Reading Foreign News

Have recently downloaded foreign news apps including those of CNN, BBC, New York Times, South China Morning Post, etc. Interesting to see the different focus of news coverage and the perspectives being shared. And in a huge way, it help me better appreciate the calmness I see in Singapore.

Saving & Protecting People

Just thought I'd capture some ways the government is doing to protect people/ jobs from the effects of the Covid-19 during the period - Singapore style. I will just type what comes to mind and so this post may sound a little incoherent... but here goes:

• Implementing schemes to cover a certain % of citizen's pay so that companies do not retrench citizens
• Implementing schemes to help companies employ and retrain new staff (e.g. retrenched staff, older citizens)
• Implementing placement programes to assist citizens find jobs 
• Implementing programs to place new university graduates into companies to ensure we do not end up having a "lost" generation 
• Facilitate temporary mass-job placements for those affected (e.g. many in the aviation industry such as cabin crew and ground staff are now working as caregiver in hospitals and social distancing ambassadors at public places to ensure social distancing)
• Setting up job coaching/ placement offices across the different estates
• Implementing schemes to help Companies/ SMEs mitigate losses (including rental reimbursement, staff costs, etc)
• Providing citizens & households with top ups/ financial support to mitigate livelihood-related expenses (e.g. utilities, transport)
• Distributing masks (at least 3 rounds executed over last 3 months) to the populace 
• Increase capacity in contact tracing, conduct test for all vulnerable groups and personnel involved in frontline/ critical functions & eventually expanding testing to the larger populace
• Reinforcing public education about the pandemic and how to stay safe
• Encouraging those with symptoms to get tested
• Covering the cost of testing as well as the quarantine for those found infected 
• Keeping communications open and transparent; and clamping down on fake news quickly 
• the list just go on and on.

Lots of programs being put in place both at the national and at the local levels, and the co-ordination between the public and corporate sectors has been very tight and very co-ordinated. The current unemployment rate has increased but I am sure this number has been heavily mitigated due to the programs implemented. I don't think things will get worst, but well, you will never know. Let's keep our fingers crossed. For now, just have to don our mask, keep our distance, practice personal hygiene and let the government do the rest. 

Transition to New Norm?

We have ended the circuit breaker (CB) (Singapore's limited lockdown) period since 19 Jun and things are getting seemingly back to what we saw pre-CB. The markets and hawker centers are getting busy again, same for the roads, the parks, etc. But there are certain distinct differences now - most of us are now working from home, we have to don the mask when outside, we have to observe physical distancing, etc. 

The numbers of daily new infections have decreased to single digits amongst the community now. Even the number of daily new infections amongst the foreign workers have dwindled from mover a thousand daily to the low hundreds. The numbers certainly look very encouraging. And I can also see the many measures the government has put in place to protect citizens, to save jobs, and for those retrenched, to put in place schemes to retrain people. The mood, from my sensing, is still quite positive, thankfully.

As for me personally, the last week since the reopening had been somewhat uneasy too. And oddly, it was because I had gotten used to the CB routines - for work and for my personal life. So, the end of CB meant "new" routines, "new" arrangements, etc. I guess habits once established will need time to change. Have to constantly tell myself to keep my mind open and embrace change as it comes along - retain what's good for me (such as exercise routines), and to learn new skills wherever possible. That, perhaps, is the only way to keep myself sane, and sorted.

:-)

Upcoming Elections

And so it’s finally announced that the Writ of Election had been issued and Parliament dissolved. We will head to the polls on 10 July. It’s unprecedented to do an elections in the midst of a pandemic but thankfully the situation is very much in control and many measures have been put in place to ensure everyone’s safety as we head to the polls.

This upcoming 2 weeks will be challenging for me. I don’t like election period cos there are many very emotional voices that are often very personal and illogical, and behaviours that are downright unpalatable and ugly amongst many voters and politicians alike. And I find these very stressful.

So... I’m gonna totally switch off, stay away from anything and anyone that discusses politics. Will return after elections is over.

Grindr & Confidence

Today, I felt the power of confidence. And I decided to translate this confidence into an opportunity to put someone rude in place. I would not do such things usually as I’m not a confrontational person by nature. But I decided I should do it this time round. And I felt good doing so. Attractive, even. Here’s the story. 

You see, I had gone for a walk in the park near my estate and as always I took off my singlet and walked topless. I turned on my Grindr to check who's around me and I saw a couple of familiar profiles but I didn't really gave a hoot about their presence. I went on to do some static exercises and a message came in. I thought it was weird cos I don't usually get messages as it wasn't my habit to communicate with people in Grindr. I took a read and it went... 

"So fat still go topless" 

My first thoughts were - That’s so rude - and I replied: 

"Well as long as I'm comfortable, who cares if I'm fat or thin" 

I continued my exercise after wishing him well. But I thought my response didn’t feel right and I decided to indicate my displeasure. I added: 

"I hope this is not an attempt to humiliate me" 

And a little while later, I decided to go one step further to put him in place and added: 

"You have to learn some manners young man" 

I thought he had stepped over the line and at his age (he is 34 yrs old according to his profile), he should jolly well know how to be respectful. By using the term "young man", it allowed me, in a way, to express and exert my dominance over him. I feel very good. In no time, his message and profile disappeared from my screen - He blocked me. 

Lol! Never mess with this uncle.

PS: often, as gay men, we tend to be more conscious about how we present ourselves. We want to look good and project ourselves as attractive, at times even to the point of allowing people to step onto us (esp if the person is desirable). This is particularly so when we have the belief that we are inferior in certain aspects (eg physique, age, looks, etc). Not a good thing but well, that’s a fact. We just need to learn and to grow our confidence. Agree?

Grease

OMG! Turned on Spotify and it went on and on with songs from Grease! I literally became a little secondary boy all over again!

• Great Lightning
• Sandy
• You're the One that I Want...

It just went on and on! I was literally screaming away and boogieing to the songs as it played! And I was brought back to the days of Grease, Saturday Night Fever, YMCA, etc etc etc... what a way to start my Sunday!

Lol!

Funny Moments

I had had a procedure done on my right eye a week ago. And now my left eye is badly infected and swollen. My eye sight is badly compromised currently and here're 2 funny incidents to share.

Emailed wrongly

• I happily sent out an email for a meeting to a whole lot of colleagues. And within minutes, I got a reply from an unfamiliar name asking if she was required for the meeting. I then realised I had send the mail to a Mayee instead of Mayble. Thankfully, there was no classified information in the email. Got it corrected quickly.

Straining Mee Sua

• Before heading to the A&E yesterday, I decided to make myself a plate of dry fried mee sua (rice noodle). You see, just like spaghetti, you have to boil the mee sua for a couple of minutes before straining (sieve) it through a strainer. And as I did so, I wondered why the mee sua dropped into the sink instead of into the strainer. To my horrors, I realised that I had held the strainer upside down!

These incidents were funny, yet a little distressing. No? LOL! Anyway, I quickly went to the doctor after my lunch. For now, just have to rest my eye and hope the medication works.

:-)

Conjunctivitis & the young eye doctor

My left eye started having discharges 4-5 days ago. And the itch started after that. Three days ago, it started getting red and I got a little worried. This happened a couple of days after I had a procedure done on my right eye and it was not the best time to have this developing on my left eye. To make matters worst, more floaters started to appear in my right eye. It's a very unsettling feeling.

Yesterday, I decided to head to my family GP and he refused to treat me. He asked me to head to the hospital A&E immediately. Thankfully, it was nothing serious but a very bad case of conjunctivitis. Was given an antibiotic eye drop, a cleanser and moisturiser. Hopefully the viral infection can clear off soon. For now, it’s swollen and red and I am walking around using mainly my right eye.

Let me also share a bit about the eye doctor. He was the one who saw me last week. He's young, and well, very cute. But well, that is another story altogether. When he saw me again yesterday, the first impression he gave me was that of a grumpy person and that my visit was an inconvenience to him. And as he signalled me to enter his consultation room, his first words were: "come in, so what's the problem with you now?" I really thought this was totally off. But I simply smiled and did what he asked me to do.

As an ex-customer service trainer, I would have advised him to consider using a nicer tone and, perhaps, rephrased his greeting to "Hi Mr Sim, how have you been? So sorry to have to see you again (in context, this is a hospital). How can I help you this time?" Regardless of how familiar you may be with a customer, never assume he/ she appreciates you treating him/ her so casually. He/ She pays you your salary and the least you can do is to give him/ her the respect a customer should deserve. Secondly, never ever suggest a customer has a/ is the "problem". He/ She may have an issue that you can help, but never a problem.

So... yeah, I guess our medical staff, especially the younger ones, may need some customer service training. But yeah, let's hope he picks up some basic EQ/ customer service skills as he matures in his line.

PS: There was another young cutie doctor next door who kept staring me at even as he treated his patient. I have a very strong suspicion he is gay. Anyway, if I were a drama queen and any younger, I would probably be so head-over-heel with him. LOL.. Seemed like I am getting on with age, considering the fact that most of the medical staff seemed to look very young these days.

End of Lockdown

We have started the process of gradually opening up and this week marked the first week we are allowed back to work. Rather, back to clean our desk and then to head back home. We will continue to work indefinitely from home.

It was an interesting experience, heading back to office and chancing upon one or two of my colleagues. We all had to continue to don our face masks as we did so. And surprisingly, the office was really clean. Looked like the cleaning staff had done an exceptional job keeping the place spic and span. It was also really nice to be able to see the cleaning staff. And the lady that I always spoke with came up to me and greeted me enthusiastically. You can sense and see her enthusiasm even though she had her mask on.

"Hello Sir! How are you!. Haven't seen you for a while" that were her first words. I spared no time to return her greetings and also to wish her Selamat Hari Raya. She's Muslim and would have had her raya celebrations at home this year. I spoke with her for a while before heading to clean my desk. It was not long before several of the other support staff came to my office to say hello. Nice and warm. That is how I would describe my return to my office, even if it was for a short moment. For now, we are all back to to working from home. 

It would be perhaps another 6 to 9 months at least before we can head back to "the new norm".

I wish you Peace

I'm not sure what the f*** Trump is doing, adding oil to the fire, and I am concerned with how things are panning out in the US. 

Perhaps this is what you can expect for voting into office such a person although I believe his base will disagree with me. Sighs. I really hope some sense would prevail come Nov 20. For now, I shall reserve any further comments and watch from afar.

I sincerely wish my American friends peace.

Weight loss

There is a clear distinct difference between losing weight and slimming down.

Since the start of the circuit breaker, I had been doing my daily walks and observing my food intake. And I have lost about 6-7kg. And for a first time in a very long while, my weight has dropped into the 70s range. But regrettably, this does not mean I've gotten any slimmer! I continue to look just as fat! Sighs. Then again, and objective speaking, I am enjoying this new "lightness". These days, I have lesser backaches. 

And I am more comfortable doing my walks topless these days. I am one helluva vain uncle!

LOL!

Lawyer's Letter

And so, the lawyer's letter finally arrived. It was addressed to my car insurance company and I was in the cc. The taxi driver had claimed against me for medical cost amounting to about S$12,000. He claimed that he suffered injuries and that it was a direct result of my indiscriminate driving. It's easy to get emotional and upset over such allegations. But I kept calm, knowing that I had video evidence of the circumstances that led to the accident. 

Told myself this is the process that I must go through.

Let's see how matters pan out.

Fine?

I went to the central catchment area for a hike two weeks ago and as this is the lockdown period, all public car parks were closed. I decided to park by the road as a result. I came back to my car after a 3-4hr hike and found a notice of summon on my windscreen. It stated that I had parked at a "No Waiting" zone and that the LTA (Land Transport Authority) will send me the summon soon.

Two weeks passed and I finally received the letter over the weekend. I had expected a S$70 fine but to me surprise, it simply told me that "due to my good driving records", they will not be taking further actions against me and that I should take this as a friendly warning. Of course, LTA, being LTA, will always end off with "... we will not hesitate to la la la... if you were found to repeat this..." in future.

Well, what matters most is I didn't get the fine. And yes, I will make sure I do not park at the same spot in future. 

:-)