2012's 1sAY

Random ramblings...

2012-02-12T22:42:00.002+08:00

1) Weekends are always too short for me - Try ending work on a Saturday at 8 p.m, BB also work OT okay?

2) The MBS Art Science Museum is cool- You should all catch the Titanic exhibition, it is nice!

3) Freak February, exceptionally high workload - maybe it is due to the "feng shui" in the new office.

4) The smaller the car, the more dangerous they are - Totally hate those Suzuki Swift / Honda Jazz / Hyundai Getz that zig-zag along road and tailgate me, they threaten other road users safety.

5) Everyone is addicted to smartphones these days - I realized everyone on the MRT is just glued to their 4 inch screen.

6) Rolex is so freaking expensive now -Should I buy a IWC Pilot instead?

7) Everyone has so many annual leave to go traveling - Except me! I have 3 groups of invitation for this year already.

On point 7 especially, I need to make this declaration.

I really do not have the luxury of having so many days of leave because of my multiple roles in my company. It is not that I am not sporting or being the most troublesome one. I just seek everyone's understanding of my difficult position.

In the end, I may just turn down every group to be fair.

學不會

2012-02-05T21:34:00.000+08:00

I shall borrow JJ's newest album as my entry title today and also to share a nice song. It is rare I appreciate his songs because his songs are typically filled with many "eee" and "ahhh" falsetto, oh and his high pitch voice screeching just turns me off.

For a change, this is more pleasing to my ears.

"學不會", yeah, I am one who never master the right investment strategy. Totally fed up with my equity investments for 2011 which yield a pathetic 3% ROI. With all the wrong decisions, seems like 2012 is like repeating itself.

Just late Dec last year, I set my mind to buy some spot silver, which is trading for about USD$27 per ounce. But, I just procrastinate and viola! The price is now USD$34! Freaking angry to the max, that was exactly the same mistake in 2011!

I wonder if my investment approach is too conservative, or simply too risk averse

Just yesterday while having dinner with my "Tai-Tais" friends, they were discussing if it is the right time to buy a condo as investment. No, don't get it wrong, this is not a marital home for them but purely as an investment asset.

For a start, I think private property prices are becoming sky high.

A heartland condo with 99 years leasehold cost about $1000 psf on average. Work that out, a 1 bedroom unit of 500sqf cost $500k! And paying first 5% deposit using cash and next 15% of either cash/CPF, you need about $100K of cash+CPF.

For the rest of the 400K, you service it with a 30 years mortgage loan, that still work out to be about $2k per month.

And we are only talking about a heartland 99 years "HDB with facilities".(I never classify a 99 years leasehold as private property so...) What about something more hardcore like 999 years at city core region?

So back to the question, is it a right time now to buy a private property? Frankly, when will be a right time? I guess I will always "學不會".

I wish the tai-tais good luck!

Festive over, time to work!!

2012-01-29T22:07:00.003+08:00

I am depressed over the "drought" of public holidays for the next two months. CNY came too soon this year. Now, we have to wait till April for Vesak Day.

So how was your CNY? I told myself to eat less but still ended up feasting non-stop over the pineapple tarts. And Facebook is routinely boring with the same update with extended family portrait photos or food. I don't believe people can't find any more interesting things to "show off" to your friends right?

Anyway, I started work early this year on 初三. Not typical for a construction firm but since there was demand for fibre installation, we have to start. This also send a strong signal to our employees that fun is over, it will be a grueling year ahead to work hard and reap the rewards later.

I hope you work hard too, have a rewarding year ahead!

I think this is quite nicely taken :)

Happy Lunar New Year!!

2012-01-23T00:19:00.001+08:00

It is a few minutes to ushering the Dragon year as I am writing this.

Feel peaceful to spend some time blogging while listening to Hyun Bin singing "That man", enjoying the rainy weather outside, recalling...

CNY is a busy affair.

The run-up to this super big festival is cluttered with many things to buy (“年货” shopping? Go wet market shopping? Buying new clothes? Changing things like bedsheets, towels, carpet .etc? Buying new year plants? Decorations?), many places/things to clean (Factory? Office? House? Car? Oh and my dog!), many things to settle (Leave forecast? Bonus calculation? 收工酒？Change new notes at Banks? Ang Bao preparation?).

If I have it worse, my parents have it the worst.

Despite the trouble, I feel that these traditions must be uphold as it bonds the family together during the CNY preparation. It builds harmony in the family and I truly immerse myself in the celebratory mood. It is indeed a privilege to celebrate it with a big fanfare style.

For years to come, I hope this will go on, even if that means shouldering more responsibilities to help my ageing parents.

The time is 12:10 a.m. Today will be a long day, but I guess it will be a fun-filled one.

Happy Lunar New Year to all!

Since I am on the topic of CNY, I recommend this “贺岁片” to all, if it is available in SG that is.

A tale of 2 banks

2012-01-14T14:06:00.001+08:00

I am seldom in the mood for narration but today shall be the day to share my recent experience with two banks.

The story has to be dated back December last year when the impulsive me went on a shopping spree for air ticket and hotel. I happily charged all my expenses to my "reserved" credit card, a card that I do not use but signed up because I fancy the design. It happened that this "preferred" card has more traveling perks so I used it without thinking.

During my "hiatus" in late December, the credit card bill came slashing fast and free. To be honest, I am not a card person. I hate the concept of spending on credit and the hassle of paying the bills. So I hold a bare minimum of 2 cards. The stable card is linked to my current account so payment is automatic. BUT, the reserved card is simply a white elephant.

Upon arriving home, I was in a hurry to clear the bill so I wrote a cheque to pay off the bill immediately. And this happened to be the biggest mistake.

Fast forward 5 days, I received a SMS from the "bank that never sleeps" telling me the cheque was rejected. I went to check, oh well, there is sufficient balance in my account so there is no reason why the cheque could not be processed. Worried, I called up their hotline and was promptly put to a very nice CSO. The nice chap is very professional. He took much effort to run around departments to find out the root cause. After 2 returning calls in 1 hour, he found the reason why the cheque was bounced, which I would reveal in a second.

For that reason, that "C" bank did not charge me anything and I happily thought the episode will be over once I arrange for another payment by the due date.

But NO, the next day, I received a letter from the credit card bank telling me of the bounced cheque. This "united for growth" bank decided to charge me $40 administrative fees for sending me that reminder.

Very nice, I admit it was a stupid mistake to date the year on my cheque wrongly as 2011 (I always get the YEAR wrongly written during the first few days of a new year). The bank deemed it as a out-of-date cheque and rejected it. I am cool about paying the $40 fee but I shall terminate all my banking relationship with this bank since

1) I don't use that card.

2) They are money sucker

3) That card is up for renewal anyway and I will not pay the annual fee.

And I rang up the customer service center with the intention to cancel this card. It is equally impressive that I got connected to the CSO within 1 minute. This time, I spoke to another passionate chap.

I am direct with my intention to cancel this card.

He asked for the reason.

I told him a half-truth to save some face.

I seldom use the card.

He got it arranged and thank me for my call.

Before hanging up, I asked for the final amount to prepare payment.

He checked and realised the annual fee is reflected

Without hesitation, he waived it off, no condition attached.

He then asked if I wish to reconsider holding the card.

I was impressed but indifferent because of the $40.

So I asked if the $40 fee has been charged.

He gladly waive that off without any hesitation.

So this nice chap managed to "save" 1 client because of his decisiveness.

The moral of the story, it pays to be patient and polite. I have since become nice and not complaint because I know the pain of handling complaint case. Well, be kind to others and I am sure that will reap some good karma.

When will I ever be invited to sign up for this? Haha...

I wish my desk is so empty now...

2012-01-07T12:10:00.003+08:00

4 days of enjoyment translate into 2 weeks of backlog. Not a fair deal but this is expected, given last year's experience. What the hell is with this closing, that year-end summary report, this and that...

The start of a new year... I don't even dare to look at the state of my desk, it is a reflection of how many things I need to clear.

But at least, my mood is superbly beautiful. That is a good sign to spur my productivity.

旅游心得

2012-01-02T20:53:00.001+08:00

一个 iPOD，踏上孤单的旅行。

经济的早餐，开始一天的旅程。

空荡荡的地铁站。一份平静，一份安宁。

早晨的公园。呼吸新鲜空气。

空肠的街道，一股惆怅。

不登大雅之堂的艺术，别具风格。

掀开眼帘。这是奢华的艺术宫殿。

废墟的工厂改变的艺术长廊，踏实多了。

那时的我，真的是冷“残”了

铺天盖地的“通告”，真爱就是那样寻找到的吗？

美食篇。这个煎饺子，一个“赞”字了得。

那片“cheese cake”，生平吃过最贵的，也是最好吃的！

从Park Hyatt 望出去的风景，不是盖的。

夕阳西下。别具一番蛮迷人。

夜上海，夜上海，你是一个不夜城。

2012年的第一天。天坛许下第一个心愿。

这次旅行还真的是有点仓促，没有太多时间可以准备。
反正是去　“祖国”　有如朝拜，中国对我而言也没有太陌生。
就我行我素的出走一次，潇洒一次，挥霍一次，
也不会有多难。

上海，北京，两座截然不同的城市，两座我在Ｎ年到过的城市。
这一次，换一个方式去探索。
少了商业化的旅行团，多了一点平民化方式。

我比较喜欢上海。
她的繁华，她的绚丽，不愧是一个国际大都市的样本。
一个拜金的社会，钱主宰了一切。

北京嘛，就真的他妈的冷。
文化风气有点窒息，也很朝鲜的感觉，有如　"big brother is watching you"。
新旧交际的有点颠倒，这或许就是古城的一种特色。

说真的，我开始恋上在世界不同的角落迎接新的一年。
很有“feel”的让人回味一年的辛酸，好好奖励自己这一年得辛苦。

今年的倒数，我又会在哪？

最后，一个人的旅行也到了个段落。
走了千山万里路，其实还是家最温暖。
不管５星级的酒店有多豪华，还是不能取代我的狗窝。

跟毛主席照个相是留念的必备

Remembering 2011

2012-01-01T00:00:00.000+08:00

Happy NewYear!

What you are reading now is written last year(just a few days ago), over a period of 10 days, ina journey of reminiscing2011. Alone, in some part of the world, where the extended firewall blocked myaccess to BLOGGER to post this entry before New Year. That is a smallimperfection but it will not compromise the quality of this post.

2011 isanother quick year. It will go un-remembered in the history of my life. This is not a milestone year with a significant life event. Calm as it seems, it has left many “dots”. I am sure these dots has laid the foundation well for me to connect in years to come.

The most dramatic dot is becoming more independent, to the extent of traveling alone. Thank you SIAfor the irresistible air ticket. It was an impulse decision. I saw the offer inlate November, bought the ticket without much consideration and then declared to my DIRECTORS. This set them fuming because they found the notion oftraveling alone “INSANE”. However, Ineed some “ME TIME” and traveling alone is exactly this point. So off I went, 1country, 2 cities in 10 days, without publicizing much about this trip.

The recurring theme of 2011 is to convince myself to move on from mystudent life. Things should change, changes should come. I should startembracing the next phrase of my life instead of finding ways to drag on.Studying is my form of most convenient excuse to run away from assuming moreresponsibilities in life. But this can’t go on. On hindsight, it is a blessingto be rejected by NUS Law. That sets my mind firmly not to look back. It is asign.

So I spenta big deal of time on work. It has been a busy yet productive year as I assumedmore responsibilities since the departure of my Manager. Being involved in thetendering process, I even went solo for price negotiation with my client for amillion dollar contract. Age may not to my advantage but surely, no one doubtsmy status as “BB” to represent the company. This says something about the “BB”status.

In fact, Iam getting sick of this symbolic status. It makes me suspicious whether peopleshow respect for my ability or for who I am. It creates pressure for me toconstantly be in my best form. I have to live up to the expectation of beingthe “crown prince”. It is a privilege to be burdened with, becoming weary of how peopleperceive me and reminding myself not to get swollen headed. I know this is it when I tell myself, I need to get away from this place for a breather.

Whichbrings me back to my first point of why embark on a solo trip where no one knows me and I can be in my own skin.The last 10 days have been exceptionally relaxing and healing. I have a clearer perspective of my life goals, and managed to thinkquite a bit to set some good resolutions for 2012.

With that,I do urge everyone to think hard what you wish to do about the next 365 days inthe coming year. Set yourself a high goal. With willpower, you will be amazedby your own ability. I wish you all a great year ahead.

Happy 2012, once again.