Random Thoughts

I am all excited after discovering my long "lost" nieces and invited them to visit. However, they do not know me. Only the eldest, G, may have some faint memories of me.

I wonder how my nieces are reacting to my invitation and what will I do or say to them if they visit. What can I do other than offer food and drinks. The past is the past. It is the future we should talk about. There are many things to say and nothing to talk. I just wanted to know them a little and let them know me a little. We are related by blood. I am very sorry my nieces have a delinquent father. They have a wonderful mother who brought them up and they have grown up well.

They really do not know me and their maternal grandma is quite bitter about their father, my brother and probably the rest of his family. I was thinking what do I have to offer. Actually nothing. My nieces did not missed anything over the years. So why would they come?

Every year, my other nieces and nephews come to visit during Chinese New Year as well as adhoc dinners I would cook for them (you guess right! - bbq). They would come and for dinner, share a little of their stories and updates on their lives or not. The older nieces will bring their boyfriends along. It is just a regular family get together. I feel very happy even though just being together with no specific agenda or topic.

I watched all the TV shows on emotional reunions. They are usually siblings or parent-child reunions. Uncle - nieces? Not yet! So I guess only time will tell if my nieces are interested to meet their uncle.

Disasters

Russia has wildfires and Pakistan has floods. The weather patterns are hotly debated. Is global warming or is it not? One data point i.e. one season does not indicate a trend. Now there is a global search for frogs as it is the proverbial canary in the mine. Frogs species are disappearing at an unprecedented rate. At a strategic 40,000 ft view, this is a worrying trend. As we move to a lower level, the macro-economics begins to take precedence. All countries want to make sure their economies continue to grow and create jobs.

By the time, it reaches individual level, the impact of CO2 emissions is very small. Each of us has to worry about our survival and economic well-being. Earning my daily rice, I do not even think about carbon. In order to do my job, I have to travel. This is huge carbon footprint. But the airplanes are going to fly anyway with or without me. I cannot say "oh! it is not green to fly so I am not travelling." As an individual, I use eco-friendly appliances and car. I also instill energy use conciousness on all my boys.

We are an eco-friendly family.

FOUND in Facebook

Imagine my delights and joys that I discovered my neices whom I have not seen for many years in Facebook. The wonder of technology is amazing. I am not a Facebook fan with all the negative press on the abuse of confidential personal information. I still think Facebook is a menace to its millions of users. Hey, it is connect me to my nieces. So Thank You! Facebook.

The pictures are amazing. I can see the likeness of my long lost nieces to other nieces. One of them is studying 2nd year in NUS. I am very proud she is getting her degree. They are so happy and had many pictures in resturants with their friends. They have grown up and are full of life. I am a happy to connect up with them electronically.

Status Update: Mum

I spoke to my baby sister this morning. She reported that mum has made progress. A cardiologist will see her tomorrow for her chest pain. She has less pain on her knee and requires less morphine. My sister sounds a lot more positive as well. I am feeling a little relief. I am very glad to hear mum is improving.

Thanks Buddha and Angels for their blessings.

Spectacular Show

The National Day Parade is indeed an incredible show of creativity, organisation and technology. It also showed progress and displays our military might. 3G soldiers or 3rd Generation is indeed different from my National Service days. Now, there is radio controlled planes(my favorite) as well as chemical and biological warfare defense systems.

The songs and dance routines are at much higher standards. Also holding the Parade in the evening makes hell a lot of sense. The weather is cooler, no soldiers fainting while marching anymore. Then the use of pyrotechnics and lasers add brilliant colours to the show.

Happy Birthday Singapore! My hometown.

BBQ Dinner Under the Stars

My brother-in-law and sister-in-law came for dinner with us together with their significant others and kids. I did my favorite meal - bbq. We had chicken and mutton satay, squids, salmon, chicken thighs, pork belly and pork chops. My brother-in-law's significant other cooked fried bee hoon and baked potato salad. My sister-in-law brought peaches she bought from Japan.

My wife prepares all the meat and satay was done by my housekeeper. I did the best part which is barbecuing all the food. I had a great time and my boys joined me occasionally to chat. This is a great family gathering.

I am very happy.

Total Knee Replacement

On Thursday, my mum has a total knee replacement done in Scarborough Grace Hospital in Toronto. She is now recovering from the operation. Right now she is in deep pain and was in ICU for a day due to chest pains. She has ulcers in her gullet and acid reflux keeps giving her heartburns.

My youngest sister is there to keep mum company and comfort her. She is quite stressed up as she is watching helplessly many times while mum is in severe pain. My baby sister is great and fulfill her responsibilities as a daughter.

I hope and pray my mum will recover quickly.

Indonesian Dinner

It is half day for all schools today. B1 and B2 went out to with their classmates to hang out and watch movies. B2 finishes his movie late. Although, mum has cooked two dishes for dinner, we decided to wait for B2 in Takashimaya Orchard so that we can have dinner together.

We ate at Pepes, the former Sannur Indonesian resturant. The food was good. We ordered too much and therefore I am now so full I do not waste food. This is not good for my weight. Exercising so much can be so easily negated by eating.

The tauhu goreng is so satup! Delicious! Yummy! Fabulous! We enjoyed the meal very much!

Positive Mood

I am in a postive mood these days. My boys are working seriously on their school work. B1 is loaded with lots of school work to prepare for A level. B2 is getting into the scheme of things and putting in some serious work on his homework. B3 is doing more assignments and getting more independent in getting his work done.

As a Singaporean parent, I am totally obsessed by my boys focus on their school work and exams results. And stressed by their lack of interest. Recently, nagging is no longer necessary. Periodic reminders are still required. It is a huge positive change.

Whatever their exams results are, I am happy to see their work ethics. Their work ethics, drive and motivation are in the right direction. So I am pretty confident my boys will grow up to be fine gentlemen.

What else can a father wish for?

Guppies

It is a real puzzle that guppies (small freshwater fish) are thriving in a spring along the new Park Connector Network in Sungei Punggol. The ground water was flowing out into the river. Since it is quite high up and there are concrete drains further down stream I wonder how the little critter managed to swim so far up and form a colony right at the starting point.

Come to think of it, it is interesting to see a spring. Water keeps flowing out of "nowhere".

Commando Selection

National Service is quite imminent for B1 and other JC2 boys. Today, we send him to Changi camp for selection test. Some of the boys looked extremely fit. B1 says someone did 17 chin-ups! There are plenty of boys who outperformed him on the physical fitness test. I was always very proud that his fitness level but it seems like there are many others who are way better. I thought he will be better than most of the other boys tested but I was completely wrong!

The boys are in the dragon boat team or plays rugby. Whatever, happens, I just wish my son will be safe and sound for his military service.

Ten to Six in the morning, loud peals of thunders and a full bladder woke me up. I get up to relieve myself and go up to my roof garden to take a closer look at the sky. The sky are orangy red in colour. The clouds were high. Lightnings were flashing. It looked ominous.

I did my usual routine, turning on the television tuning in Channel News Asia. The scrolling headline at the bottom of the screen caught my eyes. "Pakistan: 800 deads in the worst floods in living memory". Torrentical rains and floods in China dominated the news in the past few days.

Flash floods in the Singapore for the past few months, worst in recent memory. Ever a pessimist, in contrast with my ex-colleague and friend, Tony (President of Optimist Club!), I wonder if the floods are due to better communication or signs of Earth Pole Shift or 2012 when the world as we know it comes to an end.

I can almost hear Tony saying oh! this is just a blip in the weather pattern. the world is not coming to an end. Remember Y2K? Well 2000 come and gone. We are all still here!

As I write, the thunderstorm has whittled down to steady drizzles. Maybe the world is not coming to an end...

Ann Rand - The Art of Non-fiction

I am listening to the audio book. Ann Rand makes a good point about my writing. It is very factual and boring. I do not write in flowery language. Reading Boh Tong's stories, it is "flowery" and full of juicy description.

I will spend time to learn to write in a more colourful way.

My Personal Copy

Today, I acquired a copy of interesting stories on Cabin Crews

Cool

Weather is pretty cool today as it rained all day. I managed to catch some fishes from a tiny pool along a stream. I do not understand how the fishes get there. In Russia, there is a saying "If you want fish, dig a pond and fishes will appear." I wonder how the fishes managed to appear on a stream that is fed by the runoff from the field. I will need to a picture to show what I meant.

The weather pattern is a little unusual nowaday. 2012 is now the new date for the cosmic change on Earth. It is the year Mayan calendar ends. After going through 1999 and 2000 where something significant is supposed to happen and nothing did, I am officially a Skeptic.

The Sorcerer's Apprentice

The movie is quite good although quite unlike Harry Potter. It is full of fires and fighting. I like the Tesla coils generating plasma balls through physics instead of sorcerery. Plenty of fights and car chase. The cars can be changed by the sorcerers. Why bother to use car when they can fly using metal bird?

My wife liked the movie although there were some scary moments for her. The food is ok but quite light. I like the Thai mango salad.

This is the compliment of Singapore Airlines. I met an old school mate there as well.

Communications with Our Boys

My siblings and I grew up eating lunch and dinner on own at separate times. We do not have a habit of eating together. When we first married, my wife always insist on waiting for me to eat dinner together. I do not wait for her if she is late. Many a time, I get frustrated and upset with her for not eating first even when she is starving and I am busy at work. Over time, I have been trained by her to discard my old habit. Today, we always have dinner together and we will wait for our boys if they are going to come home late for dinner.

Dinner time means no tv or phone or games. When the rules are simple and clear, it worked. We will linger after dinner and I usually cut fruits for desserts. This is conversation time. Our boys will update on their activities. We also talk about other family matters and school. I am beginning to see the power of having dinner together. It is communication process and time for us to connect together as a family. We also talk about what to do if we become senile and need them to care for us. We talk about what not to do among brothers. I find it very enriching that we can pass on our values and teach them how to handle difficult situations involving their parents, us.

Simple Life

I was chatting (Instant Messaging) with my Taiwanese colleague today. We have to do an IDP or Individual Development Plan. She was trying to figure out what she likes to do with her career. She come from a well-off family that start out poor. She is single and on the lookout for her true love.

She asked would ask "promote" myself i.e. sell myself to the senior management. I was young and ambitious. Today, I still have the drive and ambition. However, my values remains. One of them is not to "manage upwards". I worked hard and work my team hard. I run the business well and expect my results and performance to sell my capabilities. Just because I am a better mousetrap does not mean the world will beat to my doorstep.

Today, I value a simple life where family occupies my thoughts more and spending quantity time with my family. I still spend a significant amount of time away from home. My boys have grown. I still perform my work well and do the best I can. However, my tolerance for incompetence has increased and maybe it is due to maturity and aging. I am a lot more patient nowadays.

A simple life does not mean no stress. However, it is a lot less complicated and easier to fall asleep at night. I am glad I do not worry about the intrigues that others in the company are engaged in. They must have spend a lot of time figuring out all the different iterations and possibilities of actions and reactions from their peers, superiors and subordinates. Many do thrive on power and getting others to do their bidding.

I opt for a life where my conscience is clear and enjoys simple pleasures.

Linda Lim vs Tommy Koh

Linda Lim is a Professor of Strategy at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business and Professor Tommy Koh is chairman of hte Centre for International Law at NUS.

Professor Linda Lim wrote an article that say Asians need to spend more Professor Tommy Koh refute this argument. Ben Bernanke says "global saving glut" was the cause of global macro economic imbalances. Tommy Koh feels that America is just trying to blame their creditors when the fundamental problem is America's unsustainable deficits. He also feels that Asian culture is to save. However, Linda's point is when the population ages, there is no choice but to consume more.

I actually think it is great that Straits Times publishes the email exchange between two fine minds. Their debate and arguments are very lucid and positions clear. While Linda proclaims you i.e.Tommy and I (both Asians) do not agree... is stating her skin colour and identifying with her Asian roots, I feel she is more of a banana. She may be Asian in looks but white inside. Her thinking is more American than Asian.

Total Knee Replacement

My mother will be going for total knee replace next week. My youngest sister will go over to Toronto to take care of her and keep her company for two weeks. I really appreciate my sister care and concerns for Mum.

Mum has been living alone in Toronto since I relocate back to Singapore 9 years ago. She has bad knees and one of them has degenerated to the point where she cannot bend the leg. She has been using a walker to move around her apartment. I have been asking her to operate every time she came back to Singapore and she always refused. Her condition must be really bad for her to change her mind.

Mum, please get well and be healthy.

Scarily Heavy

I was returning home after visiting my sister. It just a light drizzle and a chauvinistic man I made a sacastic remark to my wife who was scrambling hastily to the car - you are not made of ice-cream. In less than 5 mins, the heaven opens and it simply pours and pours. It became a storm filled with lightning. Huge amount of water was gushing out of the drains. The ferocity of the flow is quite scarily. It is getting more frequent to floods and to more areas.

Good thing is the rain stop after one hour. I don't think there will be any flood unless some other area are worst hit then here.

Opportunities Seekers vs Problem Solvers

Today is the presentation ceremony for PSC scholars. The Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean says the traditional PSC scholars are good problem solvers. In today's changing world, however, he want to future PSC scholars be an opportunities seekers and be able to deal with issues that is global in nature like the eruption of the volcano in Iceland disrupting air travel. It is about anticipating future unknown issues and having the resilient to deal with issues at global scale.

Opportunity seeking is a real challenge. I can solve problems and turnaround poor unprofitable business. However, when it come to figuring out new opportunities or creating new markets, I am poor. I feel so inadequate and incompetent especially since a couple of young kids can be billionaires by writing software(Bill Gates) or develop search engine (Serge) and youtube and facebook.

Luckily for me, I am happy with my lot although I do wish I am a multi-billionaire!

Communicating with Your Teens

Pei Hwa Secondary School has a two day program with Adam Khoo's Learning for teenagers. The program culminated into a two hours sessions for parents to communicate with their teens.

The program is on motivating teens and teaches them to view things on a different light. It focuses on communication and making sure you express your love to your parents. The presenter is quite humorous and also use a lot of touching examples causing quite a few mothers to shed tears.

B2 was quite charged up and had plenty to share on his two day training. I am very happy to see him motivated and in a uplifted mood. I am also very proud he is making progress with his behaviour and school work.

It is a busy Friday evening for us. I am tired but full of pride!

Parent-Teacher Meeting

Anderson Junior College's Parent-Teacher's Meeting is this afternoon. I cycled to the school and security guards were very hospitable and volunteer to guard my bike for me. The cycling track along Ang Mo Kio Avenue is really good and it is part of PCN. Only problem is the exhaust fumes of all the vehicles make it very unhealthy to ride a bike. So I am glad not to do this on a regular basis. Cycling along low traffic route is the way to stay healthy.

Back to the PTM. The main hall is organised into many stations and each has two tables and 3 pairs of chairs for parents to queue to talk to the teachers. There is a map of all the stations and another document with all the classes and the responsible teacher for the subject. The student councillors from JC1 are there to help ushers the parents. Tea, coffee and light snacks are provided. The logistics is well organised and executed.

I spoke to all B1's teachers. They are quite pleased with his behaviour and performance. He is a model student according to his Chemistry teacher. His Physics teacher told me he is the top in class. I am very happy and proud!

The Good Life

What is The Good Life?

It is living a fulfilling life with friends and family. Raising responsible and well-adjusted kids, making the world a better place. Safe place to live and good books to read. Good movies, food and drinks. Enjoy simple pleasures. I am still drinking tea and coffee but the low cost kopitiam kind rather than Starbuck. Starbucks and Coffee Beans are good sin once in a while.

The Buddhist approach is to reduce your wants and you will feel rich. I do feel rich as my expectations are simple and down-to-earth.

In short, I am enjoying a good life.

Authentic Happiness

I am going to quote a paragraph of this book by Martin Seligman and also show it to B2 tomorrow. B1 has seen it. It is on "flow".

"Flow is a frequent experience for some people, but this state visits many others only rarely if at all. In one of Mike Czikszentmihalyi's studies, he tracked 250 high-flow and 250 low-flow teenagers. The low-flow teenagers are "mall" kids: they hang out at malls and they watch television a lot. The high-flow kids have hobbies, they engage in sports, they spend a lot of time on homework. On every measure of psychological well-being (including self-esteem and engagement) save one, the high-flow teenagers did better. The exception is important: the high-flow kids think their low-flow peers are having more fun, and say they would rather be at the mall doing all those "fun" things or watching television. But while all the engagement they have is not perceived as enjoyable, it pays off later in life. The high-flow kids are the ones who make it to college, who have deeper social ties, and whose later lives are more successful. This all fit Mike's theory that flow is the state that builds psychological capital that cna be drawn on in years to come."

Doing work gives high flow state and pay offs in success in life.

A Man Killed

Wind, rain and thunderstorm claimed a man's life this afternoon at Yio Chu Kang and Upper Thomson Road. A tree fell onto his car and it took emergency crews 20 mins to free the body from the car.

It is the way to Thomson Plaza and the Famous Crispy Prata in Casuarina Road. Driving in Singapore is getting dangerous. Many trees have fallen on cars on CTE. The freak weather pattern is freaking me out! I hope no more trees falling on innocent and unsuspecting drivers.

Cycling - the new lifestyle

The government is expanding the cycling paths everywhere. Beside the park connectors, three towns have cycling paths to connect to the train stations and the different amenities. I am very happy to see the support our government is extending to encourage cycling. It is good exercise and the greenest form of transport.

Wondering

Floods is becoming common. I wonder if D-Day is coming. I know it is fatalistic and As Right As Rain is the proverb I learn since primary school. Man or PUB in the case of Singapore has done a tremendous job of controlling floods in the past. The monsoon canals were widen and drains in low lying areas deepen. For many years, there were no floods. Once in a while we get the floods in the Thomson road area where the nurseries are.

Orchard Road flood again, 2nd time in as many months. All the new measures implemented obviously did not work. The rain volume that come down in a few hours is the same volume that previously is the cumulative total for the whole month.

Will we wake up and found ourselves surrounded by water?

Dealing with life's end

Lien Foundation commissioned a comparative study on the quality of death index which is on how well differenct countires manage the care of dying elderly people. Singapore ranked 18th among the 40 countries surveyed by the Economist Intelligence Unit or EIU. Singapore is a First World society is falling short especially since the basic end-of-life the country come in at No. 30.

Singapore should do more public education and awareness on palliative. Death is a taboo in our mindset. Singaporeans are conditioned to equate the value of a person with economic usefulness (or how much money they have or can earn) must learn to value people for who they are. Sick, old people should be better honoured and not regarded as imposing on time and resources of their relatives. The young today will need to realise they will grow old and be in need of care and emotional which may be sooner than they can imagine.

Editorial

I will start taking my own advice and do a summary of editorial in the newspapers to improve my English. Yesterday was my first attempt. The editorial was from International Tribune.

I recall my English teacher, a Sikh with a turban. He was having trouble trying to teach us English. Finally after discussing with other English teachers, he come up with a solution i.e. to summarize the editorial comments in the Straits Times. I did not believe writing a summary two to three times a week would improve my English. I am a consummate reader but my written English is poor.

When the results for the final exams was out, my best friend, Tan Kun Hoo had an "A" in English. My result was the same as before "C". I was surprise by his improvement and he showed me the exercise book that has the cuttings of the editorial and his handwritten summary.

I had living proof it worked!

Europe Curbs Bankers

This is the editorial in Herald Tribune. The opening is a clear statement that excessive pays for bankers, and huge rewards for risk-taking, brought financial disaster to US and the world. In US, the government recognised the issue but did far too little. Europe in contrast approved new rules bankers will receive only 20 to 30 percent bonus in cash. Balance is defer for 3 to 5 years. The bonus must be paid in shares or "contingent capital" - bonds that convert into equity if the bank is in trouble.

It is good that Europe puts in the measure to restrict excesses that brought the financial systems to its knees. The grossly obscene pay and bonuses are once paid are real money. "Profits" booked by the banks that were used to calculate bonuses may become huge losses for the banks in a few years. This will bring sanity and curb undesirable behaviour.

US must follow suit!

Yahoo Mail is Working Again

Yahoo Mail is back! It was down for a couple of hours. This morning, it worked again. Right now, everything seems ok. I am glad I have my email back. Phew! I was wrong about Yahoo! All is well.

Yahoo Mail

Yahoo Mail decide to change to a new format but do not give any notice. So now all my emails are not accessible.

This is the most horrible thing Yahoo has done. Why do they not give any notice of an impending change and shutdown of my account.

I am very shocked and disappointed by a company that is so insensitive. No wonder Yahoo is in trouble.

Australia - The Place for Cost Effective Supplements

Mr. Vitamins is the chain store that focus on selling Vitamins, Bee Pollens, Royal Jelly, Fish Oil and other food supplements. The price is very competitive and most of the products were made or produced in Australia.

I would recommend this place if you are a pill popper.

The Bourne Supremacy

I am sucker for action movies. It give me the adrenaline rush and give me the fantasy of being the Hero whom no baddies can kill. Tonight's Monday night movie on Channel 5, is The Bourne Supremacy. I have watched this movie several time as I own the dvd. I still do not get tired of watching this show. It is like the musical The Sound of Music. I watch it over and over again.

Nowaday, there are so many new movies, it is hard to catch up. The price of flat screen TVs have dropped. Now the LEDTVs which offer brighter and clearer pictures. 3D is new. Soon 3D prices will drop too. Technology keep advancing and price keep dropping.

The key is to wait until the product become mainstream. Otherwise it is poor value for money.

Monitor Lizard

The monitor lizard that lives in the canal or Sungei Punggol was on the news last night. It was caught in the drains in SengKang. I have seen this monitor lizard for many years now. The first time I sight it was in the last surviving kampong (kampong Buangkok) in Singapore probably 5 years ago.

It is quite shy and can be seen in the river. The river is now convert into a reservoir. Maybe the food source has been reduced since there is no more tides to bring in fresh seafood. I kind of feel sad it is going to another home NParks deem suitable. Probably in the nature's reserve like Peirce reservoir. I will miss it when I ride my bicycle on the new Park Connector Network.

Weight Gain

It's been a long time since I talk about my weight. My fellow bloggers and friends told me not to get too concerned and worse of all it is boring. No one wants to about my weight. I am a getting rounder at my waist and the scale is reading past 89kgs. It went past 90 last night.

I am officially overweight. I am cycling and swimming like crazy in the last few days but it is not working. What goes up will come down is not true at all. My weight has yet to come down. I need to change to a healthy lifestyle. I have been worried about my weight for years. My willpower is weak, very weak.

Maybe I will go for surgical fat removal aka liposuction.

Tao of Warren Buffett

This book written by ex-daughter-in-law of Warren Buffett with another co-author is nugget of wisdow from the Oracle of Omaha. I listened to the audio version of this book and it is really interesting. Very succinct words of wisdom. I like this pronouncement "Just because you are rich does not make you an expert in everything."

Park Connector Network

A reader of my blog request for pictures of the PCN. So here they are.

Increased Traffic

Hardly anyone read my blog. I update it almost daily unless I do not have internet access. Yet recently, there is an increased in readership. I have no idea why. I wrote to improve my writing skills. I also want to capture a silver of my life for my boys in case they need to recollect the times when they grow up.
I also noticed that my blog's link is no longer in my fellow blogger, Boh Tong's blogs. Sorry, BT! My traffic actually improved!

Update on the Park Connector

The project sign was always there. I thought I know the new park connector as I cycled through it. Yesterday I met a jogger who told me there will be a bridge from the field between Seletar Spring and Pei Hwa Secondary School to go across the canal. I look at him with a puzzled look and he told me it is in the project board.

So today I took a good look. Yes, there will be a bridge and the park connector go all the way to Pungol 16th Avenue. This mean I can cycle all the way to the beach. It will be a good and safe way to exercise. I hope the work can progress faster. It will be amazing.

I wonder if the value of my estate will go up. Anyway, it does not really matter as I will not be selling. Life will be a walk in the Park!

Responsive SQ

I am very happy to get quick response from Singapore Airlines on my feedback for the cabin crew. Harold even called me personally to thank me for the feedback.

Usually, I get an email in the past. A call makes it more personal. Yes, Singapore Airlines, please keep improving. It is important to retain customers.

Double Dip Recession

Now there are talks about double dip recession. It is really scary. After the first recession, I am not sure if we are ready for the next.

The report on China in Newsweek is comparing China with Japan at a similar stage in economic development. China's growth will start to slow down at a more reasonable pace in a few years.

Western developed countries are starting to learn they can no longer spend their way out of recession. That is debt is bad and thrift is good. The governments have to reduce their spending and cut services. This mean jobs as the government is the largest employer in any country.

Weird Science

I love scientific mysteries. Bigfoot, loch ness monster and animals not known to Science. The field is called Cyptozoology.

Lobsang Rampa wrote in his books Giants used to rule the earth. This was when the climate of earth is very friendly to human inhabitants. A friend from Canada forwarded some pictures.

Jet Lag and Weight Issues

One of the many travails of travelling to different time zones is jet lag. Although I slept late last night(close to midnight) I am up at 5am or 7am Sydney time. Even though it is just one week of waking up at 4:30am local time, my body still wake up early on what should be a lazy Sunday morning.

I live to eat and the food in Sydney is quite good. The Australians are good hosts. Even better, my Taiwanese collegeau is there on a three months assignment. She know the best food resturants around and bring up to great rib and chinese resturants. I had a good time but gain a kilo.

Now I have to work off the kilo gained. Weight - going up is easy, coming down is hard work. Food is like credit card - enjoy now and pay later.

I will do my exercise once I am done writing my blog.

PCN - Park Connector Network

The government is investing into a network of green park connectors. The network will give residents green lungs and closeness to nature. It is interesting to see different varieties of birds. Also feels good to cycle where we need not worry about vehicles. Watching out for pedestrians is a lot easier and safer.

This park connector connects to nowhere for now. It is just along the canal to Sengkang Gardens. I wonder how far I can cycle safely in future.

Thoughts on Sydney

At dinner, my colleague mentioned that the girls in Sydney are good-looking. I actually made the same remark earlier to another colleague. Our white Australian colleague says her husband worked in George Street and his colleagues when stressed would go down from the office to feast their eyes on the all beautiful women to de-stress. She is alright with her husband ogling at other women. Her rules are simple: You can look at the menu but you cannot order. Or you can whet your appetite but you must eat at home.

I think the food and the weather makes the women in Australia attractive. The Chinese and other Asian girls are bigger built and heavier.

The weather down under is also freaky. Record cold shows that Australia is suffering the effects of global warming. My boss used the record cold to argue against me that the earth is not warming. However, my understanding is global warming is causing more extreme weather patterns.

I had a great time with all my colleagues. We had dinner together every nights. So I start my day early and ends very late. We had great food. Last night, we ate in New Shanghai Resturant in Chatworth. It is like a mini-Chinatown. There are plenty of Chinese resturants and grocery stores. Also there are good street foods. I was also busy talking and so not have as detailed an experience as I would have if I am alone.

One thing for sure, my colleague from Taiwan is just amazing. She seems to know a lot of people as we walked to the resturant. She is like Mayor of the Chatworth!

Pampered by SQ232 Cabin Crews

It is a routine flight back home. After a long week of endless meetings, I am ready to go home. There is a new movie on the flight. It is Clash of the Titans. Unfortunately, the video system crashed and there is no video or audio. Even the reading light is not working. It was terrible. I cannot read nor have some distraction.

Luckily, the cabin crews come to my rescue. I was standing right at the exit door reading my book. The flight was full and every seat was occupied. IFS or In-flight supervisor offer his workstation for me. I know it is usually passengers are not allowed to take a crew's seat. However, this is unusual circumstances and I am glad Arthur put my needs in top priority allowing me to at least do some reading. The crews were attentive to my needs and make sure I am comfortable.

I am impressed by the team as they flexed the rules a little to accomodate to the needs of passengers like me. They still continue to service the cabin cheerfully. At the end of the day, it is still leadership. The IFS motivated his team to work at a high efficiency and effectiveness. He walks the talk even giving up his workstation.

What would have been an unpleasant experience due to machine failure turned into enjoyable flight due to the care and attention from the people at the frontline.

I shall name the individuals:

Arthur Low
Chen Hui Yi
Wenddy Goh
Adelene Lai
Chuah Eng Chiang

Wenddy and Hui Yi go the extra mile. It is crews like them make the in-flight service legendary. My kudos to them.

Thanks for a pleasant flight.

BBQ Ribs in Harbourside Mall

The only mall that is open at weeknights in Sydney. Sydney still has an archaic laws that now shops are allow to open past 6pm on the weekdays. Thursday is the only day for "late" night shopping. Only resturants and bars are allowed to be open. No wonder Australian holds the world record for drinking beer per capita. You have no other things do pass time on except drinking and talking.

We had dinner in Hurricane's Grill in Harbourside Shopping Centre in Darling Harbour. We had a full slab of pork ribs and beef ribs, bbq chicken together with soups and salads. It was a feast. I had a good time. The food is good, company is good but the table is right at the door way and cold drafts is terrible.

Still the overall dining experience is fine and we took a walk back to the hotel. It is a wonderful end to the evening.

Record Cold!

Sydney experienced it coldest day in 26 years! The extreme weather pattern is happening here too. My boss is a green skeptic. He does not believe in global warming. However I am a believer and will do my part to contribute.

As part of team building approach, we had to do abstract painting, individually and then as a team. I did a painting to love the earth.

Long Day

I am up at 6:30am this morning or 4:30am Singapore time. I have plenty of food which is not good for my waistline. Then we had a long dinner in an South Indian resturant. We had a good meeting and tomorrow we will have another day in the office.

Meeting is really sitting and eating. It is not healthy lifestyle.

Freezing Sydney

Winter in Australia. I just arrived and head straight to dinner with the group. The dinner is Turkish food and is very good. It is typical mediterranean food with focacia bread with olive oil. There is a vegetarian starter and then rack of lamb and finished with desserts.

It is good to catch up with my colleagues. I have not seen them in a while now. Also good to be in Sydney again after 3 years. Only complaint I have is it is very cold. This is the first time I come in winter. It is not as cold as Toronto but my body did not have a chance to adjust slowly to the lower temperature.

It will be a busy week for me.

Birds of Different Feathers

I have lived here for 6 years now. In the last two years, I am seeing more varieties of birds coming to our estate. I am wondering if the new Sengkang Gardens have something to do with this welcoming trend. Before, we get only mynahs and sparrows. Occasionally, there may be a kingfisher or black-naped oriole. This morning, I have a pair of olive-backed sunbirds sipping nectars from our heliconias and what I think is a thrush. We have plenty of doves along the road. I also think getting rid of crows help other species to survive and show up as crows are quite aggressive.

A Family Day

Weekend is for the family. Today is not too bad as two tuitions were cancelled. So we have only one tuition. Our boys had their own activities at home and in the mall. B1 is studying for his preliminary A level exams. B2 went for tuition and then buy a headphone. B3 played with his neighbour friends.

The fan in the living room broke and we have to get a replacement. After dinner, we went to Best Denki in Compass Point. We bought laser ink for our laser printer and a new fan. It is just a regular day and our family spend quantity time together.

EOGM

I chaired the Extra-Ordinary Meeting for our estate today. The meeting is held to pass a resolution to collect funds to paint the facade of our estate. We passed the resolution and continue to have further discussions on the history of our estate.

We have a couple of new owners and also one owner who always attend extraordinary meeting. It was good to catch up and update fellow owners.

Most Expensive Durian

Yesterday, I ate the most expensive durian I ever bought. It is a gift to my father-in-law for Father's Day. My father-in-law is a vegetarian. So food gift choices are quite limited. All confectionery must be certified. No sweetmeat or seafood. Mushrooms are for mother-in-law. So our choice narrows down to fruits. The "Cat Mountain" durian at $16 per kg. The durian the vendor selected weighs 2.6kg. He round down the price to $40. It is the first time for me to pay this kind of price for a premium durian. The most expensive durians I bought for myself and family is 3fruits for $20.

The durian is creamy and seed is small. However, I can't taste the reason why this durian command such premium. Obviously, my tastebuds are not refined enough to tell the difference. Yes, I will wait for the price to drop before enjoying my durian treat. I prefer value for money.

The Importance of Living

Finally, I acquired this book by Lin Yutang. Hopefully, I will discover the joys of leaving things undone as promised in he cover of the book.

Talking about things undone, I have not been writing for a few days. I am up at 2am as the coffee after dinner is taking effect. Usually caffeine in tea or coffee do not affect me. Sometimes it does. Usually, something bothering me causing insomnia.

My middle son had a party in Science Centre as part of the RoboCan competition. His friends took a ride from us and they are all excited and charged up. He enjoys the party and feels that all the hardwork and stress of the competition is now worth it with this reward. On the way home, he and his friends were very animated and had a great time reviewing all the videos of the fun activities they had. I am very happy that he is joyful and had plenty of friends.

It is all quiet with sounds of raindrops falling onto our heliconia now and then. I enjoys the peace and tranquility of the night.

Happy Father's Day

B2 left me a note for me on my desk in the morning. B1 wished me a Happy Father's Day when his mum reminded him at the poolside. B3 left me a gift with a note. It is card with a specially shaped paper clip.

We went to the RoboCup Competition to support B2. It is a global competition with many countries sending in their team to competition in the various Robot contests. There are a couple of different soccer competition. One with humanoid robots and another with short cone shape robots that can play soccer in a team. There is a dancing competition and B2 is in the Junior section picking up a drink can.

The competition starts tomorrow. Looks like it will be a challenge to compete an event where many countries send in their teams.

Sold Out:(

Fan Yang Gazillion Bubbles Show is sold out. Only single seats left. We are a little disappointed as it is once a lifetime opportunity.

B3 will make do with Toy Story 3 instead.

In other news, my weight has been creeping up again. I need to reduce my food intake and exercise more.

I glad to get The Complete Plain Words for my colleagues. I will be meeting them in a week's time in Sydney. I have not gone to Australia for 3 years now. It is time to refresh my memories there. It is winter now so it is nice to get a change in weather. Going out will not be fun.

Fan Yang Gazillion Bubbles Show

B3 is all excited about this show. It is only 3 days. Tomorrow I shall go to Sistic and check if we can get tickets for the show.

Sunday is Father's Day. So we have a Father and Son Day this weekend, provided tickets are still available.

Sixth Sense?

We were in the car on the way home yesterday when B3 asked "Can cars float on water?" "Did Singapore flood before?" It was afternoon and we just finished our lunch in Suntec City. Everything was normal from Suntec city to our home.

I told him Singapore used to flood but not anymore as there are monsoon canals to drain out the rain water. It is a surprised to see the news on the internet that Orchard Road flooded to knee height. The pictures also showed one car floating on the water. This is the first flood in years. It is also the first flood B3 ever seen in Singapore. He must be having sixth sense to ask all the questions about flood during a rainy day.

Food Memory Refreshed

KL has plenty of new malls. We have dinner in Empire which is a new mall right beside Subang Parade. Quite a few interesting resturants there and we decided to try Lebanese food. Lebanese food consist of shish kebab, tandoori chicken, lamb cube which reminds me of Indian food. I realise they must be Middle East or Arabian food.

I also have a good memory refresh lunching at Jom Bali. The drink and food is quite good. I like the fried kway teow.

Work was busy. So I did not get a chance to explore the mall, my favorite pastime.

A Simple Satisfying Day

Thank Buddha for the weekend. It is re-creation time. A time to connect with the family. The boys enjoys the mall crawling and eating out. We just wander about with nothing to do in particular.

Dinner was Nasi Briyani takeout from North Point. We had home-baked cheese cake and Taiwan King Mango for desserts. Taiwan King mango is gigantic and quite sweet but not much flavor.

Well, tomorrow is another day. Work beckons...

Dinner with my Eldest Sister

Last night, we had dinner in Jumbo Seafood Resturant in Safra Resort in Tanah Merah. We had black pepper crab, chilli crab, seafood tofu,golden fried chicken and prawn in salted egg yolk.

My younger niece brought along her friend. She has interesting background as she came over to live in Singapore since she was 10. Right now her mother and brother is in Singapore as well. So she has her family here. Her birthday present is a Porche which she now drive to work.


We are happy just being together. The food is ok. The taste is not as good as it was in East Coast. I can see B1 loves seafood. B2 and B3 have taste like me. We are carnivores!

Museum of the Art

Free Admission on Friday Nights and the carpark is free and right in front of the museum. The museum is really tiny compared to Lourve in Paris. However, it is good that we have Arts available.

There is a Art Garden which is targetted for young kids. Singapore is starting to have culture....

Gratifying!

B1 is trying out new scores on the piano with the book we book today. B2 is quite pleased with his NxT books and B3 enjoys the thrills of flipping the pages of his books to figure out what new projects he is going to do.

Yes, the money I spent is worth it when all three boys are motivated and using their books.

Better

I am feeling much better today. Retail therapy. Even though I have not really bought anything yet, I will be buying $200 worth of books for my boys in a couple of days, maybe tomorrow if I have the time as Kino will be starting it 20% discount.

They are excited and want to get the books for their enjoyment. They are books on science, robotics and music scores. I am very happy they are keen to use the books for their enjoyment.

Lousy Day

I feel lousy today. Work is not going smoothly. Business is doing well but it is dealing with slippery and cunning colleagues that gets me down.

I will have to exercise more, read more and find other fulfilling activities to get rid of negative feelings. Life is like a yo-yo on a string. Up and down. I resolve to ignore lack of integrity and apathy in dealing with issues.

Like our famous and rich entreprenur, Olivia Lum, CEO of Hyflux, says...tomorrow is another day. It is good to go to bed and sleep it off.

Happiness

Happiness is want what you have and have what you want. This the American version. Happiness about about having things, using things and consuming Mother Earth in the process.

Happiness can come from simple pleasures. Dinner with the family, reading a good book, closing a deal, getting a promotion or pay increase, and best of all, making others happy. The greatest pleasure is give other pleasure.

I have the link to Happiness Website by BBC. There are many other positive psychology website. Peace of mind through letting go of desires is another way to achieve happiness.

May peace and contentment be with you. You will achieve happiness.

Exercise and Family

It is brunch at Nan Bei Imperial Resturant. Then cycling with B2 for half an hour. After that it is grocery shopping in Cold Storage. We bought fresh romaine lettuce to make salad and a rotisserie chicken, family size. We also have pasta with Swedish meatballs. Dessert is fresh mangoes and peeled orange. I then go cycling again with B1 this time. After 2nd round of cycling, I swam for a few mins.

After dinner, all our three Bs mill around the living. We had a wonderful and then it is back to school work. It was going to be a wonderful report for today when B2 rear up his rude behaviour over suggestion on how to focus on his school work.

Sigh! A wonderful day marred with a bad five minutes at the end. Goodnite...

Knee Pain

I have pain in my right knee since India trip two weeks ago. The pain did not go off after one week,so a visit to my family physician diagnosed my pain is due to gout. I have anti-inflammation and something to reduce uric acid crystal. It improved but did not solve my problem.

This evening, I went to the Chinese physician my father-in-law recommends. The relief was immediate but when I reach home, the pains return.

I hope my ligaments will heal soon...

Happy

I managed to finish meeting and returned to Seoul before office closed. So I bought a pack of Chocolate Chip and Macadamia nuts cookie for my "victim". He is happy to see me and present his business card. Kim, almost everyone Kim in Korea, so I can name him properly without disclosing who he really is is qu:)ite happy to see me. He is surprised by the small gift I have for him. He offers to help me in future if I go to Korea. I am very happy that he is happy and not upset that I borrowed his power supply.

My colleagues were good to give me this suggestion. I finished my work. We got the price increase although not as much as what we wanted but will do for now.

It is a good trip!:)

Can't Live Without My Computer

The computer is such an indispensable tool today. I forgot to bring my power supplies for my laptop. I check with the business center in the hotel. No luck. They have only LG laptop which used a different plug. I go to the mall and there is only small section for HP netbook (actually small is an understatement. puny would describe the display aptly). Then I go to the office and guess what. Today is an election day and office is closed. My poor customer has to work on a holiday because I am here and prepare for the meeting tomorrow.

Finally, I "borrowed" a power supplies from a desk and left a note. I hope the person do not get ticked off.

It is impossible to work without a computer today. I wonder what happened twenty years ago. I remember my first stop after checking into any hotel is to go to the business center to retrieve faxes and then send faxes. I seriously doubt anyone is sending faxes today. Sorry one exception hehehe...finance department!

Seoul, Here I Come

Tomorrow is travel day to get to Seoul. Tension in Korea is high. Duty calls. I am going there for work and meet Customers. Hopefully, the tense situation do not escalate. North Korea is posturing and sabre rattling.

It is business as usual until something unexpected happens. I was in US when 9/11 hits. It was an adventure of a lifetime. All flights were grounded. Then when flights were available the security checks took three hours. So I hope I do not have to go through this kind of adventure again.

Sad

I am very sad to report the baby Philippines Glossy Starling has passed on the greater life. We tried and it still did not work out. I wonder if I should have left it to the mercy of the elements. Sigh....

Intelligence vs Resilience

Lee Wei Leng talks intelligence and how when her father, Lee Kuan Yew was in China, supremo Deng Hsiao Ping remarked to how well Singapore has done. He replied Singapore as only immigrants Chinese, China will be able to do more as she has intellectuals, mandarins, artists and a whole load of very intelligent people. However, our First Daughter begs to differ her opinion from her esteemed Father. She felt that resilience weighs more. Resilience is the toughness, the ability to bounce back in adversity. The early immigrants of Singapore have resilience and the toughness to deal with and weather difficult conditions and situations.

She modestly claims she is not intelligent. She is a scholar and a pediatrics neurologist. She is a high powered intellect. She is resilient as she suffers through some medical problems and maybe other obstacles that she has not publicise yet.

With both intelligence and resilience she has attained great heights in her career and life. I enjoys reading her columns as I can identify with her values. She has also lived in Toronto although as a student.

In some sense we do have common ground growing up in the same period(I was in sec 1 when she was in Pre-U), going to the same school and living in the same country oversea.

Philippines Glossy Starling

Searching for Chairs

We spend the day checking out on chairs. The chairs B1 and B2 used are no longer working well. It seems like boys wear down their chairs fairly quickly as this will be the third chair we are going to buy for them.

Maybe we should buy a higher quality chair. Kids are expensive to maintain. Good things last long time and therefore become cheaper when they last and last.

We may settle for V Hive after evaluating Ikea(not suitable), Herman Miller(too expensive) and Furniture Mall(made in China).

The price is reasonable and it is not fabric or synthetic leather.

Huge Crowd

This morning, we went to the Goddess of Mercy Temple in Queens Street. The crowd is just amazing. So we just pray from outside and then go off. With three boys, we are reluctant as it will be impossble to get in.

We also rescue a baby Philippine Starling on the road. This time, we hope we can save the bird. Now, at least we know what to feed it. I hope this baby will grow up strong and independent before we release it back. Otherwise it may become a road kill.

May Buddhe bless all of us on this Vesak.

A Developed Country that done Well

The financial crisis, the worldwide recession and all the economic woes that developed countries are facing, there is one country that is doing well. This country dollar has strengthen, the real estate prices are continuing to go up during the crisis and none of the banks require any bailout.

This country is Canada. The Prime Minister, Harper does not have a majority in the Parliment House either. I read all these in The Economist. Canada is the only developed country in the world that does not have a problem with budget deficit or requires to implement some drastic measures for the current crisis.

I am very happy to read. It is good to live in a well run country! Canada must be a good country to live in right now.

Reading Advantage

Books in India are a lot cheaper than anywhere I visited. Granted, I have not been to a lot of places less travelled. I noticed there are plenty of bookstores around. In the domestic airport in Mumbai, there were 3 bookstores inside the passenger gates. In the hotels, there is a bookstore. What surprises me is the price is still low in the hotel store.

With such an abundance and easily available coupled with low cost, it is no wonder India has a strong advantage in English language. There must be a big market for printed books as well. By the way, the quality of paper the books are printed on has improved as well. I still have a copy of a book on vocabulary bought in India many years ago. Actually it is with my brother-in-law now. He must have borrowed it from me in Canada.

Incredible India

Today, I am still recovering from my India trip. The tag line for India Tourist Promotion is Incredible India. I must say it is a good tagline. Incredible queues at the security check points(Kolkata). Boarding pass checked Incredible number of times - 6 times from getting into the holding point to the aircraft. Incredible wait for a cab in Bangalore - one hour 15 mins. Incredible answer - 15 mins to any questions. Incredibly Good Chinese food in Mumbai - yes it is REALLY good!

How far are we from your office - two mins. We arrived about 10 mins later - Indian Rubber Time rules. I must say the fresh lime soda tastes just as good as my first trip to India 24 years ago. Yep! Been there, done that.

There are many changes too. Campa Cola no longer exist. Warren Buffett's favorite drink kills it. Besides, Ambassador and Maruti, Honda, Hyundai, Toyota and other major brands. I am lucky not to get "Bombay Belly" or food poisoning. Our hosts in 3 different cities all come on time. Major surprise and change in my previous experience. Two worked for multinationals and one is the business owner. The FDI has changed the behaviours of the Indians employees.

The roads has improved too and highways is wide. Drivers behaviours has not changed and honking is the way to get others to get out of their way.

Some things has changed and some don't. As my colleague, Tony in Canada said to me once about the company we worked in. The more it changed, the more it stays the same.

I reflect on China's development. My first trip to China was about 16 or 17 years ago. There were not many roads but the roads are in better condition yet similar to India today. Traffic jams was non-existent. Everyone travel by bicycles. Only taxis and military vehicles were on the road. Cars were used cars imported from other countries and rare. On the road, there were many men wearing military uniforms. I asked my colleague, Pascalis why the military is everywhere but they are not carrying arms. He explains that uniforms and laundry are free, so the people are wearing off work. Today, China has massive traffic jams and bicycles are not allowed in many parts of the city. There are good mass rapid system in all the major cities.

China is years ahead of India in economic development.

Horrors in India

There is a bomb scare in Mumbai and the passengers in KingFisher plane are held in a holding area while the bomb squad investigate in a anonymous tip.

Today, more than 160 passengers and crews are confirmed dead when an aircraft from Dubai landing in Mangalore airport overshoot the runway and burst in flames.

Everything in India is 15 mins away. We call for a cab and were told we have to wait. Half an hour later, I followup and was told that I only called for the cab 15mins ago. Tired of waiting, I asked the hotel staff how long more. It will be in 15 mins, the cab is in Old Airport road. It is very near but due to traffic... So I showed the concierge the time on my phone 6:09. At 6:35, I showed him the time and asked so this is your 15 mins and still no cab. The cab finally arrived at 7pm or one hour and fifteen minutes. This is why I love India so much.

My friend and ex-colleague, CH says he will be thinking of me when he leaves India for Manila. I am very lucky compared to him. He has to go India every month. Yes, I will be thinking of him often:))

Day Time Nightmares

I have an early morning flight from Kolkata to Bengalore. Getting up bright and early, yes it is bright at 5am is no issue as it is 7:30am Singapore time to go to the airport. The ride was pleasant as traffic is light and reaching the domestic airport, memories of my previous travel in India flood back. The airport is messy will be an understatement. There are long queues everywhere and people are jumping queues.

There are no signs to tell you which queues are for what. I joined on queue I asked a local what the queue is for and realised I need not queue at all. Actually, I learned to ask because I spent 30mins on a wrong queue in Mumbai domestic airport. After getting my boarding pass, we have to queue for security checks that is at least 50metres long and do not seem to move. I was all stressed up and panicking as my flight time, yes flight time and not boarding time is getting close and then pass. I was on the queue waiting for security check past the time my plane is supposed to leave. Luckily, may this is a typical day in Kolkata domestic airplane, the aircraft did not leave and wait for all the passenger to clear. My flight is delayed for half an hour.

Chaos and poor passenger flow and insufficent clearing checkpoints make it really fun to go through. I am glad I am going home tomorrow night.

Meeting an Old Friend and Ex-colleague

Airport transit and airplane is the an excellent place to meet my ex-colleagues. One the way to Mumbai, I met an ex-colleague whom I last seen maybe 17 years ago when he visited us in Canada. It is easy to count the years as B1 was a baby when we brought him to Niagara Falls. It is funny to meet him again rather than any other ex-colleagues as he is the only one who visited us. I have not met others yet.

I am very happy to see that he is doing well. Actually extremely well, a big shot in his company.

At work, our meeting went well as this is our first meeting with a global partner. They are interested to work with us. Of course the best part of the meeting is lunch. We have Chinese food in a resturant called Mainland China. It is quite unusual for my initial impression. Chinese food is excellent in Mumbai.

India, Here I Come

I have a big geography to look after including India and Pakistan. Business activities in these two South Asian countries are lukewarm. There are potentials and I am going there to explore and see if we can increase our business in the two giant economy in Greater Asia.

My last trip to India was probably two or three years ago. I used to go India frequently in another job. I guess the time is ripe for me to go again.

You probably can read that I am not too excited about going to India. I look forward to going to places like Penang, Manila, KL or Bangkok where I loved the food. North Asia like China, Korea and Japan is okay but foodwise is not my favourite. I enjoys the food there no doubt. But I cannot them them every day.

I loved the tandoori and naan. So I am going to enjoy some authentic mouthwatering Indian meals next week.

A Good Day

Saturday is the usual rush from one tuition to another. Starting from 8am, we have non-stop tuition until 3pm. Actually, there is another tuition from 3pm to 5 pm. B1 has to come home by himself. Coming home, B2 and B3 went cycling to the SengKang Gardens with me.

There were a group of young adults 3 men and 2 women fishing below the flyover. One managed to catch a fish. After taking photo, he release it back. I like this catch and release philosophy this group has.

Our neighbour gave us a pleasant surprise! She brought over two dishes - Lo Han Zhai (mixed vegetables) and Stewed Mushrooms with Fishmaw and Sea Cucumber. We had steamed fish and teochew braised duck. The dinner was delicious. The best ingredients was our boys' behaviour. We had good conversations with no bickering nor stressful dialogues between them.

After dinner, my boys were watching the YouTube and laughing together. I am so happy to have a simple peaceful day.

Today is good...no it is an awesome day!

Safe Night Cycling in near future

The river near my home is dammed and now a reservoir. The water is level is very low and dirty. Along the monsoon drain, contruction work is going on. A pedestrian cum bicycling path made of high quality black tar and granite chips. Street lights lined the whole path. It will be lit up at night. So it will be safe to cycle at night, free of cars, traffic lights and watching out for obstacles.

Hmmm! I love the prospect and looking forward to the completion of the path. It will be nice when the water level rise higher and cleaner.

Yes, PUB is right! The reservoir is full of garbage every time it rains.

Exciting Change in The Curve

I have not stayed in The Curve for maybe a year now. The changes are amazing. Many new resturants and Kopitiams - Station, Oldtown, Uncle Lim and Kluang. I must come again and try some of the new resturants. Laksa smells heavenly.

Borders has also revamp and shift the shells around. It is like walking around a new mall. I know I am kind of pathetic to be excited about malls. This is mall crawling is my hobby. It is good exercise to do window shopping. I wish I can eat without gaining weight. I will be in 7th heaven.

Win!

My fellow blogger, Boh Tong visited the casino and won! However, he promised not to go again. He also watched the stock market. It mean he must be investing too. I do not know love SQ ticker. I am going to sit at the sideline for a while to wait out the roller coaster ride. This is good for blood pressure:)

Manila - a year later

Makati's Gloretta is upgrading. There are 4 Glorettas and a new one is built called aptly Gloretta 5 and is separate for the other 4. Meanwhile Gloretta 4 has been demolished and will be rebuild. National Bookstore has relocated to Gloretta 5. Power Books in Green Belt has also upgraded. The malls is extemely crowded and busy. My colleague observed that people are poor but happy. In Japan, people seems unhappy all the time as the economy is bad.

My opinion is people are happy when they see improvement and income gain. People are unhappy when their incomes is reduced or diminished. Japan has gone through a period where asset values steadily diminish or deflation in economic terminology.

Another important factor is disposition. Japanese are serious and Philippinos have sunny and happy-go-lucky disposition. So they are a happier lot. Life is also more lay back.

Manila is vibrant and traffic clogging up the road and commence is roaring. The malls are busy busy busy. I like it!

Queensway Mall

This old mall has some unique stuff. It has more sport shoes shops than anywhere else in Singapore. The Original Katong laksa is there and ran by the mother. The son, I understand is in Roxy, Katong. The Original Katong Laksa is still my all-time favorite laksa.

In the roller blade store on the third floor, there is a new scooter which is powered by stepping motion. Printshop, name tag makers, school uniform and custom tailors make up the rest. This is the place for unique services

This grand dame is more than 40 years old now. Do drop by and check it out.

My Dream House

I have a dream. I always want to retire in a remote village(okay, maybe not so remote) where the weather is cool and easily accessible to airport, city and bookshops. Internet and healthcare availability is non-negotiable.

Now I think if I can build my own custom house, I may be able to retire here in Singapore. My dream house will be eco-friendly with solar heater, solar panels and windmill for power and water collection system for rain water. There should be a lap pool and a vegetable garden. No, I will not rear my own food. Meat still have to come from the supermarkets. There should be a bedroom each for my boys and the rooms must be big enough to accomodate their wives. A spare bedroom for my mum if she visit from Canada. There must be a roof garden so that we reflect less heat out. I am thinking my current location has plenty of such advantage as it is remote and cheap by Singapore real estate standards. However, it is missing the green elements. So I may have to look for somewhere in Neo Tiew Road where there are plenty of farms. There my dream may have a chance to become a reality.

Unstable Market

The stock market is in a turmoil. The Greece debt problem is the "main" cause for the sellout. I cannot see the link. However, we decide to sell some of our stocks and sit tight for a while to wait out the turbulence. We lost all the gains we made. The good thing is we did not lose too much. Such is the challenge of investing. All the positive economic news and great earnings did not help with the stock price. Mass panic is causing the price to drop.

The change is swift and strong. I am glad I have a strong stomach to withstand the churn. Still it is not fun. I hope the market stablise as they may affect real economy is the stock market is weak.

Election Fever

Britain is going for election tomorrow and Philippines is electing their President on Monday. I hope everything go well and my trip to Manila will be uneventful. Politics can be unstable and violence do erupts.

As usual, I am looking forward to the food there. It is our reward for all the hard work my colleague and I will be putting in. Usually, we have Japanese lunch and Western dinner.

Fever just reminds me. The thermometer is rising. It is extremely warm during the day and the sun is strong, so strong that my sport shoes take only a few hours to dry instead of days after getting wet.

I wonder how much is due to global warming and how much due to the buildup in Singapore. Whatever the reason, we are lucky to have airconditioning everywhere we go.

Stock Market Down and Down

After a two weeks run, stock market is going down. I wonder why European financial situation can have such drastic effect on our stocks. All the companies reporting today results today have strong postive gain. Hyflux earnings 24% up, OCBC earning is 24% up as well. SATS have great earning growth. Meanwhile all the stock price go down.

Stock market is irrational. Should we short the market?

Mad Science

This book is a record of science experiments pioneers. Many interesting experiments conjure and thought out by psychologists, scientists and mad scientists.

Some are utterly disgusting like eating the spit and vomit of cholera victims to test the theory cholera was contagious. One scientist after knowing two baby girls were reared by wolves in the wild want to test it out. However no parents are willing to let their baby be foster out to the wild. He does the opposite and try to rear a wild animal like a human baby. So he convinced his wife and concieve a child. They then brought in a chimpanzee and give it exactly the same treatment as their baby boy. At the age where other American kids know 150 words, their son only know 50. The psychologist terminated the experiment a few months later. The outcome of the experiment was instead of the wild animal becoming more human, their baby was learning more to be like a wild animal!!!

This book is interesting reading. I am enjoying the lighter side. This is from Borders in Penang.

Stress of Modern Life

Penang is a place where life noticeable slow down. Our life today is full of stress from the time we are born. From before we start school, we have enrichment programs like piano, ballet dancing, art, gymnastics, phonics, Shichida, abacus, and more. Then it is studying hard to make it to the gifted program. After that it is PSLE so that we can go to the top schools(branding is important, you know). Then it is "O" level for some and "A" levels for all. Then we have to study in the University to secure a future. Along the way, many drop out, fell out or lost their way.

We then compete for jobs and when we have a job, we have to compete for survival and promotion. We need money to survive and live. So we cannot opt out and stay jobless or rather incomeless.

Generating income can be stressful. We have to work and work to keep many stakeholders happy - Customers, Boss, Staff and Peer basically everyone we have contact with. I wonder how life is like to opt out of the rat race and be a monk. Spend my time meditating and praying. That will be the day!

Good Morning, Singapore

It is dark and early morning. The hooting of the pet bird is loud and noisy. EEEeeOOOOooo, EEEEeeOOOOooo. I wonder why the bird owner like this kind of bird. It is noise and not singing or music. At 6:40am the sky is turning to white and blue.

More and more bird chirping can be heard. Life is stirring as the day breaks and progress. I am enjoying the peace and quiet and writing.

Today is Labour Day. Japan has their golden week next week. China has three days off. Singapore? Well, we need to be more productive. So we have to work. I have plenty of work since business recovered.

Family is very important. Someone forward an email on a speech by CEO of Coca Cola. Work is a rubber ball,Family, Health, Friends and Spirit are glass balls. Rubber ball when drops, bounces back. Glass balls will get irrevocably nicked, cracked or even shattered. They will never be the same. We must strive to keep the balls in the air and not let it drop.