BD Folks gone wild - Xmas Eve Lunch

It was delightful coming back to the office on Xmas Eve and finding so many presents sitting on my desk, and as usual, a couple of ants greet me by running amok on my desk.. Thanks to all who made the effort to prepare xmas gifts.. i got chocs, facial masks, photo frame (never read e-xmas tree list right?) and more chocs!

Back to our xmas lunch. Firstly, the restaurant: a quaint little pizza place with shiok-adoo-dadoo food. They had the foresight to seat us in a private room. You'll see why.....

Some highlights of the lunch and thanks to....

Lynette "the classy babe" who introduced us to classy dishes like portobello mushrooms and beef carpaccio (cured raw meat..... i think) and who gave her thumbs up to the quattro formaggi pizza (whom EVERYONE liked in the end!)

David who cheered us up with his "dirty jokes" about blondes and planes and cassette tapes.. I never saw this side of David, and i must say, i am still trying hard to "think dirty" so as to better understand him...

MG and Eliza, for their totally outrageous re-enactment of James' wedding march-in and Ronnie's overzealous yum seng toast.. You gals are the true "drama-mamas"!



Ronnie, for choosing the black squid ink pasta. Eliza and David certainly enjoyed the ink stains on their teeth and mouth... Oh, and your "virgin" experience in using a wine opener.

James for being a true "beer lovin' guzzler". We got to try out different types of beer and lager.. i know eliza and David certainly did.

Mei Yi, who graciously became our Xmas DJ and played all our xmas song requests from youtube. Hope you found your way to JB that day.. your face was lobster red from the beer and wine!

Nicole, Anya & Wee Yong for tolerating with us on the far end shoving plates at them and screaming for pizza.. We were a hungry lot!

Wine, beer, Mega pizzas, yummy appetizers, and old granny BINGO.. 'Nuff said.

Look forward to more of these "intoxicated" celebrations and gatherings with the BD Folks! I saw a totally different side of all of you :) Merry Blessed Christmas to the team, and a Happy New Year! May 2009 be filled with peace, joy, love, prosperity and good health!

drama

Hi,
We run the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2008 last Sunday, 7th Dec 2008. We have run a great race and most important was we finished the race at our time.(Half Marathon) What we achieved in this race was feeling healthy and stronger. Only disappointing was that the day I collected my “Bit number 40614” and investing on number “4061”,”0614” and “4014” still no luck.

Jimmy

Crab-e-licious!!! (@ Eng Seng)

Thanks to i.luminate & Amos, we were treated to a sumptuous meal of juicy black pepper crabs last Friday!!! Venue is none other than the ever popular Eng Seng restaurant along Still Road. This rather run-down eatery serves one of the best black pepper crab which is finger-licking good. :p

Anyway the whole group was all psyched up, with "carefully" planned logistics of reaching there by 4.30pm to "chope" seats & crabs.

Amos gave us the go-ahead to order 12 crabs (plus other sides such as mee goreng, fried hor fun, fried you-tiao, rojak etc)! While ordering with the infamous auntie, I could hardly contain the drool that was spilling out of my mouth. *slurp*

We all had a hearty meal, no small parts of the crab was left uneaten (or unexplored?? - quote David). Our table which had more "macho" eaters (James, David, Jimmy, Wee Yong & Amos) were casting furtive glances at the opp table (predominantly female except Ronnie) so that we can help "clean up" their crabs! All that was left on our plate was traces of black pepper sauce cos we had David who was busy lapping up most of it.

I vote David as the NEATEST crab eater! He piled all that's left of the crustacean in a shell which looks good enough to be reconstructed (see pix as proof). The rest of us had crab shells littered all over our plates & table. :p

What a great way to relieve stress!! Thanks Amos!! :D

PaintBall : Our Teambonding!

Dear Colleagues,

This was one of the greatest and very Challenging Team Bonding that i had went through since i had joined SingTel.

PaintBall Team Bonding by BD & SM

The morning started with all of us conducting briefing and warming up.
Excited like a boy and girl going through a new game.

The Instructor saw our excitement, hence he had given us a small lecture on Safety and the Game Rules.

Excited initially, but once we heard the "Safety" briefing especially on danger of close fire and incidents where some participants taking out the "mask"....... ripped lips and etc. The cold went down our spine!

I noticed some of us started to cover the head with cap and many start to use scarf to protect their neck.

Once the game started, it was nothing but full of fun, firing and shouting. There was some cheer leaders by the side (if i could remember)

Some lost some win......but the best thing that we achieved was as follows

Team spirit
Lots of running (exercise)
Souvenirs ("Blue black", i had one too)
Stress Relieved

For those who had short memories, pls refer to the attach photo.
The main bulk with be at the X drive.......

X:\Business Marketing Group\Business development\Pix\TmBdg-Paint

Sign off
David & Ronnie




Why Paintball?
Paintball is great for relieving stress while promoting team work in a fun and interactive atmosphere.
Leaders will emerge through practical application of strategic planning. Team spirit and friendships build as the season progresses .
The tension and pressure of everyday life is forgotten as the participants slip into their fantasy world

What is Paintball?
Paintballs Flying Wild Over Singapore Skies! T.A.G (Tactical Action Games) Paintball has brought the electrifying sport of paintball to Singapore. Trained marshals are constantly on site to guide you through an exceedingly exhilarating day and the different game scenarios, like capture the ammo box and zombie. Their presence ensure that the game is played fair, and more importantly, make sure everyone's safety is looked after.

THE GAME Paintball is a combination of "Hide & Seek" and "Tag".
Two (est 5 pax each) teams are pitted against each other with each game having specific objectives.
Players eliminate the opposition with a paintball splat from a CO2 powered paintgun.
Paintballs are small spherical balls made of a thin gelatin case filled with biodegradable, water-soluble dye, which is environmentally friendly. When the paintball breaks on an opponent, he or she is then eliminated

How to truly enjoy a deserved break?

In today's super well connected world, you are contactable via phone or email no matter where you are with the exception of the more remote places. In all my previous working years, I did not had a enjoyable breakaway at all coz companies love to issue you a super productive tool called the blackberry which cultivates a habit in us to take a look at it to check for any new emails or sms even if you put on silent mode.

However, I had an exception this year in my Japan trip. Not because I did not bring along a bb, I brought along the iPhone along which is err...great for entertainment and also accessing emails :(.
The blessing in disguise came when I was happily eating away the delicious ramen and I received a sms from SingTel to tell me that my data roaming charges had exceeded $300 on my 2nd night in Tokyo!!! I got a bill shock! Super amazing how push emails can be so expensive in Japan...

Anyways, I turned off the data roaming settings and this is where my fun and enjoyment extrapolated on the scale. The best thing is that all the missed calls appeared with unknown caller ID and hence, I can't call them back!

From then onwards, I 'bo chap' all the emails and happily eating and touring away in Japan.
All in all, Japan has been very very good to me (my stomach)!!! Awesome country!!!

Check out my online Japan albums. I strongly recommend Nikko and Hakone for romance during autumn.

Day01>> http://travel.webshots.com/album/568266513lcNwjY?vhost=travel

Day02>> http://travel.webshots.com/album/568270574JFBJgb?vhost=travel

Day03>> http://good-times.webshots.com/album/568273957aTUtwG?vhost=good-times

Day 04>> http://travel.webshots.com/album/568278983MNkCNc?vhost=travel

Day05>> http://good-times.webshots.com/album/568275050ybKyeM?vhost=good-times

Day 06 http://good-times.webshots.com/album/568408377VBCDDv?vhost=good-times

Day07>> http://good-times.webshots.com/album/568286688ReBwWn?vhost=good-times

Day 08 http://family.webshots.com/album/568326681xUaUck?vhost=family

Day 09 http://travel.webshots.com/album/568343827mmdsFq?vhost=travel

Day 10 http://good-times.webshots.com/album/568366106iKbVPI?vhost=good-times

Day 11 http://travel.webshots.com/album/568406282jeHads?vhost=travel

Day 12 http://travel.webshots.com/album/568424279qUNbbd?vhost=travel

Carrots, Eggs & Coffee

I just read this which I found it thought provoking...here's sharing it with everyone...

A carrot, an egg, and a cup of coffee... You will never look at a cup of coffee the same way again. A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.
Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled 3 pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil; without saying a word.
In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, ' Tell me what you see.' 'Carrots, eggs, and coffee,' she replied. Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg.

Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, 'What does it mean , mother?' Her mother explained that! each of these objects had faced the same adversity: boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water. 'Which are you?' she asked her daughter. 'When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean? Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain & adversity do I wilt & become soft & lose my strength Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened & stiff ? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter & tough with a stiff spirit & hardened heart? Or am I like the coffee bean?

The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you. When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest do you elevate yourself to another level? How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean? May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human and enough hope to make you happy. The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way.

MAYBE WE CAN ALL BE COFFEE.... :D

The Story of a Wedding Dinner

I always like to attend wedding dinners, not because of the food served there, (hotel food are normally so-so only), but because of the company you would see. As you grow older and get married, you tend to go for less outings with friends. So wedding dinners are a good way to catch up with people, especially those friends you have not seen in a long time. But of course, as you get older, you would also attend less weddings, since more of your friends get married and those who are not married, ………….would most probably stay that way :P.

I attended one of friend’s wedding a few weeks back. One of my good friends – who was one of my “brothers” for my wedding. We were school mates in JC and also university course mates. We join the same ECA in JC – Chinese martial arts. So there we were, all the “武林高手” in the same table and some of our spouses.

There was one particular person we did not see in quite a while because she was overseas all this while as her husband had an overseas posting and was only recently back. Of course, she was not idling all this while but had three kids while she was overseas. So I am not the only one who is “productive”. She married earlier than me, so her elder kid is older than mine. Her kid is 5 years old this year and would be going into a primary school in 2 years time and the topic of the day revolves around primary schools for our kids, which is the theme of the story for this post. (Even the financial crisis took a backseat that day).

Because she lives in Buona Vista, she said she is going to enrol her kid in Henry Park Primary School, supposedly one of the better primary schools in that area. She was saying her flat is within 2km of the primary school. Actually I never believe in so call “good” and “average” primary schools. Whether a person would be successful in life really depend on a lot of factors, going into a “good” primary school would really play an insignificant role in his/her success, in my opinion. So I don’t really understand why some parents go to great lengths to do volunteer work or to move house so that their kids would go into a “good” school.

After the birth of my children, I already make up my mind that there is no way I am going to do volunteer work to get my children into a primary school. (I am just too “lazy” and “bochap” to do volunteer work, and my time is too precious for such “mundane” chores.) Moving house is also out of the question (until that night), because my place is in a such a convenient location and many people would “die” to come to live here. The only issue we have is that there are very few primary schools in my vicinity (the price for living at the city fringe). The one primary school within 1km of my place is a all girls school, which is not what I want for my daughter. So the next choice are schools out of 2km, which is an issue I am going to face in time to come.

It just happens that one of the friend works in MOE, so he becomes the “SME” (subject matter expert) on enrollment in primary schools. And though some of us don’t have any kids yet, this is a perennial and popular Singapore topic, so all of us were pretty engaged. Though the wife shares my view of not doing any volunteer work, she still wanted the kids to go to a “good” school. (She wanted to best of both worlds). So how do you get your kids to a “good” school with minimal efforts? Since there was a MOE SME, we know phase 1A is for sibings, phase 1B is for alumnus of schools or people with “connections” to schools like board of directors, member of clan associations etc, and phase 1C, 2 and so on.

Luckily or unluckily, I happen to be an alumni of a “good” primary school, one of the SAP primary school. So if I join the school’s alumni association, chances are that my kid would definitely get into the school, which a lot of parents want their kids to go. The only problem is that school is not near my place, so if I want the kid to go there, I can

1) Drive her back and fro everyday (so I need to buy a car which is not a very wise decision, considering the age of rising petrol prices and ERP rates, anyway, I eschew car ownership because I hate to find carpark lots and cars are depreciating assets)
2) Move house so that I don’t need to subject the kid to long traveling time and hopefully avoid buying a car (also not very wise, if I need to sell my prime location and move to the “suburbs”)

Anyway, the wife was so excited, she had difficulty sleeping that night. To settle this once and for all, we actually went to the school to take a look. And to be frank, we actually like what we see, the surroundings and also the website of the school.

The only “negative” point is that there is no worthwhile house to buy near the school. I didn’t really want to buy a resale flat because it is quite expensive. Yes, there is a condo within 300m of the school, but it is a 99 leasehold property and 15 years old already, which would not make a very good property investment. But then again, is there any basis for comparison between a property investment and investment’s in your child’s education?

For me, one of the consideration is that the kids in this school would get a good grounding in the Chinese language because it is a SAP school, plus I like the motto of my alumni which I still remember to this day.（忠孝仁爱，礼义廉耻）

For those who don’t understand Chinese, it means, in the same order

- Loyalty
- Filial Piety
- Humanity
- Love
- Courtesy
- Righteousness
- Integrity
- Sense of Shame

Compare this against the motto of the neighbourhood primary school which is “Work hard, play hard and make a mark” (doesn’t the first few words sounds eerily familiar??).

The wife called the alma mater to get an application form for me to join the alumni association. It is still on my table collecting dust. Do I really need to孟母三迁 and follow the crowd? Anyway, I still have more than 2 years before my kid enroll in the school?

So it’s between "Work hard, play hard" against "忠孝仁爱，礼义廉耻" , where would you enrol your child if you are the parent?

weeyong

Langkawi

With i.luminate finally over, I took a long-awaited holiday to Langkawi with my husband & 2 young kids. It was a really fun & enjoyable one! One of the highlights for me was watching 30+ eagles flying nearby & scooping for meat in the waters while we were on a boat. I had never seen so many free-roaming eagles before, and it was fascinating watching them repeatedly grab the meat in the waters with their feet, then bringing it to their beaks while still in flight.

Another highlight was having close encounters with about 10 black-tip reef sharks! We were feeding other fishes with bread while standing in the waist-deep waters on Coral Island (a protected marine park, off Langkawi), when these black-tip reef sharks started swimming near us! Most were about 1m long, while 1 or 2 were about double that size. I knew they were harmless, but it was still quite an experience having sharks swim around you! Later, I realised that they swam close to shore because they knew it was nearing feeding time! Apparently, the dive operators that brought us there would feed them at 1pm whenever they are there! The guide would stand just 2~3m from the shoreline, and hold pieces of fish to feed the sharks. They would try to lure the sharks to as shollow waters as possible so that we could have a splashing, close encounter with these sharks! Can you imaging having a shark just 1 meter away from your feet?! Check out the video...

For my son, the highlight was probably the fishing trip we took when we rented a boat out. Even the local boatman was fasinated by this little 4yr old boy who keeps catching fish! At the end of a 4hr fishing trip, we caught almost a bucket full of fishes! :)

Anya

LOVE

Love embraces and enrich one's life, be it spiritual, personal and work life.

Spirtually and in my personal life, the greatest thing that I have know is to have God in my life. Life is not a bed of roses..when things do not go the way you have expected, I have learnt to count on my blessings and know that God has given me much more that I can ever be grateful more - my supportive parents, my wonderful siblings, an opportunity to be a wife and a mother, the love of a husband, being able to work and the steadfast friendship of friends.

Where work life is concerned, I am thankful for the opportunity to be where I am now. The initial period was tough but I have managed to go through it by the grace of God. The journey in preparing for i.luminate was indeed tough but is certainly a fruitful and enjoyable experience. I have gained so much more during these 7 months of preparation especially forging deeper friendship with colleagues working alongside with me.

I am also grateful that I have wonderful bosses who understand when I have to be away from office or needed to rush back home to take care of my son who is at a tender age where colds and flu bugs can strike on them so easily. During the difficult period that I have to go through when my father-in-law passed on, I have grateful that my bosses and colleagues showered me with their concern and love despite the fact that everyone is busily preparing for i.luminate. Thank you to all.

Although the world seem to be in a gloomy and messy stage now, we can indeed make life more positive with small acts of caring and by spreading love around.

Below is a short story which has touches me. Hope it touches you as well....

A little boy wanted to meet God. He knew it was a long trip to where God lived, so he packed his suitcase with Twinkies and a six pack of root beer and he started his journey. When he had gone about three blocks, he met an old woman. She was sitting in the park just staring at some pigeons.

The boy sat down next to her and opened his suitcase. He was about to take a drink from his root beer when he noticed that the old lady looked hungry, so he offered her a Twinkie. She gratefully accepted it and smiled at him. Her smile was so pretty that the boy wanted to see it again, so he offered her a root beer. Again, she smiled at him. The boy was delighted. They sat there all afternoon eating and smiling, but they never said a word.

As it grew dark, the boy realized how tired he was and he got up to leave, but before he had gone more than a few steps, he turned around, ran back to the old woman, and gave her a hug. She gave him her biggest smile ever.

When the boy opened the door to his own house a short time later, his mother was surprised by the look of joy on his face. She asked him, "What did you do today that made you so happy?" He replied, "I had lunch with God." But before his mother could respond, he added, "You know what? She's got the most beautiful smile I've ever seen!"

Meanwhile, the old woman, also radiant with joy, returned to her home. Her son was stunned by the look of peace on her face and he asked, "Mother, what did you do today that made you so happy?" She replied, "I ate Twinkies in the park with God." However, before her son responded, she added, "You know, he's much younger than I expected."

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. People come into our lives for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. Embrace all equally! ...Author Unknown

Settling In

My first post!

Just want to thank all my colleagues and boss who've made me feel very welcomed in this team. I'm still easing into the company in general and my role specifically. But looking forward to wats ahead!

Anyways, doing a little advertising for my film ^^

It's gonna be screened this 20th Oct! Anyone interested to come let me know ya.

Cheers,

Mei Yi

Stay Hungry Stay Foolish

I think one of the greatest blessings in life is the love for your job; Love is a great virtue because it propels you to your dream, exceed your own limitations and fulfill your true potential.

"you've got to find what you love", so said Steve Job in his commencement address to Standford in 2005. This is one of my fav articles - whenever i feel down & out, i would pick it out and read to get inspiration. One part that i like about the article is connecting the dots - it talked about Steve Job and how things that happened in the past connected up to make him who he is today. For myself, i had 4 portfolia in my 10-year career in SingTel; in Operation, i learnt how to organize myself and in Planning, i learnt about resource planning and biz cases. In Bid, which i learnt the most thus far, the many checkpoints mtgs helped me managed stakeholders' expectation, negotiating on OLLC with partners helped me on partners engagement, escalations helped me managed bosses better and Bid as a whole helped me on stress management. During those times when i was on those jobs, i didnt forsee how the learnings would help me, but then they come in very handy when i was doing i.luminate, they just connected up. In the same way, i also couldnt really decipher what i.luminate would bring to me, but i believe the learning from it would connect up in the future also. So the key for loving your job is about maximizing your learning (that's for me) because the lessons stay with you, enrich you and have bearing on what you will ultimately want to do in your life, i believe it will just connect up. Steve Job ended his speech with "Stay Hungry Stay Foolish", i could not agree more, we must keep learning, learning and learning. If you are interested, you can find the article here: http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2005/june15/jobs-061505.html

Though the meaning behind the double-boiled soup is good, i do not like to think of myself as the chicken :) i prefer another illustration - we all know that stars are always there, whether in the day or in the night. But you can only see them in the nights, especially in the darkest night. i like this illustration because i believe the treasures of life (just like stars) are seen during difficult times (the dark night) of life. i.luminate is not exactly the dark hours of my life, but it was made difficult because i just become a father and my team was very new. But the treasures i found through i.luminate are rewarding - i got love from my family, know myself better (in both good & bad sense) and friendship & trust from the colleagues. So i am thankful and humbled through the experience itself.

Amos

Is it Worth it?

after reading boss GC's latest blog on BC's leadership, my 1st tot is either you agree (like it) or disagree (hate it). Since we are using this platform as the 'speaker's corner', I will be direct in my opinions...

Why agree?
BC is definitely the most visionary leader whom I came across in my entire career lifespan so far.
He is inspirational and his leadership skills is unquestionable. I'm always motivated after his speeches and hunger for more. I can also see most of his 'generals' and 'lieutanents' have been influenced and changed by his style which is good news for the company.
However, some of the veins and arteries in the 'giant' are long and get cloaked because of the accumulated bad cholestrol after more than 100 years... Hence, oxygenated blood cannot get thru to the cells in the legs to walk at the speed that the brain says so. The 'giant' somehow need to eat more garlic pills to clear the bad cholestrol so that it stays healthy and strong...
Not too sure if double-boiled soup helps here as my chinese herbal knowledge is super 'lan'.

Why disagree?
While the giant walks faster, the heart needs to work harder to replenish fresh blood to all the cells. If the giant is not fit and well-conditioned to run the marathon, then the heart will get cramped and stop working... This requires a well thought thru training program to start conditioning your body and heart for the run.

at this point in time, i dun realli noe what am I writing...sounds like nonsense...so pls ignore this blog...

just share with all my Sat event: Conquering the Southern ridges...

Our group of buddies decided to have some clean fun and healthy lifestyle last weekend and decided to walk the 9km route within 2 hrs! There were no proper trainings done before hand and warm ups. We thought that our muscles and heart were strong enough after all the training done in army (we forgotten that those muscles have turned to fats after leaving the army.)

So, we happily started when the sun has about to retire. at the 1km mark, we were all sweating like pigs and finished all the water...(no proper planning). Underwears were drenched and we all stink like rubbish dumps... at the 2km mark, we gave up and made a u turn back... (see bay seah sway!)

What a day! We tell ourselves that we will conquer this 9km somehow, sometime again...
The day ended at gillman village with lots of food and alcohol...no wonder we cannot make it!

James

Navigating the high seas!

As interest from customers leads and partners queries start coming in post iLLUMINATE, I see exciting times ahead where we chase for our next big idea in the respective verticals. As we bring together our partners behind our brand, the next big competitive wave is not abt companies competing against each other but eco-systems/value chains coming together and pitting against other collaborative groups. Each group has banded together to offer a distinct value proposition that seeks to unlock value that customers will see as what they want. (u heard this in ILLUMINATE and see this in action be it SPP, FSS and Proximity Hosting). It's abt collaboration and how we engineer biz/tech models that spreads risks and lower risks barriers for customers. Let's work together to unlock value and processes to steer into BLUE OCEANS!

Wilson

Confucius Said...

Sharing with you a quote from Confucius that I like a lot, as seen on the caligraphy on the right. What this means is, to learn from those that you respect, as well as those that you don't. There is always learnings that we can get and grow ourselves if we were to really look and not just see, listen and not just hear. I remember in my MBA days, my professor mandate us to keep a log book which would form part of the project where we are supposed to record things that happen in our every day life, reflect upon the learnings and put down our execution plans. It was a chore then, but now, looking back, that is a good way of action learning. I remembering recording positive things that my boss did and commented that I would do like wish to my own team members. I also recorded events where I see negative demonstrations like my boss scolding my colleague in front of his peers and subordinates which I reminded myself never to do that. So, there is always things that we can learn from each other as we interact and work together.

Bill was sharing with Amos, Nicole, Eliza and a few others yesterday at our i.luminate appreciation lunch how we should be like Chinese "double boiled soup" where under intense pressure like a pressure cooker, the best "essence" can be formed. That was a very good analogy. A lot of time, you look back and it is really those tough moments that you remember and helped us grew. I am always amazed at Bill's energy and his passion in driving SingTel Business Group, shaping the market landscape. Another Confucius saying is that, if one do not have any immediate worries, the danger is in fact looming ahead (Ren Wo Jing Yu, Bi You Yuan Lu). With such a leader that is constantly looking far ahead and moving the team in the right direction, we should be grateful. It is indeed exciting working with such a dynamic leader...(No..not saying to score point).

So, team, let's continue to share our learnings among us and continue to i.luminate our way ahead!

Regards,

Geok Chwee

We i.luminated ...

Dear Comrades,

I believe the team is now relieved that we had delivered our biggest event ever in the history of Business Group, i.luminate! You all deserve a good rest and yes, great job!

We had all heard great feedback from our customers, analysts, speakers, partners and of course, the bosses as well. It is indeed something that we should be proud of. Now that we had transformed our ideas into reality, the next critical measure of success if to drive results... OK , OK, I will not discuss how we are going to do it here. Let's take a break and rejuvenate first.

What I want to share is really, my own take away from this event. It is a journey of hardwork and a lot of sweat and stresss. But, looking back, this would not have happened if Bill didn't lead the team towards this big dream. Yes, the bigger the dream, the further we can reach out to the stars. It is indeed important for all of us to dream big and act on the dream to turn it into a reality.

Dear comrades, take a day off, to dream. I need the team to dream big and together, we shall take on the market, creating our Blue Ocean. One dream, One team.

Best Regards,

Geok Chwee

Software as a Service- Web 2.0

Wow since i last login was the post by Nic on KL trip....... Spent my workshop reading the blogs haha...

Anyway, what prompted me to blog is my MBA ITM workshop that discuss on WEB 2.0 and the term SaaS. and let me show you who coined the Web 2.0 - Tim O'Reilly.

Good Looking? And this workshop reminds me of our debate in Edge on whether is MBA required (Ronnie, James, Nic, ME and Moderator - Valerie)?

Studying part time is really very tiring and sometime really keep me thinking why am i paying $40K to toture myself and do i really need it.


Quoted from James:" if you are thinking of doing your own business you dun need any MBA"
From Ronnie, Nic:" Working experience is important than MBA and with all the networking you will be able to get good job without MBA."

I do agree on James, what's my dream? I been discussing with my hubby, can i open a cafe that do not have any menu and i will sell what i feel like cooking that morning. My passion is in cooking and also of course CHIT CHATTING...

Since the rented out of my weekend house last year, and living with in law (kitchen only belongs to one woman)make it hard for me to cook. Sat and sun become very boring for me - no more my weekend mahjong and get together session with my MJ friends and trying out new reciepe from Mrs Lee cook book :). This prompted me to pick up my golf again so that i can get myself occupied for the weekends.

Back to cafe, was exploring with my firends to operate a steamboat or dessert store in Jurong as all good food are in the EAST so should have oppty in Jurong. Working on the idea, business proposal, biz case etc........... the next thing......... she is pregnant!!!!!!! (YA! 16 weeks of ML) gone case for all the ideas. a Big No No for her hubby.....

So my dream of doing business gone...... :(......... So now must focus to get my 16 weeks as well ahahahahaha.

Ok no nonsense, back to the debate on MBA, i am now thinking back what prompted me to took up the course? The need of MBA? Self fulfilling? I am really not to sure now. Picture is now blurred and i think i am in the cross road and that why the idea of doing business get clearer?

I love working and like the challenges i am experiencing and this is the very reason why i am in MBA however is there a really need for MBA just for working? I think is back to the old thinking is another paper chase - toilet paper. Ha ha ... I do learn alot from MBA, the networking, the sharing of working experience etc etc.. Whether do i see the use of it? right now not, maybe in future just want myself to be prepare when oppty happen to pop by.

Think have to go, presentation time. will blog again........

BYE---- Back to book...

Bye to Beijing Olympics

The Beijing Olympics is over. I feel suddenly quite empty. Its like, when I switch on my TV, I don’t get to watch the athletes break out in funny expressions when they give their best shot…. Until 4 years later. What a long wait. My goal is to go to London during 2012! As a spectator of course.

I never used to like to watch Olympics – I thought it was boring and I didn’t understand what the hype was about. But the Beijing Olympics completely captivated me. My all time favourite segment has got to be Gymnastics. I just cant understand why the Gymnasts can twirl so easily from one pole to another, do somersaults on the balance beam, tumble and roll in the air before landing. Imagine the number of hours they contributed to be on the Olympics platform and the amount of tears and sweat they dropped during their training. I kept asking my Mom(no matter which sport I am watching), why didn’t she send me for training for Gymnastics, for Table Tennis, for Volleyball, for Swimming… the list goes on till my Mom is sick of it and asked me not to bug her anymore!!

China really did a great job in organizing the Olympics this time round. It really opened my eyes to see how China has vastly developed within a short period of a few years, and that is how competitive they are getting to be. The China Chinese are hungry for success and they are emerging really fast.
I remember few years back, Singaporeans would never ever thought that China would be in the position they are today.

Hence, my dear friends@work, we run a race against time everyday. Gone are our parents’ days of going back at work right on time. But still, take time to rest and relax, especially on weekends. Exercise is a great way of relaxing!! I used to be so unhealthy and unfit! Ask me to jog and I will immediately say NO! Now, I share my exercise regime with you. I jog every Monday(at least 2.4KM) at Bishan Stadium, I have kickboxing classes every Sat at Bt Gombak Stadium, and I meet my friends for Badminton at Clementi Stadium every Sunday. What’s important is that you have a group of friends who share the same goal[either losing that(those) stubborn piece(s) of ugly body fat(s), keeping fit, to exercise, or as a get-together with friends…] I personally recommend a body scrub after exercising(try Body Shop’s Exfoliating Gloves or Body Scrubs)…. Works like a charm to relax yourself!

Exercising is great! We should have our next sports event team bonding soon(hint to Senior and Ron). Even though I cant play well for most sports…. But why what why why what??!?! I enjoy the process of sweating and laughing and having fun with everyone!

Till next time I find something to talk about again…


Eliza

Philips address

Philips
620 A, Lorong 1, Toa Payoh, TP4 Building, Level 1, Singapore 319762 ...

Philips Factory sales

Philips Factory Sale (23 & 24Aug)

Last year this time, it is one of the exciting time.
Moving house, and due to a smaller size, I have to restrained some of my home appliances. Stress.....

It was a great news then I saw the Philips Factory sale. I bought a few things at a huge Discount a LCD TV, a Toothbrush, Filter Tap ..... Mostly at a discount of 20 to 40%.

I urge all of u if u have some time....to visit Philips Factory

Welcome to Philips Toa Payoh

Ronnie@Toa Payoh

Talent Development & Management...

I like the blog "Dare to Dream & Dare to fulfil", should be from James? (BTW, as it is a shared blog, please remember to sign off...else don't know who's the author).

Yes, we need a dream and we need to act on it. Else, a dream remains as a dream. So, we potentially have some entrepreneurs among us...James, don't forget give us all a VIP card when you start your cafe..

Having a dream of our own is extremely important. Having coaches around us to help us along would shorten our journey to get there.

Yesterday, I attended my son's Parent-Child day at Dunman High school where the secondary one students organizes the event on their own, putting up their works for parents to view, performance to entertain parents as well as video clips of their life in school. It was amazing to see how these 13 years old can pull together the event on their own and the many talented ones among them. Some play piano beautifully, some played ErHu, some came up to share their e-Portolio in 2 languages etc. Their HOD of Level 1 gave an inspiring speech on how we should always be improving ourselves. A 13 year old you should be better than the 12 years old you. How we need our love ones, friends and teachers around us to guide us, give frank opinion in constructive ways to help us improve. She cited an incident that happened to her at an important event. She was attending an important event where all the who's who are around and she enthusiastically go round networking, shaking everyone's hand only to find out later when she went to the ladies, that she had a vegetable stuck in one side of her teeth and a chilli flake on the other. Can imagine how embarrassed she must have felt! Her morale of the story is that, sometimes, it is better to be frank and upfront to a person to help the person along rather than be "nice" but not contributing to the other person's growth.

I am happy to see my son standing there, in front of the class as the emcee of the event (though again, I have a couple of IDP for him after that..Ahem..) and being there for the event again re-enforces the fact that the environment of our kids today has changed a lot. They are now more articulate, more creative, tech savvy and also, has to be doing a lot more to be deem as "successful". Competition in future for them would not only come from their peers in Singapore but also the Chinese & Indians who are growing leaps and bounds.

I was reading a book written by the CEO of Capitaland "Building for People to build people". He is a very inspiring leader who consistently wrote Emails to his staff almost every other Sunday to share his views for his company or view on life. He wrote a lot of how China has developed and moving ahead in amazing speed. How we had bring our world class ideas into China via our investments and how they had learned what we took 35 years in a mere 5 years! While our fellow Singaporeans can reject job offer due to travelling distance from home to office, he saw Chinese tried all creative ways to earn a living including a young man in a toilet of a restaurant, giving should massages to people who are "doing their business", handing the guest a towel to dry their hands, turning off the tap for him after he washed his hands to earn a couple of dollars. What he saw, often bug him as a Singaporean and he urged his fellow colleagues to be always on their toes in order to stay relevant.

Tonight, as Singaporeans, we would be proud to view our Table tennis players in the Olympic finals. Note that these are all "Imported Talents" from China. Nothing wrong with that and in fact, we needed to do that as it is impossible to grow "organically" within our little red dot. So, to stay relevant, we have to ensure we continuously improve in whatever we are striving towards. Be it as a key player in our organization, to achieve your dreams whatever it maybe.

The important thing is to ensure we keep improving. Worldclass entertainment company like Cirque Du soleil still do their post-morterm after every single performance to review what had they done well, what can they improve and what else can they break through. The keeps them going and stay at the top. It is these kind of deligence and commitement to excellence that maintain a Worldclass organization at the top.

I can never forget an experience that I had 10 years ago in hosting Mr Lee Kuan Yew at our video conferencing studio for his presentation to a group of overseas delegate. Even with his kind of experience and at that level of expertise, he insisted on having a rehersal a day before the real event. He came down on the day before to understand the environment, where the visualiser would be, whether the ambient is comfortable enough to ensure he can deliver his best etc. Every detail was looked into personally, including if the height of the visualiser is right to ensure the audience are engaged properly at eye level. That really taught me a lesson about the effort and commitement one must have to ensure the delivery of a piece of excellent work that one can always be proud of.

So, we should always remind ourselves whereever we are, whatever we are doing, to push for continuously improvement and growth. If we are not improving, working in a place for 10 years would be equavalent to a worker in the job for 1 year but repeating it 10 time over. Scary, isn't it?

So, make sure that you are growing every minute. I would expect every team member to come forth to a discussion with his or her proposal,in overcoming an obstacle, in pushing ourselves crossing the chasm, in solving a headache etc. You can never grow if you come with a problem and expect the bosses to solve. We see a problem, we own it, we solve it with advice and assistance from our bosses, peers and co-workers. It is through such a process that we stretch ourselves and GROW...

Geok Chwee
17 Aug 2008

Dare to Dream & Dare to Fulfill

The ideal dream room...

In my opinion, anyone can start to dream comfortably when the ambience is right. Frankly speaking, the idea of the dream room at 11th floor will not work, considering the level of noise (majority coming from the area at the printer near Eliza desk.) created that kind of bringing your mind back to work...

Instead, i feel we are most creative when we are relax. And with the right company, food and beverages, and ambience, the creative juices start to flow endlessly.

When I was still studying, I worked part-time as a barrista at Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. And to date, those 2 years working experiences there were still the best time in my life and unforgettable! That was when I started to develop a passion for F&B and dream about starting a cafe of my own (cannot share the concept here! No one in Spore has done that yet!)
And till now, this dream of mine has not changed a bit. Fulfilling it is a matter of the right timing, meeting the right business partners, the right location and opportunity!
And my married lifestyle further proved that my dream will not change. Almost every weekend, I have spent either my Sat or Sun cooking something nice for the 2 of us. Though the washing part is a super put-off, but the processes leading to the end product is super-duper awesome. There is this great sense of achievement and satisfaction when your spouse took the first bite and said to you: "Sedap! Thank you for your 'love'."

So now, I am taking taking baby steps to fulfill my dream. Most importantly, you must have a passion in what you are going to do because it could be your last job. I want to wake up and excited with every new day in the kitchen, dishing out creative dishes with whatever my fridge has to offer!

Some pictures of my roast chicken (No end product pics as the camera batt went flat.)
, but it still taste good!



Pic 1: Drying the chicken



Pic 2: Marinated Chicken before the 'sauna' treatment

Connecting with Partners

It has been another busy week for all of us. We had our Logistic CAC where we connect with our logistic Council members, hearing out their industry pain points. It was a good discussion and we managed to get quite a few good ideas where we can drill in further to make it to our iChallange program.

In preparation for our iPhone launch by 22nd Aug, we pushed out a joint ISV briefing together with Apple yesterday, within 2 weeks. Turn out was great with more than 30 partners participating actively in the session. Some of the partners came up to me, telling me how they see the value that SPP can bring to them and thank us for the session of updating. Quite a number was keen to come in to i.Luminate to participate under SPP booth and of course many ask about iPhone launch details. Great event and thanks to Valerie for the excellence execution, getting it done within such a short time frame.

We are now counting down to i.Luminate and as we discussed in our team meeting, I would want all to put in your 110% focus in this event. It has to be a great success. It is our statement to the industry, it is OUR SHOWCASE! Let's work hand-in-hand on this and put in our best for the last mile!

This is a dynamic team and I am sure I can count on all of you for the success!

Yes, we would make a difference. This is a new SingTel and you are the changing force behind this!

Geok Chwee
16 Aug 2008

Our KL Trip - Breakaway Growth

I know this is a bit outdated but still good to show some pixs taken at KL with our fellow team mates involved in the D & D inter-grp competition. Some snap shots during our rehersals.

Guess who is the "Zhen Zi" in 2nd pix...we had great fun at night and I enjoyed myself alot...Definitely felt it would be the same for our team as we cheered all night!

Cheers!
nic

Stardust Dinner Pixs & Durian session

Dinner @ Stardust

Dear Team-mates,

I am putting up the best part of the team bonding where those of you whom did not join us for dinner last Friday. We had a great dinner at Stardust and those who went on for the durian session.

So...what came out of the dinner?

1. How do we spent our weekends?
2. How to match the right animal sign of your kids to ensure they live cohesively in harmony and successful in life..conclusion on the story was to get good staffs on "Cow" aka "Niu' and "Horse" aka "Ma" to achieve all work KPIs cos these 2 animal signs make up to be " Zuo Niu Zuo Ma" sure can go extra mile for the company.

So if u got what i meant..Ronnie and Eliza are the best match and some more they sit next to together. Da Niu Qian Xiao Niu :)


Then comes our durian session @ upper Serangoon
Only 4 takers to continue for more cabo (Meng Ger, Eliza, Lynette & Me)

1Kg Mao Shan Wang @ $15, we had a pc of 3.2Kg Ma Shan Wang + a bag of special breed mangosteens. The gals really enjoyed on the durians while i indulged in the mangosteens...diastrous to peel the skin cos bit hard.


It was a good workout, good dinner and good bonding where we felt closer to each team mate and know each other better. So...looking forward to the next outing.



Cheers!
nic

Drinks Appreciation Interest Group

Hi all,

If you recall Kai Hock’s mail last week titled ‘Integrate fun with work’ where he basically, asked us to integrate work with play, and proposed that we get away from the office periodically to recharge with the objective of encouraging more interaction and bonding among us. Well last week before Kai Hock’s email I was asked by Merson to start the spark for this new initiative where we can form small interest groups, and on a weekly basis, have a little fun together among the group.

So what I am going to do is start a ‘DRINKS’ appreciation interest group where once a week we go off early from 4.30pm and adjourn to Bus Stop, or Kiliney, or somewhere to have 'DRINKS'. In the 1st week it will be “Tea appreciation”, 2nd week we will have “Beer appreciation”, 3rd week “Wine appreciation”, etc. I know we are all very busy at times and it will be difficult to take time off, so what I suggest is that we just book our timeslot once a week from 4.30pm – 6pm, and in-between we can have a short break for ½ an hour to drink something and then continue with our work after some quick drinks.

I’m not sure about you guys but sometimes I feel just taking a quick 30mins break recharges our minds and also helps to de-stress us alittle before we continue the grind of getting back to our work.

Also, last week as I was having my skip level together with Catherine and Damon, Kai Hock was sharing with us how he was trying to find a way for all of us to be more involved and contribute in the strategizing and idea generation to improve Biz Mkt and SingTel as a group.

I think with this ‘Drinks appreciation’ interest group it can be a start where we can brainstorm and talk freely (especially with some alcohol involved). And with Geok Chwee’s idea of having a ‘Dreaming day’, I think we can start small if we don’t have the time to take a full day off from work we can take just 1.5 hours off and come up with some interesting ideas as a group.

So what do you guys think? Hope you will all support me. We don’t need to commit to something long term but let’s at least start with ‘Tea or Beer appreciation’, and then go from there!

Based on Kai Hock’s criteria:
- each to form a group of 4 and above, can be from any unit, dept
- choose any one day of the week,
- decide on an activity to gel and bond.

Will publish and inform everyone in BM group what we’ll be doing in the next few days. Counting on James to be my first member!

Cheers all!

David

Newbie on the Blog (Block)

Hello folks,

After reading GC's blog, inspiration beckons thus penning my thots down. Btw this is my maiden entry into a BLOG. :) I love to read blogs but never did put it into action.

Being a total newbie in BD, I was filled with apprehension b4 coming back from my maternity leave. I'm so used to working day and night on excel sheets and analysing numbers. So this is really a leap of faith. :)

I take this journey into BD akin to my baby learning and coping with the brand new world. Baby steps...I know there will be helping hands extended to me along the way...I need to be discerning and walk the route to "adulthood" in the BD team. ;)

I do agree that team spirit and camaraderie among the team is essential to make our work life more palatable. I experienced it myself with the Data pricing team, and with that, it doesnt make coming to work a drag - REALLY! Let's make our team THE team to be in! :D

*grin*
Lynette

Work Life Integration...and hence Harmony

Dear Team,

I was hoping to see some response/feedback or blog contributions by any of you since I had started posting my thoughts. Remember we wanted to have our "Dream Day" and you are allowed to do that away from office once a month? Don't think anyone is yet to practise that. Probably too many things to settle and we just can't pull ourselves away from work. Yes..we are all working longer and longer hours. Staying later in the office, coming in for breakfast meeting, having more lunch meetings, late meetings without dinners and even working during weekends.

Someone asked me how we can achieve work life balance and how I manage the balance between my family and my work. Well, truely, it's tough and I don't think it is possible to really do a 50:50 balance between the two in terms of time. With the pace of life and environment changing faster and faster, we can only look for ways to optimise how we work and I believe in Work-Life integration.

Work life integration as in, squeezing in time to do my own thinking or clearing mails in pockets of time when my kids are taking their lessons (Like now...writing this blog at Starbuck cafe using our lovely Broadband-on-Mobile),working out in Gym overlooking the pool where my kids are taking their swimming lessons etc. I have also seen colleagues running errands during lunch time, go gym during lunch where we strive to stay healthy amidst the stressful work.

As we spend more and more time in the office, office is no longer just a place where we earn our living. Colleagues are no longer just co-workers. We need to enjoy our work place and have fun with our colleagues. I don't see a problem with the later as I constantly hear laughters and jokes from outside my cubicle from the team and from the many nicknames going round...(our drama queen, ET, Penguin, Ronny@ShangHai, Hong Kong ABC etc...). It's great to see that the team enjoys each other's company and who says you can't have fun while working hard.

Now, we wanted to make our work place more fun as well! That's where Kai Hock spoke about converting his old cubicle into a "dreaming corner" where we can have a more relax setting for quick discussions (or lunch time fun?), putting in table football at pantry at 12th floor etc. Pls think about it and suggest more ideas of how we can make this "second home" a better place where we enjoy even more.

Team, I hope the next blog would be posted by one of you...not me alone, talking to myself? I am sure you will not disappoint me..

Have an enjoyable weekend,

Geok Chwee

IRR - From Ideas to Reality to RESULTS!

Dear team mates,

The team had been busy juggling with many key tasks at hand, from creating new solutions, to driving marketing activities to ensuring i.Luminate really illuminates.... I know, I know, it is VERY Challenging. But, I believe, we are all in an exciting time. I was reading a book on "Marketing Personality" which gave a case study of how microsoft changes their own perception of themselves from an incumbent, bully of the software world to one that is embracing the new changing world and making a difference.

I would like to borrow the campaign that was spun from their ground people up: Change the world or Go home!

Everyday, we spend many hours in our work (or Career, or job, depending on how you view this..or hobby...) and in the office. The last thing you want in your life is to go home and look back, not knowing what you had done in the day, or what difference you had made. If you are doing the same thing day in day out, spending 10 years in a job is like having only 1 year of work experience but doing it 10 time! We need to constantly challenge ourselves in making a difference to our organization, our people around us and of course, ourselves. Pushing the envelope, looking for new horizons, solving the problems that will always crop up are all but part of the journey.

So, let's all push on together and MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

Imagine the fruit of your labour after plouging through the raw land:

SingTel breaking new grounds in providing ICT solution in key industries!
SingTel being the innovator in Mobility solutions empowering 21st century workers!
SingTel, the leading digital marketing guru in ICT industry!

Yes, we need to dream. Being able to dream and work toward transforming Ideas to Reality to Results would enable us to be make the difference in where we are today.

I enjoy working with you and looking forward to hearing your dreams in this space.

Best Regards,

Happy Dreamer... Geok Chwee

The First Entry

Dear Team Mates,
This is the first entry to our team's blog.

Would like to share a quote of the day:
Never again clutter your days or nights with so many menial and unimportant things that you have no time to accept a real challenge when it comes along. This applies to play as well as work. A day merely survived is no cause for celebration. You are not here to fritter away your precious hours when you have the ability to accomplish so much by making a slight change in your routine. No more busy work. No more hiding from success. Leave time, leave space, to grow. Now. Now! Not tomorrow!-- Og Mandino

First Entry by:
Anonymous Me