反对磁浮，保卫家园
Link: Shanghai Citizens Protest Train Extension

 What a nice ring to it.. Who would have thought there would be a day where a protest in China would go smoothly. With the new Maglev extension plans running through several property districts, residents (in fear of radiation effects) have gone to the streetsto get their voices heard.

 Check the link for a video clip, video websites have better think carefully about uploading this video without incurring the wrath of the government. Who knows, anything can be shut down to protect the social peace of the country.

I am teaching English to the caddies in the golf club. Sounds like a piece of cake especially when Singaporeans are quite well versed in both Mandarin and English. But I can assure you, that the situation is quite the opposite. The first thing that hit me in the face was phonics aka 音标. The alien language that you see in dictionaries following the word you are looking for is it. It is used to help you pronounce the word properly according to whoever created the dictionary.

For a start, things got off at this kink. The mental pressure on the caddies were uphill as well. We had our fair share of communication issues, plus the fact that I am not an English trainer by profession, it makes it doubly harder to get my point across or convince them my method of conversation pieces are correct.

When I speak to my boss, they are unable to understand our conversation, except the first and last word: Hello, Byebye. The teaching methods are greatly different in Singapore and China. I would be a fool to think that I can apply the singapore method and achieve Singaporean results. However, I try to reconcile the two by going through words and phrases they need to understand and familiarise in order to move their English levels upwards.

Despite the weird and awkward moments, I am glad to be part of the teaching industry, its quite gratifying to see your students or cute caddies in my case, learning and using new words in their daily life. It is my hope that I would be able to prepare them soundly for the HSBC Championships, something they can take away and converse with foreigners and famous foreign golfers on and off the course.

At Shentrepreneur, mixers and get-togethers are something we like to organize and present for our fellow Singaporeans. The SHEN twist to any networking session is to get both the junior and senior Singaporeans together for a night of introduction, sharing and fun.

Recently, on the April 15th 2007 at the Regent Hotel, SHEN organized the Business Executive Night (BEN) with the same goals in mind, to benefit the younger generation of overseas Singaporean students or executives from the battle hardened Singaporeans who had worked in China before. And ensure the ties between overseas Singaporeans, young and old, are as strong as ever.

We are proudly sponsored by the Singapore National Arts Council, in aid of their China tour to introduce the best of Singapore with the help of our most prominent local artists. The sit-down event includes speakers from various backgrounds and industries in China, comprising of
• National Arts Council, on their goals for Singapore Season in Beijing and Shanghai
• Mr Ignatius Lim of IE Singapore, on the business outlook of Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang
• Mr Beaver Tan of Microscreen, on the general aspects of business in China
• Mr Henry Rahardja of Bakerzin, on the challenges Bakerzin faces in China
• Mr Peter Low of LK Consultancy, on the value of Singaporean executives in China
• Ms Jenny Lee of Granite Global Ventures, on never say die in China
• Ms Sharon Tan of Velocity Scorecard Asia Pacific, on community service with the SSBA in Shanghai

The event was slated to end at 9pm but the combined experiences of our speakers proved that 5 the allotted time was simply not enough to express their views and vision for China. Regretfully, we closed the event at 930pm and our guests, junior and senior were still reluctant to leave, huddling forward to catch more insights and gems from our esteemed speakers.

The BEN committee extends our congratulations and gratefulness to all involved in making this event work. Our heartfelt gratitude also goes to NAC and our plethora of speakers for making this night a valuable sharing session, something we can all bring home to think about.

1. We got lost in the Shanghai Expressways

A journey from Sheshan to Tomson sure is no joke. What should have been a 1 hour journey turned out to be a 2 hour ride on the highways of Shanghai. We knew we screwed up when we saw a sign telling us the Pudong International Airport is 15km away. You have to believe me when I tell you thats really far. The Pudong Airport is about a 45 min cab journey to the city centre.

Many a time, we stopped in the middle of expressways, making calls to the company driver to ask him for directions. Its quite pathetic thinking back, we had quite a bit of horning from many drivers on our predicaments.

We stopped to ask for directions 3 times before we finally found a huge poster of the BMW Asia Open staring at us. The season is just mid winter and spring, the weather is quite cooling for joyrides such as the one above.

2. The Car is more important than the VIP Label

My boss drives a Santana. If you do not know what it is, its just an old car that looks very low class. Despite the VIP car label displayed brightly, Tomson security still had a good mind to stare at us and try to lead us away from the VIP areas. You should have seen their puzzled faces when my boss says he is hear to see their boss. Perhaps, they thought we were here to do construction work (施工). =)

One security guard kept insisting the VIP lots are filled. Only on hearing his boss’s name, he relented and led us to the VIP carpark. Needless to say, it was filled with many empty lots.

The BMW Asia Open ends today on Sunday, after days spanning from the competition itself, food fests, marquees of exhibitions and sponsors, its an event well done. Last Thursday, my boss took some of us on a site inspection to see how and what some of the best Golf Tournaments in Asia are doing.

Not just the BMW Asia Open in the Tomson Pudong Golf Club, the Shanghai Silsport Golf Club also held the Volvo China Open about a few days before. The continuous action ensured that no one will miss any of the action from both sides.

Tomson is a beautiful golf club, the first thing that struck me was how massive the estate was. When you first enter their grounds, the first thing that greets you is rows and rows of varying grandeurs of villas and townhouses. And then, there is the Clubhouse. Tomson is aged 10 now, age has shown in some areas if you have an eye for detail but their maintenance and refurnishing work has ensured the club has a posh and clean look, both inside and outside.

As our boss has VIP tickets, we were given a personal tour of the club grounds and surrounding tournament estate to see how fellow golf clubs run their events. The river that runs through the whole golf course stems from the local river and we can see carp, lengths of 60cm(!), swimming about in the waters. The weather is good to begin with, nothing to stop the golfers and their fans from enjoying the rest of the day. One little oopsies came in the form of Ernie Els walking to the next hole. Turns out that his platoon of volunteers, for controlling crowds, were not paying him any close attention. He was literally mobbed on the way to his next hole, it must be very frustrating and distracting for him.

The greens in the club is absolutely beautiful, the varying colours of the rough, fairways and the greens make the land look as if like a garden. And we managed to catch a glimpse of Tomson’s very own Mt. Fuji and Great Wall of China. You will not be able to miss it in the following images!

See the snowcap?

See the, errrr, wall?

And we ended the day with a rest at their cafe in the clubhouse. The next moment was absolutely perfect. We had the perfect sunset view from an entirely glass paneled club cafe, with the 18th hole and the river stream as foreground for good measure. I just don’t understand why didn’t I take a picture of it..

G is for Greens
O is for Oxygen
L is for Land
F is for Friendship

Who would have thought a sport as classical as golf would represent so many things? I didn’t until I started work at the Shanghai Sheshan Golf Club.

A tribute to fellow NOC applicants out there who are looking forward to their resume and interview processes =)

Here is some valuable “job-hunting homework” from Messmer : The 5 most-frequently-asked questions in the first 10 minutes of an interview:

1. Can you tell me a little about yourself? — Concisely discuss your professional goals and interests as they relate to the job opportunity. Your answer should provide insight into why you are the right fit for the position and the company.
2. What do you know about our firm? — Research the business beforehand and be prepared to describe how your skill set and experience will help you contribute to its success.
3. Why do you want to work here? — Whether it’s the company’s values, history of success or reputation in the industry that attracted you, respond in a way that shows you understand the organization’s priorities and business objectives.
4. Why are you looking to leave your current position? — Keep your answer focused on the opportunity — for example, a chance to advance your career. Remain positive and avoid disparaging other employers.
5. What is your most significant professional accomplishment? — Cite an achievement that demonstrates your abilities and shows you value results.

With all the noise out there, trying to gnaw away attention that HR people have while interviewing you, its good to know that these questions are usually the must-prepares.

Pirate-busting dogs face new obstacle
KUALA LUMPUR — Movie pirates are spraying chemicals on their bootleg DVDs to confuse two United States-loaned dogs who this month helped Malaysian authorities sniff out nearly one million illegal discs, an official said yesterday.
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The two female Labradors have been trained to detect polycarbonate chemicals used in manufacturing discs.
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But officials received a tip-off that bootleggers are using chemical sprays to throw Lucky and Flo off the scent, said Mr Fahmi Kassim, the Domestic Trade Ministry’s enforcement chief in Johor state. “The pirates are believed to be desperate because the dogs were so successful,” he told AP.
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Last week, ministry authorities said the dogs were moved to a safe house after a source informed them that the pirates were offering a bounty to anyone who could kill the dogs, which are on loan for at least a month from the Motion Picture Association of America. — AP

Im sure the dogs will smell the DVD fragrance the moment they step into China.

Over the Chinese New Year holiday, a couple of us went to Ha Er Bin and a bunch of us went to Beijing. It was a good time at Beijing, th cultural centre of China, visiting the sites filled with pre-historic flavour. Eg: He Shen Fu, Yuan Ming Garden, Yi He Yuan, Forbidden Palace, Ming Mausoleum and of course, the famous Great Wall of China.

The old traits of the travel agency surfaced, with 1/4 of the time spent in shops that sponsored our trip. Some of us leave wondering whether is there any truth in the items they sell.

Over the previous weekend, I went to Nanjing with a NOC mate, Benghan plus a colleague, Amanda and her friend. Also another historically importance place, with the Sun Yat Sen grave, XuanWu Lake, Fuzi Miao and Yu Hua Tai. Home to many cultural incidents like the Taiping Rebellion, Yu Hua Tai martyr sacrifices and Sun Quan’s grave and capital during Warring States.

Details…. in future!

Just 2 weeks back, SHEN organized another In Conversation, this time we met up with Mr. Vincent Choo from Yum! Who runs the restaurants, KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut in China. He is their Business Development Director, aimed at bringing these delicacies into the Chinese market.

In most cases, SHEN liaises with Singaporeans with regards to such In Conversations. Mr. Choo is slightly different in that he is a Malaysian. Nevertheless, it does not make the discussion any less exciting.

He spoked about the natural difficulties everyone faces while working in China and it takes more than just management skills and ideas to make things run in China. As he has mentioned, the local Chinese are less receptive to such methods.

Taco Bell in China is segmented to the upper class and its food is highly priced in te F&B industry. Given that Mexican cuisine is not something all Chinese might enjoy, it is more viable to run it as a foreign food restaurant. Otherwise going for high volume and affordable sales like any fast food restaurant would be unwise.

A topic like that rings dearly in everyone’s heart given our daily interactions with the locals. Even I myself am baffled by how I can engage them since I work in the service industry.

Just for the record, “In Conversation with SHEN” is an event organized by the Shanghai House of Entrepreneurs NUS (SHEN). We are a bunch of motley students cum interns in Shanghai aimed at spreading the good word of the NOC program for our university, NUS.

Every now and then, we invite someone from the various industries in Shanghai to join us for a short lunch and chit-chat session about his or her experiences in China. Of course, when we get lucky, an excursion might be included. Just as Mr. Terry Khoo of 3G industries has kindly extended one to us.

Currently, we are working on three projects.

• YEN, Young Executive Networking Night
• Singapore Food Fest
• Food from the Heart

With the bulk on social enterprise, things are looking bright, so stay tuned.

This is the second week of my stay in Shanghai. The first week was free and easy. Much of it was spent on getting to know Shanghai better. Of course, the most that we got to see was the food itself.

The disparity in prices for local goods and amenities is astonishing. What we normally would pay in Singapore for a mere packet of tissue napkins would translate into S$1.30 for a jumbo pack of 16 tissue packets.

The Carrefour in China is amazing big, with the flagship store at Gubei as huge as 4 storeys in total, or so I heard. Even the brands they carry are simply overwhelming and I will often stand there trying to see which brand offers the best bang for the buck. (A buck is very literal statement.) You can see all that in the picture I took and yes… The condom section is one whole shelve by itself.

Almost everything here can be bought cheaply with the exception of branded goods; they hold a price premium in Shanghai. For the same item, it would cost cheaper to purchase them in Singapore instead. The same goes for pricey electronic goods like computer notebooks and IT accessories.

Despite being the cosmopolitan city it is, the culture shock was still one that was struck right in my face. Littering and spitting is somewhat a common way of living in Shanghai. I struggle most of the time trying to find a rubbish bin where I can dispose of my trash. Rubbish bins could be a national icon considering how many there can be lined up in a street locally. Sometimes, I just follow suit and chuck it one side. It is quite liberating actually, coming from the strict Singaporean Litter-free mindset. =)

I just found out that Performancing adds a little advertisement at the bottom of my post about their FireFox extension. Hmmm I wish they didnt do that but I guess its ok compared to the convenience offered by their FireFox extension.

Turns out in the options you can have that removed. Hoooo yeah!

 Soul, Hip Hop and Funk… Ahhhhhhh life is good.

There is a story of a martial arts student kneeling before the master sensei to receive his black belt. It was after so many years of hard training.

“Before giving you the belt, you must pass one more test,” says the sensei.

“I am ready,” the student says, thinking it will be just one final lesson.

“What is the true meaning of the black belt?” the sensei asks.

“The end of my journey,” says the student. “A good reward for all my hard work.”

The sensei waits for more. Clearly, he is not satisfied. Finally, the sensei speaks. “You are not ready for the black belt. Return in one year.”

A year later, the student kneels again in front of the sensei.

“What is the true meaning of the black belt?” asks the sensei.

“A symbol of distinction and the highest achievement in our art,” says the student.

The sensei says nothing for many minutes. Clearly, he is not satisfied. Finally, he speaks. “You are still not ready for the black belt. Return in one year.”

A year later, the student kneels once again in front of the sensei. And again the sensei asks: “What is the true meaning of the black belt?”

“The black belt represents the beginning — the start of a never-ending journey of discipline, work and the pursuit of an ever higher standard,” says the student.

“Yes. You are now ready to receive the black belt and begin your work.”

 Nice.