BMI.. new health resolution!

Sigh.. just checked my BMI.. it's 24.8!! And it's considered Moderate Risk! ;-(

BMI (kg/m2) (for adults)	Risk of Heart Disease and Diabetes
23.0 – 27.4	Moderate Risk
18.5 – 22.9	Low Risk (healthy range)
Less than 18.5	Risk of nutritional deficiency diseases and osteoporosis

Let 2007 be the year i reduce my weight by 6kg to 60kg.. by July'07. ;-)

Strategic options:
(i) If heavy breakfast, fruits for lunch only. If light breakfast, normal lunch.
(ii) Lunches - more soupy stuff e.g. fish ball noodle, porridge,.. however, if dinner is light, such as bread or salad only, then lunch should be more nutritional..
(iii) Exercise more - swim twice a week, brisk walk twice a week..
(iv) Coffee intake - 3 times a week!
(v) 40 push up daily, 20 sit ups daily!

Note: to review this in end-Jan'07!! Bless me with discipline!! ;-)

possibilities..

"Only when you truly believe,
will the door of unlimited possibilities
be opened to you.
Only if you truly believe.."

Golf practise..

Bottle Tree Park - new place in Yishun!

Hurray! Yishun finally got a new place to go!! It's called Bottle Tree Park. Yes, it sounds the same name as Bottle Tree we all know.. but tis is a new setup.. u can easily see it from MRT when it heads north towards Khatib station..

U can do fishing there while the kids can catch small fishes.. and of course it's not free..

Check out the place! and u need a car too.. ;-)

Cocoa bottle gift

My sister & her son Justin made tis Christmas gift for us.. so interesting.. i loved it! ;-)
Will wanna learn to make it for friends in the future.. ;-)

Christmas Eve..

went to my sister's place to celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve.. she ordered roasted chicken, honey baked ham, pasta, log cake,.. and Shini made Apple Pie!

Wild Rocket..

Just the four of us went to tis new place called Wild Rocket.. tuck in a hotel in a small hill near Orchard Rd.. interesting place, nice food though a bit ex.. the hotel is called Hangout.. reasonable room rates.. perhaps a gd place to stay over nite with yr love one after dinner.. ;-)

Didnt manage to take good photos due to the dim lighting.. actually my poor photo skills.. only tis one make it.. saved by two pretty pink gals.. ;-)

change & values

Open your arms
to change
but don't let go
of your values

christmas cards

seems like these days people dont send out paper Christmas cards anymore.. guess it's mainly due to the advent of Internet.. sending digital cards or e-Cards has never been so easy and virtually free!

But i still like to send out paper cards. somehow it feels more personal, more genuine, more sincere, more warmth,.. tat the world needs even more today.. ;-)

my new digital audio recorder!

my long awaited advance audio recorder is finally here! hurray! ;-) Now i can move my songwriting competency & opportunity to the next level!!

it's from Handy Recorder H4 from Zoom Japan


Read abt the cool specs & details below:
http://www.zoom.co.jp/english/products/h4/

ideas aplenty!

i just had lunch with a friend.. and we were talking abt biz ideas.. i realised that there's a lot of ideas on our minds.. but why aint we actually working on them?! ;-( must be the risk involved.. maybe we're not 100% sure it will work.. perhaps there're better ones.. i'm specially cautious of those that will earn big bucks.. i usually reflect if it's ethical or not.. no matter how attractive it may be.. i prefer those ideas that 'flows with me' and with nature.. guess i will just be present & observe the flow for the moment.. ;-)

Gathering at Billy Bombers!

Satisfied

Today is really satisfying! i conducted a BSC (balanced scorecard) training to three of my colleagues as part of the handover.. i really like teaching.. imparting knowledge so that they can start fishing on their own.. and i can move on doing other new things.. but it's sad to leave.. well, life is about experiencing life.. ;-)

New discovery of Nature..

tis morn'n i think i had a new discovery.. a new realization.. in fact two key concepts.. perhaps my second most important 'enlightenment' since i was 24.. but i will need to verify with some Buddhist scholars or wise folks..

1. Contrary to 'Nature is perfect', i believe Nature is flawed. Flaw is nature. And that's the beauty of it. And therefore Nature is not perfect. And therefore evolution exists.

2. Nature has no right or wrong answer. Nature has only consequences. Only humans have right or wrong answers. Coz humans needed the right answers to strive & survive.

These new concepts are transformational to me.. hope i will be able to discuss with some Buddhist scholars.. ;-)

Bad Management & Destiny

Often people confuse
bad management
with destiny

Cute Christmas tree

i was really fascinated with
this little Christmas tree!
it spawn off many ideas
of how we can create
a simple little
Christmas tree! ;-)

Beautiful winter..

i like this picture.. too bad Singapore never snows.. maybe a good thing.. maybe not.. ;-)

What's the third wave of F&B?

The first wave was fast food.. with the burger, french fries & soft drinks served fast in a relax environment..

The second wave was coffee clubs.. with the expensive coffee, cakes & more sweets in an even more cozy environment..

And for a moment we thought bubble tea is the third wave! sadly it died a natural death.. partly due to too many players.. too easily emulated.. and nothing much but sweet syrup water!

So, what's the third wave gonna be? mmm.. still thinking, still dreaming,.. wat do u think? ;-)

my first camera phone!!

Hurray! i finally have my first camera phone! so happy. ;-)
It's the Nokia N73. i really like the 3.2 Mega pixels lens, big LCD screen & captured picture quality.. though i have to bear with the slower than expected response time and the some-time system hanged.. nevertheless, i'm still happy with my purchase.. my intend for a camera phone is to capture those moments.. i like to recall sweet memories.. ;-)

And i also bought a smart phone for my beloved wife.. hers is a HP 6828. looks compact for a phone packed with almost everything.. cant comment much.. i'm not using it mah.. ;P

i believe..

1. i believe there exist universal laws or laws of nature.
2. thus, regardless of race, language or religion, we're all subjected to these laws.
3. but i note that there can be exceptions too.
4. that is why we see extraordinary happenings - may it be good or bad.
5. so i believe it's better to seek and understand these laws
6. than to be ignorant about it
7. acknowledge their existence and understand them soonest
8. embrace them with enthusiasm
9. before using them to your advantage without being driven by greed or attachments
10. and helping yourself & others
    
11. that is, doing things that are good for yourself, good for others and serve a greater good!

Blessings to u! ;-)

U think peanut u are peanut

Your life

is a
reflection of
your
beliefs

If u think it's peanut, it probably is..

Everyone has their own style.. so take note..

As we move into management role, we have to deal with all kinds of employees, with different personality, attitude & capabilities. it is good to remind ourselves that everyone has their own unique style of working.. unlikely to be the same as yours. trouble comes when we expect our staff to behaviour in certain ways we think is appropriate. let this be a gentle reminder.. in fact diversity is the way to go for progress.. may i have the right mindset.. may i understand my staff well.. may i be blessed with the wisdom & compassion to manage them well! ;-)

Dont worry too much what people think about you..

We dont need to worry too much what people think about us.. why? coz most people are more concern about themselves than you! That's the truth..

Sadly, people are getting more and more self-centred or self-interested these days.. blame it on the media, blame it on economics progress, blame it on all things making us becoming materialistic.. While we can blame, actually we can manage it! We can handle it! For me, i believe learning & practicing Buddhist's teachings will help a lot.. ;-)

But let us come back to the worrying thingy first.. yes, most people are concern abt themselves. So, when u go for a presentation, dont worry so much that your presentation will be scrutinized every bit! The audience (most of them) will either be dreaming, worry abt their own work or problems.. only a few actually pay attention.. even so, they're only concern with that few key points of yours than be concerned whether u're saying in complete sentences or yr tie is in the right position. Most are looking, not actually seeing.. Most are dreaming, few are listening..

Even if there're people really watching u, how many? maybe only one or two?.. and they wont be there to belittle u for nothing.. But what usually happen is that you get so nervous that u overdo it.. 'over say' it yourself.. and that's what actually screws u up! You are your own greatest enemy! Staying calm is the key.

A picture of calm..

Bali Bali..

Isnt she beautiful? ;-)

Pic taken in Bali..

Christmas, a season of love & joy

Dont know why i just feel good whenever Christmas is near by.. perhaps, it's December when the weather is cooler.. perhaps, it's the end of the year when everyone is winding down.. so less workload.. Regardless, let's have an enjoyable time with our love ones and pray that everyone else have a peaceful & joyful time all thru into the new year! ;-)

Four-step model for giving corrective feedback

This is an effective method for giving feedback! extracted from Coaching Techniques for Dealing with Underperformers by Global Knowledge.

1. Just the facts - give clear behaviour description
2. Your reaction - how does the behaviour make you feel as the manager?
3. Impact - What is the impact of the behaviour on the larger picture?
4. Request - What do you want to see happen?


Example: "James, we need to talk. I saw you scolding Tom during project meeting just now (facts). I've some concerned with that incidence (reaction). Scolding someone in a meeting with other project members will affect team morale (impact). What can we do to address it? (request).

Delegation is a balancing act

Delegating is all about entrusting another person with a task but remaining ultimately responsible. It's a balancing act between autonomy and control.

Five Steps of Delegation:
1. Define task - define objectives & sort workload into manageable chunks
2. Select staff - name delegates based on skills & experience
3. Inform delegate - prepare brief, explain plan, and record process
4. Monitor progress - control and manage
5. Final review - appraise, review & record outcomes

Some Delegates Caveats
Tasks to retain are:

- Leadership
- Reward: salaries & bonuses
- Control: ensuring that monitoring is effective
- Personal issues: conduct & discipline
- Strategic planning: thinking ahead
- Information flow: effective communication
- Performance: assessing outcomes

Not everything can, or should, be delegated. Great managers, however, retain only strategic tasks. Lower level tasks should be passed on. Anything involving strategic planning, crises or sensitive issues must be retained. The key to brilliant management is making sure that these are the only types of tasks you are performing yourself.

~ all the above were extracted from Delegate or Suffocate - the art of working through others. Global Knowlegde.

Personally, i believe in teaching "people to fish rather than to fish for them". If they're able to 'fish' independently, it would be easy to delegate. However, it does depend on the situation if it's better to delegate or do it yourself - there lies wisdom to know when..

Pride is the downfall of mankind

Some actually say that pride is the #1 enemies of mankind! i think there's some truth in this statement. It's okay to have pride in your work, the things u do. but once it falls to the extreme we have to watch out! Let's be humble and acquire humility.. Pride is not able winning. Pride is about self-confidence.. in knowing what one can do and what one cannot do.

Nice quotes:
The time is always right
to do what is right.

- Martin Luther King Jr.

Those who bring sunshine
to the lives of others
cannot keep it from themselves.

~ James M. Barrie

Human relationship is so fragile..

Have u been hurt by someone before? Did a close friend suddenly turn into your foe? Human relationship is so fragile.. ;-(

No matter how hard we try somehow the person u least expect will say or do something that will hurt your feelings. No matter how..

It is, therefore important to realize early that we cant depend on anyone for your happiness. That includes yr parents, spouse, love ones, friends,.. We can only depend on ourselves.

Many people also take their relationships for granted especially your love ones.. and we thought they will understand us.. It is not surprising that some people turn to animals for friendship instead. It's not a bad idea for keeping pets.. but the reliance of pets as a means of escape that's worrying - it doesn't solve the root cause.

One of the ways out of these is to understand the 4 noble truths and practice the 8 fold-path. We need to rid our earthly attachments while we cultivate love & compassion as well as build our wisdom along the way.