Capping of my Implant Root

This morning, I visit my dentist and I thought was a simple procedure.  I was surprised that I needed injection of local anesthesia.  My dentisl cut opens my gum and put a cap onto the two implants.  It was a lot more than what I thought it would be.  My cut has to be cut and the implant exposed.  Then the blood has to be suck up to keep the site as dry as possible.  Then the cap was screw on.  After that my gum is stitch up.  I had 3 stitches.

He also gave me strong pain killer for today and tomorrow.  I have to go and have my stitches taken out a week later.  One month later, I have the new crown made.  I guess I will need an impression done and then two crowns made in the lab.

Pursuit of Happiness

I found my last disc of Finding Your Element.  If according to Ken Robinson, if I am in my element even with the risks and uncertainty, I will be happier. 

What is my element?  I still have no idea what my passion is.  I enjoyed reading a lot but how to monetise reading?  Reading is on the expense side of according.  I love projects but have so many half done projects especially electronic projects that I know I am not going to be an inventor.  Teaching and coaching is in my element.  Somehow, I am unable to make money helping others to gain skills and competency.  I tried writing and keeping this blog updated at all time.  So far, the readership is low.  So it will take me 3 years or more to earn $100 from Adsense, the minimum for the check to be cut and sent. 

As I review my skills and capability, I wonder what could I be in order to be in my "element".  I loved to be happy.  In fact, happiness is my top priority.  I do the gratitude exercise, I live my life well and I enjoys working.  But it seems hard to reach the level of nirvana or flow or ecstasy which is my new goal as I read Ken Robinson.  Am I setting myself up for failure?

I know one thing for sure.  I will continue to write everyday and reading good books to improve my mind even if happiness eludes me.  Maybe my current routines should generate happiness for me.

Effective Medication - TamiFlu

TamiFlu is very effective.  B3 improvement is dramatic.  He is back to his regular routines.  I am impressed by the quick efficacy.  After one day, his temperature is down and he is no longer lethargic or complains how bad he is feeling.  At $95 for 5 day, it is $10/tablet.  The pharma company must be making a fortune.  Maybe if the price comes down, the volume will go up.

Social Compact

I remembered The Straits Times columnist Chua Mui Hoong wrote about social compact between the government and the governed.  I belong to the governed.  Recently, the little guy who managed to rock Singapore and stirred big shit has caused the government to react and talk a lot giving plenty of assurance and to me full of mambo jumbo as I have no clue what was said except to ensure I am continued to be kept in the dark about CPF.

On the TV, a man dressed as a woman prance and dance as he sings.  It is advertisement for the pioneer package which luckily I am not qualified(means I am young!). Then there is communication on Medishield Life which says "oh it is easy, you just have to fill up God knows how many forms and authorised the hospital to make the claims for you".

Frankly, all this befuddles me.  Why as a citizen, my IC cannot confer automatic rights to healthcare?  Why must I authorized someone to claims from my "insurance"?  Why is it where I live determines the level of subsidies?  A citizen is a citizen is it not??

My youngest boy had fever two days ago.  We gave him extra strength Tyernol but have little effects.  So on National Day, we brought him to Mount Elizabeth Novena for treatment.  A neighbour recommended as it is reasonable price and waiting time is short.  The waiting time is at a reasonable half an hour.   The doctor saw him and did a swab test.  We have to wait for 15mins for the test results.  It was confirmed he has Influenza A.  So the doctor prescribed Tamiflu.

The bill for seeing a doctor for flu is $294!!!  To say we are shocked is an understatement.

Who can afford to visit doctor?  I know it is a private hospital but the bill will be about $150 if we were in a restructured hospital and then we get generic drug and no test will be done or Tamiflu prescribed. 

The leader of our government publicly stated he wants to attract more billionaires to the country.  How will our millions of average wage earning citizens be able to afford healthcare?

National Day

The parade is on.  The same old songs to a new tune.  Not so many flags nowadays during National Day.  I guess when you are not a Singaporean at heart, why would you want to hang National Flag.  The country is now 49.  I also remember the Diet which is the Japanese dominant political holds power for 50 years.  Maybe it is time for change.  Will it change for better?  I do not know.  However, I don't think we can do any worse with the status quo.  So I hope we get some serious change and make Singapore a better home to live in.

Best Thing is Home

It is a long week of going from one place to another.  The Japanese way is to wait until the exact time of appointment.  So we have to kill time somewhere if we arrive too early.  We must make sure we arrived 5 mins before appointment time. 

Tokyo is hot and humid.  This time I did not eat tonkatsu.  I had mostly yakitori and one western meal.  I am also tired because my nose is blocked and I have to breathe through my mouth cause the throat to be dry and sore.

The good thing about home is familarity.  I remember the same joy whenever I returned home in Oakville.  We go for holidays in US.  And it is nice to come back home to Canadian Tire, Miracle Ultramark, Dominion, Loblaws and other landmarks.  Some of the supermarket chains like Miracle no longer exist in Toronto.

Coming home and my family is so happy to see me is a shiok feeling.

Ruth's Chris Steak House

I was hungry and walking out for dinner when the lady who help me get the skincare product saw me and said hi.  So I asked her where to go for dinner.  She recommended yakitori at Kasumigaseki Building.  It is 10 to 15 mins walk.  I asked for help in direction along the way.  Before I reach the yakitori place, I saw Ruth's Chris Steak House.  I saw it in the taxi before but did not realised it is so near the hotel.  While I was hungry, I did not want to spend so much.  So I ordered only crab cakes and chopped salad.  The crab cakes is served in a hot ceramic plate.  It is not bad when hot.  The chopped salad I did not like.  I should have known as the dressing was blue cheese.  I do not like blue cheese. 

Anyway, I checked out the yakitori after dinner.  It looked like a bar where mostly men drink beer and eating the yakitori.  Let's see tomorrow night....

Italian Dinner

I decided to try the Italian resturant near my hotel.  Between hamburger and sirloin steak, the waiter recommended hamburger even though it is 1000 yen cheaper.  So I tried the hamburger and it is not bad at all.  I also had crispy cuttlefish and it was very good.  The cuttlefish is actually quite small, the batter is light and crunchy on top of a bed of green leafy salad.  The desserts were not attractive and it is good that I did not ingest more calories.  Eating alone mean I spent very little in the resturant.  I complete my meal in less than half an hour and paid for it and take a good stroll around Ropponggi.  It is quite a nice evening. 

Bright Light Streaming In

It is 5am Tokyo time and the sun is up and the light coming through between the opaque curtains and the wall.  I woke up since I have trouble breathing through my nose.  My throat is dry and sore I have been breathing through it during the night.  I look out of the window.  There are few vehicles on the highway.  This is the beauty of summer where day is long and night is short.  Temperature is nice and warm.

I loved living in 4 seasons where clothing type changes. Easy to remember events base on seasons rather than months.

Warm and Humid Tokyo

Summer!  It is really warm and humid. Seems like it is hotter than Singapore.  Although it is humid, it is still a lot more comfortable than home.  Walking about Roppongi, I sweat a little only.  Unlike at home where a short walk will generate a layer of sweat on all exposed skin.

It is late afternoon I landed on Haneda.  I took the Monorail to downtown Hamamatsucho Station.  It is express.  So after I get on, it is non-stop until we reach Hamamatsucho.  Then I took a 1100 yen ride to the hotel.  It is really convenient and fast. 

It is nice to walk in the warm evening and with daylight until 7 plus.  So it is very comfortable.  I finished my walk with yakitori dinner.

Missing Manila

Recently, in Bugis Junction there is a new bakery that focuses on Cinnamon Roll.  B3 was interested and we had an original and another with chocolate coating.  Then in Dunking Doughnut, there is also a cinnamon roll as well which B3 again bought.  I sampled both cinnamon rolls and nothing like Saint Cinnamon, the Candian chain.  I wonder what happen to the Singapore Franchisee.  It probably "died" like Rotiboy from Malaysia.  Since it is a single product offering.

As I was telling B3 how the Canadian Saint Cinnamon is so much better, I missed going to Manila where Saint Cinnamon is still available.  I like food in Manila.  The ensaimada from Gloria Jean or Red Ribbon, Racks the bbq ribs and many fine resturants in Green Belt at affordable prices.  I have not been to Manila for 3 or 4 years now.  Wish I could go again soon.

Working on My Weight

The surgery is a good start for my diet.  I had to fast for 6 hours including water!  I remember water was allowed previously.  The GA or general anesthesia makes me feel very uncomfortable and out-of-sort after waking up.  I needed to pee but unable to.  My body basically do not belong to me!  It is very weird and difficult.  I am glad the recovery is quite fast.  After a couple of hours, I feel more normal and my bodily functions returns.

Due to the aftereffects of the anesthesia, my appetite was down.  And I start having just broth or soup for dinner.  The weight reduction is slow and easy.  I am down by 1kg so far.  I need to travel next week, so my weight may go back up with the dinners with customers.

Nose Bleed!

It must be the swimming.  I swam yesterday and the day before with no issue.  However, this afternoon, my nose bled.  I probably blow too hard tearing the surgical wound and causing blood the flow.  The blood clot is thick and black this time.  I need to make sure I do no further damage so that I can heal up as quickly as possible.

Breathing Improvements

The doctor's visit is good since some of my clots were sucked out.  Even though it is still difficult, at least small amount of air can go through the nose.  My right nose is swollen still.  The left has more radical work done is still bleeding but not so bad now.  The doctor gave me two puffers to help reduce the swellings.  It is good to be able to breathe easier....

Looking Forward to Tomorrow

The reception from the ENT clinic called me this morning and asked how I am.  I told her it is uncomfortable.  I have to wake up a few times in the middle of the night to split out the blood clot in my throat.  So she suggested I come in to see the doctor tomorrow morning instead of Saturday.  I want to go today but she says it is better to delay so that the outcome is better when the doctor suck out the mucous and blood clot.  She says it will make me feel more comfortable.  It is really difficult to breathe to the mouth.  And several times while I drink water, I choke as water gets into my lungs.

Hopefully, my condition improve after the visit to clear my sinsus.

Recovery

My nose is still bleeding and completely obstructed.  Luckily, the right side is clear mucous but the blood is still flowing on the left side.  I did a little cycling and swimming.  Swimming seem to help.  I can see air flowing out of my nostrils.  So it is not completely blocked when I breathe out through the nose.  However, once out of the water, I have to breathe in and out through my mouth.  I am taking the pills religiously to aid my recovery.  The operation is no fun and next week I am travelling and giving training.  My voice is quite hoarse now as if I have a sore throat coupled with congested nose.

I hope I recover in time.

Nose Job!

I had sleep apnea and snoring issues for years.  Always thought I should get my nose fixed to stop allegic reactions to mites and household dust.  Finally, had a turbinoplasty and a septoplasty done yesterday.  The flesh inside my nose is being burned off.   Right now it is clogged up with blood that I have to breathe uncomfortably through my mouth.  Blood and mucous dripping off my nose.  I have to wear a cotton guaze which is like a giant mustache.  I have a pretty sharp nose.  So no need to do asethetic.  Just to solve breathing problem.

Kowloon Dim Sum at AMK Ave 5

Right beside the Soi 19 Wanton Mee is the Kowloon Dim Sum.  It did not seem to be as popular as the wanton mee, so we decided to try.  Today is the wrong day to go.  We went there at 11am and the place was packed.  We ordered takeaway and was told that it will take 20 mins to half an hour.  So we went to buy roast duck before coming back to pick up the dim sum we ordered.  Wanton mee was super long queue as well.

The standard of Kowloon dim sum is nowhere compared to Raffles Hotel but it is reasonable in price.  Our dim sum cost only $42.  We could not finished the food either.  This is also because B2 did not eat as he was in school doing his project.  We did not eat the roast duck until dinner time.  The duck still taste good, actually very good.  We made soup with duck bones and B3 loved the soup very much.  He keep praising it and had additional rice to go with the soup.

Our dinner was very good this time as the whole family was just talking and very engaged.  It is nice to have all our boys together during dinner.

Dim Sum at Raffles Hotel

B1 heard from his JC classmates that dim sum in Raffles Hotel is good.  Mummy and daddy tried before but a China captain was trying to get fresh with daddy and the resturant was written off.  We have not been there since.  So when B1 suggested, mummy told him the story.  Then when I reached home I begin to tell him the story as well.  As I finished each sentence, he said mummy said that.  Anyway, he told mummy to be objective.  So mummy gave in and asked him to book a table.  We were on waitlist.  Yes, there is such a thing in resturants.  Sound like taking flight. 

Anyway, he called again and was given a table.  So we had our dim sum lunch there.  The food was good. The waitress recommended pipa duck.  I was reluctant as the meat tends to be dry.  But she says it is not and it is on "special" at $26 for half a duck.  This is not bad as a complete roast duck from AMK coffeeshop is $40.  So we tried and it was indeed excellent.  B2 complained the roast pork is cold although still tasty.  B1 loved his "hum swee kok" or deep fried dumpling with prawn.  I like it too.  The soup dumpling was not as nice as Imperial Treasure, I thought but B3 like it.  He is a "soup boy" as he loved soups and broth.  The salted egg custard bun was average. 

I quite like the food.  Overall the price is about 50% more expensive than Imperial Treasure.

Wonderful Meal with My Nieces

We had a great time with our nieces tonight.  Lots of funny stories they shared with us.  They like the green chilli sambal batang and red chilli sambal sotong cooked by our maid.  We have the soup but the abalone is quite rubbery.  We also have braised mushrooms and they enjoyed the meal very much.  I like the deep fried spring rolls and samosa.  They are crispy and nice.  Best of all, our boys also enjoys the meal and stay around while their cousins are talking to us.  We enjoys their company and the laughter.  It is so interesting to hear their stories.

Snoring

I went to see ENT specialist to see if I can solve the problem of snoring.  He says my septum is enlarge and now there is a new technology using radio frequency to reduce the tissue.  It is like melting the tissue but unlike cautery, it does not burn it.  It shrinks the tissue make the passage large so that it is much easier to breathe.

I will go for it next Tuesday.  Hoping I can breathe better.

Durian Season

We went to Yishun for lunch and durians durians everywhere.  Price is still high.  We bought some home.  The Cat Mountain or mao shan wang durian is quite good but pretty pricey.  One small durian of 1.7kg cost $25.  It is very fattening but good to enjoy the king of fruit in season.  Mangosteen is in season as well.  However, it is more work to eat mangosteen even though it is reputed to have high antioxidant.  I like Yishun or rather Chong Pang market.  It is bustling and price is quite reasonable compared to Ang Mo Kio.

Future Focus

The book I borrowed from the library in Nex is pretty interesting.  It is about Peter Drucker's philosophy and teachings.  Peter Drucker believe strongly in making the future.  The actions we do and non-actions all affects our future.  We must dropped all the non-value work and change our manner, habits for the future.  Makes a lot of sense to me.  But we are creatures of habit.  So it is quite difficult to change.  But we must adapt as we go about living our life.  This way we are always getting ready for future in everything we do.

Library at NEX

There is a public library in NEX.  My first time there as my wife found some books that is only available in this library.  I borrowed a couple of books as well.  NEX has a number of interesting resturants.  Ayam Penyet and Vietnamese.  I did not try as I was not hungry.  But we did eat at Din Tai Fung for lunch.  I ate only the vinegared mix aka xiao chye and kao fu or braised gluten.  It is nice to have little bites.

The library is pretty small but it is very accessible and on the roof top of the shopping mall.  It makes sense to have library on a shopping mall.  It makes it so much accessible for patrons.  The selection of books is pretty decent although not as many as say Queenstown or Toa Payoh branch library.

Broken Wire

My solar system is down.  I changde the battery which cost $95, it did not work.  So I change the solar controller first $30 piece and latest from a different brand for $23.  Still the system is not working.  I remember reading in the Q and A in the internet someone measures the voltage.  So I tried and found that the voltage on the battery terminals is the same as the solar panel.  When I measured the battery, the voltage is much lower.  So finally, I decided to measure the resistance of the wires.  I found one wire open!  I could not believe this.  I keep changing different component of the system which cost a lot of money and I did not check the wires.  Wires are passive and therefore I am caught in a paradigm that it will not fail.  How wrong was I.  Once I change the wires, my system work like a charm:)

I am not good at troubleshooting anymore.  I just pay a lot of money to fix something when it should cost me next to nothing.  Luckily, I did not throw away what I thought was bad components like the battery and the solar controller.

Sore Throat

I am coughing for two weeks now.  My throat is painful when I swallow today.  Am I getting from bad to worse?  I took Vitamin B aka Berroca.  So I wonder if the vit B cause my throat to feel sore or is it the durian that my father-in-law gave us.  It is a wonderful durian, I ate only two seeds and now my throat hurts.

This afternoon, we tried a new Vietnamese (new for us) resturant called Wraps and Rolls in Ion basement 3.  The food is pretty good.  B3 likes the bbq pork.  I like it too.  We had wraps and deep fried spring rolls.  The food is enjoyable.

Soi Thai Wanton Mee

I am still having jetlag and is up at 5am this morning.  So I went to the wet market to get my dose of home.  I had tea.  The wet market makes me feel at home.  This is why I like Victoria Market in Melbourne - the feel of home.  Melbourne has great food and plenty of Asian resturants and supermarkets.  In the suburbs, it is also a cultural mix and reminds me of living in Canada.  So I think it should be fine to live there.

I enjoys teh halia in Fu Lu Shou hawker center while waiting for B3 to finish his tuition.  Since I had breakfast, I thought we should try the Thai wanton mee.  B1 took a bus to meet us there.  We were faster than him and pick him up along AMK Ave 5.  The queue was super long and moving very slowly.  So we try the Shanghai food as the resturant is quite empty.  The food was really good.  But we also know why it is not well patronised.  It is more than $20 per head and we just ordered their signature dishes.  B3 liked the food and says we should go there again.  After knowing the price B3 may have second thoughts. 

We have to try the Wanton mee another time.

Sweaty and Smelly

For a week and a half, I was so comfortable.  No sweat!  Literally!  Living in cool winter, it is very nice to walk about and not break a sweat at all.  I need to live in a temperate country.  Now that I am back, I am all sweaty and smelly after cycling.  It is not strenous exercise but still makes me uncomfortably sticky all over.  Walking for half an hour produce the same effect.  So this is the advantage of living in a cold country.  Maybe I should go back to Canada and retire there.  Only problem is minus 20 is not fun either.

Weather in Australia is good, very good.  However, I sense living there may not be that easy either.

Seeing What Others Don't

This book has stories of insights.  It explore from news worthy sources where insights produce Nobel prize, save lives, saving one's own skin and catching a car thief.  The first story is the one I remember best.  A police car come to a stop at red light.  Beside it was a brand new BMW.  The driver was smoking.  He then casually drop the cigarette ashes onto the seat.  The police saw and look away.  Then a sudden thought came his mind.  Which owner of a new BMW would do this?  If the car was lend to a friend which friend will casually dropped cigarette ashes on the sea?  Something incongruous.  So they stopped the BMW and found it was just stolen.  I like this story.

Lamb Ribs

Looking for ribs in the internet is a hit and miss.  I went to the Survey resturant.  Unfortunately, it has only Lamb ribs on the menu.  The lamb is quite good but I was looking for pork or baby back ribs.  It is quite tender and the crust is crispy.  The chef use kicap manis with olive oil.  Overall, the taste is very good except for the strong smell of lamb.  There are only 3 ribs as I ordered a small portion.  So do not feel bloated after my meal.

Not bad but wish it is the repeat of Hurricane.

Downtown Brisbane

It pays to ask!  I usually walk around the hotel.  I stay in this hotel before when it was Holiday Inn.  Now it is known as Trader's.  I have more time as well.  I arrived when there is daylight.  I walked to Queen's Mall.  It is nice walk as temp is still cool.  I tried Southbank.  It is very cultural, performing arts, museum, library and theatres.  It is interesting to walk but my right foot is recovering and not in a strong state yet.  So I did not spend much time there.

I could not find my bbq ribs, so I have a smoked pull pork sandwich instead.  I think I should be able to do better than what I had.  So I may do my own smoked pork next time.

Hurricane

My host asked what I like for lunch as I was starving.  I do not have breakfast.  So I requested for bbq ribs lunch.  He says there is a chain called Hurricane.  I like the ribs.  Hurricane has only side ribs.  The portions is huge.  I ordered half a rack with baked potatoes.  The ribs is well done, tender and has smoky flavor.  The sauce is well caramelised.  It is really good.  Just messy to eat as bones are long.  Beside our table, 8 couples plus one female.  So they may be on a tour.  I was trying to figure where they come from and thought they may be from Guangzhou.  They speaks Cantonese and Mandarin.  I should have known as the Mandarin did not have the mainland accent.  They are from Malaysia.  The group is warm and friendly.  I did not talk to them until we are leaving as I do not want to be rude to my host.

I am glad to have ribs as they are good in Oz.

Almost Every Meal in Australia, Singaporeans

Melbourne is a big city and when I go for meals I met Singaporeans.  The first meal was dinner in Spicy Fish was Singaporean family with a kindergarden age girl.  Then at Mekong River for Vietnamese Pho, mother and 12 years old daughter.  Mother asked daughter to eat more "tau gay".  Her accent and words are clearly from my hometown. 

Last night arriving Sidney Coogee Beach and starving, I check out all the resturants.  I like the ribs but the resturant Brazil Churros has only buffet and I did not want to stuff myself up.  So I pick an Italian resturant. What I asked about what type of apple juice they serve to the waitress, another man came to explain to me.  Then he asked if I am from Singapore.  This time it is the owner nephew.  It is probably a coincident but incredible for this trip.  3 encounters with people from the tiny red dot.

Right Foot Hurts!

Yesterday, I must have injured my right foot when I took the long walk to Victoria market to look for my BBQ meat.  As I was walking back after dinner, my right foot cannot handle pressure.  The sole feels off and sharp pain radiates every step.  I thought I could sleep it off but this morning the pain did not go away.  I thought I could "crack" my bone and put it back in place but so far it has not work.

So my plan to buy try the smoked ribs went up in smoke!  It is too far to walk.  20 mins uphill.  So I am in my room blogging.  The cold weather and now my sprained right foot prevent me from exploring the city more.  The food is pretty good.  I like my pad Thai and fried spring rolls finishing with 4 colours chendol for dinner last night.  I am interested in the Peking Duck but will have to save this for next time.  I would have love to buy the meats for bbq.  They are so fresh and tempting.  Must see if my new company will have a job here so that I can relocate here for a year or two.

My boys was surprised that I am gone for the weekend.  It is usual for ANZ unless I focus on one country, A or NZ.  The good thing about internet is phone calls are free.  So it is like I am at home except no meals together.

Downtown Melbourne

It is enjoyable just to walk about town.  The only problem is the cold weather.  It is deep winter now.  So the rain comes and go very often.  I tried to look for bbq meat featured in the magazine.  I reached the place and found it is not open for food.  I was there at 5pm and it is open for drinks only and will have food only at 6pm.  So I was disappointed.

I walked to Chinatown and have Thai food for dinner instead.  I have a great time not doing much.  I just need to read more instead of working and surfing the net.  Melbourne is a University Town.  University of Melbourne, RMIT and University of Victoria are the 3 universities I see while walking.  This morning, I had brunch in Vietnamese pho.  Sitting on the next table is mother and daughter.  Mother speaks Singlish, so I asked the daughter if they are from Singapore.  She points to her mum and says she is.  We chat a little.  She misses the char kuay teow, tao suan and all the hawker favorites.  She did not like the cold.  I share a little with my background and why I was in Melbourne, when I am leaving etc.  I asked what do you do for the weekend.  She says she is going to Victoria market.  I asked what is it.  It is like a flea market.  She says they can walk but will take the tram instead.

Since I have some time to spend, I decided to walk there to find out.  Victoria market is Farmer's market and a flea market.  The fresh meat cuts, the wide range of cheeses and fish fillets.  This is a section for organic vegetables beside the regular vegetables.  Then the flea market has clothing and souvenirs.  I like this place.  I can do my weekly groceries here.  The meat looked very fresh.  Prices are very reasonable.  Only thing is there will not be enough to do our Singapore style cooking like laksa or char kuay teow.  It will be nice to live in Melbourne for a year or two.

Emirates Airlines

My colleague booked the A380 flight and asked me to book the same flight.  I did but my fare was higher.  So I asked him to check and he found the flight no longer exist like me.  The seats are all gone in Qantas.  So I book throught Emirates website and go a business class seat instead. 

Taking the flight reminds me of Singapore Airlines in the past.  The food at the lounge is high quality.  SQ lounge in Singapore is same standard but low standard in other airports.  The stewards and stewardesses are warm and welcoming.  They keep saying how much they appreciate our business, show us how to operate the seat and gadgets.  There is a mini bar on every seat.  Singapore Airline can no longer be hold a candle to Emirates.  The cost cutting in the last 10 years made SQ service level just like other airlines instead of "other airlines talk about". 

It is my first time in Emirates after many years as I do not go to Europe for more than 10 years.  I will take Emirates in future if there is a direct flight.

Downtown Melbourne

Work is over.  Weekend is here.  I did not write earlier because I refused to pay for internet.  Now internet is free.  So here I am.  Weather warms up slightly.  So it is comfortable to walk. So happy to be in Chinatow and have access to Asian food. I had Chinese dinner.  Interestingly, I sat beside a family with a young daughter.  The little girl has no appetite.  She was quietly waiting for her parents to eat their dinner.   All the sudden, she put out a signal that she needs to throw out.  She vomit out all her food.  Her parents seems not so experience and could not handle the situation as well as they could.  Anyway, they are glad that I help out.  Then they asked where I am from. After finding out that I am Singapore, they told me they are from Singapore as well.  The father is working in Melbourne and they had PR years ago but expired.  So when the company offered him a job here.  He told them his PR expired and the government gave him a new PR!

I didn't have a chance to talk too much as they are in a hurry to bring their girl home.

Auckland Public Library

Auckland Library is very friendly to its customers.  There are people on standby waiting to answer any queries.  Many tables and benches have power outlets for patrons to plug in.  Many do so.  The place is very popular with laptops and tablets being used.  The library also reminds me of old times.  Plenty of microfiche and microfilms.  Also bound volumes of magazines and Parliamentary debates in 1900s.  There is a section on Maori history and a museum of World I and II.  So I would say the library seem better than Singapore as they retained some of the old technology.

I like the bound volumes.  I remember doing research and looking for projects in the old magazines.  Nowadays, it is just internet.  Nobody leave through old dusty tomes anymore.

Cold and Windy in Auckland

It was a mad rush yesterday to book my flights and hotel for this trip. I feel rushing about is not the best way.  However, it is my last trip for now to hand over the business to my colleagues in Oz. The colleague was on leave and only returned yesterday.  He is a very nice person but with this kind of attitude and work ethics, competition will be having a good time.

I was not well during the flight.  It may be due to the food in the lounge.  I had a headache and cold sweat in the middle of the night.  Luckily, I took two panadols and it worked!  Just before landing, I took two more.  Now I am feeling a little sleepy since it is hard to have good rest on the aircraft.

The library looked interesting.  I may check it out.  I used to go to the library in the cities I visited and had nothing to do.  I stopped doing this for many years as my habits change and now with internet, everything is at the finger tips.

Ichiban Sushi AMK Hub

B1 is meeting his friends in AMK Hub.  So we decided to have brunch there.  We were there about 10:40am.  All the resturants are not open yet.  We actually want Fish & Co but it only opens at 11:30am, pretty long wait.  Ichiban just close by opens at 11am.  B1 wanted to try since it is always a long queue.  We decided to check it out.  The sushi are not bad.  Price seems reasonable but we ate $96 for 4.  B1 tried a couple of sushi and then left to meet his friends. 

We had chicken katsu don, cha soba, mixed tempura with a total of 20 plus plates of sushi.  The sushi is not as good as the one in Far East Plaza.  Overall it is passable.  However, compared to Fukuoka, it will be poor.

Long Holidays for French

My neighbour is going for holiday.  He and his family will go to Dubai for three weeks and then to France.  After that to Spain and other places.  They will be gone for 2 months.  He is taking his annual home leave.  What an amazing way to live.  Long holidays and paid to go home to Europe.  He has a good job and did well in his job as well.  So he deserves it.

But Singaporeans do not take such long holidays.  We always think it is impossible to be out from work for so long.  For Europeans, this is normal.  They are entitled to long vacation.  My estate has a new French family.  So now we have a total of 3 French families.  The French school nearby attracts French to come to my estate to live.

Taiwan Lychees

This morning I was at the wet market to buy groceries.  Taiwan lychees were on display.  I was not keen at first since they look small.  However, the vendor says try it and I did.  It is amazingly sweet.  The seeds are tiny.  So I bought one kg.  It cost only $5.50/kg.  Cold Storage has two boxes of 500g each for $9.90.  Huge price difference.  Of course there is aircond comfort and brand image when shopping on Cold Storage.

We had the lychees for dessert after dinner.  All my boys ate them.  I am happy as B2 is not a fruit eater.

Fighting Fishes

The fish vendor always tells me that female fighting fish are not aggressive and will not fight with each other.  I bought 10 females a few weeks ago.  Now there are only 5 left.  I had a male that was separate.  So I thought I will put one male with 5 females.  Guess what!  My beautiful wonderfully red with awesome fins was attacked and it fins has become ragged.  I separated it again but its injuries was too severe and it died this morning.  I gave it to my arowana.

Females fighting fish gang up and attacked the male.  So I was wrong and thought the male will be happy with more females.  Instead it was killed.  The male cost so much more too.

Keeping a Journal

B2 started to keep a journal and writes every day.  He has completed one book and on with his second.  B1 bought two journals when we were in Fukuoka and started writing too.  Only B3 is stuck with his videos and computer games on the phone.

I am glad that two boys have the habit of writing.  I need to encourage B3 but he is fairly resistant.  He need to write in Chinese as well but will not do unless he has to submit as a homework.

So even though B1 and B2 no longer update their blogs, they are writing.  I am glad.

Finding Your Element

Ken Robinson is a funny speaker.  His talks in TED are were received i.e. lots and lots of views.  I was listening to the book Finding Your Element by him.  As I listened to him talking about finding my element, I feel more and more depressed.  I do not have passion for anything.  I like to fly model planes but did not really fly them well.  I am too worried about breaking them.  I like scientific toys but do not build them myself.  Rather, I assemble them from kits.  Ken gave out examples of people finding their passion and achieving world renown reputation.  Now I feel like a failure.  Just an average Joe.  I wonder if I will ever "find" my element.

Warmer and Wetter

According to a study quoted in Straits Times, our weather is warmer and wetter and will continue to trend this way.  Our average temperature in the last two months is higher than the long term average during the day as well as at night.  The researcher is reluctant to attribute this warmer temperature to El Nino effect.  So "more studies" is needed.  Is the global warming?  It could be more build up.  All my surrounding greenery when I first moved in 8 years ago are gone.  In it place are HDB blocks and a couple of condominium.  I only enjoyed my "ulu" feel for maybe 3 years.  Today, the PCN is up and I can count more than 10 HDB clusters of blocks have sprung up.  New Primary schools...and now another two plots to be sold as for private condos.  The growth of SengKang is simply too much.  No more land for radio control planes or flying kites.  All the fields are HDB or school or condo.  No wonder our heat indicator is going up.

On another note, my mother-in-law is in the hospital for cataract operation.  After her day surgery, she needed to be warded.  She has to wait for a long long long time to get a bed.  It is all due to "paperwork".  The paperwork in question is guarantee of payment by insurance.  The hospital will not admit a patient until there is a deposit for payment or a guarantor.  We have reach the sad state where if you have no money, you will be denied medical care. 

The government is heartless and ruthless.  We are not citizen but a cost to them when we need medical care.  I feels so sad and discouraged for all my fellow citizens who are unable to afford medical care in a "Government Hospital".  If you are not healthy and have no money, your options are limited very very limited. 

The Straits Times headlined "Government will spend $4 billion on MediLife".  Will it really spend as forecasted?  I doubt so.  It is just like the money they allocated for the many programs to help disadvantaged or seniors.  Only a fraction of the money allocated go to the people in need.  The number of forms and hoops you have to fill and jump make it impossible.  It is sad, really sad.

We need a more compassionate government.

Weekend Crowd

The Punggol PCN is crowded with joggers, cyclists and families out for stroll.  It is very family-oriented and best of all...FREE!!  People are renting the bikes early in the morning at Punggol Point.  It is a lot tougher to ride as I have to pay attention to navigate through all the obstacles.  I enjoys listening to my audio books or music.  So I am slow in recognising my neighbours who were out because I was listening to Finding Your Element by Ken Robinson.  It is an interesting book. Ken Robinson has several videos in TED.  It is both hilarious and yet profoundly true.  I enjoyed it even though I had seen them several times.

PCN are full of health concious men and women.  They are dripping in sweat.  I wonder if they are weekend warriors when it comes to exercise.  It is not healthy to exercise only on the weekends.  But this is the lifestyle in Singapore.

Contrasting Cabin Service

The cabin service on the way back is so bad that my family noticed.  B2 in the taxi says "it is so different when we come back".  My wife noticed the cabin did not know there is a discount for PPS member.  She paid for her purchase with the vouchers and using her Solitaire card.  She also realise the cabin crew did not address her at all.

Worse of all is the Indian Steward who stand along the aisle putting on a plastic smile but refusing to help my wife to put up her cabin bags.  It is lousy experience for poor attitude and service.  When she wanted something from her bag, the cabin crew "volunteered" to take down her bag.  I just said it is heavy to make sure he is careful with it.  Instead he keeping calling me to help him to bring it down.  He saw me putting the bag by myself.  He is a young man and B1 help him to bring down the bag.  He decides to put the bag up by himself after he realised it is not really heavy.  However, he did not do any recovery.  Later when he saw my wife doing drawing for sewing dresses, he tries to suck up to her by saying his wife is also into sewing clothes.

My wife notices that the Chief Stewardess is friendly and talk to her alot after she realise the passenger wants to spend money.  So she asked me on the way home if the crew gets commission for inflight sales.  I need Boh Tong to confirm if cabin crew gets commission for inflight sales.

Last Day in Fukuoka

I had a good time in Tokyo Hands.  Tokyo Hands is hobby store.  I spent lot of time gawking at Aster Live Steam model train.  There are several models ranging from just below $2,000 to more than $17,000.  I remember that the train store in Singapore had a Aster Live Steam Train before.  That was more than 20 years ago. At that time the price was over $4,000.  Sometimes I regret not buying the train.  Yet, I do not really play much with the train set I bought.  I also have a live steam model.  It does work but it is usually in storage.  So maybe it is no point buying a toy that I hardly play.

Tokyo Hands is quite interesting.  There are lots of different creative hobbies.  Leathercraft, sewing, model making and giving me a lot of nostalgia is Tamiya kits.  I feel I travel back in time as the tools and spray paint paraphernials are still the same.  Also the section on science kits is the area I still spend time on.  This bring me memories of growing up. 

My boys love the Pokemon Center.  They keep going there.  I think it bring them memories of their childhood.  B1 is excited.  The child in him is back!!  They bought Pokemon cards and have forgotten mummy making them throw away all their old cards before.

So in some ways, Japan still retains a lot of things past.  We no longer have Pokemon and Tamiya.  Or at least they are not readily available. 

I enjoyed today very much.  I did spend a lot of time working as well.

Fukuoka Holiday

Our boys are full of energy while I am tired of going from place to place.  So they go on their own after lunch to visit a famous temple.  My wife and I just stayed behind to window shop and take leisurely explore the underground mall.  When my back hurts, we stop at a cafe to rest and have latte and read the newspaper.  It is a good way to spend the day.

I was interested in the Seiko GPS watch as it can automatically tuned to local time using satellite signals.  This is the latest technology.  I have a Casio watch that has world time which I wear all time.  Pro Trek has 3 sensors - temperature, pressure and compass.  I love gadgets.  My watch can tell direction, barometric pressure or altitude and let me know the ambient temperature.  The Seiko Astron can only do world time and it is a lot more expensive.

B1 always interested whenever he sees a long queue.  So we try out the resturant with long queue.  I have no idea why it is so popular.  This resturant specialises in ox-tongue.  Appetizer is braised ox-tongue.  We order two different sets.  It is just bbq ox-tongue with different thickness.  I was sick of ox-tongue before lunch is over. 

Our dinner is better.  We had yakitori.  We cannot read Japanese and the waitress has limited English.  Somehow we managed to have a wonderful meal.  The perennial favorite is still yakitori chicken with leeks.  Cost 130 yen each with big pieces of chicken.  Far better tasting and better value than tiny chicken sticks from Tori-Q.  We has an assorted yakitori that has chicken breast bone, chicken liver, chicken gizzard and chicken meat with leeks.

I like easy holiday and experiencing the local food.  No rush and wake up at whatever time.  It is good way to recharge and be with the family.

Super Fresh Super Value Sushi

B1 lead us to the Fish Market.  It is close as we woke up in the late morning.  However, the resturants beside fish market are open.  We went to the first resturant in the building beside the fish market.  My boys enjoyed the sushi very much.  The fishes are very fresh.  Even I ate a few pieces of raw fish.  As Richard Feynman says in his book "Surely you're joking, Mr. Feynman" he likes to eat fish in Japan but back home in America, he does not like to eat fish.  When he went back to Japan the second time, he realised why he like to eat fish in Japan and not anywhere else - the fishes are fresh in Japan.  Actually, I find the raw fishes are tasteless when fresh.  Only the texture is different for different fish.  Maybe I do not eat fish often enough to distinguish the different taste.

We had loads of sushi and two lunch sets.  My boys and mummy enjoys the meal very much.  Best of all is excellent value.  The meal cost about $100 Sing.  The same meal in Liang Court will cost more than $300.  Now I know why my brother-in-law comes to Japan for holiday with his family frequently.  They fly free and eat freshest sushi at a discounted price!!

Fukuoka, Here We Come

It is very lucky that all my boys are on school holiday this week and last week.  So we will go to Fukuoka as a family.  We have not done this the last trip to Rome.  Usually, we do a trip every 3 years as we need to accumulate enough air miles.  But nowadays even with air miles, the "free" tickets still cost a pretty penny with fuel surcharge and airport taxes. 

This year the miles were going to expire.  So we book the tickets in February.  Tonight, we have to do red eye.  Unfortunately, only one flight a day to Fukuoka.  We have not been there, so we thought it is nice to try a new place.  B3 just reminds us that tonight is his first trip to Japan.  I did not realise.  The two older boys used to go to Narita over long weekends when their small Ee Ee is not married.  We can get free air tickets and live in her room when she flies.  That benefit is gone once she is married.

Fukuoka, I understand is a small city.  We can walk to our hotel from the airport!  So we will see how this place is like. 

A Good Sunday

My in-laws visited us this morning.  I made coffee and tea for them.  They enjoys some of our cut fruits.  It is my usual practice to cut fruits and put them in boxes in the fridge for easy access.  They enjoyed talking and catching up with their daughter.  After they left, we went to Lucky Plaza to change to Japanese Yen for our holiday trip.  Lucky Plaza has the best rates around.  Also there are plenty of food places as well.  Only drawback is it is extremely crowded today.  So we went to Paragon to walk in aircond comfort.  fter a while, although I was not hungry, I sit somewhere.  I thought of cafe which is high cal and high price.  So I decided to go to Tambuah Mas.  My boys like sayur lodeh and fried chicken.  I like the beef rendang and tahu telok.  So we had a good time enjoying the meal.  It is simple but good food.

In the afternoon, I cycled and swam.  So I did my exercise.  It is dinner time now.  My Indonesian helper is quite a good cook.  She take long time to cook.  So we will enjoy home cooked dinner now.

Yishun Chong Pang Market

The market has good deals.  Rainbow mangoes going for 50cents.  Lychees for $2/kg and Green Lychee is $4/kg.  Jackfruit is in season and cherries is nice but still pricey.  I like the vegetable stall.  They sell the veggies at a good price.  The spread of fruits is quite wide and I love to shop there.

I am going for holiday next week, so cannot buy too much.  Getting car park at the market is challenging.  I have to park opposite at the HDB blocks.  The minced meat noodle is excellent there.  So I would say this is a good place to come on the weekend. Usually, B3 has his tuition and we have to go downtown.  But he has switch his lessons to Fridays as he may need to go for his jumps training on Saturdays.

I used to live in Yishun when B1 was a toddler.  B2 was born there as well.  So, this place gives me good memories.  I missed the kampong opposite Chong Pang.  Today it is Sembawang Airbase.

8 Beer Girls

Today, we eat out at Ang Mo Kio hawker center beside Popeye's.  It is really busy.  Also interesting to people watch.  I am surprise that the hawker center has about 8 beer girls.  Every girl represent a brand.  Singha, Beck, Carlsberg and Tiger are the only names I can recall.  When we walked pass the coffee shop, another 4 girls.  Beer is big business.  I think every girl cost $50 as reported in the news before.  Each brand has their own girl.  So it is $50 a night for labour cost.  I wonder how many beers you have to sell to break even.  Then transport cost, ice, glasses and ice box.  The market is big enough in one hawker center to support 8 brands and a coffeeshop 4 brands.

I noticed many people are over weight.  So we are getting Americanised!  The percentage of obese is growing.  All the tables beside us seems to have lot of food on the table.  The food looked very appetitizing.  So the temptation is pretty strong to enjoy the food.

Birds Paradise

In the morning, I can hear so many different birds singing.  We are becoming a bird paradise.  Parakeets, cuckoos, white rings, sun birds and a few I could not identify.  It is an amazing feat NParks did.  NParks decided to switch to trees and plants that will attract birds and insects(food for birds) and they did it!  I had seen woodpeckers as well.  Other than the usual mynahs, sparrows and crows, we now have more varieties.  I am seeing different species in the PCNs as well.

I met Trina, the NParks manager doing her rounds at Punggol Point doing her checks for damages and getting them fixed.  She is an awesome girl.

Concorde Hotel Car Park

My Korean friend was here yesterday.  We had lunch in the Kopitiam in CentrePoint and then ice cream in Cold Stone, followed by latte in...I cannot recall the name.  It is something and Dough.  The coffee is not bad but pricey as it is served in very small glasses.

I did not know but the carpark in Concorde Hotel is right in front of the hotel and not at the basement.  I did not have the chance to get free from the hotel.  What a booboo.  Anyway, I know now.  The basement car park is for the shopping mall and not for the hotel.

So if you are driving, do remember to park right in front of the hotel.

Roy, the CPF Champion

One small guy can do so much with his fingers.  All he did was used his fingers to click and gather information and put them together.  He analyses with great details.  Some felt his calculations were wrote.  I think they are either PAP supporters or paid to write those commentaries.  At the end of the day, CPF returns are dismal.  Meanwhile, GIC and Temasek are making wonderful returns. 

The retired teacher during Hri Kumar put out an excellent point.  Stop telling us this percentage and that percentage.  Please return to me my money. 

What Roy has accomplished is incredible.  He managed to force the government media, Straits Times to write about CPF.  The government is also responding and talking about CPF.  Sadly, no answers.  All we hear that the lawsuit and false allegations.  Nothing about our CPF.  Nothing about how we can get back CPF which is "our money according to Tan Chuan Jin, Manpower Minister."  Really?  If it is our money, what so vague and so many rules and obstacles? 

Roy is famous and he should be.  He champion for most Singaporeans who need to understand what happens to "their money".

Heatwave and Eel

It is extremely hot today.  I drank loads!  It is interesting.  With such high temperature, many are still out at the PCN exercising.  So keeping healthy is really important to many Singaporeans.

I used to collect baby eels when it rained to feed the arowana.  Usually, I just leave them in the pond.  The PCN drainage has been improved.  So no more eels or earthworms to collect after heavy rain nowaday.  Yesterday, B3 was trying to catch baby guppies in the pond.  Then he found something moving.  He got a shock to find that it was an eel that is almost 2 feet long.  I was wondering how come 100 goldfishes I put into the pond has disappeared.  I thought it was the kingfisher.  So I put fishing lines across the pond to discourage the birds from fishing, but my fishes continue to disappear.  Now I know the reason.  The little 4 inches long eel has become 2 feet!  We caught one.  I do not know if there is another lurking in the pond.

My pond is full of water plants.  So it is easy for the eels to hide.  I hope no more eels so that the goldfishes I put in can grow to large size.  My pond is now like an eco-system.  The guppies are reproducing and plenty of baby guppies swimming around.  Sometimes, they go to the arowana side and probably get eaten up.

Father's Day

We went to buy Cat's Mountain Durian for my wife's father.  He is a vegetarian and it is hard to get the food suitable.  He has a weakness for durians especially expensive varieties.  So his daughter like to buy the most expensive durian for him.

My boys wishes Happy Father's Day in the morning.  We went to Changi Terminal 2 for lunch.  After lunch, we went to McDonald's for B3 to claims his free coke.  Of course we spend more money.  He has to have an ice-cream and then the cinnamon roll with icing.

I cook up the beef brisket for dinner.  All three boys like it as it is tender.  The meat is seasoned with Prime Rib salt and Turbino sugar.  Good thing is the meat is vaccuum sealed as it has been sitting in the fridge for almost two weeks.  The meat smells ok and tasted fine.

We ate durian for our night snacks.  A good way to end Father's Day.

Back from Blog Blackout

Blogger is banned in China.  So I was unable to update my blog.  It took me a while to remember.  I was wondering why I could not access some of my regular sites which I read like Bertha Harian as well as my own blog at first.  I have not travelled to China for two years now.  So I have forgotten about censorship.

Shanghai is warm and humid.  I am staying in a different part of the city now instead of People's Square.  It is offices rather than shops and no more bookshop for me:(, only luxury brands like Prada and other snob consumer products.  I am glad to be back home.

Shanghai

It's been a long time!  I am going Shanghai tomorrow.  I have not gone there for more than 2 years.  It is like going back home as I will be staying in the People's Square.  It is a place I am familar with.  I like the place as I know the supermarket and the resturants there.  I like the bookstore as it carry DVDs and English section.  Still it is not like Taipei where the Eslite bookstore has more English titles and a section with Scientific toys.

Shangai is easy with the maglev and subway.  I am looking forward to a busy city.

Pierce Reservoir Lobster

B1 and B3 decided to go fishing in Pierce Reservoir for lobsters.  They managed to catch 5 - one huge male and 4 smaller females.  This is the first time we caught such a size.  So instead of putting them in the pond and letting them escape, we are putting them in a fish tank with a filter pump.  Hopefully, they will grow and reproduce.  I am quite happy we can set up the system quickly.  Now we have a chance to see if they can grow with the dry food pellets for terrapins.  My arowana has grown quite big now.  I do not know how long arowana lives and if I should release into the wild.  Maybe I should keep till it dies of old age.

Beautiful Afternoon

The sky is blue and sun is shining.  It is a beautiful Sunday afternoon.  Hot and humid, it is an invitation to the pool for a cool dip.  I have been reading on the internet on the Return Our CPF protest.  It is very interesting and Han Hui Hui is very impressive.  She is a good speaker using English, Mandarin and dialect.  A true blue Singaporean.  I can see Hui Hui's calling.  She is passionate about her cause and strike an emotional cord.  I can see she will go far and be a strong contender for politics.

I think it is time to go to poolside and read my books.

Solar Controller

I think I have damaged my solar controller.  I was stupid and lazy not to fix it back properly after testing a new controller.  Now my original controller which was working is no longer working anymore.  This Phocos controller from Europe cost me $60 or more.  I have to buy a replacement controller from China.

First home cooked meal after a few months!!  Tonight dinner is our first home cooked meal by our new helper.  She speaks Mandarin and Hokkien.  So my wife, a Cantonese girl is quite good at using her Hokkien now.   She never speaks Hokkien other than to scold me or make sacastic remarks.  Like everyone knows, the first words you learn in a new language are all the bad words.

Pandan Loop

I have been in Jurong for the past two days.  It is new office I have to go.  I had a visitor from US.  Bala is an Indian living in US for the past twenty years.  He is a ball of energy.  He talks fast and pushes hard at his agenda.  He is a good guy.  He does listens as well.  I am glad he is quite open to feedback on the meetings.  I am also glad to contribute to the knowledge pool and enjoys sharing and talking about technical stuff.  I am back to my elements again.  Only thing is it is like to my old office -  Bureaucratic!

Drainage Improvements on the PCN

I missed all the creepy crawlies I could catch after thundershower at the PCN nowadays.  I used to be able to pick up earthworms large and small after heavy rain.  Just pass under the TPE, there are eels squirming around as well.  The drainage has been improved, so now the water do not flow out onto the paved track.  So nowadays no earthworms or eels.  I miss having the ability to give free live food for my arowana. 

My arowana has grown large on a diet of live fishes and earthworms.  Today, I gave it only dry food pellets.  It still get live seafood as baby guppies managed to go through the net which I use to isolate the guppies and goldfishes in the pond.

It is much nicer to ride after rain but no more worms or eels to collect.  But there are plenty of lizards in sunny days.  One I saw a fat toad, a couple of times - snakes.

School Holiday

There are plenty of tents at the Punggol Point Campsite.  I wonder how it is like to live out.  But together with all the kids, they are out for mischief when I am asleep.  So it is easy to become victim of tomfoolery.  Along PCN, school kids are out for their field trips.  Maybe their CCA programs.  So the PCN is quite lively.  It is so unlike my time when camping is quite backward.  Now the tents are so easy to set up and light weight.  Field trips are easy on the PCN where the pathways are tar surface and the landscape is manicured.  It is nice our kids have some outdoor activities.  It is good for "survival skills and character building".

Back to ... Pappa Mia

We decided to go back to Pappa Mia for lunch today.  We try out different food.  This time we have curry laksa and nasi lemak with oriental chicken.  I also tried the Kopi-O.  The kopi-o is ok, I noticed it is from a machine.  Curry laksa is average, nasi lemak is above average.  It is B3's first day of holiday and he order the mango ice with transparent pearls.  At the airport, B3 saw his classmates.  After lunch, we go to Four Fingers to buy the Korean Fried Chicken home.  There is a one for one deal.  So it is not bad.  The chicken tastes good but I was thirsty after eating them.  The MSG level must be quite high.

Pappa Mia at Changi Airport

Today, my wife suggested we go to Pappa Mia.  We tried this Malaysian-style resturant who is started by ex-Mandarin chef last week when B1 returned home from his Korean holiday.  The chicken was good and seafood fried rice according my The Wife is now the No. 1 Fried Rice better than the Prawn Fried Rice she loved in Din Tai Feng.  The food is good and bring me memories of being in Malaysia.  I ate by myself a number of times at this kind of upscale kopitiam style resturant.  With the KL team, I usually let them suggest where they like to try.  They know my favorite is the traditional kopitiam food.  But we do enjoy Tony Romas, Sunrise Roast Duck, Chilli's, Penang Resturant, Madam Kwan and many other nice resturants in KL.

Pappa Mia is like PappaRich, OldTown, Uncle Lim or Kluang Kopitiam in KL.  The menu has Fuchook, Curry Hor Fun, Mee Goreng(very authentic as my next table had this dish), satay(my perennial favorite), steamed and toasted kaya bread, chendol and other Malaysian hawker dishes.  I like the food and the ambient.  So this may become one of my regular haunt since I stopped going to KL nowadays.

Niece in Mt E for Test

My niece has tachycardia and has check-in to Mt E for testing.  She has to go for blood test, MRI on her abdomen, 24 hr telemetry and 24 hr urine test for dopamine.  My poor niece has been suffering for so long with fainting spells.  She is very adorable when she was young.  I always remember walking with her and she will chat with me the whole time.  I always reminisce my time with her.  It was golden time and I love her so much.

It was yesterday that she has to check in.  Her friend was with her the whole time.  While waiting for her to do MRI, I chatted with her friend.  She is a 35 years old divorcee working as a social worker for children with disability in a school in Hougang.  She is so good to my niece keeping her company all the way.  I am very happy she is there to support.  I am glad my niece has good friends. 

Mata Puteh Bird

This morning, I was working at my home office as usual.  I heard a loud bang and then a bird came fluttering down and hang on to the ferns I have on my balcony.  It stay there for a while hanging upside down.  So I got a little curious and get nearer to see and it is not fly away.  So I decide to catch it but it flew off but was confused and knock against the glass wall.  I managed to catch it and take a few photos before releasing it.  I have been wanting to hold the live bird by hand whenever I see them flirting around my plants and this morning my dream come true!!

 

Inderjit Singh's Response to President's Address

It is a whiff of fresh air from Inderjit Singh.  Unlike another Singh who throw a bomb on an ant, Inderjit won my respect for speaking out for Singaporeans.  He point out to the realities of the ground and give out real-life examples. 

Kudos to Inderjit for his frank opinion.  Kudos to him for speaking out.  Kudos to him for pointing out the systemic flaws of meritocracy, of scholar driven policy making and systemic discrimination against Singaporeans studying medicine overseas trying to do internship in local hospitals.

The analogy is correct - Singapore is a 6-star hotel, a playground for the rich and rich immigrants.  The question which American politicians asked "Are you better today than 5 years ago" is a good acid test. 

PMETs are not protected from their employers.  I believe foreign workers and maids has better protection than a Singaporean PMET.  Something is seriously wrong when the government is perceive not to protected our own.  Even wild animals protect their own kind.

Will the government take the feedback and change?  Only time will tell.

National Skin Center

B2 has a lot of rashes.  We brought him to see our family doctor and was told she will refer him to dermatologist or a skin specialist.  So she wrote a referral letter and this cost us $32.  Then we head straight to National Skin Center to get treatment and did not use her referral letter.  At NSC, the cost of consultation is $90.  So just seeing the doctor cost $114 with the walk-in fee waived since his condition is quite bad.  He then has an injection and drugs.  The total cost of medicine is $38.  So just for see a doctor for skin condition cost almost $200. 

Medical cost is really high in Singapore.  Citizens are paying through our nose for basic healthcare.  And our government is key to the increased in our daily expenses.

Eating Out

We have been eating out lately and it is not healthy.  My weight keeps on increasing.  I love to buy snacks after meals.  For example, I bought Famous Amos cookies for my boys after dinner but share and ate a lot with them.  I usually buys 300 grams to get the 50 grams "free".  So more cal consumed.  This afternoon in the hawker center beside Fu Lu Shou, there is a temporary market with additional stalls for rice dumplings.  So after lunch, I bought from different stalls to try out the taste of the different manufacturers.

At 91kg, my weight is way past my normal range of 89kg.  My ideal weight is 82kg or less.  However, I always tell myself I am better than this guy or that guy whenever I see someone bigger than me.  It is a psychological device to console my lack of discipline. 

Michigan Professor Exchange Program

This afternoon I was cycling in the PCN as usual.  I like it when the park connector is quiet as I can listen to my music, audiobook or simple reflect as I cycle.  It is far more restful to cycle when there is no need to keep watching out for pedestrians or joggers especially little cyclists!  I decide to turnaround at the water playground.  An Ang Mo lady wearing NParks uniform was waiting and signalled to me.  She asked if I can do a survey for her.  I obliged as I enjoys the parks and want to make their job easier.  I was surprised she is there at that odd hour.  I asked her about it since it is going to rain, there was hardly anyone.  She says they just want to capture park users at all time.  She is a Professor on an exchange program.  She is a nice middle age lady.  She lived and work in Michigan park. 

This bring back memories of my training trip to Chicago.  I was getting training on repairing diagnostic test machine in Chicago.  Temperature was below zero fahrenheit!  The cold was really intense.  Even the short walk from carpark to the building was a torture.  The training was two weeks.  So one of the trainee asked me what I will be doing on the weekend.  I told him I have no plans.  So he invited me to his home.  It was a three hours drive in a rural area of Michigan.  He was a warm host.  He brought me to do ice fishing.  It is quite interesting to drill a hole in the lake and sit there to talk while waiting for the fish to bite.  The fishes are quite small. 

Michigan is a nice place but cold and snowy in winter, very similar to Toronto.

Wu La La

I have no idea but suddenly I just utter out "wu la la"!  It is a meaningless expression but it mean I am excited.  I have no idea what I am excited about either.  Sometimes subconsciously I am just happy?  Maybe it is just work.  I manage get my answers quickly.  It is fun when things go smoothly:)

Takashimaya has 10% sales going on, so my wife wants to get a cleanser for herself during lunch.  I explore the food section as usual.  I noticed two RIJC girls eating chocolate softserve icecream and the label on the paper cone holder states Godiva.  So I starting hunting for the Godiva store.  After scouting the typical area, I saw another woman holding the ice treat coming towards me.  Ah ha moment!  I walk toward her direction and past her.  Then stall come to view.  It was outside Cold Storage checkout counters.  I remember tasting samples of hot chocolate from Godiva in our trip to US.  It tasted heavenly.  We bought a bottle back.  As it was expensive, we try to save it for as long as possible.  Unfortunately, it spoils.  So our money was wasted.  My philosophy change.  If we buy any food item tat is expensive, we have to consume it while it is still fresh.

I bought the chocolate ice cream for her and a milk chocolate shake for myself.  The wife was concerned that about consuming food in Taka and I was scolded.  It is hard to be a husband.  Getting a favorite snack for the wife and totally unappreciated.  Adding insult to injury was being reprimanded.  In Hokkien, pai cho lang.

House Lizards

It seems my house is infested with house lizards.  There are lizard poos everywhere.  The lizard can be quite sizeable.  I like to keep my doors and windows open and they keep coming.  It is hard to trap them.  I like to catch them and feed them to my arowana.  However, my reactions are slowing down and they are eluding me!

I need to find a better way to catch them.  I have a trap but so far it caught only one lizard.

8.5Kg Water Melon

Fairprice is not the cheapest.  Specialty shops for fruits or toiletries are far better value.  However, the good thing about Fairprice is I can weigh the fruits before deciding which fruit out of the big pile to chose.  Water melon was on special last week and I weigh the watermelon and chose between the 8.5kg and 8.0kg.  500 grams more for the same price.  The watermelon is $6.80 each.  I like the large watermelon as they are likely to be ripe and sweet.  This time I was lucky that it is sweet and juicy.

Since the weather is hot, it is nice to have cold watermelon to cool down.

Emergency Couple

We spend the weekend watching this drama series since the actress came to Singapore to promote the show.  It is a little funny at times but has good storytelling with several love triangles.  Watching TV series can be tiring.  But it is good relaxation as we usually do work around the house with the show on.  My wife will do household chores and I will cut fruits.

B1 go to Korea this morning.  He took Cathay as it is quite good value.  The travel time is a lot longer with a 3 hours layover.  His flight is 8am and he landed 8m which is 11 hours of travel time.  He is there with several classmates.  So he will have fun.

6 to 8 years Returns for Solar Energy System

I saw the ads by a company claiming 6 to 8 years return for solar energy.  It is intriguing as I am a green fan.  I may explore this further and see what is the possibility for my home.  We can now sell the energy back to the grid.  So the system is much simpler as there is no need for battery.  I have a few issues to deal with as it may affect my gfa or gross floor area.

I like the fact I can have a smaller carbon footprint.  The price will be high but it is worth the good feeling about saving Mother Earth.

Good Deal in Fish and Co

B1 was out with his friend and came home for dinner.  Since mummy has Fish and Co voucher for her birthday from my eldest sister, he says we should eat there.  While queuing up, he read the poster for joining Fish and Co VIP member.  The annual fee is $50 but we get 80points credit equivalent to $80 in value.  In your birthday month, you get a free 1 person platter.  So we joined and since it is mummy's birthday, we had the free platter.  So our meal comes $77 for which we paid $50.  Not a bad deal.

Slow Fruit Juice Dinner

My wife lent out our family slow fruit juicer to her classmate who was diagnosed with Stage 3A lung cancer.  So we have to open our spare unit to use.  Grapes and Thai Honey mangoes were on sale in Fairprice.  So we bought lots of them and juice them for dinner tonight.  It is very filling meal!!  The fruits were sweet.  We had organic apples, globe grapes, green seedless grapes, honey mangoes, banana and carrots.  We had so much juice in the fridge to the next few days.

Slow juicing is supposed to be much better than the traditional centrifuge high speed spin juicing.  The antioxidants are not destroy through slow juicing.  The best is actually cold pressed but the machine is very expensive.  Slow juicing or cold pressing is best way to extract fruit juice and important for cancer patients. 

The juice taste better too.  We had a healthy dinner tonight.

Change in TV Recording

When we had our first born, we bought VCD for our boy.  He grew up on diet of Barney, the Pink Dinosaur and Bananas in Pyjamas as well as the Magic School Bus on poor quality VCD and video tape.  Our second boy was born and we started to buy more DVD but they were still expensive.  The video quality is much better than VCD.  Second boy like Power Rangers, Iron Giant and Ninja Turtles.  However, our last baby did not watch dvd.  He is watching Youtube.

So even the "new and latest" technology of dvd-9 and HD-DVD is becoming obsolete.  It is video streaming and many free websites.  No wonder, the price of dvd has drop to rock bottom.  Nowadays, I watch video on my phablet i.e. Samsung Note 3.  It is so convenient that I hardly switch on my TV. I even stop watching news.  The technology change had impact my reading habit as well.  I no longer read as much in the airplane.

Vesak Day

It is Buddha's Enlightenment Day.  I was up early to wake to prepare for my work as it is not a public holiday in Hong Kong or US.  So it is about 1pm before we set off as a family to go to "4 Horses Road Temple" or the Kuan Yin Temple in Queens Street.  The temple is full of devotees.  We all went to pray and donate.  It is something we do and all 3 boys donated their own money today.  There is a blind singer/busker who sang very well and we drop dollars note to her as well. 

After prayers, we went to Bugis Junction Food court for lunch.  Even though it is about half past two, the place is jammed pack with diners.  It is nice to have all my 3 boys out as family for our activities.  Dinner is just maggie mee with black bean tofu.  After dinner, they watch Police Story 4.  It is too long and draggy for me.  There are too many flashbacks.  I cannot sustain my attention for such complicated movie, so I gave up and come to my home office to write my blog.

First Starfruit

I have been trying to grow something that bear fruits for years.  My first success is papaya.  That is because my maid from Philippines use a coke bottle to hang it on the tree as the papaya tree was male.  I bought a coffee plant which had plenty of fruits in the nursery when we bought it.  After planting into our front yard, there were plenty of flowers but no fruits.  Same with chiku plant I bought in the Tiong Bahru wet market.  There were a couple of fruits when we brought the plant home.  The plant is still thriving today with lots of green leaves but no fruits so far.

Now I have a Starfruit!

Electric Scooter from Unitrade

I sent the electric scooter back for fixing.  When I went to pick up, the front wheel is still not balance.  Neither was the disc brake.  The man fixing it claimed he is from the "manufacturer".  He told me not to expect disc brake like a car.  I said even on a bicycle, it is flat and smooth.  He insisted that the front wheel and the disc brake are working and "it is like this".  I was very disappointed and upset.  To pay seven hundred eighty dollars for unbalance wheels both front and rear and shaky handle is terrible.  No wonder it is so tiring to ride.  The handle was shaking so much that it is vibrating my arms.

What this repairman did was to loosen the disc brake making it impossible to brake hard.  This way, it reduces the noise the brake and wheels made.  However, it is still very unstable.  I am thinking I must buy a new scooter with reputable brand in future.  At least I can expect some basic quality.

Happy Mother's Day

We went to Arab Street for our cheap and good Malay lunch.  Unfortunately, the place to very pack and we have to look for another place.  So we ended up in Prince Coffee House.  This is Hainanese style western cooking.   We had their Mother's Day special menu, mixed grill and ikan kurau set.  We also tried their beef hor fun, oxtail stew and Hainanese pork chop.  The lunch cost us $100 in a fair hot environment.  The food is quite good.  Only complaint is aircond should be better for the price we are paying.

We also try their Apple Pie and butter cake.  They are quite traditional and tasty.  We had a repeat purchase of Yam cake which is mummy's favorite.  I am glad now I have a good source of traditional apple pie.  When I was in Singapore Poly, I used to buy apple pie from Fuji Bakery a neighbourhood bakery shop in Holland Road when I walked home.  Finally, I found the same taste since more than 30 years ago.  What a treasure!

Mother's Day Dinner

We had a family dinner with my in-laws for Mother's Day.  This time my wife swing the family from the usual Greenland Vegetarian resturant to Imperial Treasure.  The food fits both veg and non-veg.  It is food I can enjoy instead of eating a wee bit at a vegetarian resturant.  My wife will make sure she ordered enough vegetarian dishes for her parents and eldest sister.  Then the rest of us enjoy the Peking Duck, deep fried pork chop and xiao long bao.  The veg dishes are 3 types of eggs with spinach in superior soup.  long beans with chopped mushrooms, steamed buns with veg fillings and plenty of desserts.

I think my in-laws enjoy the food.  I know my nephews and brother-in-law enjoys the meat dishes very much.

Best of all, the meal is cheaper than in vegetarian resturant.

Together

B1 is studying here.  So all 3 Bs are together with us.  We are very complete.  I am very happy to have our meals together.  I know that my boys will fly the coop as in a couple of years they will be going to work and then get married.  I hope they will continue to live with us and their wives if possible.  But it is also good that they set up their own home as they will have major adjustments when two persons with different personalities and upbringing live together.

For now, I am very happy that my brood is growing up well and will contribute positively to society in future.

Electric Scooter

I bought my scooter from a shop in Golden Auto building.  The battery driven scooter is from China and 800W.  The front wheel is not aligned properly.  So it is quite shakey and noisy whenever I brake.  Overall, it is a neat toy.  It is nice to go about without using muscle power.  But I get tired by holding on to the handle of the front wheel.

I called the vendor today.  He says to bring back.  I shall bring it back on Saturday and see it can be fixed.

Overflow drainage

It is important to have backup.  My balcony was renovated by the developer to fix the waterproofing.  The contractor cover up the drain hole for excess water due to sloppiness.  Luckily, I noticed and ask the Far East Project Manager to reinstate the drain hole.  Initially, he insisted it looked better.  I was quite adamant as I have seen water coming out from the drainhole of my neighbour's unit.  So I know it worked!  So I am glad I insisted as this afternoon during the thunderstorm, the dead leaves clogged up the drain hole and water was flowing out from the overflow pipe. 

I am always happy to see a system working.  I have to clear the trap to let the water flow out but as a system person, it is good to see a backup system working. 

Hot and Humid

Summer is upon us.  We have hot and humid weather.   LKY is righIt is difficult to focus with the heat.  With our city continuing to grow and built up, the temperature will only rise.  Our government is concerned with economic growth.  I hope they start to focus on sustainable growth.  The citzens are under stressful conditions with the overcrowding.  We have become a society of rat races and non-stop racing.  You can only fall by the wayside.  No other option for Singaporeans.  While the globalization is causing a lot of dislocation everywhere, we should have options not to race.

Electric Scooter

I cycle every day when I am not travelling.  Sometimes I suffers from fatigue and yet I want to go out.  At first, I thought I will get an electric bike.  But now there are electric scooters.  So I am seriously toying with this idea.  Electric scooter can go up to 25 to 30 kph.  The speed is not bad.  The height is low.  So it look like safer than e-bike.  I have been researching through the internet.  It seem like the EVO is not bad.  It is an interesting toy. 

Poor Grammar

I was horrified to see such poor grammar in my last entry on the heading.  I must have changed my mind as I type.  Still I did not read my own writing.  Hence publishing it indicates my sloppy attitude and weak command of English.   I have corrected the grammatical errors and would like to apologise for the bad English.

So Many Want to live in Landed...

It is covet living in a crowded city like Singapore.  Everyone aspire to live in a landed home.  Developers will advertise the "luxurious" lifestyle.  The message is clear - you have arrived if you live in a landed with a Mercedes or BMW 7 series in the garage.  I do not have a Mercedes or BM.  However, living on the ground floor does have it attractiveness.  No window grills needed.  A lot more space when you need by extending to the ground outside. 

Recently, we discover rats!  Today, we caught one rat on the sticky board.  We caught two before.  One escaped out of the trap leaving behind its tail.  I will need to replace my traps regularly from now onwards.  There are so many of them.

So this is the problem with living on the ground level or in a landed.  The pests issue can be a big pain.  The mynah birds will come to my backyard and shit onto our clothings and eat our food.  Maybe it is better to live in a condo.

Aftereffects of Spicy Food

This morning during my regular "business" or clearing my bowels, I noticed fresh blood when I was wiping my a**.  Last night Sichuan dishes is coming out with a vengeance!!  The effects are so immediate and clear.  I am not good with spicy dishes.  With a weak stomach, I should not be eating spicy food any more.  I guess it is important that anything that goes in must come out.  So I better "don't anyhow eat". 

I was thinking of bringing my two boys to try out.  Now, I doubt I should be causing them stomach upset.

Chinese Satay

We have dinner at a Chinese resturant serving Sichuan food and bbq stewer meat.  The food is quite good.  It is right in AMK Central beside Cash Converter near the bus terminal.  The menu is quite good and authentic mainland Chinese food.  The patrons are all from PRC except for my family.  So the number of PRC living in Ang Mo Kio must be high enough to sustain resturants and food stalls from China.  Only thing is B2 and B3 were not with us.  So we have an excuse to go back there again. 

Chicken and Apple Pie

My boys and I were strolling around Arab Street like tourists.  Along Beach Road there is a shop that sells Chicken Pie, Apple Pie and Yam Cake.  The proprietor came out when we paused to look at their signs.  He is very enthusiatic.  He says he has been around for more than 30 years.  He moved from Bukit Timah to Prince Cinema to Beach Road.  He is in Beach for 3 years now.  I want to try all his stuff but B1 protested and suggest we just buy the chicken pie.  I also bought the yam cake as it is mummy's favorite.  Yam cake is $11 and Chicken Pie is $7.50.  We had them for dinner and they are quite tasty.  I wished I bought the Apple Pie.  Apple pie is my favorite pastry.  I will have to go back to buy the Apple pie to try.  Motherhood and Apple Pie is the American traditional way.  Since I love apple pie so much, I may be half American!

Ali Baba's Place

Do you know where is Ali Baba's Place?  We drove past this place and I told my boys it is historic area.  B3 was very young.  He watch a lot of the Disney movies.  He said this is Ali Baba's Place.  It was so apt!  I was so impressed and tickled that I always refer to this area as Ali Baba's Place. 

We went there for early lunch.  There are a few good choices.  We go to the one offering nasi padang.  The meal cost us $65 which is reasonable.  We had two curry chicken, two fried chicken, three beef rendang, fried long beans, brinjal, sayur lodeh, ikan panggang with kitchup and fried fish fillet with green chilli.  We are very full.  Then we took a walk around.  It is such a touristy area.  Seems like plenty of tourists know this place well.  It is fun to mingle with the tourists.  The holiday atmosphere is relaxing.

So after talking so much, what is Ali Baba's place.  Most of you would have guess it right, it is Arab street.