The disappearing dichotomy between science and religion...

Thanks to the environment. Well, to a tenny-weeny extent.

Faith upon the earth
Religious groups and environmental scientists are teaming up—albeit sometimes reluctantly

“THERE was a functioning bridge until 1470 AD,” says Praveen Togadia, a Hindu fundamentalist, smoothing out his dhoti. “Due to natural calamities, it was disturbed, and parts went into the sea.”... click for more.

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Not that I am particularly busy right now to post any articles but I am having too much fun on Facebook nowadays!

Banking

A career in banking has always been my goal ever since I dropped out of pilot school. The financial products and their intricate workings intrigue me. The prospects of pitting my wits against the brainiest enticed me. My first encounter with "banking" was during my internship with Arthur Andersen. Thereafter I joined KPMG because of its strong Financial Services arm. I spent three years in KPMG learning about the banking world. So it was no surprise that I left when Barclays Capital came calling - first it being a bank and secondly, a career in London.

And it is not further surprising that Singapore graduates have placed banks as their preferred employers upon graduation. It seems that banking brings in the money. Hearing and reading young men and women banking (pun not intended) hundred of thousands per annum in bonus and wages is very enticing and tempting. In fact, I have a close mate my age who buys a new condo apartment every bonus time. MY has on his blog mentioned a career switch to banking. Another friend also recently asked for advice on ways to get into banking.

This contrasts sharply with a recent Bloomberg feature where only one investment bank made it among the Top 10. Maybe it is the survey respondents(one mainly Singaporean graduates and the other, a more cosmopolitan post-grads who have perhaps "seen the world". So I asked my colleagues where they are in banking. Most do not like to be in banking - one wanted to be a sports masseur and another wants to be a farmer in New Zealand. The reason why they are around in banking is to pay the mortgage.

Perhaps it is the values and principles that one holds that determine his preferences. For Singaporeans who have "prosperity, wealth and fame" inculcated from a young age, this could have led us (yes me!) to value money and status over work-life balance. So it was certainly very interesting to read the Bloomberg report (the print edition was more detailed and interesting).

Life is definitely more than money. This may work in Singapore but it just shows the kind of leaders we have in SAF.

Back to Singapore Part III

SQ321

Depart London - 05 Feb, 22:05

Arrive Singapore - 06 Feb, 18:45

SQ322

Depart Singapore - 23 Feb, 23:20

Arrive London - 24 Feb, 05:25

Plus a trip to Phuket in-between (13-15 Feb). Anyone interested in joining us?

Will you be interested?

Looking to hire the best qualified ACA candidates to work in the Finance division. Candidates should be team players with a keen desire to become an expert in their field and an interest in the Investment Banking industry. In return, you have a great opportunity to establish a successful career.

• Two 12 month rotations within targeted areas of Finance to suit your skills and career aspirations.

• A deep insight into how our global business works and exposure to most key functions.

• A structured training curriculum throughout the program.

• A unique opportunity to build a network across Finance.

And, of course, an impressive pay package.

The Guessing Game - Who's the Time Bomb?

The subprime contagion seems to have stretched its hands of terror into the money markets - the source of funding where banks borrow or lend money between themselves and other institutions. The central banks in Europe and the U.S. have to step in to quell the problems in the markets and provide liquidity.

So what's the problem now?

The banks need to borrow funds in the money markets to fund their assets e.g. loans made to retail consumers e.g. housing loans and corporates for their investments. The deposits that you and me place with the banks are insufficient to meet their needs, so the banks have to borrow in the money markets to meet any shortfall, often to meet regulatory requirements. While they can lend from the central banks, the banks often avoid that because borrowing from the central banks could be perceived as having credit problems. They hence borrow in the interbank market even though the interest rate is slightly higher.

However, recent credit events have caused banks to distrust one another because everyone thinks that there is a joker in the pack. That one big bank may be holding massive unannounced losses and am trying to borrow money in the market to close its gap. To avoid a second Barings - where the unsuspecting lending banks essentially lose their loans where the veritable institution collapsed.

Over in London, this has caused the interbank lending rate to shoot up, trading at more than 1% over the Bank of England lending rate, essentially telling one another -"I am not interested in lending to you. Borrow from the Daddy".

The million-dollar question - who's the time bomb?

Or is there ever one?

Miss this cute rascal

This little boy and the Lees should be back in Singapore now. Once again, the house seems unusually quiet without Jeiel. He is such a cute and playful yet obedient boy. Haven't had so much fun with a kid before.

This small legend has the ability to charm almost anyone on the streets. Hopefully his picture will charm you too!

Iceland Getaway (Day 2)

The second day was arguably the toughest and "longest" day for us. Leaving Reykjavik, we had to drive along Iceland's western coastline, going past Helgafell before turning east towards Skagafjordur for water-rafting and horse-riding activities. We estimated a travelling time of six hours to hit Varmahlid for our day of fun and three hours thereafter to travel to Husavik.


Iceland is a extremely pricey place, told to us by travellers and locals. Barely two hours into the journey, we couldn't resist the KFC sign-posts for a stop. A 12-piece meal we shall shared. That coupled with three packets of chips, two more sides and a bottle of Pepsi amounted to IKR 2784 or S$65!!! We were hungry and prepared to pay but the shock didn't go down too well. Must be some premium chicken I guess.


Due to the long distance, we had agreed on three drivers for this trip - Patrick, Lynn and myself. I drove a bit in Reykjavik but reckoned that I am more suitable to navigate, hence leaving Patty "Initial-D" Wong and Lynn to hold the fort. I have to accompany the driver in "staying awake" as the journey entails high cliffs and rocky gravel roads. Lynn took over the middle section of the track which was probably most exciting as Kan-Cheong Spider Ong had to remind her frequently to steady the car and once having to take over the steering from the passenger seat (and yes, we drove a Landrover Defender aka SAF army jeep which trembles at 110kmh. Squeezing six persons and four suitcases and managing another four gals' moods ain't easy).

We did arrive in Varmahlid on time, but not before getting back sores. We started with water-rafting down the East Austari River. The session was about an hour, not very exciting for experienced rafters but since we had two newbies, I thought it might be safer to choose a less stressful route. The water was extremely cold (about 1deg) and rafting through a glacial valley was new for all of us. We also had fun jumping off the cliff into the rushing river. Xueyan even had to be rescued (who on earth swim breast-stroke in a gushing river?). We top off the experience by relaxing in a natural hot spring.



We then moved on to horse-riding. What meant to be one-hour session turned out to be two-hours ride on the open fields and trotting across shallow rivers. The two instructors were very nice and we have a laugh with Xueyan repeatedly coaxing her horse to move. Mine even had time for a poo-and-wee session during the ride!

This wun happen in Singapore (as long as PAP is in power)

Our flat is a 10-mins walk from our office in Canary Wharf. Colleagues and friends often asked why we want to stay in a dull place - an area bereft of food, drinks and life come evening weekdays. On weekends, the area is a dead town - similar to Shenton Way (imagine staying in Shenton Way - w/o the 24/7 kopitiams).

But it is time like this where we appreciate the little joys of walking to/fro office from home. These Metro staff are probably some of the best-paid (and under-worked) blue-collar workers in London, possibly taking home £50k/year. Yet more than enough is never enough. Such "defiance" will never happen in Singapore (note my disclaimer above).

Yes, we may be living close to work, in a "lifeless" place (then again, all bricks and concrete do not have lives!). But we are certainly for the better in this case.

Priceless!

Iceland Getaway (Day 1)

Xueyan's "sick" of cathedrals and palaces, so we reckon it's time to explore other interesting parts of Europe. We heard some bits of Iceland prior to this trip but nothing fascinates more us than seeing it upclose and upfront. Iceland is totally not as "ice"-landish as we thought.

This trip is very different from all other adventures as we filled our schedules with activities, rather than sight-seeing and I also drove a left-hand drive for the first time. While sights are not a priority, the fusion of lava, barren land, icebergs and volcanic rocks in one setting left us totally amazed.

We "did" Iceland in a clock-wise direction, starting off with the Blue Lagoon, where we soaked and relaxed in steaming bath and literally masked ourselves with silica. It was very refreshing and intriguing to see hot water and steam pouring out of a small "crater" and to swim/float amid vapour. The sulphuric-laced water was not exactly pleasing though.

After spending 90 minutes at the Blue Lagoon, we proceeded with our drive tour of the Golden Circle. Our first stop was at Þingvellir, one of the most important places in Iceland and where one of the oldest parliamentary institutions of the world was founded. It is also the place where the Eurasian tectonics plate meets the North Amercia plate. You could hence see a deep fissure and distinct rocks and soil formation in and around the area. We then moved on to the geysir park - our first sight of water-sprouting spings in action. The Geysir was certainly very impressive. Apparently, it is more consistent than Old Faithful at Yellowstone Park. It was also a funny sight to see the girls getting excited and ready for the next eruption. What was supposed to take 20-30 mins for sight-seeing ended up a two-hour photo-taking session.

Our last stop for the day brought us to Gullfoss, a deep-falling waterfall. During the first half of the 20th century and some years into the late 20th century, there was much speculation about utilizing Gullfoss to create electricity. During this period, the waterfall was leased indirectly by its owners to foreign investors. The waterfall was later sold to the state of Iceland with plans to utilize Hvítá (the river source for the waterfall). A popular story has Sigríður Tómasdóttir, the daughter of the original owner, who was determined to save the waterfall from utilization and even threatened to throw herself into the waterfall. A stone memorial to Sigriður, located above the falls, was then created (although she did not fall eventually).

Horse-riding at Varmahlíð

Whale-watching in Husavik

Dog-sledding on Mýrdalsjökull

End to a windwhirl week

Finally back to London after 3 hours on a delayed train ride from Paris. It has been a crazy week indeed, first leaving for Reykjavik on Saturday and covering Iceland in 4 days and over 2000km, then returning to London on Wednesday afternoon and rushing to Emirates Stadium to watch our first Champions League game between Arsenal and Sparta Prague. I have had not much luck with goals at the new ground but watching the Gunners spank the Spartans thrice made the rush worthwhile.

As many of you are aware, the Lees are holidaying in London and Paris at the moment. We met up with them in Paris on Thursday. It was AWESOME. The first ever trip where we were not concerned about sightseeing but pure shopping. Myself, Weifu and Jeiel trailing behind two value-hunting tomahawks. Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Chanel - you name it, we went there (and Weifu does surprise us with his knowledge of the leathery!). Tax refund rebate provided an incentive and impetus for the wallets to open.
Right now, it's just time for us to unpack and get the house in order!