life, oman, relationship, salalah, travelblog

The Iconic Figure Of The Queen of Sheba

chicpencil

When King Solomon received the wisdom that God has bestowed upon him, he became famous and so does his kingdom. The thirst of wisdom led him to discoveries of variety of things including his desire for women. He was known to have marriages to different women of royal bloodlines from different kingdoms but not neglecting his leadership to his people.

Such popularity reached the kingdom of the Queen of Sheba who is in her own possesses such wit and intelligence as a ruler of her kingdom that is rich in gold, incense due to trades. Magnetized by King Solomon’s wisdom she and her servants went to King Solomon. She offered the king all the rich gifts in exchange of wisdom from the king.

However, human as they are, there were beliefs that it is very possible that the two had an affair. I guess having such intelligence and wit, a person can have such charisma and magnetism. There are still debates pertaining to the topic of King Solomon and Queen of Sheba of whether they had such an affair and whether it was the Queen of Sheba who is referred by Solomon in the book of Song of songs from the Old Testament.

However, the Queen of Sheba is already a ruler in her own right. The wisdom of King Solomon as a leader is an attraction for the queen. It is also possible that the King and the Queen were merely discussing affairs of their states. However, such intelligence and wit can be the basis of admiration and probably infatuation.

In the end the two leaders separated ways. For reality still is, they have different kingdoms that they have to rule and lead. Different lives they are bound to live. The Queen of Sheba together with her servants went back to her kingdom.

The Queen of Sheba has been very popular though very little is known about her. There are still debates of her origins and bloodlines. Her kingdom was believed to have been very strategic with respect to location. Though there are discussions of where her kingdom is, archeological findings of the Queen of Sheba’s palace were discovered in the Dhofar region of Oman. It is called Sumhuram.

Sumhuram was known as the greatest city of Southeast Arabia during 1000BC. The port was strategically built and its location paved the success of frankincense trade route from Arabia to Jerusalem to Alexandria and even to Rome. Having such powerful kingdom and the frankincense route, the kings and queens of Sheba protect and control their incense together with Yemen who controlled myrrh of Yemen. The frankincense routes were watered from places with zigzagging approach  across Arabia as implemented by the Queen of Sheba due to the advise of King Solomon. This is to protect the frankincense routes and trades. Powerful as these trades as the bags of frankincense can reach India and even China.

All such discoveries were uncovered by archeologists and the site was first excavated by Wendell Philipps, the American who first dig the site in Dhofar region.

Could it be that wisdom of King Solomon helped the Queen of Sheba protect her trades and kingdom?

As the helping of kingdoms and affairs of states, were the two leaders actually had such affection for each other?

Leaders as they are, they are still humans with feelings and emotions. They have kingdoms to rule, lives to live, culture and religion to follow. Such amount of responsibilities entails sacrifices and compromises.

I salute the Queen of Sheba as the ruler of her kingdom and the successful trades and frankincense routes. She’s a powerful figure yet remained unnoticed and hidden.

I was privileged to visit the place of Khor Rori, the archeological place which is known the be the palace of the Queen of Sheba. Together with my brother and his buddy, we drove towards the excavation site which is located between Wadi Attair and Wadi Dirbat during my Salalah visit last December 2010. The place is preserved and until today birds such as flamingos, herons and gulls can be seen.

The strategic port location of Sumhuram. Salalah Oman. December 2010.

Nikon D200. Exposure 1/640. F/13.0. Focal 17 mm. ISO 400.

 

 

Birds of Sumhuram. Salalah Oman. December 2010.

Nikon D200. Exposure 1/640. F/13.0. Focal 300 mm. ISO 400.

 

 

Birds of Sumhuram. Using telefoto lens. Salalah Oman. December 2010.

Nikon D200. 1/400. F/10.0. Focal 300 mm. ISO 400.

 


Overlooking the sea. The Port opening and location. Sumhuram Salalah Oman. December 2010.

Nikon D200. 1/640. F/13.0. Focal 17mm. ISO 400.

 

 

Khor Rori archeological site. Sumhuram. Salalah Oman. December 2010.

 

The storehouses and gate. Sumhuram. Salalh Oman. December 2010.

 

The storehouses and gate. Sumhuram. Salalh Oman. December 2010.

 

The ruins of monumental building. Sumhuram. Salalah Oman. December 2010.

 

The residential area of Sumhuram. Salalah Oman. December 2010.

 

My brother Pat and his buddy Kuya Bong at Khor Rori archeological site. Salalah Oman. December 2010.

 

Me with my brother at Sumhuram. Salalah Oman. December 2010.

 


Enjoying my archeological visit to Sumhuram. Salalah Oman. December 2010.

The story of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba have always been famous and I have constantly listens to it even when I was still a child.

I wonder sometimes if the two leaders had an affection for each other, letting go must have caused some pains.

I guess saying goodbye to the person that you care about has always never been easy.

 

 

Til next time. Au revoir.

 

References:

– Bradt Travel Guides – Oman

– The Queen of Sheba by Michael Wood – BBC History UK

 

 

life, relationship

Along Came You

chicpencil

A day before the Valentine’s month ended, it is but a ponder to express our feelings.

Though life and future brings a lot of uncertainties and questions, there’s always that moment that you will cherish for something and someone to think with.

Here’s a poem of thanks I created for that somebody whom I think about and frequently missed:

 

Along Came You

(by Chic Pencil)

 

Each night ’tis your name whisper

before my eyes close to sleep,

Wishing when I woke up

thine face is beside mine,

As by surprise we found each other

and sparkle like wine,

Merry roses glistened

as we caressed the summer sheep.

 

Many wonders love brings

as we whisper flowers bloom,

But alas it is stained

by people’s greed and loom,

Four years of sleep is over

of maturity and self healing,

Stars allowed and fate abide

for purity and keeping.

 

In the merriment of circumstances

our existence perceived,

In the midst of crossroads

a chance for paths to meet,

I thank heavens for allowing

such person as you,

To come and walk in discreet

in bringing the reason to believe.

 

A big thanks for mine found

in the fast pace of life,

Along came you…

 

I always believed that people comes and they will always go in our lives. They always play a role and lessons to reflect with. However it is the footprints they left and will leave behind is what varies. In the constant changes in life, it is always that feeling of affection which gives us the motivation to our journey.

Here’s one of the band from home singing one of my fave songs. The music video is a bit crazy as the band is known to be the alternative cool in their songs.

 

Life is like a car traveling in roads. At night we wouldn’t see what the road looks like as the world is at dim. However we have the head light of the car which guides our way. It’s like the faith and hope that we carry and we have the love that we always cherished.  ~ Chic Pencil

And another song which didn’t fade even two decades has passed. Currently reflects me after the recovery from a rather painful relationship almost five years ago, jumping back to a relationship will need some time. I would rather enjoy the view of my current journey of life.

Til next time. Au revoir.

 

 

culture, life, psychology

What’s The Implicit You?

chicpencil

Culture plays big role in determining the association of individuals towards characteristics. A  group or population behaving the same specific manner to different criteria defines the cultural characteristics of such population.

The study of culture has been done by sociologists in order to differentiate the behavior of nationals from country to country. Different cultural models has been developed as the outcome of culture study. In this arena, we can always remember the names;

  1. Geert Hofstede on his cultural dimensions designating each country to have specific behavior based on the study he developed.
  2. Trompenaars 7D Cultural Model giving more differentiation and a wider behavioral approach to Hofstede’s cultural model.

Aside from cultural aspects, ethics does play a big role to culture. Bribing for example is a big no-no to other countries but to some countries it is accepted and is called ‘token’ or ‘gift’.

From culture and ethics influence of society, an individual does behave is also depending on his upbringing and his experiences.

All of us have our own bias in our personality. Out of this bias behavior comes our preferences in our choices. We have to acknowledge our personal bias and managed it as well in order to avoid being ‘stereotype’.

When we see colors, how do we associate them? Is white associated with good? Is black associated with bad?

In terms of gender, do we perceive men are career oriented? Do we perceive women to be family oriented?

At work when we asked a woman colleague for help and we got turn down, do we perceive that woman colleague to be unkind and not considerate? Do we perceive women to be more helpful at work compared to men? When a man colleague turn down our request for help, do we just accept it because he’s a man?

It’s due to these preferences and bias that studies conducted through surveys portray different results.

University of Chicago conducted the study and found based on responses that men and women react differently to jobs with wages based on competition with coworkers which can explain as to some extent the aspects of wage inequality between men and women.

Interestingly enough, I wonder if this study conducted by University of Chicago will give the same result if they expand the variables of study to not only gender but also include the race?

In such behavioral responses, it still attune to our personal bias.

Most often than not, we always wanted to be neutral and project to the world that we are not bias and we do not have preference. We wanted to be –> good. And politically correct.

Contemplate. Photo taken at Al Mugsail, Salalah Oman. December 2010.

Are you towards football? A close glimpse and shot of Lukas Podolski (German football player) in Cologne Germany, July 2009

However, our preference and prejudice are what defines us. Culture, ethics, politics and other aspects of society influence our behavior to some extent but we have our own individual preference which make us unique.

What’s the implicit you? When you tell someone you are not bias towards gender or race or color of skin, is it really true?

In order to know what’s the implicit you, I recommend for you to try the Implicit Association Test (IAT) developed by Harvard. The demonstration test would require approximately 15 minutes. There are various topics that you can take in order for you to identify your association to different subjects. Most of us defines explicitly that we associate women with family but surprisingly our implicit preference tells us that women are towards career. Now there’s the conflict between our implicit and explicit preferences. We have to know ourselves.

As such, after taking the IAT demo test, what’s really the implicit you?

Til next time. Au revoir.

Citations:

  1. Geert Hofstede Cultural studies
  2. Trompenar’s 7D Model
  3. The University of Chicago News
  4. Implicit Association Test (IAT)

 

 

life, relationship

Ramon And Jovita

chicpencil

World War II started in 1939 and ended up on 1945. During the war emotions are at the weakest while everyone is struggling for survival.

The Philippines have undergone few colonizations and liberalizations:

  • Spanish regime (1521 – 1898)
  • American period (1898 – 1946)
  • Japanese occupation (1942 – 1946)

Ramon and Jovita met during their teenage years within the circa of World War II. In their hometown whilst the country is under the Japanese occupation and war, they fell in love.

Jovita is arranged by her parents to a man who is capable of raising family. She was only in her teens. Ramon’s family is not well to do but he is determined to accomplish for a better life. However, during the war, the primal duty is to survive and bring the family to safety. They were not able to complete their education. Ramon finished primary school that is until 6th grade while Jovita completed until 5th grade.

After the Japanese occupation, their love blossomed. Jovita’s parents disapproved. But Ramon is determined and fought for his love and won Jovita’s heart. The couple eloped until their parents approved of their relationship. They won over their parents and got married during 1950s; Jovita is 19 while Ramon is 20 years of age.

Reality started to kick in when Jovita delivered their first born son. Since the couple did not achieved higher education levels, finding a job wasn’t easy. Ramon undergone multiple jobs to support his family. The first born was followed by a daughter. The second born was followed by another daughter. And the kids keep on increasing. Both the couple are struggling to support the increasing household. Ramon’s jobs include gambling dealer, carpentry, and later on foreman. Jovita performed part time housekeeping to families in order to help Ramon.

Like any other normal couples, their relationship wasn’t smooth sailing. They also have undergone fights, disagreements especially when the kids are also suffering since it is hard to make ends meet. Ramon made a strategic decision pertaining to the kids education. He knows that he cannot support all his eight children’s education so he decided to prioritize the sons and have the sons complete at least diploma education. His main reason is that the sons are the ones who will be supporting their own family in the future so it is worthwhile to be that way. They raised their kids in the traditional discipline adhering to the saying ‘Spare the rod spoil the child.’

Life wasn’t easy but Ramon and Jovita stayed together through hardships. When the kids grew up, the kids started to help the family.

Ramon in his 60s was hit by cancer. He died in 1993 leaving Jovita and their kids. Jovita decided not to remarry and focused her attention to her family. Needless to say, her heart and love still belongs to Ramon.

Right now, Ramon and Jovita’s children are grown up and have their own families except their seventh and their youngest daughter.

The family started with a poor background. And even though few of the children were successful, they still remain to be humble and attached to the family’s love. It wasn’t a smooth sailing in their family but there’s still joy being with one another.

The heart as they say is a river of mystery. Being in love is the greatest happiness. In our ever changing world whereby our emotions are afflicted by the pressures of society, our hearts tend to go astray. However, no matter how chaotic the world can be, there is always that someone in our heart whom we cherish, we protect and we whisper the name before we sleep at night.  ~ Chic Pencil

I will never forget Ramon and Jovita’s story. I am very proud of them. I’m very thankful of them as without their love, I wouldn’t be here.

Today is Valentine’s day and also Jovita’s birthday. Every Valentine’s day I always remember their love story.

They, Ramon and Jovita have their song which I always treasure and play…

My parents Ramon and Jovita. Photo taken during my primary school graduation as valedictorian.

Jovita at 78. She’s the most beautiful woman in my world. My Filipina-Spanish mum, my Valentina.

Special thanks to my eldest niece Geraldine for posting the pictures.

Another special mention to Arab Face for sharing.

Til next time. Au revoir.

analytics, business, cep, technology

The Value of Complex Event Processing (CEP) & The Story of Alice in the not so ever Wonderland

chicpencil

Once upon a time there was a lady (let’s call her Alice) who was very practical that she has her fixed deposit – FD savings in tact in the bank. The bank is very happy with her savings as it would give the bank the assurance and increase in their wealth management for greener investments.

The bank is equipped with a high-end infrastructure in analytics and sophisticated business intelligence (BI) system giving their business analysts and frontline business professionals flexibility in their quantitative analysis, trending, and forecasting.

The BI infrastructure of the bank is still using the traditional approach. Incremental and delta data changes will be extracted by the ETL, that is, Extract, Transform & Load the data to their target analytics engine. Or the approach can be  ELT, that is, Extract, Load, & Transform the data to their target analytics engine. Once all the transformations are complete, the data that are once OLTP in nature now becomes OLAP and is ready for analysis and ready for usage of the bank’s downstream systems.

The service level agreement (SLA) of the bank’s IT department to the business is 12 hours. The extraction of data up to the completion of all the transformation jobs needs to complete at 6AM everyday. Previously, the SLA was 15 hours since the decision systems environment is free by 3PM. But due to ever changing demands of business analytics, the SLA is now reduced to 12 hours and the IT department is having tough time coping up because their analytics database engine is starting to suffer from performance degradation.

The bank’s business analysts does collect their data everyday but their method of analysis based on the business process is within 1 week worth of data. There wasn’t a near real time business process to analyze the behavior of account holders.

Alice’s FD account has been very good for the last 2 years. She belongs to the demographics of single, female, high income professional, very good standing on accounts, and within the age of 25 to 30.

However changes happened in Alice’s life. In less than 1 week, Alice performed the following transactions:

  1. Withdrawal from FD accounts
  2. Withdrawal from Savings accounts
  3. Withdrawal from Current accounts
  4. Applied for a personal loan

After the above withdrawals (Events 1 to 3), her demographics has actually changed to single, female, high income professional, poor standing on accounts (risk), and within the age of 25 to 30.

When Alice applied for the loan (Event 4), she was surprised that her loan was granted. But of course, she was happy.

Why did the bank approved Alice’s loan?

Simply because when the loan officer saw Alice’s account holder profile, she still belongs to the very good accounts. Though there were withdrawals from Alice’s accounts, the loan approver thinks that Alice may have some investments in the bank that is not visible to the loan officer due to the bank’s security policies.

The loan officer doesn’t know that the demographics profile analysis wasn’t updated yet.

Clearly based on the above scenario, Alice is under the risk of defaulting her payment to her loan and the bank is also under the risk for non payments.

If all the four complex events that Alice did were captured in real time and handled by various business processes or rules, the bank would have the chance to acknowledged the risk of lending the loan to Alice to avoid financial losses.

Alice story is a normal customer behavior.

However, if there are one million bank customer who performed the complex events that Alice did without the bank realizing it, it is not surprising why banks suffered financial losses and can probably attributed to the recent financial downturn that happened globally. The Great Depression of the Financial markets.

After the business realizes their gaps, financial institutions have demanded for real time analysis of events.

Previously, the OLAP is sitting in the datawarehouse and is only accessed and analyzed once a week or everyday for operational reporting, the business demands have changed that they need the events to be processed and analyzed as soon as it happened and entered in the company’s analytics system.

Analytics has evolved. As always.

Complex events processing or greatly known as CEP systems is the analysis of different levels of events that correlates to the business rules or processes.

As soon as the events have entered into the CEP stream, it is analyzed immediately based on the rules thus triggering the different actions as provided by the business logics. It provides advancement and flexibility to the company’s frontline force – business analyst and business support team.

What’s the value of having a CEP system?

(1) It provides an enhanced risk management system. The earlier alert of Alice’s complex event 4 would trigger the bank that her demographics has changed thus the loan should be disapproved.

(2) Fraud detection. When I was in Oman, I purchased the jewelry set and used my Singapore credit card in payment. In less than 5 minutes while I was still in the jewelry shop, the bank called me to verify the validity of the transaction. As CEP systems analyzed the near real time events even in seconds, considering that I was overseas and with few delays due to the network speed, etc, the complex event that I triggered changed my behavior pattern thus it is suspect for fraud detection as I have never been in middle east let alone use my credit in middle east. The good thing about it is that if it was a true fraud, the jewelry shop can hold the person who is misusing the credit card since the bank will reject the transaction. Thanks to CEP systems.

What happens to traditional OLAP models?

Well, the usage of ROLAP, MOLAP, HOLAP, etc is still going to be used by the business for their trending, slicing and other analysis for better business positioning as required by the C-levels of the company. However, the CEP systems is catered for frontline force and business support team for real time business activity monitoring.

Who offers CEP systems in the market?

There are large enterprise vendors offering CEP solutions. Below is the list to name a few and this list doesn’t follow any ranking:

So, next time when a bank calls you to verify your transaction, don’t get annoyed especially if you’re not in the mood. You have to thank your bank that it is investing in this type of technology to better service you as a valued customer. (Wink).

Good morning America. Photo taken in New York, USA. 2005.

Til next time. Au revoir.

life, relationship

Requiescat In Pace

chicpencil

Few days ago a sad news came. The beloved mother of my uncle in Germany has passed away. A very sad news. I am glad that my uncle is recovering well.

Few months back there were clan members of my family passed away. My uncle, my aunt, and a cousin.

Painful, yes it is. To be left by those we love whom we know we will never get a glimpse again.

Family is the blood who mold us on who we are  and what we become. It is a knot, a bond that cannot be broken until we reached our last breath. Though there are waves inside the family which involves emotions and relationships, we were born to a family and there’s a reason for it.

Letting go is not easy. To be left behind by our loved ones will always shed a tear.

Life continues and the journey must go on.

Death is a destination that we cannot avoid.

Dust though art and to dust returnest was not spoken by the soul…      ~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

We were born with nothing and we will leave with nothing. All of us are equal. The uniqueness lies on how we performed the journey. There’s always hope, there’s always faith. Last and most of all, there’s always love and it makes all the difference in us.  ~ Chic Pencil

To my dear departed love ones, you will always be remembered.

Requiescat in pace. Rest in peace.


A simple whisper of prayer. A guide. Taken at Cologne Germany, 2009.

 

Til next time. Au revoir.

life, oman, salalah, travelblog

Realizing Prophet Job’s Lessons

chicpencil

The grave of Prophet Job is in the northwest part of Salalah Oman. It is in the peak of Jabal Atin and is reachable with a road trip taking Ayn Jarziz.

The typical road in Salalah Oman.

While my brother is busy driving, I was busy taking snaps from the road side view. On the way to Job’s tomb.

Another road side snap while the car is fast moving.

The herd of camels. They are often called the ‘Kings of the road’ as you will need to stop and slowly drive when you see them crossing or walking on the roads. Taken inside the car while I was watching them passing us.

Prior our journey to visit Prophet Job’s tomb, I was contemplating on how the grave and the place will look like and how will it impact my view on the side of faith.

Inside the area where Prophet Job is buried is this small mosque.

The entrance to the mosque.

A simple sign asking for a little respect wouldn’t hurt to follow.

After the mosque is where Prophet Job lies.

He manages the area and I was surprised that he joined us during the photo shoots.

Prophet Job is an iconic figure in the following religions:

  • in Islam he is known as Nabi Ayoub and is present in the Quran;
  • in Jewish faith he is known as Nabi Iyov and is present in Tanakh;
  • in Christian faith he is known as Prophet Job and is present in the Old Testament.

Prophet Job’s footprint preserved.

I was born and raised in a Catholic family. The religion I grew up with came from roots of Judaism. History will give us a long story telling of how the religion started and how it became known to those countries who were colonized by Western Europeans (Spain & Portugal). Thanks to Emperor Constantine. And of course, the scholars may still be in the battle of minds regarding the faith of Christianity.

So I’ve known Prophet Job since I was a kid as part of school curriculum – to study the religion.

If there’s one notion of the prophet’s popularity is when we asked the question ‘Why do we need to suffer? And why did God allow suffering?’

The story of Prophet Job is pretty much universal to the above mentioned religions. He is a righteous and powerful man (a sheikh) and is loyal follower of God and does not complain on God’s will. His loyalty at heart paved the way for Satan to ask permission from God to test his loyal heart. God allowed it and Job and his family were ripped of their wealth. Job didn’t complain. Satan again ask permission to test him. God allowed it as long as no life will be taken. Job suffered from leprous sores. From a respected man he became penniless and avoided by people due to his disease. As I recall his story it is this time when Job started to question back God on why He allowed such misfortunes.

The tomb of Prophet Job.

The tomb of Prophet Job.

The tomb of Prophet Job.

All of us have suffered in our lives. We have undergone challenges and problems on those events we may have questioned the Big Guy up there why He allowed those things to happen. However, trials in life is what makes life worth living. The said trials is always the realization of ourselves, our capabilities and the acknowledgement of God.

Realizing Prophet Job’s lessons, I learned:

Suffering is a part of life and each suffering is bound to tell us of acknowledgments or lessons to ourselves and God’s presence.

God allows suffering to teach us of humility (learn to let go) and acknowledging Him. We sometimes believe that our current state is the result of our actions and behaviors. However, we should realized as well that we are spiritual in nature. We cannot explain why people come to our lives and events in our lives happen for specific reasons.

God as a loving father wouldn’t want people to hurt us. However, we have been given the gift of ‘Free Will‘ whereby people can choose freely what their heart desires. Sadly sometimes, people changes heart that doesn’t conform to our happiness.

Me with friends inside Prophet Job’s tomb.

I wish I know what was written in this board.

With my brother at Prophet Job’s tomb.

Surely the story of Prophet Job has its equivalent to my brethren in other religion.

Suffering is universal; however, we can always choose to follow God’s will and acknowledge Him.

The view outside the area of Prophet Job’s tomb.

The Salalah Oman travel blog still continues in the upcoming article…

Til next time. Au revoir.

Citations:

– Oman Tourism website: http://www.omantourism.gov.om

oman, salalah, travelblog

Travel Destination: Salalah, Oman

chicpencil

Oman is a middle economy country in the Middle East region with a geography of approximately 309, 500 sq. km. In its north is the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the northwest is Saudi Arabia and the southwest is Yemen.

The country is officially called Sultanate of Oman. And it is being headed by Sultan Qaboos. The country is heavily dependent on its export of oil.

Oman’s country GDP (purchasing power) is estimated to be USD 76.53 billion in 2010 with an estimated growth of 3.6% in 2010.

Oman’s tourism is currently on its turning point and generates increasing revenue.

Dhofar is the region that is in the southern part of Oman with its administrative capital is Salalah.

I had the privilege to travel to Salalah, Oman last December 2010 to visit my eldest brother. It was my first time to visit the middle east region. Initially I had the impression that I will need to wear the traditional Abaya, the dress that is being worn by the Muslim women in public. However, I learned that in Oman the foreign women does not require to wear Abaya.

My journey started via Emirates EK349 from Changi to Dubai then EK862 from Dubai to Muscat. Traveling alone can be challenging but few conversations with interesting people and catchup with my book readings eased up the boredom.

Gearing up for Oman. At Changi Airport for EK349. December 23, 2010.

Breakfast at Dubai International Airport. Tiramisu and Americano from Paul resto. December 24, 2010.

EK862 from Dubai to Muscat. December 24, 2010.

In Muscat airport there is a Premium Lounge available to everyone. If you are a holder of American Express and other known credit card issuers that came from the gulf region (GCC), you can use the lounge without a fee. Whilst for those that doesn’t hold credit card from the gulf can pay OMR 10.00 for 3 hours and OMR 15.00 for 5 hours stay. I stayed in the Premium lounge for 3 hours and I am amazed by their hospitality not to mention free wifi, food which changes every meal time, shower room, and nap rooms are available.

The Premium Lounge at Muscat Airport.

Muscat to Salalah is via OmanAir WY907. It was first time that I traveled with this carrier and I must say I am impressed with the flight.

Light meal with WY907. December 24, 2010.


Aerial view of Oman. On the way to Salalah. December 24, 2010.


I was impressed by Salalah’s safety to tourist. And the simplicity of life can be felt by tourist like myself.

By 5PM, the Omanis and Oman residents will start to have their evening coffee and chat with their friends.

The late afternoon and evening catchup are regardless of age.

The sea view of Salalah, Oman. Breath taking.

The sunset by the sea at Salalah, Oman.

Oman’s religion is majority Islam. As such, mosques can be seen everywhere in Salalah.

Sultan Qaboos Mosque is now completed. It is the grandest building in Salalah Oman.

The Omanis are very warm and friendly people. They accommodate foreigners and welcome them. Even the women are friendly. Together with my brother and friends, I was able to take a snap with Omani ladies.

Me with the fashionable Omani ladies. December 2010.

Arab men were also friendly. They’re warm with foreigners though we don’t know each other.

Arab guys who requested for a snap though we don’t know each other. Taken at Marriott Resort, December 2010.

The transportation in Oman is usually via private cars. The car models available in the car industry are always updated. For tourists, car rentals are very affordable and the models are updated. Even though we rented a car last December, 2010 but the car that was released to us was Nissan Tiida 2011 model. Impressive.

How about the car full tanked? Well, it was very surprising that the car full tanked in fuel only cost approximately SGD 12.00. Very amazed.

The rented car. Nissan Tiida 2011 with my brother inside.


The car rental business. The company who provided us with the updated car model.

During my Oman visit I enjoyed the middle eastern food. Shawarma from Dharbatt hotel (specialized in Turkish food) top notched combined with their Turkish coffee. Yummy.

And what could be best in Middle East but to taste the Kabab with its traditional salad, and Hummus, and the middle eastern bread. Couldn’t ask for more in dinner.

My brother and his buddy with our dinner – Kabab, salad, Hummus, and bread. Yum. yum. yum.

Shopping in Oman is cordial. Especially when you’re in search for gold jewelries. Though some would say gold in Oman is slightly higher in price in comparison to other gulf region, it is still lower in price when we’re comparing with outside of Middle East continent. Regardless of design, the amount is based on the gold weight.

My gold find and my remembrance. Three bangles and a set of earrings with necklace. Retail therapy completed.

Tourism in Salalah has improved and not surprisingly provides revenue for the state. If you’re into archeological sites, tombs of prophets, and frankincense, you will definitely enjoy Salalah.

For more information on Oman Tourism, you can visit http://www.omantourism.gov.om.

My travel went very well and I’m very thankful for my brother and the circle of friends who cordially went with us on our road trips and adventures.

Their smile and their faces. I owe them gratitude for my accommodation and stay at Salalah, Oman.

Me with my eldest brother in Prophet Job’s (Ayoub) Tomb. Taken December 25, 2010.


I had an unforgettable experience in Salalah, Oman. Needless to say, I had a sibling time with my brother whom due to age gap I wasn’t able to grew up with. Definitely a memorable experience. Surely I will visit again Salalah, Oman.

My travel was concluded with EK867 from Muscat to Dubai and EK348 from Dubai to Singapore.

Shukran Salalah Oman!

A continuation of this travel blog will be the upcoming article, Realizing Prophet Job’s Lesson.

Til next time. Au revoir.

Citations:

  • U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs June 2007, Background Note: Oman
  • Central Intelligence Agency, World Factbook Publication, Middle East: Oman


analytics, business, competitive advantage, technology

You’re Tagged And Analyzed

chicpencil

You walked in a supermarket looking for a pack of tissue as you are probably suffering from colds or for variety of reasons you need to get a tissue from that supermarket as it is the nearest store from you according to your location finder services or digital maps and GPS.

However, you spent thirty minutes walking around the supermarket searching for the tissues section and you walked away empty handed as you went impatient and just decided to search and try your luck from other shops.

You ended up frustrated and the supermarket may have loose their opportunity for you to be their loyal customer.

If the supermarket would have just placed some retails of facial tissues within the cashier counter you would have noticed it and bought it and you will praise the marketing of the supermarket as they have done good job and satisfied your need at that moment.

Analyzing what happened would lead us to realize that there was the gap between the customer and the business. There is the probability that the supermarket didn’t have a built in analytics system in their process.

Analytics – the process of solving problems based on existing set of data has been used by technology to solve business problems and create competitive advantage.

Majority of the business players invest in analytics software in order to analyze their customers, create trends, and most of all discover new demographics.

Caesar Salad with grilled chicken at Mc Donald’s in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Now this encounter is impressive.

It is all about consumer behavior and patterns.

And technology has been evolving consistently to support the business demands.

Previously the analysis has been based on structured data – age, location, behavior, race, etc. However, as the business competition is getting tougher, technology has evolved and now supports unstructured data for analysis. The term ‘unstructured data’ is referring to blogs and videos to name a few.

Now the method of consumer analysis can start

  1. From the moment that you walk in the supermarket looking for your items.
  2. From the items that you need you are choosing from different brands. While choosing you may have been analyzed by the brand names that implements the video analytics.
  3. When you pick up the item it is a different record of event and
  4. when you decided to buy the item it is tagged as different event.

When it is the first time that you choose your credit card to purchase online, your bank suddenly called you in a matter of minutes to confirm if you really made the transaction. That is analytics in the move and the technology supports it to analyze it in milliseconds or seconds to provide fraud detection.

As all of these are happening it is a great feeling that our technology can keep up and business is there to provide us with better service and satisfaction. The downside of which is the issue on privacy as consumers.

Who are you? This is my nephew giving me his inquisitive look during my birthday celebration in Germany, September 2010.

Though privacy issues created commotion due to internet cookies detected to collect surfing data and other personal data, it is still undeniable that our personal data maybe roaming somewhere being analyzed as which demographics we belong and what regression model would suit and fit us so the business can create advantage and maintain competition.

Privacy issue is always undeniable in the digital world. And our behavior or pattern are the key to business and as well as government in providing security and welfare.

And so, we are tagged and being analyzed.

And if we do not want to be located for whatever reason… the best way to do it is to shut off the mobile phone. (wink).

This is me while gearing up and competing with in the market space of analytics technology.

Til next time. Au revoir.

life, relationship

A Rare Method Of Delivery

chicpencil

A memorable experience worth sharing:

Have you ever experienced wishing for something to happen for that one person… that you planned and did your part only to accept the fact that it is you who failed and just accept things as they are meant to happen?

To make it short, you wanted to surprise someone only to end up that it was you who were surprised in the end?

Well… the intro is pretty confusing isn’t it?

A memorable experience…

It was July 2010 when a memorable person in my life celebrated his birthday. However, he celebrated his birthday on a foreign country thousands of miles away from his family and loved ones. He was on his vacation. Being in a foreign country during your birthday, the feeling is not the same as compared to when you’re with your family. Unfamiliar faces and unfamiliar place can give a tricky adjustment for you to lighten up your mood.

So I decided to surprise this memorable person. However, I do not know what and how to surprise him. I haven’t been to the country where he spent his birthday.

As the spirit of Worldcup was approaching, and needless to say I am a football fan/addict every period of 4 years because of FIFA, I casually asked him during our casual messages if he’s a fan of football. Surprisingly, football is a casual so-so for him. He was more of a baseball guy.

Baseball…

Just like watching baseball games when I was still in my high school years. I tried being the ‘catcher’ in the women’s softball team but I cannot handle the pressure of being in constant eye alert and the signal synchronization between me and my pitcher. So I just decided to become a player and just pass my physical education class.

So to surprise him, I checked the baseball stadiums in the country where he went for vacation. Problem is, there are a lot of things I don’t know – the places that he’s going to, the timing and his travel itinerary. The probability of knowing is very little. I was thinking twice if this surprise gift is the right thing to do. All I know is his birthdate and the country that he’s going to.

For his birthday, I wanted to greet him and give him a baseball ball. Well, I am unsure if this will be special for him. But this is the gift that I wanted to give him.

Still, I took my chances.

During his vacation, we had few occasions of interaction through messages. I was loosing my faith for the surprise gift. When his birthday is nearby, I felt that I am close to impossible. It is like throwing a ball to nowhere and hoping that somebody will throw the ball back at me.

Few days before his birthday, on one of messages, he mentioned the place of his next destination. Even with this information, I am still not sure if he will watch any baseball games. The chances is still slim.

But for whatever force there is, I searched the stadium where the baseball games are being held at his next destination. And when I knew the stadium, I still don’t know if he’s going to watch baseball game on his birthday. I was loosing hope, but still there was a push for me to continue surprising him. I don’t know why.

Unexpected things happened. I was assigned to another technology in my job. I’m assigned to handle the mobility technologies and was involved in a roadshow technology event held in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia a day after his birthday. Mobility technology is very French for me. My cup of tea is from the backend side of IT and mobility is dealing with front-end applications in mobile devices. I only have few days to train myself before the event. I still accepted the assignment.

And I completely forgotten about my surprise for him. I travelled to Kuala Lumpur Malaysia 2 days before the event in order to setup and test the mobile devices that I am going to demo. And, like the usual technology testings, I hit few issues that needed coordination from my Hong Kong counterparts.

A day before his birthday, as I was still rushing to complete my demo, I remembered my surprise birthday gift for him. Thanks to the timezone differences, I still had the chance to send out my request to Rogers Stadium. I didn’t know if he will be there during his birthday. All I felt is that I have to request something from the stadium for him. The chances would be around one in a millionth ratio but I felt of doing it.

And so I did it. I sent out a request. Only to received a reply from Rogers Stadium informing me that I missed out the deadline for requests. I cordially thanked the stadium for even reading and considering my request. I have informed them that I am located in Singapore and have never been to their country so it is impossible for me to learn the policies. Either way, I smiled in my email and still thanked them.

And so I failed. I failed in surprising him on his birthday. I sent a casual birthday message for him and the day had passed.

A day after his birthday, the event happened. Life continues. I was thinking, probably things will happen different from my wishes. And I guess I just have to accept it.

It so happened that during the event, I had a wireless internet access. I received a notification from my Blackberry mobile that he uploaded pictures. During the notification, the event attendees were having their sessions so I had the chance to open up my personal favorite websites and just blankly open up his new photo uploads.

And there it was. One picture that made my eyes widened. There was a baseball ball. I immediately viewed the photo. And I was shocked.

Somebody has actually gave him the baseball ball!!!

I really don’t mind who gave it, how it was given to him.

All I want is for him to have a baseball ball on his birthday. I felt that it would a gift worth remembering for someone who is a baseball fan.

I always want him to be happy.

Like a little girl, if I can just jump and shout for joy during the event without even looking like a crazy person, I would have done it. But I couldn’t do it because I was in my dress.

I stepped outside the conference hall of KLCC Convention Center.

Looking outside the glass windows of the KLCC Convention Center, the weather was bright. I looked up in the sky and smiled and asked:

“You really did that did YOU?”

I was talking to the BIG GUY up there.

I closed my eyes and just whispered,

“THANK YOU… YOU have always been there for me, Dad.”

Funny isn’t it? When we did everything we can in order to fulfill our wishes only to realized that it is His Will and in His time.

Things happen for reasons. Reasons I believe will be known in the right time and in the right place. It’s all about faith.

Doing the surprise was very memorable and everything including him are now part of memories.

Still walking in crossroads, I frankly don’t know where I am heading. But at this point in time, I’ll just follow God’s steps since He already laid it out for me. All I have to do is to follow.

Life is a constant journey. And every journey gives us different perspectives. We can always stop and rest for a while when we’re tired. The continuation will rely greatly rely on us. It is either we stop the journey permanently or just continue walking and enjoy the view. I choose the latter.

Til next time. Au revoir.