B1 Finally Caught his Fish!

B1 has been fishing with his friends.  He goes to Punggol, then to Bishan pond but has not caught anything even though his friends did get a fish or two.  They goes to fishing pond in Pasir Ris and out of 3, two caught one each the first time.  His rod broke and he goes to Joe's to buy a new rod and reel.  He spent almost $100.  On Wed, with his new rod, reel and line, he caught an Asian Seabass.  It is monster of a fish!  It weighs more than 1.3kg and 50 cm long!! 

He was so happy finally he caught a fish.  Mummy cleaned it up yesterday which is how we get the measurements.  We were very happy for him as well.

Coincident!

It is quite interesting sometimes when coincidence happens.  I get to know Boh Tong and get his help to learn about blogging.  We keep in touch through our blogs.  Many years later, BT start writing about meeting his old schoolmates and I found we are from the same school.  I was also interested in the story of his teacher who lives in Canada.  I lived there myself for a few years.  A year or two ago, a classmate of mine asked me if I want to join the chat group.  He is my Urologist and took out my kidney stone.  I joined and it bring back lots of memories.  I enjoys the daily chats from everyone.  Some more active than others.  I only contribute occasionally by forwarding some interesting videos.

Now BT shares that his classmate is my Principal's son.  I heard he has 2 sons and both are doing extremely well.  My Principal died of cancer around 7 or 8 years after we left school.  He lived a private house which is worth millions today.  His widow died more recently.  All these info come from the chat group.

It is quite interesting that we share a common thread and found out many years later after we know each other.

Pistachio Grill

My RI classmates recommended to check out this resturant in our group chat.  So for lunch on Wed we just drop by.  The place was empty.  I decided to do what was recommended by my classmate and ask for beef and mutton not in the menu.  The beef rib is not in the menu and cost $60.  Seems a bit pricey for a rib.  Since B1 is with us, we have 3 persons it is ok to try.  We also ordered a salad.  The salad is quite small and the dressing is unique.  It is very tasty.

The beef rib is so so good.  It comes with basmati rice.  We enjoyed our meal so much and rave about it when we pick up B3 from school.  We asked him when is he available to have lunch with us.  He says Friday as his exams finishes at 11:30am.

Come Friday, we went there for lunch and the place was fully booked.  We were shocked and disappointed that B3 may not have a chance to taste the food.  Luckily, a table for 4 is available and we were ushered to sit and they set up the table for us.  Our 2nd disappointment came next when we try to order the beef rib.  It was sold out!  The chef came out to talk to us and recommended we take the mixed grill and lamb shank.  We also order pita and brinjal dip.  The lamb shank was excellent.  There is a sauce as well.  So mummy loved it so much.  Her mother's birthday is coming up.  So she check with the chef if he can make vegetarian food.  The chef told us he was vegetarian for 17 years.

So we booked a table for Sunday for 7 to have lunch celebration.  This is the first time we have eaten at a resturant 3 times in a week!!

The food is fabulous and no service charge.  We did not order drink, so our meal is about $25 per head.  It is very good value indeed!  If you enter the carpark after 12pm, it is free if you leave before 2pm.  It was free for me on Wed but I have to pay $1.60 on Friday as I enter the carpark 10 to noon.

Physiotherapy at KTPH

For my backache, I decided to go KTPH for physio.  This way, I can go to Chong Pang and buy fruits.  The jackfruit is one of the best deal in town.  I also like the food there.  My favorite braised is always a long queue, so I do not eat the duck there.  However, there is a new stall and it seems quite good but not well patronise as the original stall is so popular.

I also like KTPH physio for the therapist from Ireland.  Unfortunately, they are all gone.  One was a tall beautiful girl who massage for my wife.  When it is my turn...sigh!

Another the food and fruits are the main attraction.  I bought 4 mangoes for $8 and one kilo of jackfruit for $6.  So we get our fruit fix:)

Fishing is a Matter of Luck

I went to cast my net during high tide.  Spent an hour not getting anything.  Finally, I decided to go back to the same spot and see if I can catch the mudskippers.  I missed them a couple of times as they managed to run very fast.  Finally, I managed to cast my net and got them inside.  Unfortunately, the holes are too big and both escaped.  So I decided to cast into the muddy water again.  I had tried several time with no joy.  This final throw I caught 4 rabbitfishes.  It is so cool and exciting.  I tried to put the 4 in the tank but they are not doing well.  So I took them out and put them in the freezer.

Too Much Sun

I am feeling tired and have a hard time cycling back home after fishing at Punggol Point.  I was fishing from 3:30pm onwards.  It may be the sun and I felt dehydrated even though I have my water bottle and drink up frequently.   It is nice to fish when the water is clear.  I missed the rabbitfish as they ran away when they saw me.

Too much of a good thing can be bad.  So I should not stay in the sun for too long.

Zatoichi TV series

It is nice to wake up late i.e. 7am.  I simply make my morning coffee and oatmeal.  Then watch Zatoichi show.  It is nice to revisit the show that was very hot when I was a kid.  I remember everyone rushing to the community TV and all the other kids will be shouting "Shintaro, Shintaro".  The TV series is on Youtube and I think it is broadcast in Honolulu.  I loved watching the shows over and over again.  It is Horatio Alger type of story.  Very simple.  Zatoichi is a blind masseur who is fast with his sword.  He is a gifted gambler and fighter.  So he fights the local bosses who bullied the farmers, cheats on gamblers or ill treat prostitutes.  He always kills his opponents in a quick flash.  Even well trained Samurai fell in a single stroke.  After killing all the bad guys, he will leave.

While it is very idealistic and violent i.e. fighting violent with superior killing skills, he always fight for the weak and oppressed.  So, I just enjoys the fantasy of a world where a superior man can right the wrongs that are inflicted on the villagers or a group of people.

RabbitFish

My Fish is Still Alive and Well

On Wednesday, I caught the fish in the picture below.  It is still alive and swimming.  This fish is edible.  I have no idea what it is.  I am happy it is doing well in the tank.  It is spotted and looked like a discus.

Nice to Catch Bigger Fish

I caught a bigger fish today and brought it home.  It did well and after a while recover and start eating in the tank.  It seems to eat the algae and is a bottom feeder.  At first the smaller fishes were quite alarmed.  They keep jumping out of the water every time the big fish move.  After a while, they realised the big fish is not going to eat them, they calm down.

I am happy that this fish survived the trip home and adjusted to it new environment.  I do not know how long it will live as there may not be enough food in the tank.

Missed by 1 Gram!

When I first weighs the fish I caught last Friday, it read 633 grams.  Then my wife put in a tray and the weighing scale reads 634.  The first 2 barramundi I caught, I bought the both weights and the stable 2nd weight came up 2nd prize albeit not in sequence with 2 in front instead of 0 that I bought.

So this time, I buy the stable weight and added 1 in front for 1 fish and also 3 in front for 3rd barramundi I caught.  The 4D result in first prize below:

Lucky Friday!

This morning, I caught a Seabass again!  I did not have a good start actually.  My first throw of my cast net, it caught on a clothes hanger and a thick wire half buried in the mud.  So the net was tear as I try to pull it out.  I threw the clothes hanger and wire to the garbage area.  Then I throw again and no fishes.  I noticed the fishes were escaping once they found the holes.

So I decided to go to Punggol Point to check out.  There, I saw a big fish right beside the 2nd pillar in the water.  The water is quite clear.  I quietly took out the cast net again and set it while squatting in order not to alarm the fish.  Since it is right beside the pillar, it will not be easy as the net can get caught by the barnacles on the side.

I aim my throw and cast my net.  The fish tried to swim away but luckily it swam right into the net.  I am so lucky this morning.

The fish is bigger than the first two I caught!  This one weighs 634 grams.  It looked fatter as well.

My Pet Mudskippers

Fishing is more Thrilling now

I now look forward to getting big fish even though the chance is low.  It is quite fun to go back to the same place to cast my net.  There is a hole I have to patch as some of the fishes I caught escaped.

Today, I caught a mudskipper.  So I have 2 mudskippers in my tank.  The first mudskipper survive more than a week.  I am now hoping I can keep them as pets.  They are quite hard to keep alive.  I have a floating platform which B3 bought for his terrapins.  The mudskipper survives much longer with it as it can now rest out of the water.

2nd Prize Saturday 4D

I was feeling lucky to catch the 2 big fishes on Friday morning.  Since the weight is 968grams,  I decided to try my luck with 4D.  I bought 0968 as the weight is only 3 digits.  I also bought iBet.

The 2nd prize on Saturday is 2986.  If I have guess 2 fishes weighing 968 i.e. 2968, I would have strike 2nd prize in iBet!  Only $43 but still very shiok.  Alas, I now can hope the number 968 will pop up this evening.

Barramundi, I Caught:)

Barramundi aka Asian Seabass

I have been casting net in Punggol for a year now.  The reason to use cast net is many times there are no small fishes along the beach and I go home empty handed.  I bought a 7 feet cast net and it helps me have higher chance of catching fishes that are bigger.  Sometimes, too many fishes and I have to spend much time to disentangle them.  I throw most of them back to the sea as my arowana cannot eat so much at one go and the fishes will die and cause bad smells.  Sometimes, I caught fairly large mullets about 4 to 6 ins long.  I release them as the arowana is not able to swallow this size.

Yesterday morning at about 8am, I cast the net at a place which usually has small size mullets.  I caught two Barramundi together they weigh 968grams.  The fishes are also known as Asian Seabass or kim bak law in Hokkien.  It is such an exhilarating experience.  This is the first time I can bring the fishes I caught home as food.  I had baby shrimps before.

So many times, the fishermen at Punggol asked me what I do with the small fishes I caught.  They know it is impossible to eat them.  I always have the same response - live seafood for my arowana.

My wife clean up the fishes this evening.  Maybe tomorrow we can steam them up for dinner.

Sky Clearer but no luck with Shooting Stars

The sky is pretty clear tonight.  Some high clouds but stars are visible.  I look out for shooting stars for about 15 mins but no luck.  I remember seeing shooting stars once.  I just search my blog and that was in Aug 2012.  I can still remember the incident vividly.  I woke up early and then open the level 3 door and then saw the shooting star.  It is only a couple of seconds.  So I was very lucky indeed!

Cloudy Sky

It  is 4:30am, I woke up to check if the sky is clear so that I might be able to see the shooting stars.  Unfortunately, the sky is cloudy and the moon is up at 3/4.   Disappointed as the condition is not good, I decided to blog about it.

The weather is quite cool and nice with slight drizzle.  B2 is up and is off to medic duty for a run.  He just went off as the run starts at 6am.

Blazing Heat in the Afternoon

The thermometer rising in the afternoon.  There was good respite from the thunder shower yesterday.  Now my plants need watering 3 to 4 times a day.  My next door next finally has a new tenant after 8 months.  Not so bad.  But another neighbour house has been empty for more than 2 years.

Since today is a school holiday, the pool has some kids playing.  It is fun for them but they will get sunburned.

Cutting the Grass in Roof Garden

This morning, I am motivated to cut the grass and clear up the wild plants growing in my roof garden.  The job took 2 hours.  I am sweating profusely and my right hand shakes when I am holding my drinking bottle to drink.  It is quite satisfying to get physical work done.

Braces Out!

Finally, B2's braces will be taken out this morning.  He is going to Canada to study soon.  So the final bit has to be rushed and he bit his lips and cheeks a number of times in the beginning of the year as the orthodontic tighten more than usual.  This changes his bite causing the accidents and ulcers.

Now it will be uncomfortable at night where he has to wear his retainers.  We will not be able to monitor him as he will be living out.

Heatwave in Vancouver

I am listening the CBC Vancouver this morning.  CBC is Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.  There is going to be a heatwave and there will be temporary shelter for homeless to get away from the heat.  There may be a forest fire as well.  Vancouver City is getting hazy from smoke.  I wonder why the city can shelter homeless for a few hours but will not shelter them in a more permanent basis.

Vancouver is a beautiful city right beside the Pacific Ocean.  The weather is quite mild relative to Toronto.  It rains a lot and loads of rich Chinese are living there driving up the property prices.  I enjoys my visit there.

No Maid = Unhealthy Eating

We are eating out for dinner almost every evening.  When we have a maid, we usually eat dinner at home.  Now all 3 meals are out and our food whether it is hawker or resturant has high salt and sodium content from sauces and MSG.  Also high calories due to high sugar content.

With a domestic help, our homecooked food are quite simple with low sodium and no sugar or MSG.  In long term, it is not good.  We don't get salad or high veg in hawker centers.

In the news, the food is cheap and tasty gets our attention and high share of stomach.  In the Straits Times, this has been highlighted.  Preparing healthy meal at home cost more in dollars and in time.  It is so much easier to eat chicken rice or minced meat noodles than to find chicken salad.  Also chicken rice is $3 and a set with vegetables cost $5.  Whereas chicken salad will set you back by $10 and usually available in selected Malls.

Pool

For a long time, I have not used the pool.  The weather is very hot and I love to be at the poolside.  I can read books and newspaper and take a nap in the breeze.  The only problem is the sun will creep onto you and it become hot and so bright that it burns right through my closed lids.  I also find myself sunburned which makes me think the poolside umbrella offers on shade from the visible light and not the ultraviolet light.

When I first look for a home, swimming pool is a must.  I enjoyed the pool for a few years and then stopped using it.  Sometimes, I wished we bought a terrace or semi-d.  Then we would have capital gain.  Price of my house did not go up much when property market heated up.

Fish Head Curry@Ci Yuan

Ci Yuan economic rice or chap chye png stall has a value fish head curry dish at $14.80.  I am not a fish person meaning I don't eat fish.  But I am fine with fishhead curry.  I like to order fishhead curry as it is freshly cooked and there are lots of vegetables.  When I order this morning, I request for fresh fish as the previous time, it taste "fishy" meaning the fish has deteriorated.

Today, the fish head is pretty good.  So B1 reminds me to tell the boss that the fishhead is good.  And I did.  So he is happy and we are happy.

Mother and Son Buskers AMK Hub

The mother and son buskers was in the courtyard of AMK Hub.  They attracted a large crowd crooning Chinese numbers.  I do not appreciate those songs but B1 and Mummy love them and listem to the duo while I pass time in Fairprice.  You can even ask them to sing specific songs which a number of people in the audience did.  So it is quite a good way to pass time on a Friday evening and the buskers earn a good income.  Win win!

Rediscovering My Love for Reading

The newly purchased books from Page One and books borrowed from library has inspires me to read again.  It is like travelling back in time when I was in my younger days.  I am reading a few books at a time and each has a book mark.  The library has an advantage as I need to return them.  So I will skim through them before returning.  Those I owned tends to have bookmarks somewhere in the middle and may be forgotten.

I love reading multiple books.  I am interested in many subjects.  The most recent acquisitions are mainly on Angels.  From the library, I was looking toward Future and Innovation.  So it is more business oriented.  Whatever it is, books are great resource for learning.  My brain enjoys absorbing new information and refreshing old ideas I read.

Books Deal in PageOne!

I wanted to get the Robin Cook novels for 50 cents.  Unfortunately, the PageOne temp store in Cathay building has no more stock of these novels.  PageOne is having Sale on the 50 cent price.  Now it is 2 for 50cents!!  So the books are at a quarter or 25 cents each!!  I love it and bought a bunch of them.  22 in total costing $5.50.  However, my car park cost $5.35 and I had to wait for more than one and half hours as I reach there at noon and the store opens at 1:30pm.  While waiting, I bought Americano coffee for $2.  Still it is a steal!  I am satisfied with the books I bought although I would have bought them if they cost $1 each.

Bike Repair and Teochew Porridge in Macpherson

This afternoon after sending B3 to his tuition, B1 and I go to Ubi to CannAsia to send my Cannon for spoke repair.  One of the spoke has broke.  The spoke cost $1 plus but the labor is $25.  I also want to change the brake but it is so expensive.  So I decide to just put in a new spoke and have the brakes replace at the Sengkang Community center for $8 each pair.

The bike also need a week to repair, so I just place the bike there and browse around.  There are many interesting bike.  Giant is just beside as well.  The price of Giant is more competitive.  I may buy a new Giant instead of Cannondale.

We have not eaten our lunch, so we go to Airport Road to survey the food there.  B1 like the Teochew Porridge.  There are 2 stalls.  One is beside the Braised Duck and the other in the shop next door. The next door stall's scrambled eggs with long beans and fried chicken wings look appetitizing.  It also has the sign ieatishootipost poster.  We decides to ta pow back home.  It is quite good and price is a little dear.  We ordered the scrambled eggs, 3 pieces chicken wings and two otahs.  One plain rice and one porridge.  Total price is $9.50.

Shares Hit New Highs

All the shares I sold are now at much higher price.  But I am not so concern as I just want to get out.  However, my wife feels sad we missed out in some opportunity to lessen our loss.  However, I strongly believe the price will drop and when it drop, there is no time for investors like me to get out.  I am very slow in responding the changes in market.  This is why I keep losing money in stocks.

Divesting Shares

With so many "experts" predicting the Economic Collapse, I am trying to divest my shares.  Unfortunately, many of my shares are in loss position but no choice because if the stock market tanks, it will be much worse.  So I am slowly getting out although some shares like Sembmarine will be difficult as there is news of merger and therefore a potential for price increase.

I had some REITs that are below cost but I am not sure if it is a loss as I do received regular payout.  So maybe it is just breakeven or possibly small gains or loss.   Many times experts are wrong.  However, I do believe the event will happen except timing maybe off.  It is better to be safe than sorry.

AMK Food Center

The food is AMK Central Food Center that is near Courts is pretty good.  We like the Malay Satay and the Fried Kway Teow.  Our whole family of 5 has dinner there this evening.  We have 2 plates of large fried kway teow with extra egg costing $4 each, 20 sticks of chicken satay, 3 mutton and 3 babat or beef tripe.  I also ordered some Indian rojak.  We enjoys our dinner.  No drinks as we prefers to drink water at home.

Up Early

I woke up with a nagging headache and decides to get up and B2 is surprised as he has not sleep yet.  He is registering for his courses in UofT for his first year.  He will be going over in Aug.  He is quite excited about his courses.  I am happy he is motivated.

Economic Crisis

Youtube have lots of predictions on the coming Economic Collapse.  So we are starting to sell off our stocks even though they are under water.  I am not a good investor as I lost lots of money on stocks.  Luckily, our property gain in value and that helps reduce the lossess.

I think the collapse may be coming and I want to be ready and will to buy.  So far, I did not dare to and waited until the price has risen by a lot before getting in.  This is why I am not a good stock investor.

Good Day

In the morning, I do my fishing and caught a wonderful meal for my pet arowana.  Then we go to run errands and bought Ah Seng Braised Duck for lunch.  We pick up B3 from school and send mummy to do her beauty stuff.  This is why all married women looked so much younger than their husbands.

After that, we went to our favorite haunt NTUC Fairprice Supermarket.  We thought we want to cook pasta for dinner.  But the minced meat there does not look good.  So we decide to go to Cold Storage.  The meats in Cold Storage are far superior compared to NTUC.  Although the minced meat looked wonderful, Char Siew Chicken was on special and I decided to buy one bird to try.  So we skip pasta and cook egg noodles instead to accompany the chicken.

It is a regular and good day.

Page One Lelong Shop

Page One is "lelong" all the excess stock in Cathay Building Level 4.  The books are going for between 50 cents and $5.  Regular books such as novels and some nonfiction are at 50 cents each.  The pictures books on cooking, recipes, hotels, packaging, sewing are starts at $1.    I saw a man who bought massive quantity at least 30 books.  I wonder how he can manage to bring them home.  It is very bulky and heavy.

I manage to get a few copies like Who is Your City, Richard Floride, Weight Loss Diet(audiobook) and Hit by David Baldacci.

It is good to get books at good value.

Leaving Fan On

I have not been at my computer for a few days.  I did not realise I have left the fan on and I have wasted a lot of electricity.  I hate wasting energy.  This is very remiss of me.  I feel the pain of wasting my money beside wasting energy.

Geyland Serai Hip Market

On Saturday evening, B3 is celebrating his prelim exams finished with his classmates with a trip to the much publicised Hari Raya market in Geyland Serai.  We dropped him off in Bishan station so that he could meet up with his classmates and go there together.  B1 is interested to check out the market as well although Mummy is quite reluctant due to the crowd.

Since I am the driver, I thought we can see if we get carpark.  If so, we could let B1 and B2 enjoy the festival.  It was the last day of the market.  We had dinner at the hawker center.  It was about 6pm, so there are many seats as the main patrons have not buka puasa.  B1 and B2 tried Nasi Padang with a long queue.  Each plate is about $4 but has no meat as all the meat dishes were sold out.  Mummy and I had 10 chicken satay.  After dinner, we explore the festive stalls.  Like the Straits Times publish, plenty of "hip" food and the prices are exorbitant.  B3 spent $18 and felt it is ok as he expected to spend more.  What is with the kids today?!  B2, B3, mummy and daddy spent only $20 for dinner for the 4 of us.  B3 is spending the same amount on himself and felt it was ok.

My hip starts hurting after walking for maybe 10 mins.  So I go to the Alwadi Indian Muslim Coffeeshop for teh halia as teh halia is not available in the Geyland Serai Hawker Center.  The teh halia cost $1.20 and taste quite good.  They have fried banana and fried jampelak(similar to jackfruit).  The fried banana is so-so as it is not ripe.

Two women with a young boy shared our table and we strike up conversation as she explains eating the dates before breaking fast to us.  It is to give the sugar rush to the brain before they start eating.  I find Malays are friendlier and comfortable talking to strangers.

It was a nice trip out with our 2 boys:)

Sciatica

I had pain in my right hip for more than 3 weeks now.  I had the pain the following day after I nearly fall of my bike at Lorong Halus.  I had MRI done a few weeks earlier.  The report says my L4 and L5 are touching the nerve.  I must have aggravated the 2 vertebra and caused them to rub on my nerves every time I walk or move.  It is quite painful and at time debilitating!  I search the Youtube and tried many videos and this morning, I found one exercise that can give me immediate relief.  However, the pain came back after a few hours.  So I will need to stretch more frequently.

Wonderful to have My 3 Boys Home

B1 is back from his trip in Europe.  So now all our 3 BBs are at home.  Soon B2 will be leaving for Canada to start school and we will be left with 2 boys again.  I am very happy to have our complete family.  This is a short window.  After that B2 will be out for a few years and then it is B3 turns to go for University.  My boys will flew the coop soon.

It is getting very precious for them to be together with us.

The Sky Turning Blue

It is 6:37am and the sky is slowly turning from dark grey to greyish blue.  It is nice to be up early and see the sky brightening up.  It is turning more and more blue.  The birds are chirping like they just woke up.  It is like whispering.  Chirp, chirp, chirp.  Chirp, chirp, chirp.  Nice the heard birds singing early in the morning.

It is prelim exam week even though it is mid-term school break.  Soon, I have to send B3 to school.  He has so much to do and hopefully he does well.

Maintaining the Garden

My wife is very good in maintenance.  She just bring out the cutters and starts working on the garden.  So I have no choice but to help.  We trim the trees and our plotted plants.  I cut the grass which is only a tiny patch and after one hour, the garden looked like nice and clear with all the foliage reduced.  I have to wash the balcony and presto! it is neat and beautiful.

Two prawns are still alive in the pond and actually molted once.  It is so amazing!  I have to get more bread to feed them.

NEA checking for Rats

Yesterday and this morning, NEA came to check for rats in my estate.  Its seems someone from our neighbourhood is sick with disease carried by rats.  They found droppings in one my neighbour's unit at level 2.  The rubber of the aircond piping was chewed up.  It is terrible.  Rats is a perennial problem when we live right at ground level.

I hope they can solve the problem quickly.

Build Up

When I first move into my estate 12 years ago, my place is really in the backwater of Singapore.  The kampong is surround by the secondary forest.  It is a very quiet neighborhood.  Then everywhere starts to build up.  The jungle cleared up, the hills were cutdown.  Now many HDB blocks in are what used to have greenery.  Some parts has been become a park.  Mostly, are just flats for people.  It is so sad.  New roads, new schools, now a hospital is also coming up.  I have watched Sengkang build up.  More buildings are coming up.  Now my neighbourhood is like other parts of Singapore, full of flats, roads and cars!

I missed my laid back home.

Chong Pang Market

B2 has ORD.  So I have not gone to Chong Pang Market for about a month now.  We have not been eating enough fruits as selection in NTUC is quite limited.  This morning, I went to Chong Pang to get fresh fruits.  Mango is in season so I bought 3.  I also bought papaya, red banana, green lychees and jackfruits.  The green lychees is actually cheaper in Cold Storage or NTUC as I went to Nex to kill time in the afternoon while waiting for B3 to finish his tuition.

Price for durians is still quite high.  So I did not get any.

Brand New Balcony

My level 3 balcony is done!  It is now black in colour and the surface is matt, so the grip is excellent!  I now have a wonderful new floor with great grip when wet.  It is so nice to have a floor that is flat and no popped up tiles.

I will need to transfer my potted tree as it was dirtying the floor whenever it rained.  So my Jasmine tree will need to be relocated to a more suitable location in my garden.

House of Spirits

My wife and I are watching this drama serial from HongKong.  There are lot of comical and humorous sketches and at the same time human drama of family ties.  It is nice to pass time together doing brain dead activities.  I think my eyes is burning as we have a marathon sessions on the drama.

We will take a break at we finished.  It is not good to be glued to the phone screen!

Beautiful Morning

White clouds and cerulean blue sky.  Beautiful morning.  Work is in progress to put in the tiles.  The workers are quite nice and asked us where to cut the tiles.  We asked to cut it on the inside.  This way, the tiles looked complete when we walk out.  We have nice black tiles.  It will be hot but good contrast from our neighbours.

Wonderful Homecooked Dinner

We bought Russet Potatoes on sales last week in Cold Storage.  So the potatoes are growing buds and soon will be bad.  So my wife bought pork chops to cook for dinner.  She also buy sakura tomatoes as it has claims of no pesticides.  She made both french fries and mashed potatoes.  The pork chop is fried and I also cooked up bacon bits for the mashed potatoes.  She made me scooped the mashed potatoes using ice-cream scoop and then decorate the bacon bits on the plate.  The Western pork chop set was done professionally with french fries, mashed potatoes and roasted tomatoes.

B2 and B3 enjoy the dinner very much.  B1 is out in East Europe for tour.  My wife is so happy we are delighted by her cooking.

Double Loans during School Holidays

It was raining heavily this morning, so there is no work done on my balcony.  So after sending B3 to school, I went to hawker center in Marymount for breakfast.  But many of the stalls are not open.  It seems the hawkers are taking a break during school holidays.

Now I am trying to download more audiobooks as my computer was wiped clean when my office IT reset it for home use.  I was pleasantly surprised that library has double the quantity I can borrow.  This is really good to encourage more reading.

Readership in the library according to the statistics has dropped.  Nowadays, I also watched Youtube before I sleep rather than read a book.  The technology change has made us lazy to read.  It is so much easier to have short video and when you watch, there is a tracker that tracks your interests and keep suggesting videos of similar genres.

Tough Job!

The 2 men are working under hot sun.  There is no shade, so they wear big straw hat to get some relief from the blazing sun.  The cement they poured this morning is dry now.  Right now they are hammering out the concrete to prepare for laying the tiles tomorrow.  I admire the workmen.  It is tough work and requires skills.

Putting in the Tiles

It is a group of Chinese workers this time.  They are the tiles layers.  They are mixing the cement and paving the floor.  Now there is electric mixing machine making the work easier.  The sky is cloudy.  Hopefully, they can finished the job before the rain comes.

Water Ponding Test

My balcony is flooded with water.  The waterproofing is done and the place is filled with water to make sure there is no leakage into our bedroom and toilet.  The heavy rain in the afternoon also make us worried as we were out to the chiropractor and lunch.  Luckily, the water overflow into the drain hole.  So far, everything is holding up.  I hope everything turns out well.

Lucky Me!

This morning, I went out early to cast net and fish.  I caught one and let the rest go.  A young Malay man was casting his net too.  He caught some fair size Toman and gave me one.  I cycled home and it poured after I reached home.  I am so lucky and the rain was very heavy.  I gave the one I caught to my arowana.  The Toman, I left in the bottle to acclimatise with fresh water but it jumped out.  Luckily, I saw it before it died and I decided to put it right away in the tank.  It has been in the tank for a few hours now and seem to be doing fine.

Hard Work

It is hard work to remove the debris from my balcony.  The heat is very intense.  Now that they clear up all the broken tiles and concrete, they are ready to do the waterproofing.  I can hear them arguing over the job.  The project manager want them to waterproof up to the wall.  So he is telling them even if their boss says no need, they have to do.

It is no an easy task.  Hopefully the work gets done in time.

Popped Up Tiles

The tiles in my balcony popped up.  Today, the contractor starts work on it.  It is so noisy with the electric chisel.  I am glad I had a couple hours of peace during lunch.  The drilling does cause headaches!  Seems like the chiselling is done now.  I will glad when the job is over as we have plenty of cleaning up to do during this week.

Visiting Father-in-Law

My father-in-law has undergone radiation or gamma knife treatment.  His youngest girl gave him a tiny piece of phiten tape to use.  He says it helps reduce the pain.  So my wife went to buy the tape for him.  When we delivers, he complains that she is so stingy, just give a tiny piece.  So he pays my wife for the tape.  I do not know if he is joking or he meant it.  I asked whether they told that to their daughter.  As usual, they do not answer on this kind of questions.

I find it funny that they like to pass words to their kids indirectly.

Freshwater Prawns

Yesterday, my 3 boys went to Punggol Point to catch prawns.  It is quite costly in my opinion.  For 3 hours, they paid $108 plus $2 for bait.  They brought back quite a lot of freshwater prawns as some oldies gave my boys the prawns they caught.

They put 12 of the prawns in the freshwater tank.  This morning most died due to lack of oxygen.  I have to clear them to keep the water clean.  I transferred some to the pond.  My boys like to try to keep them alive but they do not take care.  I am the one to feed the prawns.  I do not know how long the prawns can last as I am only feeding them with bread which they have to compete with the big appetite goldfishes.

Seems like they are doing well for now.

Family down with Cough!

My wife and B3 just caught my bug.  B1 had it first and still coughing.  I had it since last Friday.  The bug is spreading to the rest of my family.  B2 is still clear.  Hopefully, he stay clear.

Congestion of the nasal passage is uncomfortable and after taking the medications, I always feel sleepy and lethargic.  The doctor says I will get well.  So she prescribe the medicine to reduce the symptons and refused to give me Tamiflu which I requested.

Tamiflu was quite effective the previous time I took it.  The recovery is in two to three days.  I am convinced after taking it.

Sumo Prawn Mee

My RI chat group posted a Youtube video by Miss Tam Chiak on Sumo Prawn Mee.  And one classmate whose clinic is there recommended it as well.  He says the $8 is best value.  So lunch time, we went there to try it out.  It is not bad.  3 bowls for family of 4 as B3 is in school.  I like the soup.  Each bowl comes with 4 big prawns and a generous helping of clams.  The soup is quite good too.  The queue is not as bad as before.  I read on the internet that it was 45 mins wait.  Today, we waited for maybe 10 mins.

Sumo Prawn noodle is at 628 Ang Mo Kio Ave 4.  It is on the wet market side.  The Teochew Porridge stall also looked interesting.  So I may come back to this hawker center to try the porridge.

Prawn Mee

Prawn Mee history was featured this week.  I am now hungry to try different prawn mee stall.  This morning, I tried the stall in Ci Yuan.  Since it is the soup that is most important, I took the cheapest option - $2.80.  The broth is not bad.  Like other hawker's stalls, it is full of msg.  My wife says the broth in Tang's is very good.  I will have to try it when I go there next time.

Vesak Day

Buddha's Enlightenment day.  The 8 precepts of Right Living and Compassion to fellow living beings.  I am happy to be a buddhist.  We do not try to convert others.  Simply go our own ways and help those less fortunate.  We also practice doing good.  Yes, for me is a selfish desire to acquire good merits.  Buddhism is a good practice for me.  I like the rule Buddha has.  "Don't believe in what I say.  Practise what is true for you."

I am a strong believer in following my own conscience.

Happy Vesak Day!

A Sunny Day

The sun is out in its full glory.  My plants need more watering to stay hydrated.  The heat is making me feel drowsy.  So I will go to a mall to enjoy the aircon.  Our humid heat makes shopping a good pastime.  We need airconditioning all the time and the way to get "free" aircon is shopping malls or library.

I am trying to read more but it is so much easier to listen to audiobooks while cycling.  The trouble with audiobooks is it is impossible to bookmark.  Maybe I need to come up with an app to make audiobook reading easier to handle.

I look out and it is white clouds and blue sky.  Indeed a beautiful day!

Outing with My In-Laws

My father-in-law is keen to go to the Flyer.  It is benefit that B2 has in SCDF.  He is going to ORD.  He managed to procure the pass and we went today.  My father-in-law is happy.  He had undergone radiotherapy aka gamma knife for cancerous lump.  And suffers skin burns and pain.  So he is keen to go tour and enjoy himself.

So we went to pick my father-in-law, mother-in-law and sister-in-law at half past 10 and headed to flyer.  Unfortunately, when we reached there, the flyer is not in operation due to bad weather.  So we went to the hawker center but the price was so high.  A plate of chicken rice starts at $6.  Teh O or Kopi O is $2.20.  So we went to the Chinese Resturant as there are vegetarian dishes.  We did not order much, just 4 dim sum, lohan pot and Penang hor fun.  Total bill comes to $95.  I have Passion Card and did not use the towel.  After discount and taking out towel bill, the total price become $85.  So it is quite dear.  A lot more dear than Imperial Treasure.

My father-in-law is quite happy with the outing.  It is nice to be a tourist in Singapore.

AMK Ave 5 Teochew Porridge

Teochew Porridge is getting more and more expensive.  I was in Northpoint and surprised to see Ban Heng there.  The food looks quite good and so I tried.  I order braised bean curd skin, braised pork belly, salted veg and fish cake with one porridge.  The bill come to $8.10.  The quantity is tiny as I ordered for 1 person.  It is ridiculously expensive.

This evening, we went to AMK Ave 5 and Ave 10 Hawker Center for the Teochew porridge.  We had 4 persons and I ordered salted veg, steamed garouper, 2 portions of chai pow eggs, braised beancurd skin and fishcake.  With 2 rice and 1 porridge, the total bill is $19.50 approximately $5 per head.  The taste is comparable and the value is fabulous.  Granted, it does not have aircond but it is the right way to go.

B1 Mountain Climbing Tour

B1 went to Lombok, Indonesia to climb a mountain.  He is so thrilled with his experience.  The climb is quite steep in some areas with volcanic sand.  So it is quite challenging.  There are some women in the tour.  So he is quite impressed everyone reached the summit.  His thighs were very tight and sore.  The night sky was clear and he can see all the stars.  The porters will carry their bags and set up tents for them to sleep.  They also carry the water and cook up hot meals.  It is like having maid service.  He is so impressed by the tour.  I feel like going after what he said.  However, some parts are dangerous.  He slipped and the phone broke.

I am thinking it may be dangerous for me as I am not as fit and also my back is weak.  Maybe I should not be taking such risks.

No 1 Nasi Lemak

This morning, I meet my ex-colleague at Adam Road Hawker Center.  We had teh halia.  After our meeting, I queue up at No. 1 Nasi Lemak for Adam Road Special.  I love the tender mutton with thick gravy.  B2 is at home, so I bought 2 sets for $10.  I shared one set with my wife.  It is a very satisfying meal.  The chicken wing is crispy and meat juicy.  The crunchy peanuts and ikan bilis is favorful.  There is a small section of hot dog and two slices of fishcakes.  Missing is achar, my favorite dish.  The chilli is spicy and sweet.  The flavor is slightly different from Adam's Road Nasi Lemak.  I stopped going there as my wife felt No. 1 is better.

Sore Butt!

This morning, I cycled all the way to Pasir Ris PCN.  It is a long way and my butt is quite sore now.  I also explore the Elias Market and Food Court.  It is just Sheng Siong and hawker food.  The run of the mill without any famous stall.  Pasir Ris Park is different from Punggol.  So it is interesting to cycle to new place to break the montony of riding the same route all the time.  Riding for two hours solid is good for the weight but bad for muscle.  I need to recover from the fatigue.

Sore Back

On Wed, the Jurong East Chinese Sinseh is off.  So I went on Thursday and wait for about 3 hours before he adjust my spine.  It is still quite sore but I do not look forward to the waiting time.  I must find another sinseh.

While waiting another guy in yellow t-shirt was in the queue in front of me.  He had the same problem as me.  He was cycling and lost his balance and use his arm to steady himself against the wall.  I slipped and almost fell of my bike and managed to break my fall.  However, my spine was compressed and sprained causing the nerves to be pinched.

Now after adjustment, I have improvement but still feel the pain.  Will need to strengthen my core muscles and be more careful when cycling.

The Quiet Peace of Front Yard

I am up early in the morning.  After making coffee and watching a bit news, I decided to sit at my front yard and blog.  The sound of running water is very peaceful.  I can hear vehicles moving about on the road but it is not constant.  Only school buses and some cars sending their kids to school or going to work.  The birds are chirping.  The sky turning from dark blue to like shades of grey.  The clouds are low.  Lizard makes clicking, chirping sounds.  A bird just flew over our central courtyard.

I can see my neighbours with kids going to school switching the lights in their rooms and then off as they head off.  The dog outside my estate is barking.  Just simply listening and observing life as the day break is relaxing.

I injured my back while cycling.  So I have to visit Chinese sinseh in Jurong East to fix.  Right now, it is quite tight and sore.  I get sharp pains when I tried to stretch.  So I need my vertebra realigned.

Charcoal BBQ

I loved to bbq!  When the library in Compass One was reopened recently, I borrowed a book on Japanese Grill.  I learned a few things from the book and is inspired to bbq more often.

Dinner was chargrilled pork belly, asparagus, organic cob of corn and duck and chicken gizzards.  The gizzards turned out tough as it cannot be cooked long enough.  I should have boiled them before bbqing.  Asparagus and cob of corn looked nice and appetizing with charred bits.  They tasted good too.  Pork belly is quite good too.  Overall, the dinner was pretty good.  It took all day to prepare. I have to slice the pork and seasoned it.  To slice the pork thinly, it must be frozen first.  Luckily for me, I have a Japanese fridge that come with "versa room".  Versa room is a compartment where food is frozen at about zero degree.  So the pork belly is not so hard that it is like trying to cut through stone.

Healthy or Convenience!

My wife decides to cook pasta for dinner.  She used minced meat, Johnsonville sausages and Sakura tomatoes.  We like it.  B3 harvest some basil from our garden to add flavor.  Overall the meal is very good.  Eating at home is a lot healthier than eating out.  But it is also a lot more work in preparation, cooking and washing up.  So we need to have both ways.  Healthy or Convenience!

Exercise More Vigorously

I am more serious in my cycling.  I sweat more and my necklace stinks of my sweat smell!!  Yes, it is the first time I notice the stinky smell and this makes me realize all my past cycling is not really exercising by merely getting to Punggol Point for fishing. 


With real exercise, I stopped taking my blood pressure medicine and my blood pressure still within range.  It is just so amazingly true the fact exercise cures many ills and disease.  Now I know for sure it works for high blood pressure.


Next, I have to reduce my food intake.  This is hard, very hard for a person who lives to eat.  So I have to work on it.

Heat is ON!

Mid afternoon.  Hot and muggy.  I am at my home office and it is so hard to concentrate.  The heat and humidity makes it difficult to focus.  I am happy my IT guy is helping me with my old computer.  I am setting it up as a spare laptop.  So far it is working out good.  Although basic, I had use it for work for many years.  More than 4.  It is past 5 years old and without my office security, it will be faster.  I will have to borrow all the audiobooks again from the library so that I can transfer them to my phone for my listening pleasure while I cycle.


Stock market is dropping like crazy with the news that the "armada" that Trump said he sent to N Korea actually went to Australia and only today it is heading to N. Korea.  What a booboo!  This news is causing my stocks to nosedive.  So it is another form of heat!

Gardening Skills

My gardening skills has improved!  Now my plants are growing better.  All I did was to give my plants organic fertilisers every week.  The other is to make sure I water frequently so that they do not get water stress.  The water stress will cause the leaves to drop and all flowers and fruits to wither.

I am happy to see my plants doing well.

Thunderstorm

It poured than stopped and poured again.  I love the wet weather.  It means we will not have to worry about water.  The lightning was a little majestic and magnificent!  Followed by a thunderous roar.
My plants are growing well.  Now I make a point to put fertilizers once a week.  This way I will not forget.  With regular fertilizing and rain, the plants are growing well.

Lunch in Cafeteria

My office the lunch is quite cheap.  The economical rice or chap chye png with 3 dishes but no meat is only $2.70.  I had yong tau foo and it cost me $4.  I like it because I had two vegetables.  I need to eat more veg.  I have no idea why the food is so much cheaper in our cafeteria.  Maybe the rental is low.   There is one Muslim stall, chicken rice, economical beehoon and minced meat noodle.  The drink is expensive at $1.10 for a cup of tea.


The food quality is acceptable.

Gyu Kaku Lunch

I like to yakiniku or Japanese BBQ.  Since my two older boys are available, we can go to Gyu Kaku for lunch which allows me to claim the beef freebie.  I had 15 chops and each chop cost $20.  To get the freebie, I need to have at least $50 on the bill.  So I ordered enough to cost $60.  With 2 boys, they can eat up more food.  My wife and I have small stomach and also we gain weight quickly.  It is enjoyable to eat fine food.  Also barbequing the meat is my enjoyment.  In the restaurant, there is a suction and no oily smoke!!  So it is great.

Hot and Humid

It is so hot and humid today.  I want to cycle but my wife discouraged me as she is afraid I may get sick.  My internal heat is high now.  So I have to drink a lot of water and ice chinese tea.  I make a lot of Chinese tea concentrate and then save them in the fridge.  After that I will dilute with ice water and keep them in a thermos.  The tea will stay cold for long time.

MBS

There is an exhibition in MBS which I went today to support my colleagues.  MBS is a huge place but not interesting to window shop.  The shoppes are branded goods and I prefers gadgets, hobby shops or books.  So I did not do any window shopping at all. 


I noticed on of my shoes the stitching has broke.  So I went to Imperial Treasure for late lunch and buy a new pair of shoes.  I bought a pair of Flexx under "strong recommendation" from The Wife.  Basically, I do not have a choice as she think it is comfortable as she is wearing Flexx.  Anyway, I bought a pair and wear it right away.  The current pair is retired right at the Takashimaya.  This is my way of buying shoes.  No extra.  One pair in and one pair out.

Yong Tau Foo Lunch

We have to pick up my uncle-in-law from SGH.  He is discharged from eye surgery.  It is just lunch time, we went to the yong tau foo stall just outside the hospital.  There is a famous char siew stall there as well.  I think the stall has changed owner.  The person chopping is different and the char siew also look different.  Yong tau foo is quite good but a little dear.  3 bowls cost $20!  It is very popular, so it is still good value for money.

Beautiful Sunday Morning

We are planning to go to a garden place to get more soil and vegetable seeds to grow our own vegetables.  I tried before but harvest only once.  Kang Kong is easy to grow and quite prolific.  To be green thumb takes discipline.  With travelling and work, I did not take care of the vegs well.  So I gave up.

Now with all the pesticides in our vegetables from Malaysia, Thailand and China, we are switching to organic as much as well can.  Back to nature is important.  For those with cancer, eating organic food is the way to keep cancer at bay after treatment.

I am up early as usual, boil my water and make a cup of tea to start my day.

Ah Kun, Toastbox are extremely busy!!

It is Saturday morning and we have to send our boys to Bishan stadium and MRT.  So I thought we have a relaxing cuppa at Ah Kun and all the seats are occupied.  Since Toastbox is more expensive i.e. coffee/tea at $2.20 instead of $1.80, maybe there are seats especially since Toastbox is not aircond.  No luck!  Toastbox at ground level has a longer queue.  So we decided to come back to our homely Seletar Mall.  It is busy too.  But there are seats.  Ah Kun in Seletar used to be a ghost town and now better patronised.

Seems like Saturday morning is a good time for everyone to visit the coffeeshop in airconditioned mall.  The price is reasonable and it is nice cool comfort even though the price is $1.80 instead of $1.10 at the hot and humid coffeeshop or hawker center.  However, I like hawker center as it offers me the chance to observe the life of a regular Singapore.

Programming Self Taught

No really self taught.  Self taught is from books.  Now I have internet, youtube and search engine.  Still it can be challenging as there is no experienced person to ask questions and get instructions to solve the issue.  I have go search and look for answers.  It is quite tedious and running through the video and internet takes a lot of time.  Have to go through irrelevant info.  It is frustratingly slow and painful.

Slow but Progress - Programming Self Taught

I am facing obstacles after obstacles in learning how to program.  My boy finally asked me to go to Harvard website and follow the course.  I am too impatient.  I may have to learn from an instructor as it is quite difficult to learn from books.


Anyway, it is the next big thing and I want to participate just for the fun of it.

Long Long Wait to Ta Po

We sent B2 to Yishun for duty and went to Chong Pang to check out the durians.  It is still very expensive and quality quite poor.  The durians are at $15/kg.  So we decided to go AMK to see if this is better or more reasonable priced durians.  Per kg in AMK Ave 1 and Ave 10 is at $22/kg!!!  We were shocked and decided it is not to pay the huge price for small craving.

So we check with B3 and B1 if they want any food.  B3 said he wanted chicken chop and B1 whatever.  The wait for the takeaway is half an hour as the order taker estimated.  FHM or fried hokkien mee is also half an hour wait.  The hawkers are doing a roaring business!

Durian Season is Starting

The price of durians is quite high.  The small durians are going for $20 for 3.  The fruit vendors in Yishun are making tons of money!  I think their durians price is not so competitive.  Window shopping is free.  I may have to check my regular durian vendor to see if he is selling yet.  But last year, I was disappointed as many seeds were not edible even though I paid by kg.

Probiotics

I might have a bad reaction to zhajiang mian in Bugis MOF yesterday.  I have to go toilet immediately after my meal and continue to go even when I am at home.  My wife insist I have to take the Probiotic 50billions per pills.  I took one but she insisted I have to take at least 2.  So before going to bed I pop in another two.  I must say I feel so much better today.  Probiotics does work wonder for diahorrea.  I am glad we have a good supply at home.

Back in Pink of Health

Seems like I am feeling better.  Today, I feel like cycling for a longer distance.  So I know I must be much better instead of feeling tired and aching all over.  I still have low back pain but the urge to go for a super long ride is there.  I am happy to in the pink!!

Stock Market Yo-yo

I was starting to be happy that some of my stock are recovering in value and now it is dropping again.  Trump is causing the yo-yo movement.  Asia is supposed to be stronger but still follows the US markets.  Oil price is weakening and oil and bank stocks are severely affected the Ezra bankruptcy.  Sigh!  My heart is also like a yo-yo.

Longer to Recover

It seems like it does take longer to recover after exercise.  Yet there are old men who are very fit and can exercise well.  Maybe I am not exercising correctly and not rotating the different types of exercise.  I just do the routines every time and then it seem to take long time to recover.  Unlike before, I used to run and then the aches recover fairly quickly and then I can go further. 


I am aching all over after yesterday's sit-ups and cycling.  I think it is age catching up.

Chong Pang Market

The jackfruit there is most competitive in price.  $5 for two packs which is almost 1kg.  It is supposed to be 1kg but most time it is about 800 to 900 grams.  Even at this weight, the price is more competitive than other wet markets.  The Australian peaches are in season.  Large peach at $10 for 3.  The rainbow mangoes aka elephant tusks mangoes are at 10 for $5.  So I bought a good supply of fruits this morning.  On the competing stall which is the shop beside the bakery, the Australian broccoli is at $1.80 for 2 heads.  The broccoli taste quite good.

The cooked food stalls are also pretty good.  The braised duck always has a long queue and my favorite bak chor mee is the stall next to coffestall opposite the toilets.  The lor mee is pretty good.  I like Chong Pang.  

Unhealthy Hawker Food

We have been eating out a lot.  Many times at hawker centers.  Our latest fav hawker center is Ci Yuan in Hougang.  We tried many stalls now.  Almost every stall used excessive amount of MSG and soya sauce.  The food is usually too salty.  We cook at home and can tell the difference right away.  Even when we request for no MSG and low salt, we feels very thirsty immediately after our meals.  No wonder there are so many health issues with our population.  Most of us eat out.  Some do cook organic after being diagnosed with cancer.  Most continue current lifestyle. 


Our hawker food is the root cause of our ill health.  Choosing healthy food is difficult in a hawker center.  They are all high in carbo, sodium and cooking oil.

Seng Kang Library

I was driving to Seletar Mall for dinner but there is a queue to get into the carpark.  So I decided to drive onwards to CompassOne.  The carpark is a lot bigger and there is no queue.  We looked around for a place to have dinner.  The Chinese resturants have long queues.  We decided on our regular favorite, Gurney Drive.  The food is good, I do not know why it is not so popular.  Maybe it is just glorified Penang hawker food.

After dinner, we drop by the newly opened SengKang Library.  It is very crowded.  The books are mostly new.  I find myself looking at the backcover looking for price!  Yeah, even my wife said it is like going to Kinokuniya.  It is fun to borrow new books!  Fantastic, fabulous and really enjoyable:):)

Not writing!

I have not been blogging regularly.  I may be suffering from laziness.  I do not sit long enough on my computer to log my day!  The days are passing by.  Some times work is busy sometimes not.

I met an ex-colleague who recently retired.  She says she is having a hard time keeping occupied as her husband is still working.   I will miss working as well.  I enjoys solving problems and interacting with colleagues.  I should get more hobbies and work on projects e.g. gardening and landscaping my tiny garden.  Maybe growing vegetables and getting featured on Sunday Times!!  Dreams keep us alive...

Ci Yuan Hawker Center and Community Center

Ci Yuan CC is in Hougang.  The CC has a hawker center at ground level.  It is a good concept.  The food prices are reasonable and carpark is underground.  More stalls are opened at night.  The tables and seats are quite clean.  The payment is by cash and the hawker do not need to touch the money.  So it quite hygienic.

My wife do not like to go to hawker centers as the environment can be quite filthy.  A lot of time, the seats have sauces on them.  Ci Yuan is the only hawker center she suggest going regularly.  The lobby of the lifts is airconditioned.  There are "famous" hawkers as well such as ABC Fatty's Char Siew, Orchard carpark fried kway teow and Fishball noodles.  The fishballs noodle is quite tasty but has too much MSG.  I was very thirsty after eating a bowl of mee kia dry.

I also like the dessert stall.  The chendol has standard and is as good as the Penang Culture in Compass One at a fraction of the price!

Yes, Ci Yuan has become our regular haunt now.

Spicy Mee Siam!

I am sweating profusely as I type this blog.  I just ate Mee Siam in Seletar Mall foodcourt.  The gravy is spicy and I ate the raw green chilli as well.  My stomach is burning.  I do not eat spicy and my tolerance level is low.   The taste is quite good actual but spice level is too high for me. 


If you like hot and spicy, try the Nasi Padang stall. 

Down with Flu

I think I have flu.  My throat is sore, my bones are aching and I have bloody mucus when I cough out.  I feel tired and lethargic.  So will take it easy the next few days. I believe I was infected a few days ago and I was having sore throat for some time.  Now the flu is hitting me hard.

Over the weekend, I bought soil and compost for my trees and shrub.  I also bought organic fertilizer to help my plants to grow stronger and bigger.  So I re-pot my jasmine tree and starfruit.  When the pot is small, the plant dries up easily especially since the weather is very hot now.  Hopefully, my plants can grow stronger.  Gardening is very therapeutic.  The sense of accomplishment in dirty my hands is a positive feeling.

"O" Level Stress

Today is the Parent Teacher Meeting for our B3.  We have to meet two teachers.  It is the usual way.  Meeting the teachers means bad news.  For B3, it is languages.  Both Chinese and surprisingly English as well.  Chinese teacher is quite pleased with his efforts.  She praised him for his attitude and putting in time and energy on the work.  He also submits his work on time.

English is a different story.  His vocabulary is weak and hence he is not able to express himself well.  The lack of reading shows up.  The teacher was not open to our suggestions.  It is worrying as L1 or language 1 is compulsory in the calculation for admission to JCs.  I do not know how he can work toward improving his English to A1 if he wants to go to a good JC.

It is going to be sleepless nights for daddy.