Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Revised taxi fares Singapore

For my dear friends who sits cab all the time but does not like to read the newspaper. Here you go :)

So the solution is ....
Set aside more money for cab or sit the bus :) or try and pool people to sit the cab with you :) cheers :)

And for the article that says it should reduce rental rates rather than revise taxi fares to meet rising cost. I am back to griping how every consumer is whining about cost and how companies are unable to whine about a tightening of profits. Don't forget that our salaries are paid by the companies and the lower the profit the lower bonus so it's a cycle.

Violence - not a solution!

Some many cases of violence nowadays. What is happening in Singapore? What is happening to the youth? Is it so difficult to control anger ? To lead to a loss of life and a loss of family member? What is the solution? Education in school? Is that sufficient? Where peer pressure is so strong and to fight back helps create an identity of power?

Monday, December 5, 2011

Volunteer appreciation 2011

Grateful to be invited to the volunteer appreciation session - for it open my eyes to see that there are people who has been volunteering for 35 years. Amazing right :)
And the message that day was enlightening: we might not be all doing the same thing but the different agencies and volunteers work together to create the song. No one sees what you are doing but the impact is tremendous. Quietly supporting people who are in need. Protection of families and people. Believing in the cause. Comes from the heart.

You know you can make the diffrence: you light up my life song- dreams are the seed of change - seed of hope love and dream. Eg probational guy drop out since sec 3 motivate him step out of comfort zone and move forward.

Sowing of the seeds impact not just one but generations to come planting the seed not grown or trees that went their own way - do not be discouraged. We Also benefit from the seeds planted along the way.

Nowadays there is many schemes. She shared on helping mother at store - completely exhausted wake up 430am going to school was a relief allow one to sleep - Saturday and Sunday. I am sure you are capable of better things move up to the front ; people show that they care works wonders. You do not need to do big things small things matter. Inspire and motivate.

As civil service alone will not be able to run as much without the volunteer support. When love takes you in everything changes ---

If you can't feed a thousand people feed one.

Monday, November 21, 2011

More cpf protection for children with special needs

Cpf board is stepping in to help provide a measure of financial security to children with special needs when their parents are no longer around to care for them. - via SNSS special needs savings scheme.

Current: parents set up trusts for their children with the special needs trust company but this requires a min $5000 cash.
Now: SNSS has no admin charges and no min amount.

SNSS - parents can arrange to have their cpf savings diabursed in monthly payouts to their disabled offspring after their deaths. A nominee cpf account will be created for a special needs child upon the parent's demise and funds will be disbursed from those accounts. Same interest rates as parents accounts of up to 4% with an extra 1% on the first $60,000.

Who can apply:
Parents of disabled children who are attending a special education school or who need help in at least one activity of daily living such as getting dressed eating or moving around. For people with disabilities and cannot support themselves.

When will it be Implemented:
Early 2012.

For more info: visit
Http://www.cel.sg

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Jalan Kayu - The Hangout near my place :)

Some random sharing on Food :)

At Jalan kayu now, eating my new found love prawn mee noodle. - Blanco prawn noodle house which opened a few months back.
This stall sells 3 in 1 noodle which has pigs tail, prawn and pork ribs. Normally I eat the sliced prawn noodle - which is okay. The one that is recommended is the jumbo prawn noodle or the pork ribs and prawn noodle. Try it out!
It's beside the famous jalan kayu prata. Cost : $4 per bowl estimated.



Usually after that I will pop by Jane's cake store for their famous durian and chocolate cake.
Buy it home and chill it and eat it after a meal. Delicious.
For me, I like their chocolate cake. My parents like their durian cake though.
Opening hours: 12:00pm-6:00pm(Mon-Sat), 12:00pm-4:00pm(Sun,Ph)
Close on Wednesdays

Chocolate Cake: The cake is incredibly light & moist, the chocolate fudge is sufficiently chocolaty without being too rich & overall it’s not too sweet.

Durian Cake: It has a strong fragrance and the sponge is moist and soft, although I think they use a bit too much buttercream in the filling. The durian taste is covered by the cream. Its good for people who like a lighter taste of durian.






And of course! Who can miss the awesome Otah store Hiang Soon Food Catering .I love the taste of the Otah - Not very spicy and it does not have much of fishy taste. Can eat it for breakfast everyday.



Friday, November 4, 2011

SIM women leadership forum 2011

Was representing YWLC for the SIM women leadership workshop held today. It was informative and made me think deeper on the role of women and men in Singapore society. Just for those who have not been following me: Ywlc stands for the Young Women's Leadership Connection. It is a platform that aims to connect young women leaders and empower them with the aptitude and attitude to lead and serve in society through mentoring, volunteering, workshops.

One major takeaway that I had was:
You do not need to climb the corporate ladder to reach the top to feel successful.
You are successful according to how you define yourself.
Love yourself and others will love you. Respect yourself and others will respect you.

Personally before I had joined YWLC and SCWO, I had no idea on the issues that were pertaining to the women leaders in Singapore. Is it true that there is a gender disparity or is it because we feel insecure as a women? You see majority of leaders on the top ranks especially in the private corporate world to be those that are not married and who have not given their careers break for child bearing. You also hear a number of Gen Y and Gen X mentioning that they need to climb the corporate ladder so children is definitely a NO-NO or that they would rather wait till their career is much stable. Is it so for our society in Singapore? And many who has given birth, puts their family as priority and after a while, feels isolated by the working world and prefers to stay home for the rest of their life, regardless of whether they hold a PHD or higher education. Is there a fear that holds them back?

One of the issue that were brought up today by women leaders:
- Women have less leaders to emulate so they always emulate the males - but the males either find them too emotional or too aggressive. They want to voice out but is uncertain of the way to do so without stepping over the boundaries. Does voicing out mean being emotional?




And the conclusion from the seminar is that gender diversity is not about the issue of gender. It is about you accepting yourself as who you are - a female- and embracing your femininity and using it to your strengths.


And the question to ponder
- Why do we want to balance gender in Singapore senior management?
How might we :
Retain talent
Grow talent
Attract talent

How to engage majority of consumers
Increase sales and shareholders value

How to stop stereotyping
How to promote diversity
How to be more inclusive

How to maximize leadership

How to get more women ready- indicating they want job of leadership positions
How can we encourage more women to be role models
How do we offer more support to women leaders in the society?
How do we create the support network for women
How to help the incumbents pave the way
How to transform our leaders to be more inclusive ? Education?
How to support women to return back to the society after childbearing ?
How to encourage women to retire gracefully? And be proactive in using their expertise to contribute back yo the society?
How can we be more participative - does work environment encourage that?


In summary , Prioritize key issues action steps are :
1. Have more women role models where they are willing to step out and be a mentor. Spend a day every month to chat about the difficulties faced and how to solve it. How to balance their work-family life.

2. Bring policy makers and discuss what works and what don't. How to encourage women leaders in stepping up.







What say you ladies? Is this an issue in our society?
Really?!?!?

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Movie: Tower Heist






Thank you OMY.SG and United International Pictures Singapore for the dose of laughter provided from the Ben stiller and Eddie Murphy movie" Tower Heist" Though the acting was great, I expected much more comedy especially when there are 2 of my most favorite comedians. Come on!
Probably after my last comedy Bridesmaid, I was expecting much more humor. The movie was great but did not tickle me too much.

It however made me think quite abit about life. About riches. Especially the scene where the doorman tried to commit suicide because he 'lost' all his life savings and also the guy whose family left him before he was in debt. Reminded me that riches are
temporal, enjoy them while you have and always remember to share.


Tower Heist starts with Arthur Shaw (Alan Alda) scamming people out of their money via the Ponzi scheme - not just the rich people, but the people hard earned money of working their years in the hard-working upscale Manhattan residential building he was living in.

The staff led by Josh (Ben Stiller) start to work together to steal back the money that stole from them. Josh enlists the help of a criminal named Slide (Eddie Murphy) to teach him and his team how to successfully steal $20 million. Josh’s team consists of his brother-in-law, Charlie (Casey Affleck), a former Wall Street broker, Mr. Fitzhugh (Matthew Broderick), the new elevator guy, Enrique (Michael Peña), and maid Odessa (Gabourey Sidibe). We watch good, hard-working individuals trying to bring justice to a very unfair situation - being the Robinhood.

Myself ; I love the scene about the maid comments during the cracking of the code on the safe - it was hilarious.

Odessa Montero: First thing you gotta do, you gotta find the entry point. You gotta use your fingers, and you find the entry point.
[Slide looks at Odessa]
Odessa Montero: You married?
Slide: No, I ain't married. What's up?


And also the comment on the buying into a white neighborhood

Josh Kovacs: The average apartment in the Tower costs 5.6 million dollars. We have the best views, the most advanced security systems, but you know what these people are really buying?
Rick Malloy: White neighbors?


And the 'smart' move of eating without paying -Cockroaches

Josh Kovacs: "Jeez a hamburger is $24. We can't afford to eat here anyway."
Slide: "We can order whatever we like cause uh, lunch is on me!" (Holds up a baggie with a dead roach inside)


The cast is great. They helped the story flow with their character relating to the scenes of humor.

I would recommend “Tower Heist” as a fun day out movie or for families with older kids.

Sunday, October 30, 2011

New Reality Show : Angel's Gate





Excited! A new entrepreneurial reality Show!

If you’re a big fan of shows like Dragon’s Den and Shark Tank where venture capitalists either destroy or bring alive the ideas of entrepreneurs on TV and , then you’ll be as excited as me!!

The Angel’s Gate is Asia’s very own version of such entrepreneurial programs


The format of these shows are similar — entrepreneurs will get a chance to impress the top angel investors in Asia and receive an investment from them.

Comprising the panel of judges for Angel’s Gate TV are Dr Finian Tan, Founder of Vickers Financial Group; Karan Singh Thakral, Executive Director of the Thakral Group of Companies (a veteran entrepreneur in consumer electronics) ; Ken Mandel, Founder of Jam Ventures ( branding and marketing guru); Patrick Grove, Co-founder and CEO of Catcha Group (ranked one of Asia’s best young entrepreneurs); and William Klippgen, Founder and Managing Director of Tigris Capital.

They’re all decked in spiffy white suits — in keeping with the show’s name, but don’t be fooled into thinking that they’ll always be nice and smiley. This is a reality show after all, and the judges are there not just to dispense wisdom, but also to entertain and provoke.

And see which entrepreneur has guts and resolve.

Angel’s Gate takes reality-based programming beyond the television set and into a whole new level. It is produced by Asia’s leading digital media company and new business accelerator, Interactive SG, and supported by Singapore’s Media Development Authority (MDA).

Anyway, while the show’s format is familiar, there are some important innovations too. Ash Singh, founder and CEO of InteractiveSG, the company that created the show, says Angel’s Gate is taking a 360 degrees approach. Besides television, the show will come to life on both the web and mobile.

Angel’s Gate targets enterprising individuals who believe they have the next big business idea and want a shot at securing public support and funding. “Angel’s Gate aims to help entrepreneurs find co-founders and mentors, as well as project backers through our crowd funding platform. Our goal is to help entrepreneurs lower their over-all time to market by providing them with the impetus to succeed,” says Ash Singh, Founder and CEO of Interactive SG.

Angel’s Gate will be delivered to audiences globally, targeting a combined viewership of 100 million. Available on mobile platforms, Angel’s Gate also lets users view videos, participate and connect with a network of entrepreneurs on the move.

According to Ash, the 360-degree approach aims to create a new playing field for aspiring entrepreneurs: “Entrepreneurs involved in Angel’s Gate will receive more exposure than they could by any other means, empowering them through the use of technology and the media. Over and above delivering unparalleled reach and visibility, the vision behind Angel’s Gate is to create a level playing field for the aspiring entrepreneurs of this generation. We might just see the rise of the next Mark Zuckerberg, Donald Trump or Richard Branson from Asia,” he says.

The AngelsGate.com website went live on October 14; and more than a hundred business ideas have been submitted. The most compelling and well received ideas will advance to Angel’s Gate TV, which is set to start airing in the coming months on a regional broadcast partner.

Another thing that sets the show apart from others is that entrepreneurs can sign up on the website to canvass for votes and source for crowd-funding, which works on an all-or-nothing system. They can even seek team members online.Entrepreneurs who believe they have what it takes can submit their business ideas to AngelsGate.com. There, they can leverage their social graph (through Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn) to crowd-source support for their ideas. They can even raise financial support through AngelsGate.com.

The most popular entries will then appear on the show, where they’ll to pitch to the Angels, who’ll decide on the spot if they should receive an investment from the AngelFund. Entrepreneurs that get rejected can refine their business idea and resubmit it through the website.

The deadline for this round of submissions is 31st October.

Apart from business funding, entrepreneurs will also be offered an opportunity to think about how they can make a meaningful contribution to society through philanthropy and corporate citizenship. Angel’s Gate has partnered CapitaLand Hope Foundation as the programme’s charity sponsor. Through the partnership, underprivileged children will benefit when entrepreneurs garner support for their business ideas. CapitaLand Hope Foundation will donate S$1 to selected children’s charities for every ‘Facebook Like’ gathered by entrepreneurs for their respective business ideas on AngelsGate.com, and winning entrepreneurs on Angel’s Gate TV will get to earn bonus donations from the Foundation to benefit the children beneficiaries.

Mr Lim Chin Beng, Chairman of CapitaLand Hope Foundation, said: “CapitaLand Hope Foundation is pleased to partner with Angel’s Gate in contributing towards the welfare of underprivileged children. The partnership’s aim to integrate business success and philanthropy provides a meaningful and holistic perspective to entrepreneurship. The Foundation looks forward to playing its part in nurturing future business leaders who share our commitment and support for programmes for the shelter, education and healthcare needs of underprivileged children.”

Angel’s Gate is supported by global brands BlackBerry, SingTel, NUS Business School, Audi, Canon, Google, Microsoft, PayPal, Skype, Sony, Focus Media, Fitness First, Intuit, Rice Communications, and partners including the ArtScience Museum, Business Angels Network SEA (BANSEA), Singapore Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (SVCA), Singapore Tourism Board, SingTel Innov8, SPRING Singapore and The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) Singapore.

Viewers can expect a total of eight TV episodes, which will launch in January, as well as 30 webisodes, which will be made available on YouTube.

Ash has big dreams for Angel’s Gate. He has set a target of reaching out to over 100 million viewers, including at least 500,000 aspiring entrepreneurs and 10,000 applicants. So far, about 30 percent of participants are Singaporeans, another 30 percent are PRs and expats in Singapore, with the remaining coming from the rest of the world.

Where ever the participants are from, I’m sure the judges and viewers are looking forward to brilliant pitches that will set the screen on fire. If this show takes off, it could go some way in promoting entrepreneurship in Asia and beyond.

More local entrepreneurs on TV pls.. Hoping for more industries-entrepreneurs though. - from more Asian countries in Retail, Entertainment, Social, Service, Manufacturing etc -

E.g. (Singapore) Founders of 77th street ; Nuffnang.com ; Hyflux ; The Butter Factory; Sample Store etc

E.g (Malaysia) Kuok Group ; Air Asia; Secret Recipe

E.g. (India) Tata ; Hafa Foods ; Foursquare; Mycityway etc

Lets see how this show goes.

Hope there are exciting ideas to be showcase.


Few if the ideas on Dragon Den that were interesting

Freedom Food range: Very Touching young mother who came up with the idea for her child. Now she still continues her freedom food range and does public speaking.

The Vintage Patisserie . Their website is so fun and quirky and really captures the imagination.



Sunday, October 23, 2011

Fright fest @ the flyer




Was invited to the preview of fright fest @ the flyer - Thanks to URA, The Flyer and OMY.SG. My best Halloween night was in Mexico 2 years ago where it was celebrated together with the day of the dead and people were giving out candies to the children that were dressed as frankestein and zombies. Anyway I was very excited for my first outdoor Singapore halloween experience!

The actual event will be held on the 28th to 30th October (Which is this Friday to Saturday!) You can purchase a ticket at the booth at the flyer
ps: And just saw it on Deal.com.sg that it is offering a deal for the event on its website at a discounted price- so here it is

Upon arrival at the flyer, we were divided into groups of around 10. While waiting outside, we could hear screams and also the sound that Chinese funerals have. Made me hair stand.




We were ushered into the tent and greeting us were the sight of an old lady using her clogs hammering onto the praying paper. So eerie! You know how the Chinese hit on the human shaped figure and scold 打你的小人头 meaning cursing someone. We tried to quickly ran over - suddenly she stood up and aim the clog at us , gave us such a fright! We grabbed each otter even more tightly trepidation of what may appear after.



Next, we had to enter a veil but I could see a 'ghost lady' standing behind it. The fear of pushing past the veil was tremendous. Suddenly the girl with her mother on front us shouted and ran out of the tent.






I decide to just push ahead. I opened the veil and shouted! Haha I think the lady ghost was as shocked as I was. But she started heading towards me following me. Her face was in a weird shape.






I walked as fast as I could. Finally reached the end of the hall, now what lies ahead after the hall. Push past the veil and a zombie suddenly appeared in front of me- I ran-

and out of the bush came bao gong- a black face judge that Chinese know as a judge fro
Hell if I am not wrong. I screamed! Made my way ahead and was confronted by an altar where a lady holding an umbrella with her back facing me. I knew her face was going to be grotesque and boy was I not wrong. She started coming towards me asking me to take the joss stick- I decline and tried to ignore her.







And more to come was the decapitated body parts that were lying on the floor and also dead children in bath tubs-made me wonder if I was in a murder scene.






After half an hour, finally made my way out of the horror.

For a preview, here you go:



Do pop by to the fright fest@ the flyer with your family and children! The fear factor level was still manageable so I think it would be suitable for families who want to go with their children.

Many bloggers also came down with their costumes and Halloween
Make up! Scary!













And to ease our fright, with courtesy of the flyer - we were treated to a chance on the flyer. Such amazing views of Singapore up there. I never knew Singapore was so beautiful - delightful!








Cheers!




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