Monthly Archives: May 2010

One of my relative who stay in Canada asked me this question not long ago.

"Are Singaporean racist?"

I'm actually quite surprise by her question, why in the first place she asked about this racism thing? :p

My answer to her was very honest. In my own opinion and my own experience living in Singapore for 12 years, I personally felt that Singaporean generally are not racist. Whether you are Chinese, Malay, Indian or any other race, I don't personally felt there are so much differences. And that's what I like about Singapore

Maybe in the place where she stayed the difference in treatments are quite significant.

Anyway, talking about racism, I remember reading this story last year.

Very interesting!

This scene took place on a British Airways flight between Johannesburg, South Africa & London.
A white woman, about 50 years old, was seated next to a black man.

Very disturbed by this, she called the air hostess. "You obviously do not see it then?" she asked. "You placed me next to a black man. I did not agree to sit next to someone from such a repugnant group. Give me an alternative seat."  "Be calm please," the hostess replied. "Almost all the places on this flight are taken. I will go to see if another place is available."

The hostess went away & then came back a few minutes later. "Madam, just as I thought, there are no other available seats in Economy Class. I spoke to the captain & he informed me that there is also no seat in Business Class. All the same, we still have one place in First Class."

Before the woman could say anything, the hostess continued. "It is unusual for our company to permit someone from Economy Class to sit in First Class. However, given the circumstances, the captain feels that it would be scandalous to make someone sit next to someone so disgusting."

She turned to the black guy & said, "Therefore, Sir, if you would like to, please collect your hand luggage, a seat awaits you in First Class."

At that moment, the other passengers, who'd been shocked by what they had just witnessed, stood up & applauded.

Well, I'm not really sure whether this is a true story or not. But I think the message is very clear.

Say NO to racism !

WELL DONE, British Airways

Another piece of good news to share with all of you.

I’m blessed to be nominated as one of The Singapore Women’s Weekly Great Women of Our Time 2010.
This is an annual event where they honor 18 outstanding women who are making significant contributions to their fields and society.

I am featured under the Finance & Commerce Category

What’s even more surprising is when I read the article, I found out that 3 out of the other 5 ladies who were featured are actually my friends Wow! I was so honored to be nominated together with these other great women.

It’s so coincidence that me and Violet always share the same path together
We first met during the Spirit Of Enterprise Award 2008.

When I received that award I was 8 months pregnant, and later I found out that Violet was 3 months pregnant too.
And now we both each have one beautiful daughter

Hahaha.. cute rite?

I’m really looking forward to get to know the other great women who is featured too.

Last but not least, I would like to say Thank You to Singapore Women’s Weekly who have given me this honor.

Something that I wanted to share with you today.
Hope it inspires you as it has deeply inspired me

A CREED TO LIVE BY
(Author: Nancyesims)

Don't undermine your worth by comparing
yourself with others,
It is because we are different that each
of us is special.

Don't set your goals by what other people
deem important,
Only you know what is best for you.

Don't take for granted the things closest
to your heart,
Cling to that as you would your life, for without
them life is meaningless.

Don't let your life slip through your fingers by living
in the past or the future.
By living your life one day at a time, you live all the
days of your life.

Don't give up when you still have something to give
Nothing is really over … until the moment
you stop trying.

Don't be afraid to admit that you are less
than perfect,
It is the fragile thread that binds us to each other.

Don't be afraid to encounter risks,
It is by taking chances that we learn how to be brave.

Don't shut love out of your life by saying it's
impossible to find.
The quickest way to receive love is to give love.
The fastest way to lose love is to hold on too tightly,
And the best way to keep love is to give it wings.

Don't dismiss your Dreams. To be without
dreams is to be without hope.
To be without hope is to be without purpose.

Don't run through life so fast that you forget
where you've been,
But also know where you're going.

Life is not a race, but a journey to be savored
every step of the way.

Since beginning of this month, my husband & I have a new ritual. We wanted to go to 1 new restaurant / eating place every week. At least by doing so, it will make our life even more 'colorful' and 'exciting', trying new stuff every week.

Last week I got a chance to visit 2 new restaurants.

1. Ippudo Ramen @ Mandarin Orchard

It has been a while since I wanted to visit this place. I first knew it from my younger brother. He claimed that this place serves the BEST RAMEN in Singapore. Almost every week, he called me just to ask: "Have you tried going to Ippudo. You should go there. The Ramen is very nice!"  So last week I decided to go and find out how nice is that… My first attempt was in the late afternoon on a weekday. We went there earlier at 6pm because we wanted to avoid the long dinner queue. Turned out 6pm was a bit too late. Even from far I've seen people started queing already. And we hate to queue for food (especially the long ones), so we decided to eat elsewhere.

Only last Saturday, we tried our luck again. This time we went there at around 9.30pm. Finally, the luck was at our side. We managed to get a place, without even queueing… *lucky us*

I would say, the ambience was nice, the staffs were very polite and prompt (most of the staff were Japanese, so it's really nice to hear them talking with the Japanese accent)

And the food …  ??

Well, I would say it is worth queueing for, I love the soup based, it is very tasty Price is quite reasonable, except one. I ordered the chicken wing, it cost $11.50 and only have 3 pieces. That means each piece almost cost $4. A little bit pricey, but it tasted good

Will I go back to the place again?

Well, if there's no queue, DEFINITELY !

2. The King Louis @ Vivo City

My husband is a meat-eater. He loves meat ! So when we walked to VivoCity last Sunday, and we saw this new restaurant at level 3, without thinking further we just went there to give it a try. One thing that attracted us definitely was the Banner with a Meat Platter Food picture hahaha…

As we walked inside the restaurant, we saw people were ordering the 'Mega-Platter' food. So when the waitress gave us the menu, first thing that we ordered was the same thing. The 'Meat-Platter' or they called it "The Knight's Banquet"

Food was nice ! I loved the Marinated Chicken Kebab and  I think the price was OK. Just like any normal steak place.

Will I go back again? SURE !
Next time I'll order the combination of 'Meat and Seafood' Platter

A few days ago I saw this advertisement. I thought it is very funny (… and cute)

Hahaha… Well, this year Mother's Day is very special. I woke up in the morning and got a little surprise from both my husband and my daugther. A sweet Kiss and a Rose

I was even more surprised to know that my husband already prepared the lunch for me whoaaaa.. I was so touched.. this normally doesn't happen often. So I was extremely very happy

I'm thankful for that, and I'm thankful for many people who have sent me tons of messages to wish me "Happy Mother's Day".

We spend the whole day together as a family, had a nice lunch and we went to Jurong Bird Park. It was actually our first time there. Eventhough when we reached the place, it rained heavily … :(  But it is a nice place. Definitely worth going there again.

Also not to forget, I gave a call to my mom to wish her 'Happy Mother's Day'. She was surprised, because in Indonesia, Mother's Day is celebrated on 22nd December, not in the month of May. (Don't ask me why, because I also totally have no idea why it is celebrated in December)  Nevertheless, that means every year she will get 2 'Happy Mother's Day'- wishes hahahah…

Of all the rights of women, the greatest is to be a mother. and I'm proud to be one. This is my 2nd year celebrating Mother's Day, and I'm loving it.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to all MOTHERS !

I first saw him from the Donald Trump’s reality show ‘The Apprentice’ few years ago. 

He was the first Asian finalist who appeared in the show, and at that time I felt so proud seeing fellow asian who are young and also successful. Little that I know, I actually had a chance to met him, James Sun in person. Thanks to Irene Ang who invited me to go to the ‘Luncheon Seminar with James Sun’, organized by Fly Entertainment.

‘Luncheon Seminar with James Sun’

During his talks, he shared about his life experience, how did he migrated from Korea to US,  started his business and in the end participate in The Apprentice. Very inspiring !

Based on his stories and sharing, I’ve summarized  4 important points that a person need to do in order to achieve personal success.

1. Have a Clear Vision
You must know what is your goal, and also what drives you?

2. Be an Active Opportunist
You must seek for opportunity every day.  Don’t just sit there and wait for things to happen

3. Successful people are memorable
You are a brand, and therefore you must communicate your brand.

4. Ideas are cheap, executions are expensive
You must instill a discipline to have an objective measure of yourself everyday. Remember, in order to do the impossible, do the possible today!

After the seminar,  we got a chance to mingle around with James too during lunch. He is a very friendly and down to earth guy.  I was honored to know that James remembered me as the ‘Lady in Red’ hahaha.. hope I was memorable enough for him to remember :) 

At the same time, it was a nice surprise to meet some familiar faces during the event

After the lunch, we then have this private Q & A session with James. Some of the interesting questions asked were:

1. If you have $1,000,000 where would you want to invest in SouthEast Asia, and why?
2. What are the top 3 traits that successful people have in common?
3. In making decision, do you use logic or intuition?
4. What’s your priority in life?
5. What is your view on Women in Business?  What do you think is the different between Man running a business vs woman running a business?

The last question was asked by me :)  hahaha…

Lastly, it's time to take group photo !!

We have 2 photo shoots, i.e.

James with the guys

James with the gals

I’m glad that I came for the Event. It was a successful one. Kudos to Fly Entertainment for bringing James to Singapore, and of course Thanks to Irene who has kindly invited me for this special occasion! You are simply the best, Irene !
 

Every first week of the month, I normally conduct a monthly motivation meeting for my organization (MRO). Today I shared with them about the concept of Head, Heart and Hands.

I believe in order for us to achieve personal success, being it is in our work, relationship, education, etc these are the three keys areas that contribute to our success:

1. Our Focus, which means where our head is (Head)

2. Our Motivation, or what we have the heart for (Heart)

3. Our Capability, which refers to our skills and abilities and what we can handle (Hand)

When we have all three of these areas working together, we experience personal success.

For example, if you want to experience success as a salesperson, you will need to understand the product that you are selling, the price, the market comparison. Those things are all to do with the Head - knowledge, understanding and focus. Likewise you will need skills and techniques such as communication skills, handling objection, closing skills, etc. Those are the Hands aspect of your recipe for success. Last but not least, you also will need some attitude, motivation, desire and drive. And that is what I called the Heart aspect.

It is only when all three things operate together that we experience personal success and have peak experience inside while delivering peak performance on the outside.

In our daily lives, sometimes we probably too busy with our work and routine that we might not even realized if one of those three elements is missing.

If you have the Hands and the Heart without the Head, then you may act, but you are likely to just run around in all directions, doing unrelated things and accomplishing little of significance, simply because you have no focus.

If you have the Hands and the Head without the Heart, you could act, but probably you won't because although you have the focus and the capabilities, you lack the motivation.

If you have the Head and the Heart without the Hands, you would act, but you're unable to, because you do not have the necessary skills, abilities or resources.

Again it is only when you have Head, Heart and Hands all acting together that you will act effectively.

So, do you have all those right now to bring you to your success?