Smoke Out!

One thing I hate about living in China is that there are no smoking related controls in public places.

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As I was walking into the hospital one day, a local strolling towards me had an unlit cigarette in his hand, ready to light it on his first step out of the building. I can imagine anyone entering the building will have to cross his nicotine cloud later.

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Diners smoke in air-conditioned, enclosed restaurants all the time. Eating in these places is a race against time to finish up your food before you sniff in all the smoke. It’s unfortunate but we dine at MacDonald’s, KFC and Pizza Hut when we eat out most of the time because these are joints that do not allow patrons to smoke.
Shanghai, unlike Suzhou, is already placing restrictions to prohibit smoking in most restaurants but recently, when I patronized Crystal Jade in Shanghai, there was a typical huffing and puffing local male in the restaurant and the staff did not even bother to advise him against it. Does legislation even work in China? After all, who would chase their customers away? And it is a difficult habit to break, a social norm that has deep seated roots.

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For this alone, I cannot imagine raising your children in such a place. One of the latest posts from a Singapore based blogger, “Xiaxue”, nicely resonates with my abhorrence for smokers. I credit her for the 2 posters below:

How well put. At least the situation is rather contained in Singapore. On a typical day, I can enjoy a smoke-free environment wherever I go. And of course, I eschew places where smokers congregate.

My 1st Puppy Love

I am a cat person. I love how these creatures exude their feline grace ever so effortlessly. Dogs on the other hand are just too wanting for my liking. Definitely not Ivy's best friend. Besides, I never pet a dog in my life. All the horror stories of getting mauled and disfigured by some rabid dog must caused my trepidation towards them.

I am therefore delightfully surprised that this huge creature is such a sweetheart. On crabby Saturday morning, when I entered the office for a general meeting, I was greeted by this approaching white monster. My first reaction was to turn back and run but pride got the better of me. There were about 5 subordinates milling around and I couldn't possibly be such a wuss.

There I stood, rooted to the ground with fear as the abominable white dog came over and snuggled at my legs. Hm...no bark, no show of teeth, no tongue licking. Phew!

His name is Ah Wang and his fur is white as snow. Testing the waters, I stroked him lightly. He didn't turn his head. No bark, no teeth, no tongue licking.

All clear.

I bent down to examine his fur. How very lovely.

He grows on you and when we started the meeting, the creature was locked in the M.D.'s office for 4 hours. He stayed in there quietly without kicking up a fuss and when we returned, the office looked as pristine as we left it. No paper was out of place. Is this a good dog or what?I was thinking of hitching a ride from this sledge puller but oh well, this is as good as it gets. (By the way, I didn't sit on him, in case you think of dialling the SPCA)
=P
I can't wait to see this fella again. He's a dream come true. Doesn't bark, doesn't show you his teeth, doesn't slobber all over you with yucky dog saliva, holds his bladder and rectum well till he's outside. And the fur. Take him for a shave in summer and the fur can be used on coats for winter. ;-)

Legalised Daylight Robbery

Went to watch Avatar with my husband in Suzhou Science and Cultural Arts Centre because we were too impatient to catch it back in Singapore. Our decision resulted in forking out 100 RMB per ticket (20.50 SGD). It’s the most expensive movie ticket we’ve ever bought!
Which brings me to the point; crowds in China camp outside cinema theatres to buy exorbitantly priced tickets to watch a movie not in their native language. The average monthly income of an urbanite in China is 2800 RMB (569 SGD) but the population here spends money like they have lots of cash to burn. Prices of consumer products, food and entertainment defy the theory of relativity.
The million dollar question is: What’s the secret to leading this sort of lifestyle?

Suzhou Science and Cultural Arts Centre

Noise: Hear/ Listen, Digest, Excrete

Less than 1 1/2 months into the job, I am starting to receive passionately written letters in my mailbox and ad hoc visitations to my office. I believe these "kind" attention from opportunistic employees is dispensed in a bid to 'suss the new manager out'.
There they will stand, relating in earnest their side of the story, their grievances and difficulties. Woe betide these long suffering souls. Honestly, I am surprised they lasted so long in the company.

Am I the "Messiah" they have been praying for?
Do they think I have the authority to veto decisions made by the executive M.D.?
Are they trying to capitalise on my apparent naiveté?

Here I am, trying to keep my focus in spite of the background noise. After all, apart from learning all about the trade, I am ultimately numbers driven.
Organizational management is definitely part of my R&R but without the fuel ($$), there will be no existence of the organization per se.
First things first. Especially when we're talking about navigating a SME/SMB.

Listen versus Hear:
When you are listening, you are actively trying to hear something.
In contrast, hearing is something that happens without any intentional effort.

Personal modus operandi: Listen, absorb, retain, digest, filter the crap, keep the nutrients, store them for growth, place the nonsense in the recycle bin and restore them to 'trash' crappers in future.

Sighting 2: Looking for love

Thanksgiving, then Black Friday. Oh! The only depressing thing about these is that I am unable to partake in the merry making and the USA sales. I always feel left out of the crazy sales in US on this day.

The only thing worth looking forward to is the television drama serial "The Little Nyonya" which Suzhou TV station will air tonight at 10pm. Cool, that's another "Singaporeany" offering to quell the home sickness.

I took a picture of this advertisement to make friends (by letting everyone know his QQ--MSN equivalent account number). What a lonely driver he must be. But look at the amount of dust on his van's rear which makes it a blackboard for his scribblings. YUCKS.

And so it is--the polluted place I now live in. (My lungs are collecting dust as the days go by). Think wonderful thoughts, think wonderful thoughts...

I Scream, or Get Creamed

It's nearing 1 month since I've temporarily relocated to Suzhou. Apart from the awful weather (anything under 15 degrees is terrible, by my standards), work is taking its toil on me. I have to admit figures ain't my cup of tea--especially when they don't concern monetary numbers. To eyeball product lists, part numbers and horrors of horrors Bill of Materials lists (BOM), you can imagine how many mind bombs detonated inside my head!!!

Thank God for after work ice-cream and those cheap thrills 'Hit the bugger who pops up' arcade games. Thank you for saving my sanity.

Dairy Queen (DQ) Waffle Bowl Sundae
The Waffle Treat comes in three varieties. This one contains caramel and pecan nuts. To be more precise with the description, Waffle Treat goes like this: Start with a waffle with the edges dipped in chocolate and molded in a bowl while still warm and soft. Two scoops of ice cream are placed at the center of the waffle, instant-freezing chocolate is added, then a generous amount of whipped cream, caramel syrup and, finally, pecan nuts.

Singapore food cravings…

One weekend, we decided to check out Food Loft at ‘IN CITY’ shopping mall.

Mind you, this mall is not only spacious, it houses Sephora, Mango, Zara, Pull and Bear, H&M.
Strangely, I didn’t feel a hint of excitement. Perhaps that’s because of the season (don’t like winter) or it’s due to the lack of moolah. Converting things to SGD not only is a hassle, it’s a sure mood dampener for shopping inclinations. Why are things so expensive in China? I feel so poor. Golly.
I digress. Here are the dishes we ordered. I thought that was quite a fair bit for 2 but locals here eat like it's their last meal on Earth.

(Curry puffs-20RMB, Hainanese Chicken Rice-28RMB, Hokkien Prawn Noodle-30RMB, Hotplace Tofu with Omelette-25RMB)= 73RMB (15SGD)

Sighting 1: A non spitting Merlion

They call it déjà vu.
Well, well, I guess the China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park (中国—新加坡苏州工业园区) goes beyond importing management systems.