Sunday, November 30, 2008

Singapore 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 also not a heavy blog, not a news content provider as readers can just read from the myriad of internet new sources in cyberspace and there is no point duplicating the same news.
Last but not least, hope readers enjoy my blog Singapore Stories or Singapore Short Stories!
Why do I mention the phrase Singapore Stories or Singapore Short Stories? Basically these two blogs are the same: Singapore Short Stories at this URL that you are now reading as well as Singapore Stories at this URL: http://www.singaporestories.blogspot.com/ . The Singapore Stories blog is actually my most original and earlier blog, the predecessor to this Singapore Short Stories blog but shortly after creating the Singapore Stories blog, I have inadvertently lost the ID and password and hence Singapore Stories has become a dead blog, regrettably.

Anyway Singapore Short Stories will still live to the expectation of readers wanting something relevant to their life and which are neither too trivial or too heavy a content.
If you have an article to contribute to this blog, please email me ! Many Thanks and Happy Reading Singapore Stories!

Staycation


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!

A Christmas Puzzle at Vivocity


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?

Saturday, November 29, 2008

PAYM's 37th Anniversary Celebrations

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 and popcorn.


Around 2200 hrs, the event ended...and we made our way back home.
A nice way of celebrating PAYM's birthday under the moon, watching an exciting movie!

Friday, November 28, 2008

Why is there increasing terrorism compared to the 90s?

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 for the propagation of the terrorists' thwarted ideology. This may explain why there is now an unprecedented number of terrorist acts in this century (starting from 911) as compared to the 90s.

Body Business

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 gaining, whitening, massage, etc (same as for face, too many businesses to list here)… tattooing and then laser therapy to remove it

Ears: candle waxing

Head: scalp massage

Bones: bone surgeries to increase one’s height

Skin Hair: laser removal, growing of more hair, etc

Tongue: tongue forking, etc (disgusting that people wants to spend money to that extent: to carve some peculiar shapes out of their tongues!)

Foot: foot reflexology

Hand: hand reflexology

Brain: education and skills upgrading

Heart: dating, matchmaking

Sexual organs: sex shops, sex enhancement clinics, brothels, Viagra, condoms, … (sex sells, again an almost inexhaustible list here)

Nose: aromatherapy, scented oils, plastic surgeries to make nose sharper,etc.

Mouth: the segment I believe to draw the greatest business: posh restaurants, fine dining apart from fulfilling the basic necessity to eat

Sad to say, even if we are dead, there are still business for harnessing: coffins, wreaths, funeral rites and necessities … and I also read that there is also a business to send coffins to the space for burial (space burial) for those who are wealthy enough to afford this hefty bill.

But I believe the greatest business that could be exploited from us is our state of mind. If we practice tolerance and not crave in to the lure of commercials to part with our hard-earned money for those luxurious products, there is no business to be done! Most of the foregoing ‘body businesses’ are to satisfy human’s insatiable wants, if one is not disciplined enough… but most of the well-heeled have already integrated these wants (to average folks like me) into their basic needs, aligned to their lifestyles. Some average folks who give in to their wants might be ‘burnt’ not knowing the product well enough before purchase and how much they can go…. just think of huge chunks of losses chalked up by average folks in the Lehman Brothers products.

Conclusion: its not our body that sells, its our mindset that can be exploited by marketers.

Lo Hwei Yen: Singaporean held hostage at Mumbai’s Oberoi Hotel killed

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!

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Life

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 girl of the world! Recently, I have told a class that my greatest achievement is having a girlfriend, the class laughed but then applauded.
I firmly told them it is my greatest achievement to have a good girlfriend! It is extremely hard to find someone who is compatible in personality with me, can stand my bad habits and of the same chemistry as I.
I am not rich and not handsome, thus I believe it to be a blessing to meet a good lady as my girlfriend as I have met and dated quite a number of ladies before, all with sky-high expectations: wanting their boyfriends with all the 5'C's and with drooping good looks! To pay justice to other single ladies too, there are also quite a number of ladies who would want me to be their boyfriend as my personality is okay and I look very decent but it takes two hands to clap and though they like me, forcing love just cannot happen!
Haiz, how I miss my childhood days and how regretful am I not being able to just let my hair go then and really enjoy childhood! I pity the Singapore kids these days, all mired in studies, extra-curricular exams or be seated, with their faces glued to the computers at all hours.
Childhood days are just so innocent.. after entering into National Service, University and Working, I begin to see the darkest nature of human being.. though there are definitely kind souls around.
The rules of Karma to believers may not seem to work out right in life: one does not seem to reap what they sow. We have people working real hard and yet they are passed over for promotion by others who are not as capable but who got promoted fast and furious due to certain reasons which are obvious: curry-favoring, backstabbing, parachuters, etc....this is just an example.... another example would be rich people (more Singaporeans are) bragging about their latest conquest of newfangled gadgets... simply boasting of their wealth, oblivious to the suffering of the poor, I met quite a number of these arrogant people.
Reading here, one may feel that I am pessistimic on life but I am not, I am just tellling the state of life as it is in our society... people are getting more and more immoral and materialistic. I was shocked to read news here in Singapore of couples attending swinging clubs, if I got the names correct, where a married couple met another married couple, and exchange their spouse for one night stands... it is simply digusting and immoral. It is also no wonder that the divorce rates are getting higher than before.
More and more students some as young as 12, are also experiencing with sex, leading to a surge of unwanted pregancies...
at this point, I will turn in already... surprised that I can actually type a lengthy blogpost covering from time to my life and to social problems! It seems that my mind is not blank at all.. or have I become a seasoned blogger.. and earning my name as the one of the best story tellers in Singapore?

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

You are what you are.. sometimes

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.

Education and Economic Crisis

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?

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Staycation

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 more than enough for an exciting and relaxing holidays on our neighbour islands like Bintan, Desaru and Tanjong Binan!
So is it worth the money for a local vacation? For me, I do not think so. We might as well spend on a holiday nearby than staying at the not-so-cheap hotels here!
Recent news have reported that the government authorities have enacted a rule for all the love hotels in Joo Chiat to only offer hotel rooms at a daily rate, and not the existing hourly rates, in an effort to cut sleaze.
I think it would be even better, if the hotels in Joo Chiat do offer good family packages for Singaporeans to explore spending their staycations here on our own ground!
But first cut out the sleaze in Joo Chiat, else it will be unhealthy for families and local vacationers to see the hanky-pankies in their stays here and worse still, be tempted to partake in these unhealthy activities.

What is this crowd for?


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.


White Tiger

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!

Cherishing my time after work

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 in their heedless manners, I would just have to let it be, because I simply cannot spend all my time to educate and enlighten them as simply time is too short for all of us, including me.
Back on this topic of time, a study which I recently read, found that people who spend a significant part of their time watching TVs are unhappy people as they have really spend little time socialising with others or taking part in other social recreational habits. I agree wholeheartedly with the report and I would like to add Internet games activities addictions as another source, another scourge of time wasting, plus the playstations which are so common nowadays.

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Singapore Christmas


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.


Steam Boat Dinner

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 Pasir Ris Park, but nowadays, one can go to Clarke Quay and see people playing with remote-controlled electric kites which glow at night, making them even more beautiful.
Having not eaten Steamboat dinner for many years, tonight, I and my Dear visited a steamboat restaurant from the raft of similar restaurants in Kallang.
Pictures tell a thousand words, so our food expedition is as follows:








Sorry for having no captions following each picture, but the pictures are quite obvious.
Now the verdict:
After two hours of eating the steamboat dinner, which comprised of mainly meaty spreads, I can hardly distinguish what on earth am I eating: as all meats after munching and munching, taste rather the same and may I say, I feel like eating rubber!
The restaurant, owned by China nationals was packed full of China nationals and their HUGE appetites dwarfed mine! China people really eat a lot as I have always known.
The meats are quite salty (to preserve their taste) and after just some dishes, we took some free iced drinks to quench our thrist.
It was noisy, chaotic, with all the smoke etc.. typical of any Steamboat restaurant. The meal was very filling as most of the spreads were meat dishes and could easily fill up an average person's stomach after some plates.
On the whole, I could just said that this steamboat restaurant is only at most average in terms of food and atmosphere.

Friday, November 21, 2008

Financial Crisis

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!

Still No.1 on Yahoo Singapore!

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!

Forever Young

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 back at the list, I have practised some of these pointers but have not taken up some. Eating lightly is something I am doing now, because a cluttered stomach will lead to diseases. I am also steering away from all the fats, oils, salts, too.
I just find that it is really a discipline to be fit, the most important is to find time out of my busy schedules to exercise and stick to an exercise plan. Right now, I am definitely not exercising enough.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Where is Mas Selamat?


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 his looks, but certain features might be hard to change lest Mas went for a plastic surgery.

He has been elusive for many months; not being to capture Mas Selamat is dangerous as being a former JI leader, he could plot the next deadly terrorist attack with his morbid expertise!

Tribute to my fan

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 manufacturers survive by waiting for business to come by only after some years?
Is redundance and bugs in equipment sometimes inbuilt?

Pirates of the Gulf of Aden

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 man may be living in the deepest parts of these oceans. Leveraging these remoteness of the seas and oceans, we find human monsters called Pirates!

The Renaissance Man

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!

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Top news for Year 2008

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!

Why aren’t you sleeping when you should?

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 at its peak to perform at its very best.

I have not slept for some nights in the past, due to doing some shift work, in the army days (and the following day, in a ‘daze’) and for some other occasions. I just find that the next day, I am acting sub-normally and I need even more sleeping hours the coming few days just to make up for the sleeping hours which I have missed.

Night shift workers work night shifts and forsake sleep for their work. These night shift workers include security guards, factory operators and other professional who either need to keep an installation running at night or to work with clients living in the West such as the United States, which is on day when Singapore is on night. These personnel may catch some sleep during their work, but of what quality is such sleep? Worse if the night shift personnel work night shifts for most or all days of the weeks.

Ever heard of the ‘Circadian Rhythms’? These are biological rhythms of our body, which is attuned to the day, and night activities that most people are observing.

Do not miss the golden period 12 am to 2am, for this is the period when the body repairs itself including the liver and kidneys. Not sleeping during this golden hours will make one more vulnerable to illnesses.

For more information on the effects of shift work on one’s health, please read this lengthy dissertation.

Everyone is a salesman

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.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Family Service Centre

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, family service centres form the bedrock of our social fabric, lending a hand to those in need.
In these economically trying times, more and more families would be affected, the role and importance of our social welfare organizations will be even greater.

Extraordinary Bloggers!


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 would like to continue to pursue my blogging and sharing of my blog with you readers!
Blogger Icy has added her as follower to my blog though I have not implemented this gadget prior to her adding. With her following, I have decided to implement the 'Followers' gadget for regular visitors to this blog to link their blogs to my blog!
I do not like the word, 'Followers' because those bloggers who are following my blogs are not below me, we are equal. Thus I relabelled the word, 'Followers' as Extraordinary Bloggers.
Yes, everyone of you reader and blogger are extraordinary in some ways or another.

Hope you find my blog interesting!

Monday, November 17, 2008

Snapshot of Economic Crisis

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.

View from the Top


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, Japan is in recession

'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.

QWERTY

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.

Sunday, November 16, 2008

A Desperate's Guide to beating the economic downturn

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 have read complete the news, its almost noon and you will get ready to lunch.

You head down to the nearby temple or other charitable organizations by foot and partake the free lunch. After lunch, you will go to shop around the neighbouring shopping mall, enjoying the free aircon, or to the nearby park, chatting with your neighbours. You satiate your thrist from water coolers again and when you are hungry once again, you go to the charitable organizations for an early dinner and then you head back home to sleep early after bath and spending electricity on water and then on the fans to sleep.
Can the above so called my desperate's guide to beating the economic downturn take place in Singapore? The answer is Yes, and the desperate in this case will be really the very poor who will be even more affected by the rising inflation, economic crisis and so as to save cost, they may be thinking of what I have described above. The guide is not far-fetched and these real needy might instead of going library, be going around stocking up on discarded cardboxes, cans and other items,trading them for the needed money, and going to the public toilets to bathe, head for the void decks to sleep, and go to the places offering free food. Some even resort to begging etc.
While average Singaporeans especially the young can blink no eyelids to spend $30 on meals, $50 on handbags, the very poor Singaporeans are struggling hard to earn money and support their families. It is good that our government is always ready to offer some sort of financial assistance to these needy though I agree with the government that this assistance shall just be temporary as the most important is these poor should be self-reliant, self-supporting in future, 'teach them how to fish, instead of giving them a fish each day'.
I do think twice about going out now as it will cut deeper into my pockets but I hope all Singaporeans will not stay at home else the economic downturn will become more serious as there is no spending, no liquidity in the market!
Resume life as normal, curtail a bit of your spending but not all, and I believe the economy can still be running well.

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Special Edition: 8 exciting blog posts for today (15 Nov 08)

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!

Christmas Lightup!

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 heart becomes heavy as I see the closing of a year soon.... it means all of us are 1 year older and 1 year wiser and I must strive to achieve what I set out to do real soon!
Time and tide waits for no man!

Old Hong Kong Trolley Noodle


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.


Book exhibition at Suntec City


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.

Tan Kah Kee and Lee Kong Chian Exhibition



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 names since many years ago but this fact did not really sink into my mind!
At least, now I know! and maybe you know now too.... hehe


Scene from the Top!


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


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.

Its not Omar!


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 these days, it was reported. Their senses were heightened and they did not behave normally as they were shocked by the loud commotion caused by dozens of people screaming at them to stop their mauling of Nordin.

It was the first time the white tigers encountered human too, thus naturally they were not accustomed.

The Colours of Autumn


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.

Friday, November 14, 2008

of Nordin Bin Montong, Faces of Death, Gerald Ee and Dong Fang Billy

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 Nordin by the other female tiger might also contributed to Nordin's fatal injuries.
It must be a shocking sight for the tourists who witnessed the killing of Nordin. Initially they thought it was a show. It is almost like watching, in person, the video, 'Faces of Death'.
That was a video which carried chilling video footage of various death situations which I watched more than ten years ago at a friend's house. I believed it was banned here ever since. This video carried so many shocking scences of killing... ACTUAL killing of real life persons and animals! This included man being mauled to death by a pack of wild dogs, people being electrocuted, people cutting open a monkey's head in China and eating the interior organs alive..... I still could remember to a certain extent, some of these horrfiying scences so you could tell how horrifying this video was! Why I watched it then? It might be due to curiosity being a teen, curiosity of death.
Besides this horror video showing live killing, when the fight against terrorism started, if you could remember, there was a raft of videos being circulated of beheadings by the terrorists. It first started with an American called Johnson, followed by the beheading of a South Korean.. that was in year 2004 and I watched it with a group of curious colleagues.
The watching of the video cost me my lunches and dinners for a few days as I simply have no appetite. I wonder why on earth there are people who are so savage that they blink not an eyelid on slowly tormenting a person to death by slowly axing his head off. It is super immoral and inhumane!
Back to the white tigers' killing case, it was still very shocking to me why on earth Nordin went into the tigers' den. If Nordin wanted to kill himself in one of the most bizzare and spectacular ways, he had sadly achieved his aim. I do not know whether Nordin's case of killing himself in such an unbelievable fashion would stoked a surge of similar cases for people who might want to commit suicide in a most spectacular method... you see after the first person who committed suicide by jumping off the MRT tracks into an oncoming train in order to bring to the media attention of the economic plight of his family, donations poured towards his family, amounting to tens of thousands. Since then, MRT jumpings are not rare so much so that for one or two cases, the media did not really report them anymore. But why jump MRT tracks? The deceased who chose to do so should have thought about the immense inconveniences brought to thousands of passengers with his death. Were their deaths glamourous then?
To do justice to Nordin, we must also take into consideration the fact that he might not be committing suicide as this is just a conjecture and the police is still investigating. It might be that he just want to 'play' with the tigers or that he was under some sort of trance.
Just two days ago, Gerald Ee and Dong Fang Billy spoke at a Lien foundation talk on end-of-life planning, sharing with the public their combat against cancer and how to live life and prepare and manage death. That atitude towards life and the cherishing of one's life should be applauded.
Life is simply too short and too precious to end! In this period of economic gloom, I pray that those who are economically affected will not think of ending their life.. one must remain positive in the face of adversities!

Thursday, November 13, 2008

White Tiger Kills Man at Singapore Zoo

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 the ‘intruder’.

Pity the white tiger could not speak human languages or else the whole truth would be known. The white tiger might just want to ward off the man but its strength may prove too much for the man….or was the white tiger just wanting to say ‘hello’ to the man? Or was there taunting of the white tiger by the man before his death? Was it suicide? Was the man trying to be hero? Why was the man inside the white tiger enclosure? Was it a deliberate or accidental or routine ‘intrusion’? .. many theories and many questions remains to be answered.

Before the white tiger kills the man at our Zoo, the bloodiest thing that occurred in Singapore Zoo was that of one great elephant injuring its zookeeper.

The white tiger killed the man at our Singapore Zoo but it did not devour the man up, this goes to show that domesticated animals might have lost their ability to hunt (or was the white tiger just fed?) but their basic animal instinct is alive and kicking still!

Ahhhh Cheww ……

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……..

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Offline

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.

NERVE GRATING!

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 statement again.
5) And when I asked her to change certain items of the menu, oh my god, she changed an item to another item I did not even know, this was my last straw!
The company website only has the email of the sales personnel, no email of the managers of the company. I could have sent an email to the company's managers to ask them to wake up their ideas, their staffs, but even the top management seem to hide.
What kind of stupid customer service staff this so called catering company which is in one of the top in the local scene has? It boils my blood and totally destroys the image of this supposedly good company in my eyes.. in future, I will condemn this catering company!
I am a nice and patient man, but sometimes, those irresponsible and simply bocha service standard really boils my blood... these irresponsible and bocha customer service staff should be SACKED and the managers should have their manager emails in their websites for customer feedback. It is damn shocking to discover the worst secret, the hidden laundry of this top catering company in Singapore. Shame on this May, Shame on this catering company!
Management should be at fault too if it loses customers due to this bad sales executive called May because it is sleeping!
And I can tell you this is not the first time I encounter this, lots of customer service, from those quality standard organizations are simply playing 'tai-chi' and I think playing computers behind the counter, refusing to expedite on customers' request. Where is the GEM (Go-the Extra Miles) movement, all these look good on paper, but it takes a common man just ONE encounter and he can know that not all companies walk the talk when it comes to quality service.
It is super sad, that certain sales, service staff cannot make it. Please do not misunderstand me, I am not generalising my bad encounter.. the problem is I HAVE ENOUGH of rubbish customer service here and have also heard quite a number of stories!

Ram Bahadur Bomjon

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.

MediaCorp Subaru Challenge

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!

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Roti Mum


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!

Affirmation

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.

Reading newspapers

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!

Monday, November 10, 2008

Gong Li becomes a Singaporean !

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 following are some of my wild guesses:

a) Be a Tai Tai: Gong Li is already wealthy enough.

b) Be an entrepreneur: with Gong Li’s superstar fame, she could easily start a business on beauty, on spa, on etiquettes, her business will be brisk with thousands of guaranteed sign-up, giving other similar set-ups a run for their money.

c) Singapore’s ambassador to China? Why not, if she has the necessary qualifications. She will be Singapore and the world’s most glamorous ambassadors!

d) Movie director: Gong Li has worked with China’s creative guru, Zhang Yi Mou and has the necessary skills and experiences to direct movies, giving Jack Neo a run for his money.

e) Singapore’s tourism ambassador, Youth Olympic’s ambassador? Let the world know Gong Li is now part of us !

f) Blogger? Gong Li could just blog leisurely and if she were to publicize her blog, she could be Singapore’s No.1 blogger, overtaking the current blogging kings and queens!

US financial expert, Jim Rogers has moved to Singapore in year 2007, and now Gong Li is joining us as a citizen too, and not to forget the hundreds of foreign talents flocking to our shores as Singaporeans every year, all these point to the allure of our small country as a home not only to Singaporeans but to the world over.

Who knows, we could see Gong Li in one of our streets very soon!

Sunday, November 09, 2008

Bad Man

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 arrogant rich fellows, boasting of their latest conquests of newfangled devices and are totally oblivious of the issues poor people like me face.I have come across the rich earning some fantastic incomes every month displaying such arrogant, mighty airs and socially unacceptable practices, and are not very humble.
Lately, I was on the receiving end of some rich folks whose conversations disgusted me as they were simply flaunting their wealths.
Regardless of what happened in the world, regardless of whatever 'bad men' that come my way, I will still be my true and moral self, refusing to bow to the pressures of the society.
Some colleagues I know of, as a result to wanting to be promoted fast, have resorted to 'currying favoring' and engaging in all kinds of jungle habits to 'backstab' others in their climb to promotion. They devise all sorts of tactics, spending time carefully plotting their next moves, directing their own shows, backstabbing others, in their climb in the corporate rat race.
They have lost their moral consciousness and they believe the road to career success is only via this way to get to the apex of their career high and fast.
I do not wish to be like them. I want to be my moral self, though it may entail climbing the corporate ladder slow as a result. My abilities are hidden, my abilities are not yet recognised, it may be those without capabilities at work, but who are excellent in playing office politics who climb the corporate ladder faster than me, but at the end of the day, when I come back home, from a tired day at work, what I want is a peace of mind....
But coming back to my problems, these are not solved yet, though I have spent a significant time exploring all options to solve them, but nevertheless time is running out and I may be losing the fight to solve my problems that have beset me for these years ... ...

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