Communication

Recently I came across a series of videos on YouTube illustrating how people miscommunicated. They are a fun and game way of showing how communication can go wrong. In this instance, it is about how non-verbal communication can go wrong.

In the video, a message, or rather, an action was passed from one person to the next down the line. Observe how a simple action can be misconstrued, and how by the time it reaches the end of the line, it became a completely different story.

Amazing isn’t it? How a seemingly simple message can end up so miscommunicated.

Many attempts to communicate are nullified by saying too much. - Robert Greenleaf

Or, sometimes, saying too little, as was shown in the video. Granted that this is just fun and game segment, and the participants might feel shy and self-conscious, the message in the video is still very clear. It is easy to miscommunicate.

Many years ago, I attended a course on communication skills. During one class, the instructor suggested an exercise to demonstrate how messages are, and can be easily miscommunicated.

The same method as in the video was used, but instead of an action, it was one simple sentence passed from one person to the next. The instructor whispered a message to a student in one corner of the class. The student was to pass/whisper the message to the person behind him. In this way, we were supposed to pass the message round the class, until it reach the student at the other corner of the room. The test was to see how well we communicate.

A simple experiment – a simple message of one sentence. Unfortunately, I can’t remember what the sentence was, or what it ended up to be by the time it reached the last student. I only remember that the message at the end was nowhere near the message that the first student was told.

How could a simple thing such as passing a sentence on, go so wrong? You see, as the sentence was whispered from one person to another, words were added, or subtracted, or changed by the receiver, who instead of passing on what he/she heard, he passed on what he thought the communicator was trying to say, or what he thought the message was supposed to be. In this way, by the time the sentence reached the last person in the class, it was a different sentence altogether.

And why would anyone take it upon themselves to change the message instead of passing on exactly what he heard? I guess it is human nature to add our two cents, to think that we know better.

We all learned the lesson very well that day. We learned it is easy to miscommunicate.

So, always bear in this in mind. Do not believe everything you heard, unless you heard it personally from the original source, and even then, your interpretation of the message could be totally wrong. There are still plenty of room for errors. And, when you are conveying a message, never add to, or subtract from what you heard or saw.

This is why communication is so important, and why the lack of communication, as well as miscommunication are the root cause of almost all our problems today.

A Walk in the Park

Instead of taking my usual walking route, I did something for a change, I took a walk in the park near me. It is not a very big park but still, it has a lot to offer.

For a start, the park has a restaurant. I don't know how business is like during lunch hours, but they do brisk business during dinner time.

As with any park, there's the children's playground.

And the exercise stations.

There is a herbs garden. And there is also a section for seniors who are interested in gardening. I wrote about that some time ago. Maybe I will revisit the topic again some day.

Meanwhile, here are a few flower pics. I don't know what this is but I find them very unique.

And here is the more common bougainvillea

And a couple of sun flowers.

Noka

I chanced upon this restaurant in Funan Mill recently. I didn’t dine there though. The prices are quite beyond what I am willing to pay for a meal. All the same, I thought I would do a post on it.

The name Noka means farmhouse in Japanese. Noka by Open Farm Community at Funan Mall is Singapore’s first rooftop urban farm-to-table Japanese restaurant. It is an open-concept kitchen and restaurant, where they focus on locally sourced, seasonal and innovative dishes. The also ‘curate and host local farmers to showcase there produce to guests,to deepen the pleasures of simple, freshly harvested ingredients that are both nourishing and a visual feast.’ - Source

NOKA is located in the redeveloped Funan Mall. It occupies the rooftop level of the mall, and it is Singapore’s first rooftop urban farm-to-table Japanese restaurant, beside the urban farm area managed by Edible Garden City. It is also the sister restaurant to Open Farm Community in Dempsey.

Apparently, there are more than 50 types of fruits, flowers, herbs and vegetables grown on the rooftop farm – all pesticide free, of course.

The menu is hugely Japanese inspired, paired with local ingredients and as much as possible, farm-to-table ingredients from the adjacent urban farm.

For those who are interested to take a look. Here’s the address, and their opening hours.

7 Days | Lunch 11:30AM — 2:30PM | Dinner 6PM — 10PM
#07-38 FUNAN (Lift Lobby A), 109 North Bridge Road, Singapore, 179097
Tel: +65 6877 4878 | Reservations: http://noka.sg

It is certainly an interesting idea. But I am thinking, it must me quite an investment to grow their own ingredients. Their prices, at a glance, I suppose is reasonable, if you take into consideration the work on the farm. And the space on the rooftop, I am not sure what is the arrangement, but that, surely, must also be costly. Anyway, we shall see.

I had a quick walk around the rooftop and here are some of the herbs/spices/vegetables/fruits I saw.

I don't know what are these plants.

Lemon grass

Chilli padi

Banana trees on the left, and papaya trees on the right. I don't know what the purple/green leaf plants in the foreground are called. I believe they are some sort of herbs. I remember my mum used to boil them in water, add some sugar to it to take off the bitter taste, and gave us to drink. It is supposedly 'cooling' for the body.

Pandan Leaves

Pomegranate

Limes

Okra aka Ladies Fingers in the middle. In the front are mints. Don't know about those on top of the ledge.

Why People Are Not Happy

Our happiness lies with our thoughts, with the enjoyment we get out of the simple pleasures, and the little moments in our lives. Nothing, and nobody can bring us happiness but ourselves. We are responsible for our well-being, our happiness. There is a Chinese Saying that says – Knowing contentment, you will always be happy.

Too often, our unhappiness is a result of our greed, and desires, and our ignorance of where happiness can be found. We are always wanting, desiring more. When we do not get what we want, what we desire, we are unhappy. The greed, the desiring never ends. Therefore, we can never be happy. Happiness do not lie in the accumulation of materialistic things. The things that make us happy are also the things that can make us unhappy and miserable even.

True happiness lies in understanding, acceptance and letting go. We have to understand that our happiness do not lie in the materialistic things. Real happiness does not come from getting everything you want. It comes from sharing what you have with the people who matter. It comes from peace of mind.

We have to accept that we can’t always be happy. There will always be ups and downs in life. Sometimes, we are happy, sometimes we are not. It’s okay. Be patient, for the unhappiness will pass, and you will be happy again.

One of the simplest ways to stay happy is letting go of the things that make you sad. Do not cling on to things that make you unhappy. Expect nothing, and appreciate what you have. Happiness cannot be far from a grateful heart and peaceful mind.

Here are some reasons people think why we are not happy.

Many people think excitement is happiness. But when you are excited you are not peaceful. True happiness is based on peace. - Thich Nhat Hanh

A great obstacle to happiness is to expect too much happiness. - Bernard de Fontenelle

If we want to remain happy in spite of the ups and downs of life we have to be real people, honest with and fair to ourselves. - Unknown

It isn’t what you have, or who you are, or where you are, or what you are doing that makes you happy or unhappy. It is what you think about. - Dale Carnegie

The reason people find it so hard to be happy is that they always see the past better than it was, the present worse than it is, and the future less resolved than it will be. - Marcel Pagnol

There is only one way to happiness, and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will. - Epictetus

We tend to forget that happiness doesn’t come as a result of getting something we don’t have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have. - Frederick Keonig

Let people do what they need to do to make them happy. Mind your own business and do what you need to do to make you happy. - Leon Brown

Robertson Quay

Robertson Quay used to be one of three wharfs along the Singapore River. It is at the furthest reach of the Singapore River. The other two quays are Boat Quay and Clarke Quay.

In the 1990s, the area was redeveloped for hotel, commercial and residential uses. It is now an urbanized area filled with restaurants, pubs, cafes, condominiums, offices and other recreational facilities. Robertson Quay offers a tranquil ambience for an intimate dinner by the Singapore River, or a hip and happening evening to chill out with friends.

With its eclectic mix of international restaurants with alfresco dining, wine bars, arts houses, hotel cafes and high class condominiums, Robertson Quay has come into its own with a string of pleasant dining spots that have attracted their own following. Source

Robertson has a quiet charm and elegance I find lacking in the other two quays. Here are some pictures.

This is where you embark on a river cruise

Apartments along the river. These condominiums cost a fortune.

A children's playground

I am afraid the quality of the pictures at night are not very good. I will have to go back in the day some time and take some decent photos.

The Robertson Square. There is a fountain in the center of the square. Shops and restaurants are on the ground level, and slightly at the back are the hotels, and apartments.

The landmark clock tower

A night shot of the river. The picture actually turned out better than I hope.

Dim Sum Lunch

For those who have been following my posts, you would have read about my recent trip to Malacca with seven friends of mine. Now, one of them turns 54 in a couple of days’ time. So, we decided that we will all chip in to buy him lunch for his birthday – a ‘dim sum’ lunch to be precise.

Dim Sum is, or, are Chinese dishes of small steamed, or fried savoury dumplings containing various fillings served as a snack or main course. I would say it is a Chinese version of the Spanish Tapas.

Peach Garden Restaurant was the restaurant we decided on. This is because one of our mates in the group is the Director of Sales and Marketing for the Peach Garden Group of Restaurants. Knowing how boisterous the group can be, we asked for a private room. Thanks to our friend, the room was given without extra charge. Normally, expenditure would have to be above $600 SGD before you can dine in a private room.

This brings to mind the saying, “It is not what you know, but who you know’, or as one of the girls put it, it is not who you know, but who knows you.

Anyway, being an easy going guy where food is concerned, I left the ordering to those who know better.

This was our dim sum lunch. If you observe carefully, you would see that some hungry fools have already pinched the food before the photo was taken. How rude indeed! How dare they eat before I take a picture for my post!

I will try to list the food on here as was shown in the picture - beginning with the dishes in the forefront and going clockwise.

Steamed Rice Roll with Shrimps
Steamed ‘Siew Mai’ with Phoenix Prawn - (Pork with Prawns Dumplings)
Steamed Fresh Prawn Dumplings
Steamed Chicken Feet with Spicy Sauce
Steamed ‘Bak Kut Teh’ (Pork) Buns
Steamed Creamy Custard Bun
Steamed “Char Siew’ (Barbecue Pork) buns
Deep fried Beancurd Skin Roll with seaweed
Peking Duck with accompaniment - plum sauce and shredded cucumber

This was the rest of the Peking Duck. Diced duck meat fried with Spring Onions and rice crisps served on Lettuce. Portioned for us.

Wheat Vermicelli steamed in egg white with prawns, and broccoli. Although this is more for the birthday boy, we all had a portion too.

Some of us had the double-boiled Assorted Seafood with Black Gold Garlic Dumpling Soup. This was not in the picture.

As you can see, it was quite a feast. Between the munching, and the joking, and the laughter, it was good that we had a room to ourselves. Otherwise, I am quite sure we would have annoyed everyone in the restaurant. People would have wondered how we could behave like teenagers at our age.

What is a birthday celebration without a drink - a bottle of Mumm's Champagne, no less.

Here was the Birthday boy with a platter. On the platter was a Black Forest cake, longevity buns and an arrangement of ginger, symbolisms of a long life.

Here was the boisterous eight - plus one, who made an appearance just as we were finishing our lunch.

And here was what took our breath away when we first entered the room. We didn’t expect that we would be getting a room with a view – beautiful, awesome view of the Singapore River and the Boat Quay.

Three hours slipped away quickly while we were too boisterous to notice. It was a great lunch, - good food, good fun and company. The simple pleasures in Life.

Here is the Menu for your reference.