Closing of another Chapter

2014 is a year of air disasters in this region.  I hope they stopped at 3.  It is heartbreaking and also scary for a frequent traveller like me.  I hope 2015 bring new hope and economic improvements for Singaporeans and the world.  We are in a global village now.   It is quite depressing to read Transitioning.org as there are many fellow Singaporeans in dire straits and the PAP government seems quite callous.  Meritocracy or Survival of the Fittest yet, they have "business friendly" policies which do not protect workers.  They also bring in foreigners to replace my fellow Singaporeans.  I am very sorry for all that has been adversely impacted in their personal lives.

I hope the economic conditions will improve for all of us and also in the next election, positive changes can be made to improve living in Singapore.  We should be a global city that cares for its citizens.

Sad and Closure

It is a sad ending for Air Asia QZ8501.  Bodies and aircraft debris have been recovered.  Now there is a closure.  I am reminded not to take things for granted and be grateful for everyday.  I fly for my work, so it is a stark reminder of the possibility every time I leave home. 

May Buddha bless on all of us.

Chye Seng Paint Shop in AMK Ave 3

Chye Seng is just another shop along AMK Ave 3 and Ave 10.  We bought paint from them the first time I bought my first house in Goldenhill.  Unfortunately, I sold it for too soon and it enbloc.  I has a missed opportunity of a million bucks, maybe more.  This is water under the bridge.

Today, we went to Chye Seng again to buy paint to paint a wall in my living room.  I am amazed by the amount of paint it has and the number of trucks.  Chye Seng has both Nippon Paint and Dulux.  There are contractors who go there to get their supplies.  The amount of paint going through the shop is tremendous.  It is very successful.  If you need to get paint, I will say this is the paint shop to go to.

Edusave Award

B3 got an edusave award for $500.  B1 was envious as the award is much higher than his.  He got only $300 in his time.  My neighbour's daughter won the award too.  She is the top in Normal Sec 1 stream in CHIJ Toa Payoh.  Her mummy is so proud of her. 

After the award, we went to Airport Road Hawker Center for lunch.  The Thai Wanton mee there is pretty good.  We had fried kway teow that has a long queue opposite Tiong Bahru loh mee.  I did not think too highly of this kway teow.

Another Aircraft Lost Contact

This time it is Air Asia.  The frequency of aircraft "losing contact" is becoming alarming.  I hope they find the aircraft soon.  Weather nowadays is more turbulent and more aircrafts up in the air, more incidents.  However, when aircraft disappeared, it is scary.  I hope we find something.  I do not like Air Asia as I worry about safety.  However, this may be the first known incident.  So keeping my fingers crossed and my prayers to all the passengers and their loved ones.

Jay Chou's Concert

Mummy and two older boys are at Jay Chou's concert tonight.  It starts at 8pm.  Traffic is so heavy.  It is incredible.  I did not know that it is so popular.  Luckily, B3 and I stayed at home.  Mummy sent me a video of the crowd.  It is really something.  What a nightmare to go but it is awesome for those who enjoys the energy of the crowd.  I am glad I am at home relaxing and in front of the computer instead of in the madding crowd.

We did not travel for holiday, so this is the replacement for holiday which is quite interesting as well.

Boxing Day

She is wanted the Anna Sui bag from UOB.  So I have to charge my payments using UOB credit card.  She was scrambling to make sure she has all the receipts to show to the counter.  We took a long time to get ready.  Finally, we go and CTE has huge traffic jams due to the holiday season.  We park at Centrepoint.  When we were there, the man offerred two bags making my wife happy. 

I had not been to Centrepoint for a long time.  But now it is not so nice as before.  Times bookstore is so small, Sanur is gone, Teochew resturant is gone and Metro is the anchor tenant.  I like the old Robinson.  It was nice to window shop.  Only Cold Storage is good for me to browse.  The Mandarin Hotel Chicken rice is gone too.  So we go to Orchard Point for Japanese lunch instead.  MPH is having sales as well, so I may visit Raffles City.  Nowadays, even I feel sian about books.

For dinner, I made a duck salad using the sesame dressing same as what B3 liked for his Japanese lunch. 

Christmas Day

Seems like not so good a day.  Although it is relaxing, I bicker and was accused of being quarrelsome.  We had a early start with my father-in-law bringing us to the jetty.  But it was low tide and there are no boat.  So we were out of luck.  We saw two giant mudskippers as the jetty was very swampy. 

I bought lots of fruits from Chong Pang market.  I like competition as the fruit stalls has good variety and reasonable price.  R2E2 mangoes from Australia is in season.  Jackfruit is now $5/kg instead of $5.50.  Spanish persimmons is $2 each and $5 for 3.  I loved fruits as they are sweet and healthy.  Only issue is high calories and therefore it is hard to reduce weight.  I need to consume more vegetables instead.

In the afternoon, B1 and B2 went out with their female friend to watch movies.  I go with B3 to try the NeNe Korean chicken.  The price is high for sweet sour style chicken.  So I am not likely to patronise this stall frequently.

Penang Food in Terminal 2

I arrived the airport too early but it is fine.  I could have more sleep but worried about the traffic as it is weekday.  The ride is about half an hour, so it is fine.  Flight was delayed by an hour.  So Jetstar is not so good.  I heard the annoucements for Tiger, seems like there is no delay.  The captain did not explain why the plane was delayed.

When I land, the family wants to have lunch here.  They actually wanted Paparich or Papamia.  They told me it is in T2.  I was at one end of the terminal 1 and walked for more than 20 mins to get to the skytrain to get to T2.  Then I found that Papamia is not there.  Instead Penang food.  So I decided to try.  The food is just average.  I decided not to go back to this Penang taste.  Papamia is way better.

Vibrant Bangkok

After a long day of visiting customers, we arrived Intercon at about 8 pm.  After some time, I managed to get my room and then my colleague and I went to the bookshop.  In the long ride, we talked a lot.  He goes to the library often when he was in Engineering school.  We talked about a different view of life and work.  He got interested in some of the things I do.  So he asked me what books to read.  I recommended my two classics - How to Win Friends and Influence People and Think and Grow Rich. 

So we head to Kinokuniya in Isetan and looked for the two books.  Then he says you are not coming for a long time.  So wanted me to recommend more books.  So I took out the How Will You Measure Your Life by Clayton Christiansen and It is Not How Good You are, It is How Good You Want to be.

4 books should be enough.  I recommend he reads the two classics twenty times.

On the way back to the hotel, we took the skyway and it is awesome.  The lights are incredible.  I took some pictures.  I should post them once I get my phone transfer right.

Hua Hin

I arrived my hotel past midnight.  We have been driving all day.  From Suvarnabhumi airport to Northeast Thailand and then back past Bangkok to Hua Hin.  Thailand is a big country.  Interesting day and very long from up at 5am to going to bed past 2am home time. 

I had a leisurely breakfast in the hotel.  The sea has awesome powers and the horizon is clearly curved.  Walking around the hotel ground, I feel more relaxed.  I should bring my family here for a couple of days.  Wora Bura Resort is a nice place and reasonable in price during off season.  The room rate for me is 3 times the usual rate as it is peak season now.  The resort is filled with ang mohs.  The staff wears traditional Thai costumes like palace staff.  So it is quite different experience.  I have not see outside as this hotel is deep in.  So walking out will not be possible as I have to go to work soon.  I have another long day ahead and then to Bangkok for the night before taking first flight home on Wednesday.

Off Early Tomorrow

I have to get up early at 5am tomorrow to go to Thailand.  I am glad to be back on Christmas Eve.  It will be long day of travel by land as well.  I understand it will take 3 hours to get to the customers location.  I am looking forward to visit food factories.  This is new for me.

Kin Kin Chilli Pan Mee (Handmade Noodle)

B1 is the one to try newfangled things.  Kin Kin was on the news for long queue.  Now that it's been awhile, we expect the heat to die down.  True enough, when we went, there are plenty of seats.  We were there before 12.  The noodles were quite good.  The bowls were huge but the noodles are not in big serving.  It is slightly bigger serving than those in hawker centers.  The price is reasonable at $5 per bowl, almost same price as food courts. 

The taste is not wow but still of high standards.  So I would say it is good value for money.  The problem is too much msg and we felt very thirsty and had 3 rounds of drinks after lunch.

No Google, No Blogs, No Wordpress

I missed all reading my regular blogs and opinions in the cyber universe for a week.  Living in China is like living a black hole.  Electronic information is controlled and limited.  Good thing is I read magazines and a book I bought in Korea. 

A number of my favorite sites are inaccessible as they are not permitted in the Chinese universe.  Luckily, TRE is still available.

It is a long week with all the stress meetings and having a long to do list.  The new world is a massively hard life.  Everyone is overworked and stressed to death.  We had good fun among ourselves when boss is not in.

Alexander Village Zichar

We like the Zichar coffeeshop in Alexander Village.  There are two popular stalls that were regularly featured.  We prefers the one beside the Ang Ku Kueh stall.  We had salted egg prawns, king pork ribs,tofu in claypot, porkbelly in claypot, vegetable with 3 eggs in superior soup and fried hor fun.  We ordered too much but enjoy the food a lot.  The pork belly in claypot is a new dish but it was too salty.

It is nice to go to zichar stall and have more exotic homecooked food. 

Starbucks 1-for-1 Deal

B1 and B3 is very keen on the Starbucks bogof deal.  It will be B3 first "Starbucks Experience".  They ordered a cold Christmas drink which is laden with high calories and tasted like coffee flavored ice cream.  I had a hot drink.  The deal is very popular and the queue is perpetually long since we arrived which was about 8pm.  I brought a Baldacci book and sat there to read while B1 and B3 wandered the mall.

Many families went to get the deal as well.  It is good family pre-Christmas treat.  I enjoyed the time reading in Starbucks.  It is noisy and crowded but I am in the fantasy world of spies and assassins.

Secret Singapore

This is a tv program that I watched after dinner.  It is about the re-discovered reservoir in Keppel Hill Road, Telok Blangah.  It is interesting.  There is a well worn pathway, so people are still going to the place.  Only because the "discoverer" publicize in the the mass media that it become famous as a forgotten place.  The other place that was in the program is the cemetery in Holland Road.  There is a Hakka temple and a semi-circular pond that is full of Koi.  I know the place well since I walked past it several times before.  It is called Shangrila by a visiting Professor.  The place is tranquil and quiet even though Commonwealth Ave is right beside it.

I like this program as it promotes the places I know or grew up in.

Poor Business for Compass Point

Welcome to Seletar Mall!  We are happy to walk to a mall that we need not drive and look for parking.  Save petrol and save parking fees.  Walking has health benefits too. 

Interestingly, I met Raymond, the guy I meet in a distributor event in Seoul.  He told me he lives near the mall.  True enough, when I was on the escalator up, he was carrying his boy on the escalator down. I say hi and goodbye at the same time.  Life is a mall for us Singaporeans.

We went to Compass Point to check up on the varieties of ham available for Christmas.  First, there we managed to park in Basement 1.  Then the queue in Cold Storage was reasonable.  We asked the cashier and she told us the last two weeks business had slowed.  So the Seletar Mall has an immediate impact.  The food court is still busy but at least seats are available and no need to stand behind people finishing their lunch.

We are happy to have a mall in the neighbourhood.

Reflection: Am I better Now Than 8 years Ago?

Life has ups and downs.  We all know this.  Overall, the trend should be an improvement.  Why?  Because as an employee, we have to grow our employer's sales, profits and customer base.  We have economic growth as a country. 

Singapore has achieve the GDP growth in the past 8 years.  Most of our employers have grown their business for the past 8 years.  Our disposable income has not grown.  Our job insecurity has grown dramatically.  Our pro-business policies protect the employers and leave me vulnerable.  To fight any unjust dismissal I have to pay the lawyer with my own money to sue my employer.  Who can afford to do this?

I am unable to unlock my CPF.  So as I reflect on this question, the answer is not straightforward.  But it is clear.  With influx for foreign immigrants, our common space has strunk.  Our ability to communicate in local dialects or English in the F&B outlets is limited.  The doctors treating me in the hospitals do not understand me.

So I know I am not better than 8 years ago.

Men At Work

I feel like I need a sign like the roadside sign with a man digging a hole to let traffic slow down and take notice on the road repairs or whatever(maybe laying cable).  I have been very busy working on my presentation for next Saturday.  I am glad I have to skeleton done up.

Will be travelling on coming Sunday but what to do.  My new company work differently and I have come back on Saturday but I refused and booked my flight on Friday afternoon.  Too many weekends off work is unhealthy for family life.  I just lost last Saturday and will lose my Sunday.

I do not know why employers like to drive employees to the ground.  I cannot keep losing my weekends.

Mamma Mia

We have only this week to go for holiday.  B2 starts his attachment in Ernest & Young tomorrow.  I had to go to Seoul for work.  So in lieu of this week, we decided to spend the money on live show.  So B1 check out and bought the cheapest ticket which is about hundred each and we went to Marina Bay Sands Grand Theatre to watch Mamma Mia.  The musical follows the same plot or thread of the movie by the same title.

It is a dog and pony show and I fell asleep several times.  B1 fell asleep once.  Overall it is not bad.  Mummy and B3 enjoy the show most.  B2 was trying to focus.

The chairs are straight back and quite uncomfortable to sit for long time.   I don't think I will be going back.  Mummy is very motivated and she may have to go with B3 or B1.  She likes the music and dancing.  I, on the other hand need actions and thrills. 

Freezing Cold Indeed!

My blogger friend drop a comment "It must be freezing in Seoul at this time of the year.". 

He is absolutely right!  It was so cold that I did not take my usual walk around the hotel.  Going for 30+ to minus 2 celcius is no fun.  I go to the supermarket next door to buy a pack of seaweed and butter biscults.  The less than 1 min walk was killing me!  So I just stay in my room to read my novel.  I am glad I took the book along.  I managed to finish The Camel Club just before I landed Changi Airport.

This is why I like to stay in a hotel with a big mall beside.  Winter or not, I can pass time to walk about.  In Holiday Inn, it is an old area with rows of shop houses.  So it is exposed and since I do not bring all my winter gear i.e. scarf, gloves, thermal pants and different types of sweaters, it is difficult to stay outside for long.

Next freezing place will be Shanghai.

Good Day!

I had a good day of work.  Start the morning with training. Had Korean Chinese lunch with the team.  The food is good.  We had deep fried pork and deep fried chicken.  I had soup.  So I ate red bean bun which was pretty good. 

After lunch it was meeting with MRO or material requisition organisation.  Pretty good meeting as well as the manager agrees to help us.   Then my customer come to the office in the evening to meet us.  We had a very good meeting. 

In the evening, I had dinner by myself in the hotel and then spend time reading and blogging.  It is a fitting end of a good day.

COEX Mall

The COEX mall is totally revamped and there are a lot less shops.  The walkways are wide and bright but the way around is no longer a discovery.  The pathway to the different place like Hyundai dept store or to the train station has only one entrance.  The shops are a lot bigger.  Many stores still not opened yet.  A lot less variety of F&B.  So overall, I do not like it as much as the old mall which has character.  This reminds me of Robinson changeover from Centerpoint to the current location in Heeren.  The messy chaotic mood is gone.  Very bright, avant garde, neon coloured cookware and accessories but not so run of mill anymore.  The bakery, pharmacy, knicknats, stationery are gone.  So are the convenience stores.  I think the rents have gone up dramatically.  It is sad in the name of progress. 

Resturants Hopping in Seletar Mall

Finally, we decided to try out the resturants in Seletar Mall.  We had late lunch in a Japanese fusion place.  The food is just average and price is quite high.  B2 wanted to try as it is a new resturant for us.  Mummy was against it but I relented as I am not hungry anyway.  Since the food is not so good, we had our dessert in Swensen as it was past two when we finished our lunch.  At 2:30pm, Swensen has happy hour in which you get a sundae free for every sundae you order.  There is also a tea set for $5, you get 3 ciabatta with sweetened whipped butter serve warm.  It is crunchy outside, soft and creamy inside.  I love this and will come back for more. 

The Song Bak Kut Teh is so popular with long queue every time we go to the mall.  I had the Bak Kut Teh in North Bridge Road.  It is not bad but full of msg and not good value for money.

Focus on Work

My boys are trying to go on holiday.  B1 keeps asking about my departure and flight details.  I am impatient and do not want to be disturbed.  I like to stay focus on work.  I have plenty of travel ahead.  I do not enjoy travelling for leisure when I have to do it for work.  Leisure is staying at home.  My family needs to go out as they are suffering from cabin fever.