Almost 59kg! (Late afternoon of 12 Jul)

Now we always have a choice even if it is a decision between the devil and the deep blue sea. Somehow when I look at the food before me, I ALWAYS chose to feast. Sigh. Jokes aside, maybe it is time to consider my options and make some changes to my taitai life which is getting really boring. Somehow someone will text or call me to do something together. I am so tired … just called Elaine that I can’t do happy hour chocolate martini with her at Morten Bar, Oriental Hotel which is to be followed by dinner either at Balestier or Esplanade.

It is no wonder that my weight rocketed to 59kg as I reflect what I have done these past 5 weeks. I only managed to have read 2 books by Jodi Picoult & Sophie Kinsella since coming home. I suppose my family doesn’t understand how it is possible that Chris & I could have so many friends to keep us occupied everyday with various kinds of activities.

Tomorrow I am flying to Shanghai again. This time interview with TE. Not sure if China HR talent market is really hot now or what … so far I have only spoken via VC with Russell Reynolds’ headhunter, and they are flying me to meet TE for 1 hour, co-interview with the solid & dotted line bosses together.

Good thing last week when C was in town, it was a big group that lunch together, so no time to chat further on Suzhou offer which leaves me some time to consider one other option before deciding what to do. Suzhou offer is for a OD Director while TE’s is HRD.

Besides clocking mileage, I could buy my favorite王飞红麻辣花生 from supermarket too. Ha! Grocery shopping in Shanghai … sounds like a high class taitai? Hah!

One thing to give thanks for – Krisflyer renewed & extended my GOLD membership. Prase GOD! HE is good all the time. Dear Father, I trust you to know what’s best for me just like you have always done, manna does fall from the sky, just trust & believe. I rest in your peace and joy knowing my decisions are guided & blessed by you.  Bless me a great trip to SH as I meet Beth & Jeanne, give me yours & their favors. Amen.

Funny Diversity (28 Jun 2011)

It was another good day, scheduled Malay lunch with Hamidah and fine Italian dinning with S, K, P & C (the Mot HR group I usually go pubbing) in the evening.

H came to pick me early, she said she was hungry, so we arrived Geylang Serai as early as 11:50am for lunch. True to our typical Singaporean core in our quest for good food, we queued at the stall with the longest line. Er, please remember H is supposed to be hungry. Haha. When we have choices, we either get confused as we explore ‘the best deal’ or we continue in our single-mindedness & focus on what we originally wanted without being side tracked. She knew what she wanted!

Choices again … after the delicious nasi makan & teh tarik, dear H is eyeing dessert. After a couple of min, she finally decided on cheng tng, have it packed because we were just too full already, but look at her – already carrying her cheng tng in her right hand and walking away, still greedy & considering if she should pack curry puffs too? … haha … no wonder put on weight.  

Hamidah caught being greedy … really paiseh, smiling from ear to ear

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 H is an expert in the Learning field, we shared many crazy thoughts over coffee and mee soto, nasi lemak, etc … She has always made me think out of the box, helped me to diversify my perspectives.

I went to Mot office in the evening to take a ride from C to 23 Lichfield, our dinner place because S said I am to help C to navigate & also parallel park for her. Till today, S is still my favorite manager ever.

Hmm, C is driving a new car. I think I know why C sold her BMW 7 series & bought this Peugeot 307 as she drove out of the carpark. Haha … her beamer was way too big to park in the sheltered carpark and she would have big problems to maneuver all the narrow & sharp turns … she was careful as she drove her 307 out of the carpark, so I tried not to tease her & let her concentrate. Once out of the sheltered carpark, she told me Rebecca from BJ visited her recently & was inspired by her 307 & bought a 208 when she was back in BJ … I was very sure Peugeot only has 207 & 307. Haha, she meant 207 of course.

It was a short & easy ride of 15 min to dinner place with me navigating. Right infront of the restaurant is a big lot which should be very easy to parallel park & since the road is quiet, not many cars in sight, so I told C to parallel park herself. Er, BIG mistake. Soon, an uncle of about 60 came over to give her advise, then there was another car behind her, then the chef from the Italian restaurant came out to give ‘clockwise’ & ‘anticlockwise’ hand signals in an attempt to guide her … I think it is time to offer help, so I asked if she would like me to park. She gladly got out of the driver seat so fast that it shocked me, for me to take over. Of course, I parked in one go. C as usual is ever so grateful … she is the typical female driver that gives us a bad name. Sigh. She used to park in the open carpark & I would drive her to our dinning or drinking places on Fri evenings and drive her back to Mot carpark at the end of the day for her to pick up her car.

 The Italian chef came in to introduce their specialties to us and assured us that he could do spcecial this sauce, and that sauce and special stuffing, etc … and also he could parallel park. Haha!! That brought the whole room laughing as many other guests also saw C parking.

Anna Lucia @ 23 Lichfield Road which serves authentic Italian food. For mains, we had beef cheek stew, lamb shanks, codfish & porkbelly, on top of broccoli & minestrone soups and lave & tiramisu dessert. I had 4 glasses of red wine and a strong coffee too.

 

 

 Are they serious? They nibble like rabbits and I ate & drank most of the food & wine. Alamak, they said poor digestion now at their age … Did I mention P doesn’t eat mushroom, K doesn’t eat black pepper & hated durian, C & S do not eat lamb? This is just food-wise. When it comes to work, they are even more different. C is ever so cautious, S is swift in a politically savvy manner, K is straight & direct while P is most balanced of them all. We are a diverse bunch with one commonality – ‘grew up’ in Mot. This HR group of friends has influenced & shaped me as much as my Engineering colleagues. These are really people-oriented employee advocates who taught me to balance the needs of organization with employees. 

I am truely blessed to have met with great people who are great role models for me from the very start of my career. Living in a muti-racial country in close proximity also helps me to be tolerant towards different culture & practices that are different from mine. I think I am a-okay.

A typical day of my taitai’s life

It was a short 3 days/2 nights trip to Suzhou to check my fit with one of Fortune’s top 100 fastest growing organizations. I believe C will call up soon to talk about the offer & when I can start work. I rather not think about this topic for awhile, and continue my idle taitai’s life in which a typical day is like this …

Checking email in the morning over coffee and whatever breakfast mummy or Maria serves, then we go out with friends for lunch and waste our lives away either shopping, visiting showrooms, having afternoon tea, watching movies, fetching the kids for tennis, golf or bowling & dinners. Oh, we also have breakfast dates too.

We even shop at Ikea!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Coffee Kaki? New chain I suppose ... tastes not bad.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nicole Clarie, the youngest and my favorite

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brought the kids to Elaine's apartment to see her pet bird - Mr Kinko

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Interlace at Alexender Road. Do we really want a 4th apartment? For what? I prefer to be debth free.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Belle & Chloe ...

 

 

 

 

 

Since we came home, we only ate dinner at home once. Other times we dine out with friends. These are my BJ group of Singapore friends, only left with Hui Tian who needs to fly back to BJ after her home leave. The rest of us are staying put. Hui Tian will only have Ming left in BJ. There were close to 20 of us in BJ in 2007 / 2008. Many left to other parts of China, home or US.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

So bored with nothing to do, we also participated in the recording of one of Hossan Leong's latest variety show - 'We are Singaporean'. The show on TV is one hour, it took 4.5 hours to record it. It is one of those show that competes how much one knows about Singapore. Ok, I learned that MM Lee Kuan Yew is a baba which I suspected all along.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ice Teh Tarik alfresco style in Far East Sq

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Elaine & Gerald in Q for movie - The Green Lantern. It is actually cheaper to watch movie in Singapore (S$8.50)than in Beijing (S$12), but we do not have pirated dvd and could not get onto youku ...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brunch at Spruce (http://www.spruce.com.sg) is not bad. Prsenting Ahi Tuna Tartar. I think Barrack Cafe (http://www.dempseyhouse.com/)is better just comparing their tuna. Barrack Cafe's Ahi taki salad is really GOOD. I love tuna & salmon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Durain for dessert after dinner is good too. Good thing we called earlier to reserve, they were down to last few durains only. Eating while they opened & packed ... can't wait. The other day we bought home durain pancake from AMK Hub & popo really likes them ...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What’s the difference between wasting my life in BJ, doing what I thought had no real business impact & now with me loitering in Singapore alleys? Aha, yes, I get paid in BJ but not here. HAHA …. I am bored with work & with no-work. Chris is right, I am damn difficult to please.

Our next destination – Suzhou?

Granted it is dark & gloomy today because of the rain, but I thought Suzhou has more to offer. Maybe it is the apartments in SIP which they showed me didn’t come close to what I am expecting or used to at The Seasons in Beijing. Maybe it is my mood, coming here unprepared … yes, I know I will most probably be offered the job as the interviews went very well, but am I motivated to perform here? I know for sure they will atleast match my Microsoft package, already the title is better. Hmm … I think I am feeling as such because there is no blue sky & sun today. I do not think it is because Chris didn’t come with me because he needs to bring Jordan to Batam for the 2 days golf game. It is a great time for their bonding.

I just picked up Juliet Xu’s email, asking if I am interested to consider China HP opportunities. I am to expect Russell Reynolds’ call on Mon, they would also like to chat with me on some China opportunities. Do I respond to Heidrick & Struggles? I believe Korn Ferry & DHR have opportunities in Singapore and I should respond their emails first when I am ready.

It is still raining … I went out regardless, hoping to walk to Carrefour which is 10 min walk away at leisure strolling pace. I turned back after 100m walk as it began to rain cats & dogs and my shoes were soaking wet in no time. I ordered room service, I do not think I could smile today.

The Thai beef salad & Hainanese chicken rice taste good, so I am comforted. Stupid HBO is showing ‘Love Happens’ which I watched before, but there is nothing else good to watch. So here I am, eating & penning these thoughts down.

Finally I made it to Carrefour the next day but could not find 黄飞红’s 麻辣花生!!! I checked with 2 salesgirls separately to confirm … yeah, sold out!

View from Marriott hotel room on the 34th story. GOD is good, HE held the rain till I reached hotel again

Suzhou – A city to live?

With my Elite Gold membership expiring in Jun, it was probably the last time I used Singapore Krisflyer Lounge. What a pity, I will enjoy neither the excess baggage allowance nor the free wifi any more . I was waiting for my 12:45pm flight to Shanghai.

The plane touched down at Putong Airport at 6pm this evening, and the car ride took more than 2 hours before I arrived at Marriott Suzhou. Er, it does not look like a happening place, neither the 金鸡湖 sort of hangout (the only place in Suzhou I remember) nor the 三里屯 village back in Beijing. Thank goodness, Marriott is still good, I have a big room with a King-sized bed, a HUGE bathroom & free internet.

I was told that Suzhou, Hangzhou & Chengdu are some of the best places to live & retire in China. And J, our Beijing landlord highly recommended us to buy properties in these 3 areas, he said ‘sure to double or triple the investments’.  There must be some truths in them, right? I look forward to checking out the place tomorrow.

Fairy Tales

I wonder if this relationship will have a ‘they live happily ever after’ ending. I am so sure S is being wooed by C, but because of the 15 years age difference, it is kept under very low profile. I already suspected something in Oct last year when I was back in Singapore, it is very strange that S & I kept bumping into C for dinners. Both served as brigade officers in PT, worked hand in hand as they teach young kids about GOD. I knew S from brigade more than 10 years ago, she used be one of my officers when we taught SM students of ages between 12 – 16.

SC also suspected this … we are both very worried given S may face great pressure from C’s family. C has an elder brother who is dating one of our (S & I) ex-student, so one could imagine the awkwardness. S is 40 this year, will C’s parents accept her as wife to their 25 years old son? My dear husband argued why not, afterall S is a great person. Then again these 2 good friends of mine, S & SC are both great people, I often wonder why they are still single.

It is concidental that C is returning this Sun from Australia for 2 weeks of holidays? Oh, he is currently studying medicine, and I suppose if the love could withstand the long distance, it could stand the storms of family objection? I hope fairy tales happen in real life, I hope GOD did not send me back to pick up broken pieces after the tornado.

A Special Chemistry – M & I

I sent M a note to her personal email account Fri morning to update her on my well being in Singapore, half not expecting her to reply, afterall I disappointed her deeply. I was out whole day, so I only saw M’s reply after midnight – “I still have you in my communicator.  It reminds me how many days you have left    good you are back in touch…”

Now, where do I begin to talk about M & I? I knew her in 2005 when I was ‘convinced’ to do OD, Asia Pac reporting into her. This started my 8-months reporting relationship with M. In these 8 months, I spoke with her less than 5 hours in total, adding conference calls, face to face meetings in Beijing, Tianjin & Singapore. She sure was an introvert, didn’t speak much and appeared cold. Even in emails, she was a woman of few words. She was seconded to oversee HR Governance for China after 8-months …

When China needed a Mot University Dean in 2007, I was again ‘convinced’ to go. C said I needed to brush up my leadership skills and in this role I would manage a big team, having both individual contributors & also people managers reporting into me. Later I found out that 2 of my colleagues who were better qualified (in my opinion) applied for this position, but M didn’t find them suitable. M was the dotted line manager for this position. Somehow without interviewing me, she supported C’s decision for me to head this position and so began my Beijing journey. Interestingly, in the next 2.5 years, M spoke with me less than 5 hours. I pretty much run my own show, working closely with my solid line manager from Singapore who gave me lots of freedom.

I was relocated back to Singapore in May 2009, soon after M left Mot. I love Beijing and so was looking out for opportunity to return. M called me one afternoon in early Aug and asked if I would like to join MS??? In all the years I know her, we spoke less than 10 hours and she was offering me a job. I totally don’t get her. In any case, I had to proof myself and went through 8 interviews with various stakeholders from China, MSI & Corp. I got the job.

I would not have known M & I would be very close in the next 20 months. Infact there were times when I spent 5 hours & more with her on a single day! On trips when we traveled together, we always dined & shopped together. In last year MGX, I was the only one staying at OMNI when M & all of GCR stayed at Hyatt, she personally came with S to pick me up for our factory outlet shopping. I, on the other hand, waited for her for the tours & parties. Maybe I complimented M very well at work with my exuberance, optimism & energy. I think M is comfortable with me because I am very open-minded & trust worthy. M shared many things with me like the performance issues of my peers, M’s talent movement plans, her struggles with businss leaders & her boss, etc.

M gave me everything. Very few people knew that M gave me a promotion in Feb, most only knew I was rotated to do the HRBP role which I wanted. Maybe L influenced me. I really pitied her when M spoke right in her face that she needed to improve and better integrate into MS culture, with me around. I felt bad & awkward when M reprimanded her because she didn’t meet M’s expectation on some work. I felt M is not fair to L, it is  difficult to meet her high expectation within a short time. I do not know how the 2 of them handle their friendship. I supposed I took side then.

Sigh, I miss M, dunno really know why. And I am pondering if I should reply M’s email.