Poor Neglected Blog

I’m guilty. Such a terrible crime to commit… leaving my blog unattended for so long.

I even told myself that work was to blame for the dearth of any entries… and I know it’s a lame excuse. Even a couple of lines would have sufficed. My original target was at least one entry per month. And even that was not realized.

Admittedly, when I started creating my blog, I really wanted it to be something attractive. Hence, the pretty women at the start of the blogging entries. I also realized that the blog would be so much more interesting if it had pictures. In fact, more pictures, less words.

Unfortunately, of late, there hasn’t been anything really worth posting… not really.

Oh! But I did get to see the remarkable Jack Sparrow, Elizabeth Swan and Will Turner in their 3^rd installment of Pirates. And this was on the opening night as well, courtesy of ABN AMRO.

Har! Har! Rollicking good fun it was. Would recommend that if anyone was going to see it, do try and watch Dead Man’s Chest and The Curse of the Black Pearl first. Could be a bit confusing otherwise.

Cheerio!

The Dental Experience revisited

That’s so funny. Never thought I’d use that phrase like that, but how can I express the situation I have put myself in?
Following on from an earlier blog about my dentophobia, I have discovered that true to the laws of the professional industry, that there are mediocre professionals and there is “greatness”.
If one doesn’t explore the choices, then what one knows as “great” was in actual fact only “mediocre”. And until you come across the definitive professional, you will always live for “mediocre”.

In my case, the dentist whom I have entrusted my very first visitation in some many many years, initially “great”. “Great” until I happened to chance upon another dental clinic. Actually, it was an appointment made by chance. My wife decided that she didn’t need the slot and we had to go anyway, for the sake of my younger daughter. So, I took the appointment, seeing how I kept missing the other one.

The amazing point here is Technology. And if made available to the right professional, wonderful things can happen.
So this latest visit to a ‘new’ dentist was an eye opener.

3 things stood out. First, the people and the level of service. They really made little Megan feel comfortable. Second, NO PAIN! Yes! For the first time in any dental visit, an anesthetic jab was given without any hint of pain. That, to me was amazing. And thirdly, the use of lasers for dental surgery. That was the technology bit. And oh, the service… they actually called the day after the surgery to see if I was OK. That was a surprise.

Good one Google.. hur hur hur

Its 1st April. Does that ring a bell? Helloooo0…
Er.. Palm Sunday? Yes, that happens to be today as well.
BUT… it is also April’s Fool Day. And I wonder how many souls suffered the fool when our favourite corporate search engine giant launched one of the most elaborate jokes that I have ever seen.

The whole “prank” starts off on the main Google search page as a link to a new beta product called TiSP.

Go ahead try it out… before they take it off. Click on the link in their site.. and have fun.
They even had a really good Press Release page…not to mention FAQ pages.. that got me laughing so hard, my sides ached! (see final picture below)

The Final Word from Google TiSP..

Colourful goodies of CNY

CNY ( Chinese New Year) has always been a colourful and auspicious occasion in Asia. Plenty of reds and gold abound, as these colours represent luck and wealth.

I was in Taipei just before CNY this year and it was really an eye-opener for me. This was how our neighbours in Taiwan prepared for the New Year!
It was an amazing kaleidoscope of colours in their segment of Chinatown; a place called Di-Hwa street. Every stall along this bustling narrow street offers you a free sampling of their goodies. Its said that if you sampled everything from one end of the street to the other, you would have had your fill for lunch! Well, I wouldn’t pig out on the sort of snacks these vendors were offering. They were all very much the same type of foodstuff; from sweets to exotic fish roe. Some of the things.. well, you would have to acquire a taste for it.
For me, I simply wanted to take in the sights, smells and the whole atmosphere.
It was also the best opportunity to buy some goodies home for CNY and sweets for little Megan’s birthday.

A father’s anguish

Megan Nicole had just turned a cheeky 5 years old on 14th February. Born a Valentine’s Day baby, it was decided to avoid all the overly commercialised expense of St. Valentine by celebrating her 5th birthday on the weekend of 11th Feb.
Days before, she had come down with a fever and a tummy ache. The local doctor diagnosed gastric flu and prescribed the necessary medication.
Megan was really looking forward to her party as she had invited most of her kindie class over. With her fever going up and down like a yo-yo, it was really uncertain if the party could go on.
Then miraculously, on the night before the party, her fever subsided. The next day, she was hunky dory. All perky and excited. The party was a success.
By evening, her fever was back with a vengence. The battle to resolve the cause of her 39˚C temperatures went on for a week. When the fever was down, she was as perky as a chihuahua.  When the fever rose beyond 38.5˚C she was listless. All that medication didn’t help. And Megan was not the best patient. She had this innate ability to regurgitate the medication at will. So getting the antibiotics down her was a real battle.
On her actual birth date (14th Feb), we had a small cake and candles for her. It was a quiet family affair. She loved it.
By 15th Feb, the fever was still hitting the high numbers. By some instinct, as a parent, I came home early from work. Megan was running one of her fevers. This time it was a fiery 40-plus centigrade. And she was pale, her eyes looked glazed. She didn’t even sit up to greet me. She needed to see the pediatrician again and urgently. I bundled her up and put her in her stroller. Man, she was really burning up. At this point, I was really freaking out. I have never seen her like this.
I called ahead to the specialist clinic. As luck would have it, her pediatrician was on duty.
When I wheeled her in to see her, even she was quite shocked by the subdued little girl.
“Admit her” – those were the dreaded words I did not want to hear. But what choice did I have?
So, just one day after her 5th birthday, she was admitted into Mt. Alvernia hospital. She was so subdued that when they put the IV needle into her hand, she hardly struggled. What touched me was that her own pediatrician came in that night after her official work hours to perform the IV procedure herself. It was also the best time to do the blood-work. The sooner the blood tests got going, the sooner they could find the cause.
Megan was put on the drip and a administered a broad spectrum antibiotic intravenously.
Just as well she was on the drip. The initial results in morning showed she was so dehydrated.
Both mum and dad stayed with her in the hospital the whole time. Sleep was… difficult. We were totally helpless. I was berating myself for not getting her to the specialist earlier.
The wife was also admonishing herself for letting Megan swim so soon after her previous illness.
Still, the tests that came back only showed inconclusive presence of some bacteria. There was nothing specific. That was the worse bit. That was no specific target.
As such, they could only continue to bombard her system with a broad barrage of antibiotics… and hoped that it would kill off the offending germ.
Over the next 2 days, the IV antibiotics started to work and the fever gradually became less vicious, with only 2 high spikes occurring. We lived from one temperature reading to the next.
On the eve of Chinese New Year, we were resigned to spending the auspicious evening confined to the hospital. Megan had had a fever of 38˚C that late afternoon. Though not as bad as the previous occassions, it meant that the fever was still there. Paracetomol was administered. An hour after, her fever dropped to a low 37.5˚C. Knowing that reunion dinner was important on the eve of Chinese New Year, her doctor made the allowance for a bit of “home leave” for the traditional reunion dinner. Megan was suddenly almost her chirpy ol’ self. Her appetite was back and that was good news. First time in almost 5 days, she asked for 2nd helpings. Maybe it was the detachment of the IV tube from her hand that also perked her up.
It was very difficult for our elder daughter, Callista, that evening, when after dinner, we made to return to the hospital. She had been very brave the last few days, when both had to stay with her sister  at the hospital. So, I guess it was all too much for her finally and she broke out crying when we headed out the door. What touched me was Megan consoling her elder sister.. that was a sight.
That whole night, mum and dad wondered when the fever would spike again. Each time the nurse came in to take Megan’s temperature, we would be up as well. We would wait expectantly for the readings.
The fever did not appear again that whole night. It had finally broken in the early hours of the Chinese New Year, 18th Feb.
Based on the down trend of the fever, Megan was discharged from the hospital late that morning.
This was certainly the most memorable Chinese New Year for us as parents. This year, we have real meaningful blessings to count,… we have our family back.
That afternoon, when our 2 kids were making a ruckus, I just smiled. I didn’t care if they made a mess or bickered. Kids are… just kids. You learn to love the unique sound of their presence around the home. Its the absence of their voices that frightens me most.

The Girls Next Door

It was an interesting afternoon on the 25th Jan. In the heart of the busy business hub at Caltex House, and in the midst of the lunch time crowd, FHM Singapore introduced its 100 hopeful contenders for the title of FHM ‘Girl Next Door’ (a.k.a GND) 2007.

Now, in my younger days, the girl next door (whom I dated for a short while) would have readily qualified for this title.
LOL, her fave outfit was even the similar to the choice FHM chose to deck their 100 contenders in over at Caltex House, i.e. hotpants and tube tops.
OK, enough reminiscing.. have a look at some of the young contenders this year.

 

 

Ode to a grand 73 year old lady

As at April 2006, one of Singapore’s prominent landmark will ceased its original operational function; that of being a point of embarkation / disembarkation for seafarers.
At 73 years old, Clifford Pier has etched in my memory since childhood. 
Recollections of dad strolling us round to  Clifford Pier, and shopping at a cramp and busy Change Alley some 30 odd years ago, still linger.
Its true that we often take for granted many things, inanimate objects as well as living things. A building to many, is just a dwelling or a place of business. For many, this particular building harbours many memories.
I never would have thought that Clifford Pier would cease operation. Its be there for so very long. The good news is that the building would remain largely intact, earmarked for restoration by the government.

So, its come a full circle for me. After having left Singapore for Australia some 20 years ago, I find myself now working just across this historic landmark. Every so often I would stroll across at lunch time and take in the heady smells of the salty sea air.. mixed with diesal fumes from the old bum boats and ferrys.

In the closing days, just before the reloaction of the ferry operators to the spanking new Marina South Pier, you often see some of the wizened old ferry operators hanging about their old joint.. probably reminiscing.

You can read more about Clifford Pier at the Singapore Infopedia website
There are also a few pages and older pictures of Clifford Pier on the URA website

Last Break of 2006

Into 2007 and I’m already hard-pressed to keep my blog updated!

In the closing days of 2006, we made a rather (in retrospect) silly decision to spend some time at a seaside resort close by. It was silly and desperate as December has always been a wet and wild time with the tropical monsoon in full bloom.

BUT! Thank God and the Heavens! It was a miracle that on the 3 days that we spent there, we had sunshine (weak) and cool breezes.

This is Turi Beach Resort on the island of Batam. Its a short 30 minute ride by high speed ferry from Singapore.

The plan was to let the missus and the kids relax on the private beach and the boys get in a spot of fishing on the really long jetty.

Day 1 was rather disappointing for fishing. Being new to the place, we set about testing the waters and trying various baits. Plenty of rocks and corals, so as expected, I lost about 5 sets of rigs.
Day 2 was Fantastic. We had secured a bag of fresh prawns the night before from the seafood restaurant and started fishing right after a leisurely breakfast.
 In about an hour we had hooked up 3 good size stingrays, (but only laned 2). Each stingray was about 2 kilos. Also thrown in were a couple of white snappers.
We got the restaurant at the resort to cook up the stingray for us.
 Mmmmm.. this was really yummy. Grilled stingray done on a banana leaf and marinated with sambal and chilli.

The thing about resorts is that they are mostly isolated and usually quite far from the civilised areas. Getting to the nearest village would cost an unreasonable amount of money. So, it was decided that we dine in at the same restaurant for the subsequent meals. At least there was some variety.. ha ha ha.

Welcome 2007

 
As we progress into 2007, let us all pray for a more civilised year, a year of Peace, of less turmoil by Man or Nature.

Let us bear in mind that as we age with each year, we learn from experiences past, be wiser for the future and focus on the present.

But let us also not forget to live life to the fullest and be the best that we can be.

Life without the internet

Have you ever you had to imagine what it was like to be deprived of the internet? Well, the netizens of the Asia-Pacific region just had to live that nightmare on Wednesday.
And we’re still experiencing it even now. Its not like someone turned off a switch and plunged this part of the region into total darkness… it’s more like rapid fading light, falling into dusk then twilight, with some light peeking out from a very weak moon in a heavily clouded sky.. perhaps.

One would have thought that the brains who designed the undersea cables linking the networld would have also designed-in or planned for earthquakes in the region. Yet, despite all that wonderful technology that our technocratic society is boasting about, we are still dependant on concept that has been around and used for communications for decades… the humble cable.

Granted the technology within and around the cable has changed dramatically since the days of Alexandra Graham Bell, and it is still the most cost-efficient way to provide mass-communications. But one still has to wonder when the next quantum leap in this area would happen. Would there ever be a technology impervious to such forces of nature?

I would love to be around when that happens. But it may be too much to ask for in my lifetime. So, for now, I live in partial information darkness, until the undersea cables which were damaged by the earthquake, can be fully restored.
At least I am thankful that I am not in a total information blackout. There are other means of communications, and the internet looks like its getting back up to speed today