Shine I'll stand by you
Don't try and push me away
'cause I'm just gonna stay
You can shine I won't deny you
And don't be afraid it'll all be ok

Do you know my name
Well I ain't gonna take
that big time line
won't be beat by a lie
Gonna call out to these embers
waiting to ignite
Gonna pull you up
By your love, by your love
and tell you

Shine I'll stand by you...

I can see the frown you wear
All around like some faded crown
Like a watch over wound
Gonna call down to this diamond
buried underground
Gonna pull you up
by your love, by your love
and tell you

When it's said and done
What you need will come
and time won't let me
Let you let me waste it this time
shine...

I won't let you down
I will not give you up
Gotta have some faith in the sound
It's the one good thing that I've got
I won't let you down
So please don't give me up
Because I would really, really love to stick around, stick around

Heaven knows I was such a young boy
I didn't know what I wanted to be
I was every little hungry schoolgirl's pride and joy
And I guess it was enough for me
To win the race? A prettier face!
Brand new clothes and a big fat place
On your rock and roll TV
But today the way I play the game has got to change
Oh yeah
And now I'm gonna get me so happy

I think there's something you should know
I think it's time I told you so
There's something deep inside of me
There's someone else I've got to be
Take back your picture in a frame
Take back your singing in the rain
I just hope you understand
Somehow the clothes do not make the man
All we have to do now
Is take these lies and make them true somehow
All we have to see
Is that I don't belong to you
And you don't belong to me yeah yeah

(Freedom) I won't let you down
(Freedom) I will not give you up
(Freedom) You've gotta have some faith in the sound
(You've gotta give for what you take)
it's the one good thing that I've got
(Freedom) I won't let you down
(Freedom) So please don't give me up
(Freedom) Because I would really really love to stick around, stick around
(You've gotta give for what you take)
Heaven knows we sure had some fun boy
What a kick just my buddies and me
(What a kick just my buddies and me)
We won the race
Got out of the place
I went back home got a brand new face
For the boys on MTV (boys on MTV)
But today the way I play the game has got to change
Oh yeah
And now I'm gonna get myself happy

I think there's something you should know
I think it's time I stopped the show
There's something deep inside of me
There's someone I forgot to be
Take back your picture in a frame
Don't think that I'll be back again
I just hope you understand
Sometimes the clothes do not make the man
All we have to do now
Is take these lies and make them true somehow
All we have to see
Is that I don't belong to you
And you don't belong to me yeah yeah

My dear Outram mates

It was good of Siong Kee (Victor Lee) to share his life story with us: some of you may not know it, but he beat me hands down in 1962 in the election among our peers for the post of head prefect in Outram.   He received 7 or 8 of the 9 votes cast!

There is a very inspiring story that I would like to share with you – Hong Pian Tee's.

Some of you may remember that after Secondary Two he disappeared from Outram Secondary School?  He actually did not disappear, but went to the afternoon session.

Unknown to many of us, Pian Tee, or P T Hong as he is widely known in the financial community and business world, during our school days, while we were all sleeping, doing our home work or just relaxing, he was working nights to support himself and his family.

I actually once saw him working in the then New World, carrying trays of drinks to serve people at a Kwor Tai (don't know how to spell it in Pinyin).  He was carrying out a lot of chores for the family, which included working 7 pm to 11 pm nightly.

So what became of him?

Of course, his studies suffered.  Surprisingly his health held up.  As you can see now – and even during our school days – he is tough and has a good build (actually, I was a little intimidated by his physique while in school).  

His relegation to the afternoon session did not mean end of career and story.

When I next met him in my work, he had established himself as Singapore's top insolvency expert, a partner in one of the world's largest accounting firms, KPMG Peat Marwick, and a much sought after financial advisor.  In fact, he had started his own accounting business, which became so successful it became a threat to the big boys that one of them bought over his business – actually merged theirs with his in consideration of a handsome pay-out and offer of a partnership!

Unlike many of us after we left Outram, Pian Tee tells me that he managed to secure a reasonable job only in 1968, some 6 years after leaving school. 

He started as an accounts typist with a local accounting firm at a starting salary of just $280. He later became an audit trainee, audit clerk.  He got his 1st  break in 1972 when Peat Marwick Mitchell offered him a job as senior audit clerk.

PT remained there 1972 to 1984.  During that period, there was great demand for corporate services.  The accounting and legal professions were hard pressed for experienced staff and Pian Tee, who continued his earlier discipline of working hard and long hours, and studying privately in between, benefited from it. 

He was promoted to Senior Manager at KPMG.  He left later to set up a practice to specialise in insolvency work and in 18 months made enough money to buy a huge bungalow in the prime District 9 (or is it 10?) area. 

The rest, you know already: the big boys had to buy him out!.

Price Waterhouse made overtures to him. PW was big in its business but lacked an experienced person to develop its insolvency practice. 

PT agreed to join PW for, I am sure, a whopping consideration (he has not told me how much, maybe in case I try to borrow a huge sum from him!).  In November 1985 he transferred his business to PW upon merger and was made a partner. Price Waterhouse became the undisputed leader in the area of his specialization.  PT retired in December 1999, earlier than most of us. 

Though his lack of an accounting qualification was held against him, he prevailed through grit and application.  He has also been blessed in his acquisitions and investments.

He is still much sought after and sits on the boards of a number of two large conglomerates listed on SGX.  He is chairman of Pei Hwa Foundation with assets in excess of $70 million, and Chairman of Yio Chu Kang Secondary School Advisory Committee.

By his own confession, apart from managing his portfolio of shares, he spends endless hours wining/dining with friends and chasing the small round ball in Singapore, Philippines, Malaysia , Thailand, China, Australia and wherever his golfing kakis go.

He has three grown-up daughters who have also done well.  But, blessed with his resources, they did not have to work as a waiter or at odd jobs, and have gone to and graduated from some of the best universities in the world.   He has no grand children yet, but two of his daughters are certainly very eligible if you have any sons to match them. 

The point of it all for some of us?

We do not have to let adversity put us down.  In fact, adversity and trials build us up.  As it is said in the Bible, those who have gone through fire and prevailed, become strong as steel. As you all know, gold is purified through fire.  

Now, in our retirement years, let us appreciate and enjoy what we are blessed with – and savour every moment of it.   It does not take much or a lot of money to enjoy so many things.  I, myself, no longer can afford to go to the fine restaurants I liked, or spend the way I do.   I am poor in contrast, but immensely rich in so many other ways.  And knowing PT's struggles and triumphs enrich me in so many ways.

I believe there are other happy stories of ex-Outram 1962 mates that some of you know.  why not share them?

Toon Joo

when someone said "i'll treat you to dinner at miss clarity cafe". my reaction was "where dat??" instantly turned to indispensable google and found several glowing reviews of the place. decor, food, service. when i got there i thought ok, my sis will love the decor of this place. it was bright, cheery and colourful inside, with cardboard cutouts of cartoons on the walls. 

time to try the food. i ordered a steamed sea bass with risotto and opted to pay an extra $3 for the set which included the soup of the day, a drink and dessert. soup of the day was cream of cabbage. it tasted, bland, very thin and needed some salt. FAIL. the steamed sea bass was tough, dry and tasteless. and its the first time i had black risotto! first reaction was "wa.. pulut hitam!" risotto did not taste particularly fantastic either. FAIL. we asked for desserts to be served but they took so long, we decided to give up and go to menotti instead. service - FAIL, although we got our money back (all of $3). 

i'm not going back. i was told everyone deserves a second chance, but in the food paradise that we live in, there's no second chance for inconsistency in the standard of food nor service. there're plenty of other places to check out. goodbye, miss clarity.

From Infoworld:

Governments and businesses face a variety of cybersecurity threats, but they also need to allow for increasing demands from computer users across the globe, the former information security advisor for the U.K. Ministry of Defense said Wednesday.

David Longhurst, who retired this week, called for businesses and governments to take a risk-based approach to cybersecurity by balancing the advantages of new applications and capabilities with the security risks. Too often, Longhurst found himself between the U.K. military, which wanted new networked capabilities, and in-house cybersecurity experts, who wanted no new networking functionality, he said during Microsoft Corp.'s Security Summit East in Washington, D.C.

"IT security folks don't want to connect anything," he said. "They believe safe sex is no sex."

Ouch. Hmm. Oh dear.

i always thought that ah lians and ah bengs were an urban legend. however my worst fears were confirmed last night. at mambo jumbo, they come out in full force!! i must have been living under a rock for the last 10 years because somehow i have never seen those dance moves executed by these people. it kinda reminded me of mass pe in school... now, i have never been told that i'm a poor dancer, but in front of them, i am reduced to rick astley's foot shuffle as i stare at them execute the moves with such conviction and flair, open mouthed. i didn't know whether to feel horrified, appalled or amused. 

my absolute favourite has to be "you drive me crazy". runner ups are "square room" and "love in the first degree". anyone eager to have a peek, i have video evidence of 2 lians, taken at the risk of having mr beng crushing my phone with his sheer bengness.

as the night wore on with the onslaught of alcohol, i found myself doing the y.m.c.a!! omg,OMG, noooooooooo..... they shall not take me too!!!! ok no more mambo jumbo for some time yet... my ears are still ringing!