Meeting New Friend and Old Friend

It is just food and more food. I just took a little food from everyone when I ate dinner tonight. It is good to go easy on my food intake. I do not feel guilty and I had a lot of snacks anyway i.e. white coffee gurang manis, rojak and kaya toast plus plenty of nuts!

I managed to meet some old friends in KL this time and met a new friend from Thailand as well. So I had fun and enjoys chatting on family, books and office gossips.

Good Meeting

We had a good meeting today. Everyone in the team did well. Not sure if it is just typical American way who loved to give positive feedback. Sincerity is always hard to gauge. My personal assessment is the everyone did great and help in the positive outcome of our recent performance.

The heat is on with our new target. We are going to perform miracles moving forward.

Office Stories

I am a believer in MBWA or Management by Walking About. I talk to my colleagues whenever I am in town. I learn two of my colleagues had to be hospitalised for stress-related issues. One of them twice. After hearing the stories, my stress issue is relatively minor. Or the other possibility is my ability to cope is better. One of my colleagues suggested it may be my mode of working. It may be possible but I think exercise and plenty of snacks help me cope with stress.

The office team and I had good meals as usual. Lunch was Penang food. I had fried mee sua, chicken lobak, mango salad, fruit rojak and a drink that come with a sng buay. HK suggested Indian food for dinner. We had curry mutton steaks, dry curry mutton, curry chicken, fried chicken, fried pigeon, fried fish, fried cuttlefish with rice and vegetables on a banana leaf. All of us enjoys the food very much. I had mango lassie for drink and also tried their chappati and paper thosai.

Sitting on my butt, eating delicious food with ravenous appetite is recipe for weight gain. I managed to buy my snacks - nuts and preserved guava for the stimulating saliva glands, I have plenty of exercise to do once I returned home. This is a rare time I am out on such a long trip to KL. I have to control my calorie intake before I balloon out of control.

It's a Happening Place

The Curve is incredibly busy place on a Sunday evening. This is the first time I am here on Sunday. My flight was late, so I arrived late for dinner.
I was in a rush after dinner and did not go to the supermarket to get drinks and snacks. It is important to keep me going as I work. Now I am hungry for something. Guess I will need to get some stuff tomorrow. My bad habit which helps increase my weight. It is getting late. I should go to bed for an early breakfast meeting.

The Kate and Will Story

I feel so much better after a good night's sleep. It is pouring. So my newspaper will be late today. Meanwhile on TV's Channel 5, the love story of Kate and William. Their growing up years, what schools Kate go to, their common interests - love of countryside, same charities they go to, same course in University...

Kate's parents started a business in mail order party and was very successful and earned a lot of money. With the money, they put Kate into a private school and start her into a different path in the country where one's social standing is determined by birth.

Kate has a boyfriend in University and so did Will. It was during a charity show that is the watershed for their relationship. Kate wore a see-through dress and was very sexy on the catwalk. Will was like...hmmm! this is my future queen!!

Great Singapore Sales

GSS is on and prices are marked down. We have to buy a baby full month gift and it is great. 20% off in OG. Resturants joined in the sales as well and many deals are for the taking. Of course it make all of us spend more money. It is good for the economy. May not be good for Mother Earth with more consumption.

I am not feeling well. It may be the yam dessert. I suspect the coconut milk that come with it. I have cold sweats and dizzyness. I shall go to bed now. Goodnite....

Life - BBC Earth

This documentary is screened on Octo at 9 tonight. B3 enjoys the show a great deal. He is talking and commenting to me all the time while I work. I have to tell him that daddy is working and needed to concentrate. Tonight programme is on reptiles and amphibians. It is very interesting to see survival techniques of frogs, lizards and the hunters like snakes. The show ends with komodo dragon biting a water buffalo and waiting for three weeks for the buffalo to die. They then stripped the buffalo to the bones in 4 hours. It is horrible sight. "You do not need to see Jurassic Park to know how dinosaurs rule the earth. It is all here." Yucks!

For Bad Service and Miserable Times - Nandos!

Joanne Peh and her boyfriend stormed out of Nandos resturant. Last August, I had similar experience in Nandos, Bugis Junction. I am not a celebrity. So no one bothered. I am surprised Nandos is still around. I hope people get tired of the horrid service Nandos gave to its customers. I do not know why so many people are desperate and put up being treated badly for a piece of chicken.

Yes, I swear never to step into Nandos again. It is the place to go if you want to feel like sh*t and be treated like sh*t. This is the first time I used swear word in my blog. It is so bad that I feel so emotionally charged recalling my experience over the meal.

It will be good riddance when the resturant chain go OB (out-of-business).

The Happiness Hypothesis

I am listening to the audiobook but it seems like I am not registering the content well. Maybe it was the fighter planes making a lot of noise. Maybe my mind is just preoccupied. I only hear the "elephant and the rider". I have no idea what or who is the elephant or who is the rider. I remember cognitive therapy is a successful and went against the prevailing treatment that follows Freudian school of psychotherapy.
So to write more about this book I check out the book in the website. I realised why it did not register with me. It has a list of 10 ancient wisdom on life. I read all about them. So it did not offer me anything new or different. Just selecting what the author felt are the best ways to achieve happiness.
This book is highly recommended. So it is worth having a copy in your personal library.

New Tires

I have to replace my tires as one of them has a screw penetrating through. The threads were worn thin as well. 4 tires cost $440. Alignment cost another $40. Then I add shock absorbers stiffeners for $160. The whole service cost almost $700 after adding GST. I hope the new tires last. It is costly to replace with rubber price keep reaching new high. The odometer now reads 42,000km. The new Dunlop tires are supposed to last 60,000 km. I hope they really do.

Excellent News But...

I am trying to think what have I done. I am busy. Busy but not accomplishing much. The good news I have today is we won new business worth half a million to six hundred thousands US annually. It is good news indeed! Yet, I did not jumped with joy or feel exhilarated.

I enjoys reading and learning. I am a perpetual student. Learning, developing and growing is a value I instill in my team at work.

The Happiness Hypothesis

I borrowed this audiobook from National Library. I am rather unhappy these days and is seeking ways to change my emotional state. I remember a conversation I had with a colleague in Toronto on a ride to a service call. He was very knowledgeable in a lot of the Eastern Philosophy and it surprises me that a white guy know so much about Eastern thoughts. So I asked how come he is so knowledgeable. He told me that he had a lot of unhappy times. So he read a lot of Western Philosophy trying to get answers and then he turns to Eastern Philosophy. He reads to find out why he is unhappy and how to fix his unhappiness.

I read a lot on Tao, Buddhism, Chuang Tzu, meditations, Zen and other esoteric subjects when I was young. Many a times, I wonder why am I born to suffer, study, work and then die. Lao Tzu and Tao De Jing is one of the best that make me feel happy with poems like Sitting, Sitting, the Grass grows Green. Mountains will be mountains and White Clouds will be white clouds.

Today, the Positive Psychology or professors come up with their own recipes for Happiness. I am just on disk 1 of The Happiness Hypothesis. The western way is to do research. The first "proven" way is volunteering. Volunteering is like taking Prozac according to the author. It get rid of depression. Unlike Prozac, the effect stops the moment you stop taking the drug, the effects of volunteering continues even after you have stop all the volunteer work.

Water Pump Replaced

The water pump in my pond finally gave up. It has been pumping 24/7 for almost 7 years. The rotator center was so worn out that it has become a slot rather than a round cylindrical hole. I had bought a pump wrongly before and it cost me $160 from the nursery in Thomson Road. I was a little reluctant to back there to get to be ripoff again. Luckily, my wife reminded me that about the nursery near my home. We went there and the selection was limited to one brand. So I decided to go to the aquarium to see if I can get a large silver arowana for $35. The aquarium has a whole range of pumps! I bought a pump for S$14, really inexpensive and it works when I installed it in my pond. I feel so accomplished to do practical work. The outcome is clear and concrete. Now my water is flowing again and it looks good, the water clears up and my fishes are swimming happily.

The only disappointment is there are no large arowanas. Only small ones and they are priced at $18 instead of $12 before. So I did not buy any.

Working with my hands feels good. I should do more handy work.

Chengmai

Channel News Asia has this program, Yours Truly, Asia. It protrays the different cities of the countries that the CNA journalists are based in. Right now, it is showing Chengmai, the northern city of Thailand. The food looks delicious and fabulous. I am thinking the city is probably cost a lot less to live in. It may be a good place to retire in. If it has good internet, medical facilities, maybe bookshop and safe and with good food couple with low cost of living, it will be a wonderful retirement village. May have to give up lots of modern conveniences and communication. Learning to communicate in Thai is non-negotiable. However, the upside is close to nature and a slow pace of life.

Mmmm. Early retirement, anyone?

Splashing Time

The kids in my neighbourhood are having a wonderful time at pool with the high temperature. They just loved the water and splashing each other and giggling. Running after one another is another game they play and screaming along for additional sound effects. I was taking short snatches of nap and could not sleep anymore after the girls come to the poolside.

It is real joy and fun for them and I am happy to see them enjoying themselves even though my peace was interrupted. I should learn more French so that I can understand what they are saying to each other.

Chiropractor

B1 is limping, his left hip is strained and hurting. So we bring him to the chiropractor. Since we are going, the whole family did our spine adjustments. We are a big customer. Cost of chiropractice treatment is high. Health is priceless, so we just go for it and do not think about cost.

We had lunch at Modesto's. I like the seafood linguine. It is the only seafood dish I truly enjoys as the fresh ingredients and sour tomato sauce makes the seafood tangy, sweet with no fishy taste at all. I simply love it. It is nice to eat with the family as I can order the portion fit for 2 which cost $48. It comes with a complete flower crab.

B1 go to the movie with his girlfriend and B2 and B3 go home. B2 has to prepare for his
'O' level exams tomorrow. B3 pumps up his newly acquired floating bed. Meanwhile, my wife and I go to Sungei Kadut to look at kitchen cabinets.

B3 went to the pool to try out his new toy with his friends once we return home from viewing kitchen cabinets. He had a wonderful time playing with his friends.

Practical Grammar

Grammar is the most boring and dry subject. Yet Practical Grammar is interesting for me. I like it as the author puts it "There are more to life than getting your grammar right." This book is interesting as it start with 35 common grammatical errors and 35 grammatical errors made by advanced English users. It has plenty of useful example and explain the rules clearly. It is the first grammar book I find easy-to-read.

Happiness

I am reading books and watching video on Happiness. Somehow they are not making an impact when I am unhappy. I thought it is really working when I was in a good mood. Knowledge about happiness does not make one happy. It is the flow of good things happening to oneself. Still the books on Happiness continues to hit the bestseller list.

Exercise

I am glad I am exercising regularly. The stress level at work is at an extreme level. During dinner, I realised I may have health issues had I not exercise as much as I have recently. The weather is hot and it is good to sweat profusely. Help in losing weight albeit temporily. Weight regains once I rehydrate myself.

The PCN or park connector network is making progress. In a few months, it should be able to run to Punggol Marina. I talked with the supervisor of the contractor, Shincon. He says the stretch was supposed to be completed last July. Delays happened as contractors for other works has not completed their parts yet. Eventually, the PCN will connect up with Hougang. It mean I can cycle for at least half an hour one way. Then it will be a scenic way to get healthy and wise. The PCN is a fantastic cycling route where it is safe, no need to watch out for cars and no fumes!

Biomimicry

I just started on this book on biomimicry - learning from nature. It is a different take. This field is relatively new. Many physicists and engineers are learning from the natural world. Velcro is seeds that hooks onto clothing, cotton gin is from cat clawing and pulling out canary's feathers, submarines from fish bladders and many more.
I was browsing in Kinokuniya and the title caught my attention. I read the content and there is a section on business. Besides engineering solutions and product development, it also has business ecology. I just started on the book and will write more as I read further.

Grouch

B2 has been grouchy lately. He is temperamental and is rude, sarcastic and hurtful in his response to his parents. Totally disrespectful and hurting me and my wife. He is also nasty to his baby brother, B3 at times. We are at wits' ends. Is this a passing phase? Did his elder brother go through the same phase? Did we have bad karma to have our boy torturing us?

The up and down of having a teenage son can test and stretch our patience. It is also our hearts. I reminisce the time he is such an angel and so adorable. He was a jovial boy and very loving. We felt so wonderful having him in our lives. Now, he is in his terrible teens, it is painful. I hope he grows up and be back to his adorable self again.

The End of the World and Beautiful Weather

The weather is beautiful yesterday and this morning. The TV evangelist in US who predicted there will be a terrible earthquake and life on earth will come to an end is wrong. Well, he is wrong. The end of the world did not happen. The next date is Dec 21, 2012. It is a year and a half away. What is the chance of this date being as uneventful? Too many specific dates have been wrong. The future forecast is a probability and possibility. It is not an exact or precise or scientific. So I wonder why some people like to make a fool of themselves.

BBQ Chicken at AMK Ave 4

B2 has tuition in Eglingtion Square which is off Ang Mo Kio Ave 4, Street 11. There are two coffee shops. Recently, I tried the bbq chicken wings and it is very fragrant and tasty. So we have them for dinner tonight. I also ordered a bbq spring chicken. My boys enjoys meat like me and they like tonight dinner. We also have fried carrot cake and duck and salted veg soup. The chicken wings cost only $1.10 each and spring chicken $7. The meal is quite economical.

The coffeeshop next door has "bak kut teh" or pork ribs soup which is highly recommended. Price is higher and just as satisfying.

Pleasant Surprise

B1 was release today instead of tomorrow. We are glad he is back home. He keep worrying about how dark he look and his sweating is now in beads instead of moist layer. I told him not to worry as his skin has toughen due to suntan. I am quite tan myself. And when I sweat, it is little droplets just like condensation on the outer surface of a glass of ice-water.

I am so tired and sleepy. Work is a little exhausting these days. Goodnite zzzZZZZ

Hope

The change in the new cabinet is radical. Now there is a gimmer of hope that the government will have a little heart. It has been all intellectual and little regards for citizens left behind by the growth in economy. Grievances have been largely ignored in the interest of GDP growth and pro-business policy. Hard-headed Hard Truths is pretty strong medicine dished out by people who have multi-million salaries. I heard of a specific example of MP who give advice that is impractical for a relative. He need help to talk to the bank to stop interest payment for his credit card debts. The MP told him to get a higher paying job. Please note! It is told. He did not lift a finger to help him get a higher job. Dishing out advice rather than doing something. Then the MP continues... go to visit the bank during office hours. The relative responded he is not allowed to leave or take time off in his job. The MP think that the low level job his resident has is like his cabinet job - flexi-hour!

It is really really terrible to get insensitive MP who just give advices rather than help. I hope the change is positive. We shall see. I am skeptical as tigers do not change their stripes.

Some Are Quite Interesting

I asked an ex-colleague if she is still reading my blog. The usual excuse was the immediate reply...I am busy lately. However, she continues...some of my writings is interesting. Being a pessimistic person, my first thought is most of my writings are boring. After brooding over for a couple of minutes, I decided that she is nice to focus on the positive aspect of my blog.

I have been disciplined to make a daily entry unless I am travelling or in a country where blogging is not allowed e.g. China. Attracting a loyal and strong following will be fun and good for ego and maybe help me make more income with Adsense, I find that reading my past entries is a great way to tickle my memories of events and experience. So the blog is as much for myself and hopefully my future generation.

An ex-manager who is a single woman is very private and I always asked the same question every we are out for meals. What is your ideal Mr. Right? She would always refused to talk about her private life. Once, she is in a good mood and less guarded, she says the man must have humour and be able to make her laugh. I enjoys Mr. Brown's blog because it is funny and makes me laugh. I know my blog is not as well visited as it is not funny or interesting. But it is a personal memory bank for my experience and a way for me to leave behind a legacy.

Even this discourse on a remark pass by an ex-colleague is serious and factual. I do not have a funny bone.

Busy as A Bee!

The poor economy in US is killing us in Asia. We are pushed to make up for the poor sales in US. My business is really tiny in the scheme of things although we are growing well at 50% compound annual growth rate. At any rate, we are a big team, so we will continue to put in our best efforts for the company.

So I have lots and lots of work ahead. Just the meetings alone is a full time job. Then we have to execute. So like the airlines industry, we are going to have turbulence.

Productive Reading

I have been reading quite productively last few weeks. I managed to finish three books from cover to cover. Usually, I read multiple books at one time. Thrive is quite interesting as it is about happy places in the world which Singapore is included. The other book is Let Your Creativity Bloom by YKK, a Malaysian author and Friday with Philips in my earlier entry for this blog.

My boys do not seem to have as much love for reading like me. Maybe they are exposed to the new media especially internet where you can get short videos and short articles. So their attention span is short. B1 and B2 have read plenty of novels and B3 like non-fiction books. B3 enjoys books on science, ancient animals and how-to like Tell Me How. They do not gravitate to bookstores or library like me. A psychic once told me I was a librarian in one of my previous lives. I do not know about whether the psychic is real or just giving me some bullxxxx. It does makes sense. Everyone around me can see I am a bookworm.

Time to Book In Again

We spent the day doing the regular family stuff. Lunch at Carnivore, the Brazilian meat resturant. Then mall crawling until late afternoon. We have home cooked dinner and B1 was wishing he does not have to go back to camp. It is a short home break and he has to go back to the screaming and yelling i.e. scolded all the time. Well, this is army life. It is breaking psychological and individual identities and the making you listen and obey without questions or thinking. The good thing is he is in the 9 weeks program instead of 16 weeks. Being physical fit does help. The uniform today is so much easier to maintain. Still the rigour and toughness of being a soldier is hard for a modern city boy. This is national service and my boy is serving his country.

First Book-Out of Camp

B1 like many others recruits book out of their BMT or basic military camp today. He is so dark and happy to see us. I was not sure if it was him in the beginning. There are many girlfriends waiting for their boyfriends and I thought I may be smiling at the wrong army boy who is smiling at his girlfriend.

I only recognised him when he greeted "Daddy!". I gave him a hug and then mummy and his two brothers. He is so happy to see us. The wonder of army confinement. He is in a hurry to come home unlike some who ate at McDonald's. We are very happy to have him back. Mummy set up the washing machine to wash all his dirty laundry. He has only 20 hours before he returns to camp. All the laundry must be washed, dry and pack before he leave for camp tomorrow evening. It is just mad rush to get things done.

We are very happy to have B1 back home.

End of the Weekend

It is the end of the weekend. Tomorrow is a school day and B1 will get his first home coming late tomorrow night. I am at my computer writing my blog. As a country, we are undergoing change. MM and SM resigned after analysis of the voters results. PM will give his answer on Monday whether he accepts their resignation. He need time and watch the reactions of the media to take the next steps.

I look out of my door and it looked normal. Yet, emotionally there must be upheavals in PAP and the opposition parties. Fellow Singaporeans continue their life as usual. In the internet world, there are calls for other cabinet ministers to resign.

Meanwhile, the global economy is undergoing change and is unpredictable. Inflation is getting out of control. It is a challenging times ahead. What will 2012 brings?

Wonder

Sometimes, I wonder the meaning of life. Why are we here? Why do we have to face with so many problems and issues? Why colleagues are jeolous and do things to sabotage another colleague or make things difficult? Why? Why? Why?

When I am in this mood, I become preoccupied and my thoughts just keep spinning and spinning over the same few scenes. I need to learn to meditate like LKY and be mindful and present. Exercise is good but only for short time. Euphoria over and same thoughts surface.

I shall stop now and shower and go out for dinner. Food can be a distraction too.

SMU Tea Session

My wife and I attended the SMU tea session for Law faculty offerees. B1 is unable to attend as the army refused to let him off to attend the talk. Mrs Lee Suet Fern was the guest of honor. She is the Senior Director in Stamford Law. She specialises in Corporate Law and work on mergers and acquisitions. It is challenging and interesting work. The hours are long and sometimes 3 am in the morning and working on contracts. She makes being a lawyer sound fun. She is an awesome speaker, articulate and funny. Her views are sound and reasonable. I learned a lot from her.

Fridays with Philip Lee

I pick up this book on Monday at MPH when I was in KL. It is a series of articles published by Philip Lee in Streats, the now defunct free newspaper. I remember waiting early in the morning at Toa Payoh Central for the arrival of the papers every morning 8 or 9 years ago. It was very popular and I always enjoyed reading it. We were living in Oleander Towers then.

Philip Lee grew up in Penang and lived in England before settling down in Singapore. I enjoyed the articles as it is easy read and interesting. The content is local i.e. Singaporean issues and on wide ranging topics. It brought back memories for me. I finished reading the book in two days. Right now I am working through a Creativity book by YKK, a local Malaysian author. Malaysia does has a lot of talent. Pity many have left for greener pasture out of the country.

Random Thoughts

I have been thinking and reflecting, reflecting and thinking nowadays. I need to brood and brood. I need to go for a holiday and practise meditation to calm my busy mind. Most of my team members are going for holiday next week as Vesak day falls on Tuesday. Taking one day leave, we can have a stretch of 4 days. Enough to go for tour or oversea holiday.

I am in an unpleasant situation where the pressure is intense. No matter how well we do, it is not enough. Demand is excessive and unreasonable. What can I do? What should I do? Should I continue or should I go? What is the world did change in 2012? Will all this matter?

How should I lead my life if it is going to end soon? This question is supposed to help me lead a fulfilling life. I asked this question a hundred times and I still cannot get to the answer. Why? Why do I worry about day-to-day life? Worry about the bills, worry about the boys, worry about everything and nothing. It is not a good state to be in.

How can I achieve "flow" as defined by Mike Cziksenmihalyi? Why my work which was giving me meaning become nightmare? Plenty of questions and more questions. I am still searching for answers.

Short Trip

A quickie trip to KL to meet an important customer and present an award to them. I am very happy to get their support and they have help my team to be successful.

We lunched at Overseas Resturant and the Beijing Duck and Pork Belly char siew is simply fabulous. Overseas Resturant has recently opened a branch in Singapore. The price in Singapore is outrageous compared to KL but it is better than making the trip there to eat.

I am very sad to see George Yeo saying he will leave the political scene during his press conference. He is a good guy. It is unfortunate we lost an intelligent and capable man in the PAP where he can influence the party to more progressive views. If PAP continues her high handed and arrogant ways of neglecting the old and poor, it will be sad. I am sure there will be improvement with the votes swing.

Only in Singapore, you see all the Ah Mahs and Ah Gongs (grandmas and grandpas) clearing dishes and cleaning tables in foodcourts and hawker's centers or collecting empty cans and cardboards to sell for paltry cash to survive. Many visitors were shocked by the sights and some even write to Straits Times. I know PAP government is adverse to welfare society. Homemakers or housewives do not have income and when their husbands die, they will be left penniless and have to survive in an expensive global city.

Heatwave.

This is probably one of the largest mall in Malaysia. I like this mall because the Borders is big and MPH has broader selection too. The ACE hardware stall sells lots of gadgets. Plenty of F&B. Ahh! I am a mall rat.

On the taxi, the cab driver complains it is very hot and he is having a headache due to lack of water. I told him he should have a bottle in the car. He says he finished it. He was about to take a drink when the call come in for him to pick as there is a long queue in the airport. Temperature in KL probably reach record high. The heat reminds me of summer in New Delhi although not as bad. Still it hits hard whenever I step out of airconditioned environment - taxi or mall or hotel. I wonder if it is the proverbial story of frog in water brought slowly to a boil. Is human race slowly boiling itself to extinction? I am sure there will be survivors who can adapt to the new environment. After all, man does live in deserts.

The news report that Green energy business grow by 77% in China. I am glad to see steps are taken to reduce our usage of fossil fuels and carbon footprint. There may be hope for human kind.

One GRC and One SMC

The opposition despite strong showing and great support on the ground won only one GRC or Group Representation Constituency and one SMC or Single Member Constituency - a total of 6 members of parliament. The total share of votes to opposition is 40%, an increase of 6%. Big improvement.

Plenty of experts offered their views. Nicole Seah is the star "mei mei" or little sister. She is mature, articulate and handle the press extremely well. Her ideals on helping the poorer segment of the society is admirable and she has a huge following. In contrast, Tin Pei Ling of ruling did not well in presenting public image.

Best performer is Worker's Party who garner all 6 opposition seats in Parliament. It will be interesting as the next five years unfold. Will Worker's Party be able to continue its momentum? Will it be able to gain another GRC, East Coast perhaps since it won more than 45% votes?

The Night That Determines the FUTURE of Singapore

Election today and tonight the gnashing of teeth for many candidates as the votes get counted. It is really exciting. CNA is live at all the counting centers. Most of Singapore is up watching. For the first time, Singaporeans are engaged in politics. It is also the first many young voters and most get to votes. We used to get walkovers. This is a new dawn for Singapore.

Our government always exhorts that competition is healthy and good. It is quite competitive this time. So it is going to be an interesting night.

An Anonymous Reader Asked

I reproduced the comment below:

Hi. I read that you were living in Canada for 7 years before moving back to Singapore. Do you mind sharing the reason? Is it due to the high income tax in Canada? Many thanks...

My Answer:
I actually lived in Canada twice for a total of 7 years. Immigrating and living in a foreign country is very difficult in the beginning. There are lots of adjustments. Going over there as a student and then finding a job is different. It is nice to live in a country with four seasons and different lifestyle and culture. Canada is a great country and a good place to live and raise kids. It is a little backward relative to Singapore in material things. But family life, friends and lots of recreation more than make up for all the "toys" and designer clothing.

High income tax and consumption tax is one reason to leave. Long and bitter winter is the other commonly cited reason. Another reason is career advancement. The key reason I move back to Singapore is my wife wanted to return home to be closer to her family.

Lions Roared at Yio Chu Kang Stadium

Latest excitement in town - rallies, political rallies. The crowd in YCK Stadium is incredible. We decide to visit the hottest rally in town, The Worker's Party Rally. The enthusiatic crowd was immense. As we walk to the stadium, everyone else was streaming to the stadium as well. It is a night to remember. The Worker's Party is getting lots of support and generate huge following. Saturday is the D-day. May the Force be with you.

The roar is loud, very loud. Now we wait for the action.

The Heat is On

It is hard to think of what to write! My friends told me not to write about work. It is too boring. I always enjoys working but these days, it is just stress and more stress. Turning to the hottest topic the last few days...the election fever and the temp is rising. There are so many humorous pictures and video clips. All very creative! So I wonder how Singaporeans get the reputation of poor creative ability and low innovation drive.

The lighter side of Singapore politics is really fun and enjoyable. Now every 5 years, we get to tickle and laugh at ourselves and the political figures. The staid Singapore let her hair down.

Enlistment

B1 enlisted yesterday. He was in trepidation as he heard stories from his classmates and colleagues on the Basic Military Training experience. I know it is tough and there is a lot of psychological pressures and breaking down of individuality during the training. The training basically tear away your identity and make you obey orders. This is why everyone is made to sleep together in a room, shave their heads and shower is a communal bathroom where you have nothing to hide from your fellow "soldiers".

Aftering suffering together as a group, there will be bonding and the men can operate as a team. Blind obedient is required so that you can order them to kill the "enemy". The tagline for army is "Where boys become MEN". I guess boys don't kill, MEN will to defend their country.

Running Shoes

B2, my middle son need a new pair of running shoes as his old pair have worn out. Queensway Shopping Center is the place for sport shoes. There are so many types of running shoes that it is becoming confusing.

Mum asked him to chose "value" choice. He pick a pair costing $107. I found it looked very reasonable and cool. Then I looked at the brand. It is ASIC with Gel technology. So I think it is good value for an expensive brand. Queensway is the place to get newly obsolete product where price will drop dramatically. Maybe I am wrong. $107 is not that good a deal.

Just Another Day

It is just routine activities for today. I ate Guilinguo or Tortise shell jelly to help soothe my sore throat. My wife who is a Cantonese this is wonder drug. It helps for a short while and the effects wear off.

Dinner was at Yio Chu Kang Stadium so that our boys can experience the election rally. I was too exhausted and leave after the second speaker, Kenneth Jeyaratnam. Kenneth's accent is like JB's. Like father like son.

In the Dead of the Night...

Chomp Chomp is alive and full of young adults roaming about and drinking designer coffee. I was quite tired and sleepy after taking two tablets for sore throat but unable to sleep. My mind is spinning away over work issues. So I decided to get up and go for a spin in my energy saving and environmentally-friendly Prius.

The Indian Muslim roti prata coffee shop is crowded and full. Good thing as I was thinking of drinking my favorite beverage, teh halia. Teh halia would have kept me awake for hours. I roam about people watching and exploring which shops are still open. There are plenty. Finally, I decided to try Cold Storage to see if I can get Lucoade, which is a glucose based drink by SmithKline Beecham. Lucoade helps in rebuilding strength, getting rid of tiredness and recovery from flu. However, the 24 hours Cold Storage does not have any and I settle for Vitamin Jelly instead.

So well past midnight, Chomp Chomp is alive. I noticed a few unsavory characters lurking around as well. Singapore is a safe place and I do not feel threaten at all.

Down with Flu and Cough

I am feeling terrible! Last night I have to go to toilet at least 5 times to clear my phlegm. My throat is in terrible shape and I am coughing incessantly. My body aches and nose is congested causing difficulty in breathing, I feel feverish all the time. It may be "election fever". I feel tired all the time and need to drink plenty of strong tea and coffee to stay alive.

It will be 7 to 10 days before I can become better again.

Election Excitement

Massive traffic jams and gigantic wave of humanity at the Serangoon Stadium where Worker's Party held their rally. It is really carnival atmosphere and lots of cheering. We also drove to Yio Chu Kang Stadium. Traffic flow is quite good but no place to park as well. The crowd a the PAP rally is rather thin even though it is right beside a MRT station.

I wonder if all the excitement of the rallies can translated into votes. If it does, then rallies work! If not, then it is "not in my backyard" mentality of wanting an opposition but not in my ward. Next few days will be exciting time for all candidates except Tanjong Pagar who had a walkover. It is going to be an interesting week....

Cool

Nan Chiau students are running in simmering heat this afternoon at the PCN. They are doing their fitness test. I feel sorry for them to run in adverse conditions. The good thing is PCN is flat and the view is scenic. So there is some relief.

I go to the pool to cool myself down and my neighbours' kids are enjoying themselves playing games in the pool. It is nice to have a swimming pool in this kind of weather.

Tomorrow is the wedding of William and Kate Middleton and the news keep broadcasting the excitement the Brits have. It is a nice distraction from the poor economic situation they are in. I do not really understand why it is such a big deal. Kate does look good just like her mother-in-law, the late Princess Diana.

Night Meetings

I am up nowadays at night for meetings. It is tiresome. So much talking and talking. Such is life in a large bureaucracy. In all meetings, there are always a few people who like to hear themselves. They like to dominate the meetings and wasting everyone's time.

Root Canal

Finally, my root canal job is done. It is stressful and traumatic experience. I am glad it is over for now. I have a 3 months break for getting a crown done to protect the root canal. It is such a long and painful procedure. I am chicken when it come to toothache. The treatment is expensive too. Cost S$800 just for the root canal. It used to cost $500. Now, it is incredibly costly!

It is extremely during the day. The heat is causing headache and dehydration. Like what Lee Kuan Yew says in Hard Truths, we have to adapt. I am thinking it may be a good idea to find a lower cost place like Cameroon Highland or Genting to live in. The weather will be nice and cool. I wonder if there is such place in Thailand. I think Thailand would be safer than Malaysia.

Noise Pollution

There is a racket at the back of my house. Another rattling and vibrating on the right. It is giving me headache and preventing me from concentrating. I wonder how it will be when it is my turn for the roof repair.

Birthday Party

B3 has a young cousin who celebrated his 6th birthday. There were games, magic show and balloon sculpture. The food is just so-so. In fact I had stomache after ingesting the food. The condo he now lives is new. It has a nice swimming pool and gymnasium. Bored, I sneak out and took a walk to the nearby nursery. The price of $68 for a large plastic rectangular pot turns me off. I walk out right away and decided to read a book at the poolside.

The book is How to read Literature like a Professor. It is quite interesting actually. I am still at the beginning and will need some time to finish. It is good to find time to read while attending kids' birthday parties.

Strictly Pancakes

We are eating out tonight. Most resturants are fully booked or not convenient due to lack of parking. B1 suggest we go to Strictly Pancakes. The first alternative was Zichar stall in AMK Industrial Park 1. CTE was moving well, many may have taken advantage of the long weekend and left the country. So we decided to try this Pancakes resturant that is started and run by undergrad in NUS. The carpark on the road is all full and we try Sunshine Plaza and there are plenty of spots.

The Pancakes place is full and we decide to wait for a table. The place is full of students and young adults. It is not really a family resturant. We wander to the mall opposite and ate dinner there instead. A table become available while we were eating and we decided to go there for dessert. We had pancakes, hot chocolate and vanilla milkshake. The meal cost $23.10. Not bad. The young adults have good capability to spend this kind of money.

It is a good experience for us to explore the concept of the resturant.

Headache

I am nursing a headache since I woke up this morning. I am blogging about it because it is unusual for headache to last all day especially after swallowing a couple of Extra-strength Tyernol. Tyernol is my favorite analgesic. I took another two later in the afternoon and still it did not work.

I wonder if it is the weather or feng shui or stress or nose blocked due to allergy. It is hard to get to the root cause. For a person educated in science and engineering, I am superstitious enough to believe in feng shui.

Thank Buddha, tomorrow is holiday.

Busy as a Bee

We are all busy as a bee nowadays. Living in Singapore is indeed work work and more work. My boys are working their butts for in schools. I am trying to keep afloat in the massive increased in my workload and my team's workload. I hope we will stablised in a few months and pressure start to throttle down. Otherwise, we may start burning out.

On the brighter side, the weather is cool due to rain rather than the blazing heat in the previous two days. I cycled with B2 in the PCN in late afternoon and slipped and fell at near the chin-up bar. B2 says now I know how to break my fall. Still I scratched my right leg.

Election is officially ON! I wonder if there will be excitement especially since there are a few quality candidates in the opposition camp. It is going to be an exciting couple of weeks ahead.

Outback Steak House

I had dinner with customers from US at Outback today. I decided to order chicken burger instead of my favourite rib so that I can eat and talk at the same time. We had plenty to discuss focusing mainly on business in Asia. There is a Chinese girl who is a PhD. The American is a big boss from US and the other is Director of ...say Specific Business. We just talk and talk. It is a good exchange of information.

The food was good. I enjoyed the company more than the food. It is nice to discuss work during dinner!

Refrigerators

We are looking around and evaluating refrigerator recently. My current refrigerator is making loud noise a couple days ago. It may be due to poor arrangement of our frozen items in the freezer compartment. The key reason is we think we may be able to save electricity if we get a newer technology and more efficient unit with 4 ticks. We bought our Maytag 10 years ago when we were living in Canada. We are using it until today and it is working fine. It is 110V and I have a 2 KVA transformer that we used to make it work. The difference is here it is 50 cycles rather than 60 cycles in Canada. Hitachi and Mitsubishi has 6 doors fridge that incorporate sunlight LED for keeping vegetable fresh and alive, anti- feature and a special quick freezing compartment for keeping food tasty after freezing. It is not terribly green to buy new appliances especially since I recently acquired a TV. I consider the refrigerator a necessity and my boys have huge appetite. So we need a big size fridge. Maybe I will wait for the price to fall...

Going Out of Business

I went to the nursery in Yishun to get buy window boxes or long containers for our plants. The place is closed. The operating hours have shortened. As we were about to turn out to the main road, Sembawang Road, we saw a big banner 80% discount and everything to go. Intrigued, we turned back and it is true. Real moving out Sale! The boss is an excellent sales person and negotiable. He keeps selling me stuff. I had a pot and a fish for my pond, five bags of black soil and two plastic pot for my tree. Tonight, the questions and answers with Prime Minister I understand why. The foreign levy has increased and the cost is becoming too high. The nursery owner has sent back most of his foreign workers. He is giving up the business. I wonder how many businesses are severely impacted by the increased in foreign levy. It is economic restructuring and small businesses are collapsing. Soon, only big businesses are left and we will be paying more for everything....inflation and more inflation.

Rising to the Challenge

My nieces were coming over to for dinner. I am slicing up Japanese cucumber and getting ready to debone roast duck when my middle niece came up to tell me her sister needs help in parking the car. I went down to the garage without washing my hand thinking I am going to give her verbal instructions. When I saw the car, I realised it is not possible. I have to take over the car as it is only 3 or 4 mm from the pillar. Any small movements to the left would have cause the car to be stucked and the car doors scratched. I have to look out for the front tyres position to make sure I do not make any mistakes. It was incredibly tight position which I have to figure and plan my moves before moving the vehicle. My niece did the right move by asking for help. Otherwise, the consequence may be expensive and she may be grounded from using the car. I am glad that I did not pick up B2 from his tuition. My wife is so smart to volunteer to pick him up while I stay home to prepare dinner. Otherwise, she will be the one sweating bullets!

Disposable Pleasures or Meaning Pursuits

I am watching 007 Casino Royale and wondering what to write for my blog. Then this interesting dialogue between Bond and a most beautiful accountant. The sascastic accountant tell Bond off. He rather treat women as disposable pleasures rather than meanful pursuits. It is interesting and insightful. I am a sucker for action movies and drive my wife blonkers who always wonder why am I always watching car chase, men get their neck snapped or guns blazing and bullets flying all over and the hero hardly ever get hit while all the evil doers are shot and getting killed.

Mindfulness

I need to learn to be mindful. This book is recommended by Daniel Pink in The New Mind. I am mindlessly living my life and doing my work enriching my employer in the process. Mindfulness is the art of conciously observing what we do in every way. I am a creature of habit. Work is stressful and is getting more stressful. Mindfulness will help us deal with stress and presence. Mindlessness is living on automatic mode and acting and reacting to orders and demand of others is a slow and painful death.

Sensitivity to Radiation

It is short and sweet trip to Osaka. I am satisfied as I accomplished my objective for the trip. The plane is half empty going to Osaka and full on my return. So more people leave Japan and fewer are going. The almost daily aftershock of magnitude 6 to 7 is quite scary for Japanese as well. There is heighten sensitivity to the food and water. My host or my colleague will tell me it is "safety water" or the water is safe. When I asked about the bowl of big juicy apples whether they are Japanese, the hotel staff immediately informed me it is safe as the apples are sourced from the south. Sakura flowers is in full bloom in Osaka. It is beautiful to walk along the river. Until in Tokyo last year, there are very few merrymakers. The country is in self-restraint. Now the Prime Minister is saying get on with normal life. I guess if the self-restraint campaign go on, the already weak economy will slow down preventing recovery. Japan, be strong. We are all with you.

Fabulous Meals and Wonderful Friends

I always like Osaka. It is not as crowded as Tokyo. The taste of the food is superior (I am obsessed with food as usual). For lunch, we had kushiyaki which is deep fried with different batter from light yellow batter of tempura. The batter is brown and the dip is a more liquid version of tonkatsu source which is sweet and sour. I also have tokomoyaki which is panfried cabbage pancake. The cabbage is soaked with flour batter and one egg. Different choice of toppings such as prawn, beef or pork can be added. It is take half an hour to cook! Luckily we are no hungry anymore.

Saving the best for last, we had Spanish dinner. My host, T-san gave me his usual warm and welcome. He always spend a lot of time and effort to pick a nice resturant to bring me to. The meal was very interesting and delicious. We have excellent appetitzers, grilled seafood salad, lobster in cream sauce and seafood shellfish rice. Dessert is fried... I have not idea what, maybe cream cheese with ice cream. The finishing touch is something interesting that my host and friend, T-san suggest we photograph it.

T-san requested I put this on my blog and wants you to know Japan will be fine.

Poor Timing to Osaka

The flight to Osaka is 1:50pm and lands at 9:30pm.  It is past lunch time leaving Singapore and then by the time I arrived, it is past 10pm and all the shops are closed.  I also do not know where to eat and have to skip dinner and eat the snack in the mini bar.  Singapore Airlines should have a better schedule.  I took the flight at 11am before.  I know why I always fly to Tokyo first and return via Osaka.

It is quite cold at night.  The cabin crews of SQ is staying in Hilton too.  They arrived the hotel before me even though I left at least 10 mins before they can leave the aircraft.  The privilege of airline crew is travel time is short.  Going pass the immigration is short.  The bad thing is they have to leave the hotel at 7:40 am tomorrow morning.  So I can't quit my day job!  Anyway, I do not have the look to pass the screening interview.

Hard Truths to Keep Singapore Going

The dvd on the interview have snippets of the 32hours of interviews with LKY. There is an opinion that LKY has that I am skeptical about. The question is that scholars are in the cabinet does well but can they survive if they are in the private? Singapore practise the mandarin system of China of the past. In ancient China, there is an imperial exams every year. The top scorers are the top scholars and are given a govt job e.g. junior magistrate and are set for life as it is iron rice bowl. They will have income stream from the official position as well as from the public who needed official blessing(in other words, corruption). The journalist did point out the scholars rise quickly in military and civil service, the private sector is different. LKY shrugged his shoulders. He strongly believe those talents can get a job anywhere and do well in life. And that is that! I do not agree with this view. Plenty of "intellectuals" are good with theory and book learning but unable grasp the reality. Mandarins are good in the government and military organisations. The hierarchy and position of power is clear and defined. They are good at talking and giving their point of views. However, when it come to execution, they are ineffectual. I have a neighbour who is in the management committee. He talks well and give very good reasoning. Any task assigned to him does not get done. He is good at coming up with rationale or avoid discussing why the task did not get done such that he always "look good". In my humble opinion, I think not all mandarins can survive anywhere. Some will not be able to get anything done. Thus likely to be fired if they are senior employees or fail if they start their own business.

Election Fever

The news is full of election activities. Suddenly, all the candidates, MPs and potential MPs are reaching out to the people. Once election is over, they all disappears again doing whatever they used to do before. The MPs will have meet-the-people sessions one evening a week and those who did not become MPs will be doing academic discussions among themselves. The ruling party is strong, extremely strong. Even then some candidates may lose and then give up. I remember Mah Bow Tan and Ng Pock Too. Both were introduced as potential cabinet members when introduced. They lost and the 2nd time round only Mah Bow Tan participated and today he is Minister of National Development. Today, with GRCs all hemmed by a cabinet minister, if PAP lost a GRC, a Minister will lose his or her job. Kind of interesting. Job security is dependent on how strong the opposition is.

TGIF

I love Fridays. It is the end of the week and the weekend starts in the evening. When work is busy and stressful, weekend is a wonderful break. Time to spend with the family and do non-work stuff like hanging around, drinking tea, enjoying food and window shopping. In the city, the choices are limited. No mountain to go to, no lake(reservoir not counted), no countryside or farms, just airconditioned shops and malls. Hence key weekend activities are tuitions and piano lessons. And while waiting for the boys, load up on caffeine and calories. I also joined the enthusiats to exercise by cycling in PCN. The pool is noisy with visitors and kids, so I avoid. Enjoys your weekend, readers.

Caught!

The culprits who stole my torchlight and damaged my bike in the process were caught in the act in camera by my neighbour's cctv. They stole footwears from other neighbours as well and was trying to steal my neighbour's bike when our gardener asked him what is he doing. We reported to police and the developer who had the contractors in for repairs. So the two men were lured back, handcuffs and arrested. What a scene! There were so many police cars in the estate and on the road outside. We hope this incident do not occur again.

Blur

Today is just a big BLUR. I am so busy at work and moving from one task to another. I am glad it is time to go to bed. I am doggone tired. I lost my torchlight attached to my bike. Someone have taken it. I am upset my personal items are stolen right at my garage. It is terrible.

Lucky Me!

I managed to "uninstall" my updates yesterday and got my computer back. What a relief! It is not back as it should be but all my office suite is working albeit fonts are not right. At least I can read my messages and files. So I am back in business:)

Hard Truths

I am three quarters through this thick book. It is very insightful and easy to read. The Straits Times editors did a fantastic job. The questions and answers format make it easy to remember a lot of the facts and insights that MM Lee presented. Today, I view the dvd that come with it. With my new LG player and tv, the stunning clarity and clear sound system bring LKY to my home office. I am apathetic when it come to politics, however I learn so much from his views and amazing conclusions from all the inputs he gathered in all the years he lived and worked. The reasoning is extremely solid and well thought out. So I strongly recommends this book. I am wiser after reading it!

No Work Too!

I forgot. This weekend I did not work as well unless trying to get my computer programs to function again is considered work. I did spent a few hours trying to get Microsoft Office programs and Outlook to work to no avail. I should have known better not to upgrade or update my programs since my system is working fine. Unfortunately, being a dutiful employee, I just followed instructions and have to spend several hours in frustration trying to fix my system. To make matter worse, it is month-end and I have plenty of reports to digest and reports to write. I also planned to answer an important email which I am unable to do so now. Can't wait for Monday so that I can get IT help!

No Exercise

Today I am so busy I did not have a chance to exercise. Actually, we want to cycle after dinner but B3's project is not completed and Mummy stopped all of us from going out until we finished it for him. B1 help out and get the marble rolling board done. I was so tired that I fell asleep on the floor in the living room. So after the board is done, I decided not to cycle anymore and B2 who keen to cycle also drop the idea. My weight tonight hit 90kg. Not a good number. I will need to reduce my calories intake. Exercise alone is not working. I also missed my nieces. It has been a while since our last get together. I know they are happy, independent and confident of themselves.

Terrible News to Share

My 2nd sister was operated for growth in her thyroid. Doctors found it is stage 4 cancer. I received sms from my eldest sister on my way home. I visited her today in the hospital. She is in good spirit and I did not realised the seriousness of her condition until I just google in the internet.

No Blogging for a Few Days

I will not be able to update this blog for the next few days as I will be in China. China does not allow blogging as the government worries about the social unrest. It will be cold as I am going to a landlock city and like all other cities in China, quite unhealthy air. I am glad to be there for a few days. Going to China is good for my weight as I do not eat much. My big problem is I over-eat when I reached home.

Disaster Preparedness

I am thinking about Japan and all the disasters that is happening around the world. We are all living in a city. We have running water and electricity all the time. I wonder if we can survive without food, water or electricity for prolong period. We are so pampered and used to the modern conveniences of "civilised" living that I am afraid we are vulnerable and unable to fends for ourselves in a disaster. I am thinking about what to I should do to prepare for disaster. First should be mental preparedness. Grace and resilience are the key words for Japanese currently under siege by the three simultaneous disasters. I spoke to my boys and told them they have to survive no matter what happen. Hopefully, they are prepared for the day we all hope will never come.

Celebrating B1's Good Results

B1 suggested Peking Duck to celebrate his good results. He first requested for Peking Duck to celebrate when he get straight A's in his "O" level. It is becoming our family's tradition as during the meal, mummy suggested that she wished to eat the duck again next year i.e. B2 "O" level results. The year after for B3's PSLE results. The best reward for any parent in Singapore is his or her child ace the exams.
The previous few weekends have been busy with Universities' Open House that we did not have to opportunity to gather together as a family for a resturant meal until today's lunch. We have great hopes for the future of our boys.

New TV

Nice, sleek and a black beauty. The 10" extra diagonally make the regular broadcast programs blurry. However, when it is DVD, the videos are sharp and clear. It is nice to get a slim look. I am quite amaze by the in-built sound system. It is loud and clear. The thickness of the TV is mere 2cm and the new technology of a speaker which can reproduce sound of high fidelity in this tight space is amazing for an old school engineer who learned only the conventional way of reproducing sounds is through a cone driven by a magnetic coil.

Always Good to be Home

Downtown KL is nice. Always nice to be back to home to my usual routine of exercise and home-cooked dinner and catch up with my boys. Tonight, we have to finish a toy for B3's submission in school. B2 had tuition. I cut up fruits as usual after our dinner. We also replenish grocery from our regular supermart, Fairprice. Just back to the home routines bring stability as the future is fraught with unknown changes.

Giant Maze and Amazing Coincident!

Sungei Wang is a mall that is rundown and has many levels in a maze configuration. After saying goodbyes to all my colleagues, knowing it will be probably a few years later that I will be back downtown, I decided to buy another two small tea caddies that made of pewter. I want round and round going many different levels searching for the shop which I bought my pewter on Monday. It is extremely confusing. I didn't even realised the traditional anchor tenant like Giant is in the mall. I searched for more than half an hour before finally finding the shop. I thought I am getting old:( The shop is right at the main entrance where Starbucks is. I bought two small caddies at 55% discount. When I walk out of the mall, a man looked at me. I looked back at him and he is familiar. He also showed signs of recognition. Then we said "hi" to each other. He is a Hikota, a customer of mine in Japan. What a amazing coincident! I was delayed in my purchase by more than 45 mins and I walked out to meet a Japanese I know who lived in Tokyo in downtown KL. Maybe I am lost for a reason. I called my Japanese colleague who is already on his way to the airport. He was totally surprised by my call and by the customer who talk to him on my phone.
I like downtown KL. Plenty of foreigners and plenty of beautiful women. Problem is plenty of snatch thefts too. It is good to visit every few years. I am glad to come here for my meeting.

Eating and Sitting

Kid you not. That is all I do today. I have breakfast, then sit in the room until tea break with tasty treats like mee siam, Thai fish cakes and raspberry tartlets. Back to more sitting on my butt until lunch and has Italian food with appetizers, pasta bolognaise and soup. Afternoon tea was my usual favorite chicken satay with tiramisu. We had nasi lemak dinner. I continue to the supermarket to get nuts to munch. No wonder my weight increase in meetings. Also it is the stress of unknown and change coming. Eating is a form of stress relief. I need to do exercise for stress release instead!

Bukit Bintang

It is one of the rare time I stayed in downtown KL. Bukit Bintang is very vibrant and happening. Lots of foreigners and locals enjoying alfresco dining. There are plenty of high class expensive resturants with rundown kopitiam of yesterday. Interesting mix of traditional and modern. Many gorgeous looking girls and guys mixed with transvestites walking along the street. I enjoys the change from my regular mall, the Curve or Sunway Lagoon. There are quite a few angmohs enjoying their meals with local girls.
Downtown KL is a melting pot.

No TV

I have been living without a TV since Thursday. Without the frequent news update, I feel a lot calmer as well. Reading the papers evoke different emotions from watching videos of the Japan's disaster. Sumiko Tan writes excellent prose. I like a couple of the phrases from today's Sunday Times article "A bitter winter wind" which I will reproduce below:
"Because I am half-Japanese, I view Japan with sympathetic eyes. But because I 'm also Singaporean, I regard it from a stranger's distance."
"Their culture emphasises civility and courtesy, which means you get the constant howing and thank yous and sorrys. But there's always a sense of reserve and distance. Japanese people aren't big on hugging, touching or kissing. Yet they don't blink an eye about stripping down in front of each other at hot springs, and erotic magazines are easily available."
The previous paragraph reminds me a saying a friend's mother told him about Japanese "Courtesous but no idea of shame". Chinese women are very modest about their physical body.
As I read and reflected, I find that I am more emotionally stable and not torn by the helplessness of my inability to help a fellow man in their distress.

Best Deal!

I am glad I did not purchase LED TV from Best Denki last night. I did not like the salesman who was reluctant to service. This morning, there are plenty of advertisements for deals! Courts, Harvey Norman and Audio House. I went to Audio House and the price at $1,299 for LG 42" hard panel is $100 cheaper than Best Denki. There were other models that are better in picture quality. Since this TV is not in the family room and mostly for listening to news and sometimes indulge in my DVD collection, I settle for the most cost effective model. I am happy to be frugal.

Shopping for TV

My Philips LCD 32" TV broke down again. I decided to look for a new TV to replace it. This TV cost $4,000 when I bought 5 years ago. Today, a 42" ultrathin LED TV cost $1,500 or less. I wonder what possessed me to buy such an expensive TV when money was worth a lot more. LG seems to provide good value and nice design. Ultra thin, sleek with a small black glossy edge framing the display, I think I will go for it. The price is the most attractive as well. I am a shopper to get the best value. Not the lowest price but LG happens to offer the lowest price. I am really cheap!

Reviewing Nuclear Power Option

BBC news reports Germany has shutdown 7 nuclear power station and France is doing safety reviews of all their nuclear power plants. I hope Singapore will review the nuclear power option and shelf it. The cost of the disaster will be much more than the money saved from using natural gas and petroleum. We should implement solar and wind options right now rather than wait for the cost to come down. We need to do more green energy drive and energy conservation campaign.
The world is in a conundrum with Middle East in turmoil i.e. oil supply is unstable and nuclear power so dangerous. Our energy appetite is too much and our society too complex. We shall see if the world as we know it is really coming to an end...

Nuclear Meltdown

The nuclear power plant is in distress. It is a problem that MM Lee has the foresight to expect - it is extremely difficult and challenging to deal with in case of a disaster. He is not convinced by nuclear power option and now he is proven right. I am in total agreement with MM Lee's perspective but I am just a small fry whose opinion nobody will care or respect. Mankind must develop and use safer alternatives like wind, solar, tides, waves, geothermal or any other sources that do not generate toxic wastes that last for thousands of years. The radioactive wastes is extremely lethal to life and alter our basic life form, DNA. All nuclear power plants and nuclear bombs should be banned. We are playing with too much power and power we cannot control or manage properly. Let's pray for God's help as we will be affected and impacted if the radiation spreads all the way here.

Devastating Destruction

Terrible images and video of the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami. Japan is reeling with disaster of the century. The nuclear station explosions and possible meltdown is a real concern. We have to use more friendly alternative energy source like solar, geothermal, waves, tide or wind. Nuclear power has the density and ability to generate enormous amount of energy in a small space but the radiation risks are so high and lethal to life.
Human is so minute in the force of nature. There are so many humans living in cities and when disaster strikes, it requires humongous relief effort. Life will go on and many will take a long time to recover from the shock of losing their family, friends and relatives.

My Sister-in-law Harrowing Experience in Japan

It is start of school holiday and we bring B3 along for lunch and decide to go to Parkway Parade to meet my sister-in-law, her husband and their two boys. We ate the famous fried kway teow that my friend Boh Tong recommended. The boys are excited to see each other and play iPhone games together. Meanwhile, my brother-in-law described their adventure in Japan. They have to get out of the train and walk for 200 meters to the train station. Everything shuts down and they are lucky to get help from a pair of Japanese men who interpreted the announcements to them. The train was stopped due to the earthquake. They have to sleep over in a Japanese resturant with 20 others seeking refuge. The night temperature was low and the Japanese owner accomodated all the stranded passengers from the train station. My brother-in-law is smart enough to go to Singapore airlines website and book a one-way ticket home for his family as their flights were on standby in Delta and it is likely for them to wait for many days before they can fly. So the hotel bill will be high.

The Tourist

Tourist is a movie starring Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp. A tourist on a train is used as a decoy for a wanted man. A man wanted by the casino kingpin and undercover agency. Well, this bumbling tourist from US is following Angelina everywhere. Angelina fell in love with him and want to forget her boyfriend. Then best part is she has both her boyfriend and her new love. The story has the interesting twist and I enjoy this movie.

NTU and NUS Open House

Big crowd full of young and some old. Lots of questions and meeting of old classmates. It is exciting time for the "A" level graduates who are deciding their course of study and thereby their careers as well. It is quite little time to figure out what kind of work you want to do for the next 40 years. I guess the opportunity to switch career is always there. I was an electronic technician then engineer. After making several more moves, I am now in business management. So studying is just an education of the mind. A training of sort to prepare you for life and for living. Continuous education keeps the mind active and agile.
It is quite competitive and the scores to enter University seem high today. Everyone is getting good grades unlike my time.

Earthquake in Japan

My sister-in-law and her family is vacationing in Japan this week and is scheduled to return home today. Their plans are disrupted. Narita Airport is closed and they have to stay in a different hotel as the train services are disrupted as well. I did not realised that there is an earthquake on the Richter scale of 8.9 causing major tsunami, damage and death. I thought it was the earthquake a couple days ago that is undersea and did not cause any damage.
We are glad they are safe and hope they can return home soon.

Life's Good

LG or Life's is Good. It is the slogan for LG the company formerly known as Lucky Goldstar. LG has high quality LED TV at a competitive price. My 32" LCD Philips bought for $4,000 4 years ago is breaking down. I am thinking of replacing it with 42" LED from LG and the price? $999! Price deflation. Higher quality, lower price and bigger TV! Right now my old google box is still cranking away. So by the time I need to really throw it, the price may go down further. Electronics is the only group of products that price is going down. The price of everything else is skyrocketing.

Fear of Pain

I got a shock when I view my blog just now. I have not updated it for two days and did not even realised it. I must have forgotten my regular habit of writing before going to bed.
Today, I went to NUH Dental Center this morning to fix my toothache. It has been aching for a couple of weeks. Prof Chew does not do root canal. So he checked around for another dentist for me. Unfortunately, everyone is tied up and so I have to wait. He also told me my regular dentist now work one day a week in Paragon with his classmate. I called the clinic and he is working today. So I asked if he is available and the clinic assistant asked me to go over to wait. I rushed there and he was upset that I did not stay at NUH for treatment. Anyway, after a while he is nice again but I was a little sheepish and docile. Incredible pain makes a man weak. He tells me this is a torture technique where teeth are drilled without any anaesthesia to gain information and after getting the pain usually people will give out any information that is required. I am glad he has found a way to fix my teeth. Now that he is in Paragon, the charges are so much more expensive. I do not have a choice. Sigh....

Vegetarian Dinner

Tonight we had vegetarian dinner to celebrate my Father-in-law's birthday. My mother-in-law cooked vegetarian satay, braised mushroom and a bunch of different vegetarian dishes from our favorite hawker in Keban Baru Hawker Center. The meal was good. I am not a big fan of vegetarian food except for this stall in Keban Baru. There are some unique and tasty dishes like crispy abalone mushroom, curry "fish" and a couple other with exotic names that I do not know how to translate. All my wife's siblings and their significant others are there with the boys. Yes, my father-in-law has only grandsons and no granddaughter at all. He has a total of 7 grandsons as at today.

Mass Extinction

Recent scientific study is pointing strongly to mass extinction of species due to human destruction of biosphere and global warming. We, human are killing the earth slowly. There are scientists who are optimistic and brought our plenty of examples and studies that says the earth will recover. I like how one doomsday scientist puts it in a TV interview. The optimists' views are like jump off the Empire State building. As you fall down toward the ground, up to 99 floors you can still say "hey everything looks fine, what is the problem?" The other analogy is a cow going to a trough at meal time and hey presto! the food are always there. Life is just a walk in the park and eat when you are hungry. Life will be just a boring routine until the day you go to the slaughterhouse.
We should take care of our environment as much as we can.

Result is Out for "A" Level

It has been an anxious few days since the announcement that "A" level results will be released this afternoon. During our dinner on Wed, mummy in order to relief the tension for B1 counts how many points he will get for worst case scenario. I went to school today. The Principal was presenting the total AJC results. It was a huge improvement over the previous years result. The Principal is quite happy. However, there are a few with poor results. Everyone was cheering and clapping. I am worried for those whose results were not so good. I know that there are only a few winners that is the top few students who are going to the stage to get their results. The rest in the audience will be like losers. I get this kind of feeling with a lump on my throat cursing or kicking myself for not getting better results by working harder. Worst of all is to know that you are in the small and select group of failure in the school where more than 50% have at least one A in their results.
The top student was announced and it is a girl. I felt a tinged of disappointment. Next top student is another girl...sigh! Then it is the top Malay student and two top Indian students - no emotion there. The Principal displayed the slide of the list of 17 students with full score of 90 points. It was hard the read as the font size is small due to the huge number of students and I am sitting in the middle of the school hall. B1's name was somewhere in the middle. I read again just to be sure. Then I saw him running to the stage. Yes! It is confirmed! He has full score and straight As for all his subjects. He collects his certificate from the Principal and has his picture taken. Yippee, yippee, ya, ya!
We are very happy!

Roller Coaster Ride

We are having roller coaster rides at work now. It is scary and stressful. I can't wait for the excitement to be over. So far, there are more downs than ups.

Back to Toa Payoh

I am frequenting Toa Payoh hawker centers again since the start of this year. We moved B3 to the school his two older brothers went. The prices in Toa Payoh is more reasonable than say Bedok hawker center. Price is definitely dependent on location. The service is way better in Toa Payoh too. The more developed a country, the higher the price of cooked food and it is self-service including clearing your own table after you finished your meal. In Bedok, the price of the food is higher and all self-service(same as developed countries but no need to clear the table). However, in Toa Payoh, not only the price is lower, many hawkers still serve and bring the food to your table. Bedok hawker center's market is upper middle class residents and therefore command higher price and lower service. Toa Payoh hawkers in contrast serves lower income group and therefore give more value for money.