Categories
Linguistic My Hobbies

A Board Game I Am Working On

For the past few weeks, I have been working on a board game.  It has been an exciting journey.  Got my creative juice running.  The link to the game can be found in here.  I call the game “Human Spanish Conjugatorâ„¢” for now as I need something fun to help me practice verb conjugation.  Below is a short journal on how I go about creating this little game of mine.

I started by designing the score sheet.  That basically set out the fundamental of the game.  I wanted something that looks sleek and functional.  I think I have more or less got it.

Designing the board was a lot harder.  At first I wanted to use dice to randomize the combination of person versus tense during the game play.  But it lacks the spacial dimension of maneuvering across the board – an opportunity to strategize beyond conjugating Spanish verbs.  So I eliminate the use of dice and preset the questions (as tiles on the board).  I wrote a generator (using OpenOffice) to randomize a set of combination (98 in total) with the possibility of placing emphasis on certain tenses or persons (such as practice more on ‘you’ and ‘I’ forms).  To create the first prototype, it took me a while to manually copy and paste each tile onto the image.  98 times.  Later on, I found a way to copy the pre-randomized tiles across to the game board, in one go.  Imagine, how many randomized game boards I can create in the future!

As for the cards, initially I (or rather Cynthia) wrote the verbs on paper.  While it functions as intended, it does not look sexy.  I thought long and hard and have decided to print them out and stick them onto blank name cards.  And why stop at the verb?  Why not print out the answers as well?  Save us time to verify our answers.  Tons of frantic copy and paste but I think both Cynthia and I love the end result (of that deck of 63 cards).  Cynthia did the actual cutting of the papers and pasting onto the blank cards by the way.

OK, now that this new prototype is out, time for a test drive some time this week.  I am hoping that this game is as fun as I think it is.

Related Article: Human Spanish Conjugator – A Board Game (Beta)

Categories
I See I Write

Don’t Miss the 20th European Union Film Festival Here In Singapore (May 6-16)!

I love to watch European films.  What a coincident that Cynthia and I were invited to a blogger event for the 20th European Union Film Festival.  We had no clue why the event was hosted at Spain Embassy Residence.  Today, I read that Spain is the current rotating Presidency of the EU.  Now I know!  Last year about this time, Cynthia was here to apply a visa for our holiday in Spain.  And since we are learning Spanish, we took the opportunity to converse with our hosts from the embassy.  If they were surprised that some of us spoke Spanish during the event, Cynthia was as surprised when one of the Spanish staffs spoke Bahasa Indonesia with her.  The power of the ability to speak in one’s native language.  The bonding is instant.

Spain Embassy is located in Suntech City.  High floor.  The night view from the embassy is breathtaking, especially when the light was switched off during the presentation of one of the featured films.  I stopped for a moment admiring the beauty of our city, the progress of our society.  While I can’t pinpoint what Singaporean culture is exactly, I think many Singaporeans have worked hard for what we have built today.  As tangible as those high-rise commercial building, as intangible as the financial infrastructure that powers our growth.  And when the film started playing, I was as though being transported away from this city of ours and into somewhere in Europe – so drastically different.  Our hosts have highlighted that European films portray a slice of Europe’s diverse and rich culture.  That sums up well on why I love to watch European films.

Tickets are selling at Golden Villiage VivoCity.  Come join me for the festival!

*     *     *     *     *

“Irina Palm” is a tragicomedy film about a 50 years old widow desperately in need of money for her grandson’s medical treatment.  Stumbled upon a sex shop, she is offered a job that makes about 600 to 800 pounds a week.  Quite honestly, I have no idea how the number adds up.  It is humorous in parts when you get to watch the main actress Marianne Faithfull taking us through, shall I say, the “technical” details of the job.  In other parts, it is pretty tragic.  Such emotional acting between the characters.  The job, the realization of how one’s talent can earn a decent amount of money, the transformation from being poor and desperate to coming to term with the reality, “Irina Palm” is a heartwarming film to watch.  While the topic of this film could be a taboo in some societies, it serves as a reminder to how diverse cultures are at a global level.  If you watch this with an open mind, you would enjoy the film like Cynthia and I do.

“Irina Palm” will be filming at GV Vivocity on May 8 (Sat) at 7pm.  Check out the rest of the program too.  There are 16 films of various topics to choose from. 

External Site: EU Film Festival 2010 Website.

Categories
Snippet of My Life

Snippet Of My Life Episode 25 – Five Stories, Work Inspired

In this episode, I have five stories to share.  All are work inspired, somewhat.

*     *     Screw Bloggers At Your Own Risk     *     *

Recently, a friend of mine forwarded me a link to a juicy gossip that finds its way propagating through the social networks.  The subject of this gossip?  A man who works in the same bank as me, shares the same office building with me – in the past and in the not so distant future.  The body of the gossip, I must say, is nicely crafted and it is titled ‘Are You Dating a Cheater?’.  Real life episodes are used based on the blogger’s personal experience with this man and there is no mentioning of the banker’s identity.  Only with a hint.  An entertaining read while staying away from the possibility of getting sued for defamation.  The comment section of this gossip, however, takes on a life of its own.  Anonymous readers have stepped up to expose his identity, painted a picture of him not only as a cheater who promises the girls – quite a few of them – a relationship and delivers none, but also someone who is knowingly spreading sexual transmitted diseases.  Some readers speculated that this Westerner is under treatment for herpes.  At least one confessed that she has contracted chlamydia from him.

Another friend of mine at work asked if I would give my 2-cent here in my website with a friendly warning that the girls are ready to rip any man apart for those who dare to trespass.  My personal thought given the gravity of the situation with a disease spreading cheater on one side and a group of sexually active girls who may or may not practice safe sex on the other side?  Try not to screw the bloggers, literally and figuratively.  Or you could be more famous than you think, for the wrong reason.

PS. I do not intend to post the link here because curious as I may be, I have no means to verify the gossip except the banker’s name exists in our corporate global address book.

*     *     Are We Seeing The Same Work Life Balance?     *     *

I have this theory.  For some, long hours follow you wherever you go.  Here is what I observe.  Time and time again, I have seen friends and colleagues who constantly put in long hours at work.  Most of the time, they seem OK with the arrangement.  I hardly get to see them, for obvious reason.  Some may complain about it and continue doing the same long hours, for months, for years, for decades.  Then one day, they have come to their realization that not having a life is not OK.  So they found another job and guess what?  The long hours follow them.  And the cycle repeats itself.  If you are stuck in such cycle, time to rethink your priorities in life.

Recently, I have a conversation with a colleague on this very topic.  She told me that she loves a good work life balance and is having one.  Jolly good, I said.  What about that 6 to 7 pm meeting she was asked to arrange?  A request from someone who corrected me that 6 to 7 pm is in the afternoon, not evening?  She seems cool with it because she enjoys the flexible working hours.  And then it struck me.  Perhaps we are not seeing the same work life balance.  Perhaps all of us think that we are having some level of work life balance.  And it is OK.  Life goes on.

*     *     It Is Not Just A Desk     *     *

You know what my dream work day would be like?  Start with desk that I am entitled at work.  One that I could decorate with my personal items.  Such as my mug.  And if that desk comes with four walls, some windows, and a door, that would be ideal.  While some may have their career followed by a long hours monster, mine is haunted by a no desk ghost.  Looking at my colleagues who are doing more or less the same type of work as me and are entitled to a desk of their own while I am camping at one corner feeling thankful that I have a place to do my work for another month, it makes me wonder.

And no, hot desk is not a desk.  Although in my current predicament, it may well be a better option.  Changi here I come!

*     *     What Do You Want To Do?     *     *

One fine afternoon, by the Singapore river, I was having lunch with one of my mentors at work.  And she asked, “What do you want to do [with your career]?”.  Point-blank.  I was speechless.  The humor of it, if at all, is that I often ask this question to my friends whom seek advice or inspiration for their next career move.  Rarely do I get asked on that.

What do I want to do?

To be honest, I do not think what I want to do matters in an organization.  Not even what I can do.  People are put onto different roles guided by the process and so long as you can read, write, speak, and ask questions, you can do almost anything – in a generalist flavored environment that is.

What do I want to do?  Doing the same thing I am doing.  Not doing the same thing I am doing.  Gosh, life can be complicated.  Time to plan for my summer holiday instead.

*     *     What Did I Want To Be When I Was Young?     *     *

Finally, our teacher taught us pretérito imperfecto during yesterday’s Spanish class.  It is a tense used to describe some past events that no longer happen.  Naturally, the question of ‘what did you want to be when you were young’ popped up.  What did I want to be?  Believe it or not, when I was a very young boy, I wanted to be a bus driver.  And I ponder: why is it so hard to answer ‘what do you want to do’ as a grown-up?

Categories
Comedy Movie Reviews

Date Night – By And Large, Tastefully Hilarious

Cynthia and I have been stuck with each other for more than a decade.  So suffice to say, we can relate to “Date Night” perhaps a little bit more than others.   We are finding it hilarious, even down to the mundane daily routine.  The little conversations or silly things that couples do when they are on their own.  Not sure if that is the reason why the overall review of this show is mixed (as some may not be able to relate?).  If you have watched the trailer, the story is more or less there.  A couple wants to do something different to spice up their marriage life.  They take the table of a no-show couple in a restaurant and are mistaken as the “Tripplehorns”, who apparently are wanted by some gangsters.  Silly storyline aside (it is a comedy!), the main characters Steve Carell and Tina Fey do have great on-screen chemistry.  And they are talented comedians as well.  It is so easy to draw to the main characters when there are in fact quite a number of stars in the show (by the way, Cynthia cooed when she saw Leighton Meester from the Gossip Girl TV series acting in this movie).  From the outtakes, it appears to me that Steve and Tina created some of the scripts on the fly.  If so, that is pretty amazing.

I don’t have much complain on “Date Night”.  I needed something light and entertaining to cheer me up and the show did its job nicely.  The only complain I have is how they trashed the Audi sport car on the screen.  I mean … I really like that car!  My favorite color some more (for that model).

Categories
Book Reviews Non-Fiction

Happiness At Work By Dr. Srikumar Rao – Parables And Advice That Could Be Life Changing

By now, I have joined the workforce for a decade and a half and I consider myself – after years of learning and finding my way – pretty happy at work.  I manage to maintain a good level of work life balance, I have built good rapport with my colleagues, and I take pride in my daily work that contributes at an organisational level.  OK, there are ups and downs.  But overall, I am contented.  So what can “Happiness at Work” possibly teach me?  It turns out that there are more than I have anticipated.  And throughout my working life thus far, I have met friends who are more prone to feeling angry, envious, afraid, exhausted, disgusted, drained, anxious, betrayed, confused, cheated, frustrated, guilty, humiliated, impatient, inadequate, vulnerable, manipulated, embarrassed, neglected, heartbroken, trapped, fatigue, victimized, resentful, or worn out – borrowing the descriptions from the book.  I sincerely wish that they could take some time, read this book, and make a positive change to their lives.

Reading “Happiness at Work” is a journey.  The author has divided the book into bite-size chapters filled with parables and advice.  The materials are largely derived from his experience of conducting workshops to corporate executives on this very topic.  Some of the parables and ideas, I observe, are based on Indian tradition or Buddhism so they could be familiar to some, intriguingly foreign to others.  Depending on your background and level of experience (or shall I say how unhappy you are at work in reality?), be prepared to be confronted and you may find yourself denying or not wanting to accept what the author says.  I too, at times.  But if you read this book with an open mind and go through the exercises as instructed by the author, you may be surprised at how you would view the world and yourself differently.  Some parables, you may recognize, are similar to other self help books or real life stories.  Such as the idea of beginning with an end in mind from the book “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by Steven Covey (which may also be based on materials from elsewhere).  Or the powerful theme of “This, too, shall pass” that I use daily, in fact, prior to reading this book.  There are still much to learn such as always being positive may not be the most ideal way of dealing with the external factors, investing on the process instead of the outcomes, understanding that there is no right or wrong and the different mental models that work or do not work for you, examining what happiness is and how some are able to attain that, and more.

One powerful lesson I have learned, perhaps, is that there is no dream job or passionate work.  Passion is what inside of us and our ideal job will find us once we start kindling that enthusiasm.  One colleague at work joked with me when he saw me carrying this book.  He said, “Are you not happy at work?  Why do you need to read this book?”.  I humbly think that even if you think you are happy at work, there are still much to learn, to your surprise.  “Happiness at Work” has a high re-read value as you would need practice and constant reminder to get the ideas to work.  And it can be a nice gift for your friends too.

External Sites: Purchase this book from Amazon.com, Dr. Rao’s official site.

Categories
Announcement Music Journal

This Saturday Our Band Will Perform At Bali Culture @ Orientus

This Saturday, April 24th at about 9.30 pm, our band “No Eye Candy” will perform at Bali Culture @ Orientus for a 40 minutes session.  Please drop by for a good time.  We shall have a full band playing original songs.  Expect crazy guitar licks from Jason, cool bass line from Cynthia, mad drumming from Wieke who has recently returned from Middle East (this week!), and I will take you through what inspired me to write those songs.

To get to Bali Culture @ Orientus, follow the direction in this link.  Bali Culture is a restaurant where you can chill out and enjoy your meal and drink.  We will start playing in the indoor stage once the football match ends (at about 9.30 pm in my reckoning).  If you wish to dine in Bali Culture, drop me an email and I will do my best to reserve a table for you.  Be there early and we can catch up before our show!

See you there … xoxo No Eye Candy!

Categories
Diary

Bethany’s 100th Day Birthday

I am a strong believer that it is important to be efficient in my daily routines.  Imagine if on average, I save 10% of time doing the things I do, add that up to a lifetime worth of hours, how much time would I gain?  That does not necessarily make me an impatient man.  If I need to sit in front of the television to watch F1 live for two straight hours, I would.  If I need to spend 15 minutes every morning to iron my shirt, I would.  Having said that, I would prefer to time shift the F1 broadcast and skip the time wasting advertisement.  Or to perfect the process of ironing taking into consideration of the potential interruption when my ironing schedule clashes with Cynthia’s breakfast preparation process (note: we have a small kitchen where we cook, prepare breakfast, and iron, amongst other things we do inside this tiny space).

This evening, after Cynthia and I had our vegetarian dinner, as we walked to the Spanish school for our class, I looked at my watch and it said ten to seven.  I looked across the street and had an idea.  This morning a receptionist from my clinic called and reminded me of my vaccination schedule.  I had ten minutes to spare.  How about …

So I dashed across the street, leaving Cynthia with our textbooks, crashed into the clinic and greeted by a group of foreigners at the registration counter.  I quickly pulled out my pink IC, passed it to one of the receptionists with a strong sense of urgency and said, “I have a class at seven.  So if you could kindly …”

I supposed I could have relaxed once I got into the doctor’s room.  Instead, I blurted out loud, “I have a class at seven so if you could …”  The doctor replied, “No problem.  I will be very quick.  And this may hurt!”

Uh-oh.

Ouch!

OK.  It did hurt more than the last time.  Efficiency does come with a price at times, I suppose.  7-minute was all it took for registration, getting an injection, to have a short chat with the friendly doctor on his recent trip to UK, the places he had visited, and to pay S$90 with NETS, say goodbye to the foreigners at the waiting area. 

*     *     *     *     *

Back to the lovely photo above that inspires this blog entry, last weekend, we celebrated my niece Bethany’s 100th day birthday.  Yes, I can always trust my sister to spot the most unusual day of significance for us to celebrate.  I really love this picture.  Recently I have changed my Facebook profile using a picture of mine laughing out loud as Bethany was placed onto my embrace on her 1 month birthday.  Some friends of mine thought that the baby was mine and hence I looked so happy.  Well, deep inside this very macho looking man is – believe it or not – someone who has a very sentimental heart.  Now you know.

I have not seen Bethany for a while.  Below are some random observations to share.

  • Bethany and I connect when I switch to Cantonese.  She would smile, look at me, squeeze my fingers, when I speak Cantonese with her.  How strange!
  • Bethany smells different from the last time I held her close, in a good way.  I love her smell!
  • When Cynthia pinched me, Bethany would look unhappy.  What a good niece.  She should visit me more often.  Watch out Cynthia!
  • We still have that effect to each other.  When she looks at me, she falls asleep.  When I look at her, I fall asleep.
  • I still think that her eyes lit up whenever I mention “Let’s go shopping at Orchard!”.  Maybe I shall try again when she is older.

PS. Caption of the photo from left to right: Me, my niece Bethany, my sister Lora, and Cynthia.  Photo taken by my brother-in-law Benny using my Nikon D700.  Thanks Benny!  I really love this photo you took for us!

Categories
Music Journal

Our Band’s Rehearsal Gig At Bali Culture

It has been a while since our band “No Eye Candy” has performed live.  And we are delighted to be invited to jam at Bali Culture @ Orientus (click here for their website), just when we were wondering if our band manager Selrol is still on top of the game … 

Our guitarist Jason has suggested that we shall have a rehearsal gig first, to get acquainted with the environment, before calling in the our troop of supporters.  I am not sure about Jason’s side.  Quite honestly, I only have my sister, my sister, and my sister.  That is if she can have an evening off from taking care of my niece.

Bali Culture @ Orientus is near Jalan Kayu, next to the highway TPE exit, and near to Seletar Camp.  Out of nowhere and there you are, an indoor restaurant and an outdoor alfresco area next to a swimming pool.  Football fans would love this place.  Flat panel televisions with live broadcast.  Good ambiance both indoor and outdoor.  You can check out their menus on their website.  We had a cheese fondue for sharing as starter and a chocolate fondue for dessert.  For main course, I had a nasi goreng.  I enjoy the food and happy to visit again.  Looking back, I could have ordered the vegetarian pasta.  It didn’t come across my mind that I could find vegatarian food there.  Now I know.

On the same evening, their band “Pick-up Band” was playing after our performance.  The guest drummer is only 9 years old (I reckon)!  And boy, he can drum.  Jaw dropping.  I mean, he can really drum, like real.  When we first stepped into the restaurant, Jason mentioned that we should recruit the little boy as our drummer.  Now I know why.  And the rest of the musicians and guests had so much fun jamming on stage, rotating their roles (now you know why the band is so named).  During their performance, our bassist Cynthia said to me, “I can imagine myself hanging out in here”.

A big thumb-up to Selrol for arranging this.  Also thanks to Bali Culture for having us.  You guys are insanely supportive.  And to my avid readers, I will put up a note here once we get a confirmation on our next slot.

PS. To our drummer Wieke who is still in Middle East: We miss you and wish you were here!

Categories
Drama Foreign Movie Reviews

My Rainy Days – Got Me Thinking Of Starting Anew

I enjoy watching Japanese movies.  Mainly because they often touch onto my emotional core.  Perhaps it is something to do with dramas.  Something to do with the way Japanese craft the stories.  If there is one thing that got me thinking late at night, long after finished watching “My Rainy Days” (天使の恋), that would be: It is never too late to start anew.

This movie poster draws attention, needless to say.  But there is a good reason for this photo composition (besides getting your attention of course).  In a way, you may need certain moral flexibility to appreciate the story.  I am not entirely convinced that the main actress Nozomi Sasaki can really act (though I do think she acts pretty well on the sad scenes).  She does look very much like Ayumi Hamasaki.  A younger and taller version perhaps.

A 2 hours movie with much time spent on the character development on Rio – the young teenager with questionable ‘career’ – and her falling in love with a 35 years old professor who is unable to have a relationship (something to do with an incurable disease that is made known minutes into the show).  Is this a typical plot?  Maybe.  But with a relatively more mature theme (not graphically), “My Rainy Days” is not quite the same as other Japanese films.

For those who are curious about the artist behind the main soundtracks, the group is called Love Psychedelico.  And I love their music.

Categories
Travel Blog

You Should Know By Now We Love Fraser’s Hill

Two pretty hilarious pieces of conversation to share (and the link to our photo album is at the bottom of this entry).

When we arrived at the lobby of Smokehouse hotel at Fraser’s Hill, Henry greeted us warmly.  Like he did the last time.  “It is good to see you again,” I said.  “Me too,” he replied, “Your hair was longer then.”  I stopped and thought: It could well be.  Long or short, is subjective.  I smiled and said, “Certainly.”  He then looked at my car parked in front of the hotel and said, “What happened to your Porsche?”  My Porsche?!  And he continued, “And you were staying at our cottage, yes?”  Cynthia threw a funny look at me and I had to change the topic quickly.  Before Henry blurted out loud whom I was holidaying with.  Or the I who he thought I was.  If Cynthia was my new date, that would have been a disaster.  Don’t you think?

The second piece of conversation happened inside our hotel room.  How it happened, please don’t ask.  Accidentally, I have poured a sizable lump of hot wax onto my brand new phone.  So much so that I thought the front screen would melt, its case would melt.  If so, my heart … would melt.  OK, it took me a long time to take out the wax.  A very long time.  If you don’t believe me, feel free to pour some hot wax onto your phone the next you …

Anyway, after the act, Cynthia smiled at me and asked, “Did the hot wax manage to turn your phone on?”

Ha ha ha … very funny.

*     *     *     *     *

Whenever I announce to my friends that I am driving to Fraser’s Hill in Malaysia, 9 out of 10 would say, “Again?!”, with that look of what-is-so-great-about-Fraser’s-Hill or shouldn’t-you-go-somewhere-exotic-instead.

In a way, Fraser’s Hill is not a destination.  It is a journey too.  Cynthia and I love road trips.  Destination seldom matters.  It could well be Kuala Lumpur (which we did stop over) or Cameron Highland (which we did consider).  Had our holiday been longer, we could end up in Penang instead.  For a short trip, Fraser’s Hill is a good destination, a familiar destination.  Familiar destinations have their merits.  For one, we know what to expect, where to go, and what to do.  And we enjoy lazing in the garden of Smokehouse reading books, playing Scrabble, or doing stupid things like trying to create a photo like the one below.  We have drawn quite a crowd, at night, mostly Westerners.

Ya, that was fun.

PS. To view our photo album (33 pictures), please click here.  Enjoy!