Out with the Old in with the New - 2014

Happy New Year !! 

2013 has come and gone in a flash. I have turned 51 from 50 in what has seemed like a day. It is true the old adage which goes "Time crawls when you are a baby, it walks when you are a youth, it runs when you are a young adult, and it flies when you get past 50". Well the last past, I added that on myself. It really seems that the older we get, the feeling that time is slipping way too fast for our liking is all to real.

2013 has been a rather difficult year for me, on the business front, as a small business owner, the economy though it grew by 3.7 %, manufacturing and services on the whole have been sputtering and only in the aeronautical, biomedical clusters have seen some positive growth. I had taken the step  for my company to distribute Asian Quality Assurance Test Equipement brands - since 2012- and I have never regretted that decision. 

Since venturing into the Test Laboratory services, we have a lot more visibility with the customers especially in the Singapore and South Malaysia territories. Orders are coming in on a more regulated basis, I am happy to announce, and hopefully 2014 will see a major kickoff in the transport simulation test services section of our business. 

With My brother's relatives on Christmas Day Dinner

Personally I have completed my 8th marathon, at a time I am happy with, 5 hours, 53 minutes. This is almost 20 minutes faster than my 2012 time, and with minimal training too ! So it is a cause for celebration. My 2 young men, Noel and Andrew are well into their teens and as December (just past) is the winter holiday term break, both have started working in temporary jobs as wait staff. My wife and I were most pleased to see the good attitude as well as the desire to work and earn an honest wage in the food establishments at Clarke Quay and Tanglin Mall respectively.

Cheers ! 

As the transition from boys to men, my fervent wish is that they follow the right path to achieve a decent University education following which they can start their own careers and build their own nuclear families.

The 50s is an age of reflection as well as building a lasting legacy for oneself. A wonderful book given by my brother and sis-in-law, called "How do you measure your life ?" The message is for me is to lead a meaningful life which I and only I can add value to the world, my family, friends and the people I interact with.

Seize the Day ! Happy 2014 !   

This is the month

     This is the month of November, I am expecting many good outcomes from it, and that is why I had omitted to write anything since November till end of the year to focus on what is truly important. 

     if you, the reader think this is a rather cryptic post, you are correct. Only time will decide whether the outcomes have been good for me personally. 

Tyson KOs Berbick for WBC Heavyweight title

     The sight of the smaller Mike Tyson literally demolishing the larger and supposedly stronger Trevor Berbick for the WBC Heavyweight Title is something really amazing to watch. He may be smaller, but oh so agile, able to dodge the swinging punches and hit the opponent for 4 to 6 times in a row, until the other guy just buckles and doesn't know today from tomorrow.  Punch for punch, Mike Tyson was the supreme KO boxer of his time.

    Small = Weak ?

    You can be smaller, but smarter, stronger will to win and superior strategy always wins the day. 

    

The Black Swan Event

         The renowned thinker, Nassim Taleb has written a fantastic book called the Black Swan. In it he elaborates the concept that things that have never happened before, or Black Swan events will never ever happen. The Black Swan is based on historical observations by the British who had always assumed that swans were white in colour and were taken aback when one of their early explorers who visited Australia recorded that he witnessed a black swan.

        Donald Rumsfeld, the former Secretary of Defence for George H Bush as well as George W Bush once put it very eloquently. There are 3 things people are aware of :

1. The known knowns ('facts') - or what we deem (perceive) to be true

2. The known unknowns (The universe out there is largely visible, other life forms may exist not 
     yet found ; where does the Universe end ? Does it sit on a table ? )

3. The unknown unknowns (What we do not know or even cannot fathom)

      The dot com boom, the Facebook phenomenon, even the Fukushima accident can be described as Black Swan events. 

My ski experience

 I am by  no means an expert skier, having skied a total of 5 times, but 4 of these times, were at ski holidays and camps organised by the YMCA (2 x in Korea) and Hokkaido Japan. This was taken in 2011 in Tomamu Resort Hokkaido, one of my family's most enjoyable and memorable holiday.

 

At breakfast before hitting the slopes

Ski extreme

I Won't Give Up