Herbal Cure for Kidney Stone

I found out that a herb called Parsley Piert or Parsley Breakstone is a natural herb that helps break up kidney stones. I tried looking for it in Mustafa but cannot locate it as the counter staff are not there. I will have try again between 12 to 8pm on a weekday. I also manage to get a Torx screwdriver and Epsom Salt there as well.
Mustafa is the place to get anything especially exotic and difficult to get items.

Pain-free Surprise

Today, I am totally surprise by my pain-free episode. I drank my usual tea as well as 1.5 litre of distilled water. I am relief that pain did not hit. Waking up in the middle of night several times mean I did not get enough rest. So I had a nap in the afternoon. I understand kidney stone may take a week to 4 weeks to come out. I am eagerly waiting and hopeful my anxieties will be over soon as it is now 9 days since I went to Mt Alvernia Hospital. I know this may boring to my readers but it is intend to document my life experience. When memory fads, my blog will reminds me of events past.

Build Up

I am looking out of my windows. I realise my views are getting obstructed by new flats built in SengKang. When I first moved in July 2004, only 5 blocks of orange and yellow HDB flats are in clear view. Today, 3 more blocks are up, although not completed yet has reduced my view of the white clouds and blue sky. My million dollar view is worth less and less. I always enjoys the paranormic views, something rare in Singapore. Growing up in a flat, city living makes us less connected to nature. The favorite pastime is shopping. The aircond makes it comfortable compared to walking in Botanic Garden.
The sky view I enjoyed in the past few years in my current home is slowly encroached by expansion of the city. Sigh!

Effective Painkiller

I was in pain all day. Tyernol and panadol did not work and I almost reached the maximum dosage of 8. I had six. I know I will not sleep well with the pain on the right of the abdomen. Finally I decided to take the once a day tablet given by Mt. Alvernia. It work! I had a more restful sleep.
The brand is "Arcoxia". The drug is etoricoxib, 120mg. This is a wonder drug for pain!

Is pain suffering?

I am suffering from pain all day. I am also thinking now whether if pain is suffering. Pain is good because the body is healthy and saying something is wrong. I wondering why do I need to suffer the pain. If the world is balanced like Yin and Yang, did it mean I had too much joy and pleasure and now I have to pay back with pain? What are the joys and pleasures? I think it may be too much teh halia, too much rich food and coconut milk. Enjoys the food now and pay it back with the pain later.
Dark thoughts or enlightened thinking? I wonder.
Is pain synonymous to suffering? The question at the back of my mind as I am in "labour pain" as my wife puts it. The dictionary explains suffering is bearing pain, emotional or physical. Now I know that I am suffering physically. The title of this entry is double positive i.e. I am in painful pain?!

An Evening Out

B1 gave me a coupon for a BOGOF (or buy one get one free) drink in Gloria Jeans. So I decided to go to Raffles City to redeem as there is a store right outside MPH in Basement One. The traffic was jammed and not moving going in Raffles City. Some big event must be going on. So I park in Marina Square instead. Times Bookshop has change it store layout. The selection range is still limited relative to MPH.
I tried to ask for a rain check to extend the redemption of the coupon but was turned down. I was disappointed with the attitude of the counter staff and his response to my request. There are only two tables occupied with a total of 5 customers in the cafe. With this kind of attitude, I can see why Starbuck is a lot more popular in Marina Square.
I decided to walk to MPH in Raffles City and Gloria Jeans there is as crowded as the Starbuck located just outside the train station. I thought to myself, attitude and training of counter staff makes a huge different to the store traffic. I suspect the leadership of each store plays a huge part in the sales and profitability. The outlet in Marina Square is poorly run and hence no customers and in Raffles City it is popular.
People makes a difference!

Today is 19th day of 2nd Lunar Month

This morning, the urethra colic hits. I walks as advised by Dr. Loo of Mt. Alvernia. Of course I also take the medications he gave - painkiller and steriods. After walking, I had infrared heat on the abdomen that hurts. The pain passed in one hour. This is a huge relief! After the pain subsides, I feel the urge to go to my favorite temple in Queen Street or 4-horse way in Chinese.
The crowd was huge today. Devotees were lighting their josssticks from outside the temple and walking in. There is a barker urging people in a loud hailer, not to take too long in their prayers and to keep moving. He explains in English today is 19th day of 2nd Lunar Month or Kuan Yin's Birthday. Everyone was donating and I practically have to push my way into the donation box after figuring out in a few minutes that waiting patiently to get in is impossible.
No idea why I have to urge today to visit the temple as I do not know that it is Goddess of Mercy's birthday. However I do feel good I go and pray today by instinct.
All will be well.

Tired Easily

Maybe it is water overload, maybe it is worrying about the stone. I seems to feel tired quite easily today. I am comforted by my readers who gave me tips on travelling with my conditions and expressing their concerns for me.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

Water Overload

I am drinking tea like there is no tomorrow. My stomach feels bloated. The urine output has increase dramatically and now I go to "we we" every half hour. Somehow, I do not feel the stone moving downwards. I wish my kidneys are like taps. The flow can be regulated or increase quickly when needed, just like flushing the toilet. Then I can be sure all the stones are flushed out when they are still small...

The Kidney Stone

The emergency doctor when he when he has to refer me to a specialist, I told him I will see my classmate, Peng Kok. Then I told him Peng Kok's wife Lay Tin was my classmate and a Cardiologist, Yung San too. He looked at me and asked why am I not here! I forgot my response. I should have told him this is my big regret or I prefer engineering. Anyway, Peng Kok told me my stone is quarter way down and the x-ray did not show where the stone is and therefore I have to wait for three more weeks before going for another CT scan. He can do a procedure to retrieve the stone but high chance of the stone going back to the kidney.
Since I have to travel, he suggest if I am really in pain, I have to go to a reputable hopital especially in a lot of countries in Asia.
Today, I did not have any pain. I stopped the painkillers and constipation stopped as well. Now I am in suspense and worry about when I will be hit by the sledgehammer or mother all of pains.

Birthday Party for B3

Today, B3 invited his friends and neighbour's kids over for his party. Again, I did my favorite signature cooking the BBQ. We had lots of chicken satay, less mutton satay, chicken wings, grilled green bell peppers, grilled eggplants, grilled sweet corns and bbq sotong. The kids had a great time with the food. The birthday cake has a little train on top.
After opening the presents, our place is like a little toy shop. Full of toys. There were two volcanoes kits, a radio controlled airplane, cross bow, hot wheel set, magnetic tyransaurous model, books and a few other which slipped my mind now. I am very glad he had a good birthday party and thoroughly enjoyed himself.
Happy Returns! B3. I love you!

Drinking Water and other fluids

I am drinking like no tomorrow. I met another doctor who send her daughter to the same gym class as my B3. She says drinking two to three liters of water will cause the stone to flow out. It is going to hurt as it come out even though she is of the opinion that it is a small stone. Another gym mother says that her mum has the same problem and there were infections and inflammation of the kidney. It quite "easy" to treat as the doctor just blast the stone to bits and all pass out through urination.
Although my condition hurts, I am assure the treatment is simple and can be fixed easily. May cost me a lot of dollars. I will find out once I see the specialist.

CT Scan and X-rays

I had a CT scan and x-rayed my chest and abdomen. The CT scan confirmed I have a kidney stone size of 5 mm and it has moved to the urethra. Also there is a gallstone of 1.5cm. I do not know. Seem like I may have a problem in future.
Look like my body needs some repair and maintenance program...

Intense Pain and Discomfort

Now that I know I have kidney stones, it makes the pain understandable and bearable especially since Dr. Loo told me the stones usually pass out by themselves. I now realised that I had a bout of cramp and backache before in the swimming pool. I attribute that to the cold water and I know it is the kidney stones acting up on me.
Last night, I have intense pain and discomfort on the right of my abdomen right to the rear. So it is a tummyache that you cannot get rid of by doing bowel movement. It is the backache that cannot be relieve by the heat treatment. The pain kept me awake up until the wee hours of the morning. Yes, I had two different class of painkillers. And yes, as I toss and turn, I wonder why painkillers did not work! This is suffering.
Hopefully, the scanning later will get to the root of my pain.

Worse Morning of My Life

I woke up in the morning with severe pain in my right abdomen. I thought it must be something I ate yesterday. I cannot sit or lie down. No position was comfortable. Sweat pouring out of my body profusely. I felt I was dying. I took Tyernol and Po Chai pills. My wife gave me Lactifort, a medicine for tummy upset. I recovered and thought it is ok. So I turned on my computer to do work and emails or "net working". Then the pain hits again. I was groaning like an injured animal. This time we suspect it may be appendicitis. Immediately we set off to Mt. Alvernia, the nearest hospital. Dr. Loo was on duty. He examined me and asked a few questions. Did you go oversea? Have you eat any food in the morning? Did you feel nauseous? Are you allergic to any drugs?, etc.
Then he order blood and urine test. The long and short of it is I did not have appendicitis or colic. It is kidney stone maybe stones. Dr. Loo says kidney stones are usually small and can make grown man cry like a baby. The pain cause my blood pressure to rise to 156/130. I have an injection into my buttock and 500ml of saline. The effect was good. It take about 45 mins and I feel much better that I feel hungry.
I am so glad the hospital can make my acute pain right away and I am fit to go home. Since today is a holiday, I will have to come back to the hospital to scan to look for the stones tomorrow.

Starbucks Experience

Thirteen ringgit and 50 sens. That is the price of a caramel macchiato in Starbucks. It's served in a white mug with with a line drawing of a princess in green emblem. The milk is frothy and the caramel draws a criss-cross neatly on the foam. It is like an art served. Why did I pay thirteen bucks and more for a cup of coffee? Inside the airport, prices of anything is higher than outside. The price of Starbucks drinks is the same whether it is inside or out. Also I can get free internet access with my cuppa. It is the consistent expectation of drinking a Starbucks coffee that make me return every time especially while waiting to board my flight. It is a relaxing way to rent the space, experience the ambience and at the same time read or surf the net. Starbucks has the formula right for a cash machine.

Mall Crawling

Today, I have a chance to crawl at Mid Valley Megamall as it is a public holiday today. When I work, I do not know the public holidays as usual. So I have a "surprised two hours" that I can spend in Mid Valley. I love this mall. There are two big bookstores, MPH and Borders. I will lose myself there. Mmmm, great books, great time.

Coughing Fits

I am suffering from coughing fits again tonight. After giving the talk, my cough recurs and now it is back with a vengence. It is tough when cough refused to go away. I have tried Western medicine, Chinese medicine, Honey, cough drops, and Fisherman's Friends. Any other remedies my readers would like to suggest? I will be grateful if your remedies cure me of my cough.

How to get your kids to eat vegetable?

It is early in the morning and I am up and about in the hotel and wondering what to write. Turning on the TV to keep me company in a cold and strange room is my usual habit. A British program on How to get your kids to eat vegetables is on the channel as I am thinking on my topic to type out in this column. Several ways were tested out by psychologists.
1. Have a role model to show them the way. Several child actors and actresses were sent to the school to mix with the kids. During lunch, the child actors and actresses eat veggies and the school kids observed and followed put veggies in their mouths and enjoying it. Three days later, the kid, who professed to hate broccoli eat the broccoli at home without his mum asking him to.
2. Rationing the snacks. The experiment is done in a nursey school. First all the dried fruits were tested. Two fruits, rasins and dried mangoes were tested neutral by the kids were used. During the first break, only dried mangoes is allowed. During the second break both dried fruit were allowed. By day 10, all the kids rushed and pushed each for raisins during the second break. When asked, raisins is now their favorite snacks. So rationing increases the desirability of the snack.
3. Does sugar caused hyperactivity? The experiment show that sugar does not make kids hyperactive. However it will make them fat.
4. Eating in front of the TV makes kids eat more.
There are more on the tv however it is hard to concentrate on the tv and write at the same time. So I missed out a few other facts and fallacies on food.

Building Brands

I gave another talk on building brands to an audience of 70+. It was a good talk and the audience enjoys some laughter. We all had fun and it is a great experience for everyone. I love the engagement and selling my ideas to large group. This is the third time for me to talk on the same topic. Like wine, talk improved with age and experience:)
My colleagues and I adjorned for braised duck dinner and talk about everything under the stars.

Puzzle

I know of a man called M. M is a regular kind of a guy and a good friend. We know each other more than 30 years now. M is very thrifty and has a humble beginning. His father is a hawker and mum, a homemaker. When we first go in the working world, he save most of his income. He gave one third of his gross income to his parents. We spent a lot of our weekends together with another classmate, Ah Seng. We share our experience on the working world, trade stories on colleagues and the backstabbing politics in the corporate world. Over time, we get busier with our career, then courtship. After I marry, I emigrated to Canada. Ah Seng marry earlier than me and emigrated to Australia one week after I relocate to Toronto.
This is story about M. M got married much later than me. He has an ambitious wife. We used have family get together during Chinese New Year and chill out. A couple of times, we had a "boys" outing and M kind of implied he is not too happy with is marriage. However, things continue as usual and M's wife gave birth to a daughter. Today, the daughter is in Primary One. M lost his job a few years ago and is the homemaker looking after his daughter. A few months ago, M's wife initiate divorce proceeding. She is tired of supporting him. I understand she makes "obscene" amount of money as she is a senior manager in an MNC. The car that M drives, the house they lived in are bought by the wife.
M was desparate and in despair when he broke the news his wife is divorcing him. He has no money to engage a lawyer and the terms of the divorce were all dictated by his wife. After the divorce, M try his luck as a real estate agent. I understand he has cut a few deals and making reasonable income about $10K in three months.
Here come the question that is up in my mind. M is still looking after his daughter and living in the ex-wife house. The difference is now he sleeps on the sofa instead of the bed. Why would a man live with his ex-wife and sleep on the sofa?
Please give me your opinions.

Saturday Night Movie

It is a Saturday Night Movie for me and my two boys, B1 and B2. We were kind of glued to our seats. Usually, I would fast forward the shows so that I can see the ending quickly. When the boys are around, we watch the movie unfold at its own pace and it is very interesting and engaging. Maybe it is the company. With the boys, as we watch the show, they will be asking questions. I will be trying to answer and watch at the same time. It is good for bonding. This is better than watching in the movie theatre where talking will be an issue. Hmm! maybe we should have dvd movies together more often.

50 Prosperity Classics

This is starting to be a series like the Chicken Soup for the Soul. The first book was 50 Self-Help Classics. It was a huge success and I enjoyed reading the succinct, condensed idea of each book. Then 50 Success Classics and 50 Spiritual Classics. Before this 50 Prosperity Classics is 50 Psychology Classics. So now there are 5 books or a total of 250 Classics books and ideas you can read. I have read many of the books that are in the "classics" category. Reading the condensed version give a brief idea and some history of the author. Reading the book itself give a totally different sense. When a book is well written, it sound so commonsense. The Good-to-Great is a prime example. Jim Collins wrote about companies who have turn for a "good" company to a "great" company. His opening statement is "good is the enemy of great". The reason for so few companies that are great is because they are good enough. Great company gives huge stockholders return i.e. stock price go up a lot higher than good company. Great Companies are like hedgehog who does one thing well. They have a selfless leader who has great ambition for the company and not himself, a level 5 leader.
Warren Buffet is a good example of the Level 5 leader. His pay is only US100,000 per year. His performance measure by stock price is huge.
I would recommend reading 50 Prosperity Classics. You will become wealthy in the process.

The Bicycle Thief

Remember, the bicycle thief story? I saw the boy! He is in his late teens and actually quite handsome. He is riding his bike and is in full riding gear. I remark that his clothing look nice and my wife told me they are very expensive branded stuff. It take a woman to recognise this kind of things.
This boy lives not too far from our home and my wife saw him before riding in our estate and she check with our security guard who told her who this guy was. We were reaching home when my wife told the family this is the guy who stole the bicycle and I slow the car intentionally to have a good look at him.

Dictionaries

Oxford English Dictionary or OED is well know brand. I have an American dictionary, Webster and a Canadian dictionary as well. I thought I will get an OED today or an English dictionary since there is 25% discount in Times Bookstore. When I get there, there are so many other dictionaries like Cobuild, Longman, Collins, etc. The choices are bewildering because each brand offer seems to offer different things beside the meaning of words and the number of words it contains. Finally, I decide on Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary as the price is at a reasonable $31.40 nett (no discount). The reason I pick Cambridge over my original choice of OED is because there is a section on Idioms and CAL explains the meaning of English idioms. I find it is good to get the precise meaning of the idioms as it is succinct and add flavour to day-to-day communication. Now I have another tool to help me improve my English.

RISKS

• To laugh is to risk appearing a fool
• To weep is to risk appearing sentimental
• To reach out for another is to risk involvement
• To expose your feelings is to risk rejection
• To place your dreams before the crowd is to risk ridicule
• To love is to risk not being loved in return
• To go forward in the face of overwelming odds is to risk failure
• But risk must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing. The person who risks nothing does nothing, has nothing is nothing.
• He may avoid suffering and sorrow, but he cannot learn, feel, change, grow, or love. Chained by his certitudes, he is a slave. He has forfeited his freedom
• Only a person who takes risks is free.

Headache!

Headache can be troublesome. It may be the low pressure, it may be stress. Headache is a pain and is crippling. In car lingo, it is on 3rd gear or sar kang hei in Hokkien. Tyernol Extra Strength is the wonder drug for me when it come to headache. First two did not give me relief. However, another two in the late afternoon did the trick. I realised my bottle of 500 pills is running low. This is a sign I have been drawing down my inventory.
For gentle relief, use Tyernol. Yes, I am advertising free for Tyernol, my favorite pain-relief.

Rambo

It is interesting to watch the old movie, First Blood. The blood and gory, the one hero who sustained intense pain and terrible injuries and overcome all odds to vanquish his enemies. I love action. The story line may be weak, secretly I want to be the hero in this show. I want to conquer all odds and celebrate in triumph over my competitors and enemies. Wouldn't life be wonderful?

Evening with Friends

BT came with his beautiful wife were right on time. He brought along a gift, a bottle of wine. It looks really nice. Since he does not drink and I don't either, so the bottle was left unopen. We had plenty of good and animated conversation. After a quick tour of my place and I am very proud of my castle, we gather around the bbq to cook the food and chat. It is the old fashion way of getting to know each other. True, we learn about each other through blogging. The basic and most reliable method is still face-to-face contact. This is why even with teleconferencing, net conferencing, emails, telephone, blackberry, etc, etc, business travel is growing and growing. People still need to conduct business with direct personal contact. Anyway, I continue to bbq the food. We had prawns, chicken satay, green peppers, eggplant or brinjal, unagi, roast pork, and sotong. B3 was playing with his friends and pass by the bbq stove. He saw the satay and requested for it. His two friends heard and took my offer of satay. The best part is they came for more and request some sticks for other friends who were playing with them. Satay is a favorite for kids. BT and Mrs. BT tuck in my bbq food heartily. This is my best compliments. They like my food. I am very happy....

Stood Up!

SL, my fellow blogger who I invited over is not coming:( She probably forgot or chicken out at the last min. I was a little disappointed as I follow up with email and she did not reply. Finally, while shopping for tonight's dinner, I send a SMS to check. True enough, she says something cropped up and she is not coming. Maybe, next time....

More New Neighbours

New neighbours bring in new dynamics into our little kampung or village. We will have a new neighbour that own two "huge BMWs" and a Australian family will be moving in as well. I have one friendly and helpful new neighbour and the other is a stuck-up woman who pretend not to see you. This is like "Compare and Contrast" topic that is required in GP(general paper) during Pre-University or Junior College. New member always bring in change to a group. So I guess a member's departure will also bring in changes as well.
Good or bad, we have to adapt otherwise, we will be phased out. Charles Darwin

Power and Control

People in power like control and at the same time do not like to be controlled. It is interesting for me to observe how critical the new centre of power in Asia is of their master. It is like Animal Farm by George Orwell. For me who is at the bottom of the totem pole, I can see the bosses doing exactly what they criticised their boss for. The eye sees but sees not itself is so true. It is so easy to see the faults of others and not our own.

Home At Last!

The flight was delayed during takeoff and we therefore lands 15mins behind schedule. It was good food, good company and packed full of activities and energy. One full week is enough. Next week is time to catch up with all the other work. Let's enjoy the weekend. Savour the time with family and with myself. Oh! I have my fellow bloggers over for bbq this weekend as well. Meeting and making friends over internet is true. For a technosaur like me, this is an incredible achievement. Kids, please do not do this at home! I am just an old guy who is uninteresting to sex predators.

Sigh! It is just good to be home. Sweet!

TGIF

Thank God It's Friday! I am now at the airport in Bangkok looking forward to go home. Unfortunately, the earlier flight is full and I am stuck to my original flight which is at 6:30pm or 7:30 Singapore time. This has been a long week and I am looking forward to relax back home. Swim in my tiny pool and laze by the poolside. This is life!
I met a lot of new colleagues this trip. It is nice to get to know people and get used to our big company. Plenty of old friends and some regulars i.e. those in my team.

Mrs. Balbir

Mrs. Balbir is an ethnic Indian resturant serving authentic indian food which is very tasty. It is at Soi 11 of Sukhumvit Road. Excellent and delicious Indian food. The naans, roti, biryani rice, chicken tikka, lamb korma,....hmm! yummy!
The train station is Nana and it is only a 5 mins walk. If you are ever in Bangkok, this is the resturant to try....

Sumptious Dinner

There are about 45 of us going for group dinner at the Thai resturant. The food was fabulous. We had assorted appertizers, pandan chicken, tom yum kung(hot & spicy soup), braised duck with cashew nuts, fish with coconut sauce(which I did not eat), and mixed stir-fried vegetables. Finishing up with mango sticky rice. Excellent food and excellent company. I observed the master at work. He is a white Australian and speaks Thai well. The waitress who served was absolutely gorgeous and attractive. My table companions keep praising her beauty. Handsome is 60 years old and he is so good at talking to the girl. He know the right way to praise her and get to know her well. He also asked her to give her contact to him at the end of the dinner. This is a real treat for me. Observing and learning from the master. I am learning his selling skills and not trying to pick up girls which is not my interest. Books are my interest!
It is good to interact with everyone in our big team. I enjoyed the company and sharing our experience.

Grand Sukhumvit Sofitel

The hotel is a converted apartment. So the rooms have kitchenette and a microwave with a separate living room. It is very homely to write my blog and watch tv at the same time. The aircond is a little cold and does not adjust well. So I decided to turn it off.
It's been a longtime since I have been downtown Bangkok. Now with the skyway, it is very convenient. 3 stations to Central from Nana. Central has a modern Siam Square and Siam Paragon. The two shopping malls are very modern. There is a Kinokuniya on the 4th floor. It is nice to wander around the megabookstore. I had a good time.

Dinner with Me

Travelling on Sunday has lot of advantages as I discover today. The airport is not so busy. The queues are short everywhere i.e. Q for boarding pass, Q to check your boarding pass to enter immigration, Q for immigration clearance, then Q for security screening to enter the holding area at the gate, Q, Q, Q!
When I arrived the airport, my pickup was not there. After searching for 15mins, I gave up. I started to call people with numbers in my cellphone. Two did not pickup. Finally, Aida pick up and told me the name of the hotel. I was lucky as usual. Aida help me give directions to the taxi driver. When I arrived at the hotel, a few of my colleagues were at the lobby waiting to go for dinner. I decline their offer to join them as I rather have my room first. On the way to the hotel, I notices Tony Romas is nearby. I have decided to eat my favourite meal, bbq ribs.
The good thing about travelling is being alone, the bad thing about travelling is it can get lonely.
I had dinner with myself for company. It is interesting to observe myself eating dinner alone. First, I get distracted by other customers sitting beside me. There is big man with a tummy the size of a heavily pregnant sitting on the next table alone. I find it hard to decide on my choices and wish I have someone else with me allowing me to order more varieties of food. I could not decide whether to eat greens(salad) or drink soup. I also like potato skins. Finally, I decided to go for the creamy baked potato soup and half a slab of famous Tony Romas bbq baby back ribs.
The soup was full of potatoes and cream topped with cheese and chopped crispy bacon bits. It warms my soul to eat the soup. I was thinking to myself we should cook this kind of soup at home. Together with buttered warm minature french loaf, it is a comforting simple meal. I think I must teach my maid to cook thick western style soup. Other thoughts came to my mind. I always enjoys meals with my family and have our conversations. I realise while talking, I usually do pay attention to the taste of the food that is in my mouth. Eating alone, I savour all the different flavours and experience the texture and the warm taste of soup and bread. It is an interesting and enlightening experience. I also find the taste of the ribs is much better than Tony Romas in Shanghai or Singapore.
I find dinner with me enjoyable and resolve to have dinner date with myself again in my next trip.

Breakfast with B1

Our usual Sunday morning is going to Bishan for breakfast before sending B3 to his gym class. While B3 is busy learning to flip and fall, I will bring B1 and B2 to Bishan branch library so that they can do their homework there. Today, we cannot do this routine because I have to travel. So I decided to walk to the nearby noodle stall for breakfast and B1 accompanied me. We had to walk for 15 mins to get there. I find that walking is a good way to have an easy conversation. He is more open to listening and asking questions. I do not get excited or short-fused unlike when I am behind the steering-wheel. The need to stay focus on moving vehicles is stressful and therefore make a person lose temper easily. Also the walk is through an open field and there are no distractions of consumer items or snacks or drinks unlike in the mall. I find this walk more engaging and results in better after-feelings.

The old fashioned walk is therapeutic for me.

Loved!

My youngest sister-in-law who I will call Sue is staying at our place for sleepover. She has two boys and B3 is very excited. It is past 12 midnight and they are still up playing. Sue is 10 years more junior my wife. When we were first married, Sue was still in school. She always has many boys and men who is interested in her. When we relocated to Canada, we sponsored Sue over so that she can continue her studies. She is very close to my wife. Rather my wife pampers and spoils her. She will be over at our place whenever she need company or support to look after her sons. We had also enjoys free trips to Japan when Sue was not married as she is an air stewardess and one of her fringe benefits is free tickets for her immediate family.
My goodness! Her baby is loud. I have forgotten what it is like to have a crying baby.

In a Chaotic situation, people will self-regulate

When pressure gets high, workload increased like crazy and then the office starts breaking down... the result is chaos. "In a chaotic situation, people will self-regulate." pronounced my wife in the car on our way to lunch. In her opinion, a properly trained accountant will follow systems and processes, exercise self control and carry out instructions. Accountants have the advantage of understanding the broader picture. Unlike Business Admin grad who are trained on "no worries, if there is a chaotic situation, self-regulation will occur".
This morning, I drove to Riverside Plaza in Sengkang. The multi-storey carpark have a very small turning circle going up. There are two foodcourts - Kopitiam and Koufu right opposite each other. The foodstalls are busy and food choices are the traditional hawker food. The decor in Koufu is newer and cleaner. The food stall in Kopitiam offers more nostalgia with more rundown furniture, lower prices and comfort food like chee cheong fun. I go to Kopitiam to bring myself back to growing up days. After breakfast and morning read, it is time to drive home. It is raining and cars are coming into the car parks. I get out of my car park lot and start to drive down.
Cars were getting out at the same time as me. After going two levels down, I was stuck and waited patiently. After sometime, I realise we have not moved, so I turn up my favourite station FM90.5. A few minutes later and impatient horning, it is dawn to me that we are caught in a deadly embrace. Cars going up the car parks are blocked by cars going down because the circle is too small to accomodate both directions. I got out of my car to figure out where the constipation is. There were two other drivers like me when around and start moving the cars to get rid of the obstruction. We advise the cars going into the carpark to clear the way for cars getting out. Giving them instructions to put the car in the right position so that traffic and flow again. One driver ask a yellow car who is coming in to block all incoming cars. I get into my car to move out once my path is clear.
Yes, my wife is right, in a chaotic situation there will be people who will come out of their comfortable driver seats and unravel the traffic jam.