And he is only 24... Sigh...
Minggu, 30 Januari 2011
Senin, 24 Januari 2011
Sabtu, 22 Januari 2011
Bill is in Town
Our MBA classmate, Bill, and his other half, Consuela, are in town. So we decided to bring them for a seafood dinner at Dempsey on Friday.
Bill is an intriguing character. We only got to know him (and his humour) a little more towards the beginning of the end.
While he did hang out with some back in class, he was mostly quite a lone figure. Doing his own thing, not minding anyone, not disturbing anyone.
Notice I am not in the picture?
It's not because I was taking the picture, but because the flu epidemic got to me. While they enjoying themselves, I was at home fighting the aches and chills. =_=
Black Pepper Crabs!! I WANT!!!
I love Singaporean seafood! Mmmmm...
While he did hang out with some back in class, he was mostly quite a lone figure. Doing his own thing, not minding anyone, not disturbing anyone.
Notice I am not in the picture?
It's not because I was taking the picture, but because the flu epidemic got to me. While they enjoying themselves, I was at home fighting the aches and chills. =_=
Black Pepper Crabs!! I WANT!!!
Jumat, 21 Januari 2011
警察穿短裤啊!
This must be one of the cutest Ang Pows I have seen. Look closely!
It's a freaking rabbit in a 1945 Singapore Police uniform!! It's so cute!!! ROAR!!!!
The people from the Police Heritage Centre has a great sense of humour. I like. =)))
The people from the Police Heritage Centre has a great sense of humour. I like. =)))
Rabu, 19 Januari 2011
End of Level 2
We had the last class of Level 2 last evening.
This is what our typical weekly class looks like. And yes... the gender ratio is extremely skewed. We only have 1 guy in class.
The table you see in the foreground is what I call 'Table #1'. They are the nearest to the teacher, most attentive, always do their homework, and almost always score the highest in class.
This is my table. We are always noisy, always giggly, always gossiping, sometimes missing lessons, and hang out outside of the classroom.
I felt a little sad towards the end of the class... coz I knew I was gonna be the last person standing at my table. So, we exchanged home addresses like we used in secondary school. =))
Realising that I would be alone, Table #1 invited me to join them for Level 3, but I is scared. They are very serious! =P
As a reward for completing Level 2, my teacher made us Kimchi Pancake!!
So this is what it tastes like to have a Korean mother! Mmmm...
By the way, I printed a T-Shirt that says this in front
and this at the back.
Geddit? Geddit?
I'll wear it during the Election period and/or National Day, and only Koreans and very few Singaporeans would get it. =)))
This is what our typical weekly class looks like. And yes... the gender ratio is extremely skewed. We only have 1 guy in class.
This is my table. We are always noisy, always giggly, always gossiping, sometimes missing lessons, and hang out outside of the classroom.
Realising that I would be alone, Table #1 invited me to join them for Level 3, but I is scared. They are very serious! =P
As a reward for completing Level 2, my teacher made us Kimchi Pancake!!
So this is what it tastes like to have a Korean mother! Mmmm...
By the way, I printed a T-Shirt that says this in front
and this at the back.
Geddit? Geddit?
I'll wear it during the Election period and/or National Day, and only Koreans and very few Singaporeans would get it. =)))
Senin, 17 Januari 2011
Open Concept Office
Has your office adopted on these 'open concept' layouts?
Where those 'unfriendly' cubicle walls are lowered or removed, desk spaces are reduced, and you can read the typos off your colleagues' screens.
According to its fans (and office consultants and furniture suppliers), the benefits of the open concept are as follows:
Sounds really good. What can beat a list of quantifiable and qualifying advantages?! This is a proposal which no manager can refuse! Especially managers who are making the decisions in their nicely-decorated and insulated offices.
However, if the manager had some common sense and been a user of the open concept, one ought to realise in an instance that it is one of the most ineffective 'office innovation trends' ever. There is absolutely no savings, nor increase in productivity. Instead, the company would suffer in the long run.
Not only does it hinder the worker's reading and thought processes (of course, only important for workers who are expected to perform a certain level of thinking in their work), the open concept provides the office extrovert with the perfect platform to solicit his daily hour of attention. Once Mr Extrovert starts sharing his terrible day with the poor guy nearest to him, everyone has no choice but to listen. This excites Mr Extrovert even more, resulting in a longer speech, and sometimes urging responses from others at the other end of the office.
Now, in addition to that 1 hour of desperate extroverted performance, think about those daily couple of 10-minute phonecalls by those few colleagues with booming voices. Anyone ought to realise that at least 25% of office hours have become impossibly unproductive.
(With a stroke of good luck, sometimes both colleagues with booming voices would be on the phone at the same time. YAY! You've saved 10 unproductive minutes for the day! That's usually the cue to go for a tea/toilet break, as it's impossible to even fill out HR admin forms under such circumstances.)
Hence, while the open concept saves upfront costs for the company, these costs are transferred to the individual workers directly and immediately. And in the long run, at the loss of 25% of productive work hours per day for x years, the company has to be worse off.
So what exactly are we trying to achieve here with the open concept again?
Of course, this is not to say that everyone ought to be in separate rooms with sound-proof doors and walls like Yamaha jam studios. But, as with most mundane knowledge in life, taking anything to the extreme is not a good idea.
Adopting the open concept for workers who are required to perform thinking functions is freaking extreme, OK, Mr Emperor without clothes?! Following corporate trends blindly is clearly not an act of management. It's an act of lack of management.
Having said the above, not all readers of this entry should start to feel indignant his open concept seat in the office, coz he may not be performing a genuine 'thinking' function in the office.
Where those 'unfriendly' cubicle walls are lowered or removed, desk spaces are reduced, and you can read the typos off your colleagues' screens.
- Reduces space required per worker, resulting in compaction of total office space and rental
- Reduces isolation and increases face-to-face interaction, resulting in more creativity and team spirit, which in turn would increase productivity
- Increased visibility also allows for ease of management
Sounds really good. What can beat a list of quantifiable and qualifying advantages?! This is a proposal which no manager can refuse! Especially managers who are making the decisions in their nicely-decorated and insulated offices.
However, if the manager had some common sense and been a user of the open concept, one ought to realise in an instance that it is one of the most ineffective 'office innovation trends' ever. There is absolutely no savings, nor increase in productivity. Instead, the company would suffer in the long run.
Not only does it hinder the worker's reading and thought processes (of course, only important for workers who are expected to perform a certain level of thinking in their work), the open concept provides the office extrovert with the perfect platform to solicit his daily hour of attention. Once Mr Extrovert starts sharing his terrible day with the poor guy nearest to him, everyone has no choice but to listen. This excites Mr Extrovert even more, resulting in a longer speech, and sometimes urging responses from others at the other end of the office.
Now, in addition to that 1 hour of desperate extroverted performance, think about those daily couple of 10-minute phonecalls by those few colleagues with booming voices. Anyone ought to realise that at least 25% of office hours have become impossibly unproductive.
(With a stroke of good luck, sometimes both colleagues with booming voices would be on the phone at the same time. YAY! You've saved 10 unproductive minutes for the day! That's usually the cue to go for a tea/toilet break, as it's impossible to even fill out HR admin forms under such circumstances.)
Hence, while the open concept saves upfront costs for the company, these costs are transferred to the individual workers directly and immediately. And in the long run, at the loss of 25% of productive work hours per day for x years, the company has to be worse off.
So what exactly are we trying to achieve here with the open concept again?
Of course, this is not to say that everyone ought to be in separate rooms with sound-proof doors and walls like Yamaha jam studios. But, as with most mundane knowledge in life, taking anything to the extreme is not a good idea.
Adopting the open concept for workers who are required to perform thinking functions is freaking extreme, OK, Mr Emperor without clothes?! Following corporate trends blindly is clearly not an act of management. It's an act of lack of management.
Having said the above, not all readers of this entry should start to feel indignant his open concept seat in the office, coz he may not be performing a genuine 'thinking' function in the office.
My Korean fails me BIG TIME.
Called my Korean classmate in Seoul to wish him Happy Birthday, and ended up stammering like a fool with his dad on the line.
I only managed 3 sentences:
(1) "My name is XXX."
(2) "Me... Friend... Cambridge"
(3) "Sorry! Bye Bye!"
내가 바보입니다! =_=
I only managed 3 sentences:
(1) "My name is XXX."
(2) "Me... Friend... Cambridge"
(3) "Sorry! Bye Bye!"
내가 바보입니다! =_=
Sabtu, 15 Januari 2011
Spring has arrived
It has got to be the Year of the Rabbit, when the furry dancing lions begin to look like strange mutant bunnies.
This is so wrong.
They ought to look this way!!
Chinatown is red red red everywhere!!
Had a strange lunch of claypot frog legs in a dim sum shop.
Chinatown is definitely getting crowded like it does every year.
Since we were there, we did our marketing at Chinatown Complex.
Its range of products is superior to that of Tekka. I'm so Ajumma for making such an observation.
I'm so Ajumma, that I'll have to wear these and perm my hair with tight curls soon.
This legendary CD shop is still there! Where I bought my first Mayday album.
You know what? This courtyard ought to be permanently sheltered. But I have a couple of friends in the right places who are unlikely to agree with me. =_=
YUP, Spring has definitely arrived. Have you done your CNY round in Chinatown yet?
This is so wrong.
 |
| Mutant Rab-ion |
Chinatown is red red red everywhere!!
Had a strange lunch of claypot frog legs in a dim sum shop.
Chinatown is definitely getting crowded like it does every year.
Since we were there, we did our marketing at Chinatown Complex.
I'm so Ajumma, that I'll have to wear these and perm my hair with tight curls soon.
This legendary CD shop is still there! Where I bought my first Mayday album.
You know what? This courtyard ought to be permanently sheltered. But I have a couple of friends in the right places who are unlikely to agree with me. =_=
YUP, Spring has definitely arrived. Have you done your CNY round in Chinatown yet?
Jumat, 14 Januari 2011
CNY Cards... SUX!
We've looked everywhere. =(
Sabtu, 08 Januari 2011
Gingy!!
This is proof of us going to Cold Storage too much.
Who doesn't like Gingy?!
Check out his wikipedia entry. He has had more endorsement deals than most Hollywood A- list of human actors.
On his first night with us, 'Good Fren' declared that Gingy could come across as rather psychotic-looking, especially if you woke up with him in your face.
Hurh... Hurh... Hurh... Hurh... Hurh... Hurh...
(That's what Gingy sounds like when he's laughing nervously...)
 |
| Gingy, the Gingerbread Man from Shrek |
Who doesn't like Gingy?!
Check out his wikipedia entry. He has had more endorsement deals than most Hollywood A- list of human actors.
On his first night with us, 'Good Fren' declared that Gingy could come across as rather psychotic-looking, especially if you woke up with him in your face.
Hurh... Hurh... Hurh... Hurh... Hurh... Hurh...
(That's what Gingy sounds like when he's laughing nervously...)
Rabu, 05 Januari 2011
Innovation at Work (Really?)
TODAYonline | Hot News | Property 'runners' face severe penalties
"The CEA said that registered agents who appoint non-registered agents to do estate agency work may be brought before its disciplinary committee.
The committee could reprimand, revoke or suspend the offenders' registration. It could also impose a fine of up to $75,000 or attach conditions to the registration."
Non-registered agents are not registered because:
(1) They can't be bothered
(2) They failed the written test
(3) They do not meet criteria (e.g. criminal records etc).
So the next time, you use a 'property agent', better check whether he has been registered with the CEA.
.........................................................
Regardless, the government, CEA, or some civil society should outline how a property seller can sell his property WITHOUT an agent, because:
"The CEA said that registered agents who appoint non-registered agents to do estate agency work may be brought before its disciplinary committee.
The committee could reprimand, revoke or suspend the offenders' registration. It could also impose a fine of up to $75,000 or attach conditions to the registration."
Non-registered agents are not registered because:
(1) They can't be bothered
(2) They failed the written test
(3) They do not meet criteria (e.g. criminal records etc).
So the next time, you use a 'property agent', better check whether he has been registered with the CEA.
.........................................................
Regardless, the government, CEA, or some civil society should outline how a property seller can sell his property WITHOUT an agent, because:
- Legally, there is no need for an agent in such transactions.
- Materially, most agents provide limited services, i.e. leverage on network to bring potential buyers. This can be easily overcome by the internet. Do not for a second think that it's more secure for agents to bring buyers into your home, than if you had sourced them from elsewhere. All are strangers.
Minggu, 02 Januari 2011
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