Very Sick While Riding in PCN

I must have ate something that caused me to feel like I am dying. Early in the morning, I saw flashes of light. Then I had morning tea in the hawker. The tea was too strong and quite "siap" in Hokkien. So I only drank half of it. At home, I made Gourmet Coffee from Boncafe beans using my Italian coffee maker. I mixed the hot coffee with raw wheatgerm, raw bran and oat. After drinking, the coffee-oat mixture and did not feel good after I drank it. I forgot about the bad feeling and do my morning exercise of cycling in the Punggol PCN.

I rode all the way to Hougang and on returning journey, I felt like dying. It is interesting come to think of it. Wild thoughts come to my head. I start to worry that I may die before I start my new job and trip to US. I thought of how my family will react if leave this world. I stopped under the flyover and lie down to rest. I can see the blue sky and white clouds. The movements of the clouds cause me to be dizzy. I felt nauseous and vomited out only yellow gastric juices.

I thought I will be able to cycle back home after resting. However, after half an hour, I decided to call my wife to pick me up. I tried not call as I do not want her to panic. The last time I called her to pick me up, I had a bad fall suffering retrograde amnesia and a broken wrist. The problem with PCN is it is difficult to tell someone where exactly I am. Also it is hard to know how to get there by road unless you are familiar with the place. So I told my wife I will meet her at Sengkang Community Center. I was sweating profusely as I ride and I was unable to look straight or forward. I just look down on the track and cycled very slowly. It is like I am on slow-motion movie. Luckily, B2 was on the track looking for me before I arrive the Community Club. I handed the bike to him and have to pause twice on the way to the car to vomit. Again only bitter and sour juices come up.

I was in good hand. Although I am very dirty, I could not prevent my body from notlying onto the car seat. So the seat is wet with my cold sweat and dirt from lying on the floor beneath the flyover.

When I reached home, I had a hot shower and spit out a lot of clear phlegm. I lie on the bed and fell asleep for a couple of hours and wake up feeling much better.

I am thankful B2 and my wife is at home to be able to pick me and the bicycle up. I also should thank Angels for watching over me. My wife has to cancel her lunch appointment with Kitt's mother. Kitt is B3's ex-classmate. She is a very sweet girl.

Last Lesson

Today is the last lesson for my English Pronounciation course. We enjoyed this course and it help us with the frequent misprounciation of words. It is good learning. Of course we will lapse into our bad habits again but now I am conscious of misprounciation.

Actually, I will recommend this course to everyone. It is conducted by Norman Lim who is a news reader of yore. He is excellent in teaching us on the right way to pronounce a lot of the words. Poetry become a pleasure when he reads them aloud. The course is 8 lessons of 1.5 hours and is very affordable. They are conducted in Community Centers - Teck Ghee and Serangoon are the ones I know for sure.

My gratitudes for Tuesday:

1. Thank God for a smooth regular day. Everything went like clockwork. My boy had his Subway lunch and picking him up from tuition was a cinch with the traffic flowing freely.

2. PCN is totally opened. The barrier blocking the unpaved cycling path has been removed and the Sengkang to Punggol is totally connected and it is just a smooth ride all the way.

3. B2 have completed his medical exams and his application to Nanyang Poly. Looks like he is all set to go.

Monday!

It is the start of a new week. I have nothing much to do or rather I did not do much. In the morning, B1 and B2 have to follow us to Bras Besar Complex to print the pictures of our extended family i.e. my siblings and their kids together with my family. It will be good for my mum to show to all her oldie friends. They are called "seniors" in Canada. I also have to update my wardrobe for upcoming trip. My boss's assistant has reminded me to look sharp for the formal dinner. I have to test out all my current work clothes. I have grown in size over the years and I rarely buy new clothes. So I will have some serious shopping to do.

Now is a good time to think of my 3 gratitudes.

First - it is good that B1 and B2 follow us to print the photos and then have lunch with us. I enjoyed the contact time with them.

Second - the maid agency did a home visit to our home. A team of three came our home and interview our maid. Now she is perfectly fine for now. I do worry that after talking to our neighbours' maids, there may be a relapse. For now, I am grateful the issue is resolved.

Third - B3 is very happy to get friends calling him. He enjoys socialising with the two friends who called everyday without fail. My shy boy is integrating well in the school.

3 Thanks

It was good to relax and rest at the poolside. While I was napping, heavy dark clouds hangs overhead and thunders keep clashing. It rains then stop. I started on a new book I bought during Page One closing down sale - Good Strategy Bad Strategy. Reading is one of the best sleeping pill according to research. I fell asleep after a few pages...

Back to my thanks for Sunday.

1. Everyone is safe and sound. We had dinner with all our boys and it is a great routine.

2. B3 cycled in the PCN with me. Yes, this time he is on his own leg power. We helped a girl who fell while roller blading. Gave her sister recommendation to see a chiropractor.

3. Mummy completed a deal tonight and she is so happy. We are very happy too:)

Feeling Lazy

Haaaaiiya! I am feeling so lethargic and slow. Don't feel like reading, don't feel like watching TV, don't feel like doing anything. Sometimes, life is so "sian" Hokkien for bored. Maybe I will go to the pool to lie down to sleep.

Nothing to do, I just check who is visiting my blog. I have a referral from Janette. I went to the blog and have a look. Looked like she break up with her boyfriend of many years and found new love. In 8 months, she is "committed". I have no idea what this mean. I think in Malaysia, it means getting married. Janette is very much in love and seems happy. A woman like to be loved. I dropped her a note to let her know she is lucky to be loved.

Yawn... I think I will go to the poolside to zzzZZZZZZ....

Visit Mum in Canada

I will be visiting my mum in Ontario in a couple of weeks. I have not seen her for a couple of years now. She was in Singapore two Chinese New Year ago. Her mobility is limited and it is more challenging to for her to travel.

I will have to help her get a mattress to raise the height of her bed and also to get a vaccuum cleaner so that she can clean up her place. I need to go to the bank to top up some of my accounts in order stop the bank charges. Canadian bank accounts are expensive to maintain. No wonder they are so profitable. The banks always dream of many ways to charge a customer.

I am looking forward to see her and if possible maybe visit a friend or two.

Great Morning

6:30am is not too early to wake up. Best of all, Sunday Times has arrived. So I go to my favorite Teh Halia stall (because price is at S$1 per cup rather than S$1.20 in Chomp Chomp or Jalan Kayu) in Ang Mo Kio Avenue 10. I had a plain thosai as well.

The advantage of being a regular is everything is custom-made for me. My teh-halia is not too sweet. My thosai is nicely brown and crusty instead of the usual soft and thick. Usually in order to get a brown and crunchy thosai, you have to order a "paper" style. Paper Thosai is huge and cost $3.50. I like my economy version. This morning my breakfast set cost a total of two Sin dollars. Not bad except I will be feeling hungry as a bear soon.

I like the front page on the Opening of the PCN, Sengkang Loop. Deputy Prime Minister, Teo Chee Hean says plans are on the way to link up all the loops and make it an islandwide cycling path. It will be a two days ride and there will be a place for camping overnight. Punggol Sengkang PCN is the 4th to be opened and is the most scenic. I agree but after riding so many times, at least twice a day for me, the scenes get a little stale. I am looking for more connections. I know I can now cycle to Pasir Park. It will be fun to cycle to more places.

Not So Good Day...

It was not a good start to the day this morning. Our helper says she is sick and cannot work. We know it is a tactic and she has learned from other maids on causing problems for us. So we upset by this issue. We have dealt with this many times. Philippinas like to promise to work hard and agree on the terms of agreement. After they arrived for a few weeks, all kind of stories will come up. They will weasel their way out of their commitment.
My wife now has a headache to deal with.

Moving to my 3 gratitudes for today. My first would be meeting my niece who was jogging in the Punggol PCN with her boyfriend. I am happy she is doing her exercise and keeping ft. Her face is all flushed red and she is trying to catch with her boyfriend. She does love him a lot to struggle like this in the hot afternoon sun. Next, I have Baby No. 3 riding behind me on the bicyle. It is good to have him on my back while we enjoy the scenery of Punggol Waterways. Last but not least, I cook outdoor dinner for my family in which they enjoyed. I have chicken satays, boiled Japanese soya beans and glutinous riceballs with peanut soup for dessert. It is gratifying to see my family eating up my handiwork with gusto.

Life's simple pleasures...

Sleepless in Singapore

I am up at 5am this morninng. So it is off to morning tea in the market. The wet market is full of activities and many hawkers have started operation. A few 24 hour shops beside 7-Eleven, Indian coffeeshop, Shop N Save are opened but not busy. The fishmongers are preparing their fishes for display and butchers are cutting up their meat. Green grocers have their fresh greens neatly placed.

Many are up as there are quite a few customers drinking or having breakfast. I wonder if they are like me, waking up early or just finishing their work. In a big city, there are so many people with all kinds of occupationa and the city ticks 24 hours anyway.

Day is starting to break. I bet there are plenty of weekend joggers in the PCN. So the city will be bustling with people going about with their daily business - tuition, shopping, meals, or simply taking it easy and relax like what I like to do.

3 More Gratitudes

Many things to be grateful for...

1. My Health. So far so good, although my blood pressure and cholestorol are high. I have no symptons and not on any medications. I am enjoying good food i.e. deep fried stuff and plenty of bbq. I enjoys cycling.

2. My Home. I have enough space for my books and all the paraphernalia my boys and wife have. It is quiet and frequent by birds. It is a good place to relax.

3. My Lifestyle. I exercise every day and keep fit. I can relax at the poolside or take a dip. I can watch TV while I work. It is a good life.

Happy

I wrote this title and then start thinking what should I write about. Am I really happy today? Not really. However, I am happy to borrow 4 audiobooks from Bishan. I am happy to think about the food I need to prepare to host my siblings, nephews and nieces.

I am not happy misplacing a recipe book on Barbeque Food. I search everywhere and it cannot be found. I have too many books in many places. It may be hidden behind some other books or it may be in one of the many stacks around the house.

I am happy my car is serviced today. The aircon filter has been changed and tyres rotated. Best of all, it took only one hour. While waiting for the car to be service, I kill time in Bishan. It is quite a nice place. There is a group of young housewives chatting away in one table and another group of older women who just finished their exercise. The oldies are having fun singing as well. The HDB flat is very tall and look like a private condominium. A slice of life in Singapore.

As I review the day, it is quite a happy day. We register B3 to a new Chinese tuition. So now he has basically tuition everyday. This not exactly something to celebrate about. Yet if he does not go tuition, he will be playing his computer games.

Overall, the happy and good things outweighs the negative.

Donation for my Witness

I promised to make a donation to a charity of her choice when my witness wrote the statement. Although the statement she wrote is basically says nothing to help in the situation, she has discharged her promise to write a statement.

I will also discharge my promise to make a donation to her favorite charity. I have written to her to ask her which charity she likes and she has not replied yet. I have a feeling she is not likely to reply.

At first, I thought I will go to the Kuan Yin Temple in Queens Street to donate for her. However, she may not like it if she is a Christian. I hope I do not have to donate to a Christian organisation. Although I support World Vision, in general, I do not subscribe to the narrow and biased views of Christian groups like the NUS Christian Society currently under supension.

So I think if I do not get an answer from her, I will donate to the School Money Pocket Fund for her. This fund help poor school kids who does not have money for recess or stationery. It is also secular.

Family Gathering

My siblings have confirmed coming over for dinner next Saturday. It has been some time since we last gather together. This time my brother is invited as well. I will do barbeque this time.

What am I grateful for today. I know I missed writing my gratitude yesterday.

1. I finally have signed agreement on my new assignment. So I will be flying to US for meeting and training in two weeks. It is a long trip. So I will also visit mum in Toronto. I am glad to see mum again after two years.

2. A drain hole in my balcony was covered when the developer's contractor did waterproofing work and has just reopen back the hole. Now I do not need to worry if the regular drain is clogged by dead leaves. I am happy that slowly my house is make back to a good state.

3. Finally, my witness wrote a statement for me. I do not know if it will help but I have send to my insurer for them to process. I am glad to be able move forward.

Sex Scandals in Singapore

Sex scandals rock Singapore recently. It is a new phenomenon. Singapore is a well-oiled tightly controlled country and recent headlines are make our venerable Straits Times looked like tabloid in the supermarket shelves at the checkout counters in US. It is also interesting reading and quite slanted. Opposition seems to get attention grabbing headlines.

I must say to get into the front page headline is easy if you are in the opposition party and alleged to have done something wrong. It seems like sex, the weapon of choice has move south from Malaysia.

Morals is interesting and debate is raging in the internet. THe future looks interesting...

3 Gratitudes

1. I am grateful to meet old friends and colleagues. It is good to see all of them doing well. WF's daughter is in medical school in Australia and NC's son is doing medicine in NUS.

2. I am grateful that my boys did not too badly in school.

3. I am grateful to be happy with what I have and enjoy.

Party with Ex-colleagues

I am looking forward to meeting my ex-colleagues hosted by a beautiful Thai who prepare delicious Thai food for all of us. We have not met for many years now. She hosted us when she first relocated to Singapore with her husband who is CEO of a Supermarket chain.

Now her husband has retired and they will be moving back to Phuket to live. She invited a few ex-colleagues who she still has their contacts and one of them, forward the invitation to me. I am very happy to meet them again. Most of us have moved on to different company although quite a few still stay in the same company which was merged twice!

I can only go late as I have to pick up B3 from his Chinese tuition. It will be fun.

Sunday Gratitudes

I was up early this Sunday morning at 5:40am. It was raining, so I made coffee with my Italian coffeemaker. At about 7am, even though it is very cloudy and look set to rain again, I cycle to PCN. It was a nice two hours ride.

I have my three gratitudes for today:

1. I met an ex-colleague in Canadian Education Fair. His daughter is evaluating to study in Canada. My ex-colleague is still in the medical industry. We worked together in 1995 in Yishun.

2. The announcement Coney Island will be a nature park. I am looking forward to explore Coney Island once it is open as it is part of the PCN.

3. A good day with my boys and everyone safe and sound.

Great Relief!

My wife did it! She talks about the clogged drain at home with her colleagues and friends today. They gave her plenty of tips. When she returns home, she applied the boiling water remedy and it works! Our drainage finally unclogged. It was flowing slowly with the application of powerful chemical. I also used the slinky to take out some hairs and cotton waste. It is immense relief that finally the water level did not rise when we drain a huge bolus of water through the sink. Fantastic!

Time for my three gratitudes for today:

1. Great dinner. I am grateful for the wonderful homecooked Japanese meal. We cooked Japanese, flavor them with sushi vinegar and sweet sake. We had silvers of Japanese cucumber, tamago, avocado and crab meat rolled into the sushi rice on seaweed with prawn roe. We had wonderful conversation.

2. Place in University. B1 is offered a place in University of Warwick. He is both happy and relief. We are happy too. Although he has a place to read Law in NUS, it is not his top choice.

3. B3 and I. We spend time together for lunch. He is happy I spoil him with candy and we ate the flaming choice seafood platter in Manhattan Fish Market. I am glad he has recovered from his last night's cranky behaviour.

I am making dried mangoes as NTUC Fairprice has great deals - Keith Mangoes for $3.75ea and Honey Mangoes at $3.75 for 5. I love the fruit drying machine. It allows me to take advantage of the lower price when the fruits are in season.

Fingers Crossed

I have poured in more chemical. Now my place smell bad as the ammonia permeates throughout the house as the strong chemical reacts with the organic waste. I am keeping my fingers cross that this time it will work. Looking into the drain hole, the scums looked positively yakky!

At least we are on our way to clear drainage, or so I hope.

Unclogging Drainage

I was up early to continue to work on the clogged drain. I will need to get more "unblocking" chemical which I found out in the internet that it is Lye or Sodium Hydroxide and Sodium Hypochloride. It is very powerful and I will be able to fix this clogged drain in future now that I know what to do.

Still Waiting

I am still waiting and hoping the witness of the accident at the carpark. Just like the 995 show, I wonder about the karma and good begets good and evil begets evil. The law of reciprocity. He who sow the seeds reaps the harvest.

Just like the 995 last night, sometimes I feel this law does not seem to apply to good people. Bullies and evildoers seem to be able to get away with murder and do better through their actions.

My drain was clogged and I spent the afternoon getting very dirty and smelly. I was untouchable!

I have to stop whining and focus on my 3 gratitudes.

1. Considering the afternoon spent on dirty work, I am still alive and kicking. Feeling alive and doing my routine stuff.

2. I had a simple but good lunch of mee siam and nasi lemak in Lucky Plaza with my wife.

3. B1 is back home. We have all three boys together for the weekend. It is good to be a complete family for dinners.

The Secret to Happiness...

It is a well known secret in the Psychology research. Helping others is a clear winner in generating happiness. The research has been consistent throughout different parts of the earth. Helping others bring joy that money cannot buy. Travelling and getting new experience, winning competition also bring joys. Research clearly put helping others whether it is another human or animals bring a warm glow that lasted for longer time than enjoying a wonderful or even sex!

What are my 3 gratitudes for Today?

I am thinking and thinking. I guess there are many things to be thankful for. I am in good health, friends and family are safe and it is peace on Earth.

So far, 2012 End of the World is still a wild speculation. What are my gratitudes then? I like to give this assignment a little more thoughts. My day has been regular and I was in my favorite bookshop, Kinokuniya this afternoon. I tried the coconut tart from Paul's. The queue for eat-in is long. I guess it is still fresh and new. So I try the take-out instead. The coconut tart is quite delicious. For $5.50 a wedge, it is actually not too bad compared to local cafe chain.

Let's review my gratitude for the day:

1. I am a lucky guy. My boys are well behaved and B2 and B3 are talking to each other like friends.

2. I had a great time just browsing through the books in Kinokuniya. B3 is happy that I bought his Treasures of the Earth magazins and got him some extra - Moshi Monster magazine. He loved the "free" gifts in Moshi Monster magazine especially a "rare" plastic figurine.

3. Underwater headstand. I am glad that I can do underwater headstand and balance myself for as long as my breath can hold. Even old dog can learn new tricks.


I am so blessed in many ways. I am writing my blog and listening to instrumental played on a Bose sound system. The atmosphere is good for high productivity and effectiveness.

Praying to Angels

I prayed to Angels today. I prayed to Angels for them to help me on the accident and make good the damage on my car. I hope the angels will answer my prayers.

It is gratitude time again. I have to think hard what I am grateful about.

1. I had an hour and a half ride on the PCN with B3 riding on the back of our hybrid bicycle. We ride to Punggol Marine then all the way through the dirt track opposite Coney Island before turning back via Punggol Water Park. It is good bonding and also to slow down B3's shortsight progression.

2. Finally, I tasted the "rat cake" by Tai Thong Kok in Chinatown. It is the most similar to those I tasted as a boy when my father brought them to visit his mum, my grandmother. I am happy because the Tai Thong Kok shop in Alexander Village version does not taste as good. I am glad to bring back to my childhood taste memory.

3. Free from Worries at Work. Instead of being sleepless over work, I have been having restful sleep and quality sleep. I do not have enough sleep because I want to send B3 to the school bus at 6am. Mummy wakes up at 5am to prepare breakfast and recess for him.

It is good to review my gratitudes everyday and it is getting harder and maybe over time will be easier with more practice.

I hope Angels will bless me and answer my prayers.

Grateful

I am grateful for my good health.

I am grateful for close family.

I am grateful for comfortable life.

3 Gratitudes Again

It is a long and tiring day. I go to the reporting center to report on the accident. The center advise to contact the witness and get a written report. According to them, many witnesses back out. I tried to call the witness and she did not pick up my call. Maybe she is busy. So I sms to her at about lunchtime and until now she has not replied.

I wonder about karma. I wonder about city life where people are afraid of getting involved or does not care about victims. Does living in the city make people more self-centred and unwilling to help strangers? Why is Singapore such a cold hearted place? Will Singapore be able to become a Gracious Society as outlined by Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong? I shall not delve on unhappy thoughts anymore...let's move on to the 3 gratitudes for the day.

1. In bringing B2 for his haircut at My Village in Serangoon Gardens, I met my brother who was there to eat his lunch. He invited me to dim sum lunch with him and his 3 girls tomorrow. I am happy to see him healthier than before and his relationship with his daughters improved drastically.

2. Simple pleasures. I enjoyed grocery shopping with B2. He had a Ramly Burger and he observed the huge amount of margarine used to cook the burger. After getting the burger, he told me he is not going eat Ramly Burger again. It is so unhealthy. I am happy to hear B2 observing how unhealthy his favorite food is.

3. Family. We ate dinner together and have good conversations during dinners. It is a great family tradition and foster closeness and strong relationship with our boys.

3 Things to be Grateful for

It is another sad day for Whitney Houston passed on. I loved her singing and songs. She has gone to a better place.

So it is hard to think of things to be grateful for. Yet it is paramount to continue the exercise so that I am on my way to happiness.

1. I start to read current bestseller "The Happiness Project". The writer is a lawyer who pursue her passion of becoming a writer. The first chapter is quite interesting.

2. B3 gave B1 a good feedback. B1 is nice to B3 when his friends are around and still continues to be nice to B3 after the friends have left.

3. B2 surgical wound is healing. There are two pimples growing in the wound. So he may have to get them remove in the hospital. B2 is going out and meeting his friends. So he is recovering well.

4. I had breakfast with a friend from Malaysia. He showed me his hobby farm where he has durians, mangosteen, yellow and red rambutans and longans. We had a good chat and toy around some business ideas. He was to invest in Australia and Britain.

When I write about all these positive events, I feels better.

Do You Know This Man-in-White?

Here is a picture of the man who where a white colour T-shirt. Do you know him??

Click on the picture to enlarge. The sand colour Toyota is his car.

Abuse of Power and Position

Come to think of it, DP, the driver who whack into my car must have called to get advice. This may be the reason for him to go on the offensive after talking on the phone for so long after he hit me. Senior person who work for Government has no principle and take advantage of a regular citzen just to save money and face for the damage he inflicted while distracted on the phone while he was driving.

The neticitzens are right! No wonder there are so many grievances on the ground. I am so sorry for the citzens who are not fairly treated or mistreated.

Whacked in the Car Park

A Toyota Camry reversed into my car while I was trying to get into a shady carpark. I horned and horned to stop him from reversing into my car. He damaged my bumper. He stays on the phone for so long and claimed I reversed into him. DP works for the government. Not only did he not admitted or apologise for knocking into my car. He insisted he did not see me and I am the one who reversed into him.

I am shocked by the other driver's behaviour. The man who damaged my car works for the government in the finance capacity. It is a minor bump on the bumper of my car. I expected him to apologise and offer to pay for the damage. Instead he keep insisting I am at fault.

Many times when I read in the internet about the negative comments about our government, I thought some comments were extreme and maybe even prejudice. Now that I have personal experience, I can see why. I shall call this driver, DP. He is a senior person in a large government organisation. I would expect integrity and courtesy. Instead I received a arrogant attitude when he made me wait for more than 10 mins in the hot sun while he talks on the phone. Then he come out to make accusations instead of admitting fault. After that he find ways to finger point at me.

We called the police to resolve this dispute. Now I understand why our government is perceived negatively. With this kind of man in the organisation, it is clear the attitude is you are in the wrong no matter what. I know this is just one example but it is personal and real. Others must have similar encounters or experience when they have contacts with some people who worked for the government.

It is a sad day for me.

3 More Gratitudes

What am I grateful for?

1. Blue Sky and White Clouds. Fine weather today.

2. Morning breakfast in Upper Bukit Timah. It is very nostalgic. Coffeeshop is like in the 60s.

3. A friend from Malaysia called up. Will have breakfast with him tomorrow.

B2's Birthday and Nuts about Nuts

Ever since we bought nuts from the wholesale center at wholesale price, we have been making regular patronage there. Half a kg of cashews lasted only a few days at home. We replenished Macadamia nuts, cashews nuts, roasted pumkins seeds again this afternoon. We evaluated birdnests as well. I like birdnest dessert. It is best double-boiled with rock sugar. However, the price although is cheaper at the wholesale center is still high. My wife is a bargain hunter. She is doing research on this area before we buy the birdnests.

We bought two pairs of school shoes for B3 using Mummy's feet as a guide unfortunately both pairs are too small and we will have to make another trip to Rochor Center to change the shoes.

B1 has duty today. So I will go to camp tomorrow morning to pick him up. We had fried noodles and leftovers for dinner. Dessert is home-made tiramisu for it is B2's birthday today. It is quite a good day.

3 Gratitudes

I read watch the video. It is 3 new graditudes every day for 21 days and journaling 1 positive experience everyday.

My 3 gratitudes for today:

1. I am healthy
2. I have a good family
3. I lived in a nice neighbourhood.

Random act of kindness

My wife and I was waiting the pedestrian crossing for the Green Man signal for us to cross. When it turned green many other pedestrians have started off earlier than us as there were no cars before the signal change. There is a senior man pushing his bicycle to cross and the load at the back of his bicycle fell and many items fell onto the road. My wife and I went to help him. We hold the bicycle steady while he pick up his items. There was a huge hammer and other tools. It took him a while to recover and he keep repeating "It's okay, I can handle it." We see it is not possible for him to hold steady his bike and retrieve the items. We helped him crossed the road as the Red Man comes on. After crossing, we moved on leaving him to secure his load to the back of his bicycle. It felt good to help even though it is just a small act.

The Happy Secret to Better Work

Watch this video. It is humorous and educational. I like it!

Journal Keeping aka Blogging

In TED, there is a talk on Happiness and the speaker recommended keeping a journal to record 3 things to be grateful about every day. In 30 days, all test subjects were measurably happier. I know I do try to blog about it and then lose steam.

I like to re-start and see if I can sustain the habit of writing what I should be thankful about for the day.

1. This morning, I have a beautiful ride on my hybrid Sanyo bike all the way from Yio Chu Kang to Pasir Ris Park. I may try to go further next time to Bedok PCN.

2. B2, Mummy and I went to Goddess of Mercy temple in Queens Street to pray and donate. We feel better to visit this temple regularly.

3. We had Bak Kut Teh (pork rib soup) which is quite popular in the coffeeshop in Rochor flats.

B2's open wound from his surgery is improving day by day. I have decided to change his dressings myself rather than to queue in the Polyclinic. We need not spend time waiting and it is also a lot more cost effective.

There are many things to be thankful about. I am surprised that it is easy to list out. I will keep at this for the next 29 days.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

I decided to watch dvd in the evening to pass time and pick The Curious Case of Benjamin Button which B1 requested and watched a long time ago. He says it was interesting. I did not have time nor the inclination until today.

The movie is actually quite interesting. Born old and then grow younger. The reverse aging process. It is quite thought provoking. How life events will be different. Young girl become lover and then mother of his daughter. The story begin with a dying woman and the daughter reading a diary for her. All the memobilia of the past, photos were uncovered by the daughter. She is surprised to find out that she is actually the daughter of Benjamin Button.

It is a love story unfolding and narrated in a unique plot. I like this movie.

Early to Rise

B3 is sleep late and wake up early to take the school bus to school. I will need to get him to sleep earlier. He was practising his Chinese listening and writing for the test the next day. He is now more motivated to learn his Chinese. There is a change in his attitude even though his Chinese is still weak. I hope he can keep up and improve for PSLE.

Mummy will wake up at 5am to cook breakfast and recess for him. This was started a year ago for B2 and B3. Both enjoys taking food to school. They not only save their recess allowance, they get mum's cooking and nutritious food.

B3 board the school bus at 6am. After that, I will go to the wet market and hawker centre in Ang Mo Kio to drink tea and read the newspapers if available. This is going to be my morning routine for the next two years.

NTUC Finest

NTUC Fairprice has latest concept kind of copying Cold Storage with "fine food" i.e. Organic vegetables and animal products. Also more choice of European fare like cheese and more exqusite bread other than the regular Fairprice square loaf. I like to window shop and enjoys oogling at the finer things in life.

I bought instant organic oats from Canada. It is quite tasty and good for fibre. There are so many food I would like to try. However, I need to watch my weight and have to pass so many temptations. Can See, Cannot Touch! Sigh....

Full Moon and Crazy Weather

Tomorrow is Chap Goh Mei, or 15th day and last day of Chinese New Year. The moon is full and very bright. The light is so bright that it cast a gigantic halo in the night sky.

The freak weather in Europe is freezing people to death. Heavy snow and record low temperature reaching -38 degree celsius reported. Some 260 people has died so far. Scientists say the record low is due to Arctic warming and sending bitter cold air south.

What A Day!

Up early in the morning...6am and rush to hospital and look for my boy. No one at the reception in Day Surgery which is in Level 3 of Medical Centre in TTSH. Go to the visitor registration to find the security guard. After calling day surgery to look for my boy, the security guard sends me back with a instruction. Use the intercom.

When I get back, I saw the intercom and guess what!....there is an instruction just above the intercom. It read "Please use intercom from 7pm to 7am". When in a state of agitation, I did not look and read sign. Once I cannot open the door, I just look for a live person to help. It is natural and therefore, technology and signs will never replace the human touch.

After bringing B2 home, he wanted to shower. So I wrapped him up with the saran wrap for him to keep his wound dry. Unfortunately, it start to bleed while he was showering. We have to go to AMK Polyclinic to get his wound dressed. It was a huge queue. B1 followed along to see the doctor as well and has to wait for more than an hour just to register. After registration, he has to wait for 1 to 2 hours before the doctor can see him. B1 gave up. Meanwhile, I send B2 back home to rest.

I was so exhausted I fell asleep on the sofa! It is rare I nap on the living room.

Gallstone and Pilonidal Cyst

My elder sister just had her gallbladder removed as there is a stone the size of olive inside. B2 is in the hospital to have his pilonidal cyst removed as well. I wonder if it is a coincident that both are the 2nd kid in the family. Poor B2 has been waiting in Tan Tock Seng Hospital since this afternoon. He is supposed to go in at 6pm but was still waiting outside the operating theatre at 9pm. My poor boy must be starving as he is not allowed to eat prior to surgery.

Morphine

AM Live! topic of the morning is on Pain. Many misconceptions about painkillers. A/P Cynthia Goh cite patients saying "Oh, his uncle or aunt died just after taking morphine. So associating the death with morphine." Nothing is further from the truth. The patient succumb to cancer and not morphine.

Morphine is a cost effective painkiller. A documentary on Palliative Care estimates 600 millions endure untreated pain because of lack of access to opiates.

Morphine is a misunderstood opiates. It is a controlled drug and abused by drug addicts.

World Cancer Day is this Saturday, 4 February 2012. Watch vignettes at www.lifebeforedeath.com

Reading Again

I am doing more reading especially after buying so many books in Page One. I am currently on 23 Things They Don't Tell You about Capitalism. It is an interesting twist to all the news and articles published in the papers as well as turning conventional economic theory on its head.

The first thing is on the fallacy of free trade which all the rich countries are promoting. They actually become rich by protecting their industries until they become strong and competitive globally. The author Ha-Joon Chang is a Professor of Economic in Cambridge is excellent in expounding the truth or maybe the hypocritical behaviour of developed countries like US or Britain...