Great Song to Sing To ; David Nail

Taking It to the Next Level - within reason

Ever increasing demands for the ultimate dish is always the next one

      Our previous Prime Minister Mr. Lee Kwan Yew once put it to his citizens that life is a marathon, a never ending run with no finish line. Yes, I agree with that but only partially. At this stage in life, I find myself running an uphill marathon, an uphill climb with no end in sight.

      We always want to better our last act, improve on the bottom line year after year. Perhaps that is why perfectionists are such unhappy people, as they know they will have to go downhill after a certain time.

     I believe that we have to find a balance between what is set out as an ambitious goal and what can realistically be achieved given the limited resources one has. Look at Singapore's football team, almost 20 years ago, we were minnows only playing and achieving Malaysia cup success. Now 20 years later, we are the AFP Asian Football Suzuki Cup Champions for 4 times, the most in South East Asia. But, our FIFA ranking is a paltry 144 and we have never really improved much since the 1990s. 

     Singapore football is still outside the top 10 in Asia with Japan, S Korea, China, Qatar, Oman, Jordan,  S. Arabia, Australia and New Zealand streets ahead of us. Our foreign talent programme has failed, we have not even made in to the quarterfinals of the Asian Football Cup!

    Perhaps thats where the study of sport which we have had a first mover advantage. Take Shooting, Sailing, Table Tennis, Badminton, and even Swimming. We are nearing World Standard.

   Taking it to the next level is where we see where we can make a tremendous improvment in a short span of time with the same amount of investment, that is where we have improved so much in the last 20 years for the above 5 sports so far,

   Football, the Contact Sports, Rugby, Tennis, Squash, Athletics, well lets take a reality check.

Can I do 2 marathons this year ??

                                                                           Am I Nuts ??

The CEO of the company Creative Technology, Mr. Sim Hong Woo always empahsised the need for having a Big Hairy Audacious Goal, or BHAG. So I am stating this very clear in my blog for all to see, I want to run 2 full marathons this year. I have signed up for the Bangkok marathon in mid November - 3 months away and the Singapore marathon in early December or 3 and a half months away.

There is no time left to lose, as I embark on the business vision set out by me earlier this year, and we are well on the way to attaining it, I have decided to go 1 better ; every year I run 1 marathon, and as time is not on my side, I decided to up the game and go 1 better. I have decided to run 2 marathons - in good time too.

Now, that having said and put in print, all I need to do is practice day and night, and we will see at the end of the year.

Seize the Day. 

Time's Up for Fandi

        The recent poor run of results by the Lions XII or the Singapore National team is really not acceptable. Led by our most successful footballer in the 80s, Fandi Ahmad, the former Champions had a miserable run ending at 8th place this last season and are on the verge of being knocked out of the Malaysia Cup and the recent loss to Johor Darul Haxim is the final nail on the coffin. Its time to look for a new football coach, this close season. Sorry Mr. Ahmad, you have had 1 season and it was dismal. Just a year ago, we were Champions. 

      I had previously thought of giving Fandi another season, but in reality, while he has been Singapore's best footballing son achieving great success as a player, he is not even close as a good manager for the National Team. Perhaps his tactics and motivational skills are not in the same league as his predecessor, Sundramoorthy, but Singapore has lost several skilful players to the Thai and Indonesian leagues. 

    Our S League has never progressed beyond the South East Asian stages, as has been our football teams, so a real shakeup is necessary.

Who me ?  Yes You ! 

   

Excuse Me, are you a Toilet Cleaner ??

 
                                                       
     I will reveal a hitherto secret, I am the family's Sunday toilet cleaner. True many people will shake their heads and say this is no big deal, there are millions of families all over the world who do without a maid. I say, agreed, but this is Singapore, the city where there are more rich millionaires and billionaires per capita, and there are easily 30 - 40% of families who are dependent on their maids, and for generations and decades since the early 70s.
I won't want to get into an argument with readers about the merits of not having a maid and all that.

    The fact is that every Sunday, the maid, takes a day off and I have assumed the role of toilet cleaner to clean the 3 toilets. It is something which I have been doing for the last couple of years and I gave it some thought on why I do it.

     I run a small business in Singapore with sales territories into South East Asia.
It has been tough going the last 1 and a half years, but with a lot of determination, effort,focus and cost management, things are looking much better since the middle of this year. I had made a lot of sacrifices both personal and professional and I am determined to make good in an ever changing industry. We added product lines, provided more diverse services, pushed sales efforts everywhere and reached into our mental and emotional reserves to see through a very difficult period. We are not out of the woods yet, but the silver lining or the golden hue on the horizon is beckoning. 

    So, just as in cleaning toilets, as the boss of a company, I need to clean sxxx from time to time, though it is not of my own doing, but the very fact that I am prepared to roll up my sleeves and get down and dirty and not run from the mess, is something inbuilt in me.
I will not give up, I will clean up the mess made by other people, and make sure we can all have clean toilets for our daily business. Many people will not stoop beneath themselves and run away from it, saying it is other people's jobs. Not me. 

   So to the Toilet Cleaners everywhere, I salute your dedicated efforts, many times it is a dirty job, but never will I look down on it, as I know, in my small way, what it takes to be a leader, to clear the crap from the WC or the dirt from the floor. Similarly speaking, for the company, only after the crap and obstacles are cleared, can we make the orders smooth flowing and we can then move on to the big leagues.

  Seize the Day     

ECP Run 22 Aug 2014 - Refelctions

      The Run today of almost 10km was in one word ; difficult. I had started at the Ski 360 centre at  Beach Food court or the East Coast Seafood Center at roughly 10.40 am, heading East towards Changi I started on a leisurely pace of almost 7 min per km. The weather was hot (33 deg C in the shade) and humid (easily 85% rH), there were no other runners as far as I could see running in my direction, who would be crazy enough to tackle a run, at this time of day, or as they say, Only Mad Dogs and Englishmen. I must be a Mad Dog then. 

     Reaching the halfway mark at the Safra Resort and Country Club, I did not bother to stop and returned back in the sweltering heat. I felt sluggish, and as was my goal, I wanted to lose 5 kg by the end of this year, I pressed on. 

    Finally, reaching the Ski 360 after 1 hour and 10 minutes, I took time off to stop and look at the beach. Finally. it was a perfect day, hot, slightly windy and devoid of the thronging masses of people. I stopped at a park bench, and did some light stretching. In the disatance was a family of 4, the Dad with his 2 kids by the Breakwater and the Mum (more logical and practical one) sitting in the shade at the Park. It was an idyllic scene. The ships in the background, the family just looking at the scene and the wind and the lapping waves.

   For those precious 30 minutes, I felt so at peace, no pressure, no deadlines,nothing.  It was a surreal feeling. 

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    Of course, the results will vary from person to person, but a clinical trial conducted several years ago in a hospital setting showed very good control of the HbA1C levels of those who took Proviva G for their blood glucose control. 

     I have been taking this health supplement to control my cholesterol level as the supplement can also control triglycerides and LDL (low density lipoprotein) and so far so good. There was a clinical study done several years ago by a hospital, whereby there were a total of 166 patients with diabetes Type 2 volunteering. 3 groups were formed among the 166 and they were given the following dose :

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