Just over a year ago, I listed 3 resolutions for 2010: Exercise more and the right way, be more strategic in life and work, and get to the root of problems to grow closer to God. I did manage to make some progress for each of them, but with varying degrees of success. Here’s a…
I read an article in the Straits Times today (an extract from an upcoming book called [The Price of Everything](https://www.amazon.com/dp/1591843626?tag=vantan-20&camp=0&creative=0&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=1591843626&adid=1R4VFV0FV4V38AC498XH&)) on how talent in itself may not come to much, if you were born in the wrong era. Today’s era, with its array of mass communication technologies, allows sports stars and the like to have…
Saying no has been a resolution of mine that I still feel bad doing. Yet, this ability frees people up and allows the requestor to look for alternatives. In fact, I think I should say No more often, for any of the following reasons: 1. I don’t know the requestor well 2. I don’t know…
Recently I was updating different groups of seniors (including an elderly relative) on how information can be easily found on the Internet, say, about myself. In fact, someone did discover my online profile prior to meeting me, and I was recounting how impressed I was at this resourcefulness. However, that provoked a very different reaction…
Lately, we’ve had lots of food for thought about making presentations. It made me look back at what I was doing, just over a year ago, and wonder whether things have really progressed for me since then.
This coming week I will be in South Australia. I’m unlikely to post updates using this blog, because I’m getting tired of MT but have no time to either upgrade to version 5 or (more likely) migrate to WordPress. Twitter’s been erratic (still down, at the time of writing), so if I do send updates,…
Recently, I and others have observed, with a mild sense of bafflement – and subsequently, bemusement – a certain pattern of behaviour that seems to be increasingly pervasive among the new Generations Y and M, who feel they are entitled to things which others have had to work very hard (and smart) for. How shall…
Just got back from a work trip and learned many things that were mainly ‘soft skills’ that cannot be taught in school or textbooks. You come to realise that being a technical expert or specialist may be the baseline, but on top of this, other aspects come into play when discussing issues at international or…
My grandfather, Peter ES Tan, passed away sometime in the morning of Friday, 10 September 2010, surrounded by loved ones. He was just over a month short of his 84th birthday, and we will miss him dearly. As the oldest grandchild, I probably had the most exposure with Ah Kong, as we called him. Love…
We just met last Saturday and we’ll be having 2 more rehearsals before the school concert. We’re so new, we don’t even have a name yet. Sounds drastic? Well, we’ve been practising on our own and finally are merging our efforts and working out the kinks. We’ll be playing two jazz numbers – one’s an…