Today when I stepped off the train after work, first smell that came to my nose was a burnt smell, barbeque smell, reminds me of last year when the haze was the worst ever, did Indonesia start burning things again? I think it could also be due to the recent dry spell, it hasn't been raining for quite a while the weather is hot and dry, even the grass patches at my work place are all dead, green patch become light brown.
Speaking of barbeque, a few of my colleagues fell ill, I think they ate too much Bak Kwa and did not drink enough water, that's why I try to avoid Bak Kwa, expensive and bad for health, like paying money to make yourself ill, 1KG can sell $50, I was thinking which idiot will buy but during Chinese New Year everyone doesn't seem to mind paying for it, people don't even mind queuing hours for it, actually why not eat after Chinese New Year, it's now selling for $40 per KG, still expensive though, $40 for one KG of meat, might as well go order a few nice dishes at hawker centre.
Thursday, February 13, 2014
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
Fix for Screen Tearing in Windows 7
I have encountered this problem many times and it usually happens when I click or scroll things too fast and my screen can't seem to refresh fast enough, I thought there was no fix for it until I searched yesterday, the solution is actually very simple, just use any of the Aero Themes and that's it! According to the source, Aero seems to have features in place to prevent screen tearing (double buffering and vertical sync?) and once I switched it on, indeed the screen tearing is gone.
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Singapore Pools $10M Hong Bao Draw on 14 Feb
Today I bought $5 quick pick, sigh, wonder if I can win, at least a few hundred dollars also not bad, I keep thinking what would happen if I win $10M, I think the chances of solo win is very low, chances of me winning is even lower, some people buy $50, $100, wonder how they can spend like that, surely their chances of winning is higher than mine because they have more sets of numbers, but who knows, lady luck might favour me.
If I really win a big sum, first thing I would do is to carry on with my life and slowly think about it, no need to rush into anything, but I think I will go get my driving license and buy a second hand car, and probably invest the rest, maybe tell my wife to buy more land in her hometown.
So don't forget to buy, buy have chance to win, even $1 also have chance, never buy 0% chance.
If I really win a big sum, first thing I would do is to carry on with my life and slowly think about it, no need to rush into anything, but I think I will go get my driving license and buy a second hand car, and probably invest the rest, maybe tell my wife to buy more land in her hometown.
So don't forget to buy, buy have chance to win, even $1 also have chance, never buy 0% chance.
Monday, February 10, 2014
Starhub Upgraded Their Website's User Interface (Finally)
The UI looks so much cleaner and modern now, fonts are bigger and key items are obvious enough, the old UI was terrible, too many things too little space kind of feeling. So other than checking out their main page, I also logged in to rewards, same thing, UI upgraded and I noticed that they merged my rewards points (mobile merged with internet/cable), now I don't know whether they calculate wrong or I calculate wrong, I seem to have 114 points extra, I checked my bills for the past 3 months twice, still the same, they gave bonus points because they upgraded their website or something?
Anyway, I also noticed that they now offer more rewards to choose from, shows that they heard my last complain and acted on it, good, their rewards variety used to really suck, very limited even though they had several pages, most were this plan, that plan, too many repetitions but doing the same thing, at least now they removed all that junk and replaced with a Bill Rebate redemption with multiple denominations ($5, $10 and etc), now they even offer tickets for Universal Studios and a whole bunch of other new stuff, even food vouchers like BreadTalk.
But I can see the site is still buggy, the pictures, lists are all so messy, even the Account Manager shows a whole page of "Error 404--Not Found", I think they are fixing it now because I noticed the pages were a bit different than earlier, I think they need some time to beautify it.
Come to think of it, I find Starhub really good, otherwise I wouldn't have stuck with them since 2000, I should have bought their shares, but unfortunately I didn't, now their share price is $4+, but I can see why, this company has a lot of potential simply because they listen to and cared about customers, they have shown this several times already, like the Odex saga when Starhub tried its best to defend users' privacy, and some other cases which I can't remember, I just know that they left a good impression or else I would have jumped ship long ago.
Anyway, I also noticed that they now offer more rewards to choose from, shows that they heard my last complain and acted on it, good, their rewards variety used to really suck, very limited even though they had several pages, most were this plan, that plan, too many repetitions but doing the same thing, at least now they removed all that junk and replaced with a Bill Rebate redemption with multiple denominations ($5, $10 and etc), now they even offer tickets for Universal Studios and a whole bunch of other new stuff, even food vouchers like BreadTalk.
But I can see the site is still buggy, the pictures, lists are all so messy, even the Account Manager shows a whole page of "Error 404--Not Found", I think they are fixing it now because I noticed the pages were a bit different than earlier, I think they need some time to beautify it.
Come to think of it, I find Starhub really good, otherwise I wouldn't have stuck with them since 2000, I should have bought their shares, but unfortunately I didn't, now their share price is $4+, but I can see why, this company has a lot of potential simply because they listen to and cared about customers, they have shown this several times already, like the Odex saga when Starhub tried its best to defend users' privacy, and some other cases which I can't remember, I just know that they left a good impression or else I would have jumped ship long ago.
Friday, February 7, 2014
Damn Frustrated at Tampines Polyclinic
Today I went to the polyclinic with my wife, she wanted to check her INR level, so we went there, took a number and waited, finally our turn, we went to the laboratory registration counter, the lady asked if we would see the doctor, I said no because my wife don't need a prescription, she still have a lot of her Warfarin from her Thai doctor, then she told me the doctor would want to know her INR reading, but I insisted on not seeing because if we see, we will need to pay the consultation fees, which is $41.70 for non-resident, then another more senior lady cut in our conversation and highlighted that the procedure is such that if we don't see the doctor, we cannot proceed with the INR test, I was surprised, how come there is such a procedure, can't they be more flexible and look at it from my perspective? Not that I don't have the money to pay but it's just that I find it pointless to pay, all my wife needs is to have her blood test done, that's it, we don't need the doctor to tell us whether the reading is okay because we know the optimal range, it's 2 to 3.
In the end, seeing that they are adamant on sticking to their procedure, I told the first staff to cancel our registration and we'll take our leave, out of nowhere the senior staff told the first staff to cancel it and log in as incident report, she said that in front of us and she sounded unhappy, as if she wanted us to hear that, who cares if she log it as incident or not, what the hell man, do I even need to hear that? I find her attitude quite bad, the way she cut into our conversation, the way she sounds so right about her procedures, really disgusts me, as if we don't want to do the INR also cannot? Wah, die die want us to see the doctor? Who pay? She pay or I pay? Please, don't die die stick to procedures, stop and think whether it makes sense or not, at least look at it from other people's perspective, rules are set by people, nothing is 100% right, and as a front desk service staff, her attitude should have been much better.
But I admit I might have sounded frustrated, but of course I was frustrated because of the rigid procedure, plus the way the senior lady talked to me, made me feel frustrated with her.
Anyway this incident led me to checking with HSA on whether we have such a home test kit in Singapore, I checked with a few pharmacists and they either said not sure or asked me to check with SGH or HSA, I thought if we are going to pay $50+ just for a test, might as well buy the damn thing and do it ourselves, and by the way, polyclinic consultation fees keep going up, for sure it will be more expensive in the future, what annoys me is their service is terrible and yet they have the cheek to raise price, damn bad attitude blood suckers, rarely have a good experience there, even the doctors there have bad attitude, but of course there are still the few nice ones, and those with high blood pressure, I hope you will not be unlucky enough to walk into the room with the bad attitude doctors, who knows your blood pressure might get higher instead.
In the end, seeing that they are adamant on sticking to their procedure, I told the first staff to cancel our registration and we'll take our leave, out of nowhere the senior staff told the first staff to cancel it and log in as incident report, she said that in front of us and she sounded unhappy, as if she wanted us to hear that, who cares if she log it as incident or not, what the hell man, do I even need to hear that? I find her attitude quite bad, the way she cut into our conversation, the way she sounds so right about her procedures, really disgusts me, as if we don't want to do the INR also cannot? Wah, die die want us to see the doctor? Who pay? She pay or I pay? Please, don't die die stick to procedures, stop and think whether it makes sense or not, at least look at it from other people's perspective, rules are set by people, nothing is 100% right, and as a front desk service staff, her attitude should have been much better.
But I admit I might have sounded frustrated, but of course I was frustrated because of the rigid procedure, plus the way the senior lady talked to me, made me feel frustrated with her.
Anyway this incident led me to checking with HSA on whether we have such a home test kit in Singapore, I checked with a few pharmacists and they either said not sure or asked me to check with SGH or HSA, I thought if we are going to pay $50+ just for a test, might as well buy the damn thing and do it ourselves, and by the way, polyclinic consultation fees keep going up, for sure it will be more expensive in the future, what annoys me is their service is terrible and yet they have the cheek to raise price, damn bad attitude blood suckers, rarely have a good experience there, even the doctors there have bad attitude, but of course there are still the few nice ones, and those with high blood pressure, I hope you will not be unlucky enough to walk into the room with the bad attitude doctors, who knows your blood pressure might get higher instead.
Thursday, February 6, 2014
Our First Experience at Sushi Express Singapore
So yesterday I said we will go try the new sushi outlet at Tampines One, they are really selling everything at $1.50, very cheap compared to Sakae Sushi, and it was almost full house but lucky today is a weekday so there were still some seats left, but is it better than Sakae? I think in terms of freshness, no comments as both are equally fresh, but in terms of variety, seems like Sakae wins hands down, my wife said she likes Sakae more. Oh another thing, the green tea, Sakae's tasted much better, it has a nutty flavour which me and my wife liked very much, my wife even bought a box of their green tea, as for Sushi Express, their green tea tasted like those supermarket green tea, even tasted a bit sour, don't like it that much.
So conclusion is, we still like Sakae more ;)
I noticed something about their billing, this is my bill:
18 Sushi $27.00
2 Boxes of Oolong Tea $3.00 (my wife picked it up at the counter)
10% Service Charge $2.70
7% GST $2.29
So the service charge was based on the 18 plates of sushi which we ate there, looks ok, but look at the GST, it was based on 7% of 27+3+2.70 (rounded up to 2.29 from 2.289). They actually charged GST on the service charge, which was unusual, first time that I ever saw such a billing, but anyway, the total cost was $34.99 including the 2 boxes of tea, the same meal at Sakae would probably cost more than $50, satisfaction at a lower price ;)
So conclusion is, we still like Sakae more ;)
I noticed something about their billing, this is my bill:
18 Sushi $27.00
2 Boxes of Oolong Tea $3.00 (my wife picked it up at the counter)
10% Service Charge $2.70
7% GST $2.29
So the service charge was based on the 18 plates of sushi which we ate there, looks ok, but look at the GST, it was based on 7% of 27+3+2.70 (rounded up to 2.29 from 2.289). They actually charged GST on the service charge, which was unusual, first time that I ever saw such a billing, but anyway, the total cost was $34.99 including the 2 boxes of tea, the same meal at Sakae would probably cost more than $50, satisfaction at a lower price ;)
Alan Ramos Psychology Graduate Working at IDA
Recently I keep seeing news about this guy, he is said to be a psychology graduate from Harvard who was employed at IDA when he was 22 years old, now he is 26 years old and being charged with underage sex. Netizens were asking how a psychology grad managed to land himself a job at IDA, I thought maybe he was doing something non-IT related, then I checked out his LinkedIn profile, it seems like I was wrong because under his Skills & Endorsements, I see Software Project Management, Software Development, Web Services and etc, those are definitely IT stuff, I'm in the industry so I know.
So back to the question, so how did a non-IT graduate get an IT job? Actually it's not unusual, I read in a book where this web developer is a graduate in marine life or biology, and among my colleagues, I have a physics graduate who is a Java (it's a programming language) technical team lead, a civil engineering graduate who is a software developer, an engineering graduate who is also a software developer, I know of another civil engineering grad who is a project manager, the list can go on and on, what I'm saying is the discipline doesn't matter at all as long as the person has the experience or skill set because at the end of the day, what matters most is whether this person can deliver.
And having the relevant degree also don't mean much if the person has no interest in IT, I encountered Masters degree holder in information systems, computer science graduate and whatsoever IT degree holders, and yet they cannot deliver, ultimately it's a matter of interest, you like doing it you will keep trying to advance, and in the midst of advancement, your experience and skill set naturally expands, it's that simple, you don't like it, no matter how much you force yourself to learn, you can never go far even if your boss hurls opportunities at you, you will simply collapse.
But then, I am puzzled by IDA, I go to transitioning.org sometimes so I know there are jobless graduates in Singapore, it can be hard to believe right, Singapore gives the impression that it is a first world country and yet some of our graduates are jobless, strange right. So what really puzzles me is instead of picking candidates from our local universities and jobless pool of graduates, IDA choose to accept a foreigner, if IDA is a private company, that I can accept, as long as the company follow our MOM's hiring guidelines, I have nothing to say, but IDA is a stat board, a government agency, and since they don't mind graduates of irrelevant discipline, then it's even easier for them to find someone, so I hope they will start picking people from transitioning.org, at least help those older jobless ones first, I'm sure they have bills to pay.
So back to the question, so how did a non-IT graduate get an IT job? Actually it's not unusual, I read in a book where this web developer is a graduate in marine life or biology, and among my colleagues, I have a physics graduate who is a Java (it's a programming language) technical team lead, a civil engineering graduate who is a software developer, an engineering graduate who is also a software developer, I know of another civil engineering grad who is a project manager, the list can go on and on, what I'm saying is the discipline doesn't matter at all as long as the person has the experience or skill set because at the end of the day, what matters most is whether this person can deliver.
And having the relevant degree also don't mean much if the person has no interest in IT, I encountered Masters degree holder in information systems, computer science graduate and whatsoever IT degree holders, and yet they cannot deliver, ultimately it's a matter of interest, you like doing it you will keep trying to advance, and in the midst of advancement, your experience and skill set naturally expands, it's that simple, you don't like it, no matter how much you force yourself to learn, you can never go far even if your boss hurls opportunities at you, you will simply collapse.
But then, I am puzzled by IDA, I go to transitioning.org sometimes so I know there are jobless graduates in Singapore, it can be hard to believe right, Singapore gives the impression that it is a first world country and yet some of our graduates are jobless, strange right. So what really puzzles me is instead of picking candidates from our local universities and jobless pool of graduates, IDA choose to accept a foreigner, if IDA is a private company, that I can accept, as long as the company follow our MOM's hiring guidelines, I have nothing to say, but IDA is a stat board, a government agency, and since they don't mind graduates of irrelevant discipline, then it's even easier for them to find someone, so I hope they will start picking people from transitioning.org, at least help those older jobless ones first, I'm sure they have bills to pay.
Tomorrow Clear Off-in-lieu!
The second day of Chinese New Year fell on a Saturday so my company gave me an off-in-lieu because I am on a 5 days work week. So tomorrow I will bring my wife to the polyclinic to check her blood, and then go find something good to eat, maybe we'll try the legendary $1.50 sushi at Tampines One, my colleague told me it's good and I heard there is always a long queue, even crazy long when they just opened and they were selling their sushi for only $1. At $1.50, I wonder how they make money, my colleague also mentioned that the serving is big, are they making a loss to get the customers first? Maybe, so I'm sure they will eventually raise the price.
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
The Guy with a $15,000 Rolex Watch
As usual, after work, take the train, find a comfortable spot and lean back, then came this very tall guy who stood beside me, he was even taller than me, I'm about 1.81 meters, this guy was at least 1.9 meters, he was talking on the phone, then he said something about his Rolex watch with a market price of $15,000, then he said if he sold it, he would be able to get over his current financial difficulty, he said the watch was of sentimental value so he had no plan to sell it.
That made sense, my grandmother left me a jade-studded gold ring bought more than a decade ago, not very sure how much she paid for it, also not sure how much it's worth now, and if I were to sink into financial difficulty, I don't think I would ever sell it, probably not even pawn it unless there is absolutely no other way. Actually she bought similar rings for all her sons and grandsons, not sure what she bought for the females, I think it was some jade bracelet because my mom got one or two from her. The gold rings for her sons was bigger, grandsons smaller, my father sold his ring though, maybe he needed the cash.
That made sense, my grandmother left me a jade-studded gold ring bought more than a decade ago, not very sure how much she paid for it, also not sure how much it's worth now, and if I were to sink into financial difficulty, I don't think I would ever sell it, probably not even pawn it unless there is absolutely no other way. Actually she bought similar rings for all her sons and grandsons, not sure what she bought for the females, I think it was some jade bracelet because my mom got one or two from her. The gold rings for her sons was bigger, grandsons smaller, my father sold his ring though, maybe he needed the cash.
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
So Many People Queuing at ATM?
Today when I was on my way home, I noticed that there was a long queue at the update bank book machines at POSB, Citibank and DBS, wonder what happened, suddenly so many people using those machines. So I quickly head home to check my bank balance, nothing is missing, also can't find any relevant news online, or is it simply because after Chinese New Year everybody suddenly feel like updating their bank book at the same time? Weird.
Monday, February 3, 2014
Even Foreign Spouses of Singaporeans are Under Attack
Today while browsing Gilbert Goh's Facebook page, I came across some comments that made me both angry and sad, see the following image. In case you don't know who Gilbert Goh is, he runs a support site for Singaporeans at transitioning.org.
Foreign spouse will bring along their whole village into Singapore? What? There is no way to justify that without sounding ridiculous, really. Now let's look at some facts, for LTVP holders, they are not even allowed to bring any of their family member here, even if the foreign spouse attains PR status, at most they can bring in only their parents or children under LTVP, and they will need to be sponsored by the foreign spouse, but I read on some forum that there is a special case where the Singaporean husband was allowed to be the sponsor but that was only on a case-by-case basis, so it's not as easy as said, whole village? No.
Protest against Singaporeans marrying a foreign spouse? Go on, as if only foreign spouse will help to reach the 6.9M mark, but just look at how silly that sounds, if I'm a reporter from another country and I see a bunch of Singaporeans protesting over this kind of issue, I would laugh my ass off.
Cannot help a foreigner even if he/she is the spouse of a fellow Singaporean? If that's the case, don't refer me as "fellow Singaporean", we don't need your help anyway, and for your info, for foreign spouse who are LTVP holders, they do not receive any form of subsidy from the government, for those under LTVP+, the only subsidy is in-patient subsidy, and there are plenty of foreign spouses on LTVP or LTVP+.
I'm angry because they say shit without even bothering to find out more, I'm sad because Singaporeans are attacking Singaporeans, to be honest, I don't find Singaporeans united, not at all, people here mostly care about themselves, bloody sure I'm not the only one who noticed, perhaps it's just the way our life goes on, everyday is about trying to make more money for a better tomorrow, maybe in the midst of all these struggles, people forget about the basic things.
 |
| Sigh |
Foreign spouse will bring along their whole village into Singapore? What? There is no way to justify that without sounding ridiculous, really. Now let's look at some facts, for LTVP holders, they are not even allowed to bring any of their family member here, even if the foreign spouse attains PR status, at most they can bring in only their parents or children under LTVP, and they will need to be sponsored by the foreign spouse, but I read on some forum that there is a special case where the Singaporean husband was allowed to be the sponsor but that was only on a case-by-case basis, so it's not as easy as said, whole village? No.
Protest against Singaporeans marrying a foreign spouse? Go on, as if only foreign spouse will help to reach the 6.9M mark, but just look at how silly that sounds, if I'm a reporter from another country and I see a bunch of Singaporeans protesting over this kind of issue, I would laugh my ass off.
Cannot help a foreigner even if he/she is the spouse of a fellow Singaporean? If that's the case, don't refer me as "fellow Singaporean", we don't need your help anyway, and for your info, for foreign spouse who are LTVP holders, they do not receive any form of subsidy from the government, for those under LTVP+, the only subsidy is in-patient subsidy, and there are plenty of foreign spouses on LTVP or LTVP+.
I'm angry because they say shit without even bothering to find out more, I'm sad because Singaporeans are attacking Singaporeans, to be honest, I don't find Singaporeans united, not at all, people here mostly care about themselves, bloody sure I'm not the only one who noticed, perhaps it's just the way our life goes on, everyday is about trying to make more money for a better tomorrow, maybe in the midst of all these struggles, people forget about the basic things.
Friday, January 31, 2014
Might & Magic X: Legacy - Where to Find Titan Leggings
It can be found in Act 2, after coming out of Seahaven, navigate to coordinates 53,53 on the area map. Once you enter the dungeon, take the teleporters in the following sequence:
- Left
- Middle
- Left
- Left
- Left
- Middle
- Right
How I Spent My Lunar New Year Day 1
Woke up at about 11.30am, cooked up the leftover food from yesterday's feast and had a fulfilling meal, but I think we bought too much food, maybe I shouldn't have ordered the chicken, duck and pork, doesn't taste that good after one day and night, I think best is to eat it fresh. Yesterday's steamboat was decent though, fresh ingredients, hot soup, it's the best.
So me and wife went to a temple, she wanted to do some praying for good luck, after that we went to Tampines One, Tampines Mall and Century Square scouting for a nice restaurant, and we ended up at Sakae Sushi, I think we were the only dine-in customers there, I saw the staff busy preparing takeaways and their delivery staff looks shocked at the number of packages, so many packs of Yu Sheng and Sushi sets packed in nice looking red bags. I also saw that they have a few promotional packages from $130+ to $198+, looks good, maybe next year we can order something similar for reunion dinner, or we could even dine there.
After the meal, we are now back home, probably watch some movies and call it a day, kind of simple right haha, that's how I like it though ;)
So me and wife went to a temple, she wanted to do some praying for good luck, after that we went to Tampines One, Tampines Mall and Century Square scouting for a nice restaurant, and we ended up at Sakae Sushi, I think we were the only dine-in customers there, I saw the staff busy preparing takeaways and their delivery staff looks shocked at the number of packages, so many packs of Yu Sheng and Sushi sets packed in nice looking red bags. I also saw that they have a few promotional packages from $130+ to $198+, looks good, maybe next year we can order something similar for reunion dinner, or we could even dine there.
After the meal, we are now back home, probably watch some movies and call it a day, kind of simple right haha, that's how I like it though ;)
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
My Chinese New Year Ang Pao Preparation
I think I can no longer receive Ang Pao, from what I know married people are supposed to give instead of take, which makes sense since I have been receiving from my uncles and aunties ever since I was a kid, all the way until I got married.
So previous years I didn't really give out much because I hardly made any visit, only went to my second uncle's house, another thing is, we don't get along well with our relatives, but we are okay with my mother's side, by the way my mom came from Malacca, she is now a Singapore citizen, I just feel that relatives over her side are so much nicer. You can read my post about rich relatives and you'll probably understand.
My plan is to give $250 to my father, $250 to my mother, $10 to my nephew, $10 to my niece, they are very naughty by the way so I don't want to give them too much, never seen such rude kids ever, ultra annoying, even throw water at my wife's face, call me rude names, really si gin na, anyway and I'm going to prepare Ang Paos of 10x $4 in case I need to give to some kids of relatives that appear, I will most definitely just stay home or go take a stroll with my wife so most likely the 10x $4 will never get utilize like previous years because probably only my father's youngest sister and his husband will visit, maybe my father's eldest brother's daughter will visit with her kids, that's about it.
Oh and why I'm giving so much to my parents is because we are not going for any holiday this year so after discussing with my wife, we decided to just give more in Ang Pao, makes everyone happy. So tomorrow I will work half day, my wife will collect the duck, chicken and pork, we'll have reunion dinner with my family, unfortunately also with my evil nephew and niece and next will be first day of CNY!
Happy Chinese New Year! Gong Xi Fa Cai!
So previous years I didn't really give out much because I hardly made any visit, only went to my second uncle's house, another thing is, we don't get along well with our relatives, but we are okay with my mother's side, by the way my mom came from Malacca, she is now a Singapore citizen, I just feel that relatives over her side are so much nicer. You can read my post about rich relatives and you'll probably understand.
My plan is to give $250 to my father, $250 to my mother, $10 to my nephew, $10 to my niece, they are very naughty by the way so I don't want to give them too much, never seen such rude kids ever, ultra annoying, even throw water at my wife's face, call me rude names, really si gin na, anyway and I'm going to prepare Ang Paos of 10x $4 in case I need to give to some kids of relatives that appear, I will most definitely just stay home or go take a stroll with my wife so most likely the 10x $4 will never get utilize like previous years because probably only my father's youngest sister and his husband will visit, maybe my father's eldest brother's daughter will visit with her kids, that's about it.
Oh and why I'm giving so much to my parents is because we are not going for any holiday this year so after discussing with my wife, we decided to just give more in Ang Pao, makes everyone happy. So tomorrow I will work half day, my wife will collect the duck, chicken and pork, we'll have reunion dinner with my family, unfortunately also with my evil nephew and niece and next will be first day of CNY!
Happy Chinese New Year! Gong Xi Fa Cai!
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
My Father's Friends are Really Nice to Him
Last weekend, my father brought home a gift hamper and a whole box of mandarin oranges, I think the hamper is quite expensive because I see a box of bird's nest, a bottle of liquor, mushrooms and many other goodies, he said it's a gift from his friend. The next day, he brought home another box of mandarin oranges, a different brand this time, also a gift from his friend. Today he brought home 2 packages of Fragrance Bak Kwa, 500g each and a whole pot of chicken curry, yeah, you read that right, a whole pot.
I heard from my father that this friend of his is in the economy rice business, I remember he also cooked a whole pot of chicken curry for my father's last birthday, actually he cooked the curry for my father quite a few times already, me and my wife liked his curry very much, it is definitely one of the best chicken curry I have ever tasted, spiciness is just nice, smooth gravy, goes very well with rice, tender chicken, soft potatoes, not too oily, yummy, I could drink the gravy like soup.
When I think about it, will I ever cook a whole pot of chicken curry for my friend? Nope. How about my "bestest best" friend??? Probably not. So I can see this friend of his truly cares about him, I can feel his caring through his curry, even my mom don't cook such good quality curry.
Anyway I feel that older generation seems to cherish friendship so much more, my friends never cook anything for me, never buy mandarin oranges for me, don't even mention hamper, at most we give each a treat like a meal on birthdays and that's about it. Maybe I sound like friendship is measured by what we receive, but according to my father, I asked him why his friends are so nice, he said he helped them many times for free, they wanted to pay him in cash but he rejected it, sounds like him, he's really the type who is willing to help for free, my mom even said he was stupid, guess I am similar to him in this aspect, I too feel that there shouldn't be a price for helping a friend, if it's within my capability, I really don't mind helping for free. But difference is, I only help close friends or co-workers, bet my father will help anyone in need.
I heard from my father that this friend of his is in the economy rice business, I remember he also cooked a whole pot of chicken curry for my father's last birthday, actually he cooked the curry for my father quite a few times already, me and my wife liked his curry very much, it is definitely one of the best chicken curry I have ever tasted, spiciness is just nice, smooth gravy, goes very well with rice, tender chicken, soft potatoes, not too oily, yummy, I could drink the gravy like soup.
When I think about it, will I ever cook a whole pot of chicken curry for my friend? Nope. How about my "bestest best" friend??? Probably not. So I can see this friend of his truly cares about him, I can feel his caring through his curry, even my mom don't cook such good quality curry.
Anyway I feel that older generation seems to cherish friendship so much more, my friends never cook anything for me, never buy mandarin oranges for me, don't even mention hamper, at most we give each a treat like a meal on birthdays and that's about it. Maybe I sound like friendship is measured by what we receive, but according to my father, I asked him why his friends are so nice, he said he helped them many times for free, they wanted to pay him in cash but he rejected it, sounds like him, he's really the type who is willing to help for free, my mom even said he was stupid, guess I am similar to him in this aspect, I too feel that there shouldn't be a price for helping a friend, if it's within my capability, I really don't mind helping for free. But difference is, I only help close friends or co-workers, bet my father will help anyone in need.
Monday, January 27, 2014
Anton Casey Left Singapore with Family
It sure escalated fast, I remember reading about his comments on Facebook last week and now he has left Singapore with his family. I did a search about him and people were relentlessly bombarding him, even people who were trying to be nice were attacked as well, the wrath of Singapore's netizens is limitless and merciless. I think people are getting overly worked up over this issue, and also being online and without having to face the person himself, it's easier to say whatever you want, and I feel that people just lose control.
Anyway his comments were not entirely wrong, the part where he mentioned the stench on our MRT, that's true, our MRT is indeed smelly, being a regular commuter I had to endure the stench of farts, burps, sweat or strange food smells, I'm not saying I never fart nor burp nor sweat, it's just that some people do it on the train, I never fart or burp on the train, I do have the urge sometimes but I can force myself to endure until I leave the station, some people just let loose inside the train, it's really disgusting, but I guess it can't be helped sometimes, maybe some people have no total control over it like me.
But the part where he implied through his son's comments that poor people take the train, that's wrong, people take the train because it is convenient and cheap, just look at people who board at Tanah Merah or Kembangan, they don't look poor to me, we have millions of commuters, does that mean we have millions of poor people? Of course not. I thought he was going to get panned for that kind of comment but I didn't expect such a severe consequence. Anyway with such high COE prices and maintenance costs, not everyone can afford a car, even if everyone can afford a car, there's no way our government is going to let that happen, just how big is Singapore? If everybody has a car, I can't imagine the chaos.
Anyway stay cool, no point getting so worked up over him, enjoy the Chinese New Year!
Anyway his comments were not entirely wrong, the part where he mentioned the stench on our MRT, that's true, our MRT is indeed smelly, being a regular commuter I had to endure the stench of farts, burps, sweat or strange food smells, I'm not saying I never fart nor burp nor sweat, it's just that some people do it on the train, I never fart or burp on the train, I do have the urge sometimes but I can force myself to endure until I leave the station, some people just let loose inside the train, it's really disgusting, but I guess it can't be helped sometimes, maybe some people have no total control over it like me.
But the part where he implied through his son's comments that poor people take the train, that's wrong, people take the train because it is convenient and cheap, just look at people who board at Tanah Merah or Kembangan, they don't look poor to me, we have millions of commuters, does that mean we have millions of poor people? Of course not. I thought he was going to get panned for that kind of comment but I didn't expect such a severe consequence. Anyway with such high COE prices and maintenance costs, not everyone can afford a car, even if everyone can afford a car, there's no way our government is going to let that happen, just how big is Singapore? If everybody has a car, I can't imagine the chaos.
Anyway stay cool, no point getting so worked up over him, enjoy the Chinese New Year!
Thursday, January 23, 2014
Toto $5M Reunion Draw on 24 Jan 2014
Almost forgot about it, I bought $2 quick pick, just trying my luck, but I'm wondering what I will do if I win, probably set it aside for stocks, imagine I win $5M hahaha, dream on. Anyway there's another Hong Bao Draw on 14 Feb 2014, the price is $10M, remember to buy!
For the official info, click here.
 |
| $5M Reunion Draw on 24 Jan 2014 9.30pm |
For the official info, click here.
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
Thinking of Going for a Cruise
I have no idea where I should go for holiday, been looking at some cruises and I also managed to find a good blog series on a Caribbean cruise, it's a very detailed and after reading it, I felt like I've been there, but actually I've never been on a cruise.
Come to think of it, a cruise sounds like a good idea, the ship is like a city by itself, it's so big, plenty of facilities, food and accommodation covered, entertainment covered, there's even a casino, pool, rock climbing etc etc etc, very tempting, the best part is when the ship docks, I can take a shore trip, wow.
Now let me check it out more, maybe I would go in March or April.
Come to think of it, a cruise sounds like a good idea, the ship is like a city by itself, it's so big, plenty of facilities, food and accommodation covered, entertainment covered, there's even a casino, pool, rock climbing etc etc etc, very tempting, the best part is when the ship docks, I can take a shore trip, wow.
Now let me check it out more, maybe I would go in March or April.
Monday, January 20, 2014
Airasia 20% Discount
Yesterday I was talking about Airasia tickets for 4 from Singapore to Bangkok (Don Mueang) to Udon Thani and back costing almost $1700, today they came out with a 20% discount, but the discount applies only to the base fare, excluding the airport charges, so a $125 ticket becomes $110.40. I ran a check again and the total cost comes up to about $1460, it's cheaper but still over my budget, actually I was thinking of maybe $1200, and maybe $1400 max, don't really want to spend so much on the tickets.
I think I will wait, who knows they might come up with more discounts since the situation in Bangkok is becoming more uncertain and chaotic. Worse comes to worst, we will skip the holiday and save the money, so maybe I'll give more ang pao for my parents, and give my wife more allowance, and I will have more money to invest, everyone will be happy ;)
I think I will wait, who knows they might come up with more discounts since the situation in Bangkok is becoming more uncertain and chaotic. Worse comes to worst, we will skip the holiday and save the money, so maybe I'll give more ang pao for my parents, and give my wife more allowance, and I will have more money to invest, everyone will be happy ;)
Saturday, January 18, 2014
Maybe Not Going to Thailand this April
I was talking about planning a trip to Thailand this coming April, the air tickets costs around $1700 for 4 person to and fro, damn expensive, that's $400+ per head, and it's only for air tickets, doesn't seem like a good way to spend my money. Note that it includes air tickets to and from Udon Thani, it's all to play safe, fly from Singapore to Don Mueang to Udon, no need to leave the airport, mainly it's for safety reason because I really don't know when the protests will end, who knows it could drag on and get more violent. If it was more peaceful, we could have considered taking a bus to Udon instead, but with the current situation seeming spiraling out of control, no.
Now I'm thinking where we should go for holiday, maybe Genting Highlands is a good idea? I ran a quick check, transport plus accommodation for 4 person is around $500, compare to $1700 just for air tickets, and we would have plenty of cash for spending, why not.
Got to save some money, me and wife thinking of trying for baby this coming June so I don't really want to spend too much for this holiday.
Now I'm thinking where we should go for holiday, maybe Genting Highlands is a good idea? I ran a quick check, transport plus accommodation for 4 person is around $500, compare to $1700 just for air tickets, and we would have plenty of cash for spending, why not.
Got to save some money, me and wife thinking of trying for baby this coming June so I don't really want to spend too much for this holiday.
Friday, January 17, 2014
Gangnam Style - PSY (Jayesslee Cover)
I didn't know Gangnam style can be performed like this! It's very soothing, very nice to listen to after a day's work, check it out!
Monday, January 13, 2014
SingPost and Prudential Partnership?
If you are going to Singapore Post Centre at Paya Lebar, please be mindful that they have Prudential staff stationed there. Today when I was there, I assumed everyone there was SingPost staff, now I don't even know if the lady who attended to me was SingPost or Prudential staff, so anyway when I entered the building, a lady approached me and I thought how nice of her to be so proactive, she helped me with my parcel collection enquiry and also asked if I have got a new medishield thingy, and she sounded like I might have missed out something awesome and so she introduced me to another lady. I was thinking how come SingPost is doing insurance nowadays.
So I spoke to the second lady, she asked for my SingPass id, I typed in the password, and after talking to her for a while she told me she is from Prudential, and it's a partnership between them and SingPost, man I was shocked. So she tried to sell me their shield plan but I told her I am already covered by NTUC Income, so she asked if my wife is covered, I told her about my wife's condition and she implied that her company cannot cover her, I already know that anyway, which insurance company would be so dumb to cover someone who underwent heart surgery.
And seeing that her first move didn't reap anything, she then tried to sell me an investment product, it's some prudential fund, some sort of unit trust thing, I don't really like letting others manage my money though.
So I spoke to the second lady, she asked for my SingPass id, I typed in the password, and after talking to her for a while she told me she is from Prudential, and it's a partnership between them and SingPost, man I was shocked. So she tried to sell me their shield plan but I told her I am already covered by NTUC Income, so she asked if my wife is covered, I told her about my wife's condition and she implied that her company cannot cover her, I already know that anyway, which insurance company would be so dumb to cover someone who underwent heart surgery.
And seeing that her first move didn't reap anything, she then tried to sell me an investment product, it's some prudential fund, some sort of unit trust thing, I don't really like letting others manage my money though.
Parcel Sent from Thailand
My mother-in-law bought some supplement for my wife, it was sent from Thailand on 07 Jan 2014 via Thailand Post using EMS. This morning she still have not receive the parcel and since we are going to ICA, we also made a trip to Singapore Post Centre at Paya Lebar to check. The staff there asked for our tracking id (the Thailand Post EMS tracking id) and my wife's identity card (her LTVP+), so she checked and found that the parcel has been dispatched to our residence. And indeed, we saw the parcel on the common desk when we reached home, guess my mom signed on my wife's behalf.
This is what the Thailand Post tracking looks like for those interested,
The total weight is 240 grams, total cost is around 5000 Baht (about 192.77 SGD) so no need to pay GST (if the total value including postage costs more than 400 SGD, need to pay GST, details here).
This is what the Thailand Post tracking looks like for those interested,
 |
| Thailand Post Tracking |
The total weight is 240 grams, total cost is around 5000 Baht (about 192.77 SGD) so no need to pay GST (if the total value including postage costs more than 400 SGD, need to pay GST, details here).
Update Passport Details to ICA after Renewal
Earlier on, Singapore Thai embassy informed my wife that her passport is ready for collection, so yesterday she went to collect but I forgot to tell her that she also need to update her passport details to ICA as it is a terms and condition of long term pass,
And seems like I can only update address online, can't find any function to perform passport update, so I accompanied my wife to ICA today. The process is very simple.
1. Photocopy both the old and new passports' page with photograph, and also photocopy front and back of the LTVP/LTVP+.
2. Proceed to the counter at Level 4 Visitor Services Centre, go to the left side where there is a blue uniformed officer, only that officer can handle the passport update. If you go to the clerk on the right, they will direct you to that officer anyway.
3. That's it, I asked for a receipt but that officer said they do not give out receipt.
The whole process took no more than 20 minutes including queuing up.
So if you collect your passport at Thai embassy, also remember to make a trip to ICA to update your passport so you don't have make two trips. By the way you don't need the sponsor, the LTVP/LTVP+ holder can also do the update by herself/himself, I accompanied my wife because I'm afraid she is not sure of what to do.
ICA should also come up with a passport update service for LTVP/LTVP+ holder, I googled and found that PR can update their passport online through the e-REP system, I think it will be quite easy to implement, they can also throw in a upload digital scan of the passport if they want to, I'm sure they already have existing code to do that, this will make our lives easier.
Terms & Conditions of Long-Term Visit Pass (LTVP)
"You are required to notify ICA if there is any change in your passport particulars or place of residence within 14 days of the change. You can report a change of address online through your local sponsor via e-Update of Address."
And seems like I can only update address online, can't find any function to perform passport update, so I accompanied my wife to ICA today. The process is very simple.
1. Photocopy both the old and new passports' page with photograph, and also photocopy front and back of the LTVP/LTVP+.
2. Proceed to the counter at Level 4 Visitor Services Centre, go to the left side where there is a blue uniformed officer, only that officer can handle the passport update. If you go to the clerk on the right, they will direct you to that officer anyway.
3. That's it, I asked for a receipt but that officer said they do not give out receipt.
The whole process took no more than 20 minutes including queuing up.
So if you collect your passport at Thai embassy, also remember to make a trip to ICA to update your passport so you don't have make two trips. By the way you don't need the sponsor, the LTVP/LTVP+ holder can also do the update by herself/himself, I accompanied my wife because I'm afraid she is not sure of what to do.
ICA should also come up with a passport update service for LTVP/LTVP+ holder, I googled and found that PR can update their passport online through the e-REP system, I think it will be quite easy to implement, they can also throw in a upload digital scan of the passport if they want to, I'm sure they already have existing code to do that, this will make our lives easier.
Sunday, January 12, 2014
Duck, Chicken and Pork for Chinese New Year
This year for the first time ever, I ordered a roasted duck, a roasted chicken and half kilo roasted pork, in the past my parents used to buy it, now I have sort of taken over that. So today I went to get the bill and made payment, total was $77; 35 for duck, 24 for chicken and 18 for pork.
I thought of ordering 1 kilo for the pork but it was too big, don't think we can finish it, we still have steam boat and some other food.
I thought of ordering 1 kilo for the pork but it was too big, don't think we can finish it, we still have steam boat and some other food.
Friday, January 10, 2014
My Wife's Thai Passport is Ready for Collection
She went to renew her passport at the Singapore Thai Embassy on 23 Dec 2013, so after about 18 days, which is today, she received a phone call from the embassy saying her passport is ready for collection. I think it was quite fast because with the protests going on in Bangkok and news of shutdown, I thought everything would be slower, I was even a bit worried her passport would not be processed if the Thai government got shut down, but luckily it wasn't that bad.
My wife also said the staff at the Thai embassy are very rude, I went there once and the lady who attended to us was really rude, it's like she hated her job and she's still got to do it anyway kind of attitude, I thought government staff should be more well trained in terms of attitude since they are representing their country, strange, even weirder is Thai people you meet on the streets in Thailand are much more friendlier.
My wife also said the staff at the Thai embassy are very rude, I went there once and the lady who attended to us was really rude, it's like she hated her job and she's still got to do it anyway kind of attitude, I thought government staff should be more well trained in terms of attitude since they are representing their country, strange, even weirder is Thai people you meet on the streets in Thailand are much more friendlier.
Thursday, January 9, 2014
Sheng Siong Boss Mother Kidnapped
Source
Wow big news, people actually have the guts to kidnap people in Singapore, furthermore the two kidnappers are Singaporeans. I wonder what made them resort to something so drastic, kidnapping carries the death penalty.
Wow big news, people actually have the guts to kidnap people in Singapore, furthermore the two kidnappers are Singaporeans. I wonder what made them resort to something so drastic, kidnapping carries the death penalty.
Kidnapping ActIn other countries maybe they can get away with it but Singapore is such a small place, where can they hide? And the ransom amount was $2 million, how are they going to get away with such a big sum of cash? I think those 2 guys did it without thinking, very foolish.
"Abduction, wrongful restraint or wrongful confinement for ransom
3. Whoever, with intent to hold any person for ransom, abducts or wrongfully restrains or wrongfully confines that person shall be guilty of an offence and shall be punished on conviction with death or imprisonment for life and shall, if he is not sentenced to death, also be liable to caning."
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
Did Away with Google Docs for Stocks
Found that using spreadsheet is really troublesome, have to do a lot of calculations myself and I'm not really the kind who likes to waste time re-inventing the wheel so I found a good portfolio management tool, it's free and it's got a lot of those cool graphs and charts and statistics all generated for you as long as you key in your transactions, so if you are interested, you can create an account at i3investor. It's something like Google Finance, but I think it's more sleek and the price quotes are more accurate because seems like Google Finance will only show up to 2 decimal places, for example a share price is $1.115, but Google rounds it up and shows it as $1.12.
You can check out My Stocks, it's now friendlier to the eyes and easier for me to manage!
You can check out My Stocks, it's now friendlier to the eyes and easier for me to manage!
Sunday, January 5, 2014
Dream Wedding and a $90,000 Debt
Source
Learned about this story from SG Talk, the couple spent $110,000 on their wedding, wow, $110k, it's a lot of money to me, and to spend it for one day is just out of my league, even if it's within my capability I don't think I will spend like that. Let's look at their debts.
They borrowed:
Also note that the couple had savings of $20,000.
So what did they pay for?
I'm sure they can pay the money back within a few years, but the problem is they need to pay much more than the original amount due to interest, what's the point?
Learned about this story from SG Talk, the couple spent $110,000 on their wedding, wow, $110k, it's a lot of money to me, and to spend it for one day is just out of my league, even if it's within my capability I don't think I will spend like that. Let's look at their debts.
They borrowed:
- $45,000 from a financial institution with a repayment period of two years.
- $4,000 from a licensed moneylender.
- $11,000 from a relative.
- $30,000 via credit cards.
Also note that the couple had savings of $20,000.
So what did they pay for?
- $12,000 for bridal arch.
- $75,960 for 45 tables at 6 star hotel (1 table $1688++ but I use 45*1688=75,960).
- $22,040 for bridal photography, make-up, hair-styling and videography (not sure how much they spent on this so I use $110k-$12k-$75,960).
"They spent so much that Mrs Lee's other dream - a honeymoon in Europe - had to be put off. She said: "We ended up going to Genting Highlands for five days instead."So what about their housing, renovation, furniture and etc?
I'm sure they can pay the money back within a few years, but the problem is they need to pay much more than the original amount due to interest, what's the point?
Friday, January 3, 2014
Singapore Bank Interest Rate is Pathetic
On 31 Dec 2013, I have a balance of $4753.91 in my POSB bank account; it's the old type of savings account opened when I was in primary school and that was about 18 or 19 years ago, good thing about this account is there is no fall-below fee. So I checked and found that they paid me $1.21 for interest, that's like 0.025%, hahahaha, that's why never ever keep your money in the bank, what a waste of potential. You may argue that the way I calculate is wrong, I should calculate by month and such, but no matter how you do it, it's still ridiculously low.
So the moral of the story is, invest, in equities, in gold, in whatever else, but always determine your risk appetite first, know exactly what kind of investor you are, how much risk you can or is willing to take, it's not just oh have money just whack, if in doubt, ask, there are plenty of places to ask like sgtalk, hardwarezone stocks, i3investor and etc, there are always people willing to share their knowledge.
Don't be like my mother, she believe the bank is paying her a good return if she puts her money in a passbook savings account, she might as well just top up to her CPF, at least CPF pays way more than banks.
So the moral of the story is, invest, in equities, in gold, in whatever else, but always determine your risk appetite first, know exactly what kind of investor you are, how much risk you can or is willing to take, it's not just oh have money just whack, if in doubt, ask, there are plenty of places to ask like sgtalk, hardwarezone stocks, i3investor and etc, there are always people willing to share their knowledge.
Don't be like my mother, she believe the bank is paying her a good return if she puts her money in a passbook savings account, she might as well just top up to her CPF, at least CPF pays way more than banks.
Thursday, January 2, 2014
9th Straight Gain for STI
Today is the 9th straight gain for STI since 18 Dec 2013, now I'm wondering how long will the winning streak last, but of course volatility in the market is common, even if it does go down, I'm wondering how the whole rally thing will go about, will it break 3200, or even 3300 or more? One thing I'm quite sure of is it won't go below 3100 without any good reason, unless there is another penny stock crash, or Kim Jong Un starts his war talk again, or the Thai political crisis turns into a civil war, or due to some other unforeseeable causes, but I expect no problem coming from the US side, I'm sure they have grown out of their childish squabbles and come to realize that their economy and world economies are far more important.
Actually unforeseeable causes will hit the markets the hardest, reason is very simple, people are not prepared for it, throw in some fear mongering and the worlds markets will tremble. I'm sure there will be some event that will pop up in 2014, which will cause most markets to fall, right now I can't think of anything else other than those that I mentioned above, but in the coming few months, Asian markets should rally with US markets, except for the Thai exchange, right now they are in the middle of nowhere, I have no idea how it will turn out without any major forces intervening, what I can see is the yellow and red shirts are heading for a collision course, the possibility of a civil war is not an exaggeration.
Actually unforeseeable causes will hit the markets the hardest, reason is very simple, people are not prepared for it, throw in some fear mongering and the worlds markets will tremble. I'm sure there will be some event that will pop up in 2014, which will cause most markets to fall, right now I can't think of anything else other than those that I mentioned above, but in the coming few months, Asian markets should rally with US markets, except for the Thai exchange, right now they are in the middle of nowhere, I have no idea how it will turn out without any major forces intervening, what I can see is the yellow and red shirts are heading for a collision course, the possibility of a civil war is not an exaggeration.
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