The more highly publicised one was of course the untimely demise of Crazy Horse Paris, a topless cabaret show that kicked off 14 months ago with much ra-ra and buzz. Touted to bring Singapore’s entertainment to an exciting feverish pitch, it somehow failed to live up to expectations.
What led to its early departure from Singapore’s nightlife scene?
Bangkok has changed quite significantly in recent years. The city has positioned itself as one of Asia’s most happening shopping and dining destination, cleaned up its act, and become increasingly sophisticated, modern and cosmopolitan. In fact, if you look at the cityscape at night, you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference from Singapore, Hong Kong or KL.
In our recent trip there (amidst the NYE bomb scare and other toddler catastrophes), I have observed several points which we may wish to note here in Singapore.
Recently, my wife and I had the chance to speak to a young girl working at a specialty retail outlet at VivoCity.
The circumstances which led to this were rather unpleasant, and I prefer not to go into details. Our conversation was pretty enlightening though.
I am sure everybody would have noticed lately Singapore’s biggest pop export Stefanie Sun’s elfin face peeping out at you behind a bag of rice. Part of the New Moon advertising campaign for its new brand of rice, she beckons with a disarming “Ni chi fan le ma” which translates to “Have you eaten rice?”
It is interesting to note the marketing strategies of food manufacturers and importers in recent years. What is especially intriguing is how they can take a commodity item – like rice – and put a sexy spin on it to make it more palatable to the market.
Courtesy of Channelnewsasia
Right now, the biggest news in Singapore is the latest episode of the NKF saga, where the new management team is taking legal action against the old, especially former CEO TT Durai, for gross misappropriation of donor funds and other shenanigans. I will not elaborate on the details of this case as you can probably read it everywhere in the media.
What struck me particularly hard about this case was the issue of ethics and integrity. Of course, TT Durai himself was guilty of multiple transgressions, and he admitted as much himself.
Yes, I am back online! It sure feels good to be connected again, after last fortnight’s scary episode.
First, I must share that I took childcare MC leave today to bring my kid to the paediatrician. He was the latest victim, together with my wife and I, of some gastric related flu. It was some affliction that probably spread around when we last visited Bangkok. We went to his favourite Dr Yeo at the Killiney Family Clinic, and got some medicine for diarrhea, vomiting and related symptons.
Anyway, I spent about 2.5 hours this morning helping him to put together his gift from Auntie Karen – a nice big Peter Pan playset featuring one of the islands in Neverland. Finally managed to fix it amidst lots of grunting and straining over the intricate parts, but the look on his face was well worth it thereafter.
Everybody who has been following the news will know that this was the exact same period of time when nine bombs went off recently hours before the countdown in Bangkok. This led to an outcry amongst the politicians, especially ousted Thai PM Thaksin Shinawatra, who violently objected to being linked to this. There is now a big debate going on about who was responsible for this spate of violence, with at least many believing that it was not the work of the Southern Muslim insurgents whom Thaksin tried hard to quell.
My relatively new Dell PC has just refused to boot up last night and this morning, and I suspect that there is a hard disk failure. Of course, this meant that I can’t blog or participate in anything online – heck anything that requires a PC. I can’t even get into the CMOS/BIOS thing by pressing Del or F9 which means something big time is screwed up inside. It could be something related to the rain, power surges (although my adaptor is supposed to have protection), or maybe even physical damage related. Grrr…..
After the initial hyperventilating, stewing and steaming, going into denial, uncontrollable sobbing (Ok I exaggerate), I started to see things in a more philosophical manner. The good thing (yes, there is a silver cloud in the lining) is that I am rediscovering the joys of spending time away from the screen, playing with my son, and admiring God’s green earth. Also, I guess I will read more – I still owe Ivan that book review!
The last time my old PCs hard disk died, I remembered taking an online hiatus for about a month or so. Life changed then for me. I spent more time talking to my parents, more time exercising, and more time reading. In addition, I rediscovered the joys of the simple things in life like a walk in a park, and just plain ol’ staring at the ceiling daydreaming.
What’s your PC/hard disk failure experiences like?
Merry Christmas dear visitors! Hope to add some yule-tide cheer with some greenery here.
I was recently invited for the Singapore Garden Festival as part of the delegation from the Association of Singapore Attractions. Despite only having an hour-and-a-half to do a whirlwind tour, I was left gushing after the amazing experience. The National Parks Board has done many things right this time around for the festival.
Here are some highlights of the show for the benefit of those who missed it.
Even fish mongers treat you like a god!
A key reason why I enjoyed my recent vacation to Hokkaido so much was the customer experience. Let’s face it. Japanese service quality is light years ahead of ours. Almost everybody I know who visited Japan raved about it. However, they do also have certain chinks in the armour as you would see later.
First, let’s talk about what great service is. Delightful service goes beyond being polite and courteous. It looks at ensuring that every single touchpoint to a customer is taken care of. It emphasises being quick and responsive to customer’s needs. It empowers staff to be flexible and to take quick remedial action in service failures. It pays close attention to the fine details and little nuances.