Technology Era, Technology Kid

My daughter, Yuan, did well in a BM assessment for Std 1 pupils. To encourage her, I thought a surprise reward in the form of picking any book she likes the next time we visit MPH, would be a pleasant gift for her.
So I said, "Yuan, I am going to reward you for your excellent work in the BM test."
Without missing a heartbeat she asked, "What reward? A laptop?"
Kids these days....

Thomas Cup as Wei sees it

"How can Lee Chong Wei lose, mom? He is World No. 1, so how can he lose?" Wei was complaining to me after Lin Dan won.

Then, when the first doubles were losing, he walked into my room and said: "I'm going to complain against China!"

"Complain against China? About what?"

"Hey China, did you employ a foreign coach? You can't do that!" This must be too much English Premier League education from his dad.

"No, dear, China's coach is from China..."

"Huh?"

"Yes, just like Malaysia's coach is from Malaysia..."

"I still don't like China, mom! Malaysia is losing!"

My Malaysian little boy.

What's in a Platinum Card?

I just came home from meeting a client over drinks in Midvalley today. After discussing business, we talked about other trivial things, including the benefits of having a platinum credit card, which in my opinion is very few and far between.

After that, on the way to the carpark at Gardens, I passed by the washrooms beside Isetan. Thinking that I did not want to be caught in the traffic jam outside Midvalley with a full bladder, I decided to visit the washroom when I was stopped by a sign at the counter.

Premier Washrooms - RM5 per entry. ("What?!")
Free Entry for Holders of the Following:
Isetan card - ("I don't have...")
Robinsons card - ("Ok, I didn't bring...")
Platinum cards of any banks - ("Hey, I took it out today to call the bank to cancel it...")

And voila! I pulled it out of my handbag, showed it at the counter and walked right in.
And since I've forgotten to call the bank, I think I will keep the platinum card, and cancel the gold instead. What's in a platinum card? I didn't even apply for it, it was sent by the bank, and has a low credit limit. Maybe it should include this line as one of the benefits: "Free entry into the premier washrooms of Midvalley." ;-)

Wei's Saturday Schedule

Wei is always too busy on Saturdays. I feel guilty about this, however he and I have both accepted it.
First thing in the morning at 8.30, he has chess class at school. He gets home before 11am, and gets ready for the piano teacher. Unlike conventional piano lessons, this teacher does not encourage exams and grading, which is the way I like it. Just music appreciation and playing the piano for the love of music. After that, a quick lunch at 12pm, because at 1pm he attends tuition for BM karangan and Chinese essay writing for 3 hours. He goes to this tuition (at the next block to our home) in his swimshorts underneath his clothes and packs along a towel, flippers and a swimboard. That's because he has swimming lessons at the pool downstairs at 4pm.
I did try to reduce the number of activities for him on Saturday. Aside from the 3-hour tuition which is compulsory (as he was very weak in Karangan and Chinese essay), I told him he could drop any one of the others. This is what he said after some analysis: "I love chess and I really want to attend the classes. If I stop the piano lessons, then you would have wasted money buying the piano since nobody would play. And the swimming lessons, you said that if I were in an aeroplane one day and it fell into the sea, then at least I can swim to save my own life. So, I have to attend everything."
My boy, so rational and considerate. And so bought into my story of the aeroplane plunging into the sea and swimming away to save his life ;-)

Chess - 2nd Stage

Wei came to me excitedly yesterday. He has been selected to take part in next week's chess competition. Apparently, he is ranked number 7 in the boys under 10 category at our Zone, so now he is a Zone Representative. According to him, those who rank number 1 to 12 are eligible to take part. There are 2 others from his school taking part, they are ranked number 9 and 12 (at this point of the story I swelled up with pride).
So next week he will miss 4 days of school, because when he gets to school, his teacher will drive them to the competition. That will be quite an experience for him as he is now competing with boys who are winners in their own zone too. He tells me that he is a little worried that he won't win, but I say, "It's okay, it doesn't matter if you win or lose. What's most important is that you tried your best."
I hope that next week, I wouldn't have to pacify a sad, teary-eyed boy because he lost. Best of luck, Wei!

Post-note: Wei played 7 games from May 10-13, and won only 2. He didn't qualify into the next round. He was disappointed, of course, but at least he didn't cry.

Updates on my Domain apartment

In my previous post entitled Collecting the Keys to my Domain, I revealed that I had recently bought a rental property in Cyberjaya. After the keys collection, the developer was supposed to contact the existing tenants to inform them that future rental fees should be paid to the new owner (me) and to contact me directly. Unfortunately, despite numerous attempts from the developer rep, the tenants could not be contacted.
That was until last Tuesday when I got a call from a Botswanian girl who said she was the tenant in my apartment with 2 other girls. She explained that she had stayed there even though it was her brother and his friend who initially rented the apartment. The rep was trying to contact her brother through his old local mobile number, the SIM card of which he had lost, hence the inability to contact them at first. She wanted to meet with me, so we arranged to meet the next day.
It was a little weird as we sat down in the apartment that was now mine - J and I with the 2 Botswanian girls and an Iranian girl; housemates in the apartment. I expected the house to be bare, but they had actually furnished it quite completely. I did not wish to continue the tenancy as I would like time to furnish the apartment and then rent it out for higher rental fees. We negotiated because while they really would not want to move, I was not prepared to continue at the current terms. We worked on some options, and they said that they would need a week to decide on which option when the tenancy expires on 30th June 2010. As of now, I can only wait for their decision.
This was really unexpected, a lesson to keep in mind if you are buying a property with existing tenancy.

My experience with Interviews

In the beginning when I had to interview, I was always uncertain. How to determine the quality of the candidate, how to review, how to bring out the best in people - everything to me was just gut feel and guess work. But my boss insisted that I do it anyway, and she will provide the backup support being the 2nd interviewer.

So I went ahead, and most of the time I was unable to make a judgment about how good people are even after I've interviewed them. I would do a quick summary of the person and let my boss see him too. Then we will reconvene and she will tell me what she has picked up from her observation. I learnt to read cues, verbal or non-verbal, and asking critical questions that will help open up the candidates and help us understand them better.

Over the course of a few interviews, I found that I knew better already. I can now make a quick judgment, and profess my opinion confidently when I am recommending for 2nd interview, or cut short the interview and let the candidate go. I found myself confidently expressing: "I like this candidate." Or "No, Boss, you don't need to see." It's amazing! Although I didn't like interviewing at first because I was always so unsure, now I found that the extra interviews that I do actually hone my skills.

Of course, interviews are not foolproof. There will still be hiring mistakes. But my boss has been through enough interviews to make the odds better. And it is great to be learning under her guidance. I still learn a lot from her, especially the 50-50 cases.