November 6, 2012

A peek of my professional life

Category: Random
When it comes to my professional work life, those who know what I do for a living, knows that I work in a dog-eat-dog, back-stabbing, cut-throat industry. Yet, after almost 14 years being a corporate slave that started out in Singapore with several years’ exposure to the various markets in Asia Pacific, and in the last 7 years being exposed to Thailand exclusively, I am still here. 
It still is a tough industry to crack, and I don’t necessarily love every aspects of my job. But, if there is one thing I absolutely love to do, it has got to be training and mentoring.
I am a training junkie – I love being trained and I love giving training. And in the last year or so, that role has evolved to something even bigger to being a workshop facilitator for a group of at least 25 people per time. It is a role I immensely enjoyed that I wish I can do it full-time.
Years ago, I probably would be peeing in my pants if I have to speak up in front of so many people. These days, I do it like it is second nature and I do it with ease.
This was me last week as one of the speakers and facilitator of an awards workshop. I have done this for 3 straight years now, and for some reason, it felt a little bit more special this time round. I don’t know why that was, and if I were to hazard a guess, it is likely that the confidence I exude these days probably grew with my age at 3X and the life-stage I am in at present.
Training, like motherhood, in essence, is a thankless job. Yet, nothing feels more fulfilling than being able to impart the knowledge to the younglings in my industry and then seeing them succeed later on in life. Funnily enough though, I don’t quite remember my whole presentation.
But if there was one thing I distinctly remembered from the workshop that day on attention-grabbing headline by one of the trainers was this:
I almost died laughing!


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November 4, 2012

White wash

Category: Thaism
A new craze in the form of a feminine “white wash” has recently emerged in the market. When I first saw it on the shelves of our local supermarket a few months back, I literally had to raise my eyebrows. Silver Bullet was gob-smacked when I showed it to him, too.
Don’t believe me? Here’s the evidence (in which I had to stealthily snap a picture as quickly as I can before the supermarket staff saw what I was up to!) : 

There has got to be something unnatural about this obsession with whiteness. Not only do we for a fact KNOW that Thai women are obsessed with fairness and whiteness (white skin, white face, white teeth and even white underarms), but an obsession for whiteness of private parts is just too damn…uhmm…disturbing.
Rumour has it that it has become one of the best-selling items around. Bizarreness at its best – just the perfect example of blind consumerism. 
An interesting article with a point of view can be found here
Only in Thailand. 
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November 3, 2012

Sights in Bangkok

Category: Thaism
Spotted:  Big Ben and Eiffel Tower
Where: NOT in London or Paris
Vantage point: From the balcony of a friend’s home 
Location: A rooftop of someone’s home
Evidence: See picture below


It was a weird sight. Fancy seeing not only one, but 2 of the world’s famous icons built to scale and both perched up on someone’s roof top, right here in Bangkok! I don’t think models like that come cheap, and  I just had to take a snapshot of it. it makes me wonder, too, who in their right mind would want those things perched up on their roof, especially when the building itself is looking so dilapidated.
I reckon, the owner of that building either had too much money, or just…hmm…what’s a good word to use…odd? Either way, it doesn’t make any sense. But nothing has to make sense in this country, and for what it’s worth, those iconic structure became a conversation piece for adults like us when we were brought together for a 2 year-old birthday party.
Imagine chilling out and sipping coffee in the balcony, and you can technically “boast” to your friends that you can see the Eiffel Tower and The Big Ben right at where you are.
Kind of lame. But also, in a way, cool. That’s my new word of the day for you – lamey-cool.
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