Life can be unpredictable

     For the last 1 and a half years, I was thinking of expanding my small business to include Thailand, with a substantial cash outlay to provide for a new setup with new partners. Sometime in July this year, I made the decision not to go there, perhaps by divine direction, and decided to expand further in Singapore.

     I am thankful that I did not take the 'plunge' (literally) as can be seen by this video from Youtube, my major customers, suppliers and competitors are literally underwater. Major customers such as Western Digital, and many car companies, are reeling from the major flooding which has not occured so badly in over 60 years.

     I pray for the future of Thailand, and with a plan and a prayer, go forth unafraid in Singapore.

Dire Straits Local Hero

      One of the best rock guitar solos I've heard in a long time. About 2 months ago, I bought a Yamaha keyboards and have been tinkling away at the keys everyday for about and hour to two. The funny thing about my life, when I was a boy (many many years ago), I hated playing the piano. My parents signed me up with a good classical piano tuition teacher, Mrs. Magdelene Leong and her lessons were held every week at her home n Butterfly Avenue. I was made to practice scales, arpegios and a whole range of songs from Beethoven,  Mozart, Scarletti and Franz Lizt.  I initially  enjoyed the piano lessons and advanced up to a pass in Grade 7. I prepared for Grade 8, but lack of interest (I thought, foolishly at that time that piano was for sissies) and other activities made me give up - right at the last hurdle !!

     So, as one can see, I have in the last decade plus, have made amends, first taking up my first sport I truly enjoy and love, running. Secondly I redid my karate training from scratch and now an active member of a karate dojo in Tanglin Singapore. Thirdly, I am  now rediscovering my musical interest and really love playing the keyboards a number of songs from Christmas Carols, School Songs, Popular Songs and maybe some current love songs. I don't see the need to take my Grade 8 (complete music level) exam, unless I intend to pursue a songwriting or musical career, but I am completely satisfied with the path I have chosen thus far. I thank my parents for giving me the opportunity for the first 7 years of piano playing under a strict and excellent teacher, and my buddy Roland Teo, who has a band and I have my motivation to practice all kinds of Rock songs from Beatles to the Rolling Stones to Taiwanese songs created by Roland.

      Life is not about accumulation of money and power.  I humbly suggest everyone reading this post to assess what life is to you and take the first step to achieving that goal. You will find immense satisfaction once you have started along your path.

     Seize the Day    

Communication Skills - the very essence of a happy work and life.

     This is an old cartoon emphasising how important it is to have excellent communication skills. Many a times, I see people who are study smart, or intellectually brilliant but unable to enunciate their needs or wants to their colleagues, friends, subordinates and bosses.

     You can be a driven, motivated person, but if your boss doesn't see you as such, then the impression works against you. So, communciate well. Your eye to eye contact, your pitch of voice, your sitting position, your dressing for the occasion, your demeanor, your charm,composure and manners. All these are the unconscious signals you send (whether you are aware or not) to the persons around you. How you carry yourself, in short.  I never mentioned a single thing about substance or message which you are trying to send. Even a greeting is practised to perfection if you want to impress somebody. 

     The last great Republican President, Ronald Reagan, was an excellent communicator. He wasn't a brilliant intellectual like Barack Obama. He was a Grade 'B' actor acting in many films which in short didn't win him any awards. But his presentation and acting skills were put to good use, when he acted for the Screen Actors Guild against the Hollywood bosses. From there, his star began to shine and he went from strength to strength. Many people rate him as the Big Gipper or the 'Great Communicator',he was idolised by many in the American population for his strength under duress. But he wasn't a brilliant person, only mouthing many ideas and thoughts of his backroom teams. 

     Most of us have only our brains as our backroom teams. So, use it all the time. Do not make impulsive decisions or use words carelessles without thinking beforehand, espescially in work situations

when meeting especially with customers and vendors.

      Look at the cartoon again. Put your brain into gear before opening your mouth. Offer non-verbal communication when and wherever you can. It is an art. Practice makes perfect. 

Bangkok is facing the crisis of epic proportions

Raw Video: Floods Swamp Bangkok Neighborhoods by associatedpress

Bangkok facing massive flood crisis - worst in over 50 years.

      I called several friends today by phone, and was shocked and saddened to learn that a business associate has lost his house totally submerged to the floods in Thailand, the worst ever in over 50 years. Several other friends' companies are also partially submerged, ruining millions of Baht of equipment. Over 1000 factories are affected, many shut for the forseeable future, and our old customers such as AAT Auto Alliance Thailand (Ford Mazda) has its production lines stopped due to parts stoppage from parts suppliers who are shut or worse. Toyota has shut its factory and so has Honda too as of today. Many thousands of car owners are parking their cars on the high flyovers in Bangkok to prevent them from being washed away or flooded making them totally out of use.

       I thank God, for divine providence, I was all ready to invest into a new venture into Thailand by June of this year but somehow did not do so, instead decided to expand further into my home country Singapore.

       I pray for all the friends whose jobs, livelihoods, businesses and homes are being threatened or wiped out every hour of each passing day. Lets hope this disaster ends soon.  After this, ALL OF US should take ownership of our actions which is causing Global Warming and causing freaky weather patterns, polar caps melting, and rising tides.

Club Med Bintan 22nd - 24th June 2003

My father Geoffrey (83), son Noel (7 years) and mother Anna (73)

Andrew, triumphant with his potato crisp

Can I have some please ?

My father and mother dining at Club Med Bintan

          With regards to my post earlier about my son Andrew, here are the pictures of that famous Bintan trip in 2003, the first picture up at the top shows them in the ferry with Noel in between his grandparents taking the 1 hour ferry ride. As I recall, we went for 2 trips to Bintan first in 2002 and then in 2003, after which my father suffered a fall in November 2003 which weakened his legs.

          Andrew (2nd picture) was extremely successful in extracting maximum benefit from all the holidaying families on board the ferry. I am reminded of the saying "when there is a will, there is a way" so it is always good to stay positive and not be disheartened when things do not go exactly as you planned it.

         Our family had alot of fun at Club Med, with the grandparents enjoying the beach and sea-breezes, us parents playing tennis and swimming, and the boys doing everything from playing the water-slides, tennis, and archery. Club Med also has a Kid's Club where you can park your young ones and let the minders take care of their entire activity. We let the boys go and have fun for 1 day while we had time to ourselves. 

         The 4th picture shows my Dad and Mum dining at Club Med Bintan. The great thing about Club Med is that its an 'all-inclusive package' for 1 price per person, so food, drinks (wine and beer) are all free flow. However, we had young children along, it wasn't good to quaffle too much and get drunk lest you give them the wrong impression !

         A memorable trip, for me, May, my parents and definitely for the boys. 

Worried about you - Rolling Stones 1981

     The MTV version of the song performed by the Stones in 1981, just after the album Tattoo You was released, I believe it was the Rock Album of the Year. As you can see from the video, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards (Lead Guitar), Charlie Watts (drummer), Ronnie Wood (Bass) and Chris Perkins were thoroughly enjoying the session even though it was in front of the cameras.

     I suspect Mick, Keith and definitely Charlie were into some drugs then, as can be seen by their rather stoned out expressions, but as rock and roll stars, its "par for the course" or common practice in the Western world.

    My best slow rock song at the moment !