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. 

:-)

Lasering the Eye

It was indeed an interesting experience, and a little scary too. Was brought into the cubicle, asked to place my head on the chin rest and the next few steps was crazy...

The doctor placed a concave shaped probe that stuck onto the whole eyeball. And then he moved the probe and it felt it he was grabbing and in control of the eyeball. Was asked to look at different directions as he looked for the hole. It was rather uncomfortable as the probe had a blinding bright light that shone through it into my eye. Once he found the hole, he zapped it with laser. All in all about 6-8 zaps were applied. As he zapped, the eye felt like it was gonna explode. Scary shit.

But in no time, it was done. Initially, I couldn't see anything with my eye. But soon enough, the opaqueness cleared off and everything appeared red. Within 5 min, I regained full clarity of my vision. All done. Was told the floaters will still be there but the issue of the hole have been addressed.

Well, it was an interesting Saturday for me alright!

Housefly in Vision

One black speck appeared in my right vision 3 days ago. I had initially thought it was a housefly that refused to go away and constantly stayed at a specific corner of my eye. More specks appeared over last 2 days. Went to see CGH A&E this morning and was referred immediately to eye specialist.

After some investigations, the specialist found a small 0.5mm hole in my right retina. Have been scheduled for a laser treatment to close the hole this afternoon at 3pm.

It's hard not to admit my body is aging.

CB-"achievements"

We are into the sixth (?) week of the circuit breaker period (limited lockdown of the country) and during this period, I have made keeping fit one of the focus of my daily routines. I did not start off with this as an aim. Rather, walking is a mean to keep myself from getting bored and getting cabin fever.

I started walking around my neighbourhood in the evenings. I have alternate between brisk and leisurely walks so as to give my body the rest it needs in between. Soon enough, I started to made it a point to walk at least 10,000 steps a day. And on days where I did not manage to clock the 10,000 steps via my evening walks, I will make it up by going grocery shopping and walking around the mall just to fulfil the 10,000-step "target". Setting a target is such a motivator. With time, I started to walk further and further. And since a couple of weeks ago, I started to clock 11,000, 12,000 steps or more a day. 

Two days ago, I decided to see how far I can go. I left my place at 2-ish in the afternoon and walked till about 6pm. When I ended, I had clocked over 25,000 steps. And for the duration of the whole day, I managed to close slightly more than 29,000 steps, equivalent to 20-over km. Felt good about it. The last time I clocked 31,000 steps was about 3-4 years ago and I suffered body aches for a couple of days after that. This time round, I was surprised I didn't suffer the pains like I did previously. I supposed the regular walking helped condition my body.

Over the course of the last 5-6 weeks, I have also shed slightly more than 5kg off my body weight. It's nice to be able to do it. My belly is less pronounced now. It's good. But more importantly, I have less backaches these days. Maybe I should challenge myself to lose another 5kg? lol... Walking is a good way to lose weight, minimise backaches and put less stress on my back and my knees. And I sleep better. So yeah, what's more important is to be able to keep healthy.

I shall work hard to keep up with this routine.

PS: I shall attempt to go further than 29,000 steps today...

Lawyer’s letter - wtf

Ok, I didn’t actually get a lawyer’s letter. But it’s close enough...

I got an email from my car insurance agent asking if I had been injured. She was referring to my recent accident where a taxi crashed into my car head on while I was stationary. She explained that the taxi driver had engaged a lawyer (or his insurance agent) to make claims against me as he has suffered some bodily injury. Of cos I told my agent I didn’t suffered any injury nor made any police report (we didn’t have to if no injuries or public properties are involved). I re-explained the circumstances of the accident and asked her to refer to my dashboard video instead.

Wtf... it’s interesting how people can twist stories to their favour.

Thankfully there’s the video.

Let’s see how things go. 

Car Repaired

Finally gotten my car back. 

The total cost of the repairs amounted to close to S$7K. The repair man had replaced the front bumper, the front right panel, and several other parts. Also, as they had also disconnected the battery in the course of the repair, all the settings in the car had been affected. It felt totally different when I got into the car. And I had to get to know the car all over again...

Positively, the car looked almost brand new.

:-)

Politicising a Pandemic

Totally not a good idea...

But this is what I see in some countries. It is very sickening. But above all, it is very sad to see the lack of leadership, and the lack of unity in the want to manage the pandemic. I strongly believe that if we want to win this battle against the virus, we need to be united. And I say so cos we are so intertwined in all aspects as a human race. But sadly, united is the last thing that is happening now. And so, as the pandemic drags on, people continue to fall ill by the thousands and lives continue to be lost.

Looks like it's gonna be a long drawn pandemic for the world.

Sighs. 

Vesak 2020

Happy Vesak Day 

everyone!

Wishing all good health, peace, wisdom and happiness.

Me

Decided to take public transport instead of Grab (our regional equivalent to Uber). It was quite an interesting experience, considering how everyone was masked up, and how the bus and train were decked with all sorts of signages asking people to space out. It’s actually quite nice to able to experience public transport during this period.

And quite surreal too.

Head on car collision

Just my luck to get into a head on collision with a taxi this afternoon. 

Was leaving the car park after purchasing lunch when I saw a taxi speeding towards me. There was absolutely nothing I could do except to hold on tight to my steering wheel, pressed my brake hard and await the head on crash. It sped towards me and didn’t even stop or slow down. Everything happened in a split second and next thing I knew, the taxi crashed into my front right.

Was glad no one was injured. Came out and we exchanged our particulars, took some videos and photos before I drove off. Noted the driver was trembling when he went about taking pictures. He must have been in quite a shock. Wondered why the hell he was speeding in the car park. As for the taxi, it was quite badly hit and the driver had to call for a tow truck. 

Thankfully, my car dashboard video cam managed to record the whole incident. Will certainly aid the reporting and claims. Gonna be a busy day tomorrow. And yes, I had been advised to do a medical check too, just in case.

Be grateful

This period of time, it's useful to remind oneself of what we should be grateful about, and doing so does lots to keep us sorted and sane... here's my list of what I am grateful for:

- family

- friends

- people who care about me

- food when I needed it

- freedom of choice

- relatively ok health

- mobility

- freedom of movement

- peaceful life

- peace of mind

- having my job

- keeping my job

- having someone to keep me company

- doing grocery shopping daily

- cooking what I want

- filling my stomach

- having my little indulgences when I needed it

- netflix

- ...

The list goes on. The bar seems low, but it's these little and simple things that make life so much meaningful for me.

Grieving the loss of normalcy

I read someone's sharing this morning that we are all grieving. Grieving over the loss of normalcy and having been forced to embrace a new lifestyle we are probably not totally prepared for.

I like this idea and I agree with the author of that post. I am a trained grief counselor and it didn't strike me that indeed we are all going through different stages of grief. Just look at the many LinkedIn posts sharing about difficulties in adapting, challenges, stress, etc especially 2-3 weeks ago. The sharing that we are all going through different stages of grief helped me connect the dots.

In grief counselling, we acknowledge that people grief differently. Some take a longer time to grief compared to others. It is in this context that I understand why many still show signs of anger or denial when it comes to WFH and embracing a new normal. Even until now. Thus, I appreciate the latest move by the authorities that counseling are categorized as essential services.

With time, we will come to terms and accept this new norm. Some will take days, some weeks, and some longer. This process is no different from how we grief when someone dear passed on. Agree? It is a time to empathize, to support and to be there to listen.

Be safe and be well.

Disappearing Sex Drive

Is it just me and aging, or is it an effect of the current Covid-19 pandemic? Or perhaps it's a combination of both. I do not seem to feel horny these days! 

Hmmm...

Ironing Board Work Desk

This is one creative way to create a work desk if you don't have one, or if you want something different - Use your ironing board as a work desk! I mean, its height is adjustable, and you are not gonna use it anytime soon too right?

Lol... and yes, I do have colleagues working with their laptops on the ironing board and doing stretches and work-outs at the same time. You just need to adjust the height to knee level (or lower) and you can do your stretches on your yoga mat at the same time!

And that is what I will do! Have been working with my laptop placed on my dining table for the last 2 weeks and it gets a little messy when I need to have my meals. So yeah! Let's have a change.

Stay home, stay safe, and while at it, be creative and have some fun!

Nonsense

Chloroquine, ultraviolet, bleach... 

What’s next?

Sighs.

Irresponsible.

Embarrassing.

Fourth Lunar Month

It's the start of the 4th lunar month and it's a significant day for many Muslims and Buddhists. For Buddhists, it marks the countdown to Vesak Day that will occur on the 15th day, and for Muslims, it also marks the start of the holy Ramadan. Here're my wishes;

To all my Muslim friends,

Selamat Berpuasa! Blessed fasting month to you and all your loved ones! It's a challenging time for all but do take the opportunity to spend quality time with family and to connect with your faith in the blessed sanctuary of your home. Please stay safe and well 🙏🏻

And to all my Buddhist friends,

Have a blessed countdown to Vesak Day. For those who are observing your pre-Vesak fasting and rituals, do it with right mindfulness, right thoughts, and right actions. May you achieve wisdom and calm as you observe your practices.

And to everyone else, be safe, be healthy and be happy.

WFH routines

I started working from home since 6 Apr and my initial weeks were terrible and highly stressful. And the following are what I have learned to do since to maintain a certain level of sanity in my schedule during this WFH period:

• I block my calendar to prevent people from sending me meeting invites at unreasonable times eg during lunch or in the evenings.

• I block my calendar to make sure I have time to do my work, engage my staff, as a team and one on one. Its crazy how some people assume you are always free just because your schedule has an innocent looking unblocked slot.

• I block my time to give myself the me time to rest mentally. This may be to catch up with rest, to cook my lunch, to do my personal admin, etc. Come to think of it, when I work from office, we planned for travel time to meetings, meeting breaks etc. These gives us the mental breaks we need.

WFH does not mean all my time are open for meetings ALL the time. I will of course be professional to ensure I prioritise my time correctly, do what I need to do to earn my pay, and deliver my performance as expected of me.

Agree?

Respecting others

I cooked curry two days ago. It’s part of my Peranakan heritage. And since young, I’ve donned the sarong, ate with my hands and speak Peranakan Malay. I still do many things including eating with my hands these days. Trust me, food are more fragrant and tastes much better. It is a culture I identify with and proud of.

I made these points because I read that someone commented in the papers about the “dirty” habits of our foreign workers, and attribute this dirtiness to their cultural habits such as eating with their hands. This, to me, showed a lack of understanding of other people’s culture, or worst still, a lack of respect of their culture.

Have we not realized that we owe much of our quality of life, environment and infrastructure to these foreign workers? Just look at the unkept and overgrown weeds along the roads, and open spaces, the many construction projects, etc and you will see where we will be without these silent heroes. These workers are here to earn a living for their families. Sadly, they are often housed in dormitories, hidden away from the mainstream. 

This is a time to come together, to empathize, to support and to be one. We owe them much, and the least we can do is to accept their presence and contributions, respect them and their culture, appreciate their contributions and make sure they return safely to their families when their contract ends.

We in Singapore are definitely much more than that.

Netflix

Netflix is my best friend during this period and it's been a non-stop overdose of Korean drama, sitcoms, movies, etc.

• Crash Landing onto You
• Sky Castle
• Kingdom
• Friends
• Kim's Convenience
• Ossan's Love in the Sky
• Crown
• Happy Together

The list goes on. It’s also just as fun to rewatch many shows, especially those from Ghibli. The creativity of the animation never fail to blow me away!

• Ponyo
• Spirited Away
• Howl’s Moving Castle

Super nice!

Not a time for politics

This is the time for solidarity and not for politics. It's not the time to ridicule people and definitely not the time to cut funding. Perhaps the purpose of the corona virus is to wake our ideas, see the truth and get rid of all these people.

Wtf...

Lemak

Here's a recipe of something I enjoyed as a kid. It's a Peranakan (straits-born Chinese) vegetable stew recipe that I cannot find anywhere. The closest I can describe it is that is similar to sayur lodeh (an Indonesian vegetable stew). Managed to reproduce earlier this week and thoroughly enjoyed it. Nothing beats being brought back to the good old days of mum's cooking. The smell and the taste of childhood!

Here's the recipe:

Vegetables

Ladies finger - 4-5 (cut slanted) can consider fry first to remove the sticky secretions and put aside

Long beans - 5-6 (cut into 3cm lengths)

Brinjal - 1 (sliced)

Cabbage - half a cabbage (choose Chinese Beijing cabbage as it cooks and soften better)

Tempeh (fermented soya bean slabs) - 2 pieces( sliced into 3cm width, fry first and put aside)

Taukwa (soya bean slabs) - 2 pieces (cut into 4 pieces diagonally - sprinkle with a bit of salt and fry till golden brown), then set aside

Others (depends on own taste) - 1 carrot

Rempah (Spice mix)

Dried chilli - 7-8 pieces (soaked and cut up)

Fresh red chilli - 5-6 pieces (cut up)

Buah keras (candle nut) - 3-4 nuts

Kunyit (turmeric) 1 small piece

Onions/ shallots - 8-9 pieces

Belachan (fermented dried shrimp slabs) - one small piece (toast it over fire to make it more fragrant)

Heh bee (dried prawns) - 1-2 tablespoon (soaked in water to make it soft)

Others

Fresh prawns - 8-9 prawns

Heh bee (dried prawns) 2 tablespoons (soaked in water to make it soft and then drained off)

Water (or chicken stock) - enough to fill pot - should be about 2 litres at least

Coconut milk - 1 sachet (can also squeeze from one coconut or use 1 packet ready made coconut milk)

Salt to taste (or if preferred 1 cube of Chicken stock)

Cooking Oil (can mix with a bit of sesame oil if desired, but I prefer not)

Preparation of Rempah

Put everything into grinder, add a little water and grind. You have a choice to decide how fine you want to grind it. For me, I like it fine.

Cooking

Heat oil, fry the dried prawns to draw out the taste. Should take about 15-30sec. Then put in rempah when hot and stir fry till it dries up. This is also to caramelize the shallots. Add in the hard vegetables (eg cabbage, ladies fingers and long beans) and continue frying before adding water/ chicken stock. Bring to boil, add the softer vegetables, tempeh, prawns, taukwa (basically add everything else) and let it simmer. Finally, add the coconut milk, bring to boil and prepare to serve. Add salt or soya sauce to taste.

Tip 1: if using fresh coconut, use the thin second round coconut extract first, bring to boil, add the first round thick extract, bring to boil and then serve.

Tip 2: If you want to have the flexibility to adjust the spiciness, you can consider removing a small portion (say 1/4) of the rempah after frying it. Continue with the cooking and add/ adjust accordingly to suit your liking after you have added the coconut milk.

Be well

I do hope my blog reader friends are keeping well during this challenging period.

It’s an interesting time for humanity. I happened to check in with a friend from San Francisco and he said he had been working from home since Mar 20. And he added that positively, he liked the more empty roads but have to get used to longer working hours and the long grocery queues at the supermarkets. And it hit me that all over the world, we are all experiencing the same thing. It is perhaps a once a life time thing to have this happening. And it's created by one single virus!

Hope my friends the world over are keeping safe and well!

Fake News Singapore Style 2

Yesterday PM Lee made a statement on air updating us about the latest situation of the Covid 2019 locally and the additional measures the government will be taking. The live telecast was scheduled at 4pm, which is different from the usual 8pm telecasts of all his previous public telecasts. And the amount of fake news that was circulated through the day was crazy...

These fake news came from people who claimed they have credible sources. Here's one from a guy call "Vincent" that made me superbly irritated. And to make this piece of trash look more authentic, the message carries the PM Office Facebook background and the state crest.  I cannot recall the exact words but it went something like this:

"Dear all,

PM Lee will be making a statement later at 4pm. This was brought forward to 8pm because it's very urgent.

Singapore will be locked down to control the spread of the covid 2019 virus. And to control and contain the virus, the police and the SAF will be deployed to control movement. The locked down will be by regions. There will be four regions - West, East, North and Central. This will help to ensure any virus spread will be contained within the different regions... ... ...

This news is from an insider source and is highly credible. Please watch PM Lee's speech later."

It doesn't take much to know that this is fake news and contains a huge load of bullshit. It serves nothing other generate and spread fear. Bloody irresponsible. I do seriously urge my fellow Singaporeans to avoid sending and spreading such messages. Forwarding any news, even if it is well intentioned, may end up creating unnecessary fear.

Please act responsibly. 

Fake News Singapore Style 1

My sis sent me a WhatsApp message that she received from my cousin, who in turn received it from someone else, and it went like this:

"arrrr i tell you ah, I heard from my friend sister-in-law who knows someone working in NEA. This person hor, overheard from her big bosses that they are going to lock down Singapore for next two weeks. So I tell you all ah, this info is very credible one... you all better go down to NTUC and buy everything you can and stock up now!"

My sister asked me if it is true. I asked her why she still bothers to read such trash. And worst still, ask if it is true. She said she wants to verify the truth and wants to share notes.

I gave my sis a good verbal trashing...

POTUS’s plans

Not sure if it’s true but I just saw a Fox News saying something to the tune of “Singapore basically took Trump’s Covid plans and implement it and that’s why we in Singapore have such a low an infection rate”... is this fake news to the highest degree? The lady who said it did so without bating an eyelid even!

“How can I help?”

I hear this a lot "Be strong" "Be resilient" "Be responsible"... etc. Right message but to me, not too useful. It's almost like telling someone who's loved ones had just passed on and you went up to say "Be Strong"... duh! What else can the person do? And you are certainly not helping cos you are not suggesting any ways to help. No?

I prefer:

• "How can I help?"
• "I'll be there if you need me"
• "Just wanna check in to know all's ok"...

You get the drift. These words sound a lot better to me. And the effect is all so much greater! But yeah, provided it comes from the heart. In times of crisis, empathy is most critical. So go on, reach out. Be supportive and empathetic. This is the time about "us" and not about "you" or "me" doing things alone.

Exposé

2020 is gonna go down history as the year the virus won.

Or wait, not so much won, perhaps gave human a stern warning. I have every reason to believe human will prevail. But certainly, human kind has, over the recent months, realised how closely knitted we are as a planet and how irresponsible we humans have been to nature and the environment. It also showed how we have, narrow-mindedly and in a whole lot of self-delusion, nominated and voted for stupid politicians to occupy high political offices. Politicians who are self-centred and highly egoistic. We saw how some suggested chloroquine as potentially a cure, and a day later, the news reported a couple died after consuming chloroquine.

And today, we see yet another politician from the same office blaming China for holding back information. And I was like - wtf, the epicenter today is not even in China! Perhaps it’s an excuse to draw people’s attention away from their own inadequacies. Then again, in the world of politics, things can be illogical and often populist in nature. Sighs... there are plenty of examples I can cite but I shall not. I certainly believe Mother Earth, and the world would be a better place today, and for our future generations, if these politicians did not exist.

Let’s not stress myself over such matters that is beyond me. Let’s have a laugh instead:

XYZ: it’s a China virus! (roll eyes... especially when I read how this politician corrected the script for him and cancelled out Covid-2019 and instead inserted China virus instead)...

ABC: it’s NOT a China virus! 

DEF: Yes it is! It comes from China right?

QRS: well you come from your mothers vagina, so why do we call you DEF?

How’s your health?

Now this is the question I get often from friends and colleagues alike. And frankly, I have to take a pause and ponder how to respond whenever I get this question.

You see, as a person with heart disease, I often have this chest discomfort or feelings of irregular heartbeat. I'm not sure if it's psychological but I do think there are many occasions where I feel my heart beating so strong I can almost hear it. Also, I frequently get this feeling of tightness across my chest or jabbing pains in my heart. But for some reasons, whenever I go for my regular check ups, the blood pressure would be perfect, the heart rate normal (or at most slightly elevated). There were no significant weird readings when I took the Holters test too...

I told the doctor about these episodes but he simply told me that there shouldn't be any cause for worries. So... I still think there's something no right, and perhaps I might just collapse from stroke suddenly sometime. It's quite unsettling I must say.

Am I paranoid?

Sinus amidst COVID-2019

I want to use this post to share some challenges that people with sinus face, especially during this period. And I will share my own story.

I have sinus. Every morning, I will sniffle quite a bit. The sinus usually clears off by the time I arrive at my workplace. These days, I get awkward stares from many people when I sniffle while having breakfast.

This morning, my sinus didn’t stop even after I arrived at work. By 9.30am, I started coughing. I went to see my family doctor and he said it was likely due to the sinus that refused to subside. He also explained that the constant back flow could have created the throat discomfort and resulted in incessant coughing. To be safe, I was given a days’ MC to monitor. I will have to head back for a reassessment if it doesn’t improve in the next couple of days.

So yeah, people with sinus face the challenges of physical discomfort every morning. And during this period, apart from the awkward stares, we also wonder if our sniffling is due to other reasons, including the virus. It can be quite unsettling psychologically.

So if you know anyone with sinus issues, reach out and say hi when you meet them. We can do with that little extra sunshine in the morning!

😊

PS: Pse see the doctor if you are unwell or feel unwell.

Opportunities amidst crisis

Crisis moments often translate into times of opportunities. Here’s a few that I can think of/ have manifested itself strongly:

• For companies to review their BCP, identify gaps, strengthen & execute it. It’s been in the drawer for too long! My company Singtel did so, and the machinery that came out of it is as great as it can be!

• For leaders in functions that are often perceived to be backend to stand out. This include HR leaders, Facility Managers, Crisis Managers, Security personnel, etc. And from what I can see of my colleagues in this functions, I want to shout out to all that you are all doing a fabulous job! jiayou!

• For all departments to review how BAU things can be done differently - to be creative and to ask very fundamental questions over why things were done the way it was. This may be from how we convene meetings to how we look at organising major events. Gonna be an interesting year ahead for me.

• And above all, this medical crisis is a perfect time for Leaders to reach out, to engage, to motivate and to inspire. Perfect conditions for engagement efforts to be done.

Everybody chin-up!

吃下面

We've always joked about the similarity in the sounds of 下面 and 虾糆 but today I actually heard a lady ordered prawn noodles by saying:

"Uncle, 我要吃你的下面..."

Lol!

Do, yet regret

Often a times we do things that are so boliao or useless but we still do despite knowing that at the end of the day we will regret doing... e.g. nuaing (lazing) in bed...

And then, we do again...

Aches & Pains

I am beginning to deeply appreciate what my mum meant when she complained of aches & pains years ago... and at that time, she used to say - you will know what I mean when you are old... I supposed I am old enough now.

Bad Rat!

On all account, this Rat year didn't start off too well for everyone. We have had the non-stop escalation of the Covid-2019 virus, first within China, then across Asia and now, worldwide.

As of today, I must say things have calmed down and this was after a short hiatus of hoarding and inconsiderate behaviour by many out of fear when the government decided to raise the alert status to DORSCON Orange. We went through something similar back in 2003 when we had SARS and again when we had swine flu and Ebola etc... but this time round, the presence of social media was really a killer as there was just too much fake news. It's good that we are finally able to control this and sustain a certain level of calm and objectivity in the country.

At work, we've gone into alternate workplace arrangements where we organise ourselves into two teams and work at different locations. This is part of our BCP arrangement to ensure business is not disrupted, even as we prepare for the worst. It's really crazy to have to set things up within a short period of time, brief people, update processes, etc. Thankfully, everyone cooperated and we have finally reached a point of balance where we are able to continue our daily work and tasks remotely. There seemed to be a certain level of acceptance that this arrangements will be the order of the day for sometime to come.

And these craziness doesn't include the many challenges at work - preparing for the closing of the FY, approval of the new FY initiatives, articulation of vision and strategic plans for next couple of years, busyness of Lunar New Year, etc. So yeah, this last 2 months was crazy and things simply seemed to go downhill as we transition from the Year of the Pig to the Year of the Rat. And much as I am not a superstitious person, I do want to say the new Rat year didn't start of well... let's hope things improve soon.

Aftermath of a meal

What your table looks like after your meal reflects your upbringing...

Agree?

Maturing

“When you mature, you don’t always insist you are right... even if you are”...

Why bother

Sometimes I wonder why I bothered to put in the efforts to text people and ask how they are, wish them happy birthday or for that matter just to say hi... when they don’t even bother to put in the efforts to keep in touch.

Lessons I Learned

Aimless rants of a couple of my learnings over the years:

• “When life throws you lemon, make lemonade” a quote on a little card on my ex-CHRO’s desk. Useful practical advice. Reminds us to be positive.

• “The teacher will appear when the student is ready” a simple quote read in a book by Robin Sharma (about a monk selling his Ferrari). Another useful quote that reminded me that there are lessons to be learned in most life’s situations. We just need to detach ourselves from the emotions that blind us, and the lesson will appear.

• “Be grateful, always give thanks” a simple reminder that one of my ex-boss and a friend lives by. It keeps her grounded and made her a really sweet and endearing person whom everyone can talk to and learn from, all the time.

• “Be happy” simple two words but not easy to achieve. It requires one to be very real and to acknowledge his strength and limitations wholeheartedly. This realization will make one humble and be able to manage one’s own expectations.

Over time, I learned that the four phrases are intertwined. They kept me grounded, humble and real. And they helped me be as authentic as I possibly can - as a worker, a peer, a leader and as a person.

Just another reflection on a Sunday evening.

Have a great start to the new week!

Chingay Parade 2020

Have the opportunity to attend the Chingay Parade 2020, much thanks to my friend’s offer of 2 tickets. Was indeed wowed by the kaleidoscope of colours that splashed in front of us. And of cos, was glad the classic Chinese traditional giant flags, lion dance, dragons etc were included in the parade. It was after all a celebration of the Chinese culture. There were also quite a few other performances that I felt didn’t really fit in. These include the performances showcasing international culture such as those from Thailand, Japan as well as from Russia. Including these performance really watered down the whole Chineseness of the parade (which was supposed to be for Lunar New Year).

Don’t get me wrong, these performances were really great except that I felt it didn’t really fit in into the context. I’ve had this huge debate with a friend a couple of years back and she defended Peoples’ Association (PA) (the organiser) approach. After all, she was from PA. So... anyway, I do understand PA’s agenda to need to bring people of different cultures together. Perhaps if organised this way, it should be better done as part of the National Day celebrations. As for Chingay, they should then let some Chinese-based organisation organise it to celebrate the Chinese culture in its whole glory. But let’s leave this to the organizers, I’m sure they have their reasons. I’m just here to enjoy the parade.

Here’s some photos to share.