Unusual compliments
Lately, I’ve received a series of compliments that I would previously not expect. While unusual, these compliments are certainly not unwelcome ;-) and I hope to be deserving, and to receive more, of them. This week over lunch, a colleague complimented me on my posture as I left our restaurant. It was partly because I was making a conscious effort to walk more gracefully and slowly. So I thought it was a one-off incident. But my colleague added that she and another colleague have sometimes admired my posture as I walked past their cubicles. Yesterday evening, a senior English lady who recently joined my bible study group, said to me, “Are you a lawyer?” (

Weight, BMI target reached
We ate well in Shanghai, but I haven’t gained weight since my return. In fact, I lost another 300 grams and have more or less reached my target weight, which I set for myself many years ago. My BMI is now a healthy 20.9, which is mid-range between ‘underweight’ and ‘overweight’ according to our Asian BMI calculator. It was only in the past year, with the stress of doing an accelerated MBA, finding a meaningful career, plus the scare of having high cholesterol (which runs in the family), when I started to exercise regularly and control my diet. So my weight sta

Back in Shanghai
Shanghai was foggy when we arrived in the late afternoon, and remained murky until evening, when it got prettier simply because the city lights came on. We braced ourselves for the cold weather, but even the 3 layers of clothes I was wearing didn’t seem to make a difference. Walking home from dinner, we stepped into a department store just to get some respite from the cold, and I ended up buying a long, padded coat. Tomorrow, I may get a warm, fuzzy hat as well so that my ears don’t feel like dropping off. There’s fast internet where I’m staying, but certain sites are off-limits: namely, my favourites Facebook and Twitter. Google.com was accessibl

Returning to Shanghai
It’s been a while since I wrote something here. I’ve been busy. In several hours’ time I will head to Shanghai for a holiday. It will be chilly but hopefully fun. Will write more when I’m there, if the internet connection’s working and we’re not being charged an exorbitant fee.

How I rate music in iTunes (and how it can be applied to other aspects of life)
Throughout my life and work, I’ve found that ratings are subjective. You can use quantitative methods to make the methodology more objective, but often these are based on qualitative assessments as well. Of course, if you are looking at something very mechanical, like quality control for widget production, then there’s little to argue about. But for most other areas of life, where a human touch is involved, things are subjective. Which brings us to a subject that’s one of my all-time favourites (and probably yours as well): Music. Being a music lover, I listen to a lot of genres. As my collection has grown to over 8,000 tracks, I keep it organised by ra