Category: Everyday News

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Everyday News

Spain Won UEFA EURO, Again

It was the red versus the blue, the Horde against the Alliance.  I wasn’t too sure about the outcome.  Spain could not beat Italy in the quarter-final.  Spain had to go into penalty shootout against Portugal in the semi-final.  I began to have my duda: Can Spain score at all with this new formation?

Image courtesy of UEFA official website

Cynthia and I are happy with the results of course.  We have plenty of Spanish and Spanish learning friends in Singapore.  We have visited Spain twice.   Photographs of last year’s visit are still … in process but you can view the pictures taken on our 2009 trip here.  We practically love everything Spanish.  Perhaps, just perhaps, I may finally get Cynthia into watching Formula One now that the Spanish fever is burning higher than ever.

It was just last weekend when Spanish F1 driver Fernando Alonso won the European race that took place in Valencia, Spain.  At the end of the race, he was meant to cruise to the podium.  Instead, Alonso stopped his Ferrari at the grandstand, with a Spanish flag on his hands, and he paid tribute to the Spanish fans.  Such emotion he was in, it was as though he has won the Championship (which is still a long way to go).  Alonso is a big fan of Spanish football.  I bet he is delighted about the UEFA win.  With the economy black hole Spain is in today, her people could really use some good news.

Some say Spanish football is boring.  Some say watching Formula One is boring.  For some strange reasons, I find either very exciting to watch.  I enjoy seeing how the Spanish football team set up the attack by slowly inching towards the goal through their accurate passing.  There is great teamwork involved and the Spanish team has sufficient star power as well.  To me, the experience of watching football and F1 is similar.  Both take one and a half hour to watch.  The first 5 minutes of a football match is as exciting as the opening laps of a F1 race.  Thereafter, the pace settles down.  Draw in a match to me is like a pole-to-podium-finish in a race.  There ain’t many goals in a typical football match.  Just like F1, there are only one or a few overtakes that truly matter.

Four years ago when Spain won UEFA, I doodled a picture of Torres.  And we enrolled ourselves into a Spanish class shortly after.  This year, I will be doing neither.  Cynthia is still practicing her Spanish.  In fact, her blog entry on this very topic written in Spanish is published faster than mine!  As for me, I will stick with my Spanish guitar.  She needs some love.

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Everyday News

Will “Happy Feet” The Emperor Penguin Reach Home Safe?

What a coincidence.  Those who have read my manuscript submitted for the Golden Point Award writing competition would be in awe by the similarity of how my story begins and the recent media sensation in New Zealand.   I can assure you that my idea is original.  The first draft of my story was written in June 17th.  The Emperor Penguin that found his way to New Zealand was rescued on June 23rd (I think).  Anyway, I had no prior knowledge of such news.  Cynthia said it was a premonition.  I don’t think I am that magical, beyond the realms of Warcraft.  It is a pure coincidence.  And I better make sure that I shall append a small clarification note if and when my story is published.

No one knows why a 3.5 years old Emperor Penguin ended up in New Zealand.  The nearest iceberg – a natural habitat of an Emperor Penguin – is 2,200 km away.  The locals named him “Happy Feet”.  Under the care of Wellington Zoo, Happy Feet has recuperated, well enough to be freed into the ocean.  When I met my New Zealand colleague this morning, I shared with him the happy news.  He was surprised that I am in touch with New Zealand news.  I was surprised that he too is passionate about Happy Feet.  How do you reckon Happy Feet can find his way home, I asked.  Magnetic fields, he answered.    How nice if we could tell directions by sensing the invisible force eh?  Some creatures are oh so smart.

In order to track Happy Feet’s whereabouts, the New Zealand scientists have glued a tiny satellite signal transmission device onto his back.  You too can follow his progress in real time like I do (click here).   I do not know how this story would end.  A few hours ago, there was hardly any update.  So I asked myself, is he still alive?  As of now, Happy Feet seems to head somewhat south.  It looks as though there is still much distance to cover.  Some netizens fantasize if Happy Feet would find his family.  I doubt if we will ever know.  And I have watched enough animal channels to know that the living condition can be harsh down south.  All of a sudden, I wondered: Would it be better if we don’t know his whereabouts at all?  Just take it for granted that he is off to a better place?

Too late for that.  I think I am glued to that website for quite some time.

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Everyday News

F1 Malaysia – An Afterthought

How powerful is KERS, the magic turbo button of a F1 car?  Powerful enough for a horde of cars to effortlessly overtake Webber – third on the grid – at the start of the race.  I felt for Webber, especially after watching the video clip filmed from his angle.  By the time the cars reached third gear, those who got the KERS working hit that button and off they went.  Webber was an easy target.  Without KERS, he was a sitting duck.  Fortunate for pole sitter Vettel, his KERS was working at that crucial start.  Secretly, I was hoping to see Vettel being taken over by the KERS cars and see if he is capable of overtaking some of the finest drivers of F1.  Similar to last race, he simply led all the way from beginning to finish.

Malaysia race track has a relatively long straight start.  Perhaps that flavors the KERS mechanism.  In fact, the long straight flavors the DRS (drag reduction system) as well.  I have lost track of the number of overtaking maneuvers there were.  The fight between Hamilton and Alonso was intense.  Both were handed a 20 seconds penalty after the race was over for different reasons (I have spotted that during the race and was wondering why there was no commentary on that).  The wheel-to-wheel fight between Kobayashi and Schumacher was entertaining.  At one point, I thought Button would have had a good fight with his teammate Hamilton but that did not happen.  At one point, I thought Hamilton was going to win the race.  But that did not happen either.  He could not make the Pirelli tyres – new to this season – last while Button managed to squeeze out two extra laps from those tyres when no one could.  Before the start of the season, one interviewer put his money on Button because of Button’s gifted talent in managing his tyres.  A second position is a good result for the McLaren team.  Given the fact that no one seems to have what it takes to catch Vettel, yet.

In the previous race, we have Red Bull, McLaren, and Renault taking the podium.  In this race, we also have Red Bull, McLaren, and Renault taking the podium.  Instead of Hamilton, we have Button.  Instead of Petrov, we have Heifield.  Where is Ferrari?  The world awaits.  Malaysia race is eventful because some cars had the KERS working, some did not (poor Webber).  Some cars had the DRS working, some did not (poor Alonso).  Tyre factor plays a major role too because when they are gone, they are really gone.  This is working as intend and has added a new layer of excitement to the race.

On the gossip front, would Hamilton eventually move to Red Bull Racing?  Nobody knows.  Would McLaren offer Hamilton a lifetime contract that worths billion?  Nobody knows.  Will Vettel continue to dominate the race?  China F1 could be a challenge to Red Bull if they are still unable to make KERS works.  Looking at the pace McLaren improves the car, the gap may come even closer.  Also, there is Renault that has reversed the exhaust system to blow downwards for extra down force.  Ferrari will try to catch up, for sure.  Looking at those super long straights in China, I would expect the next race to be as exciting, if not more.  How would KERS and DRS work under raining condition?  Perhaps that is what Red Bull needs to buy them more time and develop KERS.

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Everyday News

F1 Australia – An Afterthought

Formula One is a world sport.  An expensive one.  And it does get affected by what is happening in the world today.  The first race of the year supposed to take place in Bahrain.  On March 13.  But that did not happen.  The Bahrain people have a future to fight for.  F1 could well be the last thing in their minds right now.  So, this season, F1 starts in Australia instead.  Cars have stickers saying “We Pray for Japan”.  The Australian crowd together with 100 million viewers observed a minute of silence, in memory of the recent Japanese earthquake.  In front of the TV, I too was silence for a minute, praying for Japan.

Each year, the brains behind F1 introduce something new to the sport.  This year sees the return of KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) and the new DRS (Drag Reduction System).  KERS works like a power booster and it is powered by a battery that gets charged up during braking.  Drivers are allowed to press that turbo button for up to 6.67 seconds per lap.  That translates to up to a 0.4 seconds boost per lap.  That is not a lot, you may say.  Well, take the Australia race as an example, the time difference between the 3rd place Petrov and 4th place Alonso is 1.04 seconds, over 58 laps.  One stood on the podium.  The other did not.  Every millisecond counts, when it comes to F1.

I loved watching KERS in action 2 seasons ago.  KERS was banned last year.  This year, cars like Ferrari and McLaren that have invested in the KERS technology previously (and suffered from it back then) seem to have made it works.  Red Bull has KERS installed, the batteries were all charged up, but apparently, neither of the two drivers pressed that magic button during the entire race.  Vettel, the ever so mischievous young dude (cocky may be a better word) wanted to keep the press guessing on whether or not he has used that magic button during the Australia race.  Words are out that the 2010 constructor champion Red Bull is still trying to make KERS work.  Or the more diplomatic statement is that right now, without KERS, the car is optimal.  Whatever the case, Vettel’s Red Bull seems to have dominated the race, like last season.  They may have the best F1 engineer today.  And looks like Vettel is a force to reckon with.  A legend in the making?  We shall see.

To the viewers, Vettel’s drive to first position may well be a forgettable race.  He was so far ahead that there was nothing much to report, really.  If not for Hamilton’s car near to falling apart in the final laps, his race to second position would also have been forgettable (except the first lap when he regained the track position from Webber).  Hamilton was in the middle of nowhere.  Not fast enough to touch Vettel.  Not slow enough to be touched by Petrov.  The more exciting part of the race goes to the fight between Button, Alonso, Massa, and Petrov.  When DRS first kicked into action, I was so excited that my heart nearly popped out.  Here is how DRS works.

In a designated section of the circuit, if a car in pursuit is within 1 second to the car in front, the DRS green light on the steering wheel will light up.  The driver will be able to open the flap on the rear wing to reduce the drag and give a little speed boost so as to attack the car in front.  This is to facilitate overtaking.  The F1 stewards by the magic of modern technology decides when DRS can be used for which car.  It is not a sure win battle, otherwise it would have been too trivial.  Some drivers claim that DRS has helped them in some ways.  Perhaps time will tell.

Below is a video narrated by Mark Webber on KERS and DRS.

We could only imagine what a race this could be had Robert Kubica been able to drive for Renault this season.  That serious injury he suffered from the rally race, I doubt if he is returning to F1 any time soon, if at all.  His teammate, the Russian rookie Petrov, has made it to the podium taking the third position.  Renault is looking good this year.  It is refreshing to see a new face at the podium.  The result of this Australia race looks hauntingly similar to the last race of previous season held in Abu Dhabi.  On top of that, it looks as though Petrov is Alonso’s Achilles’s heel.  The same person who denied Alonso the 2010 championship is now denying his podium celebration for the Australia race.  What is going on?  What happens to Ferrari?  And what happens to Mercedes and their drivers Schumacher and Rosberg who both DNF (did not finish)?  One thing for sure.  I am looking forward to watching the next race on TV.  Destination Malaysia.

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Everyday News

Dear SMRT – This Fine Idea Is Not Too Fine Eh?

What a crazily busy week at work, and hence the lack of frequent updates.  I wish I was sipping lemon juice by a swimming pool full of gorgeous looking babes holidaying somewhere at the Mediterranean sea and hey, THAT was the reason I have not been writing lately.  OK.  I have to start separating what is in my head from what is real.  This morning, I saw a car stopped on the side of the road with a punctured tire.  Then I saw another one.  And another one.  What would I do?  What would you do?  I took out my phone and updated my status in Facebook, like what the millions of Singaporeans who suffer from ‘mobile phone syndrome’ would do.  As I drove inside a neighborhood, I got lost, entered into some paint ball or pain ball parks, stumbled onto an outdoor media event full of anticipating photographers and event organizers busy shooing me out of the way.  Then I bumped onto my friend and her husband.  She told me excitingly that she saw one of my cousins, who is now pregnant, somewhere in the crowd.  I was so excited because I have not seen my cousins for donkey number of years, since my sister’s wedding night.  So I pushed through the crowd, eager to meet my cousin.  All of a sudden, I have this urge to pee.  Huge urge.  Mother nature has recalled me back to where I really am.  And I woke up.

That Facebook update still looks very real to me.  I checked my Facebook this morning.  It is not there.  It would have been freaky if otherwise.

You know the drill.  Another dear so-and-so entry.  Have a good weekend!

*     *     *     *     *

Dear SMRT,

I can totally see where you are coming from.  Not all of us are professionally trained to perform the displays of affection in public (a.k.a. PDA), like the Hollywood stars.  Even in movies, not all kissing scenes are created equal.  I struggle to decide who kisses the best on silver screen.  If Robert Pattinson was to look healthier in that vampire saga, I would vote for him and his kissing partner Kristen Stewart.  So, to be fair, Homer and Marge – who recently featured in Playboy – get the golden kiss award from me.  Speaking from the years of kissing experience, I think passionate kissing technique takes time to fruition.  Some couples may have taken a bit to far when practicing on the train.  Should they be fined S$500 if they fail to please the crowd and cause ‘nuisance’?  I think learning how to kiss is like learning how to cycle.  You can cycle all you like inside a HDB void deck.  But nothing beats practicing on the road.  The other day (which is a day many years ago), I was in UK.  It was quite an eye-opener to see a couple passionately kissing in front of my university’s library.  What a lucky dude!  The girl was gyrating all over him.  Now that, is passion.  We need more of such in Singapore.  Personally, I think S$500 is a bit heavy for couples who do a lousy job.  Perhaps lower it to, say, S$5?  To make up for the lost revenue, I would propose a new fine for those who may have caused a nuisance in the train.  Untreated body odor.  How much should this new fine be then?  The current fine for carrying inflammable items is S$5,000.  OK, that is a bit heavy for B.O.  Smoking is S$1,000 while food and drink is S$500.  I would say B.O. is of the similar category of food and drink.  Both are, in a sense, nasal harassment.  If we don’t like what we see, we can always close our eyes or look elsewhere.  I can’t say the same for odor.  What do you think?

When I read the news, it looks as though this new fine of yours is in response to someone posting a video of a couple passionately kissing on the train to STOMP – a citizen-journalism website.  Now, why do we take this website so seriously?  I do not know (lack of better things to talk about in Singapore?)  Let’s not forget that it is the same website that led us to a wild bear hunt.  12 employees from the Singapore Zoo, four policemen, and three members from a nature group spent hours searching the forest to look for a bear.  Did we find the bear?  Had there been one and had it been not as smart as Mas Selamat, I am sure we could have found it, eventually.  No.  The ‘bear’ was merely some PR stuns, which looking at the poor quality video, it looks hauntingly real, like the King Kong in the 1933 film, like my Facebook update in my dream.  According the report in STOMP, the PR company should be fined S$1,000.  I think STOMP should be fined S$1,000 instead.

I adore the now-defunct “Train is coming, train is coming, train is COMING!” jingle.  Alas, what a bunch of whiners we have in Singapore.  And now, the jingle is gone.  For a moment, I thought we were truly unique.  Where in the world would a jingle be played when a train is approaching the platform?  It always put a smile to my face making me eager to board the train and live the day.  So on the record, I love the trainiscoming jingle.  That is original, that is dare to change.  Back to the S$500 fine for PDA, I wanted to propose dedicating a section of the train for the open-minded passengers who are OK with couples practice kissing on the train – same sex, different sexes.  Now, that is bold, and original.  Singapore Tourism Board would love it.  But looking at how the jingle is being shot down by the public, this too looks like a no-go.

I don’t envy your job.

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Everyday News

We’ll Vote for Earth Hour, And You?

A farewell lunch, couple of days ago.  We dined at an Indian restaurant, next to the Singapore River.  Delicious buffet.  And we chatted, on the topic of parenthood.  With no real experience from my end, I often find the topic far and distant.  Maybe my mind was preoccupied with the drafting of this blog entry.  That day, I found the conversation on raising children from a father’s perspective interesting.  The challenges and hardship involved.  And hence, I am dedicating this entry to my parents.  For they have provided me an environment, grow and nurture me to what I am today.  I turn out OK, I think.  So thank you mom and dad.

For a billion years, Planet Earth has provided life form an environment to grow and to evolve.  Couple of years ago, I read an interesting article from the magazine Scientific American.  It said that Milky Way is a darn harsh environment.  Having any possibility of a sustainable life form is close to zero.  But here we are, living and breathing in Planet Earth.  Miracles.

I too want to save the polar bears and the penguins, Himalaya and the ice cap.  Reality is, climate change is happening, right here, right now.  Maybe nothing would drastically change in the near decades or centuries.  Maybe weather would indeed go chaotic as predicated.  Maybe coastal countries and cities would disappear.  Maybe for years to come, we would still be arguing on the connection between the way we consume resources and the climate change.  Just like today, we still do not agree firmly that smoking kills and get rid of those harmful products for good.

What does switching off the light at 8.30pm local time this Saturday for an hour mean to you?  To me, it means more than a message sent to the world leaders that we care.  And to that extend – no disrespect to those who are planning to have a good time and party – I find it hard to reconcile taking a drive down to the city center (to join the roadshow) with the action of turning off non-essential lights and electrical appliances for one hour.

I think this Earth Hour can be a rewarding experience to break our routine.  I will be staying at home, with candle lights, maybe play some music with my guitar, maybe play some card games, may be read some Shakespeare with Cynthia, maybe crack our brains on the topic of “10 Things I Hate Love About You” (I probably need more than an hour for the last item!).  In the movie “The Day The Earth Stood Still”, the character played by Keanu Reeves said that he was there to save the Earth.  By that he meant to eliminate all mankind from this planet.  A pretty profound thought, I think.

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Everyday News Whacky Thoughts

Comic Relief – 5 Ways to Beat Electricity Price Hikes (And You Don’t Have to Sweat About It)

By now, you must have read 101 ways on how to cut back on this and that to save $$.  But do we have to go down that path?  All we need are some workable innovative ideas.  Something sustainable, something … fun.

What triggered my thought is probably this.  I have done what I can comfortably do (and no, I still love my air con) and yet I am slammed with this new 20%+ hike that cancels out all my effort.  If you are new to Singapore, our utility board actually charts our usage for us and tells us how far off we are from the national average.  As you can see, my usage has a downward trend, sort of.

#1 Office Electricity is Free (Duh!)

As duh as it sounds, we don’t pay for the electricity bill in the office.  It is already factored into the reduction of our salaries.  Most people I reckon reach home at 7pm, sleep at midnight.  So there is a window of 5 hours worth of light and air-con bills you have to pay for.  Imagine this.  Why not stay in the office for an extra hour to enjoy the air-con and light and pretend to work while browsing WilfridWong.com?  Your boss may even promote you for your dedication to work.  That is a 20% saving my friend.

Note: Feel free to replace the word office with library if that makes more sense to you.

#2 Make Love Not Waste Electricity

You may consider this if #1 has a negative impact to your work life balance.  And in conjunction, you can even achieve a 40% saving!  Unless you are the type who prefer to spend your romantic moments with your partner in your bedroom as bright as the F1 circuit in Singapore, chances are you will be able to save an hour worth of light and TV electricity bills on a near-daily basis.  If you need advice on how to extend your performance, there is even a book titled “How to Make Love All Night: And Drive a Woman Wild!” – 4 stars in Amazon.com.

Note: If #2 is not feasible for you, think of some candle light activities (perhaps get more sleep?)

#3 Blog (or Read) 20% Faster

Like it or not, our computers consume a lot of electricity.  My PC at full load consumes 650W of power – more than half of an electrical iron’s consumption.  And if you are busy procreating (#2), you may need to speed up your time with the Internet anyway.

#4 Buy a HDD Recorder

Asking you to cut down on watching TV is just duh.  I know.  So I am not going to.  Instead, buy a hard disk TV recorder especially if you happen to win that 60″ plasma TV from EastCoastLife.  Your favorite “Desperate Housewives” may take up 1 hour of air time but if you filter out the commercials, it is only a 45 mins entertainment.  Time-shift the program and fast forward all the commercials!  Viola.  This shortens the time you are in front of the TV while getting the same amount of entertainment.

#5 Fly Budget

I know, this tip seems a bit out of place but I do wish to earn some spare $$.  Besides, if I do win the Tiger Airways contest, I will have a pair of free tickets to a destination of my pick.  Every saving counts.

So I need to write about my most memorable holiday.  That is easy.  It has got to be my trip to Mount Kinabalu last March.  If you haven’t read my all time highest hit article, here is the chance.  I have included some pictures to share below.

Tiger Airways is currently celebrating its 4th anniversary by having a special birthday fares starting from S$0.04 to various destinations.

Tiger Airways is Asia Pacific’s true low fare airline. It offers passengers not only one of the lowest possible airfares in the market, but safe, reliable and convenient point-to-point air travel as well. Tiger Airways now flies to more than 27 destinations across 9 countries in Asia-Pacific on a fleet of brand new Airbus A320 aircraft.

PS. The proceeds from this ad (as well as any lucky draw wins if any) will be donate to a Charity of my choice – Christ the King at AMK.

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Everyday News

Singapore Won A Medal, I am Ecstatic

Early this month, I mentioned that Singapore needs more good news.  Today, Team Singapore delivers us a silver medal.  I don’t know how my fellow citizens feel.  I am ecstatic.  And in my state of ecstasy, two questions still linger on my mind: What does ‘Singapore will at least get a silver medal’ mean?  And how do you measure Singaporean-ness?

The first question is a strange one.  Of course any country that enters the final match will get a gold or a silver medal.  So why this mindset that we would at least get a silver?  No clue.  I have watched the match and I think we have proven to be a worthy opponent against China.  Well done Team Singapore.  You guys have done us proud.

The second question puzzles me too.  No offence to some of my friends who may not regard our national table tennis team members as Singaporean as they could be.  I too come from a far away land and call Singapore my home since 1998 – the year that I sworn in.  Is a one year old Singapore born baby more Singaporean than a new citizen who has sworn in for a year?  Hmmm …

To measure Singaporean-ness, I guess we can only observe actions.  Check these out:

  1. One who is born or sworn in as a Singaporean
  2. … and he/she has done something very patriotic
  3. … and he/she has done something very unpatriotic

To me, only case #3 makes me roll my eyes.  Otherwise, you are my beloved country mate whether or not you have yet exhibited observable patriotic actions.

Last October, I was at the airport waiting for Cynthia’s plane to touch down.  There was a huge crowd with people all cheering.  That puzzled me.  I would be shocked if I was to come out from the gate and meet this crowd.  Some foreigners smiled in awe.  Then I caught the Welcome Back Team Singapore signboard (see picture above).  And that was the first time I heard of Team Singapore.

To those who are in the Team Singapore and are out there in the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, many congratulations.  You all have only yourself to challenge and better.  One world, one dream!

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Everyday News

Singapore Needs More Good News, Perhaps? Happy National Day, and Others

OK.  It’s the first time in my life seeing a Singapore flag sticking up from someone’s head.  Cynthia couldn’t resist to take a picture; I can’t resist not to share.

One great thing about having your website is that you can almost trace back on what you’ve done the same day last year, the year before, and etc.  This year there is no jamming session for me.  Instead, I am glued to the TV watching the Beijing Olympics.  Weightlifting games (Women’s 48kg today) captivate me, move me to tears.  The tearful joy of the Turk (silver), the fighting spirit of the Taiwanese (bronze), and the celebrity-like entrance of Chen Xiexia (China) whose first lifts placed her wide ahead of her opponents.  One moment I was wondering if China was going to participate, another moment Xiexia came in and grabbed the gold medal, unchallenged.

And that is precisely my dilemma here.  The Beijing Olympics seems like a bigger event to me today rather than our National Day Parade.  The Obama versus Hilary race seems like a more entertaining piece of news to follow than our local news.  Even our neighbor’s how-many-times-a-man-can-be-charged-with-sodomy is certainly juicer than anything we have here.  Go Anwar, go!  Reformasi!

Change, we can believe in.  That, is one helluva tag line from Obama’s presidential campaign.  Give the polar bears back their homes.  That, is from my recent video blog.  Thank you for not hating it.  End of commercial messages.

So, in this fierce competition of global news squeezing its way into my radar of current affairs, what sort of local news sticks to my mind?  Mas Selamat?  Certainly.  The rise in the price of a bowl of rice and the arrays of electronic road pricing (ERP) gantries added in around the city center?  That too.  And to quote from a gas station attendant in my area: our oil price goes up in a lift and comes down by stairs. 

But there must be some news worth celebrating, right?  After years of dispute with Malaysia, the tiny faraway island Pedra Branca belongs to Singapore.  The catch is, it is not final, awaiting for new evidents to be uncovered.  From this episode, I have learned a new Latin expression: terra nullius.  It means nobody’s land.  Actually, there is one more for you: a titre de souverain.  Go figure.

Now, back to the Beijing Olympics.  I don’t think it is an understatement that the Chinese has waited for hundreds of years to have a moment like this.  Sure, it is the pride of a nation, pride of a race.  And why the Western’s negative media coverage day after day?  Like my African boss said: If you watch CNN and believe that that is Africa, you are so wrong.

Face it.  There is a reason why the smart ones from the West are moving into Asia for a better career and financial opportunity.  The world is changing; China is rising; not even the Western propaganda is going to reverse that.

Anyways, happy birthday Singapore.  What talking me in this post?!

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Everyday News

Singapore General Election 2006

All along, I thought I belonged to the Yio Chu Kang Single Member Constituency (YCK SMC) because I am closer to YCK MRT (Mass Railway Transit) than anywhere else. I took my “On Government Service” voting card to Andersen Primary School at late afternoon (voting time was from 8am to 8pm) and surprisingly it was pretty empty. I literally walked straight through into the counter A2 whereby they ticked my name and gave me a voting slip. On it, it said Ang Mo Kio GRC (Group Representative Constituency). I was so happy because I would love to be in the same ward as the Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong. His father, the founder of Singapore, was the reason why I migrated to Singapore and I got to vote for him!

At 10pm, I turned on my TV and watched the result coming out on live. I was so excited that Cynthia was calling me a patriot in a nice way. I was logged onto an online game and I was so surprised that there were may PAP supporters within the online community.

Overall, I am very happy with the election result of government party PAP wining 66.6% (what’s up with this 6-6-6 thing and Cynthia’s birthday will be on 6-6-06) and PAP has won 82 seats in the Parliament out of 84 seats. A status quo …