Posts

Picking up the pen again

Image
t has been being a very long time since I penned a blog entry in the Running Robot. To be exact, 5 years since the last entry. Life have gone on with lots of changes since my last entry.   My little boy had grown from a little adorable baby to an energetic 6-year-old who couldn’t stop asking questions and making demands. While I am still a self-employed person, I had gone through some career changes in the years in between. I had headed a medium sized company and reached the pinnacle of my career. However, I missed my independence greatly during that time and decided to step away from that.   I had been struggling with the thought of picking up the pen again for a long time. Initially, I was worried about privacy. The running robot was after all a private blog about my life and my journeys. I am not sure if I should show too much of myself to what would otherwise be an international and anonymous audience. I wanted to write about hobbies and essays etc in other websites. However, it
Post a Comment
Read more

The Ups and Downs of Entrepreneurship

Image
The lonely and peaceful walk back to the car after a day's work Another long day, another late dinner. Another day in my days of independence and running my own show. Is it an easier life? Not really, while hours of work are short. They can end really late. In this instance. I was having dinner at 9.50pm after finishing all my classes. By the time, I finished my dinner and drove home. It was past 11pm. My boy is asleep and so was my wife when I reached home. The upside is that, I can sleep in the next morning (something that I seldom do). Instead I will wake up and after dropping my boy off at the infant care, go for a run. Yes, while the whole world is at work. I am out running, cycling or swimming. Only after that, I will head to my office to do some accounts work or lesson preparation. Money is alright and I am thankful for it but as an entrepreneur, it is not constant. Clients do come and go and money is not automatically credited into your account on
4 comments
Read more

Testing the Audi A3

Image
Source: https://s1.cdn.autoevolution.com/images/gallery/AUDI-A3-Sedan-5811_10.jpg Upset at the turn of events in the day, I decided get distracted by driving to Audi to try out the Audi A3 Sedan. Audi, a brand that never resonates with me. A brand that I dislike. It is a bit of a dark side to me. But I forced myself to think out of the box to not always shortlist the usual suspects. The main reason is both the new Honda Civic 1.5 turbo and Audi A3 sedan cost similar. Similarly, a used 3 year old Honda Civic 1.6 and a 3 year old Audi A3 sedan would cost similar too. Hence, it got me curious. Source: https://s1.cdn.autoevolution.com/images/gallery/AUDI-A3-Sedan-5811_9.jpg The agent had ran out of A3 show cars. Hence, he directed me to a test drive unit. I climbed onto the driver’s seat and the waft of “new car” smell overwhelmed me. It is a snug cockpit with lots of nice touch surfaces. The agent described the car as I scan through the buttons. As
Post a Comment
Read more

Driving in Switzerland

Image
Township of Grindelwald Driving in Switzerland Switzerland is a comfortable and safe country to drive in. It is a combination of well-built roads and beautiful scenery because of the Alps. There are some challenging alpines roads but that is part of the fun. Do note that roads are heavily regulated in Switzerland and you have to drive according to the legal speed limits and definitely no drink driving. You do not want to get on the wrong side of the law with the Swiss. Driving on the Left or Right. In Switzerland, you drive on the Right Side of the road. The driver sit on the left side of the cockpit.  You will need to Cross traffic at a junction when Turning Left. Road Conditions The road conditions in Switzerland is superb. The roads are well built and smooth. Roads are generally not very crowded except in major cities such as Zurich. Traffic jams are a rarity in Switzerland. I had not encounter any traffic jams in the fortnight that I spen
Post a Comment
Read more

The Simple Life

Image
Life is not complicated. It is Easy… The phrase is repeated time and again by the Thai farmer, Mr Jon Jendai in his TedTalk. It struck a chord in my heart, as for the past few weeks. I have been worried about a lot of things. My father’s health How to grow my business and income What car to replace my current ride All this thoughts have been running through my mind, day and night. It is hard not to worry about my father’s health despite of my frustration with his self-destructive behaviour. There is also very little we can do. As for No.2, business is running well. Income is growing. However, as an entrepreneur I should always be on the lookout for newer opportunities.  Especially on sources of passive income. At the moment, I only earn when I work. There is little money coming in when I am not. It is not a good prospect if I am disrupted from my schedule. To be fair, I tend to run to No.3 as a form of refuge, as cars are a pet to
Post a Comment
Read more

What really matters at the end of life | BJ Miller

Image
A talk that is really difficult for me to hear. But I forced myself to finish listening to this talk by BJ Miller about the end of life. As much as I would like to hope and wish that my Dad would continue to live as he is, I know that time may be limited. While I am no stranger to palliative care and I greatly respect those who served in it. I always approached it with great fear and denial, especially when it is prescribed to a patient. I am glad Mr Miller has made this poignant talk which touched my heart. I guess the most important to do in life is to treasure and live every moment with gusto even in sickness or disability. Make everyday count. Being part of this world is all it matter. Whether you have all senses or even only left with one sense. So do take some time and listen.
Post a Comment
Read more

Driving in Germany

Image
Introduction This kicks off a series of writings on driving in different countries. While not exhaustive, it is based on my experience driving in the mentioned country. Hopefully the information will be useful to you if intend to drive in the mentioned countries. Schloss Marburg Driving in Germany Germany is perhaps one of the best countries that I have driven in. It is basically petrol head heaven. It is a combination of well-built roads and beautiful scenery especially in the Bavaria region.  I thoroughly enjoyed driving there and felt very comfortable doing so. I will definitely go back there when I can. Driving on the Left or Right In Germany, you drive on the Right Side of the road. The driver sit on the left side of the cockpit.  You will need to Cross traffic at a junction when Turning Left. Road Conditions The road conditions in Germany is superb. The roads are well built and smooth. Roads are generally not very crowded except i
Post a Comment
Read more

Crossing the Alps

Image
Tempting times Recently, an advertisement for a good valued, used Volvo V40 D2 came onto my radar. I had many good memories with the V40 D3 in Switzerland and it is a tempting proposition to make my next ride a Volvo. The time I had with the V40 D3 in Switzerland was truly magical. One of those great road trips moments that I had in my motoring life. I call them my "Top Gear" moments.  Hence, I shall pen down those memories in this post. Alps Crossing – 20 April 2014 Swarovski's Kristallwelten in Innsbruck My wife and I had left Swarovski’s Kristallwatten at about 2pm. We were at Innsbruck, Austria. It was an exceptionally sunny day in Austria, in fact, I remembered lowering all the windows using a button on the key fob to let the hot air in the Volvo escape before we got in the car. That was probably the only time I used the windows function in Europe. Route from Innsbruck, Austria to Lierna, Italy The 290 km journey calls a
Post a Comment
Read more

Life in a Day: My Dad and I

Image
Cessna 172 in the air over Bavaria Having experienced some truly troubling news regarding my father’s condition in the past week. I decided to come up with this little post to summarised what I have learned and felt in the past week 5am in the morning You are born into the world. Your eyes are bleary and you are not aware of who, where, what you are. You meet your parents for the first time. 6am in the morning You begin your first tentative steps. The world is a wondrous place. Your parents are your shelter and your support. 7am in the morning You stepped into your Primary School and left the comfort of your home behind. You begin your academic career. Your parents send you to the school gate and as you step in, you are on your own in school. 8am in the morning You begin the tumultuous days of teenage life. You have your friends to hang out with. Places to explore, new games to play. The voice on the phone is from your parents,
Post a Comment
Read more

Why Uber in Singapore is Great!

Image
Source: http://theurbantwist.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/uber.jpg Here is a post from an old friend, Justin on the topic of Uber. While I drive about once a week to allow me to spend some time on the road and to structure my life. Justin is a more serious driver and he definitely put the money where his mouth is. I truly salute him for his endurance on the road. I have spoken about the shortcomings on Uber before on my earlier post , and I am glad he remains very positive about driving for Uber despite of its shortcomings. Below is his Referral Link if you are interested to drive for Uber, just click on it and register with Uber accordingly. You will make SGD$100, and he will make some referral fee and that will help to give him a respite from his endurance driving. https://partners.uber.com/i/justint3984ue Post from Guest Blogger, Justin Teo Why Uber in Singapore is Great! [Pre-qualifications – For people who have a good driving licence,
Post a Comment
Read more