E V E R Y D A Y . B E A U T I F U L . P U R P O S E F U L
June 15, 2008 Leave a comment
Left: Our first IMEX 3D Movie on 14th June. Right: Happy Father’s Day Roti Prata with Egg
Left: Cars just ran over the dead kitten. Right: Just booked! My new house view in HongKong.
June 15, 2008 Leave a comment
I spent the 1st 30 minutes of my 33rd birthday (last night) working (on a Taipei project). My wife, Tracy and friends were at home playing mahjong. At the stroke of 12am, 4 of them were yelling and wishing me "happy birthday" – er…still glued to their tiles and chips. Mmm…not very convincing hor… And Elkan was of course, asleep.
It was quite a dramatic 1st hour. Things got worse when Tracy and I had a silly fight over spilled water. Long story…but here was the ending shot last night – I drenched myself in hot water (from neck to ass)…at 1am. I kinda gave myself a stupid-looking water parade… and wet the whole dinner room. Tracy went back to her room, Felicia mopped the floor dry and I went back to my computer. (wow…quite stupid last night).
This morning, Elkan woke me up with his chirpy greetings! He actually sang me a "happy birthday" song! (consider that is the first birthday song from him). In fact, Elkan has been waking me up with surprising wake-up calls recently. Just yesterday, he shook me awake and recited "Z to A" at such alarming speed that I looked at him blankly in awe. Apparently, he taught himself that and we were very very impressed. (Bet many of us can’t do that)
Johnny, Joanne, Tracy and Felicia have left me presents since last week. I haven’t open them…waiting for the last hour tonight. (My fingers have been so itchy to strip them since last week!)
My phone had been ringing since last night (with sms + calls from all my friends, colleagues and families) – starting with Joanne, Scott, Yei, My Mother, Aunty Amy, Leon, Bishan, Yifu, Jimmy, Alicia, Duuk, Juliana, Meijie, Kalinda, Stephanie, Yixi, James (BAT), Sandy (BAT) and Calvin (Ogilvy).
The weather looks really bad today – gloomy, dim, wet and hazy (looks like a storm is brewing). Really ideal for a lazy Sunday afternoon nap.
Like previous years, I am contemplating to buy myself something nice for my birthday. (I bought a JVC Speaker in 2006 and Xbox in 2007 for myself). Guess what I got myself this year? Meijie called me at PC Show just 2 hours ago and I told him to get me a 8G Titanium Cruzer. (I have been looking for it since May).
Johnny and Ming joined us at my favorite restaurant at Jin Mao. It was foggy and drizzling. Quite a cool night..so peaceful and nice. We actually wanted to go for dessert but it was still pouring (and the wind was big). Thus, I decided to call it a day and go home.
Surprise, surprise. Just 1 hour after we split, someone rang the doorbell. It was "Ah Yue" (my food delivery friend). I opened the door and asked why he was here. He wished me "happy birthday" and took out 2 bottles of wine and some pizzas (more food???) from his bag. I was really surprised. And 2 minutes later, Johnny and Ming re-appeared with a bouquet of sun flowers at my door! (Haaaa…so it is party number II).
We served the wine and had more food. The wine was so strong that it knocked out Johnny and Tracy.
Elkan was pretty upset and got jealous today. He thought it is his birthday today. He got pretty emotionally when I opened up all the presents – he actually wanted the gifts. Very naughty boy indeed.
All the gifts are really meaningful. I got my long-awaited fountain pen and favorite crystal from Felicia. Tracy (who planned for all the surprise today) got me a iPhone Mic for my phone. Joanne got me a beautiful wallet with a very sweet greeting card (on a old "bird series" SGD$20 old note!). And Johnny and Ming seems to know my desire and bought me my favorite vintage robot.
This may be my last birthday celebration in Shanghai. With only 15 more days to go, I will be packing for a new island life in Hong Kong. (Oh yes, I just booked and confirmed my new beautiful HK home! Wonder who is my 1st visitor there…)
Joe, joe, you are indeed a blessed man with so many good friends. 🙂
Heee…(shy, shy) – I have a very very good birthday.
June 15, 2008 Leave a comment
The concept of being a father slowly gets into my head. All the while, I thought Elkan was a new member of the family. So cute, so adorable and so vulnerable. He has replaced many loved ones in my heart – that including my own Xbox and toys. He is the greatest test of my patience and also the reason behind many of my decisions. Not bad for a 3.5 year-old child – who is able to influence many around him.
I never recalled any drawing I rendered for my own dad for father’s day. Mmmm, I don’t even remember seeing my dad keeping any handmade father’s day gift from me. But fatherhood enlightened me a lot about my own relationship with my dad. I learnt to appreciate him so much more than ever. To be mushy, my father played such an important role in my life – he transformed me into a creative person.
With humble pay and a normal job, he endured the expensive fee to ensure I completed 6 years of private art classes (from aged 6-13). Of course, in return, I did him proud when I won my first 1st-prize trophy when I was only 9. He laid strong a significant foundation in me – that art background allows me to pursue my creative career until today.
When I look at my little boy, I wondered "what man will I be making out of you?" I have no answer or any expectation. Is a man’s path pre-determined by destiny or can be inspired by his own father? What do I see from that little cute eyes of Elkan?
Perhaps this poem (which I read it somewhere) best describes my feelings right now.
"I shan’t walk in front of you, cos’ I want you to seek your own path.
I shan’t walk behind you, cos’ I do not wish to be your burden.
I shall walk along with you, so we can accompany and take care of one another."
Happy Father’s Day to all.
June 8, 2008 2 Comments
To call this week "extraordinary" is an understatement.
After a hectic week in Hong Kong (yes, I met Scott and his sweetheart!), we came back to Shanghai late Friday afternoon.
After a tiring 7-hour transit, we finally arrived at our door-step.
Elkan, as usual, was eager to open the door. I was standing behind him
– rushing him, "Faster…Quick open the door!" Pushing a heavy luggage,
I pushed the door open and saw my kitchen lights on (from the floor’s reflection). I complained aloud "My goodness! Our maid left the lights on for a week???" Just before I can complete my next sentence, I saw a dark shadow just behind the door – Shit! It was a dark hairy man!!!
I peeked a second glance – "Oh my gosh! It is Duuk!!!"
For that spilt nano-seconds – thousands of possibilities flashed right across my mind. How can that be possible? Duuk in my house? How did he get in? What was he doing here? Am I seeing a ghost? Or is he a burglar who looks like Duuk?
Instantly, I heard Juliana and Felicia’s laughters. I walked into the house and saw Duuk holding a cake (with Juliana standing behind him with a camera!). I exclaimed in delight "How did you guys came in here? When did you guys arrived?" I looked at my wife, I saw the answers all over her proud yaya face. Yes, they have been planning this long before my Hong Kong trip. For once, I couldn’t smell it coming! (My wife has finally mastered her skills to outwit me! But poor Duuk and Juliana, they waited 4 hours in our house to "surprise" me.)
I love surprises (who doesn’t anyway?). And I had many in the course of my blessed life. Felicia (flew from Perth and appeared at my door), Tracy (hid at my desk at VOXmedia), Juliana (came with a birthday cake last year at Karaoke Room), Echo (shocked me at the door at Caffeine) and Kalinda (inside the airport, sending me off) had given me great "appearance" acts.
By the count of my heartbeats, this was surely the biggest surprise ever. Seeing Duuk and Juliana in Shanghai was already a big surprise – but having them hiding in my house while all of us were overseas was an even bigger and unimaginable one! With just 3 more weeks to go (to HK), I never expect to receive any new visitor. By sheer luck and coincidence, my uncle Asty arrived in Shanghai on Friday night
too (and all of them happened to stay at the same Shanghai Celebrity
Hotel!). They were my last 3 visitors (57th,58th and 59th) Both of Duuk-Juliana and Uncle Asty are equally important to me. I got to make sure that I spend good quality time with all of them.
For the last 6 weeks, I have been feeling blues and rather down about my
migration to Hong Kong. Uncle Asty, Juliana and Duuk showed up at the
right time. They brought so much joys to us. Their presence meant so
much to me. I can never thank them enough to "show up" at this point of
my life.
We went dinner (tried all the good food), night massage (2 rounds!), shopping (DVD, local delicacies), house-visiting (Echo and Francis’ new home) and stars-gazing (at Mdm Tusad)! Unfortunately, Uncle Asty, Duuk and Juliana had to leave today. They were here
since Wednesday! However, due to my hectic travel plans, I extended my
Hong Kong trip to Friday. Thus, they spent 3 days in
Shanghai all by themselves. (I feel so bad).
Uncle Asty was flying off at 2:30pm and we took the morning off and spent good quality time with one another. I brought him to Tai Kang Street for breakfast. Like old friends, we opened up and chatted a lot. We updated each other about our lives (over the past 5-6 years). Uncle also gave me many good advices about my job, my life. We (nephew and uncle) haven’t been talking like this for such a long while (since 1998). It was a great heart-to-heart chat. When it was time for him to go, we hugged and said goodbye. For a long time, I haven’t see this side of my uncle. For years, both of us have been too busy to catch up (for short conversation) with one another in Singapore. Today was different, Uncle Asty was so brotherly and lovely. And all the way in Shanghai??? None of us would have expected this. That’s the wonder of life! 🙂
Sigh, time flies so fast… Uncle Asty, Duuk and Juliana were here…and then in a short blink, they were gone.
For some reasons, I felt sad and empty when they all left. Perhaps, it
has been quite a long time since we gathered like this. I just wished I
can have extra 4-5 days with them – so I can really show them around (to
Nanjing, Hangzhou etc).
Short but beautiful, it was a very meaningful weekend. My birthday is still 6 days away (and I have already received a couple of early birthday gifts! – Joanne, Johnny and Ming’s gifts are now sitting on my desk – I will open them on my birthday!)
Once again, thanks so much!
Sigh, I be flying again – this time to HK and Taipei (from Tuesday to Saturday – will be back in time for my 33rd birthday this Sunday. Yes, it is also Father’s Day.)
June 8, 2008 2 Comments
Exactly 7 days ago, Felicia, Elkan, Tracy and myself flew to Hong Kong. Tracy and I were there to setup a corporate event. Felicia and Elkan went around to look for our new house. Believe it or not, we "browsed"through over 30 apartments and only managed to find 1 that suits our budget and "taste". In fact, we based our decision on Elkan’s preference. (Near his school, must have a club-house for him etc)
This exercise was an eye-opener for all of us. Hong Kong is infamous for small and tiny apartment. Seeing is believing – it is really that unbelievable
tiny! Really, to me, it was worst than small. It is like staying in a
service-apartment. I just cannot swallow paying SGD5,000 for a flat of
750sqm. Sigh, that is why we haven’t make any decision yet.
Reality sucks. Guess I can save a lot on my "relocation" fee – cos’ there is hardly anything I can move and put in our new house. 😦
May 30, 2008 Leave a comment
Clare is always a considerate and caring friend. Knowing I was always being "taken advantage" of by the locals, she was very cautious about the ordering of dishes. She even came downstairs to ensure that I won’t be conned by my "so-called" chef friend. Her first question was "Are you a local?" and then "Good, please serve us good authentic Shanghai dishes."
The verdict? Except for the exorbitant high price, both my local friends love the food (trust their taste, cos they are my 2 harshest critics – Calvin Mao and Clare Mao). Too bad for Steven (who got to rush off for a meeting) and Tracy (who can only eat 2 dishes – out of 10 we ordered). And Rebecca? As usual – she disappeared in some twilight zone.
As the team is counting down to our M-Day (Shanghai-HK migration day), we are now left with only 5 members of the original GTR clan. Steven and Rebecca couldn’t join us today. Daisy and Lisa both sent separate MSN notes – reminding me to organise a big farewell meal for everyone.
Guess I will be planning the gathering lunch some time mid June – wonder if it is a good idea to combine farewell and birthday together. And this time, I will let Clare pick the venue.
May 25, 2008 4 Comments
Life is an irony – I am now doing best of what I used to hate most. Over the last 2 years, I have taken more than 50 flights – over 200 hours. And I am working in the tobacco industry. Have I got rid of my fear of flying and dislike of smokers? Not at all, I still detest people smoking in my face and I am still nervous on every flight I take.
Many headhunters asked me how I ended up working for Ogilvy in Shanghai – It is always the same answer I gave them. A wedding dinner in Shanghai changed my life (and affected many others). Back in 2006 May, I had the most comfortable life – running my own studio with a group of very passionate friends. Those were the days of love and passions. No matter how late we worked every night, every day was an enjoyment. We were a small agency but we grew a sustainable business of 2.5 years. Month on month, our accounts were growing. We had steady growth and we were working great.
Why Shanghai? Looking back at my old blogs of March-May 2006 – I needed a "change" badly. I am no longer challenging myself and I am hungry for a new adventure. Coming to Francis-Echo’s wedding dinner was more like a holiday trip with my family and friends. I have never expected to extend my career in Shanghai.
A casual chat with Francis and Hovman at the old XiangYang market changed everything. March 2006 was my 3rd trip to Shanghai – it was also that trip that I fell in love with Shanghai. (not the night clubs – but the lifestyle and weather).
Francis was telling us about a potential opportunity and asked us if we are interested. None of us took his offer seriously. I just replied I love Shanghai and really love to stay here. I still remember the last departing conversation we had at Huai Hai Road, Francis told me "Give me 6-9 months. Prepare yourself. I get you an assignment here." I casually replied "Sure. I be here."
That was it. One week later, Francis arranged a meeting between my future boss and me. It was a quick 15-minute meeting at Regent Hotel Singapore. And I was offered to fly back to Shanghai the following week for another meeting. After more than 7 hours of meetings (in 2 days) – I was offered a position. And 5 weeks later, I was here.
I remembered my 1st month in Shanghai – it was very demoralising and uncomfortable. Many times, I asked myself "what the fuck I am doing here". It was this experience that taught me the reality of separations and the preciousness of family-ties. For more than 14 months, I lived without my family and wahbiang clan. It was painful not having Elkan by my side. I felt the emptiness – Gone were our usual Sat nights at Hotel 25 or supper at Eunos Kopitiam. I missed my old brothers – Meijie, Jimmy, Yifu, Duuk and Gareth. MSN, Skype and Spaces were my connections to them.
It is ironic. The job which emptied my personal life, filled those void with the most beautiful and priceless experience. My stay in Shanghai changed a lot of my perception about China. It also confirmed many life assumptions that I had before. Being with a big MNC isn’t as grand as I thought – in fact, I concluded that my own small agency in Singapore fared much much better. It was just a different set of games and turfs. The fundamentals are the same.
Most importantly, this journey fulfilled one of my school-day wishes – that is to work with the Great Ogilvy. I love Ogilvy like the way I love Caffeine. It is a name that I strongly believe in and a name I feel proud carrying. Like what my old intern, Steven, would said – "Ogilvy is a Legend." I couldn’t agree more.
Felicia knew about this – I missed a great working opportunity with Ogilvy
back in 1999 – and it was one of the big regrets in my career path.
By fate and pure chance, I was united with Ogilvy 8 years later. And I was
glad that I entered at a good level – a role that allows me to
perform and prove my worth.
Time passed fast, in a blink, 24 months have flew by. Just when I finally settled myself in Shanghai – I was "ordered and offered" to move to Hong Kong. It was a painful 6-month struggle. For many moments, I came very close to give up the HK offer. I kept swinging "yes and no" within myself – that frustrated the people around me. Finally, last Thursday (after 6 months), I ended my struggle and signed the letter. In less than 30 days, I will be moving – From 东方明珠 to 东方之珠.
Will I miss Shanghai? An astounding "yes"! If you look back at my life over the last 24 months, you will only see images of fun, excitement and love. I met a group of people that I want to keep as long life friends – Rebecca, Alicia, Calvin, Nick, Franklin, Clare, Angela, Hong Ai, Johnny+wife and a bunch of "Malaysian kakis". And I am blessed to have Francis, Echo and my cousin Yei who accompanied me throughout my lonely weekends. Not forgetting my frequent visitors – Joanne, Hovman, Scott, Desmond and Kalinda who filled my house with so much joys whenever they were here.
While it is too early to say goodbye, I just want to jot down my feelings tonight. Sigh, guess it is time to start packing. This time, my new adventure starts closer to home.
May 19, 2008 3 Comments
When my cousin Yei text-messaged me last week about an earthquake in Sichuan, I never expect the seriousness of this incident. I was in Singapore, setting up a booth for my client. And when I returned to Shanghai on Friday, I went back to my work. I have no chance to read about the earthquake or have any idea how bad it was. Not until today.
China touched my heart today. I have never seen a nation so united, so full of compassion. The power of their unity in this dark hours moved my heart. I can never understand their loss and tears. But I can feel their grieve. It is one of those rare moments when you see a nation together. Being a foreigner here, I admire their love for their country and their people. I felt so small in their presence.
At 2:28pm today, China observed a 3-minute silence. My colleagues stood still for 3 minutes. One by one, they stood up and bowed their head in silence. It was a sight that I can never erased from my mind. Their silence was loud and powerful. I felt so guilty (cos’ I was in the midst of my presentation call with a client). The strength of their silence empowered my teleconversation. It was almost impossible to even whisper into the phone. I have to cut my client short and hanged up the phone. I felt so bad about my disruptive conversation that I sank low on my chair and observed the silence.
Just now, I had dinner with my cousin, Yei. He told me about a fund-raising TV show on Sunday. When he was talking, I could see the sad emotions in his eyes. He was on the verge of tears. It was very emotional for me to see my "cold-hearted" cousin displayed so much emotions in his speech.
Back at home, I watched today’s footages on my TV screen. For that 3 minutes, every car, train and people on the street freezed their steps to observe the silence. A very touching sight indeed. (All karaokes, cinemas, concerts, entertainment joints are closed for 3 days) This is what makes us human. It is a side of China that I never knew. The Chinese people (no matter how materialistic they can be or how uncivilised and ill-mannered they can be), is one united nation. They love their country like no other. Everyone I know is pouring his/her heart and effort to raise funds and donations for the 4 million homeless victims. (Feli and Tracy prepared 2 big bags of blankets and clothes for donations). At this point, there are about 71,000 dead or missing people out there.
Sigh…it is really heart-breaking to watch any news today. Even the big websites are turning black.
Compared with Myanmar, the Chinese government reacted fast to her people. Perhaps, it is time when the world should take another good look at China. This is a Giant who is often misunderstood – yet attacked for many bad reasons. If you look back at the last 100 years, China has really never attacked another country. (The USA-Iraq War lasted longer than 2nd-world war!) Sure, China’s past house-keeping methods were questionable but it helped to unite a nation of a billion people.
May 16, 2008 Leave a comment
So, what did Tracy get for her birthday? Haaa… lots of new birthday dresses (from Echo, Joanne & Felicia) and hangbaos (from Ming & Johnny, Duuk & Juliana, Meijie & Kalinda, Joe)! Since there is no "g-string or lacy lingeries", Tracy was sporting enough to "wear" those presents for us to see. (Opps…she forgot to pose with her new handbag – from Francis and Echo!). Mmm…guess she needs a new haircut and a gym membership. Get the hint, babe?
May 3, 2008 Leave a comment
Thanks goodness – we are not so symmetrical. Guess who’s who.
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