it is time to review on the resolutions set out earlier this year, and to see where there had been success, and where I had fallen short...
1. Marathon + Sporting event
Not the best timing on earth, but completed the 9th marathon this year; Also joined the Passion Run in June...
2. Golf
Gave up before completion. Obviously didn't like this sport much.
3. Sports (badminton, tennis, beach volleyball)
This is a "cheating" resolution, since I would definitely be doing these! And did all these whenever I could.
4. Property hunting
Did not go ahead with this. Being lazy was the key reason, but potential job change was also another demotivator. No excuse for 2010?
5. Quality time with family
Yupz. Great year for this. Weekends, Genting trip... more next year!
6. 学以致用 - Dale Carnegie's concepts
Did not complete this course yet! Will continue next year. Using some of the concepts, though I must admit that there is some sort of personality clash with being good. :-P
7. Trust, share & learn
A little I guess, but nothing to be proud about. At least not as silo-ed as before.
8. Smile
Think I have been smiling more than before. Not that I frown less, but there are more reasons to smile sometimes. Small reasons, but reasons nonetheless.
Here's looking forward to the new year.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Marathon 9
Refering back to last year's post...
http://charles-footsteps.blogspot.com/2008/12/marathon-8.html
This year, I had actually trained up to 2 hrs (only once... and only upon refering to that previous post did I realize that last year's training sucked as well). However, frequent travels and being sick twice recently did not help with the training.
Having returned to Singapore from Penang last night, I had a couple of hours of rest before heading to the city. It was a great run, to be honest, and it was only my training (or lack thereof) that set me back. The weather was uncharacteristically fabulous until 10am. One thing about this year's run was that I convinced myself that it was okay to stop and relax anytime. Walking to completion aint too bad. And thus, this year, I did a 5hr 7 min clock time (but about 5hr 20+min gun time)
1. Mobil Marathon 1999 5hr 48 min
2. ExxonMobil Marathon 2001 4hr 33 min
3. StanChart Marathon 2003 5hr 00 min
4. StanChart Marathon 2004 5hr 22 min
5. StanChart Marathon 2005 4hr 47 min
6. StanChart Marathon 2006 4hr 50 min
7. StanChart Marathon 2007 4hr 32 min
8. StanChart Marathon 2008 4hr 53 min
9. StanChart Marathon 2009 5hr 07 min
One more to make the 10 that I told myself to complete before I hit 40... depending on how my knees hold up, maybe I can up the ante to 15???
http://charles-footsteps.blogspot.com/2008/12/marathon-8.html
This year, I had actually trained up to 2 hrs (only once... and only upon refering to that previous post did I realize that last year's training sucked as well). However, frequent travels and being sick twice recently did not help with the training.
Having returned to Singapore from Penang last night, I had a couple of hours of rest before heading to the city. It was a great run, to be honest, and it was only my training (or lack thereof) that set me back. The weather was uncharacteristically fabulous until 10am. One thing about this year's run was that I convinced myself that it was okay to stop and relax anytime. Walking to completion aint too bad. And thus, this year, I did a 5hr 7 min clock time (but about 5hr 20+min gun time)
1. Mobil Marathon 1999 5hr 48 min
2. ExxonMobil Marathon 2001 4hr 33 min
3. StanChart Marathon 2003 5hr 00 min
4. StanChart Marathon 2004 5hr 22 min
5. StanChart Marathon 2005 4hr 47 min
6. StanChart Marathon 2006 4hr 50 min
7. StanChart Marathon 2007 4hr 32 min
8. StanChart Marathon 2008 4hr 53 min
9. StanChart Marathon 2009 5hr 07 min
One more to make the 10 that I told myself to complete before I hit 40... depending on how my knees hold up, maybe I can up the ante to 15???
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Xintiandi on a Saturday Night
Shanghai Xintiandi - The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaves
Took me an hour of hesitation, before deciding to come over to Xintiandi. A last minute meeting change resulted in my staying an extra few days out in Shanghai... and while I would have preferred to go home for the weekend, Shanghai for a few days ain't that bad either. And one of the draws was to experience the night life here... NOT. WIll pass clubbing and pubbing for a episode or two of Brothers and Sisters.
Got in touch with David (previous Shanghai "correspondence" was John) and we planned to catch up tomorrow. It had been two months since he had returned to Shanghai, after about a year in Singapore, and being close to our gang of friends. Now, without Facebook, it will be good to catch up a little with him, and find out how quickly he had gotten used to the life back in China.
The cafe is at a nice place to people-watch, and there are a lot of good-looking people around. Certainly better dressed than my t-shirt and jeans, but not that I am too conscious about my dressing. There is only so many pieces of clothings I could have packed for the work trip, with the cold weather and all. I wonder how cold Tokyo would be... I do not have my winter coat with me, and will probably miss it for the warmth and the stylishness. Probably reduced to wearing more layers of clothings, and risk mis-matching the business jacket with the down-winter wear. Maybe I should go shopping tomorrow?
Took me an hour of hesitation, before deciding to come over to Xintiandi. A last minute meeting change resulted in my staying an extra few days out in Shanghai... and while I would have preferred to go home for the weekend, Shanghai for a few days ain't that bad either. And one of the draws was to experience the night life here... NOT. WIll pass clubbing and pubbing for a episode or two of Brothers and Sisters.
Got in touch with David (previous Shanghai "correspondence" was John) and we planned to catch up tomorrow. It had been two months since he had returned to Shanghai, after about a year in Singapore, and being close to our gang of friends. Now, without Facebook, it will be good to catch up a little with him, and find out how quickly he had gotten used to the life back in China.
The cafe is at a nice place to people-watch, and there are a lot of good-looking people around. Certainly better dressed than my t-shirt and jeans, but not that I am too conscious about my dressing. There is only so many pieces of clothings I could have packed for the work trip, with the cold weather and all. I wonder how cold Tokyo would be... I do not have my winter coat with me, and will probably miss it for the warmth and the stylishness. Probably reduced to wearing more layers of clothings, and risk mis-matching the business jacket with the down-winter wear. Maybe I should go shopping tomorrow?
Sunday, October 4, 2009
moments before 32
spent the whole weekend watching 17 episodes of Brothers and Sisters... and when I finally went out for my first meal of this sunday (okay... 2nd, if you count buns and yogurt as brunch), I was also keen on taking a walk to move some of the lazy muscles.
it was only then that I realized the lake next to the hotel had a musical fountain with laser and hip-chinese music show. it was actually quite entertaining, and I like water afterall...
the bright spot in the top background is the moon on the 16th... supposedly at its roundest. Quality of the blackberry camera for night shot is poor, but at least the camera caught some of the moving lights.
Really could stay there and watch the dancing water jets, in the cool weather with the nice night sky. The laser show was quite good, reflected at various depths of water, rushing up, or splashing back down. If the music were different, and if there were good company, with a container of hot coffee, it would have been a perfect night. :-)
in China during their holidays
China's National Day... Mid-Autumn Festival... The adjacent festivities almost meant a standstill in China, since people are inclined to return home for a much deserved long break. In the past, this would be critical, as people needed to return home via rail, which could take days. Today, it is still important, as not everyone is rich enough to take the more expensive modes of transport.
Anyhow, despite the customer's plan to complete the work during this period, reality caught up, and there were insurmountable problems and hence delays. The result was the "burning" of holidays for many of the people around the project.
Photos from the park - day & night:
Thursday, October 1, 2009
China's 60th National Day
It is a big deal, the 60th National Day of China. The parade began at about 10am, and is still ongoing in Beijing, with a dramatic level of participation. There was military display, some group performances, and now, the parade floats are going around Tiananmen. There are mainly floats from the various provinces, but also includes (at least one?) foreign participants. The floats are quite elaborate, with iconic features of the provinces, rotating parts, people in various customers posing or waving to the people, and also large screens that show highlights from their regions. There is some more marching now, from the bands and other groups.
Wonder if they will be having fireworks in the evening? Should be an excellent display, if this morning's parade is anything to go by.
Of course, I am watching the parade in the hotel room in Heze. The same hotel room that did not have electricity from 2-6pm yesterday. The same hotel room that has questionable quality of water and questionable cleanliness of the towels. While I am fine with waiting for things to happen at the customer's site during this period, the local Chinese who are also supporting the customer are not the most excited bunch since they would probably prefer to be having their long-awaited long holiday.
A few more days to go...
Wonder if they will be having fireworks in the evening? Should be an excellent display, if this morning's parade is anything to go by.
Of course, I am watching the parade in the hotel room in Heze. The same hotel room that did not have electricity from 2-6pm yesterday. The same hotel room that has questionable quality of water and questionable cleanliness of the towels. While I am fine with waiting for things to happen at the customer's site during this period, the local Chinese who are also supporting the customer are not the most excited bunch since they would probably prefer to be having their long-awaited long holiday.
A few more days to go...
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
the 100th post - awake at 3+ am in China
Travelled to China after 1 month of enjoyable stay in Singapore. Almost looked forward to overseas work trips...
I'm awake at such a late hour, as dinner included too much alcohol. Upon returning to the room, I had only enough consciousness to bolt the door, remove my phone and wallet, before collapsing into the bed. That was about 4 hours of sleep? Anyhow, got up some time ago to do some work, and now preparing to go back to bed.
Thoughts on business dinners in China
Looking at it positively - chance to taste different delicacies, at company's or other's expense, free opportunity to drink alcohol, understanding another culture and history
On the flip side - too much of a waste of food, too much alcohol, and too much smoke
Why is there still a need to have too much food on the table? I hope that sufficient food that we can all finish will become the norm in the near future, but how do we promote this?
It doesn't help that I don't really fancy "delicacies" or alcohol all that much, so good luck to me for the next 5 days or so.
I'm awake at such a late hour, as dinner included too much alcohol. Upon returning to the room, I had only enough consciousness to bolt the door, remove my phone and wallet, before collapsing into the bed. That was about 4 hours of sleep? Anyhow, got up some time ago to do some work, and now preparing to go back to bed.
Thoughts on business dinners in China
Looking at it positively - chance to taste different delicacies, at company's or other's expense, free opportunity to drink alcohol, understanding another culture and history
On the flip side - too much of a waste of food, too much alcohol, and too much smoke
Why is there still a need to have too much food on the table? I hope that sufficient food that we can all finish will become the norm in the near future, but how do we promote this?
It doesn't help that I don't really fancy "delicacies" or alcohol all that much, so good luck to me for the next 5 days or so.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Bangkok 2009
Went on a last-minute holiday over last thursday to sunday, planned and confirmed only last monday-tuesday.
It was a good decision, to put down everything and take a break. Besides a few work calls and email checking, I was free to use my mind for my own purpose. Did some shopping, clubbing, and most importantly, roaming around with the same gang of friends.
Finally saw the Jatujak market, and despite the complaints of how hot, messy and unpleasant the market could be, I actually quite liked it. Well... I cannot understand why they are selling used shoes in the market, but the sale of some flowers, plants and pets did add something different to the typical flea-market style.
We went to a club two nights in a row (a third too, for those who stayed), and the crowd was amazing... amazing as in that it was almost impossible to move through the people, and we were pushed around more often, then moved by our own accord. The music was nice for these two nights though, and it was really enjoyable.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
IPPT and Holiday
Just took my IPPT on tuesday, and there were two takeaways:
1. There was a need for us to sign a declaration form on H1N1, and the nominal roll for the IPPT test takers was about 5 pages long, in NRIC number order... and i was in the first page... guess i was one of the older participants.
2. I was not really prepared to run too fast in the 2.4km run, since i had hardly had sufficient training prior to the test date, and i was having some muscle sore from recent trainings. But when the run started, there were two guys who were consistently fast, and pacing behind them, i managed to complete the run in 10mins 07sec. I amazed myself!
After some toggling back and forth on going and not going for holiday with the gang of pals, I had finally decided to go for it. Booked the flights, hotels and arrangements on Monday, and in less than 6 hours, i will be taking off to a nice and lazy holiday. Woohoo... photos will come later!
1. There was a need for us to sign a declaration form on H1N1, and the nominal roll for the IPPT test takers was about 5 pages long, in NRIC number order... and i was in the first page... guess i was one of the older participants.
2. I was not really prepared to run too fast in the 2.4km run, since i had hardly had sufficient training prior to the test date, and i was having some muscle sore from recent trainings. But when the run started, there were two guys who were consistently fast, and pacing behind them, i managed to complete the run in 10mins 07sec. I amazed myself!
After some toggling back and forth on going and not going for holiday with the gang of pals, I had finally decided to go for it. Booked the flights, hotels and arrangements on Monday, and in less than 6 hours, i will be taking off to a nice and lazy holiday. Woohoo... photos will come later!
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Journals from a week in Dushanzi
Journal log:18 July 1230hrs
Flight CA1901
Left Beijing this morning and took a little notice on how huge the airport is. It is pretty amazing from the vantage point I had.
Anyway, last night's news splashed on the bomb attacks at the Marriott and the Ritz-Carlton hotels almost simultaneously. It felt so surreal,especially since Iam heading for Urumqi en route to Dushanzi. What safety precautions can l fall back on, if something wereto happen? Not my most comforting moment right now.
Well, at least l'm entertaining myselt with my new Kohjinsha UMPC. Nice...
-----
Journal log: 18 July 2120hrs
Maitark Hotel 1006
Day 1 of "Disconnected from the world"
The trip to Dushanzi was uneventful, and on reaching the hotel, it became clear to me soon that there will be very few ways to be connected to the outside world. There is no internet, no connection on my mobile phones, even the local phones will not be able to make international calls. My only connection will be via my Beijing colleague, the Chinese agent and another Singapore colleague who has a China-registered number, by calling any one of them.
Let's see how my sanity holds with so much difficulties to be connected.
-----
Journal log: 19 July 0810hrs
Maitark Hotel Room 1006
Day 2 of "Disconnected from the world"
Weight - 66.4kg
7 hrs of sleep! Without much to do, and not wanting to work at those outstanding but non-urgent issues, without any TV shows that is worth watching, I slept more than I did for months. And I am looking forward to sleeping more tonight.
While strolling the streets last night, I noticed that the indoor lightings are always quite dim... dim compared to the lightings used in Singapore. Perhaps I am too used to the clarity with bright lights back home. And with regards to street design, the roads at Dushanzi are flanked by trees. It looks nice, but I must comment that the design was not well done. The branches of the trees were too low, and these trees are planted over pavements ... pavements that are now inaccessible by people taller than 1m. Duh...
-----
Journal log: 19 July 2205hrs
Maitark Hotel Room 1006
Day 2 of "Disconnected from the world"
It is really wierd, not having phone connections while mobile. There is no need to take my phones out, and that feels really strange... Will I get used to this?
I jogged around part of the town, and took some nice photos of the nearby mountains. It is not every day that I get to stay in a town near a snow-capped mountain, with some broad expense of green plains. The Dushanzi town consists of very new buildings, nice new estates, older style estates, as well as slums. The contrast of this small city/town is amazing.
-----
Journal log: 20 July 0715hrs
Maitark Hotel Room1006
Day 3 of "Disconnected from the world"
Weight - 66.9kg
Going back into the plant in the morning. Hope the progress will accelerate, but I understand that in this line, it is more likely for delays to occur. I wonder how I can handle this upset in the original plans.
-----
Journal log: 20 July 2150hrs
Maitark Hotel Room1006
Day 3 of "Disconnected from the world"
Probably getting fatter due to the heavy lunches and dinners. This is despite the morning 5BX that I have started to do. Perhaps I will remain fit after this trip? Well, I plan to skip dinner tomorrow in favour for a jog... think this is going to happen?
-----
Journal log: 21 July 0752hrs
Maitark Hotel Room1006
Day 4 of "Disconnected from the world"
Weight - 67.3kg
Another day here... hope things smoothen out at work. But I also look forward to having a day off to go touring. Hmm...
-----
Journal log: 22 July 0800hrs
Maitark Hotel Room1006
Day 5 of "Disconnected from the world"
Weight - 67.0kg
Not so much as disconnected from the world now. I could receive phone calls on the blackberry and the contact engineer also got me a local number for my use. But internet connection is still not there and I still cannot make international calls. Hope the government will decide to resume connectivity.
There is a solar eclipse taking place right now. Wonder if I will see it on the way to work later?
-----
Journal log: 22 July 2147hrs
Maitark Hotel Room1006
Day 5 of "Disconnected from the world"
Just came back from a swim at the next door public pool. Nice, though there is way too many people. But swimming does provide some much needed exercise. Dinner is going to be a Dove chocolate bar, yoghurt and oats cereals. Hmm...
-----
Journal log: 23 July 0757hrs
Maitark Hotel Room1006
Day 6 of "Disconnected from the world"
Weight - 66.4kg
Work is to begin today. Let's hope things go smoothly!
-----
Journal log: 23 July 2216hrs
Maitark Hotel Room1006
Day 6 of "Disconnected from the world"
Loading started, but with all the problems that I had previously envisioned. and we hanged around waiting for things to happen such that I only returned to the room around 9+. And my colleagues tried super hard to reach me with this one-way comms situation... so grateful... well, let's hope for a more smooth day tomorrow.
-----
Journal log: 24 July 0757hrs
Maitark Hotel Room1006
Day 7 of "Disconnected from the world"
Weight - 66.0kg
Light breakfasts and dinners over these 2 days have resulted in some reduction of weight. Guess I should continue to only have light dinners, though next week may not be in my total control.
-----
Journal log: 26 July 0952hrs
Flight CZ317 - Beijing to Seoul
Left Dushanzi yesterday, and was finally "connected" in Beijing, at the pretty good Crowne Plaza Hotel near the airport.117 emails for the 8 days of disconnection, with a myriad of issues to handle, some within the next 3 days. Oh dear... Hope I can get through these without too much pain.
-----
Flight CA1901
Left Beijing this morning and took a little notice on how huge the airport is. It is pretty amazing from the vantage point I had.
Anyway, last night's news splashed on the bomb attacks at the Marriott and the Ritz-Carlton hotels almost simultaneously. It felt so surreal,especially since Iam heading for Urumqi en route to Dushanzi. What safety precautions can l fall back on, if something wereto happen? Not my most comforting moment right now.
Well, at least l'm entertaining myselt with my new Kohjinsha UMPC. Nice...
-----
Journal log: 18 July 2120hrs
Maitark Hotel 1006
Day 1 of "Disconnected from the world"
The trip to Dushanzi was uneventful, and on reaching the hotel, it became clear to me soon that there will be very few ways to be connected to the outside world. There is no internet, no connection on my mobile phones, even the local phones will not be able to make international calls. My only connection will be via my Beijing colleague, the Chinese agent and another Singapore colleague who has a China-registered number, by calling any one of them.
Let's see how my sanity holds with so much difficulties to be connected.
-----
Journal log: 19 July 0810hrs
Maitark Hotel Room 1006
Day 2 of "Disconnected from the world"
Weight - 66.4kg
7 hrs of sleep! Without much to do, and not wanting to work at those outstanding but non-urgent issues, without any TV shows that is worth watching, I slept more than I did for months. And I am looking forward to sleeping more tonight.
While strolling the streets last night, I noticed that the indoor lightings are always quite dim... dim compared to the lightings used in Singapore. Perhaps I am too used to the clarity with bright lights back home. And with regards to street design, the roads at Dushanzi are flanked by trees. It looks nice, but I must comment that the design was not well done. The branches of the trees were too low, and these trees are planted over pavements ... pavements that are now inaccessible by people taller than 1m. Duh...
-----
Journal log: 19 July 2205hrs
Maitark Hotel Room 1006
Day 2 of "Disconnected from the world"
It is really wierd, not having phone connections while mobile. There is no need to take my phones out, and that feels really strange... Will I get used to this?
I jogged around part of the town, and took some nice photos of the nearby mountains. It is not every day that I get to stay in a town near a snow-capped mountain, with some broad expense of green plains. The Dushanzi town consists of very new buildings, nice new estates, older style estates, as well as slums. The contrast of this small city/town is amazing.
-----
Journal log: 20 July 0715hrs
Maitark Hotel Room1006
Day 3 of "Disconnected from the world"
Weight - 66.9kg
Going back into the plant in the morning. Hope the progress will accelerate, but I understand that in this line, it is more likely for delays to occur. I wonder how I can handle this upset in the original plans.
-----
Journal log: 20 July 2150hrs
Maitark Hotel Room1006
Day 3 of "Disconnected from the world"
Probably getting fatter due to the heavy lunches and dinners. This is despite the morning 5BX that I have started to do. Perhaps I will remain fit after this trip? Well, I plan to skip dinner tomorrow in favour for a jog... think this is going to happen?
-----
Journal log: 21 July 0752hrs
Maitark Hotel Room1006
Day 4 of "Disconnected from the world"
Weight - 67.3kg
Another day here... hope things smoothen out at work. But I also look forward to having a day off to go touring. Hmm...
-----
Journal log: 22 July 0800hrs
Maitark Hotel Room1006
Day 5 of "Disconnected from the world"
Weight - 67.0kg
Not so much as disconnected from the world now. I could receive phone calls on the blackberry and the contact engineer also got me a local number for my use. But internet connection is still not there and I still cannot make international calls. Hope the government will decide to resume connectivity.
There is a solar eclipse taking place right now. Wonder if I will see it on the way to work later?
-----
Journal log: 22 July 2147hrs
Maitark Hotel Room1006
Day 5 of "Disconnected from the world"
Just came back from a swim at the next door public pool. Nice, though there is way too many people. But swimming does provide some much needed exercise. Dinner is going to be a Dove chocolate bar, yoghurt and oats cereals. Hmm...
-----
Journal log: 23 July 0757hrs
Maitark Hotel Room1006
Day 6 of "Disconnected from the world"
Weight - 66.4kg
Work is to begin today. Let's hope things go smoothly!
-----
Journal log: 23 July 2216hrs
Maitark Hotel Room1006
Day 6 of "Disconnected from the world"
Loading started, but with all the problems that I had previously envisioned. and we hanged around waiting for things to happen such that I only returned to the room around 9+. And my colleagues tried super hard to reach me with this one-way comms situation... so grateful... well, let's hope for a more smooth day tomorrow.
-----
Journal log: 24 July 0757hrs
Maitark Hotel Room1006
Day 7 of "Disconnected from the world"
Weight - 66.0kg
Light breakfasts and dinners over these 2 days have resulted in some reduction of weight. Guess I should continue to only have light dinners, though next week may not be in my total control.
-----
Journal log: 26 July 0952hrs
Flight CZ317 - Beijing to Seoul
Left Dushanzi yesterday, and was finally "connected" in Beijing, at the pretty good Crowne Plaza Hotel near the airport.117 emails for the 8 days of disconnection, with a myriad of issues to handle, some within the next 3 days. Oh dear... Hope I can get through these without too much pain.
-----
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Taiwan - part 1
Done with part 1 of the work in Taiwan, and shall be having a more (read: too) exciting week ahead, with meetings in China and Korea.
Went to Taichung yesterday, to get some stuff, and took a few photos in the wet evening...
And now for a "Guess what is this photo all about?" game... What, do you think, is the focus of this photo and where was it is taken? (Clue: this was not taken in Taiwan)
The person with the closest/most creative answer will get a box of wheat tea (if I remember to get a pack in Korea). ..... really wonder if anyone reads this, and bothers to guess .. ???
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Travel thoughts (from June 12)
Thoughts - June 12 early morning
After more than 24hrs away from Singapore, I have yet to reach my destination. The heavy rains in southern china had effectively delayed my flights for a whole night, and I had gone with the flow, to stay in the hotel assigned by the airline. The hotel staff had the audacity to suggest that the passengers share rooms! A few of us did not agree, and so they agreed to let us have individual rooms but asked that we may have to share if most passengers were stranded. Most unacceptable, but I was not in the mood to argue. The thing that really bothers me is that the internet does not work. Unbelievable. In hindsight, I should have just stayed in the more expensive Novotel.
Thoughts - June 12 late morning
The Best Day - Taylor Swift
Got her Fearless album, and was told that 'The Best Day' is a great song. While I was listening to it a couple of times in the car, I must admit that it did not feel like a very special song. Whilst stuck at the Xiamen airport yesterday, I took the time to listening to the lyrics carefully... And realized why my friend had recommended the song. In fact, the whole album was a great waiting companion. Now, hopefully the trip this morning to Maoming will be more smooth.
The trip and meeting in Maoming went pretty well, and the 4-week work trip continues...
After more than 24hrs away from Singapore, I have yet to reach my destination. The heavy rains in southern china had effectively delayed my flights for a whole night, and I had gone with the flow, to stay in the hotel assigned by the airline. The hotel staff had the audacity to suggest that the passengers share rooms! A few of us did not agree, and so they agreed to let us have individual rooms but asked that we may have to share if most passengers were stranded. Most unacceptable, but I was not in the mood to argue. The thing that really bothers me is that the internet does not work. Unbelievable. In hindsight, I should have just stayed in the more expensive Novotel.
Thoughts - June 12 late morning
The Best Day - Taylor Swift
Got her Fearless album, and was told that 'The Best Day' is a great song. While I was listening to it a couple of times in the car, I must admit that it did not feel like a very special song. Whilst stuck at the Xiamen airport yesterday, I took the time to listening to the lyrics carefully... And realized why my friend had recommended the song. In fact, the whole album was a great waiting companion. Now, hopefully the trip this morning to Maoming will be more smooth.
The trip and meeting in Maoming went pretty well, and the 4-week work trip continues...
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Korean food; Sense of wonder
Just came back from a short but fruitful Korea trip, and was shutter-happy during dinners...
Of all the things above, guess what I did not eat...
And i have finally found the song that was partially stuck in my head... (partially cos I forgot the name of the song until today)...
It begins with "I hope you never lose your sense of wonder", and that is how i feel about travelling. Sometimes, I do get 'lost' while travelling and lose the spirit of curiousity and wonder. But when I open my eyes, a lot of things become more visible... the towering skyscrapers in Tokyo, the wooded hills in Seosan/Daesan, the snow in Daqing, the Japanese-style restaurants in Kaohsiung... More travels for work will continue from now onwards. More photos to be taken.
Of all the things above, guess what I did not eat...
And i have finally found the song that was partially stuck in my head... (partially cos I forgot the name of the song until today)...
It begins with "I hope you never lose your sense of wonder", and that is how i feel about travelling. Sometimes, I do get 'lost' while travelling and lose the spirit of curiousity and wonder. But when I open my eyes, a lot of things become more visible... the towering skyscrapers in Tokyo, the wooded hills in Seosan/Daesan, the snow in Daqing, the Japanese-style restaurants in Kaohsiung... More travels for work will continue from now onwards. More photos to be taken.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
rainbow connection
this song was going on and on in my head recently, and just heard it on the radio moments ago... prompting me to do an online search...
here are two versions...
here are two versions...
Monday, May 11, 2009
Tiramisu ... a new recipe, a new attempt
Made another attempt on making the "simple" tiramisu last friday, and managed not to destroy the whipping cream (by hand-beating... which was tiring). The resulting tiramisu sans-eggs was actually edible... wohoo....
This time round, I was more willing to serve the tiramisu to friends, and had mostly positive comments... :-) of course, if the cream could be lighter, it might be better?
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
time to say goodbye
it is like everything has an expiry date to it... it had to come down to this.
i had thought that i could make it last. changed parts of it to make sure that it can go on for a while more... i had taken very good care of it, being cautious as always. of course, there were times when i was careless, but isn't that inevitable?
i remember the good times of June 2006 when it began. it was how i got through the weeks in Taiwan, how i got through many of the things in life. and even though i did not get the support of most of the people around me, i stuck with it, enjoying the company.
but as mentioned, forever is unattainable... ... good bye, my N80...
i had thought that i could make it last. changed parts of it to make sure that it can go on for a while more... i had taken very good care of it, being cautious as always. of course, there were times when i was careless, but isn't that inevitable?
i remember the good times of June 2006 when it began. it was how i got through the weeks in Taiwan, how i got through many of the things in life. and even though i did not get the support of most of the people around me, i stuck with it, enjoying the company.
but as mentioned, forever is unattainable... ... good bye, my N80...
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
limitations in IT usage
i had a rude shock on returning to office early this week... MSN (web version), facebook and a pletora of other websites are effectively blocked in the company's network. sigh...
oh well, i guess i shall need to keep my personal leisure web activities to my leisure time at home... the company doesn't pay us to do our personal stuff on company resources, so this makes sense...
But should we keep all our work activities strictly to the office??? somethings don't work both ways.
oh well, i guess i shall need to keep my personal leisure web activities to my leisure time at home... the company doesn't pay us to do our personal stuff on company resources, so this makes sense...
But should we keep all our work activities strictly to the office??? somethings don't work both ways.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
nice video suggestion from 100.3
Was listening to the radio this morning, and the DJs were talking about this video in Youtube that was really cool... thought I should share it below.
and the real deal...
and the real deal...
Monday, March 30, 2009
a weekend in KL
(this is written partially while I was at the Starbucks in Pavilion, KL... on Sunday)
Am sitting here, alone, as the other guys let in their road trip back to Singapore. As the flight is still hours away, it was nice to just lounge in a cafe, read and write.
Last night, the gang went to this club near KLCC, which was fashioned like a house. The dance floor was like the size of a large living room, while the roof-balcony had a large chill out area + bar. For the first time in a long while, I had entered the dance floor, with a drink in my hand... and it was awkward. At that time, it was still very easy to glide through the room, to get around, and the 'platforms' were still unoccupied. After moving a little to the music, I felt really uncomfortable, and decided to take cover, but going upstairs. Got a seat and decided to vegetate for a bit.
The gang came up too, and then down to the dancefloor for some action, while I continued to seek refuge at the comfort of the seat. I eventually did go down, and was "danced" about by the packed dancing bodies. Remembered that I used to move more easily to music... perhaps my drinking capacity had improved too much. Or maybe I am so uptight that I could not let my hair down. But still, this gang of friends made it really fun to just hang out (and soak up) on the dancefloor. "Soak up" from the dripping bodies around us... *gasp*
Anyhow, it was a really fun holiday, and will certainly look forward to another holiday with these guys soon.
Am sitting here, alone, as the other guys let in their road trip back to Singapore. As the flight is still hours away, it was nice to just lounge in a cafe, read and write.
Last night, the gang went to this club near KLCC, which was fashioned like a house. The dance floor was like the size of a large living room, while the roof-balcony had a large chill out area + bar. For the first time in a long while, I had entered the dance floor, with a drink in my hand... and it was awkward. At that time, it was still very easy to glide through the room, to get around, and the 'platforms' were still unoccupied. After moving a little to the music, I felt really uncomfortable, and decided to take cover, but going upstairs. Got a seat and decided to vegetate for a bit.
The gang came up too, and then down to the dancefloor for some action, while I continued to seek refuge at the comfort of the seat. I eventually did go down, and was "danced" about by the packed dancing bodies. Remembered that I used to move more easily to music... perhaps my drinking capacity had improved too much. Or maybe I am so uptight that I could not let my hair down. But still, this gang of friends made it really fun to just hang out (and soak up) on the dancefloor. "Soak up" from the dripping bodies around us... *gasp*
Anyhow, it was a really fun holiday, and will certainly look forward to another holiday with these guys soon.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Snowfall @ Daqing; Scene from Tokyo
Saw my first heavy snowfall in the morning. Was quite a fantastic looking sight...
Of course, i was again underdressed for the cold. Oops. No thermals, no ear muffs. Super freezing...
And from an earlier visit to Tokyo, I had tried to hold a fresh perspective on the surroundings, and found that the city did look very vibrant and interesting, despite not having gone on a leisure walkabout... yet.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Would you spend 19 dollars for a less-than-perfect shirt?
Even though it is not so much as an habit, I do sometimes do a thorough inspection of the clothes that I am buying... When I do see some flaws, it would be very difficult to convince myself to get the item.
Now, how about if the item only costs 19 bucks? Even that would require some convincing in my books. This article of interest is this long-sleeve tee that I really liked when I saw it. Nice material, nice colour... but one of it had pen-stain, while the second piece had some dirt on the back. Why pick up an item that I may grow to dislike?
But what if it was 19 RMB?
Now, how about if the item only costs 19 bucks? Even that would require some convincing in my books. This article of interest is this long-sleeve tee that I really liked when I saw it. Nice material, nice colour... but one of it had pen-stain, while the second piece had some dirt on the back. Why pick up an item that I may grow to dislike?
But what if it was 19 RMB?
Monday, March 2, 2009
a little bit tired
just back from a different time zone, and while there is no real problem with jet lag (don't think I had actually gotten used to Houston's time), there is a major issue with energy level.
But the most striking thing was this conversation I had with Alf. While having dinner at the old airport road market, I remarked that Alf was having the same food as he had the last time "he was here", and his remark was that there had been quite a couple of times between both western food dinner that they had dinner there. It is like, the whole world is still moving, while I am lost in time from my messed up travelling lifestyle.
But the most striking thing was this conversation I had with Alf. While having dinner at the old airport road market, I remarked that Alf was having the same food as he had the last time "he was here", and his remark was that there had been quite a couple of times between both western food dinner that they had dinner there. It is like, the whole world is still moving, while I am lost in time from my messed up travelling lifestyle.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
SpeedPost? Does it really deliver?
Chronological sequence of preceding events:
Feb 7 (Sat)
Article could not be delivered, cos no one was home. A delivery notice was left, to which I responded online to request for a redelivery on Feb 9 (Mon) morning.
Feb 9 (Mon)
Article not delivered. No attempt made to inform me about the lack of intention to deliver.
Feb 11 (Wed)
Made a call to check up on the delivery status. Was told that they had missed the delivery request, and could re-do the delivery, not on Thursday (too busy) but on Friday. Arranged to deliver on Feb 13 (Fri) morning. Was also told that the article was in their Paya Lebar branch.
Feb 13 (Fri)
Article not delivered. No attempt made to inform me about the lack of intention to deliver.
Now sequence of emails - parts in red are highlighted for information with my comments in (blue):
Monday, February 16, 2009 9:20 PM
From: Me; To: SingPost Pickup (SingPost)
Subject: Article SF### - failure to deliver
To whom this may concern,
The above-mentioned article was not successfully delivered on 7 Feb (no one was home at the time of delivery), and while there was 1 online request to re-deliver on 9 Feb, and 1 phone request to re-deliver on 13 Feb, both requests were not met, and there was no information from Speedpost that these delivery would not be followed through.
Could you please let me know if it is possible to get this article? Or perhaps you can request for the original sender to contact me directly?
Regards, Charles
Tuesday, February 17, 2009 11:18 AM
From: SingPost - Courier Priority (SingPost) To: Me
Subject: RE: Article SF### - failure to deliver
Dear Mr Charles,
Thank you for your email.
Regards to your item, record shows it has been returned to sender on 9/2/09 therefore I am unable to arrange for any redelivery or redirection to any post office. (fine... so I must contact the sender myself... thanks for the non-solution and lack of explanation what-so-ever)
Item is a 2009 Management Diary & Calender from Singapore Airlines (SIA). I sincerely apologise for any inconvenience it has caused you.
Yours Sincerely, XXXXX
Tuesday, February 17, 2009 4:32 PM
From: Me To: SingPost Pickup (SingPost)
Subject: RE: Article SF### - failure to deliver
XXXXX,
Thank you for your response.
It is very strange that even though it is stated that articles will only be returned to the sender after 3 days of non-collection (which should mean Feb 10, since the original delivery was Feb 7, if we think Sunday is included), the article was returned to the sender on Feb 9.
Moreover, the online redelivery request was made to be done on Feb 9 morning. On calling the service line on Feb 10 (or 11), the customer service personnel informed me that the article is in Paya Lebar, and agreed for the delivery on Feb 13 morning.
Could someone provide a better explanation for the situation? I am not concerned about the article in question, but about the amount of time my family had wasted in waiting for the delivery attempts.
Regards,
Charles
Thursday, February 19, 2009 3:33 PM
From: SingPost - Courier Priority (SingPost) To: Me
Subject: RE: Article SF### - failure to deliver
Dear Mr Charles,
Thank you for taking time to communicate to us why our service did not meet your expectations.
First of all, let me apologise for the inconvenience of the non-delivery of your item. It has been noted in the system that you have requested for a redelivery of the item on 9/2/09 & 13/2/09. However, due to the surge in our volume during the peak season, we needed more time to retrieve the article in order to proceed with your requests. (Good reason. I'm sure the delivery service's job is NOT to deliver and NOT to follow through.)
In addition, we will further evaluate how we can prevent this problem from occurring again in the future.
Mr Charles, while we realized that your experience with Singpost could have been more pleasant, we thank you for giving us another opportunity to provide you with better service.
Moving forward, another check has been made with the relevant department. We have managed to retrieve the item & arrangement has been made to redeliver the item on Friday 20/2/09 between 2pm to 6pm. Please let me know should you need to make any changes to the appointment. (So somehow, you have managed to retrieve the article, which was actually in your care, or did you contact the sender to get the article to resend? Perhaps the previous response was just done without checking, and now you've FOUND IT!!! Amazing. And you arrange the delivery on the next day, expecting people to be waiting for your delivery all the time? Nice move.)
Please accept our sincerest apology for any inconvenience we have caused you. Again we highly appreciate your feedback and suggestion as it will assist us in becoming better at what we do. It's our goal to retain you as a satisfied customer and will hope to serve you again in the future.
Yours Sincerely,
XXXXX
Friday, February 20, 2009 11:46 PM
From: Me To: SingPost Pickup (SingPost)
Subject: RE: Article SF### - failure to deliver
Dear XXXXX,
I am glad that the item had been retrieved from the sender again to be delivered. I am away for these few weeks, and hope my family had been at home at the time of today's delivery.
Thank you for taking time to reply to my feedback, and hope that the company will be able to handle volume surges during future peak seasons.
Regards,
Charles
-----------------------
Just for fun, I googled "SingPost", "SpeedPost" and "complaints" and came up with only 105 results. Below are the links to a few...
http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/singpost-speed-post-service-c25563.html
http://comment.straitstimes.com/showthread.php?t=16651
http://www.sgclub.com/singapore/lousy_service_speedpost_68084.html
Feb 7 (Sat)
Article could not be delivered, cos no one was home. A delivery notice was left, to which I responded online to request for a redelivery on Feb 9 (Mon) morning.
Feb 9 (Mon)
Article not delivered. No attempt made to inform me about the lack of intention to deliver.
Feb 11 (Wed)
Made a call to check up on the delivery status. Was told that they had missed the delivery request, and could re-do the delivery, not on Thursday (too busy) but on Friday. Arranged to deliver on Feb 13 (Fri) morning. Was also told that the article was in their Paya Lebar branch.
Feb 13 (Fri)
Article not delivered. No attempt made to inform me about the lack of intention to deliver.
Now sequence of emails - parts in red are highlighted for information with my comments in (blue):
Monday, February 16, 2009 9:20 PM
From: Me; To: SingPost Pickup (SingPost)
Subject: Article SF### - failure to deliver
To whom this may concern,
The above-mentioned article was not successfully delivered on 7 Feb (no one was home at the time of delivery), and while there was 1 online request to re-deliver on 9 Feb, and 1 phone request to re-deliver on 13 Feb, both requests were not met, and there was no information from Speedpost that these delivery would not be followed through.
Could you please let me know if it is possible to get this article? Or perhaps you can request for the original sender to contact me directly?
Regards, Charles
Tuesday, February 17, 2009 11:18 AM
From: SingPost - Courier Priority (SingPost) To: Me
Subject: RE: Article SF### - failure to deliver
Dear Mr Charles,
Thank you for your email.
Regards to your item, record shows it has been returned to sender on 9/2/09 therefore I am unable to arrange for any redelivery or redirection to any post office. (fine... so I must contact the sender myself... thanks for the non-solution and lack of explanation what-so-ever)
Item is a 2009 Management Diary & Calender from Singapore Airlines (SIA). I sincerely apologise for any inconvenience it has caused you.
Yours Sincerely, XXXXX
Tuesday, February 17, 2009 4:32 PM
From: Me To: SingPost Pickup (SingPost)
Subject: RE: Article SF### - failure to deliver
XXXXX,
Thank you for your response.
It is very strange that even though it is stated that articles will only be returned to the sender after 3 days of non-collection (which should mean Feb 10, since the original delivery was Feb 7, if we think Sunday is included), the article was returned to the sender on Feb 9.
Moreover, the online redelivery request was made to be done on Feb 9 morning. On calling the service line on Feb 10 (or 11), the customer service personnel informed me that the article is in Paya Lebar, and agreed for the delivery on Feb 13 morning.
Could someone provide a better explanation for the situation? I am not concerned about the article in question, but about the amount of time my family had wasted in waiting for the delivery attempts.
Regards,
Charles
Thursday, February 19, 2009 3:33 PM
From: SingPost - Courier Priority (SingPost) To: Me
Subject: RE: Article SF### - failure to deliver
Dear Mr Charles,
Thank you for taking time to communicate to us why our service did not meet your expectations.
First of all, let me apologise for the inconvenience of the non-delivery of your item. It has been noted in the system that you have requested for a redelivery of the item on 9/2/09 & 13/2/09. However, due to the surge in our volume during the peak season, we needed more time to retrieve the article in order to proceed with your requests. (Good reason. I'm sure the delivery service's job is NOT to deliver and NOT to follow through.)
In addition, we will further evaluate how we can prevent this problem from occurring again in the future.
Mr Charles, while we realized that your experience with Singpost could have been more pleasant, we thank you for giving us another opportunity to provide you with better service.
Moving forward, another check has been made with the relevant department. We have managed to retrieve the item & arrangement has been made to redeliver the item on Friday 20/2/09 between 2pm to 6pm. Please let me know should you need to make any changes to the appointment. (So somehow, you have managed to retrieve the article, which was actually in your care, or did you contact the sender to get the article to resend? Perhaps the previous response was just done without checking, and now you've FOUND IT!!! Amazing. And you arrange the delivery on the next day, expecting people to be waiting for your delivery all the time? Nice move.)
Please accept our sincerest apology for any inconvenience we have caused you. Again we highly appreciate your feedback and suggestion as it will assist us in becoming better at what we do. It's our goal to retain you as a satisfied customer and will hope to serve you again in the future.
Yours Sincerely,
XXXXX
Friday, February 20, 2009 11:46 PM
From: Me To: SingPost Pickup (SingPost)
Subject: RE: Article SF### - failure to deliver
Dear XXXXX,
I am glad that the item had been retrieved from the sender again to be delivered. I am away for these few weeks, and hope my family had been at home at the time of today's delivery.
Thank you for taking time to reply to my feedback, and hope that the company will be able to handle volume surges during future peak seasons.
Regards,
Charles
-----------------------
Just for fun, I googled "SingPost", "SpeedPost" and "complaints" and came up with only 105 results. Below are the links to a few...
http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/singpost-speed-post-service-c25563.html
http://comment.straitstimes.com/showthread.php?t=16651
http://www.sgclub.com/singapore/lousy_service_speedpost_68084.html
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
a new view in Tokyo
This should be the sixth time that I am in Tokyo, and may be the first time when I looked at the streets during a car ride, and enjoyed the city view. At this hotel (changed from the previous one near Tokyo Station), the view was also better... or is it because I am in the hotel before dark?
This is a work trip nonetheless, and despite my preference to update this blog than to do work, ... work doesn't get done by itself. Sigh... Shall have to plan a personal holiday to Japan in future, and really enjoy the sites, tastes and sounds.
This is a work trip nonetheless, and despite my preference to update this blog than to do work, ... work doesn't get done by itself. Sigh... Shall have to plan a personal holiday to Japan in future, and really enjoy the sites, tastes and sounds.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
the Flyer
Honestly, i did not think i would be interested in a ride up on the Singapore Flyer, and when the incident of the wheel stoppage occurred, one of the thoughts that went through my mind was "what if I never get to board this touristy vessel before it ceased to operate?" ... of course the other thought was about how tough it was to stay without a toilet break for 6 hours...
When my pals suggested to take a ride yesterday - and it was an instant "OK" from me. The day ride gave us a better view, and we might have been a very rowdy bunch... much to the horror of the 3 couples who boarded the same cabin. But hey, it was fun for us...
When my pals suggested to take a ride yesterday - and it was an instant "OK" from me. The day ride gave us a better view, and we might have been a very rowdy bunch... much to the horror of the 3 couples who boarded the same cabin. But hey, it was fun for us...
Felt like a tourist in Singapore, which was quite a nice feeling, I must say.
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