Fire Fly - Big Dreams, Strong Aptitude

E.y.E Bootcamp a success!

2005-09-04T17:03:00.000+08:00

7.30 am on a Sat morning, here I am together with the rest of the Exco members trying to settle the logistics for the bootcamp at 9am.. The response for the bootcamp was overwhelming and it was a real sight to see every participants dressed in the same t-shirt..
Thanks to the Research Team guys for giving such brilliant talks, and also joining the Exco in doing the logistics for the event..
I also enjoyed the $10 auction game that I played with the attendees.. Phew.. luckily the game worked.. The talk by Ang Ser Keng was real entertaining, where he talked about life or rather the lack of life of an investment banker..
Finally, we managed to clear up at 7pm and the thing that I missed most was my bed.. Went home and saw Xavier walking towards me and holding my hand.. Immediately, my tireness lessened, although that only lasted till he left..

Really happy that the bootcamp was such a success.. Definitely look forward to another one..

A wink of the eye.. 2 weeks gone

2005-09-01T22:58:00.000+08:00

How time passes.. Especially when one is occupied every single minute of the day.. Sleep thus becomes more precious as each day passes.. Listening to "Hotel California" now, chilling out amidst the madness.. Readings piling up, assignments, and the upcoming projects.. I can also see an increase in the amount of time I spent on my emails.. The financial bootcamp is coming up on Saturday.. Finally gonna see the work of our Exco bearing fruit.. Hope that it would be a success..

Okie gonna change the mood setting slightly by playing a more cheerful song - "Life" by Des'ree.. Weekend is coming again soon.. Let me take this chance to have a real nice sleep..
Saw this really nice little poem on a card with a cute little bear in it.. For those who feels like shit at times, who doesn't see the end of the road, who thinks no one in the world cares about you and what you do.. Read this and you may feel better.. (At least I do) =)

Heading back to books again!~

2005-08-21T00:08:00.000+08:00

How time flies.. School gonna start on Monday.. Although I have taken a summer course, it's still not as heavy as a normal term since it's only one module..

More and more stuff building up my schedule.. gotta find ways to earn some sources of income but at the same time gottta take care of studies and CCA.. is a tradeoff really inevitable?

The feeling of finishing school is getting stronger and stronger.. can't find the cause of it also.. but I do value all the knowledge I have gained in SMU.. most of the faculty and the admin staff are really nice people.. always makes u feel relief when u meet such people..

Getting a Master's degree would be good, and if there is a chance I would go for it.. (am i dreaming already? still have 2 semesters to go!).. But life is so unpredictable, so who knows where I will land by then..

Better stop dreaming and get ready to be drowned by notes and books again..

I Love E.y.E Club

2005-08-17T19:38:00.000+08:00

Woo.. the past week has definitely been fulfilling and busy like hell..
The small business consulting is coming to an end this week.. dear team mates, let's hang on and produce a brilliant report.. =)
This course has been of great use to me, as now I know what constitutes a good consulting report and the notion that things don't always appear what they seem. Only through digging and analysing enough information then can we understand the root of the problem. I guess many entrepreneurs out there do fall into this pit hole as well, where they try to over simplify problems and eventually use good money to chase after a lost cause.. Certainly hope to apply this lesson in Soups & Rosti.. oh dear the plan is still hanging as we desparately try to look for a suitable location.. But as Jeremy said, we are in no hurry and it's better to settle for a place that suits our needs than to settle for second best..
E.y.E Club is rocking as usual, where there is overwhelming response for our Financial Bootcamp.. Alvin has already booked the auditorium to cater for the huge turnout.. holy cow! Shernice and I also went to meet up representatives from one of the local securities houses to explore possibilities of a tie up. The meeting was fruitful and it would be great if we could work together..
Getting lesser and lesser sleep everyday.. let my drive compensate for that! haha
Woo hoo life is great!
And yea Alvin dude, take care of yourself and hope you recover soon =)

I remember.. you are the greatest

2005-08-11T22:32:00.000+08:00

I remember you bringing me to Yaohan for chicken wings and fishballs
I remember you hitting me on my tiny hands when you refuse to buy toys for me
I remember you feeding me when I was still a toddler
I remember you shaking my "sarong"
I remember you cooking my favourite food in the old factory
I remember you coming to look for me when I always forget the time to go home
I remember you bringing me to "4th storey" for lunch
I remember you picking me up from PAP

Soon, I became a teen.. and I started to remember lesser things
Less time spent with you
Less outings with you
Paid less attention to you

Then I grew older.. and I realised that you have aged.. more wrinkles and white hair.. But you are still so beautiful in my eyes..
I remember all the things that you did for me again..
I am going out more often with you
I am eating more often with you
I am "playing" more often with you
I see you smile more often now

I want you to see me graduate.. get married.. hear my son and daughter call u "Po Po"
Coz I can see the joy in your eyes when you carry and play with dear Xavier

And I will always remember that you are the greatest..

SMU E.y.E Rocks!

2005-08-09T13:04:00.000+08:00

The acitivities in E.y.E Club is gearing up, with our Financial Bootcamp underway. There will be lots of fun activities and insightful talks by professors and speakers from Kim Eng Securities. Do show us your support if you are free on 3rd Sept (Sat)..

For the past week, I also managed to get a team of brilliant seniors to be part of the research team.. and woo we are starting to write articles! Kian Onn will be talking to the freshmen during the bootcamp on how to trade using a online trading platform. For myself, I will be playing 2 games that showcase that human beings are not really rational creatures (hope that the point is proven.. haha)

Nevertheless, everytime I look at my SLK wallpaper on my desktop I become super motivated..
Woo.. Happy National Day!

Tony Fernandes is indeed extraordinary..

2005-08-04T23:42:00.000+08:00

It has been a hectic week.. from Vivace to my small business consulting (SBC) project with Barter Exchange (BXS).. Learnt lotsa things along the way too; from the Barter Associate Directors of BXS - things that can't be learnt in school..

Vivace was great - we managed to get over 260 interested students to leave their particulars down.. hopefully we can retain at least a reasonable number of committed members to help grow E.y.E Club

Went down to a networking lunch as part of my SBC project.. talked to a few interesting people from industries ranging from the travel industry to the agricultural industry.. the person from the agricultural industry was an old uncle who was tickled me when he talked about how he QC plants..

Just came back from a CEO talk in school by the CEO of Air Asia, Tony Fernandes.. He is indeed a person who not only dares to think radically, but act on his thoughts as well.. His humourous speech with bits of govt bashing here and there made the 1 hr really enjoyable. From a musician to an airline owner wannabe to his current role as the CEO of Air Asia.. His achievements in the past 4 years was nothing less than amazing. He dared to question the norm and more importantly, he challenged them.. He gave hope to people who always wanted to do something new but had no guts to take the first step.
If I were to use a phrase to describe him, I would say that "Tony Fernandes in indeed extraordinary".

Consulting work sounds interesting..

2005-07-26T20:31:00.000+08:00

Had a great nite last Friday with my project team in UOB.. the lead singer's voice at IndoChine was really nice.. I bet he will clinch the championship easily should he join any singing contest.

Have been going for lessons on Small Business Consulting for the past two days, and found it very interesting.. The best thing I like about the course would be the project, where we can find those mom & pop stores as our clients.. I felt that was extremely close to reality especially for young entrepreneurs or aspiring entrepreneurships.. Definitely a good learning opportunity here.

The only sad thing that happened today is I fell sick.. hate this feeling..
Bug go away and never come back another day!~

A wonderful chapter at UOB..

2005-07-20T22:12:00.000+08:00

How time flies....
It's been 10 weeks since I first stepped into UOB plaza.. got transferred to OUB building for 2 weeks in the midst.. The daily topic of the day was initially "unit cost.. process timing..formatting"after which it moved on to "deadlines.. presentation presentation presentation".. and at the blink of an eyelid... it's time for me to leave.. 2 more days

The dept head and the section heads are really a nice bunch of people.. They treated Christina and I for a really FULL lunch at LingZhi today since its the "fifteen".. Guess I would want to go back to vegetarian for another month again.. There is this homely feeling over at my workplace, a typical Singapore office setting.. This is what I call a true open office concept.. open not in the sense of the office settings, but the interaction between superiors and staff..

The stay there has been really fruitful.. had a nice guy as my project coordinator, who also happens to be a SMU graduate.. had a first hand experience of being involved in an industrial project.. Had the chance to sit in for the presentation to the executive vice president too, where he made really relevant comments.. the learning point? Top management always looks out for final products, not the process not the effort.. Results is the crux.. A car factory that can produce 100 tyres but only 1 car a day is a failure.. Words of wisdom from our sector head.. Straight to the point and very true..

Tomorrow I will be going for an interview at Standard Chartered where I would be fighting to secure a place out of 4 available for a marketing project.. Don't know if the pre-interview essay I submitted meets the mark.

I'm gonna cross my fingers real hard when I go to bed tonite..

Priceless..

2005-07-17T00:05:00.000+08:00

A pair of movie tickets - $19.00
Someone dear watching the movie with you - priceless

A round of drinks - $130.00
A bunch of buddies having drinks together - priceless

A meal for 3 at Crystal jade - $50.00
Having the meal with your family - priceless

An Ericsson k750i - $538.00
The contacts inside your handphone - priceless

School fees in SMU for 3 years - $18000.00
Knowledge that you gain from there - priceless

Buying your nephew a candy - $1.00
A kiss from your nephew - priceless

Hooked on competition..

2005-07-13T21:57:00.000+08:00

Getting busy in the office this few days.. especially tomorrow where we have to make lots of changes to the slides.. Feel slight disappointment when our coordinator told that that he will be presenting instead of us (his boss prefers that way.. guess she wants to play safe), afterall Christina and I have been on this project for 2 months plus and we can't take part in the presentation which is sort of like a finale to us before we leave..

I am enjoying the Bloomberg seminars as usual.. with lotsa tidbits and good food there!~ I think I will miss the place.. haa

Life without a handphone is just not the same.. gotta wait till sat evening then I have my fixed phone collected.. having an important dinner tomorrow with Jeremy, CS to present our business plan to our potential shareholder.. hope that nothing goes wrong with the meeting time and place, if not i be dead meat..

Just entered a competition called B.E.S.T organised by NTUC Income, together with Alvin, Chris and Linrong.. It is an online business strategy game, where we get to use our marketing, accounting, hr knowledge etc... Guess I am getting hooked on competition..

Getting used to the Internet..

2005-07-12T21:44:00.000+08:00

Started off the day not so well, was caught down by a cold.. Basically I used up about 5 packets of tissue in 1 morning.. Basically I was preparing for our presentation to our sector's Executive Vice President on Friday morning.. I could see Christina was rather stress.. Kudos to her for doing so much formatting; apart from our own department, she also did formatting for another department..

Just happened to play around with Yahoo search and boy was I suprised.. I typed in "fire fly singapore" and I saw my blog in 2nd ranking.. I typed in "big dreams singapore" and it was at 6th.. Actually, I haven't pinged my site for some time where I just happened to do it last night.. Thanks to Alvin for sharing the basics of pinging with me..

I'm starting to learn more about the power of Internet.. I guess those who ignore it will stand to lose greatly.. I foresee that one day every business in the world will make use of this powerful tool in one way or another.. Instead of letting the opportunity go, why not we think about how to make good use of it?

Zoom Zoom got the 1st place in Ireign competition

2005-07-10T18:07:00.000+08:00

Woo Hoo.. Zoom Zoom has finished off in 1st place in Ireign competition.. an online business strategy game.. Alvin, Sylvie and I are totally exhilerated by that.. 3 of us were sitting at Mc Donald's waiting for 5p.m to strike.. I was nerved-wreck while logging on to the system.. when the screen pops up, we scrolled slowly to the right (like how you see your cards while playing black jack.. haha).. This is the screen

We finished off with a shareholder's value of $32.95 and our closest competitor Wheel to Fortune finished off with $32.72.. That was so close! only $0.23 difference..

This is definitely a great boost to my aptitude.. it's getting stronger!

Time to sleep!

2005-07-09T15:05:00.000+08:00

Woohoo.. finally had a chance to sleep for more than 8 hours.. can't remember the last time I did.. Reached home at 5 last night, had a nice shower and the next moment.. it's 2 pm.. Repeating the song "祝我生日快乐" on my win media player.. don't know y I have this strange habit of repeating the same song.. but I love it, cause it's so damn sad..

Met this guy in the pub last night, he drank alot.. I think he is in his mid 30s.. He had worked in the same company for 16 years.. Guess what's his basic pay? $1350.. In the past, there was still OT to be claimed, but recently they stopped the practice. You could see the "无奈" in his eyes.. not easy to find a new job cause of his age i guess, and yet not satisfied with his pay..

This struck me deeply.. The old mindset of working hard and staying on in the same company, hoping to get promoted and having pay raises automatically simply doesn't work anymore.. I certainly do not hope to see any of my love ones or myself turn out to be like that.. From primary school, we hear our teachers say "世上无难事，只怕有心人" .. is it really true that when there is a will, there is a way? I guess everyone of us come from different backgrounds and is brought up differently.. so some of us might need a stronger will compared to others to reach their goals. Do we have the will? I certainly hope that I do..

Zoom Zoom Revving up!

2005-07-06T23:36:00.000+08:00

Just about when I was to knock off from work today, I got a sms from Alvin.. "The results has rolled over. you know what? we got first" .. Woo that really kicked me awake!
From 4th position, we managed to jump to first.. The feeling of being on the top spot is just way too nice.. It's the final round now.. whether we can clinch the championship all depends on this round..
Zoom Zoom Revving up!

Black Tuesday

2005-07-05T23:32:00.000+08:00

Today.. a big bomb dropped on me.. Around 3 in the afternoon I got a sms from Jeremy
"Terry, I just got news that TP is tendering the whole foodcourt to Elsie's Kitchen. Currently there are no vacant stalls".
That was really a bad news.. and it took quite a while to sink into my mind. Elsie's Kitchen had just confirmed the deal with TP, and the person in charge claim that she knew about the news only last week..
So many months of planning and research.. all ready to go.. and now we have to overcome such a big obstacle.. "Location".. which is the lifeblood of all F&B business..
Our current plan's direction is to start small but expand at a quick pace using profits from the business if the model proves to be successful.. but now we have to relook at the whole thing to adjust for different scale of operation if we decide to operate on a different setting.

But nevertheless there is lessons to be learnt in everything.. For this incident, I learnt that things can happen and change overnight. Must be prepared for changes. Must have contingency plan.. I think we have overlooked this area, cause in the initial stage we were pretty sure of securing the location..

Well.. we will meet up with our shareholder next week.. see if he can provide any options for us.. In the meantime, I'm keeping my fingers crossed..

So many things on hand now.. Iregin (we're betting on the last rd), E.y.E, Ebay venture with Alvin, OAAG rebranding competition, Internship, Financial board game.

One reason why I put what I do in a blog is partly because when I write out what I intend to do.. it will give me the pressure and motivation to keep the thing going and not give up *sounds like torturing myself ya* haha..

E.y.E Reborn

2005-07-03T21:55:00.000+08:00

Had our E.y.E AGM this morning.. As every one agreed, Alvin took on the role as the Club President.. Congrats!..
My new role would be the Head of Research.. I think this role would be a good training ground for me before I graduate and head on to carve a career in the asset management industry.. Due to the nature of industry, most graduates would start off as an analyst.. and the job of an analyst is to do research.. how wonderful.. Being an intern in UOB Asset Management currently, this new role is a great extension to my future career goal..
Next week, I will be assigned a new task - where it involves checking the prices of securities using Bloomberg and maybe other sources. I'm looking forward to it.. Time really pass quickly when you are working; 3 more weeks and my attachment will be over.

My goal for the coming semester would be to
1) Set a firm foundation for the research wing in E.y.E Club - create continuity in terms of succession planning and knowledge base.. Most importantly is to select a team (a good mix of seniors and juniors) and together set the objectives for the team.
2) Allow members in the research team to gain basic research skills and hopefully I can establish contacts with analysts in the industry. I think this would be a great incentive for members to join the team
3) Help increase the financial literacy of E.y.E members - For freshman, they would have an edge against their peers since they will acquire at least some basic finance knowledge. For members with finance knowledge, they can share their information with one another and also help those with little knowledge.
4) Assist in monitoring the cohesiveness of the club through indicators such as attendance and membership figure.

Shorter term goals (within the next 3 months)
1) Soups & Rosti can open shop successfully.. *cross fingers everything goes well*
2) That the current Ebay venture with Alvin generates sufficient profit for reinvestment into bigger ventures
3) Look for other sources of passive income and business opportunities

Future personal finance plan
1) To have an active income (work) large enough to cover all expenses with 20% left as savings
2) To have different sources of passive income and reinvestment these income for higher return (through financial instruments, or being an dormant partner in a business).

Currently, the most difficult part is to cultivate a saving habit! Hopefully when I have an active income it will be easier to save.

I will reach there within the next 6 years

2005-07-01T00:00:00.000+08:00

Currently I'm 24.. One of the milestone which I want to reach before 30 is..

To drive my own Merc (using my own money)
To drive it to into the open
The scenario will look like this..

I will gaze at the stars from my cabriolet..
Am I dreaming?
My job is to make my dreams come true..

Of course, I will share this dream with my loved one..

Playing the same old song

2005-06-29T23:42:00.000+08:00

As usual, I am taking my daily dosage of the song "My memories".. the song in Winter Sonata.. Never seem to get tired of it.. the more I listen to the song, the more I feel like listening.. Don't know why also. I have played this song over and over again on my window media player for many months..

Human beings are like that isn't it.. Sometimes we don't know why we like something.. I guess we don't care bout the reasons too..

Lying down on the bed at night, listening to sentimental songs.. think about the past.. think of the future.. a great way to relax myself after a day of work..

Hope you are relaxing too!

Iregin.. falling behind

2005-06-28T23:54:00.000+08:00

Currently, We are 4th in Ireign.. Alvin and I was joking that our mood in the finals is so different from that during the prelim rounds - during the prelims, we were so relax cause we know at the back of our mind that any strategy we use would still keep us at the no. 1 spot.. but now, everyone is fighting for the top prize of $1500.. and our competitors are all the cream of the crop.

This round would be our turning point.. it's now or never.. gotta cross our fingers and hope that our chosen strategy pays off and give us a big boost! *Zoom Zoom shouldn't be lagging behind rite?*

Also went to buy the accessories with Alvin today for our Ebay venture.. First time in my life I hold so many accessories on my hand.. Christina was saying that "wa you got so many, I no need to go down to the shop and choose liao.. can choose the design from here see which one nice then I go and buy".. haha that was so funny..

Overall..
Energy level - ok.. although im always trying my best to pump it up!
Morale - super high!
Playtime - Greatly reduced!

Initial D..

2005-06-26T14:05:00.000+08:00

Watched Initial D last nite, and here is my review of the movie..

If there is one word to describe the show, I would say it's "disappointing". Compared to the anime, the movie lack the excitment and adrenaline rush. The stunts were nice, but what is lacking is the story line. In the anime, Takumi raced against many racers, but only one at a time. Every of his race made me hold on to my seat... Blasting the background music, I am blown away by the way they handle their car.. Totally awesome..
I guess it's difficult to compress the whole anime into a 2 hr movie, therefore they modified the story.. But still, the story moved very slowly (all my friends felt that way), although Jay Chou played his part rather well I feel..

Overall rating for movie.. 3 Stars
Overall rating for anime.. 5 Stars!

Soups & Rosti on the way..

2005-06-23T23:37:00.000+08:00

Woo hoo..
Overcame many hurdles during our meeting last night.. Getting more hyped up as well.. Jeremy was talking to us about this scheme offered by our Alma master TP, where there is a chance to get money as seed funding if the idea is good.. Daniel will check it out with our ex-lecturer and I hope that there will be good news.. Cool, only few major issues left to settle.. May everything goes well!

Getting interesting at work as well, as I get to go to Bloomberg for seminars.. and they sure have great food there!~ Those who have been there b4 would know what I mean..

E.y.E Club AGM is coming as well.. all the best to everyone of us!~

Another new attempt..

2005-06-21T23:29:00.000+08:00

Finally got a chance to really start something online.. and the tool that Alvin and I are using is none other than....... Ebay!

What better person to partner with to start this venture other than Alvin.. Partnership is all about synergy.. Each party must have their own strengths and their shortcomings would be compensated by the strengths of their partners.. I'm pretty sure Alvin and I fully agree with this statement.. If each party is able to fill up some responsibilities that the other party have no time for or no expertise in.. then I believe it is a good combination (or at least not a bad one).
Our plan is to sell jewelleries online.. I will be in charge of taking the photos and doing the draft write ups for our ads and he will be doing the most important thing (at least to me).. which is to SELL our products! that's impt because no sales = no profits..

One thing that I like about Alvin is that he is daring.. he does not procrastinate.. Either we do it or we don't.. simple as that.. Personally I believe this is a trait a person must possess if he wishes to achieve success.
Personally, I keep moving myself towards this direction.. Always be open to ideas.. listen b4 I judge.. Seriously, there is no boundary to the limit you can go.. This saying is true!

Cheers to our cooperation!~

Nice Chalet..

2005-06-21T00:30:00.000+08:00

Went to a chalet just now.. the best chalet so far in terms of the environment.. It is like a little house facing the sea.. Yes! it's facing the sea.. And you have the whole place all to yourself! Downside is that it's a long long journey to get there, even when driving there.. The place is called Aloha Resorts at Changi, if u plan to check it up..
Aloha!

Ireign.. still in 3rd position.. Aim to zoom to 1st!

2005-06-19T18:10:00.000+08:00

Round 2 has ended and the results?.. Zoom Zoom is in 3rd position..
That's not what we wanted.. 1st position is the place we wanna be although we are confident in finishing among the top 3 positions.
In life, we are often face these kind of situation too rite? We are stuck in the middle, should we continue to put in more efforts and strive to reach the top? Or just relac la since it's not easy to reach the top..
Personally, I choose the former.. If I decide on something, I will give my best efforts.. If not I wouldn't diversify my efforts for mediocre results..
What bout u?

Ant and Grass hopper

2005-06-18T01:57:00.000+08:00

Saw this story in one of my email.. so true..
Often we hear "must get As" , "Wa lau why he give only B+".. so on..
But I think many forgot to ask "Get As for what?" We feel satisfied getting As, but don't really how the As helps us other than to up our GPA.. Here goes the story..

The Hardworking Ant and the Lazy Grasshopper
Once upon a time, there lived an ant and a grasshopper.
The grasshopper does nothing else but jump around and play.
On the other hand, the ant is so hardworking, looking for food all day long and store them in it's nest.
Looking at his hardworking friend working so hard, the grasshopper ask, "Hey, Ant! U dun have to relax ah? Always busy one. Come and play with me lah."
To which the ant replied, "I can't lah i have to store all these food."
"Haiyah! Relax lah. Why u bother storing all these food? When u hungry den go find lah." the grasshopper told the ant again.
"Eh, cannot lah. I have to standby for the coming winter season. Then no need to panick mah. I think u also must standby u know." The ant telling his friend
"Where got time...I go play better. U wanna store food u go ahead lah. I continue playing ok.. bye!" And hop goes the grasshopper.
The Ant is a hardworking guy... oops i mean insect. Not like the grasshopper who is so lazy. And so as days, weeks, months go by, the winter still has not come yet but the ant is still seen searching and storing food.
The two friends happen to meet again. "Hey Ant! U stil haven't finished storing food ah? Last time all the food all go where? So fast finish ah?" asked grasshopper.
"I got keep but all overdue liao. So cannot eat anymore. All because winter not here yet. Now I have to go and look for new food." Sighed the ant.
"But ant ah.. U dun mind I ask ah.. Did u ever have a thought that> > Singapore where got winter?" ask the grasshopper again.
"AHHHH????!!!!!" the ant was shocked!
> >> > THE END.> >> >

The moral of the story is whatever u do better think properly 1st.> > Dun anyhow hantam only... :)> >> > Sometimes we go too busy in life and following our routine too tightly> > but most importantly, work towards where you wanna go in your life,> > what is it that you want, what is it that you REALLY want,> > what's your dream, is what you are doing now moving towards your dream?> > If it's not, dun just keep on working hard n keep on hantam only just> > because someone in your life told you that this is the way and just> > because> > everyone is doing it!!> >> > Don't keep on working hard with no direction .......> > focus in the direction of your life not your work but your life.> > Plan your life, Live life cool

Fruits of Labour

2005-06-18T01:24:00.000+08:00

"You reap what you sow"..
Currently, I must say that I'm putting in 95% of my energy in E.Y.E, board game, IReign, and Soups & Rosti. Feels a bit overworked.. but still very motivated, cause I am determined to see if my efforts turn out to be fruitful. Made sacrifices on my side.. and I certainly hope the sacrifices are worthwhile

Short-term objectives (for the coming year)
- Finish my degree.. really love SMU.. but books knowledge are useless without application.. Therefore as what the Kim Eng trader says, "Books can only take you this far, street smartness is important" (That statement left a deep impression in me)
- Open up our first outlet, and if the model is successful, we will open a second outlet.
- Start saving.. I seriously don't save! this habit has to change..
- Start a career in the Asset Management industry (this will depend on how strong the entrepreneurial spirit is in me)

Better print this out and stick it to my table before everyday here vanish from my memory when I wake up next morning!

Woo hoo.. can hear my clock ticking.. time moves in only one direction - forward..
And that's exactly the direction I'm moving in..

Hey Alvin, we should turbo-charge our ZOOM ZOOM to overtake the Wheel to Fortune man.. Must never let ZOOM ZOOM be last rite? :)

7 Habits of Effective People

2005-06-16T00:02:00.000+08:00

I haven read that book yet.. Just that I always see the title being used.. Don't know if it's really that good.. But I decided to compile my own list of 7 habits of Ineffective People

Habit 1: Complain in the morning.. Complain in the afternoon.. Complain in the night.. Complain in their dreams.. "Don't they ever get tired?"

Habit 2: Leave everything to luck/fate.. lazy to move.. "Come on, maybe wait till durian drop you will still be at the same spot"

Habit 3: Anything that goes wrong, it is never my fault.. Always other's fault.. "Wow, we have a saint in the house?"

Habit 4: Keep harping on the past. Last time he ... Last time not like that lei.. Last time.. Last time.. "Hey man, last time police wear shorts!"

Habit 5: Gets angry and pissed off very easily.. "you made of toufu?"

Habit 6: Always expects things to always go his / her way.. "The only way to achieve that is to work with yourself only"

Habit 7: Keep repeating the first 6 habits

What brightens up your day?

2005-06-14T23:41:00.000+08:00

Ever met someone or something that brightens up your day?

Here are somethings that brightens mine..

A nice cool bath in the morning and night
Someone giving you a smile
Yummy food!
Seeing someone happy
A long long sleep!
Stars watching

What brighten yours? Would love to hear them..

I never knew I could design!

2005-06-13T23:46:00.000+08:00

As usual, Monday is the busiest day of the week (Is this always true?). But managed to find time to finish reading up "The end of marketing as we know it".. Not bad at all, since I only took a week to read through the book. Bought a new book just now, called "Getting everything you can out of all you've got" by Jay Abraham (Alvin will be very familiar with that). Hope that I can pick up some sales and marketing tips that I can apply..

Just finished designing the logo for Soups & Rosti.. Hmm I am very satisfied with myself.. haha
Will post it up once my partners agree to the design. Since young, I lack the talent in arts and design - I always get borderline marks for my Arts, and I never have interest in drawing. My very first attempt in designing using computer would be the CD pocket that I did for my Music East and West class.. Was reading through the tutorial for Photoshop while doing it! It was a rather amateur piece of work (as expected), but I suppose it turned out to be acceptable.

This would be my second serious attempt in trying to design something using Photoshop. Still don't really know how to use the functions and tools in the program, but nevertheless I gave it a shot. The conclusion is that, simple things can look nice too.

So to my friends who have no flair for designing and drawing, don't worry we are in the same boat. But who knows? If we try, we might get a pleasant suprise, just like I did!

Like I always believe.. hardwork, luck, talent etc.. doesn't add up to 100%.. only ATTITUDE does =)

The World of Internet

2005-06-11T23:34:00.000+08:00

The uses of the internet are getting so advanced.. or should I say i'm LKK.. Now one can ping their websites or blogs to get a better ranking in search engines etc.. Been familiarising myself with such stuff these few days.. and my shifu is none other than "the man with ambitious aspirations - Alvin Huang"..

I seriously believe that one should make full use of IT in this modern world - the internet has opened up a whole new world of opportunities.. and YES, my dreams are getting BIGGER and my aptitude STRONGER too..

Deadlines, Deadlines, and Deadlines

2005-06-09T22:54:00.000+08:00

Ever since I started work during my poly days, I realise that in the coporate world, everything is about deadlines.. "hey tomorrow is the deadline", "must complete by tomorrow k", "we need to hand in the proposal tomorrow".. Seems like either we meet the deadline or we are dead..

Sometimes, in order to meet deadlines, we tend to finish our work in a hurry without enough care to ensure that our work is of quality, and the data reliable.. So in this case, is it the employee's fault? or is it the fault of the superior for setting an unrealistic deadline?

I guess from the viewpoint of an employee, if his own work satisfaction is not aligned with company interest, then I think he would not really care much when the work he is producing does not really meet the standard. Many would just say "why work so hard? not my company what.. earn so much also goes to Chairman's pocket"

We often read in textbooks that employees' satisfaction affects work performance.. I agree with this statement. Using the analogy of a soccer team.. What happen's when David Beckham or Whoever scores a goal? they feel satisfied.. then they aim to strive for more goals.. and they score more goals.. In contrast, what do we often see in a big company? Employee works for the sake of meeting deadlines.. Often lack satisfaction.. meet deadlines.. Save themselves from scolding.. keep their jobs and rice bowl..

Is it really that difficult to manage as a company gets larger? I don't know about that, since I don't own or manage a big company.. I often wonder how many of those management textbook authors actually manage or own a big company? If they don't, then how convinced are they by their own ideas and teachings?

Any thoughts on that friends?

Btw tomorrow is Friday! morale very high now!!

One of the hardest thing to come up with - a name

2005-06-08T23:08:00.000+08:00

Ever wonder what is one of the hardest thing to come up? I realised that it is extremely difficult to come up with a name - a name that is suitable and which I like..
Lucky to have bump into Daniel on MSN.. immediately grabbed the chance, asking him to help in brainstorming.. As usual, his creative brain juices amazed me yet again..
He thought of a few names which I thought was really nice..

Reine
Lennor Reine
Sammon's Kitchen

Among the three, I would say I like Sammon's Kitchen best.. sounds so nice on the ear.. easy to say.. easy to remember! And he told me that Sammon sorta has the meaning of a grocer.. That's wonderful! A grocer cooking in the kitchen, I told him..

Now we know who can be a potential candidate for the position of Chief Marketing Officer of Coca Cola in future (The ex-CMO was really a man full of ideas, never satisfied with status quo, and a person who really thinks out of the box)

Nebula

2005-06-05T14:39:00.000+08:00

Nebula

Haven't had the chance for star gazing for quite sometime.. Kinda missed the stars on the sky.. especially the orion's belt and the bright polaris.. The vastness of the universe is beyond our imagination.. since we humans can travel to space, what is impossible? *sounds so inspirational rite? haha* Anyway hope to find one day for star gazing soon! it would be nice if there were stories too..

The true meaning of marketing

2005-06-02T21:54:00.000+08:00

Went to a bookshop with Alvin and Ken just now and I bought this book called "The end of marketing as we know it" by Sergio Zymann (former chief marketing officer of coca-cola). After reading though just the introduction (not even chapter 1) which is about 10 pages long, I am already convinced that this book will be a very interesting read, with lots of powerful ideas inside. Sergio's view of marketing is very practical, with a very clear focus; that is the job of marketing is to get people to buy your products, not creating an image, not producing the best advertisement, not creating a brand. All the latter activities are just tools - tools to get people to buy what you sell!

I recall my marketing 101 course. Yes, we were infused with ideas like USP, branding, image, positioning, segmentation.. on and on.. Yet the prof never mentioned once (as far as i can remember) that marketing aims to increase profit! to sell more!.. What I remember most vividly is that we must understand our customer, create a clear brand equity.. even during our project, we never ever discussed about profitability. So what we understand our customers? So what we know their needs? So what we have the best advertisement? So what we are the most well known brand? All these are useless if people dont buy your products!

I really should frame this ideology and hang it up.. so that I can remember it eternally.. "MARKETING IS ABOUT GETTING PEOPLE TO BUY MY PRODUCTS". . nothing else matters as much as this.

Dying to read the rest of the book..

Quotes for the day from Confucius

2005-06-01T22:58:00.000+08:00

Sounds true??

"Things that are done, it is needless to speak about; things that are past it is needless to blame."-- Confucius (c. 551-479? BC), Chinese sage

"He who learns but does not think, is lost! He who thinks but does not learn is in great danger."-- Confucius (c. 551-479? BC), Chinese sage

"Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall."-- Confucius (c. 551-479? BC), Chinese sage

"Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart."-- Confucius (c. 551-479? BC), Chinese sage

"If I am walking with two other men, each of them will serve as my teacher. I will pick out the good points of the one and imitate them, and the bad points of the other and correct them in myself."-- Confucius (c. 551-479? BC), Chinese sage

Personally, I like the last quote very much.. a very good way to improve onself =)

Madagascar!

2005-06-01T22:19:00.000+08:00

Just went to watch Madagascar today.. a pretty light hearted movie - good for destressing after a day of work.. esp when it's midweek.. I guess the moral of the movie is "to dare to do what you dream of", which I think is very true in reality. Many of us often lack the drive to do something which we have been thinking for years (including myself). There is sorta like a strong inertia within us, making us lazy and unwilling to make the first move. For me, what I did to break this inertia was to summon all my guts to make the first move. Before that it was just like any normal chat with my 2 poly buddies, until we started to get more excited in our conversation, and we said "why not let's do it!" and I remembered we were in a pub! The rest followed naturally. Once I have taken the first step out, I feel that I cannot turn back.. Never mind I don't have the capital on hand at the moment. Gonna worry about that soon.. haha.. Cause if I don't take the opportunity now.. it will be harder for me to take it up as I get older and start a family. To me, all these are precious lessons learnt. Money cannot buy the experience of planning something which you take responsibility for and own.. Making it a success is important, but the experience is equally crucial.

I admire people with Attitude.. Very happy to have known some in SMU..
Daniel - like what I mentioned in my previous entry
Ken - if you were to know him well, you will find that he has a strong desire to succeed. if he doesn't strive now, wait till when?
Alvin - full of ambitions and aspirations. I like the way he motivates himself.. definitely gonna be successful in the near future
William - always full of business ideas on his mind.. anywhere there is money to be made, he will go..
Dianliang - less contact with her now.. but how many girls in SMU study, work, and give tuitions at the same time? her dilligence impresses me greatly

There are just some of the people whom i admire at the back of my mind.. To me, a measure of success is not how many 'A's you got, but how much a person accomplish in life - can be in terms of tangible and intangible stuff.. I advocate that everyone strive for good grades, but I also believe in the saying that "books can only take you this far".

Daniel.. A man of talent

2005-05-31T22:22:00.000+08:00

Like to mention about Daniel here in my blog.. Ever since I came to SMU and did so many projects with him, I find him to be an extremely reliable worker.. never fails to deliver and uphold his quality of work..

I guess everyone knows about his music talent.. from piano to violin to drums.. you name it, he plays it. But I think not many know about his desire to be a successful marketer. I managed to talk to him over msn over the weekend and I realise that he has a strong desire to run a business successfully. *not to mention his dream to own a rolls royce*... I am impressed by his views on his family's cafe and also his brother's business. But more importantly, i like his ATTITUDE. For me, I think that attitude is one of the key building blocks in life. I think he would be a good candidate to start talking with, if one is thinking of starting a business..

And above are my views on Daniel, the super project mate, musician, and aspiring marketer. Wish you all the best!!

Cupid strikes!

2005-05-29T02:41:00.000+08:00

Saw Kym Ng and Quan Yi Feng at Citilink in the evening at CityLink.. they were filming the program where they played cupids.. Seeing the stage made me realise how courageous the contestants were in agreeing to take part in the show. Hope the arrows of cupid work for them!

My dreams are getting bigger and wilder, aptitude stronger and stronger.. what a feeling! =)

IReign Finals.. Zoom Zoom

2005-05-28T11:48:00.000+08:00

Woo.. Our team Zoom Zoom managed to get into the finals (maybe partly due to our name ;) Zooming ahead at full speed! Happy to be working on this together with Alvin and Sylvie on this.. the way we play this game is really strange man.. trial and error.. and its supposed to be a management game.. haha .. Trying out our strategies with you two was fun.. where we try to outguess our competitors.. May we zoom further ahead and win this game *cross fingers*..

And wanna say something to you Ken, sometimes our lives might be filled with adversities. Glad to see you are brimming with enthusiam in what you are doing now man. I believe you can make it, given your attitude. I will give u the pressure u need! haha.. All the best!

Dianliang.. although didnt see u much in school this term but enjoy your precious one month in Arizona ya! see you soon in term 3b!

Which way to go?

2005-05-27T00:20:00.000+08:00

Imagine this scenario..
you join a big company and the company puts u in a marketing team for a special ad-hoc project. And within the team, you made new friends. The team is further sub-divided into sub teams, each handling a different project. For your side, your progress seems to be right on track and is expected to complete the project within the deadline. For the other team, they seem to be having troubles finishing up their work, and seems to need help.

Just when you were about to finish your project, someone offered u a job - a job that you always wanted. Unfortunately, it is also that time, your team leader approach u and request a favour that you go over to the other team to help out..

Which choice would u choose? To go for the job u like? or switch over to help ur team members although marketing is not your main interest.

Back to work

2005-05-24T00:40:00.000+08:00

The long weekend is over.. I think I will miss it.. Really enjoyed the live band singing on Sat.. Means we are moving to another stage in our life cycle? What say you all brothers? haa..
Operation Potage took a beating just now, when I received a call from Jeremy (shan't go into detail on the bad news). It sure dampened my mood.. just as things were starting to accelerate, we met with this situation. Nevertheless I think it is good that we as partners trash out our thoughts and feelings to one another, so that we can understand one another concerns and work better in a team. Both Jeremy and I have an extremely strong feeling for our venture. Hope that this coming weekend's discussion will help us clarify our positions and clear any misconceptions.

I feel that forming a good management team is like setting a firm foundation for a house. Without a committed and well organised team, every business is doomed to fail no matter how good the prospect or business model is. Being able to work with my 2 good poly friends has a special meaning to me, maybe because we are the only 3 guys in our class and we stuck to each other for 3 full years! Thus, I understand their working style and personally I feel this is a good continuation of our relationship.

Back to work tomorrow. Hmm 4 days work week.. nice! Work Work Work.. but morale still high! =)

Stocks Finally Moving!

2005-05-22T15:19:00.000+08:00

Yes! The stocks venture finally made a major breakthrough! Our partners have reached a mutual understanding of how we want our venture to be.. Finally can go full force into the planning and R&D stage. Feel much better now after establishing a common understanding, where everyone is happy with the structure. Now it's time to improve on my startup budget, to be in time for our meeting with our major shareholder. Also need to think of ways to raise my capital.. $$..

So many other projects on hand - UOB project, Eye Club project, Boardgame research. Nevertheless, my mood and morale is all time high! Feel so motivated by the hardwork put in by my dear Eye Exco members.. I truly believe we will bring Eye Club to a higher level..

This coming term will be my first time going for convocation! haha.. representing my beloved Eye Club..

Hope next week, I will be able to complete my work in UOB on time and meet the deadline.. Really appreciate the chance given to me to play a meaningful role in UOB.

SMU Spirit

2005-05-21T22:38:00.000+08:00

Yet another week.. Thinking back, I really feel fortunate that I am in SMU.. The culture here really touched me.. It's like there is a sense of friendship, where students can reach their prof easily and the relationship continues even after the course ends..
I emailed my QM prof, Brian, after facing some problems in my work. What touched me was that he took the effort to understand my problem (i explained my problem using analogies) and after that suggested that expert help was needed. During my meeting with the section heads and department head, the department head was very suprised that I managed to get advice from my professor. To them, it was something uncommon, almost unheard of. Their impression of student-teacher relationship is that the teacher just comes and teach and goes off.. full stop. She was so suprised that our professors know us by name! It made me realise how lucky I am to be in SMU.
This is not the first time I felt this way. Even during last term when I took FIM, I went to my ex-finance prof, Sandy Lai for advice, and she readily offered to help. Chats with prof are common and it made me feel valued as a student. That is the real SMU Spirit!

Weekend Again..

2005-05-14T17:58:00.000+08:00

Time passes so fast, and I have been working for a week now. Really lucky to be part of the project in UOB, where we have meetings with the department heads almost everyday. Finally get to see how things operate and people work inside a bank and the different systems they use for transactions etc.. The only sad thing is that the scope of my project is applying ABC to the department (different from my interest). Nevertheless, I still believe it is a good learning experience as not very often we get the chance to manage a project in real settings. Furthermore, my coordinator (also a SMU graduate) encourages us to do the presentation to the division head. What a good learning opportunity for us!

Going to watch Kingdoms of Heaven later.. seems very nice from the trailers.. and ya had a really nice dream last nite too =)

Life at Raffles Place

2005-05-09T00:58:00.000+08:00

Finally get to experience life working in Raffles Place tomorrow.. Since young I always imagined myself walking among the crowd there.. Where everyone seems to be in a rush and stressed up also.. I suppose. Will have many friends working in bulidings around me.. hope to see u guys for lunch man! Let me be immune to Monday Blues tomorrow ya! haha

And ya, House of Wax was a really niceee movie man. I would consider it one of the best slasher movie I watched so far. Really keeps u alert, comtemplating what disgusting things will happen next. Next movie on my list - "kingdoms of heaven".

One of the Best Gift this semster...

2005-05-07T16:31:00.000+08:00

Yay, I'm so happy that I am placed on the Dean's List. That has got to be one of the best gift I received this semster. Work is starting on Monday, and it will be my first time working in a bank. One step closer towards my longer term goal of making my mark in the financial industry. Look forward to it and hope I can gain useful experience out from it.

My brothers are watching House of Wax tonite.. The trailer really seems interesting. Will try my best to join them.. I wanna watch too!

Mid Week.. 2 more days to FRIDAY!

2005-05-04T17:05:00.000+08:00

The discussion for STOCKS is moving slow, guess because of the busy schedule of my partners. Really look forward to seeing this venture take off and become successful. It is really not easy to do up the financial component of the plan man - so many costs to consider! Forcasting income is also a problem; guess would need to go down and observe the traffic in order for me to have a more reliable estimate of our sales.

14 May is Operation Stocks day. Hope that day comes really soon, then we can go down to IKEA to do some shopping for cutleries and start cooking! yum yum!

Gotta do up a business proposal for EYE Club too. I think this has gotta be one of the few proposals that excites me man. Will set a "vision" for our EYE Club c",) and use up my brain juices to do up a good one. Actually quite happy to be in the team, where I can sense commitment, maybe because we took up the role voluntarily thats why. Hope everyone can learn something out of all the planning and discussion, where I'm sure I will.

Friday is coming, that I'm gonna celebrate one of my brother's birthday. Good show will be coming up ya.. Heh *Evil grin*.. Weekend here I come! woo..