Social Status and Hierarchy

Korean dramas are interesting to watch and follow.  While it is a microscopic len, it can be educational although I will not take it too seriously.  It seems like the society is very status concious and social economic status is always used as a comparison.  The language also have formal and casual forms.  To address the seniors, there are so many different level.  So Koreans have brought the Confucius teaching to a total different level!!  Confucius is the one who setup and teach social hierarchy.  So watching the Korean dramas give me a tiny window into the social behaviours of the Korean Society.

Ninja Warrior

I just saw this amazing video post by a female friend.  Unfortunately, my computer skills is not good so could not paste it in this blog.  The video is by Lauren Abraham titled Training like a Ninja Warrior.  4.4 million views so far.

Regular Monday

It is a regular start to my work week.  I enjoys the challenge as well as dealing with issues.  It is very warm and I go to Owen Road Hawker center to eat the freshly prepared chee cheong fun.  It rained during lunch, so after tucking in my food, I had a cuppa of locally brewed coffee.  Many hawker stalls are closed on Monday.  My favorite Teochew porridge is close as well.

There is a bakeshop which sells swiss rolls and beancurd tarts.  I bought the bestseller, chocolate swiss roll and a loaf of fruit cake.  It is quite a nice day.

Good Afternoon Nap

What a lazy man I am.  I have a nice lazy day.  In the morning, we go to Adam Road so that B1 and B3 can have breakfast before going to the CJ Koh Library.  It is exam time for B1 and B3 can follow to do his homework.  We bought 3 packs of No. 1 nasi lemak home for brunch with B2.   After dropping off B1 and B3, we went to Chong Pang Market.  It is incredibly busy with massive amount of cars waiting for carpark lots.  So we decided to park opposite and take a long walk in the hot sun.  No choice as B3 requested for green mangoes that is in season.  We bought 2 kgs of jackfruit, 18 green mangoes and two bags of seedless grapes- one green and other black.  Total cost $34.  Pretty good!

In the afternoon, the heat makes me drowsy.  So turning on the aircond, I had a nice long nap.  It is a nice way to while my Sunday afternoon.  After my nap, I had ice cream, jackfruit and bak kwa.  It is dinner time now and I will have light dinner with the family.

A wonderful day is coming to an end.

Headaches in the Morning

I feel quite sick this morning.  I have headaches and then found out my wife and son also have the same symptoms.  I suspected the Chinese tea as I just finished drinking it.   So did my wife.  But B1 pointed out he did not drink the tea.   It could be the weather i.e. the temperature as well as the pressure.  I feel the malaise and nausea.  So my lunch is canned sweet peanut soup.  After the sweet high cal lunch, I felt much better.  But it because a nagging headache that last until now.  I am not debilitated, it is just not feel chirpy at all.

Buying Pork

I go to a popular fresh pork stall in AMK Ave 1 and Ave 10 wet market.  I was there early and the queue is short.  I always watch what people ahead of me buys and how much they pay.  Every time, I see they buy lots of different cuts i.e. pork ribs, lean meat, ribeye and pork belly.   It take some time to cut out and weigh the meat for my predecessors.  Then when it come to the total bill, it is like 20 plus dollars.  Whereas for me, I get a pork belly plus rib or pork belly plus collar meat, my total will be 30 plus dollars.  I have to pay so much more.  I usually get 1 kg or 1.5 kg per cut since I bbq them.  My boys and I are basically carnivores.

Dominant Left Equals Weak Right

My right leg is giving me problem at the hip.  The tui na master explains that it is my weak right muscle that cause this.  I suspect this as well as I felt it when I cycle.  However, I had been cycling for years and only recently my right hip joint is sore and painful.  I also suspect my hernia repair may be a possibility.  If there is an inflammation, it will be sore as well.  If it is sore muscles, usually rest will solve the problem.  This time rest only give relief but the recovery is not complete. 

I am still troubleshooting my hip joint.  Another possibility is my bikes are not adjusted to my body and thus I am straining it unnecessarily when cycling.  I enjoys exercising but when it starts to cause pain, I am doing something wrong.

Rain, Small Rain

The clouds were dark and heavy, so I expected heavy rain.  However, it only shower a little and then stopped.  I tried to collect the water for my fish tank but only very little fell to the ground.   The water is quite dirty as it hardly rains and so all the dirt on the surface run off with the rain water.  My plants are thirsty and the grass patch is yellow instead of green.  It is tough to be a plant these days!

Tui Na Master Doctor

My low back is stiff and in chronic pain.  So I decided to go for adjustment.  I arrived at 12pm, put in my name and then wait for my turn.  It is 2:30pm before it is my turn more than 2 hours wait!!  I counted his slips.  There were 17 when I arrived.  At about 2 pm, another 6 or 7 patients came to queue.  So if I used a conservative 30 patients per day, his gross sales is $1,800!  Saturday is his rest day.  So even if we assume 20 days, it is $36K per month.  He is highly skilled and able to resolve a lot of pain.  So he deserves his earning.  He is earning like a regular specialist doctor.  I am happy for him.  He is one of the best I experience so far.

Mating Pair of Cobras in the PCN

Scorching Day

Mercury rising!  It is a scorching afternoon.  My brother-in-law recommend we go to Taman Bedok for lunch.  The bak chor mee take half an hour to come.  It is quite good but very salty.  I also got a plate of roast duck with char siew.  The lunch was pretty good and reasonable in price.  But I am very thirsty on the way home.  The msg is a too much for me.  Since it is so hot, we spend some time in the airconditioned Fairprice. 

In the late afternoon, I ride to Punggol Point.  It is so popular.  The kids are dipping into the sea.  Many have small fishing nets.  They must have thought it is like longkang fish.  Just scoop them out.  Dinner was simple sandwich with pickle, olives and capers.

Home Nice!

I am glad to come home.  I like the food in Seoul and the COEX mall is not like before.  Everything is bright and shiny.  It is very nice and modern.  Walkway is wide.  But I sense less crowd.  I guess the people are not coming back as quickly.  The bookshops are reducing their English language section.  So it is not so exciting anymore.

After I reached home, I went fishing to feed my arowana.  I have quite good catch today.  The tide is high and fishes are plentiful.  So it is quite fun to stop early.  I also can go for a short swim which is nice as the weather is warm.  Due to the sleep debt from the trip, I am feeling sleepy early.  So home is the time to catch on sleep.

Retiring in Canada

I read my friend, BT's blog with interest.  His teacher and a classmate retired in Canada and are very healthy.  Teacher is mid-80 and classmate just past 70 years old.  Canada is one place I consider to retire in.  I enjoyed living there and know the system.  Only issue is long cold and dark winter.  My mum is there and she is doing well considering she has medical condition that will be bad if she is living here.  I like to hear this kind of stories.

Seoul Nice Weather

Spring is nice.  It is a little cold in the morning and then warms up in the afternoon.  I had a nice walk from office back to my hotel.  I stopped by the Kuan Yin temple to offer my prayers.  It is quite busy today with the carpark full.  I always pray at the temple when I can.  In winter, it is challenging as it can be bitterly cold. 

I am not very religious but I am happy after visiting temples to pray.  I used to stay in Park Hotel beside TCAT in Tokyo and there is a temple nearby with "holy water" which I will go to bless myself with. 

The airconditioned like weather is so nice.  I wish we have this kindof weather at home.

COEX Mall

I have not been to COEX Mall for a couple of years.  It underwent renovation the last time I was here.  Everything is closed.  Now it is so bright and spacious.  I missed a lot of the old stores.  The bookshop, Bandi and Luni.  It is now in an office building opposite my hotel.  But no more textbooks.  The English books section has diminished into a few shelves.  I still like to browse as the smaller section means books that are must have in any library.

I had dinner in Outback.  Ribs, my favorite.  This time I think it is not as good.  I also wonder if TGIF is no longer there as well. 

Electrical Leakage in Saltwater Aquarium

I felt pin poking into my fingers when I touch the seawater in my aquarium.  Immediately, I know my pump is leaking out electricity.  I have two pumps.  The big pump is inside the aquarium and the small one is outside.  So I assume it is likely to be the big pump.  I used my multimeter to measure and indeed the voltage is there when I used my body as ground.  So I took out the big pump from the tank expecting the voltage to drop but it didn't.  What a surprise!  The small pump is like waterfall and is not in the water at all.  So I assume even if it is fault, the electricity will not travel out.  I was so wrong!  When I took out the waterfall pump, the voltage drops.  So I know it is the waterfall pump that is faulty.  It is quite interesting as the electricity has to travel out of the pump through the water falling into the aquarium.  It is still possible as saltwater is a good conductor of electricity.

Chong Pang Market

B2 drove to work this morning.  Under my guidance of course.  His camp is in Yishun.  So I go to Chong Pang market for tea.  It is still early before 7am and there is a long queue for the vegetarian stall in the coffeeshop.  I think the food must be good value as there is another vegetarian stall in the hawker center that is a few steps away and it was pretty empty.

My blogger friend, Boh Tong is right.  Jackfruit is $5 per kg - the best value in town.  Other fruits are pretty competitive.  The green seedless grapes from Australia is $5 per bag.  Each bag is between 800g to 1kg.  Mangoes are in season and at a good price.  The only teh halia stall is closed.  I also tried the good value chicken rice and it is quite good.  Of course the braised duck stall is excellent as well.

B2 has rotating shifts.  So I may come to Yishun more often to give him a chance to get more windshield time.

Music at AMK Central

We went to AMK central hawker center for dinner.  B1 wanted to go Fairprice.  As we walk there, loud music can be heard.  There is a musical ensemble going on at the square beside the old cinema where Popular bookstore is.  It is Arts for the Masses program.  The music is not bad and the song Frozen was quite good.  My family stayed to watch while I wander about.  I not a huge fan of such music.  I may stay if it was Chinese Orchestra.  Anyway, I heard the last and final piece.  It is Star Wars music.  Not bad except a little too long.

Wildlife Intrusion

I had trouble uploading the short video as my Internet Explorer is obsolete.  So I used Chrome to download into youtube.  You can have a closer look at the monster of a lizard.

 

 

A Closer Look

Monitor Lizard

 

Monitor Lizard

A two meter monitor lizard came to our estate.  It went to our neighbour's carpark.  According to our neighbour, the lizard is sick and vomitted.  Pest control was called but obviously they have not been trained or know what to do.  The guy used a L stick and a clamp to catch.  Obviously, he failed.  The tools he has is for catching snake and not 2 meter lizard.  I did not stay to watch how he finally catch the lizard.

New Ubin Seafood

B1 wanted to try this place as he read it in the internet.  His friend also told him about it.  We try it for tonight's dinner.  The place is in the industrial estate and pretty authentic (meaning a little like the good ole days).  Plenty of carparks!  Food is very hot and very good.  Service is fast.  I like the prawn paste chicken, hokkien mee and smoked pork collar.  The oyster egg is nothing to shout about.  Total meal for 4 is only $68.  We did not order seafood or the signature beef.  If we did, the cost will be close to $200. 

I like this place and will go back there to try the food again.

Madam Kwan's

I had nasi lemak in Madam Kwan's for lunch.  I gave my host the choice of Chilis, Canton-I or Madam Kwan's.  She chose Madam Kwan.  It is typical Malaysian food.  I had the nasi lemak and she ordered Penang Laksa.  Then I add on beef rendang and chicken satay.  We could not finish the food.  The nasi lemak is quite nice but not as nice as Sakura, the original nasi lemak resturant that Madam Kwan started.  The beef rendang is pretty good.  I prefer our local chicken satay.

Before going to airport, I go to Krispy Kreme to buy a dozen of original donuts.  I asked for free donuts and the girl just point a sign right in front of me.  I did not see what is right in front of me.  I read it and read it again to make sure my eyes are not playing tricks.  So I asked her, buy 1 dozen flavored get 1 dozen original free!  So I asked her why she did not tell me.  I think her English may not be good even though she understood what I say to her.  So I get another dozen of the flavored donuts.  The total price?  Ringgit 27 and change.  For Sin 10 dollars, I get 24 donuts.  B3 is so happy.  It is his birthday treat as his birthday is tomorrow.  So he and his gor gor pile the donuts up high.  All high in a single stack and took a picture to instagram.  He had fun!

Mid Valley

It's been a long time!  I am so glad to be back to this mall.   A lot of the resturants are gone and new ones are in.  I tried a new Japanese resturant that does bbq.  It is not so popular, so I thought maybe it is just expensive.  Actually, not only it is expensive, the food is no good.  So I tell my friends not to go.  Actually, I wanted to go to Madam Kwan's for Nasi Lemak as she was featured in Straits Times many years ago.  Unfortunately, they closed at 3pm for Annual D & D. 

I have to decide where to go for lunch tomorrow.  Madam Kwan's or Chili's.  I like Chili's.  It is nice to be treated by friend too.  Both Borders and MPH has strunk in floor space and the selection of books vastly reduced.  Mostly bestsellers are displayed.  Kinokuniya Singapore has bigger selection.  Book trade is a sunset industry.

Ace Hardware is still around but now no more fun gadgets.  The barbeque range has increased.  I bought the wood chips and smoker.  This time I will be able to smoke meats!  I am happy to try out new ways of bbqing meats.  Nowadays, I do shop and buy stuff I can use.  It is unusual products that are not available.  Best of all, the prices are very reasonable.

Broth Made with Naked Neck

We boiled the chicken bones of the Naked Neck.  The broth is yellow in colour rather than white with yellow tinge.  It is quite different as what netizens say.  The broth taste bland as we did not add any salt or seasoning.  However, it is quite satisfying. 

I bbq the chicken meat.  My wife thought I added seasoning.  She noticed the skin is crispy.  I noticed too when I was removing the meat from the bbq stove.  I do think the chicken is different from regular chicken as the skin usually do not become crispy when barbeque.  The taste seems regular although the texture is different.  I do not know if it is worth the premium.

Naked Neck Chicken

The sign continues... Chicken with no Antibiotics Residues.  This morning, we decided to try out this new product to us.  It is $14.20 for 1.6kg chicken.  Pretty high price.  My wife said the chicken soup smells good.  We have no cook up the chicken yet.  But today there are more and more differentiated eggs or chicken.  It starts to get hard to make decision on which type of eggs or chicken.

I am not sure about the benefit of the chicken since it is only one meal.  We eat Hainese Chicken Rice and I am sure the chickens are cheapest available at bulk price.  Anyway, if it tastes good, we may start eating this Naked Neck Chicken as a habit.

Low Back Pain

My low back pain flare up again.  I fell off my bike and bumped on my buttocks.  With my weight, I am sure the vertebra on my spine shift.  Also when I twist my back after, I felt the clicks.  Unfortunately, the clicks did not shift my vertebra back in their original position.  So I am having dull ache and I worry may cause my back to "freeze".  I have been suffering from backache since JC time(Pre-U during my time).  Spraining back once and it is chronic pain for life!

B2 Passed Driving and Sakuraya

Sakuraya is in Anchorage or Anchor Point.  I am not sure of the exact name.  The mini mall is right opposite Queensway Shopping Center.  We went there with B3 as B2 passed his driving test and is celebrating with his girlfriend.  And B1 is having dinner with his friend.

Sakuraya has a Japanese chef.  The food is superior to Sushi Tei or Sakae Sushi.  Pricewise, it is in the similar range.  B3 loved the cold soba.  The egg appetizer is pretty good, we ordered twice!  The baked brinjal is also excellent.  B3 feels the food is far superior to Sakae.  I agree.  So to eat reasonable priced Japanese food go to Anchorpoint!

Precognition!

Today, Straits Times publishes an article on the heatware.  It is due to El Nino effect.  Temperature is much higher than usual and will last for at least a week.  This is not the first time after I blog about something that it get publish the next day.  It is like precognition.  I like to improve my ability to forecast or predict the future.

Heatwave

The weather has turned to warm, very warm.  In the morning, the air smell of burning.  If the weather continues like this, it is a matter of weeks before the haze returns.  The grass patches are turning orange and gold.  Trees are showing heat stress by shedding leaves.  Rain comes but in small quantities.  My pond refuses to grow with the pathetic rainfall.  I need to top up with tap water.  It is start of uncomfortable heat season.

Lost Interest

I am looking at all my model planes.  I have not flown for more than 15 years.  There are not many places to fly in Singapore.  My planes are in various stages of breakage as they are not stored properly.  I did not have the desire to restore them neither do I have the heart to throw them away.  It is a dilemma.  My wife is pressuring me to clear.  B2, my middle boy has a growing collection and needed more space.  So it is a matter of time I have to bite the bullet.  It will be a piece of me that has to go.  I dread the day.

Hoping for Downpour

The sky has been trying to rain since early afternoon.  The raindrops were large in size but few.  So my pond did not get filled up.  My plants are parched.  Now it is raining again.  I hope we get enough rain.  I am hoping for a downpour but not floods.  It is windy and cool, so pretty nice weather now.  Looking out of my doorway right now, I am granted my wish!

Caught by my Niece!

My brother just whatsapp a photo of me catching fish in Punggol.  He was checking and confirming if it was me.  I thought he took the picture but it was his middle child.  She was in Punggol Point viewing deck.  I looked terrible! Totally "uncle"!

B3 on the News!

B3 was very excited to see himself on the news.  He is on the background while the interview was going on.  He went with his friends to the new bus convention at Takashimaya Square.  At first he was not aware of the camera.  He and his friends were walking away and then they walked back to look at the camera.  So all 3 of them are on National News Network.  He was laughing so loudly when he saw himself on the news.  He is so lucky!!

The Story of Obama's Mother

Today, on Capital 95.8FM, the presenter told a story of a woman who marry a black man and when she gave birth to a boy, the man ran away and she was only 22 years at that time.  The woman goes to Indonesia to further her studies.  She is studying sociology or something to do with poor people.  She has to do research and interview poor people.  She brought her son along.  Later, she marries an Indonesia and have a baby girl.  Again, she divorce and now mother of a boy and a girl with different fathers.  The girl has a doctorate and the boy becomes President of United States of America. 

How did a single mother bring up two kids who became very successful adults?  She always bring the kids with her wherever and whenever she works.  For example, when she goes to interview the poor family, Obama will tag along.  Obama will be chase chickens or stray dogs to past time while she is working.  She says she loved her kids frequently everyday.  She plays with them and look after their well-being. 

Western Food in Jalan Selaseh

We have to eat out for dinner.  B1 suggest we try the western food in the corner coffeeshop in Jalan Selaseh.  It is quite popular.  The food is not bad.  We had mixed grill, chicken chop and pork chop.  I like chicken chop best.  I will not recommend mixed grill.  The beef and mutton is quite tough.  The zichar is quite popular too.  This coffee shop is in the same row as Seletar Hills Resturant famous for General Tso Chicken.  Seletar Hills Resturant is no longer as popular before.  I read the reviews in the internet.  Quality has dropped.

Solar Eclipse

It is exciting to have clear sky for solar eclipse this morning.  I missed a couple of times due to cloudy skies.  My eyes suffers from retinal burns after looking at it for a few seconds even though I use at least two layers of sun glasses.  It is very clear with 3 sunglasses.  It is like the crescent moon.  I tried to use my Samsung camera but it does not work at all through the sunglasses.  The sun image is blurry.  My sunglasses are dirty.  I need to get special filters and camera.  So it will be easier to go internet and let other enthusiast share their photos.

Our sky look hazy now as the sun is covered 80% by the moon.  I love the astronomical event. Makes me feel we have a destiny.

Tui Na

I loves fishing with net.  But the fishes in the sea are very fast, superfast!  So in order to net some, I have to sneak up on them and slam the net down suddenly.  This put a strain on my low back.  Today, I went to Jurong East to tui na.  Have to get my backbone balance back.  He also adjusted my right as it was hurting as I walk.  Basically, I have a lot of bones misalignment.  The relief is immediate.  It is an hour's wait.  Luckily, I ate lunch in-between and so did not waste time twiddling my thumbs. 

This doctor was sick for a few days.  So he is back only today.  I am lucky to get him.  He does makes a lot of money as his skills are very good.

RSG Learning Journey and No. 1 Nasi Lemak

B1 want to lunch with us before he go to school.  Adam Road Hawker Center is just right there.  Our favorite nasi lemak is the corner stall.  The Malay auntie is type B plus plus.  We order two to-go and two for dine-in.  It took her for than 3 mins to get our order done.  Her neighbour nasi lemak stall is the popular one and service is a lot faster.  So they do much more volume than No. 1.  But my wife prefers No. 1.  I also like No. 1 as she has mutton.  But no longer any achar as she is now cooking alone.  I wonder what happen to her husband.

No. 1 nasi lemak is $5 a set for the most complete with mutton, chicken wing, potato cutlet and fried egg.  I forgot!  There is also a wee serving of ikan bilis with fried groundnuts.  I complete my meal with teh halia from the drink stall beside the sugar cane.

Today, there is a group of Sec 4 RGS girls doing "learning journey" with NEA and so help to clear the plates and a bigger group just stand around talking.  A pair came to our table to ask us to clear our plates.  After we finished, another pair came to clear our table.  My wife likes those that roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty.  To her daughters-in-laws must be those who get work done.  I am in total agreement.  I did not like the pair that just talk to get their work done.  Reminds me of politicians who talks only and do not roll up their sleeves.

Cut by Flower Crab

I have a fairly big flower crab in my aquarium.  It is usually well camouflage during the day.  Algae grows fast on the side of the aquarium.  So I have to clean the glass regularly in order to see my fishes.  I was cleaning as usual yesterday.  B1 was talking to me and suddenly a sharp pain and I shake it off.  And I continue to clean but the pain persist.  I thought it is quick pinch.  When I looked at my fore finger, there is a red line which is about 2.5cm long and 3 mm thick.  So no problem, I thought.  But when I squeeze it, blood start oozing out quickly.  The quick pinch cuts right into my skin!  Now my finger is throbbing with pain.  It is hurts but still bearable.

Losing Memory Chips

The SD cards are so tiny.  It is easy to misplace them.  I bought quite a few of the SD cards with old songs.  After playing them for a couple of days, I take them out and kept them somewhere safe.  Now I can't find some of them.  It is so easy to lose them.  Each costs about $15.  The frustrating part is I cannot listens to my favorites songs when I feel like it. 

I wonder if you guys have the same issue.

Heat is Exhausting

This morning, I have to go to Tuas for meeting.  We had lunch in Raffles Marina and then heads to customer's site for visit.  The weather is hot.  When I am done, the first thing I do is to get a drink.  I felt thirsty and keeping drinking a lot even after dinner.  I think I am suffering from heat exhaustion.  My body feels dry, hot and dehydrated.  I keeping complaining about the hot weather.  I cycled in the hot afternoon and never felt this way before.  I guess when I am cycling, I have a bottle of cold drink which I drink at regular interval.

While at work, all I can do is to talk and listen but no drink at all.

Cycling to Lorong Halus

Since I was bitten by the free live seafood for my arowana, I had not cycled all the way to Lorong Halus for more than a year.  This afternoon, I decided to do the Lorong Halus route.  All the flats under construction are more or less ready.  The metal privacy fences that lined along the PCN at the different construction sites are gone.  There are a lot more traffic meaning people and cyclists on the PCN.  It is no longer a relaxing ride.  I have to keep a lookout for people all the time.  I used to daydream or pay more attention to my audiobook.  This afternoon I have to pay attention to all people coming in different directions.

The scenery is still good at the PCN beside Coney Island.  Best of all, traffic is light.

Working Fun

I enjoys working.  Today, I have two calls.  Thursday I have a call early in the morning at 7am.  So I will not be able to send my boy to school.  His mum will have to take over the duty. 

We were also every lucky to go to Shuang Lin Monastery in Toa Payoh.  We arrived 5 mins to 5.  The carpark was empty save a couple of cars.  The main door was closed.  We hurry in and managed to offer our prayer to Gods or Deities of Jupiter, Confucius and Wen Chang.  We hope B2 will go to school to further his studies.  We felt very lucky to arrive in the nick of time and accomplished our objective of praying for academic success for our boys.

Usually Windy

The winds are pretty strong and gusty.  This seems quite different from before.  I do not remember strong winds since living here for 10 years. It is during the thunderstorms that we get strong winds.  Now we have strong winds and dry.  Clear sky and white clouds.  Seems quite peculiar.

Waterway Point

Now that the Waterway Point is open, it is so crowded on the PCN.  We had a hard time navigating as there are plenty of moving obstacles.  People walking and cycling in all directions.  It is not fun to cycle when it is so crowded.  Please avoid the Waterway Point PCN during weekend evenings.  There are simply too many holiday makers there.

Dangerous!

If you watch the clip below, you will hear a woman's voice saying "dangerous".  She is grateful I save her life!   I saw the cobra and stopped to take picture of it.  Before I have the chance, this woman walk straight toward the cobra which was also moving across the PCN.  The woman was engrossed looking into her phone.  I shouted "Cobra" to her but she did not pay attention.  The 2nd time, I shouted louder stopping her in her track.  She then looked me.  By then, the cobra was alarmed and decided to head back in the opposite direction.  This is why I only managed to capture the snake for a few seconds.

I was pointing the snake to her and when she saw she said "dangerous".  I told her not to look at her phone so intently.

Snakes on PCN

PCN is infested!!  Yesterday, it was a long green grass snake.  Today is a cobra.

Strong Winds

The winds are exceptionally strong today.  It is quite unusual since it is first time in our estate.  I remember this kind of wind at Bedok Reservoir many years ago when I was flying gliders.  In December, it is the best time to fly.  Beginners like me can learn as the wind is strong and consistent.  When the wind is gusty then it is difficult to control.  I had flew a couple of times well by myself and enjoys the experience tremendously.  I had stopped flying since I left for Canada.  Now flying model planes is ban in Bedok Reservoir.

Abalone Porridge

We have been watching the Korean drama, Two Sisters at 7pm.  The abalone porridge smells delicious.  So we also cook our own abalone porridge for tonight's dinner.  One can of Chef abalone, duck gizzard, chicken bones and pork bones soup to make the porridge.  Indeed it is a fabulous tasting "chock".  It is more expensive than the dearest porridge available out.  But we enjoyed the premium ingredients.  I still have braised peanuts and salted vegetable as I eat it Teochew style.

Plentiful Fishes

It is a glorious day for fishing.  The fishes are plentiful and I have good harvest.  I had a wonderful time as I caught 4 different species of fishes.  It is great to get variety for my saltwater aquarium.  Hopefully, they live long.  My arowana and goldfishes have good meal as well.  It is a nice start to my morning.

Nuts!

Eldest boy is on healthy diet.  So he is eating very little carbo and feeling hungry all the time.  We ran out of nuts we bought during CNY.  He is requesting to have a supply of Almonds, Cashews and other nuts.  Must be baked and not fried! 

So during lunch today, we went to Fu Lu Shou to get the nuts.  It comes to $50 just on nuts alone.  It is incredibly expensive and the nuts usually last not more than a fortnight.  I am nuts about nuts.  Once I starts, it is hard to stop.  Also I feel I am not losing weight as I tends to crunch on them all the time.  This time I have cashews, almonds, roasted pumkin seeds and California pistachios.  Nuts are healthy snacks but too much of a good thing can also cause problems as they are full of uric acids.

Beautiful Dinner

We have a beautiful homecooked dinner tonight.  Beautiful in Aussie terms mean wonderful and delicious food.  My wife attended fish class in ABC.  Yes, ABC is a Japanese cooking school.  The batam fish filet turns out wonderful.  It is white flaky juicy and not fishy at all.  So fresh and tasty.  She also deep fry french fries turning them crispy and crunchy out and soft and juicy inside. 

I am glad ABC comes to town.

Home is Wet Markets

I am up early in the morning and go to the wet market for my morning tea just after 6am.  Although I have plenty of tea leaves and have both condensed milk and evaporated milk in the fridge, I still like to go the the hawker and have a cup to local tea, sitting and reading yesterday papers.  The regular sights and sounds of hawkers selling food and grocers selling fresh produce makes me feel at home again. 

Late morning, we sent B3 to Kallang Practise Track for his triple jump competition.  We went to Chinatown Market which is really wet with dirty water on the floor.  We bought minced fish paste and beef to cook stew.  The outcome is quite good as our boys enjoys mummy's cooking.

Random Reflections on Ho Chi Minh

After maybe 20 odd years, I am back to this city.  My colleague, Billy tells me of all the changes.  He has good memories of the past.  Somehow I am not able to recall as much details as him. I do remember there were not many tall buildings.  In fact the highest is 5 or 6 storeys.  The economic progress is clear.  Bicycles are gone.  Only motorbikes and cars.  Tall shiny glass buildings have sprouted but few and far between.  Not so much ongoing construction, the economic advance is at a much slower pace.  The airline offices are in modern offices instead of old colonial buildings in the past.  UOB bank is in the office building attached to my hotel.  So foreign banks are active and helping to finance the companies.

I love the ubiquitous pho by vendors on two baskets in almost every street.  Now, they are only available in the back street.  Even then I saw only a couple right beside the hospital.  The hole in the wall drinks stalls are still around.  Plenty of paintings and souvenirs shops where local craftmen hawked their wares.  Modern consumers goods are available in shopping malls.  Luxury brands are in town.  So there must be a market for the rich who needed ego boost.

US$100

I was in Hanoi last year about this time.  I walk about the streets a lot near the hotel.  There are painting shops around and I asked if they can paint portrait for family.  Yes, they can do it but need a few days to complete the job.  It was too short.  This time in Ho Chi Min, I arrived early and managed to find an artist who is painting in his shop.  He asked for US$100 for family protrait of 5.  I negotiated for 2 million dong as $100 is worth 2.2 million dong.  He agreed with the price and I sent a picture to his email.  He use the picture to paint.  We sealed the deal Monday late afternoon and by this afternoon, Thursday it is ready.  The painting is okay standard.  I am happy with the result but do not know how long it will last.

Fabulous Vietnamese Food

The hotel breakfast is very good.  The Vietnamese resturants here are very good.  It is nice to eat here.  It seems the women are not so good looking except in the bar.  When they dressed up amd put on make-up some looks amazing.

I love the spring rolls, the pho and the coffee.  This is a good place for food.  However, the variety is not as much as Singapore or Malaysia.  Home is still sweeter.

Ho Chi Min

I have not come here for many years.  Seems like a lot has changed yet a lot did not change.  More high building and Starbucks are around.  Maybe I am staying in a different area.  There do not seem to have as many pho stalls, resturants around.  There are more cars.  Motorbikes are still plentiful but not as much before.  A group of Korean men were trying to cross the street but just back to the pavement.  So I showed them how to cross the road.  They are appreciative.

The weather is very humid.  I sweat profusely when walking.  It is quite uncomfortable.

All Malls are Busy During Dinner time

After spending all day preparing food and entertaining relatives, we are so tired that we decided to eat out.  The boss of family always specify "aircond"  which means malls.  It is still early about half past five.  We decided Seletar Mall, there is a long queue to the carpark.  So we decided to try Waterway Point, even worse.  The queue starts from the traffic light before the mall.  So finally, we have to try The Prawning place at the end of Punggol and we managed to get a carpark.  We ate at Popeye's.  The chicken is crispy which is why I like it.  But it is quite salty.  Still we enjoyed our dinner.

Shopping Malls are madhouse on weekends.  Long queues and waiting time in all the eating establishments.  So best to eat at home.

My Wife's Cousin comes A Visiting

The daughter of my mother-in-law's eldest sister come to visit us and stayed for dinner.  She has 4 kids, eldest is a boy in first year Singapore Poly studying common engineering.  The next 3 are girls with the oldest in Secondary 3, 2 and 1 respectively.  My wife's parents also come and she prepared vegetarian dishes for them.  I bbq boneless chicken.  Overall, I will say the dinner is quite successful and the kids had a great time playing games together.  B1 and B3 played host and did their role well. 

Oh, I almost forgot.  My youngest sister-in-law came with her family.  So we had a good time.  It is a long day for her as she prepares and cook.  After the meal, she clear and prepares the dishes for the dishwasher.  I only bbq the chicken and mop the floor.

I feel today is a good day.

Terrible Market

I just saw the news that DJIA or Dow Jones Industrial Index just dropped to 15 thousand plus.  My stock portfolio is doing so badly now.  I have to work for as long as possible.  Luckily, the year of Monkey is supposed to be good for me.  I hope the forecast turns into reality.

Lunar New Year usually means stock market go up.  This year it is going down instead.  Thinking positively, I have to start looking for good stocks at a bargain.

My wife cooks ginger chicken yesterday and we sent the food to my niece so that she can try our cooking.  While there, I enjoyed carrying my grandnephew in my arms. He is very adorable.

Sore Low Back

I stopped doing the exercise to strengthen my core muscles and now I am suffering from low back pain.  I need to exercise daily to maintain core strength and once I stopped for a week or two, my backache happen again.  I need to get into the habit.  I always get lazy when I am painfree for a few weeks.  Thinking my backache has gone for good, I stop exercising and in about the week, my back starts to feel sore.  It creeps in slowly like a dull ache and then it get worse and worse.  It is inevitable.  Sigh! 

Backache has plague me for decades since I sprained during army time.  No orthopedic surgeon will be able to solve this ailment.  Only Chinese tieh da or bone manipulation and core muscle exercise can eliminate the pain.  Physiotherapy helps slightly.  Actually yoga also works for me.

CNY Price in Crystal Jade

It is B2's 21st birthday.  He is meeting with his girlfriend in Plaza Singapura.  So we decided to drop him off and have lunch there.  It works out well as B1 has to go to work in Singapore Shopping Center.  I am quite full so I thought dim sum is ok.  So we settle on Crystal Jade.  B1 noticed the order form has no price.  I told him the price is up due to CNY.  Looking at the menu, the price is up by about 30%. 

A few tables order Yusheng.  So they will chant the "good phrases".  One was so loud and to me is quite embarassing.  Our next table did the same but not as loud.  My next table request to win $10million Toto. 

We are in a society of chasing after money and wealth.

Visiting Family

Yesterday was Day 1 of Chinese New Year.  We woke up late or rather the boys woke up late as they must be up late.  Then they give CNY greetings to us first and get their biggest ang pow before we set off to pay respect to their maternal grandparents.  We have breakfast there as well and then back home to host my brother and sisters with their kids i.e. my nieces and nephews.

We cooked a big pot of curry chicken with potatoes.  My nephew-in-law says the potato is very good!  Our boys love any potato based food, french fries, hash brown, baked potatoes, potato chips, potato salad.  So we become expert in cooking potatoes!  We chatted and talk about everything and nothing.  It is good to see my extended family. 

Today, we brought porridge to my niece who just gave birth.  She like our porridge.  We are very happy to carry the sleeping baby.  I love the baby!  He is so adorable. 

Simple Warm and Close

We decided to cook up our super expensive fishballs from the market for reunion dinner.  Instead of having steamboat which requires a lot of preparation and clean up after finishing, we have a pot of soup with sliced fish, scallops, chicken, meatballs and vegetables. 

We had nice conversations with our 3 boys.  Talk about their time as a baby since my niece just had her baby boy.  It is a leisurely dinner.  Usually our boys will leave the table and do their own things after dinner but this time they stayed.  After dinner, we enjoys the movie on channel 8.  Chow Yun Fatt is the God of Gambling.  He has "magic hands" and the movie has lots of outrageous effects and copied Laura Croft's jumping about.  The show holds my attention.  I enjoy this fantasy escapade with my family.

The Night Before NY's Eve

The markets, hawker centers and supermarkets are going crazy.  The queues are long and the wait is longer.  Many are laden with huge amount of stuff.  Everyone is celebrating and welcoming the Year of Monkey.  B1 is born in the year of Monkey.  I did not know it is a popular year to have babies. 

I bought chicken yesterday and I used the bones to boil soup using my cast iron pot.  The bones were simmered for hours yesterday and today.  It is actually quite tasteless but the soup is thick!  I added a can of abalone, a few Canadian scallops and a pack of shark fins.  The soup tastes heavenly.  No shame to boast my own cooking.  B3 was telling us during dinner how his classmate, best friend and strong competitor in class had Buddha Jumps over the Wall for lunch and dinner.  Mummy immediately told him the soup he is drinking is Buddha Jumps over the Wall.

It is so easy to make soup.  Only thing is I am not like my wife, she will filter out all the sediments and clear the flotsam.  So her soup is very clean and clean tasting.  I like cook mine with all the oil, floating bits and meat that sticks to the bone boiled tender left in the soup.  I have a super thick soup that you can eat rather than a strong broth.  My boys think the soup is good or okay.  I love the positive feedback.

Time to Break

It is almost midnight and I am yawning my head off.  I was up early to prepare B3's recess.  After that I went to market for tea.  I only bought chicken and one head of Chinese cabbage.  Everyone is going crazy buying and buying.  My fridge is full as well, but it is mostly junk food or butter or fruits.  The freezer is filled with frozen meat like my smoked duck breasts.  We did not stock much CNY goodies.  It is eat as we go.  They are quite heaty and high cal.  I also have bak kwa in the freezer because I bought them during sales last month.  So I save some money on my new year goodies.

I am working late.  Tomorrow I shall break to prepare for new year.

Buddhaland Brooklyn

I enjoy the story so much.  It is so realistic and I had a hard time pausing the story.  This story is about a Japanese villager who became a monk at the age 11.  12 days after he enters the temple of Everlasting Prayers, his family died in a fire of their family inn and home.  He loves to paint and teach painting in the temple.  He was asked to go to American and fell in love with his assistant who is like a hippie and has a PhD.  He asked her to marry him but she refused and ask him to take her in as a nun.  By the way, they are lovers too.  So the story is a little complicated yet has the sublime of Buddhism.  I like this story!

Busy Day

It is extremely busy day with lots to do at work but unable to move easily as I am dependent on other people to do but everyone is busy with their own priorities.  It is just so stressful to work and work but now getting anywhere and people questions and questions.  Such is life in a large complex matrix organisation.

Good thing is I had a good dinner with my boss in Hua Ting Resturant.  The food is fabulous.

Life Without a Maid

Now that we no longer have a maid, I feel like I am living in Canada.  Maid is a luxury in Canada.  It is possible but very expensive.  At income tax of nearly 50% and GST plus PST of 14%, there is very little money to spend.  There is social security and social insurance.  Take home is about 50%.  So most families live without a maid unlike in Singapore most working couples with kids will have a maid. 

Our boys are grown and need to learn some basic housekeeping skills.  So now, they are doing their own laundry.  They clear their cups and plates but still not not wash them consistently.  We have a dishwasher and used it after dinner.  It is a great help.  The pots and other cookwares are cleaned and dry.  We still have to do pre-washing but it is nice to keep all the knives, forks, spoons, cups, bowls, plates right into the dresser or cupboard as they will be dry and clean.

I also feel the satisfaction of doing a good clean up job.  Physical work is instant gratification and a great feeling of accomplishment.  I do enjoy this despite having to spend the time on household chores including mopping the floor and clearing the rubbish.

Promfret Lookalike

Late afternoon, I ride to Punggol Point to catch some small fishes for my tank.  I saw that my fish buddy caught what look like promfret from far.  I went to him and ask if it is promfret.  He said it is another type of fish.  He is very happy to catch this fish.  He caught 4 so far.  He was there for more than 6 hours.  I guess the fun is the prize and this time the prize is good.  I got lucky too to catch some baby fishes for my tank.  They are food for other fishes.

The Joy of Grand Uncle

One of my nieces has given birth to a baby boy.  He is so cute and adorable.  The parents are first-timers, so is quite flustered when we drop in to visit.  It is interesting that they do not know how to feed the baby and looked very stressed.  The baby is so tiny and adorable.  I love babies!  I will have another niece due soon.  We will become bigger family in the new year gatherings.

Reunion with in-laws

We have reunion dinner with my wife's family.  It is vegetarian but this time we had it in Ang Mo Kio coffeeshop.  So we have a chance to eat the claypot rice as well.  The vegetarian zhichar is so busy.  We have to wait an hour before the food arrived.  The food is not bad.  Luckily for us, the claypot rice came earlier and we had some food to stem our hunger.

The food is above average and price is very reasonable.  For a total of 17 heads, the total is almost two hundred dollars.  So it is only $10 per head.  Good value!

Parents Teachers Meeting

Parent-Teacher's Meeting for B3.  It is actually just briefing.  The form teachers just talk to the class parents.  Nowadays, it is quite tough for students.  There is academic study, CCA and leadership positions in class and CCA.  Also there is Outbound School, Values and Optional "Fun Studies".  I remembers during my time, there are not so many different categories of assessment.  All I had was joined one Uniformed Group and any clubs which the activities you like.  If you don't, you don't.  You are not assessed to death!  It is not the end of the world for the 2 points deduction you get today.

Chinese Tea

A trip to Xiamen and now I am hooked.  The hotel room has a tea set with two bags of tea leaves.  I bought a set back and now I am drinking Chinese tea everyday.  Only problem is my weight stays the same.  I was hoping to reduce my weight since I am drinking low cal.  Also a fellow traveller told me his high blood pressure drops to a more manageable level when he drank Chinese tea.  So now this is favorite gift to his customers.

I also make enough to put in the fridge to drink while cycling.  So I am drinking more Chinese tea whereas before it was only teh halia, teh si or kopi.

Internet - Root Cause of Sleep Debt

The internet is causing B3 to have sleep debt.  He keep saying it is his break time and the break time quickly stretch to hours.  Then in the evening to catch up with his homework, he will stay up late.  He has to get up early in the morning to go to school.  It is a worrying habit.  He does not know nor want to understand the sleep debt can cause health issues as well as deterioration in psychological performance.

Loy Kee Chicken Rice

Loy Kee Chicken Rice is a famous chain.  We tried today at Balestier Road.  Half a chicken with gizzard and 3 plates of chicken rice costs only $14.50.  Pretty reasonable.  I used to think Loy Kee is quite expensive chicken as a student.  Today, as B1 puts it, chicken rice is the cheapest meal around.  The chicken is quite tender.  The rice is passable.  Better rice in Boon Tong Kee.  Boon Tong Kee is far more expensive and resturant like setting.

I like Balestier market but the good stalls usually have long queues like Hoover Rojak or Braised Duck. 

New Pattern of Rain

Seems like there is a new pattern of rain.  Today, we have thunder shower for maybe half an hour and then the sun is shining again.  After, another shower and the sun is out.  The rain stop sun cycle happens a few times.  B3 also notice the clouds are moving much faster.

This mean the clouds are much lower than before for us to sense higher speed.  It can also be stronger wind or both.  New weather means we will have to adapt.  Luckily, we have concrete houses which dampen the effects of weather changes.

Sunburned!

B3 went for competition and he is sunburned.  B1 cycled with me at about noon and he is sunburned as well.  I must be completely roasted since I am so dark nowadays.  Also I wear long sleeves so my arms are better protected.  But my legs is very dark where my shorts end.  Even my feet has the shape of my slippers with dark skin where the sun can see.

I wonder if our ozone is getting thinner as it seems easier to get sunburn nowadays.

Freezing in Shanghai

The weather was freezing.  Snow was forecast but only at night and there was indeed snowfall according to one colleague.  However, I was sleeping.  Snow is just snow.  A Malaysian colleague says another colleague who is on the way will be very excited to see snow.  Unfortunately, it because rain early morning and there are no snow on the floor, only rainwater. 

Shanghai is still the same.  I no longer stayed in downtown, so it is not a happening place anymore.  I love staying in downtown Shanghai where I can browse pirated books.  Yeah, no more dvds as the shows are online.  So the enterprising entrepreur switch to books.  Unfortunately, where I stayed no bookseller.  So no fun for me.  It is only work.  I love walking around the hotel but nowaday I can only see branded shops which I have totally zero interest.

Shanghai Shanghai

Weather is cold in Shanghai.  I will go to the big city tomorrow.  So no more blogging for the next 3 days.  I have not travelled for sometime now.  It is good to travel once in a while.  I love Shanghai as it is quite international and full of energy.  Although the air is polluted, it is not as bad as Beijing.  The food there is not bad as well.  I do not eat much in China after many bad experience. 

I did not get the chance to fish today as the bad weather did not permit me to cycle out.

Fish Trap

We met a Malay couple yesterday, the man says his abang will come today about 1pm.  We cycle to Punggol Point at about half past 12.  Unfortunately, it started to rain and we took shelter.  Then rain slows down allowing us to continue but a few mins later it rains hard.  It hurts the eyes and even though we wanted to ride through the rain, we have to take shelter.  By the time we get to Punggol Point, the Malay men are done and ready to go home.  They were reluctant to show up the fish.  Seems like they think we wanted some fishes.  We told them we just wanted to see.  Finally, the key fisherman showed us his fishes and the large crab they caught.  It is pretty interesting that they put the trap among the stones and they empty the trap every weekend for fishes. 

They get free fishes.  Pretty good hobby indeed.

Goby

This morning I showed B3 the 5 mudskippers.  He immediately noticed they are not mudskippers but goby fish.  He is quite amazing.  I noticed the eyes are smaller and not prominently on top of the head.  But still thought they are mudskipper as they are large.  However, the goby stayed at the bottom of the tank all the time unlike the mudskippers.  I always catch the small goby fishes at low tide.  They dart about very fast.  Now the big ones seems like a slow coach indeed.

Waterpoint Mall

The Waterpoint Mall will be opening on 18th, two days away.  B1 wants to check it out before we go fishing.  It is bustling with activities as the workmen are rushing to complete the jobs.  There are plenty of people exploring the place too.  So we went in to check it out.  Many resturants mostly brand names and some unfamilar names which may be new resturants or new concept.  Both Toastbox and Ah Kun are there as well as NTUC Finest.

Waterpoint Mall is just beside Punggol MRT Station.  So it will be busy on Monday.  There is a burger joint that is already opened and serving food.  It is nice to cycle and then go to the mall for some shopping.

5 Large Mudskippers

The man who has 3 wives caught 5 large mudskippers, kept them alive until I arrived and gave them to me.  I am so happy as the mudskippers are still alive when I reach home.  These mudskippers seems different as they stayed at the bottom of the tank.  Hopefully, they live long time.  The mudskippers have florescent spots.  So they looked nice when I shine a torchlight on them.  I have pictures using my phone but they did not come up clear.  So I am not posting them up.

Roti Prata

I had no canned soup anymore in my larder.  Fairprice no longer have Campbell soup that contains beef or chicken.  It is just vegetable and pasta or clam chowder, so sad!  I have no idea where to get chicken soup with real chicken or beef soup with real beef anymore.

Luckily, I have frozen roti prata.  It is easy to cook but take time.  I cook one kosong and one plaster for both B3 and B2.  B2 has day shift and leaves for his station just after 6am.

Today, mummy make soup.  So it will be easy tomorrow as all I have to do is to scoop the rice and add soup.  Done!

Figuring Out Tomorrow's Recess

My youngest boy was very shy when he started school.  So he did not like queuing in the canteen to buy food and prefer we pack for him everyday.  Today, he is in Sec 3 and it is now a habit for me to pack food for his recess every morning.  Tomorrow he has training for track and field.  I am now cracking my head on what to pack for him tomorrow or maybe have him buy food himself. 

For a simple task I have to crack my head as it is morning, it is just a mad rush to get things ready and we have to leave by quarter past 6.  So it is like clockwork or it will be royal stress in the morning.

I have no bread, so sandwich is out.  No leftover as we ate out tonight.  I am thinking I may need to see if there are canned soup and I can heat up for him tomorrow.  If not, then I have to figure out something else.

It is not easy to be a good father!

3 Wives

At Punggol Jetty, there are a few regular fishermen.  This evening, I had a chat with one of them and he revealed to me he has three wives and each living in a different house.  I am so impressed.  I can't even handle one and he has 3!!!  I can only translate directly from Hokkien as it may not make sense.  He says when he was young he did not how to think properly.  I have no idea how many kids each wife produce for him.  That will be for me to find out and update all of you in future.

Lack of Sleep

Every morning, I have to wake up early either 5:45 or 6.  I still go to bed late usually about 7 hours of sleep or less.  I feel sleep deprived.  Sometime wake up with a headache because of insufficient restful sleep.  The signs are easy... headaches or tiredness.  So I need to go to bed earlier.  B3 is the most pampered as I have to get up earlier to prepare his recess even though he is Sec 3 now. 

Since he started school, he did not like to buy food from the canteen.  If he does, he will be buying expensive drinks like Ribena rather than food.  

I am busy at work nowadays.  It is good to have issues to deal with but they can be a drag too.

Complete Family

We are complete family again with all 3 boys at home now.  This morning we went to Queen's Street temple to offer our prayers.  We went fairly early that is 10am and the place was crowded with worshippers.  I just checked on the internet...today is Chu Yi or First Day of lunar month.  We prayed to Goddess of Mercy and Tai Sui, Duke of Jupiter and offer candy and oil for light.  I always feel good to visit the temple and do my donation.

After our prayers, we ate Indian Rojak at Waterloo Street coffeeshop.  Usually, I ate at the branch in the hawker center.  I find the quality and taste is far better in the original stall.  The roast chicken from the chicken rice is also quite good.  Our brunch is cheap and good. The coffee shop is quite warm and humid.  Our total bill comes to about $37 including one drink each.  $8/head is economical and reasonable for eating out.

Greenlip Abalone

The large can Greenlip Abalone from Hock Hua is back this year.  We bought a few cans to try.  Tonight, we decide to try it out with our porridge for dinner.  It is quite good.  I like the taste of Greenlip Abalone.  The tall cans Greenlip are no good.  It is the big fat and round can that is good.  It is easy to cook too.  Just add the liquid into the porridge and cut up the abalone into any shape you prefer.  Just the abalone before serving and yummy!

Good Catch Friday

I am glad the fishes are back.  It is so fun to be able to scoop up fishes easily rather than to sneak up on them or wait for a school to swim by which always depends more on luck than skills.  This morning, I manage to catch enough for my arowana and gold fishes to have a good meal.  In the evening before sundown.  There were no fishes.  At first, I only managed to catch two lone fishes.  Then I go lucky to chance on a small school.  The school was running away.. I mean swimming away from me and I quicken my steps and spring into action and brought my net down in one explosive motion!  I managed to catch probably the whole school! 

So my arowana has a wonderful live seafood dinner.

B1 is back home today.  It is so nice to have him home.  After 4 months, we have full strength at the dining table tonight.  We had roast duck from AMK Ave 6 Hong Kong Roast.  One bird is $36 and superior in taste.  I also bbq roast pork.  Both B1 and B2 thought dinner was sumptuous.  It is so easy when we know where to get good birds!

Stock Market Crash

Just when I thought the stock market will be stabilised, it crashed.  I have no idea where the money go to and what the fund managers do.  With my exposure, it is scary.  I just want to hang in there, this reminds me of the Clob shares when Mahathir decided to just stop.  I lost most of my money in Malaysia.  Now, this is Singapore shares.  It is suppose to be better.  The key word is "suppose".

I am looking at the bright side of things.  I have good health and family is good.  We have food on the table.  From the future looking back, maybe I shouldn't worry.  Right now looking forward, it is dark.

Horrible Sandflies

The biggest bane of Punggol Beach is sandflies.  They attacked relentlessly.  After each bites, the itch is incessant and persistent.  Then there will be angry botches and the bite mark become raw and when finally my skin recovers there is a permanent scar.  I wish some scientists will study the sandflies and find a way to eradicate them permanently.

Remote TV Service

It is unusual.  The signal for TV antenna just went out.  At first, I thought it was the Samsung TV.  I called Service Center.  Nowadays, it is very high tech.  The call center can do remote diagnostics.  There is an option on the TV to allow remote control.  Then a pin is given and from the call center, they take over the TV.  It is like science fiction shows where the TV can be use to spy on the occupants.

Beautiful Day

It is a beautiful day this morning.  Blue Sky and White Cloud.  Early start in the morning as B3 has morning training.  So we leave at quarter past six.  It is such a nice drive as the traffic is light.  Makes me feel like sending him to school at this time every morning. 

The sky is clear and weather is cool, how I wish it is like this every day.  Remind me of San Diego.  No need to think about what kind of clothing to wear.  Also gorgeous are everywhere to oogle at as well.

B1 and B3 like Toronto and think they can live there.  This is fantastic!  I can live there in future since now two out of three are sold on this.  Only problem is they do not know the high taxation.  But the social safety net is very good there.  With the four seasons I love it is a good place for me to go back to.

So Hard to Catch

Today, I went to the same place where I caught the mudskipper and by a stroke of luck another mudskipper is there and about the same size.  I tried very hard and chase it around in the water.  The rocks have a lot of barnacles and very sharp.  I got cuts but unfortunately for me or rather fortunately for the mudskipper, it manages to elude me.  I gave up trying to bring it home. 

First Day of School

It is always crazy on the first day of school.  We go to school earlier than usual to beat the traffic.  Guess what?!  All other parents have the same idea.  The traffic is bad.  Some aggressive parents are trying to jump queue as well.  I suspect they are usually fathers.  B3 is excited about going back to school.

My regular teh halia market is re-open after 6 weeks of renovations.  The changes at ground level are minimal.  The roof and exhausted are repainted and looked so much cleaner.  Two planters are gone, so the open terrace is clean cut and also much more spacious.  There are several new stalls and one of the stall owner change from selling prawn noodle to selling drinks.  I am not sure why as there are at least 4 drinks stalls existing and one with super long queue.

The Ship

The Ship Resturant is back in Shaw Center.  It had to move out for the renovations and I did not know it moved back.  The Ship is now in Nex.  So there are two branches now.  The resturant has improve service this time.  I remember the original Ship in Shaw Center service was quite poor.  Now the resturant is also brighter.  The set lunch is reasonable in price and for 3 persons, we spent under $70. 

There is a noodle shop beside The Ship and seems like wanton mee is about $12 a bowl.

This morning I was very sad that I could not find the mudskipper in the tank.  It has escaped during the night when it was raining.

New Year Day

Today is just like any other day.  Seems like a Saturday even though it is actually Friday.  I spent the morning in Takashimaya drinking Ah Kun's teh and reading Japanese Manga, Oishinbo, a la carte.  Izakaya pub food.  The stories are simple and easy to read.  I like Japanese food but ready do not understand the finese of Japanese dining.  I was treated to a meal that specialise in one specific fish before.  There is fish soup, sashimi and different parts of the fish cooked in different ways.  The taste is too delicate for me to appreciate.  As I am not a fish lover it seems like a waste of my host's hospitality.  Still it is a pretty good read.  This book is from Bishan library.

I had lunch at about 3pm.  Rahim Mee Rebus is in AMK central coffee shop beside Djitsun Mall.  Mee rebus is very popular but I had beehoon soto instead.  I like the soup.  Rahim Mee Rebus used to be much better when the gravy had mutton.  Nowadays, I do not see any mutton in the gravy.  The stall is still very popular and waiting time is long as the service is slow but it is definitely worth the wait.  Rahim is in my approved list of good food.