The beginning has just begun..

I have not contributed to the blog for almost a year. But I did not regret.. Who dictates that we need to write blog so often? This is my blog and I will write it as and when I like.

Excuses.

Well, as usual, I have thought of coming in to pen down my thoughts. I will just leave what is past to the past and concentrate on the present.

In a few days time, I will be attending the graduation ceremony, wearing the gown with the mortarboard. The owl's attire as I used to joke about. And I will officially announce to the world that I am a graduate!

C'mon.. This is just the beginning of your working life. What is so great about it?

It is true. In a few days time, I will have to go to work early in the morning and return late at night. I will be looking forward to the weekend every week and hope that the pay day will come soon. A typical working adult life. Why should I be happy about graduating? In fact, I will be facing the reality of life soon.

Nevertheless, I think it is time for me to experience the world, after 16 years of education. I have been sheltered in school, doing projects imitating the real world scenarios, presenting to the professors and fellow classmates instead of real bosses and customers, mugging for examinations with study break instead of having to mug and deliver business results at the same time. How exciting it can be to see the real world finally! Isn't this the objective of getting the degree?

I can feel that something is going to change my life.. again. It is something that I have experienced just before my NS enlistment and before entering into SMU. Yet it is so remotely different. Heard someone said before that this is another leap in our life, a very big leap indeed.

Random thoughts

Went to one of the annual hungry ghost festival dinner tonight with my parents. Quite reluctant to go at first, but went after considering that it would be a decent dinner for me.

Not many young people around.. This is usually the case now.. The participants are usually aunties and uncles (My parents generation). I have no topics to talk with them and I am very amazed that they are able to pick up conversations easily even though they might not meet one another before. Their topics would revolve around "Anybody still around?" and things like that... and their conclusion would usually be "How long will we live is all predestined?"

I did not pay much attention to this hypothesis that they have made because nobody can prove whether this statement is true. But I have thought of a Chinese saying which goes, you never bring anything when you are born and you will not bring anything with you when you are dead.. If this statement is true, do we need to be so uptight by things such as wealth, authority and career aspirations? Can we bring them into the grave with us?...

Trapped in expectations

About ten years ago, I was told from a teacher that I need to be more confident to succeed in life. Five years ago, I was told by my army buddy that I can be more arrogant so that I can overcome any challenges. Few years ago, a professor has asked me to be more confident so that I can present better..

Their advices are good and I have gained a lot of achievements. Can do fairly well in studies, overcome obstacles in army and do what I want to do. I would not say I am a very confident person, but I can say that it can tide me through most of the obstacles so far in life. However, my expectations of myself have also increased tremendously, to a point where I might collapse if I ever hit a setback. And indeed, I am...

I was quite depressed yesterday. Too many things have happened and I realized that I am unable to meet the expectations that I have set for myself. I was pessimistic, feeling weak, tired and bleak of the future. I tried to ask myself, why am I in such deep shit now? Why I could not just set average expectation like anyone else and live normally? Didn't I have told myself that I would want to live like a normal person a few months back?

After much thinking, I realized that I have been living to the expectation of other people. What other people believe I can do, I will go for it. I do not know what I want to have in my life. I am concerned of what other people expect of me and I would set a higher expectation of myself. She was right, to say that I have been running fast and I have been pushing myself to run even faster. Eventually, I would collapse. She reminded me that it is a blessing to lead a normal life yesterday, which I have forgotten while I am in this rat race. Yes indeed.. that is what I need. But if I stop now, i might lose everything that I have.. To let go or not to let go.

Watched a clip on some moral story on why monkeys are being trapped. The hunter placed a few bottles with rice such that the neck is just nice for a monkey to put in its hand. That night, many monkeys came and tried to take the rice. They put in their hands and grabbed the rice. However, they were not able to remove their hand from the bottle if they grab the rice. In the end many of the monkeys are stuck. Only a few monkeys are clever enough to let go of the rice and escape from the trap. Am I the monkey now in this scenario?

A senior told me once.. I am strong in materialistic sense but I am weak spiritually.. Spiritual in the sense that I can control what I want... even to let go when I am about to achieve the goal. I would lead a happy life if I am able to achieve such balance.

"Don't need to live up to others expectations. The first thing to overcome it is to overcome yourself. If you can't manage yourself, you cannot manage others.." I will remember her words...

Data Entry

The job for today is basically data entry.. I think my speed has improved tremendously No other interns around.. Feeling a bit boring, but luckily there are new people coming in.

The customer service officer called, very polite.. Well, I will give them another chance :)

Poor Service Quality

I am very disturbed and disappointed by the service quality that I have received today. Maybe because I had experience two extreme cases in the same morning.. One very good and one very bad. Now I understand why customers are very frustrated when the company does not treat its customers seriously.. I was on the verge of terminating the policy on the spot. I was very tired after the whole incident and went back to sleep immediately in the late afternoon...

Asking for more works

Today, as usual, went to the managers to ask for work. Surprisingly, he has works for me and I was very happy. Although some of these tasks are outright SK, I don't mind.. At least I don't feel guilty siting down there doing nothing.. even to the extent of OT. I feel that I learn a lot today... and I'm feeling tired.. TGIF..BUT! Tomorrow still need to go to SMU.. I am really asking for it.

Maybe not for me...

Have been in office for my internship for quite some time.. Nothing for me to do actually and that explains why I can find time to blog during office hour. I have wanted to find more work but either it is too high level or too troublesome to be delegated... I admit myself to be a workaholic, maybe this job is not for me... or maybe I come in at the wrong time, during the lull period....

Journey not the Destiny

I just came across a blog of a senior today. I can relate to most of the things that he blogs and I think it helps me to understand myself more. Maybe I am wrong to view things in the past....

I always work for the things that I want and I usually forgo the journey along the way.. Sometime I am confused by what I am doing and question myself whether reaching the destination is worth the effort.. Maybe a better way to look at it is to know the path that I am walking and enjoy the scenery along the journey.. A longer journey could be more worthwhile than taking faster route to reach the destination. Don't let the destiny controls you.. From now onwards, I will control my journey and my destiny.

I will blog everyday from now onwards, even if it is short, I will learn more about myself this way.

A place in life

Read the book on "the Alchemy".. There are many learning points from the simple story. One of them talks about destiny and that not many people pursue their destiny. The reason for not doing so is simply that people cannot get out of their comfort zone. People rather stay status quo, don't fight the norms and most importantly, they do not "talk" to their hearts to understand what they need.

Rational people think with their brains and not their hearts. Thinking logically with the brain is good.. but understanding what the heart wants is equally important. If you are met with a decision, the brain tells you to do "A" but the heart tells you to do "B".. which would you choose?

I suppose this is applicable to many decisions that we have made or would be making in life. For now, making career decision is critical for me and most of my peers. Most people pursue their careers based on what the brain "tells" them. Go for one that can earn you the biggest bucks.. Go for one that can give you the fastest route to the corporate ladder.. Go for one that will get you the greatest NPV or the shortest payback period.. Well.. These are rational decisions. It helps to make you progress and these goals are relatively tangible.

There are also people who would go with their hearts... Go for one that I want... The question however is... what do you want? Helping people is what I want? Work life balance is what I want? Traveling around is what I want? Well.. I suppose this group of people would go with their hearts if they have the choice to do so.. Talk about inflation.. Talk about competitions.. Talk about survival... Do people still listen to their hearts?

There is another group of people who believe that they have a role to play in life. Can be some outcasts, can be some political leaders, can be some businessmen, can be some religious leaders.. They believe they exist in life because of some reasons and they pursue their dreams. They are different from people who follow the crowds and they believe in what they are doing, even if they differ from norms. They want to do the job, even if nobody wants to do.. Be it low pay, low social status... but they find peace because they know that it is their role, their destiny. Confucius says something like do the role that you are supposed to be in.. the leader should behave like the leader, the follower should behave like a follower... the parent behaves like a parent, the child behave like a child. Believing is a powerful force that drives you to what you want. However, the challenge is.. what is your belief? What is your destiny? What is your place in life?

Finding new direction..

A lot of things have happened for the past few days.. WZ was injured.. Hwee and his family were back... Man Chun was back also... internship was becoming more stagnant... FYP getting more busy..

Somehow.. this summer is different from the previous summers.. It is the last summer that I am going to have and time seems to past very slowly. I begin to pick up new hobbies, such as learning languages and reading fictional books/biographies. I suppose it is a good start towards work-life balancing and I hope that the habit would stay with me.

Random thoughts in Hong Kong

Just some random thoughts when I was having exchange in Hong Kong:

To be successful in life, you need to have capabilities and credibility...

Focus in 5F:
Family, Friends, Fortune, Food, Flight/Fun

First day of work

Today is my first day of work.. Woke up, brushed my teeth, wore my new zara shirt and go to work by MRT. When I reached Raffles Place MRT, I felt very identical to the other working class people. Everyone seemed to conform to a certain standard - Wearing similar outfits, walking in similar direction, and showing similar facial expression. It looked scary, like a group of zombies. Probably today is Monday and everyone is having Monday Blues.

It took some time to clear the administrative procedures but it was fast to get settle down. Thanks to Felix and the other interns and colleagues who were very helpful. There are not many people around in the company because they are clearing leaves in this lull period. I only get to know my general job scope and I hope it would be clearer soon.

Had a good lunch through some recommendations and I'm looking forward for more places to eat as the time goes by. Time went very fast and I didn't expect to come home so early... After much thoughts, I thought it was time for me to start exercising before I got any fatter. I dragged myself from the sofa and went for a run one hour after dinner.. It was rather tiring but refreshing after the exercise.

Today is a fresh start for me after the long 22 weeks of academic imprisonment. Looking forward to more experience tomorrow..

Reflecting in front of the campfire

Like every other person, we have preoccupied so many activities in our lives and seldom can find time to do self-reflection. It has been some time since I have paid attention to this blog, just like
I have not gone for a campfire for a long time. However, I still remember the fond memories that I have. Yesterday, while I was talking to my friends, I realized that I have missed out a lot on these reflections and they would be forgotten soon if I do nothing about it. I think it is about time for me to rekindle this blog and I have changed its name to the source of memories.

When I was in NPCC, I would always look forward to the annual campfire night. I enjoyed the atmosphere, the warmth and the moments with my friends, singing and dancing happily around the campfire. In particular, I liked to stare at the fire and reflect on myself. It is similar to looking at the river flow and listening to the sound of the flowing water.. But there is something special about the fire, that it will warm and smooth my heart...

Sometime the fire became weaker and we would add the firewood to "keep the fire going". For every firewood added to the flame, the fire becomes stronger and more memories appear in my mind. It is a source of energy that keeps me warm and adds incredible meanings to my life. This is one of the reasons I like about my nickname, firewood.

Half-way through HK Fall Exchange 2007

Today marks the second month of my overseas exchange in HKUST. It is a short period of time but yet I have done a lot of things. Most of the things that I have done involve traveling, in HK and other places such as Shenzhen, Beijing, Guangzhou, Macau next week.

A lot of people ask me whether HK is fun or not. So far my answer is yes. You can have good food, good shopping and good scenery (maybe because my hostel room is facing the sea!). The issue that I face so far is that the cost of living is higher than Singapore.

For now, I will just talk about my experience in HK. HK is much bigger and more hilly than Singapore. Transportation system is efficient especially with the widely-used octopus card. There are many bus transportation available and I usually travel out of campus using the minibus service. MTR transportation fee is expensive but it is much cheaper with the student rate.

My buddy cum roommate, Edmund, and me have been traveling around quite often. On the day that we arrive, Chorng Shin has brought us and Christina around in HK. We had a very good Dim Sum at Federal (www.FederalRestaurant.hk) and went to see the lightshow at the Victoria Harbour. After that we went to eat dessert at 许留山 and went back to hostel to take a rest.

We took a 2-day tour with the school to see the surrounding islands in HK. Nothing much to see, in my opinion. During that weekend, we went to Shenzhen for message and eat good food. Still remember Chorng Shin still prefer his meng niu milk at Walmart. But in my opinion, nothing much to see in Shenzhen. It is just another city that has no differentiating factor with other cities.

Went to Lan Kwai Fong a few times with friends.. I don't really like clubbing but I go there to take a look at how the nightlife in HK is like. There are a lot of expatriates there and many pubs and clubs there. Christina and me celebrated our birthday with our friends and had a good night over there. Subsequently went there a few time such as Halloween and some special events and I am constraining myself because it is not healthy for my body and my wallet to go there so often.

Ocean Park is a must go in HK! I had fun over there with Edmund, Christina and Hong Sheng. The rides are super fun, rekindling my childhood memory. Bought an annual pass over there and I know that I will bring Weizhen there when she comes to HK in dec again. That night, we went to Stanley market to eat and had a good chat over there.

Found a few good eating places at Temple Street, Yong Ji at Central, Java Street Market and Watami. But I'm still missing my Sg food..

(TBC)

Knowing to treasure what I have

During this period of overseas internship, I missed my family, my gf and my friends.. At first it is still manageable because I was trying to adapt well to new environment... But after that, I get to miss them more... As the saying goes, "Absence makes the heart grow fonder"... It is only when they are not around me then I realize how precious they are. Many people said that I should have gone to Hong Kong directly from Shanghai... But I did not make a wrong decision in coming back first. I get to meet up with my family, my gf and my friends.. I have longed to see them when I was in Shanghai... This is the happiest moment in my life and I know that I will treasure them more after I get back from Hong Kong.

Fostering friendships in China

Having stayed in Shanghai for 3 months, I have fostered good friendships with my roommates, friends and colleagues. I always felt very good whenever I see any Singaporeans on the street. It somehow brings us closer because we are Singaporeans.

I have good room-mates staying with me... include Weifa, Jiayan, Joey and I-Shan. In particular, Weifa for looking after us like a caring father while Jiayan for bringing joys and happiness to the house. I really missed those day staying in Shanghai with them... Filling water, cooking food, clubbing, "sleeping", singing, eating, massaging, running, planning (especially jia yan), arcading, eating dumplings (小笼包，种子), "bitching", acting quiet, exploring, ironing, washing clothes... Haha, these bring back good memories.

I also felt very excited when someone visits us from Singapore, or Singaporeans working in Shanghai. These people include Gilbert, Lin xu, My mother and aunties, Uncle Robert and wife, Jiayan's mother, Jiayan's uncle, Jiayan's sister and friends, Kenneth, Marcus, Bing Kai, Li Na, Phuong, Evangeline, Ester.. And also those already in Shanghai, including Hanwen, Vivenne, Nicole, Robin, Justin, Lawrence... How I wish more friends can join me in Shanghai as well....

Experiencing working and living in China

Working and living in China... My experience may be different from the others. But basically these are the things to look out for: Accommodation, Transportation and Company.

I had many problems with the landlord, like 发票issue (Apparently, it is a common practice among renting not to issue 发票... a way to evade tax?) and number of people staying in the house. But anyway, it is the past. Usually, I aim to spend less than 50RMB a day and spend more during the weekend. In addition, I signed up with pfingo and skype to call back home free as long as I have internet connection... but trust me, internet connection in China is quite unreliable. I had difficulties trying to check emails to go on msn. My friends on msn were all asking me, "How come you always go online and offline"...

If you want to travel around in Shanghai, try http://www.ddmap.com. They give good guide on the bus transportation system. But, unlike Singapore, if you can go from A to B with bus C, you might not be able to return with bus C anymore. So do plan carefully before you travel! It is relatively cheap to travel in bus.. but it is very packed. If you want, you can travel by cabs but you need to know how to "snatch". MRT is good also but there was once when it broke down because someone kicked the door due to frustration of being packed. It is convenient if you buy the 交通卡 from the MRT station. But you can only refund it at 衡山路 (at least near my place).

Company... different company has different policy. It is important to get on good terms with them so that you can ask favor from them easier next time. But in general, it is very important to know how to speak and write Chinese. I was usually tasked to do translation from English to Chinese and vice versa. Your Chinese will definitely improve by working in Shanghai. You might want to use 金山词霸 or http://www.iciba.com as your favorite tool.

Most people in Shanghai speak Shanghainese.. but it is ok to speak English or Chinese (Putonghua). Shanghainese, to me, sounds like Japanese. So far I only know how to say
"Thank you" - Shayah nong
"Eat Rice" - Che' ve le
"End of Work" - Ho Be le
"Good Bye" - Zhai Hui
The tone is quite difficult to pick up though. Anyway, half of the people in Shanghai are foreigners, speaking Putonghua is sufficient.

Glancing at the Shanghai Town

Ok.. enough of serious stuffs.. Going to introduce some famous places in Shanghai. I am not an authorized tour guide but at least I know where are the places that you can go to if you are heading to Shanghai.

人民广场
I will compare this to the City Hall of Shanghai. It is the heart of the town as many people change their train if they are traveling between 浦东 and 浦西. You can observe how developed Shanghai is from here... and I am proud to see Capital Land's Raffles City right at 人民广场. Although it is very accessible, there are many people and cars in this area. 所谓 "上海数人头", you can really see how packed Shanghai is. But since there are many places that you can travel from there, you should go there at least once.

南京步行街
This is a very well-known street in Shanghai, starting from 人民广场. There are many shopping centers along this street and they are usually very "class". I will recommend walking down this at night because you can see how beautiful lit the place is. If I remember correctly, it will take roughly 1/2-1 hour to walk down the street. Move down from 人民广场to 南京东路 because you will get to see the beautiful bund at night.

外滩 (The Bund)
This place is usually very crowded and many couples like to go there. It has a beautiful night scenery along the river 黄浦江 and you can see colonial building lit up in yellow lighting behind you. Usually people come here to take photos with the famous Oriental Pearl Tower 东方明珠塔. You can also see the developed scenery of 浦东from this place but I feel that it is more scenic from the 浦东side. This is because you can see the old scenery of Shanghai.

东方明珠塔
In my personal opinion, I do not find the building attractive. But I was told that after this tower was built, 浦东starts to develop very fast. It is worthy to come and take a look. In other words, if you don't see the tower, you can't say that you have come to Shanghai. Anyway, you need to pay to go up the tower and I didn't go up there. Stop at the 陆家嘴MRT station if you want to go there. You can also get to see the Bund from the other side of the river. There are also many shopping centers that you can take a look, like 金茂大厦.

城隍庙
The temple worships 孔子but so far I didn't go in before. I do respect him but just that I could not have the chance to go in and pray. There are many stalls over here, selling chinese handicrafts and jewellery. There are also two buildings with stalls that look like 七浦路. Anyway, don't forget to try the famous 小笼包here. Well, it is another famous tourist attraction that you shouldn't miss.

七浦路
This is a very large market, selling apparels. If you like shopping and like to bargain, this is the place to go. Remember, you have to bargain!

七宝古镇
This place is a small version of 水乡. I went there at night and didn't really see much thing there because all stalls are closed. But the scenery is still very beautiful. The only thing is that it is quite far from the central.

徐家汇
I am very familiar with this place because I stayed near here. There are four big shopping centers here, opened by Singaporean (美罗城), Japanese (Sogo), Hong Kong (港汇) and Chinese (上海百货). I usually go 美罗城 because there are arcade, bookshop and foodcourt (大食代). Behind it, there is 百脑汇, a famous IT center (similar to our Sim Lim Square). This place is also very crowded.

新天地/Bon Bon/Baby Face/Windows
Well.. These are famous clubbing places. I like the atmosphere in 新天地 but it is quite a costly entertainment place. But you should at least go there to see the place once because a lot of foreigners are there. You can go clubbing at the other affordable places. But do be careful of your belongings... my friend lost his handphone there. All these clubbing places are in 衡山路，淮海路，黄皮南路, 静安寺...

静安寺
This is another place that is very centrally located with the famous 玖光百货.. You can go into the temple to take a look.

Other interesting places include 古北家乐福，田林，虹桥路, 上海体育场(Foxtown). If you want to eat Singapore Food, look for Frankie's place... I can't remember the place but I know who to get it from =) You can also try 和记.. it is kinda staple food for me and my friends. The food in Shanghai is famous for salty and oily. So be prepared.

Learning the Chinese Ways, Culture and History

Let me put it this way.. I do not understand the Chinese very well.. What I am going to write comes from my personal observation and from what I hear from my friends. In addition, different provinces in China work differently. Shanghai is the fastest developing city in China and it is heavily influenced by foreign investments. Hence, it is unfair to compare Shanghai with the other provinces. Indeed I was warned that I should never use Shanghai as a gauge for China.
Strong viewpoints
Whenever there are any discussions or debates among my Chinese colleagues, I felt that they held strongly to their viewpoint. It is not that they do not consider other viewpoints... I find that they will do their best to support their arguments. Most of the time, I realize that we usually discuss and debate in the most "political" way. "This can... but the other one also can...". Well, more often than not, we find our arguments siting on the fence. I respect them for putting their stand clearly and support it with substantial reasoning. I was told that this could be because the people (in the city) travels frequently in China and they establish their thoughts from what they observe. Unlike in Singapore, they are not told "what is right" and "what is wrong"; what they say is what they see. Probably that is why it is not an uncommon sight to see Chinese quarreling along the street.

Patriotic
Every time when I talk to the Chinese people, they will discuss about history, politics, literature, business and education. Most of these topics revolve around China and they are very concern of the current affairs of China. They will openly discuss the politics of China, whether it is working or not, and put in their inputs. For instance, I am convinced by them that communism may be a good political system in governing China, which is large and developing. What I admire most is that most of them know their history at their fingertips. This could be the result of the education system focusing on history and literature. Well... it may not seem to be as useful as science and mathematics, but it gives China its unique identity.

Strong Desire to Learn
Chinese are famous of being hardworking and I can feel their strong desire to excel and learn. Every now and then, my colleagues will ask me about English, IT skills and other things that I have learned in school. I also heard of many people taking night classes in China. With the opening of the Chinese market and the Internet, I believe they will catch up with the rest of the world very fast.. I am indeed motivated by them to continue learning fast. When every Chinese knows how to write and speak English, we would no longer have this competitive advantage of English anymore. No wonder it is very important to take another language. Well, I will keep up this learning spirit with them.

Friendship and Guanxi
I have many friends who told me that the Chinese were unfriendly to them in the public. And I would usually say that this would not be the case if they get to know you better. I make a lot of Chinese friends in China and they have treated me very well during my stay. Probably this is the reason why many people say it is very important to establish good 关系with the locals. But I believe this will apply to other parts of the world. Overall, they will look after their friends very well.

Creativity
Well... Creativity can come in both good and bad ways.. It is not uncommon to find counterfeit goods in the market such as pirated DVDs (5RMB a disc!). There are also creative products produced but they will be copied immediately. I believe there are still rooms for improvements to educate the public on Intellectual Property Rights... But if such rules are enforced, how is China going to feed so many poor and hungry people?

There are other interesting observations as well. For example, they said that people in northern China are more 豪爽 and people in the southern China are more 精算. Why 江苏area can develop faster than the rest of China is because scholars were usually produced in this region from history. These are just some interesting stories that I have heard. Like what I have said earlier on, these are just my personal observations.

Beginning of Shanghai Memory

I have a dilemma. I want to blog down every experience that I had in Shanghai. But it is not possible for me to do so. There are simply too many things that I want to talk about and if I were to put them down all in a single post, it will be too long to be read. Hence, I have decided to break my Shanghai Memory down into a few manageable posts:

1) Learning the Chinese Ways, Culture and History
2) Glancing at the Shanghai Town
3) Experiencing working and living in China
4) Fostering friendships in China
5) Knowing to treasure what I have

In addition, I will also talk about my trips to 黄山, 西安, 洛阳, 苏州, 杭州 in the later posts. I am going to leave Singapore soon for overseas exchange in Hong Kong. Hopefully I have the time to finish journalizing this memory down before I engage another journey....