New Year Resolutions

I do not know what so important about resolutions and why people make them to break them. If you do not have resolutions or make any resolution, then there will be none to break. So why do people keep saying they will make a resolution to keep their resolution? This is tired cliche. Just like saying to a gorgeous looking girl "haven't I met you before?" in a bar.
I am not a believer in New Year Resolutions. "Just Do It" is the motto I have. Make resolution any time and just do it. Well, sort of. Except for weight which until now I have not conquered. I kind of think that I will finally face up to the fact I have to adopt Andrew Weill's philosophy. As long as you exercise and stay healthy, don't worry about weight. Andrew Weill is a well known Wellness author.

Jobs Available!!!

Earn up to $4,500 per month during training. Start at min $5,000 per month once trained. Sound too good to be true? Many dubious ads like this on future trading, commodities trading, or other get rich quick schemes?
It is from the Government of Singapore. Be a teacher. It is recession proof and totally an iron-rice bowl. If you get promoted to Principal, you can earn more than 12,000 Singapore dollars per month.

Mad Rush at Kinokuniya

Kino has a yearend sales of 20% storewide. This mean you need not pay for the $21 membership to get the discount. The queue was madness. I thought I will go and get some of the books David Connors, CEO of OCBC read. The books by the physicist Feynman is a little "deep" or rather technical and dry. I did not manage to find Quality by Philip Crosby on management techniques. I have Good to Great, a book he read when he first joined OCBC in 2002.

Jingle All The Way

Arnold Schwarzenegger star in this old Christmas movie. Arnold is an executive with no time for his family. He is busy cutting deals and solving his customers' complaints. The hottest toy is Turbo man and is a must-have for all the boys. Arnold forget to buy the toy and in his search for the Christmas gift, he have lots of mishaps and misadventures. Another father is in the same straits as him and fight with him all the way for the last Turbo man from radio show. As luck has it, Arnold running away to avoid the police officer whose bike was knock by Arnold in haste, and after in a second incident, cause him to fall and spill coffee all over his uniform, was mistaken as a stand-in for the Turbo man for the Christmas Parade. Arnold became Turbo man and fly up to save his son in distress. He became a hero and win back his wife's affection and his son's admiration.

Renewing Friendship

Two of my old friends come over for dinner. It is great to catch up with old friends. I make my signature rojak dish for dessert. We had R2E2 Australian mangoes as well. R2E2 is at a good price with the weak Aussie dollar. Giant was selling them at $2.65 each a couple of weeks ago. Now it is on sale in Carrefour for $2.95 each. They are huge mangoes and full of flavours. This is now can compete with harum manis, the Indonesian mango.
Humans socialise over food. I used to think only Asian does. Chinese used food more than Westerners. West prefers alcohol beverages for social networking. Alcohol depresses the brain and make people feels relax.
As for me, my beverage for social glue is tea. Hot English tea from India and hot Chinese tea from China.

Sex!

Sex sells! Magazines must have articles like What your man want you to Know in Bed?, 7 Ways to drive Her Wild, Tao of Lovemaking, etc, etc. Well sextories bring in traffic to blogs as well.
I wonder what other ways are there to attract more traffic? I should blog about The Art of Driving Your Mistress Crazy for You or How to Make Any Woman Desire for You!

Gardening Day

Today, it is time to renew my tiny patch of green in front of my house. We first remove the old plants that were becoming untidy and unhealthy. Then we bought heliconia to change the landscape. It is back breaking work to dig out the soil and plant in new plants from the nursery. The old soil were replace with new black humus compost-like soil. Our garden look refreshed with a new look. It is nice to relax after a day of hard work and see the result of the efforts.

Inconsiderate Driver

On Christmas Eve near to noon, an incident sticks out in my mind. Parkway Parade was very busy and massive amount of cars going in and out of the carpark. There is a black SUV on the way out and then notice a car was about to get out and decided to wait for the slot. Meanwhile on the way in is a long queue of cars. This black SUV is blocking all other cars on the way out. The car the SUV waiting for took an extremely long time to move. He has kids but it is like he enjoys making people wait. Then the black SUV is super inconsiderate as well as she felt that the whole line of cars behind her should wait for her.
The driver is a pregnant Indian. This is the first time I have seen such rude and inconsiderate woman driver. I felt that she is acquiring the maximum bad karma!

Merry Christmas

It is a peaceful day. No news is good news. A Buddhist by heart and action, I still love Christmas. As I watch Channel News Asia on the significant of Christmas, the birthday of Jesus Christ, I realised as a Singaporean, I enjoyed all religious festivals. Vesak Day or Hari Raya Puasa are holidays that all Singaporeans enjoy. We are very lucky to live in a place where racial and religious harmony are achieved.
May peace be on earth.

Parties Galore!

Many neighbours are celebrating Christmas. The French two doors away, 3 households opposite my unit. It is real party time. Christmas is a celebration of joy and happiness. May the new year be a happy one.

Tonight is an exciting night for Children,

Children of the world who believe in Santa Claus. Santa Claus is coming to town. You better watch out, You better not shout, Santa Claus is coming to town. He is making a list and checking it twice, Who is naughty or nice, Santa Claus is coming town....
I am watching an old musical right now titled "I am dreaming of a White Christmas". It is kind of slow but the storyline is touching. I can write my blog an watch the movie at the same time.

White Christmas

Looks like Canada and US is having a White Christmas. My favorite holiday is Christmas. I love Christmas after living in Canada. It is a long holiday from Dec 24th to Jan 2nd. No work! So it is great if it snows. It is very nice to watch snow falling from a window inside a warm house. Big bookstore like Chapters have fireplace and you can buy Starbucks coffee and browse the books by the fireplace. I like the romance of fireplace place. As a kid, I enjoyed reading fairy tales and there is always a fireplace in some of the heartwarming tales. Fireplace, good book and a good cup of cappuccino. Mmmm, this is life!

Monsoon Winds

Nice cool winds from the North bring forth rain and cool temperature. The winds are strong and kite flying is a favorite pastime in Anchorvale. Stunt kites can do amazing "kiteobatics" like climbing up vertically and diving straight down flipping back just before touching the ground. They can spins clockwise and counterclockwise in a flash.
There are many radio control planes enthusiats as well. The planes are quiet electric type. I used to love model planes. Somehow the fire has died down. Now, I just fly toy planes that has limited control. Sigh! ...though his dreams are coming true, they are no longer as exciting. There are new dreams...

Nude Pictures of Shu Qi

I was reading yahoo news on Zhang Zi Yi being voted the Most Beautiful Person in the world. The thumbnail pictures contains topless Shu Qi. Clicking on the thumbnails will bring you to Shu Qi's website. Shu Qi is promoting her sex kitten images with plenty of topless and nude pictures.
Here is the link:http://www.shuqi.org/otherworks/cd.shtml

Family Time - Simple Pleasures

My sisters are over to my place for dinner. We have turkey, pork ribs, bbq chicken wings and sushi. My nephews and one niece came along. It is very good to see all of them. I enjoys cooking and cutting out fruits for them. As I skin the large R2E2, we make small talk. About car park fine, about how the principle of keeping the road clear is not really true. Seems like revenue enhancing program. It is incredible that car parking fines can run to a few hundred millions Sing dollars every day. This is indirect taxation!
The visit is short and sweet. In the few hours, we reconnect and renew our family ties.

Christmas is coming

Christmas will be upon us next week. Christmas shopping is still hot. Long queue at wrapping counters. Gifts buy is still in vogue. It is a subdue but still Merry Christmas. With economy cooling down, retail is still good. I am glad to see people spending and keeping the economy going.

Bombs at Printemps, Paris

For those who know Paris, finding a public toilet like looking for diamond in a desert. It cost 2 euros to get entry into a public toilet if you can find one. 2 euros is equivalent to $4 in Singapore currency. The most expensive entry to a public toilet in Singapore is 20 cents. Anyway, to answer nature's call in Paris is to go to a big department store.
Printemps is wonderful high end department store. It is a pity that Printemp close shop in Singapore. Anyhow, there are public toilets in Printemp. It is one of the few places to answer call of nature for few. The other is Galleria Lafayette.
Five sticks of dynamites were found in male toilet at level three of Printemp. I went to that toilet when we were in Paris. Luckily, it was just a warning with no detonator. Still a terror attack is a horrible thing. Even on holiday, it is not safe.

Chiropractor - The Western Tieh Ta

My neck has been giving me problems since my holidays. I have stiff neck and it is really inconvenient. Turning my body to look left or right is comical to a bystander and it hurts my ego and cause real pains. Tieh Ta or the Chinese bone manipulations is the traditional way of fixing this problem.
Living in Canada expose me to the Western form of tieh ta or spine manipulation. Today I gone to my regular chiropractor for a followup visit from last Friday. He adjusted my spine and cervix. Once my cervix is balanced, I am on the road to recovery.
Chiropractic treatment can be expensive. Treatment usually requires a few sessions. In each session, spine will be adjusted so that it is balanced.
Modern day living with computer work and reading, our necks are put in a strained position for long time. In time, the body rebelled and muscles go into spasm. This is where we need experts to help us regain our balance and relieve our pains.

2009 - What will it be?

Let me be frank. I worry and therefore I pray. I was at Kuan Yin temple just before lunch time to offer my prayers and wish for a stable and good 2009. So what do I think of 2009? Business climate has cooled. It is global cooling! There are many factors. Easiest to blame is the financial crisis. High oil and commodity prices that can drop faster than water going down the Niagara Falls. Oil price drop from a high of more than US$150/barrel to now US$47/barrel in less than 3 months. Other commodities price has suffered as demand drop precipitously. Right now there are so much uncertainty. We have plenty of economists giving their opinions in Channel News Asia. They gave very gray overview. They are the same people who calculated and estimated very optimistic views before the crisis. Hindsight is 20/20. Now there are lots of opinion that the danger signs were there before but ignored.
Governments in the huge economy are scrambling to come up with fiscal stimulus and financial policies that will respond to the crisis.
In time of change and uncertainty, we have to stay to use white water rafting terminology which is very good description of our current environment, bouyant. Bouyancy is staying afloat and letting the water carry us to where it may be. The key is to do minor adjustments as we roll and roil in turbulent water hitting into obstacles and rocks in out-of-control manner. The strategy is react furiously as we get near to rocks that threaten our survival. There may be period of calm but it is only very short time and hopefully catch our breaths before tumbling into white water again. This remind me of my time in Canada. A plant shutdown puts more than C$20million business that I was responsible for at risk. We called it the Brantford Project. Not only did I survived, I became a hero and had a standing ovation in the National Sales Meeting when I was called up for recognition. I was both embarrassed and exhilarated by the feelings that the sales team had such strong appreciation for me.
2009 - we will survived!

Where would I like to Retire?

This is the question I have been pondering for a long time. Canada like my mum? Also neighbouring Asean countries like Malaysia or Thailand. Cost is lower and healthcare is world class. How about passing time? Internet, libraries, bookstores and cafes. These are top on my list of must haves. There must be our local food at low prices. Safety and political stability are other factors to consider. Actually Singapore scores high on the various parameters. The biggest disadvantage is cost. The other strong disadvantage is lack of natural places for entertainment like lakes for fishing, winter sport such as skiing. We cannot go to the countryside for R&R. Our "countryside" is very expensive and is run like vacation business.
I need a hobby farm to grow something useful for human consumption. Singapore is out of the question for this. Maybe Batam or Bintan is another option. Where? The day will come when I have to decide.

Festive Spirit is Here Again

The malls are all decked up in their Christmas finery. In PJ, the Curve is bathe in tiny lights that there is a magical glow. I loved Christmas. Everyone is taking pictures capturing the precious silvers of memories. The mood is bouyant. The atmosphere, the happy crowd and the party goers chattering away... they make me forget there is a financial crisis. In fact, what crisis? Looks like Malaysia is not affected by the current global slowdown. OK! one mall does not represent Malaysia. I bet it is a good indicator. Malaysia as a whole is less affected or maybe the young are less affected. Either way, the festive spirit has rub onto me.
Merry Christmas!

My Hat Off to Esplanade

My family and I was at the Christmas Concert in Esplanade Concert Hall by SSO or The Singapore Symphony Orchestra. The Children Choir was a little slow. The orchestra is magnificent. The traditional Christmas was full of energy and power. It was very vibrant and interesting to see the musicians working in unison. I must say I enjoyed the music so much. After the concert, B3 was hungry and wanted McDonald. We walked over to Marina Square and bought ice cream for him. I had ice blended mango. After our late night snacks, we walked back to Esplanade carpark. I put my right hand into right pocket to reach for my car keys and it was not there. A sense of panic and nervousness started to rise from the pit of my stomach to my chest. I think hard and force myself to be calm. I asked a cleaner if I can get back in the concert hall. He told me to look for the security guard. I saw one at the upper floor and raced to him immediately and told him my situation.
He call on his walkie talkie and asked me to wait. A few minutes later another security guard come over and together with another colleague escorted me back into the concert hall. I raced my seat or what I thought was my seat, bended down to look when I heard a yell. Here it is. The security guard was on one row lower and he can see the floor of my row clearly. There was my car key.
To the security team in Esplanade, my heartfelt thanks!

An Easy Day

No much get done today. Wake up late, have lunch and read outdated newspapers to past time. Public holiday is good for rest and recovery.
The hotels in Europe has bad bed (Paris) and bad pillows (Switzerland). My shoulder and neck is so stiff and my low back is aching. Time to see my chiropractor...

Read and Learn

It is interesting. I enjoyed reading and words give me the experience I need and yearned for. During my most recent Europe trip, my eldest, B1 wanted to try everything and is very adventurous. Meanwhile, I am reluctant to go to the Top of Europe at 11,000 ft as the altitude is high and I do not like the thin air. I experienced running about in Genting highland and then on the way back my body has to adjust and it did not feel good at all. This was when I was young. Now, I am reluctant to challenge my physical capability and push my limits. I also realised I connected well and grasps very quickly when I experience whether it is the scenery or scientific experiments or human behaviours or whatever, live!

Booklover Heaven

Page One is now offering 30% discount. Today in response, Kino is giving 20% off until Christmas. Granted, Kino usually give 20% promotion during school holidays and long weekend. I like it as the book scene get more competitive. Borders 25/30/35% discount is also very competitive. The total discount is just over 40% with the additional discount for members. This is why consumers benefit with competition. Beside price, the range and service has improved. I recalled with MPH was the only big bookstore, the discount is only 10% in August and the promotion is call MPH Book Bang!

Bonding

A trip and doing activities together is great family bonding. The boys played and watched funny shows and enjoying and laughing together. I am really happy to see them bonding and having fun. B3 enjoys his first snow very much. Snowballs fights, big snow man, toboggan, hm! It is a nice change from hot, humid and rain.
It is nice to be back our warm home with sweet memories.

Ahh! Laksa, Bak Chor Mee,...

Yes, food! We just had our meal or dinner Singapore time. It is good to have big boys with big appetite. We ordered yong tau food, bak chor mee, laksa and fried beef kway teow with black bean sauce. Mmmm, so good to taste home. It is like soaking your hands in cold water for 15 mins and then putting your hands in room temperature water. The water feels hot. After spending 10 days in cold Europe with high price, everything in Singapore now feel so cost effective. Yes, cheap!
Before the trip, we always feel Singapore is expensive. Now comparing with Paris and Switzerland, it is very reasonable.

Sledding

Yesterday, we went sledding. We had a guide who make sure we are equipped with the snow boots and then drove us up winding and narrow single lane mountain road. It is quite scary as the mountain is quite steep. At regular intervals, there is a slightly wider area for cars to pass each other. Otherwise only one car can go at any time, up or down. We stopped and park at a cable car station and took the cable car to a much higher point. There is a resturant right at the other station. A couple that came with us climbed up higher. They had to wear snow shoes. We tobbogan down to back to the cable station below.
It is our first experience toboganning as a family. The path is narrow and snow thick. It took about 45 mins to get down. We are going slow to get used to the path and learning to control our sled as well. B3 was with me and he keep asking me to go faster. Mummy take a bit of time the first time down to get used to sledding. It was fun.
This morning is payback time! My muscles are all sore as we are using those we hardly ever use.
I highly recommend toboganning to everyone especially family. This is great family bonding experience.

Switerzland, the Rugged Beauty

The hotel we are living in. It has two bedrooms, kitchen, two bathrooms and a fireplace.


The view outside our living room window.



The river is just right beside our hotel...