Awesome Year

2010 will be the most amazing year! Singapore economy grew at an unprecedent 14.7% or more. It is an all time high record. True it is on the back of 2009 recession. I am optimistic. Economists forecast the growth will moderate to 4 and 6%. The good time will continue with strong and rich government. Since it is going to be election year, Singaporeans can expect goodies. Some maycalled it vote buying but hey I am not complaining. We all have a safe and secure environment, everything works efficiently and the standard of living is one of the highest in the world.
I am so tired and sleepy and B2 wants me to go cycling with him to the SengKang park where the countdown to the new year is happening. As a doting Daddy, I will just accomodate him.

The End is Near

I like this title. It gives the air of mystery. It is also pique up interest and beg the question. What is ending? One of the key tool in the tool box of learning by Stephen King's On Writing is read and write prodigiously. Spend ten of thousands hours reading and thousands of hours writing. It is necessary to write well.
I am putting this requirement to work by writing and updating my blog daily. Reading is integrated into my routine. So that is a given. After discussing so much about writing, what end is coming? The Year! 2010! 12 months of economic recovery and stability. Who know what 2011 will be. Will Koreas go to war? Will there be terrorist attacks? Will the stock market go up or go down? For now, celebrations for the New Year are planned in Marina Bay, Serangoon Gardens and many neighbourhood including SengKang.
It will be a fitting end to a great year and to usher and welcome 2011.

Back-to-Work

After a week off even though I am working sporadically, it is good to be back at work. I feel recharged and the year is ending. We have plenty to do. Stock-take, objectives, performance reviews, and all the processes to keep the bureaucracy oiled and running.
The year, we end with a bang. The business recovered and have significant growth over last year. We are looking forward to a good bonus for our office team.
Business environment is still challenging. Competition is extremely stiff and price pressure severe. Make matter worse, costs are going up relentlessly with commodity prices reaching record high almost every week.
We really need some innovation and market changing products to beat the brutal market place. Right now it is just a dog-eat-dog world.

New School

School is starting next week. We managed to transfer B3 to a new school in Toa Payoh. B3 was studying in Fernvale Primary. It was very convenient as it is only 10 mins walk from our home. We were very happy with Fernvale when B2 was transferred when we moved to our current home. The Principal, Mdm Kwok was a MBWA (or management by walking about) leader. We always see her in the morning greeting and checking on the kids as they enters the school. We can chat with her any time as she is very open and approachable. Since Mdm Kwok left, the school is closed up. The barrier to entry has been set to an impossible level. I think sending my son to a military camp may not be half as bad. Parents are treated like criminals trying to enter the school. I do understand and believed the safety of our kids are paramount. However, it is so painful to do any legitimate things or gain access to our boy when he is in school.
Yes, the school claims it is very easy. We can call. Try calling and you will find that you will be waiting desperately. I know I am whining and complaining. I am glad we have close one chapter and open a new chapter in the new year. I hope B3 do well in his mum's alma mater. He now has to wake up at 5:30am instead of 7am when the school starts. It is the price we are willing to pay.

Chinatown

Chinatown is always crowded. The yong tow foo stall has a queue of...maybe more than 20 persons. The food is good and excellent value for 3 bucks. But man! the wait is just horrendous even though it is almost 2pm way past regular lunch time for Monday. So we have to come back. We did some window shopping. Go over opposite side of the road to buy Bak Kwa (BBQ sweetmeat) and traditional cashew nuts cookies. Bak Kwa is priced at $42/kg. Price is still reasonable and queue is short as Chinese New Year buying mania is not on yet. At 3pm, we went back to our Yong Tow Foo stall and now the queue is more reasonable. We had our lunch.
Chinatown is like little China, people everywhere. Messy, congested, food stalls, bazaar and loud sales pitches. I like to visit Chinatown. It is full of energy and vibrancy. After a while, my head starts to spin. I long for the peace and quiet of my home. Crowded is stress!

Friends

We spent the day interacting and catching up with friends. B1 and B2 classmates are here. I invited only Mike and we had a good chat and talk about other friends and how we are doing. My boys enjoyed the camaraderie and played games with their friends. My wife and I was just making food and feeding hungry mouths. This is one of the rare time my boys invite their friends over. I had to encourage them. I am very glad they did and we all had a great time. Even B3 played card games with both groups of friends. He was very happy just to interact with them. I am happy to see my boys socialising well and have good friends.
There is value and power of meeting in a group. B1's classmates learned about job search and what they need to do. It is amazing that the kids are not taught properly on job search. B1 found a relatively good temp job in a bank with monthly salary and benefits. His girl friend learned his bag of tricks and found a job which is close to her specs in a couple of days. Initially B1 still think his parents, yours truly included did not add much value. However, after our discussions, he admits reluctantly that we did help. He is an excellent learner and executor of instructions. It is easy to forget the basics that we told him to do.
Yes, he is lucky. He also need to recognise the little help he get along the way and appreciate and acknowledge them.

Joyful Christmas

I was up early to prepare for the lunch. Slicing and dicing the tomatoes. Slicing up the cucumbers. Buying French loaves and slicing them up. B1 and B3 help butter the bread slices. We pick up the ham and warm it up in the oven. Washed and dry the potatoes and then wrapping them up in foil to bake them. Fry up the bacon and chopped them to bits. Instead of chives, we use spring onions instead.
Our recently married niece brought her wedding album for all to view. Nephews and nieces enjoys the feast. I am happy they have a hearty appetite and loved my cooking. Everyone left in the late afternoon. We went shopping for gift for our next Christmas party in Serangoon Gardens. We got our gift and return home for a nap. Partying is hard work!
Our friend just build a new house. The two storey semi-detached is huge! More than 7,000 square feet. The house is beautifully decorated and designed. Wood panels and wooden floor. Wet and Dry Kitchen. Study rooms, entertainment room and even an exercise room. The bathrooms are huge and open concept. Laundry room, store room... let's say it is nice to be rich.
We had Indian food which was excellent although a tad spicy. The house has high ceiling. Being a practical person, I wonder how the man of the house is going to replace all the blown light bulbs. It is nice to live in luxury.
Yes, and I am a little disappointed that my three nieces did not show up. Overall, Christmas is a good day. And tomorrow we will have my boys' classmates over. I am looking forward to meet them. One of my classmates is coming over as well. So Christmas is a time for renewing friendship.

My Bucket List

BlogTV will be hosting a show on bucket list. It is something I have not thought of. I used to dream to run my own business. This dream has diminished recently or rather it is now changed to passive income. So what would be in my bucket list?
I really do not have a burning need for things to do before I kick the bucket. I am quite satisfied with my life, my career, my family and my current state of affairs.
Could a couple of million dollars make it better? I am quite sure this will help. But I desire to save the Earth and keep it well into the future I will not be around. I may be wrong but I think earning more money probably help deplete our Earth faster. I rather live with less. I desired to live overseas and have done so in Canada.
Or getting promoted in my job? I have been in the same job since I joined this company. In the old days Singapore army's terminology - a condemned officer. In the first few years, I was driven and produced great growth in results. Even today, I am producing excellent results. I am having fun with my work and team. It is small but effective and highly motivated. So crossed this out.
I know! I like to live in both Singapore and Canada after I retires. I want to be able to go and live in whichever country I fancies when I so desire. Having a lot of money helps but not necessary. My boys may live anywhere in future and I can live with them. So if any of my three boys worked and live in Canada, I will be able to take a plane without any luggage and visit them whenever. Hmm! Finally, my bucket list.

All Excited

B3 is all excited about Christmas Eve and Santa Claus. He is waiting to set up the milk and cookies for Santa Claus. I am looking forward to family gathering tomorrow afternoon. We have run around practically all the supermarket to get the food. It shall be all Western. B3 and I prepared a menu so that it is easier to shop for what we need.
Things may change as The Wife makes the final call but for now we have spaghetti, bruchetta, ham, sandwiches, soup, baked potatoes, log cake and pizza. Hopefully, everything will turn out well. Right now, my brother's three daughters' presence look iffy for tomorrow's gathering. Anyway, I am still harbouring and nursing the hope they would show up.
Christmas is a big celebration for us even though we are not Christians. We imported this culture while living in Canada as there is no public holiday for Chinese New Year. It is celebrated in Singapore more for commercial reasons. The Mighty Dollar is the altar. For us, Christmas is giving and forgiving, family and friends.

On Writing - Stephen King

As I read this book or rather listen, I am beginning to feel that a writer is born rather than developed through hard work and time. Stephen King start writing in Grade school and selling his stories to his classmates. He then progress to magazines and then novel. The gift of writing is amazing. It is also a lot of hardwork. In another book, Think Better, Haruki Murakami is quoted to writing a novel take one year. Then the 2nd year is spent rewriting the book seven or eight times. According to the statistics, King is the all time bestseller who sold more books than any other living authors. I wrote my blog just once and have not edited them until the writing is smooth and polished. It is just natural rough form. Maybe I will need to set up another blog to do better articles.

Nature Walk

B3 and I want something different from our usual mall crawl. We actually want to go to Botanic Gardens. The sky was full of heavy dark clouds. So we change our destination to a nearer venue, the Pierce Reservoir. The big walking trail was closed for repairs. We have to take another trail. There were two boys who were fishing with nets and caught some small fishes and a prawn. Their father was watching them like a hawk. The place has a few visitors which is surprising since it is 2pm in the afternoon.
After our stroll in the jungle, we adjorned to AMK Hub for food and a little shopping. So much for our nature lust which lasted about 30 minutes;)

Doing Nothing

It is hard to do nothing. B2 woke up and asked "is there any program today?" The answer is well...maybe let's exercise. Maybe it is just day 1. I am still figuring out what to do. I have not prepared my reading list, or to-do list or even just to vegetate.
Right now, I am waiting for the painter to finish touching up the botched job they have done on my light fittings in the roof garden. They do something which they were not authorised or required to do by painting the lamps. Then they did not paint other areas giving excuse that the plants were in the way. Murphy's Law number 1 - If anything can screw up, it will!

Vacation Time!

Hurray! I am on vacation for a week starting now. This will give me time to prepare for hosting the family gathering on Christmas Day and my boys' classmates on Boxing Day. The good thing about working for others is we get vacation time. In fact, our HR (human resource) keeps reminding us to clear our annual leave. I always forefeit many days of vacation each year. I am happy just to work. Work is my therapy. Even though I am on vacation, I still take care of business.

Peace is Fragile

The world is quite tense recently. North Korea is provoking and trying to get attention. China is giving support. Now Japan feel China is a threat. Chinese fishermen have been illegally fishing in Japanese and Korean waters. The confrontations are getting more violent. Is peace really fragile like Minister Mentor says?
What can we invest in? Stock will go down in the event of war. Gold will go up. However, what will happen if war did not happen? Will gold go down? How about stock?
Whoever can answer these questions will be a rich man or woman.

Feast First Then Exercise Like Hell

With Christmas season coming, there will be plenty of party and feasting. I have no desire to gouge myself to oblivion. When it come to food temptations, my will is weak. So I will exercise more to work off all the calories I ingested. I have no travel schedule in the next few weeks. So no chance of weight-reducing work or eating less due to fear of getting sick from bad food.
I will have to learn what my Canadian colleagues used to do. Reduce weight before Christmas season to enjoy all the goodies and be back to the same weight. I have fond memories of Christmas in Canada. All of us looking out and hoping for a White Christmas.

Lunch with Grandma

The boys have lunch with Grandma today. She is in a good mood. Her motion although still limited is far more frisky. "She can walk much better now" B2 observed. B1 is always helping her out. She enjoys the fuss. Lunch was simple Teochew porridge in Ah Seah coffee shop at the end of Yio Chu Kang road. After lunch, we adjourned to Shop N Save supermart where she bought banana. We are having a party and so leave her back in my baby sister's home where she can relax.
Happiness is making Grandma happy.

Stephen King

Audio books are godsend for multitasking i.e. exercise and reading. What a great combination! What is lost is thinking! So sometimes, I just ride without the sounds. Today, I borrowed four audiobooks from National Library. December holidays the libraries has a program called DEAR or drop everything and READ! The borrowing limits have been doubled. So I took home The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell, The Wisdom of Crowds, WordPlay and On Writing by Stephen King.
Stephen King is the most popular author by the number of books sold. So he must know how to write!

Skechers' Shape Up Causing Pains

I thought I was suffering pains and soreness due to my poor fitness or gait. I just stumble to this blog and many have sufferred too. Teach me a lesson. Do not simply believe in all the new innovation and research that proclaim great benefits. Click below and see for yourself

http://thegloss.com/fashion/do-skechers-shape-ups-really-work/

Family Day on Christmas

I am looking forward to next Sat. My sisters and mum will be at my place for lunch and family gathering. I hope all my three nieces from my brother will come. My nieces from my sisters' sides will come with their boyfriends (and husband now that one is married). I have not have for the food yet. Right now, I have ordered a ham. I wondered what kind of food we can get. I hope to be able to get Eggnog, the Christmas drink. Maybe I will cook up more seafood since my mum is here.
Christmas is time for merry making and socialising with my extended family makes me happy. I hope to extend this happiness to all my siblings and their kids.

Home Sweet Home

Every time I am back home my weight will go up. My weight out on the trips usually go down or stay the same. Food can be dangerous outside the vigilant food safety standards of home dampen my appetite even when the food are tasty and delicious. Home is where happiness resides.

Beijing - World Largest Airport

The airport is simply ENORMOUS! As I take to coach to the aircraft, it took a long time. China has come a long way. The airport is shiny new. There are three terminals, all gargantuan in size. It is equipped with the latest technology and well-oiled and slick operations. The immigration and security checks are fast and handle high volume. It is so unlike the news about poor and manual airport security checks in America. Everything is computerized with all details scanned together with a live picture and passport photo into the computer. Even x-ray scanning line has proper number that is you forget to get anything, it go to a lost and found corner. As I go through the airport, I start to reflect on how a big country can make a huge difference. This airport is so much bigger than Changi. China is a huge contrast to India. Everything is speedy and efficient. Latest technology is used to maximise the productivity. The queue time is short and orderly. India would be a real good example of how airports used to be. Live history. Better than any documentary!
China has advance and made the Great Leap Forward.

Back to the Cold Winter

Tomorrow it is going back to Winterland. Shanghai is cold and Beijing is freezing. I have no idea why people want to work in cold temperature. Yet without winter, we can never appreciate Spring and Fall. I love both spring and fall. The buds and "Indian Summer", the stirring of life and more birds and wild animals are out and about. This is the beauty of spring. In fall, the colour autumn change and cool long twilight evening is best for enjoying walks and nature ramble. At least it is not the deep into winter yet. Late January and early Feburary will be the coldest time. So it is not so bad.
I will not be able to update my blog next week as blogging is still not allowed in China. So write again before the next weekend.

A Good Day

No tuition today! Piano lesson was cancelled at the last minute. We decided to go to Cafe Cartel for St. Louise Ribs brunch. The resturant in Junction 8 is less busy than Plaza Singapura. We were surprise to see a Casual Japanese Resturant there instead. The Japanese resturant seems pricey. So we decided to go to Fish Manhattan and try out the Crabby Feast. The Alaskan Crab Legs was quite tasty.
After lunch we adjourned to Takashimaya, our favorite mall. We split up and the meet for late lunch at 3pm in Lucky Plaza for Indonesia food. We then head home and the older boys cycled with me for exercise. We finishes the day with A1 curry puffs for dinner. It is a simple and good day.

Re-living Canadian Lifestyle

My wife decided to give our maid a special holiday paying for her trip to go home. She was worried about her mum and so as a caring and compassionate employer, my wife gave out this incentive. We have to do our household chores ourselves. We have to cook, set the table, wash up the dishes and clear the rubbish ourselves. As we perform the chores, I said this remind me of living in Canada. My wife laugh aloud. She said she was thinking of the same thing.
It has been such a long time! We talked as we performs housekeeping. Actually, it is quite good relationship building. Usually, after dinner we will each go our own ways. She will be watching TV programmes and I will be working. Doing domestic chores mean we have conversations as we worked. We share observations on our boys, our family and talk in a calm manner. It is not gossips nor dramatic conversations we usually have. I realise it is excellent bonding exercise. So in Singapore we do not get many opportunities to do this kind of bonding. My boys learn to help out albeit only a wee bit compared to what they would need to do if we are living in Canada. I think they are totally spoilt and pampered where everything is catered for them.

The Orange Revolution

A new book and quite interesting reading. I found this book in Bandi and Lunis. Actually, it is widely available in Singapore as I found it in the bookshelves after I returned.
One Great Team can transform an Entire Organization. As I read, I have this dream, this daydream that my team will transform my company. It is as enjoyable as reading a story, a fairy tale. The book is filled with wonderful examples - Pepsico, Zappo.com and a few other American companies. It is quite fun reading. As I read, I thought I have to acquire the earlier books published by the authors.
Like all fairy tales, it will have to come to an end. The book may end with a happily ever after. I will have to come back to the reality of the real world. The world where mindsets and behaviours are hardwired and impossible to change, where numerous policies tell you what you cannot do, and... I really love this... it is called certified financial instructions and it consists of 4 thick files 6 inches in width. And that was five years ago! It is probably 7 files by now and just reading it will take a couple of months:)
Guess what? Christmas is coming. Let's be merry and celebrate. Celebrate a good year and celebrate a year of peace, celebrate life.

Right Hip and Right Knee

My right hip and right knee seems to be loose. It is sore and hurts while in motion. It is like a sprain. I do not know if it is the new Sketchers shoes or it is the cycling. I am incline to think it is the Sketchers shoes as it is the latest change. I have been cycling for a couple of years now. I only started to use the Sketcher shoes a couple of months ago. It is suppose to help increase my metabolic rate while walking. Now it is causing alignment issue. I have stopped wearing them for now and see if I recover.

Tyres Burst

Both tires on my bike burst. I think it may be cause by the concrete strip that separate the grass from the tarred surface. Replacement of the tires cost $12. It is inconvenient to send to the shop and then pick it back up. I am glad it did not cost too much to repair. Cycling is a fairly low cost exercise compared to yoga or gym. Thrift is a virtue. I will always look for economic ways to achieving my aims and minimise damage to our Mother Earth.

Safe, Very Safe to travel to Korea

Yes, it is Safe to travel to Korea. I like to put readers to peace of mind. The news are scary and worrisome. I think the communication can cause anxiety and panic. Rhetoric are high on both sides. However life is normal in Korea. So you are thinking of going to Korea, I do not think there is much to worry about.

Safe to Travel to Korea

Live Octopus at a seafood resturant.

Musicians busking but not for money. They are selling their band services.

A regular street full of people walking and shopping. Everything is normal.

Seoul Cold

Temperature drops to zero during the day time today. It is incredibly cold for someone like me whose blood has not thicken for cold weather. Everyone is wearing thick coat and women wearing skirts also wore heavy leggings. It is nice to look out the window and feel warm and safe from the wintry elements. I also realise the amount of energy used to manufacture all the winter clothings and heat to warm the buildings, the transportation systems, everything to sustain a comfortable living in a fairly hostile natural environment. What will happen if energy cost escalates? Will people freeze in winter? Will there be a migration to warm climes? How will commence look like when it is costly to maintain the present lifestyles in long cold and dark winter?

Korean's Viewpoint on War

My Korean host asked what I think of the "situation". He remark that non-Korean get more news on the war than Koreans do. No wonder everything looks normal in Seoul. The war is in an isolated part of the border. The reporting may be scarce in Korea. Sounds to me like news on big change in companies. The employees are last to know. They get news from outsiders or from public networks. So far, the Koreans I met think it is not likely to have war. He says it is like a poor man fighting with a rich man. The poor man has nothing to lose. The rich guy has everything to lose. I added the rich man has plenty of resources and weak desire to fight whereas the poor guy is always fighting and therefore in a better form to win.
One news report says that South Korea was not prepared or trained to respond to shelling from North Korea.
I hope there is no war. It will be a terrible event.

Freezing Seoul and...Business as Usual

Seoul is a huge city. I hardly explore this city as I am not the explorer type. I will check into my hotel, get to work, check out and then go home. This time, my favorite resturant, Outback is no longer at it usual place. Actually, the whole row of resturants are gone and an open air carpark lot is there instead. It is quite unusual that revenue producing rental properties are converted to a carpark lot. Maybe this is temporary as it is in a premium highrise land scare Seoul. Probably some developer has bought the land and need time to develop into a skyscraper.
While we get all the alarming news on the conflict with North Korea and tv news on the bombing as well military exercises, Seoul is business as usual. Everything seems normal. The shops and resturants are doing their usual business. Kids are going to school, everyone who are working work!
The facade of normality may be shattered if war is declared. So we must always be vigilant and careful. Korea is a peninsula and if really something to the airport, the only escape is via a seaport. I shudder to think of such thoughts.