Book Preview: The Panic of 1907

Waiting for this book to be launched in a few weeks' time.

Coincidentally, exactly 100 years ago, the U.S. went through one of the biggest financial crisis in its economic history - i.e. the "Panic of 1907" as it was commonly called. Two writers Robert Bruner and Sean Carr decided to write a book at this 100th anniversary giving an account of the highly dramatic events of that year. The book is expected to come out in mid-September. Little did the writers of this new book know that the events of the last few weeks would see many analysts drawing comparisons between the 1907 crisis and the current global credit turmoil.

The analysts appear to be saying that there are many uncanny parallels between the two situations. Essentially, both crises came about because of a "perfect storm" or confluence of factors, i.e. a booming economy just prior to it, an unprecedented rash of corporate mergers and acquisitions and a profusion of borrowers and creditors who overreach in their use of debt. In both instances, it resulted in "credit anorexia" amongst financial institutions, which threatens to halt one of the key cogs of the economy - debt provision.

Amazon and other booksellers are probably taking the chance to hype up the book, well, good for them. I am actually curious about the book for another reason.

You see, the book is supposed to have given a good account of how one man single-handedly bailed the whole country out of a financial implosion. That guy's name is J.Pierpont Morgan, who put together probably the most famous financial rescue plan in economic history, which he basically made (or as people say, forced) all the other bank presidents at that time to sign up to. As an example of what he did during that year 1907 - at one point of the crisis, the New York Stock Exchange was threatening to close down in the middle of the trading day, Morgan essentially prevented a complete meltdown of the capital markets by announcing that he would underwrite a $30 million bond offering (equivalent to $900 million in our day) for the stock exchange.

There are some who even said he engineered the financial crisis in the first place so as to profit from it eventually. Well, if he did that, he certainly made the most colossal gamble that any person dared to make. In any case, after the crisis, he did make a huge amount of money and spawned the creation of many of the key financial and corporate institutions we know of today, e.g. GE, Morgan Grenfell, US Steel, Exxon etc.

I have always been quite fascinated with the man even before I had anything to do with one of his legacy institutions. When travelling in New York some years ago, I came across the House of Morgan (23rd Wall Street), built at a mere 4 storeys amidst the towering blocks around it, which was meant to demonstrate the economic prowess of the man and his institution at that time. There is also the incredible Morgan Art Musuem, which houses one of the most amazing art collections ever (lots of famous paintings, original scores of Beethoven, Mozart, and even a whole roof of a French castle). There are many colourful stories about the man. He was apparently very strange and enigmatic - reticent, all-powerful and demanding perfect authority.

One question that has been asked is who will be the "Morgan" of this crisis (if it does become a true one)? Some say it will be the central banks, who have been pouring in giant amounts of money into the system in the last two weeks. Some say you do need a real "Morgan", since it is about restoring confidence, and a human person putting his own capital at stake is always going to be more convincing than a faceless central bank system. One writer says it may be Warren Buffet, who interestingly, indirectly owns 19% of Moody, a rating agency who may have caused some of the subprime debt issues in the first place.

All pretty interesting to watch and read. Of course, I do hope things to become stable soon. In the meantime, I am actually kind of glad for the time and opportunity to learn a bit more about all these new financial products and systems that were identified to have triggered the situation. While the markets are hot, nobody cares to really explain it to you (and you are busy yourself with the ride). I was surprised to find that there's much good literature out there that tries to explain the issues. That is necessary and good. Afterall, the crisis is partly about Fugu Fish hedge funds selling collateralized debt packages to the Moms and Pops and Auntie Wongs of this world who may not fully understand what goes into them.

Evening Run

The Trees look different from the day.

(More beautiful methinks)

They stand

quietly by, like dear grandparents,

as I run past them at night.

Facebook

Yes, I am finally on it, after months of coy declining of invitations from cyber-resident-happy-friends. It was more out of curiosity than anything. After reading the Wikipedia entry, and being pretty fascinated with discussion on Facebook as a social phenomenon, the intriguing legal suits surrounding intellectual property rights, and the bidding war between giant private equity funds for a stake in Facebook, I was curious enough to finally give in to a friend's cajoling and joined it just before the weekend.

I was promptly Thrown Sheep and all manner of cattle offal, and have been engaged in Food Fights ever since, but I do want to report that it is as much the amazing phenomenon that people have been talking about.

I must say the idea of self-added applications (AIP) is a very clever one - it was pretty cool seeing the bursts of creativity coming from all corners of the cyberworld. And I think it is the best kind of creativity there is - i.e. garnered from the general pool of human knowledge/resource (just like the cool Photosyth technology I blogged about a few weeks ago) and engineered with the clear purpose of human application.

And of course, the biggest boon is that I am connected to some very good friends in another way now (even though not all my social circles are represented on my Facebook - for example, I noted with amusement after a quick search that NONE of my classmates from my junior college humanities class were on it - computer dinosaurs as most of us tended to be. Hello there JC friends, it is not as scary as it seems, really! :)) .

It has been especially good to hook up with those many friends who live in Hong Kong and elsewhere in the world that I don't often get to see. It all suddenly dawned on me why I have felt for a long time it is quite challenging to keep up with these overseas friendships. Even though there is email and instant messaging, it is not always possible to keep up constant interaction with these friends because of different timezones and the crazy work schedules that people have.

From that, I am now beginning to recognize that the essence of most friendships is made up of just as much "Talk" as "Play". And of course, Facebook is about "Reclaiming Play". The friendly banter and silly games takes place in parallel with the more serious private one-to-one conversations. But this is exactly as happens in real life! I was quickly reminded of all the crazy raucous goofing around that used to take place within my HK circle, the stuff that formed the bases for many deep life-long friendships from there....

If you came to know this blog through me, you are probably already a Friend or someone that would be able to find me on Facebook through my real name. Be warned though, my favorite activities are Headbutting and drawing Graffiti on people's Walls. :)

No Mere Mortals

A rather heavy heart tonight, do want to pray but find it difficult to start. It's worse because one knows exactly why. An email, a phone call this afternoon made me realized how little I can really care about the golden commandment. Back home after DG, I flipped almost involuntarily to this passage in C.S Lewis' classic essay which I have read so many times in the past, but which strikes the conscience sharply every time:

"It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or other of these destinations. It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and the circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. There are no 'ordinary' people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilisations -- these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whome we joke with, work with, marry, snub and exploit -- immortal horrors or everlasting splendours. This does not mean that we are to be perpetually solemn. We must play. But our merriment must be of that kind (and it is, in fact, the merriest kind) which exists between people who have, from the outset, taken each other seriously -- no flippancy, no superiority, no presumption. And our charity must be a real and costly love, with deep feeling for the sins in spite of which we love the sinner -- no mere tolerance or indulgence which parodies love as flippancy parodies merriment."

--C. S. Lewis, From The Weight of Glory

So easy for me to say : "Love Thy Neighbour". How many times have I chosen to love those only who are more interesting, more beautiful, more happy, or those who can love me back. So easy to procrastinate a phone call back to a lonely faraway friend, to hasten a boring conversation, ignore an email, and avoid the funny-shaped sheep of Christ.

But for the help of God, it is impossible to love.

Invisible City

Conversation at Billy Bombers (over overly-sweet milkshakes) after watching Tan Pin Pin's documentary "Invisible City" :

EC: "So what do you all think of the movie? You all like it?

All: "I like!" "Not bad" "I like Singapore Ga-Ga better leh." "A qualified No"

(i.e.various responses)

E.C: "What do you all think it is about?"

SomeBody Who Read The Review: "It's about history-both national and personal, and attempts to preserve the seldom spoken parts of it. It's also about memory and the atrophy of memory."

(Conversation then proceeded to recount the things in the past which we no longer see today, including snail-mail pen pals, IRC chat rooms, typewritten school assignments, the kok-kok noodle man. LKP won hands down with his account of the night soil collector who visited his estate up till the time when he was 10 years old)

Me: Will there really be an invisible city in 50 years time? I mean, with the internet, digital photography, personal blogging, electronic storage, everything can be and is being archived for posterity.

E.C.: I think there will definitely still be an invisible city. There will always be people who will keep their memories and private to themselves.

LKP: There will also be those people in society who are marginalized or repressed, who may not find a voice at all despite this state of technological advancement.

Me: That's probably true. I guess preserving history is not the same as preserving the experience of people who lived through that history. Sometimes we ourselves don't remember what happened, even though we have photographs or films depicting the past.

E.C: Ya. Commentary is key. That's why the Ivan guy said he included personal commentary for his old film footage! Other people won't have a chance of knowing what in the world they were about otherwise!

Arrow (ex-government officer) : Anyway, you think our National Archives really keep everything? They destroy records after a certain time you know?

All: "Really ah?!"

Arrow: "Ya lor! That's why the old guy said he didn't like the National Archives mah!"

*************************************

To me, Invisible City is about ordinary people trying to make a mark about their existence, or the existence of something else important to them. Anything that exists, must be reasonable, so saith Hegel. So to be of reason, one must exist, and be visible in some form, even if only to oneself.

A Week in the Studio

"Contentment"

(Watercolour on cold pressed paper. Full poster size.)

"Through a Scanner Darkly"

(Watercolour on Arches paper. My favorite of the week.)

"Sumi Crane"

(I tried this for fun with leftover paper and dark paint, but it was probably the most difficult piece out of the whole lot, I was perspiring after 2 minutes! It sure makes one appreciate the Chinese paint masters! Got a Chinese seal of my surname made for $30 at Chinatown.)

"Bukit Timah Forest Leaves"
(This is fast becoming my favorite subject. There are a million pictures that leaves can provide. I need a better camera to take these photos though.)

"Some Corner of Malacca"
(Quick Pen and Wash done under an hour.)

Next Stop Ueno

Four trips to Tokyo in the last five years, the sprawling city is starting to gain a certain familiarity, which usually happens when one location within it becomes a point of reference, in this case the cool designer Andon Ryokan in Minowa, which we went back again this year to stay.

Funny how cities like Tokyo can become so familiar and yet remain an effort to get to. Anyone who's been there would know what I mean. There's only one hour time difference between Japan and Singapore, but it is a solid 7.5 hours plane ride from Singapore to Tokyo. When you land at Narita, there is a longish train ride into the city that takes at least an hour. Door to door, you are talking about nearly 12 hours of travel time to get there.

One banker that I travelled together with recently commented that the greatest cost of doing business in Asia is the amount of travel time from city to city. Many of the investment banks are trying to figure out how to cut short that time, including using private jets or corporate time sharing of aircrafts. But he says these methods are still prohibitively expensive. Apparently it costs $50,000 to make a private landing at Narita. And somehow, I just don't see the CEOs of Morgan Stanley, Goldman and Merrills all sharing a private plane to go for a competitive beauty parade in any city at the same time.

Last Monday afternoon, while sitting in the subway train going from Tsujiki back to our ryokan in Minowa, and anticipating the long drawn travel route back to Singapore that evening, Agent M quipped, "You know, I am really not looking forward to the plane ride back. How nice it would be if the next stop was Clementi, and then Bishan." Sitting in that now-familiar Tokyo train, it seemed dreamily possible that we could be conveyed to our own doorsteps without further ado. It would be great if travel one day really got that efficient, and we could just take the MRT to eat sashimi uni in Tokyo when we got off.

Art Books Kinokuniya

Did you grow up in the 70s? If so, did your mother make clothes for herself and the family using Japanese dress pattern books like this?


My mom did. I was always curious why those pattern books were invariably in Japanese. My mom did not read Japanese, how useful did she really find those books? Why could she not get those books in Chinese or English? It was one of those childhood puzzles that I don't think I ever solved.

But then last week, while visiting the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, I came across these books in the museum shop, which had an unusual array of art instruction books and even art supplies.


I bought a rather big bunch of these, and am pretty excited about the new "discovery" - Japanese art instruction books were inexpensive (compared to the ones from the US and Europe sold here) and were very detailed in terms of pictoral representations (which is helpful since I don't read Japanese!) Best of all, they had an "oriental" slant to the painting styles, i.e. clean and less fussy than the traditional Western methods, which is personally an appealing thing to me.

Another section to explore at Kinokuniya! :)

Inside Studio Ghibli

My favourite part of the Ghibli Museum in Mitake Tokyo was definitely the two "preparatory spas" which re-created Miyazake's work studio for his early career. They were more like personal studies of an individual, with personal collections of the artist's books, music and of course sketches and paintwork. The museum was styled in a way that allowed visitors to touch and handle the personal artefacts in the rooms.

It confirmed one thing that I have always believed about great artists - their interests are always extremely broad. You could tell from the books (both Japaneses and foreign language) that were in Miyazake's studio - everything from children's and classical literature, to architecture and even engineering. There were books on botany, insects, trains, ships and aeroplanes. No wonder his animation work is so full of delightful nuances and details, a product of wonderfully curious mind!

Just spent N-Day afternoon re-watching some of the Ghibli collection, including Totoro. The more I watch Miyazake's stuff, the more I see his (and his studio workers') sensitivity to both to art and character development. The setting in each movie is like a beautiful, lovingly crafted art canvas on which people and magical creatures come to live. His characters are never simple, the storyline always profound and wildly imaginative. It's a shame that kids (and adults) in another part of the world have to be satisfied with Walt Disney, at best Pixar.

Sunflower Land

Yep. Hokkaido is as pretty as people say it is. :)

It is quite amazing how one week of doing nothing but roaming in flower farms, soaking in onsens and eating an undefined number of ethereal cream puffs did do to get rid of the effects of the past crazy months at work.

On the Sixth Night - Waking

"That first green night of their dreaming, asleep beneath the Tree,
God said, "Let meanings move," and there was poetry."

- Muriel Rukeyser, "Selected Poems," 1935

(oil on canvas, 8 x 11, impasto trial of a tree at night, using phthalo blue straight from the tube, ouch. "vincent" must have been more generous than people make him out to be)

Storm Chase

While doing some research on Hokkaido last night (yay, yay, going there in a jiffy!), I came across this freelance photographer whom I thought was quite interesting. The confluence of competing interests that he has (international politics, storm chasing and Japanese anime) makes for a fascinating portfolio with a fusion global feel. His Flickr Link here.

Hotel Room

One of my favorite Edward Hopper paintings - Hotel Room (1931)

Seven years ago on this date, I sat in a small hotel room in Wanchai Hong Kong with two suitcases, alone, going through the list of things I needed to do to set up a new life in a new country. Renting a flat, opening a bank account, getting a mobile phone line.

I had left Singapore at that time as newly qualified lawyer to chase a dream of most young lawyers at that age i.e. to work in an international firm, a "magic circle" law firm, in one of the financial capitals of the world. I took almost all my savings with me (just over S$10,000) converting them to Hong Kong dollars. More than half of that sum was used within the first week in Hong Kong to pay the deposit for a rental apartment there. I knew only one or two people, had no idea where to go find a church or a Christian community. I also did not know how long I was going to be there, since it was not a posting. Maybe two years, maybe a much much longer time.

It is hard to believe that 7 years have gone by. I have been back home in Singapore for more than a year now. Sometimes those years seemed like a dream and quite far away. But those years had a profound impact on who I am now - professionally, socially and spiritually.

In many ways, life there was not what I had expected it to be when I first went. Work-wise, I always though I thought I would build my career in a law firm, but I was instead led mid-way to a financial institution where I still am. I thought I would witness the giddy financial prowess of Hong Kong, but in fact I saw the city struggle through very difficult times (SARs and all). I thought I would become a China specialist, and travel frequently there on business, but instead my "work" in China took on an entirely different nature.

I thought I would meet many people like myself, and lead the quintessential expat life of Lan Kwai Fong parties and cross cultural networking. Instead, for the first time, I discovered I was an introvert, and did not mind hanging out with just a couple of good friends every weekend, and that I loved having my own living space (for the first time), and would spend many hours reading and thinking in my own flat.

Spiritually, it was a dry time at first. I kept comparing the church there to my home church in Singapore. I found the preaching at the international church too simple. The congregation was too American. I did not bother to join a cellgroup, because of my newfound love for solitude. It was only after the first year that God took away the sides of the box that I put myself into. Through a series of very deliberate (and often humbling) events, God made it clear that the purpose of putting me in Hong Kong was not for the promise of a high flying career or an exclusive expat life, it was to stretch my mind and heart in ways that I never did imagine.

There are so many memories from that era. So many important people that came into my life and made their impact. Best friends made for life. So many experiences that shaped the way I look at things now - work, money, relationships, family, church.

So to that first memory of a lonely Wanchai hotel room, many other images were added which now form my recollection of that period. My small rented apartment, and the many intimate dinner gatherings with dear friends held there. The Happy Valley caregroup meetings, a room filled with people from more than 10 different countries teaching and learning from one another. The weekend trips to Shenzhen bringing just the gospel and taking away the joy each time of a growing harvest. Learning a new language Cantonese which opened up the mystery of the local community for me. Working with the best brains in the industry but realizing once and for all that money, not matter how huge the amounts, would not make a place home for me.

I guess people go away to another place for different reasons. Many leave for work and a better future. Some to get away from the same-ness of home. Some leave to escape a bad relationship, or in search of a good one. Most would say, "just for the experience".

A young galfriend of mine in church shared with me about her thought processes in deciding whether to go to Beijing for a posting. She was concerned about what it would mean for her career and more importantly her spiritual life. She said she was not sure if she would be able to find the same spiritual community there. The same questions that I asked as a twenty-something. I could only tell her that whatever she is expecting or not expecting now, it is likely to be very different when she actually goes there and lives it out.

The important thing to remember, my friend, is that God's love is extra-territorial in every way and the only way to find out is not to be afraid to go when He calls. It could be a different country, a different job, a different station in life. The only purpose He has for changing our circumstances is to stretch us so that we can understand His love so much better.

Space

I like the tall windows and the kitchen.

BUTS on the Lawn

The Japanese picnic party group sitting in front of us were much more [colour] co-ordinated than AQ and I. Their tee-shirts matched their wine baskets and potato chips. We had a duck-green army poncho decorated with a 70's pink table cloth, a soggy hotdog and half a bottle of beer left over from the afternoon.




Ballet Under the Stars is about:

Checking out colour coordinated picnic groups, counting gay couples
Hearing but not seeing fireworks go off in the distance (NDP rehearsal),...

Having deep intense conversations with a friend in between dance items, Immersing in the second movement of Shostakavich's Piano Concerto Opus 102 (they couldn't dance that movement because one dancer was injured), ...

...and thinking to myself that if I ever attempted abstract oil painting, I would paint dancers splashed in deep ochre, russet, teal and sienna on a speckled charcoal gray background.

Life according to Flickr

Time, space, travel, experience - the stuff of Dejavu and parallel universes. This link shows us that no one person has the perfect perspective, but when the pool of human knowledge and experience comes together, life is infinitely richer.

The best way to explain it is to see the demo for yourself. It is truly amazing.

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/129

As I understand it, this Photosynth technology hyperlinks all the public images on the web automatically. You don't need to tag your photos. Imagine googling any given image, say, "New York", and have the whole city come to life on your computer, in real time and through the real eyes of the collective community.

Probably the most exciting techno thing I have seen this decade. And we can all contribute it just by putting our holiday photos on Flickr!

Book Club : Next Change

Did a quick SKS Book run during lunchtime today. The bookstore is nearby in Tan Choong Liat Building on Outram Road. Many a lunchhour (and a few in the late afternoon) have I found an oasis there. There's something comforting and exciting at the same time to be surrounded by a whole warehouse of books about God. They have brought in quite a lot of new books rcently, and things seem pretty well-organized now (not easy with the huge selection there)!

My main aim for today's sojourn was to get this book, which we have sorta decided would be the next book for book club (after our 5 month recess!).

Here's the blurb for the book, written by the same author of rather radical bible translation, The Message :

"Writing in the conversational style that he is well known for, Peterson boldly sweeps out the misunderstandings that clutter conversations on spiritual theology and refurnishes the subject only with what is essential. As Peterson shows, spiritual theology, in order to be at once biblical and meaningful, must remain sensitive to ordinary life, present the Christian gospel, follow the narrative of Scripture, and be rooted in the "fear of the Lord"—in short, spiritual theology must be about God and not about us. "

Peterson's books are always intriguing to read. I personally think he is on his way to becoming this century's C.S. Lewis. The fundamental scholarliness, erudition, married with a startlingly fresh and creative literary style (almost to the point of subversion), has strong echoes of the intellectual giant Lewis indeed. Together with "Christ Plays" above, I also bought two other books, "Long Obedience" and "Reversed Thunder". Looking forward to the two week vacation next month to read them! :)

It should be interesting to see what comes up during the book club discussion for this book. This would our fifth book (in our three years of existence) and quite different from the rest of the books. Actually, all our books are quite different from one another (the five of us take turns to choose), which I think reflects our different personalities. And of course our unstructured randomness. haha...

A Kiddy Weekend

There were many parties this weekend! And going to parties these days often means meeting lots of kids... :)

Saturday morning, Botanic Gardens, Halial, Elicia's 1-year old party

I didn't manage to take any pictures of little Elicia because she was surrounded by so many Aunties, Uncles, GoGos, and JieJies. But I did manage to catch this adorable pair on my camera phone....















Three year old Yuheng making a funny tiger face at one-year old Chloe, who looks on with cool regality.

Saturday afternoon, DG Social, My Humble House.

The City Ministry DG is officially split into two! My "new" DG met at my place to makan and talk about our plans for the group.

Eight month old Russian doll Vera happily crawled under the dining table waiting for us to feed her home made Ben & Jerry flavoured ice cream (very yummy) that co-leader Moderaytion made himself!


Sunday Night

Was called into the office urgently on Sunday night, grrr....missed the birthday gathering for old classmate D (sorry dude!), otherwise I would have the photos of little Leia, Sebastian and another Chloe here!

A First Paintbox

After three visits to Art Friend in the last week, I finally put together my very first oil paintbox.

Everything is bigger and heavier for oil painting than for watercolors, so a sturdy paintbox is a must. I like my new elmwood wooden box. :)

A whole new world to be discovered soon. Am excited.

A Walk in the Woods

What to paint, what to paint? ...

... Look no further than under the feet.

How Long Should It Take?

In this month's edition of .. erhmm .. essential think-tank magazine "Her World", there was an article called "Quickie Marriages" which confirmed a phenomenon that I have been noticing in the last few years: Women who date in their 30s (or early 40s for men) are much more likely to get married within a very short time of entering into a relationship.

Indeed, with busy work schedules, overseas postings and a jetsetting lifestyle, people are also "shortcutting" the dating process. One good guy friend of mine tells me that the only time he really meets women, are at friend's weddings, especially weddings held overseas, which he finds a fruitful ground for finding dates. "Many of these people who attend the weddings are also on a holiday, and relaxed, and are in the "right" frame of mind at these occasions".

I have just heard that one of my gal friends has decided to tie the knot after 7 months of knowing her fiance, another one got married after two years of a long distance relationship, and only 4 months of being in the same country.

"It's basically a decision to enter into the next stage of life." these friends tell me. "After a certain age, you come to an awareness that there is no such thing as a perfect person, so you take a calculated risk. Of course, it must feel right as well and I must be attracted to that person."

I am genuinely happy for my friends who really do feel that they are ready to take that step (I know it is not something at all easy for some of us to do), and want nothing less than a life of true bliss for them and their partners. And it really is very wonderful to see two people grow to become closer and closer through marriage, especially so if they are Christians.

I thought what was interesting about the "Her World" article (a totally secular one of course), was how it traces the effect of emotions and hormones in the dating process and in marriage. It discusses, as some scientific journals have done, why the euphoria of romance and "attraction" tends to dissipate as quickly as within the first 6-12 months of a relationship, because of certain biological patterns that both men and women undergo.

The article also explains that it usually takes at least 6 to 12 months of consistent interaction, in a wide variety of everyday settings (home, work, etc) to discover the personality traits and habits of the other person. People are often on their best behaviour during those initial months of the relationship, but it often takes a stressful situation or just plain old "hanging out" time in order to discover how the other person handles pressure, what are his or her true values,and how two people are able (or unable) to handle conflict together.

Of course, none of the above is really new. These issues are discussed ad nauseum amongst friends, in books, in church etc. There is much wise and healthy advice from experienced folks out there, so I shan't have the need to write much about it at all.

Each of us individually need to get to that place in our lives to be able to honestly ask ourselves what is the purpose of marriage, why and how we might have made it a goal (or not), and how long it will take for us to be ready for it.

The "timeline" will be set either by ourselves, or by pressures outside ourselves.

So, to the question, "How long should one date date before one marries?" One might reply: "As soon as one is able to get to the place to be able say that I don't need to marry any person, and as long as it takes to be able to say I do want to marry this particular one."

Reticence

At one point during the negotiations last week, Chairman Nyuen signaled to his lawyer in Vietnamese and pointed to me. My counterpart across the table nodded, stood up and walked across the room towards us, and placed this on the table in front of me.

"Ms Y, this is the book containing our Laws. I give this as a present for you. Please read it, and understand our Laws." - the interpreter said.

Definitely saw a different side of Vietnam last week. A steely reticent side that is in contrast to the genteel, easy-going people I met as a tourist in Hanoi just two months ago. A people who very much want to have a better life for themselves, but who are deeply suspicious of the outside world. A very proud people, though not in the same arrogant way as the Chinese. Stubborn, definitely, but not quite like the Indians. They don't make big promises like the Chinese, or out-talk you like the Indians. Indeed, their sole purpose seems to be wanting to extract hard promises out of you, and they then make you repeat the promises to them again and again, ten times, twenty times, until that point when they think can trust you.

After being in a large smokey room of many people trying to understand one another for the whole morning on Thursday, I escaped for a burger lunch break and for some alone-time in an Italian cafe near our office. It was housed in one of those old style shophouses that I love so much in Hanoi.

I looked out of the tranquil courtyard with the green hanging trellis plants and thought about work and things, especially about how it seems really difficult for people in one part of the world to understand another. It is ironical indeed that places like Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia are so near to home, and yet we Singaporeans really know so little about how people in these places think and work.

This is one of the rare occasions that I actually needed to travel for negotiations (the vast majority of my work is done on paper and through the telephone these days), but it is definitely quite an eye-opening experience to have had the chance to be on the ground to understand first hand the cultural issues of doing business in these newly emerging economies.

Here are the real Little Tigers from the jungles of our region, in my opinion.

A First Portrait

Back to The Simple Life. Term has started again in art school. The first two lessons are a warm-up, so it is back to charcoal drawing again, before we start on oils next week.

A first old person portrait.

hmm... oil painting materials are kinda bulky, what with the easel and canvas and all. I think I have run out of space again at home. I so wish I had an extra room to use as a studio. Maybe convert the balcony? But where then to hang the laundry? ponder ponder...

24 Hours in Hong Kong

So in the race against time during the Vietnam negotiations last week, the MD banker made a snap decision that we would delay our departure by half a day. As he needed to be back in Singapore by Friday noon, we changed our flight plans and re-routed through Hong Kong instead, since the flights out of Hanoi to Hong Kong were more frequent.

So unexpectedly, I found myself in Hong Kong for the next 24 hours.

I sms-ed the good gang back in Singapore to say sorry for cancelling on them on a pre-planned Friday dinner, and got very understanding replies: "It's okay, we'll do dinner during the weekend", and "Do you have enough clothes (read:underwear) with you?"

As things always are in Hong Kong, it was an action-packed 24 hours, consisting of...

9 pm (Thurs).... Wondering why the Landmark was full of people sitting on the floor in queues, with security guards putting barricades and attempting crowd control. What was happening? Was it a post July 1 demonstration? Did another celebrity commit suicide? It turned out that people were queueing for a limited edition designer bag to be launched the next morning by Anteprima (an Italian brand name known for it's cool "plastiq" clothes and accessories):

10 pm.... Checking out the much talked about new Landmark Mandarin Oriental hotel. It was probably the most amazing hotel I have stayed in to date. I really didn't need three LCD TVs and a full sized jacuzzi in my suite, but I guess this is how business people travel. Pity I only had less than 10 hours to spend in that room.






















9 am (Fri).... Decided to prolong my stay in the nice hotel room for an hour more by taking a morning conference call in the hotel room rather than the office. heh.

10 am..... Arrived in the HK office, it feels a little strange to be back in Chater House. My old office happened to be free, so I set up shop there for the day. I went upstairs to our own Pacific Coffee cafeteria to get my usual morning coffee, and said hi to a few familiar people on the way. But, gosh, there are soooo many new faces too.

12.30 pm.... By a stroke of luck, we both managed to divert some urgent work, and Best Friend and I were able to meet for lunch. We first did a quick run to see the apartment that she had just bought. The renovations had just begun, looking forward to seeing it all done up when I go back to HK again in October. Had a nice crepe lunch at a new place along Peel Street, and spent an hour catching up. There's nothing better in life than being able to sit down with an old old friend who just understands.



3 pm.... A series of unanticipated and somewhat serious conversations with colleagues in the Hong Kong office. Another conversation with my boss in the same afternoon that made me realize I could be embarking on a different stage of my career soon.

7 pm..... No time to check out the summer sale at all, the afternoon was so busy. Finding myself on the Airport Express again, with even more wide-eyed and bushy tailed business people flying in and out of this gateway to China.

9 pm (Fri)... On a very full flight, but slept through most of it (except for the Bollywood movie that I watched but did not get to finish because the plane landed in Changi 10 minutes ahead of schedule, so now must go look for the DVD at Mustafa).


So there it was - a little surprise trip to Hong Kong - a reminder of a past life that's familiar and distant at the same time.

How the Toast Lands

In Hanoi these few days, going through some of the most bizarre negotiations in my life. The only thing keeping me laughing and sane is this science book I picked up at the airport before I flew off. Pretty interesting stuff about how the mind works, why human beings are creatures of habit and why we will always make the same wrong turns when driving.

Let's see how the toast lands for this one. I thought negotiating with China was bad, India a close second, but this one in Indochine takes the prize.

Love for Beggars and for Kings (Sting)

Such a very beautiful song on a simple instrument and with such few and simple words.

The lowest trees have tops, the ant her gall

The fly her spleen, the little spark his heat;

The slender hairs cast shadows, through but small,

And bees have stings, although they be not great;

Seas have their source, and so have shallow springs;

And love is love, in beggars and in kings.

Where waters smoothest run, there deepest are the fjords,

The dial stirs, yet none perceives it move;

The firmest faith is found in fewest words,

The turtles cannot sing, and yet they love;

True hearts have ears, and eyes, no tongues to speak;

They hear, and see, and sigh, and then they break.

(Songs from the Labyrinth, Sting, 2005)

Surprised by a Harmony in Solitude

Generally don't like showoffs, prima donnas and egomaniacs.

(Had a low quality weekend spent mostly negotiating contractual provisions with a couple of the worst ones I have seen in 8 years of practice).


Was therefore surprised to find myself moved by the quiet tender, non-bombastic nature of the Liszt pieces played at this year's Piano Festival. These are the rarer Liszt pieces which I am glad French pianist Cyprien Katsaris chose to play.

Am curious now to learn more about Liszt's symphonic poems. He apparently was always having a great urge to set music to poetry. (Funny, I always feel like I have the urge to do the opposite). Liszt wrote a hauntingly beautiful piano piece based on the poem by French poet Lamartine, my favorite piece during the Friday night concert.

(a paraphrase of the French poem, Bénédiction de Dieu dans la solitude, A Benediction of God in Solitude)

What is our life but a succession of preludes to that unknown song
whose first solemn note is sounded by death?
Love is the enchanted dawn of every heart,but what mortal is there,
over whose first joys and happiness does not break some storm,
dispelling with its icy breath his fanciful illusions, and shattering his altar?
What soul thus cruelly wounded does not at times try
to dream away the recollection of such storms in the solitude of country life?

It was almost as if Liszt made the piano kneel down and sing those words.