Check out my spanking new WordPress Theme - its called “Home Sweet Home”. Ah… gives you the warm fuzzy feeling ain’t it?

Also added a new “In Series” plugin - so you can read my posts that are in a series.

Here’s my current series of posts:

• Why i became an entrepreneur?
• Childhood Dreaming
• Entrepreneurs: Plan to Fail. Fail early. Fail responsibly.

Enjoy!

I’m still stuck in Australia and unable to join my family for reunion dinner in Singapore yesterday… So decided to cook my own dinner today.

At 4pm, i went out to the nearby super market and bought the ingredients.

- Chicken Breast
- Canned stir fry vegetables
- A can of button mushrooms
- Sesame oil
- 1 ginger

I wanted to try and make the stewed chicken with ginger and button mushrooms dish that my Grandma used to make.

Now this is significant cos i have never cooked at home before (other than rice and fried eggs that is).

First thing i did was scrap off the skin of the ginger. Boiled water and soaked the ginger in the water to make a broth.

Next i cut up the chicken. I was a little worried that the pieces were too big, which later turned out all right. I marinated the chicken in sesame oil and pepper. Then i threw the whole lot into the broth. (Nicole tells me i should have added flour to the marination process to  ensure the chickens remain tender. Thanks, Nicole)

I opened the canned mushrooms and vegetables and drained the fluids, washed the vegs and dumped the whole lot into the pot.

I added sesame oil into the broth… some milk to thicken it… and finally some oyster sauce when i felt the broth wasn’t thick enough.

It simmered for a long time. I suspect i don’t have the patience for cooking… ha ha…

I then steamed some rice.

Contemplated frying eggs… but decided against it. Needed black soy sauce for that. *adds to shopping list*

Here’s the final product:

With rice.

My apartment mate seems to love it.

Verdict: I love it. Its not salty at all. Just nice. The meat was a little tough… but its fine. The mushrooms and vegs were excellent and still retains its crunchiness.

Well, i couldn’t quite get the colour of the broth right - not brown enough.

Spoke to my dad on Skype just now and he recommended more oyster sauce. Ha ha… that was the secret ingredient… should have added more of that.

Hmm… what to cook tomorrow?

Got this is the email:

:: Schmap London Fourth Edition: Photo Inclusion

Hi Miccheng,

I am delighted to let you know that your two submitted
photos have been selected for inclusion in the newly
released fourth edition of our Schmap London Guide:

Hereford Arms
http://www.schmap.com/london/nightlife_kensingtonandchelsea/p=103618/i=103618.jpg

Baden-Powell House
http://www.schmap.com/london/sights_kensingtonandchelsea/p=62832/i=62832_3.jpg

If you like the guide and have a website, blog or personal
page, then please also check out the customizable
widgetized versions of our Schmap London Guide, complete
with your published photos:

http://www.schmap.com/guidewidgets/p=93336700N00/c=SF10012086

Thanks so much for letting us include your photos - please
enjoy the guide!

Best regards,

Emma Williams,
Managing Editor, Schmap Guides

Here’s the 2 photos:

Baden-Powell House

Hereford Arms

I’ve struggled with that question for a while - are love and career mutually exclusive?

I’ve seen entrepreneurs - men and women alike - reach the pinnacle of industry because of their supportive spouses. My heros - Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Zig Ziglar, Donald Trump and Robert Kiyosaki comes to mind (although in Trump’s case, he got pretty screwed by Ivanka). My mentors, GH, CL and JG, are married and successful in their own ways.

Yet, I have also seen entrepreneurs who feel bachelorhood is better by far. It leaves them with time and energy to pursue what they desire. It is true that being single means no emotional baggage and “one less person” to consult on all matters pertaining to one’s career and life.

Women seem to get the short end of the stick. Marriage and pregnancy always means re-prioritizing their lives - more so than men. It also means they can’t be as ambitious as before - like a road bump appeared and derailed your train of success.

I have to believe that there can be a middle-ground. I’ve seen it happen with all my heros.

I think getting your soulmate early in life means one big “To Do List” out of the way - affording one more time to focus on the knucklehead stuff like that next business deal or company buy-out.

Having one’s soulmate onboard also means we get a different perspective to life from time to time. That its not just about the rat race or winning the game. It also means you have someone to celebrate your victories and comfort you in your trials and failures.

Sadly, of late i am having trouble believing in that.

My new year resolution for 2007 was to find my soulmate. Suffice to say, i haven’t been too successful in the dating game. I had made quite a fair bit of adjustments in my life:

• Slowing things down to create space for a significant other in my life
• Down-pacing some development projects to give time for relationships to grow.
• Accommodate with schedule of whomever i am dating - even to the extent of giving up time with my family.
• Abundant giving of my time and resources (sometimes monetary).

I guess you get the picture. I guess i discovered the high opportunity cost associated with my attempt to find a soulmate. Several business opportunities are coming up that requires my unbridled time and effort for it to succeed.

I had to make a choice. Something’s gotta give.

Eventually, I made a decision over the Christmas holiday to say farewell to the dating game for a while - at least till i’m 35 (don’t ask me how i came to that figure - i just know). Yes, no more one-on-one dates with members of the opposite sex.

I guess there are 3 goals that have come to the forefront:

• Financial security.
• Financial freedom.
• Retirement planning for my parents.

I hope i can find someone someday… who can be compatible with my goals.

Meanwhile, that probably means more time to blog too…

Its been a while since i last blogged. Had been really busy of late… here’s the skinny…

Singapore PHP User Group

Finally got some positive news on the Singapore PHP User Group that i started last year.

Here’s the site (http://www.php.com.sg) and the Facebook Group (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=14934950373).

The last meetup was on 14 Nov and we have a massive turn up of 50+ people.

Here are the videos of 2 of the sessions.

Introduction to the Singapore PHP User Group & PHP101: Language Fundamentals
Presented by Michael Cheng, Convener, Singapore PHP User Group

Security in PHP
Presented by Chua U-zyn, Founder, Ping.sg & CTO, Wigeo.us

Relationship

Well… spent a month pursuing a girl. Guess it didn’t quite work out. I still like her… but its just not the right fit. And she’s too young. *sigh*