Sigh! A Wonderful Day!

I did not go to pick up B1 because of a scheduled call with my boss.  He is not feeling well and we have to postpone the call.  I am a little worried about him.  He has not been communicating much on the email after he returned to US.  I hope he recovers soon.  I am afraid some of the food we ate caused him problem as well.  I had a huge migraine on the 2nd last day of our 3 countries tour.  It was longer trip for him as he was already out of his home 4 days earlier and return home a day later than me.  I prayed to angels to look after him and make him feel better.

B1 is back home and he has plenty of stories to tell us.  How hot in the afternoon and freezing at night.  The discrimination he faced when buying food in the food court during his R&R.  He is so tired he took a nap in the morning after breakfast which he did not eat.  B3 is very thrilled to try the new tabletop bbq stove we have.  We cut out some ribeye steak and bbq them on the dining table.  It was a slow meal.  Extra slow, so we have plenty of time to be together. 

After dinner, B2 cycled to meet his friends to discuss robotic program for school.  He is a part-time instructor.  B1 is surfing the net, B3 is watching tv, mummy is yakking away on the phone.  I am blogging:)

I feel wonderful with our family complete and just enjoying the routine stuff.  Life is good!

New Bike

I have been wanting to get a "hybrid" bike for since B2's bike cannot be ridden with "no hands".  I am now capable of ridding with no hands and always wonders why my boys who is alot better at balancing could not do it properly on the yellow Raleigh bike.  I tried it myself and found it unstable.  I could ride it with no hands before.  B1 fell using the Raleigh bike a couple of times.  The alignment must be out after the crash.

So I thought it is good to replace the Raleigh with a new bike.  Time to refresh my "fleet".  I decided on hybrid which it not the electric hybrid, rather between a road bike and a mountain bike.  So when my regular bike is punctured by a screw, I go to my regular bike shop to replace the inner tube and look for the hybrid bike.  There were two models.  The more expensive model, $780 had a 8 speed gear that is housed in a cylinder.  It looked interesting.  Only problem is it is made in China.  The other hybrid is 18 speed made in Taiwan and cost only $500.  I decided to by the $500 model even though the ride on the 8 speed is not bad.  I am a little uncomfortable with only 8 speeds.  Climbing hills may be difficult.  Also save $280 in the process.

Small Cozy Wedding Dinner

Wedding dinner is in Sheraton Towers.  Food from Li Bai.  I thought the food is quite good.  Just too much food and we are so so full. I weight more than 1kg that usual.  My weight was starting to go down to normal 89 and tonight I weighs 90.4kg.  I think a lot of the weight gain comes from liquid as I drank a lot as well.

There a total of 4 tables and one table is vegetarian.   Only relatives and close friends are invited.  The wedding dinner is quite nice as there are not many strangers.  We know most of the invitees except for some of their couple's friends.  I hope the couple will live happily ever after.

Getting Married

My brother-in-law is getting married tomorrow.  We have to get up early.  It is a DIY.  My wife have done up the flowers and pom-pom balls to decorate the wedding car.  The ceremony will be simple and it is my mother-in-law who is keen to see her son married.  My role is just to help out wherever and whenever needed.  There will be dinner for a small group of relatives.  So everything is tone down as the daughter-in-law seems to have an issue if the process of getting married is troublesome.

My wife is pretty excited and doing lots of preparation for her brother.  She is a good sister.

Friday Night

It is busy time on Friday night.  Ang Mo Kio Hub is full of people about.  Eating, shopping and in general enjoying the evening out like us.  We were doing window shopping.  All the resturants, cafes, coffeeshops and hawker centers are full.  I think many people eat at home on weekdays evening and more eat out on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. 

It is fun to go out once in a while.

Looking Forward to B1 Returning Home

Plenty of news on B1's exercise and live firing since PM Lee Hsien Loong is there to witness the whole exercise.  He made news with all his comments.  All positive about the sacrifices of NSmen.  It is called Exercise Wallaby in Rockhampton.  Now that it is in the news I can blog about it openly.

Exercise Wallaby is the longest trip B1 has gone out for.  I hope he has no more trips before he ORD in March next year.  ORD used to be called ROD, or run out date.  I remember always counting the days to ROD i.e. number of days before running out!  I guess the Army change ROD because in NS we are all looking to run out.  Yipppeeee!!  no more sadistics torture and restricted life!  It is happy time when ROD happens.  Army change from ROD to ORD which now means Operationally Ready Date.  Now it means you are fully trained and ready for war.  So it does not bring the same feelings as ROD.  So instead of being a "Reservist" which means you only go to war when fulltime NS men are not enough, you are now NSmen which mean if there is a war, you are activate right away.

Anyway, I think B1 will have to decide which school he want to go - NUS Law or UCLA Economics.  I hope he made a good choice for his career.

His two younger brothers told the Korean exchange student that the food will be better when their older brother is back.  They are looking forward for their brother to be home for dinner.  Yes, we all are happy that he will be back home next Tuesday.  It will be nice for him to rest at home and be with the family.

Low Back Ache

My back is sore and aching for the past week.  I think it is the hotel beds that cause this problem.  My kidney is weak as the Chinese Sinseh will say.  I had a cold spray and it works but only temporary relief.  I am now doing the "superman" exercise.  This is lying flat on my stomach and arching my back to strengthen my core muscles.  This is my recommendation to friends who suffers from low back pain.  It is the easiest and best way in my opinion to help relieve backache.

South Korean Exchange Student

B2 is "buddy" for a South Korean Exchange Student in Poly.  This student is spending a year in Singapore to learn more English.  He is 25 years.  He has a younger brother who is in the military service right now.  His hometown is Daejeon.  He is it is important to learn English and many Koreans are going overseas to learn English.  Good command of English helps in getting better jobs.
Although he had lessons in school and extra private lessons, there is not enough practice.  Hence a year oversea will help.  He has on 3 subjects on the first semester.  Effective Communication, Better Writing and Oversea Business.  So he will get plenty of English lessons for the time he is here.

The oversea attachment is quite good.  He lived in the apartment in polytechnic.  So he is living with all the students and some lecturers.  I guess we will see more of him in future.

Weight

It has been a long time since I blogged about my weight.  It is a boring subject.  My weight has been climbing steadily over the years.  30 years ago, it was 68kg.  Nowadays it is hovering between 88 and 90kg.  Looking at myself in the mirror, I can see the cellulite at my butt.  My waist is huge.  I need the cutdown but willpower is still weak.  Food is an enjoyable pastime and an obsession.

I am eating more healthy with less carbo and more meats, vegetables and fruits.  My bad habit is still tea with condensed and evaporated milk.  It is a calories laden drink.  If I cut this, my weight will not creep up anymore.  Unfortunately, it is very difficult and I have not achieve any success so far.

Experiment with Hydroponics

I was cleaning out my water pump for my fish pond.  It get clogged up really quickly due to the feces from the fishes.  I had goldfishes and an arowana.  The arowana grows fast eating up the small goldfishes and poos a lot!  I read that one winner of green innovation uses water hyacinth to clean up water from the pond and absorbing dangerous chemicals like selenium.  On a past article in Life section of Straits Times, I also remember there is a vegetable seed supplier in North Canal Road.  I decided to kill two birds with one stone - grow vegetable using the fish waste for fertiliser and cleanse the water pond with plants.  I bought the easiest to grow vegetable.  According to the seed seller, it is kangkong and red spinach.  I bought some of kangkong seeds.  The man scoop out seeds from a glass container into a small ziploc plastic bag.  Cost two dollars!  It is a lot compared to pre-pack seeds in the supermarket or nursery.  

I hope I get some success in kangkong growing.  I have to set up the water pump to pump up the water from the pond to the soil container for the kangkong.  Wish me luck!

End of Weekend

Morning was breakfast with mummy and B3 in Ang Mo Kio hawker center.  Just home (Singapore) taste of fried beehoon and lontong.  We bought two fresh fishes for dinner.  It is just a lazy Sunday for us.  B2 went off to host a Korean exchange student.  He brought the student along to deliver the custom-cue he made for his customers. 

We went to Chinatown to look for charcoal bbq stove for cooking at the dining table.  Unfortunately, Sia Huat is close.  We just act like tourist and wander about.  In People Park food center, man la kuo or spicy hotpot is quite popular.  Long queues and many tables are enjoying the China's dish.  All the customers are from mainland China. I must go back to try this dish when it is not so busy.

Late afternoon, I cycled in the PCN to Lorong Halus and turn back.  My waist is sore.  I wonder if my kidneys are weak or sleeping on hotel beds for two weeks in a roll is taking its toll.

Now, the day is ending and tomorrow will be the start of a new week.

Before I sign out for the week, I like to record my 3 gratitudes for the day:

1.  I am grateful my boys are healthy and well.
2.  I am grateful for Buddha blessings at work and in life.
3.  I am grateful for a good week and an enjoyable Sunday.

Holland Village

Holland V's MRT station has been operational for some time.  This morning is the first time I go to Holland V after a few years.  The last time I was there was when B1 had to appeal to ACJC.  That should be almost 4 years ago. 

Most of the new stalls have not change like Ah Kun Toast and BreadTalk.  The Ipoh Hor Fun is still there as well as the Japanese bread shop that pioneered layered choco wassant.  I grew up near Holland V and is very familiar with this place.  It is quite nostalgic for me as well.

B1 called, his outfield in Australia just finished.  He has 10 more days to go.  B2 is hosting a Korean exchange student until late.  I just pick him up from Nanyang Poly.  It is a long but fulfilling day today.

Music to My Ears

Instead of TV and all the news on US Presidential Elections, I take a break and play Yu Tian's album on my Bose system.  It has been long time since I used it. The remote control no longer works as the battery are totally drained and leaking. 

It is Long Su Xia that I like to listen to.  Then the other songs Yu Tian sang are not bad too.  It is just old Chinese songs and amazingly I begin to like them more and more.  I do not know why.  I used to listened to instrumental and English oldies.  I have been listening to the portable and Bose is totally different experience.  The sound is so much more vibrant and music more encompassing as it surround my room.  The atmosphere is different.

Today is Children's Day, so B3 has no school.  He has a birthday party in Garden Vista.  They went to Tott's to bake cookies.  After cookies, we had to pull him out for his tuition in Learning Labs.  Learning Labs is enormously expensive and we cannot afford to skip. 

It is the first time we bought the cordycep chicken and bought soup with it.  The chicken tastes the same.  The soup is fabuous as my wife is a fantastic cook when it comes to soup.  She is Cantonese and has strong beliefs that soup is the cure-all for many ailments.

Time for my 3 gratitudes.

1.  B2 is doing well in his part-time business
2.  B3 has improved in his Chinese
3.  We had a happy dinner.  B2 and B3 were laughing happily.

Getting to a Happy State

In one of the TED talks on Happiness, writing down my 3 gratitudes for the day everyday actually works!  I keep the exercise for 30 days and the benefits are still on today even though I have stopped my daily gratitude session.

I want to do my 3 gratitudes for today.

1.  My headache is gone.  It feels so good to be in normal state.

2.  I exercised by cycling for 45mins after two weeks of travelling.

3.  I am happy to be home in familar hawker centers and wet market.

It is simple pleasures that make me happy.  I am so easy to please...

Penang Hae Mee

It is so convenient and easy to replicate the cooking nowadays with prepack favouring.  We prepare Penang Hae Mee or Prawn Noodles for dinner.  We bought 400g of soft bone, fishcake, beansprouts and kangkong.  Boiled the soft bone and once cooked, simmer for a couple of hours.  Add Penang Hae Mee flavouring.  Then boiled noodle or beehoon.  Sliced the fish cake and hey presto!  You can enjoy a bowl of steaming hot prawn noodle.

Tonight is the meeting for the estate.  We have to maintain the common area.  A thankless chore for the committee members.

Weight Gain

Two weeks of travelling and my weight is up by more than 1 kg!  I was not well yesterday and did not eat much but this has not bring my weight down as I thought it would.  I will need to cut down on my calories intake and do more exercise.

It is just difficult especially when I walk down memory lanes and try out all the food I ate in the past especially in places like Min Tien, the hawker center food.  The rich tea did not help either.  Indian mamak stall's teh tarik with beehoon goreng was yummy.  Ole Ole Bali was fabulous.  We had seafood platter, bbq chicken, curry mutton and grilled fish.  It was fabulous.  Only problem was migraine in the middle of night and suffering in the morning until late afternoon.

I had migraine several times in KL.  It was usually after Nonya food or peanuts.  There is something in the food that causes severe headache that I cannot eat or drink.  I was glad to start recovering in the afternoon.

We work hard and eat harder.  So good, so good food.  It may be detrimental to my health for being a glutton.  Now that I am back, I can do some exercise.  Hopefully, I can reduce my weight and waist line. 

Yes, it is pay back time, for me!

Wan Tan Mee Man Gone

I had wanton mee for breakfast whenever I am in Sunway.  This has been like a relationship and now his stall is gone, I felt sad.  He may have moved to another location.  I always remember the wanton is black sauce and always requested that he keep the noodles warm for me.  My Japanese colleague will always request for curry noodle and I will order curry mee for him.  The curry mee stall is there but run by a foreign worker. 

For many years, I had wanton mee for breakfast every time I am here.  However, this morning his absence is sorely felt.  I was looking forward to see him this morning as I have not been back for some time now.  Anyway, it is another chapter closed.  We have to move on.  Even though it is just simple Wan Tan Mee, there is still an emotional bond.  I may be sentimental as this vendor was not friendly and over time become more cordial to me.

Night Walk

Instead of being cooped up in the hotel room with TV to keep me company, I have a chance to walk about the mall and coffeeshops.  I am a city boy who need the city buzz of the hawkers and people eating.  I visited Indian coffeeshops, surveyed all the food they have on display and look at what the patrons are eating.  It is an interesting pastime.  This place is alive even at 11pm.  It is like Roppongi.  The difference is Roppongi is full of clubs and here it is all the coffee shops.  The bars and cafe in Sunway is quite empty.  I guess it is just Tuesday night.  One of the bar I walked past has no customer at all.

There is a Borneo Rainforest directly opposite the main entrance of Sunway Resort.  It is hard to look inside.  I don't think it is well patronised.  Many years ago, I had teh tarik there.  There is still a makeshift store selling pirated DVD.  Each cost RM8.

I like the mobile steamboat.  There are a number of different items all skewered in a long bamboo stick.  You chose the items you like and put them inside the pot of boiling water.  Once it is cooked, you can eat it.  It is very retro and I still marvel that it is available here as this kind of mobile steamboat has disappeared from Singapore for probably 4 decades.

My migraine and nausea have gone.  The evening went well indeed.

Food Allergy?

I may have food allergy that I am not sure of.  I get severe headache after drinking alcohol no matter how small the quantity.  Last night, I had migraine which lasted until past lunchtime.  I skipped lunch.   However, I did not have any alcohol for dinner.  So it may be the food.  I suspect the peanuts or cookies in the hotel room that cause me this problem. 

It was so bad that I felt like vomiting and yet, I did not have any food for breakfast.  I took some fruit juice and Tyernol.  At about 10am, I took another two Dhamol.  I was feeling bad during lunch time and did not eat any food.  Just drink lot of premium lotus tea.  I added syrup to my second cup and immediately felt better.  It may be the sugar kicking in and helping to relieve my migraine.

Now I am recovering and feeling much better.  I am glad the trip is coming to an end and will be home soon.

Good Work!

We did good work today and have covered a lot of ground.  We have plenty of followups to do.  So it is a good day.  The potential in Asia is good and we are lucky to be in this part of the world at this time.  Still it is going to be a long haul ahead.  The economy in China is weakening as our partner told us.

We had dinner at Ole Ole Bali in Empire.  The food is good and we had a long conversation.  Time went by fast.  By the time we reach back to our hotel, it is 10pm.  Bedtime now....

Hotel Saujana

It has been years since I was last here.  I first stay this hotel when I got the job to transfer from Canada to Singapore.  It was a hotel I stayed for a few trips until my sales manager suggested Sunway Lagoon and since then I have not been back until today.  This hotel is a golf resort.  There is nothing else here.  It is peace and tranquility.   I like Sunway hotel or Royale Bintang or Boulevard as there is a mall right beside the hotel and I can take walks whenever I can.  It is good exercise and therapeutic.  I do not buy lots of stuff but do enjoys exploring the resturants and supermarkets.  Best of all, bookshops especially Borders.

My colleague prefers the quiet place where he can stay in the room work.  He will be in all day working on the spreadsheets and numbers.  I need to do people watching and to do this I need a place where people come and go. 

I also like malls that offers kopi tiam or local style coffeeshop like Pappa Rich, Uncle Lim or Kuang Station.  Actually, Jom Bali in The Curve is one of my favorite coffeeshop.  Maybe more will show up in Singapore once the company start to expand outside Malaysia like the Comedian, Mark Lee who franchise OldTown Coffee.

Yes, I am old fashioned to be in love with Kopitiam.

Flute and Guzhen Live!

B2 is working in Metro, City Square Mall, selling toys.  We send him there after his tuition.  At level One, there is a live performance of two ladies who play Chinese Orchestra music using flute and guzhen.  They played quite well.  Their performance attract a number of shoppers who enjoys the music.  I, too joined in to listen to a number of pieces.  It must have taken them years to practise and performing only during the mooncake festival bring in the mood.

Home-cooked Food

My first home-cooked meal in 7 days!  My current maid is not a good cook.  But it is good to eat home-cooked food.  We had two vegetable dishes and a tofu dish accompanied by black rice for carbo.  My first healthy meal too.

I am glad to get a break before I leave on Sunday to KL.  I like KL.  The malls are bigger and the food is similar yet different.  Everything is much cheaper too. 

My wife went to pick up her iPhone 5.  She is still using her iPhone 3 and it is wearing out.  I am more interested in the Samsung SIII.  I am looking forward to the SIII note.  I hope it is available when it is time for me to renew my contract. 

B3 is quite happy with the candy that I brought back.  They were gifts from Ana lounge because they cannot get the internet to work. 

Roppongi

I had a wonderful dinner at Lawry's.  The beef was good but the lobster's tail is just ok.  Maybe it is just because I am not a seafood lover.  The beef was medium well and is very tender.  I am glad I did not eat so much that I do not feel a forced fed duck.

After dinner, I walk to exercise and digest my stomach.  I was on the way to Roppongi and it drizzles.  The sky was heavy with clouds.  So I change my mind and walk around Ana Intercon instead.  Then the rain stopped and I walked to Roppongi.  The place is buzzing.  Lots of black men in suit trying to get attention of foreign men.  One came up to me offering topless show.  I ignore him and he gave up. 

At the cross junction, women dressed sexily looking bored waiting for clients.  So of the girls are good looking.  Most are just so so.  All very sexy.  There is even a black "woman" who I think look like she was not born a baby girl. 

Interestingly, or at least interesting for me, is a fairly big bookshop with a small English section.  I spent some time there.  I walk around to look for candy shop as B3 requested for a specific brand of candy which can only be found in candy shops.  I checked out all the convenient stores and one supermarket but no luck.

Plenty of clubs or "drinking place" as my ex-Japanese colleague would say.  Even opposite my hotel on the hill is full of drinking place staffed by pretty women.  Many Japanese men looked drunk.  I wonder why they need use alcohol and women as stress relief.  From what I see, it seems they spent lots of money on the women but no sex.  So I think the job for the women is not bad.  However, I have only snapshot look and did not have indepth understanding.  So I am just jumping to conclusion as it is probably a dog's life for the women who have to keep strange men happy and occupied.

Breather

Now I can take a breather.  Work is over for now and it is just following up on the discussions we had.  Best of all, we are on our own for dinner tonight.  We can order what we like and control what and how much we eat.  This is so nice. 

The last few dinners, while I enjoys the food, it is ordered by someone else and I do not have a chance to decide and have to keep eating to show my enjoyment.  I have gained weight. 

Tonight, it is Lawry's Prime Rib.  So I am looking forward to eating the quantity I will enjoy instead of stuffed like a duck fattening up for its liver.

Tokyo!

Up early in the morning at 5am to go to Incheon airport for Narita.  We should have gone by Gimpo to Haneda and save at least two hours of travel.  It is Roppongi area.  US Embassy's security is tight.  Surround by plenty of policemen on patrol and pedestrians have to give wide berth and walk around far from the building.

I had a short walk to Roppongi commercial area.  It has resturants like TGIF, Outback and Tony Romas.  It is a busy place. 

I had a walk after dinner to check out the train station for tomorrow and decided to take the backlane.  It look parallel and after a while I was deep inside somewhere and lost!!  I decided to get directions and the guy cannot read English.  So his colleague asked me if I can understand Chinese and gave me directions in Chinese.  I am glad to find my hotel and now safe and sound.  It is bedtime now...

Karaoke!

My host enjoys karaoke.  So I have to sing one song.  I chose Beautiful Sunday.  Halfway, he asked me to stop.  I guess he finally agrees that I am terrible in singing.  Anyway, it is quite fun just to make a fool of myself.  I do it just to be sporting and make him happy.

He is a warm host and like a big brother always insisting on his way.  I ate so much in the last few days that I am going to gain weight.  Gain a lot of weight.  I have to do more exercise when I reached home.

Another Day in Seoul

We had two meetings with 2 customers.  On a quick break before we have dinner.  I had a short walk for exercise and now writing down how my day go.

As usual, I look at all the local food offering.  Plenty of fried chicken with spicy sauce.  Then there are fairly exotic fare by my standard.  There is a huge live octupus available for sashimi.  The Paris Baguette shop did not look much difference from other bakery shops.  So I do not understand why it is so popular in Wisma Atria.

It will be an early start tomorrow.  We have to go to Incheon to fly to Narita.  We should have fly through Gimpo and going to Haneda.  We would have save at least two hours of travel.  We tried to change but the American Airlines is so inflexible on any changes. 

Seoul Good Dinner

It is always about food.  I had traditional Korean dinner with my host and my boss.  It is a real hole in the wall place.  We walk through the hole in the wall and it is a tiny shop lot like a single stall coffeeshop in Singapore.  The place can sit about 15 diners.  The old lady owner is the chef  and cook home-style traditional Korean meals.  We had hot plate pork accompanied by various sauces and kimchi.  Even the kimchi taste different from all the resturants we had been so far.  She is just a sweet lady and was not feeling good when she saw that we did not finished her soup.  So she made another bowl of the same soup for us.

I feel like a guest to someone's home.  It is obviously a favorite with local men.  Most smoked and eat their meals and go.  This is so like eating in a neighbourhood coffeeshop.  The meal was really enjoyable.  We ate so much.  The auntie is very warm even though she did not understand us.  She read our body language well.  I am sure she will be very happy to see me again if I drop by to eat.  I will be very happy as if I am visiting an old friend or relative.

Haelim Park

The photos were around Haelim Park.  Haelim Park is a botanic garden cum caves.  It has lava and limestone cave which is unusual as it is rare to have both combined.  It is usually one or the other.  The cave was easy walk.  Not climbing needed.  The cave is dripping water all the time and everywhere.  The limestone feature is interesting as well.  I looked at the caves and it is very interesting to see it live instead of on documentaries.  It is all lit up.  I am thinking the explorers of caves will need all the right gear and equipment.  On top of that, they have to bring lights and cameras to video and record the caves.  I was quite blown away to be inside a cave that is dripping water and then seeing the stalactites and stalagmites forming right in front of my eyes.  This is the best thing that happens for this trip.  I feel like a real scientist.

Jeju is a Volcanic Island

Old Movies and Happiness

My host has lots of old movies and I am watching them all over again.  I love them!  Maybe I am getting old.  Reliving old movies.  To Sir with Love, Love Story.  Amazing stories.  Classics, just like Sounds of Music.  Only thing is Love Story is a tragedy.  Not a good ending.  So sad and touching.  Maybe it is good to bleed once in a while. 

I realised I was quite happy for a while after the exercise of graditude for 3 things everyday.  I must start the whole exercise again.  It is not that I am unhappy but being happier is better.

I am grateful to be healthy.  I enjoy exercising.  I am grateful to have friends and family.  I am grateful for my well behaved boys.

Jeju Island!

What is lovely island this is!  A beautiful lush and green island.  It is full of farms, horse farms, cattle farms, mandarin oranges farms and vegetables farms.  There are plenty of golf resorts as well.  Many of the same flight as us from Seoul brought their golf clubs.

I am here watching To Sir with Love in the Raon Pivate Town.  It is so tranquil and relaxing .  A serene place away from the Madding Crowd.  I love this place.  Nothing much to do except to soak into the atmosphere and enjoy the scenery.  Of course if you like golf...

Good Evening

Dinner was our usual tofu with minced meat, stir-fried kailan and pork braised in soya sauce.  Dessert after dinner was cookies and coffee instead of our usual fruits.  The boys enjoy eating butter cookies from Mark and Spencer.  They dipped the cookies into my coffee.  Only B2 has a small cup to try.

We were talking about everything and nothing.  Until we realised iPhone 5 will be launched tomorrow.  So we decided to go to our regular Singtel outlet and check when we can get the phone.  The lady told us the launch is at MBS tomorrow.  We can get the phone only on Sunday.  I will not be in.  So it will be mummy who will claim the new toy.  Anyway, the iPhone 5 is for mummy as she is overdue.  The iPhone 4 Siri version was claimed by B2.  He upsets mummy tremendously when he sulked feeling that he should be the one to have the phone.  Mummy relented.  Now it is mummy's turn to claim the latest phone.

It is good to have a relationship with regular store because we can book and get the phone without any hassle.  We went to the supermarket to get some groceries before returning home.  I enjoys the two older boys following us to Singtel and supermarket doing routine errands.  We are a happy family.

I almost forgot.  We had a buffet lunch at a Japanese resturant in UE Square.  B1 went to this resturant with his army friends a few weeks ago and raving about it.  B3 is still in school.  So only B1 and B2 and we tried quite a few dishes.  We are so full after lunch as I drank at least for 4 cups of drinks.  The lunch is $50.50 per head!

Travel

Tomorrow is travel day for me.  I will be out for almost two weeks accompanying my boss for his Asian tour.  There will be several stops and we have set up many meetings with customers.  It will be busy time. 

My worry is I will eat too much.  With so many lunch and dinner meetings included, I expect to gain at least 2kgs.  The bad thing is I am the one who set up all the meetings to include meals.  Business relationships improved at a more relaxed setting like lunch or dinner.  The other key is go to office to talk golf and conduct business at the golf course.

I must observe my food intake during meetings as I tend to focus on business and forget that I am drinking and eating too much.

Tensions Easing

I am glad to hear on the news that the China-Japan tension over the Daoyu island is easing.  It was a worrying issue.  Now that the tension eases, it is good for everyone.  On the interview, the security was tight at the Japanese embassy and passerbys were interviewed.  Protest cause disruptions to people's lives.  Once you prove your point, it is time to get back to regular living.

I like the attitude.  The police or public security as it is known in China had send sms to tell people to avoid the area.  So calm prevails although under heavy police presence.  This is far better than cries for war.  I hope the issue get resolved peacefully.

War Cries

It is worrying to see on the news that the Chinese are protesting and calling for war with Japan.  The leadership transition is China means delicate times.  I reads on the papers the Chinese and the rest of Asia do not like Japanese superior attitude and condesending manner when it come to their war crimes.  Chinese military has gone from strength to strength.  Now there is an aircraft carrier in its arsenal.  I hope the countries find ways to de-escalate the tensions.  Otherwise, the military brass will find an excuse to go to war.  War give the military the reason to justify its existence and increase the money it will get.

Bonjour and Lavender

Both are bread shop near the hotel.  Just before checking out, I went to buy some of the interesting looking bread.  My family loved the cream puffs from Bonjour.  Luckily, I bought half a dozen.  They looked yummy and best of all cost RM2.80 each or slightly over a dollar Sin.  The same puff will cost S$2.50 in Singapore.  From Lavendar, it is the long Danish stick with cream that got my family's votes.  The other breads did not get special mention.  So my next trip to KL, I will just focus on the two winners and buy more of them instead.

Bonjour's sales staff is quite nice.  He knows that I am a visitor and asked if I am going to take a long time before eating the puffs.  So he get a ice-pack for me.  The garlic loaf is not so good.  Maybe it is no longer fresh and the french loaf gets very tough.  The olive loaf is quite nice.

From Lavender, we tasted the red bean in a long bun (average although looked appealing), cheese stick and cheese bun(both okay).  The round pastry bun with maple syrup is also ok.  Again looked delicious but does not taste as good as its look.

It is really fun to stay in different hotels with different malls.  We get to try out different kind of bread.  I was sad when Japanese loaf with custard bakery closed.  Each loaf is RM18 and I will always buy one loaf home and my boys loved them.  They can be kept in the fridge and toasted before eating.  It is quite heavenly actually. 

One Utama

My guest from Korea says that this mall is huge and we were just walking on the basement part.  I told him Coex mall is big too.  But he says only underground.  There is nothing above which is true except for Hyundai Store which is 7 floors or more.  1U must be one of the largest mall in South East Asia.  I told him we just like to shop as we do not have anything else to do.  Actually, there are plenty to do in Malaysia with kampungs, National Parks, beaches and islands.

One Utama is massive and full of shoppers.  I am a shopper too.  I just enjoys window shopping as I believe it is not green to buy stuff.  I need to see new gadgets, products and food items. It is an enjoyable pastime beside reading, blogging or eating.

Budget Terminal

The budget terminal in Changi reminds me of small airports.  It is quite retro.  Bring back memories of growing up. On the 25th of September at 2am, it will closed permanently and be rebuilt into Terminal 4.  The price of F&B is very reasonable compared to those in T1, T2 or T3.  The shops are designed like in what you see in exhibitions, long horizontal signage supported by thin vertical pillars.  The signages and letterings are similar with those in exhibitions.  There are plenty of ATMs or teller machines from different banks and all of them are in line of sight unlike the other terminals which are lost in the crowded and massive thoroughfare.  The atmosphere is cosy as there are not as many people.  It is like living in a small town.

I am sorry to see it has to make way for a spanking new and modern Terminal 4.

House Warming Surprise

At about 10:30am, my mother-in-law called my wife.  Her brother is having a house warming party at 11am.  Kind of short notice.  We have to change our plans for our errands.  When we reached the house, we realised we were the last to be informed.  Obviously, my wife is bottom on the totem pole.  As usual, I am frank and open to point this out.  My mother-in-law tried very hard to explain why.  At the end of the day, actions speak a million words. 

The food was vegetarian and we had fried noodles, braised mushrooms with romaine lettuce, vegetarian abalone and celebrate her birthday, another surprise!  So plenty of surprises for today. 

After the house warming, mummy brought the two older boys to do some shopping as Denizen has sales ending today.  B3 wanted to go home.  Only when we reached home do I realise why.  He wants to play with his friends.  He is so lucky to have so many friends to play with.  He is very happy in the pool and he has three new friends from France who recently moved to our estate. 

B1 managed to get some new pants as all his current ones were kind of worn out. 

Closing Down Sales

B1 was excited about 30% discount storewide by Carrefour.  So after dinner, we went to Carrefour in Plaza Singapura.  Most of the items are sold.  There are not much merchanise left. All perishables are gone except for some fishes and packaged fresh meat.  The boys bought toothbrush and toothpaste as they are running low.  I had Salonpas, the spray type for aching muscles.

Plaza Sin is quite busy.  We reach about 8pm and at 9:30pm it is still full of shoppers.  On the way home, we can see Serangoon Road is full of merry makers. 

Singapore come alive on Saturday night!

Forgot to Write!

I was so busy with work that I forgot to write yesterday!  I promised to write everyday as a discipline and to improve my writings.  I was a little surprised that I have forgotten to write my entry yesterday when I signed in to blog.

My mind is busy and working on the future.  Boh Tong always advise me not to write about work as it is boring.  I try to write about other subjects like my daily events or books I read.  I enjoys going back to read what had happened in the past.  It is a good way to relive my memories.  Also I like it words more than pictures.  Words can describe emotions and feelings which pictures cannot.  Neither can pictures tell you about taste or smell.

Writing is a good way to relax.  It is also rewarding as there is clear outcome.  My boys have stopped writing their blogs.  All their classmates have stopped too.  I guess young kids have busy lives and writing blogs get dropped off first.

Recently, there is a lot of buzz about young adults leaving Singapore disillusioned by the life here.  There are plenty of responses from older folks who have left and now thinking of returning.  They had a wonderful life elsewhere but now starting to miss the hawkers food.  Talking about food, I will like to live in Thailand.  The food is good, choice is wide and cost is low.  What a wonderful combination!

Busy Busy Busy!

It is crunch time.  Plenty of work to do and plenty of thinking to do.  Yes, it is the time for planning and forecasting.  I am glad to most of my customers are very nice and give me support when I need.  It is nice to good customers who understand. 

Billards

B2 has been bitten by the billard bug.  He first played billard maybe 6 months ago after visiting a friend's who lives in City Square condo.  Since then, he has been playing regularly and spending about $90 last month.  I was a little concern even though he is spending the money he earns by giving tuition.

Today, he cycled to Punggol to play.  B1 was having two days off from camp and wanted to cycle with me.  So off we go and we decided to stop by Punggol Prawn Fishing to have a look and at the same time check on B2. 

B2 was playing pool with his friend.  He is actually quite good as he managed to hit the balls into the pockets.  So I am impressed!

Why I return to Singapore

I left Singapore at the age of 28, older than the 20 year olds who are leaving the country today. I lived in Canada.  Starting life in a total new country was hard in the beginning.  Over time, we made friends and life become better.  We go fishing in summer, cut grass, maintain the house and explore the country.  We drove to Ottawa, Kingston, and other cities.  In winter, we visit friends and invite them over.  Except for sports, we are more or less living a Canadian life.  Income tax was high at 48% and consumption tax was 15% comprising 7% gst and 8% pst or provincial sales tax.  It was as Beeconomics founder describes in today's Sunday Times, living from paycheck to paycheck.  But we were happy.

Tragedy strikes.  My wife's younger sister died on the plane on the way to visit us in Canada.  So we returned to Singapore where our families are.  Singapore has many advantages.  Tax is low and environment is safe.  It is a good place to raise kids.  School is pressure cooker which is a negative.  We were mystified by the obsession with money, buying property and IPOs when we have lunch with our colleagues. 

The general atmosphere is also tense as there are constant reminders from the government to work harder and strive harder, or as a country we will not survive.  This makes a highly stressed society.  Seeing a doctor is free in Canada but you have to pay for the drugs and the pharmacist for every drug he or she picks for you.  While seeing doctor is free, you are also tied to the system.  If you requires specialist, your family doctor must be convinced and refer you to the specialist.  The queue to the specialist will be at least 3 months.  In Singapore, you just go to the Heart Center or Cancer Center or Skin Center and pay as a private patient to shorten the queue.  In Canada, there is no choice.  If you want to shorten the waiting time, you have to cross the border to US.

Singapore runs well almost to the clockwork of Switzerland but not quite.  Traffic conditions is far better than Highway 401 traffic in Toronto.  There is  wider choice than before, even gambling but no Playboy yet.  The primary purpose focus is do well in school and do well at work.  You can volunteer to help the less fortunate but there is no way to get out of the rat race.  Life is Singapore is stable and comfortable.  We are at leading edge of technology.  We can afford to outsource our housekeeping chores.  In Canada, we have to do all the household ourselves.  We treat ourselves on alternate week with part-time help.

I loved the 4 seasons but do not miss the long winter.  Singapore still get the thumbs up for weather - no need to clear snow on the driveway before going to work.  Happiness levels have been increasing with more parks and park connectors.  We are a food heaven!  We are spoilt for choice here.  In Toronto, it is Hong Kong style food or Vietnamese for Asian fare.  I do love the Italian or Canadian resturants.  Eating out is so affordable in Singapore compared to Western countries.

Economies in Asia are doing well and growing.  Opportunities are plenty compared to Canada.  Finding work or starting business is relatively easier.  We are less tolerant of same sex relationships, it does not affect me or my family.  Crime rate is low and it is safe to go anywhere anytime.  The political climate is resticted according to some but we are not into politics, so it does not matter.

Singapore has its warts.  We loved living here.  It is safe, comfortable with good healthcare system.  I do hope Singapore will treat the elders (seniors in Canada) with more respect and help them age gracefully instead make them eked out a living cleaning hawkers centers, toilets or collecting cans and waste cartons boxes.

Yes, life here is a rat race and we are all rats.

Ocean Resturant

B1 and B3 had lunch at Ocean Resturant in Ngee Ann City 5th floor with us.  It is new resturant right beside Imperial treasure.  B2 was at Kovan Center for his pool tournament.  The resturant is very popular and we had to wait for some time to get a table.  It is Teochew food but Hong Kong style.  So there is a lot of Cantonese dim sum. 

The food is not bad but the price is higher than Imperial Treasure.  It does have roast goose.  Only Teochews eat goose.  Cantonese has only roast ducks.  After lunch, mummy brought B3 to get some new clothings.  His t-shirts and shorts have plenty of holes in them.  They are also too small for him now.  B1 and I go to Kinokuniya to browse books.  I loved spending time in Kino.  It is relaxing for me.  I hope Kino will continue to stay for a long time now that we have lost Borders and Page One.

20 years old leaving Singapore

The article posted by Yahoo! caught my interest.  The letter by zing is articulate and touching.  It was reposted by you don't have to agree and there are plenty of comments which is interesting reading.

This bring memories of why I left Singapore and live in Canada.  I did not leave Singapore because I was disillusioned by the pragmatism or just chasing after jobs, careers or money as many of the Singaporean youths are feeling today.  Nor did I leave because of the tight controls Singapore government impose on every aspect of citizen's life. 

I left because I want to experience living in different country.   Many youths on the says they love the warts and failings of other city they are living or going to live.  There is nowhere that will fit into all our ideal lifestyle.    We have to experience different lifestyle in the different countries or cities to know and understand and then to love. 

Singapore really have very little in terms range of lifestyles as it is a city-state.  There is no rural community or different cities in the country to move to.  You can only move from Ang Mo Kio to East Coast or Jurong.  There are regional differences but it is impossible to experience a significant lifestyle difference.  Singapore does not has enough space to have a couple more Bollywood farms.  Kampong Buangkok is so tiny and will likely be gone once the owner who is single and about 60 years old pass on.

So to all the youths of Singapore who are disillusioned and want to move on to another country.  I would say "go forth and experience something else".  You are in the prime of life and it is time to broaden your horizon.  The world is your oyster.  Make the world a better place.  You may return to Singapore like I do or if you love your new home, live there.  I may go back to live in Canada when I retire.  It is a good country and take good care of seniors.

Trash Packs

B3 was very interested in the latest toy fad, trash packs.  He got interested and insist on buying the trash packs when we were in Italy.  He will survey every kiosk sells magazines in train stations and along the streets for trash packs.  Once we are home, he is still excited about the toys.  He sincerely believe it will come to Singapore.  And a couple months ago, trash packs was indeed launched.  Now he is very excited that series 2 trash packs will be launch next week.  It is hard for an adult to understand why kids like small pieces of coloured plastics.

Steak and Ribs

We went to Foodie Market in Tiong Bahru and bought a lot of meat.  One beef tenderloin weighing more than 2kgs.  Six racks of BBQ baby back ribs.  Ribeye pork chops and regular pork chops.  I cook up one tenderloin steak and two racks of ribs.  Mmmm.  Yummy!  We did not cook any rice, so we had naans and french fries for our carbo.  I like my steak medium but my wife always complains and I have to slice out a portion and make it well-done.  The bbq back ribs are easy, just heat and serve.  No need to watch for the cooking time or heat level.

All three boys are in for dinner tonight.  B1 is home from army.  B2 just returned from a 3 days robotics camp in Pei Hwa. 

Now that the boys are growing up, they are having more and more activities that they stay out.  Slowly, they are going to "flew the coop".  I hope my boys will continue to stay us after they finished army and university.  This will only happen if they work in Singapore.  If they find work outside Singapore, then they will be living outside the home they grew up in.  What will be will be.

You are Hired!

I am not a big fan TV series.  I got hooked onto this series when I left my TV on channel U at 8 plus in the evening.  What pip my interest is it is business themed show.  There is a lot of business strategies and advice.  So it is very easy to relate to the caricatures of the business situations and office politics.  Hong Kong script writers are really amazing.  The political situations are depicted colourfully and injected with humour.  So it is both funny and educational. 

I was impatient.  So my wife who is a master in watching TV series free help me to locate the show for .... yes! FREE!  It cannot be watch in internet explorer, only on safari or google chrome.  You can go to alodrama.com to view this HK drama.  The advantage of watching in the net rather than the Channel U is there is English subtitles.

I watch You are Hired on alodrama.  The second last disk and a couple other disks was deleted from the servers.  No worries.  The final episode is fine.

Murtabak at Victory in North Bridge Road

Last night, the documentary on century old business, Victory Resturant was featured.  It is more than 100 years old and it is the third generation running the business.  I decided to try the signature dish murtabak.  Like the owner who was interviewed, it is just normal.

Mummy did not like the murtabak as it contains too much chopped onions.  She requested for egg prata.  Her first bite and there is a long strand of grey hair.  It is terrible.  Just like Zam Zam, the Indian resturant next door, the hygiene factor is not so good.  Zam Zam, I recall was suspended before many years now for faeces found in the nasi bryani.  I did not complain.  She later regrets eating up the egg prata.  Sigh!  I am more tolerant of less hygiene conditions.  After all, in the army during my time when we are out in the field, we ate with very dirty hand and did not get sick(I lied!  I did a couple of times but recovered).

After lunch, we explores the shops along the road.  B3 was happy to get kooti kooti from Tai Sing.  The kooti kooti is just a piece to foam unlike the small hard figurines made of hard plastics of different colors during my time. 

Yesterday's Event in PCN

We missed the event in the Punggol PCN yesterday.  We ride there today to check it out.  However, all the temporary shelters are being dismantled.  All the sound systems are gone.  Only a gigantic red banner behind the water curtains remain.  It reads "Official Opening of National Games 2012".  B1 and B3 ride with me and we went through Punggol Point.  There are lots of fishermen but no one seems to have caught anything yet.

Home-made Chendol

It is so easy to make chendol nowadays.  Everything is available at NTUC Fairprice.  The black jelly, the green "worms" (i.e. the real chendol), cold prepacked coconut milk and gula melaka.  I used young coconut as a container.  It cost only $1!  The taste is very passable considering it is such a shortcut.  It is not as nice as freshly squeeze coconut milk but far superior than canned coconut milk or those in a tetrapak.

I am satiated with my home-made dessert.  My boys are happy with the chuck tender beef although mummy is quite concerned with the rare part.

Turkish Lunch

This afternoon, we had our lunch in what B3 called "Ali Baba's Place" when he was very young.  We were very surprised and actually delighted that as a toddler he can recognised this place as Ali Baba's place.  I was explaining to the older boys that this place has historical significance as it is where all the Arab traders used to stay, Arab Street.  B3 who was 5 or 6 years old burbed out Ali Baba's Place.  I realise he saw the mosque with the domes. 

It was exactly like Disney's cartoon, Ali Baba.  Since then, I always called it Ali Baba's Place.  Today, he corrected me and tell me it is Kampong Glam.  He had excursions in school where they are brought to different areas in Singapore to learn history including Chinatown and Little India.

We went to a resturant that has good Turkish bread.  Our boys like the breads very much as they are freshly baked and tasted heavenly.  We had a dish of assorted bbq items.  We loved to bring our boys for cultural experience especially when it comes to food.

Gearing Up for Tomorrow

PCN is busy with all the contractors setting up the speaker system and temporary toilets.  A huge 40 feet lorry is unloading canoes for tomorrow's event.  It will be huge as 10,000 people expected to attend tomorrow accord to Yam Ah Mee.

So if you are going to PCN for your regular exercise tomorrow, forget it.  It will be close.  However, public is welcome to join the celebrations.  Our government is spending money to build cohesiveness through National Events like this.  It is a week of competitive games I believe.

I hope it does not rain tomorrow afternoon.

Accurate Forecast

I was on the way to drink tea at the AMK Ave 10 market.  On the FM90.5, Brian Richmond was giving the weather forecast that it is going to rain in several places this morning.  The sky was clear when he announced the rain forecast.  True enough, it actually rained an hour later.  Our weather forecast has improved compare to the general "isolated rain" many years ago and the rain did not come many times.  I remember my school teacher telling us that if it rains, the forecast is right and if it did not rain, the forecast is still right!  He did not think highly of the Meteorological Dept of Singapore.

This morning, I would say our Meterological Dept if it is still going by this name has redeem themselves.

Expensive Parking at Shangri-la

I reached Shangri-la this morning slightly after 8am.  I had a meeting at 8:45pm.  My meeting finished 10:10 am.   The privilege of two hours parking is $10.  Really expensive.  I was kicking myself for forgetting to get complimentary car park.  Whenever I have meetings in the hotels outside Singapore, I always remember to ask my guests if they need to get the carpark tickets stamped.  The problem is in Singapore there is no ticket as our parking system uses cashcards.  So it is easy to forget.

Shangri-la considering the age of the hotel is still very nice.  I like the ambient.  It is also an oasis of calm and nature right at the heart of the city.  I like the hotel.  It is elegant!

Home

It is good to be home.  The boys are happy.  Then we had a fight.  B2 was saying he was starving and I said must make sure dinner is always cooked.  B1 told the maid not to cook.  As I write, I just realise our helper is the root cause of us getting into fights.  She will keep asking what to cook and we have to provide her with answers.  She says we are not eating her food and therefore she does not know what to cook.  So I realised that instead of thinking of how to improve she send put the monkey on our back.  This cause us to be responsible for her cooking. 

Come to think of it, since she arrived, she has cause a number of fights between our family members.  It is an interesting phenomenon.  A new addition can disrupt the family harmony.

Bad Traffic

The traffic is Bangkok is still unpredictable.  My meeting today is late for half an hour because the traffic comes to a standstill.    So my customer says it is better to take train as the timing is more predictable.  Taking a cab, there is always a risk if there is an accident or traffic get stopped for no apparent reason.

I think the traffic has improved but bad traffic conditions still happens frequently.  The mass rapid system did help in reducing the infamous traffic jams of Bangkok.  I love Bangkok.  The food is good and the streets are always full of hawkers selling everything mostly clothings, a cut-fruits stall here and there and many snacks stalls.  There is always a stench of rotting matter.  The city is vibrant and full of life.  I love this place.  Especially good food at reasonable price.

Bangkok

I arrived in this wonderful capital of Thailand yesterday.  The airport rail is now working and it is so easy to get to the city.  No traffic jams!  Can you believe it?  It actually take about an hour to travel with the required changing of a different line to get the final destination.  So taxi is still a good option.

I had a meeting immediately after checking in.  There are plenty of tourists and I would say tourism is back in.  The streets are busy and traffic is still very heavy.  It seems the city has recovered from the effects of the severe floods a few months ago. 

On the lift, a passing conversation with a woman here on business.  She says there are so many opportunities here.  Business climate in Thailand seems to be better than what is reported in the main stream newspapers.  The market is very competitive for my products as the domestic manufacturers dominate.

Travel Deals

Today is the last day of Natas.  We heard from our neighbour the deals are good.  So we decided to go to Expo to check it out.  The crowd was huge and queue long.  Many have bought packages as they wheel back "free" luggages to their cars. 

We try to see if we can get a deal on Club Med as it is all inclusive pack.  The problem with the deals is the dates are not friendly to B2's availability.  So we gave up as the dates we can travel is at the highest price.  So in order to enjoy the deal, B2 may have to skip class. He may be exams or presentation.  It was just too difficult or it is not a deal at all.

We spent $12 to go in and see all the travel companies under one roof competing for customers.  The prices advertised are so attractive.  However, when we dig further, we are unable to enjoy the fabulous prices.  Sigh....we left the place wiser.  Natas is not for our family.

Yam Ah Mee

Before going to PCN, I reminded B2 to exercise and he says he will join me in ride.  So it is a father and son ride this afternoon.  B2 was happy to chat away about his business and his interest in billard.  We cycled until we reach the water curtain.  There we saw Yam Ah Mee.  There will be an event next Saturday.  This is a rehearsal and Yam Ah Mee was there.  B2 was a little excited and he wanted a picture with him.  So he got his iPhone ready and the we approach Yam Ah Mee.  I reminded him to ask Mr. Yam if he could take a picture with him.  Yam Ah Mee was very nice and obliges.  I told a couple of photos for them. 

B2 was excited and told mummy when mummy called.  Then tell his brother when he called.  He is very happy!

Thanks a bunch, Mr. Yam! for making my boy happy.

Mount Alvernia Doctor Stitching Up the Wound

Finally, I manage to upload the video of B3's wound.  Above is the video of the doctor stitching up the wound.

Hari Raya Visitings

My neighbour has visitors for Hari Raya.  They are teenagers and looked like the classmates of daughter who is studying in Ngee Ann Poly.  All of them dressed in new brightly coloured clothes.  They look very happy grinning from ear to ear.  Some are on the swing in the front yard.  I can see the kids are enjoying themselves and looking very happy to be in the house. 

Just seeing the visitors so happy makes me happy and glad to be living here.  It is a nice home - spacious with a swimming pool.  I am quite sure the teenagers are a little envious of all the kids playing in the pool.  Actually, the younger brother of the host is in the pool with other neighbours' boys.

I came back home and tell my wife about it.  It is nice that people appreciate our homes.

Indian Food Fest!

I have been going for nasi bryani recently.  I had it for lunch and dinner today.  Yesterday, was naan and roti.  My wife now has craving for local hawker food.  She thinks it is due to the overdose of Indian food in the last few days.  I went bersek after making my in-laws happy with Mustapha outing.  So it is my Indian food festival for my family for the past few days. 

Basmati rice has low GI or glycemic index.  So bryani rice may be healthier.  However, the mutton curry will cause the cholesterol to go off the scale.  I do know this for a fact!!!  I had the nasi bryani in a medical conference in Islamabad.  I was exhibiting and we have plenty of time to kill during the conference.  Our busy periods was tea breaks and lunch. Next to my booth was supplier of cholesterol measuring machine.  Lunch was mutton bryani and it was so so good.  Being bored, we kind to teach each other on our machines.  I tested my blood and I never forget it was so high that it passes the maximum limit of the machine.  It was so delicious and so unhealthy.

Food intake affects the results blood tests.  This is why we told not to take any drinks or food for 8 hours before our blood is drawn for testing.

Continuing on the topic of food, Takashimaya has temporary tenant who sell the Amy Yip Pao.  This Pao is the size of Amy Yip's "pao".  It has pork, chicken, mushroom and chinese sausage.  It is very tasty.  Also quite good value at $3.50.  A meal by itself!

New Neighbours

We have new neighbours from France.  Our neighbourhood is 20% French!  The French school has an impact on where French expats like to live.  My son is trying to learn a little French as well.  It is good intermixing.  It is also good cultural exchange for my youngest.  He enjoys making new friends.

Today, the container with all their household furniture arrived.  I guess they are happy to have all their barang barang (things).  The garage has bicycles.  So they are all set to explore the PCN.

Meanwhile, it is life as usual for our family.  After the accident B3 had and showing off his stitches, he is back to studying for his mid-term.  Luckily, his mummy has a good way to make him do his work.  He is very happy when she says good things about him.  When I say the same things he says I am sarcastic.  I have no idea why he believes his mummy and does not believe me. 

Showing Off

B3 is excited about showing of his stitches when he go to school today.  He want to make sure his classmates and friends saw the stitches.  He is happy the girls "EEEEE!" away.  A little disappointed that the boys' reactions are more muted.  The wound is healing well.  It has dry up and there is a scab forming.  He no longer take painkiller as it does not bother him much now.  It is still sore and sensitive to touch.  Kids recover fast!

B1 was having sore abdomen.  He has been taking yakult and lacteol fort religiously.  Mummy thought it is intestinal issue and asked him to take lacteol fort.  Lacteol fort contains probiotics bacteria.  He went to the dentist for scaling and cleaning this morning.  According to the dentist, his teeth were quite dirty.  He has to see him every 6 months.  After his dental appointment, he went to the medical center to see the MO (medical officer).  The MO test his urine using strip test and found white blood cells.  This is indication of Urinary Tract Infection or UTI.  MO decide to send his urine to the lab for a full test.  I hope he will be treated for the infection soon.

My Niece

I was cycling in Punggol PCN as usual.  Today is Hari Raya holiday, so it is quite pack with merry makers and weekend joggers and cyclists.  I have my portable speakers on rather loudly to let people know my presence.  I love to listen to books and songs.  It is a little "loud" and drawing attention as well.  I was passing a couple when I heard "che che!"  My middle niece was jogging with her boyfriend.  I feel good with her calling me so loudly.  So I cycled slowly to keep pace with her.  Her boyfriend took off at a higher speed.  We did not talk much as I do not want her to be breathless since it is hard to talk and run at the same time.

This middle niece has much higher EQ and is better at building relationships.  I wished we had more time with them when they are growing up.  Anyway, we have regular gatherings nowaday.  I am happy to see my nieces.  They are the daughters of our family.

Review of Past Medical Records

I was not feeling good recently.  Thought I may have undiagnosed heart disease or time's up.  This may be due to my brother and father-in-law open heart operation.  It also may be the death of a young ex-colleague.  I just reviewed my past medical check up.  It is good that I kept all the records. Seems like I am healthy as a bear.  I do have some minor ailment like fatty liver or high LDL.  I also had calcium scoring and stress ECG both indicate my risk of heart attack or coronary heart disease is low.

After reviewing my medical records for the past 4 years, it looked like I need not worry so much.  I should be worrying about business and earning money to sustain life in a city.  Wish I can live like Robinson Crusoe as the Australian did on today's Sunday Times.  He has a dog and solar powered internet access.  No savages or Friday to keep him company.  However, he does get occasional visitors like his son.  It is lonely but he has peace.  I wonder how if he is sick.  Maybe he is not likely as he has healthy lifestyle.

Family Outing

It is Hari Raya today.  My wife want to bring her parents out for meal.  She did not like my suggestion on the place.  My in-laws are vegetarians.  So in order to eat out with them, it is only vegetarian food.  There is only one vegetarian food I really like.  It is in a hawker center.  I like the stall as it has zichar.  I love the deep fried crispy dishes.  The problem is my wife does not the environment.  The hawker center is hot and quite messy.  The seats can be dirty. 

My father-in-law is looking for a pair of sneakers.  So we brought them to Mustapha, the store that has literally everything under the sun.  After purchasing the sneakers, we went to Hillman Resturant for lunch.  We requested two specially cooked dishes which is free of meat, onions or garlic.  I ordered our favorites - deep fried pork, paper chicken, claypot tofu and sambal kangkong.  My boys and in-laws loved the food.  I been to this resturant since I was a small boy.  There is a picture of the resturant of Queen Elisabeth visiting it in 1965. 

After our scrumptious lunch, we went back to Mustapha just to pass time and shop.  We bought some frozen roti prata and naans.  The brands are different from Fairprice.  We had the roti for dinner and they tasted good. 

It is a good to bring my in-laws to Mustapha.  Amazingly, it is a totally new experience for them.  They have not been to Mustapha before.  B1 also find the place different.  What he did not realise is the new wing makes the place bright, clean and upmarket.

It is a good family outing, a good meal and then just passing time together.

Nasty Deep Gash

My swimming pool is aging.  This afternoon, B3 had a severe and deep cut from the broken tile.  We brought him Mount Alvernia and he needed 3 stitches to close up the wound.  Cost $250!  I tried to get the painkillers so as not to waste time waiting.  I have to pay first!  Singapore, I guess anywhere else on earth, if you do not have money, you do not get treated.  I worry about the future where we are more and more like the US.  If you are not insured or have no money, the hospital will refuse to treat you as healthcare system is private.  No such thing as treat you first and then ask you to pay.
No money, no medicine.  So we will be like the society where you have to work to death.  The moment you cannot contribute to economy or society, your usefulness is gone and you will have to fade away.  Society does not care:(

Funny Feelings

Maybe because I was out for a week.  Maybe I may be sentimental.  I missed my B1 this week.  Every dinner, I wished we are complete as a family.  Tonight, I am glad all three boys are having dinner with us.  We ate all the leftovers.  Toa Payoh pau from this morning, nasi bryani from lunch and other leftovers from previous two dinners.  I wonder why I miss my boy so much.  He is going to be out for University soon and then work.  I think he is likely to work outside Singapore.  It is a matter of time my boys will fly the coop.

Let's talk about the nasi bryani.  Today's Nasi Bryani is from the recommendation of "Gintai" blog.  It is from the coffeeshop at Carpmael Rd and Crane Road junction.  The bryani rice is a little too spicy for my family.  The best banana leaf bryani rice is still the Shami in Yishun.  It is no longer in North Point or rather Koptiam took over the stall although it is serving the food.  I think the owner has foresight and bought a shop on Sembawang Road.  Now, it has control of its own destiny.  I understand it is opening a stall in Woodland mall.

It is hard to express my feelings.  I like Sumiko Tan's article.  I actually saw her in Popular with her sister and her nephew and niece.  When I read her column about the visit, I remember distinctly how bored she looked and she describe the scene so well that I can picture the encounter with her. I have plenty room to go to improve my writing.

Worlds in Collision

I always read about Velikovsky's books since I started to read about psychic subjects in secondary school in early 70's. The books were out of print.  It was impossible to find even in 2nd hand bookstores.  Internet was born and then Amazon dotcom.  Even at Amazon the books were out of print and only old hardcovers are available at an exorbitant prices from their owners.

Recently, new softcover Velikovsky's books are available.  I order them from Amazon and received the books after waiting for more than 3 months as I chose the cheapest freight option.  After waiting for so many years of waiting, what is 3 more months.

Worlds in Collision is the first book.  The first couple of chapters is quite regular.  Then it become interesting.  It is about the stories from the different cultures.  I remember one Chinese lesson about one hero who shot down 8 suns with an arrow.  This story is in the book!  I can recall vividly how my Chinese teacher says it was nonsense as there is only one sun and how can an arrow shoot down a sun.  According to Velikovsky, earth collided with a comet.  The rotation and axis shifted.   The sun stay in the same position for 3 days.  Everything was burning.  People who jumped into the water to cool down was boiled to death when the sea water start to boil.

I shall write more about this as I read further.

Meditation and Happiness

Search Inside Yourself is meditating and improving Emotional Intelligence.  Meditation is a powerful tool.  Something I find hard to do or practise.  There are plenty of exercise and I tried a couple.  It is quite easy to do.  I highly recommend this book.  Google has huge success and this is one of the success factor.

I am listening to Happiness Advantage and it is also quite interesting.  Willpower get used up and the way to change habit.  I am glad to learn more ways to keep happy.

Premature Death of an Ex-colleague

Yesterday morning, an sms from an ex-colleague advising that one of our ex-colleague has passed away.  It is shocking news as he is quite young.  He is a jovial guy who always make jokes.  I went to the wake and get more information on his demise.

His father was there telling stories to my two colleagues who arrived earlier.  He has cancer of the spine, bone marrow, liver and kidney.  He had nose cancer two years ago and he is supposed to be "cured".  He works as an engineer repairing medical equipment.  So I was surprised that he found out about the spread of cancer so late.  He lived for only 3 weeks on discovery the cancer has spread and passed on.  He did not go for regular checkups for cancer screening.

I delved on his stupidity and denial and then realise I am behaving the same way.  I had kidney stones and my urologist who was my classmate in secondary screens me on a yearly basis.  I stopped going to him after 3 years.  I think it is not necessary.  If any kidney stones dislodge and I get urethetric colic, I will just go and see him.  Urethetric colic is the most intense pain I ever experienced.  I needed morphine to relieve the pain.  I remember sweating profusely and unable to move.  It was horrible.

I am sad that some people leave earlier than the natural lifespan.  My ex-colleague has a 16 years old daughter.  I wonder about the serious impact on her "O" level exams she is sitting right now.  Life is unpredictable.

Random Musings

I read the Minister meets with blogger with a tinge of envy.  "Gintai" is a blogger who worked in SMRT and blogged about the Malaysian colleagues who get a better deal working in Singapore then retiring back home with more than $1 million ringgits.  His analysis was thoughtful and reasoned.

Meanwhile my blog is kind of shallow.  It is a diary of my boring, sedate life.  Mostly on food, what I read and where I go.  Sometimes on my extended family.  Yet, when I review my past entries, it is very nice to recall the memories buries deep in my mind.  It is really impossible to remember most events unless we have photos and written records.  I enjoying reading it once in a while walking down memory lane.

No detailed well thought out and crafted analysis.  No sexy photos of food or juicy sexploits.  Just a regular guy with regular activities.  Nothing newsworthy.

Why am I writing everyday?  I am doing so to improve my writings.  I am also keeping a record of my life in cyberspace.  I hope future in case they ever want to know or find out how life is like when their fathers i.e. my three boys are growing up.  Or if any of my boys decide to walk to the memory lane living Singapore.

Search Inside Yourself

I bought this book today at Bugis Junction as Kino has 20% off.  I was just browsing while waiting for B3 to finish his Chinese tuition.  It is light reading and the author is a Singaporean!  He is a Jolly Good Fellow and nobody can deny.  He is the Head of HR in Google.  I think he made Singapore proud to have such a son.

I enjoys reading this book and now I wished I had gone to see him in his promotional tour.  He had a couple of sessions and interview by the media as well.  I know Kino and another bookstore had author signing sessions.

The book is about Emotional Intelligence and teaches meditation techniques and ways to happiness.  It is generously illustrated with comics.  I am looking forward to reading further.

Melbourne!

My niece, P was in Melbourne a few weeks ago.  She walked down memory lane and took a picture of the apartment she lived in for a few months.  So I went to take a picture as well.  It was right in Chinatown!  It is in the heart of the city and RMIT is walking distance.

Eating out is expensive in Australia.  It is just like Canada.  A bowl of noodle $9 Aussie for small.  Also there also a number of beggars on the street.  I am disappointed with the bookshops here.  The selection and choice are quite poor.  Even the largest, Dymocks is not good.  The pho is not as good as in Mississagua, Canada. 

It is quite a nice city and has plenty to do.

Happy for a Short While

B3 was very happy with Trash Pack Series Two and Club Penguin Puffles.  It lasted for a short while and then he is play with the computer.  Happiness is buying things for my boys!  According to psychology research, buying things will keep you happy for a short while.  However, buying things for others and going for concert will keep you happy for longer time.

I am happy my baby is happy.  I am glad to be back home as well.  It is very warm and humid.  Brisbane has fantastic weather.  However, I don't think I can retire in Australia.  Canada, maybe.  Australia is nice as the distance is shorter from Singapore.  However, the discrimination seems to be higher than in Canada according to the taxi drivers.

Overall, I have a good trip in Australia.  Good meetings and had a chance to walk around downtown to get a feel of Brisbane and Melbourne.

Healed

I am updating this blog and this remind me that my epigliottis is now healed and I suffer no pain anymore.   The MSG in the food caused me to be so thirsty that I have a drink a lot to cut down my thirst.  The weather in Melbourne is a lot colder than Brisbane.  But it is nice compare to hot and humid weather at home.

Malaysian Meal in Australia

I wander about in Chinatown trying to decide what to eat.  Japanese ramen, Taiwanese street food, Vietnamese pho, Cantonese bbq, and all the regular Chinese resturants.  I walk past Malaysian food place.  Then I decided to walk back to "Petaling Street".  I want to test how Malaysian food taste like in Australia.  I ordered curry noodle and Pork Ribs King together with teh tarik.

I saw the table opposite took pictures of their meal.  So I remember to whip out my trusty iPhone to show you as a picture today still worth a thousand words.  Frankly, it does not taste as good but hey it is great to have home-style food in a foreign land.

Walking Around

I get even get the directions right.  I asked how to go to the mall and when I walked out, I went the opposite direction.  What a boo boo!  I felt like an idiot.  Anyway, I had a good walk and saw a lot of the suburbs and the houses in Brisbane. 

I did get to the downtown finally and explore Queens Mall.  Plenty of immigrants from different countries.  Even my meeting with the office, one is a Syrian, the other has a Dutch father and Indonesian Chinese mother.  The third is an American.  The 7-eleven is staff by a Nepalese.  The receptionist in the hotel is from Lithuania.  It is like Singapore in a certain way i.e. full of immigrants.  Yet different as there is no large crowd of say ethnic Chinese or Nepalese.  They are dispersed evenly throughout the city.

The city shutdowns by 5:30pm.  The downtown basically become a ghost town.  In fact, the whole city just become quiet.  Only a few resturants here and there are open.
It is quite different.  I guess family spends lots of time together as there are plenty of off hours time vs life in Singapore where we have to keep working from kids with tuition and homework and adults who have to work non-stop to earn more money to maintain an increasingly expensive Singapore.

Feeling Sick 40,000 feet High

It is a regular flight.  I had laksa and some fruits for breakfast.  Then took the 7.5 hours flight to Oz.  After the meal service, I felt sick.  I had dizziness and headache as well as sweating.  It must be the food I ate. I suspect it is the longans.  I took 2 panadols and then try to sleep it off.  I woke up feeling slightly better but still having headache.  So I requested for another two more dhamol.  Finally, I feel better. 

Brisbane is a laid back city.  Everything closes by 7pm.  It is nice and easy way of life.  I guess no stress.  With the Aussie dollar so strong, everything seems expensive.   The weather is cool, a nice change from our hot humid home. 

The hotel I stayed in is a boutique hotel.  It is very spartan.  The toilet has not cover, the shower area is just a curtin and there is no place to put my toiletries.  The fridge is right below the cupboard to hang clothes.  There is a tiny work desk integrated with the cupboard.

Sunrise Gardens

Early start in the morning to get grocery to prepare dinner for my brother and sister coming over for dinner.  We have to cook dinner for 12.  We have to decide what to cook and buy the ingredients in our usual supermarket, Fairprice.  We met an ex-neighbour when we lived in Sunrise Gardens.  Their eldest son is now in army and posted to RP or regiment police.  He is very happy to be the "security guard" as it is a day job for National Service.  The second son is in Nanyang Poly and studying Business Intelligence and Analytics.  It is interesting to compare notes.  Seems like eldest sons from both families go to Anderson JC and both second sons go to Nanyang Poly.  Our neighbour's eldest boy has been accepted to NTU school of business for degree in BA.

Looks like life in Singapore is quite similar.  Kids grow up and attend the same kind of schools and probably do the similar work when they join the workforce.

My eldest sister and brother came for dinner with their kids.  It is good to have a gathering once in a while and just talk.  They like the dinner.  We cooked curry chicken, braised pork, ikan bakar and tenderloin.  My sister like my cold dish - cucumber salad.  We enjoyed their visit very much.

What is the best course of action to take?

We are living in a tiny estates of 20 families.  It is like a kampong and not without problems.  Some of the kids play together while other kids are confine to themselves or restricted by their parents from playing with the kids in the estate.

The reason I talk about kids is we are in a dilemma.  There is a unit empty and the shoes of one neighbours keeping appearing even though no one lives there.   My wife thought it was spooky.  I told her ghosts or spirits have no ability to move physical objects like shoes.  Of course I did not tell her about in the movies, they do. 

We went out after dinner to buy hami melon which B3 requested as it is very sweet and they are on special in Fairprice.  When we returned, a pair of shoes appeared again.  She was sure the shoes were not there when we went out.  I told her we have installed cameras through the car park and so will be able to catch whoever did this mischief.  I want to come to the computer to surf the net and blog.  But my wife is so curious and I have to go with her to review the footage.  We saw the culprit in the act.

My natural instinct is to go the parents to inform them about this mischief.  My wife insisted I should not as I may offend them.  Other neighbours used indirect approach to send message about our kids.  I am not sure if this is the best way as most of the time there is no clear idea what actually happen or if there is a behaviour issue, what it is. 

This neighbour was given the feedback when another neighbour saw her son smoking and spitting into the swimming.  Her reaction was "you must let kids do what they want!"  So the neighbour(I shall called her J) who reported the behaviour to the mum was in a state of shock.  Yes, the boy acquired tattoos all over his body sometimes later.  Now, the younger sister is doing mischief.  I am at loss.  Doing what I consider a good deed may not be viewed by the parents in a friendly manner. 

So it is best to keep quiet about it?  Or should I tell the victim and let the victim take action with the parent of the girl who did the mischief?  Is there other better ways to deal with this situation?  Now, I am not sure what is the best course of action to take?

Shooting Star!

I am very lucky  indeed to see a shooting star the moment I open the door to the night sky.  The shooting star came straight down at the right hand side of the HDB flats in the NE direction. I had not seen a shooting star since I was a young boy.  In the 60's, Singapore is not as developed as today, the stars can be seen clearly.  As a kid, I remember trying to count the stars and gave up as there were too many.   During that time, it was possible to see shooting stars. 

Today, it is highly unlikely as the skyline is full of buildings and city lights. To see the stars, I have to use a pair of binoculars. There are two bright stars in the east and I took the photo of the brighter star using my iPhone below.

Sterile Singapore?

I remember an American magazine called Singapore "sterile" like in an operating theatre.  Today, we have scandals on corruption at high government office using sex as gratification, sex with underage prostitutes, sex with underage boy and more.  Singapore is no longer sterile, boring and a place where everything works like clockwork.

It is spicy and happening place.  It all started with a politician (albeit opposition) with allegations of impropiety.  Since then, the floodgates open and like the saying goes "it does not rain, it pours!".  My wife felt that it is the feng shui and CPIB's fengshui may have change. 

Reading the Straits Times today is like reading weekly tabloids that is right at the checkout counters in the supermarkets in US.  It is interesting reading.  The unfortunate thing is many families are destroyed in the process.  Yep!  Singapore is now a developed country with warts and all.

All Set for OZ

I am more or less set for Australia.  It is quite different to arrange everything on my own.  I am glad to receive help from Down Under.  The weather is cool as it is winter.  I will need to bring some warm clothing.  It will be a nice change from our balmy hometown.

The weather is quite warm lately.  Most people go to the PCN in the late evening and when it is dark.  Many "aunties" are doing their exercise at night.  Everyone is working to keep a healthy life.  NParks does a wonderful job on creating the PCN.  But after a while, the scenery gets a little stale.  I think I may considering moving to another location to have a change of scenery on the PCN. 

I like the food in the East.  So Katong when the price is right will be where I would go.

Epiglotti

Last night, while using the tongue cleaner, I scratch and break the skin on my epiglotti.  It hurts terribly.  I could not sleep well as the pain keep piercing into my conciousness.   Luckily, the bleeding stops by morning.  I have a long white ulcer when I open my mouth to examine in the rearview mirror of my car.  I need the bright sunlight to see into my throat. 

I hope my epiglotti recovers fast.  Its hurts when I swallow.  This is the first time I experienced ulcer right in my epiglotti.