"The explosion, caused by the lightening, created a hole the size of a soccer ball, on the Merlion."

Click here for report and pic.

'Good Fren' and I put together yet another dinner and karaoke event at Hong Kong Fusion for the class last night. This is the largest group ever. 28 of us crammed into the room on the upper floor.

The system we worked out was to send out an invitation email to the whole class. Seats are secured on a first-reply-first-served basis. Within less than 30 minutes, all 28 seats were filled, and in the next couple of days, the reservation list grew to more than 20 people-long?!


Like the last time, we negotiated with Hong Kong Fusion for something special in the menu. As inspired by our conversation at Kristof and Veerle's, we requested for something... exotic...

Drunken prawns!


And frog legs!! =)))

The frog legs did not turn out to be as scary as some classmates had thought they would be! Heh Heh Heh!! =))

Of course... The night is not only about the food...

In fact... The powerful combination of Eating + Singing can be rather... shocking...

Please see the following evidence:

Exhibit A - 3 MBAs eating in a calm manner...


Exhibit B - Same group... Singing... =)))


The songs just kept going...


Takashi Bon Jovi-San made his appearance again!!!
Shocked the socks off a few classmates!


I love these two pics! They sum up the energy of the night!

Check out the perspiration cascading down Pady's cheeks!

And as the night went on... People got high... Things get a little...

Is this a problem?! OF COURSE NOT!!
It's the work of that sinister Turkish liquid you see on the table!
Can this become a problem?
Well... That very much depends on one's perspective, doesn't it?

I must say... This event was rather different from the one before... I am still trying to understand what contributed to the difference!!

Because... apart from singing... the energetic crowd somehow managed to form a human train and made it move around in that tiny room!!


And... erm... the crowd started doing the Macarena?!! We had to tell them to "No Jumping!! No Jumping!!"

We also attempted Las Ketchup?!! Now, where's Carlos?!!

By 11pm, we kept saying,"Last song! Last song! They are closing!!"
Bora tried to stop the Karaoke machine and got manhandled!
'Good Fren' tried to stop the Karaoke machine and got manhandled too!! The crowd was unstoppable!!

Finally, the last song... in the 'Awwwwwww!! Arms around shoulder and swaying' manner!!


I witnessed this conversation at the door.

Mean-looking Security (from Turkey): Miss? You cannot leave. You did not sing!
Delia: They do not have Japanese and Romanian songs!
(Delia, from Romania, has studied, lived and worked in Japan for almost a decade.)

Finally... The crowd put on their jackets and got onto their transports... and were on their way home...

.............................................................

Someone passed a comment that 'Good Fren' and I were 'very on' to be organising these events. I guess perhaps we ought to be pursuing activities that were more 'productive'. Perhaps stuff that we could include in our CVs. 'President of XXX club', 'Rowing team in XXX college', 'Painted a room for the local charity' etc.

No employer cares whether you'd consistently arranged for a series of social events for your MBA class.

Furthermore, we have had a few rather unpleasant encounters, mainly due to what I call 'the curse of the long waiting list'. Some people cancelled at the last minute, thinking that because the waiting list is full of people that a replacement can be found very easily, hardly cognizant of the work that is required to go through the list and that people on the waiting list may have made some other plans like they have. Or that if they had paid regardless of attendance, that it would be ok. We even had someone lie to us about the reason for cancellation, and (un)fortunately, we discovered the little lie very swiftly.

Yet another curiously "it's you, not me" request was that the organisers should set aside 'non-singing seats' in the karaoke so that these people could soak in the energy and have their dinner without having to feel any pressure to participate.

Hmmm... The point of organising events like this is, unlike its attendant complications, really very simple. We just want to get to know more people and have some fun. In a rather unintuitive manner, I think we have achieved our objectives very well...

Regardless, 'Good Fren' and I have teamed up with our Japanese classmate, Takashi, to put together yet another dinner and karaoke next week. This time... in a Japanese theme!

Just because we are a monopoly doesn't mean we do not improve on our product and services, hokay! Product differentiation is the niche player's strategy!! We love Dr H! =)))

I can't believe our luck.
After a steroids-induced sleepless night, we woke up to this in the morning.

Workers hacking the brick staircase wall belonging to the unit upstairs and flinging the loose bricks from upstairs into the metal container called a 'skip' in the garden on the ground floor.

So, the cacophony goes something like this:


The garden is not the property of the upstairs unit. It means... the skip, together with the contractor's sign and workers who have moved the skip into the garden/installed the sign, is trespassing?!

But the noise is not trespassing... Coz no one has figured out how to deal with that bit yet.

These are busy and uncertain times... We are more than 50% through the MBA and still looking for jobs. We go through the endless cycle of school + job hunting + socialising a few times a week. Some go through it a few days a time.

On Tuesday, I met up with Panash (UK) at Cafe de Paris along Mill Road to discuss the ARM case over some lunch.

It's refreshing to break out the routine sometimes... Although still working on school stuff, a change of venue makes a lot of difference.

That evening, part of my Brisbane had dinner together at Little Seoul... AGAIN... =)))

David (Hong Kong) and me!
(I need a haircut badly and intend to do so when I drop by Singapore in April. Jonathan!!!)

Ahhh... The elusive #5 showing us his signature hand!!

We will be lucky enough to spot him clearly some day... Maybe in some boardshorts?!! WOO HOOO!!!!

On Wednesday night, after the AT Kearney career talk, a small group starting to roll in Judge Business School, then along Trumpington Street...

Eventually, we became a group of 8 headed for the rather curious... RAINBOW CAFE in a small alley opposite King's College.

I love the way we usually end up in a motley crue of people.

At the table, we had 3 ethnic Indians who hold different passports, 2 Singaporeans, 1 Pakistani who was speaking to the India Indian in a common language, 1 guy from Bahrain and an East Coast American who sounded like he's from Alabama.

Thomas (South Africa) and Fahad (Pakistan) reading off the almost VEGAN menu!! I felt really healthy after the meal!!


Hasan (Bahrain) and 'Good Fren' (Singapore)... And yes!! 'Good Fren' had a hair cut!! =)))


Deepankar (India) and Ryan (US).

Ok, despite our tiny class size (relative to other business schools) of less than 150, that night was the first I'd ever spoken with Ryan. Imagine that! I seriously doubt the kind of 'networking' other business schools claim within their class.

Anyway...

Ryan has an interesting background. He's from West Point.
I enjoyed his sharing of life at West Point, in the forces, his work etc. I need to chat with him more. I wanna learn about how West Point conducts moral and ethical training because I think global educational institutions need to incorporate these basics into their curriculum. I hate to use the current economic crisis as an example to justify the need. What are the techniques for such training? I do not mean the values to be infused. That's another blog/entry/thesis/lifetime altogether.

Back to the dinner...

As usual, I took pictures of the food when it arrived. I guess Ryan was a little surprised. That's when Hasan, in his usual stoic cheeky manner, gave Ryan some very good advice:


WAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!



Food, though bordering vegan-crazy, was in fact very delicious.

I had something called Gado Gado (see top right)... Apart from some taste of peanut, it did not resemble what I'm used to in Indonesian cuisine at all... But it's still good.

In such times, we keep one another going... In small ways... here and there... Hopefully... Years later... We will look back... and laugh at our silly little jokes/antics... and the anxiety we felt amidst the financial meltdown in 2008/9.

Kristof and his wife, Veerle, (Belgium) invited us to Jesus College for a formal dinner tonight.

It has been a long while we've been to a formal dinner. Because Jesus College is not too far away, we started getting ready about 30 minutes before. 'Good Fren' put on a suit and tie, while I put on my favourite black dress and 2 layers of leggings coz it's cold. I got ready much faster than 'Good Fren'. Put on my overcoat, got out of the house and unchained my bicycle from the post.

As usual, I swung my left leg over the back wheel to get onto the bike. That's when I hear the sound of fabric tearing... Very crisply and swiftly. =_=

I tore my dress by striding over the back wheel just 10 minutes before the formal dinner. KNN.

Just then, 'Good Fren' got out of the house.

BM: I tore my dress.
GF: Uh oh... Is it bad?
BM: *feels the tear going up almost all the way up the thighs* Erm... Yeah...
GF: Change?
BM: You give them a call, ok? *hurries back into the house*

After some dilemma of choosing from my limited selection of 2 remaining dresses, we were on our way.

There was a queue!!


Undergrads!!


A small but lovely dining hall...

(I am really beginning to believe that Churchill College has the largest dining hall.)

Dinner menu!


I've been wondering why Western dining tables are arranged in rows, while Asian dining tables are usually in rounds.


Our lovely hosts!


Other MBAs were there too! George (Cypress) and Deepankar (India).


Michele (France) and Alex (Macau)


I must say... The food did not disappoint!


Orrrrrhhhh.... So SCHWEET!!!


The orange flan was really tough... It tasted like it was made in a factory nearby. I guess that must be the Ops Management essay rubbing off my taste buds.


After dinner, we took a really short walk to Kristof and Veerle's apartment just across the street!! It's such a lovely apartment!! WE ARE SO JEALOUS!!!


People chilling in the living room. Discussing weird foods we have eaten.

Few cultures can beat the Chinese when it comes to weird consumptions. Somehow, the thought of boiling live drunken prawns disturbed our hosts from Belgium. That cannot be as bad as eating a RABBIT?!!

I must say... 'Good Fren' was looking very sharp tonight... Check out the special mood shot!

Friday night... The MBA room was stuffed with pizzas.


And beer... =)))


That was merely foreplay... To build up the mood for some LURRRRRRRVE...


Our beautiful and eligible were put up for... test...



Eager hot-blooded (class)mates... Wooing the single with their... intelligence... and wit...


The eligible male...


... has many fans... of all shapes... sizes... and... well... you know!!


The Dating Game is hard work. Beer helps.


Orrrrrhhh...


Check it out... It's the elusive AMY!!

The answer of the night came from AMY.

Qn: Describe the best morning with Kevin.

Ans: Bacon and fertilised eggs.

Even with that... she didn't make the cut...

Coz it's obvious that these two got on much much better!!


They are so compatible...


After the Dating Game, a bunch of us made our way to Brown's... It's all normal... Calm night... until I suggested we ought to visit the now opened 24-7 library at midnight...

So we did...

A bunch of MBAs made a round in the library. Lars even picked up a book on Quantitative Approach just to complete the library experience.

We thought the night was over... when the group sort of gravitated towards the MBA room, someone put out the beer, someone switched off the lights and on the flashing bicycle lights, and someone put on Youtube. Impromptu party!! I can't describe it. It's hilarious!!
.....................................................

Saturday (late) morning, we pedaled our way to Igor's (Russia) to spend Valentine's Day with.

Effectively, we spent Valentine's Day with 3 other couples:

1. Igor and wife, Julia
2. Sebastian and wife, Nur
   
3. Axel and Bora =)))
   

The tall German, Axel, was holding up the door frame with his head.


Oh... He brought and boiled some white German sausages. YUM!!


While Sebastian and his wife (Chile) chatted with Bora (Turkey) and 'Good Fren' (Singapore) in the living room.


Igor made this... 10 eggs!!!


MMMMmmmm... I am not a breakfast person...

But eversince Bora invited us over to his place for breakfast a few weeks ago, I am beginning to think that a slow and full breakfast is a great way to start the day!!


Excluding the time to be spent on the Global Consulting Project, our class is left with only about 12 - 15 weeks of MBA classes. If we do not attempt to spend more time to get to know one another, we may not get another chance very soon.

I love having dinners with my MBA classmates.

For example, we and Takashi (Japan) have become rather regular diners. He's so natural while I take pics... and vice versa! =))

This was taken at Little Seoul. We like!!!

Unlike someone who refused to be identified... Let's just call him #5. =))

Over the course of the next couple of months... Perhaps I will be able to get shots of #4, #3, #2 and maybe... the elusive #1... You'll see... =)))
.....................................................................

Axel suggested that we ought to have dinner together.
We immediately thought of Bangkok City, the Thai restaurant that 'Good Fren' and I went to over the Dec hols. (Coz we were there just last night!) =)))

And because I promised Takashi to bring him there, I asked him too.

Then Erik (US) was asking us over email to join him for a formal dinner sometime next week, so I returned the gesture and asked him to come to Bangkok City tonight too.

Then it snowed really hard...

And on my way to the Leadership Seminar this evening, I met Carlos (Spain) and his girlfriend, Tiina at the lobby, so I asked them along too.

Then somehow, Thomas sat beside me during the lecture, so I asked him to come to Bangkok City too.

Then while we were all trying to gather in the lobby after the lecture, we met Go (Japan) and Zarko (Serbia). Zarko was craving for sushi, and I was trying to convince that the sushi in Cambridge is crap and that he and Go ought to try Thai for the night. So, they came to Bangkok City too!

So... In the end... We had a table of 10!!



I apologise for the crappy pic, but you can vaguely see Carlos and Takashi trying to demonstrate the damage that the Tom Yum Soup did to them. Apparently, it was too spicy for all at the table, apart from 'Good Fren' and I.

Dunno who asked about national childhood aspirations.


This list is somewhat like this:

Little Spanish Boy: Soccer player!
Little German Boy: Soccer player!
Little Serbian Boy: Soccer/Basketball player!
Little Japanese Boy: Ultraman/Masked Rider Soccer/Baseball player!
Little Singaporean Boy: *looks up and shifts glasses*
........................................................................

We are thinking of another Hong Kong Fusion gathering... Like really soon...

Food, Karaoke & Friends...

We got back to Cambridge from Barcelona this morning at around 2am. It has been an eventful trip. I will blog about it later.

Stayed up to finish some application forms. I slept at 3am as the drug took over. Somnolence.

'Good Fren', despite his aching body, slept at 4am.

At 8am, we woke up to make our way to Philosophy of Management.

11am and fresh out of our first Philosophy class, we grabbed a panini at the cafe quickly so that 'Good Fren' could go for his 11.30am to 3pm Performance Management class. This is the first course we are not taking together. Instead, I will be reading Topics from Financial History. I need to get the big picture right before I can convince myself of any more financial formulas.

At 11.30am, I pushed my bicycle and headed back home in the drizzle. Once I got back, I started to clear the emails and the luggage full of dirty laundry. Chatted with a friend and 'Good Fren' on SKYPE shortly before calling my mother. She's in the middle of the funeral rites. Though she sounded serious, I thought she was ok. She didn't see the need for me to fly back. I am glad she spared me the emotional roller coaster. Funerals, like weddings, are emotionally draining in similar intensities. Because of the MBA, I missed 3 of them in the past few months. That's a significant bundle of family gatherings.

3.15pm, as I was putting up the laundry, 'Good Fren' opened the door. We were gonna be late for our appointment with the rental agent. Erm... Yeah... We are looking to move again. It's been a spate of real hardcore bad luck. During our previous accommodation hunt, we visited this place at least thrice and didn't notice the problem. After we shifted in, we realised that the walls were extremely thin and the wooden floors carried impact noise from next door clearly, especially when the occupants prefer to wear heeled shoes in the house and sing/entertain in groups till late regularly. To make matters worse, we have news that the owner upstairs would like to fix the roof. This means workers coming in and out from 8am to 5pm every weekday. The ceiling is so thin that we can hear the workers humming to themselves while working, not to mention the drilling.

3.40pm, we met up with the agent. We spoke with the neighbour downstairs. A friendly and trusting American lady from Washington DC whose 5 months pregnant. The apartment is next to two pubs. Hmmm... Not a lucid choice, shall we say?

4pm, we were on our way to the Grafton for some groceries. 'Good Fren' was making some herbal soup for me. YAY!

5.40pm, I pedaled slowly to school to join my Global Consulting Project (GCP) team. We had our 3rd teleconference call with the client in Brisbane. Yeah... We are going to Brisbane in 5 weeks! And I shall drop by Singapore on the way back!! YAY!! Mummy, Blinky and Tiger!!

8.30pm, with sleet trying to make its way into my eyes, I pedaled back... once again... very slowly. As I opened the door, I could smell the herbs. Mmmmm... Eu Yang Sang...

'Good Fren' took over the sorting out after I left. He finished up by clearing the stuff on the dining table, sorted out the insurance forms, paid the bills etc. I did more laundry, and decided that I could do with a hot bath soak while I attempted the readings for tomorrow's Strategy class.

Let's hold it together a little more.

Senior Minister of State (ICA) Lui Tuck Yew said recently that the online community had squandered an opportunity for higher degree of self-regulation. I thought he was referring to the ridiculous set up + breakdown of the Association of Bloggers. I read on and realised that he was referring to some online flamers' comments on the attack on MP Seng Han Tong by a mad man.

See here & here.

While I can understand how indignant he feels about those outrageous comments (e.g. that MP Seng deserved the attack), I cannot help but to laugh at his very public reaction to these comments.

Firstly, the online community is made up of many many fragmented groups and individuals. Just because one finds a handful of forummers flaming an MP, doesn't meant all others are in it together. It is merely a very convenient construct of 'a single online community' that leads to conclusions such as 'they need to be regulated'. It must be even more convenient to identify people who display similar characteristics as the madman who set MP Seng on fire. These people obviously cannot be self-regulated.

It is also amusing to note that Mr Lui thinks because the others online neither rebutted nor responded to the flamers, that the Internet cannot be left unchallenged, unquestioned etc. Is Mr Lui suggesting a flame war online? What is this? 大专辩论会? So what if there was debate? So that one can rest better tonight thinking that the audience has gotten a more balanced view of the situation? Doesn't change the presence of the flamers and their views.

Secondly, since we on the topic of rebuttals etc, 'flaming' is the way of life online. It may be uncomfortable for those who are not familiar with it, but such is the online world. It's just noise. The ability to separate noise from meaningful speech is key. As far as I have seen in all 33 years of my life, this ability is sorely lacking regardless of one's education background, achievements etc.

And seriously, how does one intend to regulate the online world in a meaningful manner? Block every major discussion forums when the discussion content does not sit well with policy makers? Or uncover the identities of every single forummer who behaves in a wayward manner? I think this will warrant the set-up of a separate and full-fledged enforcement unit within MICA or a stat board, complete with intel, ops, investigation and service quality competencies.

Before these policy makers do anything, I suggest for them (not only the senior minister of state, but also the officers who were involved in drafting his response in parliament) to clarify their assumptions and get NUS/NTU to run a 3-day workshop on the following topics:

• Society 101
• Internet 101
• Singapore 101
  

This morning, 20 of us gathered at the lobby of Judge Business School.

To go on a factory tour as part of Operations Management.

We are meant to figure out whether we could effectively assess a factory's operations by visiting it. A 2,000-word essay and 6 credits were at stake!

Somehow, this tour turned out to be girl-heavy group.


Maybe it's because we were visiting a chocolate factory?! And not some engine-manufacturer or brewery?


We arrived at Cadbury after a 2-hour bus ride. Everyone got really excited at the lobby.


Can you spot me? And Carlos with the signature V to his eyes?!

Pic with compliments from Takashi (Japan). He has a really cock pic of me on his blog, if you are interested.

Even the cow looked rather... ready for us??


I dunno what Carlos (Spain) was trying to do. We are merely classmates.


Before we started on anything, we were fed with lunch! No chocs yet... Just normal lunch... =))


After lunch, we transformed into shed-free beings.

We were tempted to keep the snoods and all for the next formal or May Ball...

Unfortunately, we could not take pictures of the production process. All I can say is that we walked miles within the huge factory and inhaled probably a gallon of cocoa fumes. I dun wanna see another piece of choc for a significant while!!

Before we left, we were each presented with a Cadbury goodie which consisted of at least 2-3 kg worth of chocs and sweets!! *fainted*

Now... I wonder if the same would happen if we had visited a Rolex watch production facility? =))

Other groups of classmates went to visit Jaguar, Rolls Royce, some brewery, shoe factory etc... Imagine what we will be bringing to school tomorrow?!

• Some chocolate
• Some beer
• Some shoes
• Some engine parts...
  

.........................................................

Once back in Cambridge, Takashi (Japan), 'Good Fren' and I made our way hungrily to Little Seoul for dinner. It is now our second favourite haunt, second to Hong Kong Fusion. Sesame has dipped in ranking... =P

We must have been really hungry because I forgot to take pics of dinner!!

After dinner, we took a short stroll to King's Parade and had some ice cream and caffeine.

It may sound a little nerdy, but we were discussing how to write the Operations Management essay. Almost having a little debrief about the day's experience.

Ahhh... I wish we could have more of such discussions with classmates, instead of merely making small talk about nothing.

The Cambridge experience has been most bizarre.

The day after we arrived in Sep 08, amidst a soaring fever and drifting in and out of an achy slumber, I thought I heard 'Good Fren' told me that Lehman Brothers had gone under. Is it true? I still cannot believe it till this day. Worst recession in 60 years, they say.

As if a human-caused disaster was not bad enough, it started snowing rather heavily yesterday and today on this ill-prepared country. Some classmates slipped on the icy paths today. I clung onto 'Good Fren's arm very tightly. Worst snow storm in 18 years, I hear.



Just as I was thinking to myself... What next?

Someone threw a shoe at the Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jia Bao during his speech in University of Cambridge this afternoon, while I was in the Strategy lecture, listening intently to Dr Hadida. Copycat shoe-thrower, they wrote.

What's next? What's next?
Come on! Come on!

'Good Fren' attended the Asian Food Festival, organised by CUMSA (Cambridge University Malaysian and Singaporean Association) without me last night!!

coz i is still unwell. (must reduce the font size so that my mother cannot read this properly.)

I kept thinking it's an event where the food would be catered.
Check out how professional the dinner menu looks!

If you look closely, the belly of the red cow says M-E-N-U.
Imagine how much work has been put into this. =))

If the pics are not well-taken... Remember... I wasn't there!


Around 100 people turned up.


Little did I know... The food was prepared by the organising committee!! No kidding!!

And for GBP10 per head, these students put together a wonderful homecooked feast for 100.

They actually made YUSHENG!!! Ahhh.... I WANT!!

Apparently, they made Bak Kut Teh, but 'Good Fren' forgot to take pics of them!

Spring rolls, 'golden coins' and others...


Chicken Rice!!


Mee Siam!!


Nasi Lemak!!


Rendang and Bryani!!


And for desserts... Sweet tapioca soup and *i can't believe it* Ondeh Ondeh!! Who made those?!


And just because I wasn't there... 'Good Fren' took pics with some chicks!! =_=

ROAR!! *cough cough* I is poor thing...

Anyway, I was thinking...
When MM Lee Kuan Yew and former Chief Justice Yong Pung How founded CUMSA in 1948...
I wonder if they'd put together such a feast?!
It's kind of hard to imagine that actually.