A long and arduous road of an entrepreneur

Questions From Readers #1

noreply@blogger.com (Cobalt Paladin) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 09:19:18 PST

Yay! I finally have questions from my readers! Haha! You see those popular bloggers or famous personalities, they receive questions from their readers and fans from time to time. I'm getting closer to stardom! Right..... :p

*Dancing in the room... leaping across the air... no, you don't want to have the image of me dancing in your mind*

I've received 3 questions from 2 readers. Here goes #1:

Did u start solo or did u start with a team? Cos I find working alone really tough.

Many many many years ago (circa 1996), just after I graduated and started working (yes... that long ago), I had an idea, different from what I am doing now, so I gathered my 3 best pals from university and suggested the idea to them. All were excited by the idea and were fired up to start the business. We met many nights in a cafe after work and bascially just talked and discussed about our future venture. Like many internet start-ups (who wasn't dreaming about being a dot com then? It was dot com fever/rush), we doodled on paper napkins and planned the steps we needed to take. We talked about our visions, our hopes, our aspirations and how big we were going to be. We would talk until the shutter came down and the cafe closed. We would then all go to our respective company the next day bleary eyed and yet feel pumped up again when we meet in the evening. It was a very happy time. There was a strong bond and sense of camaraderie among us.

Then it was finally time to start the real work.

Based on their strengths, I assigned tasks for each of us. Even then, I had the knack of identifying individual strengths and weaknesses. The next meeting would be one month later.

When we met again, E brought in another friend of his, J. E was responsible of the graphics and design portion of our internet project. During our many early discussions, web programming was an identified weakness of the team. At that time, PERL (cgi programming) was the language to use and B was assigned to take up that responsibility. Apparently, E was not confident that we would be able to resolve our lack of technical skill problem so he brought in J.

J was a programmer and he was proficient in PERL and web development. The problem was, J already had his company and it was a company of 4. If we collaborated, it would become a company of 8. Too many indian chiefs.

During many meetings after that when J had joined, J gave me a feeling that he looked down on our team. He felt that our success depended on him. He gradually treated us like second class citizens and put us down. And disappointingly, E continued not to deliver on his end. There were no graphics, no designs.

As time goes by, the meetings became more and more infrequent and then it just stopped. I didn't call for any more meetings because I knew then that the team would have many friction and disagreements due to J's involvement. He did not respect nor value our contribution. We just quietly went our separate ways.

From that point onwards, I vowed that I would do something on my own and not depend on anyone in future. I started buying lots of books and did self-studying, getting myself ready for my next eureka moment. I paid attention to ideas that I can do on my own.

It took me another three years before a new idea (my current venture) came upon me which I believed I could do it on my own. In between, I read up many technical books and kinda become Jack of all trades but master of none.

The first 3 years of my own start-up was one of the toughest period of my life. Something about the New Year eves then. I would always feel very blue and down. Even though I may be surrounded by party revellers, I would feel like an island in the sea of crowd. When people were out celebrating, I would be wondering if it was time to give up. It didn't seem like I was getting anywhere and I still had bills to pay. Self-doubt was a monster which challenged me.

Yes, working alone was really tough. When I had problems, I had no business partners to share the burden with and I had to do everything on my own. However, I was fortunate to have married a very supportive and understanding wife. It was my wife who held my hand and walked with me through the darkest patch of my life.

But many of the lessons (this, this and this) I learnt then made me who I am today. I was trialed by fire.

After 9 years on my own, I am now very used to making my own decisions, implementing my own ideas and solving my own problems.

That being said, I would encourage people to have a team. The trick is identifying the right partners and managing the ego and expectations of each individual. Usually, with the right team, you should be able to achieve more in a shorter period of time. Working alone, I was usually constrained by what I myself can do.

I don't think there is a general answer to the question. Different circumstances require different approach. My circumstances pushed me to walk the path alone.

Mabye, just maybe, I was born to be a lone wolf.

A Long Road Ahead

noreply@blogger.com (Cobalt Paladin) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 09:45:17 PST

It is a chilly and quiet night when most residents in the neighbourhood have turned in. There are only a few lonely windows with lights still on. Outside my window, the rain drizzled. The rain wetting the ground, the roads and the pavement quietly. Gradually, pools of rain water were formed and you can see rings and rings spreading out from the point where the rain drops touched the serene surface. The rain added a chill to an otherwise already cold night.

I can't sleep. My mind is still abuzzed with thoughts and activities of the past week.

It had been a hectic week. Had meetings with clients (to talk business) and friends (to seek advice), attended a workshop, bought a new 15" Macbook Pro for staff and in between all these, I had to squeeze time to bring my desktop for fixing. Fortunately, all it needed was 'flashing' the ROM to the latest version.

For the past 3 years, I've invested $16k each year for a competitive analysis report. Prior to this year, I've always wondered the effectiveness and usefulness of the investment. This year, it has finally proved its value. This year, the report showed that my company had lost 10% market share. When I saw the drop, I queried the account manager who was servicing my company. I had hoped he was able to give me the reasons pertaining to the drop. I bought a competitive analysis report afterall. His analysis was part of the package. Instead, he cooked up some lousy reasons trying to assure me that the drop was just statistical and I should not be concerned. My gut feeling told me his explanations were a total bull. I spent days thinking about the result and poring over the data. I can conclude that my company have indeed lost 10% of market share and it was not due to some statistical changes from an expanded basket of parameters.

The result proved it was the right decision made 3 years ago in purchasing the competitive analysis report. This had served its purpose as an early-warning detection system. I've been warned that my market share has been slipping even though my other internal measures are saying otherwise. This was because my internal numbers were only indicative of internal numbers of year to year. The internal numbers were standalone and were not compared to the overall market. Even though the internal numbers have been increasing (year on year), but from the competitive analysis report, it seems like my competitors have grown even faster and chipping away my lead.

I'll need to pore through the report and data in detail to identify the root cause of the drop. I'll also need to develop counter-measures to address not only the drop, but to both regain market share and grab more market share while at it. Fortunately, we still have a huge chunk of the market and a huge lead over our nearest competitor. This will buy us time to react.

For the past week, I had also been scrutinising my company's financial report and statements for year 2008 (yeah, I know, we are late -_-") and getting it ready for the final submission to IRAS (Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore).

In the past, I've only paid attention to profits and monitored only cashflow. Thinking back, I (I rolled my eyes) wondered how the heck I reached where I am today without paying attention to balance sheet, revenue and operating expenses? It was a heck of a lucky streak. Looking at my my 2008 financial reports, even though revenue has gone up by 25% but the profit had remained the same. This means that my expenses have gone up. Studying the financial statements, my cost had gone up by 37%! What actually happened was that I've been approving and funding new projects with wild abandon! I made my decision based on the company's bank account. In actual fact, what I did was spending the company's past retained profits. Without realising, I've spending the company's coffer.

For the past 9 years, running my company, I've never done any budgeting or business planning. I realised now that this had to change. I need to grow up fast. I need to mature from a all gut-feel and instincts entrepreneur to a number crunching business executive.

The burden is heavy on my shoulders. I can feel the weight crushing down on my shoulders. Even though my entrepreneurial venture had carved a moderately successful niche in the market but the competitors are learning and imitating fast. I can feel the crushing stress pressing down on my chest and it is hard to breathe.

I wondered who can share with me my burden. I screamed a silent scream piercing the veiled darkness of the night. There was no answer. This is a burden that I am alone to bear... and with the can of beer in my hand as my sole companion.

Consortium

noreply@blogger.com (Cobalt Paladin) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 20:29:05 PDT

KL was a friend I've known since my NTU days. He was a course mate and we stayed in the same hostel. He was also the one who shared with me a very important lesson during one of my crossroads.

If there were 2 paths to take, one was a dead end but the other path no matter how illogical or how hopeless it appears, if that path offers a glimmer of hope, no matter how slight, it is the path to take.

With that lesson, I made a strategic change and without it, I wouldn't be where I am today.

For a while, my friend, KL and I toyed with the idea of coming together with other startups and pooling our marketing efforts together. Each of us began touching base with our own contacts and introduced the idea to them. I bounced the idea to my contacts and in turn they bounced the ideas with their contacts.

The feedback we received had been very mixed. Some were enthusiastic, some were lukewarm and some were freezing cold.

I guess at the end of day, I shouldn't have been surprised by the outcome. We are dealing with a very diverse group of individuals here. Each of us have attained success in our own area. We wouldn't be where we are if we have not been strong-willed, opinionated, focus and maybe even a little proud, some would say, egoistic. :p

KL and I knew it wouldn't be easy but we just continue to identify entrepreneurs who are like-minded and shared the same enthusiasm.

A few days ago, KL told me he had arranged a meeting with another group of entrepreneurs. He knew I had wanted to get to know and meet them too so he invited me to join them. I think he was also returning a similar courtesy I extended to him a while back.

When the day of the meeting drew near and when I didn't receive any further details of the meeting, I asked KL about it when I saw him in messenger. I sensed hesitation in his reply. Then he told me his partner (the co-partner of his current company) would be joining him in the meeting and his partner would prefer to sound them out first without my presence. I was feeling perplexed. KL further told me that his partner thinks everyone just want money so he would be suggesting the idea of a joint IPO with the various startup companies.

I asked KL if his partner would be exploring our original idea of pooling our marketing efforts together. Again, I sensed a slight hesitation. So I asked KL if his partner will be discussing IPO with them?

His reply was, "Yeah, that."

I asked if the joint marketing would be discussed too. His reply, "And that."

It was very non-committal and I felt that my friend was not comfortable in giving me direct answers. It was as though he was just skirting on just the border of the question.

As KL was a good friend and I didn't want to make things difficult for him, so I just answered him that there will always be other opportunities to meet again so it was alright that I don't join their meeting this time.

After I closed the messenger window, I felt disappointment.

This originally started as an idea between KL and I. I never expected KL's partner involvement. I feel that he suddenly showed interest was due to the money angle. I was shut out just like that. I feel there is a trust issue here if he can't allow me to participate in the meeting. How can I trust him if he can't even show that he trusts me? This episode left a bitter aftertaste.

Even if they successfully formed a company to launch a joint IPO, I won't want to be part of the group. I don't think I have anything in common with KL's partner. I believe we are poles apart. 志不同，道不和。

I see the dawn of the rising sun perched on the horizon at the far end of the long long road before me. Today is the start of a new day. With my shadow stretched behind me, I continue the journey.

I always walk alone.

Live Like We're Dying

noreply@blogger.com (Cobalt Paladin) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 07:24:42 PDT

If you know you are dying, what would you change about the life you are living now? Would you be satisfied or would you die with regrets and unaccomplished dreams?

I had been asked many times by others who were on the edge, people who are undecided if they should take the plunge and risk everything to become an entrepreneur, what compelled me to take the leap into the ravine of unknown. I jumped because I wanted to defy gravity and fly. I wanted to soar up into the clear blue sky and touch the sun. Most importantly, I didn't want to have regrets at my deathbed wondering that if I could have realised my dream. I needed to know the answer.

I took the plunge 9 years ago. I will not sugarcoat it. My first 3 years were hell. I promise you, if you start your journey of an entrepreneur, it would be one of the most difficult thing you do in life. But you would be living your dream.

If you cower behind your fear and you don't have the courage to live your dream, wouldn't you be as good as a soulless body, a walking dead? Yes, the probability of failure is high. 99% of startups fail during the first year. But there is still the 1% chance. To me, that's a fantastic odd!

So let me pose to you the question again, if you know you are dying, how would you live your life now?

Even if you tried and failed, you would have lived!

Sometimes we fall down and can’t get back up
We’re hiding behind skin that’s too tough
How come we don’t say I love you enough
Till it’s to late, it’s not too late

Our hearts are hungry for a food that won’t come
We could make a feast from these crumbs
And we’re all staring down the barrel of a gun
So if your life flashed before you
What would you wish you would’ve done

Yeah… gotta start
Lookin at the hand of the time we’ve been given here
This is all we got and we gotta start pickin it
Every second counts on a clock that’s tickin’
Gotta live like we’re dying

We only got
86 400 seconds in a day to
Turn it all around or throw it all away
We gotta tell ‘em that we love ‘em
While we got the chance to say
Gotta live like we’re dying

And if your plane fell out of the skies
Who would you call with your last goodbyes
Should be so careful who we live out our lives
So when we long for absolution
There’ll no one on the line

Yeah… gotta start
Lookin at the hand of the time we’ve been given here
This is all we got and we gotta start pickin it
Every second counts on a clock that’s tickin’
Gotta live like we’re dying

We only got
86 400 seconds in a day to
Turn it all around or throw it all away
We gotta tell ‘em that we love ‘em
While we got the chance to say
Gotta live like we’re dying

Like we’re dying oh - like we’re dying [x2]

We only got
86 400 seconds in a day to
Turn it all around or throw it all away
We gotta tell ‘em that we love ‘em
While we got the chance to say
Gotta live - like we’re dying

We never know a good thing till it’s gone
You never see a crash until it’s head on
All those people right when we’re dead wrong
You never know a good thing till it’s gone

Yeah… gotta start
Lookin at the hand of the time we’ve been given here
This is all we got and we gotta start livin it
Every second counts on a clock that’s tickin’
Gotta live like we’re dying

We only got
86 400 seconds in a day to
Turn it all around or throw it all away
We gotta tell ‘em that we love ‘em
While we got the chance to say
Gotta live like we’re dying

Like we’re dying oh - like we’re dying [x2]

We only got
86 400 seconds in a day to
Turn it all around or throw it all away
We gotta tell ‘em that we love ‘em
While we got the chance to say
Gotta live like we’re dying
Live like we’re dying

Making Millions

noreply@blogger.com (Cobalt Paladin) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 07:30:20 PDT

A very long time ago, I read that Michael Dell was a millionaire before 30. So when I started my venture, I had aimed and hoped to become a millionaire by the age of 30. Well, let's just say that my 30th birthday had gone by very quietly ~~many years ago~~ and I was nowhere near a million bucks, not even in terms of SGD so let's not talk about USD. :p

Recently, I just had a realisation. If my company is making $500k a year and since I own my company wholly, every 2 years, I would have made $1 million. In that sense, I would have made millions already since I've been running my company for 9 years now. If I console myself, I've actually attained my goal some what. So I should aim to make $1 million per year. Heh.

But by another calculation, if I were to use P/E ratio (price-to-earnings ratio) to measure my company, it would yield another story. If my company is making a profit of $200k per year and if I were to use a P/E ratio of 8, my company would potentially worth a whopping $1.8 million! Similarly, if my company was only making a profit of $50k a year and I were to use a P/E ratio of 20, my company would also be worth a million dollars. :p

Actually, all these are just playing with numbers. Whether a company is worth a million dollars, it means nothing, if there is no real buyer or investor to recognise the value a company tags to itself.

In the course of my venture, I've met entrepreneurs who would like to thump their chests (imaginary) and proclaim their companies are worth so many many millions. In the end, many of these ventures are the first to fail. Sometimes, I wonder, it seems the bigger the number they inflate their company to be worthed, it seems the quicker they fail.

Looking back, do I regret my decision of taking this long and arduous road? My answer is a resounding "NO!". The people I've met, the life I've led and being the captain of my own destiny and charting my own course, the experience to me, is already worth millions! This year alone, within 3 short months, I've made a trip to both Paris and Tokyo respectively. I'm also able to have greater flexibility of time and I get to spend more time with my love ones, to me, that is already priceless.

I'm now having the time of my life and I feel like a million bucks! ;)

The Dark Paladin

noreply@blogger.com (Cobalt Paladin) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 11:12:47 PDT

A client of ours have defaulted on payment. We have been calling, emailing, sending SMS and eventually we had even sent him a legal letter requesting for payment. Through the one year period while we were chasing payment, the client had never responded to our correspondence. He even ignored the legal letter of demand.

When I shared this with a friend of mine, the friend told me that the client does not have any problem paying. He is not facing any financial difficulty. In fact, the client is loaded.

Eventually, I had to resort to something which I've not done before in the past 9 years, I instructed my lawyer to commence with civil action and a writ of summons was served to my client.

Guess what? The client made a wire transfer immediately on the same day. It was really a wtf moment.

When I started my journey 9 years ago, with wide and doe-eyed innocence, I sincerely believed my journey will not change me for the worse. But slowly, my heart hardens and soul is darkened. Every conflict I had hoped to resolve amicably, every conflict just brought me closer to the darkness. I see the world not as beautiful as I thought but a lot more uglier than I realised.

About 7 years ago, I had a client who did not make payment. I even paid many visits to his company and he always pleaded with me to give him more time and I always did. This went on for 2 years. When I shared this story with a lawyer friend, he suggested that he'll help me send a legal letter of demand to him. I was very reluctant. I was still hopeful for an amicable resolution but my friend managed to convince me.

Within days of sending the letter, I received payment.

I learnt my lesson. In fact, many years ago, one client defaulted a payment of $12k which I was never able to recover till this day. From then onwards, when my clients don't pay after a reasonable period of extension, I would instruct my lawyer to send legal letter of demand and I would usually receive payments promptly after that, except this most recent case.

It gets easier each time I request my company lawyer to issue a legal letter. Because each time, my heart hardened further.

Sometimes, I wonder what's the point of being nice. I just get pushed and trampled all over. Through the 9 years, I heard of rumors and untruths about my company and myself that I no longer feel anything and am immune to them. I realised some people just choose to believe the "jucier" gossips and untruths. If they even bother to exercise their grey matter, they would realise the rumors don't stand. How could or why would my company issue a client a 5 years worth of invoices when the client has only used our service for one year? Can you please exercise your intelligence when you hear things like these? What? We bully our clients? Please explain how we do that? We are fortunate if our clients don't bully us already.

Sometimes, when we were nice to our clients and helped them solve their problems out of our own good will, some of these clients would then 得寸进尺 (literal translation: asking for a foot after getting an inch).

My heart has now darkened further. I've sent my first writ of summons and succeeded. It was not something I enjoy doing but needed to be done. The end justify the means.

Long time ago, my armour would reflect the sunlight with a glorious cobalt blue. Now, my paladin armour shimmers with a dull gun-metal grey under the pale crescent moon.

The dark paladin has cometh.

Busy Days

noreply@blogger.com (Cobalt Paladin) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 09:25:08 PDT

Just so suddenly, October is upon us. Before long, I'll be busy preparing Christmas cards to be mailed to my clients. Each year, I told myself that we must send the cards on time. Each year, I only managed to mail out almost two hundred Christmas cards on the 23rd, the eve of Christmas eve. This year, I aim (again!) to send out by 1 Dec.

Things have happened in a whirl for the past weeks. Don't ask me what I've been busy with because when I look back, everything is a blur. But I did manage to finish all the current twelve volumes of Fables TPB. Oh yes, I finished "Lions In Winter" too. I enjoyed the book. The book is a collection of short stories offering intimate glimpses of the psyche of Singaporeans (of different generations, written by a Singaporean. Now finally after months of hiatus, I've picked up the 1088 page book, Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand's magnum opus, and started reading from where I stopped.

Had planned to blog more regularly in July. Which I did. Had written 11 entries in July which was the most entries I had written for this year. Then, got caught up in work again and only managed to blog 8 entries in August, then 4 in September... Sigh.

During the working hours, it'll be a whirlwind of motion and actions. Reading and answering emails, talking to staff and making sure that projects are still on schedule. Other days, I'll be poring over the company numbers: budget, revenue, staff strength etc. Other times, I'll be thinking about the road map of the company. I just have so many ideas that I don't know which one to embark first. Some that I've started but are now stuck because I don't have the time to look at the problems that got the idea stuck. I finally understood why a company needs project managers. I think I really need to further expand the staff strength but do I have enough revenue to sustain?

Fortunately, all these problems are not enough to keep me awake all night but they are enough to keep me awake till late at night (because need to work late lah).

Even though I'm busy but I'm not feeling stressed. Instead, I'm taking everything in my stride and there is a sense of calm and purpose that guides my actions. Maybe my experience from the past nine years have opened my eyes and I see more clearly now. I also read people and their actions more clearly now. Who are the people who just wants to use us and who are the people who truly have our best interests at heart. It seems clear now.

I apologise if my entry seems fragmented but it is a true representation of my current state of mind - fragmented thoughts. :)

How I'm feeling now? I'll use the following mental image:

I'm lying on the moist green grass on the side of a hill, with my interlocking hands cushioning my head. The gentle night breeze caresses my hair and face, while I admire the few twinkling stars that dots the clear night sky while I drown myself in the serenity of the surrounding expanse...

I'm at peace.

Tokyo (Mis)Adventures: Day 2 - Sushi Dinner

noreply@blogger.com (Cobalt Paladin) — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 02:11:27 PDT

After the fireworks display ended, I was left with the dreaded but necessary task of taking the metro back to my hotel. By looking at the crowd, I knew it will be a herculean task of getting back into the Kachidoki station, let alone the train. Just look at the crowd walking towards ONE station:

Crowds

More crowds

Crowds, crowds and crowds

Some more crowds

While walking, I saw a sign which I barely made out the message with the limited Chinese characters on the Japanese message. I guessed that it said this way to Ginza station, 3o minutes away. Checking my metro map I see that I can take the train of Marunouchi line to my hotel. I figured that there would be very much fewer people going towards the Ginaz station so I followed the smaller (but still very large) crowd who are walking in that direction.

By this time, I was tired, thirsty and hungry. I had long finished the bottled of water which I had brought along when I left the hotel earlier in the morning. And till then, breakfast was the only meal I had for the whole day (well, it was pretty unappetizing to eat alone so I skipped lunch).

Along the way, I passed by many eateries, some big, some small but all were crowded and had long queues formed by the people who were just like me, came from the fireworks display. So I just pressed on and continued walking.

After 45 mins, Ginza was still not in sight. Kinda felt cheated by the earlier signboard. By this time, I chanced upon a posh looking Sushi restaurant and there was no queue. Guess it must be more expensive than normal but I really was too tired and hungry to care about the price now. I just wanted an air-conditioned place for me to sit, rest and eat! I mean, I had my credit card with me so I should be able to afford a sushi meal. Have cards, will travel! Right? :p

The sushi restaurant was 2 storeys. The first floor was the reception/cashier. I was led up the wooden stairs to the second floor where the sushi counter and seats were. None of the waiters and waitresses understood English. Fortunately, the menu had pictures and I was able to order by just pointing at the menu and I ordered Head Chef's (店长) special. Well, after a whole day of walking, I wanted to pamper myself. Of course, I ordered an ice-cold beer too.

Ice cold beer and appetizer

The sushi restaurant, there were more seats at the other end

Er... the table

The big guy is the head sushi chef

Head Chef's special

Look at the beautiful and colourful layout of the sushi. They were really as tasty as they look. The sushi was fresh and sweet. Each piece was an enjoyment in itself. It was so good that after finishing the 12 pieces of sushi, I still had room for more.

On the table, there was an order form and a pencil in a cylindrical container. I saw other customers in the restaurant ticking off the paper and passed it to the waiter. Well, while in Rome, do as the Romans do. With my limited knowledge of Hiragana and Katakana, I ticked off 5 more pieces of different sushi. I barely made out the words like maguro so it was one of the five types I ordered.

After I placed my order, a waiter came back to me and asked me in a long string Japanese words which I indicated to him that I didn't understand. He paused for a moment and using his hand mimicking a slicing gesture and asked in a one word English, "Cut? Cut?!"

I was perplexed. Of course I want my sushi cut. Else how I'm going to eat them? I slice the meat from the fish itself? So I answered, "Hai! Hai!"

A short while later, I was shocked by what I was presented.

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30 pieces of sushi!

I swear that all the other patrons in the restaurant stared at me when the waiter brought me my sushi. Apparently, I didn't order 5 pieces of sushi; I ordered 5 ROLLS of hosomaki (thin rolls sushi)! I was already full by looking at the 30 pieces of sushi! I was afraid I would dishonour the chef and he would perform seppuku if I didn't finish them. So I just kept stuffing them into me.

In the end, I finished 25 pieces. My stomach was really about to burst. Either I die or the chef commit seppuku. As a matter of self-preservation, of course I chose the later. :p

After I told the waiter to clear my table, he later came back with a plate of dessert. I nearly died on the spot.

Black sesame seed jelly

Finally, I made my payment of ¥6,867 for my sushi meal. I'm actually glad that I need to walk some distance more to the Ginza station.

Tokyo (Mis)Adventures: Day 2 - Fireworks

noreply@blogger.com (Cobalt Paladin) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 09:59:46 PDT

Yesterday, while taking the Tokyo metro and on my way back after worshiping the life-size Gundam, I noticed a fireworks poster in my train carriage. From the few Chinese characters available on the poster, I realised that 8 August (my second day in Tokyo) was actually the Tokyo Bay Fireworks Festival! I lucked out!

After helping my friend buy his Boba Fett and Evangelion 1.0 Kubricks from Mandrake at Nakano (told you the shopping lists from my friends were long), I made my way to Harumi Park via the Odeo line at 4.30 PM. Along the way, there were more and more people boarding the trains. Many of them were in their yukata and sandals. It was really an exciting scene. You can really feel the festive mood. By the time, I alight at Kachidoki station, the train carriages were already packed like sardines.

This was what greeted me when I exited from the train at around 5.30 PM:

I gingerly made my way out of the station and then I met with even more people. I actually didn't know where the viewing point was but all I needed to do was just follow the crowd. Look at the amount of people (click on the image below to enlarge). :D

By the time I reached Harumi Park, it was already 6.00 PM. The fireworks would start at 7.00 PM and it was scheduled to end at 8.20 PM, an 80 minutes worth of fireworks display! There were in total 3 viewing areas. I was at viewing area 3 and look at the number of people who had gathered for the fireworks. I see families, group of friends, couples, teenagers, working adults etc. I was really glad to be among the crowd.

Look at the large turnout

The red dusk with the rainbow bridge in the background

6.59 PM, a minute before the fireworks

And the fireworks ignited the darkening sky!

I quickly switched to video mode of my camera (Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3) when I realised the still images are not doing justice to the spectacular fireworks that I was witnessing, throughout the fireworks dispaly, I kept hearing exclamations of "Kirei", "Kawaii" and "Sugoi". I've uploaded a total of 10 videos (many days were spent uploading them). To view them in HD, please click on the video and view them at Youtube.com.

1. A shower of golden fireworks:

2. Fireworks with shapes of smileys, sakura and ladybird:

3. An explosion of colours:

4. Fireworks with shapes of neko (cat) and more:

5. Red explosions:

6. I forgot to zoom!:

7. Fireworks ('nuff said! :p):

8. I think fireworks is cheap in Japan... :p :

9. Fireworks of varied colour rings:

10. More fireworks (Fine! I ran out of ideas!):

The 80 minutes of fireworks sure beat the 10 minutes of fireworks that we get during National Day, which we braved the traffic and crowd for an hour to get to the viewing point.

8 August 2009, Tokyo. A magical night.

Tokyo (Mis)Adventures: Day 1 - Gundam

noreply@blogger.com (Cobalt Paladin) — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 00:06:20 PDT

I've finally made my way towards the destination where stood the steely reason that I've traveled 5300km for. I took out my folded Tokyo Metro map from my back jeans pocket and confirmed the metro route that I needed to take. I had printed the Tokyo Metro map (pdf version) while I was in Singapore. It is just so much more convenient to have the metro map with you while traveling in Tokyo.

This is how Singapore subway (SMRT) map looks like:

SMRT Map

This is how the Tokyo subway map looks like:

Tokyo Metro Map

Haha! Yeah, it may look complicated to us, Singaporeans, when we first see it. But don't feel daunted. It is not complex at all. All the lines are colour-coded for easy viewing. It is very easy to figure out the route to take. For me, I just locate the two stations, starting and destination.

My starting station, Shinjuku station:

Shinjuku Station

The Shinjuku station is boxed up with 4 coloured ovals. It simply means that the Odeo (denoted by pink colour and alphabet E), Marunouchi (denoted by orange colour and alphabet M) and Shinjuku (denoted by green colour and alphabet S) lines pass through the Shinjuku station. I've a choice of the 3 lines at Shinjuku station.

Shiodome Station

I need to get to Odaiba which is served by the Yurikamome line. As shown on the map above, I can transfer to Yurikamome line at Shidome station which is on the Odeo line. There, couple with a Suica or Passmo card, navigating the metro maze is simple, isn't it? :)

Some views along the Yurikamome line:

Yes, Gundam appears in the distance. I'm getting closer!

The uninterrupted and non-stop crowd going to and from Gundam viewing. You see the crowd is made up of families, teenagers, kids and couples... the appeal of Gundam is universal!

So now I present to you, GUNDAM (please click to enlarge):

I joined the queue to go under Gundam to get close and personal view of its ~~crotch~~ underside.

I took really really lots of photos while I was there. I can't believe it but while I was there, with a real Gundam towering before me, I was choked with emotions and almost wanted to cry. I was moved. Maybe because Gundam had accompanied me during my growing years and the memories, feelings and emotions were personified in that instant - in the form of a lone standing metallic figure. It was like a dream come true, to have a solid towering Gundam RX-78-2 before me.

At that moment, any doubt that I was crazy to have made the trip was totally erased from my mind. It was the right decision to have gone and I thank my wife and family for allowing me to indulge myself of my whims.

As the sky was getting dark and the ominous clouds gathered with the threat of a heavy downpour, I made my way to the shopping building to have my first meal (dinner) of day 1.

The problem with traveling alone is that it feels extremely lonesome having dinner on your own. There isn't anyone you can talk to. If you go to a foodcourt or fastfood joint, no one to hold the seat and table for you. If you visit restaurant, you can't order too many varied dishes as you are unlikely to finish them. In the end, I opted for a simple fare - Ramen. The charsiew was melt in your mouth goodness and the yolk in the tamago (egg) was runny and soft as it should.

After I finished my dinner, it was pouring very heavily (the blurness of the photo was due to the rain, not my photography skills :p). I waited for an hour plus for the rain to subside before I make my way back to the park again.

Gundam at night:

That night, I went back my hotel room a happy and satisfied Gundam fanboy.

Update: Gundam had been dismantled. T.T

To be continued...

(Earlier trip reports here.)

Tokyo (Mis)Adventures: Day 1 - My Hotel

noreply@blogger.com (Cobalt Paladin) — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 20:42:20 PDT

After crossing "scallops tidbits" off the shopping list given to me by my friends back in Singapore and after shopping in a 5 storeys toyshop at Ueno with my roll-along luggage tottering (you'll see many people pulling the roll-along luggage on the streets too) behind me, I made my tired and struggling-to-remain-open eyes to my hotel - Hotel Century Southern Tower.

This hotel was suggested by a good friend of mine and it was indeed a very good recommendation. The hotel is very conveniently located near the Shinjuku train station. I've booked the room directly through the hotel's online reservation and it offered the cheapest rate than the few hotel online booking portal. I actually paid ¥18,480 (rate for the standard single room) but the hotel upgraded me to their standard twin room (which normally costs ¥25,410).

Even though their regular check-in time was 2.oo pm but they were able to give me a room at slightly before 1 pm when I arrived.

My Room

It was a spacious 26m² and it has broadband! A king-size bed all to myself! And the hotel even provides English newspapers to my room every morning! Breakfast was inclusive too! How cool is that?!

View from my room (day)

The sky was overcast when I checked into my room and I was going to meet my life-size Gundam in the evening. =_=

View from my room (night)

The night view of a metropolis, the urban night sky that is lit by the city lights and stretches as far as the eye can see. The middle tall building that obstructs the view from my room was supposedly a women university. Unfortunately, I was there during the weekends so I hardly had a chance to spy any cute Japanese lady undergraduates during my stay. :p

My breakfast

View from the breakfast restaurant on the 20^th floor

Even though the breakfast spread was quite varied and interesting but try having the same choices 3 days in a row. :p

Anyway, after I checked into my hotel room, the first thing I did was to boot up the netbook that I loaned from a friend to check my work emails (it was Friday afterall) and logged onto my msn. Fortunately, no work related issues so I just continued surfing and resting a bit before I took a shower and made my way to Shiokaze Park, Odaiba, where the 18-m Gundam was erected.

As I've mentioned earlier, the hotel is in a very well-placed location:

Starbucks

I've Starbucks just at my doorstep and this Shinjuku outlet served the best Starbucks Latte I've ever tasted in my coffee drinking life. The coffee was just smooth and it flowed easily down my throat. I can't have enough of it!

Krispy Kreme

The famous Krispy Kreme donuts from the U.S. of A. There was a queue that snaked to the exterior of the shop and the signboard at the door states the waiting time was 10 minutes. It was not as bad as compared to when it just opened its outlet. Look at the queue then in 2007.

Takashimaya

16 levels (2 basement levels) of Takashimaya and don't know how many levels of Kinokuniya bookstore were just across my hotel, within walking distance.

Okay, enough of the introduction. Finally, I'm making my way to Gundam.

To be continued...

(Earlier trip reports here.)

Corporate Junk #23

noreply@blogger.com (Cobalt Paladin) — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 08:28:57 PDT

Came back from a meeting sometime in the afternoon today. When I came back to my home office, the voice message machine was blinking indicating one new voice message received. I pressed to listen to the message and I got a shock.

Angry caller, "What kind of service you providing? You call this service? Keep on calling and calling and no one picks up the phone!"

My mind was rushing through a series of scenarios on how I should call back and how I should respond when the message played its last sentence, "You call yourself a 5-star hotel?!!!"

Er... dude! You've been calling the wrong number and you blaming others?

*Shake head*

And just my luck to be the recipient of the unwarranted wrath. Poor guy... all worked out for nothing.

Corpoarte Junk #22

noreply@blogger.com (Cobalt Paladin) — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 00:36:26 PDT

I received a phone call yesterday. It was a non-client seeking some technical advice. I tried to help as much as I can and advised as best as I can even though he was not a client.

After talking about 15 mintues, out of nowhere, he suddenly blurted out, "Like many companies, my company don't like your company!"

I was shocked and wondered where did that come from! I totally didn't deserve that comment. My first reaction was to reply, "Fxxx you, understand!"

With great restrain and biting my tongue. I. HELD. BACK.

Instead, I replied, "Thank you for your feedback." And he put down the phone.

I was actually fuming. Just because the non-client cannot adapt to new technology, they put the blame on us? Just because my company made use of the new technology (now considered old technology already) and came out with a new product, we were to be blamed for their inadaptability?

Darn! Where was my witty and quick retort when I needed it.

I should have replied, "Many of our clients love our company and our products actually, thank you very much!"

Argh!

Tokyo (Mis)Adventures: Day 1 - Late Morning

noreply@blogger.com (Cobalt Paladin) — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 07:40:28 PDT

I arrived at Tokyo station about 11 am. Once I alighted from the train, I was immediately met by the strong summer heat of Tokyo. It felt as though a wall of air-con exhaust had just hit me. It was a burning furnace!

I took the Yamanote line to continue my journey to Ameyoko at Ueno.

Inside Ueno Station and I saw Sumo wrestlers:

Outside Ueno Station, just look at the bright sky and you can begin to imagine how hot it was:

Ameyoko Market Street:

I was to get some scallop tidbits for a friend, Khoon. He told me it was available at the first dried goods shop near the start of the Ameyoko market and he was absolutely right. There was only one dried goods shop near the entrance of the market street so there was no mistaking it. He also told me the shop owner speaks Chinese so I should have no problem buying the tidbits from him.

Indeed, I met the owner and I spoke in Chinese, "我要买干贝，有吗?" (translation: I would like to buy some scallops, do you have them?).

He replied enthusiastically, "有, 有!" (translation: Yes, yes!)

I happily bought 3 bags of scallops as requested by my friend and happily checking off one item from the shopping requests list. Each bag was about S$30 which was quite close to the price my friend had told me.

When I returned to Singapore and passed them to my friend, my friend was speechless. These were what I bought,

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I had bought the real dried scallops that were meant for cooking, not eating as tidbits. To be honest, the scallops did look suspiciously familiar when I bought them but I just brushed my spider-sense off. :p

Apparently, the dried goods were displayed on the left side and the tidbits were displayed on the right side of the shop. Guess which side of the shop I was standing at when I made the purchase?

Clever! I was standing on the wrong side of the shop! The rule of 50%-probability-is-100% has struck again. Of two sides of the shop to stand, I had to stand on the dried goods side and the shopkeeper would obviously think that I was asking for the dried scallops that were used for cooking.

Now, both our families would not run out of scallops for cooking porridge for some time to come. :p

To be continued...

Tokyo (Mis)Adventures: Day 1 - Early Morning

noreply@blogger.com (Cobalt Paladin) — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 02:52:15 PDT

After 7 hours of flight and catching only 2 hours of sleep, bleary eyed, I touched down at Narita Airport. Feeling excited, I'm one step closer to meeting Gundam in the evening.

I was walking outside the travelator as I was rushing for the Narita Express (N'EX) at 9.15 am to Shinjuku. I've only an hour to clear the immigration, get my bag, clear the customs and find the N'EX ticketing counter. A friend of mine took an hour to clear the immigration a day earlier due to the large number of flights arriving in the morning.

It was fortuitous that my friend warned me about the queue. Even though I had walked at a quicker pace, when I joined the queue at the immigration, it was already quite long. There were about 10 counters and it still took me 45 minutes. While I was waiting for my turn, more flights landed and the queue just grew impossibly long.

By the time I was out of the custom, I had only 10 minutes to buy my Suica and N'EX promotion ticket package. I would recommend anyone who travels to Tokyo and taking the N'EX to purchase this promotion package. My train ticket price to Shinjuku alone would have cost me ¥3,110. With the package, I only paid ¥3,500 and the Suica (similar to Singapore's ez-link card) comes with ¥2,000 stored value. Effectively, I only paid ¥1500 for the N'EX ticket.

Pulling my roll-along luggage and with 5 minutes to spare, I made it to the platform. A train was already waiting there. The reputation of Japan's trains punctuality precedes them. As the N'EX train carriages split at Tokyo station, I need to be seated in the correct carriage that will continue to travel to Shinjuku station after the train split, leaving the other carriages at the Tokyo station.

Clutching my ticket, I searched for my carriage.

Carriage number, checked. LED display outside the carriage stating destination Shinjuku, checked. Seat 4A in the carriage, checked. With a minute to spare, I took a few shots of the train. See the second picture, my carriage was a double-decker. So cool, right?

About 15 minutes into the journey, a ticket warden came into my carriage and requested me to present the ticket. With his broken English, I gathered that he was telling me that I was in the wrong train! I pointed my ticket that stated seat 4A and pointed at my seat and it also says 4A. He kept shaking his head.

I asked him in my broken Japanese, "Kore wa, Narita Express, desu ka?" (translated literally: This, Narita Express, is it?)

Then he showed me the diagonal ultraman cross sign, "Dameh, dameh!" and I was escorted out of the carriage to a single deck carriage.

Yeah, I was blasted by "ultraman" to the normal carriage. Apparently, the double-decker carriage was a green car (aka reserved carriage, aka first class seats). :p

The fortunate thing was that I was not booted out of the train and the train was actually the JR Sobu line (Rapid Service) which still brings me to Tokyo station except it takes 30 minutes longer to reach. I only paid more for a slower train. =_=

This is actually so typical of my luck, similar to my experiences of taking MRT in Singapore. Whenever I was in a rush and two trains arriving simultaneously at the station platform, I would rush into one and only realising it was the wrong train after the doors have closed or it had traveled a few stops. When there are 2 choices, according to probability, the chance of me choosing the wrong train is only half (50%). But for me, it would be 100% the wrong train... all the time! =_=

As the train continues the journey, my normal carriage was getting crowded as it picked up more passengers along the way and some had no seats and had to stand. Whenever the train door opened, I can feel the gush of warm air being sucked into the carriage. It must be very hot outside the air-conditioned train as I see many ladies using big handkerchiefs wiping off their perspiration.

There was one young and pretty lady, as fate would have it, stood right in front of me after she boarded. She was also using her big pink hanky mopping her crystal beads of perspiration. In one fluid motion, she pushed her hanky into her shirt, between her breasts and wiped away her perspiration.

Being the gentleman that I am, feeling embarrassed and shocked, I averted my eyes. *red-faced*

As I had the impression that Japanese people were very discreet and courteous, you can imagine my surprise that I was 'welcome' by the image before me. However, I also observed that no one else in the carriage was bothered by what transpired. I had to guess that it was ... common?

Throughout the rest of the trip, I kept my eyes looking away or staring at the floor.

I had originally planned to check-into my hotel and leave my luggage in the hotel's bag room (official check-in time is 2 pm) while I complete one item off my shopping list for a friend. While the train progressed and I guesstimate that since I'll only reach my hotel at about 11 am, I decided to go straight to Ueno and buy the scallop tidbits (no idea there's such a thing and don't know how it should look or taste like) instead.

To be continued...

P.S. This is how the real Narita Express should look like. I attribute my blurness to the only 2 hours of sleep that I managed on the flight to Tokyo. :p

Tokyo (Mis)Adventures: Prologue

noreply@blogger.com (Cobalt Paladin) — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 22:24:50 PDT

The original plan was to fly to Tokyo in July but the trip never materialised as my wife fell sick and I decided to stay back. After that, I had given up going Tokyo to see the life-sized Gundam at Odaiba as the enthusiasm had waned. Actually, I felt guilty leaving my family while I fly to Tokyo just to see a lifeless 18 metres tall inanimate metal and steel structure.

Then DK who is a non-fan of Gundam had to blog about it too! This awakened my fanboy desire to see the Gundam figure again. Yes, I totally hold DK responsible for making me spend the money and leaving my family behind during the National Day long weekend!

Honestly, I was at odds as to whether to fly to Tokyo just for a 4D/3N short trip. Even though the trip costs about $2k ($1k for the flight and $300 per night at Hotel Century Southern Tower), it was an amount I can afford and was prepared to spend. I had asked my wife along for the short trip but she couldn't bear to leave our 2 sons with my mum or her parents during our absence. My wife knowing how I am a fanboy encouraged me to make the trip and assured me she'll be able to bring our elder son to and back from school on Friday. She said it was just one day and I should feel safe to relieve my "chauffeur" duty to her for one day.

I guess due to the National Day long weekend holidays, the promotional price for the flight tickets to Tokyo had already been sold out. If I go, I had to pay the full fare. :p

It may sound crazy flying about 5300 km just to see a robot. But I had a friend who flew all the way to London to attend Madonna's live concert and another friend flew to Korea (multiple trips) to see her idols. I don't think I'm doing anything different, right? I've worked so hard for the past 9 years and I deserved to take a short break and splurge a little, right?

All my life, I've made my decisions for the sake of others and I've not really lived life for myself. In the end, I decided to live life a little and live life for myself, albeit just briefly.

So on 6 August, armed with shopping lists of 3 friends, I flew to Tokyo in SQ A380... alone.

P.S. I had originally planned to blog this entry and schedule it to be published automatically while my flight took off. It should be obvious that not only did the original plan not realised, I only managed to blog this entry today... 15 days later. :p

Jogging

noreply@blogger.com (Cobalt Paladin) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 00:31:05 PDT

I hate jogging actually. I find it the most difficult sport. Ask me to do push-ups, pull-ups, sit-ups and squats, I'll do. All these I had done when I was the ~~ACE~~ main spiker of my secondary school and junior college volleyball team.

After I left school and joined the workforce, it was difficult to find time to exercise and enjoy and team sports. At least that was what I told myself. Gradually, when I past 30, my metabolism dropped drastically and I soon found myself ballooned from 70 kg to 78 kg. Well, for my height of 1.80 m, I wasn't really overweight but just looked a bit more rotund. :p

For a while, I tried to loose weight by watching my diet. No more fatty skin of chicken, duck or pork. I'll just remove the skin and eat the meat. No chicken rice, no butter (no Ya Kun), no cakes, no cheese, coffee without milk (kopi-o) only, no laksa, no soft drinks, no nasi lemak and no fried food. I only ate soupy stuff when I'm having meals at the hawker centres. In 9 months, my weight dropped to 73 kg. These I did for 2 years and my weight dropped and stayed at 73 kg for a while. On the third year, maybe my body adjusted, my weight started to shoot up again till 76 kg.

I knew the next step was to jog. But I just couldn't bring myself to it. I tried, I really did. But whenever I started jogging, I can feel the heart protesting and pounding fiercely against my chest, waiting to explode. My breathing will be shallow and I feel the world spinning around me. Just after a few hundred meters, I had to stop and give up. If not, I really think I'm gonna just collapse then and there.

A few months ago, I tried again. This time I thought of starting slow first. Since I can't jog, I'll start by brisk walking. I started with brisk walking of 15 mintes, then 30 minutes to the current 1 hour. In the beginning, I did it only twice a week. Now, I'm doing thrice weekly. Then I tried to jog one round around my estate after the 1 hour of brisk walk. The first 3 attempts, my calf muscles would cramp and I needed to stop. I would not have even finished half a round my estate.

For the past 3 weeks now, I'm able to finish jogging one round around my estate after my 1 hour of brisk walk. And my jog is no longer feel as difficult as it used to be. In fact, I'm able to have proper breathing and my heart no longer feel strained nor stressed. If the estimation from online map is correct, I would have walked about 9 km and jogged 2 km.

My weight is now 74 kg.

In future, I'll be slowly reducing my time for brisk walk and increase the jogging to 2 rounds around my estate then later 3... maybe 4.

Unlike my friends who seemed to be natural born jogger (many of them signed-on with the army and jogged constantly during our university days), I was not one. I also don't think I'm a natural born entrepreneur.

Like jogging, my entrepreneur venture is where it is today, is simply because I just keep trying. I persevere. If I can't take big steps then I'll take baby steps. Maybe I'll take a longer time but eventually I'll get there as long as I don't give up.

I am where I am today simply because I've spent 9 years of my life in my venture. The result is the culmination of my 9 years of effort.

The secret to success - don't give up. If I can do it, so can you!

Harsh Winter

noreply@blogger.com (Cobalt Paladin) — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 08:46:13 PDT

We've closed the books for July. What began as an abysmal month when we only received $4,510 total payments for the first 10 days, ended with a big bang. It was one of the better months yet. For the month of July, I am pleased to announce that we received payments of $10k above operating costs. But it came with a lot of hard work. Once I realised the payments were not coming in, we stepped up our game in the last 2 weeks of July. My staff and I made lots of phone calls, emails, letters and my dogged pursue of a client.

I can't believe some of the reasons given to us when we called the accounts department of our clients regarding the status of our payments.

A corporate client actually had the audacity to tell us that the mail with the cheque sent to us 6 months ago was returned by the postal service citing that the address was not correct. Since the mail was returned, they didn't bother calling us, informing us or tried to verify the address with us. They actually told my staff that it was our responsibility to follow up with them. How is it our responsibility when they can't write/type the correct address on the envelope? How is it our responsibility when we didn't even know that their mail was returned? * slap forehead *

Granted, we should not have allowed the payment to lapse for so long. That is a situation we are rectifying immediately.

Another client's accountant informed us that the cheque had been routed for signatures... then she realised that the cheque was routed almost 6 months ago and if the cheque did get the signatures and by the time the cheque reach us, it would most likely be invalid by then. So she'll need to cancel the previous cheque and start routing a new one. I hope this time it'll not take another 6 months. Incredulous!

One of our client's accountant actually questioned us if we had sent them an invoice. Of course we did. We even emailed the invoice to them. Then she demanded we send a statement of accounts, if not, the payment will never be processed. Huh? How the heck do we know you've such non-standard practice? Of course I know it was just an excuse and a delay tactic but to their credit, payment was mailed to us within 2 weeks after we emailed their statement of accounts.

Finally, the client who tried to elude me eventually called the next day and arranged a meeting with me. Suffice to say that document had been signed and payment collected. I guess my dogged determination scared him and he wouldn't want to be put in a potential situation where I turn up at the meeting place of him and his client again. That would embarrass and potentially hurt him more financially.

I believe my action was out of the ordinary and he didn't really know how to handle the situation. My action probably shocked him. Some of my ideas and actions have been called crazy by my friends during my younger days. To me, the ideas were never crazy. It was just different and not normal (definition of crazy?). As long as the idea works, it is a good idea, not a crazy idea.

To surmise, my team's effort in the past weeks have borne fruit. We had collected revenue almost half of our operating expenses by the third day of August.

The winter condition has been tough but as long as we work hard and are diligent, we'll survive.

The Hunter

noreply@blogger.com (Cobalt Paladin) — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 09:47:44 PDT

I've been told too many times by my friends and now even some clients that I'm too nice. I really don't know what I did. But maybe I do now.

I had a client who has been with us for years now. As such, when we mailed the client for a renewal contract last year, we didn't follow up closely and we never received the signed contract. We trusted the client and actually, even if we realised a few months later that the client had not returned the signed contract, we probably will not chase for it. We didn't want the client to think that we did not trust him.

It was a judgmental error on my part. This year, the client decided not to renew the contract. When I checked with my accounts if the client had any outstanding payments, I was surprised to realise that the client still had an outstanding $6,000. He had only paid 50% last year. My accounts staff had been chasing for the payment for the past one year!

Recent months, we had intensified our effort in chasing all outstanding payments as collection of payments had been difficult this year. When we chased this client for payment, my accounts had been promised payments but it never came. He even went as far as telling us that the cheque had been sent and queried us why we have not received it yet. When my accounts staff assured him that we've not received, he said he had the cheque cancelled. The funny thing is, knowing him, if he had really cancelled the cheque, he would definitely have blamed us for wasting his $20 to authorise the cancellation of the cheque, which he didn't.

The most recent excuse he had given us was that his accounts will not release payment if we did not have a signed contract. Knowing that it was just a ruse, I called him and told him this is a simple problem and it is easily rectified. We all agree that he had utilised our services and received our products, all that's missing is a signed paper. I told him my staff can simply meet up with him and he can sign the document. He said he was busy and will call us back to arrange a meeting. Days gone by and he never returned our calls and he never answered our calls either.

Yesterday, using another phone, I called him. I suspect that because it was not a familiar number, he answered my call. When he realised it was me, he had wanted to hang up the phone citing that he is in a middle of a meeting. I did not relent and asked him where he is now and I'll come over to meet him. He said he'll be off to another meeting soon. I asked him where is his next appointment and I'll meet him there after his appointment. He agreed.

When I arrived, I texted him that I've arrived. He replied saying that his meeting will be long and suggested that I meet him other day. I'm relentless. I told him it is alright as I can wait for him.

Many years ago, when I was still a fresh grad and joined as a member of my hostel's business committee, maybe because I was first year, I was given the unenviable task of collecting a $500 payment which the previous committee had failed to collect during their one year term.

I went to the shop, met the owner and told him my intention. He told me he was busy and asked me to wait. I was relentless. I waited for 6 hours outside the shop until he was about to close his shop for the day. Seeing how persistent I was and secretly suspecting I'll be back tomorrow if I didn't manage to collect the payment, he wrote a cheque of $500 and handed it to me. To me, spending 6 hours at one go to chase for the payment is better than spending one year chasing with no results to show.

Yes, I'm relentless and I can be stubborn. Some people don't know how to handle me as I have extraordinary persistency beyond normal human tolerance.

Yesterday, I waited in the building for 3 hours. I had asked the security guard and he had told me that the elevator lobby was the only exit for guests. With a Sandman trade paperback, I planted myself at the lobby and waited.

After 3 hours of waiting, I felt that something was amissed. Call it sixth sense or gut feeling. I texted my client to check if his meeting would be done soon and he never replied. I walked out of the building at 9 pm and looked up the 4-storey commercial building. It was pitch black. Other than the security guard, everyone had left the building. Obviously, my client had sneaked out from the staff-access exit at the back of the building.

This really irks me. He had wasted my time and did not have the decency to answer my calls or reply my sms when his meeting had finished and made me wait in vain. By the time I came home, my younger son had already slept. I had missed seeing my younger son today. This had irritated me to no end.

He has now made himself my personal responsibility. He is in the line of sight of my bow and arrow. I'm ready to put war paint on my face and don my hunting gear. The tribal drums have sounded and the hunt has begun. I'll be quiet like a phantom walking through the Amazon jungle. I'll be tracking your trails and I'll follow you. I'll be relentless in my pursuit. I'll wear you down mentally and physically. I'll be relentless.

I am the hunter and you are my prey.

Corporate Junk #21

noreply@blogger.com (Cobalt Paladin) — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 17:36:08 PDT

Incident 1:

I received a call from the accounting department of a client. They were querying an invoice which my company had billed them as they didn't have any record of such a business transaction. I promised them I'll look into it and furnish them the document proof.

When my accounts staff checked with my sales staff, they realised there had been a misunderstanding between them. The client who called usually acts as our middleman, or agent if you like. But this deal was not a big enough amount which they usually would not deal. So they've asked the buyer to get the product through us directly.

This had been communicated very clearly to us and we were suppose to bill the buyer directly. My accounts called the client's accounts to explain that we've billed them wrongly and we'll send a credit note.

*Red face moment!*

Incident 2:

Received another call from another client. Apparently my staff sent a new contract to them without changing the previous client's company name to theirs. OOPS!

*Another red face moment!*

Incident 3:

I've always given my sales staff a sales target. Initially when she started, her target was $300k per year which she managed to meet on her second year. During her third year, when I wanted to raise her sales target, she pleaded me not to. She didn't want to feel stress but she promised me that she'll work hard. For the past 2 years, her sales revenue was $500k.

So in the beginning of this year, when I wanted to raise her target, I relented again when she said she didn't want the additional stress.

A few months ago, she told me she had met her sales target for the year already and told me she didn't have to work for the rest of the year. We laughed. She was happy, I was happy.

Two nights ago, a sudden realisation dawn on me. What if for the rest of the year, $300k is all my sales staff is able to get? That means, for this year, I'll have a drop of $200k in revenue! And I wouldn't know or be alerted to it until the first quarter of next year when I closed my books and submit my company's corporate tax filing! That would have been too late for me to do anything as I can't turn back time!

My budget for expenses this year has been based on the revenue of the past years. Maybe it was due to the reduction in sales that was the real reason why the company has not been able to collect enough payments each month to meet our monthly expenses.

I didn't have an early warning detection system in place. Rather, the parameters were set wrong! In a challenging market condition due to the financial crisis, this error of mine can be catastrophic!

I felt the blood drained as I was afraid it was already too late. Immediately that night, I went through the sales numbers for this year. After crunching some numbers for the past 2 years, I was relieved to find that the sales revenue for the first seven months of this year was comparable to last year. So far, my company is still on target to meet its revenue projection.

The next day, I explained the situation to my sales staff and she was willing to increase her target to $500k for the whole year.

How could I have been so careless? I was an idiot. FML!

Note: The sales revenue numbers used above are for illustration purposes only. It does not represent my company's real revenue numbers. Any similarity is purely coincidental. 如有雷同，实属巧合。 :p

My New Ride

noreply@blogger.com (Cobalt Paladin) — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 17:10:00 PDT

A few days ago, I had gone to meet a friend who is an intellectual and a highly logical person. When he saw my car, he exclaimed, "Why you bought this car? This car has very bad ROI!"

I really didn't know how to answer my friend... except that I like it? Before buying the car, I really didn't know how much it cost except that when I saw it driven on the roads, I took a liking to its silhouette immediately. But I didn't recognise its emblem on the front of the car. Yes, I was really a noob when it comes to car. So the next few time when I see a similar model again, I paid a lot more attention to the back of the car and finally caught a glimpse of its model and make.

Then I visited sgcarmart.com to have a gauge of the price. The car was actually within my budget even though it was considered to be on the higher side. I've asked my wife for opinion. Well, she knows me very well. She said if I like the car and since I can afford it, I should just get it. If I were to drive any other car, I would never be satisfied. In fact, I'll chastise myself for making a 'bad' buy until I buy a new car again... that would be many years of self-torture and unnecessary self-inflicted punishment.

I convinced myself that since I would spend at least 2 hours each day in the car, which is a large portion of my waking hours, driving a car that I like is not only logical but critical. *self-bish*

And I do think it is time that I reward myself and get myself something that I like. So, I present my 'new' car (technically, it is not new as I've driven it for a while now).

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My new ride... I ish happy! :)

My Weekly Schedule

noreply@blogger.com (Cobalt Paladin) — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 17:11:25 PDT

Twittered: Monday blues? Psstt.... share with u my secret cure... u work 7 days a week like me... u'll never hv Monday blues again :p

Now that the school term has started, my designated role as a chauffeur has resumed and my daily schedule is pretty much as below:

Monday to Friday:

6.00 am - I wake up and get ready to drive my son to school.

6.45 am - My son and I leave the apartment for the multi-storey car park.

6.50 am - I drive my son to school. This is when I morphed into F1 racer. *kidding!*

7.15 am - My son has to reached school by this time or else he is considered late. *bleah!*

7.45 am - I reach home. Once in the week, I'll make a stop at the petrol station for the weekly petrol refill. Then I'll reach home at 8.00 am instead.

8.00 am - I have the option of reading newspapers, blogs, twitters, plurks and/or facebook. Occasionally, I'll choose to work. :p

9.00 am - Bring the younger son to childcare and have breakfast with wife at the kopitiam.

10.00 am - Starts work.

1.10 pm - Stop work to fetch the elder son back from school.

2.05 pm - Reached home and have lunch with wife and son.

2.30 pm - Starts work again.

4.30 pm - Goes for a jog (on alternate days). The new me requires myself to have a disciplined, strong, focus and healthy mind and body. So jogging is part of the training routine.

6.30 pm - Stops work. Set the table for dinner. If I went jogging, I would have bathed and rested then set the table for dinner.

7. 00 pm - The whole family has dinner together.

8.00 pm - Clears the table and wash the dishes.

8.30 pm - Bathe.

9.00 pm - Free time, after the children are tugged into their beds. I'll usually be working, blogging and chatting with friends online.

10.00 pm - Suppose to be my sleep time but all my online friends know that for the past 7 months, I've rarely slept at this hour. I'll usually be working, blogging and chatting with friends online.

11.00 pm - Allocated reading time. It may be a novel, self-improvement book or book on business management and/or strategies. But I'll usually be working, blogging and chatting with friends online.

12.00 am - The witching hour. Time to sleep.

Saturday:

9.00 am - Wakes up, read newspapers and get ready for the day.

10.00 am - Jogging.

11.00 am - Bathe and breakfast.

12 noon - Pretty flexible hours. These days I usually spent the Saturdays catching up on work without being disturb.

5.00 pm - My weekly fix where I visit Kinokuniya to browse/buy comics trade paparbacks, books and/or magazines.

7.30 pm - Reach my in-laws place for dinner.

9.30 pm - Home.

10. 30 pm - I'll usually be working, blogging and chatting with friends online.

12.00 am - Sleep.

Sunday:

9.00 am - Wakes up, read newspapers and get ready for the day.

10.00 am - Tries to spend time with kids. Play with them or give tuition to the elder son in his maths subject.

1.00 pm - Swimming lessons for the kids.

3.00 pm - Home.

4.00 pm - I'll usually be working, blogging and chatting with friends online while my children take their naps.

6.30 pm - Stops work. Set the table for dinner.

7. 00 pm - The whole family has dinner together.

8.00 pm - Clears the table and wash the dishes.

8.30 pm - Bathe.

9.00 pm - Free time, after the children are tugged into their beds. I'll usually be working, blogging and chatting with friends online.

10.00 pm - Suppose to be my sleep time but all my online friends know that for the past 7 months, I've rarely slept at this hour. I'll usually be working, blogging and chatting with friends online.

11.00 pm - Allocated reading time. It may be a novel, self-improvement book or book on business management and/or strategies. But I'll usually be working, blogging and chatting with friends online.

12.00 am - The witching hour. Time to sleep.

Rinse and repeat the cycle.

Dreaming Reality

noreply@blogger.com (Cobalt Paladin) — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 17:20:14 PDT

In the dead of night, where the witching hour has just passed. With a cigarette hanging loosely on the edge of my lips, I sucked at the cigarette and the small fiery red fire lit brightly for a brief moment in the darkness of my room. The tobacco burnt and become ash. I blew out the smoke gently and it slowly floats up and dispersed in the emptiness of my room. I then held the cigarette lightly between my thumb and forefinger of my left hand while I reached out with my right hand and took a swig of my chilled bottle of beer. It was a bitter taste of tar-mixed beer.

Tonight is the night I'll take stock of my past 9 years.

There was a dark period in the past 9 years but I've long past that. There was a time then when I wondered how did I get where I am today. Was it luck? Was I a fraud? Was I a one-hit wonder? It was a period when I was afraid of knowing the answer, when I was not confident of myself and so I lost myself in the ever growing day-to-day work of my growing business. And when that overwhelmed me... I lost myself among other things.

I guess I lost confidence of myself some time during the first 3 years of my start-up. I mean, I wouldn't have started the business if I did not have confidence of myself, right? But during the three years, it was not going anywhere. Self-doubts began to creep into my soul, like the roots of an evil tree encircling myself and sucking the life force that was me. It was painful to see failure. It was excruciating to face failure every day and when you meet your friends who are "making" it in their career, you feel small. Your self-esteem get rips into shreds and your pride splinters into million pieces scattering all over the land of loss. I feel like screaming out the pain but it was a scream of silence. It was a pain I have to bear. And I bore it for 3 years... 3 years that felt like an eternity when I felt as though I was walking with a penance in a world of darkness, a world without hope.

I am revisiting that period tonight. I need to understand why I am here today and how I reached my current place. I need to take stock and understand, if I were to embark on the next phase of my journey.

During the recent months of self-reflection, I embarked on projects which I don't even know where to begin. All these projects though different in scale but all seemed to have insurmountable challenges. But I took up all the projects with the strong conviction I'll be able to figure them out along the way. When I shared some of the problems I encountered with my friends, some of them actually advised me to give up. When I didn't show any intention of giving up, one of my friend actually called me a glutton for punishments!

In the end, all projects were completed and the cash register rang! *ka-ching*

These made me realise how I reach where I am today - I have a strong capacity for abuse and pain. During the first 3 years, if I didn't have the capacity for pain, any sane man would have given up before the end of the first year. During then, with no end in sight, I just soldiered on and I allowed my soul to be subjected to all the mental abuse. Even when there were no solutions in sight to the problems I face, I'll just keep coming up with different and creative solutions... I just keep trying. I word hard and I don't give up easily. It may take a while but I eventually get to where I want to be when I set my mind to it.

A friend of mine, she had been dreaming big ambition for a long long time now. We started probably around the same time. I've been guiding her, helping her as I want to see her succeed too and I see her potential. But recently, I've lost hope and patience. I realise that she had only been dreaming but she had not been putting forceful and concrete actions into making her dream a reality. When the going gets tough, she switch goals and hide because she can't bear to go through the pain. All she has are just talk. Words without actions are empty and hollow.

I know now, if you would like to make your dream into reality, you must be able to withstand the unbearable pain. To live our dream, will be the most difficult thing we do in life. Nothing worth doing in this world will ever be easy. I've also realised even with the modest achievements I have, I did not become soft. Instead, the trial by fire of the past 9 years have hardened my hide and has prepared me to embark on the next phase of the journey. This will be my phase of fortification and expansion.

Standing atop the peak of a mountain, with the pale grey clouds beneath my feet, I'm welcoming the rise of the new sun, the coming of a new dawn.

I would live my dream and make it into a reality. Even if I fail... I would have lived!

P.S. No, I don't smoke and I still have not drunk any alcohol since I've twittered that I'll only drink with friends from now onwards. Just utilising my creative license and liberty to create the melodramatic effect. Please indulge me and I thank you. :)

Winter, Spring, Winter?

noreply@blogger.com (Cobalt Paladin) — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 07:02:20 PDT

After winter in April, the cold got worse in May. It may actually have been Ice Age in May.

In the beginning of last year, I've put excess company fund into an investment fund. I wanted the money to work harder for the company instead of just sitting pretty in the bank. In the first few months, the investment made modest gain and everything seemed well. Then sometime in the 3rd quarter of last year, the fund just went south. At the advice of the bank's financial advisor, we switched to another fund.

In May this year, the fund suffered a huge drop and it does not seem like it'll ever recover. So to stem the bloodletting, I've made the painful decision of realising the loss. It was a difficult decision as there is always the what ifs. What if the fund recover in the future? Am I being too emotional and rash? However, what if due to my inaction and indecisiveness, I lose everything. In the end, I hardened my resolve and the company lost $60k.

I don't look back any more. What's done is done. There is only going forward.

In May, when we closed the accounts, we only received $31,916.12. Again, it was way below our operating costs. So we suffered a loss in terms of cash flow in the month of May again.

I've already given instructions to my account staff to follow up closely all the late outstanding payments from our clients. I expect to see improvement in the June collection.

Indeed, we received the highest amount of payments in June. But it is nothing to crow about. The higher amounts were due to the late payments of clients for the months of April and May. But it does bring a brief respite for June.

But things seem to have turned south for July again. Almost one-third of the month has passed and we've only received $4,510. That's really really a pathetic sum.

The war of endurance has begun.

A Different World

noreply@blogger.com (Cobalt Paladin) — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 09:57:12 PDT

A few days ago, my friend forwarded me an article link to channelnewsasia.com. Our Foreign Affairs Minister George Yeo was giving a speech at the 15th anniversary celebrations of Damai Secondary School. He mentioned that the world will be a very different place when the crisis is over and countries like China, India, Brazil and Russia will have major roles in the new world.

He suggested to cope with the change is to learn new languages.

Honestly speaking when I read that sentence, it gave me "What the (sorry I don't swear :p)....?" moment! Really, to cope with the new and different world, we are to pick up more languages? Which one? Hindi? Russian? Portuguese? Or all of the above? If not for our country's language policy and social engineering, our Chinese language would not have languished at its current sad state.

As it is, the world has already been different without needing the crisis to be over. The world has long passed us over and the government reassures us everything is going to be ok? By learning more languages?

Just look at the recent result published by Skytrax, in the survey of 190 airports by the British-based consultancy, Changi Airport (one of the crown jewel, pride and joy of our government) scored its lowest ranking in eight years! That is even after the opening of our S$1.75 billion T3 on 9 Jan last year.

Since 2001 to 2009, Changi Airport has never been awarded the first position. We had always languished behind Hong Kong International Airport for 9 continuous years. But Incheon International Airport managed to leapfrog Singapore in 5 years and claim the first position this year. What has happened during the past 9 years? Why didn't our airport manage to clinch the first position?

In the past 9 years, the world has already been moving in a quickening pace and been a more competitive place. Have we become less competitive? I think the answer to the question is obvious. The world is already a different place. We don't have to wait for the crisis to be over.

Just take a look at the following countries: Japan has Sony. South Korean has Samsung. Finland (population of 5.34 million, slightly more than Singapore's 4.84 million) has Nokia. Each of these countries has their own language. Other than possibly English, did they need to learn other new languages before they build these companies? Most probably not.

We should start building our own company, if not companies, that can compete in the world arena. This is the only possible solution for the future of Singapore (definitely a better solution than learning new languages). Sometimes I wonder if the dearth of local world-class companies are linked to the proliferation of GLCs and Temasek invested companies in Singapore. The market size of Singapore is already small and if we have GLCs and Temasek invested companies giving projects to companies in the same ecosystem, where does this leave the independent and private companies? Picking up crumbs and leftovers?

Learn new languages to cope with the change? LMAO! Sheesh!

ChannelNewsAsia
4 July 2009
Current global economic crisis will test Singaporeans' moral character
By Cheryl Lim

SINGAPORE: Foreign Affairs Minister George Yeo said the current crisis in the global economy will test the moral character of Singaporeans.

Speaking at the 15th anniversary celebrations of Damai Secondary School on Saturday, Mr Yeo said if there is a strong sense of mutual obligation, solidarity and affection, Singaporeans will not only pull through the crisis but will also emerge stronger and more united.

But he added the world will be a very different place when the crisis is over, with many centres of political, economic and cultural influence in the world.

He said he expects China and India will become big powers in the future, and Russia and Brazil will also play major roles.

Mr Yeo said Singaporeans will also have to prepare for a different world and safeguard their security.

One way to cope with the changes is to learn languages.

He also added that making the maximum use of technology will help ensure Singaporeans keep connected with the rest of the global network.