Was watching Women on Top hosted by Quan Yifeng, one guy interviewed gave this interesting theory about how Singaporean guys are still 'hot' even when they get older...
His Pasar Malam theory about S'porean guys:
Some Singaporean guys are like the bags in pasar malam, going at 3 for $10. Singaporean women won't give two hoots about them because they are not designer goods. However, these bags have something important about them-- they are made in Singapore. When we take these 'bags' and put them on sale in other markets such as China and Vietnam, their prices skyrocket. Why? Because there are 4 things inside the bag...
1) CPF
2) PR/ Citizenship or citizen rights
3) HDB Flat
4) Baby Bonus
Hence, these 'bags' are in popular demand abroad.
Thursday, October 02, 2008
Friday, August 22, 2008
Quote from Warren Buffett
Inspiring Quote from Warren Edward Buffett:
You only have to do a very few things right in your life so long as you don't do too many things wrong.
You only have to do a very few things right in your life so long as you don't do too many things wrong.
Monday, August 11, 2008
小和尚与老和尚
Got this from Jacky Wu...
有一天，小和尚与老和尚一同出差，路经一条河。这时，有位貌美的姑娘要过河，又不想弄湿脚，就请老和尚背她过河。老和尚一言不发，背她过河。小和尚看了，百思不得其解。
过了几天，小和尚终于按捺不住，开口问老和尚：“师傅，几天前那位姑娘。。。”
老和尚看了看小和尚，说到：“我早已将那姑娘放下，你怎么还将她放在心中？”
启发：放下，释然。
有一天，小和尚与老和尚一同出差，路经一条河。这时，有位貌美的姑娘要过河，又不想弄湿脚，就请老和尚背她过河。老和尚一言不发，背她过河。小和尚看了，百思不得其解。
过了几天，小和尚终于按捺不住，开口问老和尚：“师傅，几天前那位姑娘。。。”
老和尚看了看小和尚，说到：“我早已将那姑娘放下，你怎么还将她放在心中？”
启发：放下，释然。
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
记忆
一个人一个世界。X亿个人X亿个世界。
1天24小时。1小时60分钟。1分钟60秒。
1年365天。24个年头
12，614，400分钟
756，864，000秒。
缓缓人生路，一步 一 脚 印。
每分每秒都可能欣喜若狂，或痛彻心扉。喜悲至极就在
那一分、那一秒、那一刻。
欲归不能。欲舍不可。
不论悲喜终归为该世界添上一笔，使其缤纷。
而此世界仅存于你；专属你独一无二的世界。纵使拥有金山银山也无法修饰，或重新打造。却又是他人要盗也盗不走的。
世界上最珍贵的东西——记忆
何谓人生？
无非一连串记忆绘制的动画片。
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Quote from DHTKWG
Me: People change after they have girlfriends.
DG: No~ I'm still perfectly abnormal.
=P
DG: No~ I'm still perfectly abnormal.
=P
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
Count your blessings
I was watching the news last night and the Indonesian authority predicted that there might be floods in Jakarta in the coming weeks. This reminded me of an incident which occurred when i was in Jakarta a few years ago. I was on the bus when we passed by a huge water body on my right. I commented to my friend that it was a beautiful lake. Immediately after commenting, a thought struck my mind. It may not be a lake after all! Having read about some parts of Jakarta being flooded earlier that day in the newspaper, i considered the possibility that it could be a low-lying area that was simply flooded! It was a daunting thought. Think about all those people who turned homeless due to the flood. That's why we should count our blessing that we are living in Singapore. Floods are a thing of the past for our government has an efficient drainage system in place. At least not those floods that go to two or three storeys high.
Sunday, June 01, 2008
Maid? Made?
Someone related an incident which set me thinking about a relatively current issue in Singapore -- the presence of maids in our society. (To be politically correct, lest someone accuses me of being racist) Ermz... i mean domestic helpers. Let me provide some background before i give my five-cent worth.
This particular domestic helper is from Indonesia and has been working at my friend's house for 5 1/2 years. Since i visit my friend quite often, she (the domestic helper) is not just some stranger, but someone i know personally. I have never chatted with her, so i cannot claim to know her well. However, she has always been polite and hardworking and always offered me food and water whenever i visit my friend. Hence it came as a surprise to me when my friend mentioned to me that she had been caught stealing money and had been sent back to Indonesia. I mean stealing was the last thing on my mind and it was something that i never thought she would do.
Now, in case you are wondering whether the domestic helper had been mistreated, the answer is a firm no. I understand that the employer has always regarded her as part of his family and never mistreated her either physically or mentally. Proper rest days were given and salary paid on time. The family had been satisfied with the domestic helper's performance and never thought of finding a replacement. The dramatic twist took place a few months back. The employer had a practice of leaving his wallet on the study table. Since there is no outsider staying in his house, other than the domestic helper whom he treated as a family member too, i guess he probably felt safe to do so. I'm not sure about the exact date but starting from a few months ago, the employer realized that some cash had been consistently missing from his wallet. And it was usually $50 notes. This went on for a while and the employer decided that this cannot go on, so he decided to install a pin-hole camera in his room. And indeed, the next day, footage captured revealed that the domestic helper was the culprit.
Probably out of goodwill and her consistent good performance, the employer did not immediately accuse the domestic helper of theft, but asked her if her family in Indonesia was facing any type of financial difficulties and whether she was having any personal problem. The answer was negative. She acted as if nothing had happened. The employer had no choice but to refer her to the agency and confronted her in front of her agent with the footage and charges. She was given a chance to explain herself but failed to provide any satisfactory explanation. In fact, when they wanted her to cough out the money she had stolen so far, which had amounted to thousands of dollars then, she even pretended to faint. Well in the end, it was no happy ending -- she was returned the money and was sent back to Indonesia. Surprisingly, when she was taking back to the house to pack her stuff, the employer found that she had in her possession a MP3, a handphone and some accessories -- things that revealed her spendthrift nature.
The family was taken aback by the whole incident, so was I. How could a thrifty and diligent domestic helper have undergone such a massive transformation in such a short time? It was a thought-provoking incident which i could not make sense of. I went on to inquire whether there was any mistreatment or grudge of any sort, but no. If there had been any indication or signs that she was unhappy, but no either. If she had appeared unusual, out-of-sort or showed any sign of guilt, but the answer was still negative. However, there was one point raised which could possibly shed light on the incident. My friend commented that she had been hanging out with a group of Indonesian friends in her free time. It was possible that she had been influenced by them or even coaxed into stealing by them. Indeed, for a person who is far away from home, she has no home support to fall back on and is more easily influenced. I guess environment plays a big role in affecting a person's personality. Perhaps her friends had not been good company at all and being her only friends in Singapore, peer pressure and her friends' negative influence could have changed her from a simple person to what she is now.
Just an incident to demonstrate that people DO change and it is easy to succumb to pressure. One's environment determines one's behaviour. Choose who to hang around with wisely!
This particular domestic helper is from Indonesia and has been working at my friend's house for 5 1/2 years. Since i visit my friend quite often, she (the domestic helper) is not just some stranger, but someone i know personally. I have never chatted with her, so i cannot claim to know her well. However, she has always been polite and hardworking and always offered me food and water whenever i visit my friend. Hence it came as a surprise to me when my friend mentioned to me that she had been caught stealing money and had been sent back to Indonesia. I mean stealing was the last thing on my mind and it was something that i never thought she would do.
Now, in case you are wondering whether the domestic helper had been mistreated, the answer is a firm no. I understand that the employer has always regarded her as part of his family and never mistreated her either physically or mentally. Proper rest days were given and salary paid on time. The family had been satisfied with the domestic helper's performance and never thought of finding a replacement. The dramatic twist took place a few months back. The employer had a practice of leaving his wallet on the study table. Since there is no outsider staying in his house, other than the domestic helper whom he treated as a family member too, i guess he probably felt safe to do so. I'm not sure about the exact date but starting from a few months ago, the employer realized that some cash had been consistently missing from his wallet. And it was usually $50 notes. This went on for a while and the employer decided that this cannot go on, so he decided to install a pin-hole camera in his room. And indeed, the next day, footage captured revealed that the domestic helper was the culprit.
Probably out of goodwill and her consistent good performance, the employer did not immediately accuse the domestic helper of theft, but asked her if her family in Indonesia was facing any type of financial difficulties and whether she was having any personal problem. The answer was negative. She acted as if nothing had happened. The employer had no choice but to refer her to the agency and confronted her in front of her agent with the footage and charges. She was given a chance to explain herself but failed to provide any satisfactory explanation. In fact, when they wanted her to cough out the money she had stolen so far, which had amounted to thousands of dollars then, she even pretended to faint. Well in the end, it was no happy ending -- she was returned the money and was sent back to Indonesia. Surprisingly, when she was taking back to the house to pack her stuff, the employer found that she had in her possession a MP3, a handphone and some accessories -- things that revealed her spendthrift nature.
The family was taken aback by the whole incident, so was I. How could a thrifty and diligent domestic helper have undergone such a massive transformation in such a short time? It was a thought-provoking incident which i could not make sense of. I went on to inquire whether there was any mistreatment or grudge of any sort, but no. If there had been any indication or signs that she was unhappy, but no either. If she had appeared unusual, out-of-sort or showed any sign of guilt, but the answer was still negative. However, there was one point raised which could possibly shed light on the incident. My friend commented that she had been hanging out with a group of Indonesian friends in her free time. It was possible that she had been influenced by them or even coaxed into stealing by them. Indeed, for a person who is far away from home, she has no home support to fall back on and is more easily influenced. I guess environment plays a big role in affecting a person's personality. Perhaps her friends had not been good company at all and being her only friends in Singapore, peer pressure and her friends' negative influence could have changed her from a simple person to what she is now.
Just an incident to demonstrate that people DO change and it is easy to succumb to pressure. One's environment determines one's behaviour. Choose who to hang around with wisely!
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