Finally, I decided to check out the Watertown project in Punggol Water Park since it is attracting so much publicity. The showflat is hot! It is like a festival going on. Plenty of cars parked and the showflat is so full of people. 600 units have been reported to be sold. The price is incredibly high. More than S$1,000 per square feet. I am not sure if the price will continue to go up. Obviously, many people are optimistic about this place.
The marketing folks in Far East Organization did an excellent job. The publicity in Straits Times help propell the sales. There is a shopping mall at the lower floor. Many swimming pools but not much greenery. The tennis court is on the roof top!
I think this project is overpriced!
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Great Deal at Page One
Every book is going at 50% discount in Page One. The bookstore will close Feb 19. It is going to be a sad day as it marked the demise of the 2nd megabookstore in Singapore. Only Kinokuniya is left standing. I hope Kino stay around for a long time. Otherwise I will not have any place to pass my time in the shopping mall.
My family and I bought a lot of books. At half price it is hard to resist. I am glad to get a bunch of books, never mind I may not have a chance to really read them cover to cover. However, they are good reference. They are the wise men for my counsel whenever I need them.
My family and I bought a lot of books. At half price it is hard to resist. I am glad to get a bunch of books, never mind I may not have a chance to really read them cover to cover. However, they are good reference. They are the wise men for my counsel whenever I need them.
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Voyage de la Vie
We got free tickets to this circus spectacular at Resort World Sentosa. The show was amazing acrobatics and death-defying acts. It is very exciting and full of surprises. The females acrobats can bend their spine backward until it formed a "U". They are also very strong and did a lot of the acts without safety harness or nets below.
I have read a lot of this circus in management and leadership book. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and show. This circus started in Montreal with a group of buskers and coming up with a new concept instead of the usual dog and pony plus clown show. I am impressed by the extravaganza. Yes, enjoying the show and experiencing the wonders and the creativity of difficult acrobatics weave into a story bring to life all the citations in the business books I had read.
I have read a lot of this circus in management and leadership book. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and show. This circus started in Montreal with a group of buskers and coming up with a new concept instead of the usual dog and pony plus clown show. I am impressed by the extravaganza. Yes, enjoying the show and experiencing the wonders and the creativity of difficult acrobatics weave into a story bring to life all the citations in the business books I had read.
Friday, January 27, 2012
Nice Surprise
This morning, I received Chinese New Year greetings from two ex-colleagues. Thanks, TK and HK! I was pleasantly surprised by their spontaneous greetings. I do missed working with them. However, one can only look forward to the new and exciting chapters of life.
Chinese New Year is a time to renew relations and family. While Ang Pows (lucky packets) is important, I enjoyed the opportunities to catch up and get updated on all my nieces and nephews. It also give my brother and sisters a chance to get updated on my boys as well.
My neighbours have big parties. So plenty of YAMMMMM SENG! and HUAT AH!!! Chinese are obsessed with wealth. Yam Seng is bottoms up. Huat Ah! means sudden wealth. Money makes the world go round...
Chinese New Year is a time to renew relations and family. While Ang Pows (lucky packets) is important, I enjoyed the opportunities to catch up and get updated on all my nieces and nephews. It also give my brother and sisters a chance to get updated on my boys as well.
My neighbours have big parties. So plenty of YAMMMMM SENG! and HUAT AH!!! Chinese are obsessed with wealth. Yam Seng is bottoms up. Huat Ah! means sudden wealth. Money makes the world go round...
A Brief History of the Future
The sun is out in full force. White clouds billowing in cerulean blue sky. Punggol Water Park is quiet with a few workers doing maintenance work. Watertown showroom has a number of cars parked, so must be attracting a lot of interested buyers for the apartment.
I am just letting time pass by and reading about the future by a French econmist and historian Jacques Attali. He predicted the decline of countries and states, demise of nuclear family and the lifetime employment. It will be transient relationships at work, in business and interpersonal.
The future certainly looked more and more different from the present and the past. The population will shift from rural to the cities. The force of change is great and will continue at an accelerated pace. To the future...here we come.
I am just letting time pass by and reading about the future by a French econmist and historian Jacques Attali. He predicted the decline of countries and states, demise of nuclear family and the lifetime employment. It will be transient relationships at work, in business and interpersonal.
The future certainly looked more and more different from the present and the past. The population will shift from rural to the cities. The force of change is great and will continue at an accelerated pace. To the future...here we come.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
What a Short New Year!
This morning, B3 go to school. We were up early. Mum was up at 5am and I got up 10 to 6. We send B3 to his school bus and then go to the market for teh halia. It is a regular work day. Back to school. B1 has the day off and we just sent him to his camp. B2 was just doing his computer stuff as usual.
I do not know if more relatives will be visiting this weekend. My neighbour has lots of visitors tonight. I think it is all his staff. It is quite noisy and plenty of laughters. They are having a good time!
Many factories are still closed. The stock market is improving. I wonder if the economy will stablise and improve.
I do not know if more relatives will be visiting this weekend. My neighbour has lots of visitors tonight. I think it is all his staff. It is quite noisy and plenty of laughters. They are having a good time!
Many factories are still closed. The stock market is improving. I wonder if the economy will stablise and improve.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Day 2
My brother came with his three daughters. They came over at 11am. So we invited them for lunch as well. They were hungry and we have to scramble to scale up the dishes so that we can accomodate twice the headcount of what we are prepared for. We had braised duck, braised mushrooms with gluten and mexican abalone, chicken soup and the leftover Peng Cai.
After lunch, we have steamed sponge cake which my wife made yesterday and I peeled oranges for everyone. I enjoyed having them over. It was good to see them. My brother health has improved. The scar from his open heart is thin and healed well. It is obvious the surgeon is very good. The scars on his leg where the vein was harvested did not heal as well. This must have been done by a trainee surgeon who is training to be an open-heart surgeon.
My second niece found a job and will be starting work tomorrow. I am very happy to get this update. She will be responsible for accounts and HR function.
After lunch, we have steamed sponge cake which my wife made yesterday and I peeled oranges for everyone. I enjoyed having them over. It was good to see them. My brother health has improved. The scar from his open heart is thin and healed well. It is obvious the surgeon is very good. The scars on his leg where the vein was harvested did not heal as well. This must have been done by a trainee surgeon who is training to be an open-heart surgeon.
My second niece found a job and will be starting work tomorrow. I am very happy to get this update. She will be responsible for accounts and HR function.
Monday, January 23, 2012
Pai Nee
Pai Nee is visiting and pay respects in Hokkien. My good friend asked me this morning if I was going to Pai Nee... I like to blog our tradition..
We all dressed up in the morning and our boys will Pai Nee with us first and get their first Ang Pow. Then we prayed to Laughing Buddha and sets off to the boys' grandparents to pai nee. There we will eat our first meal which is vegetarian. My boys will get lots of ang pows as their aunts and uncles will be there as well. My father-in-law is the eldest in the family. So he will also get other visitors like his younger brother's wife, her son, daugher-in-law and two grandsons.
After plenty of chit-chats and I have to nag at my wife to go home. Everytime she is at her mum's place, she is very reluctant to leave. She will keep talking and talking and talking to her sisters. We finally head home past 1pm. Once we reached, we have to prepare to host my sisters and their kids. I cut up a water melon and my wife cook chicken soup and warm up all the cakes she baked yesterday. She is happy they enjoyed the cakes.
We all dressed up in the morning and our boys will Pai Nee with us first and get their first Ang Pow. Then we prayed to Laughing Buddha and sets off to the boys' grandparents to pai nee. There we will eat our first meal which is vegetarian. My boys will get lots of ang pows as their aunts and uncles will be there as well. My father-in-law is the eldest in the family. So he will also get other visitors like his younger brother's wife, her son, daugher-in-law and two grandsons.
After plenty of chit-chats and I have to nag at my wife to go home. Everytime she is at her mum's place, she is very reluctant to leave. She will keep talking and talking and talking to her sisters. We finally head home past 1pm. Once we reached, we have to prepare to host my sisters and their kids. I cut up a water melon and my wife cook chicken soup and warm up all the cakes she baked yesterday. She is happy they enjoyed the cakes.
Gong Si Fa Cai
I wish all my readers Prosperity, Happiness and Longevity. May the year of Water Dragon bring more water(money) to you and your family. May your business continues to grow and may your kids do well in the examinations. May you and your family be safe and healthy.
Welcome, the Year of Water Dragon...
Welcome, the Year of Water Dragon...
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Peng Cai
Reunion dinner. Luckily, B1's duty was yesterday. I went to pick him at 6:30am. He was lucky. The Indian who took over his duty came at 7am as promised. So after handover and changing to civy, he was out by 7:30am. We reached home in good time by 8am. I had to wait for him at a coffeeshop just after Chestnut Drive for about half an hour.
Back home, we go to NTUC to buy groceries for Chu Yi and Chu Er (Day 1 and Day 2) of Chinese New Year. My sisters and their daughters and sons will be visiting us on Chu Yi afternoon. My brother and his daughters will be come on the morning of Chu Er.
We had our reunion dinner, just our three boys and us. We had Peng Cai from a resturant in Smith Street. It is the first time for us to try out this dish and it was excellent. Just one claypot dish and it is a complete meal for 5. The food is all cooked and quick frozen. All we have to do is to heat the sauce and add it to the pot and then put the pot on low heat and serve. It takes a long time to thaw and heat the food mind you but it is worth it! We bought this Peng Cai in Takashimaya basement two. It was kind of expensive. But I thought it is about time to try something new instead of the traditonal steamboat. I am glad we tried. The food was great. There are abalone, chicken wings, braised pork belly, fish maw, sea cucumber, prawns, lotus root and plenty of cabbage. The only thing is the claypot cracked and we have to throw it away after our meal. I think I will get this dish again for future reunion dinners.
Money does buy happiness...
Back home, we go to NTUC to buy groceries for Chu Yi and Chu Er (Day 1 and Day 2) of Chinese New Year. My sisters and their daughters and sons will be visiting us on Chu Yi afternoon. My brother and his daughters will be come on the morning of Chu Er.
We had our reunion dinner, just our three boys and us. We had Peng Cai from a resturant in Smith Street. It is the first time for us to try out this dish and it was excellent. Just one claypot dish and it is a complete meal for 5. The food is all cooked and quick frozen. All we have to do is to heat the sauce and add it to the pot and then put the pot on low heat and serve. It takes a long time to thaw and heat the food mind you but it is worth it! We bought this Peng Cai in Takashimaya basement two. It was kind of expensive. But I thought it is about time to try something new instead of the traditonal steamboat. I am glad we tried. The food was great. There are abalone, chicken wings, braised pork belly, fish maw, sea cucumber, prawns, lotus root and plenty of cabbage. The only thing is the claypot cracked and we have to throw it away after our meal. I think I will get this dish again for future reunion dinners.
Money does buy happiness...
Vegetarian Reunion
Last night, we had our reunion dinner with my in-laws. My parent-in-laws are vegetarian, we had a vegetarian Yusheng and a vegetarian steamboat. All the siblings gather around the dining table to talk. My wife is the key speaker. She is better than "Lee Tai Shaw" the Famous Story Teller of Reddifusion of yore days.... Her siblings were very attentive as she regale tales of her friends stories. She had them in stitches on the dirty and smelly toilets. She tell them in such a comical and expressive way that everyone could not help but laugh.
I am thinking she may become a successful standup comic. Meanwhile, I was tucking in freshly fried cashew nuts, durians from Paya Lebar, boiled vegetables and a wide range of vegetarian "I don't what". There are mock everything but I have no idea what is the ingredient. It could be beans or gluten or some mysterious foodstuff.
I am thinking she may become a successful standup comic. Meanwhile, I was tucking in freshly fried cashew nuts, durians from Paya Lebar, boiled vegetables and a wide range of vegetarian "I don't what". There are mock everything but I have no idea what is the ingredient. It could be beans or gluten or some mysterious foodstuff.
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