London calling...

Small paychecks for PR professionals in Taiwan?! Why?

2006-10-25T17:36:00.000+08:00

Recently I was approached by a world renowned PR agency for a potential job opportunity. This has been quite an honor for me as I am glad that I am still on the market, six months after my departure. I won't name names here and it's also inappropriate to do dumb things like that on a blog so don't ask me which company it is.

Despite my feeling of vanity, however, some common practices (read: problems) in the PR industry in Taiwan still trouble me. To be precise, they are the reason why I'm hesitant at this opportunity, though the title and ensuing responsibilities sound very attractive. I am quite reserved of throwing myself back in to that world.

I came across a blog written by Andres Wittermann today. His short article regarding the low salary scale of beginners in PR in Germany caught my attention. I subsequently left a comment to his article. For the readers who are interested in checking out Andre's blog, click here.

Basically what I was telling Andres was that I feel it is a pity that professionals in the PR industry in Taiwan are requested to work that hard by contributing their brains, personal time and sometimes even to the point of sacrificing their physical health all at the same time but are expected to be paid piecemeal compared to other types of consultants. Although it is a chance for me to return to the exciting PR industry undertaking potentially much desired responsibilities, I seriously dread the life in which I was under paid, felt dog-tired everyday while giving my absolute 120%.

I am not sure whether payment scales in PR have the same phenomenon in other countries. But hopefully anyone who's set their foot in PR before can share their perspective with me on this particular matter.

At the end of this posting, I would like to share a Salary Survey Report done by PRWeek back in year 2000. Although the article was written six years ago, many of the situations depicted are still truer than ever.

Comments from an anonymous reader

2006-10-25T17:29:00.000+08:00

Lately I got a comment from an anonymous reader reminding me to open an account in Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, to edit things about Taiwan. I duly appreciate this reader's reminder and will contribute myself to my country in this way soon.

Plan my work and work my plan!

2006-10-19T11:35:00.000+08:00

The last thought in my head before I fell asleep last night and the first feeling when I woke up this morning are the same - I am actually quite a lucky person.

How so? Honestly, I have to admit that I’m not one of those positive folks who are always perky in whatever circumstances they are in. However, a combination of incidents lately really sparked my appreciation of life, in many small ways.

Blessings - work wise

1. Business travel
After a business trip to the Netherlands in the first half of September, I have successfully scheduled another two business trips for myself to Tokyo and Bangkok in November. I know this may sound weird to some people. Business trips and blessings? What do the two have in common? The thing is that I've always wanted to travel for work, so that I can expand my geographical reach and acquire cross-cultural work experience at the same time.

I am hoping to travel to Western Europe again in early 2007 but I still have to negotiate hard for that one.

2. Less Working Hours
Compared to the crazy life style in my previous job, now I work more healthy hours about 8 to 9 hours a day. The advantage is that I feel more at ease and physically fit. The drawback? The job content is not challenging at all for me.

Blessings – personal wise

1. More savings than six months ago: I made a savings plan for myself in March and since then each month I have been putting in a fixed amount of money to my MBA fund. It feels good to see the figures increasing incrementally.

2. More time for hobbies: I have learned some basic salsa steps, Spanish and done some volunteer work for a charity organization since I left the PR firm. I am planning to learn surfing as a next step and maybe visiting Angkor Wat in the first half of 2007.

3. A healthy body!

Blessings – MBA plan wise
GMAT prep course kicks off on October 20, 2006.

Because of my decision to quit the PR firm when I started this blog, I am now able to have more personal time after work. For my pursuit of an MBA, I have done quite some survey of schools and GMAT prep options since March until now. And starting from tomorrow (October 20), I will begin my GMAT prep course. The GMAT prep course will cost me Euro 400. I chose the video format over the physical class due to its flexibility. The course includes 14 weeks of tutoring, 10 tests and all study materials. I plan to sit the GMAT in February 2007, if everything goes smoothly.

I am very looking forward to starting the GMAT prep course tomorrow and get it done over with. Will keep everyone posted of my experience in combating this annoying exam.

Until next time - Jen

The MBA Tour, Taipei 09/16/2006

2006-09-25T17:36:00.000+08:00

The MBA Fair event came to Taipei last Saturday (Sept. 16) in Grand Hyatt Hotel and I went there to collect information from the school reps and heir alumni. I collected a few brochures from Schulich, Cranfield, Berkeley Haas, Manchester Business School, Esade Spain, St. Gallen Switzerland and Indian School of Business, apart from a program comparison sheet made by the event organizer. Meanwhile, I have the following interesting discoveries to share with my readers.

- In the Taipei MBA Fair, I discovered that Cranfield and Instituto de Empresa actively provided the 'Highly Skilled Migrant Workers' (HSMP) programme provided by the UK government as part of the career prospects for their MBA graduates. In the HSMP program, graduates who successful completed their MBA (and MBA only) study in the top 50 qualifying MBA programmes in the world are eligible for a one-year work permit in the UK afterwards. As far as I know, the HSMP programme is a point system in which 65 is a pass and a MBA diploma from the 50 qualifying programmes would give the applicant enough to quality for a 12-month work permit after their MBA.

- Manchester Business School (MBS) is also listed as one of the top 50 qualifying programmes. However, their alumni was quite honest with me that finding employment in the UK post their MBA was not easy. The Taiwanese MBS alumni I spoke to possibly didn't know about the HSMP programme when he graduated. He told me his Chinese classmate managed to find employment in Germany, though, after sending out 1,000 resumes. What a spirit!

- Esade currently only has 7 Taiwanese students (3 graduated and 4 study-in-progress). So far none of their Chinese or Taiwanese alumni have managed to stay and find work in Spain after their MBA study.

- Cranfield has zero Taiwanese student/alumni so far, despite their reputation and high rankings in Europe. Having said this, Cranfield does have a considerable amount of alumni from China. About 20 students graduated from their master's and MBA programmes in 2004 alone. In year 2005, 93% of Cranfield MBA graduates got a job offer and was employed via heir career office upon graduation and this number includes non-EU students.

- As Taiwan is heavily influenced by the US, I was not surprised to see good schools like Schulich or Cranfield have visibly less visitors to their booth.

- Another school not in Europe but is campaigning pretty hard in an ambitious way in the fair is Indian School of Business (ISB, http://www.isb.edu/). I personally am not attracted to the idea of studying and living in India but it is definitely something interesting to keep a close watch on for the next five years. They were quite aggressive when selling the school to students in the fair, offering very competitive total fees, personalized career service, strong industry connections and prestigious affiliation with the big three - Kellogg, Wharton and London Business School.

This is the info I can remember from my memory. After quite a lot of research online and prioritization of my own life goals, I have decided to apply to Europeans schools mainly. Next month I will begin my GMAT prep course and I will post my thoughts on battling this exam in due course.

Cheers - Jen

Jenny on the radio...

2006-07-24T14:24:00.000+08:00

Tomorrow will be my first time to appear on a live radio program. I'm kinda nervous but also curious about how it's like to sit behind that giant microphone and talk to the audience from a national broadcasting station.

The interview should be on air at around 11:30 am (Taipei Time) on FM 100.7, the International Community Radio Taipei Station (ICRT). Overseas readers can also hear me from the web.

Keeping my fingers crossed for the typhoon to "slightly" glide through Taiwan so that it wouldn't ruin my appearance on the radio. ;-)

Life progress up to 06.26.2006

2006-06-26T16:06:00.000+08:00

It's been a very long time since my last posting. I owe an apology to all those people who have come back to check on my blog and got disappointed day after day. You might think that I lost passion to blog about my journey to an MBA. Well, the passion is still there but the past one and half months have been so messy in terms of life changes and decision making that I wasn't in a mood to sit down and write in a sensible manner. But somehow today I feel the muse has returned to me so here I am writing again to my dear readers.

To make a story short, here is a quick update of the things I've done/encountered during my absence.

Work wise

- Job interviews: 4 face-to-face interviews; 1 telephone interview
- Coffee/lunch with former employer: 3 times
- Loss of sleep over career shift: Quite a lot
- Meaningful business meetings: 5 (believe me, they are rare)
- Meaningful teleconference: 1 (almost 3 hours non-stop)
- Boring business meetings: Numerous
- Trips to cities outside of Taipei: 2
- New Business plan produced: 1 (8 pages, on Japan)
- Previous business plan being approved: 1
- B2C event organized & held: 1
- Advertorial produced: 1
- Web banners produced: 3
- Probation period passed: 1

MBA wise

- New language learned: Spanish level 1
- Savings plan for seed money: entering the 3rd month
- Visit to GMAT prep school: Once
- Association that I now work voluntarily for: ORBIS
- B-school thoroughly surveyed: at least 10

Personal wise

- Magazine invited to contribute article to: 1
- Relocation/Moving to a new apartment: Once
- Partying/excessive drinking: Once
- Football matches watched: 6 matches
- Verbal conflicts with family: Twice
- Sincere apology to family after fights: Once
- Reunion/Happy dinner with an old friend: Once
- Stalker I got rid of: 1 (Hey you, don't ever call me again!)
- Boring dates went: Once (Just happened yesterday, and I'm still recovering from that... uh :s)
- Boring lunch/movie declined: 2

After so many turbulences in a short time, I finally am able to tell myself that my decision to shift career from a PR agency to a marketing role was not a mistake. Although the pasture that I occupy at the moment is not super green, it does enable me to do things that were luxurious to me when all of my time was tied up in a PR agency. I still feel quite passionate about PR though, especially regarding the health care and pharmaceutical practice. And when the timing is right, I hope to get back to that again.

Meanwhile, after quite a lot of thinking and extensive research online I've re-arranged the list of b-schools that I want to get in. Most of the schools on my wish list now are European ones as I realize that's the area of the world which interests me the most...

Well, that's it for now. I will write about my progress made in July soon.

PS. David Beckham finally scored a goal last night with a brilliant free kick! I am keeping my fingers crossed for the England team.

BBC interview the wrong "Guy"...

2006-05-17T17:17:00.000+08:00

This topic is not relevant to an MBA at all, but I just found it too funny to be true. So I'd like to share.

If you follow the news regularly, you've probably have seen this piece of news on local portal sites. However, I figure that such an interesting anecdote can bring a smile to many people's faces so I'd like my readers to have a view on the video clip as well. Here you go!

- Dvorak Uncensored: Here you can see a short and sweet version of what happened with the wrong interview and see the captured clip for yourself. Pay attention to the wrong interviewee's facial expression in the first few seconds of the clip. It is very hilarious and very painful (for BBC) indeed...

- Search result on the BBC wesbite: Rumors has it that BBC deleted the clip of the wrong interview after it's been disclosed by bloggers. But apparently this is not true (yet). Have a look at the clips on the BBC site, if you prefer the authentic flavor.

Poor "Guy"! And kudos to BBC for apologizing for it, although I don't think they can do better damage control in any other way.

To be or not to be, that is the question...

2006-05-11T18:20:00.000+08:00

I don't wanna be too philosophical today, but there are so many choices I have to make at this point of life. Therefore, the famous words of Hamlet the Prince suit my current situations the best. Am starting my first Spanish lesson tonight. Will keep everyone posted along the process.

Have a good one! Adios...

Taiwan Breakfast Club at Swensen's

2006-05-08T11:59:00.000+08:00

One of the unexpected nice things that took place after I started blogging was the kind of contacts I was able to make via this blog. Thanks to Jerome's invitation, I joined their Breakfast Club last Saturday in Taipei. It was my first time to be there, however, as far as I know the breakfast meeting is centered around a different speech every first Saturday of the month. The style of the gathering was rather informal and the room was full of people with interesting backgrounds and stories. I was especially pleased to meet Jerome, a retired university professor whose view on Taiwan politics I find enlightening and Michael Turton, the super blogger whose love for Taiwan flows through his writing. Those who are interested to know more about this Breakfast Club can see Michael's recap, pics included, on his blog - The View From Taiwan.

Exotic Destination & Speed Dating

2006-05-02T11:58:00.000+08:00

What are the two things have in common? Eh, not too many except that both of them were ideas that popped up in my head this morning. Recently I've been reading Malcolm Gladwell's "Blink" and got fascinated by this snap judgment versus story-telling dilemma that Gladwell depicted in chapter two. Among the examples that the author presented, the speed dating service administered respectively in Manhattan and Columbia caught my attention. Maybe speed dating can be an interesting business for Taiwan, given the large population of single white-collar workers who work those crazy hours, although I can imagine some cultural resistance in the first place. You know how important "face" is in Asia... To make speed dating work, the message during the introduction phase must be crafted carefully. Fresh ideas, anyone?

As for the exotic location, it's actually about the place I want to take a vacation to in a few months' time. I'm so glad that summer is coming (or at least in my head). Though the weather in Taipei are still pretty nasty from time to time with pouring rain and grey sky, I am already thinking about packing my bags, getting a ticket and embarking on that giant flying machine heading towards an exotic destination. Why isn't there a top b-school on a tropical island, which is very close to the world's business center, offers excellent curriculum and career services?

Guess I am day-dreaming again...

Time for more soul searching...

2006-05-01T10:39:00.000+08:00

The past weekend has been a thought-provoking one for me. To start with, my relationship with a long-time friend seems to have changed since we have become colleagues. The possibility of our friendship getting sour did cross my mind for a few seconds when I was considering working with him, but I was too confident to prevent it from happening. The change caught me off guard though as we only worked together for 1.5 months. Maybe it is a sign for me to work hard on my people skill or, find something else.

Meanwhile, on the Dutch queen's day party last Friday night, I accidentally bumped into an acquaintance who offered me a job about a year ago. That opportunity fell through in the end but the network remains. Delighted to see me, J.D. invited me for a drink after the boring party. We first went to an Irish bar for a drink but ran away from it ten minutes later as we practically had to shout in order to hear each other. So we retreated to the bistro next door while I gladly shared my plans about an MBA, how I think it'll increase my international mobility and where I plan to go from there in terms of personal and professional lives. We got to the bar at about 10:30 pm and closed it at 1:30 am.

You probably think that I had a blast. Well, the drinking part was alright but the conversation with J.D. last Friday night was the single most depressing one I've ever had. Despite my enthusiasm and excitement, J.D. simply felt that an MBA is a waste of my time given my capability. He argued that if I were determined enough to put together EURO 30,000 ~ 50,000 for an MBA in the US or Europe, I would be better off to stay in Asia, spot a hole in the current business environment and start my own business. While J.D. could argue whatever he wants, what bothered me the most was my own response - for a few moments that night, I wasn't so sure about my plans anymore. And that blankness told me that I still have some serious thinking to do.

By the way, I would be appreciative if any reader can share with me his or her own experience of increased international mobility post MBA. By that I mean whether the MBA has enabled you to start a career in a different part of the world as you choose to. Until next time...

Jen @ humid and warm Taipei.

London Calling featured on MBA Buzz

2006-04-26T14:28:00.000+08:00

The following posting will look self-promoting but I just can't help feeling proud about this - MBA Buzz has featured my blog on their front page. Thanks to the folks at MBA Buzz! You guys made a very wise choice indeed. ;-)

By the way, this reminds me of Al Pacino's famous last word in "The Devil's Advocate" when he played the role of Satan himself...

MBA resources via Podcasting

2006-04-17T14:11:00.000+08:00

In the comment section under one of my previous postings, I mentioned a lesson learned at the cost of NTD 6,000 plus a ~~shitty~~ bad weekend. Well, it's a long story. A shorter version was that I lost this babe, after being with it for only 3 days, in a house warming party (or the after-party, ugh whatever *sobbing*). A couple of weeks later I got over my loss and once again contributed to that fruit company's annual turnover. I'm feeling slightly guilty of the money spent but I simply couldn't resist the charm of this beautiful little gadget....

As I was busy figuring out what I can do with my new pal, I began to explore the blogsphere of podcasting. I discovered that my iPod not only can keep me entertained during the mundane daily commute but also get me well prepared for my application to the top-tier b-schools. It's very convenient. For those who already has an iPod, just go to Podcast Alley, type in the key word "business school" and you can find relevant podcasts contributed to that topic. Cut and paste the Podcast Feed URL to your iTune, update the feed, connect your iPod and it's done. Then, you can listen to various topics on MBA application wherever you want!

Another note on the discovery of podcasting, I found this interesting blog site "What's up in Taiwan" by accident. Check it out if you are interested in getting up close and personal on westerner's advetures and life in Taiwan.

The wandering KMT

2006-04-13T14:50:00.000+08:00

The ex-chairman of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), Lien Chan, is scheduled to enjoy his red carpet treatment (again) surrounded by huge, cheering crowds during his third visit to China. Prior to his departure, Lien specifically announced that he is not a messenger of the Taiwan president. In return, Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader, Hu Jintao, has prepared a luxurious banquet tonight to shower Lien with China's warm welcome. The main purpose of Lien's visit to China is to sign a “cross-Strait peace agreement.” Well, it sounds like a trimphant move for the KMT, isn't it? Hang on a sec before telling me what you think. I have a couple of questions to ask.

First of all, although Bush administration's popularity keeps dropping in the US, I'd like to know whether the American readers think that it can be justified if Howard Dean goes on a high-profile parade in Iran or Libya and unilaterally sign a "peace treaty" or memorandum on behalf of the US government? Secondly, despite of the frictions between S. Korea and N. Korea, does the opposition party in S. Korea bypass their democratically elected president to produce agreement with the dictatorship in Pyongyang?

I hope the above two questions help you understand how bizarre the KMT-CCP hand-shaking scene looks to me. If Lien is a politician with integrity, he needs to be very very careful with his move as anything the KMT signs unilaterally does not represent the people of Taiwan. In addition, if the CCP wants to talk to Taiwan, they are apparently talking to the wrong guy.

As for the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) which is constantly brown-nosing the CCP now, it looks to me that this wandering, homeless political party has gone to the status that it's willing to sleep with anyone in exchange of some political power, even if the other party was their worst enemy.

International Democracy Forum in Taipei

2006-04-10T11:55:00.000+08:00

In my perspective, democracy is one of the most powerful cards that people of Taiwan can play in the game of Taiwan-China controversy. I'm delighted to know that the Lung Yingtai Cultural Foundation is going to hold an International Democracy Forum on April 29 to 30 in Taipei to openly analyze whether the young, budding Taiwanese-style democracy can survive against various adversity and continue to thrive.

Free entrance to the forum but only 400 seats are availavle. For those who are interested, take a look at this introduction and forum schedule prior to signing up. Tel: +886 2 3322-4907 (Lung Yingtai Cultural Foundation)

To those who truly care about the democracy in Taiwan, see you there! ;-)

Cheers - Jen

Disclaimer: the author is not an employee of that foundation and not in any format affiliated with it either.

You go Walter!

2006-04-08T16:27:00.000+08:00

Well, I don't know this guy in person but I think he's pretty cool with regard to this brilliant letter to the editor in Taipei Times: Taiwan needs marketing plan, a refreshing perspective with a business mind. Nice work, Walter Chung!

More women should study for an MBA

2006-04-07T14:39:00.000+08:00

I spotted a good article when I was surfing online for ideas for a marketing plan this morning. I especially like the following quotes which you may find in the original article.

"Women should lose any pre-conceived ideas they may have, give themselves an equal footing with their male counterparts and go for their own goals."

"Destiny is not a matter of chance it is a matter of choice. It's not a thing to be waited for, it's something to be achieved."

To share with you, More women should study for an MBA.

Cheers - Jen

Intriguing traces of similarity...

2006-03-31T12:47:00.000+08:00

Last night when I was sitting in the MRT train on the way home and flipping through the Taipei Times, my jaw almost dropped when my eyes landed on the day's editorial. How so?? Well, please follow the steps and read on.

Step one: If you haven't read my posting on Monday March 27 yet, please do. You can scroll down to the article below this one and scroll up when you finish. Or if you are feeling lazy as it's Friday (I'll cut you some slacks), you can click here.

Step two: Read this editorial published on the page 2 of Taipei Times on Thursday March 30. Please pay special attention to the highlighted sentences.

Now, tell me. Do you sense many similarities between the lines? If it still looks vague to you, allow me to do some comparisons.

Jen said, "...Regrettably, I think some of the news crew may well enjoy a promising career in producing the Taiwan version of American idols, if they decide not to follow the political beat." --> implying that the political news in Taiwan were presented like entertainment news.

Taipei Times said, "... magnification of Ma, ... into a myth, and the migration of the country's political scene into the realm of the entertainment sector."

Jen said, "...While behaving unsophisticated is one thing, acting completely stupid is really way over the limit a TV audience can bear."

Taipei Times said, "... Behaving unprofessionally is one thing, but acting like groupies oversteps the limit."

Jen said, "...This phenomenon peaked when I saw (on ETTV or CTITV) a group of Taiwan reporters surrounding Ma Ying-Jeou and San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom in their meeting. Not only did the news clips look more like a fan club event than a talk between mayors...."

Taipei Times said, "... Groups of reporters warmed around Ma to get his signature, looking more like members of a fan club than professional journalists on assignment."

Jen said, "..., a reporter even concluded the news by asking Newsome the following question: "Do you think Ma Ying-Jeou is handsome? Geez, do you think that's what the audience in Taiwan want to know? If ETTV or CTITV would send someone all the way to the US just to ask such a stupid question..."

Taipei Times said, "...One reporter thought that the question Taiwanese TV viewers really wanted Newsome to answer was: 'Do you think Ma Ying-jeou is handsome?' Did the TV stations really send reporters all the way to the US just to ask such a stupid question?"

Pffff, that's really a lot of words to type... :s Since you've reached this far, I reckon that you have also sensed many of the similarities between my posting on 03/27 and Taipei Times' editorial on 03/30. That's why I was so surprised and kept wondering what could be the reasons behind that. Well, after much analysis and reasoning by deduction when I rested my beautiful head (;oP) on the pillow last night, I thought of three possibilities:

Possibility one: Jen is actually the author of this editorial and she works for Taipei Times. She’s just playing mysterious. And to save time, she expanded her positing on the blog into an editorial as she had to go to a dinner date on Wednesday March 29.

Possibility two: The wise think alike. The author of this editorial and Jen happened to see the same news clip on the same TV channel and felt the urge to express their opinion. They are not only alike in logic but also in their rhetoric and sequence of paragraph structuring.

Possibility three: The author of this editorial saw Jen’s posting on this blog, liked her opinions and decided to “integrate” her ideas into this editorial. But he/she forgot to ask Jen in advance whether she agrees.

Now, which one of the above is true?

Can some reporters be inaner?

2006-03-27T19:00:00.000+08:00

While the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Ma Ying-Jeou is enjoying his high-profile trip slash interview prior to the 2008 Taiwan Presidential Election, many TV stations in Taiwan also sent their correspondents or news crew to tag along. However, as I sat and watched the news on various cable TVs day by day, the news quality in Taiwan makes me wonder: Can the news programs be more sensational and lack of sense than they are now? Regrettably, I think some of the news crew may well enjoy a promising career in producing the Taiwan version of American idols, if they decide not to follow the political beat.

Those who have seen Ma Ying-Jeou's interview on BBC must be impressed, to an extent, by Sakur's savvy professionalism in combination with a thorough understanding of the interviewee's background. Although the ban on media in Taiwan has been lifted for a long time, I've never seen any Taiwanese reporter who dares to challenge a politician in such a probing yet honorable way. Not to DPP leaders (well, to them the media mostly use bitter sarcasm and metaphor) and most certainly not to the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Ma Ying-Jeou, as KMT traditionally controls most of the capital in TV stations. While behaving unsophisticated is one thing, acting completely stupid is really way over the limit a TV audience can bear. This phenomenon peaked when I saw (on ETTV or CTITV) a group of Taiwan reporters surrounding Ma Ying-Jeou and San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom in their meeting. Not only did the news clips look more like a fan club event than a talk between mayors, a reporter even concluded the news by asking Newsome the following question: "Do you think Ma Ying-Jeou is handsome?"

Geez, do you think that's what the audience in Taiwan want to know? If ETTV or CTITV would send someone all the way to the US just to ask such a stupid question, I think they might as well save that money to buy more clips from the wire agency.

Ready for some down time...

2006-03-21T17:49:00.000+08:00

Last week as I was setting up my new office so the broadband connection was not available until yesterday. While I was glad to resume the internet connection, the ever-changing spring weather in Taipei caught me off guard with a bad cold...

Thus in the coming couple of days I am ready for some down time until the cold gets off my back. Thanks for many anonymous readers' encouragement and support. I'll be blogging my brains out very soon.

Cheers - Jen

And the gold medal goes to... INSEAD!

2006-03-15T18:11:00.000+08:00

While this is not a race on academic excellence or ranking, INSEAD has won a private competition yesterday. Out of the many b-schools I contaced (to make the comparison fair, all contacts were done on the same day), INSEAD was the fastest in sending in a personalized formal response in full. And mind you, it's a newly designed version of catalogue freshly delivered from France. The new design is quite retro but in a stylish way.

Well done, INSEAD! ;-)

WHO disseminates FALSE bird flu info

2006-03-13T13:26:00.000+08:00

When the deadly avian flu is spreading across the globe, what would you guess is the rule of thumb of disease reporting for WHO officials? I know not everyone in Taiwan feels the immediate threat of bird flu, as insofar Taiwan has not reported any H5N1 cases among either poultry or humans. But please, my fellow people, access to the following link and you'll be shocked by how the Communist China's diplomatic force is clouding over the reality.

Taipei Times' coverage on WHO's misleading health mapping

Although Taiwan does not have any cases of H5N1 infections, it is classified as a H5N1-affected area because the WHO regards Taiwan as a province of China, where both poultry and human bird flu cases have been reported. How sad is that? When Taiwan is fulfilling all the duties as a good global citizen to prevent the spreading of avian flu, the organization which should report ACCURATE (?!) health information to the world has succumbed its sacred mission to the CCP's political demand. One word from Jen to the WHO officials: what you have done is an outright insult to your own authority!

Apart from the sense of urgency that I felt about Taiwan's isolation in the international community, I'm also disappointed about Taiwan's diplomatic system. I know it is a damn hard job to speak up for Taiwan, when most countries in the world simply want to capitalize on both sides. The Taiwan government needs to recruit/cultivate a lot more talents who is not only intelligent enough to maneuver on a negotiation table, but also has the integrity to defend/protect Taiwan's dignity under all pressure and/or seduction of personal interests.

Global Voices Online & Peking Duck

2006-03-09T16:20:00.000+08:00

Wow, it amazes me how powerful a simple link from a famous blog can do to boost the traffic and bring in audience. One of my posts about China was picked up by The Peking Duck and subsequently referred to by a Blog archive Global Voices. I thoroughly feel honored and was glad to know that people do share my thoughts in one way or another.

Thanks Richard & Luisetta Mudie. Next time when you visit my blog, please leave me a message okay? ;-)

By the way, I started to take leave this afternoon to enjoy my "gap between jobs". And just now, I received a phone call from a previous client contact. The way she used to treat me was like she was ready to bite my head off any time. Now that I ceased to be her contact in the agency, she's incredibly sweet. Life is strange...

Status of my MBA pursuit

2006-03-08T15:06:00.000+08:00

Well, although I've been wining about many things, don't be confused - this is an MBA blog!

Today I made a big progress by securing a very important recommender, a senior VP at my current company, who gave me his words about a letter of recommendation. Now I just have to find another recommender then this searching is done.

It really surprises me that so far none of the brochures I requested online have arrived in my apartment. I am getting a little anxious about this. Hope they will arrive this week.

Been studying the sentence correction part of the Official Guide and had some frustrations. Lots of the sentences, which seemingly easy, actually got me off guard. Though a bit frustrating, I feel it's better to encounter those mistakes now than the time when I am actually sitting the GMAT. Gotta make a schedule of studying and stick to it from now on...

How a Taiwanese person feels about China?

2006-03-08T12:53:00.000+08:00

Well, this question has been following me since I met the first foreign friend or during my one year of study abroad. On one hand, I'm glad that people from other regions in the world would care to probe this controversy between Taiwan and China. But on the other hand, I also get irritated by some folks who generalize the disputes between the straits as "China's domestic matter" and laugh about Taiwanese' reaction towards its hostile neighbour.

So exactly how a Taiwanese person is supposed to feel about China? Don't you share the same language and culture? One can barely differentiate a Taiwanese from a Chinese person from the outer appearances anyways. So what's the big fuss? Let me try to answer in brief what the big fuss is about.

1. Yesterday the white paper of the Taiwan defense ministry has been published. There are in total 784 Chinese missles aiming at Taiwan at the moment. If the Chinese party leader orders to attack, China can bomb Taiwan for 10 hours non-stop. What do you think Taiwanese feel about that? How would you feel about that if you were in our shoes?

2. Although I was forced to memorize all cities, names of mines, rivers and every minute details about China during my 14 years of compulsory education in Taiwan (when the ruling party was still Kuomingtang), I have absolutely no emotional connection towards China. I am positive that many people of younger generations born after the 1970's in Taiwan would share the same sentiment as I do.

I mean, what's the big deal about using the same language? Do the Dutch and Belgian claim to belong to the same country? I don't think so. Since people in Great Britain, US, Canada, Australia (and many other more) all speak English, why don't they form a country together? It's more efficient anyway! Do you think that North Korea and South Korea can just live happily ever after if they merge with each other since they are all Koreans? I hope you get my point. The key lies in the thinking, the logic and the mentality of the people. Taiwanese and Chinese are different. From my point of view, the whole point lies that Taiwan is just too small geographically to matter in this whole military and economic competition. That's the sad truth about being a small country.

3. It simply makes me sick whenever I see news like this:

The Chinese media praised Taiwan-born Ang Lee for his best director Oscar win but state TV cut part of his speech mentioning China, Taiwan and Hong Kong.
Lee thanked everyone in all three regions. Beijing regards Taiwan as sovereign territory and Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

"Ang Lee is the pride of Chinese people," said the China Daily.

State television also cut Lee's words of thanks to the two gay cowboys in his film, Brokeback Mountain.

Lee said: "They taught all of us so much, not just about the gay men and women whose love is denied by society but, just as importantly, about the greatness of love itself."

Brokeback Mountain will not be released in Chinese cinemas and can only been seen on pirate DVD.

The Chinese government refused to include it on a list of foreign films approved for domestic cinemas, a move that stops just short of an outright ban.

Track back URL for the above quote

So, what do you think a Taiwanese person is supposed to feel about China?

Feeling antsy...

2006-03-06T18:45:00.000+08:00

I took a sick leave today to see the Academy Awards live. My eyes almost swelled with tears when best director went to Ang Lee. But honestly, as much as I love the movie Brokeback Mountain and feel thorougly proud that finally a Taiwanese director has won the Oscar, what else does this news have anything to do with me? Nothing really... Then why would I even do such a thing today? All because I want to avoid thinking and feeling for a moment.

Exactly what am I avoiding?

In just a couple of days, I will depart from my current company. For as long as I can remember, the longest gap that I had between jobs were no longer than a week since I started working. Weekends were used to make up for the sleep lacked duing the week days; personal holidays were either spent on inter-continental trips to visit ex-ex/ex boyfriends or fulfill my obligations as a daughter. I suddenly realize that I did not leave any space for myself, not that I recall of.

So when a break is around the corner, I feel antsy. I feel the desire to inhale a lungful of cold fresh air while walking in a forest (which there is none in Taipei). And I dream to surround myself with no one but nature and its melodies. I need to let things sink in before I immerse myself in the next job (which is waiting) and the next goal. It'll come in just a few days.

I can't wait...

Portland Pillow Fight

2006-03-05T15:44:00.000+08:00

I heard that they just had a pillow fight like this in Portland, the United States. Man, this looks so fun! Wish we had something like this in Taipei as well so I could go out and beat someone up... Oops, kidding... :oP

It's the Annual Academy Awards Ceremony tomorrow. Am crossing my fingers for Ang Lee and Brokeback Mountain to be the big winner...

Dutch classmate spinning in San Francisco

2006-03-02T19:01:00.000+08:00

My Dutch university friend, Peter, a DJ and model, is working tonight at a trendy club Le Duplux located on the mission street in San Francisco. If you happen to be in that area of the world and would like to chill out with nice music and cocktail drinks over there, please say hi for me!

Women over 30...

2006-03-01T13:39:00.000+08:00

My friend forwarded me this article this morning. Thought it's interesting so I'd post it here for everyone. ;-)

Wome over 30 years and plus

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is for all women 30 years and over…. and for those who are turning 30, and for those who are scared of moving into their 30’s and beyond!…

Written by Andy Rooney from CBS 60 Minutes. Andy Rooney says:

As I grow in age, I value women who are over 30 most of all. Here are just a few reasons why:

A woman over 30 will never wake you in the middle of the night to ask,” What are you thinking?” She doesn’t care what you think.

If a woman over 30 doesn’t want to watch the game, she doesn’t sit around whining about it. She does something she wants to do. And, it’s usually something more interesting.

A woman over 30 knows herself well enough to be assured in who she is, what she is, what she wants and from whom. Few women past the age of 30 give a damn what you might think about her or what she’s doing.

Women over 30 are dignified. They seldom have a screaming match with you at the opera or in the middle of an expensive restaurant. Of course, if you deserve it, they won’t hesitate to shoot you, if they think they can get away with it.

Older women are generous with praise, often undeserved. They know what it’s like to be unappreciated.

A woman over 30 has the self-assurance to introduce you to her women friends. A younger woman with a man will often ignore even her best friend because she doesn’t trust the guy with other women. Women over 30 couldn’t care less if you’re attracted to her friends because she knows her friends won’t betray her.

Women get psychic as they age. You never have to confess your sins to a woman over 30. They always know.

A woman over 30 looks good wearing bright red lipstick. This is not true of younger women or drag queens.

Once you get past a wrinkle or two, a woman over 30 is far sexier than her younger counterpart.

Older women are forthright and honest. They’ll tell you right off if you are a jerk if you are acting like one! You don’t ever have to wonder where you stand with her.

Yes, we praise women over 30 for a multitude of reasons. Unfortunately, it’s not reciprocal. For every stunning, smart, well-coiffed hot woman of 30+, there is a bald, paunchy relic in yellow pants making a fool of
himself with some 22-year-old waitress. Ladies, I apologize.

For all those men who say, “Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free". Here’s an update for you. Nowadays 80% of women are against marriage, why? Because women realize it’s not worth buying an entire Pig, just to get a little sausage.

Some thoughts after seeing "Jarhead"...

2006-02-27T15:34:00.000+08:00

Well, to balance work and play (though I don't remember to have done much this week..:oP) I decided to hit the movie theater and see "Jarhead" last Saturday. At the first spot of the terrible long line before the ticket counter, half of me already wanted to retreat. But since I've made an effort to get up, get dressed and make myself look nice with those cosmetic stuff, I decided that I have to see it through.. (oh boy, can I be more serious?)

Luckily, the theater wasn't over crowded. Although I was squeezed between two couples who couldn't keep their hands off each other, the view from my seat was actually pretty good. No big heads blocking my sight, nice! Plus there was no annoying self-centered audience who constantly exchange their opinions, either. The whole experience of watching "Jarhead" was actually pretty enjoyable, except one thing - the movie itself was average.

It hurts to state the above because I absolutely adore the male leading character Jake Gyllenhaal. In fact, it is his excellent acting in "Brokeback Mountain" that drove me to see "Jarhead". Gyllenhaal was acting his heart out, but somehow the director Mendes didn't get it quite right this time. Many of the scenes depicting soldiers' boredom in the desert, though hilarious and truthful, were a bit distracting. If I had to pinpoint one most obvious flaw, I would say that the ending was weak as a shooting star without lasting power.

But all in all, the movie is not bad if you want to kill time in the weekend. Just don't expect it to be a feel-good movie. There are many realistic depictions of tortures (be it physical or mental) that the soldiers endured during their desert mission, violence, sexual situation and in almost every other sentence you'd hear a 4-letter f*** word.

Jen's overall rating of "Jarhead": 7 stars out of 10.

*Remark: For girls who adore Gyllenhaal just as I do, "Jarhead" is a must-see as Gyllenhaal shows his well-trained muscles (and at times buttock!) in this movie almost fifty percent of the time. Apart from his compelling acting, Gyllenhaal looks darn good wearing that Santa hat and nothing else.

Start requesting brochures today...

2006-02-24T17:39:00.000+08:00

In order to further determine which b-school can win my heart, I've started to request brochures today. Although the internet is very convenient, sometimes I just like the feelings of reading a hard copy... ;-)

The brochures should arrive in Taiwan in 7 to 10 days.

Taiwan's self-serving politician contradicted himself on BBC's Hardtalk

2006-02-24T12:28:00.000+08:00

It is unbearable to see Kuomingtang's chairman Ma Ying-Jeou spreading his ultimate belief of unification with China sugar-coated by his so-called "respecting the main stream voice of democracy in Taiwan". Take a look at how this politician top-notch in self-promoting defended himself on BBC's Hardtalk for sucking up to Beijing, despite that more than 700 Chinese missiles are directed towards Taiwan.

Sackur's enquiry of Ma Ying-Jeou

I plan to type down the dialogue between Sackur and Ma and publish it on this blog. As it will require some work (and time mainly), so those who are interested your patience is appreciated.

Meanwhile, some readers might not know that Ma is a great admirer of China's party leader Hu Jintao, regardless of the fact that Hu is identified by Parade Magazine as one of the world's 10 worst dictators. A leading female scholar in Taiwan, Lung Yingtai, who was once a staff member of Ma's team openly criticized this. For those who are interested, have a look at her open letter "Please use civilization to convince us" to Hu Jintao.

I feel deeply concerned about Taiwan's destiny if we keep allowing such a self-serving politician speaking on behalf of Taiwanese people on the international arena. Ma Ying-Jeou is very good at projecting an image of a caring politician with a balanced view point. But beware, things are seldom what they seem. The cowl does not make the monk...

Why should anyone be led by you?

2006-02-22T11:25:00.000+08:00

Does this provacative question make you think? Well, it surely has that effect on me! I spotted this new book this morning. It makes me curious about what the author has to say. For people who are curious as I am, check out this website and have a preview:
http://www.whyshouldanyonebeledbyyou.com/

Happy reading! ;)

Studying abroad - where's the money?

2006-02-21T14:37:00.000+08:00

To a lot of students, studying abroad or pursuing an MBA implies a large investment. Here I specifically mean "$$$$". Coming from a blue-collar family, the funding for studying abroad also used to be one barrier that I thought I could never overcome. Regrettably I think a lot of Taiwanese students may have the same idea as I used to have (that's right, shortage of money doesn't stop me anymore! ;)) and simply let money be the single most important factor that prevents them from doing something. Frankly, I don't think anyone should be 100 percent prepared before approaching their dreams (it's awesome if you could, of course!). In my point of view, when the odds stand more than 60% on your side, you should take action!

After my personal experience of using Euro 15,000 (tuition fee, travel & living expenses) to study in the Netherlands for 13 months, I found that there is no need to lose sleep over money. Actually quite a lot of people combine resources from wherever they could think of in order to go to business school. I am not saying that we should just sit and wait for the money to fall from the sky. But the point I want to make here is that the source of funding is secret to no one; what usually makes a difference is whether one is determined enough to research those mundane details and pool the resources together. For students in Taiwan who worries about money for overseas study, I recommend the following approaches:

1) Scholarships: If you grades back in the uni weren't that bad and you've already accumulated a couple years of work experience, chances are you may suffice to the requirements of many scholarships. Because I studied in the Netherlands before, I highly recommend the Y C Lo Scholarship if you are a Taiwanese student or a resident in Taiwan. The amount of grants vary from Euro 3,750 to Euro 15,000. Though it may not cover your full expenses, something's better than nothing!

2) Student loans: For folks whose only source of income is themselves, loaning from the bank is an option that you can consider. That said, if you had due payments from previous studies or worst personal debts, be sure to clear it up so that your credit can be released before getting a loan for the b-school.

3) Savings: Though listed as no. 3, I personally believe savings should be the most important financial resources everyone should accumulate for themselves! No matter your goal is to go to b-school, start a family or your own business, start saving NOW!

Gotta pull myself together...

2006-02-21T12:16:00.000+08:00

Last night when I was holding tight to my duvet and forcing my eyes open on the GMAT math questions, I couldn't help thinking about this boy whose images have been popping up on my mind ever so frequently. What's wrong with me? Why the h**l that I still couldn't get over the desires of wanting to be with him while he already explicitly said that he was not interested? Why is it so tough to get over someone? Is it related to the human psyche about "wanting something you can't have"?

At work, I make sensible decisions, move towards set goals and perform well in spite of various difficulties. But with personal things, it's sad to admit that I fell for guys who didn't care a d**n thing about me. But this time around I really think it is ENOUGH. By god, I really have to change the habit, NOW!

Why blogging?

2006-02-21T10:18:00.000+08:00

A few weeks ago, I couldn't differentiate much between a blog and an online forum. In my head, there was still this impression engraved long time ago by BBS (Bulletin Board System), which was very popular back in the university. And I thought a blog is probably just about the same thing, except with more hypes and more user-friendly interface.

However, after an on-job training about blogging, I began to comprehend more of the differences, in particular the personal side of a blog. According to a definition by BlogPhiles, "a blog is basically a journal that is available on the web. The activity of updating a blog is 'blogging' and someone who keeps a blog is a 'blogger.' Blogs are typically updated daily using software that allows people with little or no technical background to update and maintain the blog."

A senior media veteran from the US that I work with has been keeping a very popular but controversial blog about China for 4 years. For him, I reckon, it's the sense of satisfaction of owning an online community that keeps him motivated in spite of some verbal attacks or hate comments from those who disagree with him. It is exciting to think about if one day there is an online community around my blog as well, but at the moment I just want to document and share things I saw along this journey and hope that my experiences will help others in one way or another. Maybe it will also enlighten myself as I tend to keep a lot of things on my mind...

What does "EPS" stand for?

2006-02-20T20:38:00.000+08:00

Something very funny happened tonight when I was discussing an urgent task with my colleages as we were in a hurry to finish off the translation of a news clipping. The text was about the EPS for a global food company. Just when we were scratching our heads about what EPS stands for, the utterrances bursted out from my mouth: "EPS? Well, it's earnings per share after sex!"

A weird silence fell on me followed by a burst of laughters from my colleagues.. An immediate blush rushed to my cheeks.. What was I thinking about, LOL... :s

Birth of my MBA blog.. Hooray!

2006-02-20T12:47:00.000+08:00

After much contemplation, I've decided to start blogging my journey towards the b-school and the meaning of life (which I both painstakingly strive for).

My journey towards getting accepted into the top-tier business schools will begin this month (as of February 2006). The reason behind all this is the determination that I want to realize my dream of working and living in a different part of the world - a place of my choice, not where I was born to. So I decided that a b-school is worth my investment and is the best way I can think of to bring me closer to my dreams.

So I've narrowed the targeted schools down to: LBS, HBS, UC Berkeley, Oxford and INSEAD. I know these schools all sound like a mission impossible but deep down I believe I have the talent and capability to attend to one of them. Since action speaks louder than words, let's try and prove it.

Right now I have three GMAT prep books in stock and they are Kaplan's GMAT edition 2006, Peterson's GMAT prep-book (edition 2005) and the Official Guide 10th Edition. I think three books are enough for me to study for the moment and once I finish perusing them, I will proceed to more books with regard to the Math or Verbal Review. My goal is to achieve a decent 720. After a round of initial studying, to my surprise, my biggest weakness lies in the grammatical part of the exam (i.e. sentence correction) instead of the math which I used to think I was weak at.

Meanwhile, with a change of career from PR to marketing (starting next month), I am hoping to get more of my personal time back and use them on more meaningful things such as studying for the GMAT, learning Spanish and maybe even learn to salsa... As ambitious and goal-oriented as I can be, I am also an ordinary person who craves fun and fulfillment in life. So wish me luck and let the journey begin!