Another new entry after 2 years

There  are a few changes since I posted my last entry.

I have left the community job and joined a Ministry. Planning to leave the Ministry for something more fun.

Girl girl is already in P3. She is growing up well, physically, emotionally and academically. An obvious development is that she eats a lot nowadays. Another new development is that she is wearing a spectacle, began about 2 weeks ago. Dun quite like to study, ha.....

Change a new used car. The Altis has served well but coming to 10 years old. Need to have a good rest.

What has not changed is the traveling twice a year as a family. Visiting Taiwan and Hong Kong, last visit was in 3 to 4 years ago. Expecting to see more changes.

Indeed, changes is the only constant variable.

It's feel good to blog again

My last blog posting was about 8 months ago. Ha...
It's feel good to blog again. :-)

There are, indeed, many things to write and share, 8 months of activities and happenings.One of the immediate differences is that I can now blog easily using an iPad. Dun have to turn on a netbook or notebook or pc to do so. Much convenient especially it comes with a good screen size. iPhone is just too small for it.

I am thinking of summarizing the past 8 months into a few paragraphs here. Emm... not quite possible. I will just share more about it as I blog.

To start off, I began the year 2011 with a sudden change of my job portfolio. Moving from planning and organizing community projects to working on social media stuff, mainly on the Facebook platform. The assignment was to achieve 200,000 fans after 6 months. The base number then was coming to a thousand. Do you think that it is possible? Dun say no without giving it a try and trying it hard with many attempts. I am still trying at the moment. Ha...ha...ha...

There are two things that I like about the sudden change: able to do something new and a lot of learning about social media - new skills set and knowledge :-)

Ice-cream man

I like to buy ice cream from an ice-cream man who drives around the neighbourhood on his motor tricycle with a beach umbrella or a van. Again, an old trade that has been existing for many many years.

A dollar each and consumer can decide to wrap the ice cream with a slide of colourful bread or two crispy biscuits or just in a cup. I prefer eating it with bread or biscuit. The ice-cream usually comes in a few favors namely red bean, sweet corn, strawberry, vanilla and chocolate. The ice-cream man will ring his bell to announce his arrival and to attract people to patronize his mobile stall, especially the kids and students.

Instead of buying and keeping a box of ice-cream at home and be stuck with the only favor for awhile, I prefer buying it from the ice-cream man - economical, fresh and with more choices. Another reason is the thrill of running into one unexpectedly, to consider myself lucky to come across one :-) A dollar's joy and enjoyment is comparable, if not better than, having it in Swensen, Hagen Daz or Ben & Jerry's.

There was once that I ran into an ice-cream man in the car park after work. I was happy and prepare to buy one to enjoy it. When I approached the ice-cream man, he was smoking while ringing the bell for business. Though he was smiling at me, the unhealthy and dirty image was just undesirable and killed my excitement or urge to buy an ice-cream from him. The second hand smoke is not good for anyone especially the kids and he is not considerate about it. Another piss-off experience is you are about to rest and read at 10.30pm when you hear the ice-cream man ringing for business. It is a sharp noise in a peaceful night.

Other than the above two not welcoming situations, I am always thrill enough to run into them unexpectedly.

Kanaguni business

Kanaguni - someone who buys over 2nd hand or unwanted household items such as old newspaper/magazines, clothings, fan, television set, radio set, VCD/DVD player, computer monitor etc at the neighbourhood. In return, he or she will then sell it to a collector or an organization for a profit.

It is a old trade that has been in existence for many many years, properly an early version of a recycling programme. When I was young, the kanaguni will move from floor to floor, door to door shouting for business and service. If you have some of the unwanted houeshold items to sell, just open the door and wait for him or her. They will weigh (eg. for old newspaper/magazines/clothings) and pay you on the spot.

Nowadays, they will park their vehicle at the carpark and horn for business and service. They rarely move from floor to floor, door to door. Instead, they move from block to block. It is more economical and less traveling but can cause much noise at the neighbourhood espeically in a peaceful and relaxing afternoon watching a movie or taking a nap at home. :-( Of course, they will drop by your doorstep if u have something for them.

However, there also seem to be another group of kanaguni who will seek out valuable items directly from the shared dustbin area at the void deck. They will ride a bicycle to look for items that are deemed valuable from the dustbin from block to block, day and night. The group seems to come from mainly the senior citizen and foreign workers. While I am encouraged by their action to find a decent way to fend for themselves, many is not very considerate and responsible by making a mess out of it at the common area. They will seek out the valuable items and expect the cleaning personnel to clear up the mess for them next day. Meanhwile, residents have no choice but just have to bear with it.

The old trade has survived by transforming itself in its business operation approach. However, we are definitely still very far from establishing a gracious society whereby we care not only of one self but also others and in this aspact, not to inconvenience others and to show respect of the used of the common space we all share.

Is that so difficult to execrise ?

They grow up so fast

The following case study or example was shared when I was attending a training programme recently:

Sam lives in a 4-room HDB flat with his wife and 3 kids. They are generally a happy family except that every day after work, when Sam comes home, the entire living room and walkway is covered with the children's toys. He always has to put the toys away before he can walk through the living room to reach his bedrrom. he tried reminding, telling, scolding the kids but it was no us.

One day, after a long and tiring work day, Sam came home and found the childrem's bicycles, barbie dolls, transformers, power ranger, Lego sets etc thrown all over the entire living room, blocking his path to the bedroom.

He was so angry with the children that he forgot to close his door. He started to put the toys away and was so engrossed in it that he did not notice that his neighbor, Mr Tan, had came in to help to pick up the toys. Mr Tan youngest daughter had just got married a few weeks ago and had moved out of the house. He had not had a chance to see her after her wedding.

When Sam realized that Mr Tan was picking up the toys after him, he was embarrassed and said "I'm sick of cleaning up after these kids."

Mr Tan said "I hope you don't mind me helping. I miss doing this now that my daughter has grown up and gone. You should enjoy it while it lasts. Your children will be gone before you know it. They grow up so fast."

.....

It is a simple story but with a great insight. As a father myself, I totally agree with Mr Tan. I also see Sam in myself.

Fortunately, I am more aware of it than Sam and has enjoyed the noise, nonsense, etc my daughter has created as part of her growing up. At times, it is not easy to accommodate such behavior and a need to discipline her. It is better to get on her right track early.

Well, discipline should not cause an oversight over her uniqueness and appreciating her true natural originality - the way she talks, smiles, laughs, angers, eats, sleeps, learns, plays, sees things around her. It is, indeed, a master piece of Arts. Good or bad, she also inherited some of your genes, not all her fault.

To me, the keyword here is appreciating. Be part of her growing up.

Car washing service

Woke up in the middle of the night to washroom. Took a peep out of the window to check if it was raining. No rain but saw a man with a bicycle washing a car at the carpark downstairs. Very curiously, I stayed at the window for awhile more trying to figure out the driver.

Actually, he was not the driver. He makes a living by providing car washing service in the neighbourhood. A tall, skinny and friendly gentleman. He rides around with a pail of water, looking and waiting for car to be back and wash it. I think I have his promotional leaflet - A5 size, single coloured print or photo-copied. S$30 per month from Monday to Friday, rain or shine. Not expensive, S$1.50 a day though I did not engage his service at the moment. No particular reason.

I am not sure if he is doing it as a full time job or just a sideline to make some extra money. Either way, I respect him greatly. There are many people who are just like him, to work day and night to keep a decent living, there are also many who just dun bother to help themselves but reply on borrowing, conning, seeking undeserving help from various sources to past time. Worst if the person has an abled body and mind. A disgrace to themselves.

Life must has been hard on him if not why the need to wash someone's car at such an hour. But he lives to be his best possible and not yield to it. He also committed to his promise to wash it once a day, rain or shine at S$30 a month.

Come to think about it, I feel ashame that I am not quite friendly to him at times when his bicycle is blocking my way in the carpark though I do not horn at him. I have to practise and master more about appreciating and accommodating - as a way of life. Showing of respect goes beyond words.

Mahjong

I started to play Mahjong again,

I stopped playing it totally many years ago not only because I was losing much money then but most importantly, lost all the tuition fee that I had earned for a month service to a student. It was just unbelieveable while I walked home that night or rather in a wee hours after the game. Anyway, no bus and train service at the odd hours and also no money to take a cab. :-(

I learn to play mahjong since young by watching how my relatives play and learning it gradually along the way. It is a very addictive game. Players need to think and adopt best possible moves as well as what other may have in mind. Having good tiles does not mean that you will win for sure. More often than not, the game lasts for hours. At times, to order supper as the game continues. I enjoyed the small talk and accompany during the mahjong session. I hate when the game turns ugly over money. Whether winning or losing, players are bound to feel tired after the game, both physically and mentally.

Senior citizens are encouraged to play mahjong to keep one's mind active and alert. However, suggested to play it in a "healthy" or decent manner ie not much money or no money involved. It is definitely a good mean to past time, catching up with friends and just gossiping.

I feel that I am much skillful now as compare then. Winning most of the time, involving a few hundreds / thousand dollars. :-) Are you game enough to join me ?

See you online over iPhone
Ha...ha...ha...

History seems to unfold itself again. My daughter is eager to participate when I play mahjong on the iPhone. I will get her to throw out unwanted tiles. The same way my aunty told me a few decades ago.

Boutique Hotel

I like the idea of staying in a boutique hotel whenever I travel for leisure. Though it has existed for years, I am more for it recently as I feel that the offering is generally much better.

Boutique hotel tends to be smaller in size and hence fewer guests in total. Check-in, check-out and breakfast sessions are more enjoyable. At the same time, staff is able to provide more personalized services for the guests whenever there are requests. The reception counter is well organized, designed and staffed.

The room is usually modernly designed with good colour combination + creative lightnings, cosy & clean environment, stuff with more current and useful gadgets such as LCD tv, a good range of international & local tv programmes, DVD player, free wi-fi internet connection, jacuzzi in bathroom, coffee/tea set and comfortable bedding. My recent stay in Taipei also find well packaged condom as part of the room amenities list.

Some added services include free usage of laundry equipment (eg. washing machine, dryer etc) for guests, kitchenette to do some simple cooking (or warming) etc. Of course, it can be quite expensive to stay in a boutique hotel and comparable to a 5-star hotel. My recent research suggested that Taiwan offers more competitive boutique hotel rates - pretty affordable in good location (ie walking distance to train station and surrounded by places to dine and shop). Hong Kong is quite expensive.

Consider staying in a boutique hotel especially if you are visiting Taiwan. :-)

Children's Day 2010

Children's Day is also becoming Parents' Day. As all primary schools and childcare centres will not be operating on 1st October, parents may have to be on leave to take care of them. In fact, some make it a family day to shop, dine, watch movie/performance and having a fun day together. For organizations that wanted to be acknowledged as pro-family or having worklife balance, much flexibility is shared with staff. Some even organized activities at the company level for the staff's children.

It has been years since I had my Children's Day. Not much celebration other than those programmes and gifts organized by the school. Nothing special about it. Nothing bad about it too.

Since the Day is meant for the children, I would prefer letting the children to organize a fun and relaxing moments with their friends out of the usual places. As long as it is a healthy, decent and safe programme, give the children the space, freedom to go wild with it. Afterall, they can only be a child for a few years.

I also celebrated it today by having a strawberry sundae after my lunch. :-)

"Huh ? I though you are already a junior Senior Citizen ?"

Yes, I am. But I am also young at heart. Happy Children's Day :-)
Ha...ha...ha... Cheers !

Setting good example

While I was driving and approaching a major traffic junction, saw an uncle cycling and likely to cross the road using the zebra-crossing. Based on past experience, I was quite sure he would cycle across. I slowed down in case he "decided" to rush across it. However, the uncle stopped cycling, alighted and pushed his bicycle while using the zebra-crossing. I was surprised. He was doing the right thing and setting a good example of safe cycling while on the move. Yet, it was rarely observed most of the time.

I am not sure if you realize it, we live in an environment showing more negative rather than positive examples. One good and typical example is the use of traffic light. Pedestrians of all ages seem to "enjoy" crossing a road whenever there is no traffic even though it is still displaying the stop red-man-light sign. Cyclists too.

Maybe the persons have an urgent matter to attend to, maybe it is going to rain. maybe the bus is approaching, maybe just dun want to appear stupid waiting for it especially when there is no sign of cars, maybe impatient, maybe .....maybe life is just too long to live on ?

I am more worried about the messaging to the young ones. While we are trying to educate them the proper behavior in school and at home, we are setting wrong example when it comes to practical. The worst of it is that there are many more examples besides using of traffic light such as smoking, talking loudly when using a mobile phone, cut queue, not showing the basic respect, telling lairs, rude etc.

Educating and bringing up the young ones is like doing a cha cha, three steps forward follows by two steps backward. A wrong twist could cause much unhappiness and pain.

My top 10

You may aware of a book titled as "1,000 places to see before you die". I am sure everyone will be delighted to visit 1,000 places globally before exiting from the stage. Unfortunately, we all also know that it is not possible :-( The 2nd best possible way is to identify what one's feel is worth visiting / doing and plan out the schedule year after year. My top 10 in the wish list (not in order of preference) at the moment is as follow

- The Silk Road;
- Samba Festival in Brazil;
- Egypt;
- Xi'an;
- Hokkaido;
- Tibet;
- New York;
- Switzerland ;
- Trekking Mt Fuji;
- Safari in South African;

In addition, I will be revisiting some of the countries / places on top of the list above as there is still room for further exploration and engaging in various interesting activities (eg. skiing in South Korea). Resources is, indeed, running short and tight.

I am planning my this year end holiday now. Destination - Melbourne.

What I am looking forward in July 2010

Wow, times is flying fast and we are already started July 2010, the beginning of the second half of the year.

For me, I am looking forward the appearance of iPad locally in July. Ever since I started to use the iPhone, I am sure the iPad is able to meet my expectation. I would like to use it as an educational device for my daughter. The screen is bigger enough to facilitate her learning through games and story books. For example, the crossword or find words game. The game is not so easy to read from an iPhone.

The other beauty of it is using it to read ebook. However, I hope that there will be more Chinese books available as I access more Chinese books nowadays. iPad will also provide a better viewing of photos and movies together with my daughter. Hope that it will be bundle with a good package when it finally launches here.

The only challenge is that moving around with an iPad. It can be a bit bulky. Ha...ha...ha...

Cholesterol

I have a high cholesterol level for many years. It was first flagged when I happen to join in a health screening activity organized by one of the RCs in the neighbourhood. The result was kind of a surprise to me as I dun consume much seafood especially the shell type food. Either I have consumed other food that may have contributed to the high level without me realizing or genetically inclined. Either way, I have to face it squarely that I have a high cholesterol level.

I do not go on any medication since then thinking that I can manage it by adjusting my lifestyle and doing more exercise regularly. However, the cholesterol level is still high after so many years. Recently, I was considering a new insurance package and went for a blood test as arranged by the insurance company. My family GP highlighted the risk to me again and suggested strongly that I go for medication treatment. If not, I will have a very high chance of having a heart problem earlier than I could have expected. The medication will likely to delay it and manage the level within a acceptable level.

I decided to be on medication as i dun want a heart problem earlier than I could have expected. I still want to try many nice food and traveling to many more places. Ha...ha...ha...

Most importantly, I dun want to burden my daughter too much when I aged. Being the only kid at home, it will be very stressful for her to manage two elderly. Stressful in terms of having to worry for us, finding and balancing time to take care of the parent/work/study and to manage it financially. To reduce those likely challenges for her, I have to be more responsible now to keep my health as normal as much as possible.

At the moment, I am taking one tablet everyday before I sleep. Accordingly to the GP, I am likely to continue the medication until 1 reach 1,000 years old. Ha...ha...ha...Come to think about it, am i doing it for myself or for my daughter ? Does it matter anymore ? Either way, I have to face it squarely that I have a high cholesterol level. I just have to deal with it and live with it, right ?

Mr Diana

I am not a hardcore follower of Hong Kong's drama series. Dun mind watching it especially if the story is interesting + good actors/actresses. One of my favorite titles is "Mr Diana" (先生贵性) produced in 1999. Watched it many years ago when I shifted to my present home after marriage. To learn more about the story, you can click here.

Why I enjoy the drama ?
(1) It is a touching love story;
(2) Both the actor and actress had done very well;
(3) Reasonable story line with some unexpected ending and
(4) Very nice song.

I think the drama also brought out an interesting aspect of relationship between any 2 persons, ie most of the time cannot be fully explained or account for. Impossible can end up possible while what it seems possible can turn into impossible. Chinese termed it as fate (缘份). Ha...ha...ha...

I hope to collect the title and have been sourcing for its VCD or DVD version a few years locally and in HK but not successful. It's a bit strange to me as there are many older titles than Mr Diana available in store except this particular one. Not even online. Pretty disappointing. :-(

It's fate (缘份) ba. Ha...ha...ha...

Tyre Pancit

We decided to stop the car and to check the source of the funny sound. It seemed coming from the back of the car. Actually, we hit over an object earlier and it is better to check if the tyre is still fine. We alighted, checked and discovered a flatted tyre in front near to the driver seat. :-( It's showtime.

We moved the car to the road side, took out the brand new tool set and a much smaller new spare tyre. We tried to understand how to use the jack to lift the car up. Luckily, Dennis was around to "lend" his weigh to loosen the 4 very tight screws. We were also luckily enough that it was not raining cats and dogs at the moment. However, it was a sweaty experience especially for Dennis. We had chicken rice for lunch earlier and I am sure much of it has been converted into energy. What we needed then was cold drinks too.

Slowly, Zhen Yi drove the car to another nearby petrol station to change it. The spare tyre is not meant to be used as running tyre but to facilitate the driver to a workshop to get it changed. Once we reached the workshop, it was time for Zhen Yi to sweat though we were all under a roof - how much is the new tyre going to cost me ?

So, what did we learn from this tyre pancit experience ?

(1) Spare tyre and the tool kit are important part of the car. Without them, we have no way to temp fix it. Of course, we could call for help but that is going to cost more. Take good care of the spare tyre and make sure that the tool kit is in good working condition.

(2) Teamwork is everything. It could be very stressful to deal with it alone especially if it is dark at night and raining heavily.

(3) When we have nothing much to do while waiting for the new tyre, we could play mahjong through bluetooth using the iPhone together. However, the system is not very stable and slow. We have to re-connect a few times as we played.

(4) Buy 4D to see if the lucky star could strike again but positively this time round.

A witness had taken a photo for your judgement, guess who is the culprit(s) ?

Ha...ha...ha...

Random thought

Have u ever wonder how many people are in the sky at any moment ? Of course human bring is not able to fly but what i meant is how many people are traveling in airplanes at any moment ?

My assumptions as follow:
- Assuming there is only one airways per country and there are 100 countries with airways;
- Assuming each plane can take 200 passengers and crews on average;
- Assuming that there is at least two planes in the sky from each airways at any moment;

My estimation is 40,000 people and 200 planes in the sky at any moment of a day. So what does it mean ?

The sky is pretty crowded with 200 objects moving + satellites + birds. It means that you are not along when u are in a plane. It is likely that another 39,999 people who are doing the same thing as you at any moment :-) Lastly, it means that we are polluting the air at any one moment :-(

Junior Senior Citizen

Life seems to be pretty the same as it was yesterday. Sleep, work, eat, watch, read, travel, talk etc. But I have actually quietly moved into the early part of my second half of life just like a soccer match. However, I dun really recall there was a break in-between ?

So what's next ?
First thing first, I have to increase font size to 16 and reading document at 120 to 150% view on a computer. Second, I am not sure if i will still have the same number of years that I had early. Even if it is the same, I can only expect it to be productive around 60%. Spare parts are loosening and wearing out, no choice.

So what's up ?
Looking ahead, to enjoy what I am doing and to do enjoyable stuffs especially in the next couple of golden years. To savor every second of moment. No more chance after that. Just do it and do it now ;-)

So what's the difference ?
The first part of life is more about receiving and charging up. The second part of life would be more about giving and cooling down gradually. Not just the money but also about care, time, being patient, advise, love etc.

How about having extra time just like in a soccer match ? Well...good idea :-) provided I still have the energy and fit enough to enjoy it else it would be cursing than blessing. Ha...ha...ha...

Technically speaking I am not yet a senior citizen but can only be classified as a junior senior citizen.

Home cooked food and eating out

As a working parent, we dun have much time to cook for dinner most of the time. It can also be very tiring to prepare, cook and wash after working for 8 or 9 hours. Nevertheless, we will still try to have 1 to 2 meals at home weekly by preparing simple and yet a decent meal on our own. The main motivation will come from the fact that we want our daughter to have more home cook food.

A simple and decent meal will usually mean a nice soup + a vegetable. No salt added, no frying stuff and none spicy. We will steam or boil the dishes. At times, we will buy and prepare some as another possible option. The rest of the days, we will eat out if not visiting in-law or my Aunty's place for a meal.

When I eat out and having a Chinese food, I hate to be served with rice that is not warm. Though the dishes are warm, having to chew and swallow cold rice is not an enjoyable experience. I feel that the stall is not very sincere in doing business and not serving it right. How can the stall serve something that is not warm to its customers ?

Luckily, there are still stalls that do serve warm rice. Maybe I am just happen to be served with one but I do appreciate it a lot. Though it is just a bowl of plain rice, it does say a lot about the stall and the way the owner values its customers. They do bother to realize that serving a bowl of warm rice melt one's heart, especially after a long day at work and eating together as a family.

Good Sleep

I slept at 8pm+ last night. Quite an achievement :-)

I din intend to sleep so early and was doing my usual readings while my daughter was nearby watching her Disney Playhouse Channel and playing with her toys at the same time. I think I felt pretty relax while I was reading and I just lean back falling asleep naturally.

I enjoy the way it was as I have, indeed, a real good rest, feeling afresh in the morning. However, it does not happen all the times though I read almost every night before going to bed. Instead of expecting it to happen, it is much better to let the nature to take its own course.

Setting an expectation could be double edges sword, it may motivate a person but it can also create much unhappiness at the same time. Learning to embrace every single step as it unfolds could bring much peacefulness and enlightenment to one's self.

Of course, we accept the good stuff with a open heart but avoiding and hating if it is otherwise. That's also a normal human reaction. Good or not so good, life is about moving on, a journey. No points asking why, why, why and thinking of what if so, so, so.

There would only be one sunrise and one sunset a day. Why only one ? What if we have two sunrises and three sunsets a day ?

既来之，则安之。
Ha...ha...ha...

Why i am a vegetarian twice a month

Every 1st and 15th day of each lunar month, I will go for vegetarian food for a full whole day. I am not a religious person. In fact, I started practicing so about 5 years ago. To be more precise, a few months before my daughter was born.

FP had a miscarriage before a successful pregnancy. From a medical point of view, having a miscarriage seems to be common but it is not an easy fact for a commoner to accept it. Hence, we were very careful during the pregnancy period. In addition, doctor would also arranged a few tests along the way to help making sure the baby is developing healthily. One of the important tests was to check if the baby has a down syndrome. We had to wait for 2 to 3 weeks to know the outcome and if the test result was not positive, the hospital would call us asap for an appointment. that few weeks seemed years for us. Every telephone ring would worry us.

Well, the test turn out to be fine :-) But it gave arise to an unexpected issue. The test outcome suggested that there would be an addition chromosome in one of the 23 pairs ie having a mosaic trisomy. It also turned out that it was a rare disorder as there are only less than 10 recorded cases globally.

We could go for a more detailed test to confirm it but the risk of affecting the baby was very high. The device would be drawing some blood directly from the baby. Else, we could only know about the degree of the disorder when the baby is born. Of course, the possibility of a false alarm still existed. The baby then was about 4 months old. We have to decide if we wanted to continue with the pregnancy.

We were in a very difficult situation. We din bear to say bye bye to the baby. We also faced with the possibility of bringing the baby to the world with a wrong beginning and to suffer. We had lunch at home after the appointment. It was really overwhelming to know about it and may have to make such a decision for your own child.

We were silent, we broken down and we cried.

I was angry. Angry about why someone up there seemed to enjoy playing plank with us. We were totally at lost. We decided to continue with the pregnancy. We had no enough information to derive the baby off to see the world and to joining us. I also made a commitment to 观音娘娘 (Guan Yin God) that I would eat vegetarian food on the 1st and 15th of each lunar month. I hope and pray that 观音娘娘 would help to protect the baby safe and healthy.

Our worry of the disorder was cleared finally when my daughter turned 1 year old. The doctor shared that she is growing well :-) The test result then was, indeed, a false alarm.

Though I had already fulfilled my commitment to 观音娘娘 and felt grateful to have her blessing, I have made another commitment. I will continue to be a vegetarian twice a month for the rest of my life. I hope and I am sure 观音娘娘 will continue her blessing.