Happy National Day, Malaysia!

As fellow Malaysian bloggers are wishing Malaysia a Happy 53rd birthday, I am here too to contribute to the country where I was born.

Foongpc wrote about the 10 reasons why he love Malaysia, and I thought I will do something similar, though I'm not exactly sure if I can name 10, since most of my life is spent here in Singapore.

But here goes.

(1) Malaysia played a deep part in my childhood, as I will often spend school holidays in my cousin's place in Johor. It's something I look forward to, going to pasar malams, ordering food from the mian4 bao1 che1 (bread van) etc...

(2) Malaysia is a place that keeps my ego and competitive nature in check. Seeing the warmth and generosity of fellow Malaysians really makes my day. You do not need to live in a real kampung to have the kampung spirit. When it rains, we used to shout "Raining lor, bring in your clothes", translated from Mandarin. My mum still do that in Singapore, but neighbours will probably think she's crazy.

(3) The recent bus ride from City Square in JB had me waited 45 minutes on the bus before it finally moves off. Reason being that the bus driver collected part of his revenue from the fares, so it will make sense to wait as long as possible at the busiest stop. But still, inefficiency gives me the chance to slow down my steps, and look at the people walking to and fro from inside the bus. In Singapore, I'm always moving too fast to be smelling flowers.



(4) Genting is a place I visit a few times a year, not just for the casino, but also for the cool weather. And I'm still amazed how the Genting founder turned a barren mountain into a world class resort. Makes me proud everytime I see an angmoh tourist there enjoying themselves.

(5) Lovely beaches and island resorts. I went to Desaru beach when I was young, and the sand was so soft that I thought I was in quicksand. Scary for a little kid like me then! Malaysia boast some really lovely beaches, at least by Asian standards.

(6) Food. Be it Gurney Drive in Penang, Jalan Alor in KL or other inaccessible restaurants along deserted roadsides, I love the taste of our food. Seeing all those food entries from Witchy blog really emphasized the gourmet that runs in every Malaysian's blood.



(7) Air Asia. Homegrown company kicks the butt out of other Asian budget air carriers. But their uniform needs improvement, I like JetStar Asia's uniform better. *blush*

I can't think of anymore at the moment (not that there isn't anymore), and I don't wanna plagurise Foongpc's entry. He put up some other great points, go read yourself lah. =p

Malaysia, Truly Asia.
Woot!

Visit Taipei

Nino has written an extensive post entitled Visit Taipei.

A VERY extensive post of what to do, where to go, why go there etc...

If you ever want to go backpacking in Taipei, but need a quick website (with pics) to mark out the places to go, this is it.

And nope, I don't get any referral fees. Just thought his extensive effort should be put to good use.

I heart Taiwan! ^_^

The most junior position in a bank

Do you know that subcontracting the search for manpower to external professional recruitment agencies is an expensive affair for the company? More companies are joining the bandwagon to give small cash rewards to their own employees for successful referrals.

It's a win-win situation. The company gets people they can trust at a fraction of the price they pay external HR companies, and no one in the HR department know our own friends more than us. And we get cash award to supplement our income.

My company sends out a list of job vacancies periodically, and I always make it a point to send it out to my network of friends.

A friend of mine sent me her resume, which I forwarded direct to the hiring manager, as our HR department is too stringent in filtering out resumes that they deem as unsuitable for the role.

The hiring manager, let's call him Mr Charisma, who is also a friendly colleague of mine just skype me a while ago.

Mr Charisma: Thanks for the CV. Her work experience is pretty focused on the finance sector. And she is a marketing manager now
Shingo T: In banks, almost everyone is a manager. =p Because pple will call banks and say "Hey, I wanna talk to your manager!" As time go by, they made the most junior post a manager.
Shingo T: So their manager rank is same as our analyst rank.
Mr Charisma: hahha
Mr Charisma: i was just wondering if she will be interested in the role
Shingo T: no worries, she saw the job description. And she knows what to expect from this analyst role. She's not asking for the moon.
Shingo T: and I didn't force her to send her resume.
Mr Charisma: ok. thanks

Keeping my fingers crossed, I want my referral fees. $_$

About the Author: Shingo T is a part-time employee, and a part-time talent scout for the company.

Why you should not work all your life

This post is specially dedicated to my friend Wenny, who has recently posted an entry about deciding between retiring early or starting a business with a friend.

Singapore's reowned Lee Kwan Yew recently gave his opinion that there should be no retirement age. There was quite a buzz over the internet forums over this statement. To be fair to Mr Lee, I think his comments had good intentions, given how the old are generally snubbed by most companies in Singapore.

Anyway, this guy called Tan Kok Tim submitted his commentary to Today, Singapore's free newspapers. And he quoted 2 studies that showed that Mr Lee's comments are not advisable for health.

I have (shamelessly) copied an excerpt of the article to save myself from parahrasing them.

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Japanese Nobel Laureate Dr Leo Esaki once spoke on the relationship between longevity and retirement age. He revealed that the pension funds in many large companies such as AT&T, Boeing, Lockheed, Lucent, and so on, are overfunded as many who retire at the age of 65, usually die within two years of retirement.

Separately, Dr Ephrem Cheng of the University of Alberta did an actuarial study of lifespan versus age at retirement, based on the number of pension cheques sent to Boeing Aerospace retirees. It found that staff who retire at the age of 50 had an average lifespan of 86. Those who retire at the age of 65 live to an average age of just 66.8.

This study concludes that for every year a person works beyond the age of 55, he lives an average of two years less.

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Often, we hear people who want to work as long as possible to stay senile. Well, there are many ways to stay senile, like doing volunteer work, bonding with the family, or picking up new skills that does not cause stress.

If I had a choice, I will retire as early as I can. With the high inflation in Singapore, it's becoming increasingly impossible though. I used to joke that I want to buy a plot of land in Malaysia to grow crops when I get old. Maybe I should seriously consider that proposition!

And to my friend Wenny, I think you made the right choice. Enjoy life to the fullest, don't stress yourself out.

Source: TodayOnline: retire early, live longer

Random Notes 46

(1) Have you ever liked a song so much that you bought an album just for that track? Only to realise that every other tracks are not to your liking?

(2) I have some juggling balls at home. Bought them a few years back, but they have been collecting dust till now. Gotta find time to start picking up this new hobby - always thought juggling is cool.

(3) Singapore has introduced distance based travel on its transport. Which means I can change buses non-stop without incurring extra cost to reach my destination. Best thing ever.

(4) I was thinking about a vacation to Canada probably close to the end of the year. The air tickets for 1 person cost S$3000+ (US$2200), which is the price of an all-expense paid trip back to Taiwan for 2-3 people. I'm having 2nd thoughts, but Wifey's been giving me that puppy look.

(5) Do white hair grow from the same spot that you pluck them from? It appears so, because Wifey has 2 strains of white hair growing from the same spot of the front of her forehead, no matter how many hundred times I pluck them out.

(6) Studies give you no cash. Work gives you no time. Retirement gives you no strength. We are always in need of something at any stage of our life, but we should always work within the constraint.

Have a great day ahead, friends! ^_^