Poor Singaporeans

I was wrong once about youtube being a collection of time-wasting cartoons, and a contagion of self-narcissistic camwhorers . I think youtube is a Godsend, there are various news channel podcasting online and even summary channels of newschannels. Nowadays I seldom tune into Channelnewsasia , except for the occasional documentaries and features on singapore’s art or business scene. Neither do I read the straits times except to browse for the latest hand-phones available in the market.

While the government has exhorted in the Mainstream Media that Singapore tops for expat living, native heartlanders are suffering due to inflation and the higher GST on essential food items,rising transport fares.
An ex-colleague (a foreign-talent from south asia ) remarked that from her observation of the people on the streets there seems to be more expats than singaporeans. My reply was that would not be enough majority voting for the present government if there are more than 5 non-singaporeans out of 10.

I’m waiting for that day to come, when there are no more walkovers

Prayers

Boss , thanks for answering my prayers on her successful exchange application,

I pray for her safety and your protection over her. I know she wants her right of free speech,

may I have rights to sanctions as well but dont give her the rights to free bullets!

I pray too for wisdom in my decisions I make and the choices I take,

plus enlighten me on your intentions as well,it is not a piece-of-cake.

I dont understand why this video on this particular day and wake.

All this I pray in the names of the Father, the Son and the Holy spirit for God’s Sake!

Conversations

How true , it reminded me of a conversation I had with someone about what type animal would one be. I was laughed at when I chose to be like an ant (although ants arn’t animals), reason for that I can carry 50 times my own ‘weight’ despite my size. What escaped me was the fact that ants being tiny in size are easily exterminated(stomped out) while aimlessly scurrying around looking for bits of sugar. DejaVu Haha I have a memory better than that of an elephant .

I wonder if there is still any more sweetness left in all this bitterness …

God: Hello. Did you call me?
Me: Called you? No.. Who is this?

God: This is GOD. I heard your prayers. So I thought I will chat.
Me: I do pray. Just makes me feel good. I am actually busy now. I am in the midst of something.

God: What are you busy at? Ants are busy too.
Me: Don’t know. But I can’t find free time. Life has become hectic. It’s rush hour all the time.

God: Sure. Activity gets you busy. But productivity gets you results. Activity consumes time.Productivity frees it.
Me: I understand. But I still can’t figure out. By the way, I was not expecting YOU to buzz me on instant messaging chat.

God: Well I wanted to resolve your fight for time,by giving you some. In this net era, I wanted to reach you through the medium you are comfortable with.
Me: Tell me, why has life become complicated now?

God: Stop analyzing life. Just live it. Analysis is what makes it complicated.
Me: why are we then constantly unhappy?

God: Your today is the tomorrow that you worried about yesterday. You are worrying because you are analyzing. Worrying has become your habit.That’s why you are not happy.
Me: But how can we not worry when there is so much uncertainty?

God: Uncertainty is inevitable, but worrying is optional.
Me: But then, there is so much pain due to uncertainty.

God: Pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional.
Me: If suffering is optional, why do good people always suffer?

God: Diamond cannot be polished without friction. Gold cannot be purified without fire. Good people go through trials, but don’t suffer. With that experience their life become better not bitter.
Me: You mean to say such experience is useful?

God: Yes. In every term, Experience is a hard teacher. She gives the test first and the lessons afterwards.
Me: But still, why should we go through such tests? Why can’t we be free from problems?

God: Problems are Purposeful Roadblocks Offering Beneficial Lessons (to) Enhance Mental Strength.
Inner strength comes from struggle and endurance, not when you are free from problems.
Me: Frankly in the midst of so many problems, we don’t know where we are heading..

God: If you look outside you will not know where you are heading. Look inside. Looking outside, you dream. Looking inside, you awaken. Eyes provide sight. Heart provides insight.
Me: Sometimes not succeeding fast seems to hurt more than moving in the right direction.. What should I do?

God: Success is a measure as decided by others.Satisfaction is a measure as decided by you. Knowing the road ahead is more satisfying than knowing you road ahead. You work with the compass. Let others work with the clock.
Me: In tough times, how do you stay motivated?

God: Always look at how far you have come rather than how far you have to go. Always count your blessing, not what you are missing.
Me: What surprises you about people?

God: When they suffer they ask, ‘why me?’ When they prosper, they never ask ‘Why me’. Everyone wishes to have truth on their side, but few want to be on the side of the truth.
Me: Sometimes I ask, who am I, why am I here. I can’t get the answer.

God: Seek not to find who you are, but to determine who you want to be. Stop looking for a purpose as to why you are here. Create it. Life is not merely a process of discovery but a process of co-creation. You are my co-creator.
Me: How can I get the best out of life?

God: Face your past without regret. Handle your present with confidence. Prepare for the future without fear.
Me: One last question. Sometimes I feel my prayers are not answered.

God: There are no unanswered prayers. At times the answer is NO.
Me: Thank you for this wonderful chat.

God: Well. Keep the faith and drop the fear.. Don’t believe your doubts and doubt your beliefs. Life is a mystery to solve not a problem to resolve. Trust me. Life is wonderful if you know how to live.

‘Life is not measured by the number of breaths we
take but by the moments that took our breath away!

Future Challenges

My 10 seconds of fame on a Channel news asia documentry ‘Asia Dragon Rising’ repeat telecast today at 6pm 16Feb.

A Freudian slip from the CEO Surbana, emphasis mine

” … We are small country, Singapore limitation of 4 million people meaning that the supply of talent is always limited, is small. So the challenge in order for us to grow globally is to how can we use singapore as a base but making use of the talent and resources from all over the world, the person the company that can make it will be successful global company … “

A centralised business model does not work in this new world economy. Take a leaf from the collapsed of centrally planned economy of old Russia and the bourgeoisification of the new China.Even to quote Mr Finance Minister Tharman - ” This is not a story of an old economy growing quickly but of a new economy emerging out of the old.” The real challenge for singaporean companies wanting to go gobal is that of de-centralisation, which is the surrender of control over the free flowing capital resources, ie wealth and talent.

Housing SS Analysis

It’ s been a while since I posted my last technical analysis on planning indicators. And since current my job is related to planning  housing in asia and middle east, it is long over-due that I looked that the housing market around this region.  The primary data I used,

• Mid-year population
• Average number of people in each household
• Total number of residential dwellings
• Total number of new residential dwellings completed in the year concerned

The following assumptions were taken,

•  I did not take into consideration different types of housing ie luxury/low-cost
• 1 Dwelling unit = 1 household
• All Dwellings catered for local resident population use / not inclusive of rental units for expatriates

Plotting all the above information across 10 years so as to capture trends , we have

NB: Dataline for China/India follows axis on the right

Some of my observations.

•  Upward trend of housing shortage in most of the asia/middle east countries
• Decreasing supply of new dwellings 0.13% (China) and 0.24% (India) against annualised population growth of 2.2% and 2.88% respectively
• Japan has consistent oversupply of housing given above projections

What I’ve put together are crude indicators that establishes only trends.For further analysis of specific countries I would consult detailed real estate reports from the various property developers.

Moments in Time

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider freeways , but narrower viewpoints.

We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.
We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.

We’ve learned how to make a living, but not a life. We’ve added years to life not life to years. We’ve been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We’ve done larger things, but not better things.

We’ve cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We’ve conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We’ve learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes.

These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throw away morality, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stock room. A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete…

Remember; spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever. Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side. Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn’t cost a cent.

Remember, to say, “I love you” to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you. Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again. Give time to love, give time to speak! And give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

George Carlin

My Two-Faced Girlfriend aka Hello Ani!

Yes Mr God I know you are speaking.. sometimes I think I’m crazy for reading into stuff too deep, Not sure what you are telling me thru this show , but I’ll note down the parallels for future reference.

“Gu-Chang doesn’t have job, money and he haven’t had any girl friends before. He is a total loser. One day his life is totally changed. At least that’s what he thought. He met this cute, naive and dreamy girl named Ani. She is perfect for him. Except the fact that she has multiple personality disorder. Ani has one more person within her, Hani. Hani is tough, violent and a scary girl. Gu-Chang doesn’t want to meet Hani but he only wants to see Ani. Where are you, Ani? “

• Main character Gu-Chang is mucking and bumming in college choosing not to graduate
• He meets this beautiful girl on a train sitting opposite each other , he was scared out of this pants by the her ghastly first impression
• Hani , the dominant other side of ani , is tough and unwavering , though she still exudes a softer side by allowing Guchang to call out(awake up) ani.
• Ani asks Gu Chang to be her lighthouse on the beach ( this portion of the script is totally irrelevant to the movie I suppose it alludes to the boss) requesting him to stand further and further towards the shoreline and then she disappears.
• Hani is finally cured of her multiple personality disorder , but ani is lost in the process
• GuChang stalks her the park where she frequently jogs
• GuChang tries to run away when Hani caught him stalking her, both of them sit down and Guchang recall to her of their past dating years
• Guchang tells Hani of the secrets Ani told him, like how when she misses her other half, birds will start chirping in her ears

 

If only I can get the supposed person to watch it with me, maybe the pieces of the jigsaw somehow might just fit together
Well everyone’s a skeptic , including myself , but still it’s a hilarious film to waste ur time on

Hypothesis

I suspect there might be some link between the interest rates for foreign currency fixed deposits offered by the banks and the future exchange rate of the base currency.Perhaps I’m just speculating, but I believe that must be a lot of brains behind those rates that the banks churn out. If only I have historical data to run some correlation stats. Well I just placed a large sum of FD with bank O since they offer the best rates. The trend across all banks is the roughly the same from the charts, max at 3 mths. Which reminds me I need to shift some of my money into buying 3mths T-bills.

Edit: I’ve observed that the interest rate across all bank move closely with US Fed rate, I suppose the interest rate are set a bit lower to the current rate which the banks lends out USD, the bank earns the difference as commissions.

Mr God ,why are you are giving me an impossible task  ….

Sometimes I just dont understand why you put all this thoughts and suggestions into my head. So many temptations , yet I still choose obedience over obstinance … really what do you want me to do? I need answers not open-ended questions

Dearest Qatar

Though summer’s heat is approaching it’s end.

Temper-atures are ever rising no end,

In this cruel dessert and all your sand.

When the bucket of shit goes up the fan.

Someone’s gonna really get canned

I’ still have to think of you till the end,

Despite getting myself into a tan.