2016 End Year Review

As 31st approaches, how has the year gone and what should I look forward to in 2017?

Reading the 1/2 year post and the "growth" theme for 2016, I find it surprising that my body / mind seems to be adapting to the challenges of 4 jobs quite well.  People say I look relaxed and personally I feel quite relaxed.  But if I look deeper into each of the tasks, I can see that there are still many areas that need to be improved on.

1. Corporate job - Unfortunately I have not been able to secure more work internally, as projects have struggled with their own timelines.  So (much like how I envisaged a consultant's role would be) there is a lot of pitching and not much success.  This spinning of wheels does make me feel less energy going into work.  In order to be effective in this role, I need to become more of a "thought leader" in technology, with stronger opinions on how I should shape the future.  I struggle with that and honestly do not know if that is a role that I can play well.  I think for the next 6 months, do more research, think more and see if that gets me somewhere.
    
2. Ownership job - The achievement is that number 3 outlet is up and operating smoothly, but the issue is that performance is/was a bit lacking in Q4 this year.  Culturally at that outlet there is a feeling of "cannot" instead of "can", which needs to be slowly chipped away at and fixed.  Overall business I made a promise to be more focussed on operational efficiency and we have made some gains, but I need to tighten up more and have a better cost view of the business and enforce this view to Jo and Pat.  Number 4 will come in July 2017, just need to find the place (should be not too hard) and money (maybe slightly harder!).
    
3. Tech start-up job - Bringing on Shuai and Dexter have made the system come across as a professional piece of software, which is great.  Functionality continues to improve, and it is helping reduce costs across the Morgans operations.  I just cannot seem to get anyone else to buy it!  So I think something in my pitch is not hitting the right notes for that audience.  Reading the book "Pre-Suasion" recently has helped me see how to influence the message better and will adopt this into the pitch deck.  "Coffee is for closers", as Dex said to me, and I definitely do not deserve coffee at the moment.  Let us hope 2017 will provide better fruits for my labours.  On a separate personal note, I am so glad I wrote this software.  I used to think my creativity was not there, but I realise I just need a specific problem set to be creative.  If software could be art, this is my creation. 
    
4. Party job - Whilst weekly parties did not work, we end the year with twice-a-month parties (at the same location instead of a new location) and the chance to finish with a bang with a New Years Eve Street Party (also in collaboration with the same bar owners).  I realise the "adjacent possible" is a powerful opportunity, and we should take more advantage of that.  People like familiar but with a slight edge, as opposed to a new concept in a new location, which requires marketing education at the very least.  Still no pool party? :(

I started Crossfit in Aug and it has made a difference to my body shape.  Those guys are hardcore!  I am aware of not trying to go too crazy but it helps to have people around me push.  Nutrition is ok, more protein required.  Someone told me not to go too hard on the supplements and keep the eating natural because the supplements become addictive (and in SG, quite costly!).  The funny thing about Crossfit is that they do so many squats, the biggest change to my clothing is that my pants are now tighter, which may not be a bad thing.  I think I will stick to Crossfit for another year.    Still might consider white collar boxing, to bring back the skills I learnt in Seoul!

Idea generation is still poor.  Have not done any exercises in that area.  How can I make it more engaging?  Let's apply idea generation across each of my jobs, one a day, which means 4 things per week.  See if that makes it easier to do.

Last post I redefined my "cute alpha girl" to "cute self-assured girl".  Happy to say that I have found someone that fits the bill!  I think due to some of her personal circumstances she has lost a bit of self-assurance, but I see the potential. She also has a daughter whom I have not met yet, but I think we are both focused on making our relationship strong first.  I recall telling friends of mine that I have always wanted to adopt a kid, so perhaps that is why this situation does not give me too many alarm bells.  Either that or I am still in the "honeymoon" phase of the relationship :)   Since she is Chinese, I have decided to ditch the Korean learning and attempt to rekindle my Mandarin (for the 7th time!).  This is a perfect opportunity to try!

I read that Warren Buffet has a 5/25 rule, which is write the 25 things you want to do, find the top 5 and forget about ever doing the next 20.  From this review, it seems that I am trying too many things.  I think I need to focus.  Maybe the next 6 months should be about determining what really does work for me.

Looking forward to 2017!  I think the word for 2017 is "consolidate".  Bring together the learning and experience from these different facets of my life to define new possibilities.  Set targets and deliver on those targets.  Work out what needs to be given up in order to focus on the better things.

P.S.  Shout out to Justin, Bec, Reenie and Boges who still read this thing!

한국 Summary

Well, so much for the regular updates!

It is my second last night here in Seoul, so it is fitting to write an entry on how it went.

I was happy to have kept my luggage to a (relative) minimum throughout the trip.  It was good evidence to myself that I can live with less.  I will definitely do another round of clothes giving when I get back to Singapore.

I made some progress in my Korean learning, but am only at (barely) survival level.  At least I passed my test!  My writing and reading is ok for my skill level, but my listening skills really need some work.  I just cannot quite catch what people are saying to me.  After the 3rd repeat it kind of makes sense, but it is frustrating.  The risk is that I go home and I regress because I am not learning anymore.  I have to make a conscious effort to continue to work on the language, through constant review, HelloTalk, listening to radio doing some proper study.  Perhaps more targeted learning with a tutor will also help.

Friends were initially tough to come by and there were definitely periods of loneliness throughout the three months.  I found that new friends were initially enthusiastic but then subsequently were not that keen to meet.  As we get older it is harder to make time for new friends.  I was lucky to have a few friends that developed into stronger relationships through this time.  I think with time I can establish a good network here.  Definitely reducing the language barrier would make a big difference.  I learnt a bit about myself and improved on my willingness to talk to people so I am happy with that growth.

As a city, it is easy to live here.  Infrastructure comparable to Singapore, although the traffic can sometimes be quite bad.  Trains are usually a better option, but changing train lines can significantly increase travel time.  Didn't really utilise the bus system.  Because of its size, there are many places to explore.  With the numerous hills around Seoul it is a picturesque place.  Autumn is a wonderful time to visit.  Food is mostly Korean but there are international places.  The Korean food itself I am quite good with, although some of the blood sausage and offal stuff is not that pleasant!  I saw a strong arts and cultural element, but did not explore that too much.  

Party scene is fun, but I need more party friends!  Definitely a place where age segregation is more clear than in Singapore clubs and bars.  I noticed there are not that many places for people in their late 20s and 30s to party. I am thinking that we should do a Rewind here.  So many clubs that are not that full on weekends!

It was interesting to get more perspective on the North Korean story.  Definitely would like to do some more to help their situation.  There seems to be many different approaches and the surprising thing is that there are some things going on from Singapore.  Will start my exploration from there.  I think there will be business opportunities but probably a bit too wild west at the moment for my risk appetite.  I would go in from a charity angle.

As for businesses in South Korea, I think I need more perspective on what would work.  Which means that I would have to live there for a longer time.  I would strongly consider it, but will see how things turn out with some opportunities in Singapore in 2016 before I make that decision.  Again, businesses here probably have to do with more human connections, so I made a good start and will need to nurture it.   I would not work for a Korean company though, the company cultures I hear about sound brutal.

Some other random fun stuff:  doing the Buddhist temple stay, climbing Mount Halla, boxing class, jimjilbang, all the SeoulMate tours, hair style changes, solo travel and solo eating things I don't really understand.

So definitely no regrets with doing this.  It has expanded my view of the world and expanded myself.  And in the end that's probably all anyone can ask for.

Birthday Review

A birthday is usually a time to reflect upon last year and the year ahead.  What do I feel now that I have turned 37?

First of all, 37 feels old!  Still closer to 35 than 40, but if I was asked what kind of person would I be at 37 when I was 30, I would have expected a lot more "settled-ness".  I would have expected kids, or at least some stable relationship.  It is a testament to the power of social conditioning that I still have think of these expectations, even though my life is clearly not in that state, and I am quite happy to be in the state that I am now.  Good to have some fun with things like Augustman.

I think I could have pushed myself harder this year in terms of the business.  I do what is necessary but I don't think I have that strong a hunger to really make this business go.  It could be that I am hitting a barrier of how far "just doing a business for business' sake" gets me.  Also the realisation that Morganfield's is not our brand, so there is no real future to develop that brand, and that we are better off putting our efforts into another brand.  I am happy though that the business can operationally run itself.  That is one level of achievement. Now we just need it to make another 5-10% sales for it to make good returns.  I need to think more about what I really want in a business, not just what Jo wants.  That is a challenge.

I could have also pushed harder on working in the social entrepreneur space, with Aives.  But that one is not a lost cause, I think it will come back next year, and I may be in a better frame of mind.   I am glad that we did Pig Out, doing projects like that are really my alley, and at least I have started on my charity path.  Work for Bill Gates!

I think these next 3 years will be a good test of what else can be done.  As per the article on "Four Stages of Life", I am not yet quite at Level 3.  And I don't want to be a man child, although I think owning a business instantly makes a person less of a man child.  I do think now that there are many paths to achieving financial independence, not just one business.  So key to this is to develop businesses to run themselves, and acknowledge that as long as it is positive in cash flow, it can be time to move on to something else.  The issue here is that we are running out of capital, so getting some capital back from the existing business is critical.

I really think that Korea will be a good experience.  Time to reflect and review, and time to try new things.  Have to make the experience worthwhile, not sure how, but have that in the back of my mind.  Maybe one new F&B idea, or five potential investment partners to start something in Korea.  Generate the ideas each day.  Follow the 10 ideas a day training.

I would like to work more on my spirituality.  I am happy with the calmness I bring to my own life.  Perhaps more meditations?  Definitely continue to journal.

Health is ok.  Korea could be rough from a drinking perspective, make sure I don't overdo it.  Having an external incentive for gym like Halloween is the way to go!

Poppy Sunday Review

What was done?
- Flyers distributed to Lucky Plaza, Ngee Ann City (twice) and Bugis MRT.
- 2500 flyers distributed
- Minimal facebook promotion. Zero promotion of FB page.

End result:

0 guests.  Let me repeat, 0 guests.  Basically all the assumptions we made about this crowd were wrong.  Meanwhile, Blowfish is packed out on a Sunday night.

Assumptions:

- That $10 / $5 was an acceptable amount for entry, given Blowfish is $5.

- That the location at Beach Rd was not too far away from the main Filipino crowd.

- That a "Filipino Live Band and Pop EDM" tag long was enough to draw a crowd.

- That ultimately that market is being underserviced and just needed additional capacity to fill.

What to do to improve:
- More communication to online FB community.  Challenge the perception that people aren't on FB.

- If we do flyer drops, consider doing flyer drops closer to the location.  Asking people to move from Orchard to Beach Rd is too far.  Focus on areas such as Concourse, Golden Mile and get them to visit.

- If we are going for Filipinos, then make the flyer for them.  Put it in Tagalog and English.

- Make the offering better.  1 for 1 drink.   Cheaper beer towers.  Free bottle if there are 10 in the group.  Giveaways and prizes.  Budget for the event.  Advertise the value more. 

- Utilise the band following much more.

- Review offering? $0 entry? Some giveaways? Group deals? More drinks promotion.
- Change the timing of the event to be 3pm to 8pm as lunch time people are still having lunch!

It just feels like there are minimal people in this area on Sunday afternoons.  Even Haji Lane is quite empty.  I believe that not the right people were told of the event. Plus the value proposition was not strong enough.

Back to Learning

Wow, a whole year has passed since I wrote on this blog!  I am now the proud owner of a restaurant that serves roughly 8000 guests a month.  My marketing manager wrote a press release talking about our "100,000th" guest.  Amazing.

With all good stories, what lies below is all the stress, late nights, pressures that come with attempting to start a new business.  F&B is tough, but it is has a wonderful feedback mechanism, in that every day is a show, and every day you have to be ready.  The pressure to perform every day means that our staff get better quite fast.  However, to perform every day means that we are always scrambling and putting out fires.  This means that developing a proper structure is hard, because there is a lack of time to train the staff, unless you really dedicate the time and effort to it.  And hence without proper structure, the same frustrating mistakes get made over and over again.

A lot of the operating processes I thought we could use from the franchisor, but I think they were too weak and not specific enough for our outlet.  And, to be honest, we didn't value it enough, having caught the "if it's not invented here, we don't like it" disease.  It was good and bad.  Good in that I have a very good understanding of Front of House, bad in that we keep changing out SOPs, so we are not very good at enforcing them.  One thing I am focussing on now is the commitment to what we promise to ourselves.  One worrying issue is that I did not and still have not found a great passion for food in general.  Can I be the best leader when I am not passionate about our product?  I have no answer for that.

We continue to struggle with consistency, but I feel it gets better each day. Our team has stabilised across the last 6 months, and the best thing I can say about my team is that they all have heart.  I have neglected a lot of the people development component and will focus on that.  I was told of an analogy to people development, similar to watering a plant.  There is the daily misting of the leaves, and then there is the once a week watering of the roots.  Similarly, people need a balance of the light "hello, how are you" stuff as well as the heavy "here's your performance" contact in order to perform.

For the first time this week, I went on a educational course, specifically about how to grow as a leader. I realise I just need to look further into the future, to create a compelling vision that would make others want to follow.  This is my main struggle.  I have never been too future-focused, but I must be able to articulate a future, otherwise it is too easy to drift.  I don't quite know how to fix this, but I know I must do it.

I have changed over the course of the last year, as some of my friends can confirm.  A greater willingness to speak my thoughts, to disagree, to raise difficult questions.  Perhaps I am not as carefree as I used to be, I'm not sure.  I think it's a good development, perhaps it's a sign of maturity. At least I have more time to reflect, so it's back to learning every day!

Update

It's amazing, but there still seems to be people that are reading this blog (hi Mom and Dad!). So it's worthwhile to post some updates.

Multiple trips across SE Asia. I love the tropical islands around here, so easy to get to from SG and also fairly good value for money. I'm a big fan of those resorts where you don't have to think much and get all the food catered for.

Tried to do some diving again (in Redang, Malaysia) and in hindsight I should have done the refresher course. Had all this trouble staying at neutral bouyancy. It may have been due to me taking enormous and quick breaths! After one diver (where I came to the surface with a bloody nose) I've decided it's not my sport.

Going to Hong Kong next week, might even swing by Macau. Always good to see family and friends. And then NYC at the end of the month!! Should be fantastic.

Work continues to be quite enjoyable. I've come to the realisation that I do like mangaging people. I like talking to my staff, encouraging to do bigger and better things. I'm not sure how good I am at it, but it's definitely a learning experience. This coming year, I need to do more engagement with the people in country, and understand what ICT options they need. More video conferencing!

And as this year has flown by, it's time for another birthday. Next week, 33. I was talking to some friends the other day about internal contentment. Am I content? I am much more comfortable (and confident) with the person that I am. Not content because there is still so much more to achieve in life. I'm still young enough to hold a dance party! Jook revived in Singapore!

Here's to another great year.

Singapore Update

Update:
1. Put a deposit down for an apartment, moving in end of the month. Funnily, I just found a video walkthrough of an apartment in that building that is the same as mine. However, mine doesn't have anywhere near that good a view (or come with that music!) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDQh2wxKycs

2. Since I haven't moved in, not sure about quality of food in my new area. I'm currently close to a hawker food centre, so hitting that up quite often. I'm a cheap eats kinda guy :)

3. Meeting people all over the place. Obviously catching up regularly with Anton and Jo/Krystal, seeing Nic quite often as well. Making some new party friends, which is good for me not having to line up at parties. Will try to catch up with other people here...

4. Found myself a volleyball group, so playing on Sundays. Good players, and very friendly people, so getting some exercise.

5. Need to find more people to practice Mandarin with, not throwing it out there enough.

6. "Mini CIO" job is ok, reporting lines are a bit blurred, but I don't really care as long as I've still got some influence. I've settled into the job a bit more, got some runs on the board with a new initiative. Truth be told, I haven't heard much at all from my Asia CIO, so I should reach out to him more...

Overall, I'm feeling happy about this place. It's been very easy to settle in and get into the Singapore rhythm. Looking forward to traveling around Asia. Still missing friends in New York, but glad to have internet/BBM to keep in touch.

Farewell and Hello

Pic from Boston / Cape Cod trip here. Thoroughly recommended.

As I count out my last days here in NYC, a friend asked me what I will miss most about the city.
I remember telling another friend ages ago that the one thing New York has above all other cities is the opportunity to do what I want at whenever I wanted. Through sheer numbers of people in this city (and especially Manhattan) there is always something going on.

So I will miss that feeling of opportunity. The feeling that "hey, something random and special will happen tonight!". Most likely it involves alcohol.

Of course, I will miss the friends, both new and old. From Aussie mates, to friends from work, volleyball, Company of Heroes and clubbing, everyone has been so welcoming. I would like to think that it's more than just the fact that my American friends like to hear my accent that they hang out with me, but who knows? My Aussie friends are like family now. I will miss them the most.

I have a few New Yorkers that have lived in this city and cannot think of moving anywhere else. Whilst I feel that I have made New York home, I was fairly sure that I would not settle down here. With the significant distance to family, if was always going to be a "time-constrained" experience. Experiences like acting, MOMA, Broadway shows, and Circle all add up to a lifetime of memories,

It's special to live in NYC, it's even more special to live in the city both as part of a couple and as a single guy. There is definitely enough things to do to satisfy either lifestyle, but if I was to pick one, I would say that New York is THE place to be a single guy :)

I have learned a lot about myself in the last 3 years and for that I am thankful. New York has forced me to try new things, see different perspectives and perhaps reinvent myself. New York has made me believe in me. Really, that is all anyone can ask for.

I believe that the transition to Singapore life will be smooth. Having good friends that already makes it much easier to fit in. Of course there will be challenges (one of which is the new role) but I am looking forward to it.

So farewell New York, hello Singapore!

Glee

I don't usually watch that much TV. Actually, the cable for my internet doesn't even connect up to the TV.
So it's lucky that they replay certain programs on internet to watch.

One of the shows that I am a big fan of is Glee. It's a high-school drama/comedy (mostly comedy), with lots of random musical numbers that people perform during the epidose. Glee Club, as it is known in US, is the equivalent of the Aussie "jazz ensemble".

The fact that they sing tons of catchy modern pop songs ("Thong Song", "Bust a Move", "Defying Gravity") is great. What makes it stand out is the Glee Club's teacher is very talented (both in singing and dancing), and all the kids in the club can really sing well. One of the main girl leads came from the musical "Spring Awakening", which was playing in NYC a while back. Side note: Don't watch Spring Awakening, I thought the storyline was quite bad, with nudity that really wasn't necessary in any way.

Now, many of you may associate Glee with High School Musical. Having never watch High School Musical, I can't comment on that, and hope that others may provide some insight into that comparison.

I think that liking Glee is probably for guys a bit of a "closet" thing (perhaps it's High School Musical and its association with wild teenage girls screaming for Zac Efron). There seems to be a certain shame in admitting that it's a great show and yes, that "I do sing along to the songs". To that I say, who cares?? It's good fun, buy the album :)

Here's to hoping Season 2 is as good as Season 1!

Chicago

I like Chicago. I like the structure, the cleanliness, the hot Caucasian women that live there.

Two things struck me when I visited my cousin who is doing his MBA at Booth School of Business.:
1. Rent is cheap. The amount of space one gets is fantastic value, at least from the perspective of someone who is living in a small studio.
2. B-schoolers seem to be having a great time, living it up as uni students once again.

On the second point, it made me think once again whether I should do an MBA. However, I know that going to grad school just to hit it isn't going to do my career any good. And it's not for free (unless you get sponsored), that's a $150,000 party, not to mention lost income for the two years. If there is no expected career change or boost, then it's not really worth it. What one MBA'er did say was that it really opens your eyes to the breadth of opportunities that are out there in the world.

Go to check out a college football game. It felt more like "Friday Night Light" than the NFL. Northwestern (the home team) are apparently not that good a team, and yes they did lose. However, they did make a game out of it. Here's a clip of a touchdown that Northwestern (in the dark blue) scored. Action starts around the 20sec mark.



Good also to catch up with a friend who had moved back to Chicago from NYC. I'm impressed by the freshness of the sushi and sashimi I had at a place called "Coast".

I didn't need to do the touristy stuff (having done it last year) so it was a lot of chillin out and talking shit. That is sometimes the best thing for a holiday.

Poverty

It's probably because of my personality, but I like books that provide clear step by step instructions on what they are about.
With "The End of Poverty", Jeffery Sachs does this, providing an operations guide for countries to achieve the Millennium Development Goals agreed upon in 2000.

What was interesting was understanding some of the causes of poverty, and getting rid of some of the myths, especially of African nations. Some causes, such as corruption and mismanagement, affect a countries state a lot less than I had previously thought, which geography, disease and nutrition causes countries to get stuck in the poverty trap.

What was also interesting was that birth rates for poverty countries are high most likely because parents understand that they will lose some of their children and in order to compensate have many more kids. This in turn leads to population growth that the country and land cannot support adequately. If mortality rates of children goes down, then there is less risk of losing their children and parents will naturally reduce their family size (similar to richer countries).

I read an article once about how the human mind has difficulty comprehending large numbers. When you see a statistic 1 million children die from malaria each year, it's sometimes harder to imagine that than the 4000 that died in the World Trade Centre. 1 million is a staggering number from a preventable disease, but these people are nameless, faceless. Say what you will about Bill Gates, he can comprehend that large number, and recognises that significant amounts of money needs to be invested to combat that disease.

Here's to hoping we reach those Millennium Goals by 2015. Given the financial crisis, it's going to be a tough ask.

Belated Birthday Review

I did a search on "birthday" on my site to see what goodies came up. Quality posts!

Obviously things have changed a lot since last year, let's look at some "age-changing" factors:

Things making me feel older:
- Heavier drinking has made my liver older.
- General fitness has declined. However, having just gotten a bike (fixed gear!) I'll be looking to turn this one around
- More responsibility at work, more engagement with global teams, talking to more senior staff
- Living by myself.
- Thinking about my next step in life, and working out the future

Things making me feel younger:
- A somewhat more "lax" attitude to responsibility, or rather, saying "yes" to more things.
- Having no savings (due to moving costs, lease break fees, excessive holidaying) has made my bank account younger.
- Getting told at dance parties "I thought you were mid-20s!". Must be the dance moves.
- Getting booked in LA by Korean cougars.

So overall I'm about square! That sounds about right. Perhaps the Asian gene of looking "ageless" applies not just physically but mentally and emotionally as well.

A quote from last year's post still applies:

I've heard that men are in their prime during their 30's, as they have got their shit together and are really making a decent contribution to themselves and to society at large. Perhaps this birthday milestone is just a sign along the road that I am traveling, an acknowledgment that things are now coming together and that I am finally starting to be a wise man.

South Africa

So I'm back from South Africa, straight to the chills of New York. It was a magnificent trip. South Africa top ten:

1. As the picture above shows (you can click through to the Flickr photos), there were a ton of animals to see. For those that care, I saw four of the big five, missed out on the leopard (apparently they are quite rare in the area I was staying at).
2. Things only in the wild, including baby hyenas and dead elephants.
   
3. The lodge was fantastic, and there were days when I was the only guest at the lodge. Plenty of time to relax and think things through on what I want for next year and beyond.
4. Catching up with Chester and Ka in Cape Town, who were wonderful hosts. Thanks to Chester for lending me a pair of pants (that actually fit me better than him :)) and t-shirts when my luggage got misplaced for two days.
5. Realising I had 30 min to spend US$200 of "delayed luggage allowance" before the luggage arrived! Only got time to buy one t-shirt. Unfortunately Ka was not able to find some sandals.
   
6. Table Mountain and Camps Bay are pretty spectacular, and Cape Town in general. Check out the pics here.
7. The lack of Crackberry access in the safari lodge made it very difficult to think about work, which was a blessing.
8. Interesting converstations about how the country is trying to address the inequality of the past by pushing for "positive" discrimination in all areas (business and government). However, the lack of education of those lower classes makes it quite difficult for blacks to fill certain technical roles, even though they have to allocate it to them. Hopefully continued education will address this issue.
9. Strangely enough, Asians get to benefit from this "black empowerment" policy (as we are considered a minority), so if I needed a job, I should go to South Africa!
10. Yes, I did see lions having sex.
    

Week(s) in Review

Ah, missed a week. Things in review:

1. Washington DC with Bec, Des and Jen was fantastic. I loved the spaciousness of the city, and the fact that all the museums were free! We had one seafood dinner (at Oceanarium) which was pretty good. Getting out of Manhattan added another 1.5hr to our trip, but for $40 for a 4-hour trip to a new city, it can't be beat. Oh, yes, I bought myself one of those space pens, the ones used by the astronauts. Now I can write upside down!
2. Poker night at a friends place, first time playing with them. Tournament style, came third out of 7. Annoying thing was second place got their money back, so I got nothing! Got beaten by a pair of 7's, when I had the flush draw and two overcard pair draws...not impressed. Will be going again, that was fun.
3. Some perfect storm of visitors to NY. We had Tax, Bei, Dex, Alan, Dave, Jo, Andrea, Gordon all coming to visit at once! Lots of drinking at our fave establishments, with a steakhouse and Korean fried chicken wings to supplement the alcohol. Good visitors are the ones who have done the touristy stuff already, are willing to go to new places and provide some service to us (thanks Dex for the BitTorrent setup :))

To top it all off, summer is definitely here. I'm walking around in my flip flops!

Book Review: Speed Reading

I just read a good book about how to read faster and the key point is to realise that most things you don't have to read every word. A quick skim of the contents, then the first paragraph, the first sentence of each paragraph and conclusion will garner about 70% knowledge of what the article is trying to say, especially if it is well written.

The other point is that your mind subconsciously understands and recalls more than what you think it does, and that you can read faster than you can hear. Hence if you are talking to yourself when you read, usually it means that you're reading too slowly.

They have some smart suggestions of how to read faster, with grouping of words together (so you don't read every word), stopping your eyes a few cm before the end of the line (to maximise what your eyes are seeing), and doing the white card thing (but pushing down the pages so that you eyes are forced to move on).

There are exercises to do, but I have to admit I skipped most of them :)

New XPS Laptop

It's ironic that I'm writing this entry about my new XPS M1330 Dell on an Apple Macbook in the Apple store in Soho. I got delivery of the new XPS last week, on a deal that was pretty impressive. In total, I got around $900 off the retail price of the XPS (there was a big discount on the Dell website, and my company also offer an employee discount) so definitely was a bargain, compared to the hardware specs of a Macbook.

Dell have done better with their packaging nowadays, with a swanky leather book to keep all the installation CDs that come with the system. Plus it's all originals as well.

Of course, with these originals, the first thing I did was to reinstall the system. Yes, there were lots of things that were pre-loaded with the system that I really didn't need and made the computer a bit slow on startup, but upon reinstallation, it's very snappy.

Dell have actually included some decent software with the system, I was able to get Adobe Premier Photo Elements (full version) for free, which adds another $100 to the deal. So I've been porting my pics out of iLife and into Elements, which in itself is a bit of a learning curve.

The main things that have impressed so far:

1. HDMI output to the LCD at home works like a charm, and getting a 42-inch TV to edit photos will be awesome.
2. SD Card slot, so no need to plug in the camera anymore
3. Vista I think is not too bad, but just need a few tweaks to remove so of those stupid popup notifications. Aero interface looks slick.
4. Editing photos is so fast!! The 3Gb of RAM is so good for Elements.

I want to see how the computer handles games!

So no post-purchase dissonance, Dell has done a very good job with the XPS. Vista does take a bit more work to get to a state that works well, but I think MS will continue to improve it.

It's funny that at a stage when a lot of people are moving to Mac, I'm moving back to Windows.

On another note, that Mac Air is pretty sweet as a secondary laptop to run around with :)

Miami Fun

I kept hearing that 'Shake Your Tailfeather' song as I stepped off the plane. At least it was a decent temperature, better than that -2 degrees we had in New York.

Two things that struck me about Miami; the vibe around South Beach with no honking and cars slowing down for pedestrians; and the oversized boobs on display - from women (real and fake) to mannequins (definitely fake).

The beach was calm, low waves and a stretch of sand as long as Gold Coast. It was a wonderful place to read and relax.

Bec and I ventured into a club - Mansion - as well as a boutique hotel - Delano - where Jamie Foxx had his 40th birthday the night before we went. $20 to get into Mansion was money well spent, that place was as close to a 'superclub' as I have seen. Plus more oversized boobs on display at the club.

I would recommend the stone crab as Joe's Stone Crab, if you come during the crab season, and make sure to order the large claws. I wonder, in a restaurant that could seat 300, and each person orders 3-5 claws each, and there's 3 rounds of people eating night, how many crab bodies do they chuck away in one night??

Check out Flickr once in a while, I'm still working on the photos.

Exhibition Fun

Georges Seurat was showing at MOMA. Better known for his dot paintings, he did do a lot of sketches during his short career. The exhibition focussed on those sketches, as well as how those sketches contributed to his final paintings.

So of the stuff he sketched was amazing, and the word sketch doesn't quite describe it. It was more of a tone on tone shading, and the differences between certain sections was what defined the shapes. The subtlety of where the shades changed was very impressive.

I've always liked the use of charcoal and graphite in paintings, because of the diversity of the product. There can be a sharpness and intricacy in the picture that brushes would be hard pressed to achieve. And, as shown by Seurat, a blending of shades that rivals mixing paint.

What was also great to see at the exhibition were all these amateur artists bringing in their sketch books and mimicking some of the drawings there. A few of them were really skilled! Made me want to buy a sketch book and get into it.

MOMA is a great place to spend the afternoon, especially when it was snowing outside. The more I live around Midtown the more I like the fact that so many of these places are accessible by foot. I'm pretty sure I don't want to move for a while :)

New York Week #1

The first week in our new city is coming to an end, and it feels like I've been here for a while already. Highlights to note:

• Ability to read and direct other people around the New York Metro
• Having had alcohol every day of the week (except for Monday, the day we arrived)
• Being a tourist and taking one of those open-top buses around the city. The island is actually quite large, and it's a great way to see the different areas
• Hitting two well known restaurants in the first week (Tao, Nobu). I liked Nobu very much, the decor, ambience etc. That black cod signature dish is definitely worth visiting for.
• Attending a roof top (23rd floor) party and playing wingman. Free alcohol as well!
  
• Times Square is best at night, when it's all lit up. They love the LCD screens on building walls these days.
• Using my Aussie accent to make new friends :)
• Missing my old friends :(
  

So whilst I thought we had a bit more time to find a place, it seems that rentals go in a flash, so this next week's task is to book in for an apartment in the city. I'm so blase about prices now! Sydney looks so cheap compared to this place.

Living It Up In Vietnam

It's been 5 days into a 8 day holiday in Vietnam, and we've covered the country from bustling Ho chi Minh city to quaint Hanoi to relaxing Hoi An.

I'm glad I have come on this trip for several reasons. One is to relax and get away from work for a week (although sadly I still have been checking my email). Two is to spend some quality time with the boys (Boges, Anton and even the BJee in HCMC) before I head off to New York. But the third is that it forces me to read up and learn about a country. I have learnt more about Vietnam in the last 5 days than I have in my whole life. It reminded me once again what joy it is to travel to new destinations, meet new people and see that humanity is really not that different elsewhere.

Highlights have been many:

• The wonderful food that we have eaten all around the country, both pricey three course meals to hole-in-the-wall diners that charge $1.00 for a bowl of noodles. I don't remember having eaten this well for a while.
• The Remnants War Museum, it's a very confronting view of how the war has affected the Vietnamese, and the damage that continues on here. War is ugly, cruel and sad, period.
• Getting picked up by...yes, a gay French director...maybe that might be a lowlight
• Bespoke suits in Hoi An. I ordered mine yesterday for a grand total of US$350. I even upgraded the lining :)
• The flourishing art galleries around the country. There are a few dominant styles, with a thick dabbing paint style similar to a Monet (at least to my untrained eye)
• The ability of scooter drivers to SMS whilst on the road
• The general hospitality of the people
• Too many laughs to count!

It's been a great trip, now comes the difficult part of going back to work. I have a project review meeting on 12pm the day I come back (plane lands at 9:30am). Could be terrible. I'll remind myself not to have too many drinks on the flight back!