The curious cat walking

今年明明不是我犯太歲但好像諸事不太順。先是皮膚過敏然後又來個一個月重感冒,然後公司Territory大變動弄的愁雲慘霧現在又被自己最喜歡喝的烏龍茶嚴重燙傷@_@ 經過一晚上攪和終於傷口不痛了,先不想去想會不會留疤的問題,星期六一大早就在家中非常忙碌。新加坡的醫療費用還是一樣昂貴一個深夜急救包紮就花掉我台幣5000塊還得在回去複診。先跟家人報告一下再確認一下我的保險可以理賠。星期5強力抱怨後,今天Agent一口氣找了兩方人馬的工人來看房子一下子把房間家具大搬風一下子敲敲打打補補貼貼 終於把我看的不順眼很久的牆壁裂痕都修補乾淨。兩個膝蓋就包著大繃帶在家裡拐來拐去,善良的印度工人還一臉擔心問我是這麼了怎麼可以搞成這個樣子~~ (只能說自作虐。。。) 工人不知是否看我太慘了不但找掃把來幫我把地板上的工程垃圾都掃掉還拿抹布擦過一遍。大概他也沒遇過有人家裡居然沒有掃把跟畚箕,還要工人自備的吧 :P 說到這次災難,打開冰箱裡面只剩下快過期的牛奶,一片cheese,一顆蛋,一顆水梨,baby cabbage跟冷凍土司。本來要去的Yoga Therapy也得取消了看來整個月都不能去上課。整天只吃了一份自己弄出來的cheese and egg sandwitch當早餐,晚上靠學妹買來的Pizza先救濟一下。跟學妹聊著聊著太陽也下山了,MG的夕陽我最愛看的,今天整天天氣晴朗,夕陽也格外美麗。太陽下山我們吃的也準備好了,才剛坐下來,一抬頭我就看到陽台外西南方天空出現一道紅色閃光,連忙叫學妹回頭看。紅光很像炸開的甜甜圈一瞬間就暗下來消失了。學妹說難道是外星人掉下來了!! 我當下只想到是不是那顆星星爆炸啦~~ 不過答案揭曉,網路是我們家的百科全書。看起來我們看到一般只會存續千分之一秒高空閃電。它還有一個很可愛的名字叫做 『淘氣精靈Elves』。出現時間太短了完全無法用像機捕捉‧但這個happening讓我心情好了不少。新加坡天空奇觀好像比台灣還多,不知道是不是因為在新加坡沒事幹,又住在high floor看天空的時間比較多的關係。 淘氣精靈出現時間很短  (通常只持續千分之一秒) 能看到真是一種福氣,就當做我這次不幸受傷的慰問吧

We enjoyed another wonderful musical at Esplanade this afternoon. My first time to watch this musical was the film played on The Art Central TV, which was filmed in 1956 starred by Yul Brynner as the King and Deborah Kerr as Anna.  I only knew it later that the film won 5 Academy Awards and was nominated for four more. Brynner won an Oscar as Best Actor for his portrayal, and Kerr was nominated as Best Actress. Though I can no longer see the same actors and actress on the stage, it was still a great experience to see this most longest-running musical with my eyes.
This is a fun musical with a lot of interesting cultural thinkging inside. I read many articles about the Anne and the King story. Apparently what we see on the stage is not a completely true stroy even it claimed to be based on the true story. Some people even think that it is a form of western culture chauvinism though the beautiful love stories and songs are touching our mind. And when watching the musical I gleamingly see the the old ansian country went through the change of human right equality and modernization.
I like the song Getting to Know You very much. It is a song sang together by Anna, the king's wives and children.  I felt very pleased when they sang. I guess it is the attitute when we meet people. Get to know each other and like each other so that life is wonderful. And the famous song 'Shall We Dance?' , who can say they are not in love?
This is a fantastic musical for the beautiful stage sets, costumes, music and songs. Unlike the Phantom of the Opera, less fancy technology used and more things about true feelings. No wonder it has won so many awards and is still well-loved after being played for nearly 60 years.
 
 

私は綺麗で清潔な部屋が好き。でもきちんとしたところに住むためには精一杯部屋掃除をしなければならない。あいにく、理想が高いけど掃除に夢中にするような人間じゃない。 嫌な家事をいうとついランキングでも作ろうかと思ってしまう。 第一位　床の掃除：つまりモップで床を拭くこと。掃除機でのごみ取りなら平気だけど、なぜなら拭くことだけはどうしてもやりたくない。だってモップを取り出したらまず、洗剤に水を水筒に注いで、モップを濡らしまた余った水を絞りきる。そしてやっと床を拭くことができる。それでは終わりじゃない。汚れたモップをまた濡らして洗浄し、そてし再び汚れてしまうという振り替えしだ。なんか床のほうがだんだんピカピカになる一方、こっちがへとへとになる。なんらかの機械で一気に自動床掃除(拭い取り含み）をやってくれればいいなあと夢まだみる。 第二位　風呂掃除：特にシンガポールのような湿気の強い国には黴菌の生えが驚くほど速い。黴菌を抑えるために殺菌剤のたくさん含まれたクリーナーを使わなければならない。おまけにまた重労働。壁や床や浴槽をブラシごしごしこすって洗うのは例の仕事。髪の毛が排水口に詰まったら、溶かさなければならないし。仕事を終えると殺菌剤中毒状態　＠＿＠ 第三位　シートの入れ換え：ベット・ 枕・布団シートの洗濯がぜんぜん平気だけど、入れ換えには苦手だ。めちゃ手間がかかるから。外して洗って干してまた入れ返るなんて疲れる～　二・三週間ごとに一回という程度で入れ換えるが、いつも自分を励めながらやっと着手する。だって寝室って毎日長時間にいる場所だから清潔第一だもん。嫌でもしょうがないという複雑な気持ち。わかるかな？ 第四位　キッチン片付け：料理を作るのにとても興味を持っているが。クッキングが終わったら片付けをしないといけない。油っぽい食器や調理器を洗うことを偉く感じれないせいか、早速始末する気がない。ゴキブリを誘ってきたら困るから、いやいやでも一日の最後にやっちゃうこと。 第五位　机の整理：IT人間だから、ノートパソコンやパソコンのアクセサリやCDや接続線などなどいつも机の上に山積り。読書が大好きでさまざまな本があっちこっち散らばしている。整理が嫌いというより、整理困難状態。もっと本棚がほしいと叫びたい。 思えばほとんどの家事が嫌いじゃないかね。ハッハ

  這一個月內世界股市好像突然從雲端掉到地底,前天還歡欣鼓舞第2天愁雲慘霧。 我覺得股票市場是一種很有趣的心理遊戲,大家都一窩瘋跟著衝、有人喊有鬼大家都要散成一團。雖然不是財金專家,但是看了半天我還沒看到有人提出SUB-Prime真正的數字到底有多少,而全球股市跌幅跟歐美央行丟進去的錢搞不好已經超過Subprime違約市值!
  記得年初日本質利率升一滴點就有人擔心日圓借貸成本提高連忙償付貸款造成日圓升值結果全球股市就大跌,這真的是一個很有趣的反應。日本利率低成那樣就算稍稍升一點點跟任何國家比起來都還是超划算貸款國吧(美國基本利率5%,日本0.5%)??不過恐慌一定會帶來惡性循環,股市真的跌了,日圓真的漲了~ 憂鬱症最終會造成自殺式行為出現. 只是當大家都盡量不借日圓時他們跟誰借錢會比較划算呢?? 倒是滿想知道的
  看來美元會因為這次贖回風潮大漲,那麼多美元在手上要怎麼辦呢? 股票又不能買... 要買國庫債券去嗎??讓我們猜美國到底會不會降息,降息就賺到囉~  (也不是不可能我還覺得央行與其丟錢救股市不如丟錢去補助貸款利率拯救subprime比較治本,然後好好去規範信貸標準)
  一兩週前我有看到一篇報導提到英國的次級房貸也病入膏肓。 英國房地漲已經漲到有點匪夷所思了--5年內漲40%世界最貴,連我的新加坡房子的agent都問我要不要買英國房地產(當然是被我拒絕啦,瘋了才去追高 哈哈) ,雖說看到錢潮要努力衝,遠在天邊的國家的房地產連survey都沒有他也''敢敢''買下去,還是讓我滿心佩服!! 不過英國比較像新加坡,他們有許多政府公共住宅,飆漲的是私人豪華住宅的地價,那麼有錢的人應該不需要借到2胎房貸吧~希望
  總覺得這股恐慌其實是因為美國人太會借亂借錢 (新聞說高達 20% 是subprime loan??),巴西人,俄羅斯人跟東歐人又不買次級房貸商品,亞洲國家家財萬貫, 台灣最大出口國其實是中國不是美國, 中國金融市場封閉看來買到炸彈的數量也不高,我個人感覺只有玩衍生性金融成精的先進國家會真正慘遭波及吧~ 
真正 『違約』的信貸商品到底佔了全球眾多投資產品的多少比例可以讓全球股市跌成這樣??  沒有明確數據出來就跌成一團; 但我比較相信是之前漲太高了,大家都不想被掃到颱風尾造成獲利短缺,連忙拋出,結果讓panic 情緒更加大了  まま～恐慌就像一種傳染病~~需要一些時間才能痊癒吧
 
 
以上僅個人觀點
(Blog is a place to bullshit :-p)

 We spent a cozy Saterday afternoon in this Balinese bar & restaurant. Haven't been back to this offbeaten secret garden for a long time. With frangipanis planted all around the garden, gental waterfall, duckweed floating ponds and statues brought over from Bali, it is no wonder the most fantastic place to to get away from the hustle & bustle of Singapore. I just love to sip a glass of wine and just good to leave all the jobs and troubles behind. 
Little Bali's website http://www.littlebali.com/enjoy/index.htm
You can use the pavilion in the villa but there is a minimun expense of SGD200. Call a big group of friends and enjoy the afternoon sun in the pavilion. It is always crowded after 7PM.  Happy hour for  acholic drinks from 3M to 7PM.
 

Last Saturday, we went to Brewerkz at River Point. This is not the first time for me to go but this is the first time for me to really try to understand the beers they are offering. We tried the draft sample and brewmaster sample. This is a good start. They served us all sorts of beer in small tubes. Just the right size for beer tasting.  
It was close to the sunset and the air is getting cool and the sky turned pinky. With the wonder taste of beer, we felt relaxed. Clark quay is always full especially Friday and Saturday. Kind of joy to get melted into the crowd. My favorite beer is Golden Ale which has some aroma of perfume.And Oatmeal Stout, it's in dark color very silky and tastes a bit like coffee. Another interesting one is the fruitbrew. It tastes fruity and is very suitable for those who doesn't like too much beer.

More information about Brewerkz:
From 12-3pm our Ludicrous Lunch prices are $10.49 per jug, $3.49 per pint or mug.
From 3-6pm our Terrific Tea Time tempts you with $14.99 per jug, $5.99 per pint or mug.
And now our Happy Happy Hours go even longer from 6-8pm with jugs at only $21.99, pints at $8.49 and mugs at $7.49.

I like to stand at mt balcony before sunset. There is always beautiful city view and sunset. Everytime I get a different view. MG also has fantastic stary sky if walking in the condo garden. It's a pity that my camera can not catch that night scene.   Sunset I took around a week ago..  

 從大一暑假接觸到共同基金開始,基金好像就成了我生活中的一部分。一路走來從每個月1000塊的定期定額投資一點一滴累積到現在,每天回顧一下全球股市動態好像是必做功課。隨著經驗的累積跟斷斷續續看了些理財入門書,漸漸對於投資這件事情有的一點輪廓。小小投資人如我,尚需要許多專業知識跟洞察力來分辨混亂的財經資訊,政策走向,跟世界局勢。保持對任何投資機會的Open mind跟對國際事務的關心應該是多年來的到的心得。只有隨時掌握全球財政經消息,多從不同的角度來看新聞,即使是台灣的政經消息也許應該從外國人的觀點來相對比較,看看BBC,香港,新加坡的媒體對台灣所發生的事件是做何觀感也是一個很重要的參考。畢竟旁觀者也許有時候會看到一些我們自己看不到的東西。對這些事件多一點思考才有機會成功辨識市面上理專跟基金經理人為了業績而大肆鼓吹的利多(空)消息,做更正確的選擇。而我自己最喜歡的是在基金的世界裡,即便足不出戶彷彿我們也順水推舟地參與了一丁點世界脈動。 整體而言我們似乎無法脫離大眾走向跟大型法人的操作,雖然是跟著人群走但漸漸的似乎也摸出一條「歩き方」。講到投資,網路論壇上總是有許多大師跟達人,各各說的頭頭是道,處處傳授他的成功法則，也有人云亦云的投資人一遇到淨值下跌都哀嚎遍野。而許多網路上所謂investment forum裡面發言者,多半是一些沒有根據的個人看法跟情緒發散,對於投資判斷的幫助是不是真的有那麼大呢?? 有機會的話,買張機票實地去旅行觀察也許會帶來更多真實感跟判斷力。真正信任自己所做的選擇才能在市場短期浮動時安如泰山。我很推薦Jim Rogers的那本『資本家的冒險』,沒有財力跟著做的我在他的書中獲得需多參考資訊。雖然他的書出版已經3-4年,但仍然具有許多參考價值。除了旅行當地的見解以外, 觀察的方向、判斷的眼光都是令人直得學習的。和不同領域的人閒聊也會帶給我們意外的收穫, 尤其在現在這種專業的時代裡,我們總是熟悉自己專攻的產業,對其他的工作只有模糊的認知,如果跨越城市甚至國家就更加是一無所知。在無法四處啪啪走一天到晚換工作的狀況下,多和不同領域的人談天說地分享親身經驗會給我們帶來許多知識上的收益。而對於個人意見的判斷就需要花上時間好好做功課,來辨別真偽,並自負其責。我相信天下沒有白吃的午餐,拿明牌賺翻天這樣的幸運事情只會出現在很幸運的人身上。在這樣充斥廣告行銷手法的時代,讓投信公司或者理財專員來告訴你什麼會漲似乎比買一支R5的基金還要高風險！而不親自去關心市場的人也往往會來不及從獲利中抽身出來。最重要的還是要投資自己最珍貴的資源 '' 時間'' 來好好增加自己的知識跟常識才能釐清自己的錢途要往哪裡走。  そう信じて頑張って行きたいと思います。

趨勢大師約翰奈思比（John Naisbitt）綜觀全球局勢，看好中國大陸未來會迅速發展，他表示，「金磚四國」的巴西、俄國、印度都要劃掉，歐洲是日薄西山的地區，唯有中國大陸的興起大可預期。而「台灣人心中除了兩岸議題，沒有別的。」奈思比無奈地說。 我也有同感,小島居民容易把思維侷限在小格局中。政治一直以來都是台灣大事件,從在野黨數十年來爭取民主成功到現在過度民主,政治家變成政客,大家的思維都被與中國的兩岸關係拉著走,忘記放眼看世界。世界這麼大,台灣這個蕞爾小島怎麼樣能踩出一片天...  中小企業如此努力,大企業奮力國際化,但台灣還是沒有真正國際化。好不容易找回本土意識, 這樣的活動在台灣卻總是會走過頭；本土意識變成台客文化, 自大跟自卑讓台灣人變得鑽牛角尖起來。自我認知跟國際觀應該是沒有衝突的,鄉土意識給我們驕傲跟認同感, 自我認知給我們自信跟態度,國際觀給我們縱橫全球的眼光跟魄力~ 台灣已經不能依賴內需來生存,我們需要把外匯賺進來。當泰國在致力發展觀光事業、流行、設計產業,將國家形象推向世界各地同時,擁有無限美好山水風光跟濃濃人情味的台灣依然只能靠自己人來消費，是一種奢侈但也似乎稍嫌可惜。內需市場強健但仍需要外來力量來幫台灣人推一把。金融政策開放不但會影響到台灣在亞太的金融佈局,也深深影響台灣企業的成長空間；當台商都跑到香港上市,到海外發行公司債,在第三國進行衍生性金融商品交易時,我們還剩下什麼資本市場可以發揮? 香港市場去年的籌資金額高達台灣的22倍, 資金進不來但卻悄悄的出走, 連韓國的證券市場的總市值都高達一兆美金遠遠超過台灣。放眼國際,我們才能繼續成長,也才能將台灣人夠從超高工時的製造業中抽離出來,得到更高品質的生活。

Last Friday I saw a TV program introducing the a suspending bridge in the nature reserve called McRitchie Reservoir Park. The bridge is named as HSBC treetop walk as it is a sponsored architecture by HSBC for education and research of the nature reserve. It looks so cool. And I couldn't help but starting to plan on it.
  We checked the map and found the this reserve can not a bit different from those like BT nature reservoir. BT R. is a hill - over there you can hardly call it hiking.  It is larger and there are some sorts of hills to hike.  When we enter the park from Leonie road, actually we came up with a big lake first. Many young students are practicing kayaking (canoe) on the lake. People looked happy and healthy here. They enjoy the sunshine and water, when we are putting on more sun protection cream (quite funny)
We started walking up through a woods. It was quite humid and windless. Reminded me that we are in the tropical area. The way to the bridge seemed to be so long as it was hot and humid and kind of boring. Not much scenery to see, only the woods. Unlike in Taiwan, you might bump up with some small river, waterfall or even the historical relics.. In around 1.5 hour walking we began to walk up to a slope and several flights of steep stairways. Thanks to that we actually used up a lot of energy (burn the fat--I hope).
  We arrived at the bridge on schedule. Approx 2 hours. There is a place for a temporary rest and refilling water in front to the entrance of the HSBC Treetop walk. This is an amazing architecture. We never expect such kind of place in Singapore.  The suspending bridge is said to be 27M above the ground. We could have a bird view of the city, forest and the sea. It would be even cozy if there were not so many visitors. We didn't stay on the bridge for too long as it was quite crowded. But walking on the treetop is indeed cool.  
We climbed another flight of stairs after getting through the treetop walk. That was quite steep. And then came another steep slope. When we were closing the exit we found there were 2 ways out. Took the chance we chose the one on the right hand side. That in the end was proved to be a long way. It took us another 1.5 hours to walk. Well look at the bright side, we consumed more fat into energy. Just that on the way of finding exit, I really got hungry. I made a stupid choice to take out my pork floss bread. And suddenly a group of monkeys ran toward me. So panic and I threw the bread far far away... to rescue myself from being hugged by the monkeys.  Never FEED the monkey... good lesson.
Amber successfully hitched a wagon and the driver drove 4 of us down to the bus stop.It was a great help as we really had no idea how far it was to go to the exit. We were told that the main road was 20 min's away and eventually we found the main road to be the highway.... We actually walked for anther 1.5 hours. It is worthy of celebrating when we see '' buss' to the city. The return is the beautiful railway next to the bus stop. It should be the railways that goes to KL. 
Good exercise~ and next time we shall not choose a wrong way out :D