Weekend is Here!

I am glad the weekend is here.  I have to confirm my flights to Tokyo this weekend.  It will be cold but I am going to meet and say goodbye to my colleague who is leaving.  I am happy to see him before he leave.  So in the 6 or 7 months I am in this new company, two nice colleagues are leaving - one voluntary. 

Today is a good day.  I did not exercise too much.  I am thinking of trying out the Ion Detox to see if it works long term.  It is hard to believe that soaking feet in bubbling water will make you better.  But the cost is quite low.  So it is fine to try.

The weather is quite hot today and so I wonder if the rainy season has stopped early.  The wind is quite cool when I go to PCN. 

Today, the Swiss Shock rock our stock market.  Swiss Francs was peg to Euros.  Now the Swiss Central Bank has lift the peg and the value of Swiss Francs rise immediately by more than 40%.  So the local stock with exposure to Switzerland like Noble who has a hub in Switzerland has plummeted.  Maybe it is a good time to buy...

Laid Off!

The company I worked for was bought by a bigger company January last year.  I was officially switched over in August/September last year.  The new company took a long time to integrate me in.  The HR Director was a very good HK lady.  She has the right philosophy in managing employees and making sure employees are treated right.  Yesterday, I got a call from her that she will be leaving in 4 weeks.  She has been laid off!!  It is the first time in her life.  I did not feel good about this.  How can a company lay off a Senior Director of HR when our HR department is severely understaff.

A Japanese colleague just resigned Monday.  So this week alone, I hear two departures.  The pressure in the company is intense.  The global economy is not helping and the leaders are under pressure to produce better numbers.  I am very sorry to get these notices.  So now I am feeling very good about the company.

IKEA

I have received a bunch of samples.  They are in regular carton box and The Wife complains it is too messy and smelly.  So I have to go to Ikea with her to buy plastic containers to make my office neat.  Can you believed the lids are out of stock!  So we try to pinck from their display models.  Many people must have done it before.  So all the display has cable ties to prevent the lid from disappearing.  Luckily I found one lid and bought it even though there is a deep scratch - beggar can't be chooser and settle for a black lid for my other box.

Ikea also has lot of new LED lights.  It is specs at 20,000 hours or 20 years.  The price is pretty good compared to Philips or Panasonic.

Weight Up!

I managed to reduce by 1 kg 5 days in Hanoi.  Back home for two days and the kilo I worked hard on is back.  Too much calories intake.  I ate only meat and vegetables and hardly any carbo.  Home I drink my coffee with condensed and evaporated milk.  Creamy and rich!  Although I cycled back home, it is not enough.  I walked a lot in Hanoi which probably used more calories than cycling.  Two days to gain what I lost in 5 days.  Life isn't fair!

Samsung Note 4 S Health

I had Note 4 since the launch and recently started to use the S Health or Samsung Health App.  It is pretty cool.  I can measure my heart rate and SpO2 level.  SpO2 is oxygen saturation level in the blood.  So far I have hovered between 95% and 98%.  It is easy to change the readings by controlling the breathing.  To get 98%, all I have to do is to hyperventilate while measuring.  However, I also suffered dizziness due to hyperoxia.  I always try to reduce my heart rate by breathing out slowly.  However, it is still quite high.  I always have elevated heart rate due to diet.  I love meats.  Although I exercise regularly, they are not vigorous enough to reduce my heart rate to normal.

I have set the pedometer on.  So now I know how many steps I take each day.  I also measure my cycling.  It is pretty interesting, with the measurement, I start to compete with myself and improve over previous records.  I used to cycle leisurely and enjoy my rides.  Now I am looking at the numbers.  I may switch back to enjoying my rides after getting tired of S Health.  But I am thinking of getting the gadget to measure my heart rate so that I have a continuous measurement while I am exercising.  This will give me my fitness profile.

It is also scary how accurate the location of the phone is.  Now all our movements can be pin down to the exact location.

Limited Choice in Hanoi

The food choice in Hanoi is quite limited.  Mostly hawker food and the fresh market has only local produce.  I do not see any imported fruits or vegetables.  Pho is the most readily available.  I do not see any other type of food except hotpot, bbq and tofu with boiled innards.  There are no fashion brands or McDonald's or Starbucks. Only local brands.  The ability to buy is limited.  But with factory expanding, the general income will rise and consumption will grow.  I did not see any high end resturants in Old Hanoi.  Next time, I should stay in an international hotel.  Maybe the landscape will be different. 

So Happy to be Home

I am glad to be home.  Hanoi is nice but the air is not good.  The food is also very homogenous.  Pho everywhere and French loaf.  It is quite third world with all the shops selling basic necessities.  The roads are quite chaotic where the lanes interconnect but not in a straight line.  So it is easy to get lost.  The coffee and food is good and cheap. The meats are fine but the organ meats are very tough.  I think they do not know how to cook or did not cook it for very long to save on fuel.  Most cooking are done on charcoal.

Last Night

The air is bad but the food is good and at very reasonable price.  We had bbq skewers for dinner and followed by ice cream.  The ice cream cost the same as the dinner.  Ice cream is in a ice parlour by the lake.  We are paying for the views.  After dinner, I walked back with my colleague to the hotel.  I loved walking after meals as it help me digest and also make me feels less guilty for eating so much.  I am glad to be going home tomorrow.

Chicken Hot Pot

I love the hotpot in Hanoi.  The habits of the people is still not up to par yet.  So I do not eat too much and observed what is contaminated so that I do not touch it anymore.  Hotpot will kill the germs of the saliva.  So I feel safer. 

Also hotpot has lots of vegetables and I love to reduce my calories since I drink lots of rich coffee and tea.  My host tells me we were at the best hotpot but it is not so busy.  So I am not sure how to tell.  Once thing for sure, the meats here are quite tough.

Different Driving Behaviours

It is busy on the road most of the time.  We went to a 3 factory sites and the drive is so different.  Most of the time we are at about 40 to 50 kmph even though we are on the highway.  It is impossible to go fast even on a three lanes highway.  The driving habit is you must watch out and avoid vehicles getting into your way.  It is incredible and the road habits make it impossible to be effective or efficient.  The behavior of road users is he who dares win.   Slowly and easy does it and then you have to avoid electric bicycles, motorcycles and cars in front of you.

Food Street, Light Street

I am waiting for my host to arrive and took a walk outside the hotel.  Food street is much better than eating along the main thoroughfare which is very noisy and polluted with fumes.  Then there is a light street which is very colourful like Orchard Road now.  The young girls eating ice cream is interesting.  They leave by electric bicycles and very used to the chaotic traffic.  It is a matter of getting used to the environment.  There is a system in the chaos and once you know it, it is easy to navigate and cross the road.  I feel like I am in a time machine going back to the good old days in China and Vietnam.  But China has completely changed from bicycles to cars and traffic jams.  Vietnam has more cars but still dominated by motorcycles and now electric bicycles.

This place has character and I like it!

Old Hanoi

Old Hanoi reminds me of Ho Chi Minh 15 years ago but more cars.  There are plenty of shops selling daily necessities.  Sports shoes shops reminds me of Itaewon in Korea 30 years ago.  The streets have one speciality on each street i.e. shoes street, plastic wares street, jewellery street and the like.  I enjoy walking the streets.  There are plenty of foreigners - whites and Koreans. 

My first meal is Pho or beef kuay teow soup.  The soup is fabulous but the beef is a tad tough.  I had coffee which is extremely rich and delicious.   I am really to try other Vietnamese food.  I loved the Vietnamese food in Toronto.  So I may gain weight this trip as I am going to enjoy the food.

Colleague from Canada

My ex-colleague from Canada comes to Singapore for cruise.  She is here with her husband and her husband's sister and her husband.  We had a wonderful meal together.  We had satay, chicken rice and hokkien mee as they wanted to try local favorites.  We made it happen with the hawker centers in AMK centre.  We are so happy to talk and drink Chinese tea together.  It is good to catch up and meet.  Her two boys are doing well.  One is a lawyer and has a Scottish girlfriend, the other is working in a pharmacy.  We are very happy for them.

Food Factories at Woodland Terrace

B1 read in the blogs there are food factories in Woodland selling food at lower price.  He like sashimi and seafood.  So he suggested we go there to check it out.  We went this morning and there are people walking and carrying heavy bags.  Many do illegal parking.  We got lucky and waited for someone to leave before getting a proper carpark.  The Indian car park attendant was taking pictures and issuing summons.  Many cars left.  So as the Indian mama walk up the street, cars started leaving.  So more carpark lots are freed up.

We bought frozen black pepper duck breast.  It is sold in NTUC for $4.80 each.  It is on special for two packs of 4 eaches at $25.  One pack of 4 is $15.  We also bought frozen cheese cake for $35.  B1 bought frozen ebi eggs and salmon sashimi.  Mummy had frozen xiao long bao and prawn roll.  The xiao long bao was not good but prawn roll is fine.  It is a good trip to get frozen stuff.  I think the fresh prawns in the market is at the competitive price compared to frozen ones.  However, fresh prawns type depends on the catch of the day. 

We lunch on the food we bought in Woodland Terrace.  It is pretty good fun and good food other than the xiao long bao.

Family Gathering

We had family dinner.  We cooked up a storm.  Giant pot of sayur lodeh, steamed yam cake, 3 kgs of bbq chicken mid-joint wings, bbq filet pork and pork belly.  Unfortunately, the pot belly was too tough.  I enjoyed the time we have together. 

I helped my sister to update her software so that she can watch more Korean drama.  She had a great time watching the drama on my large screen tv.  My nieces are doing well and nephew-in-law working in seafood trade.  Overall, it is good everyone is healthy and fine.

Only my mother is in the hospital for vomiting blood.  She may have nasal bleeding.  It is good that she has a cellphone.  Everyone talked to her even though she is hospitalised in Canada.

Day 1 of 2015

I went to Mustapha for grocery shopping as tomorrow I will have my extended family over for dinner.  I am very lucky and has a carpark right in front of Mustapha.  We bought frozen prata, samosas, spring rolls to test for tomorrow party.  It is a good start to be so lucky to get nice carpark and for free!  I like the corner coffee shop that sells Pakistanis food.  I do not know why it is Pakistanis as the food is very similar to other Indian resturants.  We had tandoori chicken, keema with naan and roti.

The Punggol PCN is very crowded.  Lots of holiday makers and many rented bicycles, two-in-one tandem bikes and 4 wheelers.  It must be tiring to ride the 4 wheelers.  The weather is cool, so it is very nice to walk.  I had a good day.

Closing of another Chapter

2014 is a year of air disasters in this region.  I hope they stopped at 3.  It is heartbreaking and also scary for a frequent traveller like me.  I hope 2015 bring new hope and economic improvements for Singaporeans and the world.  We are in a global village now.   It is quite depressing to read Transitioning.org as there are many fellow Singaporeans in dire straits and the PAP government seems quite callous.  Meritocracy or Survival of the Fittest yet, they have "business friendly" policies which do not protect workers.  They also bring in foreigners to replace my fellow Singaporeans.  I am very sorry for all that has been adversely impacted in their personal lives.

I hope the economic conditions will improve for all of us and also in the next election, positive changes can be made to improve living in Singapore.  We should be a global city that cares for its citizens.

Sad and Closure

It is a sad ending for Air Asia QZ8501.  Bodies and aircraft debris have been recovered.  Now there is a closure.  I am reminded not to take things for granted and be grateful for everyday.  I fly for my work, so it is a stark reminder of the possibility every time I leave home. 

May Buddha bless on all of us.

Chye Seng Paint Shop in AMK Ave 3

Chye Seng is just another shop along AMK Ave 3 and Ave 10.  We bought paint from them the first time I bought my first house in Goldenhill.  Unfortunately, I sold it for too soon and it enbloc.  I has a missed opportunity of a million bucks, maybe more.  This is water under the bridge.

Today, we went to Chye Seng again to buy paint to paint a wall in my living room.  I am amazed by the amount of paint it has and the number of trucks.  Chye Seng has both Nippon Paint and Dulux.  There are contractors who go there to get their supplies.  The amount of paint going through the shop is tremendous.  It is very successful.  If you need to get paint, I will say this is the paint shop to go to.

Edusave Award

B3 got an edusave award for $500.  B1 was envious as the award is much higher than his.  He got only $300 in his time.  My neighbour's daughter won the award too.  She is the top in Normal Sec 1 stream in CHIJ Toa Payoh.  Her mummy is so proud of her. 

After the award, we went to Airport Road Hawker Center for lunch.  The Thai Wanton mee there is pretty good.  We had fried kway teow that has a long queue opposite Tiong Bahru loh mee.  I did not think too highly of this kway teow.

Another Aircraft Lost Contact

This time it is Air Asia.  The frequency of aircraft "losing contact" is becoming alarming.  I hope they find the aircraft soon.  Weather nowadays is more turbulent and more aircrafts up in the air, more incidents.  However, when aircraft disappeared, it is scary.  I hope we find something.  I do not like Air Asia as I worry about safety.  However, this may be the first known incident.  So keeping my fingers crossed and my prayers to all the passengers and their loved ones.

Jay Chou's Concert

Mummy and two older boys are at Jay Chou's concert tonight.  It starts at 8pm.  Traffic is so heavy.  It is incredible.  I did not know that it is so popular.  Luckily, B3 and I stayed at home.  Mummy sent me a video of the crowd.  It is really something.  What a nightmare to go but it is awesome for those who enjoys the energy of the crowd.  I am glad I am at home relaxing and in front of the computer instead of in the madding crowd.

We did not travel for holiday, so this is the replacement for holiday which is quite interesting as well.

Boxing Day

She is wanted the Anna Sui bag from UOB.  So I have to charge my payments using UOB credit card.  She was scrambling to make sure she has all the receipts to show to the counter.  We took a long time to get ready.  Finally, we go and CTE has huge traffic jams due to the holiday season.  We park at Centrepoint.  When we were there, the man offerred two bags making my wife happy. 

I had not been to Centrepoint for a long time.  But now it is not so nice as before.  Times bookstore is so small, Sanur is gone, Teochew resturant is gone and Metro is the anchor tenant.  I like the old Robinson.  It was nice to window shop.  Only Cold Storage is good for me to browse.  The Mandarin Hotel Chicken rice is gone too.  So we go to Orchard Point for Japanese lunch instead.  MPH is having sales as well, so I may visit Raffles City.  Nowadays, even I feel sian about books.

For dinner, I made a duck salad using the sesame dressing same as what B3 liked for his Japanese lunch. 

Christmas Day

Seems like not so good a day.  Although it is relaxing, I bicker and was accused of being quarrelsome.  We had a early start with my father-in-law bringing us to the jetty.  But it was low tide and there are no boat.  So we were out of luck.  We saw two giant mudskippers as the jetty was very swampy. 

I bought lots of fruits from Chong Pang market.  I like competition as the fruit stalls has good variety and reasonable price.  R2E2 mangoes from Australia is in season.  Jackfruit is now $5/kg instead of $5.50.  Spanish persimmons is $2 each and $5 for 3.  I loved fruits as they are sweet and healthy.  Only issue is high calories and therefore it is hard to reduce weight.  I need to consume more vegetables instead.

In the afternoon, B1 and B2 went out with their female friend to watch movies.  I go with B3 to try the NeNe Korean chicken.  The price is high for sweet sour style chicken.  So I am not likely to patronise this stall frequently.

Penang Food in Terminal 2

I arrived the airport too early but it is fine.  I could have more sleep but worried about the traffic as it is weekday.  The ride is about half an hour, so it is fine.  Flight was delayed by an hour.  So Jetstar is not so good.  I heard the annoucements for Tiger, seems like there is no delay.  The captain did not explain why the plane was delayed.

When I land, the family wants to have lunch here.  They actually wanted Paparich or Papamia.  They told me it is in T2.  I was at one end of the terminal 1 and walked for more than 20 mins to get to the skytrain to get to T2.  Then I found that Papamia is not there.  Instead Penang food.  So I decided to try.  The food is just average.  I decided not to go back to this Penang taste.  Papamia is way better.

Vibrant Bangkok

After a long day of visiting customers, we arrived Intercon at about 8 pm.  After some time, I managed to get my room and then my colleague and I went to the bookshop.  In the long ride, we talked a lot.  He goes to the library often when he was in Engineering school.  We talked about a different view of life and work.  He got interested in some of the things I do.  So he asked me what books to read.  I recommended my two classics - How to Win Friends and Influence People and Think and Grow Rich. 

So we head to Kinokuniya in Isetan and looked for the two books.  Then he says you are not coming for a long time.  So wanted me to recommend more books.  So I took out the How Will You Measure Your Life by Clayton Christiansen and It is Not How Good You are, It is How Good You Want to be.

4 books should be enough.  I recommend he reads the two classics twenty times.

On the way back to the hotel, we took the skyway and it is awesome.  The lights are incredible.  I took some pictures.  I should post them once I get my phone transfer right.

Hua Hin

I arrived my hotel past midnight.  We have been driving all day.  From Suvarnabhumi airport to Northeast Thailand and then back past Bangkok to Hua Hin.  Thailand is a big country.  Interesting day and very long from up at 5am to going to bed past 2am home time. 

I had a leisurely breakfast in the hotel.  The sea has awesome powers and the horizon is clearly curved.  Walking around the hotel ground, I feel more relaxed.  I should bring my family here for a couple of days.  Wora Bura Resort is a nice place and reasonable in price during off season.  The room rate for me is 3 times the usual rate as it is peak season now.  The resort is filled with ang mohs.  The staff wears traditional Thai costumes like palace staff.  So it is quite different experience.  I have not see outside as this hotel is deep in.  So walking out will not be possible as I have to go to work soon.  I have another long day ahead and then to Bangkok for the night before taking first flight home on Wednesday.

Off Early Tomorrow

I have to get up early at 5am tomorrow to go to Thailand.  I am glad to be back on Christmas Eve.  It will be long day of travel by land as well.  I understand it will take 3 hours to get to the customers location.  I am looking forward to visit food factories.  This is new for me.

Kin Kin Chilli Pan Mee (Handmade Noodle)

B1 is the one to try newfangled things.  Kin Kin was on the news for long queue.  Now that it's been awhile, we expect the heat to die down.  True enough, when we went, there are plenty of seats.  We were there before 12.  The noodles were quite good.  The bowls were huge but the noodles are not in big serving.  It is slightly bigger serving than those in hawker centers.  The price is reasonable at $5 per bowl, almost same price as food courts. 

The taste is not wow but still of high standards.  So I would say it is good value for money.  The problem is too much msg and we felt very thirsty and had 3 rounds of drinks after lunch.

No Google, No Blogs, No Wordpress

I missed all reading my regular blogs and opinions in the cyber universe for a week.  Living in China is like living a black hole.  Electronic information is controlled and limited.  Good thing is I read magazines and a book I bought in Korea. 

A number of my favorite sites are inaccessible as they are not permitted in the Chinese universe.  Luckily, TRE is still available.

It is a long week with all the stress meetings and having a long to do list.  The new world is a massively hard life.  Everyone is overworked and stressed to death.  We had good fun among ourselves when boss is not in.

Alexander Village Zichar

We like the Zichar coffeeshop in Alexander Village.  There are two popular stalls that were regularly featured.  We prefers the one beside the Ang Ku Kueh stall.  We had salted egg prawns, king pork ribs,tofu in claypot, porkbelly in claypot, vegetable with 3 eggs in superior soup and fried hor fun.  We ordered too much but enjoy the food a lot.  The pork belly in claypot is a new dish but it was too salty.

It is nice to go to zichar stall and have more exotic homecooked food. 

Starbucks 1-for-1 Deal

B1 and B3 is very keen on the Starbucks bogof deal.  It will be B3 first "Starbucks Experience".  They ordered a cold Christmas drink which is laden with high calories and tasted like coffee flavored ice cream.  I had a hot drink.  The deal is very popular and the queue is perpetually long since we arrived which was about 8pm.  I brought a Baldacci book and sat there to read while B1 and B3 wandered the mall.

Many families went to get the deal as well.  It is good family pre-Christmas treat.  I enjoyed the time reading in Starbucks.  It is noisy and crowded but I am in the fantasy world of spies and assassins.

Secret Singapore

This is a tv program that I watched after dinner.  It is about the re-discovered reservoir in Keppel Hill Road, Telok Blangah.  It is interesting.  There is a well worn pathway, so people are still going to the place.  Only because the "discoverer" publicize in the the mass media that it become famous as a forgotten place.  The other place that was in the program is the cemetery in Holland Road.  There is a Hakka temple and a semi-circular pond that is full of Koi.  I know the place well since I walked past it several times before.  It is called Shangrila by a visiting Professor.  The place is tranquil and quiet even though Commonwealth Ave is right beside it.

I like this program as it promotes the places I know or grew up in.

Poor Business for Compass Point

Welcome to Seletar Mall!  We are happy to walk to a mall that we need not drive and look for parking.  Save petrol and save parking fees.  Walking has health benefits too. 

Interestingly, I met Raymond, the guy I meet in a distributor event in Seoul.  He told me he lives near the mall.  True enough, when I was on the escalator up, he was carrying his boy on the escalator down. I say hi and goodbye at the same time.  Life is a mall for us Singaporeans.

We went to Compass Point to check up on the varieties of ham available for Christmas.  First, there we managed to park in Basement 1.  Then the queue in Cold Storage was reasonable.  We asked the cashier and she told us the last two weeks business had slowed.  So the Seletar Mall has an immediate impact.  The food court is still busy but at least seats are available and no need to stand behind people finishing their lunch.

We are happy to have a mall in the neighbourhood.

Reflection: Am I better Now Than 8 years Ago?

Life has ups and downs.  We all know this.  Overall, the trend should be an improvement.  Why?  Because as an employee, we have to grow our employer's sales, profits and customer base.  We have economic growth as a country. 

Singapore has achieve the GDP growth in the past 8 years.  Most of our employers have grown their business for the past 8 years.  Our disposable income has not grown.  Our job insecurity has grown dramatically.  Our pro-business policies protect the employers and leave me vulnerable.  To fight any unjust dismissal I have to pay the lawyer with my own money to sue my employer.  Who can afford to do this?

I am unable to unlock my CPF.  So as I reflect on this question, the answer is not straightforward.  But it is clear.  With influx for foreign immigrants, our common space has strunk.  Our ability to communicate in local dialects or English in the F&B outlets is limited.  The doctors treating me in the hospitals do not understand me.

So I know I am not better than 8 years ago.

Men At Work

I feel like I need a sign like the roadside sign with a man digging a hole to let traffic slow down and take notice on the road repairs or whatever(maybe laying cable).  I have been very busy working on my presentation for next Saturday.  I am glad I have to skeleton done up.

Will be travelling on coming Sunday but what to do.  My new company work differently and I have come back on Saturday but I refused and booked my flight on Friday afternoon.  Too many weekends off work is unhealthy for family life.  I just lost last Saturday and will lose my Sunday.

I do not know why employers like to drive employees to the ground.  I cannot keep losing my weekends.

Mamma Mia

We have only this week to go for holiday.  B2 starts his attachment in Ernest & Young tomorrow.  I had to go to Seoul for work.  So in lieu of this week, we decided to spend the money on live show.  So B1 check out and bought the cheapest ticket which is about hundred each and we went to Marina Bay Sands Grand Theatre to watch Mamma Mia.  The musical follows the same plot or thread of the movie by the same title.

It is a dog and pony show and I fell asleep several times.  B1 fell asleep once.  Overall it is not bad.  Mummy and B3 enjoy the show most.  B2 was trying to focus.

The chairs are straight back and quite uncomfortable to sit for long time.   I don't think I will be going back.  Mummy is very motivated and she may have to go with B3 or B1.  She likes the music and dancing.  I, on the other hand need actions and thrills. 

Freezing Cold Indeed!

My blogger friend drop a comment "It must be freezing in Seoul at this time of the year.". 

He is absolutely right!  It was so cold that I did not take my usual walk around the hotel.  Going for 30+ to minus 2 celcius is no fun.  I go to the supermarket next door to buy a pack of seaweed and butter biscults.  The less than 1 min walk was killing me!  So I just stay in my room to read my novel.  I am glad I took the book along.  I managed to finish The Camel Club just before I landed Changi Airport.

This is why I like to stay in a hotel with a big mall beside.  Winter or not, I can pass time to walk about.  In Holiday Inn, it is an old area with rows of shop houses.  So it is exposed and since I do not bring all my winter gear i.e. scarf, gloves, thermal pants and different types of sweaters, it is difficult to stay outside for long.

Next freezing place will be Shanghai.

Good Day!

I had a good day of work.  Start the morning with training. Had Korean Chinese lunch with the team.  The food is good.  We had deep fried pork and deep fried chicken.  I had soup.  So I ate red bean bun which was pretty good. 

After lunch it was meeting with MRO or material requisition organisation.  Pretty good meeting as well as the manager agrees to help us.   Then my customer come to the office in the evening to meet us.  We had a very good meeting. 

In the evening, I had dinner by myself in the hotel and then spend time reading and blogging.  It is a fitting end of a good day.

COEX Mall

The COEX mall is totally revamped and there are a lot less shops.  The walkways are wide and bright but the way around is no longer a discovery.  The pathway to the different place like Hyundai dept store or to the train station has only one entrance.  The shops are a lot bigger.  Many stores still not opened yet.  A lot less variety of F&B.  So overall, I do not like it as much as the old mall which has character.  This reminds me of Robinson changeover from Centerpoint to the current location in Heeren.  The messy chaotic mood is gone.  Very bright, avant garde, neon coloured cookware and accessories but not so run of mill anymore.  The bakery, pharmacy, knicknats, stationery are gone.  So are the convenience stores.  I think the rents have gone up dramatically.  It is sad in the name of progress. 

Resturants Hopping in Seletar Mall

Finally, we decided to try out the resturants in Seletar Mall.  We had late lunch in a Japanese fusion place.  The food is just average and price is quite high.  B2 wanted to try as it is a new resturant for us.  Mummy was against it but I relented as I am not hungry anyway.  Since the food is not so good, we had our dessert in Swensen as it was past two when we finished our lunch.  At 2:30pm, Swensen has happy hour in which you get a sundae free for every sundae you order.  There is also a tea set for $5, you get 3 ciabatta with sweetened whipped butter serve warm.  It is crunchy outside, soft and creamy inside.  I love this and will come back for more. 

The Song Bak Kut Teh is so popular with long queue every time we go to the mall.  I had the Bak Kut Teh in North Bridge Road.  It is not bad but full of msg and not good value for money.

Focus on Work

My boys are trying to go on holiday.  B1 keeps asking about my departure and flight details.  I am impatient and do not want to be disturbed.  I like to stay focus on work.  I have plenty of travel ahead.  I do not enjoy travelling for leisure when I have to do it for work.  Leisure is staying at home.  My family needs to go out as they are suffering from cabin fever.

Detailed Description of Seletar Mall

My friend, Boh Tong is a very detailed blogger.  I have short and sweet and you will have to visit Seletar Mall to see for yourself.  Whereas Boh Tong will give you the full details and even describe all the food he has eaten there.  I have not drink or ate at the mall yet.  I think it is too long a queue and want to avoid the madding crowd.  Plus I am stingy.  I want to have a good experience for the money I am going to pay to eat in a resturant.

Anyway, you can learn more about the mall by clicking here.

HOTTEST Mall

Seletar Mall is so crowded all day long.  Everyone in the neighbourhood go there to experience our latest mall.  I feel dizzy walking in there.  Must avoid knocking in other mall crawlers at all time.  B2 went there in afternoon and he says there are no space to walk.  B1, B3, mum and I go there after dinner and the situation has not improved.  It is an amazing hunger for mall in this neighbourhood.  Mum says it is an oasis in the desert.  Only mall around the residential estate.

Talk a little about the big bag of mollies.  At least 5 did not survive and become food for arowana.  I am happy to see two black goldfishes doing well.  A couple of small red goldfishes in the bag as well.  I added more salt to the water.  Hopefully the fishes survival rate improves.

Seletar Mall

Finally, finally, after more than a year of waiting, the Seletar Mall is open today.  The mall looked very small on the outside.  Inside it is packed with lots of shops and resturants.  I guess the architect knows how to design and maximise the space.  The shops are on the circumference and the middle is a big airwell.  So it is not claustrophobic to walk about.  The cinema is not ready yet.  NTUC Finest is open and Din Tai Fung is popular.  The mall is very crowded with lots of people like me curious to see the latest mall.

After a while, it is like any other mall.  The chain stores are all there - Popular, Starbucks, Coffee Bean, McDonald's, Subway, Uniqlo, bread stores and snacks.  But it is walking distance from my home.  So it is pretty good.  Now I can go Swensen for tea and get the 1 for 1 icecream deal.

Molly Fishes

Today, I went to the aquarium and bought a bag of mixed mollies.  I wanted half but the old man insist I have buy the whole bag which cost $20.  Without a choice, I bought the bag as I paid $15 for a bag of red fishes before.  These mollies are large.  I found two black goldfishes inside.  They would have cost me $2 each.  Maybe less since they are a lot smaller than those in the aquarium.  But I feel less pain for paying so much and buying too much.  But it is good to have a lot of fishes in my pond.  I transferred some black mollies to my tank in the living room but they cannot survive.  Maybe the water quality is bad and the filter may be toxic.  I do not know why but so far they have a hard time surviving in the small tank.

I may need to get a new water filter to see if the fish can live longer there.

Plenty of Travel Ahead

I will have a full schedule in the next few weeks leading to Chinese New Year.  I have not travel like this for a couple of years now.  I have 4 trips lined up to January.  So it is busy time.  I have to prepare to give training and also do research and report back.  It is going to be challenging as I do not have any support staff and have to do everything on my own.  Well, nowadays everyone has to work very hard just to stay afloat.

Seoul Next Week

It is going to be cold but what can I do.  I am going to Seoul for work.  Now I am dependent on others to set up meetings.  So it is frustrating.  However, I have no choice.  It takes some adjusting to.  I am a go-getter.  So I like to work things out early rather than last minutes.  But others are different.  They have plenty of other priorities.  So now I have to compete for their attention.  It is not easy since they have no desire to learn the business.

I am looking forward to visit Seoul and go to the largest bookstore.  It will be cold and I may have to take a cab.  I do not like taking public transport especially since I do not know the language.  Anyway, it is good to travel again.

Tadpoles

With heavy rain pouring frequently, the drainage system at the PCN accumulated enough water that it pond.  So now tadpoles are on the drain.  I was hoping for earthworms to feed my arowana but no luck.  Anyway, I caught some to bring home.  Maybe they will grow to become toads and repopulate my pond again.  Nowaday, no more croaking of toads when it rains.  I missed the days when toads will come to my pond to spawn.

A Good Sunday

We decided to do a "Japan tour" this morning after discussing on where to go for holiday.  So our micro Japan tour is Liang Court.  We tried out a new Japanese resturant with free flow of side dishes.  Pretty good meal.  We had stirred fried pork, hamburger and grilled chicken for main course.  I was still full from brunch which was porridge so ordered a grilled cuttlefish.  After our Japanese lunch, we toured Meida.  There are a few stalls with sampling.  Pretty good food.  I bought a $20 bento box which has sea urchin and Alaskan crab meat for B1 who is studying for his exams.

I also tried to change my bike tyre and puncture the inner tube instead and has to go to the bike shop in Sengkang Swimming complex to get a new inner tube for $8.    After my tire was fixed, I have to put it back to my bike and this was really challenging without a proper bike stand.  Finally, I managed to fix my rear wheel back and my hands were black with grease.  I have to wash and scrub 4 or 5 times before I manage to make my hands look reasonable.

We did not want to have dinner to reduce calories intake but B2 wants dinner, so we went to AMK hub for him to eat.  The 3 Bs went off to food court while I and mummy go window shopping at Fairprice.  We bought frozen stuff for breakfast and I could not resist the XXL Chicken from the Taiwanese food stall.  So I bought one and the 3 boys enjoys my chicken as well. 

Now we are home and it is end of the nice weekend.

No View of Malaysia!

My niece new house is beside the Punggol Waterways.  So there is no view of Malaysia.  There is a slope hiding the Straits from our vantage point.  We can see the fountains on the reservoir.  The flat is quite good as the view is clear and not obstructed by other flats.  The kitchen and rooms are quite small.  So when my sisters comes, the place is very crowded.

It is good to catch up and meet up with my sisters.

Exams Time in Law School

B1 has his first paper today.  He has been studying diligently and eating only fish for his meal.  He is napping now.  The exams takes a lot out of him.  He says it is the first time he worked so hard.  I see he is studying day and night.  Mum wants him to be a professional. He has thoughts of switching course.  My boy is a bright kid.  He has display high intelligence.  But he has to study so hard in order to get a professional degree.  Now, with the flood of lawyers, it is not easy to get to a law firm.

My eldest niece has housewarming this evening.  It is a new neighbourhood in Punggol and looked over to Malaysia.  I am looking forward to visiting her.

HomePlug Cannot Work - A Solution!

I had a cctv tv system that is in the cupboard.  We used the homeplug using the home electrical wiring as the line to connect the internet.  Initially, our internet was right beside the cctv system when we use twin wire i.e. using the phone line.  But we have to move the internet router to living room after the fibre was installed. 

The dvr was not working well.  Finally, I bought a new dvr from Sim Lim.  For $532, I get a 2TB drive and an infrared camera.  $180 plus GST for software installation.  But the homeplug system stopped working.  I went searching for solution in the internet to find a solution for wireless to LAN.  It is called a bridge.  And I can convert old wireless routers to make this bridge.  I tried but unable to get my old routers to work. 

Today, I went Sim Lim, yes the infamous Sim Lim.  We bought our printers from Global IT in level 3.  We trust the owner.  We need to replace ink for our printers anyway.  So I check out the TP link gadgets there.  The sales guy recomment this TP Nano router.  After two hours of trying, I finally got it to work.  I am so happy and feel so accomplished!

The Nano Router can be use to convert wifi into LAN connection.

Hurray!

I am very happy to received official  confirmation that I need not do submission of any structural plans for my solar panels.  I will install my solar energy once I can install them.  I will install them once I have the money.  Pretty expensive still.  Anyway, I will have more studies done.  I have very happy to be able to be green.  Right now the proposal is 14KW.  I may change it slightly to get more capacity. 

Although it is going to cost more money, being green is very important to me.  I like to leave the world a better place.

Battery Powered Fan

Mustafa is the place for everything.  The target market is Indians and Bangladeshi.  So it is my first time to see battery powered fan.  I feel stupid to buy the old type of fan use by yellow top taxi of yore days.  Now the battery powered fan is like a regular fan.  Some come with light and radio.  I am looking for a normal fan to be charge by my solar panel.  Unfortunately, all the fans are using 6V rechargeable batteries.  So I will have to find a controller to step down my 12V output to 6V.  Right now I have another option.  So I should explore Mustafa more to find more battery powered device.

Emotional

I get emotional at work easily nowadays.  It is hard to work when there is dysfuntional culture of no-answer.  I am not a political person and get upset with people who play politics.  I had a good time doing selling to my customers.  Now I have to get people to work and do their part.  This is really a challenging task when they do not want to do and find ways not to do it. Maybe I am too sensitive and over-reacted.  I shall be calm and let whatever will be will be.

Literature

I enjoys stories.  I also remember enjoys playing with words and writing short poems that rhyme in school.  Now, it is kind of dead.  I tried reading poems through audiobooks but unable to sustain interest for more than a few minutes.  I enjoys thrillers like Baldacci.  Now B3 has To kill a Mockingbird as his literature, I remember reading this book a couple years ago. I also bought the guidebook.  It makes a lot of sense after reading the guidebook.  Now I am a fan of guidebook which give digested version and discuss about the author's ingenuity or frame of mind or whatever questions that will come out in examinations.  I wished I read guidebooks during my secondary school days.  My literature result would have been much better than the borderline pass I get.

Wet Sunday

Heavy rain poured just before lunch.  B2 needed to go to Plaza Sin.  So we decided to go there to relax and go to a cafe.  The rain stopped before we reach Orchard.  So it is only heavy in AMK/Yio Chu Kang area.  When we reached Plaza Sin, the queue to the carpark is immensely long.  So we change our mind and dropped off B2 instead.  Then we try our luck in Marina Square.  It is pretty good actually meaning plenty of car park lots.  So we window shop and wander about the mall.  The mall is not so busy unlike before.  The mall business is getting really competitive.  There are not many interesting shops there for me.  Times is closed for renovation.  Food is so-so and price is really high.

So after an hour or so we head back home.

Coincidence?

This morning, I took my electric scooter out planning to buy aquarium fishes.  Unfortunately, half way there, my rear tire punctured.  The last time I went to aquarium, the drive belt broke.  Somehow, the electric scooter does not work well when I want to run errands especially going to the aquarium in Pasir Ris Industrial Park.  I wonder if it is a coincidence or is there something more than that since this is two times in a row...

Easy Day

B3 has CCA training on Saturday.  So he had his tuition yesterday instead.  Since it is a weekday, we did not go to Queen Street to wait for him.  Usually, we will go and get wholesale supplies for dried goods like nuts, beancurd skin, deep fried pig skin or abalone.  I like it there as the price is a lot more reasonable and it is ok to buy in bulk since the dried food can be stored for long time.

Mummy wants a "sit-down" lunch meaning no hawker center.  So we went to Sakae Sushi.  B2 and B3 had a good time.  They enjoys picking the plates off the conveyor belt.  I ordered some dishes from the menu.  We had a good time.  After lunch, B2 goes to Turf City for paintball game with his friends.

In the afternoon, I was tired and had a nap.  I think I did not have good sleep at night.  Usually, I do not like sleeping in the afternoon.  Our maid cooked dinner and after our meal, we had our night out at our usual haunt, NTUC Fairprice.

An easy relaxing day come to an end.

Books in my library

My new maid is good at cleaning.  She can spend hours cleaning up a specific area.  She cleaned my library a couple days ago.  My wife think she is good because she always give feedback that the area is very dirty and the previous maid did not clean, blah, blah, blah.  However, I am not sure about her standard of cleanliness.  She mixed up my books in the book shelves and they are no longer in order.  Books are my most previous things.  Now the books are no longer organised by author or by the same size.  They looked messy and it is hard to locate specific books as they are no longer in a logical order.  Sigh!  It is time for me to repack my library.

Amazing Internet

I was up early and feeling a little bored explored the internet for some people I know.  I could see the pictures of those I worked with in Canada and all have aged significantly.  Most have also moved on to different positions in different company.  I am simply amazed that it is so easy to recall once I see their pictures.  All have gray hairs.  I saw the picture of the manager who works for me responsible for Montreal office.  She has matured nicely (euphemistic).  She is French and still quite good looking.

It is very nostalgic to see the pictures of all my ex-colleages.  This can only happen in today's age.  Before, there is no way to recall except in the faint memory of what is between my ears.  Now Google do the recall and refreshed with the latest pictures!!

Cool Feature of Note 4!

I cycle a lot for exercise.  Today, I cycle out at lunch time.  The bright hot afternoon sun is beating down on me as I cycle.  While cycling, I am listening to music or audio book.  This time I noticed that I can read my Note 4 screen when the sun is shining directly on my LCD screen.  It is a huge improved over Note 3!  I loved it!

In Note 3 and iPhone, when the sun shines onto the LED or LCD screen, it just looked like reading a dark glass.  Now I can see all the icons in Note 4.  I can continue to use the phone normally unlike before, I have to come to a shaded area to activate any functions.

My New Samsung Note 4

I am using the Note 4 now for a few days.  The screen is sharper than Note 3.  The sound system seems better as well.  It may also be my new Nakamichi headphones which gives clearer and warmer sounds.  The camera is definitely better with sharper image.  I have to get used to new OS.  Most of the functions are the same except the buttons are different and situated in different part of the screen.  So it is guesswork but this keep my brain active and slows the aging process.  Instead of transferring my old 32G memory card, I bought a new 64G card for $62 from Challenger(member's price).  As I use my phablet more and more, I feel there is definite improvement over my previous model.

I am enjoying music more as I have organised it properly by labelling my CD properly after I transferred it to my computer.  It is also great to use original phone cover.  Now I can swipe the phone without opening the cover.  Sometimes, it does not work and I still have to flip the cover and use the regular slide button.

Simple Pleasures

Tonight is full team i.e. all 3 boys have dinner with us.  I made the soup.  It is simple.  Leftover King Soup, add duck bone soup from yesterday.  Add fishballs and fish dumpling or hee kiow.  Put to boil.  The secret is the pot!  I use our cast iron pot from Staub.  My boys loved the soup!  After dinner, I peeled Barnfield oranges and skinned and cut Asian pear from Korea.  We had good conversations.  Now B3 is passing time watching tv and munching his potato chips.  B1 is studying for his exams and B2 is surfing the net.  Mummy is busying sewing.  Our helper is doing household chores.  It is wonderful evening.  Everyone is busy or passing time.  I wished B2 and B3 would spend more time reading.  Reading is no longer a habit.  Attention span is short because net surfing makes it so.  Except for B1 who is very focused on his study, B2 and B3 seems unable to stay focus on reading material for long time.  They used youtube to get video instructions.  It is different from words and drawings.

I am happy to have everyone at home and enjoying simple dinner together. 

Uploading Music

I spend the day editing the titles of my CDs in my computer so that I can upload the songs into my new Note 4.  I bought a 64G microSD and so will have plenty of space.  I need to organise the CD names so that I know which I have downloaded.  It is quite difficult as many of my CDs are Chinese or Hokkien songs.  I was getting confused with the songs I have in Note 3 as they were all jumbled up with some of the CDs in same boxset having Chinese titles and other in English.  So I do not know if which album comes from the same set. 

A few of the CDs is now unreadable.  I lost them since I deleted the albums in the computer before trying to upload them again.  Good thing is when I am cycling, it will be easier for me to know which album I have played.  This way, I need not feel that I have repeated playing the same album without being sure.

Mustafa

Our maid do not know how to cook Chinese food well.  So we brought her to Mustafa today to get her supplies as she will recognise the groceries that she knows how to cook.  She took banana to make goreng pisang, shallots, jackfruit stems and many other items which I did not pay attention to. She is much happier cooking dinner tonight.  She cooked corn patties, sayur lodeh using jackfruit stems and I cooked soup with abalone.  My soup is quite popular as I added frozen King Soup from Taiwan.  The Mexican abalone is very soft and crunchy firm.  It is nice to chew on it.  After dinner, I cut Harumanis mango.  We had good dinner conversation.  It is very nice to have the family together just talking about the day's event.  I am very lucky indeed!

Note 4 Cable Issue

I brought my Note 4 to the Samsung Service Center in Plaza Singapura.  They told me it is the cable fault.  I looked for the cable again and found the original.  I had so many cables with the same connector.  Unfortunately, they are all charging cables for my cube speaker cum radio or battery power bank.  So not all the pins in the connector are wired.  With the original cable, my computer recognised my Note 4.  However to transfer songs from computer to phone takes a long time.  I am blogging as I transfer.  I bought fast memory too.  So the connection is not as good or the transfer protocol is not as good as Apple iPhone.  Conversion is required as the files are being transferred.

Anyway, I am happy now I can try to use my new phone.

Galaxy Note 4

My computer is not recognising my Note 4.  I have switch cables, reset my computer, reset my Note 4 and still no joy.  The suggestions in the internel did not help.  It is challenging and frustrating.  My Note 3 works but the new phone does not.  Why? Why? Why?

This is why Apple is so successful.  It is a true plug and play.  I did not like the fact I could not add memory and put in a lot more songs and audio books.  Now I have to switch back to my Note 4.  There may be an issue with my new phone.  Tomorrow, I may have to send it to Samsung Service Center and see if it is user problem which mean I have no clue how to use my phone!

Body Response After Sunday's Run

My low back is sore and stiff.  It is clear I have backache.  This is the bad news.  Good news is my knees are fine!  I will need to strengthen my core muscles.  I am happy that my knees have improved but my back is worse off.

I had back issues since army days when heavy lifting wrench my low back or waist in Sinseh's terminology.  With yoga and back exercises my back pain can be controlled but it keeps coming back.  I look at how my boys climb the stairs and know age is catching up with me.

Sandfly Infestation

In the last few weeks, I keep getting bitten by sandflies.  I have been cycling on the PCN for years now.  Sandflies are very tiny and their bites cause angry rashes and itches incessantly for at least a week.  Then scars are terrible unlike mosquitoes bites which will disappear after a few days.  I have an example fresh bite which was yesterday and one that is a few weeks old.  Applying iodine does not work!

Out of Shape

Although I cycle an hour everyday when I am not travelling, I could not jog!!  I have not been running for years due to menicus abrasion.  I run a lot during army and before getting married.  I was poor and stingy.  My shoes were not running shoes.  I always thought why spend money on "running" shoes when any shoes would do.  I run on the pavement beside the roads breathing in all the fumes and exhaust from cars and trucks.  I could run for a couple of hours and after my run, I would peel off my t-shirt and wring out the sweat.  It will pour out like it is just soaked in a pail of water.

This morning, for family exercise I decided to keep the Wife company.  After walking for long time, I try to jog a little.  I get breathless very quickly and in short distance of maybe 10 metres.  Yes, you read right!  The rest of the day, I felt the aches all over my body.  I thought I was too tired but boredom set and I decided to cycle out for a break.  Guess what?  It is so easy to cycle that I do one hour, no sweat!

I guess my body fit for cycling but totally out of shape for jogging.  I remember my knees would swell and it hurts for a week before I can walk properly again.  Next few days, I will know if my knees have recovered enough to jog again.

KFC or Korean Fried Chicken

We walked past this place every Saturday.  The picture is so appetizing and mouth watering.  It must have been there for some time but we hardly notice it as we tend to watch out for cars as we crossed the road to the hawker center.  I saw the picture last week and wanted to try but the shop is not ready yet.  I have completely forgotten about this and was again walking past picture to go to the hawker center.  I saw and remember that I wanted to try.  So I check it out.  The boss was not there but his staff is and told us that the boss is late but he can take the order and cook.  So we decided to try. 

The choice was between crispy or spicy.  We ordered crispy.  Then the helper came and told us that crispy is not available.  So we decided to try spicy.  The batter is good.  The chicken pieces are quite big.  But the price is high at $14 for 4 pieces.  The spicy is hot, too hot for our taste buds.  So I requested for 4 pieces to be pack.  The boss just gave me two paper bags and a PE carrier bag.  I understood what he meant.  It is terrible service.  B3 complained and told us not to come back.  Mummy scolded him.  "If you know that it is spicy you should have cancel the order.  Since you had it, then do not complain."  I was whispering to her to explain how we get the spicy chicken.  Then the boss came to explain to her that the bag of flour looked the same and they did not know they ran out of crispy.

I agree with high price and poor service, there is no need to return to patronize the food stalls.

Back from BKK

I took SQ to BKK and back.  It is short trip and the cabin crews are pretty alright.  The Penang girl, Neoh is tall and slim.  Lookwise is above average.  Return trip is Irene who is shorter, fair and busty.
I stayed in hotel Centara Grand or Sofitel before whichI used to go before finding out about staying downtown in Intercontinental where Central World and Siam Paragon is.

This trip is busy having to talk to all my colleagues and preparing for the meetings.  I enjoys talking to the distributor who is about 10 years older than me.  He is a lot richer and very sharp.  I like his style and keen business acumen.

Looking Forward

Lunchtime.  Hot mid-day sun, I cycle as I needed to de-stress.  The tide is really high.  First time for me to see the water level so high.  It is at the highest point on the jetty, mark by the barnacles on the concrete stilts.  I just check the tide table by NEA.  High tide is 3.0 meters at 1311.  Highest was yesterday at 1233 rising to 3.1m.

I just looked at the tide table for October and November.  Highest tide level is 3.2 m and lowest is 0.4 m.  Low tide is good time to catch baby crabs and shrimps.  Tomorrow, I have to leave after lunch.  The low tide is at 8:09am in the morning.  I will be out, so it is not wise to catch any live creatures.

I just read my title and I realise it is Thai food that I am looking forward to rather than the long term future of our Mother Earth.  Yes, I am going to enjoy then regret having to go on diet.

Bangkok

I have to go to Bangkok.  It is short notice.  I do not enjoy trips with short notice as there are no way to prepare for it.  Anyway, I am looking forward to eating good food and hopefully can buy something home.  This time I am staying in a new place, so I will not have Kinokuniya or Big C to browse or buy groceries.  I love Thai snacks.

Work is killing me!!  I have more and more adhoc meetings.  It is tiring especially when my new colleagues do not respond.  I wish to have a small company to run.

Busy Day

It is a busy Sunday.  We have early start for exercise day.  I was up at 5am and so had tea in the market.  I bought breakfast for the family - dim sum and fried carrot cake (black).  B1 had to go to library to study.  So it is good he has some food so that he can last longer. 

Then it is off to Takashimaya Jewel Fest.  I want to buy a pearl necklace as it is at a fairly reasonable price.   The dealer is from Kobe, Japan,  He is 66 years old and nice old gentleman.  I enjoyed negotiating with him.  We had a good fun and lots of laughter as we negotiate.  So finally, he agreed to the deal even though I have up my price.  He is worried that my wife went to the opposite stall.  So he drop to our original offer.  He is very smart!

After that, we had late lunch in Bishan and check with B1 is ready to come home but he is studying with his classmate.  So we returned home without him.  I seasoned chicken thigh and ribeye steak for bbq.  B3 cook twice baked potatoes.  He baked them first and then carve out the middle to make mash potato.  After that he fill the mashed potato back to the potato shell and bake them again.  When he is done with round one of his potato baking, I barbequed the meats and satay.  It is a good dinner.

After dinner, we went to the supermarket to replenish our fruits and snacks.  It is a good day!

What a Mess!

The specialist contractor to waterproof our wall is here to fix the leaky wall.  Our house is in a mess.  They drill and cut the plaster.  After that, they are plastering concrete with sealant.  Right now, we are experiencing lot of concrete dust in the house and there is a strong smell of adhesive.  I hope we do not get high on the chemicals.  My office is surrounded by a couple plastic sheets.  It is hard to do work and access to level 3 is hampered by all the covering to reduce the dust.

We have to endure this for another week.  I will be glad when the repair work is done.

Sweltering Day

It is 6pm when I go cycling but the weather is so hot.  Not so many people on the PCN.  Maybe it is Friday and it is night out for most city folks.  I enjoys sweating but now I need a refreshing shower and airconditioned room.  This only add to the global warming.

Tonight my wife cooks spagetti.  It is really simple, just boiled the dried spagetti, heat up the sauce, add minced beef and wolah!  It is a simple and yummy meal.  We had Italian meatballs from Foodie market and it is pretty good.  We have plenty of leftover and so we can have it for lunch tomorrow.

Breaking the Rules

Breaking the rules is a good way to get into trouble in big companies.  What do you do when the CEO says break the rule as long as it is for the customer?  I enjoyed the breakfast meeting with the CEO of the company.  It is amazing now that I have never met the CEO of my previous company even though I worked there for 11 years.  Come to think of it, my previous company is the most distant CEO I worked for.  I met the CEO when I was working in Canada.  Although it is just during the National Sales meeting. 

My current CEO is good.  He take the time to meet the employees whenever he is in the different cities.  Although, he told us we can break the rules, my colleague and I know it will be impossible without antagonize other colleagues.  So it is better to play by the unwritten rules.

Watching Korean Drama

Our family spend the holiday morning watching Korean drama.  It is a comedy, so we had a lot of laughter.  It is good fun with all the boys together in the living room.  B3 is watching his youtube but he is with the family.  It is nice to enjoy simple activity like watching tv.  In the afternoon, both older boys went out to meet friends.  Then they are back for dinner.

We have a new maid and she is not a bad cook.  So now, we are eating home cooked food again.  In the evening, I do some work to catch up meet deadline. 

Korean drama is a good pastime and the script writer can protray real life well.  We are watching I Do, I Do.  The workaholic shoes designer abuse her man.  Her man think logically how badly he is treated and wonders why he still like her.  There are many times we have to suspend our disbelief but with the comic relief, it is enjoyable relaxation.

Grateful

I am grateful to have a good day.  I will be lying if everything is going well.  However, let's count my blessings.  I had good solid meals.  Two boys are at home.  One is playing piano.  The other, I have no idea.  The middle boy is out with his friends.  Some work stress but it is the usual stuff.  The power of gratitude is happiness.  I like to pursue happiness rather than money.  This mean my ability to pursuit may not be as good, thus better to pursue happiness.  Happiness is free, well almost.  We have to work at it through daily gratitude exercise.  I feel a sense of satisfaction when I recount how good a day it is.  Lifestyle is more important than money.  Money can afford nice lifestyle but if I am satisfied with what I have, then money is enough.  It is good to have overflowing money.  It is easier to say when you leave, you can take nothing.  But when one has nothing, it is impossible to live in Singapore.  So there is a need for base level of money to survive.

So as long as I am grateful for all that Buddha, angels and all the wonderful gods blessings, I will stay happy.

Home-cooked meal

Finally, after a month of hiatus, we had our home-cooked meal last night.  Tonight, is home-cooked Part II, i.e. leftovers from last night's dinner.  It is fine, we had curry chicken and leftover stir-fried kangkong.  Steamed promfret is frozen fish in the freezer for a couple of months.  It is good to have brown rice.  I like to eat healthy rice to cleanse my circulatory system.

It is end of the weekend and I am feeling drowsy.  It is early to bed and early to rise for me.  I was up early before 6am and headed to the AMK market for my morning tea. 

We had a good lunch in the Soba resturant in basement of Paragon.  It is quite popular with a queue.  Waiting time is about 15mins.  There are plenty of Japanese there, so I think the food must be authentic.  I like the taste.  It is just a little pricey.

Mainland Chinese Food

B3 want to buy macaroon powder which is actually powdered egg white.  There is a shop opposite Raffles hotel that sells baking stuff.  However, it cost $17 which is too expensive.  So he wanted to go the Phoon Huat in Toa Payoh.  B3 is good at baking.  I agree but have no interest.  There is a China style food in the shop right beside Phoon Huat in Lorong 1.  The food looked interesting the last time we went Phoon Huat.  So I decided to try it.  I ordered  large intestines in miniwok and deep fried long beans.  The intestines is quite spicy with chilli oil and Szechuan spices.  Taste quite good.  The deep fried long beans or 4 seasons beans is very good as well.  B3 liked the food.  So I ordered cold beef in cucumber.  I like to eat like I am in China.  Mummy saw the next table order Wall Tie or fried dumpling.  So she ordered Jiao Zi and when the dish arrived she realised she ordered wrong and Jiao Zi is steamed.  Together with a bowl of rice and two drinks, the bill come to $34.

Note 4 or Z3

I have been thinking of getting a Sony Z3 so as to try a different phone.  I google the reviews and it is really difficult to decide.  Finally, when I go to renew my contract, I asked the customer service which of the two would he recommend.  He suggested Sony as it has better design.  According to him, the walkman is no different with the MP3 player of Android.  Then we check the specs of the display.  Note 4 has more dots than Sony.  That cuts the deal.  So now I have a new phone.  Unfortunately, the cable is different.  So now I have to wait for the new cables to arrive before I can really use my new phone.  I worry about travelling and forgetting to bring my cable and the phone will not last more than a day.

For now, I am using the trusty Note 3.  It is good to have a phone to be able to write on.  It is quick and simple when taking notes.

Organising the Home

My wife is finicky about keeping our home neat.  I loved snacks and we have a snack corner well stocked with snacks on special or when I brought some home on oversea trips.  The snacks will be all put into the open corner.  Drives her crazy and she keeps complaining how unkempt our house looked.  I counter if the snacks are kept in a cupboard, they will not be eaten and go bad.  Finally, she found a compromise!  Muji has a open shelf that is right size.  So now all my snacks are stocked neatly in a Singaporean style "high-rise flat" instead of Canadian "suburban sprawl".  My larder looked so much neater.  I like mess.  It give me the ability enjoy my snacks at any time as one look sees all.  Now I have to more than 3 secs and focus on each level before deciding on which snack to munch on.

Hua Ting Chinese Resturant

Last night, I had impromtu dinner with my boss.  He is here to get ready for his boss.  I was not involved as I am newly acquired.  Since he is staying in Shangrila, I suggested Hua Ting.  My boss is from Shanghai and he think the food is good.  I enjoyed the food too.  Another colleague of mine knows the place well as his father like to eat there as well.  The captain Kelly Tee makes good recommendations.  Unfortunately, roast pork is sold out.  But we had duck, braised beef, tofu, soup and mee pok.  Good Cantonese food is my conclusion.

Italian Salesman

The sales person who came to check out my roof garden is an Italian guy.  It is interesting.  His boss is from China.  I think I spoke to his boss many years ago with regards to solar water heater.  He also propose a much larger system.  I am thinking I may need a smaller system to have lower capital cost plus I like some open space for my roof garden.  I will wait and see how much he quotes and then write to the relevant authorities to make sure I am in compliance with the law.  I like the fact now I can really be green.

Zichar in AMK Park 2

Instead of going to AMK Central for meals which carpark is an issue and all food centres crowded and long queues in resturants in the Hub, we go to zichar stall in Industrial Park.  Plenty of carparks for free.  No need to fight for seats and wait in queues for long time. Best of all, freshly cooked homestyle food at a reasonable price.  Yep, the last few meals has been in the canteen in the industrial park.  I "re-discover" it after I send my coat for dry cleaning.  I have to use my coat for meeting in Turkey.  The food is typical zichar.  So it is not fantastic but give us a proper family dinner rather than carbo laden hawker dishes.  I can even request for no MSG.  Still feel thirsty but not as bad as if I did not request.  MSG also increase blood pressure.

B3 Cooked Dinner

Our baby is in Sec 1 and tonight is the first time he cooked dinner for the whole family.  B1 is out for bbq with his friend.  We bought Ramen with soup base, the char siew and hard boiled eggs.  Ramen costs $15, two packs of char siew costs $8 and $4 for 3 eggs.  So the price is quite high unlike instant noodle.  We are very happy that B3 cooked up the noodles and he set up the table as well.  After dinner, we asked B2 to wash up the dishes.  Pretty happy with the outcome.  My boys can survived on their own.  At least B3 can cook up a good meal.

PapaRich Westgate Mall

Tuition was cancelled this morning.  So instead of Bugis Junction, we are free to go anywhere we want.  The Wife needed an aircond place.  This of course mean it has to be a mall or Changi Airport.  B1 went to Kent Ridge for seminar.  B2 and B3 suggested Westgate Mall.  Usually, I vetoed this suggestion as it is too far.  However, this morning we have time and it is still early before 10am.  So off we go. 

The best way to go to Westgate for us is via PIE.  I noticed PIE now has many stretches with speed limit of 80km/h.  PIE is alot wider now.  There are 4 lanes in most places.  The expressway is no longer straight like before.  It is very curvy due to the expansion.

Westgate Mall is like a Japanese Mall.  B2 and B3 wanted to see Tokyu Hand.  They enjoyed Tokyu Hand in Fukoka.  Here the Tokyu Hand is tiny compared to 7 levels in Fukoka.

I need a place to kill time and the choice is quite substantial.  However, I missed Malaysia and PappaRich offers me the Malaysian experience.  So I go there for tea and read the papers.  The family joined me after they are done with their shopping. 

I asked the waitress what is their most popular hot drink and my waitress, Siti(making this truly Malay experience) suggest hot tea which I accept right away.  B3 ordered chicken rice and mummy order yellow rice nasi lemak, the works.  The works contains beef rendang, sotong, deep fried crispy chicken quarter and sambal.  I order steamed bread with butter kaya. 

The hot tea tasted exactly the same as in Mid-Valley.  I ordered a hot coffee at the end of the meal to try and it also taste authentic.  I spend my time leisurely to soak up the experience as long as possible.  It is good to have Malaysian experience in Singapore.  Only complain is it is at Singapore price!

Solar Energy

I called a different supplier in the Green Living advertisement for solar energy.  So I will check out the price of the system and compare them.  I really like a solar system to reduce my carbon footprint.  However, the cost seem a little steep.  The estimated price right now is about $25K.  The sales engineer tells me the return is about 7 years.  I shall see when the proposal come in.

Women Control the World

All men listened to their wives for everything.  Even if their wives are incapable and decide to do the work, the men have no choice.  Many a time, the incompetent get involved with the business and refuses to admit they do not know and insist on screwing things up.  The men are usually obedient and just let it be in order to stay married.

Men are suckers when it come to marriage and there is nothing they can do about.  The reason divorce is going up is the wives are getting more intolerant and cutting lose their men.

Deciding on New Phone

I have been looking at replacing my Note 3.  Note 4 is will be out soon.  I like the ability to write on the scratchpad.  It is very easy to keep reminders by writing rather than typing.  However, I am also toying around Sony.  Walkman is supposed to be superior in sound technology.  I tried the demo set, the whole phone is vibrating.  Is this good or is this bad?  Obviously the speaker is strong enough or maybe the chassis is part of the speaker system.  Hard to tell the quality of the sound.

The screen of the Sony Z3 is a lot thinner and wider, the movie looked like miniature wide screen.  I prefer the Note 3 screen as it looked more balanced to me.  It is hard to decide as I made up my mind to switch brand.  I do not want iPhone so now I am in a dilemma.  At least I have narrow down to 2 brands.

Passing Time in a Cafe

We had a late lunch at almost 3pm.  Since it is so late, I thought it will be easy to get seats in a hawker center.  It is actually busy and there is a long queue for my favorite braised duck stall.  I was amazed.  I thought it will be easy since it is late.  So we ordered other food instead.  Then we wanted to relax at a cafe just to while time away.  Guess what, everyone else has the same idea.  No seats in Ah Kun or Toastbox.  The ice cream place, Marble Slab was full too.  It is incredile that everywhere is full at non-meal time.

I think best way to spend time during a public holiday is at home far from the madding crowd!

Family Exercise Day

Every Sunday is designated as our exercise day.  We wake up early or rather the rest of the family wakes up earlier than before.  About 9 am, we will set out to the PCN.  B3 did not join but he is not going to NS plus he has exercise for his CCA.  So we do not put up a fuss when he pretended to be busy with baking.  B1 and B2 will jog to the exercise area. B2 needs to run farther.  They only run for 2 km and it will not be enough during NS.

I walked with mummy and she spend the time talking and I have to lend a willing ear.  After the exercise, it is chores time.  Then we break for Indonesian lunch in Tambuah Mas at Paragon.  After a satisfying meal, we go to do shopping in Takashimaya.  I bought the carbon filter for my water purifier.  Soon it will be time to change the filter and carbon absorber.

At B2, we bought balsamic vinegar from the Italian bread shop beside Four Leaves.  The Ciabatta looked interesting.  So we bought a ham and cheese as well as olive oil and onion to try.  It is nice to warm the bread and dipping in olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  Together with salad and bbq pepper chicken from Cold Storage, this become our dinner.  Very nice dinner indeed!

Handyman

I fixed up the Dyson portable vaccuum on the living room.  I have to use the electric drill to drill a hole and then put in the screws to attach the holder to the wall.  It is quite a simple job.  With a hammer drill, the work is fast and easy.  I also replace a tap which is leaking.  I had two way valves to fix up.  Unfortunately, it had wrong screw thread and I have to bring the two I bought back to exchange.

It is good to be a do-it-yourself handyman.

Dyson Portable Vaccuum

Harvey Norman has an expo sales.  So we go to Expo for lunch.  We ate at Lerk Thai.  Just for a platter of appetizers and a seafood pad thai together with two drinks comes to a total of $30.  We were serve by Phippinas.  No local service staff it seems except for one guy.  The food is not bad and seems quite popular as there is a big group of office staff eating their lunch.

We scout around looking at UHD tv and washing machine and clothes dryer.  But no deal.  We just bought a Dyson Portable requested by my niece for her house warming.  Look like it is light and easy to use.  I wanted to buy the demo set at 30% discount but the problem is I have to come back on Monday evening to get it.  It is inconvenient.  Delivery cost $30 and defeats the purpose.  If we had a large item like TV or washer, I can get them delivered.  Unfortunately, we did not.  So we decided to buy at full price. 

We just use the vaccuum on our carpet and it worked very well indeed.  I am glad we got the vaccuum cleaner.  It is light and handy.  More importantly, it worked like a charm.

Teeth Implant

Finally, I have two new and shiny teeth capped on my implanted roots.  I have not used the right side of my mouth for so long.  Now it actually hurts when I chew on this side.  My upper molars is stressed by the pressure and it is painful.  I guess over time my teeth will get used to the grinding and it will be normal again.

My dentist also wants to get his two of his teeth implant.  He is just waiting for the right time as two of his teeth had cracked and is supported by a steel band.  Implant seem to be the way to go but it is very expensive and the price keeps going up every year.  Now an implant will cost about $5000.  It is expensive compared to other cities. 

Taking care of implant is not easy as well.  There is a need to floss thoroughly to clear the bacteria.  I hope not to need a dentist anymore but I know it is a matter of time.  Even my dentist need work done on his teeth.

Buddhist Lodge in River Valley Road

I went to this temple today.  I thought it is the first time I went there.  But when I was there, the canteen where free food was provided looked familiar.  I went there as a kid with my mum.  I still remember the volunteer cutting vegetables and the scene looked the same.  Now my perspective is different.  I prayed to the different statues of Buddha.  There are 9 levels.  Level 2 is the admin office.  Level 3 is for praying to the dead.  I did not venture higher.  Level 1 is where devotees chant.  Now I know why my friend from Thailand will go to this temple with her mum.  It is a popular temple and has much more to offer than Kwan Yin Hood Cho temple.  Kwan Yin Hood Cho is my regular place of worship as my boy goes tuition there.

There is also a menu system for donation.  It is interesting to see the different categories.  It is Chinese beliefs to donate to a specific cause for desired effect.