A Nice Sunday!

This morning, while waiting for The Wife to wash up and get ready, I decided to call my father-in-law for breakfast.  My mother-in-law pick up the call and I asked her where she is.  She answered my question with a question!  Where are you?  I told her I am at home and "where are you?" I asked again. She answered again with another question "what do you want?"  So I got tired and told her I asked her where she is first and I also answer her question.  Then she laughed and said they are going for breakfast at the coffeeshop opposite the Serangoon Community Club.  I told her I will join them.  When I told my wife I am going to have breakfast with her parents, her first question was am I going alone?  My response was you are going to take a long time to get ready... she gave me "The Look!" and I hurriedly continues I will wait for you.  It was my survival instinct kicking in.

Anyway, while having breakfast, I talk about mother-in-law being bored in the office.  Father-in-law plays computer games while she just wander about cleaning and finding things to do.  I told her I bought a TV antenna for her which is taking up space at home.  She say it is very troublesome as she will need to get a TV.   I was intrigue by the Chrome book and say I will buy her a computer for her to watch her shows instead.  So after breakfast, we adjourn to the Courts in AMK Central.  We ended up buying a Sony computer for $669 instead of the Chrome book which costs only $450.

B3 was interested in the terrapin at the Pet Walk.  I told him if he can set up the tank so that the terrapin has a chance to rest, I will get him a terrain.  While we were shopping for computer, he went to Popular to get the plastic sheet for make the platform for the terrain. Once we are home, he goes right to work making the platform in the hot sun.  He got it done, once again, we go to Pet Walk to buy the terrapin.  Terrapin cost $3.50 instead of regular price of $2.50 as there are no stock.  So we just brought one terrapin home.  B3 is happy fussing over his terrapin.

I am very happy to make MIL and B3 happy.

Lucky Me!

After sending B3 to tuition, we went to wash our car.  My wife was a break from washing the car.  Including vaccuuming, the total cost is $15.  After washing, the car was sparkling clean!  Only the way back however, thunderstorm came.  We were caught in the rain.  So much for spending the time and money cleaning up.

Then why the title Lucky Me.  Well, when thunderstorm mellow down, I cycle to the PCN  to look for eels and earthworms.  Eels no longer come to the PCN as the area they used to be has a contruction site.  However, I got lucky with the earthworms.  I caught lots of them and feed them to my fishes.  I saved half of what I caught and put them in my compost bin.  Hopefully, they can thrive and grow. 

Canton Paradise AMK

Canton Paradise give 20% discount for birthday month.  Since it is the last day of May, we go there for dim sum lunch.  The meal is fairly expensive.  About $25 per head.  We also get hungry very quickly as dim sums do not stay in the stomach for long!  I like the crispy bbq pork buns and the char siew pastry.  The crispy fish skin is not bad when eaten with congee.  The sharkfin dumpling soup is ok, I feel Imperial Treasure's tasted better.  Also the fried cheong is not as good as Imperial Treasure. 

Canton Paradise is a good place for meal nearby when there is not time to travel to Takashimaya.  I miss the Tian Xiao Er as they served my favorite roast duck.

Big Sister's Bad Knee

My eldest sister came by last night to pick up something mum sent back to her.  She was struggling to get up the stair.  Her right knee is painful.  I feel sorry that she is not in the complete physical shape.  My wife think it may be the spine as it is possible that an adjustment can reduce the pain.  She had this experience before.  Anyway, I just called my sister and she has no interest in trying out a chiropractor.  So that's that.  No point trying to convince her as she had an injection that solved her problem before.  What she does not realise is the injection masked her symptons and did not cure her knee problem.  Chiropractor may not solve her problem either but it is good to eliminate this as a possibility.

Nanyang Poly's Graduation

Today is Graduation Day for Nanyang Poly.  B2 is the Master of Ceremony as he belongs to the MC Club.  He is quite happy with his performance.  He was nervous at one point as the whole auditorium goes dark and the spotlight is on him and the rostrum.  His friends all said he did ok.  I am glad he does well in public speaking even though it is all scripted.

Although he had dinner, he is still hungry and ate up the snacks I bought for him including two egg tarts, yam ball, big bao, banana and cut mango.  He is a growing boy and needs lot of food to keep him going.  I am glad that I have food for him.  Men and boys are always hungry.

Anderson Secondary School

It is Anderson Secondary Open House.  We drop by for a quick visit.  The cutoff point is 245.  It is not bad but B3 did not like this school as one of his classmate may be going to this school.  He is quite sold by Dunman Secondary School presentation.  The school is very small but the kids seems fine.  The councillor who took us is quite bright and articulate.  She is a Sec 3 Malay girl and is reading 8 subjects for "O" level.

Anderson Secondary is near our home.  So it is an option.  However, we do hope B3 will do better and go to a better school.  It is quite tough but he has improved his standing.  Most importantly, his Chinese has improved.  The Chinese marks improvement help in his overall score and now his total result is better than his best friend.  He always behind the best friend.  Hopefully, he continue his trend of improvements.  It is tough going as the PSLE will be in a couple of months.

Otters at Puggol PCN

I was cycling at the PCN as usual and was surprise to see a group of animals in the water.  I get closer and manage to capture videos of them.

Sunday at Fu Lu Shou

This morning we go to Fu Lu Shou for meal.  It is more like brunch.  B2 and B3 ate the nasi lemak stall.  B3 loved the easy to eat but totally unhealthy set.  The set contains egg, hot dog and deep fried cuttlefish.  B2 is not better either.  His set contains french fries, chicken nuggets and egg.  I had the famous Indian rojak.  Somehow the rojak does not taste as good as the main store.  I have to go back to the main store to eat it again.

Mummy is at Wan Lin for her therapeutic massage.  So we kill time in Sim Lim Tower and Sim Lim Square.  There are so many gadgets and many cheap tablets on display.  I like to get a radio again for my bike.  The digital radio cost $28 and I am still thinking about it.  I worry that it dropped out when I hit bumpy areas and break again. 

Queens Street is always busy on the weekend.  The temple is also full of devotees.  Everywhere we go, it is crowded.  The population is in Singapore is too high.

Giving Lift

This morning, I went to Beste in Tagore Lane to collect my repaired water floss.  The pump was damaged after not used for a few months.  The toothbrush battery is also dead but irreparable.  I have to "trade-in". Total cost of repair and replacement is $138 plus $10 inspection fee.  This is half the price of a new set which cost $299.

On the way back, another lady who bought the part for a blender asked if I drive.  When I affirmed her question, she asked if I could give her a lift out to the main road.  I asked where she is going and she say to the nearest MRT station.  It is only my way anyway, so I gave her a longer ride.  We chat on our kids.  She has only one son who is 28 and studying in UK.  Her son did not do well academically in school when he was young.  He was bullied by Malays in St Patrick.  The army stint changed him.  Today, he has first class honours in IT and now going for Masters.  His mum is so happy and proud now. 

This lady speaks very well with trace of British accent.  She works for BG or British Gas.  It is all about natural gas now.  I noticed right away how well she speaks.  She noticed about me too.  She says you speak well.  Do you do your own business?  I replied that I am working for an American company.  It is interesting as my Singlish accent is quite strong.  I noticed we both speak in complete sentences without any local words. 

This is a chance encounter.  I happened to go back to the counter after reaching ground floor.  I noticed $10 inspection fee is supposed to be deducted but was not reflected.  I went back to check and found that service fee is supposed to be $15 and I was charged $5 instead.  So it is fine.  Because I walked back to the service counter, I gave this nice lady a ride to the MRT station.  Life is sometime a series of small encounter like this.

Anniversary of Buddha's Enlightenment

Today is the day of Buddha's Enlightenment.  Full moon tonight.  We went to the Queens Street Goddess of Mercy Temple.  It is so crowded.  Throngs for people go to offer their prayers.  Actually, it was B3 who asked are we going to pray before we do our outing last night.  So coming to the temple is our first priority and thing to do.  Judging from the crowd, it is all other Buddhists' first call of the day too!

I like Buddhism.  We just go to the temple to offer our prayers and get our blessings.  This time B2 and B3 donated on their own.  I am happy to donate too.  It is more blessed to give!   After prayers, we have brunch in Food Junction at Bugis Mall.  Then mummy was intrigued by the BHG members only day.  I was tired of buying more stuff and increasing my carbon footprint.  So I go the the coffee shop beside the temple to drink my teh-C.  The vegetarian stall had a huge queue.  Many patrons come and go on the tables beside us(B3 decided to follow me).  I noticed mostly mature women and some young women all eating alone.  There are men who ate veg too but they are far fewer than women folks.  The men are more mature aka 50+.

I am glad to make a trip just to pray even though we go to Bugis every Saturday for B2 and B3's tuition.  Goddess of Mercy has steadfastly help us to go through thick and thin. 

Giant Chicken on Sale!

Cold Storage in Compass Point has Honey Roast Giant Chicken for sale.  Usual price is $22 and for today and next two days, it will be $9.99.  I bought one to try.  It is not bad.  The chicken tastes like the regular smaller oven baked Chicken from Cold Storage.  The chicken is so big that we ate only half the chicken for dinner.  We did not have any carbo either. 

We find Cold Storage oven baked chicken tastes better than Fairprice's.  Price is also higher.  So we always wait for sale before buying.  The other favorites are bbq ribs and smoked duck breasts.  They are convenient and easy.  We just keep them in the fridge and pop them in the toaster oven before eating.  While it is more expensive than cooking, it is less expensive than eating out.  Good compromise for me and my boys who love meats.

Winning

Jack Welch read the book himself.  The book is on leadership Jack Welch style.  I skipped a few chapters as many sounds like Motherhood and Apple Pie.  I listened to the last few audio tracks.  He has a questions and answers.  The final question is interesting.  Will he go to heaven?  He says he was stunned by the question and after a few moments say that is long range planning.  The question refused to let go.  It is about his legacy.  Jack replied it is too arrogant to think of his legacy as he is just a business executive.  His final answer is he hope not so soon as he much work to do and much life to enjoy...

Nothing to Write

I have been struggling with this blank page for a while racking my head on what to write.  I took the MRT train today.  This is unusual for me as I usually drive.  The MRT ride is always interesting to see all the strangers and have a transient meeting with them.  They come and they go.  I come, observe and I go.  The cellphones are ubiquitous.  However, I also saw a woman with a headset but connect to a FM radio.  Old tech still hanging on!

Dry and Hot

It is very dry and hot the last two days.  No heavy rains which will cause the earthworms to come out of the soil.  So no luck in catching them to feed my fishes.  I have put some in my compost bin.  I hope they will survive and thrive. 

With the heatwave, it is nice to have a pool to cool down.  Our communal pool is getting popular.  I wonder how long the heat will continue.  Global warming is getting more and more real.  There are many who still do not believe.  It is also hard to change our lifestyle to be more green.  So I guess we will all face the consequent of our blatant disregard for our Mother Earth.

Slanted Commentaries by Sunday Times?

I am aching all over after therapeutic massage for my fall.  Left shoulder is sore and tight and low back is strained.  So no cycling for today.  It is hot, so I relaxes at the poolside and read the papers.  The Straits and Sunday Times is getting more and more difficult to enjoy.  The contents are no longer interesting.  I think the leadership is not doing a good job of maintaining the standard of the papers.  I did not even bother to read in details the editorials by both the Chief Editor and Managing Editor on the Town Council issue with PAP and WP.

Han Fook something, the managing editor wrote that one blogger put this debate as PAP - 1 and WP - 0.  I am reading a lot on the internet the Town Council and granted there is no way I can read every blogs or comments.  I do not get the impression that the blogsphere put PAP as winning this debate.  Somehow this Han guy managed to put a white rabbit out of the hat.

Sunday Times is like a propaganda machine.  I lose interest in reading further.  I was expecting intelligent and balanced discourse.  Instead it is like reading political party's newspaper.  So sad.  Does the managing editor panda to the interest of his political master?  After all, it is always a minister or ex-minister who is the chairman of SPH.  It is also insulting the intelligence of the readers.  Does the managing editor thinks that Sunday Times readers do not read blogs or cannot think or see for themselves.  I think this is rather pathetic.  So pathetic that it is sad. 

An Evening with B2 and B3

We do not usually go out in the evenings.  Tonight, we have to go to Isetan to check if the glasses The Wife lost has been found in the Lost and Found Dept.  No luck!  So we just wander about.  We had some expensive Japanese snacks - tako balls and egg pancake at thd Japanese food fair in the supermarket.  B2 was still hungry, so we bought sausage at half price as it is almost closing time in Cold Storage.  He remarked that luckily we bought it at half price.  He does not think the sausage is value for money at full price.  This says a lot of the taste and quality of the sausage as B2 is very easy on his food.

Mummy was disappointed not to be able to recover her glasses.  So she needed an ice-cream.  We go to McDonald for the ice-cream fix.  We also try the peri-chicken burger.  It is was salty but taste not bad.  I will not eat it again now that I have tried this new flavor.  We leave Orchard at 10pm. Heavy traffic at CTE.  Most people are just returning home. 

More Baldacci

Waking up early in the morning I listen to The Hour Game.  It is very interesting and even use the internet as example.  Out of curiosity, I tried the same internet search.  I did not get a long list of results like the book says.  However, Teet and Crime did bring out a medical pathologist who murders and even examined and write report on the his victime like the story says.  It is a good story.

Earthworms Galore!

It was raining this morning.  I think the baby eels are out along the PCN.  So I can catch some as food for my arowana.  I cycle to the spot and pass an earthworm along the way but no eels!  Disappointed I thought I will just go back to pick up the earthworm I saw along the way.  I saw it and pick it up.  Then I saw several more along the edge where the grass meet the paved walkway.  I pick them up by hand.  Then I saw there are actually quite a few earthworms out.  I think it is the water that flooded the soil forcing them out in the open.  I am happy to catch so many worms and put most of them in the compost bin.

I gave a few to the arowana and small ones for the goldfishes.  The worms went fast!  The fishes loved the protein.

Niagara Falls

B1 is going to Niagara Falls today.  He will stay over for one night.  He know how to make sure he get to know the place well.  When we lived there, we did not spend any night over.  Just drive there and back.  Mummy says this is the right way to travel and not stingy like me!  I am glad my boy knows how to make full use of his trip there.  I hope he have wonderful memories and fall in love with his birthplace in Toronto.

Thrillers

It is very interesting to listen to audio thrillers.  I just finished The Collectors.  Of course the good guys win even though the bad guys did catch the good guys and even the protagonist.  However, the protagonist would be release even though he went through the "waterboarding" torture and tell all that he knows.  Anyway, the good always triumph over evil.  So I like David Baldacci.  The formula is always the same.  The good guy is an ex-CIA who is an extremely well trained and skilled killer turned good.  So many bad guys and they are all well trained and yet have to die in the hands of the good guy.

The story is gripping and I enjoys every min of it.

Hot Hot Hot!

It is so hot today and we are only in May.  Temperature will continue to rise till August.  We will be burning next few months.  My refrigerator ice making machine is not making ice fast enough as my boys and I consume lots of ice.

Luckily, I have a pool to cool down.  Even then I wish I lived beside a mall where I can go for aircond comfort in a low price cafe.  The price of the tea will be worth the cool environment.   I am envious of B1 as he is in a cool Toronto.  In fact it is so cold that he has to stay indoor in the library rather than spending more time at the zoo.

I am also listening to The Collectors by David Baldacci.  It is quite interesting.  I love this story teller.  He makes it sound like America is fill with spys and trained killers.

Mother's Day

It is just a lazy day.  Mother-in-law did not have any program.  So it is just our nuclear family.  We are missing B1 as he is in Canada right now with Grandma.  He called to say he is going to Toronto Zoo.  I have not been to the Toronto Zoo before but knows that it is in Scarborough.  He has bought a pass that allow entries to several of the tourist attractions.  So he is going there by bus.

So together with B2, B3 we have lunch cum dinner at Nan Bei Xiao Zhi.  We had dim sum.  There are still a lot of customers eating but seats for half the resturant are available.  We like Nan Bei or Imperial Treasure at the dim sum is good.  Actually, it is comparable to the one star Michelin in Plaza Singapura.  No need to queue for two or three hours.

After our meal(do not know how to classify as we ate at about 3:30 pm and finished at 5pm), we do mall crawling as it is a lot cooler inside than outside.  Yes, no wonder we are aircond nation.   We use energy to cause the climate to be warmer to keep ourselves cooler.

It is a good day.

To All Mothers

I like to wish all mothers...Happy Mother's Day.  Mothers are the greatest.  B1 is with Grandma and she is happy to have him visiting.

David Baldacci Stories

I borrow more stories by David Baldacci.  I managed to download the first book Wish You Well and was listening to it when I pick up B2 from school.  He had an overnight camp last night and is very tired that he requested I pick him up.  When we reached home, he says what a said story.  We are just at the first few chapters.  It is about a writer and his family.  He is quarrelling with his wife and then during driving he avoid a careless and the car went out of control killing him and his wife becomes a paraplegic with severe head injuries.  It seem like a sad of story injustice, unfairness of life.  However, I will need to finish the book to see.  The author says it is about betrayal, justice and like a life in US.

Relaxed Evening

We have been working hard.  Both at work and at home.  Without a domestic help, we have to do all the chores ourselves.  Our boys are helping out but majority is still done by mum as she holds higher standards and also do all the laundry.  This evening, we decided to take time off and go wandering about the mall and do window shopping, our favorite pastime.  We looked at pots and pans, actually stainless steel woks and not really we.  However, I did look at containers for sugar as she did not allow me to put my dememera sugar into "her" sugar container.  I like brown sugar as it is healthier.  However, calories unfortunately are still the same and therefore do not help in weight loss. 

I also spend some time in Kinokuniya.  I read Stone Cold by Baldacci.  Although I heard the audiobook in full, it is nice to read it in print.  Tomorrow, I shall see if I can borrow more books.  We finished the evening with dinner at the Imperial Teochew Resturant.  This food is quite good.

This morning I fell again as I was so engrossed in listening to the book and trying to wave hi to my neighbour.  I need to be more careful.

Big Cobra at the PCN

I saw a big cobra on the PCN when I cycle this evening.  It is about 6:30pm and the sky was getting dark due to the rain.  I just cycled past the Punggol Point toward the Punggol Seafood.  The lamp position was 266.  I decided to call my friend from NParks to let her know.  I called and she pick up this time.  I sent her pictures of the location.  The cobra is the big about 6 to 7 feet long and quite thick in the body.  As I cycle past, it hurried into a hole in the grass.  This cobra can kill as it is so big.  It is puzzling how the cobra can attain such big size.  There must be enough wildlife for it to grow so big.

B1 Going to Toronto

My big baby is going to Toronto by himself.  He is a little anxious.  He has only travelled with us or tour Taiwan with his girlfriend.  He is still going with his girlfriend but still thinking about the 6 weeks that he will be by himself and grandma.  Grandma is all excited and looking forward to receive him. 

He travelled to many countries since young.  The army stint makes him more mature and confident.    However, he has not independently travelled anywhere.  So it will be part of the growing up process.  For the first time, he is alone to figure out what to do in his birthplace.  Although we visited Toronto a couple of times in the last 12 years, he does not know the system, the way of life there.  Rather he has forgotten his growing up days in Canada. 

Anyway, with grandma there, there shouldn't be any issue as there will be someone to lean on and ask and clarify any question or issue that arises.  As a father, I think it is time for him to learn independence and taking charge of himself.

Awning Installed

Finally we have a new awning.  It is installed today.  The workers also help us install a stainless steel bar to hold mummy's bloom, mop and swiffer.  They also help us install a brush lining at the bottom of our kitchen door to keep out cocroaches.  The workers are very nice.  I offered coffee and cookies for them as well earlier for coffee break.  So it is win-win. 

The sky opens after the awning was installed.  So it helps me to wash up the backyard as there were plenty of debris and concrete dust.  The downpour was intense.  The canal was filled to the brink almost flowing out to the grass patch and the road leading to my house flood to the pedestrian walkway's height i.e. 8"

I wonder if the reservoir is unable to release water fast enough with strong and almost violent influx of rainwater.

B1 Passed his Driving Test

B1 was all excited last night.  He needs to sleep early so that he can be rested and be at a good form for his driving test.  He is very happy to pass his driving test.  This is his second time.  He drives the whole family out to the aquarium so that we can buy baby food for our baby mollies.  We are all tense when he is driving.  He did well.  We are also happy to see if we can bring up our babies.  Unfortunately, one of the baby fish died.  Anyway, we will see how they go with proper baby food.

Baby Mollies

We have been keeping black mollies for a few months now.  We were very excited when we had baby mollies in a few days they arrived.  We thought mollies are plant eaters and did not separate the babies from the adults.  What a mistake!  Over time all the baby mollies disappeared!  This time we are separating the babies from the adults and hopefully, they will grow to spawn the next generation.  After giving birth to live babies, the mother dies.  So if the baby fishes are eaten up, then we have to keep buying new mollies to replenish our tank.

This time I am keeping the babies in a different tank and will watch their growth progress.  It is nice to have fishes that reproduces in our home.

Raw Fish Dinner

We treated my sister-in-law's family to a raw fish dinner.  They chose their favorite raw fish resturant in Liang Court.  The resturant is quite popular.  A lot of Japanese and locals enjoying the sushi.  The plates are $1.80 to $6.80.  The price of the food are in the multiple of the plates.  We ate 50 to 60 plates.  I had the tamago (egg) and innari (sweet bean curd) sushi.  I also had the grilled cuttlefish and tempura.  I did not eat much as fish is something I do not like. 

After dinner, we had coffee in the cafe at ground floor and then bought some meat from Meida to make Yoshinoya type meal which my boys like.  It is a good evening.

Hillman Resturant - Kitchener Road

We were running through all our options for brunch.  Beef noodles in AMK Ave 6, Modesto's for pizza and seafood linguine, Tony Romas for ribs or What A Crack, Skinny Pizza.  As we drive down CTE towards Orchard, I thought of Owen Road Zi Char.  I thought it is not bad as I do like the Pork Rib King.  However, mummy says if you like pork rib, then go to the best which is Hillman.  Since we have not past the Balestier exit, we go to Hillman instead.

We reach the resturant at 11:25am.  It opens at 11:30am but not ready yet as the staff have not eaten their lunch.  However, a few Japanese guests are already inside waiting.  So we go in to wait as well.  As we eat, more Japanese customers come in.  It is so popular with Japanese.  They all ordered the paper chicken.  No one order the Pai Kut Wang like us.  The Japanese loved the fried rice and kangkong with belachan.

We had a good lunch.

Saturday - Housekeeping Day

It is housekeeping day today.  Actually every Saturday.  The Wife do away with the maid.  Now we have to maintain the house ourselves.  This afternoon, it was clearing up the roof garden.  She cut the grass and I rake it.  The potted starfruit tree has an ant's nest.  She sprayed insecticide and pour vinegar solution into the soil.  The ants were all killed I think.  I keep pouring water in to dilute the poison.  Hopefully, my starfruit did not get too stress by this.  There are flowers on the tree.  So I am hoping there will be fruits soon.  Now, it is touch and go.

I have to go and clean the toilet now.  Will continue blogging later...

Arowana

Finally, I kept an Arowana for a long time.  It has grown big.  It eats bread.  It also eats a lot of live fishes.  Because it ate goldfishes and red fishes, it colour has change to red instead of silver.  It is quite fast and always snaps at the food I throw to the pond.  A little scary when I try to pick dead leaves from the netting on top, it actually make sudden move towards my fingers.  My father-in-law knows of friend who was very proud of his prized arowana.  One day his three or four years old son put his hand on top of the tank and it bit off one of his fingers.  The father was so upset that he took his prized arowana to the top of the HDB flat and threw it down.  The son's finger cannot be attached back.

I had tried to keep a few arowanas before.  They all jumped out of the pool and died.  Luckily, they are not the expensive type.  Still, it is $38 a fish.  My current arowana has probably eaten more than $38 worth of small fishes.

Last Minute

B3's Electronic Chinese Dictionary is not working.  He is desperate.  He only found out tonight and his exam is tomorrow.  He was using What's App to check with his friends.  Finally, mummy says go and get him a new dictionary.  We go to Popular right away.  Guess what?  The approved Besta model is out of stock!  We were told to go to the cashier to check if there are other models.  While waiting, we noticed a mother and daughter was serve by a staff with the Creative model.  Obviously, there is another person needing a electronic dictionary at the last minute.   The price is $38 and it took B3 less than 20 secs to say buy.  He is happy to have to model he always used.  Anyway, the exam is tomorrow and without the dictionary he will be challenged to the nth degree. 

May Day at Hong Lim

We have to eat out for dinner.  So I decided to kaypoh and go to Chinatown for dinner.  It is 5:45pm when we go past Hong Lim Park.  It looked quite crowded.  I have to find a place to park and decided to go to the Maxwell Road Hawker Center as there is a car park right beside it.  We had fish beehoon soup, Chinese fritters which is similar to Penang Lok Bak and Fuzhou Oyster Cake.  My boys also like the Sweet Potato fritters which we had for dessert.

After dinner, we walk to Hong Lim Park.  The crowd is quite enthusiatic.  Olivia was speaking when we arrived.  She is a single mum and talk passionately about Singapore for Singaporeans.  After her speech, it was Tan Jee Say.  He talked about gratitude and not servitude.  We heard him for a while and then went off.  We supported the movement by our presence.

Review of Miele S8530 vs S5711

The Wife told me it 45 mins per week for the vacuum cleaner to last 20 years.  She is vacuuming 45 mins a day.  So life span is 20 divide by 7 is 3 years.    The model she bought is S8530 comparing to S5711.  S8530 is 600g lighter than S5711.  It also has an auto function.  She finds the auto function not so useful as it will take a few seconds for the vacuum cleaner to adjust the suction.  Manual adjustment is preferable as you can determine the suction power yourself as you vacuum.

The S5711 is at $499 now in Harvey Norman.  The model will no longer be available once Harvey Norman sold out its inventory.  There is a HEPA filter, so no dust blown out of the exhaust.  The key accessories are inside a compartment in the vacuum.  So it is quite convenient and you will not lose the pieces unlike our Philips model.

Overall her satisfaction level is 4 out of 5 stars.

Miele Vacuum Cleaner's Attachments

The Wife is quite happy with several attachments she bought as extras.  Maybe she managed to negotiate for free, I am not sure but for the price she paid Miele should give the attachments for free!!

She has a small kit box with a small corrugated tube ending with a brush tip.  She says it is important for fans and electrical appliances.  She also have a long flat flexible tube for going behind cupboards and shelf.  There is even an attachment to suck out ants' nests from holes in the wall.  We have plenty of wood trimmings in our house and ants like to make their homes inside.  A clean, neat and tidy super-mom, she must ensure her house to be spick and span, without insects or house lizards.  It is like pushing water uphill as our house has plenty of greenery outside.  Nature is just right outside our door.  With the Miele Vacuum Cleaner and the special attachments, it will be hard for the insects to establish a presence in our home.

Decisive!

The latest book by two brothers, Chip and Dan Health is not bad.  I like their previous books Switch and Made to Stick.  It is on how we made decisions and how to improve our decision making process.  The key is we are usually short sighted by narrowing our focus and not considering other options or thinking choice is between two different options rather than having both options.  It is a very good book to learn how and what we need to consider before we make any decision.  I will recommend my readers and friends to read this book.

Sunday Times - Less Interesting

I am finding that I am spend a lot less time reading the newspapers nowadays.  Sunday is the day I usually spend a lot of reading the newspaper for relaxation.  A few of my favorite columnists are no longer published in Sunday Times - Colin Goh, Lee Wei Ling, Chua Mui Hoong and the likes.  I realised it has changed since Warren Fernandez too over the leadership.  The Straits Times now so pro-govt that it is no longer engaging or interesting.  It is like reading a slanted paper.  I am a reader of printed prose.  So the newspaper is important.  However, I am turning more and more to internet for news and alternative views.

I am thinking the columnists I enjoyed reading.  They talked about life in general.  I loved Colin Goh's humour.  He is good with colloquial words and uses Singlish with great effect.  Wei Ling's stories are very good.  I like the empathy with the poor and sick.  She also studied in Canada and I can related to this experience.  Chua Mui Hoong is a Teochew with excellent command of English language. 

Now I am left with Sumiko Tan.  She is the last "man" standing.  Once she stopped writing, I may give up reading Sunday Times.  Ignatius Low is not bad but I have not read his column for a while now.  I also missed Janadas Devan columns.  He writes well too.  Looked like most gifted writers are leaving Straits Times in droves.  I am glad Richard Lim is back with is 60s column.

Overall, I have nothing again Warren Fernandez but I believe the readerships will continue to drop with his editorial pen.

Miele Vacuum Cleaner

The Wife is super duper neat and clean when it comes to our home.  She did not like the Phillips Bagless Vacuum we currently have.  She did a lot of research on the Internet and settle on a Miele 2200 watts vacuum cleaner.  We had a 2000W Phillips vacuum cleaner before and it worked really good and lasted for many years.  Miele claims their vacuum cleaners last 20 years.  Later, she found out the 20 years claim is based on 45 mins use a day.  So we re-calculate based on our average use and will be lucky if the vacuum cleaner last 10 years.  First, we do not use everyday.  However, when we use, we will vacuum for a couple of hours.  The long usage will shorten the life of the motor even though frequency is reduced.

We bought a mid-range in terms of price.  It is the highest power and we are sold on high power and professional models as they lasted a lot longer.  We used to run through a lot of hair dryers until we bought the most powerful model available.  It was the most expensive but it is still with us today after probably 20 years. 

So we think the $758 dollars on the Miele will pay back in the long run.  An equivalent model by other makes cost only between $200 and $400.  So it is quite dear but in a long run will be more value.

Weekend is Here

It is a tiring day.  I wake up early and now feeling very sleepy.  My boys are busy with school work.  B1 is good to follow us around when we go for our meals.  Maybe it is because of the travel with insufficient sleep.  I am feeling lethargic.

On Channel News Asia, the program is on cleft lips.  So many children in India are born with cleft lips.  There is a private hospital who fixes the cleft lips for the poor villagers for free.  Smile Pinki is a very touching documentary.  I am impressed by the doctors who work to improve the lives of the poor in India.

Glad to be Home

I am so glad to be home.  Yes, it is home sweet home.  I go for night snack at Chomp Chomp.  It is not so busy at 10 pm on a Thursday night.  There are seats available.  The place has lots of late night diners.  B1 accompanied me on my snack attack trek.  It is so warm and humid.  But Bangkok is the same.  The difference is I cannot hide in the aircon room.

Good to be home!

Back to the City and Internet Access

I am finally back to Bangkok and have internet access.  It is not easy to go cold turkey with internet.  But being busy with the exhibition is helps.  Also old style wine and dine take up lots of time.  My host is sponsor a concert and we are invited to the concert.  Our sedate middle-age female Thai managers behave like wild teenagers -screaming and gyrating away.  It is an eye opener to watch how women swoon over a hot, sweaty middle age man just because he sings well.  This is an incredible scene.  It is my first time live with so many women going crazy right in front of my eyes instead of seeing it on TV.

Travelling back into Time

I am at Ambassador Resort just outside Pattaya.  The room is pretty spartan.  No internet access as well in the room.  I have access only in the business center and lobby.  Reminds me of travelling in the 80's.  Check-in into hotel.  First business is to go to business center for faxes and check if there are any call from office.  It is the same in Pattaya.  Connection to outside world is through a portal(business center).

Entertainment options are back to yore days.  There is a gigantic swimming pool (sadly, I will not get to use), the sandy beach and swimming in the open sea.  The English TV channel is limited too.  Only CNN.  I get the huge coverage on Boston bombing. 

Other than a little boring, it is a very nice place.  Plenty of Russian tourists and price is very reasonable.  Life is back to the good old days.

Dinner Alone

I reached Bangkok and was hungry by the time I reach hotel.  I have dinner in the Chinese resturant in the hotel and it is a buffet.  So I tried as many items as I can.  I am so full due to drinking a lot of tea and trying out 3 desserts.  I think my weight will go up.  The concept is similar to

I am very happy to have lunch with my 3 boys.  It is good that we are together before I go for my trip.  I am glad B1 and B2 did not make any arrangement before I leave for my trip.  Yesterday, we had a good deal with 2 free movie passes for purchasing $14 worth of Kit Kat products.  The movie pass is worth $15.  So it is a great deal.  My boys enjoy the chocolate too.  So it is win win.

Tomorrow is an early start.  I am feeling tired from the trip.  So I may sleep early and get up early.

Toilet Cleaning Evening

Finally, finally, my wife managed to get to show all our boys how to clean toilet.  They have been assigned to clean their own toilets.  I have "ownership" of level 3, B1 and B2 their own ensuite toilet and B3 the toilet for guests.  My wife takes responsibility for the master bedroom toilet.  The boys are shown step-by-step how to clean the toilet.  Every toilet has been set up with a bucket with all the necessary tools and detergents for the task of maintaining a spotless and welcoming washroom.  I am happy that our boys are responsible to maintain their washrooms. 

If we were living in Canada, they probably will be cleaning since grade school.  In Singapore, we always use domestic help and thereby the boys have no experience and can be quite thoughtless when it come to maintaining tidiness in our home.  I also feel accomplished after cleaning my toilet.  It feels clean and smells fresh. 

Sunset Grill

It is home sweet home!  I have one and half day at home before leaving on Sunday to Thailand.  We have dinner at the Sunset Grill along Jalan Kayu.  The food is not bad.  We had chicken wings of course, nachos and fish and chips.  It is an enjoyable dinner.  After dinner, we took a walk to Jerry's BBQ.  The price there is lower for chicken wings.  Now as I write my blog, I remember that it was not so good.  B2 confirmed my opinion.

Sunset Grill is quite popular.  Big groups who go to wind down after a week of work.  Some guys drinking beer and a few families and courting couples.  The food is typical bar grub.  Instead of great drinks and lousy food, I would say the food is not bad.  Of course the publicity of level of spiciness of chicken wings helps.  Even my middle boy noticed there are two pages of chicken wings in the menu.  So wings are a must!

The Chemical Society - Kintex

This afternoon I went to Kintex for the first time.  Usually, exhibitions are held in Coex.  The exhibition is quite small.  However, it is quite interesting to learn about another business.  However, I feel that the stuff on display in Japanese exhibitions seems more advanced.  So I wonder why Japan economy is not doing as well as Korea's.  In Japan, sometimes it is like science fiction coming alive.  The stuff are leading edge and serious shit!  Maybe Koreans do not like to show off their leading edge stuff.

I am happy to see our products is generating interest.  So I am glad to change my appointment to go to Kintex at the last minute.  It is good learning experience for me.

Coex Mall Under Renovation

I am surprised when I go into Coex mall.  Half the mall is closed.  No! Probably 70%.  The food court is gone and now the place is like a ghost town.  I can have lunch in a few of the resturants that are left.  Japanese tonkatus and Outback is still available. 

I am feeling full all the time as I drink coffee while having meeting with my customers.  No wonder my weight go up.  No exercise and sit and drink hi-cal stuff all day long.

Luckily, Bandi Luni is still open. So I have to chance to do my favorite pastime - browsing at books!

Pray

I arrived to check in Coex.  Immediately, I went to the Goddess of Mercy temple to pray.  It is good to pray regularly to Goddess of Mercy and also 4 face Buddha in Bangkok.  I feel better to offer my thanks for the good things and also pray for business to continue to grow and my boys are safe and do well in school.

It is natural instinct of father to ask the Greater Being to look after my boys and family.

Walking Alone

When I have a little time, I like to take a walk around my hotel.  It is very therapeutic.  Also make me think and reflect.  I always find it contemplative  to walk alone and do window shopping.  It is very dusty along the main road.  City air is really bad. I feel the need to write immediately to capture my thoughts.  I have to get ready for my next task.

VIP - Ho Ching

Ho Ching was on the same flight as me to Seoul.  Man, the whole team from Singapore Airlines was at the Incheon Airport waiting to escort her through immigration.  She has the same passport as me but she has top priority.

The weather is quite cold.  It is unusual according to my host.  Usually the sakura season is end March.  Now mid April and sakura is still blooming.  I had traditional charcoal grilled meat.  My host is so happy as it allows him to reminisce his past.  I also enjoys dinner very much.

The Store with Almost Everything!

We went to Mustafa to buy the basmatic rice for my mother.  B1 and B3 was with us.  B3 was so excited by all the different sugars.  He loves sucrose in different forms.  He want to buy all the different types for his baking needs.  However, it is very messy and mum told him no.  So he get to buy the chocolate sauce, chocolate icing and a couple of other items.

I also bought Demerara sugar. I just checked  I am wrong!  I should have looked for Turbinado sugar.  Anyway, no choice as it is already in my larder and I have to use up the sugar.  My intention is to get Turbinado for bbq dry rub. 

The problem is I could not get my favorite Bulldog BBQ sauce.  The supply is inconsistent.  Maybe Mustafa just buy whatever that has a deal on.

Sunday

It is lovely to wake up to the sound of rain.  It must have rained all night.  The weather is so much cooler now.  The rain has stopped and I am waiting for the two older boys to wake up.  They always sleep late and wake up late.  B2 is up now and he has tuition to give.  I was thinking of going to Mustafa to buy Basmatic rice for mum.  Last night, B1 called grandma to inform her when he is going to visit.  She is all excited and requested that I buy two packs of basmatic rice for B1 to bring along.  She says the rice tasted good.  I bought a pack for her when she was visiting during CNY.  She could not find the rice in Toronto.  I told her to go to Indian grocery shop.  The Chinese supermarkets she goes to will not have the rice. 

So my idea of bringing all 3 boys to Mustafa for a family outing is not going to work.  So I will have to make do going with whoever is left.

Eating Out and Household Chores

We have been eating out more in the last few days as we no longer has a helper.  We are so used to home-cooked food that now we find food outside is too flavorful and too much MSG.  We are not used to the food.  Also we are very thirsty after meals. 

Our boys are more willing to help out with household chores and it is good that they learn some responsibilities.   Slowly, we adapt and live like living in Canada.  No domestic help and doing all the household chores.  Our boys have grown and independent.  So we need them to be less pampered as B1 will be going to University soon.  If he goes oversea, he will have to live alone.  It will be a shock and major adjustment if he is not experience in doing household chores.

Thirsty All Day Long

The heat is making me thirsty all day long.  I am using up a lot of ice to make cold drinks.  Iced tea, Ribena and Coke.  With so much liquid calories, it is hard to keep weight down.  I also need to water my plants.  They are all drying up from the heat and lack of rain.  Stress of work also cause me to eat and drink more.  My way of handling stress is not good.  When my wife is stressed, she just stop eating.  Whereas for me, I eat more when stressed.

B1 applying SMU

Although B1 was offer SMU law before, he accepted NUS Law School.  Now he is applying for SMU Law School again.  He is hoping to get a scholarship and I hope he get it.  It will be helpful for us not to be burden by the cost of his university. 

B2 says he had a good day when I pick him up from Nanyang Poly at about 9pm.  He is the Freshman Orientation Program Leader.  He enjoys leading group especially when the group respond to him when he give commands.  He also enjoys coaching and giving advice.  Maybe he can be a Professional Coach or Speaker.

Make-Up makes a Woman Looked Beautiful

On Channel 8 this morning, is the Seniors singing competition.  The pictures of a 51 year old contest were flash and very unflattering.  When she come on-stage, her skin on her face is smooth!  With the long eye lashes, I will say it is not bad.  The transformation is amazing.  The mannerism did not change and it is easy to tell she is a middle age woman next door.

Nowadays, women looked better through technology.  Men also starting to using technology to improve their looks.  I always think of short cut of diet - lipposuction.

Silence on Attracting and Retaining More Singaporean Crews

Singapore Airlines replied to my compliments to the crews.  However, the manager is totally silent on my point about keeping more Singaporean men and women.  It is very interesting.  So I wrote back to her and ask why she did not address this point I raise.  Let's see if she responds.  Quite clearly, it is an issue she is avoiding.  It tells me that Singapore Airlines, a Government-owned entity is not comfortable or maybe prefers to keep the wages low by hiring foreigners rather than attracting locals.

Feedback to SIA

I wrote to SIA Feedback to compliment the cabin crews.  There is a change.  Now, the system do not give an auto-reply.  Usually, a manager will reply within two days.  I only send it yesterday and so will wait for until tomorrow to see if feedback is no longer attend to like before.  I like this set of cabin crews.  Of the six I met, only one is a Singaporean.  The rest are from either Malaysia or Indonesia.  I told SIA that I hope as a icon and pride of Singapore, it should do more to attract and retain Singapore's sons and daughters.  Let's see how well SIA take this feedback.

Every time after a trip, I will be eating a lot.  Loves our local snacks.  Nowadays, I do not eat a lot on trip.  I need to manage my weight.  I try to be healthy as well and eat more healthy food.  My weakness is dessert.  The cookies in New Zealand is quite nice and full of calories as they are very sweet.  The other reason is I drink a lot more milk tea and coffee at home as well. 

Sony Creative Toy Competition

B3 is working on his Sony Creative Toy again.  He spent lots of time on his first toy but trashed it after feedback from the teacher to make it more interesting.  Now he is working on another model.  He is good at coming up with new concept.  However, he always do things last minute and will on rush out his work when it is due. 

Breaking Light

The sky get lit up so late at home.  In OZ and NZ, the sky is bright so early.  It is nice and cool to be outside.  Although hardly any activity at all except for occasional pedestrian or cleaner.  Here our wet market is bustling.  I was up at 4am and cycled to Fernvale 24hrs Foodcourt and had tea there.  It was good to get the local taste.  As one of the stewardess puts it "No Kaya" for all the wonderful offerings NZ has. 

I have to go to the AMK market to get some small fishes for my arowana.  My poor goldfishes probably were not fed for a week that I am out of town.  I noticed they are fewer in number this morning.  Maybe the white throat Kingfishers have been raiding my pond....

Good Flight Home

It is a long trip back.  However, I managed to talk to the crews and therefore was not bored.  The movies are not good enough to hold my attention.  Talking to the crews is a lot more interesting.  On-board out of the 7 in my cabin, only one Singaporean.  The rest are Malaysians or Indonesians.  The crews worked hard and quite serious in attending the calls from passengers.  They also take care of details.  It is a good group.  They are quite service oriented.  I am happy to have good crews who are willing to work hard to service passengers.

Triathton in Downtown Auckland

The whole of downtown Auckland is shut for today and tomorrow.  There is a triathon event going on.  So traffic will be bad.  I will have to check out and go to the airport to pass time as traffic to hotel will be stopped by 11am.  I am quite sleepy as I was woke up by an sms from my wife.  On her message, she says she hope her sms do not wake me up.  Best of all, she asked me to read something that can wait as it is the weekend

Strict Checks in New Zealand

I finished my work in New Zealand.  I am happy to go home tomorrow.  It is like a 11 hours flight.  I have plenty time to read and sleep.

I almost forgot to blog about this.  Food checks in New Zealand is strict.  Every luggage is x-rayed and checked for food items.  They are strict with fresh produce like fruit.  Packaged food can be brought in but make sure you declare.  There is a $400 fine.  The chance of getting caught is 100% as all bags are checked.  So it is best not to bring any food to Australia and New Zealand.

Time Change Almost Every Day this Week

One city and one time change.  From Singapore to Brisbane is two hours difference.  On Monday, I have my clock shifted two hours ahead.  On Wednesday going to Sydney, there is a hour shift forward.  On Thursday from Sydney to Auckland, another two hours forward.  I am gaining time almost everyday.

Tomorrow, I will lose all the time I gained this week when I returned home. 

Auckland! After 10 years?

Landing at 3pm local time, I arrived at Auckland.  My second visit to Auckland and New Zealand.  The first time we holidayed here with our boys.  I remember the city is so dead.  Everything closed at 5pm.  Today, Auckland is busier.  It is the village version of Singapore.  Many foreigners, all young adult studying the University.  The food court is practically all Asian food - Thai, Chinese, Indian, Vietnamese. The streets are much busier. 

I recalled my wife upset with me for not going out of the city to go to tourist spots.  I am not the adverturous type who will go everywhere to sightsee and experience tourist attractions.  I always walk around the hotels I stayed.  So my family did not experience much in Auckland previously.  I don't any of the boys even remembered being in Auckland as we stayed in the hotel most of the time.

The city has grown.  Many food courts and cafes dot the main street.  I recall the city was practically dead after 7pm.  Not a soul walking outside.  And tonight, I took a walk at 9pm and the streets are busy with young adults.  Starbucks and other cafes have patrons drinking and socialising.  All the shops are closed at 7pm.  Tomorrow is shopping night where the stores can open till 9pm.  Yes, the shops need a licence to stay open!

Most Expensive Taxi Rides

I have to go a suburb almost an hour away.  The taxi ride is $109 Aussie.  This is $143 Sin!  I remember taxi rides was cheap.  Today with the strong Aussie dollar, taxi rides today is incredibly expensive.  Exorbitant!  The taxi drivers must be making a good living.  They have to pay GST, income tax and rental.  I wonder how the residents survive paying so much for fares.

Walk to Town Center, Brisbane

Although it is late about 9pm, I decided to take a walk.  I wore thermal underwear and when I get outside, I found the temperature quite warm.  In fact, the girls I cross paths with were wearing shorts.  So I feel kind of stupid.  Everything is closed, only resturants and bars are open.  So there is really nothing to see.  It is such a slow pace of life.  I think people living here will live a long life as the pace will slow down the heart rate as well.

It is a good mix of white, black and brown.  Brisbane is very multicultural.  The walk after dinner makes me feel better.  I enjoyed the mild exercise.  It is also quite safe as there do not seem to have a lot of shady characters lurking around killing time.  So I think it is a great place to live.

Nice Weather in Brisbane

It is pretty nice in Brisbane.  Not so cold.  The whole town is like dead town.  Not many people are about as it is a public holiday and super long weekend - Friday and Monday.  It is the opposite of Singapore.  Everyone here go camping or out-of-the city.  There are few cars on the road and even fewer pedestrians.

My host told me my hotel is near Botanic Garden.  I will be out early in the morning and will be back late, no chance to take a walk.

Aussie Dollar So Strong

I wish I had Aussie dollars account.  The exchange rate for Aussie dollar is higher than US dollar at 1.30 vs 1.25 for US.   I have to change to Aussie dollar for my trip to Down Under tomorrow.  New Zealand dollar is at 1.05 and is quite okay as Sin dollar had grown in strong in the last few years.

Tomorrow I will go to Brisbane.  It is going to be a busy trip.  Brisbane one day and Sydney next.  After that, it is Auckland.  All back-to-back meetings.  The weather is cool, so I will bring warm clothing.  It will be a nice to be in the cool weather except for the short daylight hours.

Blogging can get you into Trouble

I have been blogging for a few years now.  After reading on the news on how writers have the discipline to write everyday, I promised to write every day.  Sometimes, I could not due to travelling and in China, it is not possible sign into blogger.  Over time I hope my practise will improve my writing and I can get more readers.

Well, I am not sure if my prose has improve.  My readership has not gone up significantly.  At least it is in the double digits.  I blog like a public diary.  So this can get me into trouble sometimes.  Get this!  My mother-in-law told my wife to bring me to treat my fall injuries.  She is fairly insistent.  I was surprised she knows.  So I checked with my wife.  So she asked her mother.  My MIL said it is me who told my eldest sister-in-law. 

What a surprise!  I did not talk to my eldest sister-in-law.  I realised she reads my blog and tell my MIL that I told her.  This is so troublesome.  Blogging mean I am living in a goldfish bowl.

Working and Faster Speed!

Finally, I managed to get my internet working at the faster speed on my computer.  The feeling is fantastic.  After all the frustrating troubleshooting, it finally works.  The TP Link is far superior than wireless.  I feel accomplished and happy with the higher speed.  Watching movie is easier.

Internet is so integral to our life and work.  Without internet, I will not be able to work.  Internet give us information and connection.  Social connection and communication.  I wonder sometimes how life was like without internet....

It was telex first, the fax.  Today it is email.  Business center in the hotel was the first port of call whenever I check in.  Secretary (admin assistant in US and Canada) will track us down.  We will get faxes and report and have to fax out our report.  Secretaries were indispensable.

Today, emails are instant communication.  The world is spinning faster and faster.  It is also has more options, more joys, more stuff, more pains, more confusion and more everything good and bad.

Frustrating Day

It is a frustrating day trying to set up the optical internet so that it can work properly.  Finally, I think I got it.  My home is 3 levels and concrete is not friendly to wifi signal.  Unfortunately, the optical box has to be at level 1.  So the internet at level 3 is spotty and extremely slow.  With the help of Singnet call center, I learn how to turn my previous ethernet box into a repeater.  Finally, I am on the repeater. 

The speed is still slow but at least I have internet access.  I am feeling so much better with the internet access.  Nowaday, working requires internet and without it, it is hard to get things done!

Fiber Optics is NOT Faster

I have upgraded to fiber optics but the speed of my internet speed did not improve.  I just did a speed test.  Download is 8.5 Mbps and Upload is 4.4 Mbps.  What a joke!  I am paid for 100 Mbps and get 9% of the actual speed.  This borders to cheating for my telco.

Instead of Reading, Writing

I feels that my interest seem to be changing.  I love to read a lot a lot.  I still do read everything that come into my line of sight.   But I am writing more too.  In Bras Basah Complex, the books that interest me are the blank paper books and exercise books.  I looked for different books where I can fill the empty pages instead of reading them.

I need to keep a journal of my thoughts, ideas that come to my mind, put my worries to paper, experience on the road and observations of life in general.  It is interesting to read what I had written in the past.  Even my youngest boy asked me to read it aloud before bedtime when he was younger.  I also need to keep up with developing my right brain by drawing based on the method by Betty Edwards.

My daily blog is about my life and what is significant to me.  It also boring because I am not a famous guy.  Then I have notebooks which I keep for my business meetings.  I also use the notebooks to record random thoughts and observations on the train or at a cafe.

I realise as I am getting older and need to leave behind a legacy.  Blog is a good way for my kids and friends to access whenever and wherever they feel like.  Journals allows me to keep private thoughts and worries.  I am a written word person.  My photos are not frequent or consistent even though picture can speak more than 1000 words.

Writing also helps in stress relief.  After I write down my worries, I feel better as my worries are captured and I need not keep thinking about them.  Once they are written down, I feel I can refer back anytime and therefore need not keep them top of my mind.

Writing does has its benefits!

Rest and Recuperation

Today is really rest and recuperation day for me.  I woke up early and go to the wet market for morning tea at about 6:30am.  My newspaper has not arrived yet:(  Anyway, I ordered crispy bits of "butterfly" from the dough stall.  I am a regular and always buy the bits and pieces of the crispy bits.  I had to wait for long time.  So I decided to buy vegetarian beehoon to eat first while waiting.  

Then I bought my wife's favorite mee siam which she felt is the best in town and lontong from the adjacent stall.  The wet market is in AMK Ave 4 near Anderson JC.   I ride to the PCN after breakfast.  Plenty of joggers and cyclists.  There is a running event there as well.  So many ang mohs participate in the run.

In the afternoon, I had a long nap after swimming.   I was recovering from my trip.  Work hard, rest hard.  I missed going to Kino for the 2nd time which was my usual practice.  Dinner is home cooked food that our new helper prepared.  She is far better cook than my previous helper.

B2 came home early instead of 10pm he thought.  He was so thirsty.  He drank two bottles of water and had to order drink when he ate ayam penyet in 2nd floor, Lucky Plaza because he tried the chilli sauce which he does not know it is extremely spicy as they use chilli padi.  I am glad to listen to him telling me his day when he is in the car.  This is the benefit of picking up my boys.

Horrified By the Ads on Girls!!!

I am horrified when the Advertisements is on meeting Thai Girls.  I tried to get rid of them by it is impossible as the Ads are not in my control.  I am concern my readers may think I blog about steamy stories like my friend boh tong.  I only write about boring stuff and I hope my readers do not get the wrong impression.

Bras Basah Complex

I read on the news that BBC or Bras Basah Complex will get a facelift.  I went there is morning to kill time while waiting for B3 to finish his Qiang Lao Shi tuition.  There is a event on the ground floor.  Many used books on offer.  I did not feel like buying any.  Instead I was interested in the stationery stall.  I bought A4 exercise books and correction tapes for B3.  I had permanent markers for myself and I realised I like to do more writing than reading nowadays.

Blank books, lined exercise books interest me.  I write randomly when I am on the plane or in the trains.  I like to write my impressions and state of mind so that I can recall the event when I read my notes.  I also use blank books to practise drawing.  It is good to keep written records although no one may be interested even my boys.  They are too busy with their own lives. 

BBC is a place for books and arts supplies.  I am a book lover.  I lusts for books, good books who act like wise men in my library. 

Kinokuniya Sales

Kino has its regular 20% discount during school vacation week.  MPH is competing with 30% for the weekend.  I acquired two new books both on Making Paper Airplanes or Origami Planes.  I love planes.  There is another book I like but did not buy.  It is on "surfer" which model planes are gliding so slowly that you can walk along while it flies! 

I need to do more paper planes and fly them.

Nara, the resturant in Erawan

Nara is a Thailand resturant in the building called Erawan beside the famous four-face buddha temple in Bangkok.  The food is authentic and very good.  It is also very popular and is very full at night.  I tried the grilled pork neck with papaya salad, the meat smells and tastes good but a little tough.  The crab fried rice and crab fried beehoon are very good, full of wok hei.  The prawn paste chicken is very crispy and have five spice salt for dip. Let me see...what else have I tasted.  Hmm! my memory is not so good.  I have forgotten the appetizers I tried. Now I remember!  The prawn popiah.  Minced prawn in a popiah skin, flat and circular like a pancake, deepfried to crispy with a sweet sauce.  Yummy! 

Left Side of My Body Hurts

Although the fall does not seem to be bad as my previous fall (I learn to break my fall better), my left shoulder is quite sore.  It looked bruised although hard to tell as my skin is quite dark.  My waist is also sore.  So my old problem of low back pain is back because of the fall. 

My right knee is painful every time it gets wet.  So after shower, the pain will come and stay for a couple of hours until it dries up and heals.  Luckily, my right calf has a deeper cut.  Yeah, it is a paradox.  There is a thicker layer of blood clot and the repaired skin stays waterproof.  Also the knee is just skin and bone and harder to heal as the skin is always moving whenever I walk or move.

I am up early as I am not sleeping well due to the pain.

Fell Down While Cycling

This morning while riding, I was thinking over some work issue and was distract and rode onto the grassy edge.  So the bike became unstable and I fell down.  Luckily, I only skinned my right knee and my right calf has a gnash.  The skin came off and the white fatty layer can be seen.  I can still feel the pain now after more than 1 day. 

I must have broke my fall with my left hand as my left shoulder is quite sore.  Until today, I am still falling from my bike when I do not pay attention.  I will need to find another form of exercise before I hurt myself seriously.

Good Day

When we were going to do grocery shopping to get the supplies for B3's best friend who will be here to do Social Studies project, my wife decides to invite her baby sister and her family over for dinner.  They decided to come for lunch.  So we decided to cook Hae mee.  We use the Delimas Penang Hae Mee sauce.  It is our favorite and we have to use two packs to make a big pot of soup.  The lunch is very good although my two nephews think it is too spicy.  B3 had no issue at all even though his tolerance for spiciness is quite low.  My two nephews eat up all the fish balls before anyone.  B3 joins in as well.  It is breaking our family rule.

For the two classmates, I made bruschetta.  It is quite simple although do take a lot of time.  I have to chopped the tomatoes coarsely and add parsley and olive oil.  After that I chopped up ham as well.  Then I sliced the french loaves into coin size and my wife butter them up.  After  butter, we top the bread with chopped tomatoes and ham.  Then shred parmasan cheese on top. Bake in the oven for 10 mins. My bruschetta with ham is quite popular with all my boys classmates. 

Electronic Gadgets

Visiting Sim Lim Towers and Sim Lim Square this morning is a good way to see the latest electronic gadgets.  There is a small speaker that shoots water.  There are many shapes and sizes of tablets.  Android phones with dual sim card capability for $250.  I had to buy a lead acid battery for my solar system.  It has not been working properly for the past few weeks.  With a new battery, it seems to work fine for now.  I have to see how it work next few days as the battery is fully charge when new. After a few days of loading, I will know if my solar panels is still charging my batteries.

Visiting Grandparents

This evening we brought our boys to visit their maternal grandparents.  My wife want to go and use our singing bowl to sing in their home for good luck.  So the boys went there and as usual Po Po offer food and drinks.  She brought out the giant strawberries.  They were sweet and juicy.  I ate an orange as well.  The Ta Ee came with food for Po Po and Gong Gong.

So they get the chance to eat vegetarian food.  They enjoyed the vegetarian pizza from Pizza Hut and Rice Balls.  The rice balls is the latest craze.  They like the rice balls.  They were so happy with the visit that on the way home they are singing.  Best of all they are singing old songs.  Songs I sang when I was young....When I was young I listened to the ra..di...o, waiting for my favorite song, when they play I sing along, it made me smile.  Those were such happeee days and not so long ago, how I wonder where they gone.  Those old melodies....still sounds so good to me...as they melt the years away...every sha la la every wo wu wo wu....

Stressful Day and Memories of KL trips

Early morning and the stress starts.  A customer needed an answer on price.  It is scrambling time! The report is due and more reports to check and verify.  It is non-stop adrenalin rush.  From one activity to another with deadlines.  It is end of the day and end of the week.  I am pooped! 

Luckily, I found time to cycle before dinner.  The exercise helps me work off the stress hormones.  I feel better after cycling.  The weather is hot but it is important to get the heart pumping and work of the energy physically. 

After dinner, I have a cup of Old Town coffee.  This reminds me of being in KL.  I always have coffee or tea after meal with my colleagues and talk about everything and nothing.  It was important bonding time and I get to know them better and they know me better.  My team is KL is very good even though I only spent a few days with them every two to three months.  We make things happen. 

I loved the food in KL.  KL has all the different ethnic varieties and good food at reasonable price.  I had good competent staff.  The difference between Malaysians and Singaporeans is Malaysians are warm and friendly and more laid back.  Singaporeans in contrast tends to be in a hurry, stressed and therefore sound curt.  I have not gone to KL for some time now.  I loved the mega malls.  Window shopping is fun.  Borders is still alive and well.  Jom Bali has good iced coffee, brown butter kaya toast and best Ipoh hor fun.  Bak kut teh is so good with different creative variants.  I love Ampang Yong Tau Foo and Penang Fried Kway Teow at Sunway Lagoon.

I must go back to KL, in years to come only 90mins.  It will be fantastic.

Waranty Replacements

My original iPhone earphone broke and I bought imitation earphones for a really good price of $10.  Original costs more than $40.  However, the imitation earphones broke after a couple of weeks.  They could not take the handling.  One yank and kaput!  So I bought is $50 Logitech earphones and they are far more robust.  The design is superior to original iPhone earphones as the jack has a right angle connector and can handle the stress of phone dropping.  When the jack is straight, the force of the phone dropping toward the floor will cause the wires inside to break.  The right angle absorb the stress. 

Anyway my Logitech earphones developed a problem.  One side has no sound.  Luckily, I managed to find the receipt and I bought it last April.  So I send it in for checks and repair if possible and I got a new replacement!  I also go to get replacements for my TP Link internet link through the house wiring.  Awesome I had replacement for two units. 

It is important to keep our receipts for electronic products in a safe place where we can retrieve for warranty purpose.  It works!  I am happy to get my faulty gadgets replaced.

I also bought headphone that is on sale for $39.  It seems to work fine.  Great deals in repair workshops...

Responding

I believe the government is responding after loss of votes.  Now it seems like they are willing to do more for Singapore and Singaporeans.  It took a long long time.  Finally they are listening a little to opposition.  Looks like some of the suggestions from Worker's Party is entertain.  But to save face, they asked for feedback and suggestions from the public.  I hope the climate will continue to improve as our government starts to do more work for citzens and take care of citzens.  We are a developed country where our aged and retired have to scavenge and struggle for daily living.

Temperature Rising

It is getting hot and B3 keep using up lots of ice.  I can tell how hot the weather is by the amount of ice my boys consumed.  I use more ice too to drink ice tea and soda.  So the weather makes us all consume more liquid calories.  It can be quite fattening.

Although it is hot, many people are out exercising in the PCN.  We are all health nuts.  I enjoyed exercising with others who are serious in keeping ourselves healthy.  With the heat, the quantity of water evaporated must have increased.  We will see heavier rainfall.

Anyway, there is no point in speculating and worrying.  We are all in this together.  Life on Earth will continue in its cycle.

My Personal Opinion on Growth at all Costs

Many Singaporeans if not most are against the Govt policy of growth at all costs.  This is clearly reflected in the blogsphere and social internet sites.  Sharing limited space and resources is a stressful existence.  I believe there is an optimal balance and everyone of us is probably different in our needs for space.  Having lived in Canada, I loved the space.  It is a lot more relaxing and personal. Personal in the sense that it is you and nature.  I grew up in a 3 room flat with 4 siblings.  It is really cramped and we have to kind of sleep around the house and not just in the bedrooms.  I could not imagine my boys living in the conditions I grew up in.

It is a culture shock coming back to live in Singapore.  While Singapore is well known for clean and green city, the HDB flats are messy, smelly and quite dirty.  Maybe the weather made a difference.  The garbage dumps in Canada are not so smelly.  All garbage are bagged properly.  The crowded conditions and lack of privacy in HDB flats and condominiums make living in Singapore a lot more stressful.

8 years ago, I move to my current home.  TPE was the only expressway that does not have traffic jams.  3 years maybe 4 years later, TPE is like other expressways once the residents moved to their new flats in Sengkang and Punggol.  Traffic jams every workday mornings and evening.  While with lower growth, we may earn less money, our quality of life will be better.

Looking across the border, Malaysians with all their "problems" have a much better quality of life then us in Singapore.  They start work later, have breakfast together with their colleagues and spend plenty of time socialising in the evening.  We have to keep working to pay for mortgages, car loans and hawker food that cost 3 times as much in KL.  Singapore govt makes the employers the king.  Malaysia protects their citzens and employees.  Singapore laws protects the employers rather than employees.  It is protects the strong and vanquish the weak.  The strong shall enslave the weak and make them dependent.  Meritocracy at its best!

Simple lifestyle, green living, caring for others and happiness for all Singaporeans instead of the almighty dollar and growth.  We need choices and not one size fits all where we all have to keep running on the treadmill to keep up with our neighbours and get ahead of our friends and colleagues.  Yes, the Govt must take a breather.  Stop pushing Singaporeans out of the country they grew up and loved.  Give us Singaporeans a chance to choose instead of competing with all the foreign imports and talent.  Stop increasing our stress level.  It is becoming NOT a good life.

Wonderful Ride

It is still drizzling and dreary.  All three boys came out cycling together.  Yes, B1, B2 and B3.  We cycled to the Sengkang Community Center and then detour to buy the phone card to replenish his phone.  It is nice to have all 3 boys cycling together.  I like it when we all cycled home and our neighbour saw us.  This is really awesome.  Me and my boys.  The ride is quite short but a lot of joy for me.

Crowded in MBS, Crowded in MRT

IT fair is on and we had to upgrade from 10 mbps to fiber optics 200 mbps.  So we go to the Singtel booth and it was so noisy.  Loud announcements blare out all the time.  The crowd was huge.  Everyone trying to get a good deal.  Many comes with a trolley and bring back big items by hand.  It is a gigantic Sales. 

I had a friend coming to visit.  He arrived at the airport in late afternoon.  Since B3 had tuition, I do not have the car.  He want to see MBS.  It is funny.  I do not go MBS as it is just so expensive for anything especially food and today I go to MBS twice.  Taking train is an interesting experience for me.  I learned the Circle line is not a circle.  I also learn there are split ending and so you have to watch out to know exactly where your train is heading.  Also the train will stop in the middle of the line (Tai Seng) everyone has to get out and wait for the next train to continue the journey.

On a Saturday afternoon and non-peak travel time, there are so many people taking train.  It is so crowded.  Now all the gripes about the train service become real for me.  The politicians do not take trains.  So they will never have any empathy.  It is easy to give advice -  "Be patient, we will fix the issue."  When you are fighting with the crowds, the perspective is so clear and so emotional.  It is a pack rat society. 

End of a Busy Week

Phew!  It has been a busy week.  I even missed a couple of nights that I did not write my blog.   The weather has been good.  Plenty of breeze and no rain.  My plants are drying out and need plenty of water.  I notice our ice run down very quickly when the weather is hot.  The boys keep drinking soda with ice.  It is a unhealthy habit.  I am also drinking more.  The heat makes it difficult to cycle, so I use battery assist bicycle. 

Business is on the upswing.  So hopefully, my sales will grow and grow.  Now I am setting up my trip to Australia and NZ.  Maybe I have to spend over the weekend as depending on how many customers I can fit in.  I also need a good story for Japan.  So far India is responding and hopefully Japan too.  Then I will have a good year.

Out-of-Sort

I was in stress mode yesterday and today.  I am feeling out-of-sorts and restless.  Busy at work and setting up more trips.  It is always not enough.  The 3 gratitudes exercise cannot overcome the negative psychology. 

So I eat more and this will lead to weight gain.  I wish I react to stress by not eating rather than eating more.  This way I will look better and have healthier weight loss.

How to be Happy

I was listening to TED and heard How to be Happy at Work again.  Thinking of 3 gratitudes everyday for 21day make a difference in our personal happiness and the effects are long lasting.  I have stopped the 3 gratitudes for some time now.  I think I am happier than before but no harm continuing the 3 gratitudes to keep my level of happiness up.  It will be like a bolster shot of Hepatitis B vaccine.

1.  I am grateful for the friendship and hospitality in Japan
2.  I am grateful to be safe from a reckless truck driver who races in my neighbour while I was cycling
3.  I am grateful B3 is working hard on his work.

I am glad I am recovering from my sleep debt from my trip.  It is good to be home in the weekend to catch up on beauty sleep.

B1 ORD!

It seems like a non-event for B1.  When you are enlisted in the military, the first thing you do is to surrender your identity card and get a green card.  So on the day of your ORD or operationally ready date, you exchange your green IC(identity card) with the red and you are now a civilian and considered operationally ready.  Last Friday, March 1st, B1 ORD.  During my time, the term is ROD.  I like ROD!  It mean run out date.  This means the army run out of time to torture us.  We are happy to get out.  Now, they tell you that you are operationally ready and therefore they can called you anytime for war.  ROD sounds so much better in my opinion.

For B1, after he get his "freedom", he went to visit his girlfriend who is in NTU.  He came home only at 5:30pm.  He did not seem elated at all.  I guess it is a non-event.  I just returned from Tokyo.  Now he is meeting his classmates for dinner.

I am glad one more chapter has closed for him.  Now our family next chapter is B2's enlistment which will be in a couple of years.  I hope he go in Air Force.  Air Force, I believe is a lot better than the army.

Birthday Dinner for Father-In-Law

It is my father-in-law's birthday today.  His kids organised a dinner for him.  The food is not bad as I ordered a couple of dishes.  I enjoyed the deep fried vegetarian goose and beansprout with salted crispy.  The resturant is Greenland Vegetarian near Highland Road in Kovan.  He is happy and my mother-in-law is happy too.

My wife enjoys the dinner very much.  She had so much to talk about.  Meanwhile I am quietly helping B3 to play his computer word game.  It is a good way to end the day.

Nice to be Warm

It is nice to be in the warm climate again.  Tokyo was so cold this time that I did not take any walk outside except for one evening.  Even then I walk to Hotel Okura to see how it is like.  Hotel Okura is quite quaint and have a more ancient kind of feel.  It is in the middle of all the embassies.  Many security guard posts around the area.  Roppoggi is just down the hill and Imperial Palace is not far from the hotel as well.

B2 went for leadership camp in Nanyang Poly tonight and tomorrow night.  I could not sleep in the plane.  So now I am feeling very sleepy.  Will go to bed early tonight.