www.Go To The Mountain - Musings of a Potential Guru

If you have read this somewhere before, read it again. Last December, my company celebrated its 40th Anniversary in Singapore (since 1973). It was just a small office with a Representative and his secretary . Those days, most businesses were represented by general agencies. I came on board when the company was fully incorporated eight years later and naturally I have inadvertently became a pioneer not just in the organization but also in the industry. We have now grown into several companies in the group employing hundreds of people. Just wondering if I'll get a "Pioneer Package". I was invited to give my two cents worth about my views and to share my experience with colleagues in our special newsletter. What they did not know was they were inviting a monster to write as I could practically write non-stop especially to tell a complete story - the whole truth and nothing but the truth. I wanted to share a story that could be simple and yet interesting because in d...

Charlie's tapas-grill bar is nestled right at Boat Quay. They serve mouth-watering steaks and char-grilled pork ribs among many other set lunch items on the menu. They do have a cosy ambient where I mostly do lunches when there. A good selection of beers await you. Set lunches are simple. Choose your main meal and if you prefer a soup, salad at first or dessert at last. Choice of mushroom or minestrone. Choose healthier and you can get a slice of salmon pan-fried with teriyaki sauce. Typical fish and chip if you want it light. Or get pork which I think is medium light. They say there are a thousand ways to skin a cat. So too your meals. If you are in the mood, pizza is always easy to eat. Every kind of food taste good when hot from the oven. Pull a slice out and you can see the elastic cheese stretching. Sometimes, it is good to have a dessert. Like a brownie with ice-cream. They used to top it with...

Passion My passion for soccer was stoked at a time I thought the planets aligned themselves. I went to a soccer-crazy school and started playing soccer . The school teams of all A, B and C divisions were often in the district or national finals. That made it more exciting.  Even when we had little time and space, different groups of people gathered at the basketball court and played with a plastic ball. From afar, you could just see many people running around a packed court. It was amazing to even figure out how we did play as there must have been at least ten teams there. As a result, those who trained there had good skills and great instincts. That was how often in the past great players developed their skills especially Latin players by playing in the streets, etc. That was also the time where the English League was the old First Division and you get to watch only highlights of the previous week's matches in an one hour programme called Star Soccer on Sunday. It ...

If I write about food, I write to help those who has passion in their food, quality, service, etc. I like to discover them so I go around searching at random, sometimes planned, whenever and wherever. I would have effectively link them to you because you need to eat or love to eat. This way I make two sets of people happy. They are very happy and thanked me for featuring and one stall told me that they place my blog link on their facebook page and had a thousand hits or two.  I am like the bridge that brings people and friends together. The glue that sticks and fastens. There exist in the world a myriad of things. Food, music, movies, drinks, sports, soccer, golf, hobbies, etc. When we talk about food, we are also talking about chefs and cooks but Singapore is facing a crunch on manpower and high rental which affect the most posh shop to the humblest stall holder. In F and B it is the worst hit I supposed. It is harder for a Chinese restaurant or food stall to operat...

Roy Hodgson announced England's World Cup 2014 squad yesterday. I was pleased. Sometimes, some folks think that I believe England is going to win the World Cup each time putting words in my mouth. Believe you me, my soccer knowledge is much deeper than that.  Why do many Singaporeans follow and support England in international tournaments like the World Cup? Familiarity. We were after once a British Colony and we started historically with the English soccer league. Today's EPL is still a favourite to  us and many more countries. So will England win this World Cup? I would not say no. Wait a minute, as long as you are there you have a chance even the book  makers give an odd to it. I would say their chances are not good. Expectations even among the English are not high.  England are grouped with Italy, Uruguay and Costa Rica. If you are worth your salt in soccer you know this is not an easy group as Italy and Uruguay are traditional World Cup p...

What a season it has been! This is why the EPL has been everyone's favourite. The season is over and your life will have a new low after all the high each weekend. Is there meaning in life for soccer fans?  The World Cup is coming and along with it brings together a different kind of spectacle after which you have a month of emptiness.  How the just ended season has panned out and what will next season be like? Manchester City - Congrats to Moneybags City! They played a good game and a good season. City have some great players. They scored 102 league goals and 156 goals in all competition. They were the most consistent and they were the most balanced side.  They play an attractive game focus on attack. Joe Hart, Vincent Kompany, Pablo Zabaleta, Samir Nasri, Yaya Toure, Aguero, Dzeko, Silva are in a class of their own. However, money does not buy success. It was their craggy face silver-haired manager Pelligrini who moulded the team as one sol...

Manchester City are in the driver's seat and are clear favourites now with a home match to go against West Ham and two points ahead of Liverpool . Only a major calamity could throw everything into disarray such as Big Sam and the Hammers pull out a setback of epic proportion. This is the beauty of the English game as evident in results and upset in recent weeks.  Pelligrini's job is safe now thanks to Liverpool. Liverpool were chasing a dream that just not so long ago looks like destiny. They are just a goal shy of the magic century which they could achieve after Newcastle's visit. Suarez is the EPL's top scorer equalling Alan Shearer's and Cristiano Ronaldo's 31 goal mark. He sets a new record if he scores against the Magpies. He was crowned the PFA's Player of the Year and the Football Writers' Footballer of the Year but boy how he must have wept at the final whistle at Crystal Palace after Liverpool allowed a 3-0 lead to turn into a 3-3 draw.  ...