Bus Home From KL Catches Fire

This is one of those "You wouldn't believe what happened to me" stories.

My family and I were in Kuala Lumpur, esteemed Malaysian capital of good barbecued chicken wings, taxi touts and predictable traffic jams, over the last few days. On Saturday, we were meant to make our way back to Singapore.

The coach pick up time was 3pm so we checked out at 2pm and waited at the Swiss Garden hotel lobby (we stayed at the new Residences built behind the Hotel. Nice but has its flaws, trying to keep all of their 4 stars.)

Waiting was not easy with a hyperactive 3 year old running around the Christmas tree. I think we gave him too much coffee. Our bus came at 4pm, apparently delayed by the Bukit Bintang traffic.

Once we boarded, we sensed something was not quite right - the temperature wasn't at the typical freezing-to-lull-passengers-to-hibernation setting. In fact it was warm and progressively warming up. No one really complained till it became a tad more unbearable. I had managed to doze off even. My asthmatic mum started feeling the choke of stifled heat first and had to take several puffs of her inhalers.

About an hour into the journey out of KL, the driver pulls over at Nilai rest stop and calls it quit. Passengers stream out, hoping for a cooler respite outside the bus and a quick resolution to this crisis. It was actually comfortable at the rest stop, with a natural breeze passing through. Thank goodness it was clean. (Malaysian highway rest stops manage to maintain exceeding contrasts in service and hygiene standards.) The time now was 5pm.

So we drank and ate a little, unaware of any planned resolution to our bus outage. The driver, a soft spoken Chinese man with black rimmed glasses and a beard (He was quite bear-like), was constantly on his mobile. We kept getting whispers of 'bus coming in 20 minutes'. So we waited patiently.

Having been tested long enough, I called the bus company office in Singapore at 640pm, and gave them a harsh lecture. Once again, I got the '20 minutes' message from a nervous girl. When I asked to speak to the manager, apparently there wasn't one around. The substitute bus came at 7pm.

When everyone had boarded Bus 2, we realised there was a seat short. I took my nephew on my lap and gave up his seat to a grateful passenger. So we were on our way south once more.

At about 10pm, we stopped at Yong Peng, a traditional stop for many bus services plying the North South highway. We hobbled out of the vehicle and had a Ramly burger, two tau sar paus and a coffee my mum didn't want. At half past or so, the bus was off again towards Tuas.

At about 1045pm, my nephew on lap noticed a man in a red shirt walk hastily from the back of the bus to the front. He asked why the man was running. I turned around to see a haze developing at the back of the bus. It was like a cloud developing. There was the smell of plastic smouldering and I instinctively shouted "Fire!". The driver slammed in the brakes and pulled over. A commotion and shouts ensued, and a hasty stream of nervous, startled passengers emerged from the front door onto the dark road and drizzle. I passed my barefoot nephew to my brother-in-law who joined the exit line. My asthmatic mum was yelling something and my sis was asking everyone in the back to get out quick. Oddly enough, a few sleeping passengers were oblivious to the smoke.

We all made it out in a couple of minutes. As I left the bus I turned to look back and saw a fireball of orange at the back of the vehicle. Educated by years of television watching, one has to get as far away from the flames before the whole bloody thing explodes. So we did, a good 50-60 metres down the road. No, the bus didn't explode.

The driver managed to douse the fire with god-knows-what and pretty soon it died down to a smoking rear end. In the meantime, some of us kiasu types managed to yank out all the luggage stored in the lower coach compartment and spilled the bags on the road and grass verge. I noticed black oil mixed with the stream that ran along the road and figured the fuel tank or some pipe must have leaked.

There was a lot of to-ing and fro-ing as people tried to identify their belongings while fast cars zoomed past, some slowed down in apparent surprise at seeing 20-odd persons in the cold and wet by the road side. I was afraid that some passing truck or car would not see the bus and crash right in, taking us down with the metal mess. I kept asking the passengers who strayed deeper into the road lane to stay in.

Well at least we could see the stars clearly now. Orion was practically shining down on us.

My nephew vomited in the drama. Scared people do that sometimes. My mum put a towel around his head and he looked like he had a tudung on. So cute. He remained as curious as ever, asking questions about what happened.

In an emergency, who do you call? Usually the answer is simple - police, fire brigade, medical services. When in a JB emergency who do you call? Apparently +65 999 doesn't work. My sis managed to get the Johor crime hotline and they despatched the highway vehicle emergency team. Their blue swirling lights appeared on the wrong side of the highway about half an hour into the situation. Not sure what Plus Ronda people did but eventually there was a smouldering box lying in the drain by the side of the highway.

The gods already laughing at us decide to turn up the tension by letting down more rain. Soon umbrellas were up and some passengers donned their raincoats. The bags now got even wetter. It was a fine mess. Someone came around to say we could wait in the bus. We were mostly appalled at the suggestion at first but came around to clambering up the stationary metal box because smoke inhalation seemed like a lesser evil that hypothermia. Up in the bus we went. There was a moment of relief actually when most of us were more comfortable in the dry. The passengers chatted about what got wet and even laughed about what had gone on.

At 1215, the replacement bus, the third one, arrived. Finally it seemed the drama was over and we could be on our way back home. The new driver apologised for what happened and carried on his way towards Johor Bahru. Somewhere along the way though, he announced he had no passport to enter Singapore. *Cue dramatic intro music* But there was a replacement driver with him who had his passport but didn't know the way around Singapore. *Cue dramatic rejoinder music*

I volunteered to navigate.

It seemed to take forever to get to Gelang Patah, like we were on a neverending highway with no lights and red tailights zooming past us every 10 minutes. People were just staring forward, anxious to see some semblance of hope in the form of the bright lights of immigration and customs control. A weird feeling, made worse by how tired we were. The document-less bus driver got off at the intersection that led to Johor Bahru, into a waiting car. Lucky bastard.

Eventually we crossed over the Second Link and made into Singapore. It must have been near 2am.

I took the chance to ask if the route back to the city could better accommodate the passengers. So I got the driver to make a diversion to Jurong East MRT and drop a lady off at the bus stop opposite NUH. Funnily enough, to cap the highly momentous day of travelling, I had to figure out the best way for Mr Unfamiliar to get back to JB. I navigated the simplest route - down the ECP Rochor Road ramp, stopped outside Bugis MRT and told the driver to go back up Ophir Road ramp into ECP then AYE Tuas. Ta-dah!

After a hot shower, I think it was 3am before I hit the sack. What a day.

Konsortium is the bus company. My sis went down to the office on Monday to raise hell. I think she got some money back. Hmm.

Expensive COEs And 24hr Train Services

Saturday's Straits Times sort of ticked me off a little. On the front page were two article - one on high COE prices and the other mentioned that the SMRT and SBS Transit would extend train services for the marathon. So I sent emails to ST Forum expressing my thoughts. Here they are:

1. Regular extended train services, not just for marathon
While it is commendable that the SMRT and SBS Transit support the Standard Chartered marathon with overnight train services for participants to make the early morning start, it begs the question why these national transport providers cannot do the same on weekends or on the eve of all national holidays. Regular extended services would generally benefit most residents as opposed to this one-time effort for those involved in a sporting event. Perhaps the Public Transport Council can look into such an initiative.

2. Should only the rich own a car?
Saturday's Straits Times report on the expected demand for more expensive, high-end cars is a blow for the aspirations of Singapore's middle class. This consequence of fewer COEs and other factors serves to reinforce the notion that only the rich will be able to afford a car. There needs to be a fairer system of COE distribution, one not pegged to a large bank account but one based on needs. In my opinion, drivers who are parents with 2 or more children, those with extended families or aged parents themselves, or those looking after the disabled should get priority. To reduce demand further, it might be wise impose double the price of a COE for households seeking a second car, and so on. If the government is serious about reducing the car population, measures taken cannot purely be to the advantage of a select segment of society.

What do you think?

Keep Your Word To A Taxi Driver

Some days ago, I posted a tweet about why people who've booked a taxi bother waiting in the taxi queue. I got a just a handful of responses - one was that taxis seemed to frequently not be able to figure out the pick up point; another was kiasuism and lastly, "To increase the odds of getting a cab quickly. Duh."

I was indeed exasperated at that someone in the queue ahead of me who had committed this fault in my eyes. I guess many would disagree that it is a fault. Probably because the cab companies dedicate a call cancel shortcut on the phone booking services. Truly Singaporean perhaps, this means of getting ahead. Or maybe getting away with it instead. Simply cancel on a call, forget whatever it meant.

Is confirming a taxi booking not a matter of keeping one's word? I, Gurmit Singh, agree to wait for cab SHA 1234 X arriving in 3 to 5 minutes with an additional fee of $3.50, and to have a nice day. So Mr Anonymous Cab Driver enters into an agreement with me - he dedicates his service to me and I pay him extra. He comes around and picks me up. That's the normal, right way things work out.

When I decide to flag down another horse and cancel aforesaid agreement, Mr Anonymous Cab does not make the extra few dollars and would very likely be frustrated. Yes I save on the money and waiting time, but unknowingly I have added to what I like to call the Fed Up Factor. Mr My Booking Got Cancelled is fed up. He thinks that perhaps all passengers are scum and doesn't give two hoots (or honks) about messing with us more - you know, the hiding in alleys till surcharges kick in, the picking and choosing of customers to get to very nearby destinations, the non-chalant driving by sweaty taxi queues with the green sign on - the stuff that infuriates us further. So we now contribute to the universal Fed Up Factor.

What's the fella waiting behind I've got a booking so-and-so supposed to think? He's got a booking but he's still in the queue. So he's too stingy to fork out $3.50 but got the balls to screw a taxi driver if he can?

Taxi companies should charge the booking fee for the call, and pass that on to taxi drivers later.

We can't be very happy living with all this frustration. It's not a oneupmanship game we should play with one another. What goes around comes around. That's why taxi drivers want to play their games - we give them a reason to.

Perhaps i'm too principled. If I make a deal with someone I try to keep it. Don't screw the other fella over. And that goes for taxi bookings too. Maybe we're just not putting ourselves into the other person's shoes or in this case behind the cabby's steering wheel. It's all me me me. Yes we all have our grouses with taxi drivers but it doesn't mean we have a natural licence to mess with them.

We're worse for it. Plain and simple. A sad state of affairs.

I should really write more

Look at me, thinking of writing a post on writing. Just out of bed, in some pain somewhere, and already fiddling with the phone. Glasses not even on. Later ah.

A Problem With Sengkang

I recently moved to Sengkang. It was a choice determined by proximity to my nephew (for the weekday delivery of the little monster for my mum to look after with the rotan nearby), availability of a flat within a reasonable walking distance to the MRT (I hate taking feeder buses), how broke I'd be when I sold my soul to HDB, COV, HSBC and other acroymns you read about when people talk about flats, plus other factors.

Having been here a month and a half, I made some conclusions about why Sengkang sucks, or could suck for some.

Urban planners had put on their Utopia hat on when thinking about the transportation scheme here. They imagined brainwashed heartlanders walking in file to LRT stations, pleasantly smiling and hardly distressed by small platforms and closeness with each other, all fillng up small compact metal boxes headng towards the nexus of Sengkang, the all-hallowed MRT/Bus interchange, the heart of this suburb. But all this of course, doesn't quite pan out in real life. All these peak-hour people stuff themselves into small lego-land trains and fall out at the hub to get into bigger moving boxes. Thank God that it's just the Punggolians/Punggolites/Punggolers that board the NE trains down to the city before us Sengkangers/Sengkangites/Sengkangolians enter. So yes things are a little crowded.

The LRT system itself is kinda screwy. From the hub, the trains apparently can venture off in 2 directions in 2 loops around the estate and passengers have to board this confusion at one of two platforms. So there's a 1/8 chance of picking the optimal train. I use the term "apparently" because I can't sometimes figure the signage out. I pity the tourists.

Why couldn't they split the hub role? Sengkangers/Sengkangites/Sengkangolians don't always want to end up at one place. Why put the stress of populace and sweaty bodies in one place? It would have been smarter to spread the LRT network between Buangkok (Yes, the urban planners and SBS Transit of 'white elephant' fame forgot that Buangkok has people and it's also part of Sengkang) and Sengkang. Then the madness of platforms and directions would have been solved. Residents headed to the city would end up taking LRT trains to MRT stations closer to them, splitting the human traffic and the associated craziness in two directions. (Buangkok MRT station would have opened earlier too instead of languishing in Compass Point - Sengkang hub's dust.) It would be smart to invest in this change even now, as the HDB puts up more Sengkang BTOs.

There is only one pan-Sengkang feeder bus. The rest are trunk services that connect between the interchange and some other housing estate. So everyone generally has to pay extra (I think) to get to work and school. The feeder bus also doesn't really connect all the neighbourhoods because they're thinking the LRT does that job. It does but bus stops are far more in existence than LRT stations, walks are shorter to bus stops and people are lazy or don't want to sweat.

On the bright side, there are 3 express bus services to the city in the morning. I hope they make sense for those paying $3-5 for each daily ride. I hope the CTE morning grind doesn't mess things up.

Well that's the state of Sengkang transport. I mean the nomenclature sucks already (come on, Rivervale, Compassvale, Anchorvale and Fernvale with all the usual street types at the end is more than enough to confuse drivers without GPS) so let's just improve the dynamics.

Flat Post 2 - Cash You Need To Start With

Here's what you need to figure out financially when you're buying a HDB resale flat as a single buyer.

Cost of flat: $X (usually in the few hundreds of thousands). Let's use $470,000.
Cash over valuation: $Y (in the tens of thousands). Let's use $30,000.

So one can't really haggle over the valuation price. Apparently isn't been calculated by certified professionals who have no additional incentive to determine how prices fluctuate. Hard to believe but hey, I am a buyer, so I complain.

If you're keen, put down the option fee. That's $1,000. This amount goes along with signing the Option To Purchase form whereby a deposit of maximum of $5,000 inclusive of the option fee has to be paid in cash. Ultimately, the deposit goes to part of paying $X.

Do keep in mind that if you engage a property agent to handle matters, that's 1% of the valuation price that has to be paid for services rendered. Agent fees, sigh. (One can go at it alone, like I did, save the few thousand for the kick ass TV or kitchen makeover)

Now, you'll need to engage a lawyer to settle the legal backend work that has to happen when one buys a property. The lawyer, well the legal assistant more likely, will also arrange matters between the seller's lawyers, the bank (if any) and the CPF folks. Legal fees can come out of one's CPF so no upfront cash required there.

The next cash whammie that'll hit a resale buyer is the stamp duty. No one really understands what this is for but the tax guys love racking it in. At this point, I googled and found this:

"Stamp duty is a tax on executed documents relating to properties or interest in properties and shares or interest in shares. Stamp duty is payable only on documents described in the First Schedule to the Stamp Duties Act (Cap 312). These documents include a lease, sale and purchase, gift or mortgage of property. It is not a tax on transactions. If the agreement is verbal and no document is executed (signed) for that agreement, then no stamp duty is payable. Liability arises once the document is executed. Hence, even if the transaction has been aborted, stamp duty is still payable on the document." Taken from IRAS website.

For property purchases, the rate is based on steps of $180,000 - 1% on the first 180k, 2% on the next, and 3% on the balance thereafter. So if your property's sale price (that's $X + $Y folks) is let's say $500,000, the stamp duty is $5400 (for the first $360k) + $(500,000 - $360,000) x 3% = $9,600.

Technically, this amount can come out of your CPF but apparently you can't make that transaction till the CPF management approves things, and that can't happen till your lawyer puts in the paperwork for the stamp duty. A bit of a chicken-and-egg situation there. So one pays cash first, then it's reimbursed after the amount is deducted from the CPF.

Somewhere along the way, there's a HDB application processing fee that's based ridiculously on the size of the flat purchased rather than the admin work being done. I paid $60.

If a bank loan is the desired means of mortgage payments, there's probably a processing fee for that too. I can't remember what I dished out but I think it's 0.1% of the loan amount.

Alrighty, here's the mandatory cash component deal when it comes to actually paying for the flat. The almighty HDB dictates the 80-20 rule: 20% of $X upfront and 80% can come from a loan. Out of the 20% - 5% must be in cold hard cash. 15% can come from one's CPF. So with a flat that costs $470K, the cash portion is $23,500. This amount includes the deposit amount, so that's a balance of $18,500.

To sum up, the cash you need ready upfront before you can even think of getting a resale flat bought at $500,000 is :
- agent fees $5,000
- option to purchase fee and deposit $5,000
- stamp duty $9,600
- 5% of valuation price less deposit $18,500
- cash over valuation, let's say $30,000 - that's what's averaging now for 4rm and larger flats
- processing fees - variable, around $500 perhaps
--> TOTAL - $68,600

Yikes eh. Especially if you're going at it alone. And that doesn't include the cost of renovation, furniture and appliances.

Given that the COV is close to 50% in the example, I am sure many will understand my wrath at property agents for asking for the sky, sellers thinking their crap flats deserve monetary exaltation and the gahmen for letting this madness go on.

Go get hitched, at least the burden is shared. And you might qualify for housing grants to offset costs too. United in debt, ever after.

RIP Steve Jobs

I first got the news of Steve Job's passing in the lift on the way up to the office. It was about 845am. From conventional media - television. There is a 10inch screen embedded above the button panel at a rather uncomfortable height and on it plays Channel News Asia all day. The red text on the fixed white bar on the bottom of the screen announced the inevitable. He was 56, younger than my mum which freaked me out a little. But many of us knew that it had to happen sooner or later, Steve was looking awfully gaunt lately. Pancreatic cancer, goodness. It was a tough battle, and Steve won and lost.

Visionary is often used to describe this man. Perhaps he was just showing us what it meant to live by one's own prinicples. Undoubtedly his standards were high, and all of Apple's successes post kaledoscopic iMacs were jaw-droppingly game-changing. Ideas that worked, devices that looked beautiful and worked even more beautifully. Iconic stuff. Exacting standards, some painful, were set in place if one was to achieve glory under his watchful eye, I guess. He created the tech divide, the PC vs Mac eternal battle. And he had his army, legions faithful to this every word, loyal to the brand. If Mac is a religion, then Steve was Jesus. Or Buddha in black turtleneck and jeans.

We're all grateful in some form or other. I am typing this post on a Macbook. I own a iPod and had an iPhone. I don't think I have as many other electronic products from the same brand. Steve Jobs did more for the design and UX frame of thinking than perhaps anyone else.

Well, life goes on. We celebrate the man and his ideas and impact, and always will. Cheers.

Flat Post 1 - Intro

So I finally bought a flat.

It was a long road of searching and eventually committed to a 5 room flat in Sengkang. It's not perfect, no flat really is. This one checked a lot of boxes on my list - 3 bedrooms, 6 minutes' walk to the MRT, 5 bus stops from my nephew (My mum has to be daytime nanny, so close proximity was a consideration). All said and done it's sort of a rite of passage. Growing and getting into debt, like any other working class taxpayer. Admittedly, it still feels like a house, not yet a home. Too soon I guess, just a month since I moved in. To the day in fact.

There were quite a few ups and downs, well, one remembers the downs more, naturally. I'll give the lo-down on the how to get by without an agent and how to handle the damn finances in the next post. Now I'm coming to end of another Law & Order episode and then I intend to call it a night.

Big Bang Theory

So, many people were left quite stunned after a Norwegian 32-yr old left his guns rip at the youth camp outside Oslo. This blond and blue-eyed intellectual, now monster, decided to unleash his angst on innocents in an attempt to teach Europeans about the threat of Marxism and Islam on their homeland. He planned his attack, carefully and methodically. This is the type of guy who's the unsub on Criminal Minds. Creepy shit come true.

People angry with their own people. Not uncommon, with most differences are religious - Shia and Shiites have been at for centuries, British Protestants and Catholics at each other since the time of KIng Henry's VIII. Political and ideological differences are clearly cause for trouble too. Even Greenpeace has got itself into a fair share of scuffles to get their point of view across. We are not meant to get along it seems.

What stood out from this Norway incident is that no one really expected a local to run amok and armed with the intent to kill in a country that's generally very peaceful. That's the danger - not expecting things to go wrong. We had one example in the US with the Oklahoma bombings. Timothy McVeigh was one unhappy guy, upset with his government, their actions and hypocrisy. He apparently regretted not levelling the whole Federal Building (but also would have considered changing the target if he knew there was a day care center there.) Although many people knew about McVeigh's contentious views, they didn't think he would go so far. All those incidents of gun rage in US schools too stem from the same source - disgruntlement then violent action.

Going to far - why not? In this age of bigger and better, a terrorist act is only as big as it's effects. I blame the modern media and the way we consume it. We long for the special, theatrical, mega-super-uber, even explosive. We pay attention to Lady Gaga because she's made it a point to look different each time she's on camera. There are enough talent shows out there to turn any teen into a wannabe-anything. Even the losers and talentless like William Hung and Rebecca Black make people take notice, intentionally or otherwise, because they suck. Funny isn't it. So with money to purchase materials, scientific knowledge available on the Internet to put together an explosive device and enough balls to try something new, almost anyone in modern world can let go his own big bang. Anders Behring Breivik had an agenda to boot. His tweet "One person with a belief is equal to the force of 100,000 who have only interests" speak volumes about his thoughts and actions.

So what can we do about this? It could simply be asking someone if everything is ok. Talking about stuff helps. That's why the SG gahmen wants to be seen as consultative (to varying degrees of success and response) and inclusive. If everyone is treated fairly, or at least given a voice, then we'll likely not need to deal with such dramatic endings. Parents need to keep talking to their kids, friends need to be asking friends stuff, teachers need to be looking out for their students. We all need to appreciate universal good and bad, that some actions are just wrong morally. Opposing views and dissent have their avenues. We all need to keep a level head and eyes open. Please, for all our sakes.

Amy Winehouse

The first time I really took notice of Amy Winehouse was when I heard 'Take The Box' on a Gilles Peterson compilation. I thought she was black, not a white 20-something from Britain of all places. It is a very interesting song, about a woman who's not afraid to tell her man to suck it and leave. And she's returning the Moschino bra in the box. There's the f-word in the song, all the more to sit up and take notice of the song, and the album, Frank, that got Mercury Prize nominated. (Mercury Prize nominations are way more important, I feel, than the Grammys or any of the other popular awards because they don't represent the mainstream, and albums are assessed on their technical arrangements and quality by industry experts and journalists.)

Take The Box


The song that really gets me from Frank is In My Bed. Wahlau, what a song. Once again, a telling-it-like-it-is number with an awesome jazzy arrangement, good beat andsmart, provocative lyrics, a woman being a player. "The only time I hold you hand is to get the angle right" Made me laugh yet knew the world was listening to someone who was ready to change the way female singers were going to be accepted.

In My Bed


She's tattoo-less in these videos, and one can truly appreciate how actually quite beautiful she was.

The next best thing came out 3 years later in 2006 - Back To Black. Most people know the album for Rehab, a sort of ironic look at her life. She then won Record and Song Of The Yeat at the Grammys and that took her stardom to a new level. (She couldn't get into the US because there were some visa issues so she performed via satelite, and I can still remeber how stunned she was when they announced the Record Of The Year award. She was frozen stiff, hands to her mouth. Her band member had to shake her out of the stasis.) Apart from Rehab, the other commercial gems there were Back To Black, You Know I'm No Good and Love Is A Losing Game. The other winner for that album's success was Mark Ronson, who managed to create a old-skool soul feel and yet copy anything that anyone else had done. He got a lot of credit for the work he put in and it set him up as one of the best young producers in the business.

You Know I'm No Good


We all heard about her drinking and drug issues. And her beehive hairdo started looking dirty. Some people blame her ex-husband for introducing her to party drugs. One of my friends commented some years ago she will die young if she keeps this up. And now at age 27, it comes true. Instead of the Internet, I read about this in the papers. The headline made my gut contract, like the tragedy was closer to home. The scant report wasn't comprehensive but it was enough, and slowly I returned to breakfast.

One can only sympathise with the loss of a great talent but probably not with the life choices she made. The funny thing about her death, and Michael Jackson's, is that people suddenly come out of the woodwork claiming to know her well and her death is a great loss to the world. Seriously, those close to her should have done something more to set her straight. No one should leave these alcoholic depressive creative types alone, ever. They need constant supervision like 2 year olds do.

Well, not much more to be said. We'll always have Amy's songs, on wondrous repeat.

Relearning Phones

Some weeks ago, I managed to smash my iPhone to bits. The damage was bad enough for the repair dude to exclaim it was the worst he had seen thus far. The bill for repair would have come up to $225 and the device still wouldn't have worked properly. So I decided to fix the connector to get my data out - a $50 punishment for my silly antics. No more WhatsApp, no more Instagram, no more Scrabble, no more Angry Birds.

My first subsitute was my sister's Blackberry 9500. It was the simplest option available. I decided to take my chances. It has a touch screen and mobile Internet capabilities. I tried installing the Facebook app but it refused to work. It's wonky in the sense the brower has the Starhub logo upon startup while connecting through a Singtel SIM card. Then it started to hang and perform slower than usual. Randomly, it would refuse the data connection.

So I decided to swing the other way completely - I got the lowest end Nokia possible, the Nokia 1280 for $38 from an Ah Beng shop in Hougang. The motivation was not have a potentially wonky phone knowing full well I would not have any music or the Internet. I went forth with my reservist-friendly choice (it had no camera too) (notice the change in tense). I had to SMS with the old skool alphanumeric keypad. It couldn't read my SIM card contact beyond N and so spent a weekend night manually entering names and numbers. I chose sensible tones and updated profiles. All very basic and simple, and refreshingly fun. I later found that I could not hear callers clearly. That was the only real setback for which I was about to get the accompanying earpiece. I had learnt to let go quite effectively and adjusted to the initial technological catastrophe nicely.

A few days ago, I left my precious retro fling in the back of a taxi. It was too late to do anything when I discovered the loss.

Now, I have reverted to my sister's Blackberry in the hope it would last till my upgrade period kicks in - 10 October. What I learned from this experience is that sometimes we attach ourselves too strongly to material things that we feel we cannot live without. I know a guy who went out and got a replacement iPhone within a day when his went missing for fear for further iPhone-rejection symptoms. I was pissed when I lost the Nokia because of the sudden inconvenience and the wasted effort to key in all those numbers. Took a few hours to get over that. It was made simpler when I compared the matter to the incompetence and inefficiencies I encountered on a half visit back to the army for a reservist mobilization briefing.

Perspective - important to re-evaluate yours every now and then.

Moving For Kids' Sakes But There's More To It *Wink, wink*

A friend mentioned she's moving to another part of Singapore in a couple of years. The family is strategically re-positioning themselves to ensure their eldest child gets into their school of choice. One half of the married couple is an alumnus and that makes it a shoe-in for the little tyke to be accepted into the 'prestigious' school. The open-inverted commas are my caveat since perceptions of success are relative. Additionally, my friend mentioned that her part of the island had undesirable influences and I assume she wouldn't want her kids mixing with these crowds (plural because she mentioned more than 1 group of residents she wasn't too fond of).

Her responses were a little startling at first but I could understand where she was coming from taking a deeper look at the hows and whys of the matter. If one has the opportunity and the financials to ensure a supposed better life for one's kids, why not? It's natural for parents to want the best for their offspring. The best sometimes means eliminating potential hazards as opposed to providing something.

I am not agreeing completely with her rationale though. In fact it is somewhat disturbing to think that Singapore society was becoming this polarised based on social class and behaviours. It might be inevitable I guess. Just look at the way well-off New Yorkers make fun of New Jersey folk, or even how some Singaporeans think they're better than Malaysians. Her demographic set probably feels the same way (graduate parents). Parents who have studied longer, hold highly-paid jobs and perhaps are more ambitious in life also want their kids to eventually achieve the same. Once again, striking when there's a chance. I know other friends who have shipped out lock, stock and barrel to new homes near to 'good' schools. Property developers blatantly list school names in their ads to draw buyers seeking the close proximity route to getting their kids into these institutions.

Makes we wonder who then sends kids to regular, neighbourhood schools. Less educated residents? Those without clout in better schools? Do better schools have special teachers and methods that give their students an advantage when every kid sits for the same examination? Maybe mixing with average kids leads to nurturing average kids. I remember my dad asking me to hang with the smart kids. Not sure if that worked out as planned.

Singapore is a small, young country but the social strata have clear splits. Problems may come when those who are better well off fail to understand the needs of those at the lower end of the success ladder. Not everyone can be successful, it's sort of a law of nature in human societies. The questions that become relevant are - is the widening gap between the haves and have-nots making for an unstable nation? Are there even locations in Singapore that the well-off avoid because undesirable folks live there, a ghetto or 'slum' perhaps? What happens when well-off folk happen to congregate in a particular neighbourhood? Do they kids all get stressed out together, competing in good schools? (There has to be a 'worst' class in these schools, right? Law of human societies, remember. I'm sure there are deviants lurking about there too. Deviants with money. Hmmm) Do they deserve a greater say in running the country because they pay more taxes? How obliged are they to better circumstances for those who are not so well-off? As usual, most of this burden falls back on the government but there are pitfalls in our policy of meritocracy that the stated law of human societies cannot solve.

Look at how polarized China has become. Rich urban east versus poor rural rest of country, In my view, it's a ticking timebomb of social unrest. I wouldn't want to see the same here but we cannot stop the innate need for something better. We need to temper it with common sense though, and perhaps with a dose of reality and heart. We can't always get what we want.

Don't Kid Your Kids

It's late on Friday night and I have had too many beers and too much carbo for supper to be sleeping. So while George Michael wails away on Kissing A Fool on the radio, I attend to my much neglected blog.

Twice this evening the issue of slack parenting came up. Well perhaps not slack but more specifically inadequate discipline. I started the day with a tweet on how domestic workers (I Don't Can't Tell You Why by The Eagles is now on) end up carrying the school bags of their employers's kids as they escort the young masters and mistresses to school. A nation of softies I thought were indirectly breeding, inculcating the idea that there would always be someone else around to do the hard work.

Later in the early evening, as my colleagues and I rallied about hastily set up table at Ai Mien Bar at Capitol Tower (cheap beers, not so good service), I happened to end up discussing the way I handle or rather discipline my nephew with a colleague who also has 4 nephews and nieces to contend with. (Eyes Without A Face by Billy Idol is now playing). She expressed that kids these days have changed from running around a restaurant to being glued to a portable device at the table. She remarked that "in her time", the entire family was gathered at the dining table from 6 to 7pm for dinner and conversation. Pretty regimented but it got the meal and necessities settled. No TV, no magazines, no games on iPhones. I replied that kids these days put their energies into the instant entertainment gizmos that promised their growing, hungry brains all the zap and zing they could handled. My colleagues went on to talk about spending time scampering in longkangs and finding spiders among tall grass. (Sting now sings Fragile) Kids today didn't seek these active pursuits, and would rather not sweat while fixated with television or handheld games. What was interesting was the conclusion that parents today, having had lived through tough times and tough love when they were growing up, didn't want to put their kids through such hardship and instead enjoy the best things in life. (It's Gary Moore now, with Still Got The Blues For You) We both agreed that this was not the right thing to do.

Even later in the evening, after more beers and a KIlkenny, this topic was raised among good friends, a couple with a couple of tyrants of their own. They had decided not to over-manja their kids with toys and the like. On trips to the neighbourhood mall, the eldest daughter would bawl and go into hysterics over the many Barbie dolls she could not acquire. (Sway by Michael Buble). Mummy would go to the shop owner to agree with that the dolls in question would be 'kept for purchase later', a secret code for 'yeah, we're not buying anything but my kid is crying so you understand yah'. I went to say my nephew had 30 toys.

Children don't know the value of money. (It's a Carole King song now. One To One) It's out job to teach them. If they're given everything, they won't learn the value of an honest day's work. Or hard labour for that matter. It does them little good to know that each time they cry, they're placated with a gift or toy or ice cream. There's a Bob Dylan song that goes "You can't always get what you want. But you get what you need.". I sing that song to my nephew whenever his whims aren't satisfied. (The end of Oh Very Young by Cat Stevens) (Besame Mucho by somebody. The song has been covered to death)

Trying saying no to your kids and teach them a valuable lesson. Repeat after me "No, you cannot have that toy" "No, you cannot have an ice cream" (Oh Very Young by Cat Stevens) "No, we're not going to the playground". When the going gets tough, the tough get going. Our brains need that challenge of adversity to stay tip top. So your kids will be forced to be creative and find solutions. x Hey they may come up a creative solution to spend their time or perhaps shoplift (you'll must intervene) or give up (please intervene again). (Hello Darlin by Lynn Anderson trails off to Elvis' Ghetto). Don't do your kids a disservice by giving them all you didn't have. They'll be thankful for it later. (Housemartins with Caravan Of Love end this literary spurt)

Lunchtime Thinking - Hiring People

I think somewhere along the last 2 years I was in a conversation about how hiring is done. This got rekindled today over lunch with an ex-colleague and I think it bears repeating, if not, laughing/pondering over. Applies to big bosses, not small in-between fry.

There are 2 kinds of people at work, two opposites each of intelligence and dilligence - smart, stupid, lazy and hardworking. And usually people aren't just one thing but a combination of both. So we have 4 combinations to classifiy people in the office:
- smart and hardworking
- smart and lazy
- stupid and hardworking
- stupid and lazy

Simple. Now for the diciphering of traits and ambition that will lead to your reasons to hire someone.

Smart and hardworking are great. They know what they are doing and spend time getting things done. Awesome, but because they work so hard, they're trapped in their roles. They mostly become great advisors who churn out 68 page PowerPoints. Love to be asked for their opinions. Moneymakers for their skills and effort, with some leadership potential.

Smart and lazy. Here's a special combination. These guys want the money without the work. They'll put in minimal effort for maximum results. Essentially, they wanna be on top. Late to the work, long lunches, early escapes to the pub. They are go-getters of a different sort. Never happy with paperwork. They are usurpers of power, the silent killers out to get the bosses.

Stupid and hardworking are the workhorses. They get told what to do and they get it done, eventually. There might be some scolding involved but still the end product is good. They make good "slaves". They need to be placated at some level by rewards or perceived privilege maybe once or twice a year. But generally they are happy slogging away.

Stupid and lazy people will destroy your company. Do not hire. They will wreck things and not realise it. Your firm's reputation is meaningless to them and they'll make your photocopier emit smoke and use up all the paper. Do not hire at all cost. Your IT folks might quit as a result of interacting with them.

So in conclusion, and it's a doozy - hire stupid and hardworking people. They have to listen to you, you'll enjoy the power trip/paternalistic love-punish relationship, and they'll get the work done after a few trial runs. The smart and lazy ones are the ones to avoid when hiring a no.2. He/she will be after your cushy chair and will plot your demise from day 2. We all love the smart and hardworking ones and keeping them close is great - they'll love the schmoozing and make you look good. Ta-dah.

After It's Been Said And Done

Over the elections are and we have the results

• 60% approval rating for current gahmen, down 6% from last election
• 6 opposition MPs in Parliament up from 2

The good bits
I think the people have come around to the general concensus that they aren't exquisitely happy with the power that be. So the overall decline in approval is a strong sign that the PAP needs to change. I also think that the 60% figure would have been smaller if not for the fact the PM said sorry a few days before the election. Vivian B also came out to say he was sorry about the comments he made about welfare payouts back in 2007 (thank god for youtube in reminding us of this parliamentary folly). Even WKS reminded us he apologized for losing Mas Selamat. So the whole theme of "don't listen to the opposition because they're dangerous and stupid, and we're smart and know what you need" became "so sorry we hurt your feelings, perhaps we sound arrogant, please vote for us". So the gahmen has got it's proverbial "slap in the face" with the lowest approval rating in a long, long time.

The other thing to be happy about is the how involved people got about politics, especially the internet generation. What apathy? Yes, people may have been attracted to the inflammatory comments spread on various websites and blogs but hey, it takes a kick sometimes to get the engine going. People started thinking more about the political situation they've lived with for decades and now, with the chance to actually cast a vote, had to put some perspective and intelligence behind the cross (or heart-shape or star or whatever) in the box of choice.

The bad bits (and there are several)
With all but one GRC being contested, only one opposition party won its way through to Parliament. The NSP which put up the most candidates sadly didn't manage to put any member through although there were a few close calls. It would have been nice if Jeanette Chong-Aruldoss got in for Mountbatten on the merit of promoting cohesion among the races and also having a fancy name in Parliament.

The joker of the gahmen bunch is still in. MBT and his housing shenanigans have not been adequately dealt with in my books, even though his constituency gave him a low win with a 11% increase in the thumbs down. He better buck up and keep housing in check. We don't care about the half-assed spiel on asset enhancement, we care about retiring with savings.

Mr Chiam took a gamble and it didn't pay off. Well what to do. Voters in Bishan-Toa Payoh didn't give him sufficient support to oust WKS and his bunch of merry men (a few ministers there too) despite the Mas Selamat saga. Sad lah. Singaporeans perhaps have put their head first before their heart when it came to possibly kicking out a long-serving, one-time folly-prone MP. Well Mr Chiam did have a good run at it, having being the dashing, smooth-talking oppostion member in the late 80s (there are many YouTube videos to peruse). His wife who stood for Potong Pasir lost out by the most narrow of margins - 100 plus votes - in a poll where there were 200 plus spoilt votes. How tragic. Anyway, the PAP have been grinding at Potong Pasir since 1984 and now with welcome arms and large purse, its residents can look forward to overhauls galore and perhaps a merge with Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC in 5 years to quell any protesting voices.

George Yeo is out. A victim of politics and the Singapore system. After all the pent up emotion resulted in a 9% swing for the Workers' Party, Aljunites and Singaporeans alike also commiserated in the loss of a good man. In one of his maniacal ravings before Election Day, Lao Goh of Marine Parade asked what George Yeo had done to deserve a potential boot out of gahmen, unlike WKS who let Mas Selamat go and MBT who created housing and transportation related issues. This statement, a vicious sellout of his own peers, nonetheless also bring to light the realities of politics here. George Yeo and his 4 other MPs are out on their bums. No more $15k a month paycheck. Isn't George also PM Lee's best friend? What's a man to do?

So we wait to see how Low Thia Kiang and his wonder team will now take on the PAP and wow us with their opinions and proposals. Viva la democracy!

Can We Vote On The Next Arab Country To Invade Please?

It's getting quite silly now. Some weeks ago, the UN led by the US and other Western allies intervened against the violence set upon civilians by Libyan forces loyal to Gaddaffi's government. To the outside world, it was apparent this set the scene for American and British revenge for the 1983 Lockerbie bombing and the farcical handover by the Scottish government of the only guy ever tried in court for the bombing back to the Libyans for compassionate reasons. The powers with the big planes came round to reassure everyone that only military targets would be, well, targeted. It hasn't been that straightforward has it? Apparently, there have been civilian causalities and sadly, this includes Gaddaffi's grandkids and his son. As a result, there's renewed anger against NATO who is leading the intervention. This reminds me of the time when NATO bombed the Chinese embassy in Belgrade during the Serbian crisis of the late 90s, killing 3 embassy staff and ensnaring the wrath of a billion. So much for laser-guided missiles and satellite imagery. Innocents still die. And the rebel forces are no closer to victory either. (Mentioning rebel forces made me think of Star Wars) This could be a protracted engagement no one except the US and UK wanted to be part of in the first place. Now the sphere of Arab uprising has spread to Syria, another US enemy. There, things have been just as brutal as we've seen or heard of in Egypt and Libya. But what is the West with their democratic idealism going to do about it in the face of the ever-growing mess they've added on to in Libya? Attack? Put it to a UN vote?

Is Yemen next? In the same vein, why haven't they done squat about Somalia, safe haven for pirates galore? And of course nothing's been done about the most famous dictatorship in the world, North Korea. Hypocrisy, maybe. Fear, quite likely.

The right thing to do is sometimes very painful and many are asking if military might was the right course of action here. I guess we can't always do the right thing and sometimes change has to come from within. It always gets tricky when someone else helps out. How messy can it get? Will the help try to take control? What level of gratitude is considered enough when it works out fine? What if it doesn't work out fine, who's to blame?There are quite a few examples of US intervention that hasn't quite gone to plan, most famously the Iraq war. So many soldiers have died, the place is still in a shambles and no one seems to really care any more.

I'm wondering if the parents of these kids flying about in their NATO fighter aircraft worried that their precious little ones (they always are in parents' eyes) are gonna lose their lives for people who may not even care. It's possibly debilitating-ly scary for them.

Not sure if we picked the right fight here. Although I used 'we', I am not sure how the SG rep at the UN voted.

The Internet Will Change How Singaporeans Vote

Ask most Singaporeans if they have had the chance to vote and you'll likely get a no. We've been somewhat numbed into the PAP election banter of 'thanks for the walkovers and we'll now deal with the small noisy eddies of faux contest'. Lulled into apathy more like it, perhaps.

As spans of 5 years went by, the Internet came along and blossomed. Nay, it burst into our lives as we welcomed broadband with open arms and mouseclicks. With the Internet came information and lots of it. Mostly entertainment and some facts. So people could read listen and learn at almost whim and fancy. The Internet also brought rapid one-to-many connectivity. One can today send a tweet or Facebook posting to oh so many people at once, a means of proliferation previously impossible or at least not available to the common man, perhaps only to the rich through TV. Login, post and you're done but more significantly thoughts have been seeded in others. The advent of smaller, more advanced mobile devices also added to this convenience. Info on-the-go, info in and info out, everyone in touch.

This is how the Internet is going to determine how the Singapore election will play out with a generation who has not known conventional politics or even dared form an opinion about the gahmen. Their source of information is quite simply going to be the Internet. We're practically the most wired country on Earth and there's more mobile phone per capita here than anywhere else. All this connectivity already changing the way we find and get information, sometimes whether we like it or not. I can't help it if my Facebook friend goes profane on a post, I see it too. On-the-fly alerts to our mobile devices let us know which friend has checked in where - information we perhaps didn't even need to know but we accept and raise an eyebrow at anyway. So everyone's going to learn and hear about SG politics and all that goes on in the same way, from our beloved instantaneous sources.

Admittedly, most of the news out there is anti-PAP. The links I click on and retweet mostly lead to information on how the PAP has screwed various aspects of Singaporeans' lives. I can't recall a pro-PAP tweet. By nature, we are drawn to bad news, that of scandal, impropriety and wrongdoings - the same way we are drawn to gossip and melodrama. So with bad news about the PAP gushing from the Internet, we are inescapably drawn into the whirlpool of anti-gahmen sentiment as slurp up the videos, posts, articles, tweets, bleats and images.

I suppose the PAP has it's own self to blame. With the policy of unequal political representation which spurred the general apathy, we didn't care and remained clueless because we didn't need to know who was in charge just as long life went on status quo. Now that the bull's been released from the stifling pen, hordes of first time, tech-savvy voters will inevitably turn to instant media to learn about their options just as they do with everything else, and get sucked into the Internet-based anti-gahmen sensationalism, truthful or otherwise.

The bubble's burst, finally, with little hope of reining in the flow. How wonderful.

#sgelections

Wanna Mess With Baked Regularity? Sure

Singapore is not a country of second chances. The meritocratic system we grew up with doesn't applaud failures and wishes them the best. So unfortunately our size and miniscule population doesn't allow for avenues for experimentation, so kids aim for tertiary education at the staunch behest of their parents so that they get a great job and make big money. (The pursuit of material validation for one's successes is an inevitable result of meritocracy, else why would we go through with it? So kids get PSPs when they pass exams and adults hope for big bonuses) If one doesn't comply somewhere along the way, one's options become limited by a fairly large degree. And you get stuck and make do. In the general scheme of things, everyone seems to have their place and do so for the greater good of seeing Singapore succeed. Sticking with the plan should get you the best result, generally. If you want to step out of the conformity, you better be darn sure you have a plan or tons of money or want to endure hunger, homelessness and ridicule (well, at the extreme I guess). No second chances.

So what's wrong with voting the Opposition for the sake of having a different voice in Parliament? Ah-hah. Doesn't seem part of the plan eh? Not really sure of what such an ingredient would do to the grand, seemingly fine, concoction of a regularity we got baking these past decades? Like in cooking, you'd never know if you didn't try. I also mean you wouldn't add curry powder to an apple pie, but a dash of a curry spice like star anise could help with a complimentary sensory accent. Clever additions, not wild experimentation.

We're smart enough to judge if we're listening to crap from the Opposition. More importantly, this is also a time to realise if the incumbents have been spewing crap within the baked regularity we've been used to, and have they burned the pie? I hope we're smart to also realise that sometimes rocking the boat makes the captain run his ship with greater care for the passengers. Remember, the folks in the Opposition are mostly the product of the Singapore system too, and hope to make a valuable difference to our tiny country. Like you and me, they would like to be heard. Please listen. Then, with conviction make a choice on May 7.

Election Issues - HDB

I started writing this on 24 April. Most of this has been covered extensively in the last 2 weeks in preparation for Election Day by almost anyone with an opinion. I figure I'd post these notes anyway.

On HDB flats - Firstly, I got a big problem with the gahmen and the general media saying that whatever percentage of Singaporeans own their flats. It's a 99-year lease at most, not freehold ownership. The gahmen can take over "airspace" any time, like any regular building owner can do.

Secondly, we've heard this past year or so that one's HDB flat is an asset. My problem with this thinking is that many do not have the luxury of recategorising this basic Singaporean manifestation of shelter into a money-making entity. Yes, the price of a flat undeniably increases over time but so do the prices of all other properties. If one was to liquidate this asset, finding an equivalent or better place to stay would be difficult. It might need a change of mindset and expectations, like moving out of Bishan to Yew Tee, a sacrifice of location and perhaps amenties. (I heard they are going to build flats in Tengah. Those should be cheaper) Or perhaps moving back into one's parents' flat. Or winning the lottery.

Thirdly, we put all our savings into our flat. Our CPF gets effectively wiped out and we go into debt for 25-30 years at the mercy of a bank or the gahmen. We hopefully manage to pay off the flat and are eventually broke when we want to retire. How does one manage a respectable old age when there's no income? So we will work till we die. Double M came out to say he'd work til the end if he could, instantly erasing any semblance of a dignified retirement for most Singaporeans since almost all he says is gospel. (I forget if we are a functioning democracy with thinking individuals or a paternalistic, semi-dictatorial society of robots.)

Fourthly, I'm a little tired of gahmen help for "couples buying flats for the first time". Yeah, we do want to see more people tying the knot and having babies but seriously, having a decent place to live is for everyone not a select bunch. Why not help singles who are also taking care of elderly parents? Why not take care of single parents? Why not take care of old folks who want some independence? Why not consider the needs of divorcees? So many groups to look after and the focus seems to have not changed with changing times. I got no help from the gahmen in getting my flat because I am over 35 and single. Ageism? It's something all right and I don't like it. Help everyone why not. Why have so many rules to govern home ownership? Are they necessary? What would really happen if we took away some limitations and simplified processes?

Fifth, I would like the HDB to stop blaming resale price rises on market forces and worse still, patting themselves on the back for inventing convulted schemes to resolve their mess. This is a small island and yes, unfortunately, we can't leave everything to ebbs and flows of market forces because our incomes and pay rises don't swing in tandem with what we see happening with HDB prices - 70% jump up in less than 5 years. Has your salary increased by any similar rate?

Lastly, has anyone figured out what happens when the lease runs out? Or what happens when HDB flats start to sell for a million dollars? These things will happen in many of our lifetimes but the answers are needed now.

Pre-occupied With The Buzz

I've been mulling over the fact that I haven't written on my blog much this week, after the flurry of content posted daily last week. Well, work has been a little mad but that shouldn't stop me right? So mad was work that I hadn't gone to yoga this week yet, but that shouldn't stop me from putting fingers to keyboard right? I did some time in the evenings finishing an excellent little book called The Winter Queen. Set in late 19th century Russia, it's about a detective who discovers that a seemingly straightforward suicide is more than what it seems, way more planned, devious, international and conspiratorially criminal. With all the fluid poetry that is that is Russian expression throw in. A nice, juicy one.

Anyway, the other pre-occupation I had this week was electricity prices. In lalaland, these are dictated by the Energy Market Authority (EMA) which apparently sells the rights to produce electricity to companies that produce the stuff and send it to homes. Honestly, very few people I know really understand how the bloody convoluted bidding process works. All we care about is that our gizmos work, the water gets hot and the lights come on when we flip the switch. Then we pay Singapore Power the bill. That's our monthly start and end. Here's my bugbear - for the longest time the EMA has been raising electricity tariff prices whenever oil prices go up. Now that the world is in a state of mild panic because of the civil unrest in Libya, oil prices have shot past the US$110 per barrel mark and this global problem has resulted in our electricity prices going up too. Up 6.1% to be precise. The price rise would be more acceptable if not for the fact that the folks announcing this hike also say in the same breath that most of our electrical production is done with natural gas. So two distinct commodities with two sets of prices but the cost of one is used to determine the cost to you and I of the electricity made from the other. That bothers me. In fact it bothers a lot of people but we don't seem to getting any answers from the gahmen, so maintain that the relationship is correct and apt. Say what? The powers that be then bring up the u-Save benefits that the gahmen is dishing out to combat inflation. The usual "we're saving you from calamity" ruse to get us thinking we're being looked after and there's nothing more to question. Hmm. I got a friend to send me some data off Bloomberg re oil and natural gas prices to analyse their correlation to each other plus their fluctuations in relation to jumps in our electricity tariffs. It's a little tricky because the data is multi-dimensional (different types of oil and gas, spot prices vs futures) and the EMA uses a 3-month average to determine future prices. So a little thinking is necessary.

Perhaps the simplest takeaway I can offer is that I am certain that natural gas prices and oil prices do not move in tandem.

It's as simple as that, and that blows the rational of linking electricity tariffs to oil prices quite substantially out of the water. There's even an MIT paper from their school of economics that acknowledges the decoupling. So let me figure some of this stuff out before I go on further, and send letters.

An Insult To Your Intelligence By Beer

See this ad? It's new from Carlsberg if you haven't figured it out. Splashed across the Staits Times and TODAY, the full pages simply make we wanna scream. I know it seems juvenile but this insult to our collective intelligence cannot go unheard. The friggin spaceman clearly has a suit on, he's on the moon and he's holding a bottle of Carlsberg. Seriously? I am upset because we all know, yes, we all know that picture can be taken but there's no bloody way he's gonna be able to sip his beer without the little problem of erm...dying! What is this, a bloody cartoon? The very audacity of whichever ad firm that proposed this bullshit and whichever Carlsberg marketing dodo approved the thing is plain sickening. Do they think we're seeing Sputnik for the first time or we're befuddled by what's beyond atmospheric range? We have watched movies you know. We have gone to school you know. Look up "effects of near zero gravity and almost no atmospheric pressure" you twits. While you're at it, try to figure what cosmic radiation would do if the thirsty traveller lifted his visor, dumbasses.

Don't throw that creative licence shit at me. This isn't creative, it's a bad idea given an art director's two cent waste of time.

Aargh, unforgivable! Not even clever. Shameless in fact.

Astronauts are usually scientists for goodness sake. In a one creative fell swoop, they have been denegrated to beer addicts lazing on the lunar surface unable to forsee their demise for the sake of an alcoholic drink. If the bugger was thirsty, he would sip from this drink pipe in his space suit. That technology exists.

Perhaps you may agree that my reaction to this advert is precisely what they asked for, a reaction. But I don't try to drink Carlsberg you see. It isn't going to win me over knowing there's a stupid astronaut on the moon holding an empty bottle (which suprisingly hasn't shattered). Nothing grabs me except the sheer crap of it all. And the $ spent on media makes me laugh. Fail, big time. I am most upset. I shall write a letter.

I MIss Old Marche

A bunch of us were at Marche 313 Monday night. Generally we there for the company, ex-colleagues and some still colleagues who meet to talk, laugh and tell stories. although it might sound like the sustenance was secondary, what hit home to me was that this was not the Marche of old.

Firstly, the food was funny. Not quite in the laughing gas way although i have semi- sworn off the sausages ever since a bout of food poisoning over Christmas some years ago. The menu this time was not as varied as before and nothing really seemed to appeal. I was walking around for 15 minutes before deciding on what I thought was a safe bet - ham crepes. It came out tough and worse of all, boring, even rather tasteless. There was no more Marche thrill at the core of their offering - supposedly good food. That was it I suppose, bland food. Almost all the food that we brought to the table for sharing was quite bland. Where was the salt? Where were the spices and herbs, potted plants of which they sold at the entrance of the underground gastro lair? Couldn't the cooks have plucked out some basil and rosemary to accent the food?

And the chefs. Goodness. It was dinner and they must have been tired but some of them let it show. Not quite the same peppy Marche staff we all use to know and love. The pizza guy looked bushed and pasta guy seemed deaf. I asked for the prawn and chili pizza and guy told me the prawns ran out. A friend brought a pan of paella with large prawns to the table, and I was wondering if the pizza couldn't walk over and borrow a few to make me a pizza. Initiative people, initiative! In initial my foray around the restaurant, I passed the hot drinks section where I noticed that a beverage spiced with cardamom was sold. I commented to the guy behind the counter that the drink seemed “quite Indian” and he replied “yes, it tastes Indian”. I was like what? and moved away quickly. It was one strange night.

What's even worse, calamitous in fact - prices have gone up. Not as good value anymore our dungeon of festive fare is.

The Swiss pinot noir was good. Best thing of the night. Yeah card system was the same, though the cards became pocket-sized.

So Marche has run out of kick for me. Even a visit to MOS Burger piques my interest more. Sigh.

Fancy A 4-Litre Range Rover?

I met with some old friends some weeks back, mostly because one of them was going to back in town and someone thought of doing a gathering. Sounds common enough. Out of the 20-plus classmates, 5 of us showed up at a married-couple's house (how many of your JC friends got married to each other?). The turnout rate sounds bad but seriously, my JC class had many non-Singaporeans, mostly ASEAN scholars who are now out and about in the world, doing wonders for their wallet and the world economy. That aside, the bigger surprise for me was the house. It was nice. 3 stories, end of a short cul-de-sac (posh for dead-end), wood floors, and top this - a waterfall plus a pool that goes 2 metres deep. Awesome. I am sure anyone would be impressed at the stroke of good fortune and perhaps good planning to befall this married couple. What more, there was a 4-litre Range Rover and sleek Merc parked under the car shelter. How more well done can you get?

The folks haven't changed though. They're still the same couple - he a little brash and boisterous, she funny at times but always poilte. Nice to know that money doesn't always change people for the worse.

What did bother me though was more of a general perception of the good life Singaporeans want or worse, feel they deserve. Ask anyone on the street and most would list a posh home, cushy car and perhaps some other asset-related entity of great value. The question I want to ask is what have you done to deserve this? Most would then reply they studied hard, made it with some kind of degree and worked hard, paid their taxes and other dues and now were poised to reap all the benefits. Perhaps some were entrepreneurial and this kind of success was a reflection of their achievements. (I've heard that in some churches in Singapore, the leaders have told their flock to simply take what they want, to go get 'it' because as God's followers, they deserved all these riches.). I then want to ask, really, is this what we deserve?

The bigger question is what have we taken, and secondarily, what have we given back.

Maybe I've gone all Amish, Buddhist, environmental or something, but doesn't sustainability concern anyone anymore? I've told a few people that the Earth seriously doesn't need humans, and we've done more harm than good. What sometimes strikes them is that it is a hard truth. We use up resources and we can't give them back. We generate pollution that kills other forms of life. Our greed makes us want to acquire more things, things that have to made out of trees, oil, rocks plants and animals; and we use them, we sometimes need power, electricity or light. More things we don't realise we take because all it takes is a flick of a switch or the press of a button. Things we take for granted.

Just have a short think about this. If everything you use and need had to be manufactured, what was the journey it went through to get into your hands? Take a burger. What resources were needed to make it? And what power (and where did it come from?) was used to create your item of need? Go all the way back, along every thread of packaging, product and ingredient, right to the root, the elemental level. Does paying that $3.50 for a burger now still make sense? Yes, your very life form is a pain in the Earth's ass.

So $3.50 is enuff pay back?(This happens to also be a number from an episode of South Park many years ago. I dunno why I remember this) Perhaps money is the problem/answer and, as we've all been taught, perhaps even brainwashed, more of it is better to have. It sort of justifies our outright wants and demands. You wouldn't believe how many times I've heard "throw money at the problem" in my stint in advertising. We get away with it because we have money. "I make this money and I'll damn well spend the way I want before I die" yes? No sense in being humble I guess with a fat wallet? Eddie Murphy once said that he didn't know he was poor growing up because everyone around him was the same. He probably ended in the wrong neighbourhood one day and realised nah, we gotta get ourselves some money and get outta here! Upgrade! So now we're drinking $8 pulpless juice from $20 glasses now because the dough is rolling in. Pride and greed are the sly twin friends of consumerism.

Living in a city and having just gone into debt to purchase a 123sqm flat in the boondocks I can totally understand the need for lots of money to live this life. I wish I had the $ to throw at this 30-yr problem. But how much can our fancy existence justify our need to take away from others and the Earth? It is a problem of commerce isn't it? The human need for more spurs business, commerce and spins the gears and sprockets that make the world turn. People wake up to go to work for money. This is surely not something you and I can even fathom attempting to reconcile. There's almost no way to change our collective minds. Money runs our lives and it is the root of all evil (Debate topic I had decades ago). Nonetheless, we cannot go on living this way (and worse, imply to developing economies that this is way to live). We're all just hoping that we won't know the consequences in our lifetime. Fingers crossed.

So would I get that big house and big car if I could? The more I think about, the more I wouldn't. Seriously, a 4-litre gas guzzler? In Singapore? Yikes. And that's perhaps what I want to put across in the rant. Think before you buy something. I don't mean turn caveman and start to drink from streams but just spend a little time to assess if you really need something. Be grateful, and use less. Believe me, you don't need everything you think you do. Once you realise that, you'd be happier.

Nasty Chocolate Induced Bug

A colleague came around to, in her own words, "share the fat" of little chocolate pieces she bought or was given. She doesn't have much of a sweet tooth and was glad to dispense out the confections to anyone who responded to her call for snackage. She left me two tiny packets of Toblerone. I opened one up, took a picture of the three peaks of cocoa-based manufacture, and promptly popped it into my waiting mouth. Ah sweet. Hmmm, too sweet in fact.

I looked at the second lonely piece and decided to put it out of its misery. In it went and I was satisfied albeit a little guilty because it was Tuesday, yoga day, and sweets would not make it any easier to get through 90 minutes in a 40-degree high humidity environment bending and stretching. Well I would get through it.

But soon I realised the chocolate was having a different effect, a more ominous circumstance - the sore throat. My oesophagus was quickly giving into the 'heatiness' of the low quality chocolate and soon it was a raging nuclear reactor of pain. Yikes. I knew from experience I had to tackle this ailment quickly before it made a mess of my immune system. I drank lots of water but to no avail. It hurt and worse yet, I could feel that the germs and viruses had won the battle - a slight fever was coming on. I took a Panadol Flu tablet to fortify the defences. But I was slowly but surely succumbing to the infection. I put on a sweater. It felt as if the aircon had gone mad and winter was setting in (though my eyes could see sunlight. Oh dear, that was it. I knew I was a goner.

I did go for yoga and made it through. The instructor had not yanked the thermostat up for fear of scaring off the new students so class was manageable. But the night was bad. I took another panadol flu and sucked on couch drops. I drank water all night, I peed many a time too. No good. By morning, the fever was still sort of there but the throat felt better. I went to work and got a Strepsils Max pack of 6 blackcurranty drops of medical assistance. I was surprised how effective they were. The throat pain soothed out but the inevitable had happened - the flu went up to my nose and sinuses. Breathing is ok but the clog is crazy. I feel as if there's tissue stuffed under my upper cheeks.

It's the same today. At work and stubbornly not seeing a doctor. I probably need antibiotics but I want my system to fight this chocolate induced sickness. I have been taking Vit C on a more regular basis, buffered 8-hr time-release expensive Vit C.

In the meantime, my other frustrations include long-distance arrows at work to do stuff leftover from people leaving their jobs and of course, the repeated realization that the SG democracy isn't quite as fine and dandy as it is. SG elections are coming up and Twitter is all aflutter with comments, speculations and criticisms - so fun.

Good Luck Ms Tin

There's been lots of talk about Tin Pei Ling, the 27 year old upstart to get into the political scene in Singapore. Heralded publicly as the gahmen's tactic to get young Singapore more politically involved, Ms Tin's foray into the limelight has inevitably raised questions about her inexperience and ability to lead.

Pre-reveal, Ms Tin has put on cute antics on YouTube videos and had a shot of herself on her Twitter profile (@tinrina), presenting not quite the straight and narrow private image to the Internet-savvy public. Ironic for someone who wishes to reach out to Singapore's youth via new media, her Twitter account is private. It is a personal account so we may be premature in lambasting her motives, but she follows politically-aligned twitterers so it may not be so personal after all. Someone also has published photos of Ms Tin with her supposed ex-boyfriend and raised silly gossipy crap about her leaving him to be with her current works-for-the-PM hubby. Finally, some tabloid worthy political nonsense out of the little red dot.

(Something that bothered me somewhat was her response to questions about her commitment to duty if she had a kid. She replied she would keep tabs on her work during her time away. Can't mums just be mums and raise their kids while on maternity? Are we so hung up on our paycheck that we can't commit 100% to raising kids right? Well, that response pricked at me for a while. It's over now)

There is little doubt that Ms Tin will get into Parliament, mostly because she happens to ride on the coat-tails of a GRC constituency where votes for a party get all the members of that team regardless of how each member performs or has performed. The true democratic process perhaps lies in the single member constituencies which simply put is each man for himself in the eyes of the voters. Ah true democracy. (An island full of SMCs would be a quite a fun ruckus wouldn't it?)

Personally, I think the gahmen is trying to present a fresh, new face to what they believe is a less-than-mature, not-so-connected public. Not quite right there. My peers are asking why they would vote for a 27 year old. Online talk the day after Ms Tin was revealed was robust, both superficial and intellectual. Amazing I'd say. And they say Singaporeans are politically apathetic. No way, we just like to hide behind the Net.

Well good luck Ms Tin. May the public be kind to you.

An Opposition Triumph

Here's the letter I sent to TODAY yesterday (ironic):

-----------
Looking forward to truly universal suffrage

There has been much talk about the motives of Singapore's opposition parties and we've been reminded to think carefully about our choices for the future by our current leaders. While a realistic plan to see Singapore through uncertain times is important, I think Singaporeans would already be thankful if opposition parties are able to contest all SMCs and GRCs - so that for the first time since 1965, all eligible citizens are able to participate, and understand their responsibilities in a democratic process of electing a government. I am looking forward to truly universal suffrage for my fellow people.
-----------

Not sure if many people get how pivotal this upcoming election is going to be. If we all get to vote, we can all for once say we all voted. That simple act of democracy hasn't quite lived up to its pervasiveness as much as hoped it would have. Till now, perhaps. It also seems that has taken about one and half generations to finally get people of calibre and balls to come forward and stand up to be counted. It's awesome. We should celebrate the whole thing, a truly democratic election. Since the current powers that be haven't been able to give all its people this one simple gift, I credit the opposition for this impending success.