Sunday, February 25, 2007

A manager's worst nightmare

To be in charge but not able to take charge, that is the question....

Saturday, February 24, 2007

Chingay and beyond

Singapore's Chingay celebrations end today, the 7th day of Chinese New Year (CNY). Growing up in Penang, Malaysia, I'd always associated Chingay as a fun Hokkien event with floats and giant flags, and was pleasantly surprised to see what a huge event it is in Singapore! In typical Singapore fashion, the government imported this idea from Penang (where it appears to be no longer practiced), made a huge commercial event out it and called it its own - "the new Chingay stands for spontaneous expression of a new communal spirit and Singapore soul." BTW, the government originally introduced Chingay in 1972 after a public ban on firecrackers. They had to find something to keep the people happy (!)

Hubby and I are enjoying our first ever CNY together in Asia with family, friends and even colleagues. Our only regret is that the public holidays went by too fast and though we got two days off (which we never had in the US), there's so much more obligatory visiting to do in Asia. When visiting, it's tradition for the host to provide an assortment of tastes, receive (and give in return) two Mandarin oranges. The picture below shows some CNY goodies laid out on our table. Those red packets of money given to children (mentioned back here) are also pictured here.


I didn't have time to take many pictures, but loved this community spirit shot of how the nearby Indian temple "celebrated" Chinese New Year along with their Chinatown neighbours.


Now that the big spring festivities are winding down, work is winding up and I'll be making several Asia-Pacific business trips over the next few weeks. Though the countries are ideal tourist spots, I suspect my schedule will be pretty much airport to hotel to the office(s), and back again. The only tourist-y thing I'll get to do is compare the hazy views from my hotel room. Here's one from Bangkok just over a week ago:

Sunday, February 18, 2007

Live long, prosper and multiply

Happy Chinese New Year - 新年快乐 again!

The firecrackers over at the Esplanade have finally died down. Wow, Singaporeans really love their fireworks! What with National Day Parade, New Year, the Spring Festival (春节) and all the diligent rehearsals before hand, I didn't realize what a prime "entertainment" spot our apartment was.

But I digress. To usher in the new year, hubby and I had not one, but TWO reunion dinners on Saturday. I was a little perplexed why the uncles and aunties were even more vocal than before about us having kids this year, so googled "Year of the Golden Pig" once we got home. Evidently, children born when the Year of the Pig coincides with the element of gold are doubly blessed (i.e. with luck and prosperity). According to reports from China and Korea, fortunetellers say this year comes around every 600 years. BTW, they really said "600" though 12 zodiac signs * 5 elements = 60, no?! Have I missed something?

Anyways, 恭喜发财 (gōngxǐ fācái) and 年年有馀 (niánnián yǒuyú) - may you all live long, prosper and multiply this Year of the Golden Pig! Meanwhile, I'll just shrug and grin when the next adult asks about having kids, and the next kid asks us for 红包拿来 (hóngbāo nalái), traditional red packets of money given by elders and married folk.

Friday, February 16, 2007

Vidclips from the 49th Grammy Awards

Thought I'd share some clips of two of my favourite bands from the 49th Grammy Awards: The Police (with Sting) and The Dixie Chicks.

The Police reunite after 30 years with Roxanne:


Fan tribute to all the Dixie Chicks' Grammy and live performances:


More of the Chicks at the Grammys:
Yes, their 5 Grammy sweep might be politically motivated (what in Hollywood isn't?), but I love their music and support their cause.
Not Ready To Make Nice - Live Performance
Record of the Year
Album of the Year
Country Album of the Year
Song of the Year
On the Red Carpet

Saturday, February 03, 2007

When interests and work collide

I'm happy to share that we (my firm) clinched a coveted TV commercial spot with Star World Asia, bookending none other than my all time fave show, Heroes!

Well, the investment paid off in leaps and bounds (not that this Heroes fan was surprised). Heroes premiered across all of Star World Asia channels this past Wednesday (Hong Kong, Malaysia, Maldives, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand). At least in Singapore, it topped the top 10 list (appearing twice, in fact), with their initial 9p airing followed by the 12:30a repeat. Don't miss more repeats (and the accompanying TV ads ;) on Saturdays at 7p and Sundays at 2p. For those of you without cable in Singapore, I hear Channel 5 plans to pick it up sometime this year too.

More international Heroes broadcast updates found here, while spoilery previews and speculative ramblings are in my geek blog here.

Thursday, February 01, 2007

14 valentines to celebrate women

14valentines is a LiveJournal community conceived to celebrate and empower women in each of the 14 days leading up to V-Day. Each day is assigned a theme along with a supporting partner (foundation or group). Folks then make a thoughtful post and/or share their own works (fiction/art/music/etc.) on their journals, cross-posted to the community - related to the topic and partner(s) of the day(s), anytime before February 14.

14 Valentines kicked off on Feb 1 and ends on Valentine's Day, also Vagina Day, Victory Against Violence Day and is in a large part inspired by Eve Ensler, her amazing Vagina Monologues, and the organization that grew out of that movement, the V-Day foundation.

The themes for each day this year are:
Day 1: Women in Academics
Day 2: Women in the Arts
Day 3: Women and Body Image
Day 4: Domestic Violence
Day 5: Economics and Wealth
Day 6: Women's Health
Day 7: Hunger
Day 8: Peace Movements
Day 9: Reproductive Rights
Day 10: Sexual Abuse
Day 11: Women in Sports
Day 12: Voting
Day 13: Women and Work
Day 14: Pick your own cause!

Lastly, this terrific soundtrack was specially compiled for each of the 14 days. Entertain, educate, empower and enjoy!