Why your hubby should study in US

Some years ago, my ex-boss Blinky (aka the "common enemy") was sponsored by my ex-company to pursue yet another Masters degree at one of the prestigious US universities.

He went there with his wife for about 1 to 1.5 years, and came back with a wife and a newborn child.
Because the kid was born in US, he automatically gained US citizenship (or some dual citizenship). Which makes our colleagues wonder - did the company unknowingly sponsor him a trip to US to make a baby? Was getting another Masters really his intention?

To further our suspicion, Blinky spent about half a year more than his intended stay at US, as if to ensure that the baby will be born at US before he returns to Singapore.

Anyway, coming back to today, a female friend of mine will be going to US with her hubby, because her hubby will join a company that sponsors him to US. Familiar? Furthermore, the company is also throwing in a spouse allowance and a kid allowance if any. How awesome is that? ^_^

But ths friend of mine did admit her intentions about possibly having a kid there, partly for the US citizenship, and partly because she felt US offered hand on pre school education - Singapore pre school emphasizes on academic, while the US pre school offer a better childhood experience - planting, climbing trees etc...

Sounds good?
Definitely very tempting!

Carpe Diem

Carpe Diem is a phrase that people use to denote "live the most of today because tomorrow is an uncertainty". Phrasing it another way, "live everyday as if its your last".

Unfortunately, most of us don't exactly do this. I spent a HUGE part of my life online gaming - its not something that people do if they have, say one more month to live. Its a good thing I have stopped active online gaming.

Anyway, from a practical point of view, I can't live today exactly like my last day. I gotta work so I can save up for tomorrow. As the breadwinner of the family, I have responsibilities for the future.

I guess I got to tweak the saying a little.
Live today as if it is my last, and save up as if I will never die.

Great Dilbert one-liners

Here are some great Dilbert one-liners that many of you should be able to either find humour in, or relate to.

I did not compile them, I just steal them from somewhere over the Internet, and filter out the more interesting quotes.

Have a great Monday morning! ^_^

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- I say no to alcohol they just don't listen
- A friend in need is a pest indeed.
- Marriage is one of the chief causes of divorce.
- Work is fine if it doesn't take too much of your time.
- When everything comes in your way you're in the wrong lane.
- The light at the end of the tunnel may be an incoming train.
- Born free taxed to death.
- Everyone has a photographic memory, some just don't have film.
- Life is unsure; always eat your dessert first.
- Smile, it makes people wonder what you are thinking.
- If you keep your feet firmly on the ground, you'll have trouble putting on your pants.
- It's not hard to meet expenses, they are everywhere.
- I love being a writer... what I can't stand is the paperwork.
- A printer consists of 3 main parts: the case, the jammed paper tray and the binking red light.
- The guy who invented the first wheel was an idiot. The guy who invented the other three, he was the genius. (Haha, I like this one!)
- The trouble with being punctual is that no one is there to appreciate it.
- If you tell a man there are 300 billion stars in the universe, he'll believe
you. But if you tell him a park bench has just been painted, he has to touch it to be sure. (This is so so true!)
- I had a friend once. Then the rope broke and he got away.
- If you cannot change your mind, are you sure you have one?
- Beat the 5 O'clock rush, leave work at noon!
- If you can't convince them, confuse them. (Dilbert invented this quote?)
- It's not the fall that kills you. It's the sudden stop at the end.
- I couldn't repair your brakes, so I made your horn louder. (This happens alot in my work.)
- Hot glass looks same as cold glass. - Cunino's Law of Burnt Fingers
- Never underestimate the power of very stupid people in large groups. (And never underestimate the power of 1 stupid big boss)
- The cigarette does the smoking you are just the sucker.
- Someday is not a day of the week.

About the Author: Shingo T has a Dilbert-worthy quote of his own too - I love my job, but I'm just allergic to my laptop. =(

The baker's hubby

Does the woman in your life loves baking?

Well, my Wifey has been VERY into baking these days. And according to the Wifey, I have shattered her housewife dream by asking her to work, so she has to catch up on her "destiny" during the weekends.

And having a Wifey who loves baking is not neccessarily the most exciting stuff for the baker's hubby.

Baking involves alot of equipment and accessories, and these items are taking up significant space in the kitchen.

Baking contains of 4 parts - the preparation, the baking process, the washing up, and the eating.

The washing part is pretty much of a hassle, but someone has to do it. Being the lovely hubby that I am, I am often volunteered to be the part-time cleaner after the fun has ended. Unlike washing untensils used for cooking, washing baking equipment is not as straight-forward, due to the buttery oily doughs coating the equipment. You do not want dough to choke up the sink, so have to first wipe off the disgusting dough before you wash it.

And then for the eating part, I'm not exactly a guy who love bread, cake and pastries. I'm a guy who love staple meals - and that means rice and noodles. But someone has to eat the baked food, isn't it? But to be fair to Wifey, she does compromise a little, baking food of my preference. She did wholemeal bread on Saturday, and added raisins because she know I'm a sucker for it. And she's probably gonna bake again later.

Oh, these are not baked by Wifey. Just some random pic from the Net.

And the thing with baking is that no one just bake 1 or 2 cookies, they bake in trays of cookies. The bad news is that they will end up as my breakfast for the next few days. But the good news is that it will be a less sinful breakfast than yummy but oily fried bee hoon.

Though the Wifey is still a apprentice in baking, at least I have to give her some credits for doing a decent job learning from her mistakes and working on her trade.

To see the woman in your life learning and living her weekends after a long week at work, the baker's hubby know that his little sacrifices are worth it. ^_^

Now I have to psycho her to bake less, and cook more staple meals. Or worse case, I will have to resort into "kindly" sharing her cookies around my office in the morning so I can start eating my long-lost fried bee hoon. =p

Milk Toof

Stickgal has stopped drawing pictures on her blog for some time. And I just chanced upon another popular picture blog.



Don't you love pictures that can tell stories?

Link: My Milk Toof

Blinky

Nothing binds a group of colleagues like a common enemy.

The common enemy could be a demanding working partner who is quick to give you deadlines, and slow to answer your queries.
Or it could be a client - clients always want value for their money.
Or maybe it could be the boss you report to - one who lacks positive leadership qualities (think Dilbert!).

Well, in my previous company, the "common enemy" was the boss, someone we called Blinky.

He was someone who will nitty-gritty pick on "problems" like the font size, colours of presentation slides and charts, giving some of us the impression that he has to find something to pick on to show that he is reading it. Or telling me why I should change the background colours of the tables because if I print it out in black-and-white, I might not see the contrast easily.

Any slides I presented to him normally resulted in many consecutive revisions, normally cosmetic changes - the way I presented the data. But then again, his meticulous pickings did make me a better analyst in presenting my data in my current workplace.

Blinky was a boss who couldn't really relate to the operations. He knows the macro picture, but he doesn't get the micro portion, which is basically the juice of how operation goes. And he does not readily admit his lack of ground knowledge (though its plain obvious). Despite being treated a second-class boss in the organisation by his peers, he does try to make small talks or have lunch with them. Well, at least he's trying.

Blinky blinks alot - and thus the nickname. And when he gets confused, he will stare at you and start to blink (hey, its pretty cute actually), machiam like the CPU doing processing. We used to say that he need to add more RAM, or upgrade his processor. =p

And we have great fun sharing our classic Blinky experiences and blunders with each other over tea breaks.

I actually miss the good old days of making fun of Blinky sometimes.
Haha. =p

So who's the common enemy in your company? Share with me!

Doubling the halves

In today's business section of the Today newspaper, there is a line that states

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Morgan Stanley shares have climbed 72 percent this year to close at US$27.56 in New York trading after the stock plunged 70 percent last year.
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If you are not very careful reading into this statement, it may appear that that if it drop 70% last year and increase 72% this year, that means there is a nett 72-70 = 2% increase.

For those who know this is not the case, good for you!

But let me give a simple illustration for those who do not get it.

If your pay drops from $2000 --> $1000, it means a 50% drop.
But when your pay increase back from $1000 --> $2000, it means a 100% rise.

In short,
A 50% drop will have to be compensated by a 100% increase to break even.


And that means Morgan Stanley's stock price is still quite some way from 2 years ago.

Anyway, the 50% drop need 100% rise rule is also applicable for real-life events. For example, earning back credibility after you lost it - you have to work doubly hard.

The rich-poor divide

I read this from a website.

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Michael Jordan makes more money from Nike annually than all of the Nike factory workers in Malaysia combined.
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And how much hard work did Michael Jordan put in as compared to the combined effort of the factory workers?

It reminds me of the salary distribution in most companies. It's never a nice normal distribution (bell-shaped) curve. Chances are that the average salary exceeds the median salary, denoting a huge skew in salary.

The few rich people in most large organisations are damn rich, while the majority are on "normal" pay.

And do these rich folks deserve it? Of course! It takes an exceptional people to be Michael Jordan. And also gutsy people to create their own business empires.

But then there's also things like Wall Street, AIG and those big bonus-paying banks, where the rich fiddles with the cash of the poor and ignorant.

Its reflections like these that makes me wonder why I work so hard for the directors and bosses company sometimes.

This post was not meant to be whiney. I just need to slap myself now and then not to get too comfortable being an employee.

After all, why be good when you can be much better?
Why be good when you can be boss God?

Nino has shared the following link, take a look.
Link: Executives receive one-third of all pay in the U.S.

Best Airport to sleep in

Here's another first for Singapore - The best airport to sleep in.

Somewhere to go to should you run away from your house, or just can't simply afford a HDB flat. =p

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Changi best for shut-eye
July 21, 2009

SINGAPORE - ON A shoe-string, stuck or just need some shut-eye? Avoid Paris' Charles de Gaulle at all costs, but embrace Singapore's Changi, according to a survey that rated the world's 10 worst, and best, airports to sleep in.

Dirty floors, filthy, overcrowded bathrooms, bird poo and biting insects were among the biggest complaints of the 6,200 travellers who took part in the poll, by travel website The Guide to Sleeping in Airports.

Charles de Gaulle was voted the absolute worst, followed by Sheremetyevo in Moscow, which one traveller called 'hell on earth'. In the third and fourth spots were New York's JFK and Los Angeles' LAX, while India's Delhi airport rounded off the top five worst airports.

On the flip side, Singapore's Changi was rated the cleanest and most comfortable airport to sleep in, followed by Seoul's Incheon and Amsterdam's Schiphol.

Wrote a poster, flyfresno, raving about Singapore's Changi airport: 'The airport is so clean that you could probably eat off the floor. All in all, best airport experience ever!'

Chimed another unnamed traveler on the website: 'My first experience at the Singapore airport was amazing - better than my house - free internet, video games. What else could a 19- year-old American traveller ask for?'

Oslo's Gardermoen and Hong Kong airport rounded off the top five best airports, which the site said travellers loved for the amenities, friendly staff and comfortable seating.

'Sleeping in airports is no longer just for the young budget traveller looking to save a few bucks,' said the website, which was founded by Canadian former travel agent and expert budget traveller Donna McSherry in 1996.

'People of all ages and vocations can now be seen stretched out on airport floors all around the world, whether they are there because of a long transit, flight delay or voluntarily to save money.' -- REUTERS

For a full list, please visit www.sleepinginairports.net

Why girls should avoid the pool.

It's amazing what goes around the world. Read this.

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Teen pregnant after ‘swimming in pool’By HAYLEY DOYLE
Published: 09 Jul 2009

A WOMAN is suing an Egyptian hotel claiming her daughter got pregnant - from using the swimming pool.

Magdalena Kwiatkowska's 13-year-old returned to Poland from their holiday expecting a baby.

Magdalena believes the teenager conceived from stray sperm after taking a dip in the hotel's mixed pool. She is now seeking compensation from the hotel.

A travel industry source said: "The mother is adamant that her daughter didn't meet any boys while she was there.

"She is determined to go ahead with the case."

Tourist authorities in Warsaw, Poland, have confirmed they received the bizarre complaint.

Bald is only cool when...

I once told Wifey that the day I start losing my crowning glory is the day I shall shave bald to retain some basic self-esteem.

After all, there's plenty of additional advantages to being bald, like not having to comb the hair, not waiting for the hair to dry, and saving on the (overpriced) shampoos and hair conditioners.

Moreover, being bald is sexy!

Bruce Willis fans can attest to this.

Sean Connery's was once voted the sexiest man alive, and hey, the guy is bald now.

But then I remembered something.
Being bald is sexy ONLY if you do not have a big belly.

bald + big belly = UGLY.

So which is it easier?
Keeping the hair, or work on trimming the belly?
Hmm...

OSIM and Mondays

If T.G.I.F stands for Thanks Goodness It's Friday...
then O.S.I.M must stand for Oh Sh*t It's Monday.

And it so happens that OSIM is also the name of a leading Singaporean brand that innovates and distributes lifestyle products, stuffs like massaging chairs and foot massagers.


So I was thinking, why doesn't this company take advantage of the tongue-in-cheek slogan for its products?

Jeanette Aw, the spokesperson for O-Sim ISqueeze Warm.

Maybe a simple advertisement with Jeanette getting up from bed, exclaiming "Oh Shit, It's Monday", and then grumpily getting ready for work.

And then 12 hours later, she would be hugging her ISqueeze and saying "Luckily there's also OSIM."

Ok, maybe this is a little lame.
But hey, loosen up. It's Monday! ^_^

Reading what was written

After publishing my own entry, I like to re-read what I type, to check for typo and any need to restructure my post.

And then after amendements, I read it all over again.
And change. And read.
And change. And read.
etc....

Sometimes I wonder if I'm trying to check my posts, or if I'm in love with myself.

Hmm...

My life is miserable beacuse I am poor

Despite China's massive growth story that the whole world knows, the rich-poor divide is still a huge issue that is not very often mentioned in the media.

Today, I share share a heart-wrenching tale about a China girl who was born in a poor family of the countryside. Though she managed to get an education in the city, live was very much miserable. And she's one step away from being someone else's mistress, if only she looked prettier.

May her sad story remain a reminder of how lucky we are. Somehow, people like us (from developing/developed countries) just have to find something to complain about, isn't it?

My life is miserable beacuse I am poor

Facebook

I have never been a big fan of Facebook.

I don't bother if people give me virtual presents.
I don't respond when people invite me for those silly games.
I don't waste time doing silly man-made quiz - to find out what kind of X-men/wrestler/superhero etc... that I am.

I guess I am getting "too old" to find joy in doing such stuffs.

However, recently I do logon to Facebook now and then to do some random surfing to see how my long-lost friends are doing now. Facebook is a good place to stalk people you are curious about.

My ex-pal who is now on his way to getting bald, is now a teacher in a girl's school. (Side note: I was told that handsome guys will not be chosen by MOE to teach in a girl's school)

And then there was this guy who I didn't quite like in JC (because he was quite cocky), but he's now a dad enjoying time with his kids. I'm happy for him. ^_^

And then there's the nerd who was supposed to be the top student in our JC (until he got a 'B' grade for his Further Maths), we always suspected he is now a gay, and apparently the pictures on his Facebook account are all photos of him and other guys.

There's a Chinese gal who used to speak in angmoh slang in school, and now married to a Westerner, and enjoying life in the US.

With Facebook, you get to see pictures of your long-lost friends' spouses, kids, find out about where they are working as, and basically get enough info to infer about what they have been working on since the last time you saw them.

Writing a blog has already eaten into my own privacy, so I refrain from posting anything about myself on Facebook. Facebook will continue to be a place I will go when I'm kaypoh (curious) about any of my friends. =p

Listen to the old birds

Many years back, when I joined my first company after freshly graduated from school, there were two pieces of advice that I have gotten from the old birds in the company.

(1) If your job was meant to be easy, then we wouldn't have hired you.
(2) Ask more, work less.

Both these advices sticked with me, and have also been my guiding principles for many years to come.

The first advice was something I will remind myself whenever there is a huge obstacles. Uncooperative Operations people who believe that my solution was a worthless piece of thrash, based on their experience. Getting hammered by the client on my first formal presentation. Squeezed between office politics. I constantly have to remind myself that my work was not meant to be easy - even if someone else was in my shoes, he might have landed up in the same sh*thole. This advice helped me kept my sanity whenever things don't go my way - I only lost my temper no more than twice throughout my 6+ years in the company.

The second piece of advice (Ask more, work less) was something that I consistently apply in both work and personal life. As a newbie, I have spent months working on something that I thought was what my boss wanted, only to realise that I have wasted so much time via my "clever" misinterpretation. I learnt that to be efficient, I needed constant communication. Do not be afraid to clarify. Do not be afraid to initiate meetings and presentations. Do not assume that you are an irritating pest (even though deep down inside, you may feel otherwise).

A few months ago, I was having some problem with my Starhub Cable TV.

The cable TV controller sometimes doesn't work, and I have to use the limited buttons on the Cable box to change TV channels, record shows etc... It was an inconvenience I had to live with for these few months because I couldn't find time to bring down the set for a 1-to-1 exchange. Today, I finally decided to bring the box down to the service centre, where I expect to wait hours before I get served. So I gave a call to the Customer Service Centre, to ask what documents I have to bring down (so I don't have to do a wasted trip). I was asked what the malfunction was, and after I described to him, the friendly guy over the phone asked me to get my "spoiled" controller, and press a particular button. And my god-damn problem was solved. I thanked him, all the while wondering why I didn't ask earlier. Ask more, work less!

Someday, I will grow to be an old bird with plenty of one-liner advices. I'm still collecting knowledge, but also learning to share what I have been through.

Maybe I should go reside on a mountain 30 years from now, and tons of young noobs will be scaling the heights to get me for my invaluable advice. =p

To end this post, here's an epic quote from Greek philosopher Epictetus (pun intended).
We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.

There's something about that guy

There is a blogger who writes amazing stuffs. "Amazing" not in a sense that he writes about anything that is "Wow". But rather, he writes about normal stuffs , but its really interesting the way he puts it.

He begins every entry with the word "There's Something About".

I used to have fun stalking his blog, until one day, his blog disappeared. In place was a porn site or some spam site. For a while, I was like "Pook, some bastard hacked his site".

Well, after a period of absence, seems like he has dropped by my blog. And it ain't that hard to find back his blog again (long live blogger profiles), this time at a new location.

To make sure that I don't lose the link, I have added his site to my list of links.

Glad to see you back, bro!

Friday night is the night.

TGIF - Thanks goodness its Friday!
After a lethargic Friday at work, the clock hits 6pm and the office doors were open.... All the tired zombies kept their laptops and get ready to get a life. And I head for home.

Yes, thats right. Home. Alone.

Wifey's meeting a few of her friends to have a girl's night out drinking beer. So here's my perfect chance to get a few of my guy friends out. But after some consideration, heck, I decided to head for home instead.

Bathed.
Had my dinner alone. Actually, had dinner while watching TV, so didn't quite felt too lonely.
Ate my supplements.
Filled the kettle with tap water, and threw out the garbage.
And now I'm turning on some loud funky dance music while reading blogs.

And I'm enjoying some man's time being alone.
At least till Wifey gets back.

Like all food, too much of the same thing is not good for health.
Its GREAT to spend time with Wifey, but its also good to have a few hours to rediscover myself. You know, unleash the wild side of me!
So thought I'll just isolate myself for a few hours, before spending a good weekend with Wifey. ^_^

Friday night is the night.
Feeling alright, yeah yeah.

I wanna dance, but I'm pretty full. =(
So what do I do now? Hmm...



Hmm...



Hmm...



Okay, hope my Wifey comes home soon.

Names and you

Many many years ago, when I was still active on my gaming homepage, I got to know a guy with the nickname Zyzyfer. Why the nickname? Well, its something random that he came up with to distinguish himself.

For me, I have always used the same name for so many years.

Shingo Yabuki, from the "King of Fighters". That's where I got my nickname from.

Unfortunately, Shingo is a pretty common name in Japan. And so if you were to try seraching "Shingo" or "Shingo T" on the search engines, you probably won't be able to find my blog anywhere in the first few result pages.

Until the day I become a celebrity like "Xiaxue", I won't be able to own the name "Shingo" on the search engines.

But "Shingo" has been my identity for so many years, I can't possibly just change it.

Or maybe I should.

(1) Get a new name that starts with "A", which will put me on top of the chronological sequencing, when it comes to people linking to my blog.
(2) Get a name that is unique enough that I don't have to share my name with anyone else in the world.
(3) Get a name that is easily pronounced, so it will be readable.

Hmm... how about Alamakkk?
That rhymes with nasi lemak. =p