Words can heal

Words can heal or kill.

Today, someone's word made my day.

Life ain't getting better but I got healed. Slightly. Slowly. Surely?

Choose your words wisely.

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Sunset Sail with Royal Albatross

Sunset is my favourite time of the day. 

Finding activities to do with the wife can be a little challenging after being together for 12,13,14... 16 years actually. So we've been to quite a lot of places and tried a lot of activities. Besides that, my wife and I are the classic examples of opposites attract. We have a long list of things that we enjoy independently. So we are always trying to look for something that we both enjoy doing. This time round, I was invited to get onboard the Royal Albatross, it was my birthday weekend so, why not? ONTO THE BOAT WE GO!

The journey begins as the sun sets out in the tranquillity of Singapore’s calm port waters and the open decks of this amazing 4-mast 22-sail luxury Tall Ship. Sailing from Resorts World Sentosa (RWS), the sparkling waters off the southern coast of Singapore has an enchanting feel, transporting us into a magical world of romance. 

And I swear the favourite part of the boat ride for the wife has to be the curated menu that includes a sumptuous International 3 Course yacht dinner or Buffet and signature cocktails and drinks from the premium bar onboard. This is really a perfect birthday or anniversary gift for couples. When we were there we saw many other couples too! 

Me? Of course it's the bar! 

Royal Albatross boasts of wide open decks and is a perfect place for that intimate date!

Good food, drinks, live band, sunset, the wife. What else can I ask for right? 

So besides just sitting around, eating, drinking, talking, and chilling. If you are a little more adventurous or curious about the ship you also have other options!

YOU CAN CLIMB THE MAST!!!

Anyway for more information you can check them out at https://www.tallship.com.sg/

When checking out, input promo code smithankyou and get yourself 10% discount off booking for 3 months.

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The Cathay - Ink and Cut 2018

The little new ink that I got from the event.


Would you put a tattoo on you that is not selected by yourself? What if it's something you don't like? These are some of the questions I've been getting from friends and readers about The Cathay's ink and cut event.

Let's put a pin on that and let me share with you more about this event. How does it really works?

INK

Step 1: Pick a word of inspiration.

There is this word with a whole list of keywords like strength, strive, rockstar, etc etc. It's random so the design is actually based on the word you picked. Of course if you pick a word that is totally not you, I'm sure you can negotiate with the organizers that you want to change a word.

What did I get?

It's not too bad fit for me considering how I like to travel ever since I started having the whole shutterbug thing infected on me. I don't mean a real illness, I just meant I started shooting for a living.

BUT... I thought this might be a better word for me.

THAT'S RIGHT! And please don't tell my wife. :x

Step 0: Spent $50 

Actually I kinda got it wrong. So I'm doing this starwars thing where I will release prequels. In order to be part of this event, one need to spend $50 at The Cathay and redeem this tattoo or hair cut/hair tattoo. It's really not difficult since The Cathay is filled with so many different type of food, services and retail. If you remember, my chio chio skin doctor, Dr Kellyn is also in the building.

Step 2: GET READY! 

So it's really that simple to be honest. All you had to do is to get the word and that's all. Insert your hand into the erm... "glory hole" hang on and wait for the surprise!

No, she wasn't tickling my armpit but I can't exactly remember why I was laughing so happily.

FAQ 

I always wanted to do a tattoo FAQ but this time round I would just like to answer this one question and also some others about this event.

IS IT PAINFUL? 

This picture should probably answer everything.

I was using my phone as if nothing was happening. I mean, look at me, I've this whole sleeve thing going on and if it was pain, that probably wouldn't have happen. Truth is everyone has different pain threshold as well as when it comes to different parts of your body. Your biceps and forearms are probably the strongest. You hardly feel anything really.

Because my crew asked me to act like it's very pain. I've no idea why he asked for it but I did it to entertain him anyway.

Would you put a tattoo on you that is not selected by yourself? 

Yes and I did. I did it because I like the element of surprise! It's kinda like arrange marriage. You have no idea what you are getting into and the commitment could probably be for a life time.

What if it's something you don't like? 

I believe that every tattoo tells a story and if the story is ugly or something I hate, I guess it still makes a good story right? And I guess was pretty lucky to get a word of inspiration that really meant something to me.

What if you see this person with the same tattoo with you because he/she went to the same event? 

There are pretty limited slots per day. Each tattoo takes around 30mins to 1hr so based on what I've gathered, the event ink no more than 10 pax a day and they actually remove certain keywords after they are being used but I'm not sure how many times will they actually ink them before they eventually remove it.

CUT

As you guys should know I've not much hair to begin with so the "cut" segment of the event do not really applies to me. So instead one of my crew actually went and gave it a go. The guys behind the cut segment are actually from THE GOLDEN RULE BARBER CO. These guys are so cool. They look like they walk straight out from a show set in Harlem or something.

I apologize for this out of focus image. And also because it wasn't taken by me. :x

If you noticed. The guy from the right actually look a lot like Ice 3. When asked, he said he knows and he calls himself Ice box. No clue why box but my best guest is before a box has 4 corners and 4 is bigger than 3. LOL.

Besides ink and hair cutting there were also other fringe event like this dude that does customized note books and stuff. This event is really my kinda thing where it's all about making things the way you like it.

Anyway, for those who had no idea, this event is actually their 2nd installment. If you are reading this in 2019 because you googled and was trying to find out more information about the event, it means that the 3rd edition is on it's way and hope to see you there! That is if I still have space for more ink. LOL.

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MMI SAVOUR GOURMET FESTIVAL 2018 AT SHENZHEN

We all came back with extra baggage... In our tummy.


Like my Bro Barney Stinson says it the best - SUIT UP AND GET READY TO PARTEHHH!!! IT IS GOING TO BE LEGEN.... WAIT FOR IT....But he probably wouldn't agree with my hover hand picture. 

Before I go on to talk about my trip I have to talk about the food I had at MMI Savour gourment festival 2018.



It's really amazing I get to try all these Michelin-starred dishes all at one place while watching live performances under the stars. It would really be an amazing event to bring a date but all I've with me was Nic and Flora. #MEH

It's a typical question to ask at such events right? WHICH IS YOUR FAVOURITE?

I'm a sweet tooth and the Red Dragon Paviova by Australian Dessert Chef Samuel Yeo takes the cake. Did you see what I did there? Fine, it's not exactly cake but it's still a food attempt on good pun. (Oops I did it again.)

Dessert aside, the most innovative food at the event has to be the Xiao Long Bao by ‘Demon Chef’’ Alvin Leung from Michelin 3-star restaurant Bo Innovation. I've no idea how to describe it accurately but the whole XLB just burst into a mouthful of happiness the moment you put it in your mouth. It's really unlike anything I've ever tried. It taste really good and the texture and experience is soooo different. OMG, I'm typing this and feeling really hungry now!

I mean since we were there on official business representing Unscrambled.sg so it's no secret that we already have a post there with all the information. So please head there to find out more so I do not need to reproduce the content here. LOL. PLEASE CLICK. LOVE YOU LONG TIME AND THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

So now I've gotten the food out of the way, let me tell you the story of how it went down. #Foodforlyfe #Foodbeforeeverything


Red Dragon Paviova by Australian Dessert Chef Samuel Yeo and not my hand.

It was an exciting week for the Project 24 team last week. Not only because we closed a few other new projects last week but also because our bags were all packed and ready to go! SHENZHEN BABY!

It's not the first time I visited the land of dragons but there were many firsts for me during this trip.

First time in Shenzhen

As compared to Beijing, Da lian, and a few other cities I've visited before, I would say that visiting every part of China always gives me different experiences. I've no idea what to expect at Shen Zhen since it has been years since I last stepped into China.

What can I say? I was pretty impressed with the airport.



First time having multiple dishes from multiple Michelin-starred chef.

Not just 1 Michelin-starred chef but 6 of them! How is that possible? Only at Savour MMI gourmet festival! And that was the reason why we headed down to Shenzhen. To fill our belly with good food, all in one place. And if you haven't figure out at this point of the article, this is what the event is about. Bringing good food from around the world into one event!

On another episode of my job is cooler than yours - "Backstage passes".



It's not an everyday affair that you get to see all the behind the scene of movies or events firsthand and this felt especially interesting to me – a person who is always into "how stuff works". For those of you guys who have been stalking this space long enough would remember that I used to run an events company, so being at the event site felt especially interesting to me. It's like the ghost of my career past.



Seriously ah. Walking through a site with booths being set up, part timers being briefed on what to do, events manager doing a rundown on tomorrow's activities and etc got my adrenaline pumping. For a moment I was like, "CAN I BE PART OF THIS PLEASE!" Events planning and execution is tiring stuff but it still is one of my favourite jobs so far.

Before I get all sappy and get into Lang Leav mode, I better quickly finish this post with the rest of the updates. LOL. Not too sure how you guys will respond to my talent of the lack of poems.

And some 24hours later. I would like to quote lil Seth - TAR DAR!

Mic check, sound check, chefs in position and WE ARE READY TO ROLL!




So yes! We had a good time at MMI Savour gourment festival 2018! I would advice you to scroll up again to look at those amazing food we had!


So good that this boy has no words but to show his appreciation his way.

Anyway, if you are not going to make it in time for this round, a little bird told me that there are going to be another installment of MMI Savour Gourmet Festival later this year in another exciting city and a few more to come in coming years. I really hope you guys get to try all these good because a good friend don't get fat alone wants his friend to try everything good too!

... DARY!!! LEGENDARY! 

ABOUT MMI

MMI GROUP is a holding company with activities spanning across media advertising, entertainment and gaming.

MMI GROUP offers exclusive live entertainment shows and concerts, family entertainment spaces, interactive digital advertising networks and delivers the latest in multi-platform mobile games.

With the innovative and diversified platforms in media advertising, entertainment and gaming, MMI GROUP is able to achieve our mission of creating and bonding communities by creating excitement and fun in a dynamic way, consolidating and synergising entertainment and advertising.

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Guide to #soloparenting for newbie Dads

Seth is 2ish and he understands most commands and at the same time able to say what he wants and how he is feeling so it's actually not THAT difficult. It was really quite an interesting experience considering that this is kinda the first time the wife went away after he became a toddler. The last time when the wife was away, he was just a baby and it was much easier to manage cause you just have to put him there and that's about it.

Many have also asked me why didn't we make take trip together with the wife or why didn't my wife just bring lil Seth along. I mean she deserves her holiday as well and also because I really can't stand traveling during June and December because of the peak pricing as well as noisy kids on plane. :x

I'm no child whisperer and I feel that Seth is a pretty well disciplined kid on a whole so I think I got it rather easy. That being said, below are some pointers that I wish to share with every dad out there, young or old. Do feel free to let me know if you have additional tips or if I did anything wrong! We are all in it together (sounds wrong but okay can.)

1. Get him mentally prepared

Just a random picture of him.

Don't drop the bomb on him that mum is going to be away for a week all out of a sudden. We started explaining to him what is going to happen and how long is mummy going to be away. He might not really have an understanding of number of days but at least let him know that certain activities that he usually does with mummy is going to be disrupted. For Seth it is mostly bed time. So bed time is going to be just daddy and him alone.

2. Plan your schedule 

It's not just about him but it's also about yourself. If you ain't going to plan your day properly it might be a little crazy. He goes to school during the usual weekday office hours. So the extra duty for me is really to ensure that he goes to school on time and comes home in one piece. The sending of Seth to school is usually done by my wife. With that duty on me now, it means that I've to plan my day to ensure everything goes according to plan. I would have to wake up earlier, end my work day earlier and I've to plan everything ahead of time.

3. Plan activities for him 

#OOTD

The easiest way for dads to take care of children is always TV and iPads but my wife and I are quite strict on this. We do give him a little of TV time each day but strictly no iPads. Which means I've to ensure that I've something for him to do each day. This is pretty much the same on weekdays since it's part of the routine. What is a little different is on weekends when it's just the both of us. Not to lie, I don't think I can spend 8-10hrs with him alone in a room. He drives me a little crazy with his silly questions and unlimited energy sometimes. Make it all the time.

4. Get help! 

erm... I don't mean getting another gf to help or something hor. Before I get flamed, this girl's bf was also there and behind me. LOL. 

No shame in that. We ain't no LeBron James so it's really not important that we have to do it alone to prove anything. I mean I've a helper that helps with most of the other daily chores but I mean get help from friends. I'm lucky because my crew are big fans of Seth. So I planned some outings together with the boys and girls and even got them over to play with them while I get to rest a little or even watch TV. That's what friends are for!

5. Meals

Hungry during outings? Always order his meal before ordering your own to avoid having to eat two meals. And also just in case he didn't like what he ordered.

This is one of the biggest headaches for me. I mean my helper do cook his meals most of the time but for those who do not have a helper at home it can be very challenging. The easy way out is to order a pizza for both of you but it ain't going to happen for the whole period of time. The easiest way out is to get your parents or in-laws to cook dinner. I mean do not say "eh mother you cook ah!", that's just rude. Tell them "MUMMY! I'm bringing your grandson home to have dinner with you and spend some quality time!" TAR DAR! 2 birds 1 stone. Filial son and awesome dad that provides good food to your son!

6. Staying with Granny 

Seth loves his Granny aka my mum. He has always wanted to sleep over but we haven't really tried it because we really have no clue how he will adapt to staying at someone else's house without us. So it was a good chance for me to try out since the wife is not around. It's also a good way to let me go party, get drunk, go crazy, and be single for one night work late at night. It's a good way to let him try to adapt to a different environment and not rely too much on us and at the same time give us some time out if you are not used to spending too much time alone with your child. I know that sounded wrong but I'm sure many parents feel that way all the time that their kids can be a little overwhelming but too shy to say it out loud on the internet because they don't wanna be labelled as bad parents. Call a spade a spade, everyone needs some alone time to balance their own mental state. And now that we are clear that he is fine with staying with Granny, it also means that more date nights for you and your wife in the future.

7. Don't have too much fun 

I know probably most mums will be throwing things at me for this but the dads will agree and also deep down, the mums probably know it's true. Women are almost always jealous. You should have fun with your son but you must make sure that your son's favourite person is still his mum. Always try to catch her on Facetime, Skype, or whichever video call. Rehearse with your child and make sure he/she will say "MAMA I MISS YOU!". It's not trickery, it's just managing the relationship. I know it's contradicting that your wife needs you to look after the child but at the same time cannot have too much fun but hey, as a married man you should know what you signed up for. If it ain't contradicting and complicated, it ain't women we are talking about.

I hope my points above can help you with your struggle fun time with your child. I actually had a lot of fun dealing with lil Seth alone. It brought us a lot closer and I really enjoy those silly conversations we have as father and son. For example this. #okaycan

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When I grow up!

When I grow up~ I wanna be famous~ I wanna be a star~ I wanna be in movies

Seth might just wanna be a construction worker now because he is in the phase of his life where he finds sand castles really fun. 

What do you want to be when you grow up?

I think we all remember this composition topic right? It's like one of the most basic topics during primary school where our teacher would make us write a compo on. On hindsight, I suspect it's also the day when the teacher forgot to do her lesson plan and just wanted us to be occupied with some work so she won't get into trouble when the principal walked past.

What are the jobs that most kids want to take on? Police? Soldier? Doctor? Lawyer? Soccer player? Superman?

I remember writing something like wanting to be an owner of a mama shop so I could have unlimited snacks and candies. I can't remember how I scored for that compo but I sure remember getting an earful for being silly. Hello? FairPrice? Sheng Siong? Who is silly now?

In my teenage years, I thought I would make a good engineer simply because I wrote a few scripts for my computer. That plan didn't go well after I landed myself a diploma in computer engineering. Painful part was I only found out after 2 years and 6 months into the course after I did my internship. I was telling myself, "this time siao liao lor. Wasted so much money on the diploma and now I've no career ahead."

It's true that we do not need to know everything to get a job

I am sure many people feel this way and not just for fresh graduates. Truth is, we do not stay in one industry all our lives and in fact even if you do stay in the same industry, your skills will probably take you to other roles in the company. Just take a look at some mncs, not everyone worked their way up from the bottom, and not everyone knows everything in the whole pipeline. 

I mean look at it this way, not everyone at Grab is a private hire car driver or started out as one, right? I have this friend who works in the marketing department, I've a friend who is doing HR stuff there, and we have the programmers and also the poor people at the customer service help desks who get screamed at more often than we know. My point is most of us possess some skills that are actually portable across many industries. So long as we make sure our skills remain relevant and updated, we can bring our skillsets with us from one industry to another. Like you know.. SMRT CEO.. It's the management and leadership skills that SMRT needs and not someone to drive the train right? 

I hope I don't sound like I'm showing off but I guess that's one thing great about where I am now. We help clients with their marketing and content creation. Practically every industry needs us. And that's basically what attracts me to this work. We are always learning something new and doing something new. When a client comes to us with computer parts? We learn. When a client comes to us with F&B-related businesses? We eat. A travel client? WE TRAVEL! So far one of the most challenging clients I ever gotten was this fire protection equipment for shipyards. And my favourite? It has got to be my lingerie client that I serviced years ago. :x I don't think I need to explain right? 

Actually I kid perhaps a little too much. While there’re obviously some perks and fun factor in my job, there’s a lot of learning new things and picking up new skills on practically a daily basis too.

Get yourselves prepared and ready for tomorrow's job

Remember I took this course with NTUC LearningHub some months back where I kinda went back to school and picked up Photoshop formally? Remember I also mentioned how they have a wide range of courses? So recently I was looking at some of the other courses that they are offering and I saw this "Fundamentals of Cloud Computing" course. You know this whole cloud computing thing is like one of those career buzz words these days right? Truth is cloud has been around for so many years. You’re probably thinking about iCloud, or Dropbox, or even Google drive but those are not even some of the earliest applications of cloud computing. You know ATM? You draw money over at an ATM and it's updated immediately on the bank system around the whole island instead of having to wait for 3 working days before your account gets updated? MIND BLOWN YET? 

Anyway, NTUC’s Future Jobs, Skills and Training (FJST) Unit has also identified cloud computing as a key technology transforming the digital landscape across all sectors. Employers have also singled out cloud computing and solution development skills as the skills that will be hot in demand. Don’t @ me but I really do see a lot of buzz and jobs coming from this sector. So why not be prepared right? 

To help address the demand for these hot skills, NTUC LearningHub (LHUB) approached Amazon Web Services (AWS), the world’s most comprehensive and broadly adopted cloud platform, to develop a programme to raise cloud computing literacy amongst Singaporean adults, and to build competencies amongst those who require deeper cloud-related knowledge and skills. 

And ta-da, the course “Fundamentals of Cloud Computing” was born! 

The course for "Fundamentals of Cloud Computing" might not have listed pre-requisites but you do need basic computer knowledge . I mean it's something to do with technology after all right? I'm sure we do not expect someone who doesn't even know how to start the computer to jump in and start learning about cloud. 

This course is suitable for most working people, regardless of whether you’re in the ICT field already or are considering a change of career. If you are worried that the whole cloud computing thing might be a little overwhelming, they actually have this course which I thought it's rather useful for beginners as well as more mature workers. "Fundamentals of Internet of Things (IoT)". I've been seeing this IoT term quite a bit these days but what is it really? It's actually just a very sexy word to describe the billions of devices around the world that are now connected to the Internet, collecting and sharing data. And of course, how people can apply it at work and in everyday lives.

Really got use meh? 

Look, this is a 2-day course that totals all of 14 hours. I’d be kidding if I told you one can be a cloud computing expert after this and score a technical job. Seriously, like how can I become an expert with only 14 hrs of lessons right? How am I going to be a coder in just 14hrs? I'm not Chuck Norris you know? 

As much as I'm a big fan of picking up new skills and learning new things, I've to be realistic about such situations. I guess it's pretty much true that you ain't going to become a cloud expert or a programmer just after a 2-day course. Let's not forget that this industry is rather new and it's really booming and I'm sure they need more than just the programmers. Like I mentioned earlier about the pipeline of work. I'm guessing that this course might not allow you to become the next Kevin Ashton but I'm sure it's good enough to land in a job somewhere along the pipeline where you probably have an advantage over other candidates since you already have basic knowledge of how such things work. Sales? After sales support? Technician? Helpdesk? Customer Service? Project Manager? Yes, while this 2-day course may not be able to land you a job as a cloud computing expert, it can give you an upper hand when applying for a job in a cloud computing company doing what you currently do in a different or adjacent industry. Remember, not all who work at Grab is a Grab driver?

How? How Much? 

Sign up! Simply check out NTUC LearningHub's website. And these courses that I mentioned actually fall under WSQ-funded courses so it pretty much means you are gonna be heavily subsidised. If you’re an NTUC member, you can also use your $250 UTAP subsidy. Link is here and screenshot below!

So anyone wanna do this together? 

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Smith's Friday Favourites

If you guys know my partner-in-crime and read her blog, you will know that she has this segment Flora's Friday Favourites. I'm not too sure about you guys but that's one of my favourite segments. It's short and sweet, and surprisingly informative. I mean it's informative for both stalkers as well as people looking for something new to do.

Favourite Find

I love silly games on mobile phones. I do not talk a lot about it on either of my social media because I try my best to look smart and like a professional adult but truth is I've lots of guilty pleasure hobbies that I do not share openly and mobile gaming is one of them. 

8 bit graphics - checked. 

simple learning curve - checked. 

high replayability - checked. 

No paywall - checked. 

It's really addictive and you guys should give it a try. 

Favourite Food 

MALA EVERYTHING! I've always been a fan of spicy food but my late obsession for spicy food is crazy. I've been eating so much mala these days. I can have it for lunch with my clients and have it again for dinner with my crew. I'm having it so often I suspect there's some sort of a drug or something in it. Funny thing is I don't even like fish usually but the Mala fish at Riverside Grilled Fish - Raffles City Shopping Centre is soooooo good. Everything is better when with Mala I guess! 

Favourite Flix 

Drop Dead Diva 

It's an old show from 2009 - 2014 which I've never watched it before but I remember my sister laughing silly at it when we were still staying together. That's the magic of NetFlix right? When you run out of current shows and decide to revisit some of the shows that you did not have time for. 

Drop dead diva. Let me try to sum it up in one line – Soul of model wannabe went into a successful lawyer's body after a car crush and winning almost every case thereafter. Doesn't makes much sense but it's really funny! 

Favourite Foto 

Artbox is back! The place is bigger and more spacious this time round. Without a doubt, more Instagramable food and items as well. It's always fun shooting this one. And also editing the colours of the picture to the colour I want. Truth is these text on wall ain't even this colour. I would show you the before and after but I figured it's really annoying when I see it on Instagram story especially when those people who can't really edit but wish to jump onto the bandwagon all out of a sudden and teach people how to take photos and edit photos. Seriously who died and make you Steve McCurry? Just because you have a camera doesn't mean you are a professional photographer please. Anyway for more of this young lady, check her out at @Helloqing_ on Instagram. 

Favorite Family Outing

Seth is like this little ball of fun now. He is speaking, running, and teasing. He enjoys his family outing time with us a lot and his favourite line is "I don't want to go home." We went to this place called the AirZone at City Square Mall. Truth is Seth is almost too tiny for this place but we still had a lot of fun. I didn't manage to explore all the levels because I was busy looking after Seth. He was so worried when he first got onto the netting and he was like "PAPA SAVE ME! PAPA HELP ME!" All these drama when every other kid was having so much fun running around the 4 levels of play area. I was like... I think I need to visit this again with my crew. It's like a superb adult playground! Okay. That sounded wrong. 

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