My Cappucino...

咖啡店将调高咖啡茶水价格. 我就干脆买了一台咖啡机, 在家自己泡Cappucino喝. 看起来还不错吧! 一杯的本钱大概才$1左右! 比起 Starbucks 或公司里 Spinelli 所卖的便宜多了 :)

"Yes Sir!"

Haha... the groom was my Platoon Commander (PC) way back in my OCS Cadet days at SAFTI-MI. I was surprised to see a photo of his wedding cake on a delivery truck in the carpark. He's quite a character and doing quite well in the service. But I would never expect him to have a wedding cake with his wedding photo on it and furthermore agreeing to use it for publicity!

Tune my Block?

My neighbour had mentioned to me about his experiences of a humming, resonating sensation that would last for about half an hour and would sometimes scare his daughter. Well, this morning I understood what he meant.

There was bad weather at around 5 am and we could see lightning and hear thunder outside our window. But that was not what woke us up. The whole room felt like it was vibrating and resonating to a tuning fork (the pitch sounds the same too). It would get very loud before the lightning and thunder then died off and the whole process repeated itself. Not only did we sense the resonance and vibration, the room felt warmer too!

I'm sure it has something to do with the height of my flat and the atmosphere (+/- ve charges) that caused the block to behave like a tuning fork. In any case, wow... it was quite an experience albeit a sleep depriving one...

2nd one?

After the govt had announced more financial perks, tax reliefs and additional leave to encourage Singaporeans to have more babies, I had friends and colleagues asking me when my 2nd kid is coming.

The answer is, "Not anytime soon."

The perks benefitted couples more who are having their first child and swayed those on the verge of considering one. Their net gain amounted to significant thousands whereas the gain for having a 2nd one, in my case where Xiaomin doesn't work anymore, is minimal. In my case, there is only an increase of $1000 in Baby Bonus for having a 2nd. We could benefit more from the rest of the additional perks such as maternity and childcare leave and tax reliefs UNLESS Xiaomin goes back to work. But I am not for this idea cos I highly regard the importance of having one of the parents bear the responsibility of bringing up the children than any centre, grandparents or maids. So this announcement did not send me over the moon and persuaded me to have a 2nd one anytime soon. Of course, having children is not totally about $ from the govt but it is helpful. Ultimately, it's a personal decision about our lifestyle. And I'm not the least influenced to change mine yet.

We went to visit 上羊, 佩恩 who just had their 2nd son, 天诺 in their 2nd year of marriage. I must salute them for their courage and faith to have 2 kids given their circumstances. They dun exactly get any benefits from the Singapore govt yet their mentality is what the govt hope Singaporeans would have. Maybe that's just how the Singaporean society works. We need incentives and fines to tell us what should or should not be done.

A Proud Silver

Congrats to the Singapore's women table tennis team! A well fought game that did us proud! It was nice to see them smile during the game despite the pressure.

$3.30

Sigh... just discovered that one of my favourite ice-cream hangouts will be increasing their price again... by 10%! Looks like I can't frequent them as much as I want to anymore. With price increments of everything around us nowadays, I can't afford to go out as often without burning a hole in my pocket. I have never felt so hesitant about walking into a shop now with stuff getting so much more ex than before. Even ice-creams have become a luxury.

But hey! That doesn't mean I'm not satisfied with my life now. Relatively speaking, I am still very very very fortunate and blessed than most people in Singapore and the world in general. God has provided me with more than I asked for so I should remind myself to 知足常乐.

Ronnie O'Sullivan

OMG! I just saw Ronnie "The Rocket" O'Sullivan whacked his record breaking 9th 147 break in 8 min 47 sec to seal a 13-7 victory over Mark Williams and cruise into the last eight of the World Championship 2008! Simply exhilarating to see him in action! Such speed and accuracy... both left and right handed... he's really a genius!

And he's also £157,000 richer for that 147...

Hitting the Big 30...

没什么特别的感触... But I am so very thankful to God and everyone for what I have and have become. 不愁吃，不愁穿，不愁住... a fantastic family, wonderful spouse and great friends who loves me, a job I enjoy so much, fun colleagues, no health problems, staying in a stable and safe country with capable governance... What more can a man ask for?

Hmm... a Mini Cooper would be nice...

:)

The 8th Harry Potter Book...

is gonna be called:

"Harry Potter and the Repeal of Section 377A"

It will narrate how Harry Potter got to uncover Prof Dumbledore's devious scheme to overthrow the Order, repeal Section 377A and reform the sexual orientation of all wizards in Hogwarts. A Petition was wriiten, presented but eventually twarted by Harry Potter and overuled by the Ministry of Magic.

In case you haven't heard, J.K Rowling had divulged recently that Prof Dumbledore is gay... *gasp*

They dun write "Children" storybooks like they used to anymore...

The day the Earth moved and I shot Fann Wong

Last night's swaying lasted for about two minutes and this morning's lasted for about a minute as multiple earthquakes and aftershocks hit Indonesia. It has got to be one of the most frequent and most felt in recent times as the quakes occured nearer to our small island. Singaporeans are already so concerned about sloshing fish tanks and clanking utensil... I can only imagine how people in Sumatra feel as the earth literally moved under their feet.

Today's job also brought me a 'earth-moving' chance for an exclusive interview (and photoshoot) with Fann Wong. She's quite nice in person although I think that's because she has gotten used to tactfully handle the media. As for the shoot, it was quite fulfilling for me as Fann Wong is soooo... photogenic. But the age is starting to show...

As the s(w)aying goes... "Time and Tide (think tsunami) waits for no man."

No more free parkings on Sun and PHs

Due to the persistent complaints by my neighbourhood that customers patronising the nearby 85 market are always occupying the parking lots meant for those with season parking... the carpark near my place is no longer free on Sundays and PHs and they are fully reserved for the residents from 7 to 7.

Tough luck for those frens and families who usually visits during the weekends. This move is certainly "pro"-family indeed for that work-life balance that the government is promoting...

Wow! They must be really hungry after...

a "30 Hour Famine".

Organised by World Vision over the weekend, this event was held for its participant to 'experience' how starvation feels like (apparently 2/3 of the world is either underfed or starved) and to be educated on the needs of the impoverished. And they must have done a very good job, after seeing how these students 'feasted' on chicken wings, fried oysters and such. Not that they were not supposed or entitled to (afterall, it is all within our rights and means)... but it just made me wonder what have they learned from the event?

My First Published Assignment

Ha ha ha... Yes! My assignment made its debut in the papers today! 5 photos in total leh.... Although it's tabloid but what the heck!

:)

GSS Adventure 1: High Class Cereals

Even cereals are on sale at Marks and Spencer! A bit ex at $6.70 (original px $7.90) but the box looked so 'designer' that I just can't resist buying one! Well, I'm always a sucker for such packaging...

Bukit Timah

Went trekking at Bukit Timah with Xiaomin, Shufen and Noah today in preparation for the trip to Mt Ophir. Elder Chris led us through an up/downhill route which took us about an hour and a half with short breaks in between (thus the photo opportunities). Xiaomin and Shufen were quite excited about it although there were complains of '屎' (mud) along the way as it had rained earlier. Now Shufen has to get a 'standard' SAF Brooks for the trip... we wouldn't want to dirty her expensive Adidas!!!

$1 Only

Yesh... French Toast Breakfast with coffee (all that you see here) at Ikea is going only for $1 (weekdays only) until 20 May 07! What a bargain! MacDonald BF can really 'fly kite' liao... hahaha

Ops

Got this wound on my right hand from rollerblading today... an accident after attempting a high-speed 180 turn... I've got some scratches on my face and right knee too. Here, my frens offering to 'operate' on my wound...

Bunny Suicides by Andy Riley

I bought a box of postcard collection of these at Times Bookshop today. They are freaking cool!

Gallery (Work-in-progress)

Well... actually it's a bunch of photos, posters and other stuff that I have framed up but too lazy to mount on the wall. I wanted to construct some sort of gallery at home to exhibit my photos and the 'art pieces' I've collected. This will be one of my 'must-complete' project for this year.

But you have to admit, there's also a rather unique and 'funky' feel to leaving them lying around like this...

:)

First World Country. Third World Culture.

This is a topic I had wanted to post sometime back but I couldn't think of a suitable approach for it. That was until I took public transport (in a long time) to Orchard for my dental appointment yesterday (too expensive to drive and park in Orchard lah).

Singapore has continuously strive to "upgrade" herself as a First World Country in terms of her infrastructures, amenities, the arts, tourism (casinos and F1 races), hospitality (for example, the recent "GEMS" or "Go-the-Extra-Mile for Service" movement), etc. The Singapore Government has also recently announced that the island-city would be targeting to increase her population from the present 4.5 million to 6.5 million in future in order to remain economically sound.

However, as we continue to improve and impress with our "hardware", it left me wondering how is the general population progressing in terms of her "heartware". And as we gear towards 6.5 million in the future, how are we going to cope with the crowd on 700 sq km of land?

Which brings me to my experience on the public transport.

I have long heard of the new and improved buses and MRTs that we had supposedly paid for with the hike in public transport fares (some are wheelchair friendly too). And I was fortunate enough to experience them yesterday. The buses were new and bright. The MRTs appeared clean and seats seemed to be more spacious too. The stations were also more "user-friendly" for the handicapped. It would seem that the authorities are doing a good job and they should be applauded. However... I can't say the same for Singaporeans.

Although we have bigger, better and more beautiful infrastructures, it would appear that the behaviour of the general population has not progressed much since the yesteryears. People are still not moving to the back of buses or towards the center of the MRT cabins without pleas from drivers or fellow passengers. People remain oblivious (or asleep) to the needy who could use a seat. People are still pushing, shoving and cutting in lines to board escalators. People are still smoking at bus stops and throwing cigarette butts all over the place.

This is just an example from the many we see from time to time to infer my point on how Singapore could attain First World Status but left with much room for improvement to move her people together. And it is a worrying sight. Are we taking things for granted? Are we frogs in a well (a crowded one that is)? Of course, to be optimistic, not every Singaporean is like that (I hope I am not one) and Singapore is not the ugliest city and such cultures are not uncommon in other developed nations too. But as we become more diversified and more congested, I could not help but wonder what future holds for Singapore with a population of 6.5 million.