Headhunters

Hrmm…haven't been writing much lately. Could be because there's nothing really significant happening to my life or just that I've been lazy. Now, the only thing I seem to be excited about is shopping for a new job lately. I've been rather upset with my current one and I'm sort of looking out for one. Basically, what this means is to let your interests be known in the field and let the headhunters hunt. So far, I've been approached by a few headhunters but the progress seems dreadfully slow. Part of the reason seems to be due to the unavailability of the employers due to scheduling.

Interestingly enough, my colleagues and I engaged in a conversation circling resumes. The reason being that one of my colleagues has successfully been hunted and will soon be parting ways. Now, we were talking about how some people will make their resumes look much more impressive than they really are and basically how to get away with it. We concluded that in order to do so, you must be interviewed by people who are not in this region. Now, most of my peers are in charge of regional work so normally we work with people from different countries. As the world is kind of big, this gives the person abit of advantage in exaggerating their accomplishments. Of course, there's also a risk involve as you'll never know who knows who in this world as well. We've all heard of the six degrees of seperation yah. But over the years, I've constantly come across people whom I've been amazed at what they put into their resumes. "Instrumental in the sale of…", "Achieve 120% target of…", "In charge of closing a multi-million dollar deal…" etc. I've known these people personally and they sure as hell ain't any of those.

Oh well, not sure I can lie through my teeth like them but please wish me luck in leaving this place soon. Good night Singapore.

My Best Friend’s Wedding?

Highlights of the weekend was that I attended my Best Friend's wedding on Sunday. Now, I had also kind of went to join in for the jie-mei vs shiong-di battle in the morning. I was the bride's friend so I was actually on the other side of the gate. After the whole affair and when we finally reached the couple's house, they gathered for a group shot and I was never asked to join in for the shot nor to take any shots. This was then did I realised that I was neither part of the jie-meis nor the shiong-dis. I guess it was then did I suddenly felt very left out and started to ponder why I was really there. Was I really the bride's Best Friend? Or was I just there because I asked the bride whether she needed any help and she felt obligated to ask me along? I guess some people would have said that I am too sensitive. She's probably too busy and it WAS her big day afterall so she might have forgotten about you. But I've always felt that I am very good at reading signals and I have a feeling that I might just be right.

It kind of got worst during the night time when I attended their wedding dinner. I suddenly realised that I was given a seat with all strangers and at the way back of the dinner hall! Now, I do know some of their common friends and I have to say, I was very disappointed in the arrangement. Was this how a close friend is to be treated? Sigh… suffice to say, it was not a very enjoyable dinner and I had to make an excuse and left early. It is times like this that sometimes I really feel I might have expected too much and presumed too much of some of the friendships I have. Maybe we were never really close.

Anyway, I tried my hand at a close up shot of her face during the morning reception. Looking at it now, it's leaves kind of a cold impression. That seems to suit how my heart is feeling now. Good night Singapore.

Mr Brown’s Suspension

Now guess those whose been in the know for stuff that happens on the net would know that the popular blogger Mr Brown has been given the red card and suspended from duties due to an article he wrote in Today. I have always admired Mr Brown as a mature blogger who gives us information in a tongue in cheek manner that is both informative and easy to be absorbed by the common man. I guess this is probably why he is being seen as a threat maybe.

I have to agree with the comment made by Reporters without Boundaries that in some cases, journalist ought to be able to make certain views. There is always a fine line between partisan reporting and accurate reporting. Who can say that during the Iraq or Afghan wars that the US media did not add abit of Americanism into their reports? Now is this right or wrong? I think as with everything in life, it's usually does the cause justify the means. If enough people deems it to be alright, then it's alright. History has taught us time and again that it's always about what is the perceive truth that matters rather than the real truth. Now, this may sound jaded but I think it's the truth (haha… funny the way this sounds). Unfortunately, herein lies the crux, does MICA and SPH want to control the perceive truth? As our circulated media is monopolised, there's probably no other way the common man will be informed en masse about what's alright to do and what's not. We have not reached a critical mass yet in the circulation of information through other means such as the Internet to allow the common man an alternative avenue for information. So now that MICA has instrumented the removal of someone who speaks probably the minds of many, there's little chance of the masses to learn of an alternative view.

I realised what I've just written has became a jabble of words and thought and is probably hard to understand. Too many things in my mind from too many angles. Oh well, shan't bother to rewrite it since no one but myself whose going to read it. Anyway, end of the day, I do hope he gets off alright with this whole fiasco. He seems like a decent enough guy. A man who loves his family and just wants to provide for them. Good night Singapore.

World Cup semis

Back from Bangkok. Now watching the semis between Germany and Italy. I guess it'll be another tie game and penalty shootout from the looks of it. Will blog more when I am in the mood. Now I'm kind of rumbling. Good night Singapore.

Rise Above and up north

Ok, kind of a crappy title I know. Just came back from an event at Jewel Box at Mount Faber. It's the old Altivo newly renovated. Quite nice but I have to say, it's not the best place for an event. Parking is horrendous. We made our way up and was shocked to see a whole line of cars waiting to be valet parked at the place. When we finally reached the place, we were told horrors of all horrors that valet parking is full and they told us to drive down to Habour Front and take the shuttle up. I was like wtf! I'm not going to do that! I dropped my friend off and wanted to go home when my friend told me she's secured a valet lot for me. So off I went driving back and waiting in line for the valet queue again. Lucky this time, they helped me park my car. This is in fact the second time I faced a parking problem at this location. The first was when I attended a friend's wedding who chose to hold it at Altivo. I guess for the place to succeed, they have to first solve this crucial problem.

Anyway, the event in question is Martell's Rise Above event. It's kind of like an appreciation party to all the people who have supported Martell in the year. People like disco owners, pub owners and of course drunkards like myself. Haa…. Anyway, lots of media and celebrities. I thought I'll try out my new camera which I bought today. It's a Panasonic Lumix FX-01. Unfortunately, I'm abit disappointed with the night shots quality. Will do a proper review of the camera once I tried it out more. Here are some shots I took of the event.

Whoa…look at all em Martell bottles on the shelves.

You can't really see it but this guy's t-shirt was flashing.

Main doorway into the disco party.

Insider where there's a dance floor.

The theme was Rise Above so you seen hostess wearing astronaut, stewardess and pilot uniforms.

Oh, another thing to mention was that I saw the infamous Dawn Yeo at the party. Now she looked at me and I realised her face was kind of scary and I had to admit I looked away. It just didn't look natural and I don't know, think I prefer her pre-surgery look. Anyways, I'm sure some people likes it.

Ok, I'd better go to bed as I'm leaving to Bangkok for a holiday tomorrow. Good night Singapore.

Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafe

Had an interesting coffee session today at this place call Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafe so I thought I'll do a review on it. It's situated just opposite the Kovan MRT station and is quite a large site which one couldn't possibly miss travelling down the main road.

Now there seems to be alot of Hong Kong style cafes popping up on the island and this one looks new enough. It's also happening in KL by the way and there's even a chain there. My friend recommended we drop by here for coffee as she's been here before so what the heck, we went down. The decor of the place is quite new and the interior quite nicely done. We chose to sit outside instead but the outside sitting is limited and this being located near a HDB estate, the al fresco view is kind of boring. Anyway, we proceeded looking at the interesting postcard like menu to see what's good.

The selection is quite large and there's even things which is not typical of a "Char Chan Teng" (Hong Kong Cafe) in there. I guess they must cater to the local crowd. I hear that the food was alright but if you come during peak hours, the standard do drop. As we went there kind of late, we skip the food and went straight to desserts. We ordered a mango ice kacang thingy which was huge and a peanut butter toast.

The mango dessert was alright but because it was made up of just ice shavings and mango sauce poured over it, the inner parts were abit tasteless. The toast is ok though I still prefer the ones in HK. Price wise, we had a lemon tea to go with that ($4.90, wow!) and it came up to $18.15 which I thought was kind of pricey. But I kind of expected it as these novelty places typically charges a premium. You can't expect to pay coffee shop prices right.

Anyways, one good thing about this place is that it is 24hrs. Seems nowadays more and more places are going 24hrs to cater to the midnite crowd. For that, I would say this makes it a possible choice for those who want to grab a bite at some place different in the middle of the night. I would possibly go back again as I'm kind of interested in trying out the pork chops and baked spaggetti. All in all, abit pricey but an interesting place to check out. Good night Singapore.

Turning Point?

There seems to be a glimmer of hope to my gloomy working environment. Over the weekend, I had two opportunities present themselves to me to move out of my shitty current position. One is an internal opportunity that may become available in the coming months and the other, which I was informed today, was an opportunity to move out to one of the biggest players in the telecoms sector. The later seems a more immediate opportunity. I hope either one materialises itself soon as I am really tired of the constant droning of my director who has no one to manage to me and thus constantly micro-manages my work. It has became unbearable and I seek an escape from this prison soon.

But as with opportunities, there comes the dilemma. If the opportunities come into fruition (I am pretty sure I spelt this wrongly but hey, I was never a word smith), I am faced with the decision of whether to wait for the internal position or take the external one. Over the past 8 years, I have held positions with 5 companies. Now that is alot of movement I guess for someone who is just doing averagely. I can't presume to say I am very successful and highly sought after as I know people who are on the top of the headhunters' list. And by moving around so much sometimes might leave a bad impression. I've only been in the current company for a year and a half and my previous one for one year. What will be the impression of my future masters? True that for these positions I am headhunted and in this line as in any line, as long as headhunters recognise your worth, years of service matters little. But the nagging worry is still there. I think I shan't ponder so much and just take things as they come.

Now with the new opportunity, I do hope that there is at least a 30% increases in remuneration. I seem to feel that I am somehow lagging behind the folks in these organisations but then again, I am comparing myself to foreign talents. Maybe this is an unfair comparison but I feel I am in no way inferior to them and why shouldn't Singaporeans be paid as much? Ah, the age old debate of worth vs perceived worth. Sigh… I do want to achieve a great deal in a short time. I long for the accelerated path taken by some and hope that in the short months to come I am able to step up again in my pursue for a higher and better paid position. Wish me luck.

Now on a seperate issue. I have decided to go on a diving trip to Bali with a group of people whom I do not know. These people I have not met and hopefully will be able to make some new friends who is closer to my wavelength. Nowadays, I feel that the people I hang out with are not exactly people of liked mind. Alas, another reflection on the title of this blog, Kindred Spirits. I used to know a group of friends who are but a mistake of my own caused me their friendship which I've regretted till today. Let's hope I find some soon. I keep feeling that the friends I hang out with are like a stopping point to others who I can fit in better with. I guess I can only see how life turns out for me. Good night Singapore.