Quiet Christmas

This must be one of my quietest Christmas. Back in 1999, I had wanted to spend Christmas yearly at an exotic place. Ok, from my memory, here's where I was in Christmas

1999 - Bordeaux (French Backpacking trip)
2000 - Val Torens (Skiing in the French Alps)
2001 - Isle of Scilly (Christmas with the Nicolles)
2002 - Washington DC (My first solo trip)
2003 - Cannot remember
2004 - JC friends' gathering at Xinda's place
2005 - Seoul/Bangkok
2006 - Home!

I guess now that I have started working it is not as easy to travel. Not sure where I will end up next year.

Post Christmas

Well, Christmas has come and gone and very soon the new year is upon us. I have been thinking on what I have accomplished over the past year and I struggle to come out with anything. I would think work-wise I have put in a lot of effort but I am not sure whether I am neglecting other areas. I really should put in more efforts to do some more ECAs and maybe attempt a few radical things that I have been wanting to do.

I guess I have one last week to do all the thinking. Not sure what I can accomplish but I really look forward to 2007.

Kyushu here I come Part 2

Yup, the day is finally here. Was rushing like crazy today to finish all my submissions and work before leaving early to pack. Much more stories to update when I am back next Tuesday! Have to sleep early now to wake up at 530am to catch the flight!

Help! Help!

Was rushing for Khet and Yin Hua's wedding on Sunday night and was running slightly late. What made it worse was that my lift decided to break down 2m away from the ground floor. Thus was stuck in a small lift with a delivery man for about 25 minutes. It was an interesting experience and was glad of the efficiency of Singapore's service. Someone was actually on standby on Sunday.

Talking about weddings, I attended 2 Navy ones over the weekend. Somemore it was the same batch of sword bearers. Next month , I will have 4 more. So broke!

Disappointments galore!

I thought the CFA exams would be the end of all the agonies and I can finally relax. Alas, quite a lot of bad news and disappointments since yesterday's evening:

1) Kena big time arrow at work. Now have to finish a fluffy paper by the end of the week as everyone is disappearing for holidays soon.

2) Just found out that our Japan trip to Kyushu cannot be extended for us to explore the other parts of Japan. Was actually looking forward more to the free and easy section where we can really explore Japan in proper. Thus a shortened holiday of only 6 days instead of the intended 2 weeks!

3) Log into ESPN first thing this morning to find out who would be competing in the BCS Championship game for College football. My optimism was increased tremendously yesterday as the much expected team to qualify, University of Southern California (USC) failed to beat UCLA..thus leaving the BCS spot wide open for either Michigan or Florida. Unfortunately, the computers have chosen Florida instead of Michigan to go to Glendale, Arizona. A sort of consolation is that Michigan would at least be in the Rose Bowl. This exciting match would match the Pac 10 vs the Big Ten and would be the repeat of the Rose Bowl 3 years ago. Michigan would be pitted against the very tough USC on New Year's Day







Anyone keen to host the game for all the crazy Michigan's fans to gather in Singapore!

Go Blues!

Finally Ended!

Yes, my CFA ordeal is over...for now!

Was quite an experience taking the exams and manage to see several familiar faces as well during the exam proper. I must say this is one of the most brain-engaging exam lasting 6 hours in total. Definitely not one for the faint hearted.

Nevertheless, no point crying over spilled milk. Just have to pray for the best and enjoy my December.

Once again, thanks to all who have supported me thus far!

CFA Panic!

Firstly, would like to thank everyone for your well wishes and the help to help me prepare for this super tough exams. 4 more solid days of preparing before the actual day on 3rd of Dec, Sunday.

Wish me luck!

Secretaries Galore

Chanced upon this quote from the old British sitcom "Yes, Minister". Certainly very apt and funny for someone working in the civil service.

Sir Humphrey (the Permanent Secretary) briefs Hacker (the Minister) on the Department's workings:

'I am the Permanent Under-Secretary of State, known as the Permanent Secretary. Woolley here is your Principal Private Secretary; I too have a Principal Private Secretary and he is the Principal Private Secretary to the Permanent Secretary. Directly responsible to me are 10 Deputy Secretaries, 87 Under Secretaries and 219 Assistant Secretaries. Directly responsible to the Principal Private Secretaries are plain Private Secretaries, and the Prime Minister will be appointing two Parliamentary Under-Secretaries and you will be appointing your own Parliamentary Private Secretary.'

'Can they all type?' joshes Hacker.

'None of us can type, Minister,' Humphrey responds, 'Mrs. Mackay types; She's the secretary.'

'Pity, we could have opened an agency,' Hacker quips.

'Very droll, Sir,' replies Humphrey.

'I suppose they all say that, do they?' Hacker asks.

'Certainly not Minister. Not quite all..." answers Humphrey.

It's Not Over yet!

Woke up at 4am this morning to catch the game of the century, No 1 Ohio State vs No 2 Michigan. Manage only to obtain the streaming at about 1am and thus only slept for a short while before waking up to watch the game.

The game started off explosively with both sides scoring touchdowns on their first drive. Then it was advantage to Ohio State. Their offensive were awesome and the Wolverines were no match for them. The half ended 21-14 with the Buckeyes holding the advantage.

The second half was an even match and Michigan were close to tying the game till a controversial personal foul gave Ohio State a first down when they were 3rd and long. Michigan's fate was sealed when the on-side kick were received by Ohio State and they ran the clock down.

So much emotion was in this game and even though Michigan lost, it's not the end of the story. The Bowl Championship game is now between the Buckeyes against ???. The three teams in contention are Michigan, USC and Notre Dame. USC and Notre Dame will face each other next week and USC has the advantage in that game. If Notre Dame were to win, then Michigan should qualify for the Finals as they trashed them 47-21 earlier in the season. If USC wins, then it is all open to contention.

Nevertheless, the Wolverines are assured of at least a BCS Bowl (most likely the Rose Bowl) and it's already a huge improvement from last season's 7-5. Within the next 2 weeks, we will know the schedule for the games on New Year's Day.

Go Blues!

The Greatest Match ever!

For curious friends who have noticed about my new MSN nick, here's a short explanation.

This saturday will see one of the biggest sporting rivalry in US that has lasted for more than 100 years. It is the football game between Ohio State University (Buckeyes) and University of Michigan (Wolverines). This match is always the last game of the season in the regular season and the games have always been riveting and guarantee to keep you on the edge of your seat.

Let me start with some basic explanation of college football. In America, universities compete in their own regional divisions before competing nationally for the overall championship. The mid-western universities compete in the Big Ten Championship and there are numerous college championship as well such as Pac-10, Big 12, ACC, SEC, etc. The No 1 team in the country will play the No 2 team for the overall champion in Jan. This year, both No 1 (Ohio State) and No 2 (Michigan) are from the Big Ten Division and the match this saturday will determine who goes to the overall championship (Rose Bowl this year).

Being a wolverine, I really hope that Michigan can pull off an upset and finished 12-0 for the entire season. However, the game will be played in Ohio State and Michigan usually do not play well there. I am optimistic that even if Michigan lose this game, we would still be eligible for the overall Championship. Thus a repeat of the same match this saturday could take place in Jan in the Rose Bowl.

Go Blues!

Two years on...

Ok, today is the 2nd anniversary of my humble Nissan Sunny.

Still remember the day when I got it and we got lost at Tampines and took us like 2 hours before we reached home. Time really flies fast. This trusty car has gotten me to many places and here's to many more years to come!

Visiting the Istana

Had the chance to visit the Istana for the first time in my life. No, it's not for a leisure visit but to help up in an event that my Ministry was organising.

My job was simple, to identify the vehicles coming in and to inform the organisers of the big shots coming in. It was an interesting view of the rich and the famous, all of them coming in their posh vehicles. The food served was wonderful and a true reflection of our nation's heritage. We took turns to try out the different hawker food and took note of the various hawkers that were called up to cook for the event.

Also met a previous officer from my NS unit. She is currently a ADC to the president. Very impressive.

Will post some photos when I have the chance.

Quiet Week

This week have been a quiet week compared to the previous week when I was rushing like crazy to finish my trip report and catching up on my work. Another factor of being a quiet week was that the big boss was not around. Well, the new week is starting once again and I forsee the calm before the storm...

Getting Sick more and more often

My sick frequency used to be once every 4 to 5 months. Last got sick in Aug and am sick again....something is seriously wrong with me! Need to do something...any suggestions?

Zero Sugar Coke

Good news to all Coke fans, I have found the solution to all you coke drinkers without worrying about your health. Meet Zero Sugar Coke!

I got this drink in Australia and I must say it taste quite good. Fortunately or unfortunately it still contain some sweetners in it but unlike those in diet coke.

I am sure people are hoping for this to be brought to Singapore. I know some people who are.

Updated on 26th Dec:
Heard that 7-11 is bringing it into Singapore. More Coke pls :-)

Scare of flying?

Whenever I am in a plane that is ascending or descending, I will always remember a British Midlands advertisement I saw when I was in UK. It said whenever you feel pressure building up in your ears, squeeze your nose, swallow and think of Des Lynam. Des Lynam is one of UK's most popular football pundit and until recently was the host of the housewives' favourite "Countdown".

Somehow, the soothing image of Des Lynam always work for me as well :-). Hope it helps someone.

Kiwis

Have been in New Zealand for the past 3 days. Arrived in Auckland and then spent a day in Wellington before returning to Auckland yesterday. So far the trip has been good with so many good stories to listen and been learning a lot from the Kiwis.

Will provide an update once I am back...still have the Melbourne leg to go. :-)

Goodbye Paul

Was quite shock when I read on BBC the demise of Paul Hunter. For those who are huge snooker fans, you would definitely have remembered the "David Beckham" of snooker. With his boy-band looks, he could have made his millions in showbiz but instead he chose a career in snooker.

Snooker is a huge sport in UK. During the Masters and World Championship, BBC2 will show non-stop snooker for 2 weeks straight and my housemates and I got hooked onto watching the art of snooker. During the time when I was living in UK, Paul Hunter won consecutive Masters in Wembly and both victories were astounding come-from-behind victories. For a man only in his early 20s, he was able to dominate the table and also come from behind to beat his more illustrious opponents such as Ronnie O'Sullivan, Stephen Hendry, Mark Williams and many more.

It is unfortunate the sport has lost such a young and budding talent. Goodbye Paul

David Cameron's First Performance

Watched David Cameron's speech yesterday and found it rather refreshing. My personal favourite part of the speech is attached:

Think of any issue - not just crime - and then think of Labour's response.

This Government's way of doing things - the old way of doing things - is so familiar, and so depressing.

Ministers hold a summit.

They announce an eye-catching initiative.

A five-year plan.

Gordon Brown generously finds the money for it.

The money gets a headline, but no-one knows what to do with it.

So they create a unit in the Cabinet Office.

A task force is set up.

Regional co-ordinators are appointed.

Gordon Brown sets them targets - after all, it is his money.

Pilot schemes are launched.

The pilot schemes are rolled out across the country.

They are evaluated.

Then revised, re-organised and re-launched.

And then finally, once the reality dawns that the only people to benefit are the lawyers, accountants and consultants of Labour's quango army...

...with a pathetic whimper - but no hint of an apology - the whole thing is just abandoned.

We've seen too much of this in the past nine years.

Headline after headline but absolutely no follow-through.

It is a story of ignorance, incompetence, arrogance.

A story of wasted billions - and disappointed millions.

Somewhere out there, there is a place where Blair and Brown will never go.

It's dark.

It's depressing.

It's haunted by the failures of nine years of centralisation, gimmick and spin.

It is the graveyard of initiatives, where you'll find the e-University that died a death,
the drugs czar that came and went...

...the Individual Learning Accounts that collapsed in fraud and waste, the tax credits that were paid and reclaimed...

...the Connexions service that flopped, the Strategic Health Authorities that were dropped...

...the marching of yobs to the hole in the wall; the night courts that never happened at all.

And still they keep coming, those hubristic monuments to big government, the living dead that walk the well-trodden path from Downing Street and the Treasury to New Labour's graveyard of initiatives.

The NHS computer: delayed, disorganised, a £20 billion shambles.

Forced police mergers: the direct opposite of the community policing we need.

And then the perfect example.

ID cards.

When a half-way competent government would be protecting our security by controlling our borders...

...these Labour ministers are pressing ahead with their vast white elephant, their plastic poll tax, twenty Millennium Domes rolled into one giant catastrophe in the making.

One year old!

Ok, my blog has turned one! Not exactly one considering that this blog has been started in Dec 2004 but was never written till Sept 2005.

All the 2500 plus of viewership, thanks so much! This blog was started more to record some of my thoughts rather than attracting readers but still thanking everyone who has spent time reading this.

More comments in the future would be much welcome. To another year of writing...

David Who?

David Who?

Was flipping the Economist today and saw this picture of David Cameron, the recently anointed leader of Britain's Conservative Party. Hmm...still am not sure why the Economist used this picture, is it to cast him in better light, to show his casual side, showing that he is like any other man on the street, I wonder?

David Cameron has done well since he was appointed leader of the world's oldest political party last Dec. With the constant pickering between Blair and Brown at the other camp, David Cameron has been appealing to the people and showing them how a Conservative government would be like under his leadership.

In fact, Mr Cameron resembled Mr Blair when he first won leadership of the Labour Party 12 years ago. Young, rejuvenating, he has fired up the Tories. The other additional bonus for him is that he will not be facing Mr Blair in the next election but a rather drab Gordon Brown.

Today, he will deliver his first speech at the Tory Party Conference as leader of the party. We await what he has to say. Anyway, it's still at least 3 years before he can prove his worth!

Kyushu here I come!

So much to write but so little time! Ok first thing first, I AM GOING TO JAPAN! Could not resist the temptation to go back to the Land of Rising Sun once again. This time we are going to Kyushu for a more scenic view of Japan which will complement nicely to my 2004 trip to Japan.

A 7 day tour of Kyushu followed by a 6 day adventure on our own. Any Japanese contacts help will be greatly appreciated! So much to planned

Before that, a trip to Australia and New Zealand first next next week. Not sure how much leisure there will be but since it is my first time to the region, I am going to take it easy!

Upper Pierce Reservoir

Decided to finally ventured into the unknown and go jog in Upper Pierce Reservoir Park instead of the usual Bishan Park and Gym. It's near the Prata Place at Upper Thomson Road and it's a long drive in the middle of nowhere before you look in awe at the park. It is very scenic with Bukit Timah Hill as the background and the reservoir in the foreground.

Decided to find a good jogging road and somehow ventured into Singapore Island Country Club (not really sure whether jogging is permitted). Did a light jog on sat before returning to explore more today. Tried jogging to the Tree-Top Walk today and found that it was closed at 5pm. Now I know how to get to the tree-top walk from Upper Pierce Reservoir.

Maybe next week I will explore the Tree-Top walk before exploring Lower Pierce Reservoir Park. Am keen also to explore some unbeaten tracks in Singapore as well. Anyone keen to join? :p

This way please

Ok, I have been missing for the past few weeks but I have a very good reason for that. I was working as a liason officer for the past 5 days or so and I must say the experience was fun, fun, fun. Let me try to recap the happenings during the event:

Day 1
Received the delegation from the airport and everything went smoothly. Within 10 minutes, we were off in our swanky BMWs to Marina Mandarin. After letting the VIP check-in, I accompanied their staff officers to collect their passes for the meetings and also did some shopping at Funan. Brought them to Suntec and they shopped for some glasses (total cost: $1000). It was the first time I learnt of "transition and progressive lens". The short day thus ended with the delegation wishing to take a rest after their long flight.

Day 2
Started the day at 0800 accompanying the delegation to the Singapore Mint. They had wanted to outsource their minting services to Singapore as their minting is currently being done in Paris. More shopping around the Suntec and Marina area. Did some night-time sightseeing in the car and they enjoyed themseleves

Day 3
The real action begin trying to coordinate all their meetings but luckily they were all in Suntec. Had a party in the evening but they were tired and so went back to the hotel before the end of the party. Did more shopping (Sony-Ericsson P990 x 3 each costing $1,388)

Day 4
The meetings are starting to wind down and thus the delegation decided to drive round the city to soak in the sights of Singapore. Brought them to Sim Lim as well (purchasing T10 Sony camera, DVD player, Sony-Ericsson K800 and one Samsung phone). They had a dinner at the Honourary Consul-General's home at Ridout Road and it was one of the largest house I have ever seen. We dropped them off and had our dinner (yummy chicken rice) with the drivers at Margaret Drive.

Day 5
It was Bon Voyage to the delegation. Before that, had to rush down to the Malaysian High Commission to sort out their visas and sending them off to the airport. They shopped more in the airport and were really thankful for our services.

We were glad that the delegation really appreciated us and they were wonderful people to bring around as well. They had also did a lot to contribute to our economy (I would say they contributed well over $20k to our economy) During the meeting, I got to meet new friends and even got to know that my driver was the first person to bring in DVDs into Singapore. Overall, I would definitely volunteered if Singapore get the chance to host such events again.

PS: My work did not end after sending the delegation off as I still got calls asking me when the delegations was leaving 24 hours after sending them off. :-) No complains...everyone's just doing their job.

PPS: Will see what photos I can find to attach to sum up my adventures

Movies

Happened to watch 2 excellent movies over the past 2 weeks:

1) An Inconvenient Truth
This excellent movie by Al Gore had raving reviews when it was launched in the USA and now I know why. It tries to capture the essence of climate change into lay-man's language by using cartoons, animation and slides to show the possible impact of climate change to the world. It is sad that so much politics is happening around the world and 9 years since the signing the Kyoto Protocol, many countries are still bickering on their quotas and they have to do. The world had previously ban CFCs to prevent the ozone layer from further depleting and thus reducing carbon dioxide emissions should be the top priority for many countries.

I strongly encourage all to watch it if you have the opportunity when it opens nation-wide in Singapore in Oct/Nov.

2) The Devil wears Prada
Cute, heartwarming and chick flick and probably the few words that came to my mind after the movie. It was entertaining about life in the fashion industry and how tough it is to work under a boss from hell. Good acting to bring out a smart, intelligent movie!

Ok, the next 2 weeks will be hell for me due to S2006. See you guys around!

Comeback Post

Been missing for the past few weeks and here's an update on myself

1. Went for the National Day Parade all thanks to mf for getting the tickets. Was an exciting event and was quite fun to attend the last parade at our National Stadium. My pictures from the event are attached at the following url: http://cheewing.multiply.com/photos/album/15
2. A massive fire occured in my block but luckily several floors down. My car got featured in the Straits Times due to the fire and am currently swarmed with insurance agent coming door to door to sell fire insurance. Damn annoying!
3. Am currently planning to custom-built some furniture for my flat. Quite excited as I will be finally getting my own study table and some bookshelves for all my books
4. Been glad that the violence in Lebanon have stopped but the peace is still very fragile. To my ex-roommate Wael, hope everyone in Lebanon is getting back to normality
5. Been sick over the past week. I blame it on the delicious raspberry-coated almond nuts that my boss bought over from the States
6. Finally found out the country that I will be serving during next month IMF/World Bank Meeting in Singapore. Quite excited by the prospects :-)
7. If everything goes well, hopefully a trip to New Zealand and Australia for work!

Ok, enough of random thoughts...Will try my best to keep updating.

HELP!

I have been staying pretty silent on the Lebanon conflict so far till now. Today, I received an email from my Lebanese room-mate when I was in London. It was such an emotional email that I decided to publish here:

Hi,

I was really touched to receive your email... thank you very much for your concern and understanding...

unfortunately, despite all the prayers and demos, and the horrific pics, it seems nothing is convincing the world at large, and in particular the US to agree on a ceasefire...

depsite the killing of 4 UN officials, nothing was done..

this morning, around 3am lebanon time, a whole building full of civilians was brought fully to ground.. at least 40 bodies were recovered for now, but number expected to double as many innocent families were hiding there.. 23 children were among those.. some of them were children with disabilities...

that was again in Qana.. the famous village were in 1996 the israeli DEFENCE (?!?!) forces bombed a UN centre killing 116 innocent women and children... we did not forget those yet.. now a fresher memory is engraved in our hearts, eyes and minds...

this is not the peace USA and israel claim they want... this is not fair.. not human..

WHY? our souls cost less as arabs or citizens of developing countries...

we, you and me, are the future of this world.. let's try to make it better... keep those pics in mind when you vote next time.. when you pay your taxes....USA sending weapons to israeli thru glascow, and blankets to the lebanese.. how ironic.. we will kill you and make you homeless, but no worries, we will give you some food and water to drink... ENOUGH....

UN can not take a decision coz USA has the right to veto..WHAT DEMOCRACY IS THAT!!!!!

be the voice of those innocent children, tell their stories... I am sick of being called anti-semitic... for God's sake, I AM SEMITIC.. those killed are SEMITIC... ask people around you and friends to read more, to open their eyes, to seek the truth....

my Lebanon is destroyed and Dr. Rice and Mr. Bush understand the israeli position...

my people are killed, and the world is condemning.. what about ACTIONS!?!?

We want peace more than anyone else... we never asked for war... give the lebanese their land and prisoners who some were detained for now for more than 28 years without trial... stop invading their air borders and terrorising them... this is peace we want.. for all!!!!

Please spread these words to your friends, maybe one day, people and their leaders in this silent world will wake up from their ever-lasting coma!!!!!!!

Thank you...

Another helpless lebanese in Dublin

SALAM

The Israeli have committed international massacre and yet no one is taking action. Yes, Hizbollah is a terrorist network and should be flushed out but to the extent of killing civilians is inexcusable. Did the British bomb Northern Ireland to flush out the IRA or the Spanish to destroy the Basque region to eliminate ETA? In addition, we are talking about invading someone's sovereign right!

The Americans really need to wake up to their international role and by acting as a "silencer" in these issues, they are really showing their support for the Israelis. The response so far from the UN have been rather muted as US holds a veto in the votes in the security council. No amount of international condemnation seems to be able to move the Israelis.

To Wael (my lebanese friend), hope that your family is doing well in Beirut and may peace reign in Lebanon soon

PS: Am thinking of putting up a petition on the Lebanese cause. Do leave your comments if any on this issue pls

Pioneers forgotten

2006 is the year that Singapore lost of 2 of her founding fathers of independence: S Rajaretnam and Lim Kim San. Unfortunately not many people knew of what they have done for our nation state till they have passed on. Rajaretnam was Singapore's first diplomat and was the one that crafted Singapore's pledge. Lim Kim San served as a bedrock in Singapore's Cabinet over the early years and held key positions in the government before moving into the private sector.

Why have most people not even heard of these founding fathers such as David Marshall, Lim Yew Hock, Goh Keng Swee, Toh Chin Chye, Ong Pang Boon, etc, etc? One of the main reason is due to our education when only Lee Kuan Yew had been glorified in our history textbook. Either through accident or coincidence, our students learn nothing of the post-independence events except for the fight against communism.

These founding fathers including Mr Lee Kuan Yew sacrificed their youth and their career to ensure Singapore reached the stage it is now. Let us show an acknowledgement for these founding fathers and also ensure that their legacy are never lost to history.

This way, sir

Am on course for these past few days and the course have been enjoyable thus far. Learning the finer art of protocol was certainly very interesting and learning from the experts as well.

The food was excellent as we were learning the art of fine dining. Not sure what will be served tomorrow after buffet, chinese and western.

Most of the coursemates were all from MAS and somehow I feel that's a missing link there between myself and the people there. Not sure why as well.

Anyway one more day of enjoyment before going back to work on Friday!

Back from Diving

Open Water Course completed! The weekend in Pulau Aur was fun and enjoyable unfortunately the boat ride there was a bit too long for comfort. Left Singapore at 730pm on Friday, reach Mersing at 1130pm and Aur at 400am. The boat was I would said unique - no seats but beds for people to sleep to get over the sea sickness.

Upon reaching Aur, we had to wade through the low tide before reaching our huts. Pretty basic accomodation but we slept like a log due to the tiring boat ride. Soon we were all awake for breakfast to get ready for our first dive. Spend some time briefing and it's finally time to gear up. Pretty basic and the first 2 dives were all testing all the basic skills. Had to drink some seawater initially but once the skills were completed, it was fairly straight forward.

On our third dive, our instructor felt that we were good enough to follow the advanced group and here we go to Pulau Pinang (NOT PENANG) and manage to see a puffer fish! The kiasu Singaporean in us decided to wake up early on Sunday so as to squeeze 2 dives before we depart at noon.

Aur was definitely a nice place even to come and relax. The coconut trees and the beaches were excellent and the hospitality was impressive. One thing about diving is the eating. Food was the norm betwen every single dive either it's doughnuts, maggi mee, bbq dinner, lunch, etc.

Except for the long boat ride, I am certainly looking forward to another dive trip. Maybe to Tioman!

PS: Will hope to post some pictures once our instructors have given us the pics.

Off to the Sea

Finally decided to sign up for the PADI Open Water Diving Licence since my work place was subsidising a fair amount for a trip up to Pulau Aur (4-5 hour boat ride from Mersing :-( ). So am I off for the weekend to see some fishes, corals, turtles and whatever lurks beneath.

Am looking forward to a 4 day course next week as well where I will learn the finer art of protocol and peeling prawns without using my hands!

Nice break in Penang

Finally decided to take 3 days off work to travel to Penang to visit a good friend who is only back in the region once every 2 years. Went up to KL by coach and I must say it was super luxurious. The ride included dinner, massaging chair and a entertainment system which had tonnes of movies and even had Summerslam! (Must try Transtar if you are visiting KL) Reached KL well ahead of time in 4.5 hours and then it was another 3.5 hours ride up in a comfortable Camry to Penang. Only reached Penang at about 130am.

Penang is always a nice place to visit especially this was my first visit since 2002. It's relaxing place where the pace of live is slower and everything there is well affordable. I always value visiting Penang where it's really a mix of everything a tourist would want to go for. Historic Georgetown is a pleasant place to walk around and if you fancy a bit of beach front holiday, there is always Batu Fringgi. Not forgetting the excellent food as well at super affordable prices.

Did some shopping at Factory Outlets and bought some tau sar piah back as well. Had an excellent seafood dinner at the Tsunami Village Restaurant.

The three days break was also excellent due to the World Cup timing. Was able to watch all the second round matches and even won a small bet! :-)

Back to work again!

Back from Hibernation

Yes, I am officially back to blog. Been missing for some time already due to the busy work schedules and the weekends came and went by so soon. Work-wise should be getting better I hope and I just want this month to enjoy the World Cup. So far the matches have not been exciting but it is really great to soak in the atmosphere. Some good goals though.

Am looking forward to next week when I can finally take a break to visit Mark back in Penang. Will be rough once again for a 10 hour drive but it's worth it. My 2-yearly visit to visit the Ewes!

Finally also completed my wedding dinner tour for this month. Boy, 4 in a month was rough but was great to catch up with friends once again.

Ok, enough of yabbering...more to come soon I hope :-)

Thomson Prata

Finally had a chance to try the much renowned Thomson prata at Sin Ming Road. The stall was formerly from Cluny Road and it had such a huge following previously. In fact the stall was also featured in the show "Our Makan Places - Lost n Found". We ordered the several bryani dishes and the murtabak and I must say the food is excellent. Very decently priced as well! Another new eating place for our food tour.

PS: The prata place is at Blk 24 Sin Ming Road. Incidentally the coffee shop at the other end of the block served excellent teochew porridge for a fraction of typical cost!

Creative Kids

Spent my weekend being a judge for the annual Solor Innovations. Basically it's a contest for school kids to come up with projects that will bring on environmental sustainability. Different groups of students were divided according to the level of studies. My main job was to judge the primary and secondary school section. Some of the projects are indeed very interesting:

1. Vegetarian shark fin - To stamp out on cruelty on sharks
2. Flower pot holder - To prevent the breeding of dengue mosquitoes
3. Fuel Cell to operate lifts and traffic lights

One thing that I am very amazed is how versatile these kids are in doing things like power point and video editing. Over zealous teachers stressing the kids as well.

An exciting weekend overall even though I had next to no rest.

Closure of Smith Street Hawker Centre

For those who are into hawker centres, do take note: Smith Street Hawker Centre in Chinatown is closing for upgrading for nearly a year. Singapore's biggest hawker centre and one of the best in terms of food has definitely seen better days, thus explaining the revamp. We visited today for its swan song and had zi char. The damage: 7 dishes for 7 people = $32. We even had yummy ice kacang. Will definitely missed these food!

PS: For those for cannot forget the food there, most of the stallholders are moving to a temporary market in Outram Road.

My name is Jack Bauer...and This is the longest day of my life

After 24 episodes, the 5th season of 24 draws to a close. I only started watching the show in Season 3 and since then I have been hooked on the show. The real-time format really keeps you on the edge of your seat at the end of every episode. Season 3 has been a ground-breaking season with the killing of several main characters. Currently only Jack Bauer (played by Kiefer Sutherland) is still around from Season 1.

Season 5 is a more exciting season compared to Season 4, in my opinion. The theme is constant and the villian is played excellently. No more ridiculous terrorist plots but interesting twists and turns in the story to continuingly keep you on your toes. For those who follows the series, it is definitely one of the best.

Now only Alias, Lost and Smallville to catch up on their final episodes of the seasons

Final Fantasy X revisited

Have been rather busy at work thus explaining the lack of update in this humble blog. Been totally exhausted once I reached home and thus the only free time is during the weekend. Other than the time I go to the gym, I usually spent my weekends catching up on readings and my drama serials (read 24, lost, Alias, Smallville).

Decided to replay Final Fantasy X. I started playing the game in 2004 and after nearly 100+ hours of agony, I finally completed it. Decided to replay the game once again as I did not play it properly during my first time. I must say the game is entertaining and really keep my mind off lots of stuff.

Am deciding whether to buy Kingdom Hearts 2 now!

Coldplay in Singapore!

Finally, after missing their concert in 2002 in Detroit, Coldplay is finally performing in a location close to where I can attend. Quite surprise that they are actually performing in Singapore. Was quite excited at first but am quite disappointed that all the sitting tickets have been taken up, the only tickets left are the standing $168. It is really very expensive but considering that they are the best band in the world and they were from my uni, will definitely try to go. Am trying to find kakis to go! Very tempting! Any takers?

Comments Welcome

Finally changed my settings to my blogs to allow anyone to post a comments. Yup, u dun have to be a registered member of blogger to add your comments. Hope to hear more comments from everyone!

Super Tiring Week

Am totally burnt out from the week. First had my monthly meeting to coordinate in the week and found out after the meeting that I had to draft a pre-cab (for those that know what it is, good for you :-)). Super rush job and it was all done in a short 2 hours. Luckily I had my boss to guide me along the way. The good thing is that the week was a short week with a long weekend to come with it.

Had a nice gathering with the usual Gandhi gang on Friday nite at Chomp Chomp. Been really a long time since we all gathered and la kopi. Saturday had the opportunity to watch my first movie in nearly 6 months. Mission Impossible 3 is surprisingly good considering I never really like Tom Cruise and his complicated movie (read: Vanilla Sky, Magnolia, MI2, etc). The main difference in the movie is JJ Abrams, the creater of Lost and Alias being the new director of the franchise. Interestingly the concept of the movie was pretty much based on the Alias serial. First you have a initial scene with rather groundbreaking images. Then he brings u back in time to tell you the background of the scene. Really good stuff! (The idea of planting a bomb in someone's head was actually showcased in the recent Alias episode). Now awaiting Da Vinci Code and X Men 3!

Monday is upon me. Time to catch some rest before another super hectic week!

I am featured in TODAY!

All thanks to Mr Miyagi, the number of visits have increased significantly (was not much to start with anyway). I agree with Mr Miyagi's analysis that citizen blogging is alive and kicking and we will see that not only in the election but any significant event that will impact the lives of normal Singaporeans.

Kudos to the Bak chor mee podcast. Was really a good satire of the situation. Seriously we need more satire that allow us to see the lighter side of some touchy issues.

I attached the link to the TODAY newspaper. For future reference I hope. :-)

British Political Jumble

After the tiring Singapore election season (which is the only sign of political mayhem in Singapore), let us examined on what happened to British Politics over the past week.

Firstly, Tony Blair have been facing extreme pressure at home to let everyone know when he is going off to make way for Gordon Brown. Next, his home secretary, Charles Clarke got into big trouble when it was reveal that foreign prisoners were not deported after their sentences but actually set free in Britain. The last straw was when his rebellious deputy prime minister, John Prescott admitted in an affair after being married for 45 years. So what can Tony do to get out of the big hole?

He re-shuffled the cabinet. First on the list, was sacking Charles Clarke. A portly man, Clarke was often seen as too strong to take on the Home Office. He took over from an embattled David Blunkett and had been caught in trouble after trouble. The foreign prisoners scandal was really the last straw that broke the camel's back. So he had to go and who to replace him at the messy Home Office. Up steps utility man, John Reid. Over the past 7 years, he has held 7 different posts. So he is always considered as a reliable back-up for Blair when a crisis occurs. Sad to say, he has actually not proven his worth anywhere except Northern Ireland due to short spells everywhere.

The next logical choice was also to sack John Prescott. Somehow he has become a liability more than helping Tony Blair. Unfortunately, that would be political suicide to sack him due to his union ties, so clever Blair let him stay as DPM but stripped him of all his portfolios of local governments. Thus making him theoretically Minister without Portfolio. He is increasingly looking more like a liability and I would not be surprised if he is quietly put down.

The biggest shock of this re-shuffle was the demotion of Jack Straw from Foreign Secretary to Leader of the House. The late Robin Cook was similarly demoted in 2001 to let Straw take on the role of Foreign Secretary. Jack Straw has been trying to present himself as the voice of Britain but that has been overshadowed by Blair. It would be a pity to lose him as he has worked tirelessly over the Iraq issue. Coming in his an old colleague of Blair, Magaret Beckett. She is tough but would make a good foreign secretary.

Other re-shuffle sees the promotion of Blair's high flyer David Milliband as the Secretary of the Environment. That shows the emphasis on environmental issues for the upcoming few years.

So what does this re-shuffle tell us about the current status of British politics? Blair is still very much in charge and unfortunately for Gordon Brown, most of his lackeys did not do so well for the re-shuffle.

Let me set the record straight

For friends who has suddenly wondered why I have become so anti-government, I have not. Let me set my records straight.

I am a product of the meritocracy system in Singapore. I did well in school and secure a government scholarship. Without that, I would have never been able to study in UK and USA and been able to see the world. With that I am always indebted to the government and the system I have been through.

Unfortunately I am not your typical "scholar". I come from the heartland, living in a 3 room flat and I can feel the suffering on the ground. My dad has not been working since 1999. Structural unemployment has caused him to not only lose his job but his will to find another. How can you expect someone who used to earn $1,500 as a mechanic in the ship to become a cleaner? Things are not as rosy as it seems. My mum has been working in a factory as an operator for the past 5 years. She is a contract staff with zero bonus, zero pay increment and the risk of being fired hangs over her head everyday. With overtime, her pay was about $600 to $800. Before I started working, my family of 4 have been surviving on $600 to $800 a month since 1999. Only when I started work, did I become the main breadwinner and took over most of the responsibility of the household. I also decided to get my family a car to let my parents have some form of luxury.

Not many of my friends know this and very few actually understand how I feel not able to do what most people can do. I am lucky as I have friends who understand my plight and always have been by my side.

I have seen quite a lot over my last 26 years and with today's society, it's hard for people at the top to understand. That's why I am so interested in politics because I do hope to make a difference one day. I hope one day I can be called upon to serve the people. That, I will serve with honour.

Post Mortem of the Singapore Elections

Ok, the dust have settled. Everything is back to normal after 9 hectic days of campaigning around Singapore. The ruling party has been returned to power with 82 out of the 84 seats (status quo) and the 2 opposition seats were strongly defended. So does that mean that the struggle is over? No, far from it. Let me give some thoughts on this elections.

1. PAP is slowly waking up
The incumbent party is finally awaking to the people's needs. This election will send a signal to the ruling party that simply by offering carrots such as upgradings and lifts will not send the electorate running back to them. This has been used for the past 15 years and it has obviously not worked considerig the opposition are still holding on to their seats. The PAP would have to re-strategise by thinking out of the box on how to win the two opposition seats.

2. Re-awakening of the Workers Party
From my previous post, I have no doubt that the Workers Party has come up as the alternative voice of the people over this past 9 days. What I truely hope they can achieve is to do more over the next 5 years by working the ground and speaking of alternatives instead of popping up every 5 years. With 2 seats in Parliament now, hopefully it would provide a more concerted effort on government policies.

3. Political Apathy, my foot?
Before the elections, I would assume that most people would think that Singaporeans were not interested in politics and no one really cared about who are the people in white. I was so wrong just by reading stuff on the internet and attending the rally. No matter what party each person supports, it is truely encouraging to read people being interested in politics and wanting to contribute to society.

4. Political freedom
By just listening to people, it is truely encouraging that we are slowly opening up as a society. No longer will people be yes man, but willing to speak up on the issues even criticising government's policies or people. I am glad this is happening and would one day hope that we can be open as the political society as those in Europe. Unfortunately I would feel we are still quite far from this. Just yesterday, was chatting with an acquaintance about politics and I commented that the sentiments in the grounds are slowly changing. She commented that I should not be making such comments as none of us can make these society. Come on, we live in a open society! If you can't take it, hide under your bed!

5. Finding the right people
I was glad that people such as Ong Ah Heng and Seng Han Thong are returned back to government. I can safely say these are the people who can really connect to the grounds. We need more of these people, who can understand the suffering of the man in the street. Close friends would always ask me when I would be joining politics but unfortunately this is not my call. I have always said that I truely hope one day I could serve the people but I think in Singapore it may not be so easy.

6. Stop Party Politics
Some nasty remarks were made by PAP Chairman, Lim Boon Heng over these past election. By limiting the outreach of NTUC only to your own party's people, you are truely not respecting the electorate. Upgrading and lifts should also be given to everyone as at the end of the day, everyone pays taxes as well. PAP is more than capable of winning an election with playing party politics and mud-slinging. Let's try to have a true and open election based on national issues for the sake of Singaporeans pls. (Incidentally, both Lim Boon Heng and Goh Chok Tong were noticeably absent at the victory press conference last night)

I have said my peace for this elections. Let's have a more compassionate government, one who is willing to understand the feel of the grounds and bring Singapore to the next lap.

Comments anyone??

Rally Fever

This election has been the turning point for the opposition. The opposition have been able to connect to the people significantly and were no longer engaged in "hooligan" politics. Out of curiosity, I attended the last 2 Workers Party rallies.

The first was in my hometown of Ang Mo Kio. Here the Workers Party is fielding their so called "suicide" squad of youngsters. The traffic on that night was ridiculous. By the time I got home at 7pm, the roads ard my neighbourhood were already jam-packed. Following the cheers, I eventually reached the rally site. The topics raised were expected but I must say the quality of argument is good and is no longer arguing for the sake of arguing.

The second rally I attended was at Serangoon Stadium with a bunch of colleagues. My colleagues decided to park 1km away from the stadium and we were already finding difficulty in actually finding a lot. On they way to the stadium, we saw another colleague and he told us that the police has already closed the gates to the stadium. Being curious, we decided to venture on and we were lucky that the police had actually opened another entrance to allow more to attend. I would guess the people there were easily 50,000 to 60,000. The emotional bits were there when one of the candidates said he had to say sorry to his 2 year old son for not being with him during this election period. The rally ended with an oath to Singapore by asking everyone to recite the Singapore pledge.

Overall, the election rallies were interesting and were really an eye-opener. Something that Singapore would only see once every 5 years. I seriously doubt any sports event in Singapore would ever acheived such a crowd.

Politics in Singapore

People who know me well would know that I am very interested in politics since secondary school. So why I have been so quiet over this period of time, when Singapore are selecting their next generation of leaders? Well, I have been observing quite a lot as this is my first election that I have experienced in Singapore since 1997 (I was not eligible to vote back then) and I have came up with several thoughts

1. The ruling party has done it again!
Remember Tang Liang Hong in 1997? I definitely did as I was staying in Cheng San in 1997 and the heat of the competition was really hot then. PAP attacked Mr Tang repeatedly and where is he now? Will Mr Gomez end up like him? With PAP repeatedly attacking him, it just show how worried PAP is in losing a GRC.

2. National or local issues
So what's this election all about? Whether who can negotiate FTAs or whether someone can upgrade your lifts for you? One day PAP is talking about upgrading and the next day they are changing to talk about "international issues". Pls make up your mind. Frankly, an election is always about local issues. An FTA will never affect the man in the street directly but a lift on his floor will.

3. Elitism
As PAP rolls out their slate of new candidates, how many of the potential MPs can really connect to the people? In fact, on the current batch of MPs how many are your people's MPs? I can frankly say only a few such as Ong Ah Heng, Tan Cheng Bock, Wong Kai Yuen. I have never seen my MP before and in fact when my parents went to seek help from him, he did not even meet my parents. That really make me pissed as he is now campaigning hard in my constituency. I have never seen him in 5 years! Why don't PAP choose people from the ground? I can understand that you need people with calibre to be Ministers but for the rest who will never hold a political office, why can't they be the grassroot leaders serving the community? Why get the CEOs, GMs, etc??

4. Unions
Singapore is one of the only place in the world when the "union leader" is appointed by the Cabinet and is a member of the cabinet. If a union leader gets elected to represent the workers in the Parliament, I have no qualms about it but when the leader is parachuted down from the government, it is really not right. How can the government (employer) and the union be the same person when it's a tripartite relationship?

5. Opinion Polls
For our press, it is really quite sad. Other than the odd commentaries, the press are really just reporting. There are no analysis involved and opinions being made on the campaigning trail so far. In fact, shouldn't the papers be going out in the streets to gather exit polls to get a feel on the ground? Thus most people are shocked if the opposition are ever voted in.

To conclude, this election is similar to previous years. PAP is digging up mud on opposition and the opposition are not really offering an alternate voice. BUT the one big difference is the power of the internet. Even though the press may give limited coverage to the whole campaigning, citizen reporters are there to blog on the situation on the ground. People's sentiments are being felt as they are more willing to listen and not pretend to be dumb. As an evidence of citizen's reporting, Refer to the all famous photo courtesy of yawning bread.

Everyone stay tuned on Saturday. I won't be surprised if a GRC falls.

Interesting May Day

Spend most of the May Day holidays reading "The Royal Duty" by Paul Burrell, butler to the late Princess Diana. It was an interesting read about the ins and outs of what happened within the Royal Family. Even though I am still skeptical about the trial (The Queen had to come in at the last minute, to remember giving away some of the stuff), I sincerely believed that he was true and loyal to the Princess.
Also ended up collecting 4 tins of Milo from Suntec City...super long queue. Damn Singaporeans are damn passionate about free stuff :p

Super Busy Sat - For a good cause!

XY and Yew Jin - Congrats once again on your wedding!

Everyone's hardwork was definitely worth it! The dinner was also excellent.

Long weekend for all of us to rest :p

Lunches with High Flyers

My big boss has been doing something interesting recently over the past few months. He is currently embarking on a project to invite all his successful JC classmates and army mates to give lunchtime talks to young officers to talk about their life and what made them succeed. My big boss is hopefully trying to consolidate all these thoughts and hopefully published a book (All the best!)

So far I attended two talks. The first was by Dr Lee Tsao Yuen. A very famous person indeed considering that she was a former NMP. Her sharing was very interesting about how she decided at the age of 45 to decide to start a family and take a break from her high flying career. I attended the second talk over the past week and it's by the CEO of SembEnviro. Very well-planned career indeed and exceeding in all fields he has dabbled in.

More interesting talks to come in the upcoming week. Stay tuned!

Finally retirement of my 6110

Finally, after a good 2 year 8 months, I have retired by Nokia 6610. The phone has definitely served me well even after 2 cover changes. One of the best investment I ever made for a very affordable $238 when I bought in on National Day 2003. Sad to let it go but the on button has already fell off and I felt it's a good time to make a change.

And here's my new phone:
A brand new 3G phone. Been using it for over the week and I must say I am impressed by the functions it has. For those yearning for a new phone, do get this one. It really has everything you would probably need and hopefully it can last for the next 3 years. Cheers to the new phone!

First Anniversary

Today marks the first year anniversary for me in working. Have been a really exciting year with many ups and downs but overall a fulfilling year. Have so much to learn but yet so little time. I am really glad that my bosses are tolerant enough to give me time to learn and adapt to the new job and of course not forgetting all those great eating places that I had been introduced to.

Pandemonium will come this Friday when our great re-org is happening. Still awaiting my new responsibilities.

Thanks to all those that have supported me throughout the year!

Super Frustrated

My Ipod has been spoilt over the past week. Somehow, my ipod just failed after only 1 year 8 months. The hard disk just was not working and so I finally brought it to the Apple shop at Wheelock today. Guess what was the price the guy quoted to repair a faulty hard disk: $500!!

My goodness, those Apple folks really know how to price things. For $500, I could have gotten the latest Ipod which plays video and had a colour screen. Well, I can only dream now and wait maybe till the end of the year before I can afford another ipod. :-(

Last of Season 5

Finally finished watching the last 6 episodes of Seinfeld Season 5

The Wife
-Courtney Cox before friends
- Pretending to be someone's wife to get a dry cleaning discount
- Urinating in the shower
- Not wiping off sweat in the gym

The Fire
- George pushing elders and women away to get out of a fire
- Coffee-table book revisited
- Pinky toe
- Heckling back at someone at work

The Raincoats
- Close talker
- Making out at Schindler's List
- Selling Raincoats
- Going to dinner with the Costanza

The Hamptons
- Shrinkage
- Hamptons Tomato
- Stealing lobsters
- "Breathtaking"

The Opposite
- Doing everything in opposite
- The start of yankees
- Even Steven
- Jugyfruits

A Really Happy Long Weekend

This week has been busy trying to coordinate a meeting at work. It went well and was lucky that all the minutes were cleared by yesterday. One other bit of good news is that I got confirmed on my job as well. Not really a promotion but more of a small little increment of pay to supplement whatever I am having now.

Had a good thursday evening with the Michigan gang. Recently we have added a female into the equation and it adds extra spice as she is a journalist. All our usual guy talks are now more subdue with her ard. But had a great dinner at "Ka-Soh" at Amoy Street and then follow by drinks at Far East Square. Man, it has been quite sometime since all of us sat together to gossip about fellow friends and the stock market but nevertheless it was enjoyable.

The long weekend was spent finishing on my reading and getting ready for the week ahead!

Have a great week everyone!

American Idol revisited

Is anyone following the latest season of American Idol? For me, I found it a bored to watch the contestants as they are so off the mill but yet the judges always acclaimed the latest season is the best so far and they had uncovered more talents in this season than all seasons put together. Then what about, Kelly Clarkson, Ruben, Clay Aitken, Fantasia, William Hung, were they lousy compared to this year's idol finalists? Somehow, I reckon that the American Idol phenomenon will only last for at most 2 more seasons. Fox TV, pls let it die a peaceful death!

Damilola Taylor

Damilola Taylor was a young nigerian boy who's parents migrated to Britain in order to give him a better life. In 2000, Damilola was found to have bled to death in Peckham, London. What had happened led to an national outcry in Britain against the yobs (London's version of ah bengs) and knives. 6 years on, after 2 re-trials, Damilola's murderers have not been found yet. Was Damilola actually not a victim of yobbish behaviour but a freak accident? Nobody knows.

This incident had a deep impact on my mind as I was living in Northeastern London which was considered quite a dangerous area of London. Peckham was on the east side of London which was famous for its neglected neighbourhood but also the set of the famous comedy "Only Fools and Horses" and also the birthplace of many famous footballers such as Rio Ferdinand.

May the parents of Damilola have a closure on their beloved son.

Seinfeld again!

More thoughts from the groundbreaking season of Seinfeld:

The Conversion
- Latvian Orthodox
- The Korvoca
- Keeping fungicide in your medicine cabinet
- Is a Podiatrist a doctor?

The Stall
- Toilet paper
- Phone Sex
- Men's version of bimbo, mimbo
- Rock-climbing

The Marine Biologist (Classic episode)
- George pretending to be a marine biologist
- Kramer treating the ocean as his driving range
- Tolstoy's original title for War n Peace was War, what is it good for?
- Electric organiser

The Dinner Party
- Getting wine for someone's dinner party
- Gore-tex
- Babka
- Saddam Hussein double parking

The Pie
- Not washing your hands after visiting the toilet
- Not tasting pie
- Suit that makes swooshing sound
- Elaine mannequin

The Stand-in
- Little people
- "Lifts"
- Dating a girl for spike
- Making someone in the hospital laugh

North Korea anyone?

Am sorting out my mail today and discover a mail from a local travel agency. They were advertising the usual China tours and what caught my eye was a trip to North Korea. Ok, let me attempt to give a brief of the itinerary

Day 1
- Depart Singapore

Day 2
- Arrive in Beijing
- Depart for Shenyang
- Explore Shenyang

Day 3
- Depart for Pyongyang

Day 4 (here's all the fun)
- Visit the birthplace of Kim II Sung
- Museums of war in Pyongyang

Day 5
- Depart for Mt Myohyang which is one of the five famous mountains in Korea

Day 6
- Drive to DMZ: The North Korean end

Day 7
- Return back to Shenyang

Sounds like quite an exciting tour into the uncharted territories. The cost is only about $1799 and adding in all the extras I think the whole tour will not be more than $2,200.

Any takers?

One year on...

Well it's been a year since I last went to UK. Time really flies pass. At that time, it was exciting trip to be back among friends and familiar territories. It was quite exciting as I had to show a friend ard UK and Paris as well. In fact, most of the trip was spent showing her ard London, Cambridge, Paris and even Cornwall. Cornwall is a place I considered sacred as not many Singaporeans will have a chance to go there and stay in a lovely cottage by the coast. In fact, I would consider Isle of Scilly as the perfect place for a honey moon.

I enjoyed the drive to Cornwall in Andre's Volkswagen and living the Cornish lifestyle of taking walks and of course who can forget clotted cream with scones. Those long and twisting roads around Cornwall was really an adventure but luckily I had a local guide.

All these thinking have made me wonder whether I should ever consider working in the UK. I have a friend in London who had just left an investment banking job at Morgan Stanley to work for a hedge fund. I dun want to imagine the amount of money he is earning. I received another surprise phone call yesterday from my best buddy in uni in super cold Aberdeen. He is working for Shell and seems to be enjoying himself.

Ah...all these thoughts I probably can only dream for the next 4 years...

More Random Thoughts of Seinfeld

Here's the next 5 episode of Season 5 of Seinfeld

The Lip Reader
- Deaf women able to lip read
- George eating fudge
- Using a lip reader to find out what others are talking abt
- Kramer being a ball boy!!

The Non-Fat Yogurt (Classic episode)
- Mayor Giuliani having super high cholestrol
- Swearing in front of kids
- George faking illness (not for the first time)
- Everyone to wear nametags

The Barber
- Crazy Italian barber
- Opera setting
- Edward Scissorhand
- Kramer participating in a bachelor auction

The Masseuse
- Masseuse who refuse to give a massage
- Return of the risotto girl
- Elaine dating a "serial killer"
- George cannot stand people who dun like him

The Cigar Store Indian
- Native Americans
- Coffee table book about coffee tables
- Gyros in the subway
- TV Guides

More to come next week :-)

Seinfeld rewatched

I had recently just completed watching 9 seasons of Seinfeld. I must really say the show is really one for the collection. In fact, I have recently purchased the DVDs of Season 4, 5 and 6 to add to my current collection of Season 1, 2 and 3. What makes the show so unique was the fact that the show was really about NOTHING! The show centred around the 4 central characters of Jerry Seinfeld, George Costanza, Cosmo Kramer and Elaine Benise. The sideline characters are fantastic as well including Newman, Morty Seinfeld, Frank and Estelle Costanza and of course George Steinbrenner.

Just watched the 1st DVD of Season 5 and here are some of the random thoughts from these episodes to show the show is really about nothing.

The Mango
- Faked orgasms
- Mango being able act as viagra
- Kramer blaming the fruit seller for bad fruits
- Risotto girl

The Glasses
- George loses his glasses
- Dog bites Elaine
- Commando 800 air-conditioning
- Horse-faced cousin Jeffrey

The Puffy Shirt (all time classic)
- The puffy pirate shirt
- Low talker
- George hand modelling
- Crazy George's parents

The Sniffing Accountant
- Accountant who was thought to be taking drugs
- Mohair sweater
- George as bra salesman
- Felt your material

The Bris
- Circumism
- Pig Man
- Excellent parking spot
- Mohel (person who conudct circumism)

More random thoughts as soon as I rewatched more :-)

Uneventful Week

Well, it's been a rather quiet week. Workwise, it's been super quiet as the big boss is currently not around. Been able to do some of my own work areas which had been neglected and also taking some time to take care of our intern. Finally been able to take part in yoga after a nearly 5 week hiatus.

Got hijacked on Friday by some timeshare company and only managed to get home at about 10pm. Sheesh...to everyone, be careful of the young girls doing surveys at Orchard Road :-)

Week ended slightly better with the Rovers edging out another win over Sunderland. 52 points and counting...

Here's to a better week!

Roll On Blackburn!

It's been an excellent week for Blackburn Rovers. Yesterday 3-2 win over Middlesbrough was the perfect push for a European place for next season. In fact, Rovers have already exceeded their points total compared to their past 2 seasons and so what is the x-factor? I would put in down to the renewed team spirit. Yes, Mark Hughes has come in and stopped the slide created by Graeme Souness but it was the excellent team spirit among the core players such as Savage, Bellamy, Emerton, Pederson and co who have really made the difference.

I am actually not hoping for them to qualify for Europe as Blackburn has a terrible record in Europe (Remember losing to lowly Trelleborg in 1994). So a perfect end to the season would be to finished 6th just outside of the Uefa Cup slot. Next year, Blackburn would need to maintain their consistency as teams would be better prepared to take on Blackburn. An additional defender and tenacious midfielder would further strengthen the side.

Cambodia - Land of Peace and Tranquility

Just came back from Cambodia on Friday and I must say it was an eye-opening experience. The majority of the country is stuck in poverty but somehow people there have a sense of pride which I had not seen since Cuba. Pace of life is rather slow but in Siem Reap where majority of people visit due to the ruins of Angkor, the pace is much faster due to the tourism industry.

The Angkor ruins were really a magnificient sight. The largest religious monument in the world, it rivals Machu Picchu in Peru and even the great pyramids of Egypt. Most of the ruins were in excellent conditions or had been excellently restored. Angkor Wat was the main highlight and it was a tiring climb up the grand temple. The sight on top was well worth it. I am just curious how can these ruins lie unnoticed for 1000 years. The sights are really worth visiting especially considering that it's only a 2 hour flight to Siem Reap.

Khmer food was also excellent with a mixed of Chinese and Thai food. If given the chance, I would love to explore Phnom Penh and maybe some of the inner provinces of Cambodia.

For photos of the trip, do visit http://cheewing.multiply.com/photos/album/14

PS: Anyone travelling to either Cambodia or Vietnam can borrow Lonely Planet from me :-)

Something for the Future

Am currently reading the Economist Technology Update and here are some cool stuff that had caught my eye:

• Vertical Axis wind turbines (think merry-go-round)
• Hybrid airplane
• Slingbox (allows you to watch tele on your comp anywhere)
• Standby power and how companies are reducing the power consumption for their products on standby

Quite keen to get the Slingbox to catch up on some good old British tele!

What a Gastronomical Week?

Monday: Claypot Fish Rice at Pek Kio Hawker Centre
Tuesday: Peranakan Food at Ivins
Wednesday: Lor Mee at Golden Mile Hawker Centre
Thursday: Zi char at Beo Crescent (Colleague's confirmation treat)
Friday: Laksa at Kelantan Lane
Vegetarian wedding Dinner at Grand Hyatt
Saturday: Zi char at Hong Kong Street
Sunday: Chicken Rice at Margaret Drive Hawker Centre

And somemore this is supposed to be the busiest week of the year :-)

Weekend full of Food!

Finally a weekend to catch up with friends and food. After last saturday tiring excursion at my company's sports carnival, this weekend started with nearly everything planned. Finally completed my root canal treatment for my molars, costing me tonnes of money. Was not as painful as I feared but still, it was still agonising. From then, travelling in the comfort of a Mazda 3, met the gang for lunch at Pek Kio. Been mentioning to the rest of them abt Pek Kio for ages and this was the first time I actually brought them there. Had the wonderful Soon Kee Wan Tan Mee before proceeding to the actual reason behind us meeting, which was to choose flowers for our dear friend's wedding. After that, it was onwards to Chomp Chomp and Ice3 for dinner and dessert.

Sunday started with breakfast with close friends and a surprise call to accompany my friend to purchase a car. He made the plunge and the newly commissioned CPT in the SCDF is the proud owner of a silver Hyundai Getz. Very happy for him.

Super busy weekend with little time for myself! Still catching up on the Economist for the week and have borrowed the latest version of "Random walk down Wall Street". Will take that to Cambodia to read. The week was rounded off with Blackburn triumphing over Arsenal to lift themselves to 5th in the Premier League. Honestly, I would be happy for a top 10 finish. Well done to Mark Hughes and his team of combatants.

Next week, will be entertaining the Bazaz!

Awaiting the F1 season

Was at Borders over the weekend and I spotted a book by Murray Walker, the grand guru of Formula 1 racing. Somehow, the face of Murray Walker brought back all the memories of watching Formula 1 on ITV every alternate Sundays from March to November. I used to curse the Formula 1 qualifying rounds as CD:TV would be shortened to about half an hour. Stuck in my cold room and tele, Formula 1 racing was really one of the weekly habits on top of watching all the other shows.

The voice of Murray Walker shouting "Go, go, go!" when the green lights are turned on was really one of the main reasons of watching F1 on ITV. Was particularly interested in watching the engineering aspect of racing (coming from UCL where some of our more famous alumnis have gone on to become engineers in F1) Those days, Mika Hakkinen were ruling the circuit with Schumacher just finding his mark in Ferrari. Those were also the days when the tour was still limited to the same few cities before circuits in KL, Bahrain, Shanghai, Turkey burst into the scene.

When Murray Walker finall retired in 2002, he was given a momentus farewell after being in the industry for more than 30 years. His voice was sadly missed and somehow I felt that the excitment of the race were not there anymore. Those Sunday afternoons when grocery shopping had to wait till F1 was over were sadly missed. Had a torrid time in the US when I had to wake up at 8 am to catch the races in Europe and even more disappointed when I came back to Singapore. Somehow, no one can replace good old Murray.

So the time has come

Well, we have been preparing for it since Sept last year and it finally happened! The COS season was meant to be the super peak season of work but somehow the process seems less painless than I ever imagined. The "cuts" came in only on Tuesday and somehow due to our preparedness, we were able to churn out the replies quite fast. The process was also well-executed and thus there were very little delay. There were late nights but it was enjoyable with the company and we try to contribute to other portfolios as well. The good news only came late on Friday evening when all the replies were cleared by Minister. The next week will be busy tidying up the speech before the actual speech the following week. Good grief the season is over!

Take Me Out!

Went with a ex-army friend to watch the rocking Scottish band, Franz Ferdinard. Had dinner at No Signboard before adjourning to the Indoor Stadium to enjoy the music. It was a great concert and the band was of great entertainment value (even though we hardly understood the Scottish accent). Some of their great songs such as Take Me Out, The Darkness of Matinee, Do you want to and Walk away. The band even invited the crowd to their hotel for a party after the concert. Dun think the hotel management would be pleased. Was rather disappointed that there was totally no encore after the concert but overall it was a well spent 70 bucks!

I attached my favourite Franz Ferdinard song "Walk Away" lyrics:

I swapped my innocence for pride
Crushed the end within my stride
Said I'm strong now I know that I'm a leaver
I love the sound of you walking away, you walking away
Mascara bleeds a black in tear, oh
And I am cold, yes, I'm cold
But not as cold as you are
I love the sound of you walking away, you walking away
I love the sound of you walking away, walking away, hey hey

Why don't you walk away?
Why don't you walk away?

Why don't you walk away?
No buildings will fall down
Don't you walk away
No quake will split the ground
Won't you walk away
The sun won't swallow the sky
Won't you walk away?
Statues will not cry

Don't you walk away
Why don't you walk away?
Why don't you walk away?
Why don't you walk away?
Hey

I cannot turn to see those eyes
As apologies may rise
I must be strong and stay an unbeliever
And love the sound of you walking away, you walking away
Mascara bleeds into my eye, oh
And I'm not cold, I am old
At least as old as you are

And as you walk away
Oh, as you walk away

Oh, as you walk away
My headstone crumbles down
As you walk away
The Hollywood winds will howl
As you walk away
The Kremlin's falling
As you walk away
Radio Four is static

As you walk away
Oh, as you walk away
Oh, as you walk away
Oh, as you walk away
Hey

The stab of stiletto
On a silent night
Stalin smiles and Hitler laughs
Churchill claps Mao Tse Tung on the back

The Day I got my first PQ

Well, Wednesday, 15th of Feb was the day I got my first PQ. For those who knows what a PQ is, I am sure you will understand the agony! Well, at least my end of the work is done, so just wait for the bomb to explode!

PS: Will prob receive about 20 "PQ"s by next Wed. Wish me luck!

Superbowl XL

Took leave on Monday morning to catch the annual Superbowl between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Seattle Seahawks in my home state of Michigan. The first Superbowl at downtown Detroit in Ford Field was on a blistering cold night but luckily the stadium was indoor. The game was not really that exciting and the controversial calls by the officials did not make it any more exciting. In my opinion, the Seahawks were robbed of a touchdown in the 1st quarter but had that disallowed due to a pass interference foul. The first Steelers touchdown was also a mistake as Roethelisburger did not really cross the line before his knees touched the ground.

The second half was much more exciting with the Pittsburgh jazzing the crowd with a 75 yard touchdown run. They did a sensational trick play with a running back throwing the ball for the next touchdown. The Seahawks fought back but could not overturn the deficit. The Steelers came out winners 21-10 and making them an elite league that had won 5 Superbowls. The others were the 49ers and Cowboys.

Good work for the Steelers and sad to say, we will have to wait till August for football again. The football season ended quite miserable for me especially with the Wolverines losing in the Alamo Bowl. Hopefully they can re-group and re-capture the Big Ten Championship and qualify for the Rose Bowl!

Catching up with old times

Was nice to meet up with some ex-colleagues yesterday at Bishan. Been quite some time since 3 out of 4 of us left my previous organisation and it was good to hear what's happening in the organisation and how some of the people are surviving in there. I do miss my previous work environment. Even though I was working as a lowly NSF, I got to know many people and most of them have stayed as friends ever since. The office culture wasn't fantastic but man I do miss the people. The good thing is that one of my friends paid for the dinner and he insisted that we do not pay him back. His deal is that we should meet soon enough so all of us can take turn to pay for dinner. Excellent idea yandao! Next time someone is proposing Furama Hotel..hehe :-)

Violin Maestro

Had the opportunity to watch an excellent violin concert on Tuesday. Was late for it due to work and only managed to catch the second half of the show. Was rather disappointed to have missed the first half but the second half was superb. It was filled with short but impactful pieces. The 2 violinists are talented and young and show plenty of promises. One of them is only 25 years old and had just completed his Masters! How I wish I was more musically inclined and had the chance to learn music when I was younger. Nevertheless, bring on Franz Ferdinard next week!

Great Weekend

Well, it seems weird that I am writing about my previous weekend when it is already Thursday. It was one of the more fruitful weekend that I really enjoyed myself especially on Saturday. Started the day really early by bringing me mum to Ikea. It was personally my first trip there as well and was really amazed by all the stuff they sell. I was looking for a desk and a bookcase to fit into my tiny space in the bedroom. Did not buy my desired items in the end as I wanted to go back home to measure the exact space I have. Well that's one of the disadvantages of staying in a 3-room flat.

Had lunch at this Jap restaurant, Kuriya at Shaw Centre. Was nice but a bit expensive. Anyway, I met a new friend there as well :-) The highlight of the day was hanging out at my colleague's place in the evening. Went to his place in a ulu part of Singapore but it was worth it. We tucked into a nice dinner of KFC and home-made sushi. Spent the evening watching Dogma, a movie banned in Singapore due to its content of taking the mick out of christianity. We remained chatting till nearly 3am before we started to leave.

PS: Btw, my colleague had to stand by living room the next day for his wife. Poor guy :-(

Blackburn has done it!

Well is Man U on a decline or what! Blackburn Rovers, the team I supported for the past 12 years have beaten them home and away for the first time in 75 years. A win in Old Trafford early in the season have cemented Blackburn's position as a tough team to beat in the Premier League. A win in Ewood Park last Wednesday was the last coffin in the nail to prove that Man U is no longer the force to be reckoned with.

A Ferdinard's mess-up was the gravest mistake for young David Bentley to become the first player to score a hat-trick against Man U since 1992. Blackburn has been known as the "bad-boy" team with players such as Dickov, Bellamy, Tugay, Neill and of course Savage. Teamed up with speedy players such as Pederson and Bentley, Blackburn would do well to push for a European place this season. Mark Hughes have brought in his team and has done well for his first Premier League job.

For all Blackburn fans (not too many left), keep on supporting the team.

Welcoming the Year of the Dog

It's been a tough year of the chicken. So many things happened so quickly and today is the first day of the dog already. Started welcoming the year of the dog on Thursday with a traditional 10 course lunch at Lao Beijing. It was meant as a farewell lunch for my colleague but it turned out to be a Chinese New Year Dinner with the yu sheng as the first course. The food was fantastic especially the Wuxi Spare ribs and the hot and spicy soup. We were so stuffed after the lunch that we only limped back to office at about 3pm. It also turned out to be the most expensive lunch for most of us. Costing a grand total of $44 per person, it was really expensive but rather worth it!

Luckily on Friday, we had a free lunch from the office. Consisting of the yu sheng again, the buffet was a great welcome after our Lao Beijing's escapade. Got to talk to some of the office colleagues as well without the hustle and bustle of work. Great bonding session!

Chinese New Year have always been a rather muted affair for me since I came back from overseas. It's good to catch up on a good break and just relax and read. I have gotten 2 excellent books: Freakonomics and The World is Flat. In fact, Freakonomics was so good that I finished it in a week. To all avid readers, it is really worth the read. Understanding things like why did the crime rates suddenly dropped in the 1990s, what do teachers and sumo wrestlers have in common, what are the traits of a ku klux klan member, etc, etc. Just started on The World is Flat and it's quite an intriguing read so far. Will update more soon!