Some of you might find this post title familiar…

Its the first time i saw a 真字. It happened few months back: I was on my way home, sitting at the window seat of the bus. I was trying to glance out, and this advertisement stuck on the bus was blocking my view. Then… I saw it…

I was so amused I was giggling to myself on the bus. Amused that I saw numbers instead of recognizing it as what is was supposed to be from the other side. I snapped the pic, and the filename turned out to be DSC00223.JPG. I bought the number for the 2 draws over the weekend. But it didn’t come out.

So much for a 真字. Since it didn’t open, its not really a 真字 right?

For those who still can’t figure out what it actually was, try this full sized photo.

I wore one of the polo-Ts given by my company today — one that bore the logo of the People Developer, to celebrate us obtaining the certification (and for promotion purposes). Our new IA student saw it, and asked me what people developer was. After an explanation of some of the criteria for it, he told me the reason for his question:

“I only knew software developer, didn’t know there’s people developer.”

He was thinking software developers make software, so people developers…

What shall I do this year? Let’s see…

• Get fitter. Failed IPPT, so this seems more like a requirement…
• Get heavier. Eat more. Shall set a 2kg increment this year. Hopefully getting fitter helps with the weight.
• Get tanner. By natural means. More swims.
• Get deaf. Re-pickup signing. There’re so many things I learnt and forgot in my life. This is just another one of it.
• Get geared up. Go for the manual car. I’d prefer a smaller/hatchback manual, but I guess there’s not much choice.

Some other miscellaneous non-resolution things I hope to do:

• Clean up my room mess before CNY.
• Upgrade to a new Ubuntu and then to the April LTS. aMSN needs a lift too.
• Change my blog picture.

I’ve actually been asked to review my resolutions a few days back, but I pushed it till today, cos I did my last resolution on 2nd Jan last year, so I’d thought I’ll give myself the full 365 days to fulfil it. Not that I did anything in the meantime to achieve my goals, but just for the heck of it.

So! Here is the list from last year!

Brush up (as in relearn) my parking skills

I actually had to relearn my driving skills, having driven much less before 07. I didn’t really do much to parking as much as I’d like to (damn oil surcharges), but I do purposely repark a few times when I’m returning the rented car and have extra time left. What’s made me feel good was I finally joined the car-sharing scheme. Although some might feel its expensive, its features are more appropriate for my needs, especially the ease of booking and collection.

Verdict: FAIL

Get a facelift = seek treatment probably

Started going to aesthetician (that’s what she claims to be: a level-up-ed beautician) recommended by angdao’s friend. It’s probably much better than previous attempts at fixing my face, due to the fact that it required less commitment on my part. Previously either I had too many products to apply so regularly, or had pills to take. This time I just lie there during appointments, and I was given only 1 cleanser to use (so far). I’ll let those around me see if there’re any positive results. Since I did not qualify this resolution with a result, but only the action of treatment, this is a pass.

Verdict: PASS

Play a guitar! — if I do get my hands on one within this year…

I didn’t get my hands on one last year. I didn’t want to buy one, cos I’m unsure of my committment to use it. and it’s a rather big instrument that takes up space. For the same reasons I’ll also not prefer it as a gift. So I planned to borrow one from someone who bought one but is not playing it anymore, which I felt would be plenty. I did not execute the plan.

Verdict: FAIL

Transfer my savings to somewhere else where I get more than S$6 interest in a year :’(

This turned out pretty well. I sorted out most of my finances and got my monthly savings (since I started work) into StandChart eSaver. Subsequently I religiously did monthly transfers to the account. Considering I started with a balance of zero it actually accumulated rather quickly. I also managed to log all my expenditures the same way I did in Bris. With eSaver rates sliding like nobody’s business every few months it is time to explore more advanced options.

Verdict: PASS

And, make my dear angry less times than last year!

I THINK I’ll pass on this, given that we met much less this year due to work. With less time to meet, there’s less time for squibbles and such. I probably won’t be able to make an objective decision on this. Maybe angdao can give me this score.

Verdict: ???

Well, that’s it for the review. I haven’t really decided on the new resolutions, so stay tuned for Resolutions `08!

These made my off day today!

I think the effects are awesome and the music integration is perfect…

Some people who were also born on this day:

1. Nostradamus, Prophet
2. Tata Young, Singer
3. Michael Owen, Footballer

And someone first reached the South Pole on this date in 1911…

“… four tweety birds, three french fries, two purple ducks, and a pear tree on a pear tree!”

I hear this at every shop I go into. Getting pretty sick of it. Yep I’m asking for new songs. BUT, BUT, not the type of tongue twisting raps or crazy pitched vocals. Give me a carol-like tune, with kindergarten words. Think Jingle Bells, think Silent Night.

Same with National Day. Every year’s song getting harder to sing, and harder to understand. How to get spirit lidat!? Just keep the “Count on Me” and “Stand up for Singapore” coming! And “Five Stars Arising”!

Disclaimer: The author knows the original lyrics to the song in the first paragraph.

Met my first roadblock while driving home about 3am this morning. But he didn’t stop me.

Next milestone will be getting stopped and doing a breathalyser test! Lol!

So why did I write the previous post? Was I inspired to go out and be an Entrepreneur? Frankly speaking, I don’t think so. I may have the “work long hours” attitude and an inclination to “keep trying”, but I’m probably still far from it.

Lack of capital had been a common excuse, but in today’s world I think its not an issue anymore. If you can just pitch your idea good enough funds will just pour in. Lack of a good product sounds better. I’m definitely not the Entrepreneur Entrepreneur where you do it for the sake for being an Entrepreneur. Or people think you’re smart and you should go and be an Entrepreneur. But if I find a good product I believe in I might dive into it? However, the lifestyle seems more suitable for people who have less commitments, even though people say it is possible to juggle it. If it’s family most likely you don’t have any or they are so supportive that you can ignore them most of the time.

I can’t imagine if I become like this and have no time to spend with angdao. She’ll probably just find another guy. Not that I think that she is heartless but its a reality in not being able to provide for needs. As of now we already have much less time than we used to have. The best case if of course the business builds up quickly and we can buy a big house, big car, sit home and relax…

Just watched Public Insight on CNA just now, about two Chinese compaines Midsouth Holdings and Anwell Technologies. Having a few personal thoughts after watching it.

Midsouth specializes in creating Fibreglass-reinforced plastic, aka FRP. It’s plastics mixed with fibreglass: strong, lightweight and durable, making it very suitable as parts for automotives and furniture. Midsouth’s main clients include truck makers, air-con ducts, window frames and chairs makers. The lightweightness gives it an advantage in terms of lowering fuel costs for the vehicle. The company’s prospect in producing for diverse market segments such as aerospace, military, furniture, land/sea transport, construction, etc give good resilience against slumps in any particular sector. Coupled with growing demands in superior plastics especially in transport and construction, the company is “doomed” for success.

Anwell produces equipment which produce optical discs. It is in a technology market, but its owner is entrepreneurial; he stays next to its factory and working long hours (16-18) per day when starting out. Similar to the strategy of my company they have sinced eaten into its client business – the production of the discs in order to maintain a more consistent and recurrent cash flow. The similarity here hints to me the importance of sustainability in producing consumable products. What also triggered me is the never-give-up attitude of Franky (as a typical entrepreneur). Paraphrasing him:

In the first year my client told me: “Franky your machine is worse than the local machines”. So we improved and in the second year, my client said, “Franky, you machine is not as good as a Taiwanese machine”. We made it better and in the third year, I was told “Franky, your machine is not as fast as European machines”.

We were still not good enough, but we can observe the improvement over the years. We tried even harder and now the client says “Now I cannot differentiate between your machine and a European machine.”

Lastly, a common feature between the two companies was a focus on R&D efforts; a keen interest in improvement. They both believe a strong R&D helps the company to quickly respond to client problems and possibly provide custom solutions and products to each client. At the same time, it widens the margin between competitors and allows them to get ahead.