NOTICE:
Hey people, I have moved my blogs to http://andreww.blogs.friendster.com, so in the future please go to that blog to read my posts online. Meanwhile to update all of my friends, I just returned to Singapore on 20th August and should be staying here until the end of the year if a job comes along my way. Until that day comes I hope...

HAPPY 60th BIRTHDAY, INDONESIA!

Well, no one tried in guessing the answer to the riddle, but the person in the riddle is 'Mother'. Take this riddle as a tribute to the person who gave birth to us and supports the family in times of difficulty and cares for the family in times of sickness. It is because of the presence of a mother that the emperors in ancient times have an imperial nutritionist. So, if any of you reading this blog happens to be frustrated with your mum over anything she has said or done, reflect well that without her, you wouldn't even be on this earth.

My trip to Indonesia is coming to an end and it's time to return to Singapore in 5 days time. But I am still under unemployment. I guess I have yet to try hard in looking for a job. Need to get the Straits Times and look around at the Classifieds for job postings. Looking for a temporary job currently, since I will be off for a trip to Canada for Christmas till the end of January. So I hope to look for a permanent job that starts somewhere in February.

Here's a riddle for all of you out there! Guess a person.
The presence of an imperial nutritionist arises from this person,
This person has influence on all the food taken by all man.
This person acts as a servant,
Yet is at the same time a most respected teacher.
The presence of this person creates a pillar of support,
But the passing of this person creates a stream of tears.
Name the person!
Answers, I will provide in my next blog!

Determination, Perseverance and Willpower - these are 3 qualities for success. This is something I learnt from the Korean drama, Dae Jang Geum which recalls the story of how an ordinary village girl can rise to become the emperor's private physician, overcoming all odds and difficulties faced. However her determination arises from her passion and a target that she has set and looked forward to. That is the importance of an aim and working hard to get towards the objective that one has set for himself/herself.

Over the years, during my travels overseas I have made some interesting observations. The success of a country lies in several factors:
1) The diligence of the country's citizens
2) The level and quality of education
3) The amount of money re-invested by the government on the country
4) Law that is just and fair
5) Amount of foreign investment and entrepreneurship and lastly
6) A prominently uni-religion or uni-racial country or a united country that lives for the same ideals will help a lot towards contributing to a country's development.
On the last point, I am not encouraging a country to be racist or whatever but just to indicate that a country should stand behind a similar ideal of progress for all and not be fragmented by religion or race. This is one thing I believe helps in development of a country.

My family at the wedding dinner! 

With my Sister and my cute niece and nephew! 

Back from a 4 day 3 night trip to Jakarta and my lodging there was settled at my cousin's place in Senayan, South Jakarta. That's the benefit of a big family with dispersed relatives all around the world, you get to stay in cosy accomodation. (Though not for too long....) Furthermore I got the opportunity to mingle with my 2 lovable nephew and niece.
The trip to Jakarta was actually to attend my grand-uncle's son's wedding and the wedding was a grand affair, with his guests filling up the Jakarta Convention Centre. I guess it's because he's the proprietor of Sungai Budi Group in Lampung. Took lots of pictures with my cousins in Jakarta and of course it was a welcome break from idyllic Lampung. Also took this chance to have lots of good food, well at least metropolitan food like Sushi Tei and Fish & Co. My uncle also brought us to have lunch at I-Ta Suki, and it was suprisingly good, even when compared with Coca Steamboat.
As for the ferry trip back to Lampung, I managed to spare time for the Full Metal Alchemist Anime Series, but sadly I forgot to transfer the last episode of FMA onto my laptop!! Arrggghhh.... now I will have to look for it at my hard drive or wait till I return to Singapore. Besides FMA, I am still hooked onto Prince of Tennis and Tenjou Tenge, so that will have to satisfy until I can get my hands on the latest series of Naruto!

One week in Lampung and I will be heading to Jakarta this afternoon, on the long ferry trip journey once again. Another 8 hours on the car + ferry, just the thought makes me tired.... On the bright side, I have been learning new stuffs here in Lampung and re-learned the finer points of the golf swing. Just played for a day and got blisters on my hand, until this professional golfer came along and taught me a better grip. The next time I will be there should be next week when I return from Jakarta.

Have been reading up on the Coffee & Cocoa International Magazine (it's a trade magazine btw) just to learn some new stuff on the trade to prepare myself for business in Lampung just in case... I might just help out my dad till next year, since I am still in the 'slacking' mode! Moreover I am looking forward to the trip to Canada at the end of the year, something that I cannot do when working with any company. Guess that's the benefit of an entrepreneur, you can dictate your own lives and holidays!

My hometown of Bandar Lampung... Note the (idyllic) surroundings! 

Back in my hometown, where the only internet connection available is a dial up connection. Lucky I had prepared my collection of animes and drama serials to keep me reasonably occupied during my stay here in Indonesia. Attended a wedding dinner of a distant relative on Sunday (my cousin's cousin) and at least was occupied during the weekend, and this coming Sunday I will be travelling to Jakarta, where I hope to be able to lay my hands on a proper broadband connection so that I can continue my job search. As to working in Jakarta, that is still a point worth considering...

At Changi Airport now, boarding my flight in 30 minutes time.....Reaching Jakarta in 1 hour and 45 minutes and Lampung in another 7-8 hours. Long journey back home and will only return to Singapore n the 20th August, so till then all my friends!!!

Outside LT2 

Two more days in Singapore, until I return to Indonesia for a long awaited break. However, I reckon I will still be occupied at Lampung even without the broadband connection since there are quite a few weddings to attend while I am in Indonesia. Moreover, I will be continuing my tennis lesson and golf lessons, besides the tons of animes to watch and PS2 games to play.

Went to Sim Lim today to purchase a HDD Casing for my 3.5" desktop 120GB hard disk, since my desktop is dying and I think I better salvage what I could. Also obtained more Canon Photo Papers to print all those graduation photos, winter vacation photos at Canada and maybe the Redang photos too.

The Singapore government announced today that it is relaxing regulations on the property market and they said it wasn't to push up prices but I think otherwise.... The property market in Singapore has been stagnant for nearly a decade from it's peak since 1997. To the banks, owners, developers and ultimately, the goverment, this is not a good news. Property prices could help to push up Singapore's GDP for all that matters but it is also intrinsically linked to the GDP growth of the country. From all points, the government initiative has been to push up property prices in Singapore for it will benefit South East Asia largest property developer, Capitaland - a gov't linked company. This can be seen from the legalization of gambling, relaxation on foreign ownership and loans and mortgages changes. However, I doubt this will do much to stimulate the market since GDP growth has been a laggard in Singapore so far, and foreigners have put more of their money in China and HK properties. Furthermore, cheaper properties that have higher growth and yield potential can be found in markets like Thailand, Malaysia and Australia so the property market in Singapore will likely to remain stagnant in a few more years to come. Perhaps when the 10 years of downturn is out ..... (just my 2 cents worth of analysis)

Outside One-Ninety 

With my family inside Nanyang Auditorium! 

Finally had the chance to meet up with my buddies for dinner yesterday. This time we had dinner at One-Ninety at Four Seasons Hotel and their dessert is absolutely fantastic! Their food was also good and reasonably priced. What I found not worth it was the bottle of Evian they served at the restaurant which costs $12+++ per bottle considering you can get one for $1.50 on the supermarket. Well, I think hotels like these just charge exorbitant prices.... Anyway after the dinner we just walked around Orchard taking photos and I guess I wouldn't see them for some time now that I will return to Indonesia.

About my trip back to Indonesia, I doubt I will be able to continuously update (or even write in this blog) my blog, so I will be taking this chance to write and post as much as I can!

Graduate le!! Yay!