More Travel (free!)

Got a letter from Ryanair today, confirming that I have qualified for a free flight give-away (excl taxes). Yes, one free return flight as soon as I spend £250 within 90 days of opening a Ryanair credit card account. That's not all. For every £1000 or £3000 spent in one calendar quarter, one can get 1 or 2 free return flights. Looking at my online statement, I have just qualified for another free flight which makes two!

Moreover if you are a frequent traveller or often travel with a group of friends, you can get one additional free flights for every five booked (up to a maximum of five), regardless of who the travellers are. Adding up, one can get up to 14 free flights a year!

This is somewhat similar to the credit card rewards programme in Singapore, however, the rewards are usually tied to the underlying products of the issuing company eg Ryanair in this instance. For most basic credit cards from the banks such as Citibank/HSBC, they do not usually come with any rewards. This irks me especially since we spent a substantial amount using the credit card every month and would have benefited if we were in Singapore. To qualify for those cards with reward schemes in the UK, one usually had to be a resident for a few years. So as soon as I qualify, I signed up for the cards (just for the rewards!).

Spending has never been so rewarding. =)

Holidays

Travelling is a big part of every Londoner's life, more so for the Singaporeans and Malaysians who are posted to London on secondment, like myself. The opportunity to see Europe in a relatively cheap way, courtesy of Ryanair and Easyjet, meant weekends are usually spent somewhere in a city outside London and, increasingly, in previously exotic East European town (I use previously as the proliferation of budget airline has led these cities becoming increasingly accessible and losing that bit of exclusivity).

We love to travel and share our exploits with our friends. However, with Xueyan's preparation for CFA exams, we usually have to shelve travel plans for a good 3-4 months and wait with bated breath for THAT first Saturday of June (CFA exams!). Hence we try to plan and book holidays way in advance during those action-less months. Using the holiday as proper motivational tools help us survive the daily mundane work and allow us to witness the colourful European culture, history and participate in sacred true-Singaporean gastronomic appreciation.

And so we are kinda set from now till August, with Brussels/Bruges in June, Edinburgh/Glencoe in July and Iceland in August. And we are not done yet! The coming summer looks really good (despite fears of a looming 23-25C, we definitely dun mind it!) and we are probably going to see more of UK. It's quite odd how we have been in London for 17 months and have not ventured out of London, other than to Cornwall and Hastings.

Work doesn't seem so boring after all!

Earthquake in UK

A rare earthquake hit south-eastern part of UK (Kent) this morning, less than an hour from London. It measured at least 4.3 on the Ritcher Scale.

"All our street shook...the seagulls went crazy " - Karol Steele

Well, I slept through it and had Macs for breakfast today.

The Lord gives and takes away...

M'sian man escapes car crash and calls wife
Wife gets hit by another car on way to make police report with him

This article screams into my face. Most might say this man is very suay. I am however reminded of the fragility of life (I am sure most of you are, especially with the passing of Uncle Jeffrey and the VT students/professors).

Many people challenge the existence of God and how He seems to be toying with Man; the most immediate question, in light of the innocent lives, is why do BAD things happen to GOOD people taken. Perhaps we should stand from another angle and ask:
"Why do GOOD things happen to BAD people like us?"

"He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end"

Hot-desking

I am sure many of us, working adults (especially in audit), are used to sitting in a cramped place, constantly staring at the PCs/documents and have often lost sight of time. While some call it dedication and focus, the fact remains "we all know it's not good for us".

And now a study has shown that a certain linkage between obesity and time spent in front of the PC or at the desk (now I know why I am horizontally challenged, I have been too hardworking!). But more importantly, this article also highlights potential career moves that can contribute towards a healthy lifestyle without suffering too much pain with the contraction in the bank account.

So who wants to be a veterinarian?

A Weirder World...

Just when everyone seems to be recovering from the VT shoot-out, the world just got weirder with a very public disposal of personal assets. We were left scratching our heads over the death of innocent lives taken by a boy who has not lived to tell his story and, now, this incident just shows why the world has gone all wrong.

"Show me, O LORD, my life's end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life." - Psalm 39:4

More update on the biggest (ever) bank deal

CNN calls it the biggest bank deal ever but definitely not done and dusted.

BBC writes on the hurdles ahead.

Bidding War on the cards.

The Boards of Barclays and ABN AMRO have finally agreed to a merger in a deal worth £45bn. This merger will create one of the world's largest banks, with a total value of £94bn but 12,800 jobs would be cut as a result of the merger, while a further 10,800 jobs would be moved to low-cost locations.

But it's not over until the fat lady sings. A consortium headed by the Royal Bank of Scotland is ready to open discussions with ABN AMRO for a better offer.

The war has just started.

Customer Service

Amy's recent comment on her blog re the deteriorating level of customer service in Singapore had me thinking whether she has been too hard on Singaporeans. This, especially since she has been in Tokyo for a good one year, does not seem to make meaningful comparison as the Japanese are known for their impeccable customer service quality. Well, after giving it some serious thought and gaining insights from personal experience, I guess it is not that harsh after all.

I made a purchase last Friday for a window wiper from Robert Dyas. I got home only to realise that the landlord has provided me with two. Gosh a waste of £6 or so I thought. I went back to the store today and proposed an exchange. To my amazement, the counter staff said: "if you don't need anything, I can give you a full refund instead. You don't have to exchange for anything else." Amazed? Maybe I shouldn't. This is not the first time I had an exchange/refund from Robert Dyas. The last was only 2 months back when I found out that I bought the wrong light bulbs.

They are no exception. I bought a DVD player and a universal remote, on two separate occasions from Dixons and got a refund for both purchases even though they were working fine (but not with my gadgets). No questions asked. Compare this with a DVD player bought from Akira Singapore. I had this purchased and shipped over to London, only to get a lemon. I emailed the company and asked for a replacement (it comes with a warranty). I even mentioned that I will get a friend to pick up a replacement. Guess what? Not even a reply (if you get peanuts, you get monkeys.

Maybe Singaporeans are used to the treatment accorded by the businesses back home, especially the 10% service charge on the bill since they can't argue much about it. Over here, service is not normally included in the bill and it's up to the diners' discretion to pay. And we do pay for good service provided and it will usually be met with a smile.

I believe we are still some way from the Japanese's level of service and we might not need to get to that level (that could be their strategic advantage plus the high cost of living is not something worth importing!).

Perhaps the next time you receive the bill with the 10% service charge, ask yourself if it's ever worth that much.

London Marathon

The Floral London Marathon takes place today. And I write, both the men's and ladies' champpion have been decided. The 26-mile run, which starts in Greenwhich and ends in Westminster (near Buckingham Palace), makes it way past Rotherhithe, Canary Wharf, Tower of London and Big Ben. It passes by our place (Boardwalk) near the 19.5 mile mark.

I was scheduled to make my maiden marathon run this year until I injured my knee last October in a football game. Well, there's always "a next year". So if I can't join them, then shoot them!












Zhou Chunxiu on the right - the first Chinese woman to win the London Marathon










The male runners sprinting down Trafalgar Way (from Canary Wharf)










Martin Lel - the eventual men's winner on the left (in red).


A small neighbourhood band, comprising the very young and old, entertaining the crowd and cheering on the runners.

More news on the London Marathon here.

Need your help

I have problems uploading photos to Yahoo! Photos recently. I do not want to pay for data space (e.g. Flickr !) nor do I want to load pictures at a site where my friends have to sign in to view (e.g. Kodak).

Can you recommend a good site?

Deja vu?

I thought Maradona was resting in the hospital?...

If you can't convince, confuse...

Having taken the time to digest and for my anger to simmer, I was ready to write about the recent furore regarding the ministerial salary increment. Until I realise what I write probably count for nothing. And potentially too many "serious" things to write about - contrary to the ethos of this journal.

So I bring to you qualified comments from Mr Wang's blog and Mr Brown . The latter more funny than a "eloquently and convincingly" statement. Quite below the belt.

So just a short remark from me. We need to raise ministerial salaries so that it reduces the chances of corruption sipping into the government. Singapore is regularly ranked at the top in terms of her fight against corruption and the low level of corruption in the country. So why do we need to raise their pay now?

Because the much-glorified system of assessing ministerial candidates cannot be trusted to work properly?
Because they face equal risks of entrepreneurs and businessmen and thus should have a share of the pie?
Because they were forgetful to tell the public about the low pays they were getting during the elections last year?

Cake-sim.

P/S: Found this on the internet. Have a read.

I have watched 300...

Very sure that it's NOT the movie of the year and even more sure I will not be seeing Weixiong as a film reviewer any time soon.

Stockholm Splendor

We arrived in Stockholm in the early morning of Sun (8 May), which we hoped will herald a great start to a rather uneventful past two days (we spent the night on the cruise playing some card games with drinking beer/tequila pops as forfeit). The cruise into the Stockholm harhour seems promising. Great sunshine, nice harbour views and looking extremely clean, even from the ship. Just as the bus was to depart from the harbour to the city, I realised that my trusted Nokia was in the ship cabin! Good thing I managed to get it back from a frantic search-and-rescue.

With too much drinking and eating from the Helsinki/cruise, we headed straight for the Gamla Stan (Old Town) despite the zen comfort of the Freys Hotel (I would recommend this for anyone who's travelling to Stockholm). The old town was buzzing with activities and people. The boys walked and played on the cobbled streets while the gals went about buying souvenirs. Again, we met a Malaysian lady at Hard Rock who gave us tips on making the most out of the two days we have in Stockholm.










We then rushed to the Royal Palace to catch the change of guards, a somewhat dramatic pomp with all the music and cannons. We bought student tickets @ SEK600 for ten, which would have been SEK1300 and went on a good guided trip in the Royal Palace. I did not know Sweden was such a powerful war nation in the past (they had Finland before the Russians conquered them) and had a mighty navy. I finished the day with a leisure walk to the small islet, Skeppsholmen, which had a good view of Stockholm from Kasstellholmen.










The chilly morning air woke me up, only to realise it was snowing. Yes, despite the bright sunshine it was snowing. Myself and Andy had to get tickets for the archipelago cruise, then rush to Vasamuseet to get tickets. The Vasamuseet houses the oldest/largest warship from the 18th century (see pictures above). Ironically this ship barely cruises for a mile before sinking just 100m from the southern tip of Djurgarden, where the museum is housed. It took them over 300 years to retrieve this long-forgotten glory. We then proceeded to Skansen to visit miniature, old Sweden and saw wild native animals like reindeer, elks, otters and bisons. Time seems to pass very long and before long, we were on a taxi to Arlanda Airport.

Hasta la Vista, baby!

Helsinki (Part I)

The Easter weekend came and left like the searing winds in Helsinki. We are finally back in London - tired but happy. The four days of travelling in Helsinki and Stockholm were almost non-existent. Helsinki started really slow that we were wondering if there are things to do over the long weekend and it suddenly switched to us leaving Stockholm in a rush, almost missing the taxis that were to fetch us to Arlanda Airport.

I had mixed feelings about this trip because the experiences in both cities were totally different. In Helsinki we spent more time in the cafes and had more desserts/coffee breaks than what we would normally have done during a month back in London. In Stockholm, we were literally rushing from point to point just so to catch as many sights as possible and that included walking in heavy snow and sub-zero temperatures.










Our trip did not get off to a good start from the moment we left our hotel (Grand Scandic). The town seems so "dead" that we were wondering if we were in the right place. As we approached the marketplace, a TV crew (Channel 4) came over to interview us, asking why we are in Helsinki. He went on to explain that there are not much activities in Helsinki over Good Friday and his programme is probably to highlight travellers that visit Helsinki over Good Friday (cue idiots) and taking a piss at us. We were then faced with a hail storm that emerged out of no-where and were left scuffing for our lives.










Though we had less stuff to do in Helsinki, the coffee and desserts were great. Even Andy, who's from the Swiss-chocoland, exclaimed in sweet wonder at the quality of the chocolate desserts (rum & chocolate, bailey's, lemon and chocolate, white choco with peach and so on). We also had our first try at reindeer meat, a taste that crosses beef and mutton. Our first and last.

We also called on Kynsilaukka Ravintola, an all-garlic restaurant that myself and Xueyan were hesitant about visiting. It ended up a wonderful experience (maybe our expectations were low). The food was fantastic (though the portions were weird-sizes). I must say garlic beer is a no-no for those who are ever curious.










There were not many sights to see but you can't miss Suomenlinna, a sea fortress. As Francine (our Helsinki "tour coordinator") kindly explained that this is the second-best sea fortress in the world, we were left scratching our heads (and hairs) over which is the best. Gibraltar, anyone?

We also met several Singaporeans on our cruise to/fro Suomenlinna and it always goes:

"Are you guys Singaporeans?"

"Yah, why? And how do you know?"

"Oh, from your slang!"

Well, you can always take a Singaporean out of the heartlands, but you can never take the Singlish out of him. ;)

Too tired but the Lord spoke

It has been quite a change from the last rotation. Most in my current department are married and a number have kids or are expecting - a drastic change from my former department which is mainly filled with "kids" fresh from college and constant discussion re spring breaks, Facebook and marathon drinking. But with that, you tend to get a more vibrant and lively atmosphere as compared to the dullness here.

Perhaps it's month-end and Q1; everyone is busy with passing journals and financial submission. I have not gotten into the hang of things, other than to play around with VBA. While I used to sashay in at 9+ in FI Exotics, getting in at 8:30am for the last few days meant that I was the second last person (other than my boss) in Credit. Not good, not good.

As mentioned earlier, I have gone somewhat cold and am hoping for a total change of environment, especially in the work that I am doing. Product Control is so different from what I used to do and, worse, what I expected. And in times of need, like many others, I consulted God and prayed. Nothing seems to "work" until I prayed for a specific word last night and Psalm 37 came. Not in the exact situation as David but you get the drift (selected verses).

3 Trust in the LORD, and do good;

so you will live in the land, and enjoy security.

4 Take delight in the LORD,

and he will give you the desires of your heart.

5 Commit your way to the LORD;

trust in him, and he will act.

7 Be still before the LORD, and wait patiently for him;

do not fret over those who prosper in their way,

over those who carry out evil devices.

23 Our steps are made firm by the LORD,

when he delights in our way;

24 though we stumble,we shall not fall headlong,

for the LORD holds us by the hand.

Great news prior to travelling

We will be travelling to Helsinki and Stockholm this long weekend, along with 8 other friends. The last long trip (excluding our Singapore CNY rendezvous) had us experiencing our first flight cancellation and disruption to travelling plans.

Now, we are faced with some discouraging news prior to our travels. You are right, we are flying BA. Looks like insurance is a definite yes for us now.

Another fresh start

I will begin my final rotation tomorrow. Amazing how the last 16 months just passed in a flicker of the eye. I had a word with my new boss last Thursday, sharing with him my concerns about joining Product Control. Yes, can't believe I actually have second thoughts about it - 16 months into the program.

I will start off in the High Yield Credit business, before moving on to Structured Illiquid Credit Trading. Funky names but freaky roles. I spoke to a CG friend who works in Sales on the same desk. Her reply on hearing my role?

"Err... Good luck. All the best... I will tell you all about it."

Pray for me.