My notepad

My mind is a bustling hive of thoughts. There are so many things I need to get done, and even more things I want to get done. I'm also suffering from a serious case of absentmindedness and I tend to forget tasks and ideas just as fast as I think about them. I am now compelled to use/abuse this medium as my personal notepad. 

My immediate tasks at hand, "needs", are to get down to work on my resume and to study for the upcoming CFA examination. 

A nagging "want" is to work on an electronic version of a family tree, I first started thinking of doing this back in college when I first learned about linked-lists when I was a computer science major. In typical computer geek fashion, it was probably an overly complicated solution to a simple task. I shelved it. Fast forward 9 (?) years, the urge to get this family tree started is really bugging me. The more I procrastinate, the more details will be lost as memories are fading and some of the grandies have already gone on their long journey, God bless their souls. This may seem like a very straight forward project but the data set will be growing exponentially. What information should be included? What format should it be stored in so that information can be added and linked easily? 

It is late, I shall go to sleep. Thankfully, I have my thoughts recorded and out of my head...

I will write in proper sentences. I will write in proper sentences. I will write in proper sentences....

I am finding it increasingly difficult to maintain a decent command of English, both written and spoken, while working in a financial institution where the lingua franca seems to be a highly corrupted form of Singlish (with a strong emphasis on the "Sing" and almost no "english"). 5 years in such an environment has eroded my linguistic abilities. Writing a simple letter or drafting a proper email has become such a monumental task that, for the first time in my life, I find it imperative that I take immediate action to remedy the situation. 

When I was younger, my late grandmother very meticulously corrected my grammar and pronounciation when I spoke. She was equally fastidious about her handwriting and spelling. I strongly believe that her constant grooming then provided me with a strong foundation in the language. Unfortunately, I have neglected to maintain the standards that she had set. My son will be learning to talk in a few months, I really worry that I will not be able to teach him as I had been taught.

An ending thought:

The key to effective, efficient communication is to be able to articulate your thoughts and ideas in the most precise yet concise manner.

I did not pull that up from anywhere, just a thought. Please feel free to comment or discuss this. 

Hello World

"hello world".

Traditionally the first program one would learn when one starts programming, the first thought that came to mind as I start my first post on my first blog.

The main reason for starting this blog is to allow myself some practice in putting my thoughts to "writing". I have come to realize that I have started to lose my ability to write and communicate ideas effectively. Communicating, nowadays, has been reduced to incomplete and grammatically incorrect sentences. At work, we are chided for writing verbose emails, bosses do not have the time to read through our emails. We are made to condense all the necessary information and email in point form. Slowly but surely, all that we have been taught in english class (note, I say what we have been taught, not necessarily what we have actually learnt) is lost. I can feel the rot starting to set in.

There will not be any clear direction to the contents of this blog and it may not be polite or politically correct, so if you are easily offended, GET OUT OF MY BLOG! :)