tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3613290113545161192024-02-18T23:15:28.480-08:00Memoirs of Jolly SillyJourneys through life are meant to be savoured and relished. Never ever leave them behind.Jolly-Sillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684136710061005826noreply@blogger.comBlogger35125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-361329011354516119.post-61345783619405542014-07-14T08:19:00.001-07:002014-07-14T08:19:14.129-07:00Extremely good year for Bali tourism <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While booking hotels for a recent trip to Bali, Indonesia, I was shocked to find that all my favourite hotels were fully booked well in advance. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I ended up at a new hotel in Nusa Dua which must have at least 300 rooms plus private villas costing upwards from US$200 a night for regular rooms with breakfast. It was pleasant, everything you would expect of a new high-end resort hotel. But when I wanted to extend my stay, I was told that ALL rooms and villas were fully booked. </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tried other hotels in Seminyak, again all costing upwards of US$200 a night, and I met with the same answers. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I checked Agoda and Bookings.com and found that most of the high-end hotels and resorts had limited availabilities while the less costly ones presented plenty of options. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well done Bali, I thought! Well done, Indonesia too! They have gotten rid of that Bali associated as being a backpackers' haunt to one befitting of the Island of Gods. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Arithmetics kicked in. For every 5,000 rooms charging US$200, the island makes US$1 million each night. And US$200 is just about the starting point per room-night at high-end hotels and resorts. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With all that money flowing into Bali, I am surprised they haven't done more to improve on tourist experience overall, especially after</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> recent renovations at the Ngurah Rai airport. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One still has to walk or take the bus to the terminal after de-planing from a domestic flight.</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Customs lanes are scarce although passenger gates have increased. Baggage carousels are designs from the 1980s. The limited travelators at Departure are narrow, often spoilt or not switched on. The car park is haphazard. Passenger drop-off at Departures and pick-up at Arrivals are chaotic and inadequate. So much for an airport greeting the thousands of high-spending tourists arriving each day. My guess is corruption is the culprit for this incomprehensible absurdity; for they had well-trained Indonesians and expats behind the multi-million dollar design and planning of this. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Island-wide, traffic is chaotic like all other cities in Indonesia. Taxi drivers can, and do, stop anywhere to negotiate with tourists (who still think they need to bargain), while traffic behind that cab tails back at least half a kilometre. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At the seemingly high end hotels and resorts I stayed in, wifi internet were free but I struggled to view clips on Youtube. Even emails with large attachments required a lot of patience. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What is the mystery of this Island of Gods, where tourists are charged prime dollars for services which fall short? Why would idiots like me flock here, whenever a few days' break crop up in the calendar, I asked myself? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My conclusion? It's everything that Bali is. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I remember that moment many years ago when I stepped out of Ngurah Rai airport and a total sense of relaxation hit me when I</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> breathed the Balinese air.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Being Asian, I love the food in Bali, especially the chili. My family loved the sun and the carefree atmosphere. The hospitality and the smiles -- although you will soon realise that you're talking to air hats once they attempt to respond, hotel staff and waiters/waitresses being the biggest culprits. The shopping's great especially for those who are from, or used to, $-denominated economies. </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I look back at my grievances, Bali isn't that different from Bangkok or Phuket in Thailand, or Port Dickson and Langkawi in Malaysia, or the Gold Coast in Australia. Even my recent travels to the UK and Europe had their share of disappointments when it came to money spent versus perceived satisfaction received.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My only conclusion from all these is that it's an impossibility to please fellow human beings 100% of the time. Our moods change, hence tolerance levels. What we like one moment may be detested the next. </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pleasing fellow human beings is an impossibility, I concluded. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Unfortunately, I am stuck in hospitality industries, and can only look to my disappointments for pointers as to how to run my operations better. </span><br />
<br />Jolly-Sillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684136710061005826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-361329011354516119.post-35383723805642561972009-04-10T02:10:00.000-07:002009-04-10T02:22:36.797-07:00Motor cycles in the Lion CityI'm surprised that motorcycles are allowed to whiz around cars on highways in a normally well disciplined Singapore. <br /><br />If its Jakarta, or Bangkok or Taiwan, I can expect the millions of motorbikes on the road each day to do what they like. But not Singapore. <br /><br />In Singapore, they are less numerous yet they post a much greater hazard on highways. They ride on road shoulders or islands, they weave in between lanes often within inches from the sides of cars going at 90 or more kph. No wonder there's been so many fatal accidents involving motor bikes in Singapore. But what is the government doing about it? <br /><br />Not a lot from what I can see. <br /><br />Other than those weaving in and out of traffic and lanes, there are also those who ride too slowly especially before exits, trying to conserve their brake pads and slowing down to a crawl - relative to other traffic speeds - about 50 or more meters from the exit. This causes cars who are going a lot faster to keep overtaking them all the way to the narrow divide where they must exit. Dangerous is a modest description. Don't the motor cyclists even think?<br /><br />I believe we should give motor cyclists the same road space as cars. But from what I've seen these last few months, it is them who do not want to be given those privileges; it is them who prefer to use those extra surface of roads between lanes just so they can get to their destinations a bit sooner than cars. I can remember once when I was trying to filter left, my left wing mirror was clear but when I took a 2nd look just before moving into the left lane, I saw something emerge from the corner of my eyes. To my horror, a motorbike had been on my blind spot for those few seconds I glanced at the wing mirror! <br /><br />Hopefully it won't take too many more fatalities for Singapore's bike riders to learn to behave in a more responsible manner on its roads.Jolly-Sillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684136710061005826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-361329011354516119.post-30647028543390959402009-02-24T09:24:00.000-08:002009-02-24T09:43:02.782-08:00Things we do in lifeThis isn't so much about common things which everyone else understands and appreciates - its more about those which may and do often appear beyond comprehension.<br /><br />There are things we do under duress (most of the time). Peer pressure, parental pressure, "ego-induced/feel good" pressure etc. But then there are also things which we really want to do for ourselves - this is not the go talking, be rest assured.<br /><br />Many a times, I've left things undone or unsaid as doing or saying something about them would mean some form of inconvenience or "fighting" which translates into having to explain and justify the deeds to someone I consider totally out of my world. But there are time when I just cannot NOT do those things even if it means having to practice my skills at getting others to see them in the same light I do.<br /><br />The rest of you would have encountered this at one stage or another. Some of you may be called rebellious. Others probably eccentric or words more unkind than that. End of the day, who cares! Its our OWN lives which we own. And we owe it to OURSELVES to do what we want - short of killing the neighbourhood bully or inconsiderate brat. <br /><br />The sense of achievement from doing what one wants to do for oneself, rather than what others would like to see you doing for yourself is something immeasurable and indescribable. Have you tried it? You should!<br /><br />"Life's filled with indiscretions", I was told. But who's to judge what falls beyond the line of indiscretion? I'm not talking about faithful (supposedly) spouses or lovers cheating on their counterparts. Neither am I talking about those who drink one drink above the legal limit and hoping that they won't stray into the path of the police spot check. <br /><br />At any or some stage in our lives, we must feel like doing something which is against the norm, or rather the norm at that moment we carry out those deeds. Like holding a girl's hand fondly when we're walking out of the schoolyard, something like that. What constitutes the "norm" anyway? Did we conjure and convince ourselves that "that" IS the norm? Or is it something we "think" others will accept as the norm? <br /> <br />I'm ot trying to preach rebellion. I'm just asking all of you who're are reading this to think a bit harder about the implications on trying to "conform" with norms. Does that mean giving up on our obligation to live life to its fullest?Jolly-Sillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684136710061005826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-361329011354516119.post-76028564826327584282009-01-14T12:51:00.000-08:002009-01-14T12:53:41.452-08:00Some things in life will never be forgottenMy late mother passed away just over 10 years ago, yet I still dream about her. <br /><br />She looked like what she was before she left us but the event of that dream was something which had just happened a couple of days ago. The people in that event were people my late mom hadn't even met when she was alive. This is truly beyond comprehension.<br /><br />Was she somewhere where she could see each and every of our daily activities? Was she trying to send me a message? Or is my mind playing games with me? <br /><br />The dream occured totally out of the blue. I hadn't been talking about my late mom with anybody in this recent couple of weeks. That event which happened a couple of days ago hadn't even bothered me since then or wasn't even on my mind today - so I thought. Yet after analysing the dream, I felt that sub consciously, that event did refresh itself - briefly - today. The human mind is truly a mystique. <br /><br />I can't help but concur that my late mom was trying to send me a message that I should start taking steps to prevent that same event from recurring.Jolly-Sillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684136710061005826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-361329011354516119.post-85148744531394693982009-01-03T09:20:00.000-08:002009-01-03T09:21:23.655-08:00What I hate and love most in 2008 ?I'm sure some of you would share some of the events worth entering the "Hall of Hatred" in 2008.<br /><br />Soaring fuel, food and commodity prices for a start. News of natural disasters like the earthquake in Beijing. Plight of the North Koreans, Burmese and Tibetans and others perhaps from Africa suffering in their own countries. The mixing of politics and sports which marred the Olympic torch relay. The demise of Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, Fannie, Freddie, AIG, Merrill and more. Piracy off the Somalia coast. Terror in Mumbai where innocent civilian lives are lost for nothing. And similarly terror in American schools and homes where unwarranted, unprovoked killings are meted out to the innocent. The continuing civil strifes in Iraq, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka which also resulted in the loss of innocent lives. The politicking in Thailand and Malaysia. I'm sure we can name more.<br /><br />But to pick one which can be deemed the most hated event is something I can't do. Everything which happened had a cause and a reason. To be on one side of the wall without realising what happened on the other presents no grounds for us to term one event more hateful than the other. To be knowingly misled by sensational media coverage is not something any prudent, intelligent (even if somewhat) and objective human should fall for. For if we do, then news of Sarah Palin's wardrobe and extravagance, or Britney Spears' indiscretions would have qualified for inclusion in our list of hated news stories or events. Or perhaps even the Ferrari team's bungles in the course of the F1 circuit in 2008 would have featured somewhere too. I would rather leave the hating to the activists and the naive and move on.<br /><br />On the brighter side. What were the events worth remembering and loving?<br /><br />There're soaring stock markets which some of us may or could have capitalised on. There are plenty of bargain counters up for grabs. China successfully hosted one of the best-ever (or rather, one of the most impressive) Olympic games so far. Formula One had it's first night race in Singapore which opened eyes both in Asia and Europe, and perhaps the rest of the world too. A rookie from a minority race winning his first World Championship in F-1. The Fed's rescue and stimulus package for the American banks and economy in general. China's and Taiwan's making up. North Korea's return to the negotiating table. The birth and implementation of Asean's charter. And, the top news (and most covered) will probably be the first African-American President-elect in the biggest economy in the world!<br /><br />But this time, I can pick a "most".<br /><br />The most loved event to me in 2008 is the realisation by all major governments around the world that this financial and economic crisis isn't localised; and all countries, and especially, all major economies, must do their little bit to pull the world out of this crisis, depression or recession whichever way you wish to call it. <br /><br />The USA was forced to act because the meltdown was happening in her backyard. The Europeans had to act because the fallout from across the Atlantic could and will cause a backlash in their own backyard. China had to act as their foreign revenues are set to shrink. Japan has to act too for their own good. <br /><br />This is different from the Asian financial crisis of 1997/98. We don't have the IMF chief standing with arms folded while a leader of one of the most populous countries in the world sign away control over her economy. We don't have IMF and World Bank hotshots zapping around in First Class seats telling impoverished Asian economies what they should be doing about their economies jsut because they can afford to dole out support funds contributed by rich nations. We don't have Western bankers strangling their counterparts in Asia so that their bonuses will be equally fat, if not fatter, at the end of their financial years. NOW, we have a whole world working together to solve the problems which originated from short term greed and indiscretions. That is certainly something we should all be happy about and proud of. Hence the reason for my naming that the "most loved" event in 2008.<br /><br />Carry on the good world, nations. For we, on this planet need you all to buck up and lead us out of this mess.Jolly-Sillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684136710061005826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-361329011354516119.post-36227221532945117052008-12-24T07:18:00.000-08:002008-12-24T07:43:56.054-08:00About INTROSPECTIONEveryone needs to do this once in a while, I feel.<br /><br />Introspection accords us opportunities to evaluate where we stand in life, where we are in the eyes of our friends (and foes), what we've been through and what else we should expect from then on, and most importantly, it accords us the opportunity to correct what is wrong without having to wait for the next New Year resolution.<br /><br />If you need an excuse to do that, year's end is the best excuse.<br /><br />In the process of introspection, I often find myself to be an arrogant prick; an inconsiderate boss and person, an insolent brat plus all other bad things or traits I succumbed to. But we can't be negative with ourselves all the time, can we? Hence when I go through the process of introspection, I also take the positive aspects into perspective, such as being a loving person to my family and friends, being friendly to this earth and its energy resources, being eco-friendly in saving on the use of paper to save trees which provide the oxygen and carbon dioxide at the right time of day, being appreciative of all who came into my life and rendered help and assistance when I had to call on them, and more ....<br /><br />Introspection is not about feeling sorry for what one has done, Nor is it an avenue for one to blame others for one's failings and/or omissions. Maybe I've read a lot of Buddhist teachings and teachings of worthy philosophers and great men who graced this planet. Perhaps I've managed to overcome my pride. Perhaps I've had enough of ups and downs in my life to realize all those things I now feel about introspection - both the positive and negative aspects of that process.<br /><br />I consider myself truly lucky to have an understanding family, tolerant staff, colleagues and peers in my line of work, and most of all, I am grateful to my parents, grandparents, teachers, lecturers, mentors, friends, and all those who've helped shape my life, my philosophy of life, my thinking and my will to think and to change. <br /><br />One need not feel sorry about what mistakes we've made in life. BUT one has to look forward to what else we are capable of doing in life so as to enhance our own lives and to help enhance the lives of those around us. <br /><br />This is a farewell message to 2008 and all the years I've left behind. <br />I hope the rest of you will write the same farewell message as you see fit.Jolly-Sillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684136710061005826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-361329011354516119.post-83272179791000049302008-12-24T06:35:00.000-08:002008-12-24T07:52:08.089-08:00Jingle BellsJingle Bells Jingle Bells <br />Ka-ching all the way<br />Oh what fun is there to ride <br />When your bank could close today <br />Hey Jingle Bells Jingle Bells <br />The sham of bankers' ways<br />O what fun is left for us<br />when the world's haywire todayJolly-Sillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684136710061005826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-361329011354516119.post-26057864927912252102008-12-23T07:39:00.000-08:002008-12-23T07:42:35.096-08:00Companionship - A city is never a home without friends .."A city is empty if you don't have friends to make you feel at home", someone once told me. I didn't realise that till many years later. <br /><br />I have been in London, New York, Paris, Toronto, Hongkong, Tokyo, Taipei, Beijing and Shanghai and they all meant nothing to me if not for the people I knew. Even Singapore which I call home is sometimes as lonely as can be if I was just wandering around, aimlessly. Or Bali for that matter, the jewel of every tourist in the world. Maybe that's one of the reasons why I'd stopped traveling to see new places unless I have friends in those places. <br /><br />In a nutshell: Cities are cold. It's the people in the cities who provide the warmth. <br /><br />I'm not talking about the tourist or backpacker who wanders around as an "alien" in any city, chatting with anyone who obliges - for they're easy to find or come by. But these "aliens" don't normally or are not likely to come with the true warmth of any city. I'm talking about people who can actually make us feel "welcomed" beyond the smiles you see replicated in the umpteen tourism ads on TV every where. I'm talking about people who are warm blooded, who make you feel the warmth in a city, any city. <br /><br />I really don't blame the tourism ads; expounding their lands of smiles etc., for there are many who seek that promise of warmth - be they superficial or otherwise. Rather I feel that they're smart, for marketing a city with smiles is the first step in getting lonely souls (or potentially lonely souls) to make the effort and expense to go there and - hopefully - seek and find the companionship which will make them less lonely.<br /><br />Companionship - that's an often forgotten word. But that word means more and more when one matures toward our twilight years. <br /><br />I don't believe that true companionship can be found overnight (it's not one-night-stands I'm talking about either). Companionship has to be nurtured, understood, cherished, and more. But no one interpretes those criteria in that strict sense anymore. Hence, I can see why and how companionship is hard to come by yet people easily part with large sums of monies to get to where that promise of companionship appear to be -- helped along by the advertising people who have clients to please and whose salaries and bonuses depend on how they can "sell" those destinations to (gullible) tourists. "Land of smile"; "Land of dreams"; "Exotic Asia"; Exotic Africa" or exotic anywhere for that matter. They are all but adjectives if one doesn't have friends or cannot find the all important companionship in those destinations.<br /><br />Upon further reflection, who cares? We all live in such a serious world that we're not about to spend a few days with someone from a foreign land and suddenly take him or her to be a "true" friend or companion. We all live in a superficial world anyway. If this guy or gal gives you the sense that you are "at home" and you are "among peers", we fall prey. For we don't have the time to look for the truth nor have the wish to seek the truth. So let it be - as the Beatles put it so well in their song.<br /><br />That's the easy part, seemingly. My problem is that everytime I return to reality from one of those "feel good", "enjoyment of pseudo companionship" trips in a foreign land, I feel like a sucker who's sold my soul along with my feelings and emotions to people unworthy of my effort, and the money spent,of course. <br /><br />But when I think hard enough, those are the realities of life - we needed companionship and the guys/gals who are out there to provide exactly what we needed are opportunists - who happened to be there at the right time and the right place. In a way, I feel like all of us are like birds with clipped wings lying in the comfort of the rescuer/samaritan who provides the warmth and medical attention we so dearly needed. <br /><br />Hence the next time we feel we're at a lost, just think of ourselves as that bird with clipped wings and never let our pride overcome us by resisting that rescuer/samaritan who might be able to put us in the right place and perspective again.Jolly-Sillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684136710061005826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-361329011354516119.post-88827418899927785782008-12-21T08:47:00.000-08:002008-12-21T08:48:54.512-08:00Dealing with different people in our livesWe meet and have to deal with all sorts of people in our lives<br /><br />There are those who grasp matters the 1st time, and there are those who are born not to grasp!<br /><br />There are people who've been doing a certain job yet have all sorts of problems trying to understand what efficiency and reliability is about in the job they're doing. What happens in their work life will likely mirror in their personal and married lives - a mess, for want of a better word. How would you rate someone who can't even tell the difference between a screwdriver and a spanner and what those tools are supposed to be used for? <br /><br />There are those who are good with words but falter when they have to act on their words. They are likely to have lots of plans and solutions to everything they're involved in. But all those plans and solutions are only good on paper, or in this day and edge, on the computer screen be it a Powerpoint or Keynote presentation or some other software more complex or task specific than the norm. When one tries to put those plans or solutions on the (real) ground or battlefield, nothing seems to work like they're supposed to. These people are likely to come up with a plan or solution and not bother to "debug" them thoroughly, like what newly written software ought to be. <br /><br />Then there are those who are fond of chasing rainbows, rather than appreciate the rainbow right in front of them, where they are standing! They have lofty dreams, lofty approaches to how things can be done, always thinking about and conjuring the most ideal scenario when that ideal scenario could be arrived at by just appreciating where they are, harnessing the resources at their disposal, and doing something about what they are supposed to be doing. <br /><br />But we need all of these people to make this world, for otherwise would have been a boring world not worth living for the myriad of personalities He created.<br /><br />So, what can pragmatic people like us do and how do we deal with these people? Patience. Perseverance. Believing in what we feel is achievable. Commit ourselves to something which will bear results rather than looking out for that rainbow which leads nowhere. When all these people come together and respect each others' respective strengths and weaknesses and work to balance out one another, we have a success story in the making.Jolly-Sillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684136710061005826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-361329011354516119.post-36467220164995629352008-12-17T11:06:00.000-08:002008-12-17T11:37:26.029-08:00Leaders vs followersJust had the privilege to read some wise words forwarded to me via email. How refreshing to hear that there are people out there who look forward to doing things with what they have rather than complaining about what they don't. They make the best of what they have and await the unexpected. I don't think they should be considered passive, in fact they are pro-active to me. Pro-active in the sense that they DO things with available means and tools. These are the leaders as far as I am concerned.<br /><br />We had a new software installed for evaluation in the office and from how everyone reacted, I already managed to pick out the leaders from the followers. The leaders were so eager to learn, so eager to see what else they can get out of the software, and so pleased that they have a new tool to help them with what they're doing. The followers, or rather losers, are the ones who complain about what that software can't do, about how they need to go the roundabout ways to do certain tasks, and how slow it is. And they all failed to see which aspects that software has made their lives easier.<br /><br />It's similar in what's facing us in life right now, in the face of this global economic crisis.<br /><br />The leaders will look at the constraints and limitations this crisis has brought about to their normal lives, they will look for opportunities such as how they can utilise the downturn to streamline their operations, make more efficient use of their time and resources, and how else they can use their time to improve, innovate and prepare for the upturn. The followers and losers will spend most of their time whinging about how the downturn has affected their lives, what they're having to live or do without, their sacrifices and blah blah blah.. Are you one of them? Or are you more than that?<br /><br />During the 1997 financial crisis in Asia, I can remember telling the rest of my staff and peers to watch the rebound. We upgraded, we re-trained, we survived the crisis, we earned respect from our staff and vendors and so on.... And true enough, when the rebound struck us, we were one of the few who were prepared for the work which overwhelmed the industry and caught others unprepared. We retained all the basic infrastructure albeit scaled down somewhat, we retained most of our capable and competent staff and most of all, we retained the mindset which enabled us to handle the rebound.<br /><br />This is also true about life. I've had my ups and downs. When I'm down, I sob a little like any human would (unless you're in a Hollywood movie), worry a little, get stressed up quite a lot, BUT I also found time to learn from the lessons which caused the "down" and reminisce those moments which I enjoyed during the "ups". I also found time to learn more, improve myself, and adapted my mindset to perpetual ups and downs which I'll meet in my life.<br /><br />Life's worth living they say! I can't see how that can be disputed.Jolly-Sillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684136710061005826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-361329011354516119.post-76887092512737265322008-12-12T12:57:00.000-08:002008-12-12T13:15:48.218-08:00X'mas againTis the time for X'mas celebrations again! Lunches, dinners, drinks, get togethers of all sorts...<br /><br />Friends got together today for a X'mas luncheon starting with champagne at 11. It must have been a 5 or 6 hour lunch which ended up at one of our favourite watering holes thereafter. All seems to have been forgotten during this time abyss today -- by the time everyone crawled onto the comfort of their beds.<br /><br />It's a culture of sorts to have long X'mas luncheons; and the Westerners have lived it up even though they're in Asia. Before we get into November, plannings and bookings would already have been underway for the early birds will get the best choices of restaurants and the best deals. It's a kind of reward for the year's hard work which everyone is deemed to have put in, especially in a tough year like this has been. I wonder what the bankers are doing in New York and how they're going about their traditional long and expensive luncheons.<br /><br />My guess is that the bulk of their discussions would have been on how to pay themselves fat bonuses without raising the ire of taxpayers and government officials who are using taxpayers' money to bail their banks out of the mess created by their mismanagement. And I wonder how many of those taxpayers can afford to savour the Dom Perignons that this bankers down in their celebratory X'mas dos. In George Orwell's Animal Farm, there're words to the effect that all men are equals but some are more equal than others. Perhaps Orwell saw something which we are only beginning to realize.Jolly-Sillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684136710061005826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-361329011354516119.post-36670087612125495202008-11-28T10:19:00.000-08:002008-11-28T11:03:11.278-08:00Poor ThaisI have nothing but sympathy for the people of this supposedly peaceful, predominantly Buddhist kingdom<br /><br />First they (the Bangkok elite) cannot tolerate a good Prime Minister (Thaksin) who cares for the poor so much so that they instigate the army and support a coup d'etat. OK he may have mixed business with politics, but that must surely be a case of the pot calling the kettle black for I can't imagine a Thai politician who's in politics with the sole purpose of serving his/her fellow countrymen. There's always a hidden agenda somewhere and this normally starts from a hunger for power and recognition, evolving into business propositions from people around them, and inevitably leading to some form of corruption, collusion or cronyism.<br /><br />In the so called affluent Western world, this is not dissimilar to the work of lobbyists, and politicians laying the ground for campaign funds at the next election - its not called corruption or cronyism. Look at what happened to Bush and Cheney and their relationship with oil giants. Here in the East, it's called corruption and cronyism, plus nepotism in the words of the Indonesians.<br /><br />"One man one vote" is just not good enough for the urban elite in Bangkok and surrounds. Farmers are deemed "children of a lesser God" and don't deserve to have the equal vote that the "intellect and elite" have<br /><br />So why did the security apparatus and the army in Thailand let these PAD bandits and bullies run amok to the extent of isolating Bangkok from the outside world and inconveniencing tourists by closing their airport? Doesn't this smell of collaboration? Doesn't this suggest that some "high power" up there is tacitly supporting the bullies and bandits who wear yellow purportedly in support of the King. This high power is so powerful, for otherwise the PAD movement would not have rendered the army and police ineffective. How should the monarch feel when bandits and bullies further their crimes under the auspices of loyalty to the monarch?<br /><br />They asked for Prime Minister Samak to resign when they occupied government house in Bangkok. Samak resigned but they didn't disperse from government house. Now they want replacement Prime Minister Somchai to resign and the government to step down. Who's going to govern if the government steps down? They, the PAD who's holding the country at ransom even though the government is a democratically elected one?<br /><br />When I was in Bangkok during the Thaksin era, a lot of the established business people dislike Thaksin openly. The cushy contracts and relationships they had with the "old school" politicians suddenly disappeared in the face of billionaire Thaksin and his business empire. It's not unlike the Suharto kids in Indonesia - before the children grew up, business deals were spread out "quite equally" among Suharto loyalists under a "somewhat successful" patronage system; but when the children grew up and entered the business world, the best deals were snatched up by the Cendana family leaving the "bones" for the others.<br /><br />How can Thais get out of this quagmire.<br /><br />Maybe they need a strong Prime Minister like Thaksin to come back and resolve this once and for all - through negotiations and diplomacy. Thaksin must have learnt his mistakes by now - maybe he isolated the powerful elites so badly that they have but one aim and that is to put him out of power. The person who's so instrumental in reshaping the country and giving the rural folks a breathe of fresh air may have moved too fast for the urban folks to accept. I'm quite sure that a smart person like Thaksin will not make the same mistakes, IF given a second chance.<br /><br />If only Indonesia has the same strong willed and committed leader in next year's elections. Rural Indonesians, perhaps even all Indonesians will be able to breathe the same fresh air Thaksin provided to the rural Thais - corrupt officials who pilfer from education and welfare funds for the poor excluded, of course.Jolly-Sillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684136710061005826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-361329011354516119.post-46287870890719603672008-11-23T04:07:00.000-08:002008-11-23T04:17:36.003-08:00Strange world in difficult times<span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family: arial;">This is indeed where are now. Failing banks; falling markets; felled regimes... Where is mankind headed, I wonder?<br /><br />The good news.<br />We have a new US President who has to tackle the current crisis.<br />World commodity prices has fallen so inflationary pressures will not come from scarce commodities at least in the next 18 to 24 months.<br />All countries are coming together to get us out of this quagmire.<br />China is doing something to "jump shock" their economy.<br />we can all<br /><br />The BAD BAD news<br />Recession, recession, recession<br />No signs that confidence is rebuilding in credit markets.<br />Putin and Russia has not said what it plans to do to get his country and the world back on track.<br />Europe is united yet divided still.<br />Pirates off Somalia are creating havoc to shipping, and hence stifling trade and raising costs/inflation.<br /><br /><br />Tell me more ....<br /><br /><br /><br /></span></span>Jolly-Sillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684136710061005826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-361329011354516119.post-22669310740909672512008-10-19T11:29:00.000-07:002008-10-19T12:04:54.208-07:00Asia's young democraciesNews out of Thailand and Malaysia are hoarding the headlines now; soon it will be Indonesia when they move into election fever in 2009. All these point to the fact that most countries in Asia are still going through a young and immature democracy. <br /><br />Thailand has been notorious for their coups d'etat for as long as people can remember. Malaysia is slightly different in that the Barisan Nasional has been a stabilizing force in the country made up of diversified ethnic groups, until their General Elections in March 2008. From developments so far, the populace seem to be "fed up" with the pro-Malay/bumiputera policies which survived Malaysian politics up until now. The feeling on the ground, it seems, is that the pro-Malay policies are responsible for the culture of cronyism, nepotism and corruption in Malaysia which Indonesia - referred to as KKN in their own language - is trying to shed .<br /><br />Malaysian politics is based on a patronage system not unlike the Indonesian system under the late President Suharto. Sort of an old boys' network not dissimilar to what's common in the UK, USA and Canada and other western countries. The difference in the affluent West is that they try and be as accountable as possible, save for the way the Bush administration appointed their security contractors in Iraq. In Malaysia, it's very different; for the government seem to award projects like they were "distributing the spoils", the way warlords or conquerors in history, east and west, used to do to reward their loyal subjects who helped them win territories.<br /><br />Thailand is unique as the elite failed to deliver voter numbers to ensure that the party they support wins the election. Its probably arrogance which allowed Thaksin and his party to win over the greater numbers from the rural poor compared to elitists in the capital and major cities. The Indonesian politicians are better at this, knowing how to spread their campaign efforts over the areas where the numbers count. That's why I feel that the Thai elites who want to control Thailand are really arrogant.<br /><br />Of all the democracies in Asia, Thailand is probably worst off. Malaysia a close second. The Philippines is too corrupt to count and Singapore's "managed democracy" probably doesn't fall into that league - and Singapore's leaders don't want to be in the same league of "western styled" democracies anyway. That leaves Indonesia, which is probably the closest to the western definition of "democracy" as we can get, not that it is the best form of governance for such a diversified country like Indonesia for now. But I'm sure that with a lot of hard work, the Indonesians will find the equilibrium on a democracy which works for their country, assuming there are enough politicians committed to the secular approach as the best way forward for their country in the next generation.Jolly-Sillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684136710061005826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-361329011354516119.post-72569975679190425592008-10-19T10:42:00.002-07:002008-10-19T11:27:14.439-07:00My take on the current financial crisisWhat do you do when you find your retirement fund shrink to half what they were worth 10 months ago? How do you feel when seemingly low risk investments in top institutions and companies in the world fail you? Well, you are not alone.<br /><br />Who would have predicted the fall of century-old establishments like Lehman and Bear Stearns? <br /><br />NOBODY, really!<br /><br />This is a good lesson to myself and all else seeking better returns for their investments. Whenever anyone asks me for investment advice, I always tell them to keep a portion of their wealth in cash and safe investments albeit low returns, such as fixed deposits in established commercial banks, while they put the rest in riskier investments such as equity-based mutual funds or stocks. This is yet to be tested as we haven't come to the bottom of this crisis, according to esteemed economists around the world.<br /><br />So far, we've only seen investment banks and other niche financial institutions fail - not Bank of America, Citibank or HSBC - or not yet. Banks with a large deposit bases are somewhat sheltered from this turmoil, lest there be a run on the bank stemming from market rumours such as the one which befell Bank of East Asia in Hong Kong.<br /><br />Governments are going all out to guarantee their nations' bank deposits - first the USA, then Europe, followed by Hong Kong, Singapore and others in Asia. I'm sure this "jumping on the bandwagon" syndrome is an inevitable defensive move especially coming from Hong Kong and Singapore. Imagine all the high net worth individuals pulling out their deposits from one country and parking them somewhere with governmental protection. That would have been catastrophic for their banking system.<br /><br />Now, about riskier investments.<br /><br />My approach has always been that of putting money I don't need for now, and money I can sit out and wait for returns in riskier higher return investments. We as individuals don't go by annual balance sheets and performance figures. We can afford to sit out investments over 3 or 5 years. If our investments return 50% in 5 years, we're still doing a healthy 10% per year average return (not compounded return) which isn't bad.<br /><br />Some days ago, a friend of mine who has put money into equity-based funds panicked when the markets collapsed. He sold out, and ended up losing half the capital invested. Such panicky investors is a contributory factor to the collapse of stock markets around the world. He didn't need the money now. He wasn't forced by banks or brokers for he did not pledge the investment as collateral against any borrowing. There is really no conceivable reason for him to cash out when values are shedding on rumours rather than fundamentals. Such is the free market I suppose.<br /><br />My sister called me the other day and asked how I was doing, as she knew I like to sort higher returns in riskier investments. I told her YES my portfolio did shrink by about half from the beginining of the year. YES there is a paper loss. But I also told her that I did follow Warren Buffett's advice earlier on in the year to hoard cash and wait for opportunities. I'm still pretty liquid and can embark on "buy" opportunities should I see signs of the markets bottoming out.<br /><br />Having been through the Asian financial crisis in the late 90s, this doesn't surprise me anymore although its severity and speed did catch me off guard a little. The crests and troughs seem to happen every 10 years - 1987 black Monday, 1997 Asian crisis and now sub-prime.<br /><br />My advice to friends and family is to wait this out, if their investments are in blue chips or blue chip funds. I waited out the Asian crisis and the investments paid off - at least on paper, as of end 2008 - but I didn't cash out in time before this crisis hit. Lesson for me then is to cash out when we hit the next high - be it in 3, 5 or 8 years' time - and restructure my portfolio so I won't be caught out in a situation where I'm depending on those investments to accord me the same lifestyle I'm leading now during retirement.<br /><br />I hope this will help any panicky investor thinking of biting the bullet and cutting losses, for this is not the end of trading in the free market. As long as markets are trading, what goes down must come up, and vice versa.Jolly-Sillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684136710061005826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-361329011354516119.post-54774183950818340892008-10-06T09:53:00.000-07:002008-10-06T10:18:07.455-07:00Sub primes - Covering up with political backingLook at the stock markets now. And look at what the American government tried to do.<br /><br />When China covered up on the SARS and melamine scares, every one (almost) felt that China shouldn't have done that. But when the Americans covered up on the impact of their sub prime problems on the economic health of the world, the comments were a lot more muted.<br /><br />I guess the difference is that in SARS and the melamine cases, there were actual human deaths directly relating to those incidents, whereas in the current sub prime fiasco, there aren't any DIRECT deaths, although the indirects harm that it has done to the modern world is beyond the imagination of any one of us.<br /><br /><br />There's Bernanke, Paulson and all the wise people with unquestionable credentials in a regulatory capacity who chose to remain silent about the impact of the sub prime crisis until a year after it first surfaced. Considering that these people have intimate knowledge of their financial systems, they should have had more notice than the rest of us prior to the problem surfacing in the public domain. So did they try to "cover up" thinking that it can be contained? Are they not as guilty as the Chinese officials who tried to cover up on SARS and melamine contamination in milk out of China?<br /><br />We can't help Asians feeling like the Western media is stringing them up to roast at every opportunity for whatever cover-ups the governments of Asia do, the Western media seem to feed on it like a pack of vultures. But when there's a foul up in the Western world, not dissimilar to those in Asia, somehow, someone will be able to "guide" them into looking at things in a different perspective.<br /><br />Is this less harmful and/or less severe than China's covering up of the SARS crisis? Or the melamine contamination issue still running hot in all the presses? Did the Americans elect a President who cannot appoint competent officials to look after their economy? What about all those checks and balances in Congress and the Senate? Didn't any of those learned men and women smell something fishy when the first sub prime defaults started to surface? How could the officials have taken JUST one weekend -- an American weekend when every American is supposed to be spending time with their families -- to sort out Bear Stearns? Even the best of brains would have had to do some preparatory work! Did they have an inkling as to what's happened and what's required? Surely they must have been prepared.<br /><br />IS this a case of the pot calling the kettle black when it comes to disclosure for the interests of the rest of the world? Perhaps.<br /><br />But we will never know, will we?Jolly-Sillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684136710061005826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-361329011354516119.post-17126961826369390252008-09-02T06:58:00.000-07:002008-09-02T07:12:11.265-07:00About Visions and Missions<span style="font-family: arial;">Friend of mine just called and complained about some problems with her staff. She tried to instill some discipline and ground rules for her operations but met with resistance from some employees. Simple stuff that they were trained to do became chores she has to get involved in, as CEO of the company.<br /><br />My answer: they (the staff) don't share your same vision and mission; and she's better off getting rid of those bad apples than to risk infecting the rest of her employees who need the job more and who are prepared to adapt to her ground rules.<br /><br />I'm sure this happens to all companies, large or small. I also told my friend that it's the survival of the organisation and the security of all her employees which should take precedence over one or two rotten apples.<br /><br />Every organisation must function and survive as a team. Just like football and any other sport. The minute we have a prima donna, the minute we have the weakest link who can't move at the same speed as the others, and who doesn't have the same conviction as the others, the organisation cannot survive, let alone advance in this highly competitive globalised world.<br /><br />This friend of mine is a nice person, always kind, always mindful of her employees to the extent that she cannot bear to put someone out of a job. But I emphasized that it's the survival of the organisation, the interests of the shareholders, and the feeding of the majority of her staff and their families which are of paramount importance.<br /><br />I'm glad she felt a lot better after hearing what I had to say. And I hope she will be able to put principles into practise and have the conviction to see changes through.<br /><br /></span>Jolly-Sillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684136710061005826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-361329011354516119.post-34624162185168046902008-08-11T16:54:00.001-07:002008-08-11T16:54:28.854-07:00Friends....It's intriguing to witness the changes friends go through.<br /><br />One of my friends grew older but none the wiser. He's always been a laid back sort of person. Got married with a very capable, career minded lady. When they had their first child, she made the decision to give up her career totally just to be a housewife and look after the kids.<br /><br />But my friend grew more and more laid back, to the point of perhaps letting laziness creep in. His career went no where. He dabbled in business but that led nowhere as well. His wife who loved and adored this once young and ambitious man is obviously disappointed. But being Asian, she kept things to herself for she believed that once she marries the man she chose, she will have to abide by the unwritten family rules in Asians.<br /><br />All of us around them can't help but sigh whenever we hear about them.<br /><br />Then there's this other friend who called me the other day, after quite a long while. He had to undergo an operation recently and is literally broke now. Besides the odd freelance jobs here and there, he hasn't really had any serious work for the last year or so.<br /><br />This is someone who's had his glory days running one of the most successful businesses in our line of business some years ago. Where did all those hard earned dollars of his heydays go?<br /><br />I knew he had a large family to support, and is the sole earner of the family. But then, he wasn't earning nickels and dimes in his heydays either?<br /><br />Planning, maybe that's what it is we all need to do.<br /><br />Make realistic plans and keep reviewing where we stand and where we are with respect to those plans.<br /><br />It's easy for human nature to take over, for our minds to wander off track and let circumstances dictate and lead us to believe that we're none other than puppets of circumstances playing out in our lives. We let ourselves be convinced that those circumstances must be allowed to play out their course.<br /><br />These mind games hinder our ability to rationalise and we fall prey.<br /><br />I myself have fallen prey many times. I myself have made unrealistic plans which ended up with dreadful results. There's a fine line between pushing oneself to one's limits and coaxing one's abilities and instincts to flourish optimally in the direction we choose.<br /><br />Every day is a different chapter and evey new day brings with it circumstances, problems, obstacles, challenges etc. It's up to us to filter out the ones we need to deal with from the ones which distract, and the ones which can wait and the ones which can't. This ability to filter and discern is probably the difference between great men and women and the not so great ones.Jolly-Sillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684136710061005826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-361329011354516119.post-18922404751551694612008-08-10T08:35:00.000-07:002008-08-10T08:37:14.738-07:00Life - a Kaleidescope (sort of)So much happened these last few weeks. Clients wasting money unnecessarily just because they can't put their own house in order. Greed engulfing people so much so that their prides disappear. Weaknesses of the less humans all evident from a mere test of wills.<br /><br />I remember all laundry services charge a premium when we are in a hurry and needed clothes delivered in less than the time quoted by the service. But at least those clothes came back to us freshly ironed and clean. But I can't say the same for other works commissioned in the service industry I'm in.<br /><br />There's this client who's fond of confirming matters only at the 11th hour and we have to put together the human and other resources to have the project completed within unreasonable timelines. It's like building a two storey house in one month, rather than the 10 months it would normally take. The foundations are shoddy, the roof will leak, additional coats of paint are splashed even before the last coat is dried etc.<br /><br />And that is what this multi national corporation spanning a few countries and paying top dollars for their executives practises.<br /><br />Through their own inefficiencies and bureaucracies, projects hibernate until the very last minute when they can hibernate no more. They will commission the project often leaving no time to do proper soil tests and laying foundations, no time to order the best bricks and best brick layers and so on. And with the short time given, one often has to pay more in wages to have people work overtime, double up on human resources in order to get the job done in time, and accept less than satisfactory results.<br /><br />But that's what they are content on doing. This is not one project. This has been happening for as long as I've known this client. They want something done, they will get it, at all costs.<br /><br />Wonder what their shareholders will say if they'd known that the company has been wasting their money in that manner?<br /><br />If I were a shareholder, I would have asked why the company hire executives at those prices when they cannot put the priorities in their sights. I would have asked why Chief Financial Officer had not seen the wastages. I would have asked why they had not structured the organization in a way conducive to a proper decision making process. I would have asked a lot.<br /><br />But do such companies disclose at Annual General Meetings how they make decisions? Nope. They just declare and disclose what's required of the law.Jolly-Sillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684136710061005826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-361329011354516119.post-41131605759278209752008-08-09T08:23:00.000-07:002008-08-09T08:24:23.087-07:00Stealing your timeI'm sure all of us would have come across such thefts of our time.<br /><br />They are the ones who walk into you office when you're engrossed in work. They send text messages to your handphone on the most trivial of matters. They call you just to interrupt and disrupt what you're doing on matters which could wait or could have been emailed.<br /><br />Emails are good - compare to text messages to handphones - in that they can be read at your own leisure. Even people with Blackberry phones can opt to read emails at a time they choose to. They "push mail" you, but you don't have to read it instantaneously, that is the minute they are "pushes" to you. <br /><br />In this world and age, it feels like we're having less and less control of our own time. Time to do things we want or need to do; time to be on our own; time to "just do nothing".<br /><br />On the other hand, these time thefts are also victims to other time thefts to the extent that they're oblivious to this notion of "stealing time". They've simply "done onto us what others do to them".<br /><br />What a pity. That's why I don't turn on or log on to any of the so called IM or "instant messaging" programs. Imagine you're deep into a proposal or quotation you have to complete in an hour's time and a busload of friend instant message you, or text message you on your handphone. You'll never get to complete what you've allocated time to do in that hour or so. Or worse still, a task requiring an hour to complete suddenly becomes something which can only be completed in 3 hours.<br /><br />I feel that I'm just as guilty of stealing other people's time. Sometimes when I'm stuck in traffic and bored, I would invariably be tempted to SMS others on matters which come to mind. They come to mind, but they often won't need to be communicated instantly. But for some selfish reason, I chose to SMS so that it becomes one less matter to store in my brain for action.<br /><br />A lot of people feel that once their email or SMS is out, their job is done. Mission accomplished. Many a times, I've had clients forward me emails from their clients or colleagues requiring attention just so that they feel they've done their jobs.<br /><br />Often, these emails which they forward have not even been read or perused by them. And often too is that these emails relate to nothing I can do without their input on the contents of that email.<br /><br />Blind forwarding, I call this; something I don't condone. All the staff under my control know this.<br /><br />So, the next time you need to call someone, or text someone using SMS, think about how disruptive that will be to his/her routine; and most importantly, think about the effect all such disruptions and distractions on your own routine.Jolly-Sillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684136710061005826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-361329011354516119.post-42836884628952540252008-07-06T11:18:00.000-07:002008-07-06T11:19:29.665-07:00FRIENDS: WHEN YOU NEED HELPIf you've ever asked for help from friends, you'll probably know what I mean.<br /><br />There are those who will point you in the right direction, then leave you to it; without putting in any further effort to help you.<br /><br />I come across many situations where I've had to ask friends for help in getting connected to people in a new business situation or in an area I'm not familiar with.<br /><br />The ones who volunteer help with earnest are likely to be the ones who will only pay "lip service". They will call their contact and say "a friend of mine needs help", then pass on the contact to you, period. They will not as questions such as:<br />"How was the person I introduced?<br />Was he able to help?<br />If not, do you want me to get someone else?"<br /><br />Its very easy to test your friends. Try them out, and if they're like what I've illustrated, then you know they are NOT DEPENDABLE.<br /><br />But if you come across someone who will ask those 3 questions I highlighted above, then they are the friends you should keep as "that's what friends are for"<br /><br />Better still: if ever a friend is prepared to arrange a meeting with the people you would like to meet, and he/she will be there for the meeting.<br /><br />Friendships can be shallow affairs. I recently had to contact some "friends" (supposedly) to ask about certain experiences they had which I didn't. One promised to meet but 3 weeks later, we're still emailing one another as to when is the best time to meet. Another immediately responded with the information I needed via email, promising to meet or talk should I need to. <br /><br />Through the years, I've learnt to discern the true friends from the others. Have you?Jolly-Sillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684136710061005826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-361329011354516119.post-47802104145188930612008-06-28T10:47:00.000-07:002008-06-29T03:08:45.059-07:00THAILAND'S NEW AIRPORTMaybe I've been late in this encounter for I've always tried to avoid travels to Thailand in thes e last two years due to the political situation there. But landing at Thailand's Suvarnabhumi airport for the first time since it opened wasn't an unpleasant experience at all. Despite all the negative news about how rushed the project was and all the problems that were supposed to have plagued this airport which the previous Thaksin government bull-dozed its way into launching wasn't apparent to me somehow. Perhaps I didn't spend that much time at the airport or perhaps those stories had more than a tinge of political salt and pepper added.<br /><br />There was a lot more space than the old Don Muang International, and we didn't have to fly over a golf course worrying that an errant golf ball hit by an airforce general might choke up the engine on landing. Unfortunately all the space led to the bottleneck at the immigration counters.<br /><br />The long immigration queues speak a lot about this country and, for that matter, any other I've visited, especially so after flying through Singapore where 20 minutes was all it took for me to get off the plane and onto a taxi after clearing immigration, collecting my bags and clearing customs.<br /><br />A new feature at the immigration counter is a small, digital "web-cam-like" camera sitting up on a stand at the counter. A bit early I thought as there was still some months before the USA insists on biometric passports for all their visitors. Mine isn't biometric so there really wasn't any point in taking my photo and that of others. Surely Interpol will not have biometric info on their database yet for checking to. Maybe their officers don't trust their own eyes and prefer to compare our passport photos to the one they take with that little camera. Or perhaps that was one sure way they can print a "current" mug shot in the papers should one get onto the "wanted list". I can't help but wonder what happens to photos of those ladies who wear such heavy makeup that they themselves get a shock when they look at the mirror in the morning?<br /><br />40 minutes later, I was out of the airport, having spent 30 minutes at immigration and another 10 minutes waiting for the bags. But that's a lot better than Kuala Lumpur where one has to spend anything from 20 to 40 minutes at immigration depending on your time of arrival, and another 20 to 30 minutes (regardless of how long you've spent at the immigration queues) waiting for your bags. I can only conclude that the KL International Airport must either have a complex and unique security screening system for all arriving bags, OR they're just not in the mood to get visitors out of their airport within a reasonably short time. But then again, Asian airports may already be the darlings for those who are used to long delays (whatever the reasons) at European and American airports.Jolly-Sillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684136710061005826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-361329011354516119.post-52658831888102274562008-06-15T09:55:00.000-07:002008-06-15T09:56:42.250-07:00WEEKENDS - TOTAL RELAXATION OR NOT?Everyone, or at least most of everyone I know, like weekends. It's time for them to totally switch off, not have to think about what they've been doing from Monday to Friday, and just do things differently. The same for vacations.<br /><br />I remember a two week vacation I had many years ago. The vacation was enjoyable. Lots of snow. Lots of company and good food. But guess what? When I got back to work, I was faced with triple or quadruble the problems I would have had to face If I'd kept in touch during the so-called vacation.<br /><br />Once I took a weekend off (Friday afternoon to Monday morning) to somewhere without internet and emails and my laptop. Sure enough, when I returned on Monday, it took the whole of that week to catch up on what I'd missed out.<br /><br />Don't get me wrong, I'm not a workaholic. I like weekends and I like to have time ro relax, do things I didn't have time to do on weekdays, and catch up with friends. But I always like to keep in touch even on weekends.<br /><br />It doesn't mean that I have to respond to that email or SMS I receive during the weekend. But keep tabs of everything even on a weekend will enable us to have a headstart when Monday morning breaks.<br /><br />I'm not stressed. Possible just in control.<br /><br />Having the information and choosing when to react and respond to that information is more soothing than a day on the beach only to come back and be totally stressed about what's fed to us via email or SMS. Besides, while I'm not working, there may be others who are working toward getting things organized for first thing Monday morning.<br /><br />Imagine someone who needs to know if you can have a meeting with them on Monday morning? Would you rather hear about that on Saturday night, or would you rather wake up on Monday morning to find that someone has been kept in limbo for two days? Would you rather wake up on Monday morning knowing exactly what meetings you have to attend that morning, or have someone SMS you about an answer he/she is waiting for since Saturday?<br /><br />Would you rather have a leisurely start to you Mondays, or go through an adrenalin rush once you wake up to rush to a meeting which you should have been well prepared for, had you checked your email or SMS on Saturday.<br /><br />Most people are trying to shun the electronic age when it comes to weekends. They want to go back to the times before internet and SMSes. They want to have "convventional" weekends where your boss, colleagues, clientsl, and vendors can't communicate with you until Monday. That's passe, really. Antiquated. And unless we change our mindsets, we will find ourselves having to fight those who are more technologically savvy, eager to stay "on top" of what they need to do on Mondays and can enjoy their weekends thoroughly, knowing that they will be well prepared for their Monday mornings<br /><br />Food fo thought, perhaps, for those of you who go by conventional expectations of your weekends?Jolly-Sillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684136710061005826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-361329011354516119.post-86357065573635006722008-06-10T09:03:00.000-07:002008-06-10T16:01:35.681-07:00DEALING WITH EGOISTSWhat happens when someone feels that whatever you do is suspect, unless they are involved; unless they see things in the same light?<br /><br />Be it your colleague, your boss (what we normally call a control freak), or a member of your family who thinks -- and believes -- that he/she is better than you are in whatever you're doing?<br /><br />It's really a waste of time, but something which we have to accept, accommodate or even appease (perhaps its the "devil" in them which we have to appease).<br /><br />The thing I keep telling myself when faced with situations like these is to stick to my guns, stick to my principles, yet accord a certain amount of room for each to maneuver (for the sake of face saving, as the Chinese and perhaps even the Javanese call it); for breaking or upsetting that "balance" will certainly result in more dire and often unpredictable consequences. <br /><br />But why do people need to impose upon others? Why do people have to "question" others' actions and intentions when they have no clue as to the reasons behind them? If it isn't the devil in one pushing one toward egoistical boundaries, then the sun must rise from the West.<br />Very often, these people don't wish to listen or think about reasons too.<br /><br />I deal with people like that each day. And I'm sure you do. Honestly I don't have any solutions to offer, other than to play the game, remain patient, or pretend to remain patient, and move on. There's no sense in stressing oneself, I thought; for these people are beyond reason and cannot be treated as rational people.<br /><br />When they are your colleagues, your boss, your family, more complications set in; for you will have to deal with them day in and day out. Nevertheless, as long as we realize and remember that they are not the ones who will bring about the end of this world, they are not the ones who will make or break our futures (for our futures will always be in our own hands), and that they are not the ones will make the world go round, we are in a good position to move ahead.<br /><br />Life is always about moving ahead. A friend of mine refers to obstacles as "minor irritations" or "minor hurdles" which are a part and parcel of everyone's lives. So be it.<br /><br />The next time you have to deal with an egoist or whatever you choose to call him/her, just remember that you're not alone.Jolly-Sillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684136710061005826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-361329011354516119.post-40218762151421946292008-06-08T08:46:00.000-07:002008-06-08T08:59:32.969-07:00DO WE HAVE REGRETS IN OUR LIVESA friend of mine asked if I've ever had regrets in my life. I told her, of course we all have our regrets. But the path I chose was to decide on something, make a commitment to that decision and not look back. Tiger Woods will probably tell you the same thing for that's the basic thing any golfer has to do between 60 to 100+ times in an 18-hole round.<div><br /></div><div>The important thing, I said, was to tell oneself that - based on the circumstances, information and all the other parameters known to us at the time of the decision - we have made the best decision. Be it having to minimize casualties (like military commanders do), or limiting the damage etc. We all make decisions based on parameters. There is really no right nor wrong. The difference is whether we commit to that decision or we don't.</div><div><br /></div><div>Committing on a decision - my version of not looking back - enables us to explore all possibilities that decision can yield, be they good or bad. But then again, what is good or bad is really relative. If we hadn't been through the bad, how would we know what is good? And vice versa.</div><div><br /></div><div>Most of the time, we humans - I'm guilty of that too - are too concerned and often take too seriously of what others say of our decisions. "You shouldn't have done that!" "If only you'd done that". The people who say these things don't go through the same things we do when we make those decisions. That's why I always like saying "if I were in your shoes, I would have done this or that". But I was not in their shoes.</div><div><br /></div><div>By committing on a decision made and giving our best to it, we are giving ourselves the best available chance of the desired ends. The alternative is to commit and make a half hearted effort to the decision because we're not sure if that is the right or wrong decision. You don't have to be a rocket scientist or nuclear physicist to figure that one out. </div><div><br /></div><div>So the next time you're not sure as to whether you've made the right decision, tell yourself its too late as you've already made that decision. Tell yourself that your best way out is to commit to that decision and do your best to move toward the desired end. Indecisiveness should, by definition, happen BEFORE, a decision; not after one is made.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div> </div>Jolly-Sillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684136710061005826noreply@blogger.com0