Bad Guys get to fuck all the girls... Understand????

OKAY. I admit. I am angry. SOOOO ANGRY.

This week I watched 2 movies. And those movies make me angry, but in different ways.



1. Disaster Movie

Just like the title, this movie is TRULY a disaster. Have you ever watched a video on youtube where people basically just put photos and combine them with some OH-SO-ROMANTIC songs? Copy and paste eh?

And some idiots just learnt that OH-SO-CREATIVE concept and apply it to make a movie. And EUREKA! We are presented with this load of shit. And I mean, literally.



My rating = 0/5. I guess we can't put negative number for a rating.



2. My best friend's girl



Starring Kate Hudson and Dane Cook, this movie understands the golden rule of movie success. KISS - Keep It Simple, Stupid.

Love is a never-die movie theme.

Well, it is worth every single cent of my money...

What makes me angry is, moral of the movie : Bad guys win. Good guys don't stand a chance.

If you want to get a girl, this is what you need to do:

fucking insert some "fuck" in your fucking sentence so that fucking ASSHOLE girl fucking want to fuck you.

As simple as that. FUCK.

OKAY. I know I swear excessively.

Girls, I seriously want to ask you... If you have the luxury to choose between 2 guys, equally handsome, equally rich.

1st guy: treat you like Cinderella, open the car door for you. Pull your chair before you sit in a restaurant (and more importantly, pay for that meal).

2nd guy: treat you like shit, embarrass you in front of your family and guests, and at least use the word "fuck" 3 times in every single sentence of the conversation.



Which one will you choose?


If my future daughter ever choose the 2nd guy, I will send her to rehabilitation centre.

I DON'T UNDERSTAND!!! Totally don't understand, how on earth a girl can choose a bad guy over a decent guy. Effect of melamine maybe?

But the sad fact is... that's the fact. So many IDIOTS choose to date bad guys simply because they look cool with all those piercings and tattoos....

When the girls got dumped or the guys play cheat with other girls, they cry one night or two. Using up 1 box of tissue and be cruel to the forest.

Cheating is bad, but it can be forgiven. Being stupid is unforgivable, and it deserves some tens of good tight slaps. Those girls should be punished wearing a big signage... "I HAVE SINNED BECAUSE I DATE A BAD GUY AND I GOT DUMPED AFTER WE HAVE SEX. FUCK!!!!"

Well, some things in life just can't be explained.

I am back..

Yup.. I am back. Working life has been quite hectic... so hectic that everytime I got a one-day off (including weekends btw), I feel like winning a lottery (well, I don't know how it feels, coz I have never won any lottery in my life.. but anyway, you get my point.)

Ladies and gentlemen, this is Singapore. People here don't do a 9-to-5 job. We are still in the office until at least 8pm.. and beyond.

Mind you, there is no such a thing called working hours or private hours. We have the worst technology EVER called handphone, and as long as you have a handphone, you are expected to be contactable for most of the time... And "to be contactable" means more work... longer working hours, and some things similar to that.

Anyway... count myself lucky. I am still have the job while thousands are now making a site like jobstreet.com.sg their new favourite website...

Count myself lucky, that I have the best friends in the world.

Happy birthday to Yulia, Tika, Ronald, Inge... May all your wishes come true.. and may God grants you health, happiness, and prosperity. It's great to have you all as my friends.

And finally, a very beautiful song named after ME. Oh Gosh, I am SOOO HONORED. Oh well...

If I ever have a daughter like Connie Talbot, I will quit my job and become a full-time stay-home father.. Haha joking. But she is wonderful indeed.

Life of A Young Banker

Some of my blog readers asked me, how is the work of a banker?

1. I wake up at 9, have an enjoyable breakfast at McDonald while reading newspaper.
2. I knock-off at 5 with the last hour of work spent gossiping with colleagues.
3. There are some parties and high-tea on the company's budget.
4. The company not only allows MSN usage, it encourages it because it's good for employee's mental health.

I WISH.

The fact is...
1. I wake up at 6.45, reach home sometimes by 12 midnight.
2. I don't have time to sit down and have my breakfast. I walk while munching my bread.
3. Sometimes I even don't have time to eat lunch... I just grab some snacks like fruit or milo.

SAD huh?


Well, everything has a price. For everything else, we have UOB Platinum card. Joking... :)


I know in this job, I have to maintain a super high level of energy... super positive and cheerful attitude. Whether I sleep 7 hours or 3 hours the night before, I have to look as if I get enough sleep the night before and have just got spa treatment. Easy? You bet.

The less sleep I get the night before, the more I need to eat the right stuff. My tips:

Breakfast: fruit juice and banana and 1 can of Red Bull if I sleep less than 5 hours
Lunch: Apple / strawberry and wholemeal sandwich (think of Subway)
Snack: yogurt and coffee
Dinner: milk and some dessert


In the past, I eat healthy stuffs because I want to. Now, I eat the right stuffs because I need to. The same rule applies for hitting the gym and facial regime I do every night. I also try to jog 2 or 3 times a week around my block.


I tell you a secret, I can put a tie properly only a few days ago because of this job. I am actually a T-shirt/polo and jeans kind of person. Now you will see me dress very smart in shirt, tie, jacket.. with polished pointed shoes... yes, with specs and carrying a briefcase.

It's amazing to see how I change to a completely different person. More polished in appearance and words.


However, I am still the person that you know last time... A very straightforward single who will never be popular among girls because if a girl asks him "Does this dress make me fat?", He will answer "Honestly, it's not the dress that makes you fat. It's the cake, chocolate, and the Geylang lorong 9 Beef Kway Tiao." Understand why I am still single?

Time can change a person. It really can.

A young, handsome, promising..... and SINGLE Banker =P

Singapore government is damn good. Not long after they announce romance incentive$, bigger baby bonu$ etc etc, some of my good friends terminate their singles club membership.

Don't get me wrong. Of course I am happy for them. They finally find someone who is only a few steps away from being their number one person. As for me, ehmm... you know me well enough :)



There are two ways to look at being single:

1. You are the leftovers. Noone is going to "buy" you even at 90% discount (ouch..)

2. You are branded item. Super high quality, super high price. Noone can afford except the super rich.

Well, you decide in which category I am in =P



Anyways..

Today, I received the result slip of my last exam... and Thank God, I cleared the exam. Now I am a so-called full-fledged Personal Banker with UOB. If you need a service on how you can make your money works harder for you, I might be the person you are looking for. I may not be the most experienced banker, but I can assure you that I am the guy who will not recommend a product unless that's the best solution available. Well, banker is not exactly associated with kind heart, but we all know, everything has exception... and I am that exception.

If you need my service, feel free to drop me an E-mail at pan.benny@yahoo.com or drop me a sms or call me at 98186924. Satisfaction guaranteed :)

Ah yes, if you want to have a chat about a career in banking industry, feel free to drop me an E-mail also.


Lastly, I am also looking for a gym buddy or a running mate in the west area (preferably Bukit Batok area)... :)

I gotta have faith!!!

First of all, thanks so much for being one of my readers. I know, that's not the most prestigious title in the world, but still it's worth mentioning :)

It's very touching when I saw my blog statistics. Over 1000 readers last week! That's not even among the highest, and to be frank, it's not that important.

I want to touch lives in whatever way I can. I am not a Saint, 1000 miles from that. But I try to live my life to the fullest. Because we simply don't know what will happen tomorrow. So my advice, live everyday in your life as if it's the last day. If you die tomorrow, and God ask you...

"Are you satisfied with your life?"

I hope you will answer: "God, good question! My life is just perfect."

Nothing is perfect in this world. My life is nothing =P




OKAY, let me stop being so philosophical.

Yesterday, I took an exam which is part of the required exams for my job. I studied hard for the exam. Well, as someone who has little business and finance background, I was struggling. But thank God for giving me such a positive attitude to never give up.

And there I was, ready to go for the exam. HOWEVER.... I couldn't find my passport. GOSH. I searched around for about 20 minutes, but still couldn't find it!!! I know I have many choices:

1. To take the exam another time. Afterall I was not very prepared. Even if I take the exam now, I am not sure if I can pass.
2. To cry and blame God for "placing" my passport in an undeserving place.
2. To go to the exam hall, make a good confession, and bear the consequences.

I chose the last choice.

They let me do the exam but they will suppress the result until I bring my passport.

My colleagues asked me...

"Ben, so you will leave the room without knowing the result??"

"Ben, I pity you. You can't enjoy the weekend because you haven't known the result."




Thanks for the concern, but I think I am enjoying my weekend. If you ask me whether I am confident to pass, I will confidently say.. I am not.


But I know one thing. In life, you gotta have faith. When everything else fails, there are even more reasons to have faith.

I believe everything is going to be alright. I have faith.

What I learnt from the greatest STARS in Beijing Olympics

Beijing Olympics 2008 has given birth to some of the greatest stars in sports - some of whom will be given a title - LEGEND.

We can't have enough of Michael Phelps, can we? I was doing my morning exercise in front of TV while listening to news, and WHAT THE HECK. Phelps... Phelps... Phelps again. Well, that's better than news about the most famous Malaysian "sport star" at the moment, Anwar Ibrahim. We know what kind of sport he is playing (Hint: men only).

Lesson learnt: Impossible is Nothing. Before the Olympics started, Phelps told the media that he was going to win 8 gold medals (Thanks to Lilyana for the correction), and a lot of people laughed at him. It pays off to dream BIG.


NADAL!!!! Yes. His time has come. Roger Federer, don't worry, everyone has their own time. 4 years plus as world's number one is a long... long time.

Lesson learnt: It sucks to be forever world's number 2. However, some things in life are worth waiting, and worth working hard towards. Everytime I see Rafael Nadal playing, and everytime I see his positive attitude, I know his time would come one day.


Singapore has finally grabbed a medal. I listened to Gold 90.5 FM this morning and laughed during my way to workplace. If you have a child, name him/her Feng Wang Li. That's the surest way to make him future Singapore table tennis player. Btw, Feng Wang Li comes from the three wonder women that just did Singapore proud, Feng Tianwei, Wang Yuegu, and the most famous of all, Li Jiawei. Well done Singapore!




In badminton, Zhang Ning has become the only player who grabbed consecutive 2 gold medals in women's single. Mind you, she is 33. Too bad Xie Xingfang lose, otherwise she and her bad-boy boyfriend Lin Dan will be the Olympics' gold-medal couple just like Indonesia's Susi Susanti and Alan Budikusuma in 1992. Indonesia grabbed 1 gold medal from Markis Kido / Hendra Setiawan and a silver from Nova Widianto / Lilyana Natsir. I was dissappointed that the last pair didn't win gold.


Taufik can fly kite. Well, not to worry Taufik. You have everything already. Famous name, beautiful wife, kids, and most importantly, rich in-laws. You can buy not only 1 "gold medal", 1000 also can.

Lesson learnt:

Sometimes, winners are not always the most talented ones. They are the hungriest persons in the stadium. In 2004, Taufik Hidayat had to prove himself as world's best and he won. Now he has nothing to prove. He has everything. He lose. And by the way, lose very badly.

Kido / Setiawan told the media before the Olympics even started, THEY WANTED NOTHING BUT A GOLD.





They wanted bad enough. They got it.

I know I am repeating myself, but good things are worth repeating.



Steven Jobs said, "Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish". Michael Phelps was hungry. Kido / Setiawan were hungry. Singapore's table tennis team was hungry. Lin Dan was hungry. Rafael Nadal was hungry.




When we fail to reach our dream, take a deep breath, close our eyes, and ask ourselves.



"AM I HUNGRY ENOUGH??????"

First day working...

6.45: I woke up. Yeah I know it's a bit too early, but it's not nice to be late in the first day of work.

7.30: Had my breakfast near Bukit Batok MRT. They serve nice coffee, but their toast is damn oily, and it's just not nice to start the day with such an unhealthy food. Starting from tomorrow, I will be eating apples instead for breakfast.

7.50: Waiting for MRT.. The first train came, but I couldn't enter because they were too many people. The second train came. A lady in front of me at first didn't want to enter the train, too crowded maybe? Hello! Miss, if you want to enter empty train, maybe you will need to wait until lunchtime. I entered the train nevertheless.

8.35: Arrived at my workplace, I was the second person coming to office.

8.55: Surprise, the guy who was interviewed together with me is also offered the job. There were about 300 people applied for this post from NTU alone, and only 5 of us being offered the job (that's 1 out of every 60 applicants, mind you!)

In the first stage of interview process, we were interviewed two by two, means, two interviewees were interviewed by one interviewer in the same time, that makes 150 pairs.

To find out that 2 out of 5 successful applicants were interviewed together, that is quite a nice surprise. So, they only choose 3 people from the remaining 298 applicants. And I know I shouldn't continue the math further :D

9 - 11.50am: Morning session of the training. I had a lot of fun there, being together with some of the future superstars of UOB.

1150am - 1240pm: lunch. We had Burger King. It's great to know each other better. One of my colleagues made a very interesting comment, saying that footballer Cristiano Ronaldo made 120,000 pounds everyweek, which is much more than 10 of us combined together for a year. I know it's pretty pathetic, but well, I am not going after that kind of salary forever.

1240 - 5 pm: Afternoon session of the training. We had some games. It's quite sad that in all the games, our group came second... and we ended up with nothing while the winner got prizes.

When I reflected further, that's true in life as well, winners take all.
Since young, I only want 1 thing: To be number one in everything I do. And this job is no exception.


It's quite a nice start. Tomorrow, we will be starting the actual training, and I am really looking forward to that.

MIRACLES!!!!!!!!!

Well, I hate to admit this... but if I have to mention one out of my weaknesses, that would be... I am a very last-minute person. I am in the process to improve on this though.

Since I got a job contract from UOB Bank which is dated 21 June 2008 until now, there are more than 20 days in between. I know I should apply for temporary work permit and subsequently SPR (Singapore Permanent Resident) status. Blame everything to my excellent expertise in procrastinating, I only apply today, which is by the way, 3 days just before my work starts.


Terrible right??

Well, I don't deny that.


To make things worse, I had just realized yesterday that... my original birth certificate was not with me. It's 700 miles away from Singapore, all the way in my home city.


I woke up this morning with only 1 thing in mind... well, it's gonna be real challenge today. And I was not disappointed, it really is.

After getting stamp from my company, I headed to ICA to apply for PR. I reached there at 10.15 and got a queue number. For account balance in our bank account, the more digits it has, the better it is. However, for queue number, the opposite is true.

I almost couldn't believe that my queue number is 645!!! All thanks to Singapore government who makes the PR status so desirable.


GOSHHHH!!! IT'S GONNA BE FOREVER!

From 10.15 to lunchtime, they only managed to finish about 75 applicants. If you do the math, they will be serving me on... WEDNESDAY?

I called UOB HR people, and they can't allow me to start to work on Monday if I couldn't manage to get temporary pass done by Monday, and I will be starting my work on 25th August. When I heard that, I felt like I was struck by lightening (Err.. I never experience that, but anyway, that's a good way to express that situation).


I know myself very well that I work very well under pressure, and this is what I thought I will do.

Because I have $100 cash in my wallet, I was going to offer anyone who was willing to give up their queue number for me. I don't care. I must get the work pass by TODAY. I MUST GET IT.

It's amazing too see the power of pressure. It can make us more creative. I know myself too well to understand that I work the best under pressure.



However, It seems that I don't need to use my negotiation skill to get the pass done by today. I don't know how it can happen, but suddenly, the queue number JUMPED from 300 something to 638! IT LITERALLY JUMPED!!!!!!!!!

I couldn't believe my eyes. It's 638, which is just a few away from my queue number which is 645. OH MY GOD. Is it for real??


And the miracle didn't stop there. The officer decided to give me the temporary work pass, but required me to submit the original birth certificate to them in the future.


To cut the long story short (fine, it's not that short), I managed to get the temporary work pass at 5.30 pm today, and I am allowed to start work next Monday.



On the way back home after that thing, I reflected on some things...
1. Well, it's a mistake to do everything very last-minute, but...
2. Maybe, it's God's plan to make me trust Him more.
3. Miracles do happen :)


God is good. Indeed, He is really really good.

What I learn from: Nadal vs Federer... James vs Stefani The Apprentice

Last night, I watched not one great match, but TWO great battles. Okay, both are not LIVE, but still, they provide good insight for me...

Roger Federer vs Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon 2008 final

We can't say who played better during the match, because the match is very close. True enough, Nadal dominated the first two sets, but Roger Federer is world's number 1 not without reasons. He was so calm and he tried to win one point each time, not thinking that he was down by two sets.

Roger is 27 this year, probably the greatest player of all time. He is like blue-chip in the stock market. Great performance, very consistent, and always delivers.

While Rafa, 22, is young, energetic and optimistic. He never blames his racket (or the ball, weather, or any other circumstances). He is like good start-up companies with great ideas, like Starbucks or Microsoft in their early stage.

However, seeing from marketing point of view, I think Roger outshines Rafa a lot. His English is much better than Rafa (although I can still understand perfectly both), and he is more comfortable in front of camera than Rafa. Rafa doesn't like to be the center of attention. If Roger was an Asian, he would be the Korean auntie-killer Bae Yong Jun. Seeing these commercials, we can easily tell: Who makes better marketing icon.

We have great players all the time, but why can we only remember Maria Sharapova? Andre Agassi? Sampras? Federer? We can't remember Justine Henin so much, Lindsay Davenport. Justine Henin is more talented than Sharapova, but Sharapova is a lot richer..

All comes down to Marketing. I am sure Rafael Nadal can easily afford to hire an Image consultant, and I think that is one of the best investments he could ever make in his life... beside hiring a tennis coach.


The Apprentice 6: James Sun vs Stefani Schaeffer

Well, both are great. And anyone who follows The Apprentice will be able to spot each candidate's weakness.

James is too perfectionist and he sometimes loses focus. When I saw him directing the 60-second commercial, I was like... What is he up to??? The actor was okay, but he asked her to repeat so many times... for hours.

Luckily, James was with Stefani who has good organizational skill. If he was in one group with Frank, I think they couldn't finish the commercial.

Stefani is a good presenter, charismatic lawyer... BUT. I didn't see her leadership, and hiring someone who never leads before to lead hundreds of smart professionals is just too risky.



Now it comes down to a classic decision making process. You want a leader who sometimes loses focus or you want someone who likes to play it safe to gain respect from everyone?

If I were Mr Trump, I would still hire Stefani though. James made 6-figure income in his previous job, found a successful company, and now works for "only" $250,000 per year??? Gimme a break. He is too great to be The Apprentice. Stefani will make a safer option.

Nevertheless, it's great to see an Asian - American to be the runner-up of The Apprentice, and that proves that Asian - Americans are not only good in Math or Science, they are good in business as well.

Don't just say your name, GIVE OUT YOUR NAME CARDS!!!!!

Well, people like me and millions of other visual thinkers have a problem. We are bad at remembering names, very bad.

So, the usual conversation is like this...

Ben : Hi, my name is Ben.
Andy : Hey, I am Andy.

20 minutes later, the two visual thinkers meet again.

Ben : We met before right? but I am so sorry, I can't remember your name.
Andy : Don't worry FRANK, sometimes I can't remember people's names also.


See the problem? We are very bad at remembering names. At least I admit that.

So after doing some readings, these are the techniques I found.

SOLUTION 1

Ben : Hi, my name is Ben. What's your name?
Angela : Hi, Angela here...

The following conversations happen only in my brain.

Ben to himself: Angela... Angela... Angela... okay, the girl with short hair, sexy clothes, and 2-cm thick make-up is ANGELA..

This technique is not bad, but the problem is... sometimes I don't introduce myself to only 1 person.

Ben : Hi everyone, my name is Ben.
Angela : Hi, I am Angela.
Peter : Peter.
Roland : Roland here.
Geraldine : Hello, my name is Geraldine. Nice to meet you all.
Mark : Hi, I am Mark.

GOSH!!!!!!!! How am I supposed to remember so many names????


SOLUTION 2

Ben : Hi, I am Ben. You are?
Melissa : Hi, I am Melissa.
Ben : Hi Melissa, nice to meet you.
Melissa : Nice to meet you too.
Ben : By the way, where do you work Melissa?
Melissa : I work at a printing company called PRINTME. I am the sales reps there.
Ben : Cool! I work for UOB Bank, as personal banker.
Melissa : Wow, I applied there also before, but I didn't manage to get it.
Ben : Well Melissa, I think luck plays an important role also. Count myself lucky.

You see the technique? I repeat the name "Melissa" often. That technique is much better than the first technique.

However, nothing works best for a visual thinker like me (and millions of others) than this technique.

SOLUTION 3

Ben : Hi, my name is Benny Pandowo, just call me Ben. What's your name?
Eric : Hi Ben, I am Eric.
Ben : Eric, nice to meet you. This is my business card...
Eric : Oh great, thanks. This is mine.

Ben and Eric look at the name card given for a few seconds.

Ben : Oh, so you are a CFA? I really admire people who is a CFA.
Eric : It's nothing. As long as you work hard enough, you will get it.
Ben : You are too humble, Eric. I think hard work only will not get you that far. By the way, what is your company doing?
Eric : We are a shipping company. Our company handles shipping to almost all parts of the world.
Ben : Great. How is your company doing?
Eric : Well Ben. It does face quite a bit of competition from smaller companies, but I guess, we have loyal customers who only want to do business with us.
Ben : I am so happy to hear that Eric.

That technique is combination between giving a name card and technique number 2. However, I must say, giving name card contributes at least 70% of the success attained... again, at least for me.

You say your name, unless your name is Angelina Jolie or Donald Trump, most of the time I can't remember.

You give your name card, I can remember your name, your company's name, even some not important stuffs like the colour of your name card.


SO.... Moral of the story is... GIVE OUT YOUR NAME CARDS!!! Sixty percent of the world's population will thank you for that.

Smart but Ugly or Pretty but Dumb?

My Chinese teacher asked the guys in my class... Do you prefer a girl that's smart but ugly or stupid but pretty?

Don't say pretty and smart (and rich and forgiving), because I answered that but my teacher disapproved.


Being a typical student trained in World-class university, I formulated something like this:

Smart but Ugly

Advantages:
- I will have great conversations with her
- I will have smart kids
- I don't need to hire tutors for my kids
- None of my friends will try to snap my wife away, because... because... noone is interested.
- She can contribute to the family income

Disadvantages:
- My chance to get good looking kids decrease because only the father brings the good-looking gene
- I will need to buy her lots of cosmetics just to make her presentable.
- I will have hard time to explain to everyone.. she's my wife, not my maid.


Pretty but Dumb

Advantages:
- I will get to see beautiful creature for free, everyday.
- My kids will definitely be good-looking because both mother and father bring good-looking gene
- I will spend less money on cosmetics

Disadvantages:
- I will have a hard time because my friends visit my house often just to see my wife
- If that dumb gene goes into my kids, I will need to hire tutors for them
- I can't have inclined conversations with her..


Not so easy afterall huh?

However, today I got an inspiration from Newspaper...

And finally, I decided, I will take a smart but ugly wife.

Why?
Smart girls will command higher salary, and with higher salary, she can....










AFFORD TO GET A PLASTIC SURGERY.



It's getting more affordable nowadays, almost negligible risk, and she can choose whether she wants to look like Paris Hilton or Jessica Alba, Fiona Xie or Michelle Chong or Jade Seah.

And the best part is, she can still keep the smart brain of hers.


SO.... Smart and Pretty woman at the end. Lucky somemore, because she has a smart husband who can think of the best solution possible. Ehem.




Nevertheless, I will still go for a girl with heart made of gold... because the price of gold is increasing these days... beauty can fade, intelligence will fade, but a good heart remains :)

I and My Difficult Name

Yes, my official name is "Benny Ardi Pandowo", which is quite long. So if I were to spell out my name, it would take about 1 minute to do so.

"Benny. B for Bangkok - E - N for Norway - N for Norway.. Yes, I mean TWO Norways! - Y"

"Then space. Ardi. A - R for Riyadh - Oh you don't know? Hmm.. let me think.. R for Rotterdam? - Still don't know? Gosh.. you watch football? R for Real Madrid, yes. - D for Denmark - I"

"Space. My family name is Pandowo.. P for Poland - A - N for Norway - D for Denmark - O - W - O.. So, it's Benny Ardi Pandowo. Got it?"



You see? It's not very easy. Maybe only Greg Uttsada Panichkul can emphatize with me on how difficult it is to spell out a name.. although the later has decided to cut down the unnecessary trouble by allowing people to call him "Utt", yes that MTV VJ.



It's easy for Utt.. Even if he insists to use his name.. or even if his name is Gregwerqjghyk Uttsadawakakakaka Panichkulosis, girls will make some effort to remember.. But for someone like me who is not blessed with physical beauty like that, we don't have that luxury.


Second reason..

When I started to introduce my name as "Benny", especially when I am catching cold, people started to ask..


"Sorry, Debbie?"

"Eh.. Hebbie?"

"Beppie?"

"Baby?"


For goodness sake, I never find a man named Debbie unless he is undergoing a major sex-change surgery.

Hebbie and Beppie are not even proper names according to the majority's standard.

I know I have a baby-face, but to use "baby" to call a mature 22-year-old man for the first meeting sounds more disgusting than to call a 90-year-old woman "my lovely sweety pie"



SO... Usually I proceed by saying.. "No, Benny... You know Ben.. Yes that Ben, Benny"

Most people with IQ at least 110 will get it. But the rest with IQ a bit below average will ask..

"So, your name is Ben or Benny?"

-_-"




And then at one point of time I started to realize, hey, BEN sounds not bad. We have Ben Affleck. We have Benjamin Franklin.. We have Benny Ardi Pandowo.

Why not I change my name, at least my nickname to "Ben"?


People do it all the time..


Nicholas prefers to be called "Nick"

Raymond prefers to be called "Ray"

Christopher prefers to be called "Chris"

Alexandre prefers to be called "Alex"

for girl, Jennifer prefers to be called "Jen"


The list goes on and on..

So, what stops me from choosing the name "Ben" over "Benny" for my name, or for the time being, for my nick name?


I have nothing against my so-called official name. That's the most beautiful name on earth given by my parents and my elder brother. BUT. We are talking about business here, and in business, for most of the time, the simpler, the better.



"Hi my name is Ben. Ben Pandowo."

Or maybe.. "Hi, my name is Benny Pandowo. Just call me Ben."

It sounds much better.



I totally disagree with the saying.. "What's in a name?" by William Shakessphere.. Eh, Sheaks-pere... I mean... forget it. You tell me, William SEX - WHO???

I turned down another job offer today... T_T

2 months ago I thought it's cool to say to an HR person..

"Thanks for the offer... but I am already employed."

However, Today... I learnt that: Turning down a job offer is not that easy. At least for me.



"Hi is that Benny?"

"Yes..."

"Hi Benny, this is xxxx from xxxx. I have received your E-mail regarding bla bla bla.."

"I see."

"Benny, I appreciate your reasons and I believe those reasons are very valid."

(Great, at least you read a book titled "How to Win Friends and Influence People")



.... "However, may I ask you first, what do you look in a career... If you look for money, you can go to Bank.. Investment Banking especially... However, I believe that in looking for a job, you can't look for the money factor alone.... We have world-class training programme bla bla bla and in fact, in the job, you are like given a scholarship. You get paid by learning in the job given..."

WAIT!
Don't get me wrong. I don't look for money alone. NEVER!


I look for money PLUS benefits PLUS stock-options PLUS full-paid overseas holidays to Paris and Dubai PLUS car PLUS bonus of 6-month salary PLUS 1-month annual leave PLUS...


I think it's absolutely cliche.

Hypocrite.

Politician-type-of answer.



MONEY is not everything. BUT It DOES save you from lots of trouble.

When we have enough money (what I mean by "enough" is "a lot"), we don't need to waste time thinking about our bills, our debts, and other money-related-matters. We can focus more to other more important stuffs... going to Paris for example.

We can help earthquake victims in Sichuan without thinking "Gosh, it costs me quite a bit of my saving. I am afraid I couldn't make the end meet this month" You don't need to!

When you have money, you will never think how to cheat on your tax.. You don't need to pretend to be a student when you are already in your 30s and wish to pay Student's rate.



And this HR person.. graduated from the best university in Indonesia told me... "We can't offer you that much money.. but we can offer you very good training and career progression.."

LET ME ASK YA. WHICH COMPANY DOESN'T ????

NONE!

Which company says... you will be stagnant if you join us. You will do the same things everyday and you will not learn anything except how to pretend to be busy by making your desk very untidy?

NONE!



So, everything else being equal, the dollar makes the difference. BIG.. BIG.. BIG difference.



Everyone who knows me well will understand that I am very blunt, and I hide almost nothing. Here I am.

I want to earn my first hard-earned million before I am 28, and if that means, I have to work 7 days a week, 18 hours a day, 364 days a year, Here I am.

If that means I have to remain girlfriend-less till I start to get wrinkles in my face, Here I am.

If that means I need to drink 5 cups of coffee everyday, Here I am.

If that means I could only sleep with handphone beside my ear, Here I am.




Because I know...

I do it not only for myself.

I do it for my family.
I do it for my Lord, Jesus Christ.
I do it for poor people in Indonesia.
I do it for mentally-retarded people in Singapore and Japan.
I do it for homeless people in Sichuan.
I do it for poorly-educated children in India and Pakistan.
I do it for hungry people in Africa.
I do it for drug-addicted teenagers in US and England.


And at the end of the day, even when I get sick because I am too tired, I know, I am doing it for a good cause. And it's worth it!

Bill Clinton, Tiger Woods... and YOU?

A confused young lady stopped a taxi. When the taxi driver asked her “Miss, where do you want to go?”; she softly said “Bring me anywhere.”

The taxi driver was very puzzled; nevertheless, he decided to start the engine and started driving. After 20 meter, he stopped. The young lady was shocked and asked him “W-w-what’s wrong??”

The taxi driver said… “Young lady, this IS ‘anywhere’ ”


Whether we realize or not, sometimes we are very similar to that young lady. In life, we walk fast, even run to achieve something… that we can’t describe. The motion looks very smooth outside, but in fact, it goes nowhere significant.

“What do you want to work as in the future?” – that’s a very common ice-breaker asked.

“I don’t know.”
“Not sure.”
“Anything.”

That’s by far the most common responds. However, there are a few exceptions.

Do you know that there was a young guy who answered,

“I want to be the president of the United States”?

Tens of years later the world knows him as Bill Clinton.

The other guy answered “I want to be the world’s number 1 golfer.”
If you were to hear that answer, you might as well say “Keep on dreaming boy.”

However, would you say that sentence if the guy who spoke that sentence happened to be Tiger Woods?



Friends, we may not always get what we want. However, if we don’t know what we want, ANY thing will get you there, and it’s very common for a lot of people to say “I work THIS hard for THIS???”

Dreaming is free of charge, no GST, no service charge, absolutely FREE. If you are like the rest of us who LOVE free stuffs, why not start dreaming NOW?''

"Hi, My name is Ben, I work for UOB Bank."

Welcome on Board!

Yes, I finally signed a full-time job contract, the first time in my life.

That means.. I officially turned down offers made by:

- Another local bank (Hint: 3 letters, starts with D, ends with S :)) under their Management Associate Programme
- A MNC which has slogan "We Challenge You to Shape Our World"
- A less well-known MNC which is a subsidiary of Tata Group
- The biggest bank in Malaysia (this one is not yet an offer, I am still in the last round of interview process)

I refuse to admit that I am greedy. That's the way the job market operates. Companies choose the best candidates, and we choose the best offer, it's as simple as that.

The million-dollar question is.. "What does UOB Bank have something to do with Mechanical Engineering?"

Eh... hmm... You knowww.. lemme think.

To be frank, I don't know. Even for a person who can compose highly-persuasive sentences (a.k.a "bullshit") to get A+ for Engineers & Society subject, I find difficulty giving a good answer.

Maybe the best explanation I could ever give: Some things in life are better left unexplained :)

However, this is what I know. We only live once, and we ought to do something that we enjoy doing. I have realized long time ago that Engineering is not my cup of green tea, and doing engineering job for the rest of my life is like asking David Beckham to be a programmer.



Maybe I will make a reasonably good engineer armed with good education from World-class university. However, I believe that if we want to excel, we ought to do what we LOVE doing, not something that we don't mind doing.

Why choose UOB?

1. It's less bureaucratic than some other banks

While another bank needed 2 weeks just to tell me the next step of the recruitment process, UOB needed a total of SEVEN days from application to giving me a job offer. I took assessment test on Thursday, and the next day, they offered me the job. Tell me, which candidate doesn't like to be treated that way? In this fierce talent-market, I don't think any company could afford to ask a candidate to wait too long unless the job you offer is to be Maria Sharapova's boyfriend.


2. It offers partially commission-based scheme

I know myself too well, that I am motivated with by numbers, figures, targets. It just doesn't make sense for me to do a job which pays me a fixed salary every month no matter how well or how lousy the quality of my work is. With partially commission-based scheme, the sky is the limit.

No boring job.

3. Their HR people are beautiful

Enough said :)

4. I believe in their products

Since the very first day I sold UOB products as part-time job (when I managed to sell a total of $130,000 in sales volume), I know that THIS is the company I would love to work at for the rest of my life.

I couldn't wait for the day when I introduce myself in a social or business function...

"Hi, My name is Ben, and I work for UOB Bank. It's great to meet you."

Yes! UOB Bank, a company that from now on I can proudly call: MY company.

10+1 Things to Do in Jakarta

1. Visiting shopping malls.

While in Singapore, visiting shopping malls is THE only thing to do, in Jakarta, although it's still people's favourite, it's not the only one. Some famous malls include "Plaza Senayan", "Kelapa Gading", or everyone's favourite "Mangga Dua" (NO, that's not a franchise of "Mango" in case you are wondering).

Before you are wondering "Hey, am I really in Jakarta?" when you start to notice that there's very little difference between shops in leading malls in Jakarta and in Singapore or Hong Kong, I must tell ya "You ARE in Jakarta, don't worry man."

2. Giving Appropriate Tip to Taxi drivers and waiters

With relatively lower price of food and service here, it's just appropriate to give some tip. Must I remind you how low their salary is? Some people barely can survive, so if you are wondering where to throw away your rupiahs, thank me that I give you such wonderful suggestion: to their hands.

3. Becoming a millionaire
You don't need to work harder and longer. Welcome to Indonesia, a place where SGD 150 can make you a millionaire (yes, that's 1 MILLION rupiah :))

4. EAT, EAT, EAT... Slurrppp

Singapore needs a book called "makansutra" or "XX best foods in Singapore". In Jakarta, you can throw a stone and find some good local delicacies.
Some famous restaurant like "Lembur Kuring", "Ayam Goreng Bu Suharti", among others are some of the best foods I have ever eaten in 22 years of my life.

If you think Indonesian foods here in Singapore are nice, I must tell ya, don't blame me if you can't sleep for 3 days imagining the food you've just eaten because THEY ARE CRAZILY JUST TOO GOOD!!!

Some foods to try: ayam bakar, gurami asam manis, satay.

You almost can't go wrong eating in Jakarta, so if you tell me you eat McDonalds there, I only have 1 sentence for you.. "Kacian deh lu!!" (Poor you, in English)

Note: if you can't take spicy food, tell the waiter so, because the sambal (chili) there can be very, very spicy for non-Indonesians.

5. Visiting Ancol, Monas, and Sea World.

Well, my explanation might be inaccurate, coz I visited those places more than 10 years ago. But still, those places are very good even until now, according to my friends and relatives.

6. Visiting Mangga Dua.

I know I am repeating myself, but good things are worth repeating. It's a must-go place for girls whose favourite places are Bangkok and Hong Kong only because 1 thing: shopping. With amazingly cheap price (even cheaper if you can bargain), shopping-addict will find this place a dream comes true.

Famous phrase: "Aduh, mahal sekali. Boleh kurang nggak?" (That's too expensive, can it be cheaper a bit?"

7. Meeting Agnes Monica's fans in a restaurant

In Singapore, people don't care when Christopher Lee passes through them, Jakarta people will shout in disbelief when they meet their favourite celebrities like Agnes Monica. BUT BUT BUT Don't ask the person beside you "who is she/he?" because they will look at you with disbelief as if you don't have television at home.




And btw, if you meet someone beautiful with mixed accent (Indonesian and funny English), that person might be Cinta Laura (Google it :))

8. Sleeping

Don't feel strange if people sleep at 10.30 and wake up at 5.30am.

9. Macet

It's a common reason here if people are late for meetings and say "Aduh, macet tadi. Sori ya" (Sorry, just now got traffic jam). Welcome to Jakarta.

10. Eating

If you can only remember 10% of this post, the 10% is this: EAT! In this city, you can find good foods with amazingly cheap price, from Chinese food to Korean, from Turkey to Western, from Japanese to Singapore and Hong Kong food.

WARNING!!! 11. Gaining Weight

Most good things come with side effect. For this case, here it is.
When you go shopping for clothes, please make sure you choose 1 or 2 sizes bigger than your usual size, because with the food like that, I BET 1000 rupiah that your size will never be the same after you come back from Jakarta.

Alternatively, make an appointment with your gym buddies to go to gym afterwards. Don't say I don't warn ya.

Welcome to Jakarta!

Typical NTU-Mechanical Engineering Graduates! :)

1. Typical Engineer

This type of students has very clear direction in life. They want to date a computer, marry a machine, and die while holding screwdriver.

Dream companies: Shell, Exxon Mobil, Microsoft, IBM, Standard Chartered Chartered Semiconductor, and other companies which end with “tech”.

2. Typical Scholar & Researcher

They are future professors and researchers. Although they have super-quality brain, sometimes it’s not balanced with good communication skill, which makes them future professors that students love to hate.

Dream companies: A*Star, A*Star… Eh have I mentioned A*Star?

3. Typical Businessman

This type of students is not necessarily bad in their studies; they just find other things more interesting (and promising). People won’t guess they are from Engineering unless they tell them; and it’s usually followed with change in facial expression, “SO WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING WITH MECHANICAL ENGINEERING?”

Dream companies: DBS and the other two local banks, Credit Suisse, and probably Boston Consulting Group for the smartest.

4. Confused

Need I say more, they are confused what they are going to do. They are usually reasonably good in too many things. Jack of all trades and master of none, that’s what people say.

Dream companies: it doesn’t matter. As long as the job title is “Management Trainee”.

My fellow graduates and graduates-to-be, no matter what job you are going to take in the future, I wish you all the good luck in the world!

4 Small Things We Can Do to Save this Planet

1. Use less plastic bags

If we ask ourselves honestly, Do We REALLY Need those plastic bags? For me, the answer is usually NO. I can just squeeze the things I buy into my bag, and that does the job perfectly.
Of course you don’t need to go to the extreme buy putting onions inside your $1000-designer bag.

BONUS: A smile from the cashier auntie :)


2. Turn on the aircon only when needed

I know it’s getting hotter and hotter everyday. But we don’t have to turn the aircon all the time right? Set the aircon-timer before you sleep, and you are on the way to be crowned Mr Environmentally-friendly :)
Instead of turning your room’s air-con when you want to read, why not going to public library instead? The aircon is FREE there, and you can make full use of your library membership.

BONUS: A smile and a good day ahead after reading the electricity bill.



3. Be a vegetarian

Why?? Because meat is BAD for your health, for your pocket, and for our beloved planet. Producing meat is a waste of resources, and it generates much more heat to the environment (see here)




If you think vegetarian people are stupid, I must tell ya: The guy above IS a vegetarian.

BONUS:

- A healthier and more energetic you.
I am not endorsing any vegetarian society nor am I a Buddhist. However, I can easily tell that the most energetic days in my life are when I consume a lot of veggies and fruit (and by the way, what I mean by “a lot” is not that pickle inside your McBurger)

- Your parents get the respect they deserve
I don’t have super memory to remember all the advices given by my parents, but at least I remember 3 of them: “Study hard”, “Respect your friends”, and “Eat more fruit and veggies”… Oh, and 1 more thing “Get enough sleep”… I almost forget that because I don’t think people need to remind me to get enough sleep, that’s like a second nature for me =P


4. Read your documents on the screen


Need I say more? Most of our documents we print end up in the dustbin or as a substitute for toilet paper. Use soft copy instead, and read as many documents as possible on screen.

BONUS: Your boss will thank you for saving paper, ink, and the bottom line: dollars.

Afterall, you don't need to be Al Gore to save this planet :)

I speak prefetc Englsih. LOL.

Found this advertisement at 88db.

Well, for most of the time, advertisements sound better than the fact, but this one is WAY too much. You say you speak PERFECT English eh?

I never say my English is perfect, but at least I won't humiliate myself like that. LOL.

Even if my English is that bad, I am wondering if there is anyone in this planet doesn't know that there is a software called Microsoft Word to correct our spellings. Gimme a break! LOL.




LOL again. This advertisement deserves at least 3 LOLs.

I am so tempted to call him/her to know how "perfect" his/her English is :)

B.Eng (Hons), Minor in Entrepreneurship

It's a lie if I say that I wasn't worried at all before seeing my result. I am not those smart fellows whose results are so boring (only A, A-, and A+). I got all kind of marks there.

However, I would say.. I was TOTALLY relieved after seeing the result. I couldn't do well at all in one of the papers this semester, and pass that subject will be Miracle of The Year (well, not to that extreme, but ya get my point).


- At least I graduate within 4 years.

- At least I graduate with honours.

- At least I got Minor in Entrepreneurship, something that's closer to my heart.

- At least I managed my time reasonably well, between study, ECAs, and part-time works (Love is out of the equation =P)


It's not a form of ceremony if I say that it's only by God's grace I can finish my study reasonably well. Thank you Jesus. Thank you Mother Mary.

For my parents back in Indonesia, my brothers in US and Malaysia, thank you so much for all your supports. When I am tired and I have no motivation to do things I am supposed to do, YOU are my motivation. For my Mom specially, I give this degree as a present for your 50th Birthday which is only a few days from now. Happy Birthday Mom! Being your son is BY FAR the biggest blessing ever happens in my life.

For my best friends wherever you are, thank you so much. Friends come and go, but only true friends leave footprints in our heart. You know who you are. Thanksss a million.


I can't say this is the best 4-year in my life, but certainly, this will be one of the most memorable ones. I have tried my best, and I have no regret at all.



Benny Ardi Pandowo, B.Eng (Hons), Minor in Entrepreneurship

Now I understand what Customer Service means.

I don't think any business can survive, not to mention, profitable, if it doesn't have good customer service. The reason is very simple: bad news spreads 10 times faster than good news... particularly in a society where everything is taken for granted, from good security to newspaper which is delivered to our doorstep every morning.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I work part-time at NEC, Sales & Marketing Department. Yes, I know Sales is different from Customer Service, but it doesn't make sense to draw a clear line between them. I find it ridiculous if the Sales personnel think that... my job is to generate Sales and you take care of the customer service aspect of the business.

I came to the front desk to return the keys I borrowed when a customer came to them complaining about table clock which is not working (He brought the clock in the afternoon as a gift for his friend). Everyone knows that giving a clock which is not working is worse than giving nothing at all. Our front desk personnel (who are part-timers, just like me) have done whatever they can to solve the problem, including offering one-to-one exchange, but he didn't quite like the idea. He only likes that particular clock.

I was there and as a guy who claims to be trained in Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering from top school, I was asked for help. BUT I can't do much. I have never repaired a clock in my whole life and not interested to do it in the near future (I would opt to repair a financial statement instead). In addition to that, I don't think we can repair a clock with bare hand.

Finally I decided to apply my knowledge gained from my Entrepreneurship minor taught at top school, which is "Go the extra mile (s) to help our customer."

I called Swatch at Jurong Point to ask them whether it is possible for them to repair a clock (something that I am sure they are capable of doing, otherwise, why don't they sell mee goreng instead?). They can do it in 5 minutes for $8. I am not sure whether I can claim that to NEC or not, but nevermind, even if I can't claim, losing 8 dollars won't make me poor overnight.

I get the clock repaired (which took less than 2 minutes and cost me $5), and gave it to the customer (he is a visiting professor by the way). I offered to deliver the clock to his house, but he insisted to travel down to our place to take it.


Some things can never be learned from textbooks or middle-aged professors.

$5000 per month to do cleaning service job??

My friend asked me this hypothetical question.. "Will you take up a full-time cleaning-service job that pays $5000 per-month?"

Then some ideas started to pop-up from this creative brain of mine.

1. I will take-up the job for 3 months, do all the shit, and quit the job. Then I will take a nice vacation while applying for another job.

2. I will negotiate with the employer to let me work for 2 1/2 days instead of 5 days (and be paid $2500), and I will do Master degree with the remaining days I have.

3. I will advertise the job and pay someone who is willing to be paid $2000 for doing cleaning-service job (who is very easy to get). So, I will get the remaining $3000 by doing nothing.


Then my group of friends challenged me further. How about SIGNING A CONTRACT of doing that job for 1 year. If I break the contract, I get ZERO dollar. I have to do it myself and can't ask someone to do it for me.

For a lot of people, it might be a bit tempting, but for me, it's a no brainer, I don't want.

My life is too precious to do something I don't like. And my pride is too high to take-up that job. No offence of auntie cleaners out there, I think they deserve mountain-high recognition for the good job they have done. BUT. That's just not the job for me.


Then my silly friend asked me again.. "how if I increase the pay to $50,000 a month instead of $5000, but you need to sign the contract for 1 year?"

I only had 1 question for him....












"When can I start work?"




Moral of the story: In life, it's very important to have some kind of flexibility... and high dosage of sense of humour.

"Gema Kebangkitan - Catatan Harapan Anak Bangsa" is finally published!

It's a compilation of writings by Indonesian students, professionals and academicians reside in Singapore. The committee is called "Hope for Indonesia" (HFI).

I am one of the article writers, with my article titled "Dear, Can We Have More Susi Susanti? Please...", page 101.

Before the book was published, I thought... well, it's gonna be a book written by students, read by students. Then I started to read the articles, and I was totally blown away! Mind you, the writers include professional journalists, professors, doctor, and a lot of other competent professionals in their field. I feel absolutely honoured to be among the writers. I am only a humble student who happens to fall in love with badminton in the first game :)

As Haslim Mulyadi, the chairman writes in his introduction...

"... is an anthology of inspirations from Indonesian community in Singapore. The essays you will read in this book share common aspirations - all towards a better Indonesia. Through this book, we aim to convey the messages of hope, care, and best wishes for our country."





Because this is MY blog, I suppose you are curious what I write in my article (even if you're not curious, can't you just save my face by telling me otherwise? =P)

Let me quote some sentences from my own article there...

... Indonesia has been associated with the very top end of badminton superpower, maybe just like Brazil with soccer...

... People say, when you are in foreign countries, your patriotism drops to almost negligible. That is not true, not at all. We are Indonesians, and we are behind Taufik, all the way...

... I am here not to finger-point anyone, I have neither the expertise nor the authority to do that. However, I just want to say, I love this country, and with the current condition of its badminton, my heart is crying. I want my Susi Susanti back, I want my Heryanto Arby back! Not one Susi, not two, more of her! ...



... If Christian Sugiono or Krisdayanti can be their spokespersons, why can't Taufik, Chandra, or Sony be like them? ...

... My answer: because there are no marketing efforts. No matter how great the product is, if there are no marketing efforts, people will not know. If people do not know, they will not buy...




... If everything goes well, it is not impossible the next Susi Susanti will be born soon, and Indonesia will once again, dominate the world's badminton. And I will again, watch Thomas and Uber Cup with some friends, and we will shout again happily after we bring back Thomas and Uber Cup to Indonesia. Am I asking too much? Say "no" please.

The full article is available upon request :)

If you have any queries regarding this very engaging, entertaining, and inspiring book, you can reach the chairman at haslimm AT yahoo DOT com.