SINGAPORE SHORT STORIES

Everyday, the newspapers reek of advertisements with the tagline “Would you want to start a xxx business and earn $xxxx monthly? ” Earning money or starting a business that rakes in thousands of dollars seems to be a breeze, according to these newspapers. I have attended some of these seminars before to discover what are the unique business strategies that these companies have to offer to common layman to lift them from the mundane ‘9 to 5’ job and catapult them into the ranks of the millionaires. Alls the forums seem to be of similar format as follows: a) Highlight to the forum participants on the many painful compromises made to life by leading a normal employees’ life b) Entice the audience of myriads benefits of financial freedom c) Provide a unique business strategy and offer help d) Re-emphasize that the participants have only themselves to reply on to achieve financial freedom and offer great help to them e) Offer a coaching programme to master the unique business strategy at a

Singapore would be pitting against Uzbekistan in the 3rd round of the world cup qualifier in the coming weeks. National coach Radojko Avramovic has engaged the services of bio-mechanist (Performance Analyst) Daniel Greenwood from the Singapore Sports Council to analyze the strategies of the opponent from the videotapes of its previous matches. Greenwood has spent 3 weeks watching videotapes, one after another, of the opponent’s matches, analyzing the performance, formation, tactics, behavior of each team member and collectively as a team. Using scientific and high-tech instrument, he was able to translate his findings into a set of useful statistics and data, whereby insights into the tactics of the opponents could be gleaned from. Finally, this analyzed information would be presented to National Coach Radojko for his use in deployment and coaching of his team. Performance analysis is just part of the discipline of sports science which deals with the psychology of human performance in

Just two weeks ago, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) has announced plans to transform our tiny island into one giant garden, where Singaporeans can enjoy a seamless and unfettered walk along the whole perimeter of Singapore using the connected park connectors stretching 150 km in all. Kallang and Paya Lebar would also be transformed into an urban hub, offering hosts of commercial, residential and recreational facilities. The many farms located in the north of Singapore would also be undergoing a revamp, to better offer the highly-coveted aspects of rural life to Singaporeans. Personally, I find Singapore getting too crowded for my comfort. On weekends, it takes discipline to navigate through the thronging maddening crowds in the shopping centres, to wait patiently for that coveted seat in the restaurants, etc. Crowds also spill from the urban amenities to the natural parks such as East Coast Park and the Changi Village, taking the luster off an outing there. I do not really fanc

Handphones have become the ubiquitous items of our times and in Singapore, the number of handphone users outnumber the total population! I am always of the belief that handphone carries a certain risk, risk coming from its radiation, though there is no profound scientific confirmation on this. Using handphone for 2 minutes, I can experience headaches which could last for hours! In fact, I experienced headaches on waking up when at the previous night, I have placed my handphone on standby mode next to my bed! The radiation from handphone can be so powerful that it can boil an egg! Nowadays, I am always careful not to put the handphone near to my heart, or my ‘valuable part’ during work and try to put it inside my bag (just afraid it would be stolen). I am not sure whether readers have also experienced similar ill health effects which they believe come from handphones? You may drop me an email and I would try to compile them on this blog. Two websites for your reference by my ‘goggling’

I am not an expert in fruits but since the primary school days, I am always of the belief that the watermelon is a fruit, that is what the teachers taught us. During art classes, on the subject of fruits, I have always drawn watermelons alongside the common fruits such as apples, pears, and oranges; the teachers do not protest to my drawings. It was only today that in my reading, that I realised how wrong I was, and for such a long time. A health article I read highlighted that contrary to popular perceptions, the watermelon is not a fruits but a vegetable, which is belongs to the same family as the cucumber, pumpkins and squash. The same article also highlighted that strawberry is not a fruit or a berry but the enlarged receptacle of the strawberry flower. It is such a revelation to me; after eating so many watermelons and strawberries in my lifetime, that I do not know that they are not really fruits!

I chanced on the word ‘negative energy’ used to describe the fruit, celery, in a brochure. Seeking to understand the use of such an uncommon label, I read on and found that the word is used for celery as it takes more calories for human to digest the fruit than the calories that celery gives to human on consumption. Some people we work with are like celeries, we take more effort to work with them due to their non-proactive and non-productive work habits than if we were to just do it alone.

The Tasmanian Devil, not the one we see in cartoons, but the actual ones, grazing in the fields of Australia, may soon become extinct. The population of the animal has dwindled from 140,000 in the 1990s to only 80,000 in 2006. Cancer has been cutting down the population of the animal significantly to the brink of extinction

A father who is mired in gambling ends up with huge gambling debts with the loan sharks. He begs his family members for money to save him from being hacked and promised them it would be the last that he would gamble. His family, fearing his safety, loans him the money, only to find themselves in a vicious cycle again, whereby the father again begs them for more money to finance his ceaseless debts. The family, cash-strapped by his father’s endless gambling debts, seeks loans from their friends, and end up in a bottomless pit themselves, owning their friends a huge amount of money and straining to a certain extent their friendship. Such is the evil of gambling, whereby families are torn apart. Gamblers are often oblivious of the tremendous stress and burden they bring to their families and steep further and further into their routines; gambling, drinking, drug abuse often tear up families, the basic units of societies. Fundamentally, gambling, drinking and drug abuse are habits, no doub

Recently, I received the following SMS from one of my friends: 1月25日,雪灾=天灾 3月14日,藏独=人祸 5月12日,地震=地灾 1+2+5=08 3+1+4=08 5+1+2=08 08年08月08日奥运会 巧合？地震发生那天正好是距08年08月08日奥运会 还差88天在加这个,都是巧合! 真是佩服李白，在唐朝就知道今年奥运、地震了: 北暮苍山兰舟四 京无落霞缀清川 奥年叶落缘分地， 运水微漾人却震。 前四个字---北京奥运 后四个字---四川地震 After reading the SMS, the message may seem credible to many as it roughly indicated the dates for the china snow blaze, the Tibetan protest and the Sichuan earthquake (though I only verified on the internet that the date of the Sichuan earthquake contained in the message was accurate). With the ostensible upper half of the message, undiscerning readers of the SMS are easily led into believing the second half of the message: a poem which was claimed to be written by the famous poet Li Bai centuries ago in the Tang Dynasty. The second half of the message was a distinct sick joke by the originator of this SMS to crank up ill humour in the face of thousands of deaths in the Sichuan earthquake and the snow storm! He or she seems to

Today is ‘Eat with family day', a day whereby employees are encouraged to return home earlier to dine with their families. It is common to witness employees, decked in uniforms, returning home late at night on weekdays, visibly tired, with sloughing shoulders, and most of the time, heading to bed soon on reaching home. Reports suggest that tired and stressed out employees may be the reasons of the low birth rate too in this growing dual-income family society. The toll of work on employees who often work past office hours either voluntarily or not is considerable: Such employees regularly eat their lunch and dinner outside, not a good thing, bearing in mind the wanting nutritional value and MSG of outside meals. Besides the nutritional front, insufficient sleep for these employees is hardly healthy to them too. With long hours spent at work, family time also takes a back seat in terms of quality and quantity. The onus is for employers to take the initiative to provide a work environ

Once in a while, I pop into a fast food restaurant and since many years ago till now, I always walk away, feeling that customer service in fast food restaurant here has not really changed. The counter staffs in the fast food restaurants here often fall prey to assumption: assuming what the customers want. Immediately after placing your burger, fries or drinks on your tray, the counter staff would place few sachets of chilli sauce, often without the customer’s requesting. Even if the customer would request some sauce, it would always be chilli sauce. Therein the customer service suffers from the weakness of assumption: assuming ALL customers want chilli sauces to accompany their orders. What happens to the sachets of tomato sauces? They seem to be prized catch, not that easy to be given away. Readers reading this post and who have visited the fast food restaurants would attest to this fact that unless one requests for tomato sauce specifically, what would be given to him would be chilli

While shaving yesterday night, I have inadvertently hurt a small patch of skin above my mouth. Blood soon oozed out and a small red blood scar was formed. Having this small red blood scar was a bit inconvenient for me as I had a meeting today to attend to and this blood scar was not that presentable at all. While waiting for the bus, I saw this young, fair and quite presentable lady walking towards her friends in the direction of me, everyone including me turned their heads towards her. At this juncture, readers may be thinking that all of us turn our heads to admire her beauty; however it was not. A large portion of this young lady’s face was scarred (either from accidents or fires which I have presumed judging from the appearance of the scars). After looking at her, I noticed how small my scar was as compared to hers which was permanent as well. I do acknowledge looks are quite important to modern man and especially woman, thus it must be real traumatising for the young lady to suffe

It is the time of the year when Singaporeans send in applications for the highly coveted NDP tickets (preview and actual parade) via SMS, website and SAM services. Application for the tickets which commenced on 16 May 08 would close on 25 May and ticket allocation would be via electronic balloting Before this method of ticket allocation was implemented, the tickets were distributed on a ‘first come first served’ basis at specific sports stadiums on a particular day, manually. Back then, long queues formed days before the actual day of ticket distribution; camping by families at the entrance of the stadiums were a common sight and the scene was like a huge picnic cum family gathering which lasted for few nights and days. The move to electronic application and balloting cuts down significant resources and cost of ticket allocation. It further obviates the inconvenience of many who endure the elements, hunger and lack of sleep just to obtain the coveted tickets via the traditional manner.

In an effort to go paperless, and to save a tree or so, some companies may have really gone a bit too far, at least in my opinion. With my birthday nearing, I received a birthday card via email from my insurance provider, one of the largest in Singapore. No problem with that, however I was shocked to note the discount vouchers for certain items that the company had also sent as a birthday gift to me, appended at the bottom of the birthday card. The company has also kindly requested me to print out these discount coupons if I would like to use them. I was put off by the lack of personal touch. I agree that certain hardcopies can be replaced by electronic mails but to adopt a broad stroke of the brush to all is hardly wise and can make customers think the company is a ‘cheapskate’ to save cost.

Recently, my friend found out that he has contracted diabetes during a health check. In fact, I knew of a few colleagues who discovered they have contracted some illness or other (some at a fatal stage) via health checks too. The importance of doing a health check may not have really sunk into the masses. Doing a regular health check can help detect diseases or illness that one have which he is not aware of, and treat it at the root. However to many, health checks are not really necessary and they need to pay for these checks too. And I also know of my friends who refuse to go for health screenings even if these are provided at no cost as they do not want to know of any possible bad news. Singaporeans shall exercise regularly and restrict their intake of junk food. I am guilty to announce that I wolfed down two sweet desserts today and I regretted my act.

A Geneva report has produced an interesting finding that obese people contribute to global warming as they consume more food and inevitably cause more deforestation in the process and more fuels are burnt to carry obese people in vehicles. The finding to me is a sweeping one as non-obese man may contribute even more harm to the environment by their environmental unfriendly acts penetrated daily

I have a second look in NTUC today while buying some fruits. I saw a Member of Parliament (MP) who I believe is living in my constituency, buying fruits there and then joining the queue patiently. He enjoys a high profile in Singapore as a MP and is earning millions in his career. Being a phenomenal success does not really make him above all, and it is quite pleasing to all that he joins the queue as well.

I had the opportunity to chat with one of my company’s security guards on the bus, while we were returning home from work recently. The company guards were stationed at a outpost few hundred metres from the main company building. The conversation soon developed and what caught me by surprise was the information and knowledge of the company ‘developments’ and ‘updates’ that the security guard possessed which he communicated to me. These being information which I did not know at all via official communication channels and I would soon know in time to come via these official means? I keep replying back, “Is it” to the litany of company issues which he thought I had known. Communication takes place in the company everyday, and the unofficial channels of communication are not to be underestimated. However it is regrettable that some snippets of information do get twisted either deliberately or via misinterpretation and cause misunderstanding or problems at work daily.

Just want to share with readers that I have developed an affinity with bananas: they taste great,have lots of nutritional values, are 'good mood' foods, and have lots of health benefits. Just try to google "The health benefits of Bananas" and one would be amazed at the many intrinsic benefits of this marvellous fruit! Fruits have existed since time immemorial but man is not really eating much of them despites the health authorities' recommendation to consume 2 servings of fruits and 2 servings of vegetables everyday. What man consume in excess are meat and more meat so much more that they bring to themselves a host of health problems and destruction of the planet via deforestation for more meat and cultivation Consumption of fruits and vegetables each 2 servings everyday takes discipline, especially so with the hectic worklives of Singaporeans. Apples, oranges and bananas are my favorites. Personally, I do not like dried fruits such as longans, rambutans, lychees

Singapore may be a first world society but that does not exempt it from socially ungracious acts from its citizens. Occasionally, one may see some ‘ugly’ Singaporeans (or social bullies) here and there sporadically, and I hope this number of such Singaporeans is indeed dwindling. This morning, I witnessed an act by one of the Singaporeans who fall in the ‘ugly Singaporeans’ quarter. As usual, I joined the long queue of Singaporeans lining up for the free TODAY newspapers, ritually. Suddenly, an old, rude and uncouth lady went up to the vendor whose hands were full and busy distributing the free dailies. She fished out a copy of the papers and walked away nonchalantly and quickly, much to the chagrin and anger of the vendor as certainly, it was an unfair act to all those Singaporeans lining up for the dailies. The vendor chastised her and the old lady was adamant and cursed even violently and vehemently at the vendor as she made her way to the MRT station. One could not but feel that it

In the finale of World War II, the US dropped two atomic bombs over Japan, killing thousands and inflicting the later generations with deadly radioactive ailments. The world, for the first time, witnessed the power of the splitting of an atom. Since then, no inventions had yet match or surpass the tremendous effect of the atomic bomb as the world is spare hitherto, from the use of nuclear bomb in conflicts. However, the impact of natural calamities can be thousands of times that of the atomic bomb and regrettably, the world has experienced some of these mega shocks. The Sichuan quake China has experienced just few days ago, measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale was of a force equivalent to that of 240 atomic bombs! Perhaps, the greatest force that the earth had felt was during the Indonesian earthquake in year 2004, measuring 9.1 on the Richter scale that triggered huge tsunamis that killed even more; that impact was equivalent to 10,000 atomic bombs and scientists had reported at that ti

Caught a snippet of the above-titled film where the protagonist in the film, played by Robbin Williams, was subject to a trial in the school. What the protagonist said in the film might be quite true, doctors do not necessarily mean medical professional, being trained in the medical fields, they can mean any layman who ‘heal’ others via encouragement, communication and being there for their heart, body and soul all the time. These can be our friends, family and loved ones.

Just as the relief operations in the cyclone-hit Myanmar are underway, Sichuan in China was hit by the worst earthquake in almost three decades on 12 May 08. The earthquake, measuring 7.5 on the Richter scale destroyed life form and infrastructure in a matter of hours. The death toll at the point in writing was 12,000 and counting. Days before the quake, dwellers in Sichuan witnessed ten of thousands of toads coming out to the streets from their usual habitats, a strange phenomenon which they never understood till now; for animals such as toads detect natural calamities much earlier than human do. These are the telling signs of the catastrophe which human do not heed. Myanmar and Sichuan are also rice-producing provinces; with the escalating cost of rice due to global shortage, the natural catastrophes in these two countries further aggravated the situation. This year is the year of the Rat; it seems that the global rice supply have been really been ‘eaten’ by the mighty Rat figurative

I have just completed the above-titled book. To sum it all, man are often plagued by suffering. To the Buddha, the suffering arises from man’s delusion, thus there is no really any source of suffering for it is just the delusion that man is suffering from that causes him to suffer. Therein lies the route to end suffering via enlightenment.

Yesterday’s Sunday Times invited two Human Resources authorities to postulate a price tag for the modern mother in Singapore. $23K and $8K per month were the figures put to the fore, taking into consideration the multi-roles that the modern mother has to juggle: baby-sitting, housekeeping, tutoring, financial controlling, etc. To me, it is quite ludicrous to give a price tag to a full-time mother, bearing in mind that a full-time mother is a role played by a woman (not an occupation) who sacrifices her career ambitions for the much loftier goal of caring for her family. If I were to put a price tag to my mother; that amount would be priceless! I have discovered the editors of Sunday Times, to a certain extent, like to play on salaries (in a bid to attract readership?); just a few weeks ago, the very paper reported news of investment bankers and real estate agents raking in $20,000 to $50,000 per month as salaries. These incomes are just reflective of the cream of the crop and are not i

There is a myriad of examinations conducted daily island-wide to certify the qualifications of workers in a vast array of expertise from workplace safety to skills and workmanship. I always believe that workers who are certified in a particular expertise are really qualified since they have passed the necessary prerequisites until a recent episode changed my belief. In a recent training with construction workers on assessing workplace safety, I was perturbed by the fact that during the written examination, the one and only invigilator was lax in his discharge of duties, choosing to read newspapers and ignoring the very fact that a majority of the foreign workers were actually blatantly discussing the answers and openly lifting answers from the answer sheets of their colleagues. Some even turned back and nonchalantly copied the answers from my colleagues. Imagine this group of foreign workers were supposed to earn their safety assessment licences by passing the examinations with due com

The cyclone disaster in Myanmar last Thursday has caused widespread suffering and massive destruction, claiming the lives of 22,000 and counting. Just a few days ago in this blog, I was lamenting on the extremely hot and humid weather experienced lately in Singapore; I shall have count myself fortunate to be born in a country where the only natural disasters experienced are some mild tremors shaking some parts of the island whenever there is a major earthquake in Indonesia. The only environmental disaster one can forsee for Singapore is the rising sea level should the polar ice caps continue to melt; for it was recently reported that in a matter of a decade or so, water levels may rise to dangerous levels, submerging parts of Indonesia.

Steven Covey encourages all to begin with the end in mind for any endeavour to maximise effectiveness. I believe his maxim shall be taken when one is pursuing an academic education. We may have witnessed cases of people spending years studying for a particular degree, only to find out that, upon graduation, his real career aspirations do not jar with the route associated with the degree he has obtained. It is hence paramount to have an end in mind, what one really wants to pursue for his career and do for the rest of his life. With changing times, this can sometimes be easier to say than done. The world is changing at a mind-boggling speed, rendering certain industries obsolete in a matter of years. Students gunning for a specific degree may find themselves caught in a dilemma when there are no longer many openings in a certain industry once its wave has ebbed. Times are changing, and although the onus is for one to constantly equip ourselves with knowledge and be relevant to the world

These days in Singapore are getting hotter and hotter. As I woke up today, I could not help but smelt the stench of dried sweat around my shirt. It was a super warm night yesterday and the fact that I belong to the group of Singaporeans having no air-conditioners at home did not help. The temperature reading marched further north to 34 degree Celsius today and at this point of writing, I am still uncomfortable with the heat. To be exact, I am the person who could stand heat but not humidity. Heat coupled with humidity is a lethal combination which could frustrate an even patient and tolerant man under a no air-con environment. Fans could not help much in alleviating the discomfort as what they blow out in turn is hot air. Singapore is largely air-conditioned currently. A decade ago, non air-conditioned buses were still present but today they are a rare breed. Occasionally taking a non air-con bus in the afternoon, I could feel the sweltering heat and my perspiration just roll profusely

Today is Shut Down day Singapore, a day which advocates Singaporeans to stay unplugged from their laptops and computers for a day. Alike many Singaporeans, I do not stay unplugged from my computer today. It is not because I do not recognize the important message behind this special day; it is more due to I celebrating this day everyday: by not being immersed in computers day and night (except during works where it is a necessity) and recognizing that life has a bigger meaning through the real and tactile interactions and relationships with our loved ones and others. It is not a healthy living off your life on the computers, so one should embrace a more meaningful life! Today I read in the news and this piece of news may deter more from being so hooked to the computers: A British study has discovered the typical keyboard contains five times as much bacteria as our typical toilet bowl. The same study also discouraged computer users to avoid dining on the computer desks as it is akin to e

Do not underestimate the impact of your managers on your life. With many being employees spending large chunks of their life working, it is a definite and golden truth that the quality of work life parallels that of one’s personal life. And the quality of one’s work life is shaped largely by and impacted upon by the managers one have; therein lays the importance and impact of managers on your life. If one has a stifling and irritating boss, one returns home at the end of the day, troubled, beset and irritated by the whole affairs of the office. The bad experiences, frustrations one has with his managers are carried back home and in all likelihood translate to frustrations, anger or apathy towards one’s parents, spouse, sibling or children. It is paramount that managers have good management skills, and it is even more critical that they are there, in the manager’s seat because of competence and not because of seniority or because ‘he is a scholar, so he is good’ kind of mentality the se