Little "home" on the table

Received several "little" plants from "Krystle & Alfred" wedding reception. They seem a "little" out of place among the tall reeds by the pond and being "little" cactus miniatures, they can't remain in the sun like all the rest of the plants. Still in the Christmasy feeling, filled the empty "Japanese Sushi" tray, with pebbles, with the "little" potted plants in between the "little" house, with a "little" tea candle street lamp to create the "little" cosy little home feel .... with the large Christmas tree in the background.

Krystel & Alfred Weds - 17 Dec 16

Dramatic happenings on 17 Dec 16, starting from the early morning to the evening ,on the day the that Krystal & Alfred weds @ SFX (Those are separate stories by itself). As for the wedding (aside from the main wedding ceremony), the rush for good coffee at the reception#1 was overwhelming. It only served to confirm that we all need coffee to kick start the day !!!

Weddings are also the times when you meet lots of new faces and see how they are connected to the web of knowing who were your neighbours, who had journeyed with us, in our childhood days or where some paths have crossed. That's where the selfie/wefie came in handy for attendance taking.

Of course, getting everyone to look at the camera is one of the biggest task of any photographer. There will always be distractions from staring at the lens. None-the-less .... there will be some good shots. Smile !!!

Relatives from afar too contribute to the merry making day. Our "bahasa speaking" relatives joined in to add the flavour to the merry making celebrations. Videos and Photo-pics were the order of the day. What will we do without smart phones ?.

At the end of the day, it was time to re-charge for more challenges tomorrow. In the meantime, organise the photo(s) taken over the course of the day.

The day I lost my sole !!!

Had a bad start for the day. Woke up late. Back-up mode (son) had also overslept; so it was a mad rush to shower, dressed-up and off we went. Of all days, decided to wear a different pair of shoes. Whilst driving, I could somehow feel the brake pad and the accelerator. Hmmm !! Looking down a the floorboard, noticed something looking like "charcoal' all over the mat. Then, it donned on me. My disused pair of shoes was disintegrating. Had to make a quick turnaround home to change shoes. When I reached home, notice a black trail of disintegrated sole leading out of the house. What a start for the 1st day of the last month !!! 😩😖😞

Gila talks

After many text messages to align a date/time for a possible meet-up, it finally took place at Thomson Plaza. Have not met Stephanie for years.  Last met whilst attending a course where "completing assignments" was then the order of the day. Guess struggling to meet deadlines whilst working had certainly helped to foster faster friendship.  (adds to the meaning of a "friend in need !!!")

Enjoyed the evening re-collecting all the crazy moments in our working life. There were of course "common celebrities" where we could easily connect with. Not often that "gila talks" could be so easily exchanged. (Perhaps, a sign that we have been badly deprived !!!). Had to end the evening after several hints from the waiters that we are the last to leave the restaurant. Gotta do this a little more often before "wheel-chair race", becomes the more exciting thing to do !!!

The dilemma of Management

One of the many dilemma of any management is the "HIRE & FIRE" process. In HIRING, there are just no guarantees. The interviewee may have the best of criteria among all the applicants, (at that point in time), may be the best behaved staff within the period of probation or deemed to be the "god-sent" solution to meet the manpower gap but when reality checks step-in, after the probation saga is over, the entire scenario can be a daylight nightmare comes true specially when conflicting issues are intertwined in the web of decisions. Its ultimately a gut-fell / judgmental call, even when stars are aligned.

There will always be the complainers and sympathisers (and the few who know alls ...... who sways like bamboos in the wind). The first two groups are not too complicated, to identify and manage .... but its when the complainers and sympathisers are one of the same person/group, then things get mashy !!!. One moment, they are one who shouts inequality and foul play, uses terms like "non-professional", "not ethical" or even "non-religious-like behaviour", to justify their position.... but are 180 deg from their previous  position when actions are finally taken. So cruel, so heartless, so sudden, so inhuman, (I'm sure one can imagine more and the list can go on).... the perfect "angels" emerged.

Somehow, people forget that no organisation hires anyone for charity (so to speak). Salary comes from sources who expects certain type of output, be it products in kind or intangible outcome and the strength of any team sometimes are measured from the weakness link. Should inappropriate attitude or behaviour are permitted to exist, its also seen as a license for others to emulate. No management would stand by it.....  It's akin to letting a cancerous cell grow.

When the threshold for tolerance is finally breached, the inevitable decision to FIRE as a last resort will also be a painful one. There is never any joy in any termination, no matter how dire the situation is, for their are many other side complications/effects that follows. To the sympathisers group, there will be period of numbness/acceptance. The true complainer group may see justice being melted out but to the "bamboo" category, there will be new scenarios depending on the direction of the wind ..... Just some food for thoughts !!! 

ST Coverage

The unplanned interview at the office, some two weeks ago, didn't make the prints. Thought it wouldn't even surface since it has already faded in the wake of other reports popping up since then. 

       This morning drive to the office was somewhat a different one. Lots of messages suddenly kept the mobile phone buzzing. Being on the highway with heavy traffic, didn't manage to get a peep at what's the buzz....zzz were about, till stopping at the breakfast point @ Alexandra Village. Had some 15 messages on the Straits Times Home coverage on "Drop in piracy in Regional waters". By the end of breakfast and stepping into the office, had a total of 22 messages. Only thing that didn't go quite right in that coverage, was the display of my "jolly roger flag" (at the top right corner) which was not suppose to be seen in public.

Mugged !!

Been putting off the fabrication of this DIY Mug-rack for my Starbucks Mugs Collection for about 8-9 weeks. It was either too tired, insufficient time, other priorities, unable to get the required materials, disruption, etc..... Well, it's finally up. Using bits and pieces from IKEA, "S" hooks, cable ties, left over wood, the rack took shape on the Sunday morning. By noon, it was up and the mugs took it places in Alphabetical Order (by cities). Unfortunately not all cities subscribes to this series. Places like Japan and Korea promotes their own designs 😕. Though not targeting any specific venues, acquisition is strictly "on opportunistic" basis (or sponsors/donations !!!!). On hindsight, should have gone for the smaller version to manage the space required.

London

Ever since the Royal Navy IPWO Course @ Portsmouth in the mid 1980s, I have learnt that the UK weather remained as a subject for conversation. That year, I was grossly short changed, as we had only 3 days of sunshine which the local British referred it as "summer". Year after year, that perception was re-enforced as the weather remained a surprise (when there were sudden clear skies). Otherwise, it's wet, gloomy, windy, cold, even snow with icy roads and roadside slush, gloomy and more gloomy wet days. This morning walk along the Thames was once again a wet, gloomy one with wet shoes and chilling wind on a Spring morning. Hey !! It's one of the better days !!! 😊😊😊

Good Morning Jakarta !!

After an evening of "indulgence" in an Indonesian style dinner which was consumed within an hour the night before, early morning breakfast was at a more "civilized" pace. A good cup of coffee and Asian type breakfast, we are all geared up for the day's program. More to follow !!

Bakme GM @ JKT

Our first meal at Jakarta. Bakmi GM @ Mangga Dua Mall. Took a while to translate the menu but it turned out OK. The "must have wefi" kicked in before we dug-in. Yummy.

They have landed.

Is not that unique anymore. Vezel (Red) has landed. Invading all car parks !!! They comes in different colours too. It will soon be a Honda World. Shhhh !!! Don't let Toyota know !!! (They still think that they are in the lead)

Not an April Fool joke

The daily morning routine of fish feeding before leaving for work saw a major disruption. Several of the larger residents of our mini pond were in the midst of doing "back strokes". Some were already motionless. (Sigh !!!). Of immediate, casualties were 3 KOIs and 2 Silver dollar. Guess activating SCDF wouldn't help. What a First April morning !!! All 5 were unceremonially removed into a NTUC plastic bag. So sad !!! Not a great start to a new Financial Year.

We are 10 !!!

After months of preparation, the event of the year was finally at our doorsteps. With the Foreign Minister of Thailand and the Minister for Infrastructure & Minister for Transport of Singapore and High Level representation, ReCAAP ISC marked its 10th Anniversary on 18 March 2016. It was quite a week with the 10th Governing Council Meeting being held back-to-back with the event.

The facelift

Our 3-year old couch suffered a serious tear. Despite attempts to glue the torn part back, the part-time repairer, failed miserably. It had to weather through the Chinese New Year before the facelift experts return from their festive home leave. Eventually, it was done in just 2 hours. With a different tone of Grey, the living room couch had a new lease of life. Kudo to X'clusive !!

Pepper first outing

Suddenly, there is a world outside the HDB living room. Pepper's first outing to Bishan Park saw many other 4-legged friends, many double/triple her size. There's really a whole new world out there with trees and space. Welcome to Planet Earth, Pepper !!!

Mini Surprise !!!

Just a small mini surprise for Shawnnah to celebrate her birthday. Engineered a meet-up for ice-cream @ Swensen (Bishan). With a stalk of flower and a floating Birthday Ballon, the stage was set whilst we waited for her appearance at the ice-cream venue. Had some fun trading information on trips, staff and everyday happenings. Concluded with a good cup of coffee.

All Seven of us

Leveraging on technology, the annual CNY Family shot, included Jared & Elizabeth+1 ; Clarissa joined in via FaceTime. This was done at the traditional TSB gathering. All is well as we usher in the Year of the Monkey.

Where's Wally ?

Was beginning to fell like Wally after this snap-shot was taken. Weni (Indonesia) & Bambie (Philippines) were both Girl Scouts when we met some 42 years ago at the 1st Asia-Pacific Regional Jamboree @ Mt Makiling, Laguna-Philippines. Between us, it's 126 years of Scouting Friendship. Happy to re-unite for the weekend with them in Singapore. Like they says .... Once a Scout, Always a Scout :p)

The Toyota ISIS

Today is my last day with my faithful friend - the Toyota ISIS. Started our friendship on 8 Jan 2006, a few days after retiring from the Navy. Though there were momentary deflated downtime from flat battery and flat tires, it never failed mechanically.

Bridesmaids

4 out of the 5 Bridesmaids, getting geared up for the wedding ceremony on 9 Jan 16. The 5th, is busy practicing her role whilst the rest had a quick photo shot. It's D-3 for the countdown event. Of the 5, 4 are based overseas thus, their immediate goal after the rehearsal, is local food. Yummy !!!