Category: Diary

HK 2014 Day 2 – Chinese Herbs and Local Artwork

Post author By Wilfrid
Post date December 7, 2014
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Dim sum is a traditional Chinese meal. Very much like Spanish tapas whereby dishes are served in small portion, best to share with friends and family. Here in Hong Kong, we can have dim sum for breakfast, dim sum for lunch, dim sum as brunch and dim sum as afternoon tea. Never have I seen dim sum for dinner though. Our plan this morning was to leave our hotel at nine and meet my parents for breakfast. Dim sum style.

All was well except a tiny bit of issue with our hotel room. It was right next to the lifts. As hotel guests travel up and down throughout the night, we could hear the machinery at work and the opening of the lift doors at various levels. Opposite our room was a service lift and much activity started in the early morning. Now, I was stoned last night, oblivious to all the noises around us, including the noisy water pipe above. I was just too tired. My wife who usually is the deep sleeper of the house could not sleep well. So in the morning, we have requested for a room change, stating our reason, and the hotel manager obliged. This is great news. However, packing up our stuffs took time. And we were late for our meet-my-parents session.

What I love about Hong Kong dim sum is that there is a constant innovation in creating new dishes. Like those “flowing” black sesame buns. Or similar dishes in different shapes. Like those star-shaped green vegetable dumplings. For around HK$50 per person (S$8.50 or US$6.50), we can have a dim sum meal in a restaurant setting. Of course it was during off-peak hours and with discount. Still, it is good meal with a good price.

After our breakfast, my mother took us to visit a Chinese doctor who also owns a Chinese herbal store. Not that my wife and I are sick or something. My mother believes that Chinese medicine can enhance health. My wife and I have not seen a Chinese doctor before and I approached the entire episode with a curious mind, and later as I found out, a deep wallet.

As it turns out, the experience is extremely interesting. First, the doctor measured our blood pressure like a Western doctor does. Then he listened to our pulses by placing three fingers on first our left wrists followed by our right. It appears that by listening to our pulses, the doctor was able to diagnose our health status. The 60 years old doctor looks healthy. Rosy cheeks, great skin complexion (for his age), and he wore short sleeves on a winter. What a great living testimony that whatever he does seem to work for him too.

After the diagnosis, he proceeded to mixing herbs for my wife and I. Initially I attempted to count the number of ingredients used. I gave up in the end as it seemed to have taken forever. Perhaps up to thirty different types of herbs were use for each portion. These medicines don’t come cheap either. It was close to HK$2,000 in total (S$340 or US$260) for the two of us, five dosage each.

At one, we met my old friend Alex. Alex and I came from the same school in Hong Kong. By coincidence, we have attended the same university in UK, even the very same college. He was a few years of my senior.

Our first stop was Art Centre for lunch. The view was stunning, overlooking the harbor we could see the skyscrapers on the Kowloon side. We could even see the brand new Hong Kong Observation Wheel opened just yesterday. Alex had a full meal while Cynthia and I still feeling full thanks to our dim sum breakfast, we had scones in rose strawberry jam and cream instead. That was divine in a sinful kind of way.

Knowing our intend to shop for souvenirs for our friends in Singapore, Alex took us around to help pushing the local economy (kidding). We ended up in PMQ, which was used to be a quarter for married police and now, repurposed as art shops and local food outlets. In Singapore, we mostly import handicrafts for sales. Here, artists are using the store area as workshops to create works of art. The atmosphere is phenomenon. For the more successful ones, they open a bigger store nearby, creating art for sales. This reminds me of some artists we have met in Tasmania.

We have walked so much today and by five thirty in the afternoon, all we wanted was to be home. And home we were, waiting for my sister and family to arrive from the airport. Dinner was sumptuous. But that’s a story for another day.

Diary Travel Blog

HK 2014 Day 1 – A Trip Back to Home

Post author By Wilfrid
Post date December 6, 2014
1 Comment on HK 2014 Day 1 – A Trip Back to Home

Last night, I was woken up at two – because my wife tripped over the luggage in the dark, fell badly or so it sounded – and I could not get back to sleep. So I booted up my computer and tried out the new patch from Marvel Heroes. All heroes have received an overall tuning and I was concerned about mine. By five I fell asleep on the sofa. By nine, I got out of the sofa feeling massively lack of sleep. Cynthia got out of the bed before I did. Her wound seemed manageable. It is good to know.

The flight was one in the afternoon. Singapore Airlines. My sister and her family will take the same one tomorrow. I always like spending time in the airport, breathing in the countless possibilities whereby people come and people go. Each has his own destination and destiny, intertwined in a singularity called airport.

We shared choc au pain and a gingerbread man in a cafe, both split into halves. I on the choc au pain and my wife, gingerbread man. God bless its soul.

Inside the plane was freezing cold. Probably for the better. Not even the gems can thrive. I am not into in-flight entertainment, unlike my wife. And I continue with Murakami’s Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage. I have started reading this book a long time back and have restarted from the beginning again because I have forgotten how it begins. It is a good book. Just that my life has so much distraction lately. The good news is that I manage to finish reading it today. I love all of Murakami’s books. This one is no exception.

Because of the ongoing protest in Hong Kong, the traffic around Central is still very much affected. We have landed at five-ish. By the time we checked into the hotel and have dinner nearby, it was nine in the evening. My mother met us in the airport. I feel blessed.

The hotel that Cynthia unknowingly picked is next to a Muslim cemetery. She had no idea. It is cheap, near to my parents’ home, and I was busy playing computer back when she was making the booking online.

I don’t mind the location really. It is at the very edge of my district that I have yet to explore. Across the street and down the stairs is a public swimming pool that my sister and I were used to frequent. Our mother was used to sit at the audience area and watched us swim, for hours. That was before she has took the dive – figuratively speaking – and learned to swim. I always have this impression that our mother has this immense love and patience for the two of us. Till today, I still feel blessed thinking of the good old days.

Three of us – my mother, my wife, and I – had clear braised beef noodle soup for dinner. The food is so delicious. Why don’t we have something like this in Singapore?

Diary

Let’s Talk About Birthday Cakes And A Birthday Card

Post author By Wilfrid
Post date July 12, 2014
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My family has a tradition. Actually I think most families have the same tradition. They are big fans of birthday cards and birthday cakes. The only tradition I have is to take leave on my birthday. That’s about it. I can’t remember the last time I bought someone a birthday cake, or a birthday card for that matter. I am just not that good at expressing myself. Perhaps I shall start doing something on my sister’s upcoming birthday this August. Something more than buying her a birthday meal. Like every year since she has moved to Singapore.

A birthday card from my 4-year-old niece Bethany. “Kau Fu” means uncle in Cantonese. That’s how she addresses me. Lydia is her younger sister’s name. I think she has signed this card on behalf of her sister. It is probably the sweetest birthday card I have received. Bethany loves to draw with me. In this card, from right to left: me, my wife Cynthia, Bethany (the one with long hair), his daddy Benny, my sister Lora who is holding the young Lydia. So sweet she is.

My sister and I often celebrate our birthdays on the weekend, ahead of the actual date as it is kind of strange to celebrate a belated birthday. Finally, after one long year of renovation – all because her contractor failed to extend working visas for his workers – if I may repeat, one-long-year, her new home is ready for moving in. Not that they really need the place right now because she is staying with her in-laws. But it is always good to have a home of our own. Besides, I would feel more inclined to drop by my sister’s place as and when I like. Right now, I feel as though I would be disturbing her in-laws. The future is bright and shiny. I would imagine spending a morning taking my nieces to the playground downstairs. And then sip morning coffee in a food court nearby. Or just lying on my sister’s sofa doing nothing, enjoying the large living room and their brand new hi-fi. Right now, this new home of their is more like a weekend ‘resort’. It could be my weekend getaway too. At least in my wildest imagination, it would appear to be so.

My sister’s new home was far from ready to receive guests. Yet, she has organized a birthday party for me. I am very touched of course. And there was birthday song. On the actual date of my birthday, my wife and I drove to the west side of the country and met my sister at her work area for a dim sum lunch. It was like an excursion because Jurong seems so out-of-town!

Ever since my buddy TK is on a date with his gorgeous girlfriend Norra, Cynthia and I have hardly seen him. We were used to meet every week for movies. Now he has Norra and we have Netflix. It is all cool of course. For many years, Cynthia and I have been wishing our friend to find true love. They seem to be happy together and that’s all that matters.

What does it take to have a double date with our buddy TK? As it turns out, my birthday is the wild card.

We often celebrate each other’s birthday. He would buy us birthday meals and we would buy his. This year, as always, we took cue from him on where to dine. He has picked a pretty exquisite Italian restaurant. That was like … fine dining. The food was delicious. That piece of lamb. So very tender and tasty.

The best was that my buddy TK has ordered the dessert for everybody in advance, in secret. On my plate, there was a special message written with chocolate. The waitresses (read: plural) as they delivered our the dessert sang the birthday song out loud. I blushed like a red lobster. Seriously, that was my first time experiencing this. I was and still am moved.

Pat and I have gone a long way. She was introduced to me after I have decided one day I should get a life insurance. So I knocked on Prudential’s door and she was assigned to my case. Over the years, she is more than an insurance agent to me and I a client to her. We take turn to buy each other lunch, catch up on our family and work life. She lives a healthy lifestyle and has inspired me to live one. I often joke with her that it is of her best interest that I live long and healthy. A day after my birthday, when I returned to work, she drove by and deliver me a box of Royce’ chocolate. So kind of her. I am not a chocolate eater per se. According to my wife, that is good chocolate. I shall take the less bitter ones and leave the bitter ones to her. My wife loves bitter chocolate.

Then there are a whole bunch of warm wishes streaming from my favorite social media Google+. My mother-in-law who is now visiting Singapore together with my wife bought me a beautiful pair of Swarovski cufflinks, with two very pretty large blue crystals. I wear cufflinks on a daily basis. A perfect gift it is.

I am forgetful when it comes to sending money home for my parents in Hong Kong. At times I wish that they were in Singapore so that I can help to manage their expenses. To help me to remember, my mother once said to me, “Son, on your birthday, remember your mother. That’s the time to send money home.”

It is good to ponder upon that. Not the part about money. But the part about remembering my parents as I celebrate my birthday.

Diary Memorable Events

Not My First Review, But My First Published On A Magazine

Post author By Wilfrid
Post date June 22, 2014
No Comments on Not My First Review, But My First Published On A Magazine

During my blogging career, I have done reviews of various sorts. Like book review requests from the publishers for their online sites. Mobile phone review requests from the PR companies that work with the manufacturers. I have attended movie preview for a local media company that promotes movies and all kinds of products. Miscellaneous write-up on media events. I was used to participate actively on these media events. But nowadays, I am very much retired from that scene, quietly writing stuffs that I enjoy in my website and in Google+.

And then, once in a blue moon, the stars align. All you see is a once in a lifetime opportunity beaming at you from the heaven. It wasn’t something that was handed to me, for sure. It was through persistence with a healthy dose of initiative that got the job done. What am I talking about? Take a look at this.

There is this online game called Marvel Heroes 2015 that I enjoy playing. I would have written a review on my website (in fact I did about a year ago). One day, I was chatting with the editor of Stuff magazine on Whatsapp. He was wondering if I still play Diablo 3 because he has received a game code from Blizzard Asia for a review. That game was fun while it lasted. All of a sudden, an idea has formed.

I have always wanted to see Marvel Heroes featured on a magazine. For some reasons beyond me, I have yet to come across one. Not in Singapore. Not in Tasmania when my wife and I were holidaying there last year. Since my buddy was going to review Diablo 3, why not Marvel Heroes as well? One thing I have learned from my blogging career is that reviewers are best to approach directly to the source. Because I was confident that I could connect the developers with the magazine’s review team, I have suggested that we could do something special that might mutually benefit both parties. Insights make good stories. And the only way to gain insights is through the source.

To cut a long story short, I was asked to write the review instead, as a freelancer. I was delighted for the opportunity of course (stars and heaven, like I have mentioned). Although I have written online reviews for so many years, this is the first time my review goes on print. There was a lot of work behind the scene. A typical game review occupies one page. Because of the insights I have gained through the game developers, I have managed to make it a two-pager. Still, I wanted to give a little extra – for both parties, for me, and for the magazine readers. Why not interview the CEO of the game company Mr. David Brevik, the man behind Diablo 1 & 2 who has revolutionized the action role-playing game genre? And so we did.

That has pushed the entire article to a three-pager, well exceeds my expectation. The final layout and artwork is beautiful. I see my name on Stuff magazine (local edition). Kind of surreal.

The journey has been rewarding, not without hard work. Writing for myself is easy. Writing for others is hard. I have learned so much through this process. For the entire week, I have written and rewritten the entire piece based on editor’s feedback. The end result is a lot better than my first draft. Who knows? I may write another review for a magazine in the near future.

Tags Marvel Heroes, Stuff magazine

Diary

Central Business District, It’s Been A While

Post author By Wilfrid
Post date May 14, 2014
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I used to spend years working in the central business district. I know her every smell. I observe her every change. The people. Her vibes. The fond memories. The not so fond memories. CBD is a magical place whereby you think you have spent a year in it but in fact, you are one decade older. It is a place that could suck the life force out of you. Or from a different angle, you may have poured every ounce of your energy into it. The same old routine. That traffic light. Red, green, countdown to red, green, countdown to red. The same route you take when the sun is beating down onto you. That different route you take when the sky is raining cats and dogs. Promoters. Loud music during lunch hours. Smokers. Dust bin on fire. Old man handing out pamphlets of all sorts to zombified office workers. The same old man at the same traffic light 10 years later. The same old man at the same traffic light 20 years later. He sure doesn’t seem to have got himself a promotion. Looking at him looking at me, he must have seen the same face walking down the street. 10 years later, 20 years later, the same old me. Also not having much of a promotion.

And etc.

At least that is how I felt about central business district.

For the last few years, I have been exiled to a place far away from town. Right next to the airport. The air is fresher (except the time when Indonesia was on fire). The grass is green and plentiful. If I am lucky, I may see a butterfly or two shuttling between the bushes. One plane flies across two buildings as it lands. Another plane flies by. My wife often teases me that I work in a suburb. I did not think that I would be happy in the ‘suburb’. But I have grown to like this unique atmosphere of serenity. A place whereby you don’t get to see that many cars. Not that many people. There too are vibes from where I work. Just a different kind.

This month I am being called back to town and am requested to sit in CBD, in preparation of a potential relocation. I am thrilled by the possibility of an opportunity. People are better dressed there. Food, there are plenty of choices. Healthier choices. There is even a new underground station opened right next to my office in town. I met up with old friends today. The street looks different. New buildings. New parks. I was excited by what I saw so much so that my friend Robert could not help but said, “That building has been here for all this while.” Not in my book. But I kept quiet soaking all in.

It is funny how time apart makes the heart grow fonder.

Sunset at CBD

I took this picture using my phone during sunset at the CBD. Ahead was a huge sun. Much bigger than what this photo depicts it to be. Moral of the story? You can read all about something. Or see the picture, watch the video. Nothing beats experiencing it first hand.

Diary

An Amazing Four Days Of Oversleeping

Post author By Wilfrid
Post date May 13, 2014
No Comments on An Amazing Four Days Of Oversleeping

Since March last year, I have not had a decent sleep. Some days I sleep for an hour or two. Other days perhaps up to four or five hours. I would wake up in the wee hours feeling awake but not totally. I would try to sleep in the guest room or even at the sofa in the living room before sunrise. Mostly a waste of time. Getting through the day has always been a struggle. It all started with a noisy water pipe from the unit above us, which took them months to have it sorted. Then all the noise of door closing, door knocking, and what-not objects hitting the floor – at five in the morning. I am as though being conditioned into someone not needing a sleep by my neighbors from a foreign country. Weekdays or weekends, it doesn’t matter. For over a year, I have been longing for a day to simply oversleep. Or getting awaken by my alarm clock. I know most hate the sound of the alarm clock. I miss the sound. Because I know if I am awaken by it, I would have had a decent sleep.

Over this long four days of holiday, a tiny miracle happens. I was able to wake up at 8.30 am on Saturday, and then later. This morning I woke up at 10.30 am. I feel amazing. I feel like I am on top of the world again. I have started playing my music. And I have returned to blogging.

Hence this post (and the previous one).

Alena - A novel

I have always enjoy reading. Due to my year long lack of sleep, I have stopped reading. Now that I am getting some, I quickly resume one of my favorite activities – reading. What a lovely sunny day today was – a tad too hot and humid nonetheless. So I suggested to visit the Botanic Gardens for lunch. My wife and I had salad and pizza. The table next to ours a father and a daughter with a Shepard dog (I think). The dog was beautiful. He has attracted so much attention from the ladies passing by. Imagine I have a dog just like that! My wife may be right on one thing though. Maybe I am not a dog person. Rather, someone who is into cats. After our lunch, we read books for as long as our bodies could withstand. 3.30 pm, we rushed back home downing a full bottle of ice water and had some ice-cream. Such a warm day today was.

Two weeks ago, I picked up Alena by Rachel Pastan from a local library. Now that I have the energy, I have a go at it. One critic links this book to my favorite Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier. That is a pretty bold comparison and immediately Alena got my attention. I can see the resemblance – in some ways. But Alena is something completely different. I could be wrong. As and when I have finished reading this, I will write an post on this.

One of our favorite Korean actresses.

For four days straight, my wife and I have stayed at home enjoying our long holiday (except that visit to the garden for food and reading). We caught up on our favorite TV series. Like Revenge and a Korean show called My Princess. I love how the Koreans make drama. It is so engaging. It is so addictive. Somewhat like a Western version of The Princess’s Diaries but with a Korean touch to it. I am such a fan of the Korean actress Kim Tae-hee (picture on the right). As soon as I have finished watching My Princess, I have this emptiness engulfing me. It is hard to describe. As though I wanted more. I don’t have this sort of feeling for Western TV series. Maybe that has something to do with my cultural background.

Season 3 Revenge came to the end. Both Madeleine Stowe and Henry Czerny are such great actors. Gabriel Mann acts well too. The rest – including the lead actress – I am not too sure. Season 1 finale was frustrating to watch. Same goes to season 2 finale. It is hard to swallow the fact that the bad guys are winning. Season 3 finale is different. Almost like a bitter victory with some shocking revelation. This whole revenge business is not going to end. Until everyone is dead, I think.

Easy A

After watching that amazing movie called The Amazing Spider-Man 2, I feel like catching up on another one by Emma Stone. The “A” from Easy A appears to be a reference to a classic movie. There is also a reference to the novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Something to do with adultery.

Anyway, in a Gossip Girl style, it all started with a self-spread rumor that Olive (played by Emma Stone) had a one-night-stand over one weekend. A gay boy later on approaches Olive in order to fabricate an affair so that people would think he is straight. Soon, there are more and more rumors for various reasons. What a hilarious movie to watch. Moral of the story? There is none. Just pure entertainment. And what a treat to Emma Stone fans.

I have no idea if my sleeping problem is ‘cured’. I hope it does. Only time can tell.

Diary

A Compilation Of Our Tasmania Holiday Google+ Posts

Post author By Wilfrid
Post date January 12, 2014
3 Comments on A Compilation Of Our Tasmania Holiday Google+ Posts

Last December, my wife and I have visited Tasmania. Every year, we pick a destination to visit. We must be one of the last few couples on earth to embrace new technology. It was only recently when we have started to plan and book the accommodation for our entire holiday in advance and in the comfort of our home.

The magnificent Painted Cliff taken using my mobile phone.

But time has changed. We too have embraced new technology for our Tasmania trip. No longer do we need to carry the heavy guidebooks everywhere we go. Instead, we bought the electronic version from Amazon.com and load them into my Nexus 7 tablet. It is not as intuitive because I still prefer to flip through a book looking for what I want. However, electronic version does have its merits. It is extremely easy to search for a place when all of a sudden, we pass by a town and wonder if it is worth visiting – for example.

In Australia, for A$2 a day, we were able to access the Internet on my mobile phone using a prepaid SIM card. 500MB a day. Tethered that to my 7 inches tablet Nexus 7, there are many things we could do!

For example …

Google Maps. With that, we will never get lost, except when the mobile signal is gone. Still, what I do is to cache the maps for offline browsing. A little bit tedious. But that can be done. Wife doesn’t get stressed up reading a map. I don’t get stressed up driving without knowing where we are heading. It is perfect.

And of course, in every trip we go, I keep a diary. Because so much happens during our holiday, it is impossible to remember all the details. So I write them down, on pen and paper. The reality is that it is very hard to keep a readable journal written after a long day of travel. Most of the time, I can hardly read what I have written!

Google Drive. With that, I can write my journey online, using my tablet! It is perfect because for the first time in history, I can read everything I have written. A little bit tedious to type on a tablet. And when there is no data signal, Drive just wouldn’t open my journal. Still, I can write on Evernote as a backup plan.

And the best of all? Google+ the social networking website, my one and only. Everywhere we go, I take picture using my phone (and my DSLR of course). I transfer the mobile phone photos to my tablet, process them using Snapseed, and on the spot, I can share the pictures to Google+ with a location tag! It is like live blogging on our Tasmania trip. We love it so much that I am going to compile all our holiday posts into here, for our future reading pleasure (because Google+ does not seem to have a … erm … timeline feature).Those that are marked are our favorites.

Tags Tasmania 2013 Trip

Diary

Rice Propagation At Jacob Ballas Children’s Park

Post author By Wilfrid
Post date December 13, 2013
4 Comments on Rice Propagation At Jacob Ballas Children’s Park

This post comes in two parts. Part one on what I have done in a national garden today. Part two on the toad and snake my wife has encountered. We save the best to the last so first, here comes part one.

I am a big fan of corporate volunteering activities, even though some are pretty laborious – at least to an office worker like me. Next week, my wife and I will be holidaying overseas. So why not wrap up this work year with some volunteering work at the Botanic Gardens? As usual, I have little idea on what I have signed up for. The event was in the afternoon. My wife and I took the opportunity to have lunch at the garden. She asked what to do while waiting for me to literally get my hands dirty. I said, why not take a nap and play her favorite Android game Duo Lingo?

We visit Singapore Botanic Gardens often. But it was the first time we visited Jacob Ballas Children’s Park. Admission is not free. And it is – I think – for the children. Hence, the why. There were only a handful of us from my company joining the activity today. We were led by a young female staff who walked a lot faster than we did. Oops. I hope we were fit for what we were about to do. And we have gained access to a restricted area! Exciting. As we walked in, I saw rows and rows of plants that I do not know of. Once we were indoor, I saw this lying on a bench waiting for us.

These are baby rice.

The young staff then announced cheerfully, “Today, we will do rice propagation!” I looked at these two trays of ‘baby rice’ and was wondering, do we need twelve of us working on this?

Turns out we do.

First, we have to take empty pots, put the fertilizer at the bottom and fill them up with soil. Then, we have to move the pots to the bench area where those who were assigned to work with the plant would need to take out three tiny stalks of rice and plant them onto the pot! How fragile these stalks are. All of a sudden, this activity was going to take some time because there were many stalks.

After planting the stalks onto the pots, we would need to water them and transport the pots to an outdoor nursery area where we lined them up on the top shelf, and the bottom. Something like this.

Rice pots!

In life, I seldom take the role of what everyone is doing. So I volunteered to be one of the two transporters. It was a rather tough job. Two of us went around looking for pots from the bench ready for transportation and moved them onto a trolley. We then took turn to water the plant, pushed the trolley to the designated area, and arranged them nicely. Under a hot sun! We must have moved more than 200 pots in the afternoon. Tiring it was, but pretty fun stuff we did. I have a much better appreciation of what goes behind the scene in maintaining such a large world class garden.

Before we parted, one colleague wished to take some pictures of the fruit of our work. Just as I led her into the nursery area, one Indian staff frantically said, “No photo!” We were puzzled. Just when we were about to ask why, he frantically waved his arms and screamed, “Water! Go! Now!” Lo’ and behold, all the water sprinklers were switched on simultaneously! We were deep inside the rows of plants and both of us ran like mad! What a laugh we had.

What’s the point of doing what we did? I learned that each stalk of rice produces six seeds. So I guess by propagation, we help to increase the seed pool.

When I finally reunited with my wife, I asked her what she has done while I was gardening. She told me that she had a half-an-hour nap on a bench (no wonder her eyes were so big when we met). After she woke up, she saw a toad hopping towards her and stopped in front of her. Not long after, there was a snake coming from behind going after the toad and the toad – naturally – hopped away. Both disappeared into a bush nearby! My wife said she jumped out of the bench seeing the snake approaching her.

“Where are the photos of the toad and snake?” asked I. She said none. So I conclude that either she was dreaming of a toad and snake during her nap. Or the toad came to her, woke her up, and warned her of the snake.

OK. One last picture to share. Here is the entrance of Jacob Ballas Children’s Park. All photos are taken using my mobile phone, Nexus 4.

Entrance of Jacob Ballas Children's Park

Tags Botanic Gardens, volunteering

Diary

Talking About Sleeping Disorder … And That Sandwich Store

Post author By Wilfrid
Post date November 26, 2013
2 Comments on Talking About Sleeping Disorder … And That Sandwich Store

According to my wife Cynthia, she has used this very photograph taken during our recent trip to France as her profile photo in one of her company’s websites. Needless to say, that has made an impression among her colleagues; forever known as the croissant girl or the girl who likes French café. OK. I have made the last bit up. But you see where I am coming from. That radiance of happiness for the love of croissant and coffee. Now, how does this photo relate to this blog entry? Stay on. You will see.

This is my wife Cynthia and we were in Paris!

Left home early for work, because I needed to drop the car at a workshop near the city for its 140,000 km servicing. Travelling more than 70 km a day does age the car pretty fast. Instead of working in the office at the east, I have decided to work in town, taking the opportunity to meet up with the business folks. Every time I visit town, I often call up my friend Shauna to see if she is up for lunch. The challenge of being relocated out of the city is that it is hard to keep up with my friends whom I get to know from previous workplaces. Shauna happens to be one of my few dear friends who is willing to meet up, even when we are like 25 km apart (that is halfway across the country!).

Over lunch, she asked if I still paint. I then replied to her that not only I do not have the energy to paint, but also anything else really. Like writing or creating music. Not even playing music. Since April, I have not had a decent sleep. She nearly jumped out of the chair – we were dinning by the Singapore river by the way – and said, “Me too!”.

It turns out that she too has a similar issue. She would sleep for four hours and then for no reason, become awake. Most of the time she would not be able to fall asleep again. No matter how much exercise she does, the cycle continues. I too suffer the same sleeping problem. The good news (all relative really) is that after months of sleep deprivation, I am more likely to be able to drift back to sleep after waking up in the middle of the night. But my sleep is pretty disturbed nonetheless.

There is little the both of us can do. She exercises regularly while I stay out of caffeine all this while. We barely able to pull through the day. And somewhere in our conversation today, she mentioned that she is losing her memory too due to prolonged lack of sleep. I have not done a memory check. However, I would not be surprised that I may be affected in a similar way. So today, I have started to resume my blogging. Even if I – touch wood – lose some memory here and there, so long as I remember the URL of my website, I can always refer to what I have written.

After lunch, I took a walk around Shauna’s new office building – Ocean Financial Centre – and took some pictures. In the past, it was used to be Ocean Building before that was torn down for this new building. I have worked in that old Ocean Building too. A consultant in an accounting firm. Those were the weirdest days of my life. Now, my past has been obliterated together with the disappearance of Ocean Building. I am sure I have written quite a bit of my good-old-days-in-Ocean-Building somewhere in this website, if I care to dig deep through the pile of posts that is.

Before Shauna said goodbye, she told me that the tart from the new sandwich shop near her office is delicious. In actual fact, I have passed by the new underpass just before meeting her and I vaguely remember such a store named Paul. I was attracted by the sandwich filled with brie. It looked so yummy. When I mentioned Paul to my wife Cynthia this evening, immediately she told me that we have visited Paul before, but not in Singapore.

Now, look closer to the picture in this post, do you see Paul? I love to document my life here, be it as in words or in pictures.

Tags sleeping disorder

Diary

Weekly Diary Summary EP01 – From Google+ Posts

Post author By Wilfrid
Post date April 21, 2013
1 Comment on Weekly Diary Summary EP01 – From Google+ Posts

It is happening, however much I wished to deny or defy it. Google+ is becoming my preferred blogging platform. The level of engagement and the quality of discussion over there is phenomenon. In my decades of blogging, I have not seen something quite like that. Not that I am hugely popular in Google+. There is something special about this social networking platform. It is so open, yet I feel so much more comfortable interacting with friends and strangers who most have a real name and a real face against them and are truly passionate about the topics of their interests. Looking back, deleting my accounts from Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn in one go and focus on one single social platform is probably one happy decision I have made. Best is relative. To the least, I am not stressed over multiple platforms feeling the need to cater for the audience from different channels. One is all I need, for now.

Apr 21, weekly summary of G+ posts.

Enjoying the current platform is one thing. I have seen online services come and go. The only thing invariant is the website I host. Perhaps it is worthwhile to write a weekly diary summary in here for my future reference while self-reflecting on the things I have done over the week.

One evening, I was watching Formula One on TV. I opened an apple cider from the refrigerator. And I posted a random picture on G+ as well as in one of the Google Messenger group chats. Interestingly, those who love to drink cider really know cider. They can recognize the drink I was having and talk about the cider that they prefer. Another evening, closed to midnight, I met up with a Canadian whom I have come to know over Ingress. To wrap up the day, we had two cans of cider because we have once talked about cider over online chat. I can’t remember what I drank. It wasn’t as sweet as Somersby. But it did have a certain ‘kick’ to it. My knowledge on cider is limited. Back in UK, the only beer I knew was lager, bitter, and cider. I was not aware of any sub-categorization beyond that.

Talking about Ingress, this week has been an exciting week for this augmented reality game. I popped by East Coast Park and took photographs of the surroundings using my mobile phone. That trip was purely for portal submission and strictly speaking, not playing the game. It is an aspect that allows players to expand the game universe. The next day, I ventured into a park near my office that I did not even know of its existence, if not for my passion to discovery and submit Ingress portals. It was an adventure of its own. Perhaps, more rewarding so was that one particular portal submission has gained the recognition from Ingress. In return, Ingress has given me with an activation code and I can use it to recruit one friend into the game. Sweet.

More about Ingress, there was a huge operation involving agents from Singapore and Malaysia physically shuttling across the borders of Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia in order to paint a large part of our countries green. That was one inspiring operation.

My few-week-old niece Lydia is growing up steadily. I wish I could spend more time with her. But, her three years senior sister Bethany has been getting all my attention, whenever I pay them a visit. Totally understandable. My dad, on the other hand, is actively posting photographs onto Google+. Some dated back to the time when I was still a little boy. I guess my 78-year-old dad is wasting no time to catch up.

Tags Google+ weekly diary summary