Nice Weather in Seoul

It is nice to come in spring.  Weather is cool and comfortable.  Due to the one hour difference, I am not sleepy and can enjoy the night life.  The crowd is out and about with the warmer temperature.  Many mainland Chinese tourists are here too.  I also heard Cantonese which may be from Hong Kong or Southern China.  It is a short trip here.  I have only one day here i.e. tomorrow and then off to Tokyo.

It is Seoul vibrant here.

Vegetarian Food Coffee Shop in Hougang

This morning I am meeting my in-laws for breakfast.  I went to the Hougang Coffee Shop which specialises in Chinese vegetarian food.  There are 3 long separate queues.  One for drinks, one for fried beehoon and all the various varieties of vegetarian dishes and last queue for roti prata.  The vendor is very successful.  The menu is broad.  I noticed mee siam, mee rebus and tahu goreng.

It is very interesting to see the people coming and going.  Most of the patrons converse in Mandarin.  Some in English and dialects but they are the minority.  Also vegetarian eaters seem like a close knit community as I notice many patrons seems to know each other.  Maybe they go to the same temple.  I had my tea and read the Sunday Times while waiting.  I had a good time observing all the customers come and go.

My father-in-law is happy with the variety of choices he has for his breakfast.  He loved to eat like me.  He was furious when he had to eat plain food after his open-heart surgery.  He keeps complaining to his surgeon.  He is happy to queue up as he has lots of options.  I did not eat any of the food as it is not my kind of food.  I came back home and make smoked duck sandwich with focaccia bread.  It tasted heavenly.

Imperial Treasure Super Peking Duck

My eldest sister invited us for dinner.  Only 13 seats available.  So my baby sister's family and my family are there together with her two girls.  My sister's birthday is next week.  The Imperial Treasure place is chosen by the younger daughter.  She ate there before.  My boys like the food there.  We had two ducks.  The Peking duck is not bad but not spectacular either.  Most of the dishes are quite good.  B3 enjoyed the deep fried prawn in salted egg yolk sauce.  The cashew chicken is fried with celery.  The sweet and sour pork is average only.  They like the spinach in three eggs sauce.  We have a good time to catch up with each other. 

I am happy to have quality family time with my sisters.

Slowly Convinced

I am getting convinced by the China Study.  It reminds me of macrobiotics diet of Japan.  We need to eat brown rice and oats.  The complex carbohydrates will stop diseases from progressing and may even reverse them.  The China Study showed a case where heart blockage was reversed!!  It is amazing research. 

So dinner tonight was GABA brown rice.  However, my dishes are chicken soup, smoked duck and cucumber.  So it is not healthy but a start.  The journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step.  I will cook more brown rice and slowly increase more plant diet and decrease my meat consumption.  My weakness is barbarque.  I am good at bbqing meats!  I will need to reduce my impulse to buy potato chips when they go on sale.  Good thing is I buy plenty of fruits.

Next week I am travelling and my boys will not be eating much fruits.  I wish they will cut fruits themselves.

The China Study

I bought this book on 23 Aug 2009.  It was highly recommended.  However, I did not read it and it has been sitting my bookshelf until today I looked for it.  The reason?  I was looking for the exact date I bought it.  I am listening to the audio version now and it is good information and learning on the food we eat.  Rather how to eat healthily based on research.  The good thing about actual book is you can look at the content and flipped the pages you want.  Also easy to browse and read the parts that is relevant.   I know I need to change my diet to improve my health.

Causal Visitor

Late afternoon a friend from KL dropped by.  He told me he is coming about 6:30pm but arrived at 5pm instead.  We talked and talked.  He want to try out solar energy and sell the electricity back to the utilities.  It is a good idea with good returns as the law in Malaysia allow people to sell electricity back.  I wish Singapore government has the same laws.  Maybe they do as the Haus in Serangoon is supposed to have this feature.  I have to do more research and check with Sin Power.  I just check on the internet.  The return in Malaysia will be worse than Singapore as the tariffs there for electricity is lower.  If his project is successful, then we can have a business model.

Regular Maintenance and Update

My wife is someone who keep updating our house.  Today, we have the electrical contractor here to repair our down lights.  Since it cost $70 for them to come, she decided to get new lights to change.  So we change and add new lights to our house.  Now everywhere is very bright.  The mistress of the house is a typical Chinese.  Everywhere must have bright lights.  Whereas I prefer to save electricity and have light only where it is needed.  She always complain my work area is too dark.  I used only a desk lamp and only when I really needed it to read.

Now with all the new lights we can save some electricity as we used LED and T5 lights.  So we have to spend money to save money.  Net, I don't think I am really saving anything...

30 Lessons for Living

Whenever I cycle, I listen to music or audiobook.  30 lessons for living is interesting and engaging.  The lessons are told in mini vignettes.  So it is like listening to stories of the folks interviewed.  Lessons like chose your mate carefully, travel more, between work that pays more or work that you enjoys but pay less, go for work that gives you fulfilment.  I am half way there as the interviewees are between 70 to 99 years old.  I still find the lessons useful and wise.  I asked my two older boys to listen but they are not paying much attention.  Anyway, I will make them put the audio files in their phones and they can listen at any time when they are in the train.

Swee Choon Dim Sum

B3's birthday today.  He went to support his friend who is singing in SOTA concert hall.  Ticket cost $15.  Since he finishes at 6:30pm, B1 suggested we eat out for dinner.  Then I read this:17-most-delicious-restaurants-under $15 tody.  Swee Choon Dim Sum is in this list.  I made a mistake before thinking I could lunch there with my wife.  It is open from 6 to 6.  I did not read carefully.  It is 6pm to 6am.  Since it is rare we eat out as a family and we always eat Skinny Pizza when we are in Plaza Singapore, we decided to try Swee Choon even though we have to queue and wait for a table.

B1 and B2 get down to get a number first.  I have to look for a carpark.  Little India is just full of Indians.  My wife is so stressed by them jaywalking and blatant disregard for vehicular traffic.  Having been to India, I can handle it.  I was more stressed by her constant reminders to watch out for this and that in a high pitch and stressed manner.

Anyway, back to Swee Choon.  The dim sum is pretty good is the verdict my picky and sensitive palate of The Wife.  My boys like most of the food too.  We ordered too much and have to put our leftovers in a doggy bag.  The bill came to $94.80.  Since there is no service charge, we gave the balance as tips.  The service is pretty good.  The environment is not good as we were seated in the backlane.

A Sweet Sec 4 Girl from St. Margaret

This morning I was at Bugis.  It is donation day for YMCA.  As I walk along the road, there is this tiny girl standing forlornly waiting for donation.  She did not ask me even when I approach.  I have to let her know I am going to donate.  I asked if she is in Sec One as she is very petite.  She smile and says she is in Sec 4.  I was surprised first by her size and then also by the fact she is Sec 4.  I know in Sec 4 you are basically exempted from CCA to prepare for "O" level.  She told me she has not reach her 100 hours yet.  So she has to do the donation drive.  I feel sorry for her standing alone in the sun.  She probably did not have any friends who need to complete the hours required.

She is very sweet as she answer my questions easily instead of looking scared or sulky.  I think this girl is well brought up and will do well in life.

30 Lessons for Living

Life lessons for the old Americans.  The advice are given in a narrative format.  Just like listening to short stories.  So it is quite interesting.  How to live and how to be happy.  What is important in life...and all the basic questions of going through traumatic up and down of living.  I listen to the audio book version and it is an interesting read. 

Learning to BBQ

I always love to barbaque since I am a meat lover.  I just put the meat into the grill and then watch for the reactions of my "customers".  However, there is no system.  It is whatever spice I use and there is no name for my cooking other than bbq.  Kino is having 20% and I am tired of management, leadership, motivation and self-help.  So I bought a book on bbq and hope to improve my skills and acquired different ways of bbqing my meats.  I learned that grilling squids need a weight on the squid.  Now I know why my squids never looked like they have been bbq.

With my new book, hopefully my skills will be raise a notch or two.

More Ambitious Solar Projects

Now, I am going to purchase 100 watts flexible panel.  It will generate 8amp peak and will require a controller.  I am thinking of what to do next.  A bigger battery and inverter so that I can use the power generated for home appliances.  The other way which is more expensive is to get 12V devices like light bulbs and fans.  Slowly I will be getting there.  Maybe solar water heater as well.  Solar water heater is a lot more ambitious as I will need plumbing contractor to run the water pipes.  Slowly I am getting "greener".  I still need to get my kids into conservation mode.  So far, all my maids are a lost cause when it come to saving water and power.  They are big waster of energy - during ironing and water while washing dishes and clothing.

Solar Water Pump Arrived

The solar water pump which we bought over the internet finally arrived.  It took about 5 weeks.  It is a very tiny pump but hey it worked!  It needed strong sunlight to make the water shoot up properly.   However, I am happy.  To think I spend more than $600 for water pumps that did not last and worse of the 3 sets of pump and solar panel, one panel was cracked and could not be used.  Today, the price is so reasonable and pump a lot more reliable.  Technology has improved the mechanism and the solar cells.  So I am going to take a more ambitious step of spending a few hundred dollars for a flexible solar panel.  This way I can do a bigger project.

Happy as Rain

I just returned home from Bangkok.  In the morning, I was in the mood to clear my pond of some aggressive fishes as all my small goldfishes disappeared.  So I start by removing all the water lilies and the rectangular stones supporting the pots.  After I clear all the heavy stuff off the pond including the fountain, I put all the docile fishes into a holding pail.  It is easy to net them.  Then comes the hard part.  The fishes which I want to get rid of are extremely fast and agile.  They keep eluding my net.  Finally, I had a brainwave!  The fishes are big now.  So I use the rectangle plastic fencing to keep pets with a compound and slowly drag it across the pond.  Even then the smaller fishes managed to jump over the fencing back into the water.  They are so smart!!  The larger ones are caught and I put them together with the arowana.  They are so fast.  So I suspect they will be able to survive for a long time.  Maybe they get eaten up when they sleep.  The fishes caught from the wild are true survivors.  They are extremely fast and know where to go. 

As I was messing around the pond, it started to rain.  I wasn't paying attention except B3 sang out to me that it is raining in a very happy tone.  I was focusing on ridding my pond of pests I brought home and eating up my goldfishes.  I am completely drenched by the time I finished.  The rain keep coming and coming.  It actually rained for a few welcome hours.  Rain starts at maybe 9am and stop around 3 pm.  The trees on the CTE were brown when we were going to Orchard for lunch and on the way home, many trees have buds showing up.  It is the wonder of nature.  All ready and quick to capture the opportunity to grow and reproduce.

I am happily drenched this morning.

Good Conversation with Taxi Driver

I have a good ride home from the airport.  The taxi driver is hokkien and close to my age.  We have plenty to talk about.  Move from kampung to HDB.  Losing touch with all the extended family members.  Meeting family members once a year during Chinese New Year and a host of similar issues facing us living in a city today.  For example, we have to keep working to pay bills.  Both husband and wife have to work and no time spend with the kids.  No more balance life anymore in Singapore especially since the government import cheap labour to keep Singaporeans competitive.

Work Done! Time to Go Home

I am so happy when I finished my last meeting today.  It is getting ready to go home.  Although I love the food and people here, it is nothing like home.  It is nice to walk to Siam Paragon and go to Kino to browse.  Many books are the same but some are different.  Also the layout is different.  So it is a relaxing browse for me.  I enjoys a different Kinokuniya!

Food Heaven

Best way to describe Bangkok.  The variety of good food is broad and very unique flavors and tasty.  I who live to eat is in heaven.  My weight will go up if I cannot control myself.  I can live here permanently as the cost of living is low and healthcare affordable.  I will love to retire here if I have a choice.

Politically, there are some issues.  Thailand, the land of smiles - no longer true, is still the land of polite people.  The train systems are fairly good.  I like the fact I always take train from airport to my hotel.  It is safe and many pretty girls to look although they are mostly enhanced by cosmetic surgery. 

Sizzling Bangkok

The temperature of Bangkok is like Singapore.  The heat is quite unbearable.  I drank lots of water and hot green tea in my meeting.  My host told me this kind of temperature usually occurs in April.  So summer starts early in Bangkok.  There is drought in the farms areas up north.

I am just thinking... random thoughts.  We, humans are impacting the climate and maybe it is not us.  However, we can still continue our way of living using electricity to cool our homes, our offices and shopping malls.  We also use divert water and therefore can continue to live our ways as usual until it comes to a drastic halt.  It is a scary what kind of surprises may be ahead for mankind.

The Malaysian Way?

Having personal experience many years ago when my flight from KL to Singapore did not land, I know how scary it is for the loved ones.  My prayers for all the passengers, crews and their loved ones.

UPDATE [11:00pm]: Vietnamese media is quoting search and rescue officials as being 'surprised' at how tight-lipped the Malaysian government is. According to VN Express, Vietnam’s Chief of Air Administration Lai Xuan Thanh (above, left) says they are receiving very little information from Malaysian partners, with most updates coming from international media.

UPDATE [8:35pm]: Malaysian authorities hold press conference, but stonewall most media questions. Questions that they dodged include:
1) Was there a security lapse? Who is Malaysia Airlines' insurer?
2) What possibilities and angles are you looking at?
3) Did the passengers traveling on stolen passports look like they were German or Italian?

They also confirmed that:
1) Search radius increased from 20 nautical miles to 50 nautical miles
2) Countries assisting in the search include: Vietnam, China, Singapore, United States, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines.
3) Australia sending support as well.
4) Air search to take place between 7am and 7pm. Naval search goes on round the clock.
5) Malaysia also searching in the Straits of Malacca due to reports that MH370 turned back.
6) No signal from the plane's Emergency Locator Transmittor (ELT).
7) Altogether, 34 aircraft and 40 ships involved in search for MH370.

No Information from Malaysian Airlines

The current air disaster is a shocker.  On the news many relatives are frustrated by the lack of information.  After watching the news, my wife remembers one time I was returning home from KL via Malaysian Airlines.  The aircraft did not land in Changi Airport due to "weather" conditions and turned back to Subang (before KLIA).  My wife was panicking and asked the Malaysian Airlines counter what happen and why my flight has not arrived.  They keep telling her they do not know.  Meanwhile she see all other flights have landed and only my flight was "missing".  Meanwhile, we were stuck in the aircraft and unable to leave to make phone calls.  It was 5 hours later that I landed.  Two later flights from KL by Malaysian Airlines had landed before my flight.  It was a harrowing experience for my family for 5 hours not knowing what happened with no information and then seeing to later MH flights from KL landing into Changi. 

When I heard that other planes were landing and only mine did not, I do not think it is the weather that prevent the aircraft from landing in Changi.  All I know is I stop flying Malaysian Airlines to KL.

Disappearance of MH370

MH370 bound for Beijing from KL "disappeared" two hours into the flights.  Onboard 239 people are missing.  Two oil slicks found off the coast of Thailand near where the aircraft disappeared.  So the prognosis does not look good.  I searched for the location of Devil's Sea but it is nowhere near the flight path of MH370.  Devil's Sea is off the coast of Japan near Tokyo.

I pray for the safety of all onboard.

Under The Weather

I am feeling under the weather.  It is hot and dusty.  I think the air is very unhealthy.  I can see the haze and smell the smoke.  So I go to the NEA website to check the PSI index and it show 42 well within the healthy range.  I find this hard to believe.  Maybe our PSI is not measuring the air quality we see and smell.  Maybe I am just too sensitive.  I am not sure if the index is to reassure ignorant person like me.  It sure does not make sense to me!

Starfruit Tree

My starfruit tree needs lots of water.  I water on alternate days and today I notice some of the leaves have turned yellow.  The drought is causing so much stress to the greenery.  The bushes and grass have turned brown along the PCN in most places.  Some areas under the shade of trees is still green.  This is how relentless the sun is.

I better give more water to my starfruit tree.  It was bearing fruits before the dry weather cause it to shrivel up and drop all the leaves and budding fruits.

Clementi Town Center

This afternoon, we go to Clementi Town Center for lunch.  The prices there are quite reasonable but the quantity is very little.  The Loh Mee in one of the coffee shops is excellent.  I also like the price of sugar cane drink.  There are many changes in Clementi town center.  I cannot recognised it anymore.  Nice high rise condo, suburban shopping malls and connected train station and bus terminal.  It is an amazing change.  The saddest thing for me is Clementi Bookstore is no longer in existence.  It used to sell University textbooks at very competitive prices.

Experimenting with Compost

I am not so successful in making compost.  It seems of rotting vegetation and the need to air it is important.  Maybe I shall keep it closed and let the anaerobic process complete it work.  Methane is form and this can be harness for gas.  I noticed that the seeds are quite tough.  They will sprout when I put the "compost" in my soil.  The organic material go through the process of decomposition.  There are fungus, maggots and other yuckly bugs.  Yet, the seeds did not break or are affected by the different organisms that thrive on breaking down the organic waste.

Stainless steel go through heat and fire.  Seeds go through smelly rotting muck.

Eccentric Ka Jie

Eccentric is a better word for a Ka Jie who thoughtlessly put her siblings in a spot.  Actually, she is not thoughtless, she is just volunteering other people without discussion or seeking their permission.  So in order to get out of the situation, you will offend a third party as she will offer your service right in front of the third party thus obligating you on purpose.

I recall a lunch with a colleague many years back in Yishun.  We were gossiping about another female colleague.  She caused a lot of issues in the office.  He finally said "you know, when woman don't get married by 35 years old, she become perculiar."  I remember laughing and told him he got it reverse!!  It is because the woman is perculiar which is why she is not married by 35 years old.

In England, old bachelors are usually called eccentric, rarely spinsters.  Well, Ka Jie is a piece of work:)

Presumptuous Ka Jie

Once upon a time, there was a couple.  This couple had many daughters and one son.  The son is a very previous thing.  But this is not about the boy.  It is the eldest daughter.  Eldest daughter is a very thrifty girl.  She works hard and is one of the most experienced person in her company.  She has some interesting traits.  Her friends like to borrow money from her and they do not return the money and she wouldn't dare to ask any of them to return the money she lend to them. 

Many years has passed and now the couple is quite old.  So they decided to go to China for tour.  Their eldest and youngest daughters being filial girls decide to see the old couple off in the airport. Eldest girl is a spinister and does not drive but youngest girl is married and husband drive a nice continental car.  So youngest girl volunteered to pick up her big sister aka Ka Jie(in Cantonese) somewhere in the east.  When they arrived at the pickup point, Ka Jie got in the posh continental car and instead of closing the door, she moved further in and another woman got in.  Ka Jie tells brother-in-law to send this woman to Bedok. 

Along the way, the conversation continues and the woman asked Ka Jie "excuse me, what is your name?"  It is very interesting that Ka Jie asked her brother-in-law to be a free taxi driver for a total stranger who she just spoke to for a few minutes at the bus stop.

What do you think of Ka Jie's action?  Should Ka Jie give a ride without asking the driver whether it is alright to detour?  Is Ka Jie presumptuous?  Is Ka Jie taking advantage of the brother-in-law who is offering her a ride?  Will a normal person offer to give ride to a total stranger?  Should the stranger take advantage of Ka Jie?  Or is the stranger testing whether Ka Jie's offer to give a ride real?