Singapore! (:

Here’s a little update on what I’ve been up to. As most of you know, I work on most weekends. (So stop whining if you think your job is bad enough! P) Anyway, the recent weekend I had the opportunity to finally take a break. Instead of hibernating at home, I’ve decided to pack my bags and take a short adventurous trip down to Singapore. (It was partially planned actually). I was supposed to go down for an interview but due to unforeseen circumstances I have to let it pass. :( However, that didn’t stop me from being excited about the trip.

The trip started off after work on Friday. 3 hours to kill in Pudu, (I don’t know what I would do without Mc.D!) 5 hours spent in the bus, reaching the immigration at some ungodly hour, 3.30am (For the first time, I' felt like a “pendatang asing”) and we finally reached Singapore at 4.00am!

Day 1.

Of Orchard Road, Bugis and Malls!

Agenda:

SHOP

SHOP

and

SHOP!

We really had a great time doing nothing except buying stuff and I thought I missed the sales! Gosh, everything seem so cheap! Topshop, Dorothy Perkins, MNG, CK… (I just wish I had MORE money but then again this is the time to put self-control into practice) : P I can’t deny that shopping is truly a good stress therapy and a costly one too. Talking about maximizing time, we, girls really did! We shopped from 10am to 12 am! ah, bliss. :D

The famous Bugis Street

Day 2.

Of sleep and food!

Singapore Chicken rice!

Japanese Ramen

Achieved during the weekend:

A working leather bag

A Topshop coat

A pair of shoe

Pretty bracelet from Diva

Pierre Cardin

Johnson & Johnson Lotion

and I managed to finish a book!

I really had an awesome time and I know I couldn’t make it without the two babes.Thank you for making the trip possible.

San, thank you for making this tiring trip awesome and of course for walking 14 hours non-stop with me!

Eve- (the Malaysian turned Singaporean babe), thank you for being my tour guide and for the wonderful hospitality.

No doubt, I fell in love with Singapore!

Feels like falling

Feels like Falling - Mei Chern

I fall asleep at night
Thinking you'd be there tomorrow
and I'll kiss you like I kissed you for the first time
When I wake I'll find you
Waiting by my driveway smiling
And singing songs that'll make me cry
Now so tell me tell me
Do you mean what you say
Cos I'm tired tired of the games we play
Baby baby do you know if this means goodbye

Here we go again
And it feels like falling
And I'm wondering where I stand
Before you go again
I'm gonna say it loud
I don't need you now

I don't need you now.

And with your life as such
Sometimes you don't even know
How a snow can make me smile so much
And then you turn around and say
That it will be okay
But your empty words
Are nothing to me nothing to me now
So tell me tell me
Do you mean what you say
Cos I'm tired tired of playing the games we play
Don't leave me now
Cos I just cant say goodbye

Here we go again
And it feels like falling
And I'm wondering where I stand
Before you go again
I'm gonna say it loud
I don't need you now
Here we go again and it feels like falling
And I'm wondering where i stand
Before you go again
I'm gonna say it loud
I don't need you now

I don't need you now.

I fall asleep at night
Thinking you'd be there tomorrow
And I'll love you like I loved you before.

I've been listening to this song over and over again. A song that I could relate to from the start. you, I don't need you now.

This is such a beautiful song written by Mei Chern, our very own local talent. I must say I'm proud of her.

http://www.myspace.com/meichern

We like spud!

If you're not a spud lover you'll become one after reading this post. I never really bother much about food as I'm basically not a food lover even though I'm constantly surrounded by people who are food freaks!. Anyway, I just read something pretty interesting from "The Economist" and I would like to share it with you since I'm a spud lover.

It's about this world's fourth-most-important food crop which provides more calories, using less land, grows quickly in wider range of climates than the other plants.The wonder food after maize,wheat and rice. It is, of course, non other than the potato!

You might be thinking why potato? Let me tell you something that most of us are unaware of or we easily overlooked of its influence on world history. We often take potato for granted but do you know that this humble yet changing tuber is intertwined with economic development, trade liberalisation and globalisation? Besides tasting yummy, this meek food not only provide a cheap source of calories but its value lies in its high yield and almost perfect balance. Potatoes can produce more energy per unit area per day!

Let's backtrack to some history of potato. ( Alright, I could see you yawning but bear with me cause it gets more interesting). Back then, potato was thought to be an aphrodisiac ( to cause leprosy or to be poisonous and to be fit only for animals ) but it slowly caught on as it merits in times of war and famine and a wonder-food for the poor. However, modern effort of understanding the genetic of potatoes showed that the spud could lead to more disease-resistant varieties. (* Propitious Esculent: The potato in world history by John Reader)


Spuds are known in the form of French fries, served alongside with Coca-Cola and burgers in this YouTuber generation and its now an icon of globalisation. See? The turnaround scepticism when spud first greeted us back then.

Mashed, boiled,fried and roast, a tuber, unlikely as it seems changed the world. Therefore, never underestimate the food that you are about to take. So, each time you take in potato, remember its value. People, start eating potatoes today! (:

The event.

Pictures speak a thousand words.






The event finally ended. It ended with a bang! Well, at least the bosses are smiling. It was indeed a bittersweet experience. After much long hours of hard work, waking up at 4am, working 26 hours on weekends, 13 hours of walking with heels ( the price of vanity :P ), bombing cars with postcards, carrying lots and lots of magazines and it was all worth while to see the smile on people's face, knowing that we've done something right. A job that puts a smile on people's face, catering to their needs and helping them to make informed decisions. Well, this is what I do. This is my job.

What's your Market Value-Time Ratio?

Do you want MORE? More out of everything- More out of your life, your career and even your bank account? ( I'm sure most of you would be nodding your head, agreeing with the last one. I wouldn't mind having MORE in my bank account though ;P ) Ironically, the more you realise something significantly and subtly 'more' is required of those who are succeed notably in life!
" Time is Money"- the famous dictum and that's what most successful corporate person would tell/ brainwash you. However, this is an observation during the 18th century by Benjamin Franklin, one of the most influential American founding fathers.

The issue of time management just struck me as I've been EXTREMELY busy, fully occupied with overflowing workload and several questions posted in an article by Rajen Devadason on pragmatic time management had me thinking for a bit. Did I mismanaged my time? Somehow, if you learn how to manage your time better than everyone else around you, the chances are you'll be on your way to your personal advancement. Your superiors will recognise the exceptional catch that you are and increase your pay. On the other hand, competitors will hear through professional grapevine that you are something preeminent and make an attractive bid for your services. It's a win-win situation either way.

Have you ever thought what are you worth in the job market? The recent CNBC article by CNBC executive producer Alex Crippen, entitled Warren Buffett's performance/Pay Ratio Gets Even Bigger pointed out that the world's most famous investor was astoundingly underpaid as the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. Can you believe this? Berkshire has the highest share price amongst all listed companies around the world! A share of Berkshire is more than US$130,000. I repeat, one share = US$ 130,000! ( gosh, not even in RM ). If he's underpaid, I guess I'm under, under below underpaid? ( Let's just hope my bosses don't read this) :P

According to Rajen, if we are paid money for the work we do and if time is indeed equivalent to money, then it makes sense for us to focus on enhancing our personal productivity. He believes that each of us should ratchet up our personal market value to time expended ratio. The market value-time ratio signifies how effective we have been in accumulating to create value.

His article got me thinking about the effectiveness if each of us raises our personal value, market value-time ratio in our job to what we're paid. Anyway, the focus should also be on raising personal capacity to make improvement toward your financial goals. This could be done by steadily raising your ability to get more done in less time! Frankly, I'm personally struggling with that.

If you're with me, here are two steps according to Brian Tracy on achieving the end.

1. Start immediately on Priority number ONE.
Stop indulging in procrastinating low value activities. This also contributes to the way you behave when you begin work. Prioritize and start doing! ( My bosses never seize to remind us to prioritize and dive straight into things so we can help them make most money over the long haul )

2. Create set time periods
Reserving your highest energy time slot for the high value activities such as calling clients.


I'm going to try to elevate my market value-time ratio ( RM, per unit time ( usually per hour) ) to increase effectiveness, to set stage to manage my cash flows patterns and saving habits. So, what about you?




( Acknowledgment: "What's your Market Value Time-Ratio" by Rajen Devadason )

Girls & Football

Ballack [sexy!]

GOAL! Germany- a 3-2 victory over Portugal! Way to go, Ballack. The heat of EURO 2008 has gotten many excited, adrenalines pumping, dominating brains, heavy eye bags and sleepless nights.
Its the season for the funny old game. Makan, tidur dan minum bola! In conjunction of that, I've decided to write a post to spice up the season. :p

Football, world's most popular sport. Frankly, I don't know much about football but I'm definitely a fan of Manchester United! Man Utd -my all time champion. (No offense. Liverpool fans. boy, I'm getting myself into trouble ;P ) Yes, I know I'm not even talking about EURO but who cares, its still football, right? haha. I would prefer EPL anytime. Ah, not forgetting Ronaldo, my boy (:

Nonetheless, football is definitely an interesting game to watch!
Watching a football match is like risking yourself to a higher chance of getting a Myocardial infarction. Your heart beats so fast, probably 10 times faster than usual especially when your team gets a penalty kick.

Girls and football? Sounds like the ultimate interest of ALL guys. If not, MOST guys.
What's a football anyway? Is football all about scoring and stopping goals? What's an offside? Foul play? Does all these even make sense to you, girls? It doesn't.At least for me. :P The football formula for girls = hot stuff! (: [ Note: This does not apply to ALL girls so thou shall not generalize]
Well, having said that, have you ever wonder what girls think about football?
I'm sure you are dying to know huh? Thus, I did a little research on my own.

So, here are some "she says" :
What do you think about football?

Girl 1: Sexy players? Well, I don't give a damn about football!

Girl 2 : Hot sweaty guys? Check out those biceps and triceps! :P

Girl 3: * Blank stares* huh? Foot what?

Girl 4 : 11 stupid guys chasing a ball? or is it 10? oh, who cares!

Girl 5 : It's the best game on earth!

Girl 6 : I like footballers. They are so handsome.


This is rather interesting, I must admit.
Credit should be given to a friend whom I was chatting with a few days back. He puts that captivating thought in my head when he randomly asked me what girls think about football and that got me thinking for a bit.

Cristiano Ronaldo [hot stuff! (: ]

Lampard [double hotness!]

Even Homer loves football!

For all of you men out there who don't think women know football, think again. We may not know as much but we do appreciate football!

So, who wants to give me a football lesson? :)

Cover girls

What catches your eyes when you first pick up a magazine? The colour? The boldness of the word? The catchy taglines? and what usually stays in your mind after flipping through the magazine? You tell me.

Well, I guess 80% of us will remember the cover right? see. what makes one stands out is the girl on the cover(: . Trust me. Time has change for the publishing company. This theory also applies to the educational publishing sector as well. Through my observation, guys DON'T read educational magazines. No offense. We have to put some gorgeous girl who looks like an Asian Jessica Alba to attract them to read what's inside!

( Guys, I'm just stating the fact.You would agree with me, won't you?:P )






I'm excited about this new project that I was called to do. It's another opportunity of a lifetime! I will not reveal for now but I will share with you the experiences once it's all good to go. So, stay suspense people and welcome the new cover girl!