29th May 2014
So my cousin told me that my employment in his company will be postponed for half a year. In the meantime, I'm to learn to the necessary IT skills while also reading up on everything he had listed previously.
And pass the CFA Level 1 exam in Dec. And still run my business.
The first work-related person I mentioned this to immediately asked if I plan to sell the firm.
Why would I do that???
Now this is an example of why no matter how ambitious I thought I was, my relatives felt that I have been setting my sights too low.
People around me have so little ambition that I could not truly understand the meaning of the word until I really talked to my relatives when my bro got married!
Why be the boss of one business when you can be the boss of multiple??!? Why restrict yourself to only one field?
Even though I've stopped working out with dumbbells and the stationary bike regularly, I'm starting to use the chinup bar almost every time I walk under it.
The fact is that it's technically dangerous for me to do a real chinup due to my left shoulder. It's probably a very loose ligament at the back, so whenever I try to do a chinup starting from straightened arms, it feels like it would dislocated that shoulder.
Now I just do the underarm chinups starting from slightly bent arms, maybe 30 degrees from the horizontal axis, and I can do one... with a lot of straining and grunting. It does not sound like much but this is great progress for me. I still have never done a single proper chinup in my entire life on my own but this feels so close to my first.
30th May 2014
Went to Campers' Corner at Waterloo Street to get a hiking long-sleeve shirt and pants. These were meant for hiking in warm climate because they were made of polyester which allows for quick drying.
Cost about S$170, but they were both Marmot so that's reasonable enough.
Now I'm all prepared for hikes.
Going to join one tomorrow and if it's good, I'm going for my long walks by myself.
Gave the retiring worker a five-digit sum yesterday. She's been with us for almost one and a half decades so even though that was nowhere close to what I felt she deserved, that was the most I could afford.
Now I'm looking for a replacement but that's not been easy because Singaporeans seem to hate ironing like me. My staff have tried to ask among their friends but the ironing was what stopped them all from saying yes.
And here I thought the main issue was the ability to use the sewing machine.
Good thing it's not the peak season so things are still manageable.
01 June 2014
The hike turned out to be harder than I thought. It was about 12-15km from Seletar Reservoir to Pierce Reservoir, and half of it was through jungle.
I'm so glad I took the time to go to Campers' Corner and bought a long-sleeve shirt and convertible long pants for hiking, because not only were they light and cool, they protected me from the thorns and stuff.
The full-leather boots were another good idea because it allowed me to step on anything without worry. The only problem with these boots is that they gave me abrasion on my toes and ankles, although I think they just need to be broken in more.
Now I'm walking with the limp because the ball of my left foot is still aching.
02 June 2014
Went for Maleficient and met another cute girl but this time, it's a weird one. She likes to joke about killing stuff so much it's scary. Sure it was just twice in an evening but still, that's too much focus on death.
Still kinda interesting though. I didn't even know that being a barista is an interesting job.
Legs still aching.
Found a replacement but not sure if she's good enough. She used to use the bigger industrial sewing machines so it will take some time to know if she can use our smaller one.
03 June 2014
Booking a 4-night trip to Seoul for the near future and realized that it's really not worth the money to go for fare classes that give me club miles or sectors. Seriously, the price difference is S$600 here between Malaysian Airline tickets that give me nothing ($1000+) and Cathay Pacific tickets that give me miles and sectors at 100% rate ($1600+). Even if I compare with Malaysian Airlines' normal fare, the difference is still over $200.
Nope.
Ended up booking on Expedia a 5D4N trip to Seoul at ibis Ambassador Seoul Myeongdong. Surprisingly cheap this time, the hotel. Must be luck because it's even cheaper than any of the Skypark hotels at Myeongdong, and I was actually thinking about trying out Skypark III this time.
This trip is going to be tough because I will be going out mainly at night. No choice but to screw up my body clock for money.
The new worker doesn't really know how to use our larger sewing machine but is willing to learn. Now we've got to see if she can do it professionally by the end of the month. Apparently she's used to smaller ones at home, not big ones.
I fear Azura now.
I think I have to either finish my backlog tomorrow or go for a hike. Maybe both. The hike will be a simple one along the park connectors. Maybe go all the way up north to Bukit Timah. Let's see if I can finish the work by noon.
Water bag's filled up, backpack is ready, snack bar from combat ration still in backpack! All prepared for a long walk!
