The Insignificance and Vulnerability of Simplicity

Wednesday, September 29

Just Their Luck

*Ring ring*

Daddy: Hello..?
Surveyor: Hello Mr Shun I'm calling from URA..
Daddy: Yess..?
Surveyor: Are you planning to sell your house?
Daddy: Huh? Sell already then stay where?
Surveyor: Ahhh no no no, just asking if you are planning to upgrade or downgrade..

Nevermind then..
Daddy: Huh no no, if I sell already then I got no place to stay..
Surveyor: Err no la I'm just calling to ask..
Daddy: So how did you get my number?
Surveyor: Err through my boss..
Daddy: Then where your boss get my home number?
Surveyor: Ohh through Yellow pages
Daddy: Yellow pages are for product advertisements..

How did your boss get my home number?
Surveyor: ... ... ...

*****

*Knock knock*

Daddy: Yes what do you want?
Salesman: Hi uncle, will like to change your window grills to these?

(Shows us brochures)

We are actually partnering with HDB for these changes.

Definitely approved by HDB..

(Why do you need to be approved by HDB if you are partners with them?)
Daddy: What windows?

Ours are checked and verified by the authorities, dont need to change.
Salesman: Oh no la uncle you see,

Recently got a lot of cases of old windows falling onto passer bys who are walking beneath the block..

So we will like to help you change all your windows..

This is in fact encouraged by HDB..

(First you are partners, then you became approved, now become encouraged)

The salesman began to take out a few newspaper clippings of reports of windows falling onto passer bys, BUT, still no certificate or whatsoever by HDB..

Daddy: No la we dont need them..

Salesman: Why not uncle? These are damn strong windows..

You see..

Daddy: We are moving house.
Salesman: ... ...

Okie in that case please let me know if you like these windows in your new house..

Labels: counter tactics, just for laughs

irony @

10:47 PM

Thursday, September 23

Another year has passed by in a nauseating fast pace..
It was Bakerzin last year..

Here it goes..
(2 mango pomelo, 2 durian)

Perhaps the expectations of the mango pomelo was so high that it disappointed a little..
On the other hand,
We thought the durian ones were really good..
Durian pastries are in fact Goodwood Park Hotel's specialty..

When the market demand now leaves bakeries with no choice but to innovate unthinkable flavours for the Mid Autumn Festival..
It actually leaves the older generation cringing in hyperventilation..
Mommy knew it..
And asked if I wanted to accompany her to buy a box of tradition mooncakes from 大中国 for grandma..
So we went for lunch and then off to queue..

A random picture..
Love my new specs..

The shop at Chinatown renovated their shop space to bright and cheery colours..
But their mooncakes and packaging remained very much the same..
Authenticity was inescapable =)

You need to fill up an order form and then queue for payment
Get the receipt
And then joined a second queue to collect the mooncakes..
Guess tradition does have a place in this society,
Never constrained by time..

*****

Labels: festivals, photo logs, thoughts

irony @

10:25 PM

Wednesday, September 22

Just pondering
Am I very evil to keep my mouth shut and not pointing out the silly mistakes of others..?
I thought reading, listening and understanding are very important elements to good efficiency and productivity..
But they really failed tremendously..
Sighz I fear karma..
Shalt speak no more.

*****

Was still feeling shit yesterday from attending a meeting has totally no relevance to my current scope..
Marketing textbooks have been shelved to the deepest corners of who-knows-where..
A thick layer of dust has further accumulated on my jaded brain, on the old books, on my academic memory..
The 2 presenters must be thinking what on earth has a Logistics personnel got anything to do with branding..?
And I simply cannot stand attending a meeting without any knowledge of the topic to be discussed.
I just felt, useless.

That was still how I felt when I entered the second meeting of 3 presenters today..
Till this Caucasian lady made my day.
She was the managing director of the company..
In fact all 3 of them made my day =)

Caucasians usually give me an intimidating feel..
They towered over me, they don’t speak broken English, they make subtle jokes that are far too witty for us.
But somehow I was mesmerized by the way she speaks..
(The way one speaks is the first thing that attracts/turns me off)..
Slowly and steadily..
Never at once did I feel uncomfortable..
Because they wont allow that to happen..
Their level of EQ is sky high..
So one inspirer, one manager and one strategic planner..
Awesome presenters.

The team explained that they don’t go around blowing their trumpets..
The brands they revamped were given such an impressive uplift that we will never notice the driving force behind these brands.
Brands that dear and I thought they made good improvements recently were actually their clients o.0
She showed us their case studies and spoke of her clients endearingly..
No rehearsal, no scripts, no slides of lengthy words..

Her non-discriminating disposition is the main factor that puts us at ease..
She and her team looked at our name cards and commented it’s good that we (the boss, the HR and the Logistics) had actually come together from diverse positions.
In this way we could provide different perspectives to look at how the company should steer its direction.
Just like that, no airs, no judgment, no sales intention..
Something that was said so naturally that I was utterly won over..
Never had I thought I was useful in this pending project.
If resources were never an issue...
I would have gladly given anything to work with them.

Back in the Uni days

Marketing was just another subject that would determine the class of honors..

But today

She taught me the essence of the subject that I have never fully comprehended back then =)

*****

No matter how much I detest doing something I have absolutely no idea what on earth is going on..
Or something that I will have to put on a false front in front of my counterparts..
I have to admit I do learn along the way..
The young and youthful are filled with energy and life.
But most lacked experience.
Experience comes with time..
And ironically, it leaves us jaded.
So if given a choice
Would you trade wisdom for innocence..?

*****

Labels: office, thoughts, work

irony @

11:20 PM

Monday, September 20

Two weeks back,

Suki asked if we want to meet up for dinner on National Day..

They were planning on dinner at Heart Bistro..

It was supposed to be a belated meetup for Odin's birthday..

Since the place wasnt opened then,

Thought we would try out two weeks later..

Heart Bistro at Palais Renaissance

While waiting for them..

We fiddled with the cameras..

The lighting was awesome.

Healthy food usually paled where taste is concerned..

Cod fish was a little bland..

And the poached eggs were deflated.

But the pancakes were yummy though..

So were the tea leaves starter..

On the overall,

Food was alright but they really really burnt a huge hole in our pockets..

I loved the desserts more than the main courses in fact..

Hurhurhur

Yoghurt brownie..

Self-delusional sinless indulgence.

Tell me..

Do we look like we are adults who are 30-ish?

We were really breaking the quiet peace of Palais Renaissance..

6 people 5 cameras..

So finally a group photo to end the "nightmare" of the serving staff..

LOL

*****

Labels: crazy gang, dining, photo logs

irony @

10:34 PM

Wednesday, September 8

The 4 hour hike

(Warning: A huge spam of photos ahead)

Quite some time back,

Came across the TreeTop Walk on the net that got me so hyped and excited..

And I was dying to check it out.

We would not have to fork out a single cent..

Only petrol I supposed =p

To get to the TreeTop Walk,

We would have to hike a little to get through those forested area..

Since it was a part of National Parks..

We checked out the maps and trails to get there..

There were a few routes that we could take to get to the bridge.

Took the shortest orange trail (7km) from Venus Drive carpark..

We had to walk a distance of approximately 2.5 km before we can reach the TreeTop Walk.

Which amounted to 1 hour 15 minutes of uneven terrain walk.

SO equipped with not very appropriate shoes..

We ventured into the wet woods.

Surprisingly

This was a very common place for morning walks and runs.

Hikers were armed with towels and cross training sneakers..

Tourists with the hiking stick..

Sweaty Caucasians ran past us..

Kids were given a refreshing touch of nature away from static computers.

The touch of urbanization in the greenery was evident though.

Our cameras started to roll.

Hiking was like a memory that was suddenly dug out and reignited back to full bloom.

I remembered how much I still love nature..

I remembered those Primary 6 hikes into the Mandai wilderness

I remembered the snow hike at Hokkaido-Noboribetsu.

A feeling of overwhelming nostalgia..

If there is anything that is worthy of good cameras..

Nature will be it.

No matter how messy the trees are

Nor how dispersed the clouds are

Nor how rocky the roads are..

There is always a dimension that tells a story.

And then we got silly..

As we approached the TreeTop walkway..

Saw this huge pack of monkeys that made us halt..

I thought they would jump onto us..

Snatch our belongings and stuff..

But guess as long as we don't feed them, they won't turn aggressive.

And the baby one was extremely active..

After an hour plus of walking up and down the slopes..

We finally came to this..

Launched on 5th November 2004

The walkway is a free-standing suspension bridge spanning Bukit Peirce and Bukit Kalang, the two highest points in MacRitchie.

The total length of the walkway is about 250m and its height from the forest floor varies, with the highest point at 25m.

The bridge took us 10 minutes =)

Took a break at the benches a short distance away from the end of the bridge..

And we got silly again.

Thereafter

We would have to walk another 2 hours to return to our starting point.

The foliage function for the Canon is awesome..

We walked for another hour or so..

Decided to take a break before we continued the remaining journey back to the entrance..

Took out the Cheezels whose advert was beckoning to us every time we went to catch a movie.

Then as dear was opening the packet of biscuits..

He gave me a startle..

So what did he see..?

I turned around.. =x

HOW OFTEN DO YOU SEE A MONKEY SMILING AT YOU..?!

There were no trees around that area..

So where did the monkey come from?

Albeit tired..

The journey back was a pleasantly sensual one =)

Had a good laugh at this..

We just made a visit to Lilliput and Blefuscu hurhurhur..

I will want to do this again..

After all those sun and sweat..

Together with the feeling that something we set out to do has been accomplished..

THESE TASTED DAMN GOOD..

*****

Labels: dear, fun, nature, photo logs

irony @

10:46 PM

Sunday, September 5

The Gem in the neighbourhood

Within the blink of the eye..

We have lived here for 23 years..

When I was about fourteen, Don eleven, Ming nine, the youngest one five..

Daddy and mommy used to bring us to the reservoir every Sunday evening without fail..

They would scrimp and save to buy us decent bicycles..

Some were hand-me-downs..

So four bicycles in tow, somehow or another two of us would take turns to walk.

We loved the outing.

Sometimes my cousins would join us..

Sometimes the brothers fought among themselves over silly things..

Sometimes daddy would be in a foul mood..

Sometimes we would ride recklessly and fall and bleed..

Then chided furiously..

But most of the time

We enjoyed the breeze, enjoyed the water, and enjoyed nature.

And learned from the falls =)

Carrying four bicycles up four storeys was not a joke..

But that was never a problem for us..

Dinner always tasted so much better after some sun and some activities.

That was daddy and mommy’s way of family togetherness.

So about fifteen years later..

They revamped the whole area..

Lower Seletar Reservoir

Colors filled the night..

Perfect symmetry

The air was so still..

Charlotte's working hard at it..

Ingenious designer of its web..

The closer the threads are woven together..

The lower the chance of a prey's escape.

Yishun has come a long way..

Taking a stroll after dinner..

Soothing calm water..

Just like a balm to the heart..

The view from the bridge that was stretched to the middle of the reservoir..

*****

Labels: family, nature, neighbourhood, photo logs

irony @

4:10 PM