Isetan Suupaa

I am going to miss popping by Isetan's basement supermarket any time I feel like I need to satisfy my raw fish or anything jap cravings. Like now, just swallowed 2 trays of katsuo :) Meidi-ya is so far from my new place...

What's new

Tell a story everyday. Any story, fact or fiction, or anecdotes, as a tool for better and more effective communication. Being able to tell good stories and say them well certainly scores on people engagement.

A day in the life of a couch potato

I thought I would try and really do NOTHING for a whole day, but sit on the couch, for my do-something-new-each-day endeavor, primarily to just stop moving and take a breather. My stress level did not go down, in fact it went up. I felt grotty, restless, irritated and ended up with a headache. Yes, a headache just because I did nothing but sit all day. Ok, I was watching TV, mostly surfing cos nothing was interesting enough to hold my attention for more than a few minutes and I am never much of a TV junkie anyway. Then Discovery channel came on and I learnt something new. So it wasn't so bad after all.

Night vision takes 45 minutes to come on for the average person and with sufficient moonlight, it can be similar to daylight conditions. To preserve night vision, cover one eye if there is a change in light conditions, e.g. switching on the torchlight to check the map and bearings. For better vision in poor lighting, view objects from the corner of the eye as peripheral vision gives greater clarity.

What's new

Not a completely fresh idea, but am gonna start a "word-of-the-day" thing, to improve vocabulary and learn proper pronunication.

Something different

I'm gonna try and do something different, new, everyday, something that does not have to be drastic, big or dramatic, but it must be a change and of course a positive one. The keyword here is DO, so thinking about it doesn't count. Insights gained, lessons learnt must translate into some form of action, no matter how small. Nope, just reading a new book doesn't count unless I do something about it. I don't think this is going to be easy but I want to try and see if I can stick to the "everyday" commitment. And I will blog about it and keep track of that commitment. Let's see where this leads to.


For today, I am going to search for alternative views/criticisms of books that I read, especially on theoretical issues and concepts, to obtain a more balanced view of whatever I read. I am getting too sold on some stuff.

Grad School

Been thinking about going back to school for a while now and after going through my options, it appears that getting an MBA is the best way to go ahead. When people ask me why an MBA, I tell them it's about increasing my market value, exposure and gaining knowledge, in that order. The next question is then which school? That is also quite straight-forward: the best program out there! But the scene is highly competitive and costs prohibitive, especially for the top US and EU schools. Mainly because of the funding issue, I was looking through some of the top business schools in Japan and whether there are good programs, preferably conducted fully or partially in English, which I could have a shot at with hopefully the financial backing of MEXT. Hitotsubashi's MBA program looks extremely attractive after looking through its faculty, who are either DBA/PhD holders of top US business schools in the likes of Harvard and Wharton, or alumni of McKinsey and BCG. The prospect of securing funding and the fact that the course is conducted entirely in English aside, spending 2 full years in Japan will allow me to brush up my Japanese language level, which has fallen to a dismally low level. Reading and listening probably can muster a pass but speaking and writing, especially the latter, well let's just say that whatever that comes out has become terribly mangled. So what are the cons? There are risks and opportunity costs for sure: (1) taking 2 years away from work: where will I stand after I return to work? (2) Can I get really get into management consulting, which is the overall objective, broadly speaking (cos I am not completely sure yet if I'd like to and can do the job)? (3) I'd better make sure that I have no financial commitments that will tie me down back here. But all in, I'd say the pros for me to go ahead and give it a shot are more weighty. Application for 2009 has began but that for MEXT has closed. So I'd probably have to apply next year for 2010.


Check out if the program is eligible for MEXT scholarship - Jp Embassy.
Bone up on the school's program, publications, faculty members' research areas.
Got to do more reading in terms of business knowledge.
Re-take GMAT - that can be next yr.
Make sure I have 2 referees: got to ask for help again.
If I get in in 2010, I'd be 30 when I start the course, which means 32 when I graduate.