The Target Cafe again

Went to The Target Cafe with M and WM for lunch. They attested to the taste and good value of the food. We all had the grilled fish set. If you go there and had to have coffee, go for the brewed ones. The normal ones are not very good.

Insanity

This quote was attributed to the great Albert Einstein.


"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. "

Are we expecting the same in our work and lives?

Vietnam coffee and two babes

The moon is blue today. Even in the heat of the afternoon, I knew it.

Doesn't make sense to you? My friend Chee Keong invited me to his house to try out his "very good" vietnamese coffee which he bought during a recent trip. This to me is a "once in a blue moon".

Anyway, this was the coffee. The coffee was quite aromatic but being an uncle now, I prefer the friendly hawker centre's kopi-gao.

But I must still convey my thanks to CK for his sincerity and hospitality. Furthermore, I also got introduced to two very young friends, Kaixin and Xavier.

Baby gal Kaixin with her Uncle Keong

Baby boy Xavier with (again) his Uncle Keong

Henry Ford an Ignoramus?

As defined in the dictionary, an ignoramus is an ignorant person. Here's a story about Henry Ford defending in court claims that he was an ignoramus.

This excerpt was taken from "http://www.tribune.com.ng/06102007/opinion.html".

================

Henry Ford, the automobile business mogul, brought suit against the Chicago Tribune, charging that newspaper with libelous publication of statements concerning him, one of which was the statement that Ford was “an ignoramus, an ignorant pacifist,” and so on. That was during World War I.

In the courtroom, the attorneys for Tribune undertook to prove that their statements were correct, that he was ignorant, and with this objective in mind, they catechized and cross-examined him on many subjects.

One question thrown at Ford was: “How many soldiers did the British send to subdue the rebellion in the colonies in 1776?” However, with a dry grin on his face, Ford nonchallantly replied: “I do not know just how many, but I have heard that it was a lot more than ever went back.”

This reply threw the courtroom into loud laughter from the jury, courtroom spectators, and even the depressed attorney who had asked the question. This line of cross-examination was prolonged for more than an hour, with Ford remaining perfectly calm. At the end, however, he was tired of it and in reply to a question which was particularly obnoxious and degrading, the business magnate straightened himself up, pointed his finger at the questioning attorney and retorted: “If I should really wish to answer the foolish question you have just asked, or any of the others you have been asking, let me remind you that I have a row of electric push buttons hanging over my desk and, by placing my finger on the right button, I could call in men who could give me the correct answers to all the questions you have asked and others that you haven’t the intelligence to ask or to answer. Now, will you kindly tell me why I should bother about filling my head with a lot of useless details in order to answer every foolish question that anyone may ask, when I have able men all around me who can supply me with all the facts I want when I call for them?”

There was graveyard silence in the courtroom. The questioning attorney’s jaw dropped and his eyes opened wide. The judge leaned forward from the bench and gazed in Mr. Ford’s direction. Many of the jury awoke and looked around as if they heard an explosion, which they actually had.

Readers, Henry Ford’s answer proved to all who had the intelligence to accept the proof that true education means mind development, not merely the gathering and classifying of knowledge. Ford could not, in all probability, have named the America’s state capitals, but he could have, and in fact had gathered the capital with which to turn many wheels within every state in the union.

Test Tube Apple Juice

I took my client out to Lingzhi (the vegetarian restaurant) at Orchard Road behind Wheelock Place for lunch today. Well, one of them was a vege only eater. The food there was good and nothing special to mention until we ordered some fruits to wrap up the luncheon... huge slices of rock melon and water melon were served with test tubes of apple juice. Needless to say, my clients and I were amazed. The special part about this test tube apple juice is that it doesnt flow as long as you tilt it less than 90 degrees, meaning you can tilt the test tube to 80 degrees and the water level looks as though it is still at 0 degrees upright! Only when you put it your mouth and tilt it >100 degrees to drink it ... it suddenly breaks through and flows into your mouth, a refreshing cool drink.

Systems Thinking (2)

This is a continuation of my post on Think Big, Start Small.

After reading the post, my wife said she still was not very clear on what were the systems, loops and connections I was talking about. I will relate two stories which Dr Jacob said.

====== Story 1/ Seeing Loops ======

A newly married lady found it unbearable to live with her mother-in-law. The often argued and the family became a very unhappy place. It got so bad that this lady went to see a TCM doctor and asked for some herbs which can help to get rid of her mother-in-law. The doctor told her that he will give her some herbs, but because if the mother-in-law died suddenly, it is too obvious, the herbs will only take effect after some time. And also to prevent suspicion, the doctor said that the lady must be very nice and obedient to her mother-in-law until the day that the mother-in-law dies. So this lady dutifully followed the advice and this went on for six months. Thereafter, she went to the TCM doctor but now asked for medicine to prevent her mother-in-law from dying. After these six months, the mother-in-law has grown to like her and she in turn has accepted and also grown to love her mother-in-law. The TCM doctor said that the herbs he gave were actually normal herbs which had only beneficial properties. The poison was actually in the lady's mind which needed to be cleansed.

The loop was actually a vicious loop: lady angry with mother-in-law >> mother-in-law angry with lady and so on.

After spotting such loops in our work or life, we can then take steps to reverse the vicious loop. And the area to work on is where we have the most control, often, it is our selves.

====== Story 2/ Seeing Connections ======

A lady who had a severe headache went to see a TCM doctor. The pain was too much to bear and she could not understand what was the cause of the pain. She was therefore puzzled that the doctor, after diagnosis, gave her medicine to use on her feet. After clarification, the doctor said that the headache was actually from the lady's constipation and did she know that the feet is actually linked to the head via nerves.

This story shows that if we fail to see the connection between things, we may not be able to see the solution of the issue.

Air grounded

This was the air-cushion component of my nike air shoe which retired after close to three years of service. I did not notice that the soles of the shoes were coming off. In the middle of the class, the soles simply came off so I, out of finding something to do, dug out the air cushion.

And because of this, I had to buy a new pair of shoes. These are my new shoes.

Luckily, these pair of shoes had only the larger sizes left so it costs $79. The shoes are light and adequately cushioned. Will use them in the Singapore Bay Run tomorrow.

Think Big, Start Small

I attended a "Basic Systems Thinking" course today. While I shall not bore everybody with what was being thought, I will leave some nuggets of info which I felt were quite valuable.
We are surrounded by systems, how the country, your company, your project, your family functions etc are all systems. And recognising how they work and how they can work for you can make a world of difference.

The lecturer, Dr Jacob Lee, pointed out that in systems, people normally see the components but fail to see the connections within the system.

He also spoke on the "loops" in our lives; loops are systems. As an example, the obvious loop is one of a char kway teow store and how the shop owner keeps his customers coming back for more. And loops could either lead to a vicious cycle (where matters keep deteriorating) or a virtuous cycle (where matters keep getting better).

And if we are in a vicious cycle, and these are normally systemic problems which are very difficult to solve, one way to break the cycle is to start at the area where one has the most control and to start SMALL but having a BIGGER aim in mind -- Think Big Start Small.

And in many times, the assumptions we make in resolving problems may actually lead to the problem becoming worse. For example, if in a company, increasing numbers of staff are resigning but management merely chooses to mitigate the situation increasing pay instead of looking at other issue like motivation or whether the staff is adequately trained, the situation may never get better.

That's all for today :)

Ayam Penyet or Smashed Chicken

Visited Marina Square Food Court for dinner. This is a branch of the famous "original" Ayam Penyet Ria store at Lucky Plaza. If you like fried stuff, this store should appeal to you. The best thing about this store is that it serves authentic indonesian 'sambal' or chilli. You could choose between fried chicken (chicken wing or thigh) or fish (pomfret or catfish) at $5.50; comes with rice and a small bowl of soup. The skin of the chicken and fish is nicely fried and crispy, the downside is that probably after frying two times (once when preparing and once before serving), the meat is a little dry but still tasty.
I also tried the bakso (beef ball soup). At $4 and only 6 meat balls served, this is on the expensive side. And when I bit into the meat ball, it was still cold in the middle; the soup was also cold. I complained to the store owner and he said he will heat it up! So, better not try the soup in the future.
If you want to try the dishes at the orginal store, it serves some pretty interesting drinks as well like avocado ice. But be prepared to queue and wait for your meal to be served, especially at peak hours.

圆的不能拿 Prata

My dad was the one who noticed the chinese name of this store. We were sitting in front of the prata shop but I did not notice the small chinese words. I had always enjoyed watching the cook make the prata, kneading the dough, flipping it and tossing it on the frying pan.
The spices used by the shop was displayed prominently in big, clear glass containers.

There was a quaint looking washing point in the food court. We used this to wash our hands before and after our meal.

Uni friend, A

Met A at Republic Food Court at Suntec today. He was in my 1st year class in CSE, NTU. Weiyang should remember him as well. In the class photo below, A is the person in the middle of the last row.
When I showed my wife this photo, she remarked that there are only three girls. I told her this was an engineering class!

Looking at the photos again, I am reminded of many of my class mates. Darren, Siong Teck and Ek Ming who were from AJC as well; Darren incidentally was my AJC basketball captain. Kar Sing and Wayne lived in Hall 11 as I did and we often walked back to our hostels together after classes. Wayne and I sometimes met then to have an evening jog together. Kar Sing was a Liverpool fan and we frequently discussed football matches. There is also this friend, forgot his name, who was in my platoon in SISPEC. He was very outstanding in SISPEC and made it to OCS subsequently.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GIIN BO

It was not known to me his exact date for his birthday until yesterday's dinner. Thus, I would like to wish Mr Tan a Happy 3x (age's a man's secret too) and sure you'll have a great day ahead!

Pettitoes?

Went to Ah Shun for pig spare parts along Balestiar Road for lunch with colleagues today. We learnt a new word today -- pardon our ignorance. Pettitoes means pig trotters. This store is recommended. The soup is just right, not too saltish nor sour, and the braised big intestines are really a treat. The soup and spare parts come in $3 or $5 portions.

Stiff Chilli

It was a one those days that you just want to lay and have a good bite. We drove to a small restaurant along Jalan Besar (recommended in the Strait Times) for this bite. You can parked around the Jalan Besar Stadium and walk there.

The deco here is almost DIY but nice.

There are not many tables, I think there are 3 tables that can seat 4 and 3 tables to seat 2, and a few more places near the ice-cream bar. I heard that this place is good for their pizzas but we ordered a pumpkin soup ($7), Whole Crab Spaghetti ($26) and ice-cream ($6) for dessert.

The Whole Crab Spaghetti taste good and the crab is fresh, but I personally find the portion small, suitable for small eaters.


The ice-cream is pretty good. It is served frozen hard and I spent quite a bit of time scrapping it. While having dessert, I looked around the restaurant and noticed a picture with topless natives.... interesting.

The TARGET cafe and more

Soon Heng initiated tonight's gathering and at an unusual location -- Thomson Community Club. I was initially quite skeptical when he said there was a cafetaria serving good western food. Well, I was a convert after the dinner.

HUMBLE PLACE: This is what the cafe looked like from the outside. But don't be fooled by its humble appearance.

Soon Heng recommended the grilled fish (dory) set. We waited quite a while for the food to come, but the wait was worth it. We had seven persons for dinner but we ended up ordering 10 dinner sets (8 fish, 1 chicken and 1 lamb). Such was the quality of the food that we had to have more. And the best thing, each set costs a mere $5.90!

VALUE FOR MONEY: Thought and sincerity in food.

Thanks to Soon Heng, we had a very enjoyable gathering with good and affordable(can be considered cheap) food.

And what was the occasion for? Our friend Soon Heng will be departing next week for a long 18 months on-the-job training in the States. Besides missing our brotherhood (haha) for this period, he will also be missing our in-camp-training next year; I am sure Weiyang will miss Soon Heng's support and steadfastness in Platoon 1.

Winston comforting a visibly affected Soon Heng.

Taking a photo for posterity.

Thereafter we adjourned for drinks at the nearby Craving "Something" (forgot the name liao). Most of the guys had beer, I had milkshake.

That's Winston between my milkshake and Soon Heng's Stella Artois.

Kelvin reminiscing on the labours of childbirth.

Of course, as the alcohol entered the blood stream, the TCSS started. Winston started giving fatherly advice to Soon Heng on how to liberate oneself in a foreign land.

Words of wisdom from Winston.

One for the road, Soon Heng.

After a good hour or so of TCSS, it was time for hand shakes and goodbyes. A tentative plan was hatched to visit Soon Heng in California for a road trip to see the sights in the States. Let's see how it goes.

One last photo for the memories.

Ho Kit's First Born

Congratulations to my friends Ho Kit and his wife Meili on the birth of their baby girl.

Run On Wednesday

Today was the inaugural day of this R.O.W (as coined by the increasingly rotund Chee Keong). Five of us drove from office to Botanic Gardens. By the time we reached, it was around 6.55pm and it was getting dark. Chee Keong ran by himself -- said he wanted to explore the place -- actually he did not want us to see how slow he has become! The rest of us ran or rather jogged together for around 25 mins. The air was cool, the surroundings quiet and the darkness inviting. So it was an enjoyable run for me, at least. We agreed to run again next Wednesday, maybe for a little longer haha.

National Orchid Garden

I have passed this place many times during my visit to the Botanic Gardens but because since one needed to pay a $5 fee to enter, I have not had a chance to go through the gates. But today, as I was accompanying some international delegates who were in Singapore for a conference, I finally had a chance to visit and take some photographs.

Looking up, I see beauty in nature.

Orchids, lots of them. What else in the Orchid Garden?

With my colleague SB

So was the visit worth the time? Definitely, the Orchid Garden was very well thought through, constructed and maintained. If you liked walking through the Botanic Gardens and nature in general, you will not be disappointed with the gardens. In fact, I felt very proud of the gardens when walking together with my foreign friends. It is a worthwhile place to spend $5 and a idyllic afternoon in.

A380 in seven minutes

Singapore Airlines has proudly taken delivery of the first A380. The appended video shows, in a short seven minutes, how this engineering feat was achieved.

Happy to be BACK...

...on the badminton court, that is. After a long lay-off of more than 7 months since my knee injury in Mar 07, I was playing proper games again. I was quite hesitant to play again because I am not sure how my knee will hold up even if I took preventive measures. Besides wearing normal knee guards, I also wore the "sud sud" ThermoSkin knee guard which I bought at my sports doctor.

Thankfully, all the chaps (from my reservist unit) who turned up have also laid off badminton for some time so the pace of the games were quite leisure. Therefore, I did not have to push my knee very much. I felt very happy and relieved to be able to perform my strokes again on the court, so much so that I might comtemplate a return to my regular saturday games. This is not only because of my love of the game, but also because I felt quite unfit not having a weekly exercise.

Anyway, for my friends who are about my age, do wear your guards (knee, wrist, ankle...whatever) when you engage in ball games. Its no fun breaking anything!

Hot Chick

Looking Back - P@rt 2

Hello I am back again! This time, I will be "documenting" some last memories that we have captured when we were still at our Somerset office.


This was the first and the last time I took a photo with Ms Lim at her work station. Do we look like sisters? :P

What could Dan be sharing with us??? Hmmm...

My issue has been "sold out" but managed to find the 2nd issue.

Needless to say, this is Ah Bo "working" at his nice and by-the-window work station. Look how tidy his desk was!


Dan has expressed our feelings too... hahaha!!!!!!

People just like to talk about stuff in front of my work station... Bet they did not know I took their picture! HAHA!

Dinner at The Manhattan Fish Market

Visited Central Mall with my wife for the first time. We originally wanted to partonise the japanese restaurants but most of them had long queues so we decided to try this Fish Market instead.

The menu is very similar to that of Fish & Co. We tried the Grilled Gala Platter for two ($29.90). The platter comprises a big slab of grilled dory, four grilled mussels and prawns, grilled calamari with a generous helping of fries and garlic rice. My wife commented that the food was tastier compared to Fish & Co. For me, I would come back to this restaurant again because the ambience and food is good.

Service charge and GST are applicable.

Looking Back - P@rt 1

Ah Bo, thanks for the invitation to add stories to ur blog.


Here I am... on a retrospective side...
BBQ Gathering @ Ah Yeo's 2005

This was 2 years back. Cannot remember what were we celebrating about... Haha!

2004 BBQ @ East Coast Chalet
I still remember that this happened just after the restructuring and it was really a good break for me as the work was getting on my nerves...

It was really a rare chance that the ex WD people to get together and have fun.

Okie, I think I will continue searching for interesting stories to tell.... till then! BYE!