the lastsplash

In 2012, I posted only thrice (excluding this) and one of them was "Resolutions for 2012". While posts have been few and far between, 2012 was a really significant year. It is tradition for me to review of the year: Bertrand turned two. The terrible two? Hardly. He is our love, joy and pride. Our lives are centred around his growth, progress and learning. Our happiness stems from his adorable smiles, creative dance and conversations. He speaks  cheem stuff for a two-year-old. But it can be quite embarrassing when he describes everything he sees. Imagine him saying, "Daddy put-put (farted)". Luckily he didn't say that in public. And one time, he said loudly when he saw our neighbour in his flat, "uncle bo cheng sa" (topless). He loves music. Any melody can set him dancing. He hums to tunes like  Barbra Streisand and We Are Young . He wants to listen to Halls of the Mountain King on youTube. He tries to play instruments, from the drum, th...

What makes a good leader? Some will say a good leader is someone who can bring the best out of his/her people. How do you bring the best out of his/her people? Some will say by giving pointers and guidance.  How do you give pointers and guidance? Some will talk. In fact, most will just talk.  I think a good leader should be someone who walk the talk, not just talk. A good leader gets his/her hands dirty to show his/her people the way. Some may say this is spoon-feeding. I think otherwise. For example, if your staff ask you for guidance on work, most bosses would dispense some wise words, "Do this, look out for this, highlight this...". At the end of the day, the staff will come back to the bosses with the work and bosses will say, "no no, do this, not that". I would think a good leader should draft out the frame on the actual work (may it be slides or documents), then dispense his words of wisdom. The staff will do his/her thinking along that frame and f...

My posts have been few and far between lately. But this is worth the time to share with everyone. Neil Gaiman , my favourite author, gave a commencement address at  University of the Arts in Philadelphia . This is the third commencement transcript I have ever posted. First, Mr Steve Job's speech at Stanford and second, Mr Chan Yen Kit's speech at my commencement (IDA seemed to have taken out the speech). Yes, I am seeing the testament of my choice now... Anyway,  Neil's advice is applicable for everyone beyond the field of Arts. I find his following points really useful: We need to try and not be afraid of making mistakes. Do things others have not tried before. The tried and tested way gives you the same result. But your new way may yield great rewards, just keep trying. We also need confidence to believe we are able to do it, pretend to be someone who can. Often, we are tasked with work we never do before. Think beyond your experiences and skills. Imagine ho...

While my one-year-old is going for his first steps, I am also learning to walk (again). 2011 was full of ups and downs.  I was promoted for the 2nd time in my first job. Not fantastic but not bad either after six years. The challenging issues justifies for the few more dollars increment to the stipend. Murphy is my good friend. With only the final milestone left, I hope to overcome all odds and pull the rabbit outta the hat in 2012! If I am lucky, I may run another project.  For the consecutive year, I expended all my medical leave. After hearing my story, some may say 父爱是伟大的. Some may think I was pure clumsy. As my son likes to watch basketball playing, I decided to show him how to do it myself. At first I felt good, I got it plenty of shots. Unfortunately, I broke my ACL while chasing after the ball. It has been two months and my knee is still weak and hurts occasionally. I plan to go for surgery in 2012, while performing the balancing act of pulling the rabbit and recup...

In between taking care of my dear son, I sneaked out a few hours of the last 24 hours in 2011. It was the third year for me. Here is 2008  and 2010 . With a creaky left knee, I wondered aimlessly from Promenade MRT to Somerset MRT, with a 550D and my Dad's old Olympus mju film compact camera. While I snapped 139 shots on the 550D, I cautiously took only two shots on film. So it will be a while before I can see how the film turn out. :p Nevertheless, here are the thirty crappy shots with no theme or whatsoever... Which quadrant do you belong to?   Stop and adjust yourself.   He fumbles with the map. She wonders where to go. Or is she?  Another of the 鸟 problem in 2011. Pigeons. Call AVA. Crows. Call NEA. Mynah? Easy, M for McDonalds.   Setting up the metal barricades for the New Year countdown road closures.  What are the enchanting moments in 2011?  Giant Mentos on the river or another bureaucratic publicity?  ...