Coin Operated Laundry

My wife is fastidious.  We are without maid for a couple of weeks but she insist on vaccuuming and cleaning up the house, doing the laundry as well as working.  So her hobby is sacrificed.  I thought since no maid, we do not need to wash the bedsheets as often but no, she took out all the bedsheets and pillow slips totalling almost 12kgs.  We went to a coin operated laundry to wash.  It is pretty interesting business model.  Five washing machines and 4 dryers.  Opened 24 hours since it is like a reverse ATM where you put money in.  It worked pretty well actually.  So I thought of setting one up myself.  I am not sure if it is profitable.  But the owner came by to check and we chat her up.  She collects the money and then check on the detergents.  So it looked like a pretty easy way to make money.  Using a industrial washer and dryer, the whole process is about one hour fifteen minutes.  Pretty good compared to domestic washing usually take up to two hours to wash and another two hours to dry.

With today's experience however, The Wife decided to cut a deal with Harvey Norman and we bought a 13 kg LG washing machine and an obsolete dryer for a bargain price.  We bought additional 3 years warranty which cost use another $240.  Working for Radio Shack in Canada, I know the additional warranty is pure profit.  However, since my washing machine are used my our domestic help who abuse all our machine, I thought it is good to get guaranteed use for 5 years.

Bak Kut Teh

I did not eat in the aircraft.  So I am hungry by dinner time.  I was thinking of satay.  Then B1 wanted healthy meal with soup.  Then he suggested bak kut teh.  I had no pork for this week in Turkey.  Plenty of kebab but no meat.  So off we go.  To Tiong Bahru market bak kut teh shop.  The place was quiet empty at night.  I ordered a bunch of dishes.  The usual tau pok, stewed cabbage, bak kut teh, stewed pork leg, stewed large intestines, stewed small intestines and liver soup.  The food is pretty good and I enjoyed it a lot with my family.

The bill comes to almost $75.  This is $25 per head which explains why this place is not popular at night.  I think you get a decent zhi char for the same price and get a complete Chinese homestyle of 3 dishes and a soup dinner.

After one week of deprivation, it is nice to eat our local food.

Last Day

Eating out of the hotel is so much better.  Istanbul is a great city for meat eaters.  The resturants serves kebabs, meatballs and all kinds of bbq meats.  I think I will take a walk to the neighbourhood and see how the locals lived.  Last night, dinner was at a resturant within walking distance.  I did not do my usual walks.  Others had and knows the place.

I think I should walk around the neighbourhood to get a feel of the Istanbul's suburbs as it is my last day here.  This time the schedule is so packed and no free time is scheduled in.  It is the new company culture.  Anyway, like everyone else, I am tired of the meats here.  I want to eat my Teochew braised duck!

Outlet Mall

I went to the Outlet Mall with my Aussie colleagues.  They want to do shopping.  I went along as one of the colleagues is a local who is working in Australia.  I enjoy the kebab much more in the resturant.  It is still lamb and the flavor is quite strong.  I asked for chicken wings and they were fabulous.  My most satisfying meal so far.  I did not look around as they are all branded goods which is not my interest.  There is a book shop but the books are in Turkish language.  I enjoyed the company of my colleagues.  It is good to just get to know them.

Old City

Team building exercise is tour of the Old City.  The tour guide told us Istanbul is Constantinople.  This brought memories of my history lessons in Secondary school.  The great empire, however since history is not my favorite subject, I could not recall much details.  Unlike science, I can still remember lots of formulae and chemical reactions. 

Touring the Old city makes me want to read the history books again but I know once I get home, day to day routine will make me forget of my desire to refresh my history lessons. 

Istanbul has the Asian side and European side.  The Asian side is the newer part of the city.  The food culture here is meat and vegetable varieties are quite limited.  So their food choices are nothing like back home.  So it is easy to be bored by their food. 

Listening All Day Long

I did not have much exercise.  It is just eating and sitting all day long.  I am bored even though some of the sessions are not bad.  But listening when there is jetlag is a sleepy experience.  I am glad today is over.  Nice to just have a break to update my blog.

I am tired of the food in the hotel.  It is exactly the same everyday and for 3 meals.  So boring.  I had plenty of salad and it is good to feel a healthy eating!

Sitting on my Butt

It is sitting on my butt all day today.  I am glad it is over and now getting ready for dinner.  The time difference is not too bad at 5 hours.  But listening to people talking all day long is quite taxing and make me feel like sleeping.  I am glad to have time to blog.  I should take a walk around the hotel, it will be nice to get a feel of the place.  The weather is very nice and cool.  I should get my heart pumping and my back hurts due to sleeping on a soft bed.

The Green Park Pendik

After almost 20 hours of travelling, we finally arrive at our hotel.  The good thing about travelling with some colleages in the same flight we get to learn from each other's experience and the company make it easier to while the transit time.  The traffic in Istanbul is bad on Sunday afternoon.  I cannot imagine how it will be like on a weekday rush hour.  The weather is nice.  We are at the seaside.  A Turkish colleague now living in Australia is back home for holiday for a couple of weeks.  It is good for him as he has not been back home for 3 years.  The hotel we are staying is a convention center as there are between 400 and 500 participants for this meeting.  It is interesting to meet lots of colleagues from Europe.  The experience is different from my meeting in US.  We have like 50 or 60 two years ago.  Today, I am now part of a big company.

The convention center is in the middle of nowhere.  The program is full, so I do not know if I can explore the surrounding a bit.  I enjoys walking to malls and shops near the hotel but this time I think there is no such luck.

Istanbul, Here I Come

I dislike flying at night but no choice as I am going to Istanbul.  The flights are usually at night.  My flight is at 12:50am and this time I am flying Emirates.  Singapore Airlines refuses to acknowledge my email of feedback from other passengers in the internet.  Now the Straits Times saying how great Singapore Airlines is in paying small money to tie up with F1.  Why not spend money on making the service better?

Cycling with My Boy

B1 asked if I am cycling at about 3pm.  It was blazing hot.  I told him of course but not now.  He replied "ya! of course!!"  We cycled at the PCN at half past five.  I enjoys cycling with B1.  We will have conversation about family, work or trivials.  It is good bonding.  We went to Punggol Point and cirle around.  It is a good ride.

Success Story

I am glad to have a success story at work yesterday.  Today, it has been circulated around the world basically.  My colleague and I are like headline news!  It was a lucky break!  We have been working on the account for several weeks and it culminated to a successful switchover.  I am happy to have a Chicken Soup story.  I also enjoyed a good Thai meal after our meeting.  So it is a nice finish.

Thai Resturant in Bedok Point

Today, I lunch with a colleague at Bedok Point.  The resturant was recommended by Sumiko Tan, one of my favorite columnist.  The food is not bad.  I had wanton mee and my colleague had rice with a bunch of stuff.  We share a mango salad and braised pig trotters.  It is quite good.  I had Thai iced tea which is sweet and strong as usual.   Bedok Point is a tiny strip mall and has mostly resturants.  The carpark is extremely small.  So if you are there for lunch, then be prepared to wait for car park.

Peach Garden Thomson

Tonight I have dinner at Peach Garden in Thomson Plaza.  It is DBS invitation on Legacy Planning.  The title is a misnomer.  It is actually selling Insurance.  Universal Life Insurance.  The dinner is not bad but not as good as I would expect from Peach Garden.  I had a meal in Peach Garden before.  It was quite good.  The food is not bad but unlike before.  I may be just nostalgic.  Also the food is served individual portion.  So this may be why it did not taste as good.  I like communal eating but respecting hygiene.

The Universal Life Insurance sounds interesting.  So we may explore a bit more.

Only One Crab Left Standing

After four days, I am sad to report only one crab left alive.  The shrimps, hermit crabs and fishes all died and the water smells terrible.  I fed the large hermit crab to the arowana.  It was still moving slightly and was eaten up immediately.  However, the shrimps sank to the bottom uneaten.  I have no idea why.  I need to figure out why and then try again.  Maybe due to lack of food, maybe insufficient water, maybe the sea anemone died poisoning the water and killing the rest.  The ecosystem is so fragile.  There is much to learn.

Punggol Seafood

Low tide this morning, so we drove to Punggol Point for our weekly "exercise".  Mummy is the one who really needs to exercise.  Meanwhile, B3 is there to catch more baby crabs and sea anemone.  Unfortunately, the tide was coming in, so he did not catch any shrimp.  However, he managed to catch 3 baby fishes.  Overall, it is still fun for him.  Meanwhile, I was happy just to help him overturn some of the stones and catch bigger crabs as he is worried they will pinch him with their pincers.  What I am really happy with is they are all still surviving in our little tank.  It is very gratifying to see a tiny aquarium that works.  The water is clear and hermit crabs still scuttling about.  The shrimps are transparent and hard to see.  I realise as long as the water is circulating and the creatures are tiny, the ecosystem works as their feeding requirements are tiny and waste does not poison the water they are in.

We went home to shower and change and I went for my dental checkup for implant.  They are healing nicely.  So it is time for lunch and I decided to bring my boys to try the famous Punggol Seafood resturant's Mee Goreng.  We ordered the largest which is $16.  Together with a medium soup and a medium pork ribs, the lunch costs $76.  We did not even order any seafood as the price was high.  I estimate a regular meal with seafood with cost at least $250 for us.  So I decided on the economy version.

Happy

The afternoon, we went to the seaside to collect more seawater for the tank.  I am very happy the crabs and shrimps survived so far.  This mean I could start a salt water aquarium for free.  It is just crabs, hermit crabs and shrimps.  I like the fact now I know how to keep to take care of them and keep them alive.  I have to figure out how to keep them in the outdoor under rain and shine.  Then I have an ecosystem.

This is like a biology experiment and success is hard to achieve.

Sea Aquarium

This morning is low tide at 7:20am.  B3 wanted to go and catch crabs.  So I woke him up early and we went to Punggol Point.  He managed to catch a few crabs and shrimps.  He also caught a few hermit crabs.  Very quickly, the tide start coming in.  He put all the live creatures together with the sea water into a plastic love letter container.  Yes, we save love letters containers to put them to good use.  I put in a pump and with aeration, the sea creatures are kept alive and the water remains fresh and has no smell. 

This is like our own sea aquarium for free!

Photos in my Office

I decorated my office with photos with my boys when they were young.  Today, all the photos are electronic and I do not print them at all.  Looking at the photos it fun.  I was so young.  My boys were so cute and adorable.  I remember plenty of joys taking care of them and bringing them out for simple pleasure like walking the park or going to the playground.  Even today, B3 is still so excited about going to the seaside to catch crabs. 

Watching from far is very enjoyable to see my boy so excited and engrossed.  This is what family is about.

Low Tide at Punggol Point

This evening, B3 decided to join me in cycling.  He usually prefers to watch his videos at home.  We go to the PCN as usual.  At Punggol Point, I decided to take short break.  B3 explore the man-made pond as there are many terrapins released there.  Then he go to the beach and notice a man with blue pail digging for stuff.  So he observed the muddy area and noticed movements.  He saw tiny creatures scampering about.  They were hermit crabs.  He managed to catch two.  He also caught two almost transparent prawns and was very happy to bring them home.  He had fun with nature.  I enjoyed the ride with him.

Dying Fishes

The goldfishes and mollys are dying in the pond.  I wonder what is happening.  The outdoor pond is only using rainwater.  So is the rainwater getting toxic for the fishes?  I wonder if it is the pollution or maybe due to regular fogging which may leave residue toxins into the pond.  Luckily, the arowana is strong and have a steady diet of dead goldfishes.  I felt terrible with my fishes passing.  I wonder what I can do.  The pond has an oversize filter with bio-treatment.  Maybe it is time to clear the filters.

Headache

I woke up in the middle of the night with a headache and has this headache still even though I took two painkillers in the morning.  Is it the Japanese bbq?  It is very possible the food is causing problem.  I may be allergic to some ingredients in the sauce or marinades.

Accident

Today, during lunch time at the car park in Ang Mo Kio, I reversed into another car and dented its bumper and my own.  I left my number and the guy called me at about 9pm.  I was busy with a guest.  Will talk to him tomorrow to settle the case.  I was not paying attention while reversing.  The damage will cost me money.  Sigh!

Internet Made It Easy

I have guests from New Zealand.  Tomorrow night, I will go dinner with them.  I am wondering where to go and what to eat.  The Hai Tien Lo is very expensive and did not have good reviews.  I tried to search for other places.  It was not so easy.  Jumbo is gone from Fullerton.  Only Palm Beach left and it is a long walk.  So I check out Millenia Walk.  It looked pretty good.  German resturant, Miss Saigon, Japanese BBQ and Outback.  So I think we will go over to Millenia Walk for dinner tomorrow.  I am glad it is so much easier to look for entertainment options especially with reviews to help narrow the choices.

Flourish!

I loved audio books.  I just started on Flourish by Martin Seligman.  He is famous for Authentic Happiness.  He is now saying pursuit of Happiness is incomplete and insufficient to explain about life.  We need more, we need purpose, achievement, flow and other parameters.  He cited other famous psychologist/philosoper or psychriatrist who suggest a singular theory to the pursuit of happiness.  There is an inherent issue as our life is a lot more complex.  The example he use is he may listen to a 6 years old playing piano not because he enjoys it but because the child playing is his and it is his responsibility to take care of and look after the child as a parent.

I am still at the beginning of the book and it is difficult to recall all the details without written words to refer to.  I may buy the book in future when there is a discount.

Nanyang Seaview

Our black mollys were dying.  It may be due to the terrapin food I was giving them.  So my wife insisted to switch to fish food.  So we went to Nanyang Seaview in Jalan Kayu to buy the fish food.  The goldfishes were on special.  So we bought a pair of black goldfishes and a pair of lionhead red goldfishes.  I am glad they are doing well in the tank.  B3 wanted a lobster.  It is $1.20 so I let him have one.  He is smart to put it in a separate tank with a pipe so that it got used to the home before letting it go to the main tank.  It actually moulted.  It has not escape yet.  Most of the lobsters we caught run away very quickly in the outdoor tank.

Nanyang Seaview has a good range of fishes, food and supplies for aquarium.  We like going there. But the mollys are a dollar each whereas in Pasir Ris/Lorong Halus, they are only 40 cents each.

B2 Sending Off His Classmate

After dinner, B2 went to airport to send his classmate off to Paris.  The flight is at 11pm and we went there at 8:30.  There were a big group of friends sending him off.  His parents were there and were all excited.  His mum keeps worrying about him not able to take care of himself.  She keeps reminding him about wearing warmly and putting on the lip balms etc.  All mothers like to fuss over their boys.  It is universal.

B1 and I had drink and chendol at Papamia, a coffeeshop style resturant in T1.  We had a good chat about his friends not sharing notes and coming up with lies.  It is terrible that these people are going to be the top lawyers in future.

Old Songs

I like old songs.  I used to buy CDs and even today I buy CD as the price has dropped.  Recently, I bought a microSD card with 600 old songs for $15.  It is an incredible deal.  It can only be played on MP3 players.  I hardly play my CDs on my CD player or Bose system anymore.  All my CDs are transferred to the computer and then to my phone.

So the SD card version is very good especially MP3 players are quite cheap.  Only problem is I cannot transfer the songs to my phone.

$40 million

China man get himself to be the executor of the old lady's $40 million home.  This old lady is in my neighbourhood.  She was on the news many years back when she and her husband sold their garden for $7.2 million.  They built a swimming pool after.  Today, their house is worth $40 million and a China man bring his family here to live in this old lady's house.  What a gall!  It is very scary that this kind of things can happen.  They living in someone else house and eventually wanted to take possession of the house. 

A Good Day

It is nice to end the day with a positive note.  Today, I had lunch with B3's classmate mum.  Actually the lunch is with B3's mummy.  Since I was there, I joined them for a while.  The classmate is in Raffles Girls School.  She is the Class Chairman.  She is quite smart and actually very cute when she was in Primary School.  I like her.  B3 and her are best friends when they were in P4.  They gone their separate ways when she left for Cedar.  Today, she is doing well in her school and so is B3.  We are quite happy to compare notes especially since both our kids are adjusting to secondary school well. 

Dinner time, the 7pm soap opera has a good turn where the evil CEO was exposed.  I like shows with good endings.  It is good fantasy and teaching that all evil deeds will be found out eventually.

We finished our dinner with hami melon that my father-in-law bought and we split half each.  We took the bigger half as he has only two oldies to eat.  The hami melon was very sweet.  The only problem is it was a China fruit which sometimes we worry about additives.

Low Backache

I am having backaches after falling down from the bike a week ago.  I fell with goldfishes I bought.  Today, some of the goldfishes died.  Maybe it take a week for the shock to take effect.  It also may be the carbon I put in.  The carbon was in my fridge for a few months.  It had absorbed lots of bad stuff in my fridge.  So I took out all the carbon.  I hope my fishes will continue to do well.  The dead fishes became food for my arowana.

I am doing core muscle exercise to strengthen my trunk.  I hope I will recover soon...