Llfe Beautiful Lessons‏

I like this very much, and it was sent by someone whom I liked very much too. Though it might be a bit long, but the advice is worth the read! It reminds me how lucky I am, and to continually appreciate my family and friends who have touched my life in one way or another, how they have made me smile when I really needed it, and those who showed me the brighter side of things when I am down.

We never get what we want, We never want what we get, We never have what we like, We never like what we have. And still we live & love. That's life...

The best kind of friend, Is the kind you can sit on a porch and swing with, Never say a word, And then walk away feeling like it was the best conversation you've ever had.

It's true that we don't know What we've got until it's gone, But it's also true that we don't know What we've been missing until it arrives.

Giving someone all your love is never an assurance that they'll love you back! Don't expect love in return; Just wait for it to grow in their heart, But if it doesn't, be content it grew in yours.

It takes only a minute to develop a crush on someone, An hour to like someone, And a day to love someone, But it takes a lifetime to forget someone..

Don't go for looks; they can deceive. Don't go for wealth; even that fades away. Go for someone who makes you smile, Because it takes only a smile to Make a dark day seems bright. Find the one that makes your heart smile!

May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, Enough trials to make you strong, Enough sorrow to keep you human, And enough hope to make you happy.

Always put yourself in others' shoes. If you feel that it hurts you, It probably hurts the other person, too.

The happiest of people Don't necessarily have the best of everything; They just make the most of everything that comes along their way.

Happiness lies for Those who cry, Those who hurt, Those who have searched, And those who have tried, For only they can appreciate the importance of people Who have touched their lives.

When you were born, you were crying And everyone around you was smiling. Live your life so that when you die, You're the one who is smiling And everyone around you is crying.

Shanghai before 1st Oct

A glimpse below of just some of the tall towers from Grand Hyatt's hotel lobby on 54/F. It is a 180 degree plane of buildings that continue until the horizon. Beyond these completed ones, there are many more sites under construction and land being pounded. It does give you a sense of vibrancy and momentum in the air, which is something my colleague says he does not feel in Hong Kong.

I feel this result is an incredibly fast transformation of what used to be grubby and polluted Shanghai. New coats of paint, more lightings installed and a new fleet 3500+ new Volkswagen taxis ply the city routes. I feel safer and more comfortable travelling in these new cars because of better interior (seemingly) leather fittings instead of the cloth covering, and heavier doors. They have spent a fortune preparing for the Expo (which I did not attend for fear of getting crushed by the crazy crowd).

On Pudong is the glitzy skyscrapers and its continual quest to be the tallest.


On the other side of the harbour sits the charming old guard, Puxi, with its beautifully romantic colonial style buildings, boasts of history and culture.
They have recently restored the Peace Hotel and it reminds me of the Fullerton.
Overall, I am very impressed with how the local government has put this together.

We picked up a dining magazine during coffee, and came across an article which was an interview with a Shanghai gourmet. He likes this restaurant called 福1088, so, not knowing better where to dine, my colleague and I decided to try it out.

When we arrived at the restaurant, we were led through a long alleyway littered with old Shanghai furniture, and a pianist was playing on the first floor. I liked the setting, which had authentic metal levers as window locks, glass window panes, wooden handles and worn-out stairs creaked of nostalgia when I walked up, and old colourful, big square Chinese tiles. It is an old four storey home that was refurbished and now used as a restaurant.

One of the most memorable dish that night was the absolutely delicious 红烧肉. The fatty layer of skin is so tender that it melts in your mouth. We were dining with a Shanghainese client and he says, this dish is very much true to Shanghai style, as it is cooked with a rich, sweet gravy. Being more greedy than hungry, after dinner, I still ordered lamb and pork skewers from a roadside stall just near the resturant. Yummy I love eating meat. Friend later tells me that Beijing skewers are way better...

Roast meats at Nanjing Lu

Shi Yu is supposedly a rare and expensive fish that goes for at least 1000HKD a fish in HK. It's scales contain oil and so it should not be removed and it is edible. When steamed, the oil from the fish trickles down the meal, making it very sweet and flavourful. I liked it, the texture was not so fine, but still nice.

Hairy Carb or 大闸蟹 to be eaten with Vinegar. We had one male and female crab each.

Mom and Dad in HK

Parents were here for a short trip 19th-21st Sept to celebrate my birthday with me. We had roast goose, at Tsuen Wan, which was too oily, and way too far. Oops, meat overload then.

Back at my place, the next morning was porridge at the trusty Law Fu Kee, which parents liked. Then off shopping and sightseeing around Tsim Sa Tsui.

Dad said HK has a poor standard of living, small homes, bad air... arranged a land tour of the New Territories the next day. We saw a temple which housed three major religions: Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism in HK.

Noteable was the Hakka Village out around Fanling. Saw an old woman walking with bound feet through the narrow alleyways, almost making us feel claustrophobic. Our angmoh tour guide said, in the past, the tiles on the top the the houses served as a means of identification to guide the villages to their homes. But right now, most of the houses are left vacant as the owners' children have all moved to U.K to work/live, so no one bothers to look after it. Such a pity.

I like the Tai Mo Shan, which is the tallest mountain in HK. Great breeze. Pity the sky was filled with smog from China of course, so we could not make out the views of the harbour and the distant areas.

We also visited the Bride's Pool (which is said to be very haunted because a bride fell and drowned inside on her rainy wedding day), had a great view of eagrets (the birds that resemble white cranes) at the Plover Cove Reservior (so much algae, yucks, but spot the Eagrets!), and Sam Mun Tsai Fishing Village in Taipo. (See below the below) I think she (old tour guide) said people live on these boats and cast nets for fishing.

After this, we three headed into Shenzhen from Shatin and then, to our horrow, we got booked by the MTR inspector for travelling first class on the train, but not upgrading our MTR cards. He kept pointing to the HKD$500 fine. Well, my defence was that I thought I had to tap after we alighted, just like how airport express works, and it was our first time stepping into first class. In the end, we were let off with a warning letter for our ignorance.

At Queen's Spa, the legendary place to go for massage in Shenzhen, we relaxed. I think dad liked his pedicure & Chinese style body masssage. Below is a picture of his foot, and he managed to fall asleep while he was being cleaned up. Mom did a body scrub & massage.

The last day was pretty simple, had lunch with Shaune at Tsui Hang Chun and boy, I think we ate a lot. BBQ meats + Dim Sum + Dessert. After a quick walk around Causeway Bay, I dropped parents off at the airport before heading to Stats class. I think I missed their presence so much, that I could not stop tearing on the airport express back.

In the end, their flight got delayed by 2 hours (can't imagine as they were on SQ, but parents finally got back home safe and sound. :)

Cee Lo Green's New Song

Some insight into what guys think after a breakup....great song and great MTV. I wonder what is means to really forgive.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pc0mxOXbWIU

Fuck You

(Chorus)
I see you driving 'round town
With the girl i love and i'm like,
Fuck you!
Oo, oo, ooo
I guess the change in my pocket
Wasn't enough i'm like,
Fuck you!
And fuck her too!
I said, if i was richer, i'd still be with ya
Ha, now ain't that some shit? (ain't that some shit?)
And although there's pain in my chest
I still wish you the best with a...
Fuck you!
Oo, oo, ooo

Yeah i'm sorry, i can't afford a ferrari,
But that don't mean i can't get you there.
I guess he's an xbox and i'm more atari,
But the way you play your game ain't fair.

I pity the fool that falls in love with you
(oh shit she's a gold digger)
Well
(just thought you should know nigga)
Ooooooh
I've got some news for you
Yeah go run and tell your little boyfriend

(chorus)

Now i know, that i had to borrow,
Beg and steal and lie and cheat.
Trying to keep ya, trying to please ya.'
Cause being in love with you ass ain't cheap.
I pity the fool that falls in love with you
(oh shit she's a gold digger)
Well
(just thought you should know nigga)
Ooooooh
I've got some news for you
Yeah go run and tell your little boyfriend

(chorus)

Now baby, baby, baby, why d'you wanna wanna hurt me so bad?
(so bad, so bad, so bad)
I tried to tell my mamma but she told me"this is one for your dad"
(your dad, your dad, your dad)
Uh! Whhhy? Uh! Whhhy? Uh!
Whhhy lady? Oh! I love you oh!
I still love you. Oooh!

(chorus)

Empire State of Mind

http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=842dSvtqZxU
It reminded me of what big dreams I should be pursuing.

Ooohh New York x2

Grew up in a town that is famous as the place of movie scenes
Noise is always loud, there are sirens all around and the streets are mean
If I can make it here, I can make it anywhere, that's what they say
Seeing my face in lights or my name in marquees found down on Broadway

Even if it ain’t all it seems, I got a pocketful of dreams
Baby, I'm from New York
Concrete jungle where dreams are made of
There's nothing you can't do
Now you're in New York
These streets will make you feel brand new
Big lights will inspire you
Let's hear it for New York, New York, New Yoooork!

On the avenue, there ain't never a curfew, ladies work so hard
Such a melting pot, on the corner selling rock, preachers pray to God
Hail a gypsy cab, takes me down from Harlem to the Brooklyn Bridge
Some will sleep tonight with a hunger for more than an empty fridge

I'm gonna make it by any means, I got a pocketful of dreams
Baby, I'm from New York
Concrete jungle where dreams are made of
There's nothing you can't do
Now you're in New York
These streets will make you feel brand new
Big lights will inspire you
Let's hear it for New York, New York, New Yoooork!

One hand in the air for the big city,
Street lights, big dreams all looking pretty
No place in the world that can compare
Put your lighters in the air, everybody say yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

In New York
Concrete jungle where dreams are made of
There's nothing you can't do
Now you're in New York
These streets will make you feel brand new
Big lights will inspire you
Let's hear it for New York, New York, New Yoooork!

10 Things that Make Me Happy

1. Relaxing and waking up late on the weekends with NO agenda for the day!
2. Cooking and baking for friends that I love - more so when it is upon request!
3. Discovering hidden boutiques/shops as I walk down the side streets
4. Having an outdoor BBQ with good company, booze and most of all home-marinated meats!
5. Emails, SMSes, MSNs and hand written letters from dear friends from far away and from home
6. When I hear my mommy's and daddy's voice - more so at the end of the day when I am unwinding and thinking of home in SG
7. Being in HK where not fortnight goes by when I look back and appreciate the beauty, bustling activity and , wonderful vibe that is HK
8. Cuddling and watching a home movie with Josh when it is raining outside
9. Leaving my house with a backpack and a train ticket - the feeling of anticipation, discovery of the unknown, cut out from my comfort zone to learn about other cultures and their way of life!
10. Sitting by the beach, hearing the crashing waves, smelling the salty air, with sand in my toes....

Fooled by Randomness

I had just finished this book - Fooled by Randomness after I bought it in late 2008. Took me a year? For those who remember - i always enjoy my reads in bite sized portions.

It is about a trader using stories and his own theories (and others) to explain how people, whether we know it or not, no matter how rational we are, can get fooled by randomness. Why - because we are humans and are flawed where emotions come into play. So luck vs skills and market performance, behavioral science, noise, probability all come into play in the event of an outcome. But what part of luck, what park of skill - it the subject of his treatise. Best summarized using a Greek legislator, Solon's theory of all things being equal in the long run.... and also that it does not matter how freequently something succeeds if failure is too costly to bear.

He got me interested in probability. And it is more a science than an art. He reckons Mathematicians compute but not understand Maths and apply it in the real world. That made me think twice if I should study Maths, afterall, the curx of being a trader is the ability to know what people want, and the ability to take risks. I take small calculated risk, which is something I will strive to change this year. I would like to take greater calculated risks and not be tied to my previous thoughts. It is acceptable to do things contrary to what I have said of done before. Like George Soros. Risk sometimes pays off.

He made me question the fundamentals of "Financial Engineering" and "Markowitz theory" - as what is financial engineering and it's use in the world - apart from complicated formules to calculate future risk - Can anyone compute future risk? Are they all just moralizers? Can we just rely on formulaes to make decisions - but we live in a world ruled by human emotions.

Finance has become a greedy profession. I see button pushers, data monkeys, people driven by the allure of glamour and excessive payouts. Surely, there is another industry requiring similar skill but with better payoffs, will the excessive payouts of the banking still remain glittery in 30 years time? Is there another profession I see myself in with lower barriers of entry?

He brought up the case of O.J Simpson and without being too certain (a skill to give leeway for oneself), the odds of him not being the killer is one in a trillion trillon given of his DNA * husband of the desceased. If lawyers and the jury understood probability....

Over to the next book now!