On insurance

I cannot stress how important insurance is.

Had a friend coming to me the other day telling me that his company sells the best Whole of Life (WOL) insurance product. For your information there are others such as Investment Linked Policies (ILP), Term Plan, Savings Plan etc.

That said, there are no "best", so to speak, products. Products change all the time and the pay-out values you signed for will eventually be outdated. Just make sure to update your insurance plan regularly with your insurance agent.



Simple one on how much is enough

Minimum $300,000 on critical illness. A dead person does not burden his family as much.

Rationale: $100,000 to settle immediate medical bills and short-term subsistence. Remaining $200,000 into investments.

Explaining the $200,000:

At a conservative 3% annual interest on your investment, you get $500.00 monthly for lifetime. Most definitely sufficient for subsistence. Furthermore, between investing $10,000 and $200,000, don't you think you are in a better position to ask for discounts on your investments?

Lastly, the above is for singles like me. A breadwinner's problems has different dimensions. Prioritize accordingly and determine what you need based on simple calculations. You do not need an insurance agent to do that.

I repeat, minimum $300,000 on critical illness.

Same exam questions as past years'.

"The professor has set the exact same questions over the last four years"

If I were the professor, I will probably do the same thing because realistically speaking, it is impossible to fully learn one subject matter within half a year. This is not to mention we have five modules, not one.

Set this against our Junior College and Secondary school system. We are used to studying materials that are 10-20 times more difficult than what the A and O level syllabus will ever be. It is different in University because our purpose of studying is no longer about getting the fixed "syllabus" done right. On the contrary, it is open ended. Therefore, rather than wandering about, it would be better for students to streamline their efforts into strengthening their foundations.

That said, competition will be intense.

Concept of fashion as a relation of power

My friend told me about a couple of months back that my belt buckles look ugly, and I told him that I'll kick his ass for saying that. We both laughed it off lol. Here's a little discourse on the concept of fashion. Fashion, or what is beautiful, is power-relative.

Case study: Take a belt buckle from Armani Exchange, remove the brand and show it to people. Perhaps, that's as far as beauty goes.

That said, there are reasons why Armani Exchange is where it is. Positive associations.

Armed firstly with leather, and secondly, it is the Italians and Japanese who designed the buckles we purchased. You can't go wrong. No, I should say you go right. Get your belt from me. Hee.

Putu Mayam: Best business model in the world

I love the putu mayam near my house. The Indian auntie selling it starts work at 9am and ends shortly after 12 noon. I suppose she goes home and tend to her kids after that.

I've decided that selling putu mayam is the best business model in the world. At $0.70 per piece, I usually order two, making it $1.40. However, most customers order at least $2.00 worth of food from this auntie. That said, I can't help but do a little calculation here. Assuming in the three hours that she works per day, she has 100 customers buying $2.00 worth of putu mayam:

1 day = $200.00

30 days = $6,000.00

I'm blown away.

It honestly isn't far fetched because there are other kinds of food such as apom to supplement the putu mayam diet. Compensating the balance between the $2.00 and 100 customers, the auntie has to make $5,000.00 at least. In fact, I'm pretty sure she makes more than $8,000 per month. Take away the rent she has to pay. For a stall that small, as you can reasonably imagine, I leave the rest up to your imagination.

Lastly, what will really sweep you off your feet is the effort it takes to serve putu mayam. It is almost zero. It comes ready-made in packets of 10 thereabout. Next thing to do is to throw brown sugar on it tada!

Three hours a day. $200.00 a day. $6,000 a month. Zero work. *thumbs up*

Singapore brain drain

In a simple manner, I thought about the Arab St, Haji Lane area and the Arab fabric trade:

What are they doing here? Why do they last so long? They are experts on the subject matter and it most certainly has something to do with their culture spanning centuries.

I can't help but compare Arabs with Singaporeans whose young culture is quite deeply rooted in bureaucracy, rules and regulations. We make the best bureaucrats and we best serve the function of plugging bureaucracy (not bureaucratic) problems. Now think Multi-National Corporations. They boom everywhere outside of Singapore while there is only so much prospect in Singapore itself. Therefore, it is not surprising when Singaporeans fulfill their "destinies" and solve their own (economic) problems by solving bureaucracy (not bureaucratic) problems outside their country.

Singapore faces a brain drain problem because Singaporeans can do best what others outside of Singapore can't do, just as how Singaporeans can't do what the Arabs best do.

Something Different

Almost all potential corporate customers ask me if I can customize my leather laptop sleeves into A4 folders.

They say, "I want something different (emphasize)," in zest.

And I think, "Whoa." Honestly, I feel for their excitement.

However, the truth is that all corporate folders, leather or not, looks the same at the end of the day. The concept of something different in most cases are but situations of temporary empowerment of the decision maker. That is not to mention that this decision is but one in the many chores that must be done. The last I know of one of my querying corporate customers, who happens to be my friend (you know who you are hee), his something different ended up looking like it was copied from a competitor company. I didn't get the order, he didn't get his way (or feel as empowered) as he originally felt. Lose-lose situation.

If you want something different ladies and gentlemen, my dual function A4 folder, double as laptop sleeve, is it. Simple yet convincingly chic, not to mention you have not feel and smell it yet. Try convincing your boss or make the decision to put this in the to-buy list, despite knowing that it really does not look like other special corporate A4 folder. Now that is what makes "it", whatever it may be, something different for you and your colleagues.

PS: It works for any other products that you consciously know does not look like the corporate-item-next-door. But please be discerning, that product has to look atas still.

On Singlish

I dedicate this post to Soh Ee.

I walked past the television in my living room some time last week and came across a program on Channel News Asia which my sister was watching. I paused to listen a little as I could recognise some Thai words being used, despite my sister telling me that the program is on Burma. (Yes Soh Ee, I may be mistaken yet again huh :D but... could be Thai-speaking Burmese or a dialect blending both because of language and cultural influences :D)

Regardless of the actual content of the program, be it on the Thais or on the Burmese, it reminded me of two things:

1. Bangkok-ian Thai
2. The conversation I had with my General Paper tutor in Junior College on the use of Singlish.

Pertaining to the former, there must a certain reason why there is a need for such distinction. Assuming Bangkok-centric, the variations of the Thai language are but dialects, possibly thought of as impure.

Moving on to the latter, I understood, or at least I thought I did, the ineffectiveness of Singlish when she brought out the popular sitcom Phua Chu Kang as an example. She ascertained my understanding of the effectiveness of language when I related that despite the lack of grammar in military lingo, or even the omission of verbal communication entirely, soldiers could understand each other by communicating via sign language.

Then I heard on Gold 90 fm, also some time last week, reporting Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew saying that Singaporeans should focus on learning Mandarin well. To that I argue, at least at face value that even in our state university, the National University of Singapore, most Chinese students' preference of language is Mandarin, or should I say Singlish that tends towards Mandarin. And I am sure. It is important to note that fluency in English does not equate it to being a language of preference. Sorry Sir, for most in Singapore, regardless of the race or ethnicity, our mother tongue is not English. But I get what you mean.

Putting the three scenarios above together, there is a recurring theme. Be it Bangkok-ian Thai, "perfect English", Beijing Mandarin or "bu tong hua", or whichever variation is perceived by relevant authorities to be the "standard" Mandarin, they point towards the notion of official business language. It suddenly occurred to me that Singlish and variations of Thai are but "dialects" that have perhaps not yet gained sufficient importance to be the official business language. Singlish may be ineffective elsewhere but it really is effective on Singapore soil.

Singapore in sum, is important on the global platform today. Coupled with our endless hunger to be the best in the world, let us just sit back and wait for our time to come.