While Ventilating....

Dear Diary,

I seriously think that maybe people do grow out of blogging eventually. It is probably the “coming of age” that will gradually shape our priorities, our habits, our interests and our perceptions. I don’t know how long I will continue to type blog entries or to write diaries… I have done those for 8 and 10 years respectively. Yet, in a particular seminar not too long ago, the facilitator taught that writing journals helps us to sort our feelings and relieve our stress. It is coincidental that I am typing now because I need to get out some penned frustration and disappointment.

Just about 4 days ago, I thought I could actually be clinching a possible multi-million-dollar deal for my division. It would have been a record-breaking contract. Sadly, it was not meant to be. I hate the feeling of secretly having those high hopes only for the reality to set in and the hopes shattered into a million fragments. Sigh… it sure reminded me that if I place my joy and satisfaction on the achievements of this world, I could never be sure about my future. It may sound so cliché, so preachy, so didactical… but that’s the truth. We have all been so used to relativism. Nothing is right, nothing is wrong… To each his own.

I beg to differ. The recent debate in the media on the possible legalisation of euthanasia is appalling to say the least. I can’t imagine that such an act which was unanimously declared as inhuman not too long ago, has resurfaced in the name of societal progression. The Church (specifically the Catholic Church) became the first moral authority to speak up against such blatant immorality with the Archbishop condemning euthanasia in an article published in the Straits Times today. I wouldn’t be surprised that the society-at-large will consider him to be a stick-in-the-mud. Ironically, that’s how the Church remains a moral pillar, which many either adore or abhor. In a way, it is enigmatic.

Anyway, last Thursday, I was probably the newest employee (just 2 months plus) to present at the budget meeting. I thought I did pretty well in front of those CEO, managing director and general managers. =) This week will probably be quite interesting with a 2-day regulatory seminar at the Grand Copthorne Hotel and that potentially energy-sapping congress at the Suntec City. Next week will be adventure at Hanoi! I will probably join a dance class soon too.

Now… my two-cent worth of American politics… President George W. Bush has become very much a whipping boy in the recent Presidential election campaigns of both Senator Obama and Senator McCain. Yet, I view their extravagant promises with great suspicions. Not that I have any voting rights at all… haha… Nonetheless, I am more inclined to John McCain because I know that in uncertain times like now, the Republican party is the best bet. They have always been a strong party with decisive leaders who are committed to engaging the world. Blast me like how the media ridicules President Bush, but I will still say that the current US president is under-rated. If it was a Democrat president at helm during the 9-11 incident, I seriously wonder what the world will be like now. The Republican Party, like the Turin football club Juventus, isn’t called Grand Old Lady for no good reason. They will rise in the midst of overwhelming odds and fight fiercely to the very end. Barack Obama may be in the front seat for months (based on the polls), but don’t ever rule out the McCain-Palin ticket. It may just be the surprise of the year.

By the way, highly-rated Lancaster (ranked 22nd in the world by Financial Times 2008) 2-year MBA is now available in Singapore. Their first intake… Jan 2009. Worth a try indeed if you are aiming for a MBA!

That’s about it… End of emotional ventilation, haha… Goodnight!

God Bless,

Andrew