As I walked into the hospital in the rain, I realised how fast time flies. My little sister has given birth to a baby boy, and I felt the significance of the moment, as I was walking in to visit them. I just can't fathom that she is now a mother of someone else and the days of our childhood still seem not so long ago.
It was a joy to see the tiny baby and to feel its soft skin. And I can't believe that I am an uncle now.
Time never stops for anyone. The new replaces the old and the new will become the old.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Hows your family?
I'm getting to an age where it is embarrassing to answer this question.
I used to answer this question in relation to my family as in my father and mother.
But as you get older, when people ask you about your family, they mean your wife and kids.
And when you are still single, it is hard to answer such questions and provide explanations.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Senior Associate Conference
It was a much better conference than I expected, and the ability for all senior associates across all Australian offices to meet together face to face is a great opportunity indeed.
The activities involved us walking on tight ropes, 10 metres above ground level. The process of climbing up the telegraph pole was scary enough and then walking on the ropes is even more of a challenge. I did the leap of faith, where I had to climb up the pole and then up out to grab a bar. It was horrifying leaving the platform and jumping out, and it was more of a shock when I missed the bar. Luckily, there was a harness to protect me.
For free time, I chose to do a tour of the artists' studios. Seeing them work, and hearing them explain their art and passion, makes me want to become one of them. I was able to drown myself and lose myself in their paintings. I was touched by the explanation given by Ruth le Cheminant behind her paintings. I was impressed by the use of light in the landscape paintings of Warwick Fuller and the impressionist illusions in the paintings of Herman Pekel. I laughed at the humour in the paintings of David Beschi.
As for the rest of the conference, the seminars and workshops seem like brain washing sessions. They assumed everyone wanted to be a partner of the firm, without addressing the true needs of the participants as to how the firm may assist those who do not want to be partners. The truth is that in this age and time, people come and go so quickly and they have done nothing to address that. These kinds of issues were touched upon in the last seminar on the last day, but by then, most people have left or are too tired to care.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Anti-Valentines Day
For many years now, this day is a day of dread, as every year I would see couples on the streets with flowers and chocolates and I would be all alone, feeling sad and wondering when this loneliness would end.
This year, I spent the day with a bunch of other single people at an anti-valentines day party at a bar. It was cool, meeting with a lot of different people, and not feeling alone on such a date.
But this may just be a way of escaping from reality, a glim and cold reality. If you asked me in November 2007 what I expected would happen on 14 February 2008, I would not have imagined I would be at this state again. Maybe it is my choice again, but it is hard not to think about "what if".
The fear is that I will continue to experience this state for the rest of my life.
This year, I spent the day with a bunch of other single people at an anti-valentines day party at a bar. It was cool, meeting with a lot of different people, and not feeling alone on such a date.
But this may just be a way of escaping from reality, a glim and cold reality. If you asked me in November 2007 what I expected would happen on 14 February 2008, I would not have imagined I would be at this state again. Maybe it is my choice again, but it is hard not to think about "what if".
The fear is that I will continue to experience this state for the rest of my life.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Edison Chen
The great controversy surrounding the leaking of photos depicting Edison Chen having sex with various Hong Kong female stars is hitting the front pages of tabloids all over Hong Kong, day after day. Most people blamed Edison for the leakage of the photos and others are disgusted by the immorality shown in the photos. Most people felt that Edison should be responsible and should say something about the incident, but at the same time, they felt sorry for the female stars being caught up in the controversy.
I am not going to comment on the morality of the images depicted in the photos. This should not be the issue we should be concentrating on. The issue is the leakage of the photos on the internet and whether it is justified that Edison takes the blame.
Edison's contribution to the leakage is taking his computer for repairs. I do not think he is aware of such images in his computer and he would certainly not expect repairers to access his personal files in the computer.
And the reason why it is such a big issue at this point in time is the public reaction, and it is the public who demand those photos. We are feeding into this whole issue. We want to see more photos. We buy the newspapers and magazines selling this story. We search the net for the photos to satisfy our curiosity. We are fueling this whole controversy by our actions. We are as much to blame as anyone else.
One thing most people doesn't realise is the fact that Edison is also a victim in this. He did not want this to happen, just like the female stars. Sure, he was the one who took these photos, but these were meant for his private pleasure and was not meant for the world to see. Whether you think he is perverted or not based on the photos is not relevant, as these photos were only meant for himself. Noone realises that Edison is hurting as much as the female stars. He would be feeling that he betrayed the trust of the other people in the photos. His career is also affected by this whole incident. His life may also be in jeopardy, due to the connection of some of the female stars involved. So the fact he stayed silent and staying put in the US is a wise choice at this point in time. What did the media expected him to say? If he apologised, he would be regarded as being insincere and fake (see reaction after his video). If he kept silent, he would be regarded as not being a man and taking up the blame. He is in a lose-lose situation.
I really hope that he and the female stars involved will hang on and be strong, and hopefully with the support of their family and friends they will overcome this.
I am not going to comment on the morality of the images depicted in the photos. This should not be the issue we should be concentrating on. The issue is the leakage of the photos on the internet and whether it is justified that Edison takes the blame.
Edison's contribution to the leakage is taking his computer for repairs. I do not think he is aware of such images in his computer and he would certainly not expect repairers to access his personal files in the computer.
And the reason why it is such a big issue at this point in time is the public reaction, and it is the public who demand those photos. We are feeding into this whole issue. We want to see more photos. We buy the newspapers and magazines selling this story. We search the net for the photos to satisfy our curiosity. We are fueling this whole controversy by our actions. We are as much to blame as anyone else.
One thing most people doesn't realise is the fact that Edison is also a victim in this. He did not want this to happen, just like the female stars. Sure, he was the one who took these photos, but these were meant for his private pleasure and was not meant for the world to see. Whether you think he is perverted or not based on the photos is not relevant, as these photos were only meant for himself. Noone realises that Edison is hurting as much as the female stars. He would be feeling that he betrayed the trust of the other people in the photos. His career is also affected by this whole incident. His life may also be in jeopardy, due to the connection of some of the female stars involved. So the fact he stayed silent and staying put in the US is a wise choice at this point in time. What did the media expected him to say? If he apologised, he would be regarded as being insincere and fake (see reaction after his video). If he kept silent, he would be regarded as not being a man and taking up the blame. He is in a lose-lose situation.
I really hope that he and the female stars involved will hang on and be strong, and hopefully with the support of their family and friends they will overcome this.
Saturday, February 09, 2008
Double standards
I really dislike people who have double standards.
They can use cruel and mean words towards others (even though deep inside they do not mean it) but when others do it back to them, they get upset.
And when others try to reason with them in relation to the cruel and mean words they used in the first place, they will defend themselves by saying that they did not mean it. But how something means to a person is up to the person listening. One needs to convey the right meaning using the right tone and choice of words. They need to be responsible for what they say, and not try to find ways around it.
And what they don't understand is that they can be manipulative with things they do. They can be a stirrer and they do not know it. Then after they stir up things, they accuse people of being fake, but it is themselves who cause this to happen.
Try talking to them, and getting them back, and it wont work, as you will upset them either way. And the only thing they will do is just to hit you back physically. So sad.
They can use cruel and mean words towards others (even though deep inside they do not mean it) but when others do it back to them, they get upset.
And when others try to reason with them in relation to the cruel and mean words they used in the first place, they will defend themselves by saying that they did not mean it. But how something means to a person is up to the person listening. One needs to convey the right meaning using the right tone and choice of words. They need to be responsible for what they say, and not try to find ways around it.
And what they don't understand is that they can be manipulative with things they do. They can be a stirrer and they do not know it. Then after they stir up things, they accuse people of being fake, but it is themselves who cause this to happen.
Try talking to them, and getting them back, and it wont work, as you will upset them either way. And the only thing they will do is just to hit you back physically. So sad.
Write offs
It's hard to avoid trouble when trouble comes to find you.
I have tried to keep a low profile at work, doing my work, not engaging in any mind games with the evil boss. There is not much work flow from him in the past few months, and I have been doing work for other people, which has been good.
However, trouble seems to come and find me even when I try to avoid it. There has been an issue with the disconnect between the fees I earn for my firm and the number of billable hours I work. And that comes down to one issue - write offs! Upon further investigation, I realised that the evil boss has been "writing off" my time on files. He usually quotes low to get the work in, and keeps to the quote during billing at the expense of people working for him. I am sure it is not an issue with me in spending too much time, as none of the other people I work for write off my time to the extent he does.
Anyway, this may turn out to be an issue which needs to be addressed to management, and when the time comes, I will need to defend myself. I have gathered all the evidence of writeoffs already, but I do not want to result in a war of words between me and him. It is so hard to be a witness at work.
I have tried to keep a low profile at work, doing my work, not engaging in any mind games with the evil boss. There is not much work flow from him in the past few months, and I have been doing work for other people, which has been good.
However, trouble seems to come and find me even when I try to avoid it. There has been an issue with the disconnect between the fees I earn for my firm and the number of billable hours I work. And that comes down to one issue - write offs! Upon further investigation, I realised that the evil boss has been "writing off" my time on files. He usually quotes low to get the work in, and keeps to the quote during billing at the expense of people working for him. I am sure it is not an issue with me in spending too much time, as none of the other people I work for write off my time to the extent he does.
Anyway, this may turn out to be an issue which needs to be addressed to management, and when the time comes, I will need to defend myself. I have gathered all the evidence of writeoffs already, but I do not want to result in a war of words between me and him. It is so hard to be a witness at work.
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