Our office is close to a new development - the Pinnacle at Duxton, the tallest public housing project in Singapore. 50 storeys! Certainly takes things to a different level (80% of Singaporeans live in public housing, the latter of which is very different from public housing as we have come to regard it elsewhere).

It feels almost like a condominium project.

The weather was a tad cloudy, but here is a photo taken on my phone. The low-rise orange-roofed buildings are our traditional shophouses, now largely occupied by creative sorts, technology companies and asset management firms. The Singapore CBD is to the right, where the skyscrapers are.

A randomly selected poem from one of my favorite poets, Stevie Smith. Smith's poems are often dark, but tinged with wit and humor.

Lady 'Rogue' Singleton

Come, wed me, Lady Singleton,
And we will have a baby soon
And we will live in Edmonton
Where all the friendly people run.

I could never make you happy, darling,
Or give you the baby you want,
I would always very much rather, dear,
Live in a tent.

I am not a cold woman, Henry,
But I do not feel for you,
What I feel for the elephants and the miasmas
And the general view.

Prevention of the transmission of STIs (sexually transmitted infections), of unwanted pregnancies and of the transmission of HIV. And yet certain groups within the local community insist that abstinence is the way to go. While abstinence might be ideal, it is not necessarily realistic - the local papers have released statistics showing rising rates of teenage STI infection, especially among girls.

I volunteer with a local women's organisation which had been running comprehensive sexuality education programmes for girls in local secondary schools. The content focused on empowerment through information and what I really liked about the program was its non-judgmental, non-religious slant. It respected people enough to provide them the information to make their own decisions while not discriminating against people of different religious or sexual orientations. The syllabus covered topics such as preventing STI transmission and health screenings, proper use of contraception, concepts of healthy relationships and healthy self-image. All of these topics are important and relevant to our teenage girls and yet are not generally covered in the school syllabus.

A takeover within this NGO has recently taken place, with the leaders of the old ExCo being accused of being "pro-lesbian" and "pro-homosexuality". (For more information on the saga, read this and this.)

I don't know how the whole thing will turn out, but fellow volunteers and I fear that this programme, one of the few in the community which has tried bravely to take a neutral and inclusive stance on difficult and sensitive issues, will not be able to continue.

With the current state of the economy, this post by self-christened "Chief Happiness Officer" Alexander Kjerulf seems timely. Have included an extract below; the full post is here.

Advantages of low-rent living

1: Freedom to leave a bad job
When a job doesn’t make me happy, I can quit without worrying about the money. I’ve done it once, Patricia twice. It’s not that we’ve quit at the fist sign of trouble - we have always tried to make it work. But when we’ve realized that a particular job wasn’t going to make us happy, we’ve had the freedom to say sayonara without first finding a new job.

2: Freedom to take a chance
In the startup I’ve been running the past three years I’ve been able to take some chances and focus more on building a happy, sustainable business than on bringing home a big pay-check every month. It has allowed the business to grow organically which has paid off immensely now that the business is up and running.

3: Freedom to do what I enjoy
I can decide to do stuff that lets me learn, meet interesting people or plain have fun but may not make any money here and now. This is a huge boon to me and my business in the long run because it means that I’m constantly developing and learning.

4: Freedom to do what’s right
I can do what’s right rather than what makes me more money. I can decide to work for free for a company that really needs me, but can’t afford me. I can give stuff away if I think people need it. I can set a high ethical standard and not need to worry about having to compromise it for profit.

5: Freedom to work less hours
There’s no pressure on me to work 50, 60 or 80 hours a week. I can if I want to and sometimes I do and if I’d rather work 20 hours one week I can do that. I’ve once and for all left The Cult of Overwork.

6: Freedom to say no to some customers
Some customers just aren’t right for your business. The chemistry is wrong, their needs dont’ match your solutions or they’re just too much trouble. I have the freedom to say no to some customers and yes to the best customers.

All of the above really comes down to short-term vs. long-term planning. Economic freedom let’s you invest in your future by doing things now that make less money, but will eventually make you more.

7: Peace of mind
I spend almost zero time and energy worrying about money - it’s just not an issue. I also don’t need to worry whether the interest rates go up or down half a point. Or whether there really is a housing bubble and house prices are about to start falling. That’s a huge relief and gives me more time and energy for business and life.

8: Focus on what really matters
When I’m not concerned with a bigger home, bigger car or bigger TV I focus on what really matters. My girlfriend, family, friends, business, writing, networking, learning, reading, etc… I waste no time keeping up with the Joneses.

9: Simple living
Living in a small appartment has taught us to own only the things we really need. We’ve been getting really good at throwing or giving away clothes, linens, kitchenware, furniture, knick-knacks etc. that we don’t use regularly. And this is a huge relief because you can form a huge attachment to the things you own and paring them down to only the things you really need teaches you to let go of that. There’s a mental relief and freedom that comes from that. Less stuff in your home = less stuff on your mind.

10: More money for fun stuff
When less money goes into the stuff I own, there’s more money for the stuff I do. Like snowboarding, conferences, travelling and more.

I want to make two things very clear:
1: This is not about being unambitious at work or setting small business goals. I can assure you that my aspirations are as big as the next person’s. It’s about realizing that economic wiggle room frees you to do things and take chances that lead to more happiness and therefore to great results in your work life and your private life.

2: I’m not knocking anybody else’s lifestyle and financial decisions. This is simply an observation of something that I discovered mostly by accident but which works incredibly well for me. Maybe you would be terribly miserable living in a small appartment instead of a huge house.

But I know that many people feel trapped in jobs they don’t like because their financial situation is precarious and leaves them no wiggle room. If that’s the case for you maybe you should consider trying the low-rent life and granting yourself some financial freedom. It’s a huge step towards more happiness at work and in life.

Over the weekend, I managed to finish Randy Komisar's The Monk and the Riddle: The Education of a Silicon Valley Entrepreneur. According to Booklist, Komisar is among a new breed of executives who have been called "virtual CEO's": unlike consultants, they not only advise but actually work for companies that tend to be very small high-tech or Internet start-ups. In addition to working currently for seven such companies, Komisar has also worked with WebTV and TiVo, was the "real" CEO at LucasArts Entertainment, and was one of the founders of Claris Corporation.

Monk is a fascinating book for anyone who has even the least bit of curiosity about the process of venture capitalism and how it works, especially in Silicon Valley.

His philosophy of "Zen capitalism" is also thought-provoking:

"...I inevitably find personal risks that need to be considered along with the business risks. Personal risks include the risk of working with people you don’t respect; the risk of working for a company whose values are inconsistent with your own; the risk of compromising what’s important; the risk of doing something you don’t care about; and the risk of doing something that fails to express - or even contradicts - who you are.

And then there is the most dangerous risk of all - the risk of spending your life not doing what you want on the bet that you can buy the freedom to do it later.

...Work hard, work passionately, but apply your most precious asset - time - to what is most meaningful to you. What are you willing to do for the rest of your life? does not mean, literally, what will you do for the rest of the life? That question would be absurd, given the inevitability of change. No, what the question really asks is, if your life were to end suddenly and unexpectedly tomorrow, would you be able to say what you’ve been doing is what you truly care about today? What would you be willing to do for the rest of your life?

What would it take to do it right now?*"

*my own emphasis

Like many of my college mates, I am incredibly relieved (and glad) that Obama was elected as president. He might be untested in terms of life experience as compared to McCain, but that is why you have advisors and the entire bureaucracy to work with.

More than anything else, a leader needs to provide strength, hope and vision - and I look forward to Obama proving his dissenters wrong.

It has been a busy week, with the CE team based at the Singapore Management University from Tuesday to Thursday for the accreditation course. We had a good and diverse turnout, with participants from as far as Bali and Israel.

SMU was an excellent location, although it would have been even better if there were reliable and easily-accessible WiFi (and more power points).

There's apparently free WiFi over a lot of Singapore, but from the places I've needed to connect (such as Borders in Wheelock Place and Starbucks at Holland Village), that usually hasn't been the case..