Sunday Morning

What a great way to start off Sunday morning! Peiying called me early while I was just hitting the not-very-exciting books and we got to enjoy an amazing darlings-TTCS session :) - all four of us! Technology never felt so good. Priceless moments like these should be scheduled to happen on a monthly basis at the very least! Girl friends are so very important in life. I think some are just angels with their wings hidden. Our friendship has blossomed, deepened and strengthened through the years in ways that words alone can't describe; my darlings were there with me through my toughest hours and I will always be grateful to them.

Sue and Bong are together in Miri now; while Peiying and I will get our turn together in less than a month when Peiying comes to Los Angeles! It's so heartwarming that distance does not keep us apart- I'm eagerly looking forward to our Darlings-Bonding-TTCS-African trip! Or wherever we might eventually end up at...It's not where but who we're with that really matters. It's about time we all got together again and have a sweet reunion of our very own! :) Love you girls! :)

Funny coffee shop talk

Just read the following and couldn't stop laughing: aww mann, I miss home!!

From : Chin Chai Wan

Dear Prime Minister,

We citizens of Singapore urge you to PLEASE MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS.
We DO NOT NEED your help. Every time, you mention HELP, we have to run for cover!!!

Help the poor? Raise GST!

Help traffic flow? Up ERP!

Help passenger service? Up Bus fare/MRT fare!

Help us get taxi? Raise taxi fare!

Help us get good government? Raise Minister and Civil servant salary!

Everytime YOU WANT TO HELP, we all PAY FOR IT!!!

THANK YOU THANK YOU…TOLONG LAH, please, we will HELP OURSELVES, no need your help liao. We DARE NOT ask for help any more!!!

Sir, most honoured sir, I urge you NOT TO HELP Singapore INVEST also! Everytime your wife invest, we all lose money! Kao liao, kum siah! Just let us have a dose of bad governance, like recently the Mat Selamat case, like dat….so far, it is ok, your incompetence, we ACCEPT!

PLEASE DO NOT help us have better security! Wait we all kena PAY FOR IT!!
I believe ALL SINGAPOREANS PREFER NOT TO HAVE CRUTCH MENTALITY!
I think it is ok lah, please just take your salary and enjoy life ok?

Thank you thank you,
I am very chin chai one, any how any how, no need to help oso can one.


Following is a reply from the Prime Minister's Office (obviously, this is a satire):

Dear Chin Chai Wan,

10Q you for your letter. On behalf of the Prime Minister, I am replying to your letter as follows:

As the erected party of Singaporeans, we are here to serve.

We are demon-cratic country, you are master, we gahmen servant, we serve you. You got problems we must help. You say no need our help? That means you're not Singapore's master. You say you run for cover? Cannot one, our police will find you..

GST is to help the Gahmen to help yourself. The Gahmen Service Tax is everywhere, you go America also have one, cannot run one.

Traffic very bad, so bad that we have to hold car racing at nite to avoid traffic jam. We believe there is no free lunch like PM's father say before, you use, you must pay, so Every Road Pay.... So you see no ERP cannot one.

Needless to say, passenger service also must pay. The increase in bus fare and MRT and taxi fare are very little already. We foresee world inflation coming: oil, steel, pay of foreign talents, etc, so we have to pay for the service.

You see, many foreign talents come to Singapore . If we don't pay our ministers well, they will go other countries to be their foreign talents. So must raise salary to keep them. If not, Nathan, Shanmugam, Bala etc will go India and work. Khaw will go Malaysia . etc etc. Must keep them. To keep them must pay well.

You are right, any help also must pay.

To help yourself? No, it's illegal. You mean you can build your own MRT? Run your own buses? Drive your Ba-Ong-Chia? Build your own roads? Seow liao!! Every one help himself then how? No social order lah! Ga ga ask for help, we are here to serve you.

We understand some of you have temporary problem. Don't worry, it is only short term. We must look long term. We must invest long term. Now lose a bit don't cow beh cow boo, long term! Yes, remember. 30 or 50 years later we will own Swiss banks, US banks, UK properties, maybe even South Pole condominiums. We must tighten our seat belt and bite our false teeth. The future very bright. As long as you continue to support the gahmen 30 to 50 years you will see bright future. So Chiang See Tong a bit lah. Also, investing is very complicated business, not easy. We must pay school fee to learn from advanced countries.

On Selamat's case, we also must learn our lesson. We encourage life-long-learning. I learn whole life time, you learn whole life, Mr Wong Can't Sing also whole life learning. It's actually good. Mr Wong already apologise, don't force a dog to jump over the wall, the wall may collapse. Old dog cannot jump high also.

Selamat's case gives us many lessons. We must be on alert, not too complacent. Now every Singaporean know there can be a terrorist among us any time. This is the best self defence education !! PM will give Mr Wong another salary increment for that.

Also now we merge the prisons and detention centre, more space will be available now. We will build it like another IR, Integrated Retention - so those don't want our service and thinking of doing illegal service will go there. We will pass a new law too, the expenses for stay in that IR will be deducted from your CPF money.

Remember we must be grateful to people who help us -- and pay.

I hope I have explained the situation and give you the message clearly... If you still need help, please call my handphone: 9990-6767 , it's toll-free.

By the way, Mr Chin Chai Wan, our pioneer Toh Chin Chai already toh long ago. So if you choose to be Chin Chin Chai Chai, you will also Toh.

10Q you again,

Reguards,

Ah Beng
Grassrude secretary

Kindle vs Kindle DX

I just came back from Borders after treating myself to Benjamin Graham's SECURITY ANALYSIS. It was available for 40% discount on Memorial Day so I decided it was too good of a deal to pass. The only thing is, it's really bulky and heavy. I went online at Amazon to see if it's also available on Kindle and I found out that the new Kindle DX is coming out!



Aww mann, Kindle DX will be out in summer and looks really really good. At 18ounce, that's about 500g, the weight of a filled 500ml water bottle. I think I'd very much like the bigger screen and larger area but I think 500g is a little too heavy for holding and reading on a train (say, when I return to Singapore - yay yay, can't wait to return home!). The Kindle 2 is only 280g, but then it kinda looks too tiny... What would you do/ choose?

Actually I really like reading a physical book and being able to highlight things that speak to me. But the problem comes with storing these books and esp. having to type out these highlighted stuff to bring them as tidbits of wisdom with me whenever I relocate from place to place, which is ever-so-often. So being able to highlight, scribble notes etc. and have it all appear instantly on the Kindle is especially appealing to me. And I just like having my 'library' collection at my fingertips. :)

Nonetheless, USD$359/$489(!!! that's a 36% premium to Kindle 2) feels kinda steep to pay for an electronic screen, esp. since I won't get to download the books after I leave the USA so I will have to do a mass download of everything I want prior to leaving. Ugh...how how how???? Ok, I've spent an hour agonizing over the Kindle..time to hit my CFA books. So if I pass, this shall be a perfect Birthday-come-Reward present- this is just about the ONLY thing I REALLY want, less the iPhone which I can't buy because of the 2 year AT&T contract (I hope I'll get posted back to Asia by the end of the year). :) Please lend me some inputs- what do you guys think?

Deceived

Being deceived is not a nice feeling. -//-

Got a good cathartic laugh over the next few sentences when I read it- it's the usual argument about Internal loci vs. External loci.

You know the old adage, "teach a man to fish" ?

"Give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he'll eat for a lifetime."

What a load of crap! What I want (and hopefully you want too) , is not only the knowledge of how to fish but I want the fish cooked to my specifications, chopped up in convenient bite-sized pieces ready to be eaten.

-//- Current thought: Saying you'll be happy when things change in your experience is like saying you'll smile when your reflection in the mirror smiles first. -//-

"What were you doing a year ago?"

It's MEMORIAL DAY today, which means a national holiday in the US, and an extra gain of 1 day for studying for me. :)

Just got a call from Alissa and she had asked me, "Do you remember what you were doing around this time one year ago?"

I thought about it and figured I was in Prague on a business trip, feeling totally excited about being in Eastern Europe and the great career I enjoyed - there's not much places that allow a fresh graduate to zip in and out of a country to evaluate million-dollars investment. In what was 5 seconds, I thought about how the choice I have made in the months following, and how it has brought me on a path of complete divergence now. Choices determine destiny, they say.

Then Alissa poked me further and asked, "Do you remember what you were doing two years ago from today then?" I thought about it, and I knew I was somewhere travelling in Latin America after my Mexican exchange experience; and I wanted to say Chiapas (a border state between Mexico & Guatemala), but somehow, Guatemala came out instead. BINGO, the both of us were in Chiapas and it was Alissa's birthday exactly 2 years ago from today. I had then secretly woken up extra early in the morning (springing up at the first sound of my alarm so I wouldn't wake her up) to walk what was many many many blocks to find fresh berries from the local markets for her birthday breakfast spread. I remembered skipping all the way back with happy thoughts playing, "Alissa loves berries, this is going to be such a surprise!" :)

I thought about how I missed the family whom we rented our little hostal room from and the way tears rolled down my eyes when I had to say goodbye to them - knowing that I will never see the old grandma who had been so kind to us ever again. It also made me realize that probably, I'll no longer react the same way if I have to say goodbye to people now. Having to uproot and relocate so many times in the past year with new people coming in and out of my life has made me more emotionally resilient. It's a double-edged sword. In the process, I have also probably lost part of the child-like innocence and affections I used to have. It's all part of growing up I guess - though I think many of the things we eventually appreciate in life are learned as a child. I think that's also why old friends are gold and especially important to me. Anyway, lest I stray away too long from the books on my desk,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALISSA!!! :)
Thank you for being so very special!

My new idea!

Just stumbled upon a new way to study... :p I took off the mattress from my queen size futon (background) and placed it on my mat and now it becomes softer to sit on to muggggg :) Also took a picture (right) with my crazy study schedule behind me... too much to cram, too little time!

Lessons My Mother Taught Me...

I sent my mom an email + sms and asked her to come check out my blog: so this entry goes out to her! A bit of humour, lots of truth and a "basket" full of thanks! :) HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY! I love you!!! Hope you liked the flowers! ^_^

Lessons My Mother Taught Me...

1) My Mother taught me about ANTICIPATION... "You wait! Just wait till Papa comes back!"
2) My Mother taught me about RECEIVING... "You are going to get it when we reach home!"
3) My Mother taught me to MEET A CHALLENGE... "Look at me when I'm talking to you! What nag nag nag?! 你有种就再说多一遍!!?"
4) My Mother taught me about HEALTHY COMPETITION... "Look at _ , _, _, why can't you all be well-behaved like them?" At other times when the situation was less "advantageous" for her, the words became, "Don't compare yourselves to other people ok!"
5) My Mother taught me about FINANCIAL PLANNING... "I give you money doesn't mean you must spend all. Start saving money now, 40 cents a day, $2 a week is more than enough ok!"
6) My Mother taught me about HISTORY... "Many many years ago, when I was your age, I used to...."
7) My Mother taught me to be PROUD OF MY HOUSE "Chalet? Stay what chalet? You got no house to stay is it?!" In my University years, it became, "I don't even see you at home! Whole day business case, business case...You think our house is Bed & Breakfast is it?!"
8) My Mother taught me about GENETICS... "You ..you're just like your father!"
9) My Mother taught me about the WISDOM OF AGE... "我吃的盐比你吃的米多！When you get to my age, you'll understand."
10) My Mother taught me about JUSTICE... "One day you'll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like YOU...Then you'll know what it's like!" AND FINALLY...
11) My Mother taught me about POWER... "I am YOUR mother, you better listen to ME!"

Thankfully, we know some of the above are only partially true. *Wahaha!!!* :) Mama, thank you for going through a tremendously tough labour to have me (I came out legs first and my mom had to sign this document that stated she'd rather keep me than herself- how noble right), for bearing with my idiosyncrasies through the years, for caring, understanding and loving like no other...

...In particular, there is no way I can enjoy the little "success" I have now if not for your selfless giving. Even though I'm far away right now, I wanted to let you know you'll always remain close to my heart! I can't wait to see you exactly 1 month from now!!! :) We'll go celebrate when you come over! :) For now, big hugs and kisses from across the Pacific Ocean, and ...

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY! 你要幸福，快乐喔！

It's just one of those days...

that I decided to turn cranky and mess around with photos :) I blame it on mugging-overdose/ short circuit of the brain. :)




Laughter aside (I also had a good time with self-amusement: that's what happens when you live alone, it's a Friday night and you've been looking at bonds for the past 17 hours), it stemmed from the quite, quite serious bit of wanting to showcase the rest of my life for the next 3/4 weeks- loosely based off the philosophy of: "What gets measured gets done".

Taadaa! My daily study plan for the upcoming exam... deceptively innocuous on a mahjong paper :)



It's really 1 big sheet like the one on the left. But my MacBook's Photo Booth does a mirror image of it, so I have to flip it using the mirror function that creates the photo on the right...which eventually got me to play around with other crazy photos such as the 4 on top :)

Anyway, I am so happy today cos' Bong just called me! :) We had a great chat (again, 1 hour flew by like it was just 10 minutes!!) :) and we discussed our plan of starting microfinancing to contribute to people in Laos and Myanmar (our chosen target markets) as ASEANpreneurs tog with PY n Sue. :p Our conversation also bounced to the topic of why all good men are married. Our conclusion turned out to be: because their wives shaped them (of course the guys deserve credit for committing too!). :) Honestly, there's a higher probability than not that the guys we think make good husbands weren't like that when they first got married. So maybe there's some truth in men aging like wine with the lessons that life, wife and strife brings. :)

It's going to be a while

So it's gg to be a while (3 more weeks!) to my CFA exam...so until then, i don't expect much posts here. I have, however, discovered a new way to study today! My chair is too tiny (I like to sit cross-legged) so now I sit on the floor (rather, on my Aztec calendar mat) and use an empty HP printer box as my table. :) I'm well pleased...;)

So much to do...

Not a lot done. Sometimes I wonder if I'm pushing myself too much. It's a double-edged sword right..because on one hand, it's like life is so short, I want to do the most I can and get the most possible out of it. But on the other hand, because life is so short, I feel like I should be out in the sun, spending quality time with people who matter to me, making an impact and leaving a legacy etc. instead of striving and dating Excel spreadsheets and books for most part of the day. (I still like to read though- I think reading a good book is like having a great conversation with a really bright person that I don't always get to meet) :P

But then... it's like I've committed 2 years of my life to this program that I'm now in - living and working alone overseas, and I want to make sure I'm a better person by the end of these 2 years. I want to make these one of the finest 2 years of my life (especially since age is one those fine things that goes up and never quite comes down :p) So I do my best I can at work, look for opportunities to really add value, try to build up professional/ personal knowledge and awareness, get closer to God, volunteer in the community, hang out with new friends, explore and see the world... And needless to say, it ends up packing for a sardine's life.

Sometimes people tell me, "You're pushing yourself too hard. I feel you should relax abit..stop and smell the roses" and I agree... to a certain extent. But at times, I also feel like I am smelling the roses- it's just that maybe our roses are different. Sometimes, this set me going on a little neglect which may end up breeding great mischief as the world keeps spinning and work keeps swelling. (if you think about it...if work never ends, why bend backwards to finish it?) Most times honestly, I hardly feel stressed out with all that I'm doing cos' I'm enjoying it. That's just the way I am- Leisure time is for doing something useful. That could too much of a utilitarian way of looking at things, but I don't think that is something to be frowned upon. For example my love for photography is useful in enriching myself, gaining new perspectives etc. My hanging out with friends is useful for staying connected, building relationships, being challenged and humbled etc.

But at times when there are deadlines to meet, I invariably end up questioning myself (like now!) on what my purpose is in life. We can go on a philosophical debate about a purpose-driven life but that's not for now. Random muses. Now back to my spreadsheet... -_-"'