Company Conference 2010

I just came back from my company's conference for senior managers in Asia Pacific region. More than 150 people, majority of them quite high up the company's "food - chain", arrived in Macau last week. We also have people from Mothership London bestowing us with their presence, and hopefully wisdom.

I went to Macau from Hong Kong by ferry as I had an earlier meeting there.

As company conferences go in Asia Pacific, there are two distinct groups. The Caucasians and the Asians. The former spends lots of time talking in the bar (the conference pass doubles as a all-you-can-drink pass at the bar) about mostly work-related stuff with other Caucasians .They don't seem tired of talking shop. After talking shop, the more adventurous ones goes out to the many bars to chat up the many call girls in Macau, deluding themselves that those girls were romanced by them. This results in a lot of bleary-eyed Caucasians stumbling into the conference room the next day looking like something the cat dragged in.

The Asians generally stick to themselves. They prefer NOT to talk shop but to enquire about each other. The Asian women goes shopping at every opportunity.The more adventurous men go for step 2, by-passing the "drinks-at-the-bar" stage altogether unlike the Caucasians. Some go to the casino in the belief that they can beat the house, losing thousands of dollars at the baccarat table.

The above is a broad generalisation. Of course they are also those who straddle comfortably between the two.

Then there is a third group i.e. the healthy living guys. They can be Caucasians or Asians. But more of them are Asians. They sleep after dinner, and wake up to exercise and don't gorge themselves silly at the buffet.

At this conference, I decided to only talk to those who I'd like to keep as remember as friends, not just colleagues. You see, I am a bit tired and am thinking of a change in career. This was brought about by realisation that I am reaching the end of the tail-end of career progression within this company. I think I have outgrown the company after 10 years.

Worse, I have lost my rose-tinted glasses and now I can see the slick corporate climbers for what they are. Being a spin-doctor, its hard to be mesmerised by the leadership when I can see them for what they are. I also see some many who rise through the ranks not on merit but on the strength of nights at the bar with the big bosses. The Asians have definitely missed the trick, in my view.

After three days in Macau, its time to go back to my station and inspire the troops with words of wisdom and 'direction' from the Asia Pacific regional HQ. It'd not be easy as the troops will probably be sore as they're stuck home and not invited to the gala conference. We hope to inspire the troops with communication packs including videos, and by the way their targets have just gone up a couple of notches just to make it challenging. Aiyaiyai!

I am now asking myself the question, if I have six months to live will I still be working with this company?

Thank You K***C Hospital

My treatment at the hospital will end soon as I move back to my station out of Malaysia in a week. Dr S**, and his staff from Operating Theatre, Ward and Physiotherapy were plain great.I thought that I'd surprise them with some cupcakes tomorrow morning. It'd be perfect as they wind down on Friday.

My wife ordered them from a business called Vanilla Pod. They are reliable and their cupcakes... heavenly. Best of all, they deliver your order right to your doorstep. I hope they survive tonight. Five have been 'sacrificed' as everybody wanted to make sure they are good enough to give to the hospital staff. ;-) . Here are the pictures:

Health - An Underrated Virtue

My kids think I am ancient at 40+. My wife says that my body is like a 60 years old's. I used to eat, drink and be merry and "moderation" was just a word to elicit the consternation of my dear friend, the late Pritha Lucas.

It was only now that I am taking my health seriously but most of the damage has been done. I have all sorts of medical ailments brought about by bad lifestyle choices. I have discovered that being ill, stuck in a hospital is lonely. And no matter how supportive other people are, I am the only one who bears the illness.  My loved ones can only watch as bystanders (and endure the heartbreak) as I struggle in pain.

The K2 trip was an attempt to break this cycle. I know that messing up halfway up or down the trek will be a major event. The trip sort of forces me to get my physical fitness back in shape.I have since end of November lost about 8 kilograms with just better diet and physical activities, and no diet pills or supplement  powders. It is not too late despite lifestyle illnesses catching up. I feel stronger and more alert.

I know its trite that wealth without health is no good. I have learnt that 'letting go' of my health  when I started working and raising a family was plain stupid of me. Nevertheless, its better late than never.

Adultery- An Overrated Sin

Met my doctor this morning for my weekly stem cells injection.We got talking about the latest issue in Malaysia i.e. the use of "Allah" in the Christian Herald. In my view, this issue will be settled but not without bruised feelings on both sides of the debate. At the end, I predict that the Federal Court (the court of final appeal in Malaysia) will allow the appeal and decide in favour of the Government's case.

Today's blog is not about the issue. Every Tom, Dick and Harry has a view and you can read it in all media. My view is that this has been overblown. In fact, I am ashamed that such could be an issue in a country priding itself as a tolerant nation. It takes two to clap and both parties have behaved like children over a matter of "principle". People forget that these "matters of principles" have dragged nations to war.

Today, I am going to talk about adultery as an overrated sin. This stemmed from my discussion with my doctor about our politicians and their moral hypocrisy on the whole controversy over who has the right to use "Allah" to refer to God. I was talking about the former Minister  who was caught having sex on video with his girlfriend. He was a fine and able minister but was forced to resign due to public pressure egged on by self-appointed moral guardians. We have lost a fine man.

In golf, we won't see the perfection that is Tiger Woods this season as he decides to lie low because of his scandal. We have lost a fine athlete and a great golfer.

To me, adultery is a private act. The three parties i.e. husband, wife and third party/parties have to resolve it themselves. Any party can be adulterous i.e. husband or the wife. The political correctness brigade wants to make every adultery by public figures a public affair. To me an adulterous golfer or a minister does not make him a lesser golfer or a minister. The same brigade will always say that public figures have a duty to behave because they are role models.

Live is short enough. People each have reasons to act the way the act. Adultery is certainly overrated as a reason for someone to resign from whatever he/she is good at. They can still be role models for what they are good at and being adulterous does not mean they should not continue doing what they are good at.

A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini

This is a great book. Its a compelling read, and depicts life of women in Afghanistan. Based on my short stint in Pakistan, I believe that the author had captured the essence of what life for women in these part of the world is like.

It is a worthwhile read. It made me rage inside to think about the injustices heaped upon our fellow human beings just because they bear a different set of chromosomes i.e XX instead of XY. These people don't realise that the perpetuation of this oppression will affect their sisters, daughters and grand-daughters.

What if these people have six months to live? Would they behave like that? Perhaps the answer to the imperfect world is for humans to have shorter lives like a house fly whose life cycle is just 20 to 30 days.

Correcting Past Mistake - Fatty Crab

We used to go to this restaurant called Fatty Crab in Taman Megah, Petaling Jaya way back from 1995. They later opened up a branch at the Mines Resort City. About two years ago, a close friend told me that he used to play snooker with the owner's son who said that the food there is not halal  for Muslims as it contains pork fat (lard). Given that I knew this friend for over 20 years, I told my family and friends whom I used to take for dinner there, and has since never had a meal there.

The signature dish served there was the Chilly Crab which my family  and I missed. Recently, my wife asked around and there were a lot of confusion on the halal-ness of food served at Fatty Crab in Taman Megah. So she called the restaurant herself (+603-78045758) and she was informed that (a) they are pork-free, (b) they say they are non-halal because they serve beer, (c) its expensive to get JAKIM's halal certification, (d) the chicken wings were sourced from Ayamas i.e. halal, and (e) they use Knife brand cooking oil i.e. halal.

Since were were missing the Chilly Crab, we made our way there today. Arrived at 5.30 pm as they opened for dinner and promptly ordered Chilly Crab, Garlic Prawns, Fried Rice and Chicken Wings. Best of all we also ordered two portions of toasted bread to mop up the Chilly Crab sauce.  As I went to the counter to pay, one of the waitresses still remembered my wife. We told her why we have not come and she was shocked to hear that.

Sadly, the main man - the Usher who determined who gets seated and don't  - had passed away since. If you arrive after 6:45pm, be ready to queue outside for up to 30 minutes to 1 hour. The restaurant has kindly placed plastic chairs along the pavement for people to wait their turn. The Usher acted as a headmaster who kept tabs of who arrived first, second and matched groups to empty tables.

Coming back to the title of this blog. I will now spead the word about Fatty Crab to correct my earlier statement. My venerable teacher once said that if we utter a falsehood, we are under a duty bound to correct it. As long as people still believe in that original falsehood, we will bear the sin for it. So, to set the record straight - Fatty Crab's food is pork-free.

So go forth and enjoy the food. The original restaurant is located at No. 2, Jalan SS24/13, Taman Megah, 47301 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, open from 1730 hrs to 2330 hrs everyday, except Mondays when they close. The branch at No. 5, Jalan Tasik, The Mines Resort City, 43300 Sri Kembangan is closed on Tuesdays.

K2 Here I Come

My treatment will end in the next two weeks. After three weeks of going daily for physiotherapy, I  am walking without my crutches. I have been on one crutch for the past week and now voila... no crutch. The main incentive was to break in my new mountain boots.

I went to CoreZone at SS2 get my boots for the K2 Base Camp trip planned for August this year.  BTW, the staffs there were very helpful. Best of all they were outdoor/mountain enthusiasts  themselves and gave advice based on their experience.

Ended up buying all sort of other things. I didn't think that mountaineering can be so expensive. But hey, its only money and the experience  of the trip will surely worth it. Living so close to the Himalayas, I might make this into a new hobby.