Shhh! Secret Life of a Princess

Random, provoking thoughts from a self-confessed princess :: with focus on motivational learnings from the media. I hope to inspire everyone to be the best they can be

Friday, September 29, 2006

Another Achievement to Add to the Hat

I have another achievement to add to this year as the first entry for this month, Sept. I am going to be the Project Manager for Asia Pacific next month in a new company. Yep, you heard it right, I’m jumping ship again. No more large corporate organizations, no more hierarchies and no more office politics even though I have to admit that I have not been in this Singapore telco long enough to feel if any politics existed at all. Furthermore, office politics happens everywhere, big or small. It is the intensity that varies.

I will not be able to disclose the new company as I have yet to leave my current employment. Thus, here I shall talk about the things I will miss when I leave before I embark on a journey of self-discovery towards my new career venture. Yes, indeed this is a smaller outfit in which I will have to take up more responsibilities and do various tasks along the value chain. However, I take it as a great learning opportunity that will move me closer towards my career goals and my entrepreneurial dreams.

List of things I will miss in my old company:

  1. Fresh cappuccino brewing from the ever-reliable coffee machine and cookies during teat time (no tea, mind you)
  2. Cheap and I repeat, cheap food and drinks in their subsidized cafeteria. Imagine getting carrot juice for SGD1.20 everyday, no wonder the girls here have such good complexion.
  3. FREE and I repeat in caps, FREE gym and swimming pool that is only 5 mins walk from the company. Imagine being able to work out during lunch and remain fresh throughout the day.
  4. Fast and easy transportation to work. Thanks to the fact that I stay only 10 mins away from work specially selected when I got the offer to work in this company.
  5. Potentially great friends who some can even be my soulmate, just that I do not have sufficient time to get to know them better. Who knows, hope we can still come out for some ‘ice-blended green-tea’ (hehe, my favourite drink in Starbucks) in the future and talk both business and personal. Trust me, these people including my boss are incredibly nice and helpful people.
    Some freebies like movie tickets and entry to clubs during launches of their events.
  6. Sports events that I do tend to join not to win but just for the fun of it. Pressure but good chance to know more staff in the company.

All in all, I am leaving behind a pampered lifestyle in which I do not have to think of how to improve the company’s profit or how our competitors are crouching into our turf, where you only need to think about what to eat for lunch or what to do this weekend; into an environment that I have to be good in both technical and commercial when talking to customers and worry about both the company and my performance everyday, and work might not stop over the weekend. Scary but exciting at the same time. I have lots of people to thank for helping and motivating me to take this step.

Just the other day, I was thinking about how Life can be so unpredictable but so amazing at the same time. And sometimes things happen to you when you don’t look for it. You just have to keep trying your best in whatever you do. I like this phrase I have heard "I choose to live by the decisions I make everyday." Never have I taken so much risk in all aspects of my life and been put so many uncomfortable zones but doing so grows me and gives me more of the values an entrepreneur should have. Last but not least, always believe in yourself. That is the only way you can live your dreams.

Thursday, September 21, 2006

My Challenge in Singapore

"People say, if u can make it in Singapore, you can make it anywhere else." - People

I am giving myself this challenge, contrary from May Wan who wants to take things easy and prove them wrong :P

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Short & Sour - The Play by Singapore Management University Students (SMU)

Since I could not catch the actual screening of the play "Short & Sweet" when it was played in Esplanade in Singapore 2 months ago, I compensated this by watching a remake of this play in a more juvenile, students version acted by the 2nd and 3rd year students of Singapore Management University (SMU) aptly titled "Short & Sour". Instead of acting plays with themes of love in 8 minutes snippets as the original play, the play was converted into a whole story of 6 students with various characteristics involved in various love-hate relationship. It is a story of one nice, sweet girl falling in a love with a jock in school thinking that her love is not reciprocrating until he started to miss her only after he lost her. To woo her back, he did a rendition of Ewan McGregor in Moulin Rouge singing the song "Your Song" When he finally got her, the nerd who used to admire the sweet girl from afar felt so hurt knowing that he would not be able to give her the happiness he could have given her. Sure enough, their love did not last past half a year as the girl realised that he started to take her for granted again. Meanwhile, the sweet girl's best friend is a slut in school who seduces every guy just to break up with him later. One of the victim happened to be the sweet girl's brother who the slut transformed from a guy who couldn't care less about how he look or how the world revolves to a guy who does everything to make his girlfriend, the slut happy. Thinking that he could change her, he was heart-broken to find her sleeping with another guy less than 6 months into the relationship. The play lasted for more than an hour with various Disney and movie soundtracks which made it all more enjoyable. The ending was poignant with each one narrating how happy they can be with this thing called "love" at the beginning but ending only with a sour after taste. One of the best song I liked was "Someday Only We Know" by New Radicals which they sang at the end of the play which ended their play beautifully.

While some may find the storyline cliche, I find it entertaining and even funny at times. A good effort for students below 22 years of age. AT least students here get these kind of exposure from such an early age. Who knows, Singapore might just find their next Beatrice Chia from plays like these. Photos here.

Monday, September 11, 2006

International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Singapore

It started with the four million smiles campaign (sounds familiar to Thailand’s – the land with a thousand smile motto?). With this initiative, all Singaporeans and foreigners in Singapore were encouraged to smile to everyone in the city especially when the delegates from all over the world who came to Singapore for the coveted Suntec Convention Hall.

With so many smiles all over Singapore, would there be conflicts and protests? Apparently so from the number of policemen and police tanks that is circling around the city weeks before the event. Former NS servers were sent for re-service just to ensure they are available to protect the country in the event of any mishaps. And you know what is the funniest thing: the sight of a few men protesting with small banners and posters surrounded by fleets of policemen. What can a harmless protester who might not even know how to spell English properly do? I was in Suntec City the other day and saw everything in action. Dogs sniffing bombs were around everywhere, metal detectors installed in every entrance to Suntec City and every little holes from the basement to the penthouses in Suntec City were sealed. This is really taking things to extreme. Talk about "Better safe than sorry". Never have any country impressed me so much with their non-negligence. Malaysians could clearly learn from them a tiny bit and the country would have improved a lot.

Finally, after incredulous hard work, the IMF came and go without much fanfare. While talks on protests were heard in the vicinity, there were not much other problems. This IMF could have passed as the quietest IMF ever. Even when it was held in other countries, I would have known more about the protests and agenda in IMF compared to being in Singapore itself. However, it was fun nonetheless to be in the same country in which the event was held, fanfare or not.

Last but not least, I was lucky to be able to catch the fireworks from the top of a building on the last day of the IMF. Watch it here.

Friday, September 01, 2006

My Achievements To-Date

I can finally say I am so proud of myself. I have gotten deals after deals for both writing and even business, so now I really can do something I enjoy on a part-time basis. This year has been a really great year for me in the sense that I got what I wanted and even more. Coming to Singapore alone was an experience by itself and those who have been keeping in touch with me know how happy I am. I have never regretted this decision, as it allows me to grow and learn at the speed of lightning. I admit that I have to make plenty of sacrifices along the way but sometimes that is the way life is. You can’t always only get everything good.

By the end of this year, I can compile a list of achievements and milestones in my professional life. Almost every month I achieved something new and gained new recurring income. Since I cannot wait till the end of the year, I will summarize my current achievements to date.

January 2006
Climbed to the top of Mount Kinabalu. Was one of the first girls to reach the peak before sunrise

March 2006
Got quite a good increment for someone who has been an Executive for the past 4 years in Maxis.

May 2006
- Got the offer to be promoted in Maxis Communications Bhd but rejected it due to the offer I accepted in MobileOne Singapore.
- Moved to Singapore to work as a Systems Analyst in MobileOne Ltd, handling the content management system. Learnt a lot of marketing strategies while suporting the ever demanding customers from the Marketing department. Hope to add my value so that when I do go back to Malaysia to work, I already have a very strong technical and business knowledge.

June 2006
Became the online blogger for MobileWorld.com.my

July 2006
Became the Chief Editor for Project:Senso (an online community for entrepreneurs in Asia, a side project I am working with my friends in Singapore)

August 2006
- Officially launched the revamped website of Project:Senso via a networking session in Sim Lim Tower, Singapore.
- Assigned as the liaison manager for Singapore projects for True Sense, a company set up by Oon Yeoh dealing with digital media, new media, publishing, online portals and film production.
P/S. Please contact me if you need services in content production on print, online or film. I will be pleased to negotiate the right deals to attract your right target audience. Take a look at Oon's podcasts here.
- Was asked to write in the column "The Explainer" for MobileWorld magazine

September 2006
Was given the deal to handle content management for a media & advertising company called MADisplays.

And all these achievements besides having a full-time job in MobileOne Ltd is really something to me. I know a lot of entrepreneurs out there have more but I am still working on the big picture. Now that I am getting more and more deals and exposure in the writing and media industry, one day when I am ready, I might just make the move. Else, I can always be a superwoman and handle multiple projects at the same time. Who says one cannot multi-task? Remember, no one can stop you from achieving what you want. It’s all in the mind.