Golden News
Volume 14 Number 37          30th March 2001
The Weekly Bulletin of the Rotary Club of Kowloon Golden Mile www.rckgm.org
March is Magazine Month
Birthday Boys and Girls 
Clarissa Bellstedt - 27th March, Kumar Ramanathan - 29th March
Meeting on 21st March, 2001
Visiting us were Rotarians Anthony Denyer of the Rotary Club of Rose River Townsville Queensland and PP George Harilela of the Rotary Club of Kowloon both skillfully introduced by PP Vince. Attendance was 36 and the business part of the meeting began at 1.16 p.m. with President Cassidy's usual robust action on the gong. Then Sgt Clarissa came up with a novel fine for a Rotarian's mischievous smile.
Our speaker this week was Christine Loh, who, noting that Golden Mile must be one of the only clubs where speakers never get the chance to finish their lunch before beginning, then spoke to us on the topic of the day's iMail headline which gave Hong Kong 15 years before it will be overtaken by Shanghai. A quick poll taken by Christine showed that most of the KGM members present agreed. But quite what they were agreeing to emerged as hard to pin down. Obviously Shanghai is bigger than Hong Kong, and always has been, so exactly what is it that is expected to happen in 15 years was not really clear. Various issues emerged, such as whether Shanghai would emerge as the financial centre of the Far East, overtake Hong Kong in Shipping, or be a preferred as a base for multinational companies in China and so on. At the end however it seemed hard to avoid  the fact that both places had their own particular roles to play and that comparison was somewhat meaningless.
PP CK Tsang gave the vote of thanks after a lively session of questions.
 On Vocation With
Rotarian Carola - Executive Search - Garment Trade
My name is Carola, and I'm a headhunter... I am self-employed, and working in partnership with Hong Kong Executive Search. My focus is on Executive recruitment especially in manufacturing. The later part of the introduction and my background will tell you why. I handle assignments for Chief Financial Officers, General Managers, Regional Managers, as well as Quality Assurance Managers and production and supply chain specialists. My clients are mostly international companies, who have very specific requirements for the candidates they seek. The headhunting approach to recruiting is very focused. I work very closely with my clients to identify their needs. Then approach people I deem suitable and find out if they have interest in new opportunities. The work is very challenging, exciting and rewarding. I get to meet very interesting people from very different industries, and I learn something new every day about my clients' businesses. I also feel great joy when I achieve the perfect match between client and candidate. In this work there is heavy responsibility to ensure that offers to candidates represent the right opportunity for them to progress in their careers. 
The reason  I am working in this field now, is because I became Buddhist in 1993. I sincerely prayed for a change in my life, to become a happier and better person, who could contribute to society. When I started to chant Nam myo ho renge kyo, through the introduction of a friend, I started to change and with me, every single aspect of my life did too. I closed my business, divorced my husband, and started afresh. Amazingly, although at the time it seemed that total disaster, emotionally as well as financially was imminent, thanks to my Buddhist practice I came out of the experience a stronger, healthier and happier person. Now I have a very successful business and do what I love, while my philosophy helps me to have the right mind frame to achieve this.
1993 was also the year I joined Rotary - and I was  mighty proud to become one of the chosen professionals in my field. Rotary has enabled me to widen my circle of friends, develop myself further and serve the community. I also learned to address an audience and speak in public. Mostly I like the opportunity to return some of my good fortune to the community that has become my home for the last 16 years. So far you may know the story, and if you are not too tired, please read on to find out the beginning........... 
I was born and raised in Germany, in the middle of the Ruhr Valley, which is one of the most densely populated industrial areas in Germany ( this would explain why I came to love Hong Kong so much! It would also explain why HK pollution levels don't affect me so badly.) I studied design for 2 years and was apprenticed as a tailor with a German fashion manufacturer. Realizing that I lacked the talents to reach the fame of Karl Lagerfeld, I changed my route of education to Garment Engineering, and approached the Fashion Industry from a very practical and pragmatic angle.
I graduated in 1977 with a Diploma in Engineering and joined the largest German manufacturer of ladies and children wear in one of their dress factories. I did some more training as department supervisor, then was promoted to assistant factory manager. As part of my work to improve productivity and quality I studied ergonomics and workplace design, and started developing workplaces and new methods in our factory. You would never guess this was my specialty if you could see my desk in the office today! Anyway, it is the workplace design that gave me the opportunity to travel and implement my methods with other factories of the Group in the region. One of these was the restructure one of our factories in Berlin together with a management consulting firm. Here I got a whiff of the great wide world, and on successful completion of the project I applied for an overseas posting.
I was in luck - on September 2, 1979, within a month of expressing my desire to see the world, I was on my way to Hong Kong. I only had 2 days stopover in Hong Kong - just long enough to become totally charmed by this city. Alas, I had to move on to the Philippines, where a brand new 800 worker factory  was waiting for me to introduce German efficiency to their production. Both parties were in for a big surprise. We compromised - I threw away the stopwatch as a measuring tool and the team tried their best to learn some new tricks from me.  
Coming from Germany, life in the Philippines was like paradise. We lived in the Manila Hotel, worked hard by day and enjoyed the tropical weekends and mango daiquiris at night. It was just perfect. The joy of having a tropical winter lasted less than three months - I was called to transfer to Korea, where one of our team had decided to go back home sooner than expected.  
All my boss said was: "Please bring a Jacket, it can get quite chilly". And boy, was he right. I departed from Manila on a pleasantly warm day shortly before Christmas with temperatures of 35 C, and landed a few hours later in Seoul. The temperature was 15C below Zero - and I nearly froze to death on the tarmac.  
I spent the following two years in Korea, getting used to the Winter wonderland and unheated factories reasonably well. I had extensive travel to do, as most of our factories were located out of the city. I saw a lot of the countryside, which I grew to enjoy (once it warmed up in spring), and I developed my management skills, running 5 factories' production for our company, ensuring timely delivery and quality.
Many times it meant  staying overnight in the factory, just to make sure things were happening as promised. It was not the easiest place to live, and my highlight was a trip to Hong Kong every two month to pick up new styles and samples from our regional headquarters, and shop, shop, shop ..........  
Korea was also the place were I met Roberto, my Italian husband, who was a popstar in the local music scene when we first met. He was also the only man in Seoul who had long hair (and did not get arrested for it).
On my transfer to Indonesia in 1981, Roberto decided to quit music and move with me to Jakarta, where our company had placed some orders of jackets which were overdue for shipment. On arrival, I found the factory  was brand new and still in the original plastic wrapping, without any production, workers or basic skills in place. There was no choice but to roll up the sleeves and start the factory from scratch, setting up  production and shipping the goods with a three months delay. The owner of the factory was sufficiently impressed to make an offer to stay and run his factory, so we made an agreement with my German bosses to provide us with orders. I stayed to ensure the production and it was a happy union. We became the first factory in Indonesia to produce jackets and winter garments, much to the amusement of the local workforce, who could just not imagine why anyone want to wear such silly clothes. I set up a second factory after 2 years, and Indonesia remained our home until 1986, when I was headhunted by one of our clients to set up his buying office in Hong Kong - the dream of living in Hong Kong was finally coming true! I am pleased to say that the two factories are still standing today and doing very well!
We had a quick stopover in Singapore, where we were married, and in April 1986 we finally moved to Hong Kong. I started up two regional buying offices for German principals, while my husband started his trading company of promotional items. I traveled extensively for my work, and in 1992, I decided to join my husband in his business when he was planning to expand and open an bigger office. The timing was bad, and one of our main clients went bankrupt in Italy, leaving us with production running and merchandise ready to ship without letters of credit. A lager company would have survived, but for us it meant the end. As it turned out, it was a good thing, as you see from the first part of this rather lengthy life story (Neerja, you should have asked me when I was 20, it would have been a shorter story then! (What difference would a few years make? Urchin.)) the events that followed changed my life for the better.   
I am now happily single, living with my two very handsome ancient cats, and aside from my busy work, I publish the English Newsletter for SGIHK, our Buddhist organisation, and on any available weekend you will find me climbing hills and enjoying the great countryside.
Let also me express a big THANK YOU to Neerja, who gave me this opportunity to share my story with you, and then ever so  patiently reminded me to deliver!
THANKS ALSO TO YOU STILL READING!  
From the Webmaster
aka The Phantom
Just a brief note to let members know that the KGM web site has undergone yet another transformation, the end result being that it is now bolder, more colourful and even sexier than before, just like your Webmaster :-)

Regular visitors will recall that our web site previously had a completely white background, and this was done intentionally so that the text would be easy to read, easy to print and relatively quick to load.

As part of my ongoing attempts to continually improve our web site, I experimented with a number of colour schemes, including Royal Blue and Gold (the official colours of Rotary International), and a Black with Gold stripes theme. You can still view these themes (and the original "plain vanilla" scheme) for a few more days by clicking on the hyperlinks above in this paragraph. (Postscript - the above links no longer exist effective 1 April 2001)
However, after polling 20 club members for their opinions on the various test pages, a majority were in favour of the Gold with Black stripes scheme. This was largely due to the striking appearance, but also because the predominantly gold scheme is relevant to our club's name.
Note that the addition of these colours will have no adverse effect on the page loading time, as I accomplished the change by using background colours, NOT background images. Moreover, despite the addition of colour, the central background of the main page and most of the information pages (such as the roster etc.), remains white to simplify printing, if required. 
Anyway, having settled on the new gold with black stripes colour scheme, I then added new matching (and rather smart-looking) page dividers, and I also replaced all text in italics, as this was somewhat difficult to read.  
In closing, I hope members will revisit the refurbished web site at www.rckgm.org soon.
While you're there, click on "Humour" at the top of the page, as I have added some new gems !  
Jokes That Could Make Us Unite & Become Strong!
In response to the local banks' recent moves to increase charges
Dear Bank Manager,
l am writing to thank you for bouncing the cheque with which I endeavored to pay my plumber last month. By my calculations some three nanoseconds must have elapsed between his presenting the cheque, and the arrival in my account of the funds needed to honour it. I refer, of course, to the automatic monthly deposit of my entire salary, an arrangement which, I admit, has only been in place for eight years. You are to be commended for seizing that brief window of opportunity, and also for debiting my account with $50 by way of penalty for the inconvenience I caused to your bank. My thankfulness springs from the manner in which this incident has caused me to re-think my errant financial ways. You have set me on the path of fiscal righteousness. No more will our relationship be blighted by these unpleasant incidents, for I am restructuring my affairs in 2001, taking as my model the procedures, attitudes and conduct of your very own bank. I can think of no greater compliment, and I know you will be excited and proud to hear it. To this end, please be advised about the following changes:-
First, I have noticed that whereas I personally attend to your telephone calls and letters, when I try to contact you I am confronted by the impersonal, ever-changing, pre-recorded, faceless entity which your bank has become. From now on I, like you, choose only to deal with a flesh and blood person.
My mortgage and loan repayments will, therefore and hereafter, no longer be automatic, but will arrive at your bank, by cheque, addressed personally and confidentially to an employee of your branch, whom you must nominate. You will be aware that it is an offense under the Postal Act for any other person to open such an envelope. Please find attached an "Application For Contact Status" which I require your chosen employee to complete. I am sorry it runs to eight pages, but in order that I know as much about him or her as your bank knows about me, there is no alternative. Please note that all copies of his or her medical history must be countersigned by a Justice of the Peace, and that the mandatory details of his/her financial situation ( income, debts, assets and liabilities) must be accompanied by documented proof.
In due course I will issue your employee with a PIN number which he/she must quote in all dealings with me. I regret that it cannot be shorter than 28 digits but, again, I have modeled it on the number of button presses required to access my account balance on your phone bank service.
As they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Let me level the playing field even further by introducing you to my new telephone system, which you will notice, is very much like yours. My Authorized Contact at your bank, the only person with whom I will have any dealings, may call me at any time and will be answered by an automated voice. By pressing buttons on the phone, he/she will be guided thorough an extensive set of menus:
1.To make an appointment to see me;
2.To query a missing  repayment;
3.To make a general complaint or inquiry;
4.To transfer the call to my living room in case I am there; Extension of living room to be communicated at the time the call is received;
5. To transfer the call to my bed room in case I am still sleeping. Extension of bed room to be communicated at the time the call is received;
6.To transfer the call to my toilet in case I am attending to nature. Extension of toilet to be communicated at the time the call is received.
7. To transfer the call to my mobile phone in case I am not at home.
8. To leave a message on my computer. To leave a message a password to access my computer is required. Pass word will be communicated at a later date to the contact.
9. To return to the main menu and listen carefully to options 1 through 8. The contact will then be put on hold, pending the attention of my automated answering service. While this may on occasion involve a lengthy wait, uplifting music will play for the duration. This month I've chosen a refrain from The Best Of Woody Guthrie:
 
Oh, the banks are made of marble
With a guard at every door
And the vaults are filled with silver
That the miners sweated for!
 
After twenty minutes of that, our mutual contact will probably know it off by heart.
On a more serious note, we come to the matter of cost. As your bank has often pointed out, the ongoing drive for greater efficiency comes at a cost; a cost which you have always been quick to pass on to me. Let me repay your kindness by passing some costs back.
First, there is the matter of advertising material you send me. This I will read for a fee of $20 per A4 page. Inquiries from your nominated contact will be billed at $5 per minute of my time spent in response. Any debits to my account, as, for example, in the matter of the penalty for the dishonored cheque, will be passed back to you.
My new phone service runs at 75 cents a minute (even Woody Guthrie doesn't come for free), so you would be well advised to keep your inquiries brief and to the point.
Regrettably, but again following your example, I must also levy an establishment fee to cover the setting up of this new arrangement.
May I wish you a happy, if ever-so-slightly less prosperous, New Year.
Your humble client
Brain Teaser
Mum was cooking up some soup that needed to simmer for five minutes but all she had to measure with were a four minute and a three minute timer. Using only these two, how was she able to time the simmering correctly?
URCHIN