Surprise drop in retail sales

http://www.thomsonfxhub.com/fxhub/forex-news-detail.jsf?newsId=18091&title=Singapore%20retail%20sales%20expected%20to%20slow%20in%20February%20as%20car%20sales%20drag

Can't seem to find a free copy of the Straits Times Article online. But here's some version of it elsewhere...

First thoughts: Economists are morons... Think they are all just wildly creating estimates for growth... I sincerely doubt that an economist can predict the economy better than a PSLE-educated weatherman. In fact, a weatherman can probably do it more flamboyantly, whooshing his arms around excitedly as he predicts the drop/increase in growth of the retail sector.

If an economist can't do a good job predicting the future, but is only good at reasoning the past, what use is he? Seriously, attribution is so easy; anyone who understands causality and can find a link between his supposed reason and his past outcome can be an economist...

Let me take a stab: Today's Papers:

Nonsense Statistics Number 1:
Article 1 : Retail sales dipped in February 2008, citing poor car sales.
Article 2: Hand Foot Mouth Disease hits the highest in Singapore ever in March 2008 with 1,000 cases. Super virulent strain Enterovirus71 pervasive this year but doctors don't know why.

Hah, simple wat... means that people in Singapore buying less cars in Feb = more walking and over-crowding on the streets in Feb & March = more interaction between people = more interaction of the HFMD infected = more infections + incubation period...

Don't believe, just look at the statistics... less cars, more HFMD cases

QED...

How to profit from it?
Be a car salesman. Tout cars as the best cure against HFMD. Prove it. Go down to all the childcare centres and set up car showrooms. Hire doctors and statisticians who are willing to assert that your statistic is correct. Get them to sell the 'scientific correlation' between cars and HFMD. Talk to Health Insurers and get them to subsidise cost of cars as part of medical prevention expenditure. Make it easy to buy a car. Put out national campaigns that shame parents who don't buy cars as ignorance, unloving parents. Earn big bucks! Sell your car business, expose the scam.

Oh ya, by the way, FIRE ALL ECONOMISTS... they are good-for-nothing morons who live off everyone else and produces nothing of value to society. Save their salaries to hire road sweepers. A road-sweeper is infinitely more useful than an economist.

Get rich, die evil...

It's time to think creatively...

Perhaps I'm rather dissatisfied with work because it doesn't provide much of an opportunity for creative thinking... Everything is "template this, template that", so that there is a consistency, a uniformity, a conformity...

Well, until I am no longer there, there must be an alternative outlet for me. I believe this is what is driving me to the brink of insanity. I need someplace to output my juices, be it creative or not... Else I stagnate, and my brain will fizzle out, and life will get emptier and emptier...

I shall try something. It will just be an objective and thinking exercise, without consideration of the political correctness of the statement. I will, on a regular basis, look at articles in the papers/online, and identify one of them, and examine how one can possibly profit from it, be it by scrupulous means or not... The ideas can be outlandish, evil even, but it's not a reflection of my character, but a training of the mind... Will appreciate your comments on them...

Priorities

One needs a mirror to know where he is,
One needs a trail to know where he was,
One needs a compass to know where he is going...

Have gone too damn long without those. The result: Lost, a feeling of hopelessness, a sense of aimlessness... of drifting along the river, pulled by the current... of helplessness, that everything is beyond my control...

No longer.

In the next few days, I shall identify my mirror, my trail and my compass... small steps to living my life, the way i envision it to be...

a better man.

and so it ends...

A dream into a nightmare...

The Wall

There comes a point in every race, could be the 5th mile, could be the 25th, but eventually, you are going to hit what every runner calls "The Wall". And when you do, you won't be able to breathe, or think, or even move, and all you want to do ... is give up.

That's the difference between getting a girl, and keeping a girl...

I run marathons, haha!

Run, Fat Boy, RUN!

What do you think?

I called this guy up today, and asked him if he had any stock available for two board games that I wanted to buy...

He said he'll check, and call me back later...

...

Call back he did, and told me that there were only one each of the two board games I requested, and he told me to "Come by tomorrow" if I really wanted it...

So I did... Fearing that they will run out of stock if I didn't tarry, I came down immediately. Then he told me that he didn't have it in stock, and actually he meant "Come by TOMORROW", instead of "Come BY tomorrow". Coz he will get the single leftover stock in tomorrow from his warehouse; he didn't have it at the store currently...

Sheesh... over the phone, I couldn't tell the difference. I thought he meant the latter...

Would you have thought the same???

Just Chillin'

The boom of an approaching plane...

Peering out the window, I can't seem to make it out... Though I can't see it, I know it's there... and it makes me calm.

Sitting back, the radio playing light jazzy tunes, gotta admit, life's been pretty decent to me. I don't get everything I want in life, but, who does anyway?

Everything in life simply gets better when you are not hankering desperately after some object of desire. Perhaps this is middle-age thinking, when the rashness of youth is replaced by a jaded acceptance... or is it called a tacit understanding...

I lean back on my chair, eyes closed, hands behind my head, stephanie singing a slow, low ballad, the song interspersed with the drone of the fan. No cares in the world, just a little "me time" before I head to bed. A grin, shoulders down, as i think about how the bedsheet is warming up under my feet...my own style of "meditative pose"...

I am happy...

2008 New Year Things to Do

1. Lose Weight
1. Drop 15 kg (1.5 kg / month)
2. No late night pig-out sessions (No food after 9 pm)
   
2. Personal Finance
1. Set out & follow budget (Save first)
   
2. Consider financial portfolio
3. Work on Faults
1. Live up to promises
2. Not to be overly-critical of others
   
4. Pick up New Skills
   
1. Learn Salsa
1. Digital Photography
2. Management Consultancy
   
5. Improve on Existing Skills / Achieve Certification
   
1. Tennis (Regular Coaching Sessions)
   
2. Diving (Certification for Advanced Open Water, Deep Diver)
3. Attend Wine Appreciation Classes
   
4. Pass CFA I
5. Set up business website
   
6. Exercise / Training Schedule
   
1. Running - Twice Weekly (Thursday, Sunday)
   
2. Swimming - Twice Weekly (Tuesday, Saturday)
   
3. Tennis - Twice Weekly (Wednesday, Saturday)
   
4. Blading - Weekly (Sunday)
   
5. Badminton - Fortnightly (Wednesday)
6. Squash - Monthly
7. Races
1. Singapore Biathlon 2008 (1 March) - Target: 1 hr 40 mins
   
2. Singapore Bay Run / Army Half Marathon (TBC) - Target: 2 hrs 15 mins
3. JP Morgan Chase 5.6km Corporate Run - Target: 30 mins
   
4. Fuji Xerox Open Water 3km (TBC) - Target: 1 hr 10 mins
   
5. Singapore Marathon 2008 (7 December) - Target: 5 hrs 30 mins
   
8. Special Events
   
1. Formula One Singapore Inaugural Race (28 September)
2. Two overseas trips (Laos, Cambodia)
   

So This Is Christmas

(by John Lennon)

So this is Christmas
And what have you done?
Another year over
And a new one just begun

And so this is Christmas
I hope you have fun
The near and the dear one
The old and the young.

A very Merry Christmas
And a Happy New Year
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fear

And so this is Christmas
For weak and for strong
For rich and the poor ones
The road is so long

And so Happy Christmas
For black and for white
For yellow and red ones
Let's stop all the fight.

A very Merry Christmas
And a Happy New Year
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fear

So this is Christmas
And what have you done?
Another year over
And a new one just begun

And so Happy Christmas
I hope you have fun
The near and the dear one
The old and the young.

A very Merry Christmas
And a Happy New Year
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fear

War is over!
If you want it
War is over!
War is over, Now!

Facing the Music...

It's time to face the facts, people.

When you're in it, you only accept the evidence that aids your case, and cheerfully ignore the growing pile of stuff that points otherwise...

You'd need someone else to shine the light for you, to tell you to accept the things that you have been unconsciously denying...

It's tough to accept... People can go through their entire existence pretending, living in webs of deceit... I've decided that I shan't be one of them...

When the facts pile up once or twice, it's a coincidence... three or four, it's a suspicious... five or six, it's a undeniable, inalienable truth...

It's ok, if I can do a marathon, I can accept this painful truth. I can move on. New year's coming, perfect time for a fresh start, new beginnings...

I am a Food Reviewer!

Yesterday night had a wonderful evening out with a dear friend. The Belgian restaurant that we went to was called Oosters, and I liked it so much, I decided to review it! It's now available on HungryGoWhere! In fact, I'm the first reviewer of that particular restaurant, so I scored a "First"! Overall, scored it a 7.5! The link is here:
http://www.hungrygowhere.com/oosters_belgian_brasserie_suntec

After reading the review, would YOU go there?

Hmmm, wonder if I can ever earn a living doing food reviews. It's certainly a dream career!

=P~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You don't understand...

That making flippant remarks is very disparaging and insulting...

That without establishing facts, commenting on a person's behaviour is ill-advised...

That attempting to link a person's activity to a single (and incorrect) point is crudely diminishing his depth of character...


That is why I am pissed.

What's in a name?

Perceptive, Affable, Loquacious, EXciting!
Personable, Affirming, Logical, EXtroverted!

Who do you think it stands for?

Laying Roots... Or Not

Realised I never wrote about one of my few guiding philosophies in life... Often expressed to close friends, in words and in actions. But I guess it is the (unwritten) rule that if it's not set down in ink, it counts not. My life decisions, no matter how innocuous, be often be quite easily traced to this philosophy. Anyway, this is how I live my life...

... Like Forrest's leaf, going where the wind blows...

I often attribute it to the side-effects of my overseas education. The first day I stepped into the cornfields of the Land of Lincoln, I was advised this "Good Trick": Don't think of staying here long-term; you're only passing through...

At first, it only represented the physical materials in life. Since I will be in the dorms the first year only, there's no real need to buy too much stuff, since I would have to shift / throw them the following year. The more nonsense I accumulate, the more baggage there is down the road. I kept that "Good Trick" very close to my heart; I purchased as little "necessities" as needed. Whatever I bought, I kept the packaging, in preparation that I will be reusing it to shift out someday.

Whenever I chanced across something I really wanted, I asked myself, is my need transient, cause the outcome of my decision might not be... With that, I denied myself many things, many times over. I could live without those material things, in the firm belief that there will be one day, when I settled down, when all these things will come.

... I've only just arrived, but I'm good to go...

After that first year in the dorm, I finally moved out to an apartment. People who have seen that apartment would remember the one unusual aspect of our living room. It was full of boxes, stacked all around the living room. The boxes accumulated from the first day we moved in, in preparation for our eventual departure.

The boxes stood there until the day we all went our separate ways two years later. Because, in our hearts, we knew that the apartment was transient, and that like in the dorms, there was no point "settling in" when we lived there knowing we would move out eventually. My philosophy strengthened and entrenched itself further.

Even more so, the original focus on only physical possessions evolved into emotional and romantic considerations as well. I no longer considered anywhere home. I was just passing through everywhere I went. Anything that would anchor me to a specific location, i.e. a lover, a permanent physical possession, a feeling of belonging, they were all taboo.

... Take only pictures, leave only footprints...

I became a "transient"; a person who is unwilling to lay his roots anywhere, and lived in the knowledge that my current situation is only "transitory". Unwillingness to lay down roots
anywhere, even when I returned to Singapore from my education. I don't think of where I live as home. It is a room where I stay after office hours. It is a place where I plot my next destination...

I don't believe in possessions here. Hence, I doubt I will ever decorate my room. They will become junk when I leave anyway. I doubt that I will ever buy a car. I can live without it. I doubt that I will ever buy an apartment. The 20-30 years stuck here paying off the housing loans is a complete deal-breaker for me.

Most importantly, I doubt I will ever fall in love here. Laying roots that lead to my heart would be the most difficult to shear off. If I believe that I will leave here someday, if I give my heart out to someone here, in the knowledge that I WILL leave here, I am just setting the stage for my eventual heartbreak.

... Where the heart is, I don't know ...

The point is that, I don't know where is home. Maybe the US, Europe, Middle-East, Antartica, the Mooon. Maybe it IS here. Until I know, until I reach there, physically and emotionally, I will abide by my philosophy. I won't allow myself a long-term commitment to a fixed location. I won't allow myself the luxury of being home. I won't allow myself to be exposed to love and heartbreak. Whatever hinders me from leaving is unacceptable.

...I am a transient...

That's only temporal.

For My Dear Senior...

This is for a friend.

She is a wonderful and lovely person, whom I've known for more than 10 years. Our friendship has evolved several times, from a bossy section leader whom I tried to bully back, to being the elder sister of one of my favourite juniors, to a friend whom I made sure to call on whenever I came back Singapore, to a near and dear senior whom we share moments of refreshing friendship and care...

Till today, have always referred to her affectionately as "My Dear Senior". Only 6 months older, but infinitely wiser than me. Perhaps her sharing the same birthday as my mum contributed to that perception. Like a slow 30s light jazz song, I always feel calm and relaxed in her presence.

She is kind and caring, frequently able to sense the emotions and thoughts of others, and knowing when to approach, and when to hold back. She's also sweet, saccharine even, like a gentle doe, softly grazing in the forest and leaving no marks wherever she may tread.

Yet she possesses a hidden steel of determination that glints bright for her passions. She inspires, and carries others along. Among others, her passion for scrabble, running, are more than just a passing interest, but a natural force of energy that draws in others in her wake.

Though she is as affected by worldly emotions as others, in moments of personal pain, she holds it in, revealing nothing but a stoic impasse. Her wall of control, she only allows entry to close ones. Can well imagine her saying, "Well, it's disappointing, but everything in its stride..." and start smiling.

I count myself lucky to know her, a person to share my thoughts with, a senior to look up to, and, as the years pass, a constant, consistent lighthouse to get my bearings in the choppy waves of life...

Happy Birthday, My Dear Senior
Here's wishing you many years of continued passion
and decades more of our friendship

Life is not merely a series of meaniningless accidents or coincidences, but rather a tapestry of events that culminate in an exquisite, sublime plan

What I Did Today, Was For Friendship...

This is me.

What is not me, is to fight hard for my friendships...

I'm doing so right now, because this one is worth it...

If it goes, it will not be because I was too scared to face up to the problems, like last time...

The next time, I will be stronger, braver and faster...

Life... it's a learning experience... we are all just learning as we go along...

Amidst all the pointless work in life...

I had a conversation with a colleague today. It's moments like this that you would remember for a long time, one of those incidents that, upon reflection decades later, you realise that it was a direction marker, one that would pretty much guide the next phase of my life...

He told me that many years ago, just after he came back from his university studies, as a scholar, he was asked one of those standard 'scholarly' questions, "What is your guiding philosophy in life?" He answered that it would be such that, every 2-3 years, when he asked himself what is his aim, it would be entirely different. This would indicate that there was a certain focal point in his life, and that he had accomplished what he set out to do, and move on to other things. He termed this his "chapters", that every 2-3 years, he would move on to a different chapter, a different part of life, as his goals change with his experiences.

That struck me. Hard. I mean, WOW! It's almost completely in opposition to the way I've been living... I think, in my entire life, I have always been focused on 1 or 2 main things, which never changed. It has always been vague targets, and each and every year, it was a variation of the same old, same old. To the point of obsession. Yet, sub-consciously, there was an inherent understanding that I would always have time later to achieve those targets, so I could afford to slacken off, and putter around...

Correctly or not, it had meant that my life was a one-chapter book, just detailing the endless circles and agonising efforts as I achieved (or not) my life purpose, a vague and ephemeral imagining... Thus, what if I never change direction, but never accomplished that overall life purposes? On my grave then, it would say "Here lies K-U, his only purpose in life was to serve as a warning for others"...

What he said, made absolute sense. To me. On a very fundamental level. When I look back, there are so few, so few, things that I can recall with fondness and pride. I have just been plodding along, content with being blown with the winds of current events. I tell myself, I have goals, but since they're so hard to accomplish anyway, lemme just concentrate on all the impotent ,daily, nonsensical, minute, meaningless chores that are nipping at my ankles.

Oh look, a year has passed. Nothing's changed. Again.

It's been like that the past 27 years for me. No better time than the present, to wake up and see what's been happening with my life. I have written one chapter in my life so far, 27 years in the making. It's time to outline new chapters, new goals, something to achieve in 3 years, accomplish that, and move on to something else.

I will do just that. This year, I will compete and complete the stanchart full marathon. Or die trying. That will be something I will look back fondly. After that, I will think of something else, not rest in the comfort of the knowledge of that (hopefully) accomplishment. 2nd December 2007 will end a chapter of my life, and start a new one.

My life story will be filled up with exciting and fulfilling chapters... That is my life purpose.

My Horoscope for Today... Things will Change...

The Bottom Line

Your place among your friends is secure today, and you know just where you stand.

In Detail

By today, you have pushed through the most confusing part of your little emotional obstacle course -- and things are starting to look clearer and you are starting to feel much happier. Your place among your friends is secure, and you know just where you stand. Hold onto your rising optimism, because it will take you the rest of the way. The going is not going to be so rough anymore, and you are about to experience an extended period of peace, relaxation, and contentment.

Thoughts in the middle of the night...

Sometimes I can't sleep...
The body is tired and aching, but the mind is sharp and alert, filling it up with neverending thoughts... My day, my week, my life. Anxious, I looked at the alarm clock... 2.15am, just 4 hours before I have to awaken and face a brand new day. Can't help but wonder about the myriad of events that would occur in the next 24 hours, the joys, the heartbreaks, the expected and unexpected.

Just another day in paradise, my paradise, where I work without feeling, and I wander in search of a meaningful existence, displeased at my current state of affairs. The work is uninspiring, unchallenging, and every single day, it drags me down deeper and deeper into the grave of pointlessness. The more I work, the more useless I feel, the more I blend into the wallpaper, almost content to just while away as a Life Ordinary...

Wasn't I supposed to do much more? Accomplish more significant things than just end up making powerpoint slide and writing papers that lead to nothing, nothing at all? Did I really work so hard last time to just stagnate, my flesh rotting, and my mind growing in feebleness? Is there something out there waiting for me to fill the void and BE somebody?

Like one of my favourite movies' title, is this really "As Good As It Gets"?

If it is...