My 2005

Woah.... Tomorrow is going to be 2006!

Oh man. Time seems to be on turbo when it approaches the year end.

It's time like this that makes me reflect on how old I become, yet again. And also how I had spent my time productively(yah, right).

Well, looking back it had been quite a fulfilling year.

2005 marked my first year of independence from school! Had been studying part-time since 2001.... consecutively! From Dip in BA -> Advanced Dip in Commerce -> Year 2 & 3 Bachelor of Commerce from UWA(Unfortunately no chance to visit the campus)

My company turned 1 year old! Sometime when I pause to think, it amazes me that we managed to build a company from nothing. Although it's tough but it is a really good learning experience.

I'm officially married(Dang, Dang, DangDang) and had a super enjoyable honeymoon at phuket. How I wish I'm at the hotel cafe right now, overseeing the beachline. Hmmmm

My friends and I went for my very first all guys overseas trip! No girls to take care of is really a HUGE burden off the shoulders. We can just split up, jalan alone and march the entire day without worrying if the person next to me is tired or not, under the sun or not, need a drink or not. :)

My wife booked a night at The Scarlett Hotel to celebrate my birthday. I am always more of an experience over a tangible person so the experience was really nice. The decor felt like some modern medieval castle interior. I felt like a king in short.

That about sums up my 2005.

For my 2006, I will be looking forward to clearing my #$%^ credit card bills, getting my first car(a black Kia Rio), attending my friend Jimmy's wedding, organizing another all guys trip(Ho Chi Minh?) and bring my wife to a holiday that I'm pretty sure she will be so happy she'll be crying happily all the way on the plane.

I also hope that the company will continue to do well and we could provide good employment to more people. Also I hope that my creativity would be reignited as I realised too much mundane administration recently has moulded my mentality to be pretty comformist.

That's about it. One can't be too greedy you know.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!!! and happy blogging!

Fish soup addict

I didn't know one could be addicted to a boring dish like fish soup but this stall managed to capture my taste buds. I've been having it almost every other day, albeit it can sustain my hunger for like 2 hours before I need to look for food again.

Fantastic soup base & fresh fish slices. The uncle would put lotsa pepper to spice up the soup. You get to choose between white vege or bitter gourd to be mixed into the soup.

I don't know why but I started to develope a love for bitter gourd after trying it at this stall.

The stall's at Maxwell Food Market. Surprisingly there is not much of a queue(that is also the main reason I tried it in the first place. Hate to queue)

A merry present for Union members

Just when you think NKF is leading the headlines, NTUC also must join in one leg and announce that US$12 million has gone down the drain as someone thought it may be a good idea to moderate the cost of living for low income households in China too.

*cough cough*, $$ hike fumes.

At least it would happen before the next GE.


(Extracted from website) FairPrice has grown to become the leading supermarket retailer in Singapore. It has a retail network of more than 100 stores island-wide. Owned by more than 450,000 Singaporeans, it serves the needs of more than a million everyday, and is indeed "Singapores Very Own" Its founding mission to help moderate the cost of living for low income households in Singapore remains at the heart of its operations. With sales of $1 billion in the last financial year......

FairPrice's China hypermart joint venture bows out

Rescue deal offered by FairPrice but parties couldn't agree on terms

(SINGAPORE) Nextmall, the China hypermarket venture of NTUC FairPrice, is shutting down after racking up nearly $80 million in debts and more than $40 million in losses over the three years since it was formed.

Nextmall's eight hypermarket properties are being sold, which should help with debt repayment.

NTUC FairPrice International is writing off the US$12 million it paid for its 33.7 per cent stake in Nextmall. DBS Nominees, understood to be representing DBS Private Equity, holds a similar stake.

The rest of Nextmall is held by China billionaire Liu Yonghao's New Hope Group, real estate developer Dahua, and Taiwanese entrepreneur Chang I-Chang, who owns the Apex group in Taiwan.

Nextmall provides merchandising, management and logistics services to China-incorporated hypermarket operator, Nextmart, for a fee.

'We went in as financial investors to get a feel of China, and secondly to establish our purchasing office in China, which we have done,' said FairPrice assistant general manager (investments) Victor Lim.

'We were not involved in the day-to-day operations of Nextmall which were done by a local management team. It overextended itself, developing too many hypermarkets in a short span of time. In addition, Nextmall also ventured into two mall developments.'

That was partly how Nextmall racked up its debts. Nextmall's management team is headed by Taiwanese Andrew Shen.

Nextmall owes suppliers $30 million; banks, including DBS's Shanghai branch, $40 million; and the developer of a Nanjing property, $6.6 million.

'FairPrice even offered a rescue package to assume the majority stake in Nextmall and take over the day-to-day running in order to reverse the losses, but we could not agree on the terms stipulated by the other shareholders,' said Mr Lim.

Nextmall owned the Nanjing store and took long term leases of about 15 to 20 years each for the other seven hypermarket stores and malls.

It has so far disposed of two stores to Carrefour - in Shanghai's Qipao district and in Nanjing. Nextmall has also assigned its long-term master lease in the mall where its Qipao hypermarket was located to Singapore's CapitaLand group.

Nextmall has also divested its hypermarket store in Yuyao in Zhejiang province. It is finalising a deal to find buyers to take over its master leases for a mall and store in Shanghai's Paoshan district and is in talks to sell three other hypermarket stores in Taizhuo, Shaoxing and Keqiao - all in Zhejiang.

Merry Christmas!

Wishing all my readers a merry christmas and may you not be disappointed by the gifts you received.

My virgin deal...

..closed on Yahoo! auction. Yeah!

Slimming Centres

With the recent increased in publicity, I'm quite sure slimming centres are laughing all the way to the bank.

And why shouldn't they. They professed to have top-end methods and equipments that will help you get rid of your FATS with minimal or even zero efforts!

Wow. That is like me selling you a magic pen and telling you that you will ace your exams with it. Don't even bother to touch your books.

Judging from my figure, I can't claim to be an expert but I sure read enough to know that all medically trained personnels will tell you the same thing.

And that is there are only two ways to lose weight and marie france isn't one of them:

1) Exercise regime
2) Controlled, healthy diet

It is common fact. You even have doctors saying this in articles relating to the ineffective methods done at slimming centres.

YET, so many people still fall traps to it.

You have people on TV going to centres to see who lose the most weight. Celebrities endorsing slimming centres and tablets.

Companies are hoping to woo Fann Wong's fan base by getting her to endorse Xendo. But a true fan would also know that her figure had always been like this since she join TCS 10 years ago. So what is there to emulate here? *scratch head*

Same for Fiona Xie (Zap, zap your $$ to OSIM), Michelle Chia (Ex(pensive)trim). Don't even get me started on Zoe Tay.

I'm sure there would be people out there who claims to feel and witness the difference. Of course. I also feel healthier when I pop vitamin C into my mouth.

We are brought up to beware of strangers, let alone those who are profit oriented to begin with.

"After my Xando, I find that I even look like Fann Wong."

Debt

I think it is becoming a trend now that you would surely see a couple of articles about debts in The Sunday Times. This really speaks volume of how prevailing the matter is.

For someone who is currently sucked into debt, it is really a good weekly reminder for me to get out of this financial spiral.

But even with so much publicity, there are still people who are "immune" to the debts they had incurred just to finance the lifestyle that they surely couldn't afford without credit.

To them, a 20K debt is a debt, a 40K debt is also a debt so why worry about it growing a little bit more?

It's really different school of thoughts. However wrong I feel that perception it, it is really hard to change other people's mentality.

Here are a few sentences that I lifted from the article which I hope could help these group of people make more sense of the picture:

1. It sounds absurd, but there are many people still paying for dinners they ate a long time ago, or for holidays almost forgotten.
2. A survey found that 7 per cent of credit card holders are still paying for spending indulged in the last Christmas. (So that's why I hate xmas)
3. Excessive debt ultimately restricts and narrows many of a person's life choices. It is something to remember while you are caught up in the frenzy of Christmas shopping.

And don't even think it's perfectly ok to buy at a special discount given to your credit card. It may be $10 off the $99 shirt but unless you pay it off on time, that $10 would only be offsetted by the interest incurs due to delayed payment.

Further delays, the interest may even EXCEED the $10 you so much wanted to save on in the first place.

Sucked into debt

Rollover card debt pushes past $2.7b in October as users spend
first, pay later

By Leong Chan Teik
Dec 18, 2005
The Straits Times

AFTER he graduated from the National University of Singapore,
Mr Lincoln Teo decided work could wait.

The year was 1993, a time of rosy employment prospects, so why not go
for a holiday first?
He decided to backpack throughout Europe.

For
that end, he had set aside $4,000 from commissions for securing advertisements
for his school magazine, with his father's help.

To make the trip more extensive, he borrowed $4,000 using a bank
overdraft targeted at fresh graduates.

During his three-month holiday, he spent all $8,000, even though he
went for the cheapest options when it came to food, accommodation and transport.
That averaged $70 a day, a fairly modest sum in Europe, after deducting $1,600
for airfare.

Still, it was the biggest hole he had ever burnt in his pocket.

On returning to Singapore, he found a job almost immediately, as he had
expected - first, as a relief schoolteacher and, shortly after that, as a
marketing executive.

He could not recall exactly when he repaid in full the $4,000 debt plus
interest of between 4 per cent and 5 per cent a year.

That was because his salary flowed into that overdraft account every
month, and there were outflows when he bought shares.

'Credit is a powerful tool for immediate gratification,' says Mr Teo,
now 36 and a vice-president of portfolio management in a bank.

Indeed, that is how it has been for people whose hyper-consumption has
helped push the total amount of rollover credit card debt in Singapore to $2.719
billion as of October. Credit is rolled over when a card holder pays the minimum
allowed every month but leaves the rest unpaid.

Except for September, when the figure touched $2.743 billion, this group of
credit card holders in Singapore are now the most indebted ever, statistics from
the Monetary Authority of Singapore show.

This October's figure is 3 per cent higher than the figure in October
last year, which in turn was 2.8 per cent higher than the figure in October
2003.

It sounds absurd, but there are many people still paying for dinners
they ate a long time ago, or for holidays almost forgotten.

Singaporeans are finding new ways to use debt and repay it ever so
slowly, if at all, which helps explain the growth in rollover credit card debt
from $784.6 million 10 years ago to $2.7 billion today.

In Australia, a survey found that 7 per cent of credit card holders are
still paying for spending indulged in the last Christmas, says Mr Ben Fok, a
director of wealth management at ipac, a financial planning outfit.

In Singapore as well, official figures suggest that it is a relatively
small percentage of people who are responsible for the $2.7 billion in rollover
debt.

About 17 per cent of credit card debt had been rolled over for more
than one month as at the second quarter of this year.

Creative credit

WHILE debt has commonly been used to pay for shopping sprees, people
are using credit in ways that were less common, say, 10 years ago, to fund a
lifestyle that is out of whack with their income.

Like going off on a holiday on borrowed money. Like using an overdraft
to buy a big diamond ring for a bride, says a financial planner.

Like drawing cash from credit cards to gamble on horses and soccer,
says a Sunday Times reader who sent an e-mail last week seeking advice for a
friend who owes $30,000 in card debt.

Or making a down payment on a car, and rolling over the debt.

Or paying for a lavish wedding on top of a home renovation.

These are big-ticket items that some people, or their parents, feel
they must have on a grand scale, ignoring the possibility of disastrous
consequences.

Take, for example, Matthew (not his real name), who spent $90,000 to
renovate his HDB flat and to host a wedding reception.

When he had exhausted his savings, he ran up debt using 10 credit cards
and credit lines. He says money was sometimes so tight that right after he had
paid the minimum monthly sum on a card, he would withdraw the same amount from
the same card.

He sought help from Credit Counselling Singapore (CCS) to negotiate a
repayment plan with his bank creditors, and avoid a potential bankruptcy
petition.

He agreed to have all his credit lines cancelled, live within his
means, and repay $1,200 a month over the next five years, says CCS assistant
director Tan Huey Min.

To sane folks, it would also seem laughable and even outrageous that
some home buyers use credit cards to buy a home.

But that is indeed the case for some.

They have a mortgage and a renovation loan - and credit card debt that
was used to meet the down payment for a condominium unit.

And some of them have been unable to cope with that very expensive
debt, and have turned to CCS for help, says Ms Tan.

When the cash down payment required for resale HDB flats rose from 2
per cent to 4 per cent this year, some home buyers used several credit cards to
pay for the down payment, says Mr Leong Sze Hian, the vice-president of the
Society of Financial Service Professionals.

Mr Teo, the banker, says some small-time businessmen roll over their
credit card debt or use the cards for cash advances to tide them over until they
receive payment for their goods or services. 'Some of them think it's cheaper
than going to loansharks.'

If people are using cards more widely, and in new ways, it is partly
because, at every turn, financial institutions are marketing a wide range of
credit options.

'Years ago, banks were called thrift organisations and savings &
loan associations. Today, banks enthusiastically encourage people to spend,
spend, and spend,' says Mr Fok of ipac.

'We often receive beautiful brochures from banks with messages such as,
'You are in for a very merry Christmas'. Lift the flap and you'll find an offer
for a credit facility of up to $100,000.'

Credit cards are the main form of unsecured loans. Other forms were spawned
in the second half of the 1990s: Ready Credit, Cashline and the like, which
charge interest of over 16 per cent a year.

A more recent innovation is the zero-interest instalment scheme, under
which you pay for purchases such as furniture and holidays with your credit card
over 12 months typically.

Apart from overspending, the downside is you cannot cancel your cards until
you have paid off every cent, says Mr Leong. 'If you have multiple purchases
made over a period of time, you can be locked in for years!'

So, when it is time for the annual fee ranging from $36 to $180 per
card to be paid, you cannot just cancel the cards.

Debt-free card holders, on the other hand, can do so unless the annual
fees are waived at their request.

They can easily obtain a new card from another issuer for free for a
year.

Beyond such examples, excessive debt ultimately restricts and narrows
many of a person's life choices. It is something to remember while you are
caught up in the frenzy of Christmas shopping.

Festive seasons

SO many festive periods are lining up.

Xmas, NY, Hari Raya, CNY.

In Jan particularly, there are only 18 working days. Wow.

I have two big bags of xmas presents in my room now, awaiting my wife to start wrapping them. It must be the first time in my life I have so many things in my room that doesn't belong to me.

I seriously think that xmas are invented by women. Can apply retail therapy with valid excuse. Similiarly, fashion shows are invented by men. Can ogle at other women with a valid license also.

But still, it always feel good to see other people glimming with joy from the little efforts you put in.

So I'm really comtemplating if I should stay in Singapore over the next CNY. Maybe it's just me. I really couldn't stand another put-on-a-smiley-face situation and pretend I so missed the relatives, whom I surely would not be meeting just once a year if I am so close with.

Thoughts about going bangkok did come to my mine. Should be quite cheap. But somehow public holidays come, inflation sets in. That is something my economics lecturer never taught.

So a $200 tour become $400. I'm still calculating how much my outgoing ang pows would costs. If less than that, BKK here I come!

Ministry of Sound

I received an SMS about the pre-opening party of MoS and thought of popping by to check out the place.

The door open at 9pm and this is the queue at 9.06pm. And there is still more but I can't move any backward to capture the entire length.

Not a fan of queuing, I u-turned and went home. Bummer.

Marriage

The Straits Time featured a few articles written by some young chaps on their perspectives of marriage.

It appears marriage is not high on their list of priorites.

Mr Wang also offered his interesting point of view about these youngsters' comments.

But I think he may be addressing the wrong crowd here.

We have writers who is a recent graduate from Poly, one first year student at NUS and two 3rd year from LSE and SMU.

The first one should be waiting for enlistment and the rest still have exams to worry about. They may not even have a clue on what they want to do once they graduate. Marriage?

A bit premature don't you think. ST also a bit extra to interview this demographic on such topics. Might as well interview my 4 year old niece and ask her how she feels about primary school streaming.

OTO Big Foot BF-1000 foot massager

Anyone keen? Feel free to contact me.

Another one bites the dust

At this kind of drop-out rate, I'm wondering if Singapore would have an IR at all.

Lucky we will always have NTUC to fall back on. Downtown South Integrated Resort. We can have more chalets, kiddy rides, fancy pools, theme rides plus a jumbo jackpot room the size of 10 football fields.

With it, we can hold our WCG again. World Casino Gaming. All the experts around the world gather at Downtown South IR to complete in their Jackpotting skills.

Another first for Singapore.

Title	:	Tabcorp, Wynn Resorts withdraw from Singapore integrated resort project
By	:
Date	:	09 December 2005 1945 hrs (SST)
URL	:	http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporebusinessnews/view/182803/1/.html

In yet another sign that the battle to build Singapore's first integrated resort is getting more intense, another two potential bidders have pulled out from the race.

They are Australian gaming company Tabcorp and US-based Wynn Resorts.

The Singapore Tourism Board told Channel NewsAsia that it had been notified of Wynn's withdrawal on Friday.

No details were given.

Tabcorp said it would not be making any bids for both the Marina and Sentosa sites, citing increased development costs as one of the reasons for the move.

The latest withdrawals come just days after Singapore property developer GuocoLand announced that it was staying out of the fray.

Tabcorp said it was seeing the progressive relaxing of restrictions on gambling in a number of markets around the world.

And these new markets are viewed as growth opportunities for the company.

Analysts said they were not surprised by the withdrawals, given the high level of competition and the costs involved to stay in the race.

UOB Kay Hian's analyst, Pratik Burman Ray, said: "I think Tabcorp's pulling is not totally surprising. We have a very strong set of bidders for Marina site and some of the other bidders are some of the biggest in the gaming industry. And they will have a stronger chance. And Tabcorp realises that it has a better use of its capital and investment opportunities in other markets."

There has long been talk that other Asian countries will soon relax their restrictions on gambling laws.

And US investment bank, Merrill Lynch estimates that about 55 new casinos could spring up in Asia.

Analysts said Tabcorp pulled out of the Singapore bid to explore opportunities in Thailand.

According to them, it is possible that the Thai government could allow the development of integrated resorts in Phuket sooner than expected.

With Tabcorp, Wynn Resorts and Guocoland out of the race, there are now five bidders gunning for the Marina Bayfront licence.

Cash-rich resort operators like Genting International, Las Vegas Sands, Harrah's Entertainment and MGM-Mirage are seen as the frontrunners.

On Friday, bidders for the Marina Bay project had to pay a S$400,000 probity check fee each and submit details of their partners to the Singapore Tourism Board.

Markets are waiting for signs as to whether local big names like City Developments and Far East Organisation will be roped in by the potential bidders.

When contacted by Channel NewsAsia, MGM said that it is not linking up with any local partner, apart from CapitaLand - which was previously announced.

Other potential bidders declined comment. - CNA/ir

Small or big, still elephants what

I was reading the sat newspaper and chanced upon another article about the Buangkok issue.

This one tells it from the MP perspective, Charles Chong and it basically charts the period over the past two years surrounding the Buangkok contraversy.

But there is a certain portion of the article that is pretty interesting:

One idea they did consider seriously was to hold a non-official, non-opening ceremony by unveiling a life-size white elephant statue outside Buangkok station on the same day that then-deputy prime minister Lee Hsien Loong was to officially launch the NEL,on Aug 28, 2003. 'No, no, no, I told them. I don't think Singapore is ready for that kind of statement,' says Mr Chong

In fact, he had not wanted to go to the official opening either.But Mr Lee met him in Parliament House and showed him the tie he planned to wear to the event - a white tie with dark blue elephants.

'I'm not sure if Mr Lee had heard about the rumours about the non-opening ceremony but when he showed me the tie, I was delighted,' he says.'I found a red tie with white elephants, so I turned up at the official opening, seated right behind with a smile on my face.

So to all detractors who think that you can't have freedom of expression in Singapore, think again. I never even heard Dr Chee attempting to register his unhappiness on a *gasp* tie.

I am also doing that in fact. I am making cardboard pictures of lifts and hanging it all over my room. So when my MPs come and visit, he can tell that I am not very happy that almost all the flats in Tampines have lifts except mine.

Rising poor

Although economy improves, government is still bugged by widening rich-poor gap. Fabio Scarpello. Asia Times.
Dec 7, 2005

To the world, Singapore is a remarkable success story: a former fishing port, the city-state in just 40 years has turned itself into Asia's second-richest country in terms of per capita income.

Yet, underneath there's another reality that speaks of a widening wealth gap, with most forced to work long hours to make a living.

"There is a growing gap," said Sinapan Samydoray, chairman of Think Centre, a Singapore-based organisation that deals with social issues.

"The bottom 20% of the population earns less than 10 years ago in real terms. Almost 87% of the people are staying in government houses. Sixty percent of the people do not pay tax because they earn too little."

Singapore's social divide increased during the economic crisis that hit East Asia in 1997.

While the average income of Singaporeans fell by 2.7% in that period, that of the poorest families fell by a staggering 49%, according to a paper by Professor Mukhopadhaya Pundarik of Singapore's National University.

However, it seems the problem is inherent in the country's past and present political economy (the production, distribution and consumption of goods and services and their management).

Singapore's success story has been mainly based on attracting foreign investment.

To do so, the country offered top-class infrastructure, a corruption-free environment, tax incentives and - crucially - low-cost labour. The policy has borne fruit.

Multinationals poured in, and the country's economy ballooned from S$8.9 billion in 1965 to the current S$180.5 billion (US$109 billion).

In the last few years, competition from countries such as China, India, Thailand and Malaysia has meant that, to remain competitive, Singapore's workers have been asked to tighten their belts further.

In addition, the new global climate spurned soul-searching among Singapore's political elite, who decided to shift the country's economy to higher-value added activities.

The tougher competition and the shift in economic policy have not affected the country's well-educated and the rich.

In fact, the number of millionaires in Singapore is increasing faster than any other country, according to the Merrill Lynch/Capgemini World Wealth Report in 2004.

Those with assets of more than US$1 million now number 48,500, an astounding 22.2% more from the previous year.

At the same time, the bottom 60% of the city-state's 4 million inhabitants - who are not as well educated or skilled - face an increased chance of unemployment as well as daily hardship to make ends meet.

Singapore's official unemployment rate stands at 3.3%. But, according to a recent Ministry of Manpower labor market report, 66.7% of those still looking for a job six months after having been laid off are people with no more than a secondary education.

"Those who are 40 to 50 years old are really struggling. They have no education to handle the new technology," Samydoray said.

And things do not look too promising. The country's gross domestic product growth has slumped to about 4% from last year's 8%, and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is on record as saying:

"The jobless rate may rise to about 5% in the coming years, as Singapore loses jobs to China and other countries where labour costs are lower."

To make matters worse, as explained by Samydoray, there is no minimum wage in Singapore, and the influx of temporary foreign labour has driven wages down for locals.

"Every employee has [his/her] own contract," he said. "There is no minimum wage and it all depends on how good you are at bargaining.

Migrant workers are not wrong but they keep labour costs very low and locals are stuck. Singaporeans are forced to find two jobs just to survive."

However, long working hours are often not enough for low-paid Singaporeans to earn the S$1,500 a month, deemed the minimum necessary to get by.

For these people, the city's perks are out of reach. Fil Low, a 20-year-old shop assistant at I Nuovi Cosmetics, averages two hours overtime a day but still only makes S$ 900 a month.

"We do not really enjoy our life because of our schedule," she said.

"We can only really go out about two or three times a month. It is not an enjoyable life. Professionals have a good life. For us, it is just making a living."

Lion, 52, drives his taxi a minimum of 12 hours a day, seven days a week. He never goes to a cinema, bar or to see friends.

"I am just too tired and not in the right mood. I work all the time but I still cannot support my family properly," he said, without disclosing his monthly earnings.

Razman, 30, works as a security guard at a Carrefour supermarket during the day and as a personal trainer in a gym three nights a week.

He averages 14 working hours a day, which pocket him about S $1,400 a month.

"I never go out," he said. "I sometimes see my friends in the evening for a couple of hours when I am not working at the gym, but no more than that.

"I am usually tired ... I am used to this. Maybe it is in my genes; my father also worked very hard. Whatever other people do in other countries, we have to do twice as much. It is Singapore's lifestyle."

Sometime you just can't help but think, Do you live to work or do you work to live?

These guys should manage our CPF

Excerpts:

According to Mr Hawazi, Sembawang Town Council is in "very sound financial health" with a surplus of $8.6 million and $233 million in its reserves. Its decision to invest its funds has paid off.

"Our funds with our fund managers have given us a total return of $25 million in the last two years, or a yield of 16 per cent per annum," said Mr Hawazi.

Or maybe we should open up town council unit trusts and make it CPF investible. With yields like this, who needs more REITs?

Checking in

DSCF0014
Originally uploaded by @drian.

Nope, I wasn't at the airport. I was actually at the reception of my friend's wedding.

Details surely wasn't spared.

There is a table full of travelling stuffs.

They got actual air tickets stubs and a photo album that is made to look like one gigantic passports










A bit draggy from the 3rd dish. Not sure why but the couple came out pretty late and had to rushed through the picture taking.

But quite enjoyable. Got to get together with my ex-classmates. Hopefully we don't have to wait another wedding to do so yah?

Election Carrot

Asked last week if estate renewal was an election carrot, National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan, who unveiled Tampines Town Council's plans, would only say: 'I suppose it's a fair question, but the main point I want to emphasise is that the upgrading programme is a major platform promise of the Government and we have made this promise every election, not just this coming one.'The important thing is that we fulfil this commitment.'

That is a very lenght rhetoric for a yes and no answer. For those who can't decipher, it is a carrot and it will continue to be one at every election.

Fair enough but I believe Singaporeans would know it is a carrot. Diguising it with lengthy, out-of-point statements borders on the edge of insult to our intelligence.

Red Bomb Alert

Received this a week ago. I thought it was a promo card from some holiday agency and was about to discard it away til I open it up.
Wow. It's my classmate's wedding invitation card. The theme of their wedding is "Journey of a Lifetime". It is pretty creative of them I must say. The leaflet within is actually parking direction that is designed to look like a boarding pass.

With so much details paid to just the card alone, I'm sure no efforts and expenses would be spared for the actual dinner. I can't wait to witness the grandeur later tonight.

I actually just attended a wedding last month. And another has been confirmed in June 2006. I'm expecting more.

It seems like a common thing for people in the mid 20s. Your friend starts to settle down and get married. A symbolism of a life's transition.

In time to come, we will have kids to take care of and bills to pay off.

It is actually quite hard for me to fanthom that thought. Maybe I never really prepared myself mentally.

I had the same feeling when one of my friend got his own car. He was the first amongst us and we were only 18. One day we were a group of kids sitting on the floor of the MRT heading towards Orchard, having fun and making a mockery out of ourselves. Next, we are sitting in his car being driven to places few people of our age would have the convenience to go to.

Life's transition seemed to be moving at a faster pace than I could keep up with. Just when you yet to get used to a set of responsibilities, another one get thrown onto you.

Maybe it's just my pessimism. I'm glad to have a wife who is so optimistic and teaches me to look at the sunny side of things. And of course, to share the responsibilities with. :p

Fitness & Beyond?

Beyond what?

Maybe that is what I will find out because I am now an EnergyOne member! *ROAR*!

I feel so much stronger and fitter right after I got my membership card. The additional 0.0001 nanogram did wonders to my normal muscular load. Oh yah, they gave me the paper card first. The plastic one needs to wait 2 weeks.

I went to the one at Safra Town Club so excited the very next day.

So bloody excited that I forgotten to bring a tee shirt. Kaoz~~!

I had to borrow a top from an instructor there. Wore a black Energyone Gym polo tee. I must have looked like the least qualified fitness instructor there.

Tried my best to exercise without breaking any sweat and just return him the shirt right after.

Unfortunately, the shirt is so thick it felt I was in a walking sauna.

So "beyond" the gym and into the laundry to wash clothes for instructor.

Big Boyz Toyz = Beri Beri Terok

This is by far the worst car show I had been to. Even the Kia road show I attended at Suntec city seems to be more interesting.

Yah, got car babes. No, I think they are bicycle babes. Calling them car babes is an insult.

It is really a disappointment given that I read praises about it the day before.

Oh well, to each his own.

Btw, I had only attended two car shows so far. This one and another one about 5 years ago. But the one 5 years ago was touted as Japanese Car Show. They actually "imported" actual Japanese Race Queens to be the car babes. Now that is worth the admission alone.

Moreover you get to see quite a few concept cars.

Unlike this B.B.T.z, got electronics, toys, sex toys. So rojak.

I'll see if I could scan in the Jap car shows pics to show you what I mean.

In the meanwhile, save your $10 for something else. I will show you the exhibition here.

Rain and rain and rain

Although it isn't while I'm typing this but I think the situation won't last long.

My plans to roller-blade last week was thwarted because of the weather.

Sianz.

But need to take things in stride.

Cannot outdoor then do indoor.

Not roller-blade indoor lah. My this weekend should be pretty packed. I intend to visit the Big Boyz Toyz exhibition at Singapore Expo.

They make it like a men's fantasy kind of things so will be checking out that place for the FHM babes cars.

My camera is fully charged and standing by. *drool*

Check out the curve!
Car lah~!

And sunday I'm expecting to be activated for manning. Haiz. Why the hell must they have it be located in extreme west of ulu Singapore of all places. It's time like this that I really wish that I have a car.

Somemore I am arrowed appointed to be the detachment I/C. I have to call about 30 people who stays around my neighbourhood.

Some of these guys I think is really hate army or what. No handphone, no pager, only house number. And house number no one picks up or it's always engaged.

It's like trying to shake off a stalker. You move house, change name. But to each his own. Just don't point at me if you kanna charge and go DB hor. At most I promised to water your plants while you are away.

What I learned today

Thoughts are best to be kept up inside.

No opinions = no reaction.

Go figure.

My burgeoning expenditure

I was reading BM's posting about our expenses on mobile and internet. This is something I have always ponder over as well.

Like my friend Desmond used to say, "a few dollars here, a few dollars there, you wouldn't have any much left."

Which is very true.

5 years ago when I was still an NSF, my expenses were:

1. Pager
2. Dial-up internet
3. Transport

= no savings

5 years later today:

1. Handphone
2. Cable modem
3. SCV
4. Insurance
5. Credit cards repayment
6. Family allowance
7. Transport (and soon, a car)

= lagi no savings

In time to come:

1. House
2. Kids
3. And all other expenses that comes with it.

= bankrupt

This is not including the many fine dinings I had within a month(my quota was once a month but I always breach it)

Like I said before, my NS time was considered one of my happiest time(minus the training period). Close to zero committment and not being home 5.5 days a week also reduced my contribution to the electric/water bill.

And maybe that is why I've been feeling not my happy self for quite sometime. Those who knows me should notice the change because even I could see it. I talked lesser, socialize even lesser, gets agitated very easily and became less crappy too.

The stress load of all these expenses and consideration of future ones seems to be taking a toll on me.

Yes, Singapore is an expensive place to live in but it can still be affordable if one is prudent.

Maybe lunching alone these few days gave me much time to reflect on my life. And for once, I begin to miss my old self.

I'm writing this out to remind myself as a pledge to bring my old self back and to do so, normalize my expenses.

And I'm not going to give myself excuses like I'll start next year while I enjoy this xmas. These are simply procrastination which will lead me to write a part 2 on this subject again.

Drastic times call for drastic measures. Apart from externalities, I will :

1. Clear my cc repayment by March 06
2. Keep only 2-3 cc, the rest cut.
   
3. Get a cheaper internet plan once current one expire.
4. Swap for a even cheaper mobile plan.
5. Reduce my SCV plan
   
6. No fancy dinners til March 06 (except my wife bday next month)
7. Source for a tutor, lecturer part-time post at local private school
8. Channel all but bare-minimum-for-survial salary into savings account.

= no holidays, no expensive shirts, no new hp.

No choice, it's tough but if I had exercise prudency back then, I wouldn't have to be doing this.

My wife ate my breakfast

Reason why I should be on track to becoming slimmer.

Her deluxe set breakfast with hashbrown, sausages, two sunshine eggs and complete with a cup of warm milk tea.


Mine...

The price of skipping NS

A lot of people are taking $5K out of context and feels that that is a measly fine to pay to avoid NS and the liability that comes with it.

When it comes to things like this, many also conveniently overlooked the fact that he hasn't put a foot into the country for the past 37 years and his decision was him on the brink of starting a career in classical music.

So to the majority of group of blue/white collars out there, compare apple to apple. Not everyone can willingly give up 37 years away from all the things in Singapore(including your parents) because of a greater persuit.

Nov 20, 2005
Pianist pays NS dues - 28 years later
He is fined for defaulting on his NS after he decides to return, as his aged parents are finding it difficult to visit him in London

By Kristina Tom

AFTER staying away from Singapore for nearly 30 years because he defaulted on his national service, pianist Melvyn Tan has finally paid his dues.

The 49-year-old, who has lived in the United Kingdom for the last 37 years, has paid a fine for not fulfilling his national service duty and will be performing at the Esplanade next month.

In an interview with The Sunday Times, a visibly relieved Mr Tan said that he is glad to have put the past behind him.

He has not stepped onto Singapore soil all these years because he had feared that he would be arrested and thrown into jail.

But his 86-year-old father and 80-year-old mother are getting too old to make the regular trips to London to visit him at his home in Notting Hill, London.

So he decided to take a 'risk'. After informing the authorities of his intention to return, he came home in April for a court hearing.

The hearing lasted 30 minutes but he had never been so nervous in his life. 'It was very, very nerve-wracking,' he said.

To his relief, he was asked only to pay a fine.

He claims that he cannot remember the amount.

Under the Enlistment Act, those who evade national service can be fined up to $5,000 or sent to jail for up to three years, or both.

Although Mr Tan became a British citizen in 1978, he was still a Singapore citizen when he failed to fulfil his NS duties, making him answerable for the offence in a Singapore court.

In 1994, The Straits Times quoted a lawyer who said that one of his clients, a 39-year-old French citizen, was arrested at the airport on arrival, fined and made to complete nine months of training.

Mr Tan, who has an elder sister, was studying at Anglo-Chinese School when he left Singapore to study at the Yehudi Menuhin School in Sussex. He was then 12 years old.

After he finished his course, he stayed on in England to study at the Royal College of Music instead of coming home to serve national service in 1977.

He said: 'When I was at the Royal College and I got my final call-up, I was just on the brink of starting a career. I thought about it and thought about it and realised that I was not going to get this chance again.

'So I made that very difficult decision to not return. It meant I could never come back.'

Mr Tan first made his mark in the classical world with his performances on the 19th-century fortepiano, the precursor to the modern concert grand.

In the 1980s and 1990s, he produced a series of recordings that popularised the early music movement, regarded as a slightly eccentric niche within the music world.

He has about 30 recordings to his name and a regular touring schedule in Europe.

Along with Seow Yit Kin and Margaret Leng Tan, he has helped Singapore to gain recognition on the global piano scene.

The pianist is wasting no time in reconnecting with the Singapore music scene.

He goes back to England tomorrow, but will return early next month to sit on the jury of the National Arts Council's biennial National Piano and Violin Competition, which starts Dec 7 and ends Dec 18.

He said that he is getting to know Singapore, which he describes as 'unrecognisable', all over again. And, of course, he has been feasting on his favourite foods such as popiah.

But the best part about being able to come home as a free man was showing up at his mother's 80th birthday party on Thursday.

His parents still live in his childhood home in Lengkok Angsa, off Paterson Road. 'There were a few tears,' he said. 'She was just delighted. It was the best birthday present she's ever had.'

ktom@sph.com.sg

Bored and pissed

Just when you think your day can't be worst, someone gotta come along and pissed you off.

Now I know why I like to spend time alone. I can't possibly make myself angry.

My new blogskin

Yeah, I know the flowers a bit sissy but I seriously can't find anything better that fits nicer dimensionally.

And I can't find anything more interesting to do on this saturday night either.

Post-birthday blues

Having lived for 26th years, I can confidently say that there are two certainties in life.

1. We are always short of time.
2. We will all die someday.

This always strike me more often than not, espcially when I think back to my happier times during high school and NS. Back then, it's just play and play.

Coming back to reality, I have left school for 10 years and NS for 5.

And this sentiment seems to hit me harder as I'm edging closer to my 30s. And it doesn't help that I'm running through resumes of 16 year old applicants who just finished their sec school.

Much as I think men become more charming with age(think Pierce Brosnan), it still frightens me to know that I may be trading in my pimple cream for anti-wrinkle cream soon.

Am I starting to experience mid-life crisis? hmmmm....

Call me Bond. Charming Bond

My next rollerblade challenge

I shall conquer the 10 km this weekend. Muhahaha

Singaporeans can now take a stroll from one park to another via a 10 kilometre-long connector.

At a Clean and Green Week Carnival on Saturday, National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan announced the completion of the Coast-to-Coast Park Connector.

The connector links East Coast Park to Pasir Ris Park and is just one part of a 170-kilometre long network.

Mr Mah said the whole network was expected to be ready in about 10 years.

At the event at Bedok Reservoir, Mr Mah also launched the 'Green Fingers' initiative to encourage the public to take ownership of the surrounding environment. - CNA /ch

My bday @ Scarlet

My 26th bday cake! :D

What a tiring and fulfilling bday for myself. I'm all shag out now but will ooze out my last ounce of strength and show you what I just came back from. It is a place that will make you turn off about your own house/room.

My full of surprise wife booked us a room at the Scarlet Hotel in Tanjong Pagar. This must be the most stylo milo , traditional western inspired hotel in Singapore. Step in and let me show you:

The entrance to heaven

Wow....

Balls of lighting

I'm thinking of getting this for my office

I saw this in their gym. Towel holder also so stylo.

Onwards to their Jacuzzi. No, this is just the signboard.

Here it is. Can't wait to get in.

*Splash!*


View from the top

If you think these are good, wait til you get to the room

I'm really impressed by the level of details. Just look at the bathroom pic.

Let me zoom in a little bit

Somemore...

I've been to so many doesmtic and overseas hotel. This is the very first time I saw one that provides mouthwash! It's housebrand. Not cheap, albeit it doesn't taste good.

See, all under the "Flair" branding. They sell it at one of their shops but not cheap man.

This shower head as big as my head.

Not only the dustbin have a leather case,

Newspaper holder outside the door also leather!

Not a cheap place to stay in but the level of details is really unparelled.

My only complaint is they gave us a room with two single beds instead of one big one. But it's ok. At least no one to snatch my blanket in the mid of the night. hee

And to end it off, local style:

Our sumptous breakfast.