Quarantine 1

 

April 19^th, 10:15am

Room 2339, Fairmont Hotel

Singapore

 

It’s now over 60 hours since I have been in this room, as part of the StayHomeNotice COVID19 quarantine SOP. M suggested that I record my experiences and so here goes.

 

I am at the writing desk which overlooks the junction of North Bridge Road and Stamford Road, where the Capitol Kempinski Hotel is, along with the office of its owner, Perennial Capital. Further down the road Peninsula Plaza and Funan IT Mall (owned by the state-owned Capitaland), and then across the road the St Andrew’s Cathedral. So, in this junction stands private, public and spiritual assets.

 

Speaking of spiritual, the last time I spent some time like this is at an Opus Dei Silent Meditation Closed Retreat nearly seven years ago. Back then the setting couldn’t be any more different than where I am now. In Ulu Tiram in Johor, I was meditating in a class where:

“there is a wooden door that opens into the courtyard which features a flowing fountain, out of a jar. The sounds of flowing water is one of the most soothing to me. The windows overlook a three tiered plain lawn garden lined at the side by simple shubs and at the perimeter by fir trees (or Christmas trees as we call them here). A garden which I had covered end to end in my afternoon walk yesterday.

So, this is the perfect location for this epiphany to come together: pleasant familiar sight, soothing sounds, appropriate imagery and most importantly, the right message.”

The weekend passed uneventfully. I guessed I have spent many days and evenings alone for so many years when travelling for work in all parts of the world that being in a hotel room, doing work at the writing desk, dining and drinking alone, or watching TV until I fall asleep. That D has thoughtfully supplied me with snacks (including M’s home baked banana brownies) as well as yoga mats and free weights meant I had something to fuel me as I work and watch and then some equipment to burn off the calories I will inevitably put on.

 

So, all in all, the set-up is right. The big challenge is the duration of time I have to spend in here. While I have packed the days with calls, I also have to deal with eating packed food everyday and at some point, Netflix & Spotify will cease to entertain. Right now, it’s Day 3 and I have 3 times more the duration to go. Will keep you all updated!

Why Maradona is the greatest footballer

I posted about a low key yoga athlete who passed away suddenly at the age of 50.

Within a week, another sportsman, far more famous and supremely gifted died at the age of 60. Many can argue about his conduct (on and certainly off the pitch) but what he can do with the football, nearly no other humans on earth can. For that, in my book, he is the greatest footballer that has ever lived. 

The following obituary penned by Bobby Ghosh states the case well. It is one thing to be a brilliant player surrounded by other brilliant players. But Maradona made magic out of mediocre materials.

By 

Bobby Ghosh

, 

26 November 2020, 02:45 GMT+8

Soccer fans are fortunate to live in a time when two superstars are simultaneously making the claim to be the best player in the history of the sport — and more fortunate still that we can watch the contest between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo play out, week in and week out, live before a global audience of billions. Thanks to YouTube, I can watch high-quality videos of their most compelling performances, and of every goal they’ve ever scored.

When Diego Maradona was staking his claim to the title of best ever, most of the world could only get a quadrennial glimpse of his genius, when he turned out for Argentina in the ’82, ’86, ’90 and ‘94 World Cups. Growing up in India during that period, I never saw highlights of his performances for FC Barcelona or Napoli (a city where he’s still regarded as part deity, part royalty).

There are now some video highlights online that preserve a grainy record of him in his pomp — including THAT goal against England in the Azteca Stadium on June 22, 1986. But these only hint at what he was capable of. They don’t constitute sufficient supporting evidence to the argument that he was the best ever.

What makes it harder still is the even scarcer evidence for claimants of previous generations: Hungary’s Ferenc Puskas, Spain and Argentina’s Alfredo di Stefano, Brazil’s Pele, the Dutchman Johan Cruyff, Germany’s Franz Beckenbauer, et al. That they played under different conditions and rules, and in different positions, makes the argument moot, anyway.

We can’t, then, know if Maradona was technically the best to have kicked a ball.

Nevertheless, I’m here to argue that he was the greatest of all time. And my case rests on the simple fact that he, more than all the other claimants named here, came closest to defying the dictum that soccer is a team sport.

For most of his career, Maradona played in teams that lacked any other world-beating players. Run your eye down the list of the Napoli squad with which he conquered Italian soccer in 1986-87, and there’s not a single other player who would make it to a Serie A hall of fame. He had a slightly better supporting cast in the Argentina sides that he took to two World Cup finals — winning it in ’86, and coming agonizingly close in ’90 — but nobody would argue that Jorge Valdano was to Maradona what, say, Jairzinho was to Pele in ’70.

It is one thing to be a brilliant player surrounded by other brilliant players; in this regard Messi and Ronaldo have been exceptionally fortunate with their club teams. But Maradona made magic out of mediocre materials.

What makes this even more remarkable is the weight of expectation he carried on his diminutive frame. When he signed for Napoli in 1984, the club had never won the Italian league, and yet its fans immediately began to dream of championship glory. The “pibe de oro,” or golden boy, was as much talisman as captain and player.

Other footballers — Messi among them — have since had to cope with comparable pressure, but modern superstars are surrounded by a scaffolding of public relations professionals and psychiatrists to help them. Maradona, lacking support off the field as he did on it, nonetheless delivered the “oro” for club and country over and over again.

Until he didn’t. It was probably inevitable that the burdens of his genius would eventually crush him, and they did so in spectacular fashion. But he withstood them long enough to cast in bronze — like the plaque commemorating THAT goal outside the Azteca Stadium — his claim to being the greatest of all time. 

RIP, Diego Armando Maradona, GOAT.

© 2020 Bloomberg L.P.

Photographer: Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images Europe

Yoga

 M introduced me to this. She's a passionate practitioner and in fact has even attended a teacher training course.

I could well comprehend the benefits. If I don't stretch before a workout, the pains (arising from tight muscles and tendons) are sure to afflict me. I saw Yoga as a well structured and extended stretching in its most fundamental form.

As one progresses, it is not just about stretching but also about strengthening especially the core muscles and in an a functional way. There were several sessions where my muscles felt the workout more from yoga then even the most strenuous gym sets.

M set me off in the direction but as we was away, she got me a few virtual teachers. First Boho beautiful whose workouts she was following and I tagged along. Boho was too advanced and she then introduced me to Lesley Fightmaster. I would say she was the one who "taught" me. 

There are three reasons why her lessons worked for me.

1. She had really good descriptions of what to do that even without looking at the screen, I could follow the various positions she was describing

2. She had a gentle soothing voice (well, they all have) but in her case, she also soothes by reminding us always that one doesn't have to be perfect and that was really heartening to here when I know I am twisted up wrongly

3. She had these most wonderful life quotes at the end of her session which somehow always spoke to me. I don't know how she finds these lines, always so apt. 

The reason I am writing about her is that she passed away suddenly and I thought of how she is a loss to the yoga community. In her own way, she has made the world a better place and just goes to show you don't need to be a world leader to do your part.

In the final video (recorded for thanksgiving week) just before her passing, it was about gratitude.

Be thankful that you don’t already have everything you desire.
If you did, what would there be to look forward to?

Be thankful when you don’t know something,
for it gives you the opportunity to learn.

Be thankful for the difficult times.
During those times you grow.

Be thankful for your limitations,
because they give you opportunities for improvement.

Be thankful for each new challenge,
because it will build your strength and character.

Be thankful for your mistakes.
They will teach you valuable lessons.

Be thankful when you’re tired and weary,
because it means you’ve made a difference.

It’s easy to be thankful for the good things.
A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who
are also thankful for the setbacks.

Gratitude can turn a negative into a positive.
Find a way to be thankful for your troubles,
and they can become your blessings.

~Author Unknown

I am thankful M introduced me to her videos. May her soul rest in peace

A Moment in Time: Watchmaking at the Start of the 21st Century

How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard

 The last half year is one of the best periods of my life.

·       Professionally, I was totally consumed by up to 18 hours/day of work as governments all over the world turned to us for help and I had to deal with many overworked colleagues along the way, some of whom manifested their stress poorly

·      Politically, my home country’s back door government has descended further into ever more nefarious dealings while the country slides ever backwards socio-economically

·       Socially, it’s depressing, especially not being able to meet friends for the first few months and even now, I am still not able to meet clients and colleagues at scale

·       Spiritually, the fact that churches remain a restricted gathering place meant I haven’t stepped into one physically throughout this period, though the online masses and informative podcasts helpe

Y   Yet, despite all of these challenges, this has been a most wonderful period for me. And that is saying something, as I have now lived through more than a hundred half-year periods. So, what makes this period the top percentile?

Only one thing: being in the presence of my immediate family extensively and over meals and family activities, intensively. So, despite all my work and social difficulties, emotionally, this is my happiest time. I penned 8 blogs in this period, beginning with one in April about parenting styles and concluding earlier this month on being able to run together with my children, achilles tendonitis notwithstanding. I guess you already know the cause of my joy; this is the happiest moment because my family is together

I wish we could have spent more time together, but alas not every single minute of the day was spent together, and even when we are together, it’s honest to say that not all the minutes there were pleasant. As usual, being all well-educated and even more well-opinionated people, there are differences in opinions on just about everything: from car sharing schedule to insurance purchases and scholarship obligations. For me, and I trust for you too, it is often at these times when our opinions are most sharply divided that we find the essence of our love.

 It is when we are almost at the point of hurting each other with our words and thoughts that we realise that we cannot be torn apart. Both sides will find a way to reach out and as we do so, we find that throughout all our differences, there remains always a common core: that we always have the best intentions for each other. How the intentions are translated into action differ, but the intention is always good. That is the essence of our love as a family. We are always wishing and wanting the best for each other.

J left for UK two weeks ago to do his Masters and M just left last night to begin her second year. I miss them so. The words of Winnie the Pooh capture the sentiment so well

Old Upper Thomson Road

Sometimes, urban planners can lack creativity. It is one thing to name a road after the chief engineer who designed it. Quite another to name the road above it as upper. And what really takes it to the next level is to build a new road next to it, re-use the name, and call the original road old. Well, that is where we were at over the weekend: the Old Upper Thomson Road. In its heyday, it was more than just a road, it was also where the Singapore Grand Prix took place. 

credit: timeout.com

For the past 20 years though, it has been our family exercise track; and especially over the last 6 months as we all sought escape from our circuit breaker lockdown at home. Over the weekend, M & J joined me on a circuit I had tried several times before the last few months. We ran from our place and up and down the length of the Old Upper Thomson Road.

It's such a pleasure running with them. The last time all three of us went up and down this road was maybe 10 years ago, with Meg on her bicycle, Josh on his roller blades and me on my pre-achilles tendonitis legs. Josh in front would sandwich Meg in the middle. They were both just gaining confidence on their new modes of transport and I, as the cheerleader-in-chief would urge them on and also, to pick them up when they fell. I must say that I have been more responsible for their scars. It is fair to say that I subscribe (in this case, literally) to the parenting school of hard knocks. I would push M down the slope and her mom would watch in horror of her darling veering off!

The scars have long healed; and J then M have been exceeding me in all sporting activities since then. They are literally "citius, altius, fortius" than me. As they live up to the Olympic creed, the chance for the old bean to do something together with the faster, higher, stronger younglings is a much cherished one.

So, yesterday, in the rain, coached by a well-informed J who kept us on a LSD (long steady distance) pace and led by a beautifully-gaited M (even when the sole of her shoe gave out), we ran together for more than 80minutes covering nearly 12kms up and down this famous road.

The achilles heel is aching all day, but oh-so-sweetly when one thinks of the cause!

For our 3rd act

While most of the world were under some kind of lockdown, D and I opened up two new fronts for us, which hopefully will prove to be the right future-proofed decisions.

Being movie buffs, we both liked the fact that the films were works of studios with a full organisation of producers, screenwriters, actors, stunt workers, prop makers, costume designers and of course directors. So, for no other reason than the word sounded cool and the meaning of it interesting, I had used CP as an ‘entity’, a-la Hollywood, to present works we had created for our significant moments. This is an early example of how CP featured.

 

So far, we have produced no cinematic masterpieces though I must say J & M are two joint works that we continue to be proud of.

At the end of March, we set up CC. Over the years, we have been investing in various assets, including in start-ups, and we have been pondering over how best to hold these: whether in our own personal names or through a private limited company where we can manage these more professionally. D’s decision to move on from her full time job clearly meant she now has more time to attend to our holdings. We hope we have invested wisely to date and so we set up an investment holding and advisory company and we will eventually pool our value-creating assets here. With me already past my golden milestone and D about to do so, we thought we would use this as one of the vehicles for our 3^rd act together. We can then grow this together and also share our experience to others.

At the same time CP first found its way into our lives nearly 30 years ago, a small seed was also planted in my head. Having earned a government scholarship, studied at its national university, found a first job in one of its world class company and about to marry one of its (premier school) citizens, I naturally thought the world of the country. A country not of my birth but one had chose to go to freely to seek a better future. I didn’t think twice on applying for Permanent Residency. It was a no-brainer, as the saying goes. And throughout all that time, it has proven to be a true no-regret move, so much so that I was never faced with the need to take the next step of actually becoming a citizen.

 Four events over the last four years soon changed that.

• ·       First, both J and then M won important scholarships in the country. J with the highest level of Government and M with perhaps its most important world class company (even better than mine). It is clear that their future is here.
• ·       Second, the PR (good as it has been) is actually not permanent and tied to the holder having a job. As I approach my 3rd act where I would be likely self-employed, it makes sense to have greater assurance of permanence in a place where my children will be.
• ·       Third, as we move into our new place, our old house will become a stranded asset as a PR-owned landed property cannot be rented out. So, there is a small economic rationale as well.
• ·       Fourthly, the situation in my own home country is going from bad to worse. The small glimmer of hope in the 2018 General Elections has been snuffed out with back door moves earlier this year by Malay-Muslim lawmakers and the PM-to-be whom I had the chance to advise may not be so.

      So, in July, with D’s help, I applied for citizenship. It would take a couple of years to process and in the meantime I must confess I sometimes get “cold feet”. For all its faults, the home country is a lucky one blessed with abundant natural resources, and these resources are only getting more valuable as humans fail to look after Mother Earth. Moreover, it is a country where if one has the will, a way can always be found! Exacerbating that, the host country post a wake-up call GE, begins to debate issues of looking after the local core in a manner which I felt failed to take into account the very reasons for its success, and the parliamentarians even suggest policies that had dragged my home country downwards.

      I guess I will keep experiencing these vacillations. That said, I have two assurances. First, in the near term, the best outcome for my home country still pales in comparison to a weaker outcome of the host. Secondly, in the longer term, my children will hopefully be in a position to make a difference and keep this country progressing.

      That these two future-proofing decisions are taken now, three months apart, is not a co-incidence. Things happen in tandem. Events lead to a chain reaction that comes back full circle. It is indeed true that D & my (and therefore CP’s) best works are the two younglings.