Income...

came from dinner with Joanna, Kh and Shiling...
we had a very good dinner at Chong Qing Grilled Fish at Mosque street. famed for its grilled fish, we had our fair share of good food and burnt our tongue thoroughly...

it was nice to meet up, especially after i quit my job, im going to be grounded... i can see them more often...
somehow, from the conversations... we moved on to family and how much we are giving our family monthly... little did i realise that actually one of them was earning so much that the person was able to give a 4 digit sum of money to the family monthly and the other one was actually earning ard 8k monthly not including a yearly bonus of min 3-9 months... it really made what i am earning look like peanuts... one of them is going into investment banking too.. which means the income is going to be very substantial as well... What have i been doing??? Im not believing that going through the same education, the disparity in income is going to be so substantial.. not that it is that much, but its just that with comms, im going to get ard 5-6 in my new job, possibly higher if my closing rate is high but I dont wanna be limited and capped by the amount of work i need to do to get that exponential growth. maybe im just super ambitious, i wanna be earning a lot more than what i am now. its not the male-female income retrospect but its just a personal mandate. I will be fine if my wife is earning more than me, like what yiping says. i think i can live with that but that is if i am on a satisfactory level that i myself can agree with. otherwise, i will be looking to increase my income in more ways than one even if i may be earning a lot more than my wife in future.

investments is one way to go, in shares equities and property... one of them is actively in shares that its giving her a substantial amount of returns.. good thing is that she is going to pass her broker contacts to me, so thats one area which i can catch up on. Good thing is that they are not selfish, we share things around. The other one is already looking to buy property... that is something i can afford now thanks to my thriftiness but its going to be hard for me to sustain a savings buffer, shares holdings and property at the same time. On top of that, im looking to start my own business. thats gonna be impossible for now unless my earnings increase suddenly.

I guess for now, I will wanna settle into my new job asap so i can start on my business which i have been hoping to get it kickstarted. I will actively play in the market and try to earn some extra cash to invest in my properties and hopefully through the broker, i can earn some significant amount of money too. Looking into some joint collaboration with kk and beng to deveop housing where i will actively source for buyers for them and earn from it. Hopefully, i might get headhunted elsewhere by these future clients, oil brokering will be good too. I hope they get back to me on that one. From now onwards, I must work very hard, no more happy go lucky. Its my formative years for my future and I'm not about to give it up just like that. only after this, i can think of the rewards i can give myself for holidays and diving trips. I wanna achieve my residual income through my business, passive income from my investments in shares and properties asap!!!

The Social Network - drop the "the", just make it facebook

i think i have just been Mark Zuckerberged....
i heard rave reviews of the movie when i was in US months ago... everyone was like saying how good this movie is... tts why i am determined to watch it. I must say its an eye opener, not a fantastic movie in the class of transformers or what have you... and I think most people walk away from the movie, so tts how facebook come about. The social media that everyone is addicted to. One which I am hooked on myself... 500million people in the network now, and if i remember correctly, i joined at 1millionth plus user... cometh a long way huh?

myself, I think i see the struggles of a setup, letting it form, seeing what it will become, planning its path, not killing it cos of small monies... the determination of making it succeed, making it your baby and constantly thinking of how to improve it, getting ideas from everywhere and anywhere. Total devotion to the project, sparks of ideas can come from anywhere and everywhere. Meeting the right people, be receptive to ideas, decipher if that idea matches yours and the direction of your business. (Which reminds me of a parable which i heard before... a real businessman will not be afraid to accept help in any kinds when it comes knocking, they will accept it with gratitude rather than thinking of the consequences...) anything negative, just throw it out... allow no glitches that will harm your progress or reputation as a startup.

I'm sure the movie has blown it out of proportions a bit... but devotion is when you are facing a lawsuit that threatens to derail you, but you are not worried about it and your mind is on your biz/project on how to make it bigger, better... this thing is just a distraction when you are onto something bigger and more important. That shows hows devoted you are and how determined and steadfast you are with your biz that the confidence that you have to make it work.

Affirmation of your biz is when you are Mark Zuckerberg, and someone comes up to you and tell you... your work is great... facebook me...

Knowing your resources and making use of them correctly is when how he latch on to Napster's founder's contacts to draw money to expand the business and making it better. Grab it with your both hands.

being receptive and Marketing it correctly is when he accepted the idea not to do advertising to "UNcool" facebook in its infancy. dropping the in thefacebook and making it facebook. allow photos sharing and tagging... turning up in pitching fashionably late and fashionably disastrous...

EMpowering is when you are not afraid to task your partners or workers and trust them, more brains can be better than one.. more creativity, more work done... empowering them with company shares and making them feel part of the company.

Building interest and public awareness is knowing how to make use the power of internet and the spread of word. passing 1 link to a person will lead to thousands and millions seeing it. Just like initially, the start of Facemash... subsequently Facebook when it become cool and exclusive to join and be part of the "IN" culture. Realising and giving what the masses want to know and retaining the privacy of being mysterious. eg: relationship status in facebook and the interests section or background like schools or work place. constantly innovating to draw interest...

Expanding the business and letting it out of control... how he expanded to other universities in US and finally to UK universities and open up to the world.

So, don't be greedy and shortsighted, why go for 14 trouts when you can net a Marlin?

sometimes, you gotta give up a bit to keep things going... like during the lawsuit, he was ordered to compensate Eduardo an undisclosed sum of money and the twin brothers 65 million dollars. The young lawyer told you, pay it up like a speeding ticket fine, its not like you cannot afford it, rather than to risk losing more and getting it more long drawn... Facebook was worth 5 billion during that time. Learn to look at the big picture.

Don't look at what has happened, Look at what is Happening now!!!

A taste of bitter now for the better/sweeter future.

last few days...

a few things happened last few days... being offered contract to work somewhere else... making the transition, deciding when to start and how this job is gonna be... i think i got it all sorted out for now... its just a few mitigating factors now that will decide the actual dates.

next up will be how to use my resources available to me, how to tap into my network and expand my base. bankers friends, overseas friends, people moving in and out... my current pool of colleagues. they are all resources... its whether i know how to make sure i tap onto their network. details to be finalised....

contract not signed yet, nothing all too concrete, not gonna reveal much till everything is settled. details of building my base will have to be worked on when i got a tad more time to sit down and plan for it.

fate does play a spot on people, when I am leaving, i'm like getting the best roster period of my flying career, places i seldom get to go to or 2 long flts a month. the best thing now is my december flights are all rostered with friends and people i know. all my flights!! what are the chances? almost nil... but it happened... but certain things have to be given up for the so called greener pastures. Im trying my best to change for places i want to go but haven been or i haven covered properly. I think its slim but i have to forgo it if i have no choice. in my new job, Maybe i will meet good contacts who might pave the way for my next path, next stage in life. I must maintain good contacts with my clients and be their friends instead of a salesman. they are my resources for better clients or stepping stone for brighter path. I mustnt forget that. I'm just waiting for the email now...

met sheue yng in mel, nice to catch up with her, she brought me to a old school cafe in the suburb where everything was build on wooden planks and had the kampong feeling, serving all day breakfast.. not cheap but nice concept... i like... she is coming back next year, potential client for new job? maybe... met Louisa too to get things from her to pass to CJ and mum... errands trip this one. den i met Denise too...

Met Anthea for dinner last nite, i thot i planned for my future with my investments and insurances, but i never got down to details about the actual sums. She did, and she demonstrated how expensive and how she cannot afford mistiming in life. like she bought a condo, cannot afford car for now, cannot have baby if not it will disrupt everything. to smallest details like wedding rings and wedding tables and such. while it may seem to be calculative to some, but sometimes its really good to know your sums... I was wondering how come we ended up as slaves to money, something which we created... what i can do now to expand my sources of income?? more investments for now... since i am single... i need to really settle in my job fast den i can work on my sideline business which i have been thinking about. my passive incomes which i am ultimately aiming at and time to own my own properties.

she actually gave me a wake up call for relationship... maybe i was really used to relationships tt fall from sky, most of the time, my past relationships are initiated by my gfs... those which i like or try to work on, they never come out successful, and i know the reason why now...firstly im too mysterious as a person, people dun trust what they cant see... i always present myself as a friend, not as a potential partner.. that has got to change. I need to indicate my interest and work on it instead of fighting a guerrilla warfare which i always have been doing. Make the effort!! instead of touch and go... if the girl doesnt see u making effort, she wun be touched. The Mr Cool has got to go... now i know...

met joanna today, before she went back to states... i hope she come back soon, i miss chatting and having her ard... somehow we became good friends in terms of sharing ideas and investments. Shipping is the key word i told her today... maybe by the time she is back... i wud be more settled in and can start on something...

New York Round 2

got new york again.. this time its my own... to my surprise... i saw charmy and yiling in briefing room and there is Nizam as well... i know now my flight is gonna be not so bad. its always good to have your friends ard...

wanted to go Neuschwanstein this time but weather was getting a lot worse... time not permitting with that kind of weather as well.. looks like tts gonna end up in my place to visit but never got to list... surprisingly I met Alvin from temasek hall on the flight too, he started flying as FO already.. keep asking me to switch over... honestly i would be lying if i am not tempted... but maybe not yet... i will see how things go in the next few months. So in the end, it was just heading to town and watching the girls shop. had the famous pork knuckles this time round, it was nice catching up with charmy and yiling and addition of another few funny characters... it made the flight a lot more enjoyable. Theres Amanda, Nancy, ADrian, felicia who is Charmy's batchgirl, brought us to see statue of liberty from afar on check out day and shopping at marc jacobs.

first day in NYC, we went down to wall street to see the NY stock exchange and the famous Bull.. and at night, dinner was at Bubba Gump... yum yum... i think i can safely say i completed walking through new york... i can say that i been to more places than other pple on flight cos they are always shopping in nyc. Bubba Gump is still delicious but we were simply too tired, i almost dozed off twice while eating.. i din know that could happen to me...

next day Barney brought me to eat Good Burger, another version of burger chain, i still think Shake Shacks is better. 2 weeks ago, we walked on the west side of NYC, this time round, we walked through East side... covered a fair bit, went thru the NY public library, din know it was tt grand and massive in the interior. at night, i skipped standby and headed to Queens to waiyu and barney to eat bbq korean seafood. its really good and the waiters dressed up like mario brothers and spartans.. kinda cool... but the food is pretty fantastic as well.. fresh and nice...

back in frankfurt... we ordered food in and had a small drinking session... nice chatting and catching up... simple and nice... thanks for making the trip enjoyable and memorable...

New York October 2010

finally get to go New York. This time, its with Thams and meeting barney there.
looking back, its a amazing how i survive with so little sleep. upon touching down, i immediately met up with them to go out. I guess this trip i didnt expect that i am going to cover so much of new york that i can probably finish everything else by the time i come 2 weeks later on my own flight. Chelsea Market in the west village is the first stop, we had some lunch there and barney brought us to a new attraction, the skywalk which cuts through the entire city. it used to be a old railway system which malfunctioned. from the west village, we walked all the way up to Times Square, covering more than half the length of Manhattan along the way. Times Square is bustling with life as usual, neon lights and people always makes the city so lively. Caught glimpse of Chrysler Building and Empire State building. before walking back to hotel, only to collect our stuff before we head over to Barney's house to play Fifa11. its only till 1plus in the morning before they call it a night and we headed for supper before we go back to hotel. Next day morning, I was supposed to meet Ilynn for breakfast, she asked 2 other girls along to my disappointment. Well, at least i get to see her, its only natural to do since one of them is her friend, but after breakfast, i headed back before meeting thams and barney again in Soho area for some light shopping before barney brought us to little italy, chinatown and east village. Lunch was at Lombardi's Pizza where we ordered something out of the menu, more toppings than they were offering and it was phew... yummy. each slice of pizza is so heavy that all the toppings simply slided off when we try to hold it.

Thams gotta go back to rest for flight after lunch, me and barney we trooped through chinatown and decided that we should walk across Brooklyn bridge and go over to Brooklyn to admire Manhattan from there. it was a tedious walk to say the least. weather was good thou, it was will worth it. its windy yet not too cold. nice weather for taking strolls with cameras. we really took our time until Waiyu finished her work and we met her at Japan town for dinner at yakitori. that was pretty much it as we were all dead beat from the walking. I was to meet barney for breakfast at shake shack. the burger is heavenly.. the little flea market in the middle of town was pretty interesting as well with the Flatiron in the background. Central Park where so many sitcoms were set was next on the list, its amazing to see sucha gigantic park in a city setting, totally random yet it gave a twist to the whole surrounding. tt pretty much summed up the entire tiring NYC tour. the only place left to be covered is probably the Wall Street area and Ground Zero which we are going when I come next.

turmoil

Maybe, i'm reading the signals wrong…. maybe she is not that into me…

i just watched the movie He's not that into you… its all about the love and relationships that people gone through and are put up for, somehow i think i see a few similarities in myself with some of the characters in there.
The part where you yearn for that someone you like to be equally into you, hope that she calls, hope that she is thinking about you, hope that she is dying to hear from you and see you soon. Somehow I ended myself up in this stage again. I dunno how, i dunno why… it was just one date, she asked me out randomly i supposed? maybe its just a friend friend thing and nothing more. go taste some milkshake, dinner, talked a little about life, our present status, taking little walks… Maybe my love language is spending time together. I was supposed to meet thams and esther after that to sort of make up for missing her birthday and she had to go home early cos she got london flight early next day.

we talked about meeting up after her london to go shooting photos, cos we got similar interest. I dunno why we din chat much after that flight, maybe cos she was attached? maybe she din attract me back then, all that happened was just some random post on Facebook and that was about it. until she took the initiative to ask me out and i obliged. she gave me a long hug on parting and asked me not to drink too much. not exactly very long but its a nice hug, slightly longer than a friendly friendship hug, something which i wasn't expecting and it was certainly out of the blue…. what was it suppose to mean? she did msg me that she was home after that. almost went for a movie date cos she couldn't meet me as she had ferns visiting, she tried to make time to watch a movie with me before that but tt failed cos no nice movies at then...

i didn't think too much after that as i was contemplating, should i go further and find out more. i find myself looking forward to her return, looking forward to spending time with her. i asked if she wanna come on to my flight, we can hang out and go out together. She did tried, after all many a times people just say they will try but they dun actually do it. But she did try, just that people didn't wanna change with her, i know cos i asked my colleagues on that flight. Was that a sign? i dunno… but after that i did miss her, even now when i was typing, images of her were running through my head, i actually miss her, i think i like her a lot more that i thought i did. i did try hard to change to her fra-jfk, but when i eventually did, she changed away and my surprise went up in smokes. She asked me not to do such surprise again next time, it did sound like a no. when i was like take it easy, she msged, wanna go sightsee for a change in nyc, wanna go empire state building. that lifted me up, it was a booster that i need. i dunno maybe im reading too much, its just having ferns on flight and making plans together. its a matter of perspective actually, honestly but maybe i chose to read into it. weather was bad and she found out she has a friend on the flight and she cancelled sightseeing, major boo boo… i just wanted to see her, i missed her, i just asked if she wanna have a meal together at least, she said breaky in nyc, i thot its gonna be us time, but she called her set of crew along, i became the extra. mixed signals? or maybe she is really just seeing me as a friend.

i hoped to meet her for meal, but she wanted to tapao and rest for the flight. thats another door slammed in the face… i'm confused now… i dunno what is suppose to happen. i asked wai cheng, she said girls don't simply anyhow hug guys. on her personal note, she told me, maybe she is trying to make me fall for her, its just her ways of doing things. maybe she is interested but not that interested, but at the very least she doesn't seem to dislike me. she did reply me when i msged her most of the time. she did give me a hug, she did try to change to my flight, she did try to find time for movie and she did try to have a meal with me. but she asked friends along for the meal, she did close the door on me for meal earlier, she didn't sound all that excited when talking to me, it seems to me that the roles has been reversed. from she being the initiator to become me as the initiator. me asking her out most of the time now. wai cheng said i am so obvious that i like her. but she said that i don't have a choice either if i wanna go after her. i'm now at the stage where should i go for it or back off slowly. too much is detrimental, but im scared that i will block her out like how i block other girls out too. or im back to psyching myself that she treats her friends like how she is treating me, i'm the rule, not the exception., i tried to pull myself back to reality. maybe im reading all the signs wrong, but her signs seems mixed. it does seem illogical for her to hug me right? if she is not interested, maybe she wouldnt even try to meet up or let alone reply sms. then again, she could be just polite.

Girl, you are killing me…. killing me softly and surely…

FML

procrastination is the word...
procrastination at blogging.. procrastination at job hunting...
many things has happened since my last post... in may... so much so that i din even feel like posting after every long flight which has been my usual practice.

job huntings and interviews have come to nought so far cos i'm still where i am.. recently i come to appreciate the freedom of time that I have with this job, often wondering what i will be missing when i quit. I had always known what i will miss.. the time freedom, the relaxed lifestyle, the travelling, sightseeing and shopping overseas and sometimes meeting very nice people... but its only recently that i realise that how much i actually appreciate all these... but it doesnt mean that i am going to stay put. cos its not my character to do so, i hunger for success and progression... something which this cannot give me, true that i will miss.. but job hunting must intensify... just when things are picking up, my msn and hotmail crashed or got hacked... so i kinda lost everything that i had in my hotmail, all my job applications stuff are all in there... plus over the months, my lappie is acting up, its not all that old its just too cluttered with too many things. a little format and reinstallation will do the trick but i couldnt do it without backing up. plus i thot of getting a macbook. just nice there is a promotion a free ipod touch comes if a macbook purchase if u are tertiary student... so i managed to get my wifey felicia to buy for me but me paying of course. it just got delivered today. so im going to do a nice backup of everything before formatting this Asus and use as desktop at home. this macbook is going to last me for next 5 years at least. sleek and nice.. i like... but this year has been a spendthrift year for me.. with the camera, computers and other gadgets that i have been buying... very bad for savings... especially so if im planning to quit. its gonna be a massive pay cut.

FMCG is a little hard to get in without experience, i just decided to broaden my scope and suddenly i see widen horizons... i got more options now.. the thing now is im going to stop using hotmail as my main, im switching to gmail instead for impt stuff. my msn contacts is gonna be a major headache to retrieve... i hope hotmail can get its act together and unblock my everything so everything can resume.

these few months i picked up photography too with Kevin, Vivien and Jayme... had lotsa fun taking studio photos... i guess its partly cos of interest... i can learn a lot more here and maybe do some assignments. Ilynn asked me out last month, we had a good time out, she seems like a nice girl, i'm trying to find out... but i went out with wifey today... i always enjoy her company and i can be myself when im with her... i like that feeling...

BB is cranking up... i went to service centre today only to be told that it will take 2.5 hours of waiting and 1/2 hour of checking to determine the problem but prior to that... my bb has to be formatted first... -_-
not without backing up first!!! i decide to go after this fra-jfk which i changed for. I can finally visit barney in nyc and go sightseeing with thams cos he is flying 1 day earlier. Ilynn was suppose to be on the flt that i change forbut she swapped away for doing a good deed.. i missed her.. i will meet her in nyc i guess. suppose to be a surprise for her.. ended up she surprised me... negatively of course.

now i got a lot of things on my hand after 2 new toys just came in... please backing up of my hp and job hunting.. i need to prioritise and spend less time playing games...

cmon.. wake up!!!

a life in turmoil

past months has been a life in turmoil... that i lost myself... i din know where i was heading and i was running away.. there were things to be done and i am just procrastinating... life's a lot more clearer now...

was suppose to start job hunting after im back from europe but lack of money and other things like SEP and exams drove me away... i wasnt even doing the basic minimal... tmr is the last day of sep, i shud get the first ard over and done with den i can fully concentrate on finding job... NO MORE PROCRASTINATIONS!!!!

ive been spending a lot of time to myself, din meet much friends... even the movies i watch them alone.. finally caught up with all the movies that i wanted to watch but i watched all of them alone.. sometimes watching movie alone can be an enjoyment.. just indulge in the movie and escape into the world of make believe... the world of fantasy... like Ip Man 2, robin hood, iron man 2 and i caught prince of persia with adrian and cara.. it was good stuff..

the plans of setting up wedding planning service got a bit screwed by tong.. cos he did something similar but we totally had no idea to what each other had in mind... i need to step on it fast... as i got more friends who are getting married soon and those are potential business i can tap onto. perhaps i can go into partnership with tong if circumstances permits but tt remains to be seen.

weddings of barney, waiyu and kaisi, hansen are the main events i missed for the backpacking trip. next week weifeng is going to propose to weijing and i got news that colin is applying for flat and wingkit just got his proposal accepted by margie.
seems like a lot of things coming up, i gotta be more focused and stop whiling away.. Speed is utmost essential in business world

there were discussion with chris regarding the opening of cafe again.. seems like it is revived.. and the partner seems like someone experienced, so there is a chance of it working out.. lets see how it goes...

soccer been terrible.. ic ant plays occer anymore, been playing like shit... adds to my frustrations...

went out with Felicia last nite, impromptu for ice cream, i miss her and miss seeing her.. i got a Hello kitty soft toy for her with a small bouquet of orchids... i like her candidness and the way she is being herself and not afraid of other pple... but cos of my procrastination.. she is now other pple's gf... too little.. too late... if only i can turn back the time and do something about it earlier.. i think there is positive feelings between us.. i can sense it or maybe im just overzealous... maybe something will work out in the future... i most certainly dun wish to plan for her wedding with someone else.. i saw the smile on her face when she receive the flowers and soft toy... i know she is happy.. :)

Serene is someone i have in mind too.. she is totally different from felicia.. she is more demure and ladylike.. but still my type of girl... but she always go disappear and appear only at randoms den disappear again and ask u for favours... i dunno if she is shunning me cos of my connections with zhenfu... maybe sincerity and perseverance will shine through.. i will keep at it and see how it goes...

for now.. its focusing on the tasks at hand... job finding, setting up my business and most immediate would be to get pass the first aid test tmr...