Family Acticities

One of the best and most different thing I got after back at home is FAMILY ACTIVITIES. Previously, I spend most of my weekend working, shopping, exercising, and pampering myself like SPA, facial, manicure and pedicure. In the past 4 months, half of my weekends are with my family - my big family.

The first weekend of this month, we had a gathering to celebrate Mother's day though it's supposed to be 2nd Sunday of May as my cousins who are married need to be back with their in-lows. Besides, that Sat happened to be my father's birthday. So we really had a big gathering and the best thing back at home is the FOOD, the fresh seafood that I can't find anywhere else.




That Sunday, we visited a osmanthus fragrans farm at Shr Ding (石碇) and tried the Osmanthus Fragrans meal which is quite interesting. My two nephews really had a lot of fun as it's so much fun to have a big group of family going out together.


Last Sun, I met up with another group of cousins. Time really flies. All of them to me are my little younger brothers and sisters in my memory but now all of them are all grown up and mature. Guess that's life I would say.

Though I still need to work most of the Sat, I would still try to arrange time for myself and for my family. 24 hours are just not enough!!

無法平凡

五一勞動節放假
原本不覺得我也屬於勞動階級
不過想想我們心力上的勞動程度
是也該放個假休息一下

雖然放假不過下午還是進了辦公室處理點事情
傍晚回家路上
就繞進了那我許久不曾造訪的誠品信義店
做了我久違了的書香之旅

其中有本書挑起了我的注意力
韮沢明子的"我承認我心動了"


無法平凡

見到我的人,
應該會說我是個女強人吧!
但你見到我,
應該會說我是個弱女子吧!
在你面前, 再怎麼樣,
我的舉止都無法像平常一樣,
你是喜歡上那個我呢?

取捨

人生是由一連串的決定與取捨所組成
而決定就是一種取捨

沒有任何事情會是完美的
套個經濟學的術語
衡量輕重及取捨就是希望能夠取得最高的效用
因為這其中變動的因素不少

而近來因為生活上的轉變
我也開始思考一些取捨的問題
很多事情跟我原本想像或計畫中的很不一樣
不能說這樣是不好
畢竟之前的我可能只侷限在一定的框架中
而沒有想到一些不同的可能性

但就因為這些轉變
我必須開始思考我原本設定的東西到底是不是最好的
改變就代表著幾個因素的異動
當然這其中有好有壞
需要思考的就是這些好壞最後的總合會是怎樣
還有哪些是不能被改變及犧牲的原則與因素

或許因為年齡的增長及考慮的範圍及因素的擴大
我發覺腦袋裡思考的東西越來越多
但我覺得這是個好現象
因為這代表了我的成長及邁入人生中下個階段的預先準備
是該好好思考一下了

The Inner Me

This could be a very new experience for me as I'm not that type of people to share too much about myself most of the time. However, it might be because of the age or the life experience I got so far, I want to be more open to myself, which means releasing the inner me so that I can express how I really feel directly instead of wearing a mask to cover up the true "ME".

Therefore, I decided to go into a relationship where I can see the inner me trying to come up to take over the other "ME" cultivated by the family, education system, work and society. Yes, I'm officially attached and this could also be the first time for me to announce it this way.

We actually have known each other since my high school time. However, we were in totally different fields as I'm in business and he was into music at that time already. Yap, a MUSICIAN!! What a surprise, isn't it?! However, I think that could be the major reason actually as he is so true, real and direct in terms of expressing himself which is totally different from me. So I can see myself changing to face the real me and start to find this little girl adorable.

I visited Taichung last weekend as he lives there actually but travels up and down for classes and performances. We drove down on Sat and had the delicious meal at the town nearby Taichung. I always prefer this kind of local food than restaurant as it made me feel so real.

Then we went to Taiwan Banana New Paradise which is an interesting dining place with the decoration like Taiwan back in early 1900. The food is nice and the fruit tea is fantastically great.




Then on Sun afternoon, we went to a nice cafe to enjoy the nice weather, breeze and cafe at Taichung. I always find Taichung very comfortable in terms of weather and the pace. It's always sunny without so much raining like Taipei. The pace there is just slower and seems everyone is enjoying their life.


Actually, I can see the challenges ahead because of the different personality, work nature and my family in particular my responsibility for my parents. However, what really brought me these fresh thinking is also because of the difference. We can only put all our efforts to work the things out and NEVER TRY NEVER KNOW.

SIA Raffles Class

I was taking SIA Raffles class back to Taiwan this Jan. It wasn't my first time taking business class but definitely first time on SIA. I actually upgraded with my points as I have almost 60KG luggage and I thought I would rather pay for the better service which would also allow me to bring extra luggage.

That was a pretty enjoyable experience as the space is really much bigger and the service is also more customized and delicate. Most importantly, the food is also much nicer. As you can see from the pictures here, it's really a full set starting from starter, salad, main course to dessert. I finally understand why people are seriously making money so that they can afford for this kind of service. Though I'm not so materialism in a way, this would be one of my goals to reward myself from time to time to enjoy this kind of service and nice traveling experience.

First Project

My first project on executive search is helping my client in Denmark specialising in thermal solution to search a sales head to penetrate OEM market in Asia. Last Friday, I did a conference call to present them the search result and the candidates I identified for them. They are quite satisfied with the result and now the interviews with the candidates are all in progress.

Actually, my progress is considered slow as we normally committed my client to finish the search within 4 working weeks. I did finish it 2 weeks ago. It was CeBIT last week so we delayed the presentation until last Friday. It was very challenging for me at start because I was not comfortable talking to people with false ID in order to get the names and contact number. However, I'm getting more comfortable with it after a few weeks of talking to everyone anyone on the phone.

Two weeks ago, I started to concentrate totally on Business Development as I have only one month left to get three projects in order to get confirmation. It's going to be a challenging one month but I believe I can make it.

領悟

過去一年多的我一直困在一個無解的問題與循環裡
為了跳脫這個狀況, 我選擇開始一個新的生活
一開始我還是無法就這樣把過去留在過去
但當我看到上一篇漫畫時
它觸及了我內心深處
也讓我下定決心放出想解決問題改變狀況的訊號
但回應的只是一個沒有再繼續的短訊

這讓我真正領悟到了
"只有我自己能欺騙自己"
一開始就只有我自己在幻想
這期間一而再再而三發生的狀況
其實都清楚地顯示真實的情形
但就只有我自己一直在欺騙自己
把所有事情都無理地合理化
然後選擇相信種種荒謬的解釋
不過現在所有事情都很清楚了

經過這個洗禮
我對自己更加了解
也對未來有了更清楚的想法
結論就是"MOVE ON"

我只能也只會讓我自己變的更好
因為我無法接受不開心不快樂的我
至於其他人, 那是我無法掌握的
我更不應該因此而錯待自己

沒有不變心的情侶, 只有不再經營的愛情

發人深省...

Family

Family really plays an important role in our life. A few things happened these two weeks. One of our relatives passed away because of traffic accident. I was really shock when I first knew it as our last memory of this kind of thing was long long time ago when my great grandma passed away. So all my cousins and I went back last weekend. We couldn't go back immediately as all of us need to work during week days. It was really sad when I saw my auntie crying non-stop. I might not be able to know how she felt exactly about losing a life partner, but I can imagine how painful it would be when we lose any of our family members. My father and uncle went back immediately and helped on the arrangement. That's when I realized how important and close family member can be.

Another thing happened last week also made me realize how important and supportive family can be. One of my cousins and her husband were supposed to come back last week also because of this. However, they had an argument on the way back and he just dropped her then went back to Taipei straight away. Of course, there are several causes for this from the beginning of the marriage.

In my point of view, her husband doesn't care about her and the kid. Besides, to him and his family, wife or daughter in law are still outsider to the family. "Daughter in law" is the one who supposed to do everything for the family and they really take it for granted. Sad to say that but I think my cousin now is only there for her son and I doubt how long it can last. She is actually the best-tempered among 5 girls in my family. Her husband isn't really like her to interact with us. I guess he just worried that we would give her some "bad" ideas and thoughts. However, that night, all the family members talked to her all together and I believe we did make her feel how supportive we are with any decision she is going to make. All 5 sisters just squeezed into the smallest room like what we did when we were kids though now we have a few big rooms around. That's "family" and I think I made a correct decision to come back. I want to be with my family.

Earthquake

Earthquake is very common in Taiwan. We have it almost every minute. It is only a matter of BIG or SMALL. The BIG ones are those you can feel. This evening about 7PM, there was a 6.2 degree earthquake in Tai Dong and of couse it was big enough to feel it. I was in my office at that time. By the way, my office is at the 52 floor of Taipei 101, the highest building in the world up to now. Everyone in the office started to ask each other if there was really an earthquake as we can feel the shaking. One of the colleagues was on overseas call and reported the live news about how we felt at 52 floor of Taipei 101 during earthquake.

To be frank, I was a bit worried about earthquake issue when talking about the location of the office at the beginning. However, that was not really that bad up there. Maybe it's really because of the structure and construction of the building.

Executive Search Consultant

Would start my career as Executive Search Consultant officially tomorrow. It is a totally different field though I would still be targeting IT related industries. It is a big switch from hardware to service. The mindset, attitude and interpretation could all be different from what I used to have, but guess that's the change I'm looking for.

Actually, I came back to Taiwan two weeks ago. In the past two weeks, I sorted out my room, bought some essential stuff, some winter clothes and identified one Hot Yoga studio in Taipei. I tried to find a way to continue the lifestyle I have established during the past five years in Singapore.

Things are getting quite ok other than some arguments with my parents. I can't really understand how they can make the whole apartment like trash field as they collected back everything they think it's still working though they don't really need it at all. We have four bedrooms and all of them are full with stuff which are redundant to me as none of us is going to use them at all. They just keep everything because they think these things are still working. What I can do is to defend my room with only things I want and need and ignore every other corner in this apartment. Otherwise, I think I would get crazy and arguing with them everyday.

Anyway, it's quite relaxing and enjoyable two weeks and I shopped like crazy as I know I would not have time to do all these once I start tomorrow. The other day, I visited the office and my supervisor showed me my three months plan and the target they set for me. I really got to perform immediately and I think that's also my expectation on myself.

I WOULD MAKE IT!!

Farewell

Today, 7th Jan, is my last day in Singapore as I would be flying off on 8th. Therefore, I arranged our regular Sunday Dim Sum as my farewell. Actually, the Sunday Dim Sum was started by Yen and Alex 6 years ago I think. The group was getting bigger and bigger after the Novena Gang including Alex, Grace, Sandy, me and others joined. We really had it every Sunday at that time but we did not continue since SARS period. That was a very enjoyable period of time as all of us are foreigners in Singapore and that's like weekly family gathering to us. Therefore, I decided to have Dim Sum for my farewell.


I would be flying off in 11 hours and end my 5 years and 5 months stay in Singapore. I did not thinking of staying here for such a long time when I first arrived. However, opportunities and different events of life just came along and I really stayed here for quite a while. I'm really very happy that I'm here for the past 5 years plus and I did have a lot of advancement in life, viewpoints, education, and career development. Now, it's time for my next stage in life for some more new and different challenges. Good luck and all the best to myself. : )

Singapore National Museum

Visited the Singapore National Museum once when I first arrived Singapore. I remembered it wasn't impressive as most of the exhibits were quite normal and I could get more detail and better exhibits back in Taiwan actually. They just finished the renovation which started two years ago if I remembered correctly. A lot of people told me about that and all the comments are very good. Therefore, I decided to pay it a visit before leaving as well. Actually, I was planning to go during either Christmas or New Year long holiday but was busy with some other stuff I guess. So yesterday is the only day left for me actually.






When I first stepped into the entrance, I was quite impressed as I like this kind of bright and white environment a lot. I only visited the Living and History parts as I think that's really something about Singapore. There are four section in the Living Galleries: Fashion, Food, Film & Wayang, and Photography. I like the Food section the most as there are some documentary videos showing people making the various local food and their life in the past. As to the History part, that's also quite good as they used a story telling style to guide visitors through the history of Singapore from 14th Century. There are some nice dining and cafe places there but I didn't have time to try on Sat.




Today, after my farewell Dim Sum lunch, I visited the cafe at National Museum together with KT, Yen, Chou and Rico. The place is really quite nice as I like the bright and white setting but the cafe is so so only and quite costly. Overall, we had a very interesting and enjoyable chatting. It should be a wonderful ending of my time in Singapore.

My Humble House

Had dinner with Jessica at My Humble House on Friday night. I have been thinking of visiting this restaurant as it is quite famous but was either considering the high price or just fully booked. It's the same case on Friday originally because it's fully booked until 8:30 PM. However, I just want to finish the list of places I want to visit before leaving. So we just decided to wait.

They have both set menu and a la cat. There are three set menus but the first two doesn't look interesting at all. So we decided to order one set of the most expensive celebration menu which is S$88+++, one spinach tofu and one chawanmushi to share. The food really tasted very good and the settings in the restaurnat is quite unique also. Overall, it's quite a nice place to go if not considering the price. Can try to arrange a lunch or dinner there if you got people to cover the bill lu. : )

Wild Rocket

Had lunch with Ying at Wild Rocket, one of the restaurants on my visiting list before leaving Singapore. From the website and review, that place seems to have a nice view though it's located at a higher end backpacker hostel. I only thought of calling them to book a table late morning. Surprisingly, it's FULLY BOOKED until 1:30PM. I reached the place around 1 plus to wish there might be table available earlier. However, it was really FULL.

The place didn't really have a nice view but I like the setting. It's very bright, clean and neat. The most important thing is the food is really quite nice. We shared one set lunch with soft shell crab, the signature burger, the pudding and strawberry cheese cake. Guess we were really quite hungry as I only remember to take picture for the starter. We went straight to the main course and desserts directly without thinking of taking pictures at all. ;Q


All I can say is the food is really nice and I think I would come back again for some other dishes and desserts. It's such a pity that I only found out this place 6 days before leaving. Anyway, I would come back to Singapore again sometime somehow and would surely visit this place again.

Syscom

Had my last visit to Syscom with Mr. Wu on 28th Dec. I went for an important appointment in late morning and had the review meeting in the afternoon. I only announced my leaving to my colleagues in Malaysia on that day. Guess it was quite shocking at the beginning as nobody would ever think of my leaving at all. However, all of them are experienced enough to handle this and I believe they can carry on the tasks as usual.




I have spend most of my time and effort these two years in Malaysia and some overseas markets. I'm really happy to see the progress in the past two years because of out hard work and efforts together. That's the most fulfilling part. Guess I just need to keep looking for new challenges and new sense of fulfillment.

Last Christmas in Singapore

This is my last Christmas in Singapore before going back. Nacho organized a Christmas Eve Dinner at his place and invited a group of AIESEC trainees. I prepared two dishes. One is the dumpling contributed by my cousin and the other is fish. Luckily, I got dumplings as it could be quite difficult to eat the fish without rice. Guess that's the reason why I don't really cook dishes unless I got a few people to share the rice.

On Christmas Day, I met up with Albert at Raffles Hotel. We were thinking to visit the newly opened National Museum but my hip joint was doing well so that I can't walk properly. Anyway, we just walked around Raffles Hotel itself and realized that there is a performance from Victoria JC Choir in the early afternoon. That was Albert's school and he did the same thing 10 years ago I guess. They were really singing very well and it's so much fun to imagine how Albert looked like standing and singing over there 10 years ago.




Later on, we went to one of my favorite bakeries at Raffles Hotel, Ah Teng Bakery. I blogged about it a few weeks ago. Last week, I brought Matt over there to try their Kaya Toast and Dim Sum breakfast set also. I have managed to try their cakes, sandwiches, Kaya toast, dim sum, and scorns. I really enjoy the nice setting and atmosphere of this place and the price is quite reasonable. This should be a place that I would miss in Singapore.

Fosters - An English Rose Cafe

Ivan and Kay brought me to Fosters at Holland Village this afternoon. We talked about this gathering for a few weeks since I informed them of my leaving. Ivan actually did some research on line to find this nice place. Holland Village is quite a famous area in Singapore for its wild variety of nice food. I didn't really visited there often as that's quite far and not reachable by public transportation.

We ordered a afternoon tea set, one apple pie and one banana cripes. The food is really quite nice especially the scorn and I like the environment quite a lot. It's not easy to find a nice and quiet place in town where we can enjoy the sunshine.





Afterwards, we walked around Chip Bee Gardens at Jalan Merah Saga and this is a very interesting place with all the different restaurants and stores selling nice food stuff. It's really a nice place worth visiting and food there should be very good also.

Guess people would only start to treasure things that they know they are going to lose soon or they realized they have lost. Same here I guess. I really started to plan to visit many more places in Singapore these two weeks before I fly back. I have taken a lot of things for granted in the past five years as I know they would be around most of the time until one day I realize they are not.

The funny thing is the companion becomes so important and crucial to me somehow. I just don't want to go any places along. I want to go with people I care so that I can share the precious memory with them. Hope I got the chance to do so before I leave.