The starbucks book

I have been reading this book since i came back from Hongkong. Wanted to read more about this man called Howard Schultz. Find out why my prof, Prof Tan always like to use him as an example.
I have only read half of his book and realized that in ac tual fact, he is a very simple person. Or rather, he is a ordinary person who dares to dream very big. And i like him for one very special reason. I guess i admire his determination to the extent that he will fight till the end for whatever he believes.

I especially like one part of the book where one of his friend asks him. "Howard, do you think you will still have this drive in you if you wasn't born in such cruel environment?"
I guess a person has to break free from his "Comfort" Area in order to get his own success. Maybe i feel that i have been too slack liao.

Another quote i like to end with will be from Martin Luther King, Jr

• The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.
  

Even though his phase has been heard so many times, i suddenly feel its significance only NOW!

Raining Cats and Dogs back Home

I have to say it is a back time to be stuck in Singapore now. It is raining like there is no tomorrow. Every since i came back on Sunday, that very night, it has been raining till now. NON-Stop. No Kidding. It's like Tuesday 12a.m now! And it has definately taken alot of inconveniences for all Singaporeans. There are so many places that are flooded now.
This poor cab was stuck near the place where they sell lots of pottery and plants at Thomson Road. Man, that is near where i stay! I hope the rain will stop soon and Mr Sunshine visit the local island soon enuff! Enough of Mr Rain!

Back home from Shanghai

Well, i should start off by giving a brief description of how Shanghai has not "changed" since i left like 2 years ago. The area where i used to stay in Loyang has a new park. Looks more friendly now. Even the roads that are around Loyang station has been altered to suit the traffic in the morning.

The new shopping mall at Xin Tian Di has much more shops now but it is still only patronized by the ah mongs! We tried the Di Tian Feng at the mall and according to Jason Chan, that one is the real authentic Taiwanese opening in Shanghai. But 1 thing for sure is that the xiao long bao are delicious over there!

Even though the Xiangyang street mall where they sell fake goods have been demolished, they have since shifted to another mall. I went for a visit on Saturday and to my surprise, the whole building was hardly crowded at all. I even went to ask whether the business has been bad since the demolish, and the shop owners confirmed my thought.

I have to say this trip to Shanghai was pretty short so i wasn't able to go to all the places i wanted to visit. I couldn't go to Yu Garden where it is very similar to Chinatown. Well, i guess Shanghai will always be the closest 2nd home of mine. :)

It is Tuesday now and i will be traveling again! This time for a short trip to Hongkong to see some places with Baby.

My Country!

Schadenfreude
Originally uploaded by phil uk net.

Came across this while surfing for pictures for my presentation in Shanghai. Find this really amusing. The ferrari owner must be so filty rich that he can afford to park as and where he pleases. What is a small fine to him???!!!!!!

Kuala Lumpur

Just got back from KL. Have been a long trip taking the bus over there. Hopefully everything will work out fine over at KL and some fruits will show next time.

Walking to the HSBC Tree-top walk

Sunday today! Had a crazy idea with Baby today. We walk all the way to the tree-top walk from my house. Took around 2 hours to and from. Very tired now. She is already sleeping like a pig behind me now. :) Haha. Never excercise lah her! Some of the pictures we took while on the bridge. Haa, and she is afraid of heights!
If only the wild ah meng are still cute and funny! Big ears leh, must be some kid who drawn it!

MSc TIP first lessons

Well, the first two lessons for my masters has finally started. Well, as usual, Prof was full of his ideas and thoughts. To me, i always felt that NTC printed alot of notes for us and wanted us to read them instead. Erm, i would actually prefer them to go through more of the notes to a certain extend. :) Just me.

Came across this article on Sunday Life about this lady, Anita Roddick, who is the founder of The Body Shop. In the header, it says that entrepreneurs should not go to attain there MBA. She mentions that too much business education actually "kills" the entrepreneurial spirit in us. I wonder if i have made a mistake in continuing Ms c for my technopreneurship? She has her own website where she has alot of interesting articles she has commented. http://www.anitaroddick.com/

She actually give us 10 important tips for entrepreneurship. To summarize,

1. Tell stories. Sharing a vision and imaging the world differently.
   
2. Concentrate in creativity.
   
3. Be an opportunistic collector.
4. Measure the company according to fun and creativity. That is what Prof Tan always says about the passion in our work.
5. Be different, but look safe. I especially like it when she says "look". It means that we cannot take unnecessary risk.
   
6. Be passionate about our ideas.
   
7. Feed your sense and outrage.
8. Make the most of the female element. Often, i have read that people always say female are interesting animals. Well, i must live more to find out more!
9. Believe in yourself and your intuition. There is only a fine line between entrepreneurship and INSANITY!
10. Have self-knowledge. The way i interpret this, it could mean that before i go to war, i need to have sufficient training.
    

Lastly, she ends of with "Until, they can teach these lessons, business schools will reamin the whited sepulchers of the status quo".

This newspaper article was posted on Sunday Life, 3/12/2006

Enjoy.