Last Day

Eating out of the hotel is so much better.  Istanbul is a great city for meat eaters.  The resturants serves kebabs, meatballs and all kinds of bbq meats.  I think I will take a walk to the neighbourhood and see how the locals lived.  Last night, dinner was at a resturant within walking distance.  I did not do my usual walks.  Others had and knows the place.

I think I should walk around the neighbourhood to get a feel of the Istanbul's suburbs as it is my last day here.  This time the schedule is so packed and no free time is scheduled in.  It is the new company culture.  Anyway, like everyone else, I am tired of the meats here.  I want to eat my Teochew braised duck!

Outlet Mall

I went to the Outlet Mall with my Aussie colleagues.  They want to do shopping.  I went along as one of the colleagues is a local who is working in Australia.  I enjoy the kebab much more in the resturant.  It is still lamb and the flavor is quite strong.  I asked for chicken wings and they were fabulous.  My most satisfying meal so far.  I did not look around as they are all branded goods which is not my interest.  There is a book shop but the books are in Turkish language.  I enjoyed the company of my colleagues.  It is good to just get to know them.

Old City

Team building exercise is tour of the Old City.  The tour guide told us Istanbul is Constantinople.  This brought memories of my history lessons in Secondary school.  The great empire, however since history is not my favorite subject, I could not recall much details.  Unlike science, I can still remember lots of formulae and chemical reactions. 

Touring the Old city makes me want to read the history books again but I know once I get home, day to day routine will make me forget of my desire to refresh my history lessons. 

Istanbul has the Asian side and European side.  The Asian side is the newer part of the city.  The food culture here is meat and vegetable varieties are quite limited.  So their food choices are nothing like back home.  So it is easy to be bored by their food. 

Listening All Day Long

I did not have much exercise.  It is just eating and sitting all day long.  I am bored even though some of the sessions are not bad.  But listening when there is jetlag is a sleepy experience.  I am glad today is over.  Nice to just have a break to update my blog.

I am tired of the food in the hotel.  It is exactly the same everyday and for 3 meals.  So boring.  I had plenty of salad and it is good to feel a healthy eating!

Sitting on my Butt

It is sitting on my butt all day today.  I am glad it is over and now getting ready for dinner.  The time difference is not too bad at 5 hours.  But listening to people talking all day long is quite taxing and make me feel like sleeping.  I am glad to have time to blog.  I should take a walk around the hotel, it will be nice to get a feel of the place.  The weather is very nice and cool.  I should get my heart pumping and my back hurts due to sleeping on a soft bed.

The Green Park Pendik

After almost 20 hours of travelling, we finally arrive at our hotel.  The good thing about travelling with some colleages in the same flight we get to learn from each other's experience and the company make it easier to while the transit time.  The traffic in Istanbul is bad on Sunday afternoon.  I cannot imagine how it will be like on a weekday rush hour.  The weather is nice.  We are at the seaside.  A Turkish colleague now living in Australia is back home for holiday for a couple of weeks.  It is good for him as he has not been back home for 3 years.  The hotel we are staying is a convention center as there are between 400 and 500 participants for this meeting.  It is interesting to meet lots of colleagues from Europe.  The experience is different from my meeting in US.  We have like 50 or 60 two years ago.  Today, I am now part of a big company.

The convention center is in the middle of nowhere.  The program is full, so I do not know if I can explore the surrounding a bit.  I enjoys walking to malls and shops near the hotel but this time I think there is no such luck.

Istanbul, Here I Come

I dislike flying at night but no choice as I am going to Istanbul.  The flights are usually at night.  My flight is at 12:50am and this time I am flying Emirates.  Singapore Airlines refuses to acknowledge my email of feedback from other passengers in the internet.  Now the Straits Times saying how great Singapore Airlines is in paying small money to tie up with F1.  Why not spend money on making the service better?

Cycling with My Boy

B1 asked if I am cycling at about 3pm.  It was blazing hot.  I told him of course but not now.  He replied "ya! of course!!"  We cycled at the PCN at half past five.  I enjoys cycling with B1.  We will have conversation about family, work or trivials.  It is good bonding.  We went to Punggol Point and cirle around.  It is a good ride.

Success Story

I am glad to have a success story at work yesterday.  Today, it has been circulated around the world basically.  My colleague and I are like headline news!  It was a lucky break!  We have been working on the account for several weeks and it culminated to a successful switchover.  I am happy to have a Chicken Soup story.  I also enjoyed a good Thai meal after our meeting.  So it is a nice finish.

Thai Resturant in Bedok Point

Today, I lunch with a colleague at Bedok Point.  The resturant was recommended by Sumiko Tan, one of my favorite columnist.  The food is not bad.  I had wanton mee and my colleague had rice with a bunch of stuff.  We share a mango salad and braised pig trotters.  It is quite good.  I had Thai iced tea which is sweet and strong as usual.   Bedok Point is a tiny strip mall and has mostly resturants.  The carpark is extremely small.  So if you are there for lunch, then be prepared to wait for car park.

Peach Garden Thomson

Tonight I have dinner at Peach Garden in Thomson Plaza.  It is DBS invitation on Legacy Planning.  The title is a misnomer.  It is actually selling Insurance.  Universal Life Insurance.  The dinner is not bad but not as good as I would expect from Peach Garden.  I had a meal in Peach Garden before.  It was quite good.  The food is not bad but unlike before.  I may be just nostalgic.  Also the food is served individual portion.  So this may be why it did not taste as good.  I like communal eating but respecting hygiene.

The Universal Life Insurance sounds interesting.  So we may explore a bit more.

Only One Crab Left Standing

After four days, I am sad to report only one crab left alive.  The shrimps, hermit crabs and fishes all died and the water smells terrible.  I fed the large hermit crab to the arowana.  It was still moving slightly and was eaten up immediately.  However, the shrimps sank to the bottom uneaten.  I have no idea why.  I need to figure out why and then try again.  Maybe due to lack of food, maybe insufficient water, maybe the sea anemone died poisoning the water and killing the rest.  The ecosystem is so fragile.  There is much to learn.

Punggol Seafood

Low tide this morning, so we drove to Punggol Point for our weekly "exercise".  Mummy is the one who really needs to exercise.  Meanwhile, B3 is there to catch more baby crabs and sea anemone.  Unfortunately, the tide was coming in, so he did not catch any shrimp.  However, he managed to catch 3 baby fishes.  Overall, it is still fun for him.  Meanwhile, I was happy just to help him overturn some of the stones and catch bigger crabs as he is worried they will pinch him with their pincers.  What I am really happy with is they are all still surviving in our little tank.  It is very gratifying to see a tiny aquarium that works.  The water is clear and hermit crabs still scuttling about.  The shrimps are transparent and hard to see.  I realise as long as the water is circulating and the creatures are tiny, the ecosystem works as their feeding requirements are tiny and waste does not poison the water they are in.

We went home to shower and change and I went for my dental checkup for implant.  They are healing nicely.  So it is time for lunch and I decided to bring my boys to try the famous Punggol Seafood resturant's Mee Goreng.  We ordered the largest which is $16.  Together with a medium soup and a medium pork ribs, the lunch costs $76.  We did not even order any seafood as the price was high.  I estimate a regular meal with seafood with cost at least $250 for us.  So I decided on the economy version.

Happy

The afternoon, we went to the seaside to collect more seawater for the tank.  I am very happy the crabs and shrimps survived so far.  This mean I could start a salt water aquarium for free.  It is just crabs, hermit crabs and shrimps.  I like the fact now I know how to keep to take care of them and keep them alive.  I have to figure out how to keep them in the outdoor under rain and shine.  Then I have an ecosystem.

This is like a biology experiment and success is hard to achieve.

Sea Aquarium

This morning is low tide at 7:20am.  B3 wanted to go and catch crabs.  So I woke him up early and we went to Punggol Point.  He managed to catch a few crabs and shrimps.  He also caught a few hermit crabs.  Very quickly, the tide start coming in.  He put all the live creatures together with the sea water into a plastic love letter container.  Yes, we save love letters containers to put them to good use.  I put in a pump and with aeration, the sea creatures are kept alive and the water remains fresh and has no smell. 

This is like our own sea aquarium for free!

Photos in my Office

I decorated my office with photos with my boys when they were young.  Today, all the photos are electronic and I do not print them at all.  Looking at the photos it fun.  I was so young.  My boys were so cute and adorable.  I remember plenty of joys taking care of them and bringing them out for simple pleasure like walking the park or going to the playground.  Even today, B3 is still so excited about going to the seaside to catch crabs. 

Watching from far is very enjoyable to see my boy so excited and engrossed.  This is what family is about.

Low Tide at Punggol Point

This evening, B3 decided to join me in cycling.  He usually prefers to watch his videos at home.  We go to the PCN as usual.  At Punggol Point, I decided to take short break.  B3 explore the man-made pond as there are many terrapins released there.  Then he go to the beach and notice a man with blue pail digging for stuff.  So he observed the muddy area and noticed movements.  He saw tiny creatures scampering about.  They were hermit crabs.  He managed to catch two.  He also caught two almost transparent prawns and was very happy to bring them home.  He had fun with nature.  I enjoyed the ride with him.

Dying Fishes

The goldfishes and mollys are dying in the pond.  I wonder what is happening.  The outdoor pond is only using rainwater.  So is the rainwater getting toxic for the fishes?  I wonder if it is the pollution or maybe due to regular fogging which may leave residue toxins into the pond.  Luckily, the arowana is strong and have a steady diet of dead goldfishes.  I felt terrible with my fishes passing.  I wonder what I can do.  The pond has an oversize filter with bio-treatment.  Maybe it is time to clear the filters.

Headache

I woke up in the middle of the night with a headache and has this headache still even though I took two painkillers in the morning.  Is it the Japanese bbq?  It is very possible the food is causing problem.  I may be allergic to some ingredients in the sauce or marinades.

Accident

Today, during lunch time at the car park in Ang Mo Kio, I reversed into another car and dented its bumper and my own.  I left my number and the guy called me at about 9pm.  I was busy with a guest.  Will talk to him tomorrow to settle the case.  I was not paying attention while reversing.  The damage will cost me money.  Sigh!

Internet Made It Easy

I have guests from New Zealand.  Tomorrow night, I will go dinner with them.  I am wondering where to go and what to eat.  The Hai Tien Lo is very expensive and did not have good reviews.  I tried to search for other places.  It was not so easy.  Jumbo is gone from Fullerton.  Only Palm Beach left and it is a long walk.  So I check out Millenia Walk.  It looked pretty good.  German resturant, Miss Saigon, Japanese BBQ and Outback.  So I think we will go over to Millenia Walk for dinner tomorrow.  I am glad it is so much easier to look for entertainment options especially with reviews to help narrow the choices.

Flourish!

I loved audio books.  I just started on Flourish by Martin Seligman.  He is famous for Authentic Happiness.  He is now saying pursuit of Happiness is incomplete and insufficient to explain about life.  We need more, we need purpose, achievement, flow and other parameters.  He cited other famous psychologist/philosoper or psychriatrist who suggest a singular theory to the pursuit of happiness.  There is an inherent issue as our life is a lot more complex.  The example he use is he may listen to a 6 years old playing piano not because he enjoys it but because the child playing is his and it is his responsibility to take care of and look after the child as a parent.

I am still at the beginning of the book and it is difficult to recall all the details without written words to refer to.  I may buy the book in future when there is a discount.

Nanyang Seaview

Our black mollys were dying.  It may be due to the terrapin food I was giving them.  So my wife insisted to switch to fish food.  So we went to Nanyang Seaview in Jalan Kayu to buy the fish food.  The goldfishes were on special.  So we bought a pair of black goldfishes and a pair of lionhead red goldfishes.  I am glad they are doing well in the tank.  B3 wanted a lobster.  It is $1.20 so I let him have one.  He is smart to put it in a separate tank with a pipe so that it got used to the home before letting it go to the main tank.  It actually moulted.  It has not escape yet.  Most of the lobsters we caught run away very quickly in the outdoor tank.

Nanyang Seaview has a good range of fishes, food and supplies for aquarium.  We like going there. But the mollys are a dollar each whereas in Pasir Ris/Lorong Halus, they are only 40 cents each.

B2 Sending Off His Classmate

After dinner, B2 went to airport to send his classmate off to Paris.  The flight is at 11pm and we went there at 8:30.  There were a big group of friends sending him off.  His parents were there and were all excited.  His mum keeps worrying about him not able to take care of himself.  She keeps reminding him about wearing warmly and putting on the lip balms etc.  All mothers like to fuss over their boys.  It is universal.

B1 and I had drink and chendol at Papamia, a coffeeshop style resturant in T1.  We had a good chat about his friends not sharing notes and coming up with lies.  It is terrible that these people are going to be the top lawyers in future.

Old Songs

I like old songs.  I used to buy CDs and even today I buy CD as the price has dropped.  Recently, I bought a microSD card with 600 old songs for $15.  It is an incredible deal.  It can only be played on MP3 players.  I hardly play my CDs on my CD player or Bose system anymore.  All my CDs are transferred to the computer and then to my phone.

So the SD card version is very good especially MP3 players are quite cheap.  Only problem is I cannot transfer the songs to my phone.

$40 million

China man get himself to be the executor of the old lady's $40 million home.  This old lady is in my neighbourhood.  She was on the news many years back when she and her husband sold their garden for $7.2 million.  They built a swimming pool after.  Today, their house is worth $40 million and a China man bring his family here to live in this old lady's house.  What a gall!  It is very scary that this kind of things can happen.  They living in someone else house and eventually wanted to take possession of the house. 

A Good Day

It is nice to end the day with a positive note.  Today, I had lunch with B3's classmate mum.  Actually the lunch is with B3's mummy.  Since I was there, I joined them for a while.  The classmate is in Raffles Girls School.  She is the Class Chairman.  She is quite smart and actually very cute when she was in Primary School.  I like her.  B3 and her are best friends when they were in P4.  They gone their separate ways when she left for Cedar.  Today, she is doing well in her school and so is B3.  We are quite happy to compare notes especially since both our kids are adjusting to secondary school well. 

Dinner time, the 7pm soap opera has a good turn where the evil CEO was exposed.  I like shows with good endings.  It is good fantasy and teaching that all evil deeds will be found out eventually.

We finished our dinner with hami melon that my father-in-law bought and we split half each.  We took the bigger half as he has only two oldies to eat.  The hami melon was very sweet.  The only problem is it was a China fruit which sometimes we worry about additives.

Low Backache

I am having backaches after falling down from the bike a week ago.  I fell with goldfishes I bought.  Today, some of the goldfishes died.  Maybe it take a week for the shock to take effect.  It also may be the carbon I put in.  The carbon was in my fridge for a few months.  It had absorbed lots of bad stuff in my fridge.  So I took out all the carbon.  I hope my fishes will continue to do well.  The dead fishes became food for my arowana.

I am doing core muscle exercise to strengthen my trunk.  I hope I will recover soon...

Weekly Family Exercise

B1, my eldest organised a weekly family exercise since his mum was hospitalised.  He heard from his colleagues in his internship that some had mums who had similar symptons and it is due to lack of exercise.  So it is a good start.  Mummy is getting on with the program.  My ENT doctor says the same thing as it is the inner ears needed to exercise to the point that both are equal in functioning capability.  So now I am waiting for the rest of family to wake up.  I sleep earlier and wake up earlier than them. 

This exercise routine is good family bonding.

Dinner at My Eldest Sister

My eldest sister invited her siblings to her home for dinner.  She caters food in.  Two carbos - fried rice and fried bee hoon, sweet sour fish, curry vegetables, deep fried tempura prawn and fried soya chicken.  The dessert was a mix of canned fruits in ice.  It is canned longans, mixed fruit cocktail, sea coconut and nata coco.

The food is not bad for catering.  I have no complaint other than canned fruits for desserts.  We were quite noisy and had a good time.   I love family gatherings.

Fixing up Light

The light in our kitchen bathroom was not working.  I tried to fix it but could not.  This morning, I bought the replacement bulb holders and changed them.  The wires are very sharp and prick into my thumb.  Also I may have step onto a fragment as well because my sole had a sharp pain.  I rub it thinking I got rid of it but it still give sharp at certain angle of my foot step.  Anyway, after replacing the porcelain light bulb holder, it works.  I am pleased that I can do handy work.  Total cost of repair is $3.50.

Cockles

Today in the market, the blood cockles are open and lively.  The female boss saw me looking at them.  Actually, I like to play with them by touching and watching them clammed up.  Since now I am an uncle, I had no choice.  It is only $3 per kilo and I decided to buy it.  I missed eating it.  I had it when I was a boy at my grandma's home.  My aunt would pour hot boiling water to the cockles and we will pry open the shells and dipped in homemade chillies.  I remembered it tasted heavenly.  I do it the same way for dinner.  After about 20, I felt I had enough especially with my wife besides me keeping harping on how dangerous and how could I eat it bloody and risk of hepatitis like a corrupted MP3 file.  Actually, my first 15 or so was fine as I ate alone. 

So we have the rest shelled and cooked.  She like it as it was plump and juicy.

Worker's Party Concert 2013

My brother sent me a video.  It was an Indian singing Hokkien song.  Looks a bit familiar especially the person on the background.  When the females started singing and camera was angled to them that I recognise Sylvia Lim.  Then Low Thia Kiang sang the last bit.  It was pretty good.  So I go to check it out on the internet and found out that it was a concert held in Jan 2013 by Worker's Party for funding raising.  I check further and found the Headquarters is now in Syed Alwi Road and there is a food establishment below.  So I guess their fundraising was successful as LTK was interviewed and he wanted to raise $1.5million to buy a two-storey shophouse and have the ground floor for rent and upper floor for their office.

I am pretty amazed that they have to work so hard with so little meanwhile the fat cats ruling us has no clue what hardship is like.  No wonder they are losing touch.

Working Elders

I was reading on the comments section of a study done on elderlys working past 65 years old.  One commentor said it is their choice to work, otherwise they will be bored.  Frankly, I am not sure if an elderly would work at physically hard and challenging job if they have other options.  The commentator cite one conversation with an elderly worker and use that against every other comments who were lamenting, cursing or blaming our government for such putting our elderly through such hardship.

Our government gave a lot of scholarships to foreigners, China, ASEAN and Indians.  Our government pays for tuition fees, lodging and meals for the students.  Meanwhile, our poor Singaporeans have to prove many times over before they can get a pittance called bursary.  This must be the policy of meritocracy.  If you have good academic results you are showered with gold, if God forbids you are not the top scorer, then you have to pay yourself and if you are too poor, you must show documented proof.

This is the survival of the best academic results. 

So if you are illiterate elder, you are out of luck if you live here.  In Canada, all seniors are ensured to have housing and subsistence level of living.  Here we have one of the world largest sovereign fund, we gave money to foreigners but a tightwad to our poor citizens.

First World to Third?

Our per capita GDP is one of the highest in the world, our Gini Coefficient is also the highest in the world.  The foreign population percentage is also high up on the rank maybe with exception of Brunei and other oil producing countries.

When my wife told her mother the incident of my bicycle parts were stolen, she says this is a huge problems in her flat where bicycles parked below were stolen or have parts stolen.  We have a social problem of petty thefts.  Our country, our home is infested with petty thieves.

Are we moving from First World to Third?  I am sure the statistics will prove that Singapore is the safest in the world and petty thefts is low compared to other countries.  So our Government have big National Priorities to work on and have no time for petty thefts.

Have our Government heard of "broken window syndrome"?

Stripped!

Yesterday, I blogged that my bike tyre punctured and I was pushing it until the rear wheel seized and locked.  So I locked the bicycle on the PCN and go home thinking of collecting it the next day.  This afternoon when we went there, the bicycle was stripped of everything that can be removed.  We were shocked!  The bicycle seat, two water bottle holders, cellphone holder, torchlight holder, even the paddles that need spanner were removed!!

I am very sad.  I heard that this happens in Malaysia.  However, I did not expect it to happen in my hometown.  There are plenty of construction right at the PCN.  You will need Allen keys to remove the water bottle holders.  I am very sorry that our country considered very safe is becoming a cowboy town.

What a Day!

This morning, I decided to test my scooter for endurance since it is fully charged.  I ride it all the way to Lorong Halus.  The chain connecting the motor to the wheel drop out twice.  So I fixed it back.  On the way back from Lorong Halus, the chain broke completely.  I have to call for emergency service(The Wife) to pick me up.  She was all stressed up and worried thinking I may have an accident.

This evening, I rode my bike to Punggol Point and right at the traffic crossing outside Punggol Marina, the rear wheel became bumpy.  The tyre is completedly punctured!  I thought I will push my bike to Sengkang Community Club where I can get it repaired and pay them at a later time.  As I push, the rear seized up.  I have to lock it to a fence and come back for it. 

In one day, two equipment failure.  It is a terrible day indeed.

Bad Breath After Nose Operation!

Smells terrible! was my wife's exclamation for the last few days.  She thinks I did not have good dental hygiene or did not shower myself clean.  Today, she figures out it smells like rotten meat.  I know how terrible this smell is.  It is putrefaction.  I suspect the blood clots in my turbinate is decomposing.  Although I keep using nose lavage, there are cavities in my sinsus that I cannot clean.  I also feel that there are blood inside my nose.

As the inside of my nose is healing ever slowly, I now noticed the sound of my breathing while sleeping.  I used to snore loudly but never hear them as I was too deep asleep.  My ENT surgeon told me it will take 100 days to heal completely.  So all I can do is to wait for time to pass so that I no longer smells like rotten meat.

Bad Omen

The Wife insisted I wear helmet while riding.  As I wear my shoes, I was thinking I may be jinxed.  So I send a prayer just to make sure that my ride will be as usual.  Unfortunately, on the way home, I brake to take a drink and went off balance and fell off the bike.  I skinned my knee and hurt my palms breaking my fall.  Worse of all I landed on the grass full of ants.  They are crawling all over me in a heartbeat!  I took my time to recover from the shock of the fall.  My right knee was quite painful as some skin came off.  One patch is bleeding and another patch is all white(fat layer).  What bad luck I have this morning.

Anyway, the fishes I bought were fine.  I put 3 in a small tank and unfortunately the water quality must be bad and they died.  These fishes cost $2 each.  What a loss.  My arowana has $6 worth of food in one meal!!

National Day Rally

PM used the stories format for his speech.  He recognised the work of pioneer generation.  The tangible recognition is the Red Card.  It is $10 cheaper.  I am disappointed.  Why must an old folk use a Red Card instead of his or her IC.  Everything in the system are computerised.  So why must an aged citizen remember to bring this all important card to enjoy a $10 discount.

PM also talk about career success with lower education.  He got his examples from Keppel Corp.  It is very clear Singapore largest employer, the Government do not have examples where you can achieve career success when you do not have a degree.  There are always examples of people achieving success without formal degrees.  However, he did not show the percentage of successful careers of non-graduates to percentage of successful careers of graduates.  I bet you the numbers will show clearly graduates outperforms non-graduates by a huge margin.   While non-graduates can be successful, the ones that achieve career success are like those who strike lotteries. 

On the hot issue of CPF, he explained the policies and how to monetise your house.  It is clear that he misses the emotional hot button.  The retirees have to rent out their rooms or house.  They have to live with their adult children or invite strangers to live with them on their retirement.  How many old folks will be taken advantage of by strangers? What about the risks of harm?  I feel very sorry for Singaporeans who contribute to our country have to find ways to monetise their homes and open themselves to potential risks with strangers.

There are no perfect solution.  However, spending millions on Gardens by the Bay or 50 years of Independence and at the same time being a tight wad to the citizen poor is a mindset of a Capitalist.  We are living in Singapore, Inc and not Singapore a country.

Zi Char in Alexander Village

B1 wanted to try the zichar stall, Keng Eng Kee.  We tried the other "clean" stall in Alexander village a couple weeks back.  Today, we had deep fried fritters, salted egg prawns, coffee pork ribs, soup and spinach in 3 eggs sauce. The Ming Kee deep fried fritters was not so good.  The rest of the dishes were quite good.  We enjoyed the food.

B3 wanted the claypot tofu but the waitress did not register our order.  Anyway, we were full after the four dishes and decided not to order it.

Alexander Village is a good place for food but you have to go early i.e. before noon to get a carpark.  Otherwise, getting a carpark will not be easy.

Discomfort in my Head

I have an indescribable headache.  I think it is the gum that is causing it.  I feel uncomfortable, drowsy and yet not really painful.  It could also be due my nose operation.  However, this feeling is strong only after my gums were slit open and then sutured back with two exposed capping.  I also saw that the screws were a little rusty.  Maybe it is just blood clot on the surface of the screws but they did not look good at all.

The good thing is my nose is on the mend.  My left nostril seems more patent.  Right side feel clogged usually.  If I dig my nose, so far it is blood clot and not dried mucous.  I hope the improvement will continue.

Alfresco Dinner

Today is the first time we ate at our front yard after moving our outdoor table from roof garden.  We had move the outdoor table for a few months now.  When we first moved in, we used to eat at our roof garden.  It is a chore to move all the plates and cutlery up.  But I enjoys bbqing and eating at the roof garden.  It is cooling and the night sky can be very nice.  It is quite different at the front yard.  There are biting insects and plenty of stray lights from front porch lightings and garden lights surrounding the swimming pool. 

All 3 boys are home tonight and our current maid is quite a good cook.  We had stir fried kailan, sambal sotong, fried chicken drumstick and leftovers dishes from yesterday's dinner.  It is nice to have the space to eat our meals in different location.  I am grateful for Buddha's blessings

Morning After Gums Surgery

My right side is sore after the surgery.  No bleeding (good sign) but I am nursing an uncomfortable feeling in my head.  I am not sure if it is a headache or it is due to my nose operation.  I can tell you one thing.  It is not good to have different part of my head cut even though is it controlled and professionally done.

My breathing is still loud and now I can hear flapping sound as air go in and out of my lungs.  My ENT doctor assures me it will get better as the wound heals.

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.