Night Out!

This evening we had early dinner.  B2 has night duty.  So we drop him off.  B3 has a free cup of Boost drink.  So we look for a Boost outlet to claim it.  It is only valid today.  But no Boost outlet in Northpoint.  We decided to go Bugis Junction.  CTE was heavy in traffic.


Mummy also want to have a chocolate cake.  So it works out fine.  Bugis junction is so busy at night.  Maybe because it is Saturday.  We rarely go out at night.  The few times we were out, the nights are vibrant.


We had a good time as B1 went to library and found a book that is relevant and spent time reading there.  Kinokuniya has some interesting new books but I did not buy any as I have many new books waiting for me to crack open.

Compass One

B3 final exams is over.  He is very relaxed.  He was all stressed up and working hard for a couple of weeks.  It is good to see him finally studying hard.  Hopefully, his results improve. 


Today, we went to Compass One (formerly known as Compass Point) for lunch.  Compass One has a lot more floor space and food outlets.  No anchor tenant like Metro.  Seem like the library is coming back.  Gurney Drive, a Penang food restaurant is not bad.  B3 had rice with mantis shrimp in black pepper sauce.  Mummy had Penang Hae Mee.  I shared chendol with them.  The chendol is excellent!  The Hae Mee broth is very good too.


I will go back to Gurney Drive to eat as I did not have appetite due to heavy breakfast and pain in my abdomen.

Anti Colic

My doctor prescribe anti colic to ease my pain.  It did not help much.  In combination with Acorsia, and after maybe half an hour, I feel a lot more comfortable.  My right kidney swelling has reduce.  So my doctor pronounced he is happy.


Meanwhile, I will have to put up with the pain until he decides to remove the J-stent.

In Pain

My right kidney was still swollen after the ESWL.  So the doctor suspect that maybe the stones are stopped halfway and blocking the kidney again.  So he schedule me for surgery on Saturday.  The surgery is scheduled for 11am.  When I checked it, it became 11am.  It was just a long wait and I have to fast after dinner.

I don't feel hungry while waiting.  I think it is the stress of going for operation.  The doctor said no stones.  However, he insert a double J tube.  I was under general anaethesia.  I felt sick for a few hours after the surgery.  GA is no good for the body.  Although I have not recovered by 6pm, I still decide to go home.  I was so sick and in car and throw up when I reach home.  Resting at home for half hour, my cold sweat went away.

For the past three day since the surgery, it is painful to pass urine.  My urine is full of blood.  It looked a little scary in the beginning.  Every morning, it is very bloody.  By afternoon, it looks like Pink Lemonade!

The tube is bothersome and cause me to have permanent tummyache.  I tried going to the toilet many times with no joy.  But sometime, it works!  However, my stomache remains.

I have been to surgery every week for the past 3 weeks.  Last Saturday was the worse as I had to go under GA.  Propofol is not so bad.  Recovery is pretty quick and no nausea.  With a J tube in my right ureter, I have permanent pain.

Doctor said I have to have it in there for 6 weeks.  I am not sure if I can last this long.  Hopefully, my right kidney recovers earlier.

Boon Tong Kee

Boon Tong Kee now has take out set meals.  The set menu range from simple chicken and rice to complete meal for 5.  The set meal can be take out.  So we order a set meal.  There is a soup, sweet sour pork, braised cabbage with scallops, half a white chicken and 3 types of eggs steamed. 


It was a feast!  It is nice to have boys as they can eat a lot.  So I enjoyed have lots of different types of food on the table.  This is a traditional 3 dishes and a soup dinner.

Hillary Clinton

I just watched the debate online.  I did not watch the whole debate, only the last part.  Hillary is composed and carry herself well.  She is a great statesman and was not flustered by Donald's outburst.  It is amazing to see how the democratic system in America can put up a Presidential candidate like Donald Trump.  It is indeed scary for the rest of the world the wrong President is elected on Nov 8th.

Homecooked Dinner

My wife cooked up a storm this evening.  We were supposed to have spaghetti on Friday but ate out instead.  However, she had bought organic bell peppers, mushrooms, minced beef, minced pork and organic pasta sauce last Friday.   She cooked it all up and I added capers, sundried tomatoes and black olives.  Taste so much like eating in Modesto's.  Only missing the clams, squids and flower crab.  I loved it very much.  We can now reproduce restaurant quality homecooked spaghetti!!

Immediate Relief after Blasting

I was feeling the strains on my right back when I drive.  I did not know the kidney had swollen.  Today when I drive, the strain is no longer there.  There is still some pressure but mostly it is relieved.  So today's technology is so wonderful. 


My father had kidney stones.  His treatment was surgical removal of the kidney.  There were 16 stones in his kidney when it was removed.  Today, the non-invasive technique is so much more advanced.  The kidney is saved and the stones are blasted and then excreted out through urinary system.  My abdomen is still sore from the intense ultrasound bursts.  However, it is nothing compared to surgically removing the kidney.


Recovery is pretty quick compared to my left kidney.  I am still up in the middle of the night, but not in pain.  So far so good:)

In the Dead of Night

Everything is quiet and peaceful.  I am up and surfing the net.  This is the time I go to facebook to see what my friends had been up too.  It is so much easier to "catch up" and see what they want to share with everyone.  Many have gone for vacation.  One with wedding anniversary.  Some are active in sports.  It is a good way to past time.


It is Sunday morning, so the market will be open earlier than usual.  I can go to get some of the busy feel if I so like it.  Otherwise I can have tea at home.  The options are available for the sleepless.  Mustapha and a number of Fairprice are open 24/7.


In Hong Kong, the choice in the middle of the night is a lot more.  Plenty of food stalls are still open.  In Tokyo, there are many 7 Eleven and other chainshops open.  I enjoys exploring and do people watching in the middle of night and wonder why people are up and about.

Right Kidney

I have not been feeling well.  I thought it was my left kidney ESWL.  For two nights in a row that is last night and the night before I woke up at 3am and could not go back to sleep.  Last night, it was intense pain on my right abdomen.  So I keep cracking my head to think what I have eaten.


My wife insist I see my urologist right away.  I told her I have appointment tomorrow for followup.  She called and get an appointment this afternoon.  My urologist did an ultrasound and said some big words.  My right kidney had swollen and the kidney stone has shifted.  So I have to go for CT scan.  The kidney stone has dropped but not to the ureter.  It is 4.9mm, so it is quite big.


In plain words, my kidney is exploding.  He said I could not think straight anymore.  The good thing about private healthcare is I can be scheduled immediately.  So tomorrow morning I will go for my ESWL to blast the stone to pieces.  Thank Buddha, my wife bought insurance.  This has allowed me to be treated right away.

MidValley Mall

Usually, I loved to shop at MidValley Mall.  I arrived Mid Valley late afternoon and walk about as I usually do.  This time, I feel it is not so homecoming or exciting.  Maybe, I am not feeling good as I am recovering from the ESWL. 


The two bookshops, Borders and MPH have downsized.  Cold Storage has moved out.  Ace Hardware downsize slightly as well.  There are a number of new food outlets.  I walk about the mall for exercise and also to relax my mind.  It is nice brain dead activity for me.


I also noticed the mall is not as busy.  So retail in KL is affected.  The queue to exchange foreign currency is quite short unlike before. 


Robinson is practically empty.  The resturants seems to be busy but not as crowded.  I think the economy has slowed in Malaysia.

When Singapore was No. 1!

I started to travel for work in 1984.  Taxi drivers used to ask where I was from and when I replied Singapore, the comment from usually is it is a capable country, everything is No. 1.  Singapore Airlines no 1.  Changi Airport no 1, Port No 1...


I get a sense of pride being a Singaporean.  Today, the same question was asked and when I answered Singapore to the foreigners, no one ever mentioned it.  "Ah! I can hear it from your accent." or "You sound like Taiwanese."


There is not sense of belonging.  There are more foreigners than locally born citzens.  Many times, I feel like I am living in foreign land.  The economy is bigger due to the population growth.  At the same time, the sense of belonging has become smaller.  All I could think off is where can I retire comfortably instead of staying in now the No 1 most expensive city in the world.

Counting Down to My 1st Class Reunion

Looks like the date is set and we will have a class gathering.  I hope I am not travelling that week.  It is going to be in the evening and I am not an owl.  I am looking forward to seeing my classmates most will be first time in 28 years!!

It will be nice to see all of them since most of our kids are grown up now.  Several are living overseas.  One in Thailand, he is a pastor another in Melbourne, a doctor I believe.

In other bigger whatsapp group, my classmates through Sec 1 to Sec 4 are living in US, Canada, Netherlands, Australia and South Africa.  Indeed, many have flew the coop.

Evening at Plaza Sin

Mummy is having cabin fever and wants to go out.  She have urge for shopping at Spotlight.  So we go out at about 7pm.  As we drive out onto CTE, the radio reported closure of the roads in Raffles Boulevard and others due to F1.  So I was a little concerned but decide to try anyway since Plaza Sin is not affected by the road closure.  To my surprise the road condition is quite normal.  Traffic is heavy but not jam pack.  We ate at Dome Café and my wife does her shopping while I kill time at the event hall as Time Bookstore has stocks to clear.


I bought two books costing total of pleasant surprise $17.  One is on exercise and the other on Life Coach Questionaire.  I always wanted to get a book on Life Coach.  Life Coaching is supposed to help us discover meaningful and happier life or living.


I had a quick read on Exercise.  Seems like moderate intense exercise has positive effects.  20 mins a week is sufficient to effect change to reduce cancers and other debilitating disease. 

Betta Babies

B3 has been successful in getting eggs and hatching them in our pair of betta aka fighting fish.  Most of the fries died.  A few survived.  So I am hoping B3 can breed the bettas successfully.  He just has another clutch of eggs.  It is quite challenging to keep the fries alive.  He fed them with liquid food.  But the liquid food is also full of microbes and the water turns cloudy. 


I am waiting to see if any grows to adult size.

Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy

I always had kidney stones.  My classmate who is an urologist told me it is ok to leave the stones there if they do not cause trouble.  I had low backache since army days.  Sometimes, I am not sure if it is backache or pain due to the stones.


So my urologist suggest I blast the stones as they can cause trouble if I am travelling or in the airplane.  He had that experience!  So knowing how intense the pain is, I decided to go for the ESWL   The shockwave will break up the stones. 


Yesterday, early in the morning I check in to Geneagles.  The procedure starts at 9am but I have to check in at 7am.  Geneagles is slow in processing paper work compared to ME Novena.  B1 just need to check in 1 hour before. 


The process is simple, I am sedated using Propofol and some painkillers.  Then a technician will use the soundwave machine and shoot the energy into my kidney.  Tat-tat-tat can be heard.  It is sharp pain in the kidney.  I have to breathe shallowly.  But due to the sedation, I drifted into unconsciousness.  The technician will wake me up to make sure I do not breathe too deeply as the kidney will move as I breathe.


Halfway, through I said pain and the technician call out loudly to the anesthetist to give me painkiller.  The zapping limit is 120 joules.  The urologist just give instruction to the technician on how much energy on each stone.  Middle pole is the biggest, so it get more energy.  I had a total of 3 poles which means 3 stones.on my left kidney.


By 2:30pm, I am allowed to check out.


After the ESWL, I pee out bloody urine.  It is dark red.  By evening time, it turned grey meaning my left kidney has started to clot up.

Good Day

B1 has been complaining about stomach for a few weeks now.  We had been asking him to see the doctor.  He was always reluctant and on Sunday went to NUH.  He was refer for colonoscopy and endoscopy.  We are quite concern especially mummy has a classmate whose younger sister died of cancer in her early twenties.  She always complains of stomachs and then she had a baby.  So she thought it is postpartum pains.  By the time she discovered that she had cancer, she was in the late stages. 


This morning B1 had the procedure done.  Other than some piles which the surgeon tied them off, there is no inflammation nor cancerous growth.  Only gastric ulcers.


We are very relief to get the diagnosis.

Cataract

My wife's uncle i.e. her father's younger brother was unable to see well for some time.  So he is going to SNEC or Singapore National Eye Center to get treatment.  We suspect it is cataract as both my father-in-law and mother-in-law had both their lenses changed.

Cataract is funny in a way.  The elders lose their sight so gradually that they did not noticed.  Most of the time they did not realised they are not seeing well at all.  I remember my mother-in-law used to give us fruits that are rotten and I have to throw them away.  When her eyesight is restored, the "rotten fruits" syndrome stopped as well.

At first, I thought she was playing tricks on us.  Now, I learn she is totally oblivious of her poor eyesight.

Amazing Classmate

I have been put in touch with a lot of old classmates.  Then there is a facebook page and on the facebook page some of my classmates.  One is just so amazing.  I would recognize if I walked past her on the streets.  However, I am sure she would not be able to recognize me!  She still looked totally the same as when we were in school!!  I on the other hand is twice the size, gray hair and totally middle age.  Sigh!  Some people of lucky or know to keep their youthful look.

Last Few Days

I just realized I have not blog for a few days.  On Thursday, I was busy at the exhibition and then go for dinner.  After that, I had an "emergency" at home.  Our stove keep tripping the ELCB or earth leakage circuit breaker.  My wife called and I have to troubleshoot using phone.  Finally, she managed to isolate the fault.  It was one of our bedroom's aircond.  I had to call my plumber as he left the conduit cover open when he install the piping.  He promised to go down Friday morning to fix up the conduit. 


My wife also called our aircond man and he spent two hours to troubleshoot and found the wiring faulty.  So we have to call our electrical contractor.  What a merry-go-round costing time and money.


Friday morning, I have to get up early to catch my flight from Haneda home.  There is a stewardess who look like Angmo.  I was intrigued and when to the flight deck when they are free to find out.  She is half English and half Thai.  She has good features and quite good looking.  All her family in England has left and living in France, Spain that has better weather than the depressing weather in England.


Yesterday, my brother had a wedding lunch for his 2nd daughter.  The restaurant is Jin Long in Bedok.  Originally, he book the tables in Punggol branch.  But Punggol branch closed down two weeks ago.  The food is average and price is $498 per table.  Good thing is we had black pepper crabs.  The crabs are quite good.


Today, we had birthday dinner with my mother-in-law in Punggol Waterpoint.  Since my in-laws are vegetarian, Din Tai Fung is a good choice as it has fried rice with eggs.  It can be a handful as my in-laws are pretty strict with their diet.  No garlic or onions.  After the meal, they are in much better mood.  So true is hungry man is an angry man and corollary hungry woman is an angry woman.


My weekend life now revolves around moving from one restaurant to another restaurant.

ANA

This is one of the rare time I took ANA to Tokyo.  I have to go from HK and ANA is a better deal.  I always take ANA for domestic flights if we are not taking bullet train.  The flight is ok.  There is no English magazines on board.  The entertainment system is a small subset of SQ.  It is interesting to see the stewardess changing their uniforms during the flight.  I kind of get confused.  I thought like SQ different colors mean the rank.  Then I realize after a while all the girls have the same colour.  Also interesting to note is I did not see any male crew.  So I guess there will be not juicy stories which my good friend Boh Tong blogs about. 


Oh, I just remember the flight deck are men.  So the pilots have no competition at all!!!

Stock Market Up

Stock market has been moving like a yo-yo.  I am afraid to buy anything.  It is very risky and I am not good at tracking the market.  I have made more losses than gain so far.  It is good to invest and all the financial write-ups say to invest with plenty of good advice.  But to execute correctly is extremely difficult as there is timing and right stock to invest in.

Good luck to everyone.  Yes, it is more luck than skills.

Outback and Milk Sock Tea

I just landed and walk around the mall.  Outback has teatime special.  So I went for the baby back ribs.  Unfortunately, I did not like the buffalo wings sauce.  Wished I specify the bbq sauce when I order.  I did not realise the waitress did not check with me on the 3 types of sauce available.  After the ribs, I walk about and stopped by a tea place for HK milk tea.  The egg tart was pretty good but their coconut tart has no standards.

There is a street that has plenty of aquarium fish shops.  The fishes are quite different from those at home.  So it is quite interesting to window shop.  I like the salt water fishes available.  The colours are brilliant and exotic.

After walking about for a while, it is more of the same.  Plenty of shops selling jewellery.  So I got bored and come back to the hotel.

iPhone Exchange - Wheelock Service Center

My wife had problems with her iPhone 6 Plus since she had it almost a year ago.  She went to the repair center in Plaza Singapura and they cannot find the fault and keep asking her to monitor.  Finally, when B3 dropped his phone in the water, she decided to go to Wheelock Place to seek repair and advice.   This time they take the phone to do diagnostic.  3 days later, they send a message to her that they will replace her phone.


So far, she has far better experience in the Wheelock Center.  They either solve her problem or change to a new phone.  This is the 2nd time they change a new phone for her.  Previously, it was iPhone 4.


The service center is also well run and very fast in clearing the queue.  So if you have an Apple device that need troubleshooting, go the Wheelock Place.

New Computer

I have a new computer from the office and it is so frustrating as there is admin rights.  So it is impossible to set up my desktop or change the homepage of my internet browser.  This is so incredible.  It is for the safety of the computer system but we are now handicap and every little thing need IT to do.  It is micro management to the highest degree.

Shami Banana Leaf Delight

After interviewing two candidates for a position in Singapore, we are done as two other candidates did not come.  So we go to Sembawang for bryani lunch as my colleague complained that the bryani in Tandoor, Holiday Inn did not taste like India. 

I told him I will bring him to my regular place.  He thought I said it is the best bryani in town.  I corrected him so that he know I do not use superlative words to describe my preferred stall.  There was a huge crowd as we arrived 12:30pm.  The owner told me it is like this on Fridays.  So now I know when to avoid this place.

We also ordered Fish head curry and tandoori chicken.  Both my colleagues said were good.

Tandoor Holiday Inn

My colleague come to town and stay in Holiday Inn in Orchard.  So we have dinner in Tandoor, Indian resturant in Basement.  I thought the food was not bad although it is not the best.  My colleague think the Bryiani rice is too soft and did not taste good.  I thought the tandoori chicken is not bad.  Overall the meal for two appetizers and two bryiani rice costs $200.  Hotel guest gets a 20% discount.  It is quite pricey.  The ambient is quite good.

Don't Understand

My blogger friend suggested the interviewee I met wants to take a break from work.  I must say I don't understand the younger generation.  At 44 with wife and a kid, there are expenses and responsibilities.  However, he may have done well enough or have old money or passive income.

Maybe he has his pride or have side income that he did not reveal.  He did says he restores cars.  Since he is a car enthusiast, he may make enough money buying old tin cans and turning them in antique cars for sale. 

I guess my colleague and I could not figure out how to manage without regular income.  One thing for sure, he did not sound or look desperate.  In this respect, I do not expect people like him to appear in the "transitioning.org" website.

Born in 1972, Jobless for a year now

My colleague ask me to help him interview for a position he has in Singapore.  The candidate was born in 1972.  So he is 44 years old.  I have been reading about PMET having a hard time looking for a job once they are retrenched.  So this is the first time I face a PMET.  However, he is a different case altogether.  He resigned from his job a year ago to look after his mother.  What puzzles me is he resigned almost the same time as his mother passing on.

That was a year ago.  We asked how he spends his time.  He told us he is helping his daughter as she is having her "O" level this year.  I asked him if he is teaching her any subjects.  No he cannot.  He helps her by sending her to school as well as to her tuition classes.  Now that "O" has started he can look for a job.  For the past year, he did not attempt to look for a job.  He can survive without regular pay.  His wife is working but pay is low.

What we gather from his responses is he is not very keen or active in his job search.  He is also not interested in upgrading himself.  He prefers to work with his hands. 

This is just one person but he managed to make me wonder about some of the cases featured in the internet about PMETs having a hard time looking for a job.  How much is their attitude affecting their job search or if they are sincere in looking for job.

Water Pipe Installation

I have bought the solar water heater and it is on its way.  I have the water pipe installed and once my solar water heater is in, I will be able to enjoy free heating for my hot water.  The only problem is installation and heater cost about $4,000.  I save only $2,500 if I were to go commercial.  So it also mean I can sell the system for $6,000 and still make a profit.  If it is working well, I will bring in more systems to sell.

The return for installing a solar water system according to the brochure is 3 to 4 years.  It mean I can save about $200 per month on electricity bill.  But the brochure are overselling.  My monthly electric bill is about $250 to $300.  I have 3 airconds on every night.  So I doubt the returns stated in the sales brochure.

Smoking Roast Pork

On Friday, I bought pork belly and seasoned it with salt and sugar.  This afternoon, I smoke it using the bbq stove.  The meat is so and juicy.  It is also flavorful.  Only issue is not all the skin is crispy.  Some part of the skin is chewy.  I also roast two cobs of corn.  Once they are done, I peel away the husk and butter it.  I did not eat it but my wife and kids think it taste not bad.

It is nice to have a homecooked dinner.  Bbq is much easier to do especially if it is one big piece of meat.  Although cooking time is long, it is not so labor intensive unlike Chinese cooking.  So it is good to enjoy home cooking once in a while.

B3 Totally Stressed!

Yesterday, B3 dropped his phone into the swimming pool.  He brought it back to dry but also put on the charger.  This effectively kills the phone permanently.  Now we have to bring the phone to repair.  We are bringing out all the old phones to try.  Some we have forgotten the passwords and have trouble getting the phone to work.

B3 is totally stressed as we scolded him for putting the phone on the charger when the phone was wet.  It is a bad month for us with 2 phones into water and now for sure one is irreparable and iPhone we will have to send to service to find out.

Even One Pot Meal Takes a Lot of Time to Cook!

We had stopped eating sea cucumber for a couple of weeks.  So my wife decides to buy pork legs to cook with the sea cucumbers.  She spends the morning cleaning and preparing the meat.  The cooking it in a pot has to watch the heat.  Then at Fairprice we have to get additional supplies tau pok and eggs.  Hard boil the eggs to braise them.  It is quite time consuming.  After eating, washing up is quite tedious as well.  Luckily, we have a dishwasher. 

So just to cook a one pot meal, she took literally the whole day!

B3 enjoys OBS

B3 is home today from Pulau Ubin Outward Bound School.  He is tired but still very enthusiatic.  It is apparent he enjoys the OBS experience.  I think it is also because he is fit and can cope with phyical challenges well.  His mummy had lunch with his ex-classmate in Primary School.  She went to RGS cried when she came back home from OBS.  She finds it challenging.

I am glad B3 did well.  He was hungry and I brought him to NEX and he ate a Carl's Junior Burger Meal.  The meal costs $17.40!  He deserves the treat!

Pictures of 51 Grange Road

Someone in the group chat took recent pictures of our old school.  The school field is under construction.  The camera man also tell us the swimming pool is gone when another asks about it.  Many are lamenting the destruction of our memories.

I was in 51 Grange Road and it was 150 years anniversary when I was in Sec 1.  And that was in 1973.  In a few years it will be 200 years anniversary.  It was known as Singapore Institution before it present name.

I have been thinking.  Only after 40 years, someone decides to get a group together.  We are all at tailend of our careers, kids have grown and no longer do we need to be on our toes for our careers.  So it is time to gather together and reminisce over our school time.  I am glad my classmate included me.

Pre U Classmates Group

My classmate asks if I like to be in the whatsapp group for our Pre-U class.  He says it may be a little noisy.  Understatement of the year!  My phone has been buzzing and classmates re-living old times.  Some are very nostalgic.  Unfortunately, one of our chemistry teacher has passed on due to liver cancer.  Everyone likes her including me.  She was very nice and warm.

Many of my classmates are doctors which is why they are keeping in touch with each other.  My classmate invited me as he has my number when I see him to remove my kidney stone.  Some still have retro pictures.  It is faded but we can all recognise and bring back old memories.

So now I feel I am travelling back in time.

Outward Bound School

This morning, B3 goes to OBS with his schoolmates.  He has to take the ferry to Pulau Ubin from Punggol Point.  It was good to see him there when I went to catch fishes for our arowana.  It will be his first time without any phone.  I hope he enjoys the physical workout.

I went to Samsung Repair Center during lunch.  The queue take 3 hours to get to me.  It will cost more than $700 to replace the motherboard, LCD and charging socket.  So it is not worth to repair.  It is the same a getting a new phone.  I cannot get the memory back anyway.  So I give up to repair the Note 4.

Home Again

My poor arowana was not fed for 5 days.  Today, it has a feast.  I managed to catch a number of small toman and ikan bilis.  So it is live and fresh seafood!

Durian galore in Chong Pang.  There are 4 durian stalls.  Many varieties are in season.  So we bought Lau Po and Butter.  It is quite good.  Still pricey at $15 each, not bad considering I ever paid like $150 in the famous stall in Sembawang.

We had good family meals yesterday with all our boys.  Lunch was at Nanbantei.  We had the set meals with additional chicken wings, pickled octopus with cucumber and tomato wrapped in bacon and cheese.  I like yakitori and we regularly patronise Nanbantei.  Dinner was in a new Thai resturant in Djitsun Mall in AMK Central.  We tried the mookata.  We added fried kailan, olive fried rice, minced pork and chai po omelette.  The meal is very reasonable in price and is good value.  So we will visit again.

Lee Hsien Loong fainted live on TV.  Poor guy must be under stress.

Jeju Volcanic Island

Yesterday, our meeting ends at noon and we had team building activity.  It takes the bus about an hour and half to go to the volcanic island.  The climb is 180m above sea level.  It took us half an hour to get to the top.  We have to rest periodically.  A couple of us are quite fit.  I am struggling a bit even though I cycle everyday.  Luckily my boss is not so fit, so it is easy to accompany him as he need frequent rest.

The view is gorgeous and plenty of Chinese tourists in our midst.  I took a few pictures which is similar to what is available in google. 

After the climb, we went for dinner to pack in the calories we just expended.  We then adjourned to the beach.  I check it out and there are fishes there.  Maybe due to the number of people in the water, not so many fishes and they are quite big.  So it will be easier to catch in Punggol as the fishes are plentiful.

I thought I will sleep well since I am tired from the exercise.  Instead I feel wide awake and have hard time falling asleep.  This is the benefit of exercise and climbing up a hill.

Roast Pig Dinner

We had a roast pig dinner.  The meat is soft and not as tasty as our roast pig or roast pork.  It is quite good Korean food.  There are lots of side dishes and kimchi.  The group drank a lot and had fun.  I enjoy the company and the meal.  It is a long day and luckily it was quite good.

My colleagues are happy as the presentations are over.  So it is relaxing.

Jeju

I am stuck in a resort in Jeju.  There is practically nothing to do other than work.  Even no resturant is open after breakfast.  To go anywhere, you need a car or taxi as the place is sparsely populated.  It is good tourist resort to relax and do nothing.  We had fish dinner and it is not bad.  The fish is quite fresh and not fishy.

The English programme is quite limited.  So I have an DW on.  The documentary in DW is not bad.  Usually, I do not have the patience to watch as I would flick the channel to a movie or finance news.  Here, I have DW as a bedfellow.

It is good to just to reminisce how it is like to travel in my early days.  Not much tv I can watch and I have to read and read.  Now there is internet and I can write my blog.

Dell Laptop

It is a real hassle.  I went to the shop and the technician is off on Sunday.  They could not find the computer.  The computer was sent to another unit.  So I have to wait for two hours to get my computer back.  It is not good.  The CPU blows, battery no longer works and touchpad is gone.  So I am not going to fix and just dump the computer.

Dell Computer

My brother gave my mother a Dell Laptop he won.  However, mum do not know how to use it.  So I tried to use but it died.  So I send it for repair and the motherboard was bad and cost $130 to fix and then the technician call to tell me the mousepad is bad.  And the battery has shorted out as well.  So I am not going to replace the battery as it cost $70.  But the time it is done, more than $200 for a machine that has not been used before.

Now I under the stress of getting a bad present.

Major Personal Disaster in Punggol

After fishing for so many years in Punggol Point, I have my first major disaster.  My Note 4 dropped into the sea.  The phone is gone in split second.  At Chinatown Point, I got a quotation of $230 for the repair.  So I think I will get a new phone if there is no cheaper offer.  The problem is recovering all my data from the phone.  I did not back up the phone.  So much for Android Phone.  iPhone has all the information on the computer at all times.

So Many Recall - Toyota Prius

Every time I send my car in for repair, there is a recall.  This time there are 2 recalls.  One for airbags and the other for carbon filter for the fuel.  It is no kidding.  I have no idea if there is any compromise in safety.  I drive Volvo for years and years and always send back to SM Motors for service and I have not experience any recall there.  Granted, the car's technology may be dated but it is very safe and quite sporty to drive especially my S60.

Pretty Girls Are Everywhere!

It seems like pretty girls are everywhere.  It means my mood is good, so I am looking through rose-tinted glasses.  I am fairly happy to finish my presentation for next week.  It could be better but I am not a detailed person.  So I send it to my boss and wait for feedback and he did not as he is probably busy.  So I am happy as a lark!

I also caught enough ikan bilis for my arowana.  I am glad it will not have food for a week while I am away at in Jeju Island.  So it is important I fatten it up a bit before fasting.

I called Hyflux Customer Service Centre and the phone when into a recording machine.  It requested I left a message and they will call back.  Until now, it has not.  Why the machine did not mentioned how long it will take for them to respond?

Holiday Makers in Punggol Point

Plenty of holiday makers brave the blazing sun in the hot afternoon to enjoy Punggol Point and many are playing Pokemon Go.  The sea is filled with Indian foreigner workers enjoying a saltwater dip.  The water is quite clean and is pristine if compared to the sea in India.

It is high tide and easier to catch ikan bilis.  I caught a few for my arowana.  It is fun when fishes are plentiful and easy to catch.  Many times, I also come back empty handed. 

My sister-in-law came with her two boys and we had dinner at the Kopitiam outside Seletar Mall.  Two half chicken i.e. roasted and steamed with 6 rice and 4 eggs equals to $34.  Not bad.

Pokemon Craze

Everyone is holding their handphones and staring at it yesterday.  It is the Pokemon craze.  Even our fairer sex are actively engaged in the Pokemon.  I always thought only boys are crazy over Pokemon and then grew out of it.  Now adult males are enjoying their 2nd childhood and young women are joining their boyfriends!

On the PCN, everyone is catching Pokemons!  It is so difficult to cycle as they are so engrossed.  I have to find the lull period to cycle.

Feeling Good in Penang

Although my trip is short in Penang, I feel good about the place.  The few hours I have on my own to walk around the hotel is very enjoyable.  I bought Penang 3-in-1 coffee powder, a bottle of ginger tea with brown sugar for RM15 and Tie Kuan Im tea.  I also had Penang fried kway teow but it is just average.  A cup of coffee and a cup of tea.  Kopi is only RM1.50 or 50 cents Sin!  Hae Mee or Prawn noodle RM4 or $1.30.  Most of the prices are very reasonable by Singapore standards. 

Plenty of Chinese hawkers and bak kut teh is easily available.  I can live there for long time.

Komtar Hawker Center

Hawker food is wonderful in Penang.  Hokkien Prawn noodles is only RM4 per bowl.  Satay was pretty good and oyster is not so good.  Bbq chicken wings are fine.  The bbq stingray is just average.  I love the chee cheong fun.  Overall, we had a wonderful dinner.  It is very hot and humid but I enjoys the food. 

I am glad our meeting is over.  And tomorrow I have a free morning before flying home.

Penang Food

I will get a chance to eat Penang food again.  Will fly to KL and have a couple of meetings.  After that, my colleague will drive us to Penang.   I have not been to Penang for years now.  Love the hawker fare there.  I will not be gluttony this time.  I has trouble with their hawker food as my stomach is pretty weak. 

I am looking forward to soak up the atmosphere there even though I will be stuck in meetings all day long.

Mother Does Not Understand Boys

My favorite time is lunch time.  I will think of all the food I like to try.  This afternoon, we went to Far East Plaza Level 5 for Bento Yakitori.  After the not so good yakitori in Plaza Sin, I needed to get a fix of yakitori with a good standard.  I also ordered chicken wings and shitake mushroom.  I find the shitake mushroom not as good as Tokyo. 

Since B3 will be off school at quarter past 2, I decided to get a takeaway Bento for him.  The Bento plus taxes cost almost $15.  When my wife heard the price, she told me the story of a Single Mum who had a problem when her teenage boy asked for 2nd set of chicken rice at $3.50 each.  This Single Mum run her own business and earns a lot.  She has more than a couple of millions in cash.  Yet when it comes to food, she had a problem that her son wants to eat more.  She compares his appetite to his younger sister who is satisfied with one plate of chicken rice.  She has a boy and a girl.  She will pass her millions to her two kids when she moved on.  Yet, she quarrel with her son over an additional plate of chicken costing $3.50.

If the Single Mum told me this story, I would have advise her to spend her money on her kids while she is alive rather than letting her kids feel she is starving them.  So instead of leaving say $2million each, she can let them eat to their heart content and give them $1.8million.  I supposed her argument will be it is not good for his health to eat so much.  I am taking good care of him so that he stay healthy and well.

Frankly, I am happy to spend my money on food for my boys.  They can enjoy good food and in future they can feed me with good food.

Rare Family Day

Yesterday, all my 3 boys are with us for lunch.  This is extremely rarely nowadays as B2 has rotating shift in Civil Defence and B1 has school projects.  We went to Plaza Singapore and after surveying all the resturants decided on a Japanese on level 4 in the new wing.  The resturan is just opposite Sukiyaki restant.  The food is not bad.  I ordered yakitori and they are poor cousins compared to Far East Plaza.

Cold Storage has food tasting in the atrium.  It was very busy.  Lots of people trying out fresh oysters.  I am not an oyster fan.  So, my boys and I went to the Cold Storage at B2 to see what we can get for dinner.  So of the hams are near expiry and have 50% discount.  Also the preserved or pickled veg like sundried tomatoes and bell peppers fill with feta cheese are on discount as well.  So we decided to get those for dinner.

In the evening, I fry bacon and eggs and heat up the hams.  We had a wonderful meal at home.

Best Traditional Green Bean Dessert

This old lady has been making Green Bean dessert for at least 45 years.  My wife is has discerning taste bud said it is the only Green Bean she like.  She has been featured in Newspapers and Magazine.  I know she has been selling traditional desserts closed to 50 years.  Her husband was the cook and she serve them.  Her husband passed on when I was still quite young and since then she has be a lone ranger cooking and selling without any help.

She make a mean green bean soup.  The mung beans are simmered till they are total like rice gruel.  The coconut milk make it rich and the sago is just right such that it is not too viscous not too watery.  I had been patronising this lady since I was in Primary School. 

Just Google Green Bean Soup Commonwealth she will pop up as she is recommended by many food bloggers.

Air Fryer

After we bought an air fryer, I have not use our toaster oven anymore.  Air fryer is quite convenient.  It also heat more evenly.  So frozen prepared food is so much easier to heat and serve.  Tonight we are too lazy to walk to Seletar Mall.  So I heat up Tay's fried chicken and chicken with beancurd skin together with premium hashbrown.  The food turns out well.  The chicken in beancurd skin is a tad too salty.  Hashbrown is really well done and do not break apart.  In toaster oven, the hashbrown usually breaks as I tried turning it over. 

The other advantage is I need not use aluminium foil.  Recently, there is an article in Straits Times that heating food in aluminium foil contaminated the food with aluminium which when ingest can cause alzheimer's disease.

I do recommend this gadget in every kitchen!

Timeline by Michael Crichton

I had not read a book where I bring it everywhere for a long time.  This is a good read!  I like the wormhole and setting in the 14th century France.  Time travel is like regular science fiction.  I skipped a lot of chapters and also just focus mainly on the historical parts.  The Assistant Professor stayed behind and marry Lady Claire even though he knows she is having affairs with powerful men.  He thinks she is looking for a protector. 

The final ending is the History team that was there found the tomb of the Assistant Professor of History.  He is buried beside his wife Lady Claire.  So history was changed by the time travel.

Incredible Queue for One Star

The Cantonese chicken and char siew stall queue just got longer!  It is quite long usually and after appearing on the news for winning a Michel Star, the queue become longer.  Many in the queue are taking selfies.  They are there to brag to their friends that they have tried the food.

I am glad I tried it before.  There are so many times I gave up.  I am glad I have eaten the Bak Chor Mee with a Star as well.  We actually went to the coffeeshop to try the Western Stall.  B1 was intrigue by the long queue and decided to queue to try.   It is not bad.  I ate there twice.  The serving is really tiny.  I have no problem as I usually like to order for many stalls.  This coffeeshop has only 2 stalls.

Reading is Relaxing

In Jakarta, I was in the hotel room and the tv was on as usual.  A show Timeline came on and it was interesting to me.  Nowadays, it is so easy to research.  Using internet and the search engine.  I found out that the movie was an adaptation from a book by the same title authored by Michael Crichton.  I went to Orchard Library to look for it but it was not there.  Today in AMK, I luck out.  I enjoy reading at the poolside with a slight drizzle.  It is cool and relaxing.  I had hot coffee with milk, vegetable crackers and organic prunes. 

It is heavenly.

Incredible Clean and Neat

My balcony is full of dead plants due to the drought earlier.  Outside belong to me, however I am too lazy to maintain.  Even when I clean, I just sweep the floor.  My wife spent 3 hours cleaning up the balcony and did such a wonderful job.  Now it is so clean and presentable. 

As the Chinese saying goes "It takes a hundred men to make a camp, it takes just a woman to make it a home."

Tea Leaves from Indonesia

I opened a pack of tea leaves which I brought back from Indonesia.  The leaves have lots of twigs and inconsistently cut.  This is why they are cheap.  The smell is strong.  So I know why I like Teh Botol.  It is because the sweetness level is high.  Jasmine tea is drank with rock sugar.  The colour of the tea does not look good either.  It is a cross between green and red and dirty looking.  Unlike tea from Vietnam, China, India or Sri Lanka.  The colour is clear whether red, green or brown.

Carrefour

There is nothing nearby my hotel.  There is no footpath on the road.  The road has heavy traffic and is very dusty and smell of exhaust from trucks and cars.  Luckily there is a Carrefour next door.  But the selection is quite poor.  However, they do have teh botol.  So I bought teh botol and tea leaves.  At least I have something.  There are plenty of cars, so the city has plenty of disposable income and the economy is doing pretty well considering the traffic jams everywhere.

I am glad at least there is a supermarket.

Hotel Santika

I checked in the hotel late last night!  The day start early preparing breakfast for my boy and then getting to the airport.  I land 10 mins early while my colleagues from Malaysia had the flight delayed as usual.  Instead of landing 1010, the scheduled time, it landed 30mins late.  Then we have to wait for another half an hour for my colleague to get his luggage.

We went to his hotel first as our meeting room is there.  Nasi Padang was our first meal.  They just send in a bunch of plates and then we just keep eating.  At the end of the meal, they just count the plates and tally with a record of what we ate.  Any plate not touched is returned to the display and waiting for the next customer. 

We had buffet dinner and then head off to our hotel.  It was another two hours ride.  So we checked in at about 10pm or 11pm Singapore time.  What a long day.

Jakarta

Tomorrow morning, I am going to Jakarta for work.  It has been a long time since I went to Jakarta.  I am looking forward to it.  I remember the traffic jams, dirty canals and best Indonesia food especially bbq fish.  Harum manis was such good price too when in season.  I remember Chinatown and buying bird's nest.  The prices are in 10K or ban in Hokkien.  But when translate to Sin, the price is quite cheap.

Jakarta, here I come!

Library@Orchard

My mrs want to borrow some magazines available in Library@Orchard.  So we go during lunch time.  The seats are plentiful and comfortable.  The books selection are quite good.  I am most impressed by the fact it has the most complete of all the books by David Baldacci.  Ang Mo Kio, Bishan amd Toa Payoh libraries do not have as many.  Maybe less people borrow books at this library.  I borrowed two books that I have not read yet.  I enjoyed reading thrillers.  It can be riveting and hard to put down the book sometimes.  The carpark is fairly reasonable.  I think it is about $4 plus for slightly over an hour in 313 Somerset.

The library is very quiet and there are cafes just at ground level.  So it is a good way to past time in aircond comfort.

Good Value Dinner in AMK Hawker Center

The Teochew Porridge stall in AMK Ave 5 and Ave 10 is quite famous.  I did not know it is famous until I check out the internet.  The queue is always long.  We frequent this stall for lunch or dinner as my wife who is very picky find their food acceptable.  This stall has freshly steamed fish.  Our dinner tonight with steamed fish slice, chai po omelette, braised taukee, braised pork belly, stewed kiamchye and fried hairy cucumber cost only $20.50 for 3 persons.  Even though the queue is long, the service is pretty fast and efficient.  So it is a good choice if you want a balance meal for a reasonable price.

Weight Gain

My night time weight i.e. after dinner is 93.6kg.  It has been climbing as I exercise less due to pain in the abdomen.  I am taking strong painkillers and it seems to work except today after eating laksa.  So my wife suspects spicy food cause the efficacy to drop.  With the painkillers, I feel something in the abdomen, kind of discomfort but no sharp pain.  However, there is side effect of dizziness.  Also the painkillers are expensive - 6 pills cost more than $24 i.e. $4 per day.

I need to reduce my calories intake so that my weight do not gain.  It is a tough fight as I love to eat.  I live to eat!

Arowana Only Survivor

My fish pond is toxic!  No goldfish or red fish survived more than a few days in the pond.  Only my two feet arowana can live in the water.  I wonder if the fortnightly fogging is poisoning the water in my pond.  At first, I thought the fishes from a different source is not good.  But when I go back to my regular supplier, same thing happens.  So it is not the fishes but the water.  I replenish my pond with all the rain water I can get and then I will try to introduce goldfishes again.

Shanmugam in Chong Pang

B2 is on night duty.  So after sending him to his camp, we went to Chong Pang to buy durians.  At the coffeeshop there was a big group of people standing around.  I was wandering why the food stalls suddenly become so popular.  Then I saw Shanmugam.  He is talking to the diners.  He is walking about by himself surrounded at a safe distance by a huge group of minders. 

Seems like he is working hard during non-campaign time.

Effective vs Busy

Monday!  Start of new work week.  I have to figure out all the things I need to do and get ready for meeting in August.  There are always things to do.  I love Peter Drucker's clear differentiation between effective and busy.  Effectiveness is doing the right things.  Busy is doing things right.  Busy give us a sense of accomplishment!  Doing right things take time to figure out and infinitely more difficult to do than doing lots of urgent issues.

Unfortunately, most bosses loved busyness.  They like to see their staff occupied and busy doing lots of work for the business.  When the time is well used or not is secondary.  It also may be the priority to get their own agenda and play politics. 

Fountain of Youth

In the morning, we went to Chinatown Point to pass time and check out on prices of sea cucumbers as this is my wife's latest hobby. 

My mum used to give her sea cucumber but she did not know how to rehydrate.  So she always give them to my 2nd sister.  Lately, she saw pictures of my mum and she looked a lot younger and healthier.  She asked B1 and B3 who were in Canada for a few months and one month respectively.  They informed her grandma eats sea cucumber regularly.  She will buy in bulk and negotiate a good price.  She get special price as she will bring in other customers to the shop.  My boys loved her cooking.  They even ate her sea cucumbers.  I have a hard time swallowing sea cucumbers as they do not taste good to me.

My wife actually has a healthy glow since she get onto the sea cucumber program.  She also feel better and is stronger.  She can twist bottle caps off from the bottles of fish essence.  Before, she will need a tool or I will have to twist open for her.  Now she is even stronger in her twisting than me!

Dried Sea cucumbers are expensive.  In the market, the rehydrated one is only $38/kg.  The dried kinds range from $200 to $1000 per kg.  I must say if you are discipline and eats sea cucumber regularly, the effect is quite startling.

Try it and let your friends or relative who have not seen you a few months and let them asked you what happens or they suspect you went for cosmetic surgery!

Dinner at Tang's

We have to go to Far East Plaza to make a rubber stamp.  Parking is per entry in Lucky Plaza after 5pm.  Make sure you reached carpark gantry after 5:15 to be sure.  I entered at 5:05pm before and have to pay extra two hours or $3.68 as well as the per entry price.  The carpark clock is not so accurate I guess.  It is not worthwhile to enter Lucky Plaza carpark between 4 and 5pm as you still have to pay for the first two hours and then per entry price.

After our errands, I check out all the food outlets in Far East Plaza.  The sushi resturant has fairly good sushi but at quite high price.  I do not like fish and my boys are not with me.  So I decided to skip after checking out the menu.  Then I go to Nanbei Yakitori which I like.  Prices are much higher for dinner. Usually I eat set lunch there and even then I usually pay $20 to $25 per head.  I think dinner will cost more than $40 per head.  So it will be poor value to eat there.

We then walked to Fat Duck but my wife did not like Fat Duck as she thinks the food is not fantastic for the price.  Chinatown hawker center has the same char siew using pork belly for $6 instead of $13.80++ or $14.80++.  So we settle on expensive hawker food in Tangs as there are seats.  Popiah is $3.50, Satay is 80cents per stick and Penang fried kway teow large $8. 

In total dinner at Tangs cost $3.50+$4.80+$3.60+$8 just under $20 for two.  Not bad in aircond comfort but all self service.  Two hot drinks at $1.80 each.  B2 joins us halfway and help us finish the Penang Kway Teow.

After dinner, we walk to Takashimaya as I want to pass time in Kinokuniya.  In front of Wisma Atria, there was a busker, Ken who plays guitar.  It is comfortable to sit on the steps.  Ken's show is a washout.  Two groups gave up watching during the first singing.  We gave up on the 2nd songs.  Ken invited the audience to go to the stage to sing while he strum his guitar.  I think his style and songs are unsuitable for my taste.

At Kino, while browsing at the Philosophy section, a young lesbian couple came by.  It is getting more and more common to see lesbians or lesbian behaviour.  They are pretty open. 

Bank Robbery?

It is like travelling back in time.  First, Little India riots and Bank Robbery!  I feel like a small boy again.  Riots happened when I was 5 or 6 years old.  There was a curfew and the roads were deserted.  All shops closed and only riot police were out and about.

Today, a bank robbery and the suspect is a foreign talent??  We are really living in a cloistered life.  What used to be regular has gone domant and the sleeping crimes are waking up.

Bombings Are Getting Closer

50 dead - Turkey, 200 dead - Baghdad.

Then KL Puchong and now city of Solo in Indonesia.  The bombings are getting closer home.  I wonder why the bombings are rampant.  Dhaka - foreigners killed.  The world is getting unsafe.  If all weapons are banned, then damage will be low.

Cobra on the Sidewalk

My eldest was walking to take bus to his holiday job 30 June and has an encounter with a fairly big black cobra.  He asked for NParks contact when I was in Tokyo.  He tried calling NParks Hotline but nobody pick up.  I gave him the NParks person in charge of our area.  This guy did dispatch the Pest Control but they arrived half an hour later.  By then the cobra was gone.

Pain on the Right Lower Abdomen

It is almost a year since my hernia repair.  Now I am suffering from sharp pains in the right abdomen that prevent me from walking properly.  Now my gait is like a rocking boat.  It is quite scary that I now walk like an old man or handicap.  I need to see my surgeon to see if there is a fix.

Soba for Lunch

My colleagues seems to prefer Japanese lunch even though I suggested Fridays or Outback.  I do not eat raw fish and so is quite specific e.g. tonkatsu, yakitori, tempura or fried soba.  The big guy who loved food suggested we should check out soba resturant first.  I ordered a bunch of appetizers and we get our food late as they served appetizers first.  I realised I should only order appetizers after our mains has arrived.  I had hot soba with some root vegetable called Yamaimo which is supposed to be good for health.  I saw that in a tv program Yamaimo root vegetable tastes sweet and very healthy.

However, I must say I am not impressed by the taste.  Hopefully, it is healthy.  But once a blue moon, I doubt there will be any effect on me.

Big Sight

Tokyo Big Sight is the convention and exhibition center.  I spent the day there visiting exhibiters and looking for opportunity.  There I met ex-colleagues.  One in Japan and another from England.  So it is a good visit for me to catch up on old times.  Interestingly, both are named Nick! 

Lunch was just expensive average tasting food in a resturant in Big Sight.  However, we had "famous" tempura dinner in Shinjuku.  I went to Takashimaya to buy white bean powder for my wife to make wagashi or Japanese dessert.  My wife learned to cook Japanese meals and desserts in ABC Cooking school.  I love to chant A B C, Kiam Chye Cha Roti.  It is an old rhyme I learn as a kid growing up in a Hokkien environment.

Unagi Lunch

I had a meeting with customer and then we had lunch among my colleagues.  We decided on unagi for lunch as they prefer it over my yakitori or tempura.  Unagi is a rare treat as they do not eat it often.  Our unagi lunch cost 4,000 yen each i.e. 16,000 yen for 4 of us.  This is equivalent to US$160.  It is just fish and rice.

When I first brought my Australian colleagues to chicken rice because my Taiwanese and Thai colleagues want to try the famous chicken rice and they were surprised that it is only chicken and rice.  I remember Victor, the Australian guy keeps repeating like a mantra - chicken and rice.  Guess what, they like it so much in the next trip to Singapore, they went there by themselves.  But chicken rice cost no more than S$10 per person.

Hence Japan still have crazy prices.

Tokyo

I arrived in Tokyo delayed by at least half an hour.   Flights leaving Singapore is always late.  Changi Airport is not so efficient anymore.  I had yakitori and ramen for dinner.  The yakitori has no seating.  The food is good but it is tiring to stand to eat.  So after a little window shopping in BIC Camera, I had miso ramen.  So I am so full.  It is so enjoyable to try out different stalls.  It is just like eating in our hawker centers.

Hong Kong Cousin

I did not turn on my computer on the weekend as I has to host my cousin visiting from Hong Kong on Saturday.  Although we set the time at 2pm, she arrived at 3:40pm.  This is so consistent as the first time I went to pick her up, I had to wait for almost two hours for her. 

My eldest sister came as well.  We host our cousin and her daughter's classmate who has relocated to Singapore.  They enjoys swimming in our tiny pool.  After swimming, we host them to dinner in Paradise Inn in Seletar Mall with two of their maids.  It is so expensive to host her.  In future I have her outside, otherwise my whole family will be exhausted just entertaining her in a few hours. 

I am glad I am travelling for work.

Tai Chung, Kaohsiung

We leave at 6:15am to go Tai Chung as we are taking a ride from our local partner.  It is my first time to Tai Chung.  We had local food for lunch.  We had a Bakwang or meatball.  This meatball is more like soon kueh but filled with minced meat.  Then we have orhlauk or fried oyster.  The orhlauk is very different.  There is a lot of kangkong in the base and top with an omelette and a few pieces of oysters.  There is a peanut sauce topping.  So I prefer the orhlauk in Toa Payoh Lorong 5.

After lunch, we went to Kaoshiung.  We met for about an hour and then off to the train station to head back to Taipei. 

Kaoshiung to Taipei is almost 3 hours.  Travelling with a colleague makes time passes easily.  We will surprise when the train is pulling into Taipei station. 

Pu Tien Taipei

I had dinner with my ex-colleague.  We decided on Pu Tien as the food looked good.  We ordered Heng Hwa bee hoon, stir-fried vegetable, assorted cold dishes - pickled cucumber, steamed chicken, pickled fungus with radish(I am not sure) and now even the last cold dish I cannot remember!  My short term memory is going.  The sweet sour pork with Lychee is not bad but not as good as Paradise Inn in Seletar Mall. 

After dinner, we had tea and talk till almost closing time at 10pm.  It is so nice to just chat about everything and nothing.  I enjoys her company.  She has slimmed down and her face is a little thin and haggled.  Even her butt seems smaller.  Yes, I noticed!  She says she is enjoying her work.  She bought Google, Amazon and Apple share.  Her Apple share is down but Google and Amazon is up.  These are the companies that LinkedIn said attracts top clicks and did extremely well in the stock market.  Overall, she still makes about $5000 which is not bad at all.

Lucky Girl!

Yesterday, my wife was invited to a "personal" shopping event for a brand a cosmetic.  There is a 20% discount and for $500 purchase you get $500 value in facial.  Since it is such a "good deal" I strongly encourage her to take it.  It took her some time and finally, she open her wallet.  For the purchase, there is a lucky draw for 2 prizes - bread toaster and multi-fryer.  She won the multi-fryer.  What a lucky girl!!  Spending money and winning a lucky draw!

I Love Taipei

My colleague noticed that Taiwanese women are much better looking than before.  He think it may be more make-up.  I also remind him plastic surgery as well.  I agree with him that the women are better looking.  Taiwanese are more feminine and very polite and warm.  I think they make good wives.  But this is just outside looking in.  I do not have the numbers to support i.e. how many Taiwanese wives divorce their husbands.

Taipei has good food and the price is reasonable.  We went to Din Tai Fung and the crowd was huge and queue long.  It is pretty well organised.  There are separate queues for 1 to 2 persons, 3 to 4 persons and 5 and above.  My colleague first time eating in Din Tai Fung and he likes the fried dumpling (jiao tzu) and the wanton in chilli sauce.   I love them too.  We had a wonderful dinner.

After dinner, I had a burnt caramel latte from Starbucks which was pretty good.

Say Seng Pork and Mixed Soup

B3 has lecture in Bugis.  It is at 2pm.  Say Seng only opens at 2:30pm.  So we lunch at Queen Street Hawker center.  I decided to eat Lor Mee as Say Seng is not open yet.  B1 joins us from Kent Ridge.  He will arrives past 2:30pm.  So after my lunch, I decided to queue at Say Seng for his lunch.  Although the sign says 2:30pm, the stall actually starts selling at 3pm.  So I was standing for more than half hour.  Luckily, B1 joins me to keep me company.  Time passes well.  I was queuing up for his lunch anyway.  B1 like to try popular joints especially those with long queues to understand the popularity. 

Say Seng now no longer sells the jellied pork.  Only braised pork belly and the mix organs soup.  The soup is only so-so.  But the pork is very good.  I felt very thirsty after eating.  So the MSG content is high.  The jellied pork is only available in Jalan Bersih according to the customer behind me. 

After late lunch, we went to Robinson to support mummy's shopping.  I was tired of waiting and went to Kino to browse the books.  It is nice to see all the new books.

Queen Street Hawker Center

I am at Queen Street hawker center drinking teh halia.  The stall next to it is Siraj Famous Waterloo Indian Rojak.  It is the branch of the main stall in the coffeeshop in Waterloo Street.  The main store is quite popular.  This branch is not as popular but still busy.  Tastewise is about the same.  I think it is just so many more choices in the hawker centre.  Also there are many other stalls with long queues.  It is hot and humid due to the crowd and cooking.  Food is good and affordable price.

Long live hawker centers!

Air Fryer

I now swear by my airfryer.  I can heat my youtiao to crispy throughout.  The outcome is far superior to toaster over.  I also use the air fryer for french fries and chicken nuggets.  In fact all the precooked frozen taste much better with air fryer compared to over.  The drawback is size.  Our current air fryer can only heat food for two.  So it is not suitable if the quantity is for more than two persons.  I will buy nuts to try.  I suspect the result will be superior to toasting nuts in the oven.

I was very cynical in the beginning.  Now that I used it, I swear by it.  The only problem is space.  With so many gadgets, our kitchen become cluttered.

4 Wisdom Teeth Out in One Go!

Nowadays, wisdom tooth extraction is pretty wild.  B2 has 4 wisdom teeth extracted in one go.  He has to go under GA and the upper wisdom teeth are straight forward.  Lower wisdom teeth are all broken as they were impacted.  Impacted wisdom tooth is growing in the wrong direction and pushing all his teeth crooked.

He could not talk and his whole face was swollen, lips swollen and drool out blood.  Now he is better on recovering.  He still need painkillers.

B1 has 4 wisdom teeth extracted one by one.  Each time, it takes a week to recover.  B2 get 8 days and that it!  Each extraction done in Khoo Teck Puat was $800.  B2 done his in National Dental Center.  All 4 in one go cost only $1,300.  Two were simple extraction.  Still it is pretty good price compared to regular dentist.

Dinner at Chong Pang

B2 is on day shift.  We are having late dinner.  So I decided to go Chong Pang for dinner and pick B2 up as well.  He is late and at the end of the shift has another call.  But it was ok as we just ordered our food.  So take our time to eat.  Most of the stalls are closed except for Zhichar in coffeeshops.  There is a white beehoon stall but we did not try.  It seems popular.  I ate Teochew noodle as I did not want to eat fried stuff.  The oyster omelette is still open.  The food in the Malay stall look tired.  So fishball noodle is freshly cooked and therefore most appealing.

After dinner, we went to the fruit stalls.  Mangoes are in season and at good price.  We decided on durians instead.  The durians are tiny for $5 each.  The seeds are small.  Tastewise, actually quite good.  We had 4 durians totalling $20.  We had a durian feast for dessert.

Scary!

During dinner, my wife says she will come up to my office area to clean up for me.  It is the scariest thing for me!  She will throw my precious stuff away or pack them until I cannot find them which is as good as lost.  I am a messy guy and she is ultra neat.  She is also the one who calls the shots, the dominant Queen in the household.  So I can kiss my things goodbye.  But my place will be neat and tidy.  My office will lose it homely feel and I will be a stranger to my own sacrum.

I noticed B1 is neat and B2 is totally untidy.  I am in-between the two of them.  I am messy but not as messy as B2.  I need a tidy workspace and a neat library.  I also have samples, brochures and other junk around my office.  It is the junk that my wife targets.

I will be out the next two weeks and fears the worst when I returned home from my trips.

Best Denki Sale in WaterPoint

Best Denki has sales and roadshow in Waterpoint Place.  It is the same electrial white goods and TVs.  There is a fan for $28 which is a good deal but plenty of people queuing for it apparently.  So maybe it is not worth the effort.  The food scene there is interesting but I did not feel there are any resturants or food stalls that stand out.  The mall is fairly busy, so it is not bad business.

The bank cluster is quite good with most major banks represented including POSB, Maybank, BOC, Citi.  So it is convenient if you need banking service or like to compare rates.

Waterway Point

We decided to go to Waterway Point for dinner.  Car park situation is not so bad before 6pm.  Plus there are green lots.  So I am happy to park at the green lots which are usually near to the entrance.  I love this business of malls becoming green.  It is started with the first green mall, City Square.  Since then a few malls have green lots.  313 and Waterway have them and it is great!

Waterway Point is quite busy as CompassPoint is still closed.  The resturants are numerous although as I tried out each, the food is nothing special.  We had dinner at a Causal Japanese resturant that serves expensive dessert/drinks.  I still like Japanese food in Liang Court better.

Flats around Chong Pang

My blogger friend is right about the HDB flats in Chong Pang, "old and expensive".  When I was evaluating living in Yishun, we found the flats around Chong Pang old.  Mind you this was 20 years ago.  They were rundown and in poor condition.  At that time, it was not expensive.  So when we found an unit at Blk 760 which is directly opposite YJC and walking distance to MRT and Swimming Complex, we took it.  The block 100 series are the first flats to be built in Yishun.  So it is the oldest in Yishun probably about 40 years now.

B2 works in the ambulance service in Yishun.  He attends calls there and a few blocks in the  100 series are notorious.  Has plenty of issues as they get many calls there.  So I would say he makes the right decision not to buy in Chong Pang.

Boh Tong Brought Back My Memories

My blogger friend guessed right!  I used to live in Yishun near Chong Pang.  I forgot to tell him also I worked in Yishun Ave 7.  This is the reason why we lived there. 

I was living in Canada and came back to Singapore to sign the paperwork for selling my house.  It was not a good deal as I sold it for $200K less than the market value.  I did not know as I totally out of touch with real estate market.  At that time, there was no internet.  I subscribed to Straits Times weekly which cost a bomb.  While back in Singapore, I met with ex-colleagues and my ex-boss.  My ex-boss told me his boss said to him there are no good Singaporeans and asked me to meet him.  I told him I was not looking for a job.  He says no no, this is not a job interview.  I just want to prove to him.  So during the meeting, I talk alot about my new born(B1) who was 1 year old.  Then I went back to Canada. 

My boss reach out to me when I was in Canada to advise me that he is going to be in Washington DC and like me to meet his HR from England.  He said he has created a Marketing position and like his HR to evaluate me.  This is how I got hired and relocate back to Singapore.  The company was pretty good.  Paid for my family to come back including relocating all my furniture and personal effects.

Living in Yishun was ok.  We lived in a five room flat in mixed five rooms and four rooms block.  I enjoys buying toys for my boys and neighbours are envious.  I did not realised it.  My wife told me as she was a homemaker and hears gossips in the market.

Now that I lived in a different neighbourhood, I know the importance of living in similar socioeconomic level.  However, people with more money seems to think they have more rights.  There is no perfect neighbourhood.

Weather Turns Hot

The gardener waters the plant explaining it is very hot.  I agree it is hot and dry.  So it is good to water the plant to keep them green and beautiful.  My cycling now demands drinking at the least 2 bottles of water to quench my thirst.

The heat is increasing our water consumption and Singapore is now supporting water to Johore.  So the table has turned.  The Malaysian General who wrote using water as a strategic weapon against Singapore is proven wrong.  Much has changed since the article was published.  The water technology has improved dramatically and Singapore invested well.

Easier to Watch Youtube than to Read

I am reading a lot less as it is so much easier to browse on the net and also watch videos on Youtube.  I read mostly on flights and also on bed in the hotels.  I no longer read at my bedside at home.  I noticed this change as I find that a lot of my reading materials which I keep at my bedside goes untouch for long time unlike before I rotated them fairly quickly.  The brightly coloured moving images is so my sexier and less straining on the eyes.  I used to read to fall asleep.  Nowadays, I watch BGT as my bedtime tonic.

Chinatown Morning

This morning is a shopping for groceries in Chinatown.  The Wife wants to buy some dried sea cucumbers.  Sea cucumbers are "delicacies" and very expensive.  She bought the cheapest available after checking out several Chinese Medical Halls.  The price is almost $200 for one kg.  Some runs up to $2,000 per kg.  I did not like sea cucumbers as they tasted weird to me.  My mum now eats sea cucumber regularly and is looking younger and better.

After the sea cucumber purchase, she went to the wet market and purchase a red spotted garouper.  We had steamed garouper for our dinner and it tasted fabulous!  My wife is an excellent cook when it comes to steaming fish.

Cannondale Bike

Glad to finally repair my Cannondale bike.  The inner tube valve was damaged and I have to replace.  I am glad I go to the Sengkang Sport Complex shop although I went there twice with no luck.  This time I make sure they are open before going.  The price is reasonable.  The tube was replaced for
$8.  The inner tape was worn out as well.  That cost $4 and I broke a wire bringing the bike which cost another $4.  Total bill $16.  Not bad considering another bike shop wanted $12 just to replace the inner tube.

The Ghost of Relativity

On the way to Shanghai, I watched this show and found it hilarious.  So, I googled and found the series and complete what I missed on the plane.

The story is about a genius architect and his manager who is in love with him.  This manager takes extreme care of him.  Then a receptionist came and caused the manager to die.  This manager turned into a ghost and forced the receptionist to apply as a manager in order to stay close to her love.  As a result chaos ensue.

I learned a lot of Cantonese watching this drama.

School Holiday

It is nice to wake up "late" these days.  Late for me is before 8am.  I am an early riser.  Usually, I will be up by 7am and will make a nice cup of tea and read the papers.  I am not so hot on Straits Times anymore disappointed and disgusted by the selective reporting.  So instead of reading, I will watch Bloomberg Financial News or documentaries by National Geographic. 

There are still CCAs to attend to i.e. sending my boy to school but at a more earthly hour.  Or giving B1 and B2 a lift to train station or to Civil Defence Center in Yishun.  In between the errands, I worked.  I enjoys my work even though there are some frustrations.  The best is I need not do what I consider mindless work.  I am helping the team members to sell.  So it is a great feeling.