So I am back and hopefully will diligently penning down my life milestones and experiences.
Just an update since 2011 or wherever I left off from the last post:
I have married a great and beautiful woman and am so in love with her. So greatful I found her and all the way in NZ.
We had left NZ for London and had done our overseas experience there. We did travel lots there and share great memories together there and all over Europe together. It was a great chapter in our lives.
I had found a job working with one of my dream companies, Discovery Networks. And I consider that one of my milestones since leaving SKY TV New Zealand.
It was in a hot air baloon above the Valley of the Kings, Egypt in the early hour of the morning that I proposed to Gjin. It was indeed a moment in my life that I shall cherish for the rest of my life. After months of preparations, it was there that I dropped to one knee in the basket and asked for her hand in marriage and to which she said yes. My cousin did joke however that if it were the oppposite, it would have been a long ride back down for me.
"My most brilliant achievement was my ability to be able to persuade my wife to marry me" - Sir Winston Churchill
After our journey in London, we had left for a warmer climate and decided to try out next adventure in Singapore. Partialy due to visa renewal issues in which the tax/payroll system for umbrella companies had caused us. Oh well, I guess that is life, perhaps the winds of change were blowing us to our next adventure.
So we landed in the shores of the tiny Republic of Singapore in July 2010. I managed to secure a job with Discovery Networks Asia Pacific and in the programming department too. It was a great 2 years there, and most of them due to great colleagues which made it so welcoming. Charmaine, Lynn, Amelia, Chong, Vivian, Mary, Wai Keong all were great colleagues and I couldn't ask for more.
In October 2012, after a great two years in DNAP, dragon boating, countless circuit training for competitions, runs, foosball sessions, lunches and not to forget the worldwide company initiative event for us to give back to society/community day which I can't remember the name of. I guess this blog will help me remember better in future, I had left DNAP to embark on an entrepenurial adventure to start a business back in Kuala Lumpur. That business idea was selling soya pudding which was a growing hit in Singapore. Well, that idea didn't kick off for me as I later got side tracked with another possible venture for an Indonesian franchise restaurant through Jon Tan. I had met Edy (SG) and En. Amran who owns and operates the business in KL. Months had passed after countless hours of research for real estate visits, business studies, surveying the market and financial forecasting for the bank loan. It wasn't an easy few months and in the end I had not pursued the venture eventhough I had the blessing from Edy to do so. You can call it cold feet, but after a session with my aunt to go through my business plan, which she did say I had done well to forecast the ROIs and business related questions, she asked me one question... "Are you prepared for a business of owning and operating a F&B outlet which in other words, means a 7 day work week?". It was then I had just leaned back, and all my positiveness and confidence felt like it was dragged out of my soul that very second. Story short, I decided to not go ahead with it since it would require RM500k to get this going, so I took a step back and thanked Edy for his confidence in me and I mentioned that I am not foregoing this business opportunity, and that I will revisit this sometime in future when/if I have the time and funds for it. Jon Tan currently is doing really well in Singapore with two food court outlets. Jon's a great guy and friend to have, we get along fine and well, well except for my sarcasm towards him, maybe. :P
Next chapter, I was looking into food truck business towards 3/4Q 2013, primarily in mobile coffee. That idea is still in the salad bowl, waiting to be mixed and served.
And finally, last but not least, another opporunity for an express haircut business. My dad's good friends who owns a very successful salon business in Kuala Lumpur was growing fast and my dad shot a question of whether it would be ok if I had taken a look and perhaps get some help from them in possibly starting an X-Cut of my own. Uncle Richard and Winnie was fine with that and would even help me if I was interested. Watch this space.
That's pretty much a short summary of what and where I am currently now. I am now in Kuala Lumpur and me and Gjin had been doing the long distance crunch for more than a year now but that is all ending soon as I am planning to head back to Singapore very soon.
As I am signing off, it has been a hard two week for Malaysia, poor air quality, water rationing due to droughts and the dissapearance of MH370 flight to Beijing. The whole nation and the world is waiting for oucome of this.
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