On having a foul mouth

1. Excessive swearing.

2. Smells like an ashtray.

3. Uncanny ability of words that instantly link to the future.

I believe that for a long time, I would be guilty of all three counts. Till I corrected #2 a couple of years ago.

However, its #3 which sometimes worries me. Thus far my ability has been highlighted for football matches - although once I actually gamble, I uncannily lose this uncanny ability; links to the sex of an unborn child, before the first trimester; links to economical futures and unfortunately deaths.

I remember writing about doing a review of the year 2007 and mentioning how I didn't think another Dark Knight movie was a good idea and how good Heath Ledger looked. Not long after he passed on.

Well, so much for having a foul mouth - who could have done it better? Why so serious? Let's put a smile on that face.

Merry Christmas everybody.

Joys of Cooking

For years people snigger at the thought of me cooking.

Maybe its due to my appearance, many family or friends cannot envisage me doing actual work - do I really look THAT fat?

Or, if I really am that fat, wouldn't it make sense that I would know how to keep myself of a certain size?

To some cooking is a chore, but to me, it is therapeutic - especially when done alone. The preparation is most enjoyable and the end result is an inexplicable feeling of joy and content, especially when others are well fed.

Obviously in the current economic climate, someone exclaimed that it made more 'cents' to eat in than to eat out!

The definition of shooting yourself in the foot...

"Robbo's the best keeper in the Premier League"

There's loyalty to your own players and then there's Paul Ince making an idiot of himself.

It's starting to get cold again...

Daylight savings has just kicked in and the first sight of a really chilly winter has emerged.

Well, technically it should still be Autumn, but the snow has set and it's become really cold coming to work on the bicycle this morning.

Which shoes are we in?

Everyone wants to be 'somebody'. But what exactly is the meaning of 'somebody'? Is it determined by the shoes we wear?

People argue about classifications, but then again, who sets the class? Who set all these laws?

Law is the same as History. What really matters is who your audiences are and how you are able to influence their perception. I've always said that there are two sides to a story (sometimes more!) and different people react differently to similar scenarios. In the matter of Law, if you are guilty but you have hired your lawyer to prove that you are innocence, your lawyer will then start building a case to prove your innocence.

So, in terms of a business sense, accountants are experts with monetary laws and when you hire an accountant to help you save costs or 'manage your accounts' they will let you know ways in which you could escape being taxed on certain things, as long as you meet certain criteria. Technically, you could say it is an official or legal way of laundering money.

But then again, it depends which side of the fence you are on. Or which shoes you are in...

Borders

One of the things that fascinates me till now are borders. Within the South East Asian region, there are a couple of countries with almost entirely different languages - Thai, Filipino, Malay, Vietnamese, etc.

Over in Europe, there are even more languages with a lot of history to each of their own form of languages - The Scandinavians share some old Norse which is quite similar to Old German, which is in turn similar to Olde English. Then we have the Latin based languages like Italian, French, Spanish, Portugese, etc. Furthermore there are the a couple of languages in Eastern Europe that share similarities to some Russian.

What is really unique about all these different countries is how patriotic they can be at times. An example is that all these so called regions would love to benefit economically from each other creating free trade zones amongst neighbouring countries. However, like everything with human nature, nobody wants to lose out, so typically during the current banking crisis and economic environment, these independent governments cannot stop bickering to agree on ways to solve the problem.

Looking at it from a micro point of view, it's just like having house mates - when everyone is doing well, earning money and contributing to the leisure time of one another everyone is happy. However, if either one drops out from work for a couple of weeks, will any of the other house mates feel obliged to help out?

Stabbed

One night I sensed it, so I asked her - about her seeing her ex boyfriend again. Yet somehow, she managed to make it as if it was not her fault.

"You knew what you were getting into from the start!" she shouted. I felt awful at how it seemed that I was in the wrong knowing that she hadn't had a clean break from her past in the first. Like a detective going through a crime scene investigation, I demanded to know all the finest details.

She tried to avoid eye contact. I could imagine being part of The Killers latest single, "Mr. Brightside". Images of him with her flashed through my mind. I wished the world would just open a hole and suck me from my misery.

"We used a condom," she tried to reduce the irrepairable damage with a hint of honesty. It was as if everybody did this everyday like they use the toothbrush. "It didn't mean anything," she continued, as if our relationship did mean anything at that point of time.

I tried to see if there was a way to work things out, but ultimately - the questioned needed to be answered. "You have to choose, I give you till the end of today to sort things out". But deep down inside I knew. This was the end.

Cheating on someone does not make things better, it makes things worse. To me it's like a knife that cuts through our chest. The wound would heal someday, but the scar will forever remain. And everytime you see a knife - the same fear will strike again.

There were so many questions I wanted answered, but it just didn't come out. After being together for the time we had, I knew I could not go back with her again. For every relationship there needs to be trust. From that moment, I knew I could trust her as much as I could trust the love of a whore in Amsterdam.

Lesson of the day was that, if you rush into infidelity you have to be prepared for the damage. It was because of that I knew I could never, ever cheat on the woman I loved.

from the novel "Understanding Keith King" 2005

"Good Night, don't let the bed bugs bite"...

... I used to think this saying was so cute. In my mind there were images of cuddly cartoony images of insects known as bed bugs. That was until I was almost eaten alive by a bunch* of bed bugs.

From my experience, here are some words of advice:

1. Throw away the quilt
2. Throw away the pillows
3. Throw away the bed sheets and pillow covers
4. Throw away the mattress (if you are feeling rich)
5. Buy a new set of everything above.
6. Use repellant on all possible places in your room to ensure the bed bugs are stunned or die.
7. Vacuum the whole room to make sure you get every possibility of a reproduction out of the way.

If these seven steps don't work, I guess we would have to call in the professionals to make sure there is no repeat of being eaten alive.

In the meantime, I will continue my daily ritual of applying sudocream on all my bites to sooth the itch and the pain.

Oh, and some piriton to make sure I don't scratch the itch in the middle of the night.

"Good night, don't let the bed bugs bite!"

*Bunch = based on the 50+ bites I had on my hands, legs, feet, ears and neck respectively

Death of the DVD Salesman

There was a time when I used to think that DVD salesmen were so cool. As a matter of fact, there was a time when I actually strive to look like a DVD salesman. I had the funky haircuts with the bright dyed hair. I had the designer pouch to match along with the attitude as well. Oh not to mention the name too!

Then when I came to the UK, I realised being recognised as a DVD salesman was a derogatory term used to describe Chinese people. It was weird as I am proud to be Chinese yet I despised being termed in such a manner.

I guess in some ways, overseas Chinese usually suffer from this confusion which is to be seen as Chinese or to be seen as more western? Some examples would be most if not all Chinese around the world are most definitely proud of the Olympics in Beijing recently.

However some resent the fact to being termed or viewed as the backward type usually made fun of.

It ends up such a dilemma - who are we really?

Children

Sometimes you forget how peaceful things can get during the Summer holidays.

No traffic jams to work.

No hassle in the changing rooms.

A general peaceful atmosphere.

For six weeks, the tranquility will be maintained. Just goes to show what an impact children have on our daily lives.

However, in another week, two kids I have grown close to will depart and return home.

I shall miss them...

:(

about credit cards...

During the times of the 1980s when Credit Cards first came into fashion, it seemed that only the rich and glamourous seemed to be able to use them on a frequent basis.

I remember one of my best friends getting her first platinum card from American Express back in 98 and it still seemed like such a luxury.

How times have changed. My dad wrote some harsh words several months ago about financial institutions - banks, and how their image has change dramatically over the years in his eyes.

An example of this would be when I canceled my Citibank card two and a half years ago. It all seemed fine and dandy till about six months ago when I was in the UK and my dad received a statement about paying my membership fees.

Being Mr. Worry, dad called me up instantly informing me off this, worried that if I don't solve this problem ASAP, I will soon be charged excess monthly.

To avoid such a scenario, I quickly resurfaced previous faxes to the bank - scanned it for emailing purposes, wrote a new letter of complaint to fax, email and POST (to be sure) to TWO different addresses and fax numbers. Such was the hassle that my father has since lost so much confidence in the banking institutions that fear strikes him as he receives any letters from them.

The second example was when I canceled my HSBC credit card a year ago. Again, because of the complexity of the system (I used to repay my mortgage through HSBC - and I have a savings account with them) I had to return to the branch office to cancel the cards.

Thinking that it has all been sorted I was shocked to receive a new statement as my second address stating I still owed them an outstanding amount of RM0.15

Knowing that if I didn't fulfill this payment and straightened out the problem I may actually owe them a total of RM60 across the period of one year - I stormed straight to my hometown branch and gave their staff a rightful bullocking.

It turned out that when I closed my account - by some default I had owed them that measly amount. It started to give me the impression that banks WERE really baying for our blood. That their function of existence was really to suck us dry off our money...

"With Great Power comes great responsibilities..."

... as Peter Parker once said. This saying has never weighed more on my mind than ever before.

With more education and more real life experience, expectations of life start to slowly creep into my schedules.

I must admit that I have led a colourful life so far, almost achieving most of the things I had never dreamt of before, but as one cyclist put it to me, " What goes down, must come up" - implying that whatever downhill exhilaration that we encounter, there is bound to be a taxing uphill task sooner or later.

Sometimes when you have reached a certain achievement, there is much more to lose in life and this makes you wish that you never exceeded expectations so far and that life could have been much more simpler had we stayed status quo.

But then again as I always state, what is the point of living if we don't strive to improve.

Like our Andersonian motto - I think life should be "Usaha Hingga Jaya"...

Football Predictions

OK, since this request has been put in since my Euro 2008 predictions, here are the predictions for the 2008/09 season*

Simple one to start - who will win the league?
Not really a simple task to predict, as the top four teams look juicy. But, I'll have to choose Liverpool. Reason is because they have got a rated striker in Robbie Keane to partner Torres - which would possibly mean all those draws last season could be turned into wins.


Which team will go down with Hull and Stoke?
I would say West Brom as all three teams promoted last season don't really give me the confidence of lasting the distance. Also, if the league was of 17 teams, the bottom three may be Sunderland, Wigan and Bolton and they look to me to have too much experience amongst them to fail over the three promoted teams. Having said this, I actually hope Bolton go down as I can't stand them.


And will either of those two beat Derby's 'total'?
Sadly, because of the class of the top four and the next six after them - Everton, Villa, West Ham, Spurs, Blackburn and Citeh (notice I have not included Newcastle in this group) the league seems to be split in two sizes: the big teams and the average teams. Thus YES it is very possible that the bottom three would not be able to gather enough points amongst each other to beat Derby's dismal record.


How many points will Liverpool finish behind the champions?
As I said in the first question - I predict Liverpool would win this year, but I expect it to go right down to the last 3 matches with all the top four actively involved.


First manager to go?
I don't think the predicted bottom three would fare any better with new managers - they probably need new budgets, so it would have to be one from the other 17. Looking up the ladder where the pressure is bound to be greatest - i predict one of the newbies, Paul Ince.


Will Cristiano Ronaldo be that good again?
No.
1. Because he will miss the first part of the season,
2. Because after last years glory, there won't be much motivation,
3. After the summer speculations, his heart would clearly be not into the job as before and
4. I just can't bear another 'C. Ronaldo' season.


Will Mark Hughes do a better job than Sven?
No. I see Mark Hughes as a great manager, but then again if you are not in the top four, the foundations are not strong enough and with the turmoil surrounding Citeh, I don't see him succeeding where Sven has not really failed.


Which newcomer will have the biggest impact?
Samir Nasri. A lot of people forget that Arsenal have purchased a potential gem in Nasri. Didn't impact Euro2008 much, but then again which of the French team did?


And which one will flop horribly?
There is not much choice here as the transfer market has been relatively silent this season compared to the previous one. So, I probably have to choose a striker - since they are usually judged harshly by the goals scored, so it's Jo for Man Citeh.


Who has the best chance of cracking the top four?
Looking at the squads, I would actually say Aston Villa - they have a great English 'backbone' and players have been in the Premiership for sometime (except in defense) compared to the teams around them. I hate to say this, but they could quite possibly slip pass Arsenal for fourth spot.


Which transfer saga will be boring us all this time next year?
Hopefully for the last time - Christiano Ronaldo finally shipped to Real Madrid. And Didier Drogba to Italy.



*bear in mind this was typed out on 13th August 2008 - there may be additional changes in three weeks time!
Note: Questions taken from the Football365 website

Wilderness

There comes a time when we need to reassess our targets and the path in which we are heading there.

For many years, I have been lost in the wilderness wondering where my future was.

Funnily by taking a step back, I seem to have taken two steps forward.

Of course this view may very well be temporary - things always looking different in hindsight. Sometimes, we benefit from this view, but we mustn’t live too far back on past glories.

I figured that over the last two years, I have frequently assessed and reassessed my position. There were times that I wondered where I would be and what I could have done better.

So, it's like what one of my friends told me, if we seem to be stuck in a rut, why not make the most of it and learn from being in this rut.

This is why I have taken the opportunities to add further value to myself as I enjoy my time over here in London - travel lots, study whenever I can and build up my experiences as I go along.

Now that sounds like a great plan!*



*that is until I decide to re-assess and change my targets again.

Grumpy

As we grow old, we tend to get grumpier.

We tend to get more critical in our analysis and sound out inefficiencies in society.

One school of thought is that the world is becoming more dangerous, with all this reporting of rape, murder, robbing, etc.

Another school of thought is that the world has always been this way - just with the benefits of modern media, people have become more aware of their surroundings.

It could also be the possibility that before we achieved a level of optimum efficiency, we were more engrossed in attaining that level - and once we do, we start pointing out the previously lesser negatives. Humans also tend to be more attentive to the happenings from the 'supastar' culture.

Example - there have been quite a number of stabbings occurring in London the last couple of months or so. Then suddenly, a relative of an actress gets murdered and all the press are out on their feet screaming for reform. Sorry to the relatives but I hope to be excused for being cynical with the press attempts to sensationalise.

So then as I was speaking to this colleague the other day, he was telling me of his grandmother's saying, "What the young people really need today is another world war to whip some sense in them!"

Now, I won't be one to advocate a world war, but what she says does make sense - in times of peace, people tend to start picking up on other races, religions and political associations. But once we get involved in a war - all types come together as ONE to defend the country.

This does not only apply to England, but probably Malaysia as well...



... how can we make everyone be more selfless and look at the bigger picture?

Play

I went for a short play in the local theatre the other day and was quite surprised with the style of delivery. It was unique as the play lasted around 40 minutes, but dragged on for another 40 minutes as the actors engaged with the audience about the topic of the rise of gangs and knife related crimes in London.

What I found particularly interesting was the maturity these actors had knowing that all 6 of these girls who engaged with the audience in this mini forum were around the age of 16 to 20 only.

At some point, one of the audience (a parent, I assume) actually had a potentially difficult question for the actors. However, one of them actually stood up and reminded the audience that all of their views are theirs alone (and is not the absolute and each case should be viewed differently) and being a parent asking these questions - they really should be the ones who know how their children are.

One of the very good analogies that is stuck in my head was how a parent should be more like a football supporter rather than a football fan. Her definition of 'fan' was what the British supporters see as the Asian fans - that we do not go to each match every week like a true 'supporter'; travelling with the team as they play and sing the songs - spurring the teams on.

And this is what they see parents role should really be more similar to that of a supporter, staying with their teams (children) through thick or thin, rain or shine; rather than that of a fan - following the team (children) only when the time and day is convenient, more often than not - especially ONLY when the team is winning.

This is a very good example which really got me thinking - "damn, we should all attend more plays!"

Experience

Because of experience, we tend to know more than other people who have been through fewer changes in their lives than us. And this does not necessarily mean that it goes with age.

However, a very good example of this would be when I was very much still a teenager doing an apprenticeship off Old Klang road in this audit firm. I stayed in my grandfather's old 'abandoned' house during that period which was in the capital of Malaysia - Kuala Lumpur. After less than a month, my father would start talking about being in Kuala Lumpur back in his days. Much of what he was talking about did not make sense to me at all (why of course!).

In Malaysia, some of the road names have been changed throughout the times, with Batu Road becoming Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman. Being an ignorant teenager, how was I supposed to know this? I could almost feel the disappointment in my dad's voice as he tried to explain different areas around where he lived.

But this is a mistake we all seem to make. We speak about things expecting people to know.

How will people know if they have not experienced it themselves?

Further into that, each person goes through a unique process, so although the time and place may be the same, two different people may end up having differing reflections on that period.

To put into a simple scenario, imagine Jack and Jill walking up the hill. Jack is holding a bucket, which is quite heavy and his attention is focused on the well above the hill. Jill on the other hand is looking around the hill at the beautiful flowers and butterflies as they walk up.

Ten years later, we ask both Jack and Jill about this experience, I'm sure Jack wouldn't really be aware that there were beautiful flowers along the way. And Jill doesn't really remember the bucket being that heavy.

So it is good harping on about our experiences, but then the audience would need to be receptive. As one of my staff put it the other day, “We have ONE mouth and TWO ears."

So, maybe we need to listen more than we talk?

X

X

What the Arsenal XI were generally reduced to during the Patrick Vieira era.

The Marlboro Man

There was once upon a time when smoking was viewed as the equivalent of being cool. I suspect Tony Leung continues to appear in Wong Kar Wai movies for two reasons:

1) to appear cool
2) to be able to continue smoking on set.

Watching one of the old TVB Cantonese serials - Looking back in Anger to be specific, I realised the influence smoking had on people just 20 years ago. Everybody smoked. And they smoked everywhere. It didn't matter if it was in a restaurant or in the hospital, all the actors and actresses smoked consistently. It came to a point I actually dream of smoking only to subconsciously feel sick imagining the poison being sucked slowly down my lungs.

So how did it all come to an end?

At the moment, Malaysia has not fully enforced an all round smoking ban which includes bars and cafes. Although legally it is prohibited to smoke in air conditioned restaurants, enforcement tends to be an issue.

Awareness amongst society tends to play a part in this as well. In the UK, people tend to be more aware of their surroundings and what people may or may not like, where as a fair amount of Malaysians tend to adopt the "don't care what you think" attitude. Enforcement plays an important role of policing society. When I first arrived the shores of the UK, I was amazed by the amount of sirens I hear daily, wondering if it's safe to go around and about. Then I realise that their police actually work very hard to ensure that there is a certain amount of law and order around.

So what makes smoking such a thrilling activity? Why do people succumb to peer pressure and eventually become a smoker themselves?

Maybe it's all the Marlboro Man's fault...

Magicians and Politicians

The magician holds his wand in his right hand and the eyes of the crowd follow with full attention while the trick is executed with his left hand.

The politician holds papers of economic and social evidence in his right hand as he speaks with great intent on reform and the crowd are moved by his execution while his left hand is behind his back with fingers crossed.

Not much difference is there between politicians and magicians? The similarities do not just end there. If we are watching the same trick over and over again, it ends up feeling a bit tedious. And we all smarten up towards the execution.

To some certain extent, bloggers wield a potentially dangerous weapon in their hands without even knowing it. The problem lies that they probably write about current affairs without realising with their magic wand (the keyboard) without realising they've successfully executed the 'trick'. If they repeat their 'trick' too often, people soon smarten towards their actual intent. But the damage is done.

There are always two sides of the story in life - my version vs. your version.

We're probably both right to our beliefs, but we're probably both wrong to a third party.

What do you believe?

I believe in beginning things that would last.

I believe in the good old fashioned way of of doing things.

I believe in health.

I enjoy having fun.

I believe that life needs more than a few friends.

I believe in people.

I believe that we need positive.

I believe that by believing, people will believe.

And I believe cycling is better than getting on the bus.

But then again, that's just what I believe.

What do you believe?

Lost in Translation

Some time back when I was still residing in Malaysia, something struck me - If I am supposed to be Hokkien by name, but diluted with a Hakka upbringing, why do I speak in Cantonese most of the time?

Coming to London, this distinction has caused a further form of headache especially in the research on segmentation. Looking at the Joshua project list (www.joshuaproject.net) the Malaysian Chinese populations seems to be split in the following:

Hokkien 1,848,211

Hakka 1,679,027

Cantonese 1,355,541

Teochew 974,573

Mandarin 958,467

Hainanese 380,781

Min Bei 373,337

Foochow 249,413

I'm not sure how accurate these figures are, but then again, they seem to reflect the balance of spread between the different types of Chinese in Malaysia. Yet, the thing that bothers me most is that if the Hokkien and Hakka almost dominate half of that total amount, how come we rarely see movies in Hakka or Hokkien?

From a young age, the media seems to be dominated by the Mandarin and Cantonese dialects - making me speak Cantonese to both my Hakka and my Hokkien relatives. Why is this so? Well, my love for TVB series from Hong Kong can partially explain my bias. It’s been an acquired taste developed since I was young.

I can imagine a further dilution of the languages on future generations, just look at the local British Born Chinese, born and bred in the UK - most of them only know Cantonese and English (although I must admit there is a push towards Mandarin due to the rise in China as an economic powerhouse). But is it for good or bad? At least I can say that I do have my own ‘identity’ and that I am able to adapt to situational changes.

This reminds me, I must make an effort to learn some of those delicious Hakka dishes my maternal grandmother used to cook ever so often... mmm.

Before it all gets lost in time.

Lesson 16: Bubub's Concept on Cars

"... Brooom Brooom Broooooom... Psst!"


"Ehm, why the Psst behind the Brooom Bubub?"

"Turbo-mah"

Sleepy...

It has been a while since I felt this way. Maybe life is too monotonous over here in blighty. Because of this, the smallest of events seem to jolt me into a bolt of blue.

Also with my first actual examinations in 8 years looming over my head, the bright sunshine of summer is giving me headaches. Probably it’s also due to the lack of sleep.

Warm afternoon sun makes me feel sleepy and a million and one scenario seem to be running around in my head on the possibilities of problems that may happen this Thursday. Is there anything else that I have not done? Has any minor details slipped my mind? Have I read enough to answer my test paper tonight? Do I need to get some rest first before attempting the paper?

"It’s no problem of mine but it’s a problem I find"

Hopefully June will have a better summer install for me. I wonder if Berlin is waiting for me yet.

My first time.

I was watching this British movie about things people do before they turn 30.

Reminds me of my clique over in Ipoh. Oh and the uncle and aunties in KL too.

This month was the first time I was affected by a strike directly with my work. And it was the first time I voted.

Funny how things are, I'm not allowed to select the government that rules the country my future generations will grow up in. But after almost two years in London I have instant access to vote for my mayor and the London Assembly. They still took my vote in even though I registered with less than a month left before election day.

It got me thinking. Where will I be in 5 years?

What do you think?

Has the buzz of the internet died? Has the use of mobile phones passed its commercial use?

Last night I was sitting at home playing with my phone and then I realised something. There are probably 5 numbers that I actually call from my phone book from time to time in the week. Other than that, its all just memories of another life, of another time. It got me thinking - Is it the same with the rest of my friends? Has technology taken its toll?

Last time, we used to be so excited receiving and writing emails, even short ones. But how many emails do we get daily? I know I get a lot from work - but from your friends? I guess snail mail had its advantages. It was not so quick, so efficient. Until the novelty of hearing from your friend wore off. Now, we enjoy our times meeting up probably once a year. We have several cliques of people - i.e. the UK clan, the Singapore Gang, The KL Lords and the Ipoh Boyz. The rest are scattered all around where ever their profession is required.

Of course we all meet and make new friends, but our bond is still there. Its kind of like the elections. Pre election, all the hype builds our mind for that one finale - that one date where all is settled. Then what?

Most of the people were very vocal and patriotic and nationalistic. But where are they now? The answer my friend - living their lives as usual. Let the politicians do the fighting from here on. That's their job. So, similarly the initial fads of Friendster, Multiply, Facebook, etc was so successful as it brought a new scope to keeping in touch. But do people REALLY want to keep in touch? Obviously they do, but not in a persistant manner. More of keeping updated through a more passive way, by reading blogs - knowing what is happening in the minds of their dear friends. Or reading the lastest comments or wall posts to know who they have been hanging out with.

Or has everyone grown old and tired of it all? Leave it to the young ones - its their niche anyway.

Dreams, Truth and Reality

“Dreams do not turn into nightmares. Nightmares haunt us with visions that are possible. Or improbable. But what is scary are not the nightmares, it is the reality of the world in which we live in that only goes forward and not back.”

“People wish lives to be made of dreams, but in truth – we all live in a cruel world. And truth hurts more than words.”

Inspiration from Jean-Luc Godard’s Alphaville, une étrange aventure de Lemmy Caution.

Marketing

Chris Jones is Managing Director of SS, a medium sized supermarket chain faced with intense competition from larger competitors (T1) in their core food and drinks markets (s1). They are also finding it hard to respond to these competitors moving into the sale of clothing and household goods (O1). SS has a reputation for friendly customer care (s2) and is looking at the feasibility of introducing an online shopping service (O2), from which customers can order goods from the comfort of their home and have them delivered, for a small charge to their home.

Chris recognises that the move to develop an online shopping service would require significant investment in new technology and support systems. He hopes a significant proportion of existing and most importantly, new customers will be attracted to the new service.

a) What bases for segmenting this new market would you recommend and what criteria will help determine whether this segment is sufficiently attractive to commit to the necessary investment?

b) Assess the likely strategic impact of the new customer delivery system on SS's activities and its ability to differentiate itself from its competitors.

Sensitive times

Recently, there has been a march in March over here in London to Free Tibet. Much has been made of it in the Western media about the sorry state of affairs happening over there.

Now, a lot of people have joined in the bandwagon and openly criticised China over this incident. There seems, however, to be a low understanding of the whole issue in hand.

Again, being neither from China (except for my ancestors) or Tibet, I prefer to take a more independent route to analysing the situation. People say that the Tibetan language has been in the process of being wiped out by these oppressive Chinese forces, yet many of the Tibetans know or only know how to speak Tibetan.

Take a few steps back and look at Wales. Although the Welsh speak a TOTALLY different language than the English, for generations, they have been in danger of losing their identity. Compare them to the Cornish people in South West England. I think less than 10% of these people still understand Cornish, except from pasties and cream over tea.

Take another example of those Basque or Catalans in Spain. Don't they also claim that they are not exactly Spanish? The Basque even speak a totally different language from Spanish. But they are viewed as terrorist in their 'own' country.

Then take another close look at Malaysia. If you have an eye and look what is happening over in the 'East' side. Culturally and by language, the original people of the lands speak differently and operate in a different manner from those in the 'West'. Has Malaysia been oppressing these people too?

So, before we open our mouths and criticise other countries policies or social economic welfares, take a look at our own backyard.

I remember hearing of a wise saying by a wise man - Stephen Bong, "If you don't know what you're talking about but you keep quiet, people may assume you're stupid. But If you open your mouth without knowing what you're talking about, it confirms you're Stupid"

The Guv'nor

Ince, Paul

Former midfield battler famous for short fuse, posing in Man United shirt while still a West Ham player, being disliked by all his former clubs, wanting to be known as the Guv'nor and being drummed out of ManYoo for being 'a big time Charlie'. Second only to Terry Butcher in bloody-but-unbowed national pride stakes, specifically after 0-0 draw in Rome with Italy. Now surprisingly competent lower-league manager.

I'm dreaming of a white Easter...

It feels weird.

Its an early Easter this year - This recent weekend, compared to being in April most other years. And the snow seems to have coincided with it at the exact moment. We've been having showers of hail and sleet throughout Saturday till Monday and this morning I wake up to snow flakes. Its really quite beautiful as I stood there admiring it for half an hour...

Well, global warming or natural change in weather patterns?

Scottish?

Hendry, Colin (pop: 'Braveheart')

The most Scottish-looking man ever.

If you don't sit down properly, the Boogeyman will come and get you!

One common term I've been hearing quite a bit is the nanny in my house saying to the 3 year old kid that if he doesn't comply to whatever she has just asked him to do, I would be coming in to rattle him. Me? Good old and fatty B? And what army?


Now, it got me thinking, what would the psychological impact be on the kid? No doubt I'm on pretty good terms with him (as I think I am with most), but then would this sayings get ingrained into that small mind that whenever he hears my name, fear strikes him first...


Well, I guess all parents or people bringing kids up don't want to be the bad person, so they always take a third party as an example to scare their kids. I remember as a kid my aunts used to either use the threat of policemen patrolling the area, or the drunken man down the road as example of people who would rattle me if I didn't listen to them.


Whatever it is, I hope Luke Yi won't remember me as the bad drunken man or strict policeman living downstairs... Ah, the bliss in seeing small ones grow up

2 good 2 bad

I was just wondering if people thought the same as I did...



VS



Do you think Berbatov (currently the striker for Tottenham Hotspurs) looks like Andy Garcia?



On the other hand, do you think Avram Grant (the current Chelsea manager) looks like a toad?

And it was said that it could not be done...

While all the furore dies down. While all the planning and positioning is taking place in Silver State of Malaysia, I was just thinking what some of the people were telling me earlier on.

Things like:
"Aiyah, nothing will change lah, why waste time and vote?"

"No difference one lah"

"How can the Chinese shake the elections?"

Well, here's to all you doubters. We have a few in our group, some prominently vocal when we urged the rest to exercise their roles to vote. See what us 'minority' can do?

Defeat will stare you in the face if you think you are defeated even before you are. The defeatist attitudes that you hold is easily rubbed on to others as losing is always easier than winning. But it is the desire to win that brings so much pleasure in seeing these doubters shut up.

On other aspects, many corners of the country lament on the deficiencies of a certain government, complaining about the inadequacies they face in their daily lives (like us). Now, power has shifted, but is it for the better?

To manage a state, one needs to understand the dynamics of the everyday lives based on demography and geography. Of course the state would have to also depend on the more macro factors, say the amount the federal government would be willing to 'share', especially when we are looking at 'management teams' with different goals.

One of the main gripes I have heard so far with this handing over of power to the opposition is that the development sector has come to a stand still. Why is this you may ask?

Well, as it is well known with the previous regime, hand outs are common practice to get approvals for certain projects. The problem they have now is that hand outs were offered, but the project has yet to be completed, and the receiving party has left. Will there be any implications? Will the current state government do a radical analysis on some of these projects?

With so many questions, many projects have been stalled. The effects may be great, as each development project has its sub contractors. And each subcontractor may have their own hired labour. Everyday is money.

I guess when we look for change, certain sections of people would have to suffer the drawbacks. I hope the current state government would come into effect pretty soon, so as life can go on (NOT as usual).

Just as I hope that Malaysia will see brighter days, I hope the Silver State will once again rise to prominence as 'the place to be'.

A New Wave of Nationalism

The recent elections in Malaysia seems to have given birth to a 'new wave of nationalism'. No longer can the coalition government rely on the usual media to influence voters, with the new age media - the internet and mobile phones making the oppositions views available to more people. Congratulations to them on giving the people a more balanced parliament.

Now what?

Looking at the scenario, its not as simple as just lumping the 3 opposition parties into one 'Barisan Rakyat' as marketed throughout the build up to election day. I hold my doubts as each political party has its own agenda. I won't go as far to say that everyone can be corrupted at a variable level, but time and time again, it has shown party members or even party leaders selling out their original ideals.

I asked two of my consultants (unofficial) of the opposition would have actually planned for this eventuality? I am waiting for their response to this. The reason being, its very easy to get carried away by a new wave of nationalism, but when it comes to the dirty work, who will stay back and do it? One saying I found always useful in the Malaysian society is "hangat-hangat tahi ayam", which is always the case when we look at the previous, "Be Cool, Car Pool" campaign, the "Tak Nak!" campaign, the "Rakan Muda" scheme and to a certain extent the "National Service" scheme.

It's always very easy to come out with a creative idea that blows people's mind away, but then what about the logistics? Has anything been thought through?

I've heard several speeches by Anwar Ibrahim speaking about the time when he was in power, the petrol price did not go up at all. They tried, but after opposition from the people, they reduced it back to the original rate. Now, it is not that I doubt his sincerity on this topic matter, but then when I first worked in the Oil and Gas industry, the price of crude oil per barrel was below USD30. Eight years later, the price per barrel has shot above the USD100 mark.

If I were a politician, can't I say that crude oil prices have gone up a bit more than triple the price. Taking that into account the fact that our petrol price has not shot up to RM3.30 per litre since then hasn't the government 'really' been subsiding rising costs? Of course being an economist student, there are more variables that we can put into that raw equation of mine to influence my argument. But so can politicians.

I really hope that given 3 months, we can see a difference in the governing of MY country. But like I said, the hard work starts here and before I can dream on, the three parties need to sit down in agreement and decide how they are going to run the respective states of Selangor, Perak, Penang, Kedah and Kelantan.

Turbulent times, but exciting times...

... one really hopes this country will be brought into further prominence with this new wave of nationalism.

Italy's Ugliest man?

Gattuso, Gennaro

Possibly the only ugly person in Italy, almost as if they took enough ugliness for an entire country and shoved it all into one body.

I read this in the morning and I almost choked on my coffee... Ah, the joy seeing Shaun weep as his beloved Maldini says his last "Hurrah!"


*taken from Football365 website

Players and Victims

Player
noun [C]
someone who takes part in a game or sport

Victim
noun [C]
someone or something which has been hurt, damaged or killed or has suffered, either because of the actions of someone or something else, or because of illness or chance


I was talking to Seng earlier on and he was giving me part of his worldly advice, "Do you know what a player is? A Player is actually a victim. But he can do what other victims can't"

"because once you have been played (you become a victim), you know the dynamics of the game to be a player..."

"... and sometimes although you feel you are the player, but every game has its loser - thus you become the victim"


*context taken from a similar theme in Initial D, Chapman To's take on God.

Disparity in Incomes

From a recent trip to Bangkok, we were in discussion on how cheap fashion is over in London and Europe once the season has passed. Already as it is, street brands in Asia are relatively cheap, but when it comes to middle class brands like Camel or Renoma, it just does not make sense.

Confused? Well hear me out, During the sales in London, I can find certain shoes for as low as £9 per pair (assuming the exchange rate is RM7 = £1 for easy calculations) means RM63 for a pair of shoes with leather soles! The simplest of shoes with Bonia or Renoma brands in Malaysia already sell for a minimum of RM250 (£35.70) which is four times the price!

Then I was looking for a pair of shorts to play football with during a session with the chaps. For a pair of Camel shorts, it cost RM70 which would be around £10! I remember going through the sales and finding pants selling for less than £5... I had to go to the Reject shop and buy a pair for RM20 (roughly around £3). Then for working shirts, only the ones on sale would be the sale prices in London which was £10 per shirt.

What really is mind numbing is that most of the stuff sold in the UK is from Asia! So why is there such a difference in price? This brings me back to the topic of purchasing power. Imagine earning £2000 a month and paying for the shirt, shorts and shoes as per price quoted above.

Now imagine earning RM2000 per month and buying similar 'inferior brand' products for the prices stated above. I just heard that a friend bought a polo shirt for RM400+ (around £60). For god sake, after one or two seasons, the same shirt may be thrown out over here and sold for £10...

Since I am cycling over here, I decided to go into some of the bicycle shops down in KL. Shop looked like any other bicycle shop, only that the prices of bicycles could really kill. RM20,000 for a bike! Almost a whole years salary. The same bike can be bought for around £3000. Almost two months salary, but you catch my drift. If this doesn't show the disparity in incomes over in Malaysia, I really don't know what can.

Bushi and the return of Overseas Capital

People from the capital of Silver State in Malaysia who may be familiar with this restaurant that used to be there. Quite notorious for its hiring of hot chicks, or preference of hot chicks seeking employment in Bushi, there was a certain co-relation between beauty and business and it was something which had long enticed me. I think before it closed down, I've probably been a patron of the place once. Like all good things, this place came to an end.

Does an F&B outlet need to constantly have a change in themes or name? Back in the capital of the silver state, names like Public Restaurant, Overseas and Foh San are still popular choices after so many years.

There has also been another interesting co-relation of F&B outlets and people who have just returned from overseas (i.e. the UK, US or Australia). Every time someone comes 'back for good' they will most likely:

a) buy a house
b) invest in an F&B outlet

Currently with the British government packing migrants from Malaysia back by the bus loads, there is a huge possibility that we will be seeing much more F&B outlets springing up like mushrooms after the rain. How many will survive? We shall see...

Sleeping with you means...

In the recent furore on the Edison Chen scandal with a few top HK superstars, I found this portion of an article from Keith King pretty interesting:

I have monitored women for some number of years now and noticed that there are several classifications for those who sleep with you.

The Hopeless Romantics
Obviously there are those prominent ones who genuinely sleep with you for the sake of love. These are not hard to disguise as they say love is blind and they are almost willing to do anything to satisfy their partners.

The Leeches
Then there are those who sleep with you with an objective at the back of their minds. Be it for money or power, these species are extremely dangerous and seem to be able to control men to their whim and fancies.

Spider-webs
You have those who just haven't done it for a long time and want to feel the pleasures of it. Results are usually of opposite spectrums, either their wildly great or just a drop in the pond. Don't hope for too much though as these are usually passing moments of time. Unless both suddenly hit it off fantastically, there usually isn't much hope for a long term development.

Salty Fish
Then there are those who seem to feel that they owe you something. Maybe you hope for a relationship with them, but then at the back of your mind there is this mind numbing possibility that she just slept with you to return a favour.

Anybody share the same sentiments?

from the novel "Understanding Keith King"

Wail!

She makes it sound so easy... Just talk to her, let her know how you feel. Share your dreams. Come to a compromise. But then again what if she doesn't want to talk about it? Just carry on as it is?

Every time we sit down and I begin the topic, she runs. And I let her know it bleeds. But she says I think too much. Do I?

And so I finally sat her down. Turns out there are more uncertainties that we anticipated. She says let it be, but for how long? How long can we numb our hearts from the pain? How long before the blood drips dry from this bottle of 'feeling'

*excerpts from the Longest Minute on the Cutty Sark

Does Anybody hear me?

Trouble with people in current times is that we are all narcissistic in our own ways. So much so, almost all of us can relate to Carly Simon's rendition of "You're so vain".

Through the age of the internet, we always deem ourselves more up to date than we ever were, with information just being at a click of the finger. But how much knowledge do we really have? How much can we consume through our eyes?

So much so, we actually tend to get very arrogant after a while and only see what we want to see. Or what we perceive is correct. So, in similar themes to love and work, we always think that we know what is best for ourselves, deciding first then asking around for similar view points. And we all hate criticism. So, we blank out all the negative criticism and compile a list of the positive ones, ultimately 'pre-deciding' the outcome. Then we go on to bitch about the choices we make six months down the line and yearn for the lost opportunities we gave up because we 'felt' it was right.

How do I know this?

Because I can imagine myself in Carly Simon's song...

which way?

You reach an intersection in the pathway called life. You evaluate the choices in front of you.

The straight forward path shows you working on your current '9 - 5' (if there is any such thing anymore), slowly taking you up the corporate ladder, but seemingly stuck in a vicious cycle like a clockwork man. Vicious because, the more you remain at the company, the more dependant or secure you get, and it makes you less effective to change.

The other path seems more rocky and unstable evidently more risky. It may see you going through a variety of jobs, some not paying you enough to make ends meet, but you adapt to change pretty effectively. Then there is the possibility for this path to lead to two outcomes:

a) You gain from your initial risk and manage to build a respective portfolio over time

b) You just wither along quietly job after job, strengthening the notion that a rolling stone gathers no moss.

How do we know we are at a certain junction? Some people argue that after being in a company for 3 years, you would have relatively known all you need to know in the company to move on effectively to a new challenge, keeping your mind up to date. But, how many 3 years should a person go through?

Choices. So varied, so much excitement in prospect, yet so much potential for disaster.

Prelude

10 January 2008

Michael and Beng have a drink down at the pub in Covent Garden...

Michael: "So what are you doing this weekend?"

Beng: "Nothing much, why?"

Michael: "I'm planning to go and watch Man Utd before I fly back for good... blah blah blah... interested to join us?"

Beng:"OK"

... and so the Manchester edition of 24 commenced two days later.

24 - The Manchester Edition

12 January 2008

5.40am - wake up

6.15am - got to bus stop

6.25am - head towards north Greenwich for the jubilee line to Green Park

6.40am - switch to the Victoria line to Victoria station

7am - arrive Victoria station, call Michael to see if he will be on time to arrive at 7.30am

Get a cup of coffee and relax in the station till 7.40am

7.40am - head to the coach station about 5 minutes from the main station.

7.55am - start to panic as Michael and David have yet to arrive.

8am - wait with the rest of the passengers at the mega bus company gate 20 as Michael and David are seemingly rushing to the bus.

8.10am - depart from London

12.30pm - arrive in Manchester city centre near Piccadilly area.

Walk around looking for china town

1pm - decide to "try Thai" in Chinatown.

2.15pm - depart to Salford quays to look for the Copthorne Manchester to get the tickets. Some hardcore supporter leads us to the hotel. I predict to him that Manure would win 4 - 0 with Christiano Ronaldo and Tevez scoring (although I cleverly failed to answer his question of which team I support...)

3pm - get tickets and take the walk to old Trafford down Trafford road

3.30pm take photos and enter the merchandise shop to look around. With thousands of supporters around, there was hardly any of the Barcode army.

4pm - walk towards the south end and hear the boom of supporters singing in the stadium. The excitement is building up. I guess this is what they call pitch fever

4.30pm - enter entrance S20, Block STH122, Row EE, seat number 194

The Goalkeepers are warming up.

4.40pm - the Manchester team come out to the roar of Stretford end.

Ten minutes later, Newcastle emerges sheepishly to the rings of boos around the stadium.

By 5.10pm, the players are making their way back to the locker as the announcer reads out the team sheet for the day. Alan Smith and Nicky Butt get a special round of applause as returning former players. As 'England's' Michael Owen is introduced, there is some banter about Scouse Bastards ringing around our seats.

5.30pm - when the players return for the start of the match.

6.20pm - the first half was totally boring without much incident. no wonder Sir Alex has been lamenting the lack of noise as Old Trafford seemed to have reminiscence of the former 'Library' down in North London (for those who are not familiar, Arsenal's former ground was Highbury, also known for England’s best behaved supporters - they just watch approvingly every match, without much cheers)

Kudos to the Toon Army, being probably 10 percent of the stadium (75,000 + attendance for the day) they sang their hearts out - we also realised that the initial singing we heard from outside the grounds was actually coming from the lands 'best supporters'.

6.30pm - the players come out for the second half. Being close to Stretford end and having the opponents, Michael cursed my earlier predictions, asking me how it would be possible to achieve that score line. I reassured him that it is possible, and we are in the Theater of Dreams. Furthermore the support from Stretford end is so ferocious that it will definitely stifle the Geordies resistance.

Within minutes of the second half the floodgates have been opened. By the time the final whistle had been blown, the following songs had been sung and the Toon Army was finally shut up.

My blood boiled when the hardcore Manure supporters taunted Smudger, Milner and Viduka as 'we all hate Leeds Scum'... One day we shall rise from the ashes of relegation and send the bloody devils straight down to where they belong - Hell.



7.30pm - we make our way back to Salford Quays to get the tram back to the City centre. Along the way some poor Geordies were taunted pretty badly by some Manure fans all the way back... All of this is the light hearted banter which epitomises the crux of English football - The True fans.

By 8pm, we had ordered our burgers at Burger King and enjoyed a slow meal still finding it hard to believe that the Toons were stuffed 6 - 0...

At 9.15pm, we headed to the Coach station near Canal Street to catch our coach home to London

9.40pm - Depart to Birmingham

12.10am - after several stops along the way at Stoke-Upon-Trent and Wolverhampton, we arrive Brum.

12.45am - depart to Heathrow Terminal 3

3.10am - we reach Heathrow Airport and switch to the night bus to Trafalgar Square at 3.30am

4.50am - get the bus back to Charlton

5.30am - reach home, take a shower and crash to bed.

Crazy? More like "This is Football"... Hope my next adventure would involve the team close to my heart, Leeds United. Till then, this is the Manchester edition of 24

Same shit different day

It was a new year just a week or so ago, but God it does seem like an old day now. Would it be due to the simple equation of same shit, different day?


Or at least during the Christmas break, if I could have remembered the days. Over a two week period, I must say that I have completely lost track of time and referring as December as last year makes it all seem an eternity ago.


Must be the build up to Chinese New Year though, there seems to be a huge sense of optimism and a spring in my step everywhere I go.


Another new year coming up?

Where has the passion gone?

Malaysian football has slowly fallen out of the radar of interest of their local population. With more people owning Manchester united jerseys compared to Selangor jerseys, you know where the money is going.

Just when did the rot start? Was it the bribery that went on during the 90s? Was it when most of the local teams started parading almost fully Malay football units? in the 60s and 70s, we used to have multi racial teams, just look at a list of past great footballers (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaysia_national_football_team) of the nation - out of a group 22, there are 8 Malays, 8 Chinese, 5 Indians and 1 Samah. Compare that to the team selected to represent the team for the 2010 qualifiers. Only one Indian representative compared to the all Malay team.

Although I tend to support the Perak team, I detest some irresponsible supporters who smash opposition fans car windows or vandalise their transportation based on the number plates. Are these patterns on hooliganism brought from watching too much English football?

I remember back in the late nineties I actually followed a couple of games in Penang, when their stadium was still around Dato' Keramat Road. I particularly enjoyed the multi racial element of support that brought the fans together. Several things that we had to remember -

1) Always curse the opposition, (even the visiting Perak team)

2) Never drive to a match, get on your bikes and go, and

3) When you need to pee during halftime, join the rest of the people at the 'longest' public toilet in Penang.

With the mega marketing product called the English Premier League, I fear that our state and national teams support will slowly wither in time.

The Dawn of a New Era

It doesn't really matter who we spend New Year's Eve with or where we spend it. What matters is the for 5 seconds, I have taken up your thoughts and this is a fact that has happened and it cannot be changed.*

Happy New Year everybody...


*concept from Ah Fei