Home Sweet Home

I've always explained the need for persons to be comfortable in their own home, so much so that they don't feel the need to go out even if they don't want to. (the usual reason for leaving the house is because people are bored)

Told this to B3, when he was doing up his room.

Case in point.

A conversation with a colleague today.

"Eh, aren't you going home?"

"No leh, nothing to do at home either."

Stupid.

Haha.

Vivianisms

Remember this?

Now I know why my colleague with bad english speaks like she does.

She admitted yesterday that she is brushing up her English by watching Barney with her 2-year old on the weekends.

*face palm*

This explains the damn funny intonations!

Something is seriously wrong here. =P

Laugh your blues away...

Courtesy of Break.com. Hur hur... In your face Bush.

Dumbass 2

Follow up to this article. Worse than barricading a handicapped lot, a perfectly bodied person who parks in one. But he got pwned. Wheel was clamped. Hur hur.

Pam

Guess who?

Tired

Tired. Very Tired.

Been a long week.

Work.

Tired. Very tired.

Very typical. How many of you have experienced the shock and disappointment before? Haha.

Dumbass

Picture taken at the foot of my office block. Why in the world would they put a chain infront of a handicapped lot? Wouldn't it make it harder for them to use the lot? They would have to get out, get into their wheelchair, clear the chain, get back into the car before parking.

Really senseless you know.

This is a clear example of having the shape but not the form of handicap access. Have the lot (legal requirement), but its really hard to use.

Sigh.

Power Tools

Construction Workers never looked this good.

NST 2

In the same NST newspaper. Umm... watch your language in a national paper?

NST 1

I was in Malaysia over the weekend, and I caught this picture in the New Straits Times newspaper. The caption below reads: "The Scenic East West Highway". Umm... No, its not the quality of the photo that has caused the blurring.

Business Principles

Management Rules

SWANSON'S UNWRITTEN RULES

1: Learn to say, "I don't know." If used when appropriate, it will be used often. 2: It is easier to get into something than to get out of it. 3: If you are not criticized, you may not be doing much 4: Look for what is missing. Many know how to improve what's there; few can see what isn't there. 5: Presentation rule: When something appears on a slide presentation, assume the world knows about it and deal with it accordingly. 6. Work for a boss to whom you can tell it like it is. Remember, you can't pick your family, but you can pick your boss. 7: Constantly review developments to make sure that the actual benefits are what they were supposed to be. Avoid Newton's Law. 8: However menial and trivial your early assignments may appear, give them your best effort. 9: Persistence or tenacity is the disposition to persevere in spite of difficulties, discouragement or indifference. Don't be known as a good starter but a poor finisher! 10: In doing your project, don't wait for others; go after them and make sure it gets done. 11: Confirm the instructions you give others, and their commitments, in writing. Don't assume it will get done. 12: Don't be timid: Speak up, express yourself and promote your ideas. 13: Practice shows that those who speak the most knowingly and confidently often end up with the assignment to get the job done. 14: Strive for brevity and clarity in oral and written reports. 15: Be extremely careful in the accuracy of your statements. 16: Don't overlook the fact that you are working for a boss. Keep him or her informed. Whatever the boss wants, within the bounds of integrity, takes top priority. 17: Promises, schedules and estimates are important instruments in a well-run business. You must make promises — don't lean on the often-used phrase: "I can't estimate it because it depends on many uncertain factors." 18: Never direct a complaint to the top; a serious offense is to "cc" a person's boss on a copy of a complaint before the person has a chance to respond to the complaint. 19: When interacting with people outside the company, remember that you are always representing the company. Be especially careful of your commitments. 20: Cultivate the habit of boiling matters down to the simplest terms: the proverbial "elevator speech" is the best way. 21: Don't get excited in engineering emergencies: Keep your feet on the ground. 22: Cultivate the habit of making quick, clean-cut decisions. 23: When making decisions, the "pros" are much easier to deal with than the "cons." Your boss wants to see both. 24: Don't ever lose your sense of humor. 25: Have fun at what you do. It will be reflected in you work. No one likes a grump except another grump! 26: Treat the name of you company as if it were your own. 27: Beg for the bad news. 28: You remember 1/3 of what you read, 1/2 of what people tell you, but 100% of what you feel. 29: You can't polish a sneaker. 30: When facing issues or problems that are becoming drawn-out, "short them to the ground." 31: When faced with decisions, try to look at them as if you were one level up in the organization. Your perspective will change quickly. 32: A person who is nice to you but rude to the waiter, or to others, is not a nice person. (This rule never fails). 33: Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, an amateur built an ark that survived a flood while a large group of professionals built the Titanic! Postscript: The qualities of leadership boil down to confidence, dedication, integrity and love. Excerpt from Raytheon CEO Bill Swanson. Read more here. Courtesy of Cowboy Caleb.

Monday =((

Monday =(

Why Good Employees Leave

Guys, as I read this, it struck an all to familiar chord. I know its a bit lengthy, but its worth reading.
____________________________________________________________

Why good employees leave/ resign..

Early this year, Arun, an old friend who is a senior software designer, got an offer from a prestigious international firm to work in its India operations developing a specialized software. He was thrilled by the offer.He had heard a lot about the CEO of this company, charismatic man often quoted in the business press for his visionary attitude.

The salary was great. The company had all the right systems in place, employee-friendly human resources (HR) policies, a spanking new office, the very best technology, even a canteen that served superb food. Twice Arun was sent abroad for training. "My learning curve is the sharpest it's ever been," he said soon after he joined. "It's a real high working with such cutting edge technology."

Last week, less than eight months after he joined, Arun walked out of the job. He has no other offer in hand but he said he couldn't take it anymore.Nor, apparently, could several other people in his department who have also quit recently. The CEO is distressed about the high employee turnover.

He's distressed about the money he's spent in training them. He's distressed because he can't figure out what happened.

Why did this talented employee leave despite a top salary? Arun quit for the same reason that drives many good people away. The answer lies in one of the largest studies undertaken by the Gallup Organization. The study surveyed over a million employees and 80,000 managers and was published in a book called First Break All The Rules.

It came up with this surprising finding: If you're losing good people, look to their immediate supervisor. More than any other single reason, he is the reason people stay and thrive in an organization. And he's the reason why they quit, taking their knowledge, experience and contacts withthem. Often, straight to the competition.

"People leave managers not companies," write the authors Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman. "So much money has been thrown at the challenge of keeping good people - in the form of better pay, better perks and better training - when, in the end, turnover is mostly manager issue." If you have a turnover problem, look first to your managers. Are they driving people away?

Beyond a point, an employee's primary need has less to do with money, and more to do with how he's treated and how valued he feels. Much of this depends directly on the immediate manager. And yet, bad bosses seem to happen to good people everywhere. A Fortune magazine survey some years ago found that nearly 75 per cent of employees have suffered at the hands of difficult superiors. You can leave one job to find - you guessed it, another wolf in a pin-stripe suit in the next one.

Of all the workplace stressors, a bad boss is possibly the worst, directly impacting the emotional health and productivity of employees.


Here are some all-too common tales from the battlefield:

Dev, an engineer, still shudders as he recalls the almost daily firings his boss subjected him to, usually in front of his subordinates. His boss emasculated him with personal, insulting remarks. In the face of such rage, Dev completely lost the courage to speak up. But when he reached home depressed, he poured himself a few drinks, and magically, became as abusive as the boss himself. Only, it would come out on his wife and children. Not only was his work life in the doldrums, his marriage began cracking up too.

Another employee Rajat recalls the Chinese torture his boss put him through after a minor disagreement. He cut him off completely. He bypassed him in any decision that needed to be taken. "He stopped sending me any papers or files," says Rajat. "It was humiliating sitting at an empty table. I knew nothing and no one told me anything."

Unable to bear this corporate Siberia, he finally quit.

HR experts say that of all the abuses, employees find public humiliation the most intolerable. The first time, an employee may not leave, but a thought has been planted. The second time, that thought gets strengthened. The third time, he starts looking for another job. When people cannot retort openly in anger, they do so by passive aggression.

By digging their heels in and slowing down. By doing only what they are told to do and no more. By omitting to give the boss crucial information.

Dev says: "If you work for a jerk, you basically want to get him into trouble. You don't have your heart and soul in the job."

Different managers can stress out employees in different ways - by being too controlling, too suspicious, too pushy, too critical, too nit-picky.

But they forget that workers are not fixed assets, they are free agents.

When this goes on too long, an employee will quit - often over seemingly trivial issue.

It isn't the 100th blow that knocks a good man down. It's the 99 that went before.

And while it's true that people leave jobs for all kinds of reasons - for better opportunities or for circumstantial reasons, many who leave would have stayed - had it not been for one man constantly telling them, as Arun's boss did: "You are dispensable. I can find dozens like you."

While it seems like there are plenty of other fishes especially in today's waters, consider for a moment the cost of losing a talented employee. There's the cost of finding a replacement. The cost of training the replacement. The cost of not having someone to do the job in the meantime.
The loss of clients and contacts the person had with the industry. The loss of morale in co-workers. The loss of trade secrets this person may now share with others. Plus, of course, the loss of the company 's reputation. Every person who leaves a corporation then becomes its ambassador, for better or for worse.

We all know of large IT companies that people would love to join and large television companies few want to go near. In both cases, former employees have left to tell their tales.
"Any company trying to compete must figure out a way to engage the mind of every employee," Jack Welch of GE once said. Much of a company's value lies "between the ears of its employees". If it's bleeding talent, it's bleeding value. Unfortunately, many senior executives busy travelling the world, signing new deals and developing a vision for the company, have little idea of what may be going on at home.

That deep within an organization that otherwise does all the right things, one man could be driving its best people away.

Damn funny.

Names

Another person who probably hates his parents.

The New Lois Lane.

Open Secret

Pre-election Fever

I think this article is one that all must read.

Not to take sides, but as a form of transparency and knowledge that we need to take with us to the voting booths.

The Government is inexplicably linked to Singapore Inc., with a lot of MPs, ministers, and relatives in top positions either in GLCs, or in large corporations.

This article highlights what they are in a snapshot view.

Good reading.

NBCB, lot of pressure at work. But then again, there are those which have more to worry about than me. So... *smile*

I'm busy but bored. Sigh...

Monday

Thoughts.

1. Need a shot of adrenaline to kick start my week.

2. And a shot of oxytocin.

3. Need to learn how to spin. Most important soft skill ever.

4. Should have worked over the weekend. Was lazy. Now am paying the price.

5. New colleague. Looks like a fool. I do not suffer fools lightly.

6. Shall I have lunch or not? Ate a lot over the weekend.

7. Am F.O.S. Metaphorically.

8. Cannot take leave when I want to. Grr...

9. Good thing its a short week.

10. Been thinking of friends I have not seen for awhile. Should meet them soon.

A Great Way to Start the Weekend

Random Ramblings - Super Hero Powers

Just a thought. If I had a choice of superhero powers to choose from. I would like to have the powers of Mr Fantastic. The ability to stretch from the comfort of my couch to grab a drink from downstairs.

If you had a choice, what would it be?

Of Promises and Expectations

Promises - we give them away too freely. Some people give it away in order to lock down your loyalty, commitement, time, person.

But what have we actually obtained? A mere expectation. That hope that one day this promise might be made real.

"Stay, we'll give you a raise."

"I'll definately want to make you my wife/husband/family."

"Do me this favour, I'll make it up to you."

When is enough enough?

When do we take into account this factor of time and realise that its best to cut our losses?

Promises, make it and keep it.

Kumi Koda

Quick and Dirty Personality Test - courtesy of PA

Your Personality Is

Guardian (SJ) You are sensible, down to earth, and goal oriented. Bottom line, you are good at playing by the rules. You tend to be dominant - and you are a natural leader. You are interested in rules and order. Morals are important to you. A hard worker, you give your all at whatever you do. You're very serious, and people often tell you to lighten up. In love, you tend to take things carefully and slowly. At work, you are suited to almost any career - but you excel in leadership positions. With others, you tend to be polite and formal. As far as looks go, you are traditionally attractive. You take good care of yourself. On weekends, you tend to like to do organized activities. In fact, you often organize them!

The Three Question Personality Test

Liz

I think she hotter leh. Hur hur.

Koka

Koka has no MSG! Proven! Finally, instant noodles that I can eat!

Ms Singapore 2005

She pretty meh? Some people think so...

Not me.

One Round

Just a proof of how hard it is to work with my boss...

We've just had 1 round of resignations yesterday. Of my 6 salaried colleagues. 2 of them tendered yesterday.

Sigh.

Tis is not good.

Jessica Alba. Hhhhhhhot!

Of Late...

1. Work is becoming political. Me no likeee...

2. This blog has been around for almost 1.5 years. Many of the bloggers I started out reading have either moved, locked up, or just stopped blogging altogether. Updating my links is becoming an on-going affair. Plus, I constantly need to find new reads.

3. Blogs are a funny place... You never know who you'd meet. Was just reading one and the writer discovered a long lost friend through blogs. The world is scarily small. I should know, I almost dated a cousin (hey, I didn't know she was a cousin lah!). Haha.

4. Realised the virtures of simplicity in life. I've always gone by the mantra that "information is ammunition" But of late, I've been thinking... sometimes its better not to know things, and to live life simply.

5. Like the other people around me, its Spring. Time to change.

Kebab

Kebab - You don't want it (cos it tastes horrid after a few bites and is damn unhealthy), but still miss it.

Cheesecake - Fall in love with it quickly, but almost as fast, it become gelat. (And you leave half of it left on the plate)

Durian - A lot of work to get to the good bits. But if you know how to open it, its pretty easy.

Coffee - Always smells good, but sometimes tastes like dishwater.

Ling Zhi - A bit of it is good for you, but too much in soup is toxic.

Amazing how food relates to life. No wonder they call it the food of life, eh?

I think she is hot. No? Katerine Heigl. Catch her in Grey's Anatomy.

The Theory of Spring

Its Spring.

Time for renewing, regrowth and reinvention.

A time where people find new jobs, new loves, new passions.

So far, I've got to know 5 people who have left their old jobs.

3 people who have left their old loves.

And a few people who are going to try something new in their lives.

Coincidence?

Or tied up to nature and our bodies' programmed tuning to the tilt of the Earth, and height of the moon?

The Beer.com Guide To Being A Man

Go visit Beer.com!

1. OPENING JARS
She's struggling. You take it from her hands, open it effortlessly and pretend she loosened it for you. She didn't. Jars are men's work. Remember that.

2. CALLING SOMEONE "SON"
Especially a cop. But even saying it to kids makes you the man.

3. SHARPENING A PENCIL WITH A STANLEY KNIFE
"Blunt, is it? Hand it here little lady. No, I don't need a sharpener, I've got a knife thanks!"

4. GOING TO THE GARBAGE DUMP
A manly act which combines driving, lifting and -- as you thrillingly drop your rubbish into another huge pile of other rubbish -- noisy destruction.

5. DRINKING UP
Specifically, rising from the table, slinging your coat on and downing two thirds of a pint in one fluid movement. Then nodding towards the door, saying, "Let's go," and striding out while everyone else struggles to catch up with you. You're one tough bastard.

6. HAVING A THIN BIT OF WOOD
In the shed, solely to stir paint with.

7. HAVING A SCAR
Ideally it'll be a facial knife wound, but even an ironing burn on the wrist is good. "Ooh, did it hurt?" "Nah."

8. HAVING A HANGOVER AND THICK STUBBLE
When girls have been partying the night before they just moan. You on the other hand have physical evidence of your hardness, sprouting from your face. "Big night?" "Grrr, what does it look like?"

9. NODDING AT COPS
A moment's eye contact is all it takes for you to share the unspoken bond. "We've not seen eye to eye in the past", it says, "but someone's got to keep the little punks in line."

10. USING POWER TOOLS
Slightly more powerful than you need or can safely handle. Pneumatic drilling while smoking a cigarette? Superb.

11. ARRIVING IN A BAR LATE
And everyone cheers you. It doesn't mean you're popular, it just means your mates are loaded. However, the rest of the bar doesn't know that.

12. CARVING THE ROAST
And saying "are you a leg or breast man?" to the guys and "do you want stuffing?" to the girls. Congratulations -- you are now your dad.

13. WINKING
Turns women to putty, doesn't it?

14. TEST SWINGING HAMMERS
Ideally, hardware stores would have little changing rooms with mirrors so you could see how rugged you look with any DIY item. Until then, we'll make do with the aisles.

15. TAKING OUT $200 FROM AN ATM
Okay, so it's for paying the plumber later but with that much cash you feel like a mafia don. The only thing better is peeling notes off the roll.

16. PHONE CALLS THAT LAST LESS THAN A MINUTE
Unlike girls, we get straight to the point. "Alright? Yep. Drink? Zoo Bar? No? Kudos Lounge it is then. Seven. Later man."

17. PARALLEL PARKING
Bam, straight in. First time. Can Schumacher do that? No, because his car's got no reverse gear which, technically, makes you the world's best driver.

18. HAVING EARNED THAT PINT
Since the dawn of time, men have toiled in the fields in blistering heat. Why? So, when it's over we can stand there in silence, surveying our work with one hand resting on the beer gut while the other nurses a foaming jug of beer. Aaaah.

19. HAVING SOMETHING PROPERLY WRONG WITH YOU
Especially if you didn't make a fuss. "Why was I off? Nothing much. Just a brain hemorrhage".

20. KNOWING WHICH SCREWDRIVER IS WHICH
"A Phillips? For that? Are you mad?

The Best Movie this Spring

Go watch! For the best movie, with the best lines.

V: This visage, no mere veneer of vanity, is it vestige of the vox populi, now vacant, vanished, as the once vital voice of the verisimilitude now venerates what they once vilified. However, this valorous visitation of a by-gone vexation, stands vivified, and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin van-guarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition. The only verdict is vengeance; a vendetta, held as a votive, not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous. Verily, this vichyssoise of verbiage veers most verbose vis-à-vis an introduction, and so it is my very good honor to meet you and you may call me V.

Evey Hammond: Who are you?
V: Who? Who is but the form following the function of what. And what I am is a man in a mask.
Evey Hammond: I can see that.
V: Of course you can. I am not questioning your powers of observation. I'm merely remarking upon the paradox of asking a masked man who he is.

V: Beneath this mask there is more than flesh. There is an idea, Mr. Creedy, and ideas are bulletproof.

Guilty as Charged 2

Guilty as Charged

You scored as Boobs. You are attracted to: boobs. You're a boob guy/gurl! Boobs 92% Abs/Stomach 75% Butt 33% Face 33% Penis 0% What Body Part Are You Attracted To?(pics) created with QuizFarm.com