We miss a player like Fabregas

Never had any of these

Not too long ago, while every living soul around me were crazy into Candy Crush, I realised I'm not the kind of person who follows trends or have the same attraction for whatever is popular at that time.

For example, I have never....


- Owned an iPhone (not any of a 1, 2, 3, 3gs, 4, 4s, 5)

 


- Downloaded/used Instagram...




- Had a Twitter account...

 

- Played Candy Crush...

- Watched Running Men... what's so funny?

 

The magic of photo editing

I'm sure you can recognise who the below lady is - a famous global artiste, recognised for her efforts in spreading her religion in one of the biggest churches in Singapore, yet also widely debated for her sexy dressing and sultry dance moves for her song albums.

Not gonna touch on an alleged misappropriation of church funds here. I was just super appalled at what photo editing can really do to one:

This is her:

This is also her:

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Anyhow, I hope for justice and truth.

Peace out.

Doing something for yourself

Sharing an insightful read:

(Source: http://elitedaily.com/news/business/warren-buffett-shares-his-most-essential-advice-for-generation-y/)
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Warren Buffett Shares His Most Essential Advice For Generation Y



Warren Buffett assumed the role of mentor to the youth yesterday when he gave networking and career advice in an “Office Hours” session with Levo League, a site aimed to assist youngsters in making their dreams come true.

The Berkshire Hathaway CEO shared personal stories about his fear of public speaking, and notably told women to “stop holding yourself” back.

Here’s 9 points Buffett highlighted as some of the most important steps to follow on the path to success:

1. Find your passion.

““Never give up searching for the job that you’re passionate about,” he says. “Try to find the job you’d have if you were independently rich. … Forget about the pay. When you’re associating with the people that you love, doing what you love, it doesn’t get any better than that.”

2. Be careful who you admire.

““If you tell me who your heroes are, I’ll tell you how you’re gonna turn out. It’s really important in life to have the right heroes. I’ve been very lucky in that I’ve probably had a dozen or so major heroes. And none of them have ever let me down. You want to hang around with people that are better than you are. You will move in the direction of the crowd that you associate with.”

3. Learn how to communicate effectively.

While getting his MBA from Columbia University, Buffett revealed that he was “terrified of public speaking,” causing him to withdraw from a Dale Carnegie class. But after graduating he saw the ad for the course again and decided to give himself a second chance.

““I became associated with the 30 other people in the class. We couldn’t stand up in front of a group and say our own name. I mean it was — we were — it was pathetic. But that class changed my life in a big way.”

4. Develop healthy habits by studying people.

““Pick the person that has the right habits, that is cheerful, generous, gives other people credit for what they do. Look at all of the qualities that you admire in other people … and say to yourself, ‘Which of those qualities can’t I have myself?’ Because you determine whether you have them. And the truth is you can have all of them.”

5. Learn how to say “no.”

““You won’t keep control of your time, unless you can say ‘no.’ You can’t let other people set your agenda in life.”

6. Don’t work for someone who won’t pay you fairly.

““I do very little negotiation with people. And they do little with me, in terms of it … if I was a woman and I thought I was getting paid considerably less than somebody else that was equal coming in, that would bother me a lot. I probably wouldn’t even want to work there. I mean, [if] somebody’s gonna be unfair with you, in salary, they’re probably being unfair with you in a hundred other ways.”

7. Become involved with growing businesses.

““I mean, you want to get on a train that’s going to go 90 miles an hour and not one that’s gonna go 30 miles an hour and you’re gonna try to figure out how to, you know, push it along a little faster. So it really does make a huge difference. And there are some businesses that inherently [have] far more opportunities than others.”

8. Learn everything you can about your industry.

Buffett says he reads for six hours every day because he believes that growing your intellectual capacity will help you solve problems more effectively.

““I knew a lot about what I did when I was 20. I had read a lot, and I aspired to learn everything I could about the subject. “

9. Young women should seek mentors.

““These [mentoring] relationships all just evolve. I never set out to become a mentor … It’s amazing … how the person that really wants to do a terrific job just jumps out. There aren’t that many. You will be perceived as exceptional and as a worthy person for a superior to spend some extra time with if you just do something extra all the time. It seems elementary, but it’s true.”

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Yes, that's so much more I could, to grow myself into a better person, at work, in my life. We all can. For me, I could finally start picking up a book, or spend 10 mins a day reading up on automotive technicalities... but who is to disagree that humans are contented with their comfort zone and status quo? But good on Busy Roys, he just signed up for a motivational course "Millionaire Mind Intensity", a quick google describes the training to be about honing your focus and concentration such that it translates a 'thought' into an 'action' and leading to eventual success.  

Anyway, here's a quick action I can take for myself right now - to fix an appointment with my mentor.    

.

Miss a good bowl of Ramen... (cont'd)

I'm so ramen crazy, I even went Ajisen two days ago...


And yeah, it was bad. Haha.

Miss a good bowl of Ramen

Above: Bowl of Tonkotsu ramen from Tonchin, Japan.


Since I returned from Japan some 4 weeks ago, I have been going places around Singapore and chatting up friends to find out where to find the best ramen is!

Names like Santouka (Central mall), Marutama (Central mall), Ramen Champion (Changi Airport) and Ramen Bari Uma (Tanglin Shopping Centre) etc etc have been mentioned! Since post-Japan trip I've tried Marutama, Menya Musashi (Raffles City), Ramen Dining (Millenia Walk), and Keisuke Tori King (Orchid Hotel). Sadly, none matched up to Japan standard but probably it is too superior and untouchable to begin with. It's akin to eating Katong Laksa or Hainanese Chicken Rice in other countries - they try to do it the same but none emulates the goodness of the real stuff in Singapore. However, I must say the ramen from Keisuke Tonkotsu King is by far the most authentic and closest to what I can find.

Was around Tanjong Pagar area and decided to head there for dinner.

Pic of interior of restaurant (Kop-ed off flickr)

As soon as you step in, the staff greets you with a boisterous Japanese chant and leads you to your table, or counter top. I was pleasantly surprised to find that a glass of chilled water has already been served, a la the service in Japan! The walls and decor are nicely done up to mimic a Japanese restaurant, and even the garnishings are presented neatly.

While the restaurant was not fully packed at the time we were there, we waited for about 10 minutes for our noodles to be served. The waiting time was reasonable as we eagerly looked forward to our bowl of piping hot ramen. While waiting, customers can help themselves to the complimentary hard boiled egg and slightely marinated bean sprouts. On every table, you can also expect a tray of a variety of garnishings, a kettle of water and of course, tissue paper - the Japanese made sure to take care of your every needs.

From the counter top where we were seated, it allowed us a bird's eye view of the Japanese chef in action. The time that every ball of noodle is sunk into the boiling water is painstakingly monitored, to ensure that the noodle texture remains springy and palatable. The soup, egg, seaweed and garnishings are then added in with patience and care, the chef mindful of presentation and taste bud appeal.

Out of the few ramen I've tried over the last few weeks, the ramen from Keisuke Tonkotsu King was the only one where I finished the entire bowl of soup. That good! Verdict - noodles are springy and nice! Soup is very flavourful and thick enough (I asked for 'normal'). The generous piece of pork is succulent and maintains its 'porky' taste despite being broiled in the broth. The highlight is the flavoured tamago (egg) whose yolk is done wonderfully and goes extremely well with the soup. Tatemo Oishi desu!

Finally done with our bowl of ramen, we walked up to the counter and made payment. The Japanese chef bellows another chant in Japanese (which I presume is 'Thank You') and I complimented him with a 'Oishi desu' followed by 'Mata kimasu'. The chef seemed surprised and returned a shy smile. He verifies our order using his heavily accented Japanese English and like every true-blue Japanese, the chef was courteous throughout and thanked us again as we made our exit.

Next up: Menya Sanji, which is a stone's throw away from Keisuke Tonkotsu King, also located in Orchid Hotel. Observed a fully packed restaurant with a few customers in line. Definitely heading there soon!

Where's ur personal favourite ramen? :)