realize you did nothing but stayed in gloom.

Recession can make you lose out on money. Let it not make you lose out on experiences… If you are not happy with what you have, no matter how much more you have, you will still not be happy.

Make a statement with the way you live your life: How I feel has nothing to do with how much I have.

Shitty feeling

it feels like shit to have your friends toy with your trust. i realise i let my guard down totally when i regard them as my good friends. damn it.

The Last Straw

i am so damn pissed that i cried for 5 mins. i hate rong tian. she is my secondary school friend whom i meet once in months or so. she thinks that i am gullible and she enjoys it every time i fall for her tricks.

last week, she told me, "dont you know, I build robots for a living. how else would i make my money?" I didn't exactly believe her then but it could be possible as she has been out of a job for quite some time thus could be doing this on a side line. this turned out to be another trick of hers.

btw. i used to build robots when i was in college and it didn't take long to build one, except for the programming and testing part of it

yesterday she pulled another trick during dinner that there would be a comet shower today at 9.27 sg time and she got the whole of my group to join in the fun to make it sound convincing. today, she followed up so she sent an sms saying " hey guys, there will be a comet shower.... take lots of pictures". as i was busy studying in school, I didn’t bother checking its validity. worst of all, i forwarded to my friends and family putting my own credibility at stake. i can't believe i was that stupid

farking lies OVER the years.. i have had enough. you are no longer my friend. coz if you are my true friend, you wouldn’t have wanted to make me look like an idiot, always poking fun at me for your own pleasure.

Bikram Yoga

I just tried Bikram Yoga aka Hot Yoga. It's madness! Non stop action for 1.5 hour. 26 postures with short intermittent rest. Freaking tiring. It's totally different form Hatha Yoga. I am given 2 more free trial sessions. One thing I know for sure is that I will not sign up for a package. The last thing I want to do is to tire myself out like that after a long day at work.

Dream Getaway

I had to clear my 3 days of carried forward leave from last year. So I took 7 days of leave this year to make my 2 week holiday. This holiday though seemingly short, was unimaginable for me. The way I lived these two weeks was entirely different from how I would have lived it if I were in Singapore.

My trip to Finland to visit him was a fruitful one, not only did I get a taste of his daily life, we toured Stockholm together. We learnt a lot more about each other through constant quarrels. For one major quarrel - He went on his own to explore Vasa Museum after he knew I was joining the guided tour. After the tour, I immediately spent the next hour trying to locate him as I was worried if he was looking for me. I even went outside of the museum with 2 tickets for re-entry for both me and him in case I find him outside waiting for me. At the same time, I was raving mad as I could not believe that he had just taken off without a word, leaving me all alone in a foreign land. Eventually, I found him at the place where he had originally left me an hour ago. To my horror, he assumed I knew he was not going for the tour and that we would meet each other again somehow. Thereafter, he offered his service as a personal tour guide, to take me around the museum, showing me what I have missed. I rejected the offer as the thought of walking through the place again reminded me of my foolishness in trying to locate him the whole time.

Anyhow, I am truly appreciative of him as a person. The top five things I would want to remember about Daniel and his goodness are these:

1) Before I came, he was saving up coins for me to take buses around Finland.
2) He picked me up from the airport and sent me back, helping to lug my luggage around.
3) He let me sleep on his bed while he slept on the living room couch.
4) He took me to places that he had already visited in Helsinki and Estonia and accompanied me on most of my shopping trips. He wrote me a map like this when he couldn't come along due to classes.
5) Many a time, he was tired from walking in Stockholm and had wanted to return to the hotel. He hung around still coz he was worried about my safety.

We took turns to cook for each other though most of our meal times were spent in school. His house mates were extremely uncooperative when it comes to kitchen hygiene. They left used pots and pans and dirty dishes lying for days in the sink. Other than that they are pretty nice people.

On the day before the flight home, he took me to Tokyo 55 because he didn’t me to be cooking at home. He said it wouldn’t do me justice. We decided to try reindeer meat in the end. I didn’t feel bad eating it after I found out it was not an endangered species. If given the chance, I will eat it again without qualms. Apart from that, the sushi tasted really fresh and the rice tender; all made possible with the special touch of the chef’s delicate hands. Together, we splurge over a hundred and yet we were unable to fill our stomach. Since the food was fucking good as Daniel had described, it was money well spent. Unknowingly to Daniel, I shed a few drops of tears during the meal as I was reminded of it being our last dinner in Finland.

My returns for my family this trip: Shoes for each of my brothers, a bag for my mom, a massager for my dad and most importantly a beautiful memory.

Balloon

Crap… I regretted not extracting wisdom tooth on both sides. One side of me is a ballooned up whilst the other side normal. When I smile, the skin stretches; one nostril is larger than the other. Seriously I look like some cartoon.

These few days I have been loading myself with vitamin C and D and lots of calcium. Milk in the morning, Toufu and Sardines for lunch, Yoghurt and Cheesecake as snack, Eggs, Toukee, Orange Juice for dinner… I’m so tired from my swelled up face, can’t really do much productive work… I feel like cancelling most of the upcoming appointments.

Anyway, one of my dad’s key personnel is leaving us to help his son-in-law in a newly formed restaurant. My dad’s kind of stressed about it- all the upcoming handholding and to find a suitable internal replacement. :S

Tired

So boring.. I only talk about myself? Ha, maybe. I dont like to write about other people coz firstly they not like it. Secondly, I don't feel good publicizing the private times I have with each of my friends. I can post pictures of my good friends but then again I am no longer a photo whore and no longer that free to post and make my blog pretty.

Despite my usual hangout with friends, life is pretty monotonous. I just love the feeling of being home, resting after a long day's of work. besides, since Daniel is not in town, there's one less reason for me to wanna be out.

My work laptop crashed on me yesterday. Though the IT guys said hey would help to retreive the data, they warned me that that the chances of success are slim. I really wished I can have everything back... all my year's hard work and effort of my past projects and important documents are stored in that tiny drive. I had to redo some of my recent works in the meantime. When my boss realised that my laptop crashed and my file's inside, he muttered fucking hell. Then, i tried to run this mega report on my colleagues laptop which almost caused his laptop to crash. I am deemed as a destroyer now. :( My boss jokingly said not to touch his pc but i know he mean it. The file that i am to run is massive, just to drag down the formulas ove 15 thousand rows takes an hour;and PC usually hangs; i have to redo on various pcs until it works. stupid dell laptop - cant support shit. I'm going to get my laptop with a new hard disk and upgrading the RAM to 2 GB. Hope things will be better.

CFA Level 2 is getting challenging. I am having a hard time digesting it.

Winds of Change

I have been on my permanent desk for quite some time now. Everyday flew by so quickly as there is just so many thing to do. so many things to pick up. It's a good thing eh, before I know it - its time to go home. I've picked up a new hobby watching the stocks and currencies. Recently I bought Citi at 1.95. It's not exactly a good buy i must say, i changed my market order from 1.75 to 1.95. Missed the all time low, now I am back to square one - will have to see how the market reacts on Monday. It's interesting watching the market react to fears of nationalisation. I am betting on citi to not be nationalised with a target price of 4.

I was just looking at Shin Yeh website a while ago (http://www.shinyeh.com.sg/menus.php). I have heard rave reviews about this restaurant. You would have to book in advance for seats. Will probably make a trip down next month.... Maybe you should too.

Community Service Project

Haha, my boss is getting me to run this project whereby senior members of their bank are to fork out some time to provide some services to the staff. Staff are then to bid for the services they require all for the sake of fund raising for our 150 years in Singapore celebration. Here are some of the items I have thought of:

1) Teach special skills that you have such as– making paper mache/ origami, tennis, badminton, bowling, golf, magic tricks, first aid, speed reading, skating, baking cakes/biscuits, art work, wine appreciation, photography
2) Provide hemming services - dresses, curtains, pants, replace broken zippers
3) Provide career advice/counseling/financial advice/trading tips
4) Make some time to allow participant to get to know you through lunch
5) Bring participants around on a trishaw
6) Accommodate a participant a visit to your home

Any more ideas? Which one do you think can earn the most money?

Feedback and comments please!

Small lesson learnt - Never to short

Ahhh... what a terrible experience. I shorted SGX shares unintentionally and was unable to buy back as I did not have access the the trading platform in my office. To my horrow, the market order was done for theday. As this is a violation of the MAS regulation, I was almost fined a thousand dollars... Luckily i managed to borrow the shares for delivery. I bought the shares back today; made paper profit of 60 bucks. After all the financing charges, I hope I can at least make 5 bucks. Whatever, I hate the bloody philips platform coz it's not live and it's not very user friendly. Worst, it can't be accessed in my offfice. I am thinking of cancelling my account with them asap.

Yesterday, I was just looking at the video- The best place to work - Google, on youtube. Indeed, it's repleted with 5 class facilities. :)

CNY report

The first morning, we spent most of time in the living room entertaining our relatives and guest comprising of mostly employees. We had about 40-50 people in which everyone found their own little corner to gamble. We had tables of mahjong, blackjack, bigone(also known as daidi), dice and more. Some would assume the role of the banker at any point in time. I never want to be banker coz I don’t really how to be. Haha… It seems really lucrative though. Later, we knelt in front of our grandmother, parents, uncles and aunties in a sequential manner, giving them our blessings in our own unique way possible. My cousins, siblings and I would compete on the best and most number of Chinese proverbs that we can muster in front of our elders.

I finally spoke to my niece, Chloe, whom I think is very rude because she always fail to call me “Auntie Laurene” ; She is in primary 3 in RGPS and does a multitude of extra curriculum activities like ballet, tennis, drama, piano etc. She doesn’t say hi to most of us because she forgot all our names; can’t blame her as there is just so many of us. I made her remember all of our names then and played some little games with her thereafter. Little kids ah…

The second morning we brought Mocca to the botanic gardens. As usual, he would stand up the second we reached the car park as though he could smell the trees. As usual, he went around, marking his territory. The previous SMU sign was replaced with NUS on the building next to food haven; I recalled the days back yonder.

It was a funny sight watching my uncle, Peter learning to blade… I think I dad would be more of a clown. When we came back, we had to entertain some more guests but I was lazy… I just took my lunch, drank 2 glasses of red wine. The next thing I know, I was lying in bed half-drunk. After I awoke, I had dinner and watched few good hours of TV. After writing this, I probably would do a few rounds of cards before I prepare for work again tomorrow…

It wasn’t exactly an eventful CNY but was fun as usual.

CNY 2009

Chinese New Year, also known as the spring festival is one of the most celebrated events in Asia. To many, it’s about collecting as much Ang Paos as they can; showing off their new clothes, beautifully manicured fingers; winning pot lots of money.

What does this festival mean to me? It means celebrating our Chinese roots, family bonding and catching up with old friends. Relatives, close friends would come by to exchange blessings. We would spend lots of time eating and drinking merry. This year, I have filled half my wardrobe with long sleeve work shirts; I might look like I am going to work on my visitation. Heehe... but I don’t really care coz I don’t buy my clothes just to impress and I really do have enough of non-work clothes.

This year, I pray that everything will turn out well for my love ones. For me, I hope I will survive the hardship for the next 5-8 mths; working for the global team and lending half my arm to the local team and then having to struggle CFA amidst the fund raising project due in September. I know I am going to be damn stressed but I’ll find the time to go the gym, meet up with my friends and bring my dog out for a walk. For Daniel, I hope time flies so that he’ll be back in my arms sooner and that he’ll find a good job before he graduate; difficult in this current crisis but I have faith in him. For my dad, I hope his business prosper and that he’ll spend more time on books and less on fortune telling. For my mom, I hope she’ll be less irritating ha. Aside from that, I hope she’ll start enjoying the fine things in life then worrying whether we’ve eaten. For Addison, I hope he gets into a good university so that he gets a good chance to start over; he is a bright boy. For Andrew, I hope he is on his way to the road of success; he seems to know what he wants in life. For Anthony, I hope he learns discipline and achieve the great things he said he would in life; all his talk is usually empty.

I’ll update again on CNY happenings…

Money or Love?

Which is more important? I thought love… but life has taught me otherwise. It’s not about being materialistic. It’s about true happiness. To me, happiness is about having a complete family. A happy family isn’t complete without money. The family I have always wanted is a warm and comfortable – one that stays in a private apartment if not a bungalow; one that can take the kids out for a fun outing, splurging on food and activities and not having to worry about whether there’s going to be food on the table; one that has money to sustain the good relationships in life. No matter how much I love a person, I wish I would never have to compromise on these things that mean the whole world to me. Because I know that if I do, I could be smiling on the outside but I would never be truly happy on the inside.