I am glad I found you

Looking down from above,
I see many people
and it makes me feel insignificant
in the grander scheme of things
Hence, i thought to myself
to be able to meet and yet connect with someone is truly a miracle
cuz' it does not always happen like that
yet, i managed to find you

Thank you for coming into my life...

Post Battle: Wanderlust

Dear loyal subjects,

The aftermath of the battle is one of peace and joy. Now for a smooth sailing journey of Wanderlust, till the time i set sail to Londinium, another battle of a different sort begins... but, for now, i am done talking about battles. Will go back down to earth... and be humble me!

My day out with Mummy dearest...we went to visit Uncle Vic and Aunt Nancy before heading to town together for an escapade...

The exterior of the palatial home of Uncle Vic and Aunt Nancy at the Spanish Village off Holland Road.

25 Metres long...at least i know i won't be totally out of breath.

Life looks good for a Princely sum of $3,000,000 in District 10, a luxury for most Singaporeans...except the elite? Hey...stop it! Aunt Nancy asked whether i was interested to buy a unit there, somebody is selling... and guessed what? I almost said, yes! But that will have to be put on hold till i become a hot shot banker, someday.

After the visit to their mansion, we adjourned next door to Orchard.

Lunch with Dear Uncle Vic and Dear Aunt Nancy and Mummy dearest at the Uber chic, ultra cool 'The SHIP' restaurant at Shaw Towers.

I had good 'ol fis' n chips... it was delicious, and Aunt Nancy keep encouraging me to try the fis' n chips when i get to Londinium...according to her, it is a must-try and it was good when she tasted it while holidaying there some 20 years ago.

Had to snap this to show you guys (my loyal subjects).....So auspicious, yar? i had to bid for many months before i could get my hands on that car plate...my chaffeur by the way was in the toilet at that time.

Thats us waiting outside of the hotel on the streets of Orchard for our chaffeur.Thats Mummy dearest decked out in finery...such a 'tai-tai' and she is seen trying to 'a-lat' ( according to the Vernon's Dictionary of Sing-rish 'a-lat' also known as 'siam'- a hokkien lingo for 'a-lat' that is to 'siam' i guess you get the drift...just see the pic, lah!) my trigger happy moment, and in the background you will see camera shy Uncle Vic and Aunt Nancy contemplating where we should go next; the Hilton for tea or New Urban Male to buy me a Jap Waterboys trunks.

Thats me!...posing in my trunks.... Hot rite? People say, I look most like mummy dearest; Aunt Nancy nodded most approvingly... and I beamed with great confidence. Actually, I had a fierce look...

In the end, i got an early birthday prezzie from Mummy dearest...A Swiss Techymeter! for a Princely sum of SGD 199, nice right?

And thats all folks of my very simple life, indeed, my couzzie Paris would have been proud of me...a day of Wanderlust has finally come to an end.

Home Sweet Home...

The battle has concluded

Dear loyal Subjects,

As of yesterday the 22nd Day of May,

I am very glad to say that most of the battle was fought with me getting away unscathed, however, i was left with a nigging wound at the last battle.

Inasmuch as it was fought on home turf, that rascal of a dragon chose to rear its ugly head and attacked from behind. Being caught almost unawares, i was slightly injured! Ouch!

Nevertheless, i am most proud to say i have emerged mostly victorious. Yay! Hoorah! Way to go...

My trusty sidekick; Cookie Mon surely deserves a medal of honour for being courageous and for keeping me warm in the freezing and cavernous lair of the dragon at E-xx' P'o, he is one heck of a fighter, just like moi.

And great thanks to Tabby the Fearless, constantly cheering me from the side. Your great name deserves to be enshrined in the Hall of Fame, beside moi. And your great name will be mentioned in the annals and to future generations when i am long gone...... thanks for Cookie Mon....he is ours to keep.

Anyway, my victorious return from battle brought moi to the hallowed halls of Shaw House le grande...there i was given a victor's homecoming and a statue was erected in my honour and Spidey, Venom and Sand-y were there to welcome me into the Chateau de la Lido Class'sic.

Following which, my entourage and I trooped over to the Grand ol' dame that is La Paragon where we feasted at the fantabulous Nippon pavil'ion le Sushi T'ei...

Salmon Sashimi in gooey stuff...grated radish...it was wholesome...indeed, food for a Prince!
Tuna and Salmon were the main order of the day...almost had an endless supply of Raa'.W" f'is.


Pan Fried Salmon in Cream...heavenly!

The whole of La Paragon came to a standstill as i departed for my castle... hush hush...the day had come to a close.

After all that feasting and merriment, it was back to my castle in the Pincipality of Westerlie hills in the region of gn'or"-u'j n'a"m'-a',t where my tabby awaited my arrival...

Thats all for now my loyal and humble subjects,

Prince Vernon a.k.a Dragon Slayer

Elitism

The following is a letter written by me to the Straits Times Forum page... the letter was written and sent on May 19, 2007

PUBLISHED :: May 22, 2007

Help those who fall through system

I READ with interest about the debate on elitism that has been in the news recently. Much has been said about it, and it is one of those sacred cows that may have finally been brought out to be slaughtered.

Here in Singapore, meritocracy is not some philosophical concept but something that is deeply embedded in our social system. Time and again, we read success stories of how people transcend their socio-economic background through their industriousness and make it into a higher bracket.

I am most fortunate for the many opportunities bestowed on me. Although I may not be classified as part of the elite, I am glad I have achieved much, thanks to the system of meritocracy.

In addition, I am proud that the system of meritocracy has allowed me to progress far ahead in life. And it is only socially responsible of me to want to give back to society.

We need to understand that the elite are not homogeneous in nature. This can be largely attributed to meritocracy, since anyone regardless of background can, with hard work, become a success. So the tendency to lump the elite together in one group is fundamentally flawed.

However, to close the gap in society, what we need is more sensitivity to, and a better understanding of, the plight of those who may have fallen through the system.

We need to rid ourselves of elitism such as a 'high-and-mighty' attitude, and instead be socially responsible citizens by helping the less able in society.

Vernon Lim Thean Soo

Road to Freedom...

Dear one and all,

Yes....i have survived the onslaught thus far, and got away from the battle relatively unscathed.

I am left with one last battle before i progress to the next stage; the stage of complete emancipation.

I can't wait and effectively, i have already started counting down!

The last battle will be fought on home turf...and i am comfortable of a clean sweep! And will forever lay the dragon to rest!

Wish me luck, as i spend the next 3 days gearing up for end times!

I have with me some lucky stars and 'cookie mon' as my trusty side-kick, not to mention tabby cheering me on from the sidelines.

A win is assured!

Warmest regards,
Sir Vernon

Mother's Day Tribute

The following is a tribute to my Mother which i contributed to the Straits Times as part of a contest to see which are the entries that could touch the heart of the editors... mine isn't one of those, nevertheless, these are words from my heart.....

"I consider myself very fortunate the day my mum decided that she will stop work just so that she could personally bring me up. She decided that she did not want to leave such a task to domestic help or even to my grandparents. For that, I am eternally grateful.The role of a home-maker is not enviable as there is a lot to do, but some people simply do not understand that. They think life as a home-maker is easier than going out to work. This of course is a wrong perception. It takes great effort to manage the household and an even greater effort to bring one’s children up, and to that end, I must say my mum has done a great job on both counts.

Incredible as it may be, my mum is my alarm clock! She insists on being there for me, each morning when I wake up for school. She will also prepare breakfast for me and will also be at the door to send me off. That being said, I am already an adult, yet she faithfully continues to do all that for me. Inasmuch as I would rather she gets the rest she needs, she will insist that it only makes her happy to be doing all that. I reckon that is part of my mum’s way of expressing her unceasing love for me.My mum is also both a confidant and friend. I have no qualms about sharing my thoughts and problems with her. This is because I am assured that she is never quick to judge; instead she dispenses a great deal of encouragement and wise words.

Additionally, the both of us will make it a point to spend quality time together by going out for lunches and shopping together, just as friends would. Our relationship is therefore also one that is carefree and fun.The person that I have blossomed into today is attributed to the many positive values that my mum has instilled in me. She is always there to guide me and is a source of inspiration as I go through life. Inasmuch as my mum is always there for me, she has also given me space to develop individually. The other thing that makes her special is her unceasing care; she never fails to ask after me and is also a pillar of strength for me.

On this very day, I wish to take this opportunity to publicly acknowledge my mum’s love for me, and indeed, I owe much to her for bringing me up to be the fine person that I am today. My prayer is that my mum may continually enjoy good health and a blissful future as we walk this earth together as mother and son."

Happy Mother's Day!

Dear all,

Have not truly gone out in awhile, due to exam preprations... but, yesterday's outing proved to be a smash!

It was to celebrate Mother's day....

It was truly a great experience, having the opportunity to dine as one big happy family.

Everyone of us had a great time. The food was great...it was an a-la-carte buffet spread at Siam Kitchen @ Suntec City! Instead of the usual Crystal Jade, my dad decided that we should try something new for a change.

And what a spread it truly was!

There were 20 dishes... and my personal favourites were the Chicken Satay and the Thai Green Curry... Yummilicious! The meat was both moist and tender. It was amazing that the food could still be so delicious considering the brisk business at the restaurant. There certainly was Quality Control.

A pendent in white gold for the most wonderful woman in my life.... courtesy of my brother, "sis-in law" and I.

Yes...i also got something, courtesy of dad! Yup, so much for me being an Anglophile...just simply love the fact that it says London...

My dad was like telling the shoe personnel at the store that i could wear this pair of shoes while studying in London, and people will go wow. I thought that was cute!...haha...i guess my dad is just being proud of his son (me)!....(so much for a displaced nationalistic fervour on my part; too bad there is no I love Singapore by Adidas)! I wish!

Anyway, everyone went home very happy that night...

p/s: thanks tah-bby for confirming the name of the restaurant...i got it confused with Thai Express, Siam Kitchen is by far better!...muahaha...

I started on the right note...

The Marketing paper today was not too bad, i had the time to attempt all questions and their various parts.

Glad that i was sufficiently prepared.

All 3 hrs of the paper was well utilised.

I am pretty satisfied, i must say.

Well, the battle rages, but i am glad it was a good start.

Basically, i am left with Organisation Theory, Accounting and Business Management...

No sweat!

Dear all,

One day left to the day of reckoning! The battle has to be fought, and i am glad to say i am well-equipped.

I have remained on top of my game and seemed poised to slay the dragon good and proper.

Marketing, Organisation Theory

Business management

Accounting.

No sweat!

So much to look forward to, Internship - camp - ophir - london...no wonder my spirits are up, even in the midst of mugging!

Did i truly mug, well not quite...no reason for me to do so, since, i have always been on top of my game. Just need to maintain my cool-headedness when tackling the dragon. With all due respect, i love the subjects i am doing, so i do not feel pressured in anyway, somehow!

Accounting...i am doing fine too! Theory aspect nary a sweat, just need to practice harder for the calculation component of the paper!

Things i gotta do:
Book my airfare,
Pay my LSE Summer School course fees,
Call up the organisation offering me the internship, to firm up details.

I am praying that the pound will depreciate alittle so my dad's coffers could have some reprieve!

So much for the earlier financial forecast by Morgan Stanley that said the pound looks set to take a tumble this year...argh...but, thats not happening, yet!

Warmest regards,
dragon slayer

Classmates from Harvard, Princeton?

Dear faithful readers,

I am so close to my exams, effectively less than a week away! Yes, the time is finally dawning, and i simply cannot wait to get it over and done with.

In between my endless readings in preparation for my exams, i have found the time to read the straits times to keep abreast of what's happening around the world today, knowledge is power! Many interesting articles, a treasure trove of information, some of which are relevant to my studies.

I have also found the time to blog (write) to help take my mind off hitting the books (oops, maybe i should stop hitting 'em) should 'sayang' them.

Anyway, yesterday i received a mail from the London School of Economics (LSE); a gentle reminder to book the accomodation for those who have not already done so. It was a mass mail from the LSE accomodation manager, and the people to which the mail was addressed to, had (.edu) at the back of their email address, hence, i can safely assume those are students, like me.

Upon closer inspection of the Email heading, i found that the mail is addressed to people (students) on the International Relations Course (IR 209; International Political Economy), incidentally, the course i will be reading at the LSE.

Furthermore most of the email addys have university names like (******@harvard.edu, *****@princton.edu ) those by the way are world renowned universities! Additionally, there are those from University of Michigan ( ****@umich.edu) and also U Penn (****@upenn.edu).

Am i going to school in July with such people, supposedly, the cream of the crop ( the best & brightest)? Wow, amazing! And i am not surprised, i am afterall heading to the LSE; 'the world‘s leading social science institution for teaching and research' (thats how LSE describes itself; officially!).

Consistently ranked inside the Top 4 universities in Britain after Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial.
Indeed, the LSE is one of the top institutions in the world for the study of social science, testament to this great establishment is the fact that it churns out many bright people who become leaders in various fields such as, Government.

Famous and illustrious alumni include the late American president John F. Kennedy, American billionaire statesman and business tycoon David Rockefeller , George Soros (Notable Financier; Billionaire linked to the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997), our very own Minister for Education and Second Minsiter for Finance Tharman Shanmugaratnam, and Father of Singapore's Economic success, Goh Keng Swee (former Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore aka the Architect of Singapore's Economy).

Ohh... famous alumni are aplenty, there is also Sir Mick Jagger (Rock star, left LSE for music),and some interesting ones like, Lord Waheed Alli (House of Lords, media mogul, only openly gay Muslim businessman), and Michael S. Jeffries (CEO Abercrombie & Fitch Co.).

There is also royalty who studied at LSE, a Prince!... Prince Haakon Magnus (Crown Prince of Norway) and Queen!... Queen Margrethe II (Queen of Denmark).

And, i also read that MM Lee Kuan Yew briefly studied at LSE before heading to Cambridge. Well, the notable list goes on and on....

For now, I will 'Jia You', step up on the accelerator..... and indeed, there are so many good things to look forward to!

Warmest regards,
ordinary me

p/s: thank you tabby for 'perk me ups'