Lunar New Year Celebration

Time flies and once again, its the time of the year when Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean and perhaps some other East Asian races which we are not aware of celebrate the start of their new year ahead. Being the most important festival in the Chinese calendar, Lunar New Year is probably the most extravagant and widely-celebrated occasion among the Chinese even in our local context.

First of all, being the most suspicious among all other races in Singapore, most Chinese would be curious to find out how they would be doing in the upcoming year ahead. Every year, the TV programme shown on our local channel 8 on Lunar New Year eve never fails to broadcast the zodiac forecast by one of our local grand master. Personally, I feel that we should take such zodiac forecast as a pinch of salt. From my past experience, while the zodiac forecast are not entirely untrue, there are often variations among those from different masters. In fact, every master would tell you that their zodiac forecast which are published are very generalised and there are detailed forecast (often available upon payment) based on one's birth date and timing. If you are curious to find out your zodiac forecast for 2015, visit https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=2015+Zodiac+Forecast+by+Grand+Master+Tan+Khoon+Yong+

As a preparation for the Lunar New Year, spring cleaning must be done to keep the house in clean and tidy mode to usher in the new year and to welcome guests. The next task is to buy goodies such as sweets, drinks and snacks which are getting increasingly expensive over the years. Some people also insist on buying new clothes to wear for the new year.

The reunion dinner which is "mandatory" for everyone (except for those stuck overseas or on essential duties) can be pretty costly due to the sumptuous dishes which Chinese believe in eating would associated with being wealthy. These days, many of us are too lazy to prepare reunion dinner that we have reunion dinner outside. Such reunion dinners at hotel, restaurants or coffee shops are not only costly but also get fully booked so quickly that usually people place their booking at least a month ahead.

Finally when the Lunar New Year day arrives, everyone will be visiting family, relatives, friends and colleagues. Distribution of red packet either from married adult to unmarried children or adults to their elderly parents would occur. Perhaps this is the best occasion to chit-chat to catch up with friends and relatives due to the fact that these days most of us are so busy that we meet our relatives once a year. Besides chit-chatting, another favourite past-time among local during Lunar New Year is to play mahjong or card game which often have higher stakes.

When I was young, Lunar New Year was no doubt the most enjoyable festival in the entire year due to the massive celebration and generous amount of money spent. However, as I grow older, Lunar New Year seem to become less meaningful to me due to the following reasons.

Stressful Reunion Dinner
Preparation of reunion dinner is a hassle and eating reunion dinner outside on Lunar New Year eve is way too costly for the similar amount and quality of food you get on non-festive season. Worse of all, the huge crowd present on that day means a drop in service standards and there is also limited time for diners to consume their dinner as the service staff need to prepare for the next batch of diners. Due to the overwhelming workload, there is also high risk of getting contaminated food as the service staff preparing the food tend to compromise on hygiene under stressful conditions. This also applies to buffet catering services.

Disruptive Public Holidays
As early as Lunar New Year eve, some shops and food stores remained closed from noon time onwards till the second or third day of Lunar New Year. Some Chinese-oriented businesses even remained closed up to a week to usher in the new year which I feel is not appropriate for our city as a key financial hub. I have even heard of some of such companies mandating their employees to consume their annual leaves during this Lunar New Year period instead of granting off-days. As such, people of all races need to buy and stock up groceries before Lunar New Year. Even when food stores are open during this period, the prices are ridiculously expensive (at least 2 or 3 times more costly than usual), not to mention the quality and quantity will not be as good either. Alternatively, one can choose to consume fast food instead which is available at the same price and quantity but must be prepared to face huge crowd and longer waiting time.

Awkward Red Packet Culture
As a young kid, it was perfectly fine to receive red packets as a token of blessing from the elderly during Lunar New Year. However, when one is already earning his/her own income but still unmarried, it is awkward to receive red packets containing money. In fact, I never support this practice and would recommend it to be improvised instead. I have never liked the idea of receiving red packets especially as a birthday gift as it seems insincere due to the lack of the "surprise element" compared to presents. While it does make sense to continue distributing red packets containing money to young kids who are still studying, it would be more appropriate to replace money with chocolates or goodies for red packets given to working adults. Receiving money in red packets for me may seem to be an insult although the intent is never meant to be.

Curiosity & Comparative  - A Major Turn Off
It's part of Chinese culture to be curious, to gossip and compare. When meeting relatives during Lunar New Year visits, most of them would ask tons of questions which is pretty normal but to the extend of intruding one's privacy would be a huge turn off. When one is single, most commonly asked question from relatives is whether you have a partner. When you have a partner, they will ask when you are getting married. When they are married, they ask when you are going to have kids. When you have kids, they will ask which school you are enrolling your kids for and if they are studying, they will ask how well your kids are doing in exams. When your kids are working, they will ask how much your kids are earning and when they are getting married. The viscous cycle goes on. The comparative nature of some relatives is really an arrogant and disrespectful act which we should never follow.

Instead of following the same routine each year, perhaps we should think out of the box and plan for a more enjoyable Lunar New Year. Having BBQ for reunion dinner may be an interesting idea as it encourages bonding which is the primary objective. Alternatively, the idea for everyone to embark on a short cruise trip during Lunar New Year saves the hassle of going around for house visits and includes a complementary reunion dinner which is worth considering.

Regardless of whether you are celebrating or enjoying Lunar New Year, I wish you a happy, prosperous and smooth-sailing year of the Goat ahead!

Valentine's Day

Once again, Valentine's Day is round the corner. On this day, messages of affection, love, and devotion are exchanged around the world but how many of us know how Valentine's Day originated? Well, the origin of Valentine's Day is not exactly known but it was believed to have originated during the Roman empire when all Romans are forbidden to worship Christianity or associate themselves with Christians. However, that did not prevent a humble Christian, Valentinus from practicing his belief. He was later arrested and imprisoned. During the time when Valentinus was in jail, the jailer was impressed with him as a man of learning and requested to bring his daughter, Julia who was blind since birth to him for lessons. Valentinus agreed and taught Julia Rome's history, described the world of nature to her and told her about God. Julia saw her world through Valentinus's eyes and found comfort in his quiet strength. Valentinus was executed on February 14 and before his death, he wrote the last note to Julia, with his signature "From your Valentine". Grateful for his love, Julia planted a pink-blossomed almond tree near his grave. Today, the almond tree remains a symbol of abiding love and friendship.

Besides the almond tree, another modern symbol of love is represented by "love lock" or rather padlock which couples lock to a bridge, fence, gate, or similar public fixture to symbolise their love. Typically, the couples' names or initials are inscribed on the padlock and the key is thrown away to symbolise unbreakable love. This is a growing trend worldwide especially in European cities (particular in Paris where there are 2 love lock bridges) which the municipal authorities treat as vandalism and possibly littering (throwing of the padlock key into river). If you are stuck with ideas of Valentine's Day gift for your loved one, why not consider buying a "love lock" with both your names or initials inscribed? The "love lock" could be placed on the gate of your house door or office cubicle instead of public places. This is a simple and yet meaningful idea and best of all, does not burn a hole in your pocket.

The Story of Christine Daaé

Hello again, it has been some time since I stopped blogging due to work commitment. Regardless of how busy, my passion for musical never fades. Once again, I am obsessed by the all-time favorite greatest love story in the world, "Love Never Dies". To appreciate the musical, one must understand the background of the main fictional character. Christine Daae is one of them.

Christine was born in Sweden and was raised by her father (whom she called Daddy Daae) as her mother died when she was six. To earn a living, Daddy Daae played the violin while Christine sings at fairs. They are discovered at one of these fairs by kind-hearted Professor Valériuwho took them to Paris and provided for Christine's education. As a child without mother, Christine was extremely close to her father who told her Scandinavian fairy-tales of which the "Angel of Music" tale was her favourite.

Christine entered the Paris Conservatoire to be a professional singer but lost all her passion for singing after 4 years. When she arrived at Opera Garnier, no one appreciated her singing except Erik (the Phantom) who found beauty in her voice and fell in love with her. Erik told Christine that he was her "Angel of Music" and coached her in singing. When another singer fell ill during one performance, Christine was asked to take her place. Christine 's angelic voice captured everyone's attention including her childhood sweetheart, Raoul who was also present. The story continues in the Phantom of the Opera musical.

Christine's age however, was a mystery. According to the novel, she was around 20 years old when she first met Raoul but The Phantom of the Opera 2004 film altered her age to 15 or 16. Personally, as conservative Asian, I prefer her to be 20 years old when she first met Raoul. Even Christine's father name was also a mystery as Christine simply called him "Daddy Daae" in the novel.

Now that you know the background of Christine Daae, comes the question of which female artiste is your favourite to play this role in the musical?

(1) Sierra Boggess

This pretty American theater actress and singer (born in 1982) has previously been starred in this female leading role of Christine Daaé in the 2006 Las Vegas production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera. She was also starred in the 2010-2011 West End (UK) production of Love Never Dies.

Watch Sierra's amazing performance of Love Never Dies at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXzfGf0gJss

(2) Emmy Rossum 

This young American actress and singer-songwriter (born in 1986) was assigned the leading role of Christine Daaé in the 2004 The Phantom of the Opera movie.

Watch Emmy's lovely "Think Of Me" performance in the 2004 The Phantom of the Opera movie at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utdu_fTRP1U

(3) Anna O'Byrne

This Australian lady graduated with BMus (Hons) in classical voice from the Victorian College of the Arts, University of Melbourne. She played the role of Christine Daaé in the Love Never Dies musical down under and was later invited to join the company of The Phantom of the Opera and making her West End debut at Her Majesty’s Theatre, London, UK.

Watch Anna's stunning performance of Love Never Dies at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPvxOrsGwy0

Certainly, the perquisite to play the role of this leading female protagonist are:
1. Have suitable vocal range as Christine is a Soprano singer.
2. Have youthful look (Christine was portrayed between 15 to 20 years in The Phantom of the Opera and 20+ to early 30s in Love Never Dies) .
3. Able to perform ballet dancing as Christine also had some ballet training.

I have made my choice after watching the performances of the 3 female artistes and have selected my favourite based on her stunning performance which is full of expressiveness on stage. Perhaps you would like to make a guess on which one.

Another thing to ponder about is the tough decision made by Christine on whether to sing for the Phantom or leave Coney island with her husband, Raoul immediately upon learning that the one who hire her is the Phantom. Raoul had been a bad husband who gambled heavily until Christine had to sing to repay his debts. The Phantom, on the other hand had no right to interfere with Christine's life after her marriage. Ladies, what are your views?

Winter Solstice (冬至)

In scientific term, winter solstice (冬至) is an astronomical phenomenon which marks the shortest day and the longest night of the entire year. In another word, it happens during the point in time when the earth has reached the position in its orbit such that the sun's daily maximum elevation in the sky is the lowest. When the northern hemisphere experiences winter solstice during December, the southern hemisphere would experience the reverse which is the summer solstice.

For the current year of 2014, winter solstice in the northern hemisphere occurs at 21 December 23:03 UTC time (i.e. 22 December 07:03 Singapore time). After this day, the daylight hours will gradually lengthen (for the case of equatorial regions like Singapore, there won't be any difference). For this reason, the Chinese considers this day as a start of a new lunar year as more daylight means more positive energy flowing in. 

Different cultures have their own ways of observing winter solstice. The southern Chinese consume glutinous rice ball (汤圆) during family gathering while the northern Chinese enjoy dumplings filled with meat or vegetables. Since most Chinese in Singapore are descendents of southern Chinese, eating glutinous rice ball is a common practice during winter solstice. Every year around this time, my mum would prepare glutinous rice ball to offer to ancestors during prayer and also for the family to consume. According to Chinese tradition, eating glutinous rice ball symbolises becoming older by a year although in reality, we grow older each year whether we consume glutinous rice ball or not. Winter Solstice is widely observed by the Chinese communities in Singapore as this is a time for Taoist/Buddhist to offer prayer to ancestors and the fact that this day is very near to Christmas, it is almost impossible to forget. Most importantly, this is the time of the year when students are having semester break and working professionals are clearing annual leaves, thereby allowing more time to celebrate this occasion.

Glutinous rice balls are usually filled with peanuts, sesame or red bean paste. However, these days there are many new flavours such as Chocolate or fruit paste. Nevertheless, those filled with peanuts are my favourite.

If you are reading this post, whichever culture you belong to and wherever you are, I wish you a happy winter solstice and hope that you have an enjoyable time with your loved ones.

Christmas Island

Watching the drama The Journey: Tumultuous Times (信约：动荡的年代) currently showing on MediaCorp channel 8 made me reliased that my understanding of Singapore history is quite limited. Another thing that came to my mind recently is a place known as Christmas Island which I first heard of in secondary school when one of my classmate mentioned that this island used to be part of Singapore until one of our ex-president sold it to Australia. After doing some research online, I found out that he wasn't exactly correct.

Recently when Australian Prime Minister, Tony Abbott's flight stopped over in Singapore while returning home from London, our Prime Minister treated him breakfast and the two leaders had a discussion. This news was reported on social media and there were people who asked whether our Prime Minister talked about the topic of buying back Christmas Island. Apparently, I am sure it wasn't discussed.

First of all, I am sure lots of Singaporeans and perhaps even the older generation are unaware of this island. Christmas Island is situated in the Indian Ocean, quite near to Java, Indonesia. It probably takes only about 1.5 hours of flight to get there from Singapore. The main activity on this island is phosphate mining and the land crabs and sea birds are most noticeable fauna on the island. There are even flats on the island similar to the one shown below that are build in accordance to Singapore Housing Board standards in the 1960s.

The island got its name because it was discovered on Christmas day by either English or Dutch explorers. Somehow, the island was controlled by British and was administered under the Administration of the Government of Singapore which was still a crown colony of Britain back then. For some reason, the UK government decided to transfer the sovereignty of the island to Australia in which the Australian government paid £2.9 million in compensation to the Singapore government. Literally, it was the colonial government that sold Christmas Island before Singapore's independence and not our own government.

My Favourite Christmas TVCs

During this time of the year when Christmas is round the corner, there will be many TV commercials featuring gifts for loved ones. There are some interesting TV commercials which are broadcasted specially for Christmas every year and here are two of them which I particularly love.

Disclaimer
I am NOT promoting or reviewing any of these products shown in the following TV commercials.

TV Commercial 1: OSIM uPhoria - Say I Love You This Christmas

This commercial relates the story of a sweet young girl who first met her hubby during foot massage while on a vacation trip alone. Watching him screaming in pain during foot massage made her laugh which captured her attention. Thereafter, both of them became friends and went on a hiking trip together. Whenever the girl's legs were tired after walking, the guy would offer to massage her legs. When it was his turn, the guy would refuse by saying that his legs were too "ugly" which was a rather funny and lame excuse. On that day, not only did the girl found a friend, she also found a life partner who will be walking with her for life. After they got married, the girl decided to pamper her hubby's "ugly legs" by giving him a leg massager as he will be walking together with her for a long time to come.

Personally, I feel that this TV commercial is almost perfect! With such a sweet and meaningful storyline coupled with the all-time favourite "First of May" song sung by our local artiste Olivia Ong, it certainly never fails to capture viewers attention and make them remember it vividly. Moreover, not to mention that both the guy and girl in this TV commercial look charming.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lTrKSOyMa4


TV Commercial 2: Ferrero Rocher - Share Your Golden Christmas

First of all, chocolates are definitely a must-have item for Christmas celebration. This commercial promotes the chocolate as a prestige Italian tradition whereby only the finest are served during an ambassadors' party. Likewise, the finest chocolates should be shared or given to your guests during this special occasion.

Italian food and songs have always captivated me. In fact, one of my favourite song, La Califfa sung by my favourite western singer, Sarah Brightman was played in the background. Although I feel that the meaning of this song may not relate well to the chocolate, it definitely reflected Italians' dedication in making the finest chocolate. If you are interested, listen to the full version of La Califfa at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJEZaflRIRs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCF5Z-m1c0I

Service Excellence

What would you consider as service excellence? How would you improve service excellence in an organization?

The main objective for a service providing organisation is to render the correct service to customer in order to achieve the desired outcome. For example, a customer patronising a fast food restaurant would expect his/her order to be placed and the food served accordingly. However, the organisation would need to do more in order to achieve service excellence instead of the bare minimum.

First of all, the service staff serving the customer must be attentive, upbeat and personal to make the customer feel relaxed and in a better mood to communicate. In this way, the service staff would be able to find the actual needs of the customer. Understanding the needs of the customer is essential as for certain type of services rendered, different customer would have different preferences and expectations. Knowing the customer needs would enable the organisation to render the correct services or deliver the correct product to the customer.

Another important point to note is that the services rendered to customer must be within the acceptable time frame. Most government organisations have a standard Service Level Agreement (SLA) which promises that the service would be rendered and customer can expect the desired outcome to be acheieved within the time frame unless complication arises.

Finally, the service staff should be sincere in serving the customer and if necessary try his/her best to go the extra miles to serve the customer. The overall quality of service and attitude of the service staff would determine whether the customer has an overall pleasant experience with the organisation.

There are three steps to improve service excellence in an organization.

First of all, the management can setup a feedback system to find out the current standard of the organisation service level and determine areas to improve on. The easiest way to do so is to have a simple questionnaire form with few simple questions for customer to fill up after the service has been rendered. After that, the results consolidated would help the management to plan and formulate ways to improve service quality.

After the management has determined areas to improve on, the service staff would most likely need to receive some form of trainings to acquire the right skills to serve customers better. Nevertheless, the feedback system would remain so that the management can determine if the service quality increases after the service staff have received training and after implementing any other additional measures like improving facilities.

Lastly, the management can think of an incentive system in which the customer can express gratitude to any service staff for excellent service rendered. This would motivate service staff to work harder to achieve service excellence for the organisation.