Merii Kurisumasu

at Marina Barrage


Christmas Tree of the year - OUB Plaza


The girl with her Christmas present

Some time ago....

I heard the news citing that the fare hike was due to rising cost.

Few days ago....

I heard the news with people complaining that fares should go down now as fuel prices are down. And this spokesman wearing a white polo tee said that the fare hike has got nothing to do with fuel prices. If so, our fares would have gone up 40% instead of that few cents.

Now....

I wonder what was the rising cost they were talking about?

And I really don't like that arrogant look on that person's face trying to belittle the people who were so concerned about surviving this crisis which were all made so gloomy by the media.

There really is no crisis if people don't read so much newspaper.

A Story of a Friend of Mine

He was a friend of mine and I never asked him to buy life insurance. I didn't want him to think I was the kind of person who would use friendship for personal gain.

He was a friend of mine and when he got married, I was glad. I know his wife and knew they were the kind of people who deserved all the good things in life. But I didn't want to embarrass him so I never tried to find out how much he could afford to start a life insurance program.

He was a friend of mine, and when the twins came along a year or so, I was awfully proud, but I never told him how he could guarantee their education.

He was a friend of mine, and when I attended the housewarming in his new home six months later, I thought about mentioning mortgage insurance, but I decided to wait until he had a chance to catch up with all his new expenses.

He was a friend of mine, and when his car missed the curve in the storm last night I was the first person his widow called.

Day after tomorrow, I'll be standing beside my friend's grave, and I'll still be trying to rationalise my failure ever to talk to him about life insurance. I'll be thinking even more bitterly about the staggering price his family paid for my false pride and foolish sensitivity.

But most of all, I'll be wondering when the time comes to pay my last respects whether, if he could speak, he would say of me as I do of him, "he was a friend of mine".

Life Planner

One week into this job and I'm gaining new knowledge every work day. Starting out my career in this office is great as I get to mingle with successful people everyday. Being in this line, offices should be empty as agents must be arranging appointments and meeting prospects. Those managers taught me a few life lessons and reminded me that I should never see myself as a salesman but as a person with rich financial knowledge, helping people to plan their finance.

Right now I am working hard on market products, define my winning edge as compared to other people and I'm going to pin this up my vision board so I won't lose my focus. My first responsibility is to do proper planning for the friends who trust me and had approached me even before I got my license. I want to make sure they can leave all these worries to me and one fine day should anything happen to them (choy), I want to visit them with chicken essence and look at them recovering fast, grateful to me for protecting them when they needed it most.

I don't know why but I feel damn happy to know that I possess such skill. I even went to the extent of asking my agent friend to give me a quotation from their company. If it's good I will help her get that product instead. At this moment, I know I am loving my job. This is called job satisfaction.

I would not say that buying insurance will make you rich or retire happily like what others claim. I say buying insurance will eliminate unnecessary worries about the future. We have many case studies and the one that stuck me most was seeing a copy of a hospital bill. This person was admitted into government hospital for 80 days staying in B2 ward. The bill came out to a whopping $222,000. Got cancer and took experimental drugs, which explains the amount. Kua zhang right? Think about it. It is possible in Singapore. We have heard people saying "In Singapore you can die, but cannot afford to fall sick." With proper medical insurance and through the competition of insurance industry, now it covers from the first cent.

You say that there is no need to buy it now since we are young. Ya wait until an illness strike and buy. Don't be so naive. Your illness will not be covered cos you will be considered high risk. You think people stupid like you.

I just asked my father how much CPF he has left. My jaw nearly dropped when he said the remaining amount will be paid in monthly instalments of about $300 when he reaches 63. Being the only son I ho seh liao lor. Please listen to me my friends. If you don't bloody know how to save, then better get someone to save for you!!

Remember, you are born into this world with nothing. But you will leave with a heap of burden. Your dependants (parents/children) need your income. You leave this world together with the skill to earn. What other way is there you tell me. I will help my friends.

如烟

我坐在床前　望着窗外　回忆满天
生命是华丽错觉　时间是贼　偷走一切
七岁的那一年　抓住那只蝉　以为能抓住夏天
十七岁的那年　吻过他的脸　就以为和他能永远

有没有那么一种永远　永远不改变
拥抱过的美丽都　再也不破碎
让险峻岁月不能在脸上撒野　让生离和死别都遥远
有谁能听见

我坐在床前　转过头看　谁在沉睡　那一张苍老的脸
好像是我　紧闭双眼
曾经是爱我的　和我深爱的　都围绕在我身边
带不走的那些　遗憾和眷恋　都化成最后一滴泪

有没有那么一滴眼泪　能洗掉后悔　
化成大雨降落在　回不去的街
再给我一次机会　将故事改写　
或欠了他一生的　一句抱歉有

没有那么一个世界　永远不天黑　
星星太阳万物都　听我的指挥
月亮不忙着圆缺　春天不走远　树梢紧紧拥抱着树叶　
有谁能听见

耳际　眼前　此生重演　是我来自漆黑 而又回归漆黑　
人间　瞬间　天地之间　下次我　又是谁
有没有那么一朵玫瑰　永远不凋谢　
永远骄傲和完美　永远不妥协
为何人生最后会像一张纸屑 还不如一片花瓣曾经鲜艳

有没有那么一张书签　停止那一天　
最单纯的笑脸和　最美那一年
书包里面装满了蛋糕和汽水　
双眼只有无猜和无邪　让我们无法无天

有没有那么一首诗篇　找不到句点　
青春永远定居在　我们的岁月
男孩和女孩都有吉他和舞鞋　
笑忘人间的苦痛　只有甜美

有没有那么一个明天　重头活一遍　
让我再次感受曾　挥霍的昨天
无论生存或生活　我都不浪费　不让故事这么的后悔

有谁能听见　我不要告别
我坐在床前　看着指尖　已经如烟

Period

Right now, I'm in the period of uncertainty again. Not saying that I lost my aims in life, just that sometimes you don't know what's coming in the short term that will affect your long term goals. My life objectives are still as clear cos everything is there on my vision board.

Gone are the days of tuition coordinating. At this moment, I find myself getting involved in lots of things, to the extent that school work is starting to feel sad at me for not touching her. Life's tough, especially when you live in a country like Singapore. I don't wait for things to happen and take me by surprise. I plan and I plan ahead.

I never let problems take over me. People say that my problems are small, I say I don't let problems get big. Small problems when unsolved get big, if you don't realise.

Now, as usual, due to my super competitive character, I cleared 3 test papers in a month (which is a feat) and is now a certified insurance agent. I don't call myself a life planner, a person who sells insurance is an agent and I don't plan your life. I can give you my point of view if you want to know about finance. What is uncertain now is whether I can have a career in this field. Oh btw I'm not from Prudential. I won't sell insurance like the private banker who introduces minibond to your grandparents, neither do I sell insurance like the Geylang peddler who sells fake viagra.

Next up is that I might be starting a company with my relatives. To be a company owner is something that a person like me cannot resist. Of course, one has to weigh the pros and cons of starting a company. We are going there to make profits, not to have a picnic. What business I'm going into will not be revealed cos I have something the other industry players don't.

Oh btw, if the Ze Qi you happen to know is a clown and nothing constructive ever comes out from his mouth and at this point you are laughing, you should just take it as it is cos you will cry if you do business with me.

And the last thing now is my scholarship. I'm glad that I did so well that I can be top few in the world and I'm going to do the same for the remaining two years regardless of the scholarship. I bet you NUS NTU students are laughing at me, saying that you can do it anytime if you were in my course. Probably you can, that is if you concentrate on studying, and probably studying is the only thing you can do.

Continued...

Ok it's official. (here)

Less than 30 are sent out worldwide. But that doesn't mean I'm the best of the best. There is a better category where 29 of them got awarded £100 for their excellent results. 13 came from SIM. I fall under the 2nd category of commendation. No money leh. Economy not doing well la I suppose.

Now that doesn't mean I am the top 1% in the world. It just happen that my marks fall in the range of 70 up for all. I could be top 1% afterall la. Din ask. Don't care. It will matter when I become the top 10 in the world including UK.

They can't even spell 'worldwide' properly. How can you expect them to spell my name correctly?

Study

I was busy with my scholarship application today and was surprised to find a letter from the UK.



A4 sized brown envelope. I was wondering if something good is inside for me. I pulled out the sheet of paper which is this (click here). It was signed in ink by the Chairman! Eager to see what else is attached, I dug into the envelope. Dig and dig and.......

....there is nothing else. What the hell. Send me such a big envelope with only one sheet enclosed. Thanks leh. Make me so happy for nothing.

One is the Nazi logo and the other is our all great and mighty Federal Reserve (Fed). We all know that the US$700 billion bailout has just been miraculously approved after majority voted against it just days before. Great. We are saved, I hear you say.

Right. I say we are sinking deeper into this shit created by our world superpower. They say this will be financed by taxpayers? I don't know cos I did not see the news. I'm disgusted. Taxpayers my ass. People already no money to pay the mortgages leading to this shit and the whole banking sector is going down like a pile of shit, jobs are lost, so how long you want to raise this tax money? 10 years? 20? Don't forget the trillions in debt that they are in before this happened. Yes, trillions. You know how many zeros are there? Look at the biggest hell note and you might have the answer.

America needs 700 pieces of these. Minus the bling hat please.

So where do money come from? By default (no pun intended), a country finance their debt by issuing bonds. Bonds are financial claims that promise future payments. So the government take your money and give you a paper where you can redeem for the money you paid after a number of years. So now, the government can still sell bonds. But sorry, nobody with the right frame of mind will buy it now.

So how? Print money lor.

I love Hitler so much.

十月一号

电费起，留在家里热死你

出门去，巴士车费吓死你

看新闻，报纸一份贵死你

Value Added

Not long ago during my work assignment where I had to be in office wear everyday from Monday to Friday, with only a pair of working shoes and no backup, it would be a disaster if it were to spoil. And yes, my working shoes stopped working on a fine working day. Half the sole came off while working on a fine Friday morning and I had to suffer for the rest of the day worring if the other half of the sole would come off.

I knew I could save the shoe if I apply some glue to it and leave it overnight. No, not super glue. The elephants on the package are not really that symbolic. I'm talking about contact glue, the kind where it brings people to heaven on a long sniff.

Anyway, we decided to get a new pair of shoes afterall. And I'm about to show you what value-added means.




A pair of nice looking shoes which looks like any other shoe from any other brand. What is so special about it is the package it came with. The separate shoebag and the stick that helps to get my feet into the shoe. Look at how cheap those stuff are and the purpose it serve. With the stick, wearing my shoes every morning is a breeze, without hurting the leather nor my delicate finger. The shoe bag lets me bring my shoes around effortlessly. This is what I call value-added. It made me feel that my $100 shoe is worth more than that. Seriously zai.

Results

Ever since the first day I stepped into the school, my aim was clear. I steered clear of the people there and focus on my studies waiting for results like these. In lectures I sat alone. I never attended the orientation camp for a very simple fact that I do not want any friends there. I am not there to have fun. I am there to beat people. And I did it.

The culture down there was bad. Everyone dreams of only passing their exams. I got really tired of people asking me the passing mark. I would just say "I don't know" (I really don't) and walk away from them as far as possible. If you ask me what is the first class mark I would gladly tell you it's 70 and say "Let's study together".




For people who's asking how I did it, it's really simple. I am not a mugger and I have got a life that I'm proud of. I work hard and have fun. You don't need a CCA to have fun. If you ask me, I will tell you my CCA is making money. I study, I work, I have a business and I have a girlfriend. You don't have to be a nerd to get good results. You don't need to give up A to have B. I always look for options to have A and B together. I study well and I make money. I am a smart student and street smart as well. I am happy and rich. I enjoy what I do and have time.

Aim high. I heard a friend say, "I am scared to aim high cos I always fail". I'm not asking you to aim and do nothing. Aim and work towards it and Achieve. Stay away from people who ask "What's the passing mark ah?", "I want to get 34". You get what you wish for.

The Purpose of Waking Up

Previously, I talked about myself waking early to queue for the Apple iPhone on a beautiful Sunday morning. I made some money, and also realised the purpose of waking up...

How many of you wake up every morning tired of the daily routine, dreading to go to work or to school? Or simply having nothing to do and decide to sleep in more? If you wake up every morning feeling tired, please do not give the excuse that you don't have enough sleep, unless you are a certified insomniac. You just don't have a purpose in waking up.

You must be very unhappy with what I've said cos you always give the excuse and you are really tired. Ask yourself, tired about what? Your daily routine? Your committments? Your work? Going to school? Think back about the first day you went to school or to work. What was the state of your mind back then? Tired? Or trying very hard to make a good impression and learn?

People start feeling tired and dread waking everyday when waking up becomes and routine and eventually becomes a chore. Some wake up everyday looking forward to the end of the day, of the week and enjoy the weekend. How do they enjoy? Sleep.

Do you live with an aim? Are you passionate about your job? If I tell you that today is your last day to live, what will you do? Do you say, "I must stop going to work for one day and start doing the things I like....."

Basically that's it! You don't love your job! You don't love what you are doing, so you don't want to wake up to another day. Me being a very good example, I dread going to work cos I don't like being treated like a dog. I love going to school and I wake up feeling good on school days, no matter how little sleep I have and how far my school is. Love your job and it won't become a routine. Don't work for money, work because you love what you are doing. Everyday will be different for you know you are closer to your goal.

Like last week, I was afraid I couldn't wake up to queue for the iPhone cos I had only 5 hours of sleep. Surprisingly, I woke up feeling very energetic and ready to fight the day. And I won big. No regrets.

People always say, "Live like there is no tomorrow". How many of us really know the meaning of it? So what's the purpose of waking up? Pretend I'm going to die at the end of the day? When it comes to your friends, you should ask yourself, "If my friend dies today, will I regret not spending time with him/her?"

Yes, stop giving the excuse to your friends that you are busy or tired and there is always another day to meet. If the person is willing to see you, I'm sure he doesn't mind waking up at wee hours just to spend time with you.

I am not asking you not to have a plan for the future. What you do today decides how fast you get to your future. Make your choice today.

iPhone Craze

Most of us know that the much awaited and overhyped iPhone was launched in Singapore on 22 Aug and the rights was given exclusively to Singtel. In order to get the phone, one must sign a plan with Singtel, either through an upgrade or a new line sign up. My plan, being a month away from the 21-month eligible upgrade, means that I couldn't get the mouth watering iPhone.

Do not get me wrong, I never had a bit of interest with the iPhone at all. I never liked things that every other people go crazy about. But this time, I decided to ride on the craze and look for arbitraging opportunities (making a profit from the mispricing of goods).

The plan was written out properly on the night of 23rd and I became the owner of the iPhone on the morning of 24th. You must be thinking that I'm kidding. Isn't the iPhone already out of stock? How can you get the phone within a day without making reservation?

Well, there was this promotion exclusive to the Singtel iPhone website that says the first 150 people to reach Comcentre on 24th Aug by 830am will get a guarenteed purchase of the iPhone. So I layed out my plan on the night before by calling the Singtel hotline and found that I can request for an early upgrade without the extra charges of $100. So I took down the name of the operator (remember you must always do that) and off I went to bed.

Woke up at 6.10 am and proceeded to Comcentre, Somerset. Reached at 7.30am and there weren't more than 50 in the queue. HA. So I got in and recontracted my plan for $508, in turn receiving the 16GB White Apple iPhone.

Whoa!! You must be thinking I'm damn lucky. Yea but what's going to happen later is even more exciting.

Off I went to my cousin house to look for buyers for the phone. The mobile phone market is so crazy that the online marketplace had became an iPhone bazaar. There is not even a need to post an ad for sale. There are ready buyers waiting for people to call. The market price for a brand new 16GB model was $1300. So I contacted 2 of them and apparantly they are people from phone shops who will take in the phones and sell at even higher price.

Just as I was going to meet the buyer at Orchard, he chu stunt and said the market price right now is $1200. Luckily, I went online using my new E71 and found an interested buyer for $1350. I even had time to reply the sucka to thank him for giving up the deal for $1300. haha

So I was an iPhone owner for only 5 hours. Fast deal and a great effort put in to make this happen. I ended the day being $260 richer and an item down my vision board. That equates to a 52% return and a dream fulfilled. So proud of myself.


The not-so-proud owner of the iPhone 3G

Last Sunday, we went to a nice place in central Singapore. Talking about central Singapore, you might think it's a shopping centre or a very crowded place. True, we went Vivocity en route for lunch. This place I'm talking about is somewhat new and I believe many of us have not been there yet. Plan a visit there soon, there aren't many places like this in Singapore nowsaday. 10/10 experience.




You must be wondering, how to get there? You can take bus 131 from Vivocity, alight along Henderson Road. It's about 4 stops, just keep your head high and alight once you see this...




The scenery is breathtaking....


We enjoyed the scenery on the way and went up to this place called Terrace Garden.




Alexandra Link - The metal bridge to Alexandra Arch





The Arch


Of course, everything is only nice when you are with the right company.



Will be back again someday to see the sunset and the lights on Alexandra Arch.

Olympics

I don't know how many of you did actually watch the Olympics since its opening a week ago, I would encourage you to actually watch it since it's free on TV. You don't always get free sports programmes on TV, you know. Some people look out for hunks and babes, for the reason that people they see in reality are fat. Just too bad if you don't know how to appreciate the beauty of sports and the pain they go though to emerge a winner.

Some people watch the Olympics to see their country represent the games. If that's the case I can understand why we are not really interested in it. But now we have even more reason to watch it as our "paddlers" are going to end the wait for a Olympic medal after 48 years. I still don't know how the table tennis bat looks like a paddle, but never mind that. We are going to witness our Singapore flag being raised after the table tennis finals. The dilemma now, to watch the National Day Rally or the table tennis final?

So who is your favourite Olympian? And which sport do you look forward to watch? Other than Michael Phelps who have been rewriting the records like nobody's business, I like watching synchronised diving, where two atheletes jump like they one, though that sounds gay, it is the best form of teamwork on display. Also, gymnastics is the other sport I'll watch, particularly the US team, and particularly, Shawn Johnson.

Unfortunately for her, the 2007 winner for almost all professional competitions lost to her compatriot, Nastia Liukin in the individual all-round finals. Just 16 this year, her coaches are chinese. Yes, chinese. Gymnastics is really graceful. See how they defy gravity twisting in the air and landing firm on ground. Catch the repeat telecast of the final or the highlights on Channel 5 if you can, and ignore Jade Seah if you must.

Happy Lunar Birthday

My lunar birthday very seldom fall before my actual day. Today is one.



These small little fruits are not peaches. Look and smell like one but not.
Look at the seeds for some clues. Hammer it open and you get something we call "almond".

I still don't know what is this fruit called. Almond fruit?
Anyone care to shed some light?

Tired

I have seen another week pass by me. Nothing much going on in office. Less physical work but still alot of running around, less lunches alone but would rather not eat with them sometimes. More of afterwork time being occupied this week and I'm happy. Happy that I'm not a boring office boy, for life is livelier after work.

Trained real hard for IPPT this week but still failed. I've never felt so good during a IPPT test after ORD but I just can't seem to run fast enough to pass. Last chance on Wed. Got to take a half day leave = $30. My future time is worth more than this. Let's hope I get 27 seconds off my timing and get $100 birthday present.

After the test, I asked if I could drive my friend's car. He passed me the keys without asking a question. I knew it is that easy with him. Gerald is the only other person whom will do that. I nearly lost the touch of driving a manual car after a year. But it was easy, just damn uneasy with the way a Nissan Sunny feels.

The only 2 manual cars I driven so far are Civic and Sunny. I must say the quality is of two different worlds. One is the Vtec engine and the other I don't even know what it is.. Too quiet for me. The difference in pricing is fully justified when I started changing gears. The plasticky feel of the gear shift and the configuration of the gears are real bad. Less than 3 seconds on gear two and I had to up the gear already. Now I know the reason why fuel consumption is higher. Not a pleasant drive.

I am going to pin some realistic goals up onto my vision board, with taglines to remind myself what those pictures meant to me. I will fill up the spaces. Yes and I will take them down when it's fulfilled.

Met up with Kiathaw today and he mentioned that I looked tired... My body is not tired but my spirit is. Which is true to some extent. Midlife crisis was what he used to describe my state right now. Talking things which makes no sense to other people and looking haggard and worst of all, losing weight. I'm not even in my midlife yet, please. I'm sorting out my thoughts for a colourful life ahead. Gonna leave my problems for the universe to worry.

UH~!

1 Week

Some time ago, I had comments from friends saying that Jacky is a name that they would call their dog. Now I agree with them.

One week has passed on my new job and I'm really happy that I'm working at Raffles Place again and my first job in a bank bank. However my job scope sucked pretty much. In the particular department that I am working in, the proportion of females to males is near 3, which can be pretty good if they are pretty. I admit it's good, but it also mean I have to listen to their instructions cos I am every single of their runner.

Let me go deeper into my job scope. To sum it up, I am simply the runner and the filing boy of that department. Just because the big boss is in my dept, they need someone to deliver documents fast. And my office is basically in the filing room. I file with speed and accuracy, scanning barcodes from files like a NTUC cashier. My hands are quite chui now with papercuts and swollen fingertips.

My tailbone hurts like shit now. Due to carrying cartons filled full of reports that are due to be sent to the warehouse. 50 of them each weighing at least 15kg stacked 10 X 5. My first task on Wed was to check whether the contents was correct. So I had to carry it to the floor, open them up and check 1 by 1. It was painful and uncomfortable wearing shirt and pants doing dirty jobs. But I told myself it was ok cos I am paid to do that. Then on Thurs my boss told me I need to stick the stickers on the cartons. knn nv say earlier. Some of the cartons that needs to be sticked on are facing the wall so I had to turn them around. Thanks leh. So I repeated the same routine again. The feeling was like doing gym in formal clothes, the worst thing without warmup. Completed the task like a man.

And on Fri , she just told me I need to seal up every carton. Excellent. I love her so much man.

Food is getting so expensive lately and that is especially true in Raffles. I haven't had a lunch that is less than $3 for food. Drinks are worse. I have decided not to buy drinks anymore during lunch. Plain water is best. I nearly wanted to refund my drink the other day on knowing that it was $1.80 for a small cup. Ah Mei milk tea also cost $1.80 now. wtf. Ah poh @ GS is still the best. One big cup for $1.10.

And not to forget my daily dose of coffee. The Coffee and Toast below my office opposite lau pa sat is really efficient. Place your order and before you dig out your coins, it's ready for collection. Unfortunately, it is suck. I cannot tolerate bad coffee, and near empty coffee. Serious coffee addicts will know what I mean. And I don't mean glamourous starbucks addicts who claims expensive coffee is good coffee. Nonsense.

Speaking of which, I have serious thoughts of kicking my addiction. It's really bad to rely on caffine to start the day. Then again I couldn't resist the aroma of good coffee, especially the one just above Raffles station. I abhor addicts, cos it means that your life is controlled by other things. And without it, you will die. I am addicted to coffee. And you.

Discipline

Got a temp job in a bank (not local) which is considered quite high paying given that I will be doing admin and got it through a job agency. So I'm going to be holding 2 jobs again. I'm still doing what I'm doing right now and trying to be a superman again after a year. I have to adapt to fixed office working hours and I have to adapt fast. No more sleeping at home at all kinds of hours like a dead pig.

I am going to have some direction for this 2 months. Admin work is dull shit. So I'm going to make sure I go around learning skills out of my job scope which will be useful in the future and clocking as much overtime as possible ($$$). Then going home to continue my night job dedicating at least 2 weekdays to it. So the only time I can train for my IPPT should be in the morning before work. I must be disciplined enough to make sure that happens.

Money wise, I hope I can work hard enough to net $1.8k of income through both jobs and the little business. I will reward my own hardwork if I manage to do $2k. So it's time to pin up some realistic target into my vision board.

Dug out some old working clothes just now and found some of them quite ugly and dull. Realised that the only item I bought from my last work assignment was a grey pants and nothing else. I want to buy a new pair of working shoes and a pair of pin-striped pants.

I guess I have to set my priority clearly. It's going to be tough. Time to look for my cape. Superman is coming.

Mobilephone

Was looking at the phones on offer in the newspaper and Singtel website and I was actually thinking about changing a new phone when the time comes in September.

I always tell myself that I should never waste money on phones cos the only functions that I look for in a phone is just to make calls and sms. Maybe the alarm clock function will be good as well. I realise nowadays PDA phones are becoming so cheap that I should get one too. SE's P910i used to cost $1k+ some months ago and it's only $98 today. Unbelieveable.

But, no. I will never want a PDA. I'm not going to let a digital brain take over mine. As if people today are not forgetful enough, we give the excuse saying that we need a PDA to help us remember the little things so that we can remember the much important things. Bullshit. You will start forgetting everything before you know it.

I shall wait for the best offer to come along. And the time this usually comes is during the xmas period.

But now comes the biggest question that has been bothering me since last year. Should I buy a easy-to-remember number? Since everyone is becoming so forgetful and it will definitely be useful in the future when I become a businessman. Wahahaha

Happy Birthday to us
9th July at Singapore Flyer








I want you to be happy like this everyday.

Fairness and Equality

The recent spate of events made me feel that life is unfair. I know, life is never fair cos you don't always get what you want. If everything goes the way you want, we call that a smooth sailing life. But when the sea gets too rough, some just don't have the strength to keep fighting.

I am struggling. Struggling real hard to move towards the calmer seas ahead. I can't even imagine a day when my mum's savings account become zero but it's going to happen. The account will be wiped out upon payment of my school fees. It bleeds to be the one handling it.

I just hope I can earn enough to repay her. $24000 in total for my school fees and to be adjusted for inflation. I will only consider myself graduating after topping up that account and hope she is still healthy for our graduation trip. I have no time to lose.

Life is never fair, so just shut up and move on.

Be glad of the little things in life. You say that you would rather not have it while some people can't even get a glimpse of it.

Bad Luck

Exactly 2 weeks ago, I had a bad fall which I blamed it on some passerby. The following event can only happen to someone extremely suay.

Yea, you got it right. I fell again. On the wound that was recovering. I have nobody to blame this time. Over the past month I knew that particular drain gutter was not down fully and it got me today. For that split second in the air I was in disbelief. And everything just went blank. Blank as in nothing in my brain and cursing the flight, and not black out.

Recently I feel that there is a higher force at work up there and it has been trying to make things difficult for me. Fell down for the first time in so long, then lost money in soccer betting (fortunately I stopped before it's really too late), had a fall again on the same wound. This kinda shit don't happen much and had never happened as a string of events.

Ironically, in hokkien, gamble and fall is the same pronounciation. "pua" kiao (gambling) and "pua" tou (falling). Maybe I got my punishment for not learning and not keeping my promise. If that is the case then I think I fully deserve it and should receive no sympathy.

I broke down. Not because of the pain, because I can't believe my luck.

Send me a get well soon card. No, a better luck card will be fine. Thanks.

On Eating and Sleeping

Yes, this is a lazy man topic and this is what I am right now. When you have nothing to do and staying home, this is what you do to kill time. Obviously, there is not much to talk about if we see eating and sleeping as separate issues. We are talking about eating and sleeping.

Firstly, to be eating and sleeping freely, yea, you must be damn free. It had been a long time since I had all the time in the world to eat and sleep and I had been doing exactly that these few days given the condition of the leg. I bet you must be damn free to be reading this meaningless piece of trash that I am writing with my sleepy mind.

One shouldn't sleep right after eating. Everyone knows that (maybe the fattys don't), but right after eating, we feel sleepy and everybody knows that too. This is not so healthy as we know is really not healthy. So please avoid sleeping after eating. Do something meaningful like blogging about meaningless things like this.

Sleeping is free and when you are too free, you sleep. And the good thing about it is, the more you sleep the more tired you are. So congratulations, this is never going to end and one day, you will become a fat slob and unhealthy pig, which may not be so free afterall, considering the doctor's fee and the rejection from society. Good luck. And good night.

Apparantly the boss is out of town

The employees must have hated him so much.

Murphy's Law

"Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong." As if I am not feeling shitty enough, I wanted to run to Pasir Ris beach to have some quiet time by myself and this happened.



Damn that pair of motherfucker cheebye huan na pair of father and daughter. Selfish pieces of shit. There's such an open path for you to turn so why do you fucking have to turn into my path when I'm already at the corner, forcing me to run into the grass and kick that huge block of stone and fall back onto the road. Luckily I slowed down when I saw that I-am-not-going-to-let-you-pass fucked up piece of face, or else my flesh would be in for a good ride with the floor. knn

Yea. I've reached Pasir Ris when I fell. Took me 15 minutes to walk home. Lao cheebye. Now it's not only the pain from the road burn. It is the bruising pain from the impact of the fall that is worrying me.

I put it here to that I don't need to go youtube to listen it over and over again. One of the best songs I've heard.

On Television

Anyone who knows me well enough knows that I don't like watching television. In fact, I think teevee is evil. It takes away precious time and bonding with friends. It makes you stupid and worsens your communication skills.

Although the advancement of technology has made us watch less teevee, which should be a good thing, but the very substitute we call the internet not only gives us full access to everything, it also lets us choose the junk. Documentaries and news no longer interests you. The latest Korean drama and Heroes do.

If any of you realise, none of what is shown on tv are true hard facts. Shows have to be made to attract viewers in order to survive. Even news are made in a way to trigger certain emotions (fear, sadness) in you.

We all know that dramas are trash. And the fact that you are addicted to it makes you a piece of junk. The square box (recently rectangular and flat) is in complete control of you. You can't lose the remote. You are shit.

Children who have access to these junk at a young age show signs of attention deficit and violent behaviour. Indirect effects includes obesity and myopia. I can't explain why I am fat and short-sighted though.

The only healthy form of television, in my opinion, are sports. People who don't watch sports can be separated into two kinds. One, they do not have access to it. Two, they just don't like it. (they are fat and myopic, remember? Sports will never be their bottle of coke cup of tea).

Those are the only channels where you see real winners who fight. It is a pity that we can't have sports channels free here. They train for years just to get to the world stage for that hour of airtime. And you think it's easy.

The real winner. Sweet.

Give Blood. Give Life.

Yes, I know people here have got a lot of money to donate to the needy, ever more so in recent weeks as the Sichuan earthquake and Myammar cyclone amplified the fear that something can happen to us as well.

Have you ever realised sometimes what they need is something which money can't buy? Money can be printed if you people have forgotten it is made of paper in today's world and not gold. Can they spend the money you give them? Something has to be done in the process of converting your money into useful items for them, you know. And what happens in this process? None of us know except for the people holding your cash.

Please don't get me wrong, I am not discouraging people to donate money neither am I saying people are corrupt (people are just money minded) cos we also know that money makes the world go round, and round. I grew up in a poor family. I know how important money is and I also know that money can't buy you a lot of things as well.

So, in response to this, I gave something which a young and strong man like me can give for free.

My blood. I don't know where is it going to, all I know is that it will reach a person in need.

I was appalled to see only 7 people in the room but so was I shocked to find that 6 of them were youngsters like me. The nurse told me it could be due to the rain that people were not visiting them. I feel that if you have the intention to do a good deed, nothing can bring you down. I walked from Tanjong Pagar to Outram and to the middle of SGH where Bloodbank is.

In case you still don't know, if you have a negative blood (O-, A- etc), you are one of the rare species in Asia (you can feel damn proud now and do nothing about it).

Some people think I like pain. I never liked pain inflicted by needles cos the kind of pain is not the kind of pain from suffering. But I guess it is the same kind of pain which will make me a better person.

"Courage is fear holding on a minute longer."

The Power of Information

I had been in this business of selling watches for a year and I really feel this business has come a long way... From making losses and feeling lost to record breaking sales and more innovation.

Kiat Haw started out on this alone with mediocre sales, but he was able to generate a tiny profit and pocket all of it himself. It was really kind of him to share this profitable idea with me, with the mind of utilising me (I knew it) but he agreed to share the profit with me. Seriously speaking, I was asked to do a business where the framework is already in place and the procedure all mapped out. My only job is to pack, post out and keep track of the accounts (it was really easy initially).

This whole idea started out as an aim to earn some pocket money and and push ourselves to think of even bigger money making ideas. There were many times where we felt like giving up and move on to selling some other things but we forced ourselves to innovate, to value-add on the simple product that we have. Indeed, we came out with something for the buyer but never got to use it as sales picked up again... Our aim was 3 a month and now we are moving towards double the sales.

Through this business, I learnt how internet selling works and the power of a sales copy. A sales copy is the words you write that sell. I learnt that the easiest way to get an idea across is to by words is to write as if you are talking to the person. It's very true. People who use bombastic words don't impress me. In secondary school our english teacher always asked us to KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid) and the best way of communication is not showing the person how good in english you are, it's how effective you relate to them.

From auctions to fixed pricing, from a useless accounting system to a reliable monthly cashflow statement, from a big parcel to a small box that costs half as much, and just today, we found the answer to the biggest question mark, adding value. We have really come a long way...


My source of income. Photoshopping courtesy of Shuqi.

To see the best sales copy in the world, come to my profile and click on the listing on the bottom left.

A bag for your dream

When your dreams get too big for your bag, do you throw away your dream or get a bigger bag?

Very often, we choose to throw away the dream instead of changing a bigger bag to contain the dream. Sometimes, we know that our bag has got enough space for it, but we choose not to put it in, afraid that it will get too heavy for the journey.

Prepared or not, you decide.

Whatever you think will be, will be.

_________

Sometime ago, I went to Thailand for military training. The weather there was exactly the same as what we are experiencing now. I wonder how is it like there now. It's so hot that I think it's best to keep your papers in the fridge. It might catch fire anytime.

There's too many diseasters happening recently. Earthquake, typhoon. Though we have not encountered any in Singapore, please don't ever take peace for granted. We don't know what will happen to us tomorrow. Maybe before we know it, there's already no tomorrow.

天灾人祸
风吹地动
世界末日
将会把我们一一带走

Everything is done-ded

I am less than 12 hours away from my first major examination in 4 years and this is the best possible shape I'm in now... 9 months of preparation, consistant work, not sleeping in class, always a step further than the cohort is going to bear its' fruits tomorrow. I am really looking forward to hug my cold bolster to sleep tonight instead of the buddha's leg I had been hugging every year on the day before exams years ago.

I am glad to announce that I finished the whole of my Intro to Econs subject guide (understanding everything is another matter...) and practised the whole chuck of exam papers. And I'm promoting my study guide into my ever so knowledgable shelf of books and I'm renaming it 'the bible of economics from LSE'.

But I've got this weird feeling that luck is also very important now that I've done all I can do. This is the only element that is not within my grasp.. In the past I never thought luck was important cos I know that if I could write a few things about it, probably everybody else will get the whole thing right.

'You have ran this marathon for 9 months already. This is your last 100m to the end line'

Nobody wants the end line to be the start line as well. Let's go.

Economics power

I just came across a question that made me laugh out loud. It's a pleasure to have such a great chief examiner for such a difficult subject.

Here's the question:

The demand for 'Shoes-on-Air' which are produced by a competitive industry is comprised of the demand by two major groups of consumers: Teenagers (whose price elasticity of demand is greater than unity as it is cool to walk like a hyena but feet are not that conspicuous) and atheletes (whose price elasticity of demand is less than unity as one cannot win if one does not walk on air).

(a) Describe the initial long-run equilibrium in the market
...

Joker

Productivity

In my world, this is how productivity is measured.



This is not done in anger. These are scrap paper with at least 1 empty side for me to write on. Once filled with my work, I will crush and dump it. There is no such thing as keep for revision when what you have done is revision. There is no need to look at it again since everything is already in my brain. The more I throw the more excited I get. Finish and throw la, I don't want to be studying it again next year. Choi

Woosh!! D-day H-hour 081000, total of 5 objectives. The mission is ever so clear.

Weird Life

Yes I missed the Mayday concert on saturday and this the first time in a long time that I regretted something I had not done. I never allowed myself to regret over decisions made in life. I choose the path in my life and make sure it appears right for other people to see. Perhaps I cared too much about how people looked at me.

For some reason or other I don't feel right today. Waking up at 11 am was a thing of the past and I managed to do it today, furthermore awakened by a phone call and not myself. Wonder if I would ever wake up if I were left alone. And the weather is damn bloody hot.

It could be due to the book I am reading or for some unknown reasons that I am feeling like that, or a mixture of both. Life is so weird. And there is this tinge of blame for this world that I'm having now. It seems that money can buy you a lot of stuff and the life you want. But a sad life. There is this belief in people that money and happiness are inversely correlated. I don't believe in that. Money and happiness are not mutually exclusive. But, how much money can buy you happiness?

I missed cycling.

New shoes

Bought a new pair of shoes at Heeren yesterday. It is from Converse. The reason I bought it was because it's cheap, not that I got too much money. I don't think it's easy to get sneakers at $39.90 nowadays. Even though I never liked Converse, I would be happy if it can last me for 1 year and seems that it's not easy to slip and die on this pair.



I never liked Converse for the fact that they make basketball apparel. I hate the sport. Since young, the only sport that everyone choose to play is basketball and nothing else. Basketball courts everywhere. You tell me why. Bounce bounce bounce and get your hands dirty. Yucks. Oh ya, and if you still don't know me, I have got this bloody elitist mindset. I hate things that majority like.

The most important factor is that their quality control is sucks. Saw a few pairs that should have never made it onto the shelves if I were the QC manager. And it's not the first time I see shoes that don't pass my QC appearing with the Converse logo. Is it so costly to dump those away for somebody else to pick it up and resell it in Thailand or Vietmam?

The manufacturing process needs some looking into. Maybe my high expectations is due to the fact that I know what is Six Sigma (yea I worked in GE), things that don't pass QC shouldn't be happening and it should never be sold. Luckily my pair is ok.

Anyway, who the hell is Jack Purcell? Why is his name appearing on the back of my shoe??

____________

This is a gift. and the gift wrap has a name. It's called the Ziplock.

Handphone For Sale

Hi friends and visitors, I have got a Nokia 7610 for sale.

It was the phone that I yearned to have for a long time when I was in the army. I told myself that I didn't need such a good phone at that time cos it wasn't allowed in the army anyway. I stopped thinking about it for some time and continued with my army life. Then one day I got an offer from a relative of mine that there's a deal for this phone at $400. It was too expensive for me then. Being a very loving relative, he offered to pay for me and I could repay him though four installments of $100 per month.

It became my weekend civilian phone. I loved it so much that I couldn't get my hands off it and occasionally smuggled into camp so that I could spend another minute with it. Eventually, I ORD-ed with my 7610 becoming a permanent fixture in my pocket.

I used it for another year and decided that I need more storage space for my music and found that there was another phone for sale at $0. This new phone was definitely nowhere better than my 7610 and I told myself never to sell it cos I still liked it and would like to spend some quiet time with it occasionally.

So it changed hands to someone else in the family. My mother took ownership of it. 7610 was very quiet with her. It rang less than two times a day and was always kept nicely in a pouch. My mum was far-sighted and could not see the numbers displayed on the phone properly. Recently she got a new phone as a gift (also from a relative) which has got bigger fonts and she decided to return 7610 to me.

My phone is three years old. I still don't feel like giving her away but I would rather her being utilised properly as a useful handphone. So here I am, offering her for sale to my friends only. She still has a great figure and plenty of years to go. I will put in an additional pair of clothes for free. Both are genuine with 9/10 condition. All yours for $120. I am selling at other sites for $140, so in order to get the discount, please quote, "Ze Qi is very handsome." Thank you.


Comes with box, charger, battery, 2 casings both 9/10. All original.
No data cable and software. You don't need that. There's a better technology called bluetooth.

You Know

If I have the choice of scoring 30 or 40 in my exam (34 is the passing mark), I would rather take the pain of getting 30 and repeating it next year than getting 40 and let it haunt me for the rest of my life. The fact that I need to empathsise time and again that 34 is the passing mark shows that nobody really care. The right side of 50 should always be the mark a rational student will want to obtain. But it's not true in SIM. Most of them just want a pass and scrape through the exams (and probably their lives). None of them behave rationally, or behave like a proper student I would say.

One week of intensive UOL revision has passed. The few conclusions that I drew from the Economics class:

1) We don't know anything about Economics at all
2) Every single one of the Economics lecturers in SIM suck
3) The study of Economics in England is the best in the world

And I realise the fact that alot of people who did not make it in Singapore's rigorous education system leave for Australia to further their study, which makes me come to a conclusion that Australian degrees are so easy to obtain. No offence here.

I bet the depth of Economics I learn in this past 3 days can trash any first year student in our beautiful local universities majoring in Econs. Not happy with my comment? Tell me and I will pose you two questions from my mock exam. Solve it and get a prize from me.

"I don't treat education as a business."

-Amos on SIM education

Short of 2 stickers =(

Save our trees

Ok I believe by now every Singapore citizen above the age of 21 with a mailbox would have received the letter handed out by our CPF board to inform you how much money you'll be getting in three different payments. I, for one, got the highest amount allowed in the payout. That $750 divided into 3 payments. Our govenment dotes on poor people like me. I love them deep deep.

The thing I'm not bloody happy is that I don't bloody understand why is there a need to waste so much paper to just to inform? Is the media not bloody clear enough? Is it not possible to send just one letter per family summarising the amount each member is alloted? Is their technology so backward?

You know I get bloody angry when people waste paper. The whole of this study year I am still using the same foolscap pad, and I'm doing my work damn mind you. I don't know how many trees did we already kill by printing handsome Mas and making the point to paste on every bus stop and every other pillar possible, and now here we are depleting the forest further just to let us individuals know how generous our government is.

I really don't know how people go about promoting saving of mother earth. We bring our own bag to NTUC every first Wednesday of the month to cut down the usage of plastic bags. So should we only cut on that day of the month and waste on the remaining 353 days of the year? Stupid. Plain bloody stupid.

I'm sorry but to inform that I've already dumped the letter into my rarbish bin. They are good in the sense that they utilised both sides of the paper and I can't use it as scrap paper. Thanks, you ugly earthlings.

School of Idiots

Another two days into my UOL revision and I'm encountering more and more shitty students (I don't wish to be assiociated with them, no thank you). It (the shit) comes in all directions, totally impossible to avoid them, sad to say.

First of the week occured on the first day of the week. This particular lady (big sharp nose, big eyes with long lashes, the exact same kind you see in Bollywood films) asked me whether there was anyone sitting next to me. Obviously I said no (I have got not much friends and it doesn't matter if I sat with them anyway), I would had said no to her if I knew those in front were her friends. Halfway through the lesson she started to ask her friends questions which I couldn't believe. Here I am feeling like being in a Sec 3 A maths class and there she is asking questions on basic integration? Did she just came over from north India or what?

How I wish I was wearing this t-shirt I saw some day ago with an arrow pointing to the right and with the caption "I am with STUPID", and probably with "and she's noisy" to heighten that effect. Never mind, I told myself, everyone should be given a chance to learn.

AND TODAY, I saw a particularly disrespectful guy. He came in an hour late (60 bloody minutes). I have nothing against late comers. Students who can't be bothered don't bother me. He, tall and handsome in bright green, walked in holding stuff that only a McDelivery man will bring. I really cannot tolerate idiots, especially fucking idiots like him, not showing a single bit of respect for the Londoner by pouring sugar into his tea and sinking his teeth into his $2 Sausage McMuffin.

How I wish that cup of tea would topple off the tabletop and onto the floor, via the shirt of the lady (not the same as above) in front . I would love the sight of her screaming. Then I can proceed on to do my favourite thing. Laugh out loud and shout IDIOT!

Fucked up human being. (me)

Distinction in Summer

Had my first UOL revision class today and I would say it's a very fresh encounter for it's my first time being taught by an ang moh. She was summarising the results for our mock exam and said "the mean mark was 46%."

I couldn't believe it when she said the paper "was rather difficult and this result was understandable." Cos I thought my JC C-maths paper was far higher than this standard. I wasn't too sure how many people actually put their heart into doing the paper but it was appalling. Disgusting to have the mean mark at 46%.

Then I took back the paper



Sorry if your result is lower than 46. It was my fault for pulling the mean mark a little too high. I gave you people false hopes... hahahaha

Seriously, the paper was damn easy. You give it to a JC student most probably he will come back with above 80. I lost 11 out of 19 marks to those shitty theory questions. Let me wish for a happy summer. I want both figures to be 9. Laugh at me if I don't achieve. That's the whole purpose of being so ya-ya.

Sometimes, when you do too well in the beginning, you start setting bigger goals and find yourself in shit when you can't get the same result the next day, the next week, the next month. I am already feeling the pressure in myself. Questioning myself. And I see my shelf of school work and they feel so cold. They have lost the warmth of my hands, feeling so neglected.

I am in control. I must be. No excuses for non-performance.

Nowadays the sites that I go to are only Yahoo mail, Yestuition, Street Directory. This is madness.

Integrity

"We have an employee population that would rank with St. Paul or Tampa if it were an American city. We have no police force, no jails. We must rely on the integrity of our people as our first defense. They only need their conscience as they face the mirror each morning"

-Jack Welch

Straight From the Gut

The Difference

Do you know the difference between winners, people with a winning mindset and losers?

First let me define winners and losers. Winners are people who achieve. They achieve in everything they do, their dreams. Their bucket is always full and they always change a bigger bucket (read: dreams) and fill it full again. It never overflows.

Losers are the opposite. They never understand how things can be done. Let alone a dream. Which is why I need to use the bucket example so that they can at least try to understand (which I don't expect them to anyway).

So, the difference between them is that winners achieve. They aim high and they reach high. They take achievement as a hobby. For example (here i go again), they aim for 100 marks for their exams and work towards it, happily (that is the main purpose of a hobby). Some people achieve at a price. They will tell you how difficult it is to get full marks. These people are not winners.

People with winning mindset understand how winners think. They marvel when winners talk. The reason they may not be achieving is that they are poor. Poor in planning and execution. For these people, they need models. Winning models. Idolise that person and follow his actions. Switch to a better model everytime you achieve.

Losers are people who will laugh when you tell them your hobby is getting good results.

I bet you are laughing now right?

If anyone tell you that mindset can be changed overnight, give him/her the finger and say "fuck you go and die". Mindsets can be changed, but never overnight. It must be nurtured, needs time to kick bad habits and more time to make good, new ones. Identifying that you need to change for the better is the first step to success. We will go into the topic "Change" another time.

I don't know why I am talking about success now like I am already damn successful. Maybe one day in time my blog entries will be highly sought after. Let's wait and see.

I have a dream...

One day I will compile all these into a book and be the next best Singaporean selling author after Mr Khoo. To be a best-selling author I need to achieve big and let the world know. Right now only I know and she knows. I already have the chapters mapped out.

You ask me when is that "one day". Winners don't say one day. They set deadlines. This day... Only I know.

Some days ago, there were a group of good-for-nothing people sitting at the void deck behind my house making a nuisance of themselves speaking in a language which does not belong to mine. Staying on the second floor with open windows for the purpose of proper ventilation, my whole family was kept awake by their laughter.

Being a benevolent human being, I wanted to give them a chance. My mum asked me to call the police to get rid of them. The previous time I called the police for the same reason but they didn't come. So I was rather doubtful of their ability and decided not to waste my phone bill this time.

They tested my patience for one a half hour. Not too bad eh. At 2 am, I finally picked up the phone to ask for the neighbourhood police centre's number. In case you need it, this is the number to dial if you stay in Tampines: 6587 1999.

The funny thing happened. It's the conversation with the policeman over the phone.

Me: I want to make a report, there is a group of people making alot of noise at the void deck behind my house.

Mr Policeman: Can I know which block is that? Malay or Chinese?

EH? How can like that ask one? Got difference meh? Aren't they all useless humans? Play colour ah? Obviously I didn't dare to question him so I told him it's the former. And wait a moment... Don't we normally say "chinese or malay"? Is there any meaning behind it?

I don't know about you.

My aim couldn't be any clearer. I looked at my young cousins and I really regretted... They are really quite hopeless... The clever ones are not interested to study and the rest are quite square...

Talent aside, I just got affirmation from my mum about seeing through my education... I said, "dunno whether we (the family) got enough money to let me finish my education or not."

"You just concentrate on studying. I will take care of the finances no matter what."

心酸

Went to catch PS I Love You at Lido today before it's gone for good. It was said to be very touching show but it was quite normal to me. I dunno why but I can feel it being close to me.. From the first quarrelling scene to all the things that the husband did for the wife... It all made sense, if you know what I mean.

_______________________

I still remember....

5 years ago I got back my O level results and I did like shit. I did my daily work and was expecting results like 12 or 13 points, but I got 17. I wanted to get into Temasek JC at that time but with 17 points, I was wondering if I could even get into TPJC. I went home and cried. Cried so hard that my pillow was wet and my mum had to leave me alone. Life did not go according to what I wanted and I was disappointed with myself. I hated myself.

And there I went. To a shit college called TPJC. I did not want to be there. I had a choice to go poly but I chose this path, partly because many of my friends went there. I did not know why I was there. So I decided to sleep during lectures, make noise when I wasn't sleeping so that people can hate me, not do my tutorials, act xia lan, play squash like I was in college for that, slept at times like 7pm and being awake at 2am. I suffered.

End 2004 I got back my A level results. It was worse than the shit I got in 2002. But I didn't cry this time. I deserved this shit.

I put my studies at the back of my mind, moving on to serve my country, hoping to find my breakthrough. As usual, I did not perform in BMT and went to SISPEC instead of OCS. I asked myself what did I do wrong, which I realised my dream was empty. I did not plan steps and execute to make it happen.

End of SISPEC, I finally got a choice in my life. I could choose where I wanted to go. I was given a chance to choose the unit I wanted to go and was even given the chance to be a platoon sergeant at some shit unit (I thought the warrent wanted to give me the chance). I chose Guards. I wanted to make full use of the time in army and decided suffering was the way to go. And I wanted to stick with Ben and made a difference to the place we go to. And we did.

Today at this moment, I am in total control of my life. I am studying something which I like and I am going to make the difference at the shit institute. I plan ahead for whatever I do and whatever I intend to do in future. I plan. And I plan ahead with obstacles so as to avoid it with many alternate paths to the destination. I dream when I am idling. I don't complain about the time I have on my hands. You have 24 hours, so do I. The difference is that I make full use of it. Words like First Class Honours, CFA, ACCA, INSEAD, banker, broker, trader, private trader, 4-room flat, private estate, en-bloc, marriage, children, retirement probably don't piece up nicely to you. Too bad.

Even if I don't get the 100 pounds award from UOL for topping a subject, even if I don't pin my name up in the Hall of Fame, I won't cry anymore. For I know I have done my best.

My dream for my time in SIM is to pin my name up as the top student for at least 8 out of the 12 slack modules in this degree program. Once again, don't call me a university student. I am not from NUS or NTU or SMU. These people are the pillars of our society. I will be the cream.

Come walk with me, the best is yet to be.

Embarked on an adventure to Mount Faber with my buddy yesterday to recce and see whether it is a suitable place to bring our partners up. He claims that there's nothing nice in Singapore to see and would rather save the travelling money and stay home and sleep. I think otherwise. So we decided on walking up Mount Faber, all ready for an adventure, totally clueless about the area where we start our trip. That area is called "zhi luo bu lan ya", yea Telok Blangah.

Did some research and found out that there are different places where we can start off, including Telok Blangah, Henderson Road and Temenggong Road. Decided on the first but we didn't alight at the right bus stop. Had to walk 1km before we see the sign:


Mount Faber Park

The route up made us itchy, niam niam, tired but amused. Saw squirrels climbing trees at lightning speeds and different coloured birds jumping around in the forest. The smell of the jungle reminded me of army, which was quite nostalgic (haha) though not very pleasant.


Shag

There was nothing much on top. Seriously. We concluded that the place is not suitable to walk up at all. The only way up with a girl is a car. Clocked more than 5 km (with altitude) on this trip.


Lots of bends along the way. You don't know when it is going to end.
So we just kept walking.

Under construction.

让我照顾你

When everybody else is fretting over whether they can pass their exams, here I am pondering whether I can top the cohort Zone (read: Asia Pacific).

"If you think you can, you can. If you think you cannot, you are right."

我要考状元.

Today is the fourth day of Chinese New Year and I believe most of us are done with visiting. Prior to CNY, I was thinking that as we grow older the atmosphere gets thinner. Two days before CNY I still could not feel any excitement.

The feeling came during CNY eve on the dining table. It has been nearly a month since I last saw food cooked by my mother. The nature of her job is such that it gets so busy 3 weeks before CNY that I hardly see her home before 8 pm. I was nearly moved to tears when I tasted my mum's cooking. I'm not joking. Eating outside food for dinner really sucked. I missed her cooking and the taste of chinese new year food.

Family visiting usually gets done in day one. My family warmth is overwhelming. It is a kind of feeling that cannot be described using words. Maybe it had been quite some time since I last went for the weekly family gathering due to work committments. One whole day of joy and laughter.

Normally when we talk about money we always say that everything is getting more expensive but your pay still remains the same. Surprisingly, my ang pow money is inflation-adjusted at 10%. Wahahahaa. Got less ang pows due to missing out on some relatives (which doesn't matter), which made my probability calculation more impressive. The phenomena is that I get more blue notes than purple notes for a few years ongoing. This year, the probability that an ang pow contains a blue note is 0.5, and the probability it contains more than one blue note given that there is at least one blue note is 0.5 again. No use extorting from me though. I keep less than 0.5 of the total. ha


#06-344 the gambling den


As long as there is a table. Size doesn't matter.
All ages welcomed as long as you know how to count to 21.


Bak Kwa + Carlsberg.
angmoh say "cheers". chinese say "yammm seng". we say "nahhh beh"

Initially, I thought that by studying this course that I am doing right now will enable me to know about how the financial market works and make a profit and become the best investor around. I was wrong. The fact that I am studying this course right now lets me realise that the eventual winners of the market are not the investors. It is the bankers. They have the best skill of putting your money in their own pockets, right in front of your eyes. That is in the form of transaction cost, management cost or toilet paper cost that you might incur by employing them to invest for you. You can interpret what I say in whichever way you like, my lecturers did not tell me that too.

I am sure you see great investors like Warren Buffett, George Soros or Jesse Livermore (wrong, he was a trader). All these are success cases. Have you ever seen books by failures? Who would want to read? And there we are looking up to the god of Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH) everyday, who preach that the market is efficient and all prices reflect true value. Which makes me wonder how did Jerome Kerviel do it. Of course we need to apply the basic law of supply and demand which then show that it is definitely not at its true value as your taxi driver neighbour next door is "investing" as well.

"Investing" is a big word used by wannabes. An investment, by my definition, is a tool which promises future payments (be it dividends or interest) or capital gain over a period of time. We also need to apply the time value of money as well. Poorer people hate the word "invest", so they can only trade. There is this saying, "Technical traders know the price of everything, but the value of nothing." Looking at the market condition right now, the prices are slowly showing its ugly side called the true value as poor people are pulling out of the market worrying more about the inflation that is going to affect their daily living. Do match the P/E ratio (price over earnings) and tell me at what value do u think is acceptable. S&P 500 at 16 times earnings or China at 50 times? Do inform me if you manage to find a stock of a PE ratio between 6 to 10. I would look at the financial report. Beg, borrow or steal, I might invest.

Never get your hands on these



Throw these 2 books away if you happen to see them. Waste of time.

Read These



2 finance books written in a similar style. Empire of Debt, as the book cover suggests, is about the great empire called America and how it went into a debt of US$30trillion or more (whichever source you believe). It also discussed about the great empires of the world such as the Roman and Spanish. An engaging read if you are interested in History and Finance.