No failure, no failure at all...

Big shots need to have "face". Sometimes things have become a very, very obvious failure, but they just fail to admit it, claiming that "this new innovation" was a "roaring success" and even have the cheek to thank everybody for contributing to the success.

All that nonsense talk about productivity, how a new and innovative system would reduce the paperwork dramatically, cut down the time we take to put through trades. If this was the case, why would we still resort to getting customers to fill in manual forms (how it used to work previously) and after sending the customer away, spend the next one hour trying to be part of the crowded and jammed server to put the trade through? It probably takes double the time to complete an application as compared to before. Increased productivity? Decreased productivity more likely.

And what do you think of a product whereby customers take it up only to cancel it less than 10 days later? Complete failure. But nobody would admit it. There is just too much pride and obviously moolah involved to ever back out from their "grand" schemes.

In the meantime, before the grand schemes get axed, we in the frontline have to continue to bear the administrative headaches, system delays and what-have-yous.

Huat ah!

I pray that the Year of the Dog would bring fortune and prosperity to those born in the Year of the Pig Boar (aka me).

I have been enjoying quite a fair bit of luck on the gambling table this new year. Played mahjong on chu er and chu san and I was the sole winner against the other three players on both occasions. But the bets were all so small that all the winnings came up to not much. Not that it mattered.

Then I was at a colleague's place after branch yesterday for another round of gambling. And I tell you, their gambling antics are so vastly different from my previous kakis.

We first played ban luck and our stakes were $2 minimum. For someone used to playing with cents, this was a relatively huge bet. I lost quite a bit initially, already losting $30 bucks in less than 30 minutes. Then I had the chance to become the dealer (all of us had) and I started recouping my losses. In the subsequent rounds, I won bit by bit through slow and steady albeit very conservative bets.

In Stanchart's jargon, I liken myself to being a "regular savings plan" with a preference towards capital protected funds with dividend paying advantage.

At the end of everything, I won a grand total of $96. Not too bad, considering that I had lost $30 at the start.

Then we played mahjong. I am an amateur at the game. I only know the bare essentials of the game. Ask me what strategies I adopt, I cannot give an answer. I play to win. I really had the beginner's luck. We only had enough time to play one round and I was the biggest winner again - winning $24 in all, with an initial capital of $100 worth of chips. Not bad. Capital protected with 24% return.

And before anyone thinks I am becoming like a gambling addict in the making, I only have this to say: CNY only comes once a year, so this gambling only happens once a year. ;p

Found this from Leonard Png's blog. Damn funny and cute!!