SINGAPORE SHORT STORIES

This website, Singapore Stories or rather Singapore Short Stories is a daily magazine website of events occuring in Singapore, comments of my ideas, feelings, moods and thoughts of life (and my life) at large and news occuring in Singapore and in the world over. I do not really devote Singapore Stories or Singapore Short Stories to become a daily blog of mine as all things in my life cannot be quantified in a matter of words; words cannot describe the joy and sorrows of my endeavours, encounters and tribulations, though I have at times mention them in my blog here. Personal blogs are always googleable and I have no problem to be able to track personal blogs of people I know by typing certain unique words relevant to his or her blog.. therein lies the dilemma of personal blogs.. while personal blog writers bare his thoughts and feelings to the world, he or she must take into consideration of privacy issues relating to his or her life. Singapore Stories or Singapore Short Stories is a

Just some days ago, I have posted a post on staycation and recently I have my staycation...in the form of a cruise to some place. Just the sight of the above picture should set some hearts fluttering.. the calm blue sea, the whitish waves and the clear blue sky. The place I went recently is one of the greatest place on earth! To find out my experiences and encounters and where is exactly this place, do stay tuned!

I chanced upon this Christmas exhibit at Vivocity and took another glimpse! An elf killing a bear! I walked closer to the exhibit and saw it was not a knife that the elf was brandishing, it was some sort of a string. But looking at this exhibit for a full 5 minutes and even now, I still could not understand what is the meaning behind this exhibit? Is there some sort of a story behind what the elf is doing? And what exactly is the elf doing? It still seems that the elf is killing the poor little bear bear. Can someone enlighten me what the elf is doing?

How time flies, today is the celebration of yet another anniversary of PAYM! This year marks the 37th aniversary of PAYM. And unlike other years, when the celebrations seem more formal being a side event to a main convention or workshop, this year's celebration is in its own right, an outdoor celebration movie screening coupled with buffet dinner from Four Seasons Hotel! This year's anniversary was truly innovative, no more butter cakes as last time, instead this year, JCO doughnuts stole the limelight: Each of the participant was given a truly unique doughnut, 'engraved' with the familiar PAYM logo: Everything of the above donut can be eaten, including the PAYM logo.. it is sugar coating! Around 1930 hours, the movie started, 'Iron Man' is really an adrenalin-surging movie. Most of the audience sat transfixed on the grass mats given, and there were few visits to the 'trolley stalls' dishing out satay, laksa, ice ball, roti prata, fruit punch, rojak an

Compared to the 1990s, the frequency and magnitude of terrorist attacks have intensified, with an increased in the scope of boundaries as well. Terrorist attacks are no longer confined to the Middle East, it has become borderless. I believe terrorism has become more unprecedented as compared to the 1990s due to the increasingly wired world, made possible by technology. The internet has made the world a borderless world and shaped the face of terrorism into one which is borderless too. Internet and the new technology might have given media-crazy terrorists excellent avenues to propagate their ideas and their acts are often carried out to capture as much media attention as well by leveraging on the new technology as evidenced in the Mumbai terrorism acts. Terrorism is a war of ideology, it is not a war for territory as in the past centuries. Where the medium for the conventional wars is airplanes, warships and tanks, the medium for the terrorism is the ever-growing cyber-technology fo

In this world, there is nothing more precious than our body and health. If one’s health is to falter, the cost for remedial surgeries and treatments is substantial and this will eat into our savings fast and furious. Prevention is always better than remedial, thus keeping fit is the way to go for better living and health! Apart from cost of the remedial treatments for our respective organ and body parts when we fall ill, I have suddenly an epiphany: our body is worth millions of dollars! Each part of our body has a market value, is hotly sought after by businesses! Don’t believe me? please read on for the markets and businesses for each of our organs or body parts: Hair: hair cuts, salons, hair treatment centres for balding and hair related problems, hair transplants and artificial hair. Eyes: spectacles, a myriad kind of eye lens and lashes and contact lens, eye brow trimming Face: too many to list here: whitening, Botox, laser, thinning, plastic surgeries, etc Body: slimming, weight

These few days have been mad.. with the developments at Thailand where a group has seized the airport and in India Mumbai, where terrorists orchestrate coordinated attacks in various parts of India, including hotels. A Singaporean lawyer, 28, Lo Hwei Yen, was unfortunately killed . The life of a young bright spark was destroyed by the nonsenical acts of terrorism! These terrorists are really mad, pursuing their morbid goals at the expense of precious human lives! Terrorism must end!

As I ponder on what to write today,after yet another workday, for once, my mind went blank on what to write for today's blog post. I could only stare at the unrelentless passage of time, the heralding of the last month of this year in just 3 days' time and a month later, the world will be ushering in the year 2009! Year 2009 will be a tough year for the world, being a year of economic downturn, massive job losses and wage cuts are in the offing too. Pray hard everything will resume to normalcy soon! Turning back to myself, I try to look back at my life amidst this fast passage of time. Looking back, life has been somehow satisfactory for me, being born in a modest family with good parents, having a good education and having a job....still (in light of the economic downturn). In my life, I have met a fair share of tribulations, have seen the darkest nature of mankind, have my a modicum of wild days and am fortunate to meet and have my current girlfriend who is the sweetest g

We are who we are but sometimes, we are what we are too. We, in essence represent our families, our organisations and other bodies. Our demeanour are up to scrutiny in public. Thus if we misbehave or act in a socially disgraceful manner, we hurt not only our image but also the image of our families as well as the organizations we come from. I see executives and students each day from different schools and organizations misbehaving everyday or to put it more aptly, behaving in a socially and morally ungraceful manner... it really gives others a discounted image of the organizations and schools where they come from. Thus we should always bear in mind that we represent the organizations we hail from and shall always be at our best everytime, everyday.

The government has encouraged Singaporeans to upgrade their skills, undergo more training and certification courses during this economic downturn so as to be ready for the next wave of new jobs once the economy recovers. The government has provided reasonable subsidies on the training courses but shouldn't the cost of university courses (Bachelor, Master and Doctorates) be subsequently reduced? The objective of Singaporeans undergoing a basic university degree programme is to snag a job among the sea of degree-holders in the job market. With the economic in tatters now, and the drag on the economy possibly almost certain to hold on for at least a few years, it is already not certain whether a fresh graduate could get employed and let alone land a plum job these days...thus shouldn't the cost of university programmes be reduced in tandem as well?

The current economic gloom has put a dampener on the holiday moods of would-be vacationers. 'Budget' has become the new buzzword in the economic lexicon, and potential would-be vacationers may be cutting their budgets for their overseas holidays or contemplate staying in local hotels and visiting home attractions ...enjoying their 'staycation'. Yes, this word, 'staycation' has become a common word in the newspapers nowadays and initially, I have thought this word is not an official word, just a new word that has been coined from the existing vocabulary like those web jargon which have been making official entries into dictionaries! I do not mind a staycation, visiting local places of interests, especially the nature, appeals to me, but a staycation is not complete without a stay at the local hotels! However, local hotels cost a bomb! If one were to spend staying at local hotels here for their staycation, the amounts forked out on such local hotels might be mo

What is this crowd doing at the centre of Takashimaya Square? If you were to train your eyes carefully, it is a cinch to know that these Singaporeans and others were actually buying toys, for their children. At an economic downturn like this, parents may still would like to splurge on some toys to dote on, pamper, reward their children, what's more with a discount! Anyway, Christmas is coming soon, and toys as gifts for one's children is almost taken as a necessary expense for most parents.

Today, I happened to catch what seemed to be a new Zoo Ad from the Singapore Zoo, which may be riding on the ongoing school holidays to attract more visitorships. In the Ad, I caught a glimpse of the white tiger, the animal which mauled to death the Malaysian contract worker Nordin just a week ago. Though the white tigers were not to be blamed, I do not know whether the inclusion of the white tiger in the Ad is appropriate and sensitive at this time, soon after the mauling.... it would inevitably bring some morbid memories to Singaporeans like what it did to me. Memories do linger, especially if they were still fresh!

It is madness, a rush for time everyday after going back home from work. There is really a whole raft of things to do, hobbies to pursue, meaningful activities to participate and other committments so much so that on days like today, I have no choice but to blog at this timing of the day! I really cherish the time after work, as life itself on earth is already limited and short, why waste time on unproductive things and on people who simply have no senses and take up your time? No, do not misunderstand me, always at times, I encounters some senseless people or people with hobbies, characters which are really abhorent and I always try to hint them into changing, but often a times, that do not work and instead I find myself on the receiving end of their scolding of me, or 'revenging' to me as they have viewed my keen advice, given to them, subtly and kind-heartedly as some sort of an unwarranted chastisement. I did my part to enlighten these beings but if they were to continue

This is the giant Xmas tree which stands right in the centre of Takashimaya Shopping Centre in Orchard, spanning almost 3 storeys in height. Every Christmas, there will always be bound to have one giant Xmas tree erected at the forum square of Takashimaya Shopping Centre. Today's Sunday Times reported that a large proportion of Singaporeans polled have expressed disappointment this year's Xmas festive lighting at Orchard Road has paled in comparison with those of past years. Christmas should be a spirit of joy and giving, Singaporeans should not just look at the exterior and worldly side of Xmas such as the aethestics of the festive lighting.

If Singaporeans can still remember, Marina Bay used to be a heaven for steamboat lovers who will flock there to eat steamboat dinner, then go for a bowl at the Marina SuperBowl. Some kite flyers love to go to the once barren (of skyscrapers and buildings) Marina Square area to pursue their interests. With the construction of the Integrated Resorts and the Marina Barrage at the Marina Bay, Marina Bay becomes like nothing of the yester-years. Yes, Marina Bay will become a splendid area when the Integrated Resorts open in a few years time, but right now, Marina Bay has become a construction desert, populated by dusty, heavy-duty construction trucks and the dust and pollutants from all the construction which goes on day and night seems to give this place a name called the Singapore Sahara. With the change, all the steamboat restaurants have now been shifted to a stretch from Kallang to Lavender and to Bugis. For kite flying, one can still see at times in places like East Coast Park and

As we usher in 2009 soon, we do so with heavy hearts for next year will be a year, which is expected to have many witness countries falling into recessions, unprecedented job lossess, unprecedented number of implications from job losses: families affected, etc. Singaporeans may still not feel the effects yet as the economic recession is just starting to bite. Retrechments are expected to head north next year and the government is encouraging all to upgrade their skills during this economic downturn so as to be prepared for the job market after the crisis. See today's announcment by the government. Readers may thought that here I am still blogging, so I may not be affected by the financial crisis yet. The answer is I have been affected as well. In fact, the financial crisis wiped off 10% of my personal worth in a matter of days!

It is my honour to have my blog ranked the No.1 on Yahoo Singapore when one types in any of the following searches: a) Singapore Stories b) Singapore Story c) The singapore story (ranked 3th and 4th) d) Singapore Short Stories I Thanks readers like you for giving me your utmost support!

I have seen and interact with some seniors who are into their 60s and 70s. Apart from their white hairs which belie their actual ages, they look young: their complexion, their personality, their energies and physical fitness which could even surpass me! Some have even perfect hair, (no hairloss or anything), just white, long and healthy! Gaining into a deeper insight what make them look and feel so great at their ages, it dawns on me that their secret boils down to just one word: Discipline. Discipline in taking care and protecting your brain, body, heart and soul. Some tips which I have gleaned from my own analysis are as follows, for your reference: 1) Eat truly organic food 2) Yoga 3) Some light sports 4) Mediation 5) Good and healthy hobbies like reading, gardening, etc 6) Be neat, tidy and organized 7) Be simple in outlook 8) Be kind 9) Eat light (studies I read show that those who eat lesser live longer) 10) Vegetarian (less oily type) 11) Sleep early and wake up early Looking b

As I recapped some of the stories which made headlines in Singapore this year, I suddenly thought of how Singapore's equivalent of Osama, Mas Selamat, has still not been captured since the day he escaped from custody in February this year! despites being on the list of the most wanted persons on earth too! This picture of Mas Selamat is not something I feel proud to put up on my blog. I also do not put pictures not taken by me lest of copyright issues. But here, Mas Selamat's photos are not really copyright, I believe so as these are widely circulated to increase the public's and the world's awareness of his appearance and hopefully he will be caught soon through tips. Realising that my blog does have international readers, I thought it would be good to put Mas Selamat's photo on my blog (though it is not very beautiful) for international readers to have an image of how he look like and to alert the police if you were to see him.Most likely Mas could have changed

I find one of my fans has been experiencing some difficulties today and this set me thinking of how long this fan of mine has been with me through thick and thin, everyday for more than twenty years! This fan of mine has been a loyal friend, a super-nice friend who has given me comfort when I need this fan the most! But alas, fans do age and would one day leave me. New fans of mine today are gone after a few years, but this fan of mine has stood the annals of time, serving me for more than twenty years! In case you got me wrong, I am not talking about fans as in supporters, I am talking about my very old KDK fan! This KDK fan my family has bought more than twenty years ago is still functioning today and is still reliant, though at times, there are minor hums here and there. I do not know whether it is business strategy or what, electrical appliances today last not as long as appliances of yester-years? If appliances still could work donkey number of years, then how could manufactu

I read at the audacity of the Somali pirates hijacking the Sirius Star, a Saudi-owned supertanker and demanded $25m for the ship's return. These pirates had previously captured many other ships and tankers and were simply brazen. Pirates have exist since time immemorial. On land, we hear of robbers, and on sea, the equivalent of robbers are pirates! But I could tell you being robbed at sea will be far more terrible than on land. On the land, you could at least solicit some help from a passer-by or call a nearby police station but at sea, most of the time, a ship, tanker or vessel would most likely be sailing alone. Perhaps, movie producers shall consider doing a movie called 'Pirates of the Gulf of Aden' rather than yet another 'Pirates of the Carribean Sea'. The seas are the most unexplored parts of the earth. Man has only discovered a small fraction of what is inside the great deep oceans. It has been reported some great monster-looking creatures, unknown to m

It dawned on me today as I sat attentively in a forum that some people make a choice on a trade or skill they would pursue for life as a career, stick with it, specialise and excel in it. Definitely it is good to excel in one trade for life rather than not specialising in anything at all. But what happens when one has too many passions to pursue, too many interests to consider to pursue for a career? Life is too short for one to explore an interest to try and develop it into a career. We simply do not have time to explore all our interests to see if they could lead to a career which we would like every much. I admire Leonardo Da Vinci, who is truly a renaissance man and a master of a host of skills! I would like to be a Renaissance Man. Though I could, like majority of the people, choose to excel in one specific area for my career, the other many interests and passions, I would pursue them after work, in my free time. That would be living life to the fullest!

How time flies! Year 2008 is coming to an end in just 6 weeks time. At the end of the year, I would always recollect what are the top news for that particular year (see my post on 31 Dec 07 for the top news of that year). Barring any shocking or breaking news for the coming 6 weeks till the end of the year, my top 4 choices (ranked in order) FOR SINGAPORE, (why 4 and not 3? These 4 are the ones what I could think of, so far and immediately) and taking into account both local and international dimensions, are: 1) Economic crisis (this must be unanimously the top news for Singapore and all countries!) 2)The escape of Mas Selamat 3) White tiger at our beloved zoo turned killer 4) Singapore's hosting of F1 For the top new FOR THE WORLD, it must be unanimously the election of Barrack Obama as the first Black US President who promises change for the world. Feel free to comment if you think these are not the top news and to share your pick of the top news for Singapore for this year!

It is almost the end of November but there are still students sitting for examinations, examinations such as the ‘O’ and’ ‘A’ levels as well as the varsity examinations. It is normal to burn the midnight oil for some students. When I was in my schooling days, there were many of my classmates who burnt the midnight oil, staying awake the night before the examination just to ‘mug’. I was not someone who practised burning the midnight oil as firstly, I was always well-prepared for examinations, having a good revision schedule which will see me revising what was need to be revised at the latest, half a day before the date of the examination. The other more important reason for not burning the midnight oil was my belief that not sleeping when one should, one’s health would be harmed. I know it is a small matter to most people burning the midnight oil as it is just for one or a few nights till the exams are over. But all the more, exams are such important occasions that one body’s should be

In this world, everyone is a salesman and the most important product you ever need to sell is you, yourself. You need to sell and know how to sell yourself to your prospective dream employers as well as your potential mates, failing to do so, the search for a fulfilling career or wonderful lover will always be elusive, unless one is wiling to make compromises in the search. Your idea is the most important feature of you, the product and we must communicate effectively our ideas during the selling of ourselves. Like a salesman, we will always meet rejections, most importantly, we should not fear failure, we should take them in our strides and should keep on trying till we succeed. I have met with countless failures and rejections in life and I will still soldier on till I succeed.

Tonight, I visited one of the family service centres in our island to learn more about its operation. It was an enriching visit. Prior to the visit and presentation by the staff of the family service centre, I did not have an inkling of what is the operation of family service centres but after the visit, I realised the staff, the counsellors at the family service centres actually play such a criticial role in our society! The family service centre runs a host of social welfare and education programmes and outreach, targeting the various segments of our people: the children, the youth and the family. Such programmes include martial counselling, youth guidance programs, child management, counselling for the gambling addicts, families troubled by domestic violence, financila woes, etc. The centre also run tuition, school holiday progranes interest class, lunch time talks for the enrichment of family and children. Together with the other organizations offering social assistance, famil

Today, I was surprised to note that a blogger has actually linked her blog to my blog, to be so called, as what Blogspot said, a follower. Welcome Icy, you are my first follower! I am flattered that my blog can have followers because this blog of mine is a really very simple blog, but I can say,my blog is a blog with many interesting and useful contents which will benefit regular readers, I believe. It is alright if my blog does not have much following, or it must have traffic hit count in the leagues of thousands per day, because I believe it is the quality of blog that counts, not the hit counts, the quantitative aspect. I have visited those very popular blogs raking in 50,000 hits per day but the blog contents do not appeal to me so much so I do not follow them anymore. A simple blog, a humble blog, can only be meaningful if it can give readers some takeaways after they have spent their time reading. I have no dream of making this blog one of the very popular blogs in Singapore, but

I took this picture of the financial district when it was immersed in a cloud of mist. Looking at this picture now, I realised it best epitomises what our country as well as the rest of the world is experiencing: financial crisis. The financial sector is mired in a cloud of uncertainty, but like every thunderstorm, there will be a rainbow after every storm.

Everyday life seems so small when viewed from the top of a skyscraper. This picture should be familiar with you: Raffles Place MRT station and its vicinity. People becomes dots when viewed from the top. I will get a certain inspiration of life looking down at life from the top.

'Citigroup to slash 50,000 jobs worldwide': the news of today 'Japan is in recession': the news of today 'DBS to slash 900 jobs': the news just a week ago What is next? The effects of the economic recession is starting to BITE.. and it is going to BITE HARD! During this economic crisis, it is sad everyday to be bombarded with such news, life goes on and we must adopt a resilent atitude, be postive and work with our government which is doing all its can to ride Singaporeans from the economic crisis.

The computer has been an indispensable item for the modern life. Be it desktop or the notebook, the computer is made up basically of 3 parts: the monitor, the CPU and the keyboard. Much focus has been on the CPU (in a drive towards ever-fastening speed of the processor) as well as on the monitor (focus on LCD, quality, size), the least focus is on the keyboard, though we use it almost everyday. Have you wonder why the alphabet buttons on the keyboard are arranged as such? This article will answer your doubts.

In this economic gloom, the more one go out, the more he has to spend. First on the list, the 'to and fro' transport. Then there will be the usual stuff to buy and not to mention the food and drinks. If we would want to reduce our expenditure during this economic downturn, we can cut down on going out and instead do more 'free' things in life like going by foot to your shopping mall or shops in your housing estate, cycle to some nearby parks and do some exercises. Certain outings like these can be free-of-charge. Even when one is to stay at home, he will be still spending... spending his money on water and electricity running the computers, aircon, fans and etc. I introduce here the desperate's guide to beating the economic downturn: Wake up, spend minimial water to brush your teeth and face. Walk to your nearby library to read today's news and while away the time amidst the free aircon and when thristy, sip at the water coolers provided.By the time you hav

It must be so amazing tonight. 8 exciting blog posts for you,reader, tonight! Now my fingers are tired and sore typing, but I have become a blogging fanatic, so I do not mind. Enjoy all these 8 blog posts for today ba!

Tonight is the official light-up for Orchard Road for Christmas! When it comes to Christmas, what is Christmas without the annual lightup which transforms Orchard, City and the many shopping centres into fairylands? When I was young, all these lightups and the many rains at this season of the year seem magical, all these lend a feel of Christmas touch to the usually mundane and busy life in Singapore. But now that I have grown up, this magical feeling is no more and the belief of Santas Claus coming to my house to stuff presents in my socks hung specially for this purpose has been sadly thwarted. With the economic gloom now and pending, all Singaporeans should be Santas Claus once again at this period of time, to give to the needy for them to celebrate this happy occassion too. Next year, Chinese New Year will come early, the 4th week of January 2009! Even now, when I go to some shopping centres, I hear Chinese New Year Songs and not Xmas songs! (hey Xmas has not even passed!) My

This stall at Marina Square food court selling the Old Hong Kong Trolley Noodles at $4 for each plate is not bad. The stall has different grades of noodles for the customer to choose and for $4, one get to choose 5 different dishes to accompany the noodles. I ate it before but when I went there last night, there were only almost all meat dishes left, so I and my Dear became carnivores eating all kinds of meat: chicken, duck, beef, pork and some tau pok. Its not bad a try if one has not eaten before. For me I ate this noodles for quite sometime thus I will be looking for a change next time I visit the food centre.

Another exhibition at Suntec City which is now on at level 6: Book Fair Books wise, there is a multitude of them but price wise, they are not cheap or cheaper. There are still many book-lovers there. My Dear and I saw a family sitting now to read slowly the books there and was chided off by the staff at the exhibition. The family thought they are still at Borders, or MPH or in the library! They should just buy the books if they want to finish them.

The exhibition of Lee Kong Chian and Tan Kah Kee is now on in the National Library. I went to visit it on Friday and after the visit, I will encourage all Singaporeans to visit the exhibition as the exhibition was really well done! Just see the rows of ancient tables and chairs above! The organizers managed to bring a piece of history alive and in such a comfortable setting in the National Library! Alongside this exhibition was the one on road names. But I was surprised when I visited this adjoining exhibition: there were only few panels explaining the names of some road names like Alkaff Street and that is it, so it was a bit disappointing. But the Tan Kah Kee and Lee Kong Chian exhibition is really very well done! It is free somemore, go and visit and be inspired by the great philantrophists of our yester-years. I am very embarrassed for one thing I took back home after viewing the exhibition was the fact that Tan Kah Kee was the father-in-law of Lee Kong Chian. I knew these two

Any guess where I took this majestic view from? Such angle and view must be taken from the top of a tall building in the CBD. Any guess where and how I took it?

The Food Safari and Home Electronics Fair is on since yesterday at Suntec City. I was among the first Singaporeans to visit the fair and I think the food festival is quite good as there are quite many interesting stalls such as the African stall below: Lots of food stalls. I bought a Ramli burger, the Muslim burger one normally finds at Pasar Malam for $2.50. It is 30 cents more here and I must said the quality of the burgers here at the fair is less good than what I ate at the Pasar Malams: the chicken meat is less juicy and one key sauce is missing! At the same hall, there is an electronic fair where exhibitors sell all kinds of electronic gadgets. It was so packed on the first day that I did not really stay for long. There is another food festival at Singapore Expo now till next Tuesday. The food there is much better and its more targeted for consumers with some selling at very good prices. I only knew it today thus did not go yesterday.

I have initially mentioned in my earlier posts that Omar, the only white tiger out of the trio was involved in the killing of Nordin in Thursday tragic accident. But I was wrong, the two tigers which mauled Nordin to death were the two female tiger or so called tigresses! I do not know the names of the two female tigers but how I came to the perception that Omar was one of the maulers was the fact that I visited the 3 white tigers just a month ago and Omar was the only one prancing around, see video below: Omar's prancing around suggested to me that he is quite reckless and naturally I would believe he would be the first to maul at a human intruder. Ironically, it was reported that Omar showed no interest at Nordin at all and stayed clear of him. The chinese has a saying. 'mu lao hu' (female tiger) to show someone who is really fierce.... there may be some parrallels here in this tragic incident. The two white tigers which mauled Nordin to death were however traumatised t

At 5 pm today, the colours of autumn ink brush exhibition was officially opened at the National Library. There was a quite a large turnout at the opening ceremony, with dozens of parents of the children who drew the lovely ink brush paintings turning up. Above was Master Chew, the calligraphy teacher who taught the children how to draw so beautifully all those paintings that were in exhibition. Above, the lady holding the mike was the Guest of Honour, (not the MC though she was holding a piece of paper which contained her speech) for the opening ceremony. The paintings above were so well drawn that they seemed to come from the hand of professional artists. But, they came mostly from children as young as five years of age. Well done! Singapore has some promising budding Chinese calligraphy artists! Well done, Master Chew too! The exhibition is open free to the public for a fixed duration. If you are interested to see this exhibition, do go there early ba.

Today's Strait Times reported the shocking incident at the Singapore Z00 where a Malaysian man was mauled to death by 2 of the 3 white tigers yesterday. This man has been identified as Nordin Bin Montong. The same report carried shocking photos of the man lying in a cradle-like position, with pail over his head, seemingly to pray that the tigers would retreat and photos showing the tigers all over Nordin. This report might shed some light on the incident and that some of my earlier conjectures raised in my post yesterday might be correct: a) It seems to be a suicide pact because the man was seen, according to the report, to tell his colleagues they would not see him again before going to the tigers. b) The tigers were provoked. The deceased, Nordin Bin Montong was seem advancing towards the white tigers with his broom and pail. It seems that Omar, the only male tiger out of the three might not be the only tiger which inflicted the deathly blows on Nordin, the maneouring of Nordi

Around 12.30 pm today, a Malaysian contract cleaner entered into the enclosure of the White Tigers at the Singapore Zoo and it happened: the white tiger killed the man at our beloved Singapore Zoo! Our world-class Singapore Zoo is known for its open and natural concept of housing the animals, it is never known for bloodshed, it is unthinkable a white tiger kills a man at our Singapore Zoo! I still remembered watching one of the white tigers prancing up and down when I visited the zoo 2 months ago, you can refer to my blog post on my zoo outing under the label ‘Places’, which shows a picture of the white tiger. I believe it is this active tiger which perpetuated the ‘crime’. But, hold on, was it really a ‘crime’? and who is to blame for this tragedy? It is hard to say, though I must say that the white tigers should not be blamed. Animals are protective of its territory and if there is ‘intruder’ into its territory, their first instinct is naturally to protect their kins and to ward off

It seems that the December monsoon is here earlier this year, for the past week, the sky has been pelting our island with lots of rain. Such sudden change in weather sees more people falling sick. In the trains, buses which I take as well as in my office, quite a number of people go ‘Ahhhh Chew’ as their noses run non-stop with liquid and they sneeze so often. We must also note that sudden change in weather could also facilitate the mutation of certain viruses. Bird flu is one such illness, believed to be caused, in part by the change in global climate. We should try to build up our immunity at times like this, though a report I read just days ago reveal that vitamin C and E could actually do more harm to the body. Without a doubt, I am also affected too…….Ahhhhhhhh Chewwww……..

I do not like it when people on MSN whom I chat to suddenly go offline without saying a word of 'bye'. It is rude. Even demeanours should be observed in cyberspace. Such an sudden exit from MSN without bidding goodbye makes me have a second take at the person.

It grates on my nerves these days ordering from one of the premier food catering companies, in Singapore. A sales executive called May from that particular company cannot make it at all! Reasons for my anger: 1) Sent an email for order, took me 1 week and 2 phone calls for her to get back to me. 2) And when she got back to me, after so late, she asked for certain details of my correspondence, gave them to her, took me another few days and calls for her to respond, and when she did, she got the particulars wrong! 3) She got my name wrong despites constant and repeated reminders that I do not have another surname after that. 4) And I must tell you that her email to me does not have any personal thing message at all, just repeat the computer thinggy here and there so much so that all her emails to me are all identical despites my anger has risen to such a certain extent and has reflected that in my email. She simply does not want to apologise but simply repeat the same computer sta

I read the news that a nepalese boy Ram Bahadur Bomjon (picture) has emerged from the jungles after a year , a boy many believe to be the reincarnation of Buddha see report A check on Google unveils quite a number of articles of this boy being the reincarnation of Buddha and an article even went as far to report that Jesus and Buddha might be linked. For me, I have no comments on whether the boy is really Buddha-reincarnate. The best answer would be if you believe he is, then he is, if not, he is not. Faith is necessary in a religion. Science and its processes cannot validate religion for which faith is such a critical part. Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence, if you believe there is, then there is; this is religion.

This year's MediaCorp Subaru Challenge has progressed to its 80th hour at this time in writing. The 400 contestants whittled down to only 2: one man and one woman. What about this for a resume: 'I stood 70 hrs and emerged as one of the top five of the MediaCorp Subaru Challenge': traits protrayed to employers: tenacity, never-say-die, determination, resilence, traits which could differentiate you from average applicants in this economic period which maybe the nadir in the whole of the economic history of mankind!

Like the Bubble Tea craze which hit Singapore some 5 to 6 years back, the Coffee Bun craze which hit Singapore some 3 to4 years back has all but almost vanished into thin air. We have Papa-roti, Beard Papa, Papa this and Papa that, selling yummy coffee buns with melted butter ingrained in them during that time, now what we have as remmants are ordinary confectionary shops selling these buns. The ONLY shop selling more authentic coffee buns is Roti-Mum in IMM. Move over Roti-Papa, Roti-Mama, Roti-Son, Roti-Grandson, Roti-Great Grandson, Roti Pratas are still the mainstay of the Roti culture here!

Before we come to the close of yet another busy day, have you paused to think whether today you have affirmed someone you know, someone you love or have anyone affirmed you too? Being Asians, Singaporeans are not as open as their Western counterparts, a majority I mean. However, we should also be discerning and not take lock, stock and barrel all the Western culture practices, else we loose our sense of Asianess, of our identity.

I must confess that though I say I read a couple of newspapers daily, I do not read articles by articles as time is simply a premium for me! There is no time to read articles in the newpapers, all I could do is to glance quickly through the papers, occassionally pausing to read in depth some of the more interesting articles. This is skimming, not reading newspapers, I understand, but there is simply so much things to do in life. If I could have the time, I wish to read every article of the Straits Time and many other good blogs lying in the blogosphere. The contents of each newspaper articles are enriching and journalists and editors take time to research and come out with the articles. It is a waste not to read them, but with busy Singaporeans hard-pressed for time, what could we do? But it is not uncommon to hear of retirees reading the newpapers more in depth as they have more time, good for them for such reading enriches their minds!

As the world welcomed the more popular US Presidential candidate Mr Obama, 47 as the President of United States, Singapore welcomed the international superstar, the epitome of China movie industry, Ms Gong Li, 43 as the citizen of Singapore. Ms Gong Li was officially appointed a Singaporean in a new citizen appointment ceremony on Saturday 8 Oct 2008. The member of parliament (MP) who presented the appointment ceremony was Ms Lee Bee Hwa, thus it might mean Gong Li is residing in Ms Lee Bee Hwa’s ward: which is Nee Soon South, one of the constituencies under Ang Mo Kio GRC, helmed by none other than Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Gong Li is now officially a Singaporean, as China does not allow its citizens to hold dual citizenship. Gong Li may have become a Singaporean to join her husband, tobacco businessman here in Singapore. Gong Li should be still active shooting movies. I wonder if she has a choice, apart from movies, what are some of the things she could do in Singapore too? The

I feel down today, down as I need to face reality, of problems that are hard or impossible to solve, though I have explored many ways to solve the problems, however, all these efforts come to nought. It is sad....sorry, readers of this post, you must feel bored and sad on reading such an unexcited post. Without a doubt, everyone has his or her problems, some more serious than others, others less major than others. No matter what, I find that in this world, the most important thing is to be true to yourself. Others can look down on you, but we must never look down on ourselves. With the increasing affluence of our country, I do find that those richer are getting richer and richer, and the poor like me, are getting poorer and poorer amidst all the rising inflation and the economic crisis. I do not begrudge more and more people getting rich or the richer getting more and more rich but I do begrudge if the rich are getting more and more arrogant. I hate the coterie of some super arro