Expensive Taste

• I thought the £ 50 meal at Shepherds (in London) was an expensive one, that was followed by the Alaska crab that cost more than $200. All happened last year.

• Just Sunday, I had another 'expensive taste' - not the meal at "Carnivore" (that I thought was relatively affordable), but the can of drink that cost S$8! Well, well, no wonder the waiter so patiently explained the details to us... a kind of fruit that only grow in Brazil... they were pucked and sent to Japan to be processed before arriving in Singapore! OK, I guess the amount includes the air-fare!

Musical: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (+ Artventure)

In fact, when I bought the ticket, I have no slightest idea what the show is all about, except the car, which I believe is the selling point.

The theatre was filled with children... lots of them... yes, it has been publicised as a show suitable and well-liked by children. Oh yes, so much so to the extent I realise the father and 3 children group did not return after the break... most probably because of the young child who left halfway even before the intermission.

It was mentioned (somewhere in the brochure) that the scale of the props is comparable with those of the Phantom of the Opera. Yes, I'm familiar with what Phantom of the Opera offers... Hm... 2 things that I thought amazing in CCBB - the car and also the flying toilet!

After watching the entire show, still find the storyline vague.

• It started off with the lady (don't know from where) who's motor-vehicle broke down and met the pair of twins in the garage.
• Then don't know for what reasons, she looked for them and met their dad.
• She happened to be the sweet factory owner's daughter.
• The father of the twins, who happened to be the inventor, brought his newly invented flute-like sweet to market to the sweet factory owner.
• The lady successfully persuaded her dad to try, and later the latter accepted the product.... etc...
• Then there are these 2 guys who work for the state called "Vulgarian" (I think...)
• The head of the state heard about the car that floated and wanted a similar vehicle made.
• The granddad of the twins were mistaken to be the inventor and got 'kidnapped'.
• In this land, there lived the child-catcher...

On the whole, the storyline is not strong. Personally, I felt it was no where near the Les Miserable or the Phantom of the Opera... Hm... probably had not put on the "right hat" before entering the theatre?

Nevertheless, must acknowledge that the car is amazing! It can float, it can fly! The effect was good :D
Other than that, I don't see any good reasons to watch the show!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The exhibition between Esplanade and CityLink: Artventure

Where I stay

Happened to have the digital camera with me last evening... and it was still pretty 'early' - reached home before sunset... Hey, the golden rays shed on the more-than-10-year-old flat had given it a nostalgia look! The flats, minus the 'interferences' around look good, despite they are public housing. I was not the kind who like orange and red... found these colours a bit difficult to 'swallow'... but have slowly grow to like it, when it's blended with nature... ok, I think having stared at the orange table cloth and pencil case brought back from Bhutan has helped... also having been surrounded by men mostly wearing orange coloured ghos 'helped'!


Public housing in Singapore has gone a long way. Still remember studying moral education in primary school, when we learnt the first satellite town in Singapore is Toa Payoh... Wah! and after having to travel through Queensway area to MOE every morning, learnt that Queensway / Redhill area is one our earliest housing estates, too... Can't imagine, one block of flats lived so many families... Hm... similar to lots of pigeonholes there?

Compare and constrast, there're differences... There're improvements... There're lots more variety... oh yes, it'll come one day, we won't even be able to differentiate condos and flats!

!nnovat!ve !deas

It's a growingly common sight... hm... shall I say, a growingly popular strategy :D

• The first time to see such a card was at hotels - where we hang out there "Do not disturb".... People are in fact quickminded and started to look around where such can be hung, and tap on it as an advertising strategy, to reach out to more people... Moreover, it's made such that it's easy for interested commuters to bring a copy home!
• Ah ha! Another collector's item?
• Possible! Some are so nicely designed... in the first place, the paper quality is good!

Birds in the Cage

It's rare to see people bringing bird cages around... normally will only associate with the more elderly... as a form of recreation... so, it's pretty unusual to find youngsters to bring their pets around instead of hanging on to the playstation!

Reaction from...

The bus driver: Advised him to cover the cage with some cloth before bringing it up the public transport... I guess it's not the first time the pet goes on a trip (in an air-conditioned bus), it's also not the first time a bus driver gives such advice!

One lady passenger: She had with her a huge bag. She quickly sat down... but the moment she noticed the bird cage and the pair of birds... she picked up her bag and went to the back, rather to stand than to sit... Hm... what crossed her mind? I guess "Bird Flu"???

Another lady passenger: She sat down and look at the birds... no fear, just a normal feat...

Myself: ah ha... what a close encounter with birds! Of course, take a good look at it lah!

My Work Station

• Yes, this is my work station... on the left is my tablet while on the right is the PC. Well, most of the time, the tablet is switched on while the PC is put to sleep... why? speed is the key reason... then, it's also more convenient - when it comes to retrieving files from hard disk, local server, or even the recycle bin! Oh yes, recently, realised I've been visiting the trash quite frequently!
• What else surround me? Papers pinned on the fabricated partition... that supposedly remind me of info available...
• The very very heavy table lamp. That's seldom switched on... I think the last time was... (Oops! can't even recall!)
• Oh yes, notice in the first photo there are 2 orangy stuff? OK, the orange pencil case - a gift from my Bhutanese students. It's not only good to touch... yes, I like cotton materials basically, but always feel the warmth :D
• The orange 'table cloth' - also a gift from them... That will keep my tablet covered when it stays overnight at the office :D Yes, they keep me company and reminded me of them :D
• This is the 2nd bottle I have here... Lost the first one when brought to edutorium for a briefing last year... forgetful!!! The water bottle that's always filled in the morning :D
• See the diary? That records the "To-Do" lists for each day... the most satisfying thing to do is to put a tick against each item at the end of the day. Of course, I also record the notes of meetings/discussions there!

• Notice the photo beside the PC? It's one of the nicest ones I took in Barcelona. It's a Sunday morning where the street is filled with people... There! I spotted a street artist. The paintings were beautiful, but remember ganna chased away for just snapping pictures without buying!
• Another photo-frame lookalike thing beside the water bottle is the 2008 calendar by Discovery Centre... looks cute :D
• The National flag... Yes, red and white, a crescent with 5 stars - one that I'm proud of :D Got this during the National Day celebration this year.
• There are also souvenirs brought back by colleagues... like the one "必胜" from Timothy... Oh yes, hang on to the fighting spirit!
• What else are featured prominently on my desk? OK... Food! Food! Food! hahaha... chocolates, biscuits, and even pork floss and bak-gua!

坦白？风度？

有同事，因为对某事的效果不满意，发牢骚。而且，面容的表情十足，丝毫不会掩饰。。。这似乎，越来越普遍了。。。是人的忍耐力越来越浅，越来越弱了吗？还是，越来越要突出自己呢？


譬如：昨日，展览会里，就有同时指出某校的展览表现不佳。。。在四周人来人往的走廊上出口而出，说那校的展览品怎么怎么的无法表达ｍｐ２的“成果”，怎么怎么的糟糕，所以没人亲采。


心中突然愣了一下。天啊！效果不佳，是谁的“错”？还有，若是要评，也在没人的时候才说。所谓，隔墙有耳。。。若是把自己放在该校的立场，听到主办当局的工作人员毫无保留的批评自己，我会很不爽！既然我的展览是这么的“没水准”，那你还叫我参展，那是谁的“问题”？真的，此地无银三百俩！


另一方面，当发觉到事情不妥时，以其和别人一样，重重的一叫踩下去 （也就是雪下加霜），不如看看如何运用自己的能力，帮忙拉他一把。那就更有建设性了。


要记得，即使是主办当局，也没有必要这么大庭广众的批评人家。要嘛，大可在做AAR时提出来，作为前车之鉴。记得：保持风度。

Friendship

Recently, a series of this "Love and Friendship" articles in "Mind Your Body" caught my attention. These couple of weeks, the columnist wrote about friendship - Utility, Pleasure and Perfect Friendships.

Interesting! Isn't it. Each comes with varying degree of 'values'. By the name, Utility friendship is certainly the lowest level, however, it's also the most common - be it in the classroom or at work. Each and everyone is dependent on each other. There is no solo entity. Of course, from another perspective, it's a matter of complementing each other's strengths and weaknesses.

As of pleasure friendship, it can exist at its lowest level (equivalent to utility friendship) -in the instance when people happen to meet in a community of their interest and get to know each other there. They find the pleasure, the joy - each other's company because they support each other in some form of activity, and it's when they come to participate a common activity. So, this is led by the 3rd element. Of course, it can also exist as the next phase after utility friendship. After getting to know each other, they find something common that they enjoy. This is beyond the original reason that bring them together. It's an extension, I would see.

Perfect friendship is certainly more complicated, and I believe, it would have developed from utility and/or pleasure friendship. We may just pick up a phone and call our friend - just to say hello. Once in a while, will sms to remind each other's presence. It's something that one cares to do, for no other reason, but bothers and cares to maintain the connection with the others. Of course, a friend in need is also a friend indeed. A friend is also one who renders support and give a listening ear. When help is needed, time is not an issue. Beauty sleep is also not an issue. Because it's for our friend. That's friends!

German Terka

We spotted it the last time went to United Squares for the gathering... YL recalled she tried one while at Sydney... So, we thought, no harm trying.

Yes, it's the pig knuckle! What? Ok, it's the pig trotter - putting it across more plainly. What's so attractive? Not really, I think... except that it came across as a German dish. I remember LC mentioned about this the other time we met.

How it's cooked? It's roasted... with crispy skin (like roasted pig) while the meat like those steamed/boiled. One thing missing from this dish, chestnuts! OK... other than this, it's no different from any typical chinese dish... It's the first time I enjoyed the 'skin' that much... however, it's such a big serving... ok, enough for the time being...

Blog is for...

Blog 的用途。。。似乎，从写网上日记。。。记载周围的所见所闻。。。与别人分享喜怒哀乐。。。 到发表看法。。。到愤愤不平的发泄！！！实在是太广了！

昨天，看了一则短文，写 “E 族”。。。猜了一下，才“咕”到那是（应该是）指 "Elite" 一族吧！有趣的是，有好几个作者写的“特点”是我认同的。。。似乎看到自己的影子，或是在努力的要形成的影子。

1. “。。。他们平时已经有很堂皇的管理道。。。碰到自己排斥的事，更是不惜时间和篇幅，用尽一生所学的词汇， 引经据典，就是要把对手挤到墙角。”
2. “。。。E族真的很有墨水，看似幽默，其实是在讽刺。即使是辱骂，也能骂得人家没办法去向警方报案头诉或被骚扰。”

是的，要做到“神不知，鬼不觉”。。。是高招！就好像别人说，香港人，最厉害的一招，就是“把你骂了，还不知道！”

是的，就是不要正面， 也不要顶得脸红耳赤。。。用“人文”，文雅的方式去表达。切记：保持仪态！

"I realised..."

These are 2 words that "I realised" likes to use

• "I realised that xxxx I should be xxxx"
• "I realised that xxxx and you should not be xxxx (carrying on with the current practice)"
• "I realised that xxxx and I am going to xxxx (make this changes)"
• "I realised that xxxx and so we have to change xxxx (in this manner)"
• "I realised....."

From experience and it has already established a pattern... over time that...

When "I realised" is engaged in a discussion, pieces of the information (from the group) are picked up... "I realised" will religiously digest it, process it and communicate the "I realised..." message, incorporating ideas developed in the discusssion as if it's all through one's self-realisation! There is no acknowledgement of inputs from others. More often, this was "re-shared" with the group of people who were involved in the earlier discussion! So, is "I realised" forgetful?

Of course, there are also times when "I realised" did not pay attention to the discussion... but have "sharp yet malfunction antenna" that will pick up bits and pieces... then the malfunction antenna will either filter its source of information or mis-interpret the inputs. "I realised" process it, incorporating these bits and pieces to convey it as its own product again, without realising the gaps.

When pointed out the gaps or mis-interpretation, "I realised" also tends to shift the stand very quickly, before the speaker has fully explained - too fast to stop listening and owning information? Just wonder... Swiftly abandon the original idea and accepting the new one... nodding the head to indicate... "Yes, yes... I understand... and that's was precisely what I was trying to say" although what was believed earlier was at the other end of the spectrum! "I realised" seldom admit communicating the wrong/misleading message.

"I realised" also tends to be forgetful... Forget that "I realised" had carried out certain practices many moons away and started to question others "WHY"... when "I realised" faced the same question again... Wouldn't "I realised" had addressed to that many moons ago? or... unless, "I realised" has avoided it totally.

Think the worst part is when "I realised" communicates the message, it sounds so true and convincing, as if there is no flaw - well, it's "I realised"'s forte, that something I can't deny - that it's a 100% sure 'analysis'... the ironic part is, occasionally, "I realised" started to question others when the latter takes in the message! So self-contradicting!!! It's a shell that looks good at the first impression - as we seep through... we realised... many a time, it's hollow! It's deception!

"I realised" has also forgotten to practise to observe and respect intellectual property rights!

人与人的相处

近日，办公室喧哗了，热闹了。。。当然，与人的性格有关系。

有的人，是属于热闹的一群。有的人，是沉默的一群。
所以，人与人的相处，也是一门学问。

要和睦，“容忍”是必要的。但，不是单方面的。

甩脾气，是要不得的。但自己不悦他人的说法是，没有必要提高嗓门，表示不悦。与其心平气和的解释，却喋喋不休，甚至出言顶撞！似要赢了的似。当然，有些人认为那是“直爽”，不虚伪。可是，这并不表示有权在他人面前撒野！ 是野蛮的行为吧！ 要情绪化，却和你的“同族人”情绪化好了！不然的话，只会让人逐渐的感到反感而已。

明显的，是个人的修养。 那只不过显示出个人的“情绪商”低，而且没肚量！ 更别提“容忍量”！

任意甩脾气，自然也显示出所缺的“人与人”的相处之道！修（教）养嘛，难说。。。有些家族，一路来调教出的孩子的脾性就是这样的。。。因为，他们的信念，就是这样的，是事都是理所当然的，“宁可我负他人，也摸过他人损己”。

当他人容忍时，也不要得寸进尺！
当他人容忍时，并不表示赞同。
当他人容忍时，不是因为怕了某人。
当他人容忍时，只不过是在轻轻的打着心中的算盘。。。开始扣除分数了。。。
当然，也要感谢他让我提前的减少了可避免的 “投资",“损失”。。。谢天谢地！

Letting the hair.... coloured!!!

The other day the few ladies were talking about hair...

The colour of hair reflects one's mood... at least that 'point' of the journey...

Colour of hair created quite a hot debate a couple of years ago: Teachers colouring hair!!! So, Teachers are role-models to pupils. Also, in schools, pupils are not allowed to dye hair, so, should teachers colour their hair?

In the name of being 'role-model'... I think teachers should not... School is a place for study... somewhere that's of serious work or serious fun... It should remain neat and clean... Well, perhaps I belong to the more conservation 'generation'? maybe 'generation' is a wrong word... hm... perhaps my mindset is still quite 古董? Hm... I think it also depends on the organisation or service we are in... for some, image of the organisation is important... and how the people in the organisation present themselves matters...

In fact, it never crossed my mind to colour my hair... or even 'highlight' my hair though the hair dresser, at one point of time, suggested. No, no, no... why should I dye my hair to other colours? It simply looks strange... at least I believe I will look very very strange.

On the other hand, I must admit that some people look very good and the colour blends in well! However, there are also some, after highlighting especially brown or light yellowish... partly because the hair is dry... they lost the 'lust' on their face... they simply look tired... so, I guess there's lots of 'maintenace' to follow-up in order to look good with the new colour.

Well, previously had colleague who left the service and came back to visit us... with a head of golden locks!!! Impression changed immediately... hahaha... don't say for a better or worse off one...

NAS - Our Connection

This afternoon... a gathering... with Li Lian and Chock Kwun... yes, an annual opportunity created by Rosleenda. It's really old friends - long time no meet no talk... and talked alot. Yes, the more we talked about, it's about comparison... especially when all of us are out of NAS, now started to compare the current environment with where we came from...

Why where we came from? Really, all 3 of us spent no less than 10 years with NAS... almost grew up there... and all 3 of us left... in these recent 2 years... for different reasons... to different places... well, all in all... we miss NAS... Yes, we recalled the good times there... At one stage, one mentioned

Oh yes, not to forget our hostess... she's the alumni of NUS... Now, she has followed her heart and joined the service... being a Mother Tongue teachers with a primary school. Just wonder what crossed her mind when she saw the 3 of us so engaged in our conversation... will she be seeing herself in Nth years' time... in the same manner?