|
Golden News
Volume 16, Number 17 - Monday 21 October 2002
The official bulletin of the Rotary Club of Kowloon Golden Mile is published
most Mondays and is distributed to all club members, District officials and other "friends of KGM". Winner "Best English Language Bulletin" in District 3450, 2001/2002
No news is good news?
OK, so I've missed publishing a few issues of our world famous bulletin recently, and I sincerely apologise. All is well in Phantom land, and I have not contracted Dengue Fever, nor been attacked by
flesh-eating flies nor been kidnapped by aliens (pictured left).
Hang on a minute .... that's a photo of my mother-in-law (taken on a good hair day).
Anyway, it's just that I've been very busy and travelling like crazy again, and I just returned this evening from
chilly Beijing and a hotel with the world's smallest shower stall.
Hopefully you've all missed me as much as I've missed you and, failing any emergencies, I'll see you all this Wednesday.
This Week's Meeting: Our speaker this week is Ms. Peta McAuley on the topic "What makes Hong Kong people happy?". Peta has been a practicing Occupational Psychologist in Hong Kong for over twenty years. She has worked with corporations, consulting on management assessment, development and performance as well as with individuals, providing career and general counseling. Peta is also active in the Hong Kong Psychological Society having just completed a term as President.
On the personal side, Peta is married with three children. She loves nature and animals, her family keeps three horses at Beas River which they ride every day and they also rescue
stray dogs and cats. During the past 15 years, the family has rescued over forty dogs and currently has at home six dogs and five cats. Anyone wanting a pet dog or cat, please see Peta after the
meeting!
Peta has very recently completed a Doctorate in Philosophy degree in psychology at the Chinese University. The focus of her study was what makes Hong Kong people happy, and she
will present some of the results of this study in her talk.
Milestones:
1) Condolences to KGM Honorary Member Sir David
Akers-Jones on the loss of Lady Jane Akers-Jones, his wife of 51 years, who died peacefully on 6 October.
2) Birthday greetings on:
22 October for Stormin' Norman Liu, who shares his birthday with actor Christopher Lloyd,
who portrayed the Professor in the "Back to Future" series of movies opposite Michael J. Fox.
25 October for Mazhar "Bizarre" Sultana, who shares her birthday with Spanish painter Pablo Picasso, who painted some really weird stuff
while under the influence of industrial strength sangria.
Fellowship News - Last Call:
KGM Fellowship Director Miranda "King" Kong, who changes her mind more often than I change underwear (i.e.
every Saturday), announces that the next KGM fellowship will be another fabulous Harilela Hoedown, an event graciously hosted by Avisha and David "Party Dude" Harilela.
This party will commence at 7:00 p.m. on Friday 25 October at the Harilela Mansion, 1 Durham Road, Kowloon
Tong (a.k.a. Holiday Inn North).
KGM members who are able to attend should contact Miranda by telephone on 9199 3077 or by email.
District 3450 News:
There is no District news to report this week .......... hooray!
Rotary International News:
1) RI President-Nominee: Glenn E. Estess Sr. (pictured left), of the Rotary Club of Shades Valley, Alabama, USA, has
been nominated as president of Rotary International for the year 2004-05. More information about the new nominee is available on the RI website.
RIPN Glenn Estess, who will lead Rotary into it's Centennial Year, will succeed RI President-Elect Jonathan B. Majiyagbe of RC
Kano, Nigeria on 1 July 2004.
2) The next RI Convention will be held in Brisbane, Australia from 1-4 June 2003. Visit the official website for more information. Who Am I (in KGM)?: Can you guess the identity of the writer of the following CV? The answer appears at the bottom of this issue.
Born on the 11th of January, it would appear that my life has been filled with the number of 11. My first boss birthday is the 11th of November and
my second boss extension number in the office is 11. When I look at clock in the night, it is usually 11:11 pm……pretty scary.
Having graduated from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University with a degree in Property Surveying, I was lucky to be selected among thousands of people to
become a management trainee in The Wharf (Holdings) Limited in 1993. Before the burst of property bubble in 1997, this seemed to be a dream career start as I could totally apply my academic
knowledge. Of course later, as a Hongkonger, I found out that we had been telling each other too much about the property and stock market for last 20 years before the Asian financial crisis and
our mouth had probably lost its function to talk about other industries.
After getting all the revenant professional qualifications including the chartered one in UK, I began to think about my career development and chose to
work on the consultant side instead of the client side. What is more challenging about the former is that I can work for as many bosses (clients) as I like instead of one boss whom I do not
like. This suits my 'people' and outgoing character.
After joining two small to medium companies to sharpen my skill in different aspects, I found my destiny in FPDSavills (previously known as First Pacific
Davies), a multi-national property service group where I am now the Associate Director of Investment. This is why my friends and clients always ask me: 'Are you joking? Does HK still have
potential for property investment?' I told them that my job is basically what PP Robin will not be interested and has no time to do.
I provide a wealth of expertise to who are active in the local property market whether it be for investment, redevelopment or owner-occupation
needs. I share probably similar client base with you guys including listed companies, renowned families, manufacturers and overseas institutional investors, etc. I have been handling
properties from whole block commercial buildings in Central to agricultural land in the New Territories.
In the context of acquisition, I help clients from planning an investment strategy to developing property profiles based on their required income growth
and security. While on the disposal side, I assist my clients (99 percent with negative equity) in:
- formulating a disposal strategy
- advising on selling price (at which they are not happy with) and the packaging of asset portfolios - utilizing my network of contacts both locally and globally.
Although the male members will definitely object, I guess I am now the youngest bachelor in the club. For pastimes, I like reading, music and
golfing. May be like other members in the club, I have been always complained by my girlfriend (in your case wife) to spend too much time on my work, KGM and hobbies. I am working my best
to put her on top in my priority list. In that case, I shall lose my job and save my girlfriend because an adult usually do not have three wishes in life.
Dear Geek:
The Geek is on leave this week.
Golden Smile:
Contributed by VP Patricia "Iron Lady" Blair:
A couple attending an art exhibition at the British National Gallery were staring at a portrait which had them completely confused. The painting depicted three totally naked black
men sitting on a park bench. Two of the figures had black penises, but the one in the middle had a pink penis.
The curator of the gallery, on realising the couple were having trouble interpreting the painting, offered his assessment. He went on for nearly half an hour explaining how it depicted the sexual emasculation of African-Americans in a predominately white, patriarchal society.
"In fact," he pointed out, "some critics believe that the pink penis also represents the cultural and sociological oppression experienced by gay men in contemporary
society."
After the curator left, a Scotsman man approached the couple and said, "Would you like to know what the painting is really about?" "Now why would you claim to be more of an expert than the curator of the gallery?" asked the couple. "Well, I'm the guy who painted it," he replied.
"In fact, there are no African-Americans depicted at all. They're just three Scottish coal-miners. The only difference is that the guy in the middle went home for
lunch."
Quotable Quotes:
"I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by!"
-- Douglas Adams --
|
| "Who Am I?" answer: Tim Wong. |
If you no longer wish to receive this bulletin each week, click here. For previous issues of the bulletin (or to view them in their full HTML glory), visit our archives. © 2002 Rotary Club of Kowloon Golden Mile. All rights reserved. Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author (who is under heavy medication), and do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of any other member of the club.