Month: October 2007

Categories
Snippet of My Life

Snippet Of My Life Episode 6 – Where Does Money Come From?

From young, my parents taught me that we work hard for food – like the farmers, like the fishermen. To be successful in life, we work hard. If I had my own child, I would probably have redefined what success means. I would have preached that hard work only earns you (in most cases) a decent living. To be successful, the first thing to do is to forget about working hard. Only then you have time to think and to act out of the norm. I wish I have studied economy instead.

I may not know much about economy. But I have experienced diminishing marginal returns today. Lunch. One colleague of mine wanted to take a train to Bugis Junction for a change. Another one wanted a burger meal. We headed to Bugis and I felt for my “burger-loving” colleague. So after I had a full chicken rice set, I turned to him and asked …

“Burger?”

His eyes lit up. The group of four headed to McDonald’s. My “burger-loving” colleague and I each ordered a chicken burger. We finished. I asked …

“Burger?”

His eyes lit up. And both of us headed to the counter and ordered another S$2 burger. We finished. I kept quiet. Another colleague of ours said …

“Let’s have one round of burger for the four of us!”

By the time I had my 3rd burger, I have experienced diminishing marginal returns.

After lunch, I could not focus. My blood has gone to somewhere but my brain. Our intern stepped in and announced that our bank has offered him a job starting next August.

“Congratulations!” I screamed in excitement.

Then I learned that the starting pay for a fresh local graduate for the graduate program is close to …

S$4k a month

FOUR THOUSANDS DOLLARS?! Then another colleague of mine told me that according to the newspaper, one fresh graduate joins an investment bank for S$12k. Couples of years back, some graduates couldn’t even find a job. It’s all about timing.

Ignorance is bliss. Too bad you are reading this blog entry.

I know our Singapore’s Straits Time Index (STI) is hitting 4000 soon. But seriously, where does all the money come from? One friend of mine with a working capital of S$300-400k has generated S$100k profit from the stock market in 1 year. As a hobby. And he has a full time job.

Not everyone benefits from the stock market nor the very company we join that has the double-digit growth has something to do with our pay increment. My next topic? The landlords.

My favorite news-stand at Far East Square was used to give me a discount of 50 cents for magazines less than S$10 and 1 dollar otherwise. Always. These days I seldom see the two staff who used to sit outside, whom I mingled often. This evening, the boss was outside. I was sure that he wouldn’t give me a discount.

And he didn’t.

But we had a great chat. His landlord is increasing the rent from S$6k to S$9k by April next year. That is a 50% increase in rental. Can he pass that to the consumers? Probably not. No one is going to pay a CLEO magazine for S$6.60 instead of S$4.40. He has already got rid of one of his staff (S$1k salary) and gave his another staff a S$200 rise to cover the extra work. But he is going to close down his shop because of high rental. Sad. As I do love his magazine collection. He is not seeking other places because the rental is as bad. The shop next door of his has already changed hand four times. For a S$9k rental. The previous owners each lost 6 months of deposit.

Economy going strong but yet, shops like my favorite news-stand has to retrench staff and close down. Huh?

Hard work does not pay off but I do respect those who work hard. Like one cashier at Cold Storage. I asked if she has her dinner and she told me that she lives in JB (Malaysia). By the time she reaches home, it is 11 at night. 2 hours it takes for her to travel to home. Then she will eat and start another day, early.

I still don’t know where money comes from. But I am certain that you can’t get rich by merely working hard.

Categories
Hard Rock & Metal Music Reviews

Velvet Revolver’s Libertad – A Sleek Rock Album By The Ex-Members Of Guns ‘N Roses and STP

In case if you wonder what on earth is Velvet Revolver (VR), it is a super-group formed by the ex-gunners Slash (guitar), Duff McKagan (bass), and Matt Sorum (drummer), the lead singer of Stone Temple Pilots (Scott Weiland), and Dave Kushner (guitar) of the 80s punk band Wasted Youth. At first listen, “Libertad” can be a little bit too “fibrous” – a borrowed term from Cynthia for albums that take a long time to digest – but I would say, “Libertad” has outdone VR’s debut “Contraband”. It is lean and it is a mean rock album. The patterns within each song are memorable and each instrument takes turn to shine in various parts of the song. There is no one member who dominates the album.

When VR first released “Contraband”, I could not help but to compare VR to the good old Guns ‘N Roses albums. After all, it is in essence Guns ‘N Roses minus Axl Rose. Time after time I would jump out of my seat and imagine how the song would sound with Axl instead. It is hauntingly scary I am telling you and it is frustrating.

Though it is hard to accept, VR is indeed a new band. A band that has moved forward with time and to be frank, the sound of VR is relevant to today’s rock scene without sounding too much of an old school. In their second album, VR has brought in Brendan O’Brien – a music producer who has worked with many renown bands including Stone Temple Pilots (STP) – and the result speaks loud and clear: “Libertad” convinced me to listen to VR as a new entity, and not just ghosts of Guns ‘N Roses nor STP.

If you like rock music, do give “Libertad” a try. The CD does suppose to contain videos of the making of the album. Unfortunately the media content cannot be played in my computer (duh!). Good thing though, it links me to the Sony BMG Musicbox. Do check out that site. It is like a mini YouTube with legal music videos in wide screen format. My only complain is the streaming speed. YouTube is much better.

PS. Is it just me to think that the name “Velvet Revolver” has a strong association to “Guns ‘N Roses”?

PS2. Oh I forgot to mention. I love the bonus track a lot. VR did a country music and when the singer kept going on and on towards the end, one of the members (Slash I suppose) said: whatever. And the song ends. Man, I am a sucker for all these extras.

Categories
Diary

So This Is LASALLE College Of The Arts (Singapore)

When I was young, I often spent hours looking out of the windows of my apartment in Hong Kong observing how old structures were being torn down and new structures were being built. Back then, buildings were not that high. From where we lived – at the seventh floor – I remember as a small kid, I could see how people lived their lives in the building opposite. There were lots of illegal structures constructed on the roof top and I was used to see – through the eyes of a small boy (with lots of imagination) – how people prepared and cooked their food in the kitchens, people going in and out of the toilets, and family members arguing with each other. An unsightly scene I know but not without the charm of curiosity.

Years later, from the same set of windows through the eyes of a young boy, I have seen how pedestrian bridge was built. And I have seen how an office was built, then a hotel. It has always been a fascination to observe the different kind of machinery works together in such a slow manner. But yet, as we all know how time flies, a beautiful structure is built from ground up and suddenly we ask ourselves: wait a minute, it wasn’t there a while back.

And a while back, in the year of 2006 dated September 1st, I walked pass a construction site diagonally opposite Sim Lim Square. I was in awe when I had a peep at the site inside (picture on the left) and it was drawing me into it. The feeling is as such: life outside the fence operates as per normal while what lies inside is a big pot of mystery. Something is growing rapidly. I had no idea what it was but I took a picture anyway.

September 26, 2007, I visited Sim Lim Square and this time, I saw a beautiful building that is close to completion (picture on the right). I admired the building in great length so much so that I missed the taxi that I was supposed to flag down. I did a research at home and this building is the LASALLE College of the Arts.

You must be thinking, since from young I have this fascination of construction, why didn’t I become a civil engineer instead? Even my mother thought that I would be an engineer of some sort. This got me thinking that in life, there are three types of career – career that you fascinate (no proven track record if you can or cannot do that job), career that you have passion with (something to do with any of your hobbies that you have shown talent), and career that earns a living. In my case and in the above said order, that would be an engineer, playing in a rock band, and being stuck inside an office cubicle. If you have found a career that you fascinate since young, have passion with, and earn you a good living, I sincerely congratulate you. Please share your story with me.

In the same month when I discovered LASALLE College of the Arts, at my Godmother’s birthday party, I met someone who works in the construction business. His company does project management work – conceptually not too different from the kind of things I have done – primarily working on the “design and implementation” of condominiums in Singapore. He explained to me that this team takes in the architect’s design and contracts teams of specialists in making the blueprint a reality.

One question came into my mind. How much does it cost to build a condominium?

A 30-ish tall condominium in 3 to 4 blocks with a total unit size of 400-ish at a non-prime location costs S$70 to S$80 million to build. That works out to be an average of S$200,000 per unit. I enquired further on the cost allocation and learned that in general, 30% goes to the raw building in concrete form, 30% goes to the internal piping and wiring and utilities, and finally 30% goes to the “surfacing” (i.e. tiles and standard furniture). For prime location, expect up to 40% of allocation to the “surfacing” work. I didn’t ask him where does the rest of 10% goes to. It must be the cost of project management and the paper work I suppose. The timeline of each project? 18 to 24 months.

Back to LASALLE, I wonder if there are relevant courses that will enhance some of my art hobbies. If there is, I will let you know for sure.

Categories
Drama Movie Reviews

The Nanny Diaries – Heartwarming Though Nothing Exceptional

When was the last time you and your friends or partner caught a show spontaneously? It is certainly not often for me. I always plan it half a day or a day in advance. But you know in life, there are just moments when you feel … just do it – however rare these moments are. In fact, I can even recall when Cynthia and I caught a show spontaneously – Nicolas Cage’s 8MM (1997) at Malacca, Malaysia and Sarah Jessica Parker’s Failure to Launch (2006) at Suntech, Singapore.

Last Sunday at AMK Hub, we wanted to check out the spanking new Cathay cineplex and all of a sudden, both of us wanted to catch a show despite the fact that we have just watched “Shoot ‘Em Up” the day before. You know what a craving for movie is like.

Looking back, I had no idea why we chose “The Nanny Diaries”. The show started in 10 minutes’ time was one. Scarlett *ahem* Johansson was another. For me at least. Strangely, or rather coincidentally, Paul Giamatti played as the jerk ass husband who seldom gave time to his family (hence the nanny came into the picture) and he also played “Shoot ‘Em Up” as the jerk ass husband who kept promising his wife on the phone that he would be back soon (hence the non-stop bullets in “Shoot ‘Em Up”). What a strong sense of deja vu.

To be fair, Cynthia did enjoy watching “The Nanny Diaries”. It is definitely heartwarming to watch a storyline of self-discovery and how one can be life changing to others. I think for those who are either fresh out of school and still ponder upon which career path to take (not me), or those whose mothers always wanted them to choose a different career (a rock star perhaps but nah), or those who are brought up by nannies because their parents were too busy at work (not me either), or those who are mothers or mother-wannabes (definitely not). In short, I personally cannot quite relate to the storyline. But I can imagine some others may.

I wish that “The Nanny Diaries” could give me more in terms of scripts and acting. It is a heartwarming movie no doubt.

On a side note, I tried very hard to recall which movie Scarlett Johansson has acted in. Somehow that video of her and Justin Timberlake (“What Goes Around Comes Around”) got stuck in my mind big time. She does have quite a number of movies under her belt, including my favorite “The Prestige”. Now I remember.

Categories
Diary

At Botanic Gardens Part 2 of 2 – Nomine Si Nescis, Perit & Cognitia Rerum

Click to enlarge

It all started with a milestone that our team has completed. Monday morning was declared as a half day holiday that was off the record. Nice! And since I needed to send Cynthia off to work anyway, I have decided to head to the Botanic Gardens (commonly misspelled by many including myself as “Botanical Garden” in Singapore) and read the new book by Paulo Coelho.

So I freed a beetle. It is always refreshing to keep in touch with nature. Back in the good old days when I was still schooling, I often head to the Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens (right next to where I studied) before school started and during lunch time – to study and to relax. At times, I visited the habitat of the monkeys and the gorillas and the birds and the plant after school. I sought after the solace nature provides, always.

And on that Monday morning, I took a stroll within the garden and pondered upon many things in life. I passed by the spot whereby across the grassland lay the trees that took 30-80 years to grow and blossom – an activity that involved the production of 20 million fragrant flowers and the plant died after such an enormous effort of flowering and fruiting. The name of the plant is Talipot Palms (Corypha Umbraculifera). When my mother and sister visited me in year 2005, that was the exact time when Talipot Palms blossomed. Today, the plant looks almost dead.

Nomine Si Nescis, Perit & Cognitia Rerum literally means “If you do not know the name of things, the knowledge of them is lost too”. This is inspiring as I seldom put in effort to remember names.

First thing I saw when I got out of the car park was … the building specially made for “Orchid Breeding and Micropropagation”. I have been to the Botanic Gardens numerous times and it was the first time when I witnessed how Orchid was being bred. Did you know how Orchid is being cloned in Singapore? There are altogether four stages that took place in four different rooms: growth media preparation room, transfer room, shaker room, and culture room. What fascinated me the most was the shaker room where tons of plantlets in clear crystal jars are being shaken 24×7 by machines. According to the literature, shaking the tissue in the nutrient solution helps to improve the supply of air and nutrients to the tissue. Since the tissue has no sense of gravity, the planetlets do not differentiate into shoots and roots but rather grow into more tissue. The stronger and bigger plantlets are then planted out at the garden. Quite an eye opener.

As I approached the Visitor’s center, the sound of nature slowly overtaken by the sound of school kids. Botanic Gardens surely is a popular place for kids to spend a morning at. I read my book inside a cafe and all of a sudden, a dog barked. Apparently, the dog was disturbed by the noise generated by the school kids. At that very moment, as I concentrated on the sound of the school kids – without fully understand the language they talked about – it sounded like the chirping of birds. Lots of sound and lack of ability to comprehend what they are trying to say.

Techers fed the kids McDonald’s meal. No wonder there are obese in Singapore.

I walked along one of the lakes and witnessed something shocking. A dead fish floating on the water surface was deemed fit for the rest of the turtles to eat. It was quite a gruesome scene when the body of the fish slowly diminished as time went by starting from its tail up. There was a horde of hungry turtles, for sure. And I had just cooked a live fish yesterday for dinner. I could not stand looking at that fish any more.

Trees in the garden are a big thing. There are different kinds of trees planted within the Botanic Gardens and some are adopted by well known organisations or individuals. Back in the city, trees are just for decoration’s sake. I was in my tie and shirt and I didn’t feel quite belong to this one big happy family at the Botanic Gardens. At the city center later in the afternoon, it was a whole different story. I felt being blended in. How strange. What we wear dictates how we feel and the need to conform dictates what we wear.

Nomine Si Nescis, Perit & Cognitia Rerum and learn the names. Each plant and animal was given a surname and a given name, did you know?

Categories
Diary

At Botanic Gardens Part 1 of 2 – Finding Mr. B a New Home

One morning, right before I started the car engine and began a rather unusual morning of enjoying myself at the Botanic Gardens on a working day, Cynthia pointed at the passenger seat window and said rather calmly, “Look, there is an animal outside”. The French calls it an animal. Apparently the Indonesian refers that as an animal too. But in Chinese and in English, I would rather call it an insect. Linguistically, any living being that is not a human being nor a plant is an animal. But that blob of protein with somewhat hard shell, hairy legs, and has a size of one and a half inches in length? I would call it an insect, a beetle to be exact. (Note: Cynthia countered and asked if I would call a frog an amphibian or an animal. I was tongue-tied.)

I thought that once the car left the parking lot, the beetle would fly away. But it didn’t. It just hang onto the window as our car sped onto the highway. From the feeling of indifference came a feeling of concern. If this beetle was to fly off in the middle of highway, chances were, it would smash itself onto the windscreen of an incoming vehicle and suffer a horrible death. I did not have the heart for that to happen. In as much as possible, I accelerated gently and braked gently. It is hard to describe but I felt as thought it was no longer just Cynthia and I who were inside the car, but this beetle too – as one of our passengers. How extraordinary in such an ordinary day! Since I was heading to the Botanic Gardens, Cynthia suggested that I should free this passenger of ours into the wild.

That made sense. After all, I did not think a beetle can make its home on a highway, nor in the city. A beetle living in a concrete jungle is a dead beetle in no time. All of a sudden, I related to our new friend. A friend whom I wanted to give him a name.

Me: Let’s give this guy a name.
Cynthia: Okay. What would you suggest?
Me: Anything. You pick.
Cynthia: How about Mr. Bee.
Me: But he is not a bee!
Cynthia: Bee stands for beetle.
Me: Fine. Mr. B it is then.

Throughout the journey to Cynthia’s office, Mr. B hardly moved. Hence I inquired, “Is he dead?”

“I don’t think so. I saw him moving his legs,” replied Cynthia. “Are you sure it was not the wind,” I countered. Cynthia did not reply.

And when we finally reach Cynthia’s office, Mr. B started to move around. I was actually worried that he might lose his grip and fall off the window. But he didn’t. As I was driving to the Botanic Gardens – alone – Mr. B made a turn when our car stopped at the traffic light and he faced me. As though he was trying to tell me something.

Of course I did not hear a thing! Was I hallucinating or what?! In my mind I said to him, “Hang in there buddy. We will reach your new home soon.”

As I reached the Botanic Gardens, I got out of the car with a piece of paper, walked to the other side of the car and observed. The heat wave from the engine and the tyre was unbearable. How did Mr. B manage to put up with that? Amazing. I scooped him off and gently released him onto a vast bush area. I hope that he will find solace in this new home of his.

In life, we come across different kinds of people. Most of the time, we are indifference to their existence. We may not be able to communicate because of certain barriers, but we may be in the same journey one way or another. Our destinations may not coincide, but however brief the interaction is, it can be life changing to some due to the things we do. It is how one treats the insignificance that speak ones character.