Hayden's Last Wishes

Do not mourn me in sorrow

but paint me a rainbow.

Shedding a few tears is fine

but do remember me with a smile.

Forget the suffrage in the past

and think only of the joyous part.

Take care of those I leave behind

for they are wondrous, forever mine.

Be comforted to know I couldn't have lived any better

I am very sure we will soon reunite in heaven together.

The Year of Change

I always think I have the best seat possible in the entire office.  I haven't got no window view by the way, and I sit right outside the entrance of the Finance Department. But precisely because of where I sit, I get to see and greet many passerby each day when they go in/out of the department of money matters.  Mind you, it can be very distracting - smelling all that cash flow but can't have no share of any of it - requires a bit of getting used to. 

Anyway...lately, I have noticed the traffic of passerby to the cash vault has increased incredibly.  They all came for one purpose - to settle their last pay cheque with payroll.  I knew because after they came out of the department, many would actually be courteous enough to stop by and tell me it's their last day.  We would exchange handshakes and I would also take that opportunity to tell them when my last day is, keep in touch, etc etc.

Among my circle of friends, I happen to know quite a few who have also recently quit their long-held positions, currently enjoying a career break of some sort.  I have always been a trendsetter in many ways but I can't help but wonder - but a trend of resigning?  What's going on?


It has to be the year 2012.  It has got to be the year of the Dragon spurring all these changes.  2012 is precisely - the year of the dragon. 

The years of Dragons have always been the most auspicious and powerful of the 12 signs of the zodiac they say - one associated with high energy, prosperity, change and mobility. 

I mean just look at 2012 as the world faces crucial presidential elections - in Russia, in France and later in USA.  In fact, I can easily google 40 countries holding presidential elections this year, and when taken together, believe it or not, that's half of the world's GDP holding elections or switching leadership this year!

In my case, after a rather petty, backbiting first 3 quarters of 2012, I am finally in for the ride of my life in this year of change. I can either get ready to rock and roll or, crawl under a rock till it rots. 

Right now, I know in comfort that I am definitely not alone when it comes to facing massive changes, because whatever the future holds, from derring-do, hell-raising to exorbitant fun - nothing against us at all, as we can probably blame the year of the dragon magnifying everything tenfold for us!  

I can only hope you will be in for a ride with me too.  

The Resignation

The letter has been rewritten, rephrased, proof-read, spell-checked. It was then printed, made sure everything was aligned.  

Cross-checked it again before it was signed with with a Mont Blanc Rollerball from the legendary Meisterstuck collection - a pen which seem ever so popular among the managerial rank when I first started working and therefore, I decided I have to get myself one using my first ever pay cheque.  And I did.  No better pen can have that honour to sign that important letter on this very special day! 

Folded the letter so perfectly and placed that into a fitted envelope with care, sealed with a kiss (you wish) and off I went to see my boss smash on dot of the hour. 

He had no idea.  

Like all Brits do, we started off with discussing the weather.  I mean you can never go terribly wrong with that, then we digressed a bit into the regional weather and then went global before we returned to the local, weather again.  Twenty minutes into the hour and we basically covered the whole climatic regime on earth, the unpredictability of weather forecasts nowadays and a couple of other things and that was when I handed him the letter. 

He looked surprised and I wouldn't blame him as we were nonetheless on the calmer side of the weather front the last minute and this minute, we found ourselves in stormy seas.  How predictable was that?  I was also probably the last person in the team who would be susceptible to resigning for that matter.  And practically because I'd imagine myself be rather rusty (the last resignation being merely more than 12 years ago), I thought I needed that 20 minutes or so staging effort, in which the bit on weather forecast came in really handy as a nice little cushion.

The next 20 mins of conversation went exceptionally well, I told my boss why I would like to leave and as far as he's concerned, I have a proper hand-over plan in place, we are good.  And I made sure I keep that door open (just in case I do need to return at some point down the road).

"Actually, all we need now is an email from you to your boss, copying HR.  Then you will be brought to a website and with a press of a button, it's procedurally done."

That was probably when I felt strongly the incredible efficiency working in a high-tech company - where everything is so automatic, systematic, hydromatic!   In one word - cold.

"But since you have that letter printed, might as well let me have a read now!"

"Good letter," he said (probably thanking good lord I haven't a word against him).   Frankly, I have no reason to.  He has been really kind - the kind that is almost too fatherly kind to be your boss, if you know what I mean.  

"You still need to go press that button, then it's all systems go, Bob's your uncle."


After all, I haven't had much experience resigning, the last time I did was donkey years ago and I did have to physically "tender" my resignation with a "physical" letter then. 

I returned to my desk and as I scrolled through that HR site step-by-step, I felt so old-fashioned like a piece of antique.  If I were to redo this, I'd still prefer a proper letter and a face-to-face meeting over an email and a button. No question about that.   

The thing is, whatever means it needed me to take, I finally did it.  Procedurally done.  I HAVE officially resigned. 

Hong Kong's Book Scene

Hong Kong - in terms of bookstores, has so far lagged behind many other Asian cities such as Tokyo, Taipei and even Bangkok.  I am thinking, there just aren't that many bookworms around to warrant them, but may be I was terribly ignorant in making that statement. 

With the arrival of Eslite, a Taiwanese bookstore chain, I decided to go for a stroll in what becomes the largest bookstore in Hong Kong, housing some 100,000 titles and promises to open 24 hours on Thur-Sat for a month's trial. 

As a starter, I was greeted with hordes of people wanting to be the first to scope out Hong Kong's latest bookstore. That was all good and expected but for the main dish, I didn't expect to see readers carrying baskets full of shopping, eagerly trying to sweep through the stationery on offer. It becomes very apparent that Hong Kong REALLY is a paradise for shoppers (not readers).  Will Eslite help cultivate some night owl bookworms in future?  We will soon find out, wouldn't we?

Eslite - famous not only for an extensive collection of books but also in-house art galleries, cultural events, designer products and cafés.  While I was awfully disappointed by the fact that the cafe was still closed and I couldn't try their coffee, I stumbled upon a very interesting exhibition - featuring the prominent Chinese artist XU Bing. 

His latest book "Book from the Ground" is created after spending much time travelling around the world, and with all that time wasted in airports, he began to notice the many symbols surrounding him. He thought it would be interesting to use this minimal way of communicating to create a story book. 

For the next ten minutes, I stood there with admiration and desperation, trying to figure out what this sign means. 

It is with the intention from artist HU Bing, that this can be read and enjoyed by everyone, whether literate or not.

I can't decode this and I am feeling so stupid.

Can you get what he's trying to say here?  I am struggling still.

So there I left the bookstore - pondering whether my inability to read this makes me a literate nor a nonliterate.

Tears In Heaven

This is in memory of a wonderful young boy who fought cancer for almost all of his life.  I believe he has lived more in his 5 short years than many of us have in a lifetime.

His spirit and love of life moved all of those around him, and we have truly lost an amazing child to this terrible disease.

No matter how bad
he might have felt,
He always knew how
to make your heart melt.

It's certainly not fair
the battle he fought,
All those who knew him
took in what he taught.

He fought hard to beat
the disease he had,
And would never complain
of feeling bad.

For someone so young
his heart was of Gold,
You would never have known
he was just 5 years old.

Some say silence is golden. 
Others say tears are words the heart can't express.

I don't even have tears run down at the moment, but rest assured that you are in our thoughts - always.

What Makes Good Coffee Better?

"Ah, that is perfume in which I delight, when they roast coffee near my house, I hasten to open the door to take in all the aroma." 

Jean Jacques Rousseau





Coffee is probably the most complex food known to man.  It has over a thousand of flavour components and the nearest comparison would be red wine with 450 chemical compounds in the flavour make-up.  And then we go roast it - resulting in different chemicals being burnt away, others changing, adding to the complexity.

Low-quality beans give bad coffee - that's a no-brainer.
High-quality beans yield bad coffee - that's called disastrous.
High-quality beans end up in a perfect up - that's great but it is just half the story. 


In my recent visits to Taiwan and South Korea, I have stumbled upon some fantastically impressive cafes.  And to my surprise, not only do the baristas there really know their coffee, many of the cafes look chic, modern and inviting - that was satisfaction to the taste buds AND pleasure to the sight. 

I was thinking to myself, what makes good coffee exceptional? 

Companion is certainly one and ambiance has to be the other.  


It is no longer just the way we take our caffeine that is determined by our tastes, but the question of WHERE is just as important.  Cafes with creative designs that offer customers an additional aesthetic value - have the ability to differentiate themselves in a huge degree from some of the big chains.

I am thinking communal benches, tasteful books and magazines for the sheer joy of flipping, clean and simple decor, are just some of the essential elements that provide an inviting glimpse of the interior to passer-by.  And then having a panoramic window not only affords a pleasing view to guests inside, it is there to create a very juxtaposing contrast to the world outside. 

After all, cafes are places for communication - a fact which certainly has its causes in caffeine's invigorating effects.  I really think any cafe in existence has to create a communicative and inspirational effect too - there to simultaneously answer to all practical requirements of a functional catering business.

Have a think of the last perfect cup you had.  And ask yourself what was the associating superlative thing that you remember from that very enjoyable indulgence.