A boat docked in a tiny Mexican fishing village.
A tourist complimented the local fishermen on the quality of their
fish and asked
how long it took him to catch them.

"Not very long." they answered in unison.
"Why didn't you stay out longer and catch more?"
The fishermen explained that their small catches were sufficient to
meet their needs and those of their families.

"But what do you do with the rest of your time?"

"We sleep late, fish a little, play with our children,
and take siestas with our wives.
In the evenings, we go into the village to see our friends,
have a few drinks, play the guitar, and sing a few songs.
We have a full life."

The tourist interrupted,
"I have an MBA from Harvard and I can help you!
You should start by fishing longer every day.
You can then sell the extra fish you catch.
With the extra revenue, you can buy a bigger boat."

"And after that?"

asked the fisherman.

"With the extra money the larger boat will bring,
you can buy a second one and a third one
and so on until you have an entire fleet of trawlers..
Instead of selling your fish to a middle man,
you can then negotiate directly with the processing plants
and maybe even open your own plant.

You can then leave this little village and move to Mexico City,
Los Angeles, or even New York City!

From there you can direct your huge new enterprise."


"How long would that take?" asked the fisherman.


"Twenty, perhaps twenty-five years." replied the tourist.


"And after that?" asked the fisherman.



The tourist answered
" Afterward? Well my friend, that's when it gets really interesting, "
answered the tourist, laughing. "When your business gets really BIG,
you can start buying and selling stocks and make Millions of DOLLARS!"


"Millions? Really? And after that?"

asked the fisherman.


"After that you'll be able to retire,
live in a tiny village near the coast,
sleep late, play with your children,
catch a few fish, take a siesta with your wife
and spend your evenings drinking and enjoying with your friends."


"That’s what I am doing now!!”

Replied the fisherman


The moral of this story is:
Know where you're going in life....
you may already be there!!

Merry Christmas everybody!

Santa decided to come by and grant me a sleepless night.

So I came on and looked back into the past entries of my on/off blog. Always a journey of mixed emotions -- nostalgia, joy, hate, sadness, regret, appreciation.

Been another dramatic year, especially with the start of my first job and all the experiences that came along with it. I must say I have learned a lot but I still have a long way to go.

While I am so glad to be back from my overseas adventures, I do miss the friends from abroad. I do wish to see them again and have a nice chat over coffee in the cafes of Graz, or over shisha in the cafes of Bursa, or over Asahi on the streets of Tokyo.

If I had a chance, I'd also like to eat the fisch burgers in Hamburg, drink Guinness in Dublin, listen to bagpipes in Edinburgh and bask in the sun in Palma Mallorca, but for a different reason with different company.

Looking ahead, there are still trips to be made: Trieste, Italy; Vienna, Austria; Berlin, Germany; San Paolo, Brazil; Shanghai, China; Tokyo, Japan.

But the trip I'd like to make most is really here in Singapore. I am reacquainting myself with the country I'm born with. Or perhaps with the new year coming up, it's just another way of saying, I'm starting my life all over again anew, and renewed.