Relationship between Money & Power

"Money can generate power, 

but it's also true that power gained through other means can be monetized and produce wealth."

Read this (short) article: Oprah, Tiger, Lady Gaga: Do They Really Have Power? - The Conversation - Harvard Business Review


Sigh... I have neither.

Why are you blogging about food so much??

Someone asked me why I have been blogging about food lately.

The answer is rather simple:

(1) We bought a new digicam. That makes food blogging a lot more... convincing.

(2) Blogging about cerebral stuff is fulfilling only up to the point I press the "Publish Post" button.

Mad for Garlic

Mad for Garlic is a Korean chain with contemporary gothic decor that serves pizzas and pastas with loads of garlic. Its Suntec City outlet in Singapore is its first stop outside of South Korea.

This totally reminds us of our South Korean classmates. Hyunsik told us they like pasta, and we couldn't understand why.

We had the 'snow flake' pizza and the spicy beef steak rice. Mmmm... I love garlic... very very much.

Most importantly, we had a "yuja-ade", which I quickly attempted to recreate at home as follows:

Add some tonic water to some Korean Citron Tea Gel(?) Jam(?) whatever you call it.

Stir and drink before the bubbles escape. (=

I guess you can use Sprite or 7-Up instead of tonic water. But watch the sugar level... coz the Citron Jam is already really sweet.

Aroy Dee Thai Cafe

Aroy Dee Thai Cafe is located on the first floor of Sunshine Plaza, facing NAFA and Bencoolen Street.

We keep walking past it and making a mental note to give it a try someday. And we finally did on Tuesday evening.

We ordered pineapple rice, blanched cockles, raw prawns, and green curry. That's too much for 2 persons. But the meal was delicious.

We especially love the raw prawns dressed in a coat of chili, garlic and probably fish sauce plus sugar. Just can't stop eating this dish. You can just have this dish on its own with a cold drink such as the shop's pink guave freeze, or a beer. Mmmmm...

The Love Value Chain

This is the Love Value Chain. (Click on image to enlarge.)

• The orange chain is what you seek.
• The pink chain is the pitch which businesses and 'society' throw at you in different stages. E.g. At the marriage stage, businesses and 'society' remind you that a wedding is a 'once in a lifetime' experience, and so get the best. It's ok to spend more. 
• The green chain shows you which businesses are involved at the various stages. Some businesses appear quite often and/or throughout the chain, e.g. credit card companies, lawyers etc.

....................................................

Given this value chain, would you rather be

A wedding planner

OR

A divorce party planner?

I read from separate reports that divorce parties are taking place in China and Japan. In Japan, the couple invites family and friends to their divorce party (like they did for their wedding), and smash their wedding bands with a frog-shaped wooden mallet (frogs symbolise change in Japan). No details on the divorce parties in China.

I think every such ceremonial parties need solid rituals and practices... just like those of a wedding, e.g. wearing of the white gown, pre-wedding album, grand walk-in with loud music, flower boys/girls, exchange of rings, the champagne pyramid/toast/yum seng, cake-cutting, speech etc.

For the divorce party,

• Wearing black gown/suits and veil
• Grand entrance of couple... but from separate entrances. if the couple has children/pets, they can double up as the flower petal dispensers. if not, the couple can borrow the same kids they used for their wedding. the kids probably have not grown that much anyway.
• Powerpoint/video of couple from baby to pri sch to sec sch to jc to uni to wedding to honeymoon to baby/pets' arrival (if any) to divorce.
• Returning/smashing/smelting of rings (imagine a huge portable fire lighting up on stage to melt the rings on the spot)
• Ripping/burning of wedding pics, gown/veil and wedding certificate
• Smashing of other symbolic stuff, such as a pinata in a human form or heart shape. Anyone, apart from the couple, who has suffered during this unfortunate union, can join in at this stage.
• Toast and crying
• Speeches by couple and 'brothers' and 'sisters' etc.
• Returning of ang pow money to wedding guests, if they turn up for the divorce party with another ang pow.
• Due to anticipated violence and emotions at the party, those below age of 18 are not invited.
• A lot of booze, skip the banquet.

Fruits Beckon

We love this time of the year where the best fruits are ripe and ready to satisfy all fruit lovers.

Our evening stroll took us to Bugis Village.

The ruby red rambutans were waving at us from the top of traffic bollards.

It is impossible to miss them.

In the end, we bought rambutans, lychees and mangoes. =)

I guess eating fruits makes us happy like how some find chocolates, fatty foods, carbo-packed foods etc comforting.

Jumbo Seafood

Imagine this...

A breezy evening by the sea, sucking on chunky hot chili crabs followed by drunken prawns, with the occasional slight drizzle kissing your face ever so lightly.

Isn't this the perfect Singaporean evening?

We reckon Jumbo Seafood at East Coast Park made about SGD100K in total receipts that night. It was full house... on a Thursday night, mind you.

Reality Check for Late Gen Xers Public Servants (born in the 70s)

This is a curious phenomenon which ought to be of interest to people who are (i) born in the 1970s and (ii) keen on getting to the top of the corporate ladder, especially in the public service.

So, let's frame the discussion.

• Within the Public Service
• For positions which are mostly filled by promoting people from within the public organisation, i.e. excluding the positions reserved for Administrative Officers (AOs) in general.

If you pay a little attention, you'd realise that many top public service positions, e.g. CEO of a statutory board (or if the CEO position is reserved for AOs, focus on the DCEO position and the senior director positions), have been taken up by individuals born in the 1940s/early 50s for extended periods of time. Extended means around 10 years and more. People born in the 1940s/early 1950s are called the 'Early Baby Boomers' (EBBs).

Remember, we are not talking about all EBBs, but those EBBs who have made it to the top. These are the few EBBs who got themselves a university education (relatively rare during their younger days) and found their way to the top using that degree, hard work and/or connections.

Because these EBBs hung onto their top seats for such long periods, their presence deprived quite a few of those born in the next decade to move into these positions. These are the Late Baby Boomers (LBBs), i.e. those born in the 1950s to early 1960s. By the time these EBB leaders are ready to vacate their seats, the time has passed for LBBs who have the potential to take over, but were given no or little chance to prove themselves.

Instead, the leadership baton skips the LBBs and is passed onto those who are born in the 1960s, i.e. the Early Gen X. Just look around in the Public Service: More and more Early Gen Xers at the helm of public agencies in these few years as the EBB leaders have reached the retirement age.

Here comes the interesting bit.

These Early Gen Xers must feel rather special to be entrusted with the baton that has been the exclusive right of the EBBs for eons. It's like the Grand Master telling you that you are the chosen one to receive the secret manual and precious sabre... and that you are much more special than your seniors, the LBBs. Ego points inflated by infinite times. Hence, it is unlikely for Early Gen X leaders to relinquish their 'hard-won' authority easily.

Furthermore, if these Early Gen Xers have only been specialising in 1 job area for decades, it's difficult for them to generate much value at their leadership salary bands outside of their respective public agencies' domains. Hence, they are gonna try to hang onto their seats, hopefully as long as their predecessors did... or maybe even longer.

To further exacerbate this situation, the mandatory retirement age keeps increasing. If Early Gen Xers had to relinquish their top seats before their retirement age, it would suggest that they had to downgrade to less prestigious/ influential positions. That's not something these accomplished individuals can stomach, especially not in their 50s/60s. Hence, it's more likely that the Early Gen X leaders will try to hang onto their seats very firmly.

What's the Same & Repeating Itself
And so, because history is repeating itself, the Late Gen Xers (born in the 1970s) find themselves in position similar to the LBBs. With the Early Gen Xers still going on strong and for longer periods, the late Gen Xers will be deprived of opportunities at the top when they get to their 40s and 50s.

Also, like how LBBs are facing intense competition from the younger Early Gen Xers for leadership positions, the Late Gen Xers would also face direct competition from the Gen Yers in due time. Gen Yers are considered to have been born into and are more 'connected' in the digital age. Just like how relative to LBBs, Early Gen Xers are more 'tech-savvy'.

Of course, the natural advantage of the younger generation is always the attraction of youth. And somehow, being younger is often associated with being more current and open-minded.

What's Worse This Time Round
Even if some top positions open up for Late Gen Xers, these are highly competitive as a university education (even an ivy league/ oxbridge education) is as common as foreign accents are in the service frontline these days.

Even if one is a scholarship holder, the stratification of scholarships further complicates the competition. There are so many 'scholars' these days, and some scholarships are obviously more prestigious than others.
..........................................................

So, is there a solution to this?
Let's focus on ruminating on the above-mentioned phenomenon thoroughly, before we attempt to work our way out of it.

天公疼憨人

Not sure why... But I like this very much, especially the last line. =)

感情无必要打扮，阮生做平平凡凡，
我是一生的希望，不该一暝就用完，
缘份无必要操烦，无欣羡别人的尪，
爱恨恩怨的世间，阮用真心来相等，
等等等，等有一工我心所爱的人，
乎我永永远远，陪伊去天边海角，


相信天公拢会来疼憨人，
相信这摆我无看不对人，人无需要比较，
爱是甜蜜的苦恼，我来陪你到老，
相信天公一定会疼憨人
相信幸福，一定会留乎咱，
爱不是一场梦，只要有你疼痛，
会冻乎我，变成世间尚美的人。



Getai Version... She's good. Super Lian... Next life if I can speak Hokkien...

Degree holders have problems getting jobs

Read: Degree holders have problems getting jobs

Isn't it nice to read about how accurate my assessment of the graduate (especially Gen Y) employment situation is?

No, it is not nice at all.

The papers have steered clear of highlighting the causes and consequences of such unemployment amongst graduates.

This is not a simple situation about how much cheaper a (fresh) graduate can get. This is a situation of how the employers value a local fresh grad vis-a-vis other 'superior' substitutes such as FTs.

In a country where a firm is allowed to have free access to the world's supply of talents with ready and relevant experience, majority of the local fresh graduates will have little or no market value.

Also in this country, where a firm is allowed to hire based 'open competition', there is nothing stopping the firm, which prefers candidates with/from certain nationalities/cultures, from choosing a foreign talent over a local talent.

Weren't we told that foreigners have been brought in to create more jobs for us? Doesn't seem to be working out that way...

This is a very grave situation, where many of the sufferers and the policy makers are either not fully aware of its long term consequences, or choosing to ignore them.

The worst lot is those Singaporeans (especially those employed in the only jobs sheltered from 'open competition' in Singapore) who like to openly blame these local graduates for being choosy, lazy, spoilt, unrealistic etc. As if such attitudes of the local grads were indeed true. And even if they were true, is it then justified to 'punish' these graduates with denial of employment opportunities?

Some points from my earlier entry:

"Take away the PRs and remove the blue collars and Singaporeans who are not working in this Gen Y age group, the ratio is most likely tighter than 1:3, say 1:2 or 1:1. Such a ratio will then it should explain the employment situation a whole lot more."

"Is it then possible that for every white collar job in Singapore, the job seeker ratio of the Foreigner vs Singaporean is 2:1 or 3:1 or 10:1? 

Theoretically, it is definitely possible, because our foreign talent policy is literally an open gate."

"Yes, even if the inflow of foreign talents is lowered or capped henceforth, it will only directly ameliorate the employment situation for people who have yet to graduate. Not much is likely to change for those Gen Yers who have been 'sacrificed' in the earlier years."

Depression industry in a slump

Depression industry in a slump - CNN.com

Big players pulling out... Smaller players still trying to look for a fix.

If you do not already realise, depression is more common than you think you know. Especially in the office where people are in their 20s onwards are concentrated. Some sources estimate 1 in 10 above 18 year olds.

Having to accept that one's suffering from major depressive disorder is difficult enough. Not to mention having to manage it while one is depressed.

"Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm."

-- Unknown --

I'm not suffering from depression.
However, I am especially sensitive to this topic because I've seen too many peers suffering from it. Some accepting and managing it, while others don't. And how some spiral out of control in the process.

Diseases such as cancer have enjoyed heightened levels of awareness. Most people acknowledge the existence of such diseases and their consequences, and so attempt to seek available treatment/ management of the disease.

I have also witnessed a grandmother and an aunt dying slowing from cancer. However, suffering from depression is unlike suffering from cancer. Cancer is 'visible', i.e. you can see/ touch/ smell physical changes on your body or observe a mutation in an x-ray/ scan. Instead, depression is 'silent' and 'invisible', and so difficult for one to grasp the concept of it as an illness. Some use this lack of 'visible' evidence to avoid accepting one's condition.

So, do yourself and your loved ones a favour.
Learn about major depressive disorder, about its signs and symptoms, and seek help quickly if in doubt.

Dinner at Zion Road Food Centre

We have a few food places of convenience we keep going back to... such as the Zion Road Food Centre.

Mmmmmm...

Now that we've finally bought ourselves a new digicam, it's time for more food pics on this blog!

Unmistaken Child

Unmistaken Child is a powerful yet humble film.

Makes one wonder who is the more powerful individual. The assistant or the reincarnated teacher.

As usual, catch the better films at Cathay, the Picturehouse.

Friends

The thing about friends is that you can't be too honest with them.
They just wanna have good times with you, talk about other people, and not have to worry about feeling bad/insecure about themselves.

Friends want you to indulge them. So that they can feel normal about themselves, i.e. being 'wanted' by someone as a 'friend'. And in return, they will volunteer to indulge you too. This is so that they can feel that they have contributed to the friendship in a 'fair' manner.

The last thing you should do is to point out how meaningless it is to keep talking about other people and not work on one's own problems. If your friend has not pointed out your problems to you, you should not volunteer to do so for him/her either. Because once you do that, despite all those excited gossiping sessions you've shared for years, you are not friends anymore.

Hello!

Surprise in Urban Balcony

Blinky usually doesn't care about the bamboo. Yet, he got very excited today. It seems something has caught his eye...

Something near the top of the bamboo plants.

FWAH!!
A bird's nest!!

And it's almost completed. I can't believe I haven't detected it earlier.

We are expecting little eggs... then little birdlings...

Meanwhile, I will attempt to keep the cats away from the nest. Blinky is too curious.

Do Religious Bodies 'have duty to their members'?

What kind of duty?

Unlike how companies have a duty to their investors, religious bodies certainly do not have a contractual duty to their members. Religious bodies merely have a 'moral' duty. And we often prefer to believe that because religious bodies are 'moral' entities, that this 'moral' duty will be carried out in good faith.

As a religious body, City Harvest Church has collected SGD38.6 million in tithes and offerings in financial year of 08/09. This revenue size is comparable to that of listed SMEs such as Old Chang Kee. With a 'membership' base of 33,000, this translates to contributions of about SGD100 per head per month.

Do these 'members' have a right to question the direction/financial decisions of the Church, attend annual general meetings etc? Apparently not, unless you are in the executive committee.

In reality and in terms of consumption pattern, these 'members' relationship with the Church is similiar to that between customers and commercial companies. i.e. paying SGD100 for a service on a regular (monthly) basis.

However, in terms of 'consumer rights', these 'members' are worse off than regular customers because a regular commercial transanction (e.g. to purchase a curry puff from Old Chang Kee, a ticket to attend a Mayday rock concert or a membership to a spa/country club) is protected by some laws, e.g. contract, and these are in turn administered by decidated public units, e.g. the courts, Small Claims Tribunal etc.

In other words, these 'members' are literally 'consumers without rights'.

The Onliners

If you spend enough time online and observe with an open mind, 5 types of personalities (anonymous or not) emerge with blurry edges:

• (50%) I am too smart to join in the online discussion. But I like to read about what others are saying and snigger to myself. Sometimes I comment anonymously so that no one can tie my comment back to me. Tomorrow, I will tell others in the office that online people are really boliao. *snigger*
• (38%) I have no views. DUH? Huh? What? Where are the next food/holiday/baby pics? I like pics! No text, please!
• (10%) I'm not smart and just want to feel angry about injustices. Don't ask me to think why these are injustices. I can't explain them. They are just wrong. Wrong Wrong Wrong! If you support them, you are against me!
• (1%) I am so smart (my PSLE to 'A'-levels results and uni(s) I went to are testament to my brilliance) and so my views on whatever are always right. If you challenge me further, I will flame you. You knn#$%#*!!
• (less than 1%) Truly smart/rational and vocal

 Actually, not very different from the offline community.

85% of Singaporeans are not allowed to keep cats as pets

Check this out (lifted from HDB website):

"Flat owners are not allowed to keep cats in HDB flats, as it is generally difficult to confine cats within the flat premises. Nuisance caused by cats such as shedding of their fur, defecating/ urinating in public areas or even the caterwauling sounds that they make can cause a lot of disturbance, which affects the environment and disrupts neighbourliness in our housing estates."

As if the 62 breeds of dogs in the HDB approved list exhibit none of the above.

Wait... There is more...

Besides dogs, HDB allows flat owners to keep other pet animals such as fish, hamsters, rabbits, and birds. These pets generally do not cause nuisance to neighbours and do not disturb the environment.

Fish, hamsters and rabbits are relatively quiet and contained. But I'm not too sure about birds... not disturbing the environment or causing nuisance to neighbours.

In any case, human beings too are difficult to confine within the flat premises, shed hair, defecate and urinate in public areas, and caterwaul during late night soccer matches/ mahjong sessions/ at the playground and more. Perhaps we should disallow keeping of human beings in HDB too?

Why single out felines when you can't even figure out how to keep the humans in line? Coz felines have no bark (pun totally intended)?

Pic from http://farm1.static.flickr.com/120/315690313_d72f762057.jpg

Remember the suicide case due to neighbour's incessant mahjong-playing? Is that enough to 'raise alarm bells'? What has been done? The suggestion for a demerit points system for HDB flat dwellers? Whatever happened to that great idea?

The 50 year old HDB needs to work on the rationale behind its policies and the attendant PR efforts.

Solution to the Real Estate Agent Problem

Re: The Real Estate Agent

There would be significantly less need for property agents if buyers and sellers learnt to use the internet intelligently.

In fact, it is so easy for the government to set up (or rather pay a private company to set up) an 'online HDB market place'. A 'safe' environment for HDB buyers and sellers to browse, rent, buy and sell their properties, residential or commercial. One should be able to purchase a valuation online to beef up his sale proposal, arrange for viewing, receive automatic financial calculations including government subsidies, CPF installment plans etc, make an electronic offer (with deposit), accept via online system etc. A parallel system can be set up for private properties.

This should be primary mission of the newly set up statutory board called Council for Estate Agencies, instead of trying to whip thousands of agents into shape through a framework of accreditation, registration, mandatory wearing of identification cards, background checks, minimum educational level etc.

How is any of those 'features' going to prevent pressure-selling/ scare tactics? A similar framework is in place to accredit, register and identify bank officers selling products to members of public. That didn't prevent the DBS High Notes and Lehman Minibonds saga, did it?

"The greatest danger is we are flying on auto-pilot. What was once a great policy, we just carry on with more of the same, until reality intervenes."
~ Ngiam Tong Dow, 2003.

Meanwhile, before 'reality intervenes', who pays the price for such lousy and unthinking practices/decisions/policies?

Why trust a human being when a machine can perform the same task and more? Cheaper, faster, better. Isn't this what living in the 21st century is all about? The budget to start and maintain the new framework is more than enough to develop a robust online market place system.

With this proposed online market place in operation, one would only need to engage the services of an agent under special circumstances such as seller/buyer is not in Singapore, or preference for anonymity etc. The 4 or 5-figure commission will then somewhat begin to commensurate with the level of services rendered.

Of course, the government is unlikely to implement something like that, because this will directly affect those 25,000 to 30,000 property agents in Singapore.

But just think about how much money/ trouble/ energy you as a lessor/lessee/seller/buyer will be able to save on your property transactions with the online market place.