The Cliff
I took up a challenge to play Reversi with a new friend recently. I am no self-declared Reversi expert but has managed not to lose any single game of amateurish Reversi I have played with friends. However, this time, I was humbled by a 3-2 loss. I was also somewhat humiliated because the in the last deciding game, I was dismally thrashed.
Since the winner gets to dictate his stakes, JW decided he wanted company for a dinner at a restaurant called The Cliff at Sentosa. I don't really have much of an idea what the restaurant is like, except that it sounded like a rather isolated place up some ulu mountain. But hey, it is an easy forfeit enough.
Apparently, according to the description on the web site, The Cliff is perched on a cliff (duh) overlooking the South China Sea and blessed with gentle breezes. Frankly, I can't get the cliffy part. It doesn't seem sufficiently high enough to make me feel like I am on top of a cliff. Further, there didn't seem much of a breeze, either. If you are feeling all warm and sweaty, I do suggest the restrooms since it is suitably air-conditioned.
For starters, JW ordered us pan-seared Foie Gras and some freshly shucked oysters.
The service staff was attentive, explaining every dish to the detail. They further provided antipasto of some sort of fish with a shot of custard.
For his mains, JW ordered a oven-baked Black Cod. I had the "3" Clam Risotto which I couldn't quite finish. For desserts, the warm chocolate truffle cake was pretty delightful.
Anyway, over dinner, JW who headed the Asia Pacific's Government Business unit at Oracle enlightened me on the cruelties of the real world, seeing how I have been entrapped in his so-called idealistic world of academia. He painted several scenarios and seeked my responses. In some of the circumstances, I am acutely aware of how or what I should do. But to actually execute the action is a different matter altogether. Just to put it this way, if you have to kill someone to make the world a better place, would you? I am not sure I am up to it. Perhaps you lack the killer instincts, he suggested. Placed in the cut-throat dog-eat-dog world, you will adapt, he offered the most unhelpfully. Isn't the thought that I would one day morph into this merciless, unscruplous, cold and calculating corporate rat the most depressing?
Ah well.
Since the winner gets to dictate his stakes, JW decided he wanted company for a dinner at a restaurant called The Cliff at Sentosa. I don't really have much of an idea what the restaurant is like, except that it sounded like a rather isolated place up some ulu mountain. But hey, it is an easy forfeit enough.
Apparently, according to the description on the web site, The Cliff is perched on a cliff (duh) overlooking the South China Sea and blessed with gentle breezes. Frankly, I can't get the cliffy part. It doesn't seem sufficiently high enough to make me feel like I am on top of a cliff. Further, there didn't seem much of a breeze, either. If you are feeling all warm and sweaty, I do suggest the restrooms since it is suitably air-conditioned.
For starters, JW ordered us pan-seared Foie Gras and some freshly shucked oysters.
The service staff was attentive, explaining every dish to the detail. They further provided antipasto of some sort of fish with a shot of custard.
For his mains, JW ordered a oven-baked Black Cod. I had the "3" Clam Risotto which I couldn't quite finish. For desserts, the warm chocolate truffle cake was pretty delightful.
Anyway, over dinner, JW who headed the Asia Pacific's Government Business unit at Oracle enlightened me on the cruelties of the real world, seeing how I have been entrapped in his so-called idealistic world of academia. He painted several scenarios and seeked my responses. In some of the circumstances, I am acutely aware of how or what I should do. But to actually execute the action is a different matter altogether. Just to put it this way, if you have to kill someone to make the world a better place, would you? I am not sure I am up to it. Perhaps you lack the killer instincts, he suggested. Placed in the cut-throat dog-eat-dog world, you will adapt, he offered the most unhelpfully. Isn't the thought that I would one day morph into this merciless, unscruplous, cold and calculating corporate rat the most depressing?
Ah well.
posted by jellybeano at 10:44 AM
3 Comments:
Well, actually it's not that you will morph into some merciless, unscruplous, cold and calculating corporate rat...
The stark realization that the world isn't such a nice place after all would have more impact on you, since it is somewhat true that the "idealistic world of academia", as JW puts it, is much more peaceful in a sense.
Having tendered my own resignation yesterday, I start to see how usually nice people start to morph into the most hostile creatures ever.
1 more month of drama before I officially leave, maybe can provide you some entertainment if you're bored.
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I must admit I have been lucky so far not to be caught in a dog-eat-dog corporate culture. It's definitely one of the pull factors why I'm staying put where I am despite the constant lure of better $$$.
I guess you gotta fall, then come back stronger to learn the ropes.
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