experiences; EXTRAordinary.

How it all began...

noreply@blogger.com (-tee-) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 12:17:00 +0000

And it all started with an innocuous "Hey still awake?"

Fingers crossed... Only time will tell!! =)

2012. NTL.

noreply@blogger.com (-tee-) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 14:19:00 +0000

NTL = Nothing To Lose.
A friend commented such, on one Sunday evening's ice-cream session @Udders, Serangoon Garden, last year.

With abated breath, I did what I felt I had to do...
Definitely a memorable end to 2011 and entry into 2012.

Whatever happens, I now can heave a sigh of relieve, and look back at this day and say, YESH, I DID IT! Finally. Phew...

Many months have passed... and these to recap last quarter of 2011...

noreply@blogger.com (-tee-) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 19:21:00 +0000

Jacky Cheung 1/2 Century Tour in August. My First, and simply out of this world - Immaculate voice quality and boundless energy, worthy of a man half his years!!

Sept, Singapore Grand Prix. One of our many training sessions - This was in Pasir Gundang.

Helped out as track marshal for a local racing event (even chanced upon a sec fren who's race team is participating!)..

And this was the very aggressive Integra who took the chequered flag..
Oh, coincidentally, I do have some Integra driving experience too, but definitely not with one as souped-up as this...For they say, racing is a rich man's sport! Ha...

Colleague's wedding in Spore and Malaysia.. even doubling up as amateur photographer during the Mysia leg! =)

Pity I was still exploring the use of external flash and various ISO/Aperture/Shutter Speed combinations, in an attempt to capture sharp pictures in low-light environment, w/o whitewashing the shot. Think I've gotten it now, but still not quite "THERE" yet..
Need to be more adventurous and play with different settings instead of sticking to one default combi - though the moment may slip in all that hesitation.

Hmmm.. Be damned if you do, be damned if you don't!!?

Asia Pacific Technical Conference 2011 in Oct.

Big effort by colleagues who are roped in to be organizers, having to juggle day job and this biennial event. Really nice venue/hotel, isolated away from bustling City Center, so attendees can participate whole-heartedly in the day's programs we've lined-up for them. Myself was fortunate (or unfortunate??!) enough to be invited 'cos of a presentation I was "volunteered" to do... LOL

Glad I was of-help to the committee in some of the logistics and administrative duties... =)

I was real impressed by the artistry of the house-keepers. Guess this is what we term climbing up the value-chain - Provide value-adding services that make you stand-out from the competition! Never had I seen soooo much effort put into laying out the towels... What an art!!!

And this is the view from the main lobby... Daytime.

and when night falls... simply picturesque!

and here I am, fumbling about on stage - good thing I was 80% hidden by the Podium ie 80% less embarrassment! LOL

Nov, was my little nephew's 1st Birthday Party, followed by the same-evening travel to Customer's site in India. The 3.5hrs bumpy-road-chauffeured-drive from Airport to Site was quite an experience... adding on to the 10pm-dinner-in-the-Jungle experience on our last night with Customers - simply memorable!! =)

This same month was our inaugural Ride-for-Charity event.

Also the inaugural Ride of my jie-fu's road bike from AMK all the way to Seletar, albeit in the wee-morning hours, and late evening hours.

It also marked my first bike-fall in eons, and it wasn't a simple trip and fall, fall, it was a sliding fall during an acute corner, with lots of misjudgement and plenty of adrenaline to go speedily. Damage done? Abrasion wounds along right leg and lower chin, and a bruised ego, falling right in front of the supporting crowd.. Muahahaa!!!

And then we count to the last month of 2011 - Dec, which led me to a 2-wks job in Indonesia, before I hurriedly transited over to Malaysia for another work stint.

And here I am, in Malaysia, to count down Xmas and welcome in 2012...

Sure hope I get to keep my room on 31st Dec... The fireworks view must be superb from up here!! ;O)

Embrace Life. Always Wear Your Seatbelt.

noreply@blogger.com (-tee-) — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 14:19:00 +0000

This was shown to us by our instructor after our Confined-Space Entry course.

He wanted to remind us to drive safe and belt-up as we drive our way home that afternoon (although I took cab home that day).

I felt this ad is really very creative and striking - Sweet and Straight in your face.

Enjoy and spread the message!!! ;O)

B.O.W. 2011

noreply@blogger.com (-tee-) — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 15:16:00 +0000

This coming Friday will be our inaugural Community Project, B.O.W. 20111, organized by our local group. Guess whose driving this project!!? Heh..
B.O.W. = Bowling-on-"Wheels". Wheels as in wheelchair.
I've initiated contact with The Singapore Cheshire Home, and picked up Bowling with their Residents as one of the more interesting, meaningful and feasible projects to work on.
Community projects are nothing new to me; Getting support from fellow colleagues is.
I was quite apprehensive for the fund-raising portion, as I secretly had a target of 100 packs of Milk Powder, not knowing how generous we all are in the office.. at the same time, quietly confident of getting volunteers for the event, since most people are willing to contribute time (esp since Boss has given green-light for half-day off) and less so parting with $$$...

Surprise, surprise.. I found out our folks are more generous with $$$ and less able to spare the time!! ..Guess my perception was formed during Uni days when students have more free time on hand and less easy-cash! haa..

Conducting a final recce on Tues morning, and maybe a short internal briefing on Wed, and we're good-to-go on Fri afternoon for the BIG Day.. Looking forward.. ;O)

RSAF Openhouse 2011

noreply@blogger.com (-tee-) — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 16:32:00 +0000

Went to the RSAF Openhouse couple weekends ago...
Finally had the chance to put my 70-200mm f2.8 IS (ver 1) to good use!! heh..

Actually I read somewhere the best way to prevent lens from molding is to use it, as frequently as possible!! (Besides keeping lens in dry cabinet when not in use, and keeping the humidity level to 45%.. not too high, which defeats the purpose of having a dry cabinet, and not too low, as the seals/plastics may deteriorate in properties and crack..)

Give Me Everything (Tonight)

noreply@blogger.com (-tee-) — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 16:14:00 +0000

Another "heard-on-radio-but-dunno-title" song which took me couple of days before I heard it on radio again, and this time paying particular attention to the artist and song title!!

Some shots taken during our visit to the Tiger Brewery...

Just some of the varieties of beers you're able to find at the brewery...

Yep, we were there after-office hours.. by the time we were concluding the guided-tour, it's almost dark already.

This was taken when I went outside to look for a colleague who "suddenly disappeared", albeit pretty drunk and high..
Later on we telephoned him (NOTE: Starhub has no reception at this brewery.. being located at the way in the western-most part of Singapore, meters away from the 2nd Link), and from his gibberish, semi-drunken state, found that he had actually boarded a taxi and was already on his way back home! This was the "more-sensible" colleague. =)

One of them is the "more-sensible" one, the other, the "hopeless-Dad-of-two"!! LOL

Asia-Pacific Brewery Visit - Company Event.

noreply@blogger.com (-tee-) — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 08:10:00 +0000

We visited the APB last evening - a company event.
Things were moving along fine until the free-flow of beer, not just Tiger - includes Kilkenny, Heineken, Erdinger, Archipalego, Baron's, and a few others, kicked in, and some of my colleagues went past their drinking limit (luckily i was driving so I limited myself to 1.5 bottle, thereabouts!!)

One of them was still sensible enough to grab a taxi home before he totally passed-out.
Another, who was "instigating" the sensible one to drink more, got soooo pissed, we can probably leave him sleeping by the road-side with no problems at all - that's how pissed he got.. Ugly. :Ol
This latter one puked twice (luckily none in my Jie-Fu's car! Phew...), and now I finally fully comprehend the meaning of "Dead-drunk"!!
I had to literally drag him all the way from the car, 100m towards the lift, before we sobered him up a little outside his flat, for him to be able to bring out his keys and open the door. Oh, did I mention he's also 130% my own weight!!?! (not that he's heavy, just that I'm light! LOL)

The biggest lost that evening, is probably his spanking new Spain Worldcup Champions Soccer tee-shirt, which was stained with his puke!

Aftershock

noreply@blogger.com (-tee-) — Mon, 30 May 2011 15:27:00 +0000

According to the authors, there are 2 more bubbles yet to burst.

To-date, Real Estate bubble, Stock Market bubble, Private Debt bubble and Discretionary Spending bubble have already burst.

The final two to pop are the Dollar bubble and Government Debt bubble, projected to take place latest, 2013/14. When that happens, the best aftershock investments would be to invest in products that take advantage of a falling stock market and a falling dollar.

After the pop, the best job to be in will be Healthcare, Government and Education and their related businesses.

This's quite an easy read (though it took me almost 1+mths.. can tell how much of a voracious reader I'm! haa..).. With a scary future to paint, this book sure tell us an alternative economic future which not many will wanna listen to - a bleak and depressing one that is... :Ol

May - Start of a new Wave...

noreply@blogger.com (-tee-) — Mon, 30 May 2011 15:04:00 +0000

Little out-dated, but I just hava post these to show I was part of this Historical moment! Haa.. A small step, towards something bigger!!!

So what exactly qualifies a 20-something MP!??

And what qualities are exemplary of an MP?!?

I am not a good judge, but I do know if I'm really not happy with riding on tailcoats of giants, I should take action on my own, instead of lamenting of what's just and what's not.

Time will tell.. for now, lemme resolve my own 30-crisis before I embark on my vision to... to... ... SAVE THE WORLD!!! LOL

BEP - Just Can't Get Enough

noreply@blogger.com (-tee-) — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 17:03:00 +0000

Some nice songs (in my sense) simply get me ultra-frustrated.

Heard it once on the radio but din note down the title nor the singer, and the repercussion is next few days of futile searching online for that particular tune - googling blindly for Top 40 charts, Top 100, etc, hoping that song is indeed a recent chart-topping hit.

This BEP Just Can't Get Enough is one such example (I din even realise BEP = Black Eye Peas!!)
First heard it on 99.1FM while on the drive. I was attracted to it's first liner - "Boy I think about it every night and day"..
The techno-mix towards the end is quite special as well..

Up next.. Elections 2011!
Woooh.. it's gonna be interesting! ;O)

noreply@blogger.com (-tee-) — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 17:00:00 +0000

I'm not usually a dessert-y nor tart-y person. Happened to be at the Basement of Raffles City with a group of seldom-see friends for dinner at a Taiwan restaurant last Fri, and we decided to drop by the Fruit Paradise cafe opposite for desserts.

Attempted the Mango-Banana Tart - must say it was not bad; not sure if it's 'cos I've not have had sweet food for quite a while.. Guess the fresh ingredients used must played a part too!!? Nicee.. worth a try, albeit its a Japanese cafe.. heh...

(click for more details)

That same evening another group of colleagues were having dinner @Suntec for another colleague's farewell. She's been with the firm for 20 years. T-W-E-N-T-Y YEARS!!!!
Goshh.. almost as old as I'm liao - plus a bit more lah..
For the most part of the last eight years, she was our Big Boss's PA.
I cannot fathom how I'll feel if I'm in her shoe - speechless, teary, void, sudden-loss or... ??!?
..but before that, I'm not even sure I can come close to 20 years of Long-Service!! :Ol

I'm impressed.

Another busy week ahead - gota settle some work order (already got "threatened" by LD), looking forward to first F1 training session this weekend, and another work-trip coming up (this time Down-under) and of course, the return of Tree and our catching up (and special delivery from UK!!)! LOL

Singapore F1 Trackside Volunteer Trainee

noreply@blogger.com (-tee-) — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 17:09:00 +0000

Oh, did I mention I'm gonna be part of this year's Singapore F1 race!!?! ...pending me clearing the few mandatory courses - Sure hope I can arrange myself to be in town during these course dates!
Just got a "congratulatory" note, 2 days ago in my gmail saying I'm selected as one of this year's volunteer trainee ;O)

Hmm.. wonder what I can do as a volunteer..
Maybe I'll volunteer myself to be the Safety Car driver!!!?! LOL

Another 1st...

noreply@blogger.com (-tee-) — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 17:03:00 +0000

Another 1st - Our 2.50pm SQ flight this afternoon to Brunei was delayed for 4hours.
The initial engineering assessment estimated it'll only take 30mins to resolve the fault. But the defective Ground Proximity Warning System turned out to be more of a handful than a 30min's job...
Eventually we had to change to another plane, via another Gate.

Probably the latest delay I've experienced to-date. Makes me think twice next time I've a connecting flight with only 2hr's buffer!! :Ol

Not exactly a good start to a new job.. We even had a splashing welcome when we touched-down. It started pouring excessively just as we started the taxi journey to our hotel. The rain dampened and slowed the drive and took us almost another 2hrs before we arrived at our hotel =(

Main Reasons why "Leftover" People Remain Single

noreply@blogger.com (-tee-) — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 18:12:00 +0000

Saw this interesting article about Singles in the local Chinese papers 2 weeks ago... based on their definition of "Leftover", I'll qualify for entry really sooooon siah!! Kaozz..

BUT, what really intrigued me in the article was this:

Breathing on the bright side, my parents are not contributing to the statistics.. well, at least not yet!! LOL

Limited Edition Trainer

noreply@blogger.com (-tee-) — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 18:05:00 +0000

It's usually not easy to earn my consumer dollar. I've become pretty numb to consumer-goods, in a way of-sorts. 麻木 to marketing/advertisements liao.. BUT, when I chanced upon this pair of trainers whilst I was on job in China, I simply knew I had to get it!

Truely Limited Edition loh!!

Those who knows my choice of trainers, will know I swear by ASICS and New Balance, in order of preference. To me, Nike and Adidas are more for their designs, so more apt as casual sneakers.

Here I present to you my latest buy - A pair of Nike with the latest iconic Reebok ZigTech sole technology!

Or should I say RebEOk's ZigTech sole technology!!?! Hahaa..

Chinese innovation @work!! LOL...

13 years later... ...

noreply@blogger.com (-tee-) — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 17:40:00 +0000

This CNY must be the largest turn-out for our Sec school gathering, in recent memory..
Excluding the ASEAN Scholars, I would say we have almost 50% turnout; Possibly even 60% if a few of them were not away for holiday! =)

It's quite amazing how after soooo many years, I still can recognize certain distinct traits in some of my classmates.. behaviour-wise, humor-wise, "pattern"-wise.. LOL

Amongst this bunch of outstanding chaps, counts a doctor, dentist, analysts, consultants, entrepreneur, engineers, teacher, civil servant, sabbatical-leaved, a manager and a Dad.
I would think our form teacher will be pretty proud and pleased with the way we've turned out (esp when compared to our havoc school-days!)!! ;O)

Young Forever or Forever Young

noreply@blogger.com (-tee-) — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 18:49:00 +0000

Let's dance in style, lets dance for a while
Heaven can wait we're only watching the skies
Hoping for the best but expecting the worst
Are you going to drop the bomb or not?

Let us die young or let us live forever
We don't have the power but we never say never
Sitting in a sandpit, life is a short trip
The music's for the sad men

Do you prefer this Young Forever version (Jay Z + Mr Hudson) or the original Forever Young (Alphaville)??

Personally I hinge towards Mr Hudson style...

春到河畔

noreply@blogger.com (-tee-) — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 13:12:00 +0000

Initially wanted to go check out 春到河畔 look-see what's in-store after hearing and reading about it in the news, in the end, ended up snapping more of the skyline instead of the on-going festivity! Haa..

For this particular shot, I actually took it already and was about to leave.. Then I saw a Raging Bull zoomed by, followed by another Prancing horse. Was inspired to capture one of these beasts in the foreground of the Casino, aptly associated to the high-rollers I guess, but my 10min wait in the Sun was futile. In the end decided to frame in a SBS Bus instead - not only high-rollers are attracted to MBS, even commoners are flocking there this festivity too!! =)

An eye for the wheel?!
Ensuring a prosperous year ahead for Singapore Eye, perhaps?!?

An ominous start for the Financial market this Rabbit Year!??
Hmm... ...

This sight wont be around for too long I guess.. esp with the rapid pace of development in and around Marina Bay Financial Centre area...

Overcast sky over CBD... Gloom and doom, for things to come??!!! LOL

新兔年快乐！！

noreply@blogger.com (-tee-) — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 17:48:00 +0000

新的一年里，就赠送你孔子“人生三宝“！ =）

知者不惑，仁者不忧，勇者不惧。

Getting 红包's used to be a norm...

noreply@blogger.com (-tee-) — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 16:12:00 +0000

Once-upon-a-time, getting 红包's used to be a norm.
Then it started to feel weird when my 大姐和姐夫insisted on giving me one! :O
Of course I could kindly decline, but being the good-sport I'm always am, I graciously accepted their token! Heh..

Like what I told my Boss after I bid him 新年快乐 before leaving office today - This time the challenge is how to politely decline good-willed tokens of 红包, and not turn it into an awkward situation..
Luckily there ain't too many households to fuss about these few years!

..maybe I DO miss spending CNY on overseas assignments?!? HA...

WSCAA Official Launch - 28th Jan 2011

noreply@blogger.com (-tee-) — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 15:51:00 +0000

4 years later, seems like the WSC bug is back to bite me!! =)
Ideas for our very own WSCAA have been bouncing around for ever since OUR days, but nothing concrete has churned out until this 28th Jan, when our AA is finally officially launched @ our very own NTU Alumni Clubhouse (next to Buona Vista MRT).

The current committee are all very familiar faces as these are the same bunch of seniors/clubmates whom we worked with very closely together, slogging through various fund-raising events and beneficiary programs.. bitter-sweet memories, mostly-sweet! Ha..

This only shows the crowd which I can squeeze into my 28-70mm APS-C camera.. If I step back any further, I would have toppled over the buffet dinner for that evening! LOL
Quite a decent turn-out I would say - Decent enough to nicely fill up the venue @Verve Pizzera.

And these are some of the ex and current Elders peez...

It always brings back warm fuzzy feelings whenever I catch up with my clubmates... must be due to the experiences of having been through "thick & thin", "blood and sweat", "stress & sorrow", "fun & laughter", "A's & B's" which makes it all so more memorable!

EDB 50th Anniversary Heritage Run

noreply@blogger.com (-tee-) — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 18:11:00 +0000

Participated in EDB's 50th Anniversary celebratory run this past Tuesday.

Ours was part of the north route, and our leg starts from Yishun Ave 6, pass the scenic Lower Seletar Reservoir, before finishing at our soon-to-be new home @Seletar West camp area.

It was a pretty safe fun run, with accompanying auxiliary police bikes (02x), a community ambulance, minibuses (02x) and a lead cyclist. The only irk I had was the non-runner friendly company cap which we were supposed to wear as identity -It's not the runner-friendly lightweight, dri-fit-like type. So prolong wearing may cause some discomfort..

Here we are probably somewhere about 10mins into our run..

At the finishing - Here I come!! haa..

and the whole gang of us (from various divisions) who volunteered our time that cool, cloudy Tues morning to represent our company to partake in this "meaningful" Heritage run...

I prolly do not know most of the peez in the previous shot.
These are then the peez I work with, and know on a personal level, less one of the ladies..
In the background will be our soon-to-be office.
(This shot was taken on my colleague's Apple iPhone4 - Pretty alright for a bright outdoor shot! heh)

2011 F1 Singapore Grand Prix Volunteer Registration - Now OPENED!!

noreply@blogger.com (-tee-) — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 17:44:00 +0000

(Click Banner for more info)

Amy Chua - The Tiger Mother

noreply@blogger.com (-tee-) — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 07:19:00 +0000

Recently Amy Chua - a professor at Yale Law School - drew quite a bit of flakes/comments for her article on WSJ.

I find this article to be an interesting read as well.. Am sure it's true not only for Mums in foreign land, also for some Mums here on our very own little Island!

Here's a little excerpt. (For full article, click HERE)

"First, I've noticed that Western parents are extremely anxious about their children's self-esteem. They worry about how their children will feel if they fail at something, and they constantly try to reassure their children about how good they are notwithstanding a mediocre performance on a test or at a recital. In other words, Western parents are concerned about their children's psyches. Chinese parents aren't. They assume strength, not fragility, and as a result they behave very differently.
For example, if a child comes home with an A-minus on a test, a Western parent will most likely praise the child. The Chinese mother will gasp in horror and ask what went wrong. If the child comes home with a B on the test, some Western parents will still praise the child. Other Western parents will sit their child down and express disapproval, but they will be careful not to make their child feel inadequate or insecure, and they will not call their child "stupid," "worthless" or "a disgrace." Privately, the Western parents may worry that their child does not test well or have aptitude in the subject or that there is something wrong with the curriculum and possibly the whole school. If the child's grades do not improve, they may eventually schedule a meeting with the school principal to challenge the way the subject is being taught or to call into question the teacher's credentials.

If a Chinese child gets a B—which would never happen—there would first be a screaming, hair-tearing explosion. The devastated Chinese mother would then get dozens, maybe hundreds of practice tests and work through them with her child for as long as it takes to get the grade up to an A.

Chinese parents demand perfect grades because they believe that their child can get them. If their child doesn't get them, the Chinese parent assumes it's because the child didn't work hard enough. That's why the solution to substandard performance is always to excoriate, punish and shame the child. The Chinese parent believes that their child will be strong enough to take the shaming and to improve from it. (And when Chinese kids do excel, there is plenty of ego-inflating parental praise lavished in the privacy of the home.)"

And could this be the reason why Shanghai kids did better in the recent test for 15 yr-olds??!?

Are you one of these Tiger Mothers?