Business isn't good here in Kopitiam these days, is it? Looks like everyone has either gone on holiday somewhere, got stuck in Orchard Road traffic or maybe got stranded in the floods!? So it's left to pple like me with no holidays to take and no interest in shopping to keep the business going.
I've been wanting to join in the discussion on some of the earlier postings, but never got down to doing it. For this round, I'll pick the post by catalyst on whether or not you are an expert in your work. Btw, I'll stick my head out here and guess that your company is Grace.. something? And you sell catalysts? Or have you moved on already? See, this is part of the point for this post. In the spirit of Kopitiam, which is to get this bunch of 30-somethings connected, this is perhaps a good avenue for us to let each other know more about our work. More so because work is something we probably won't want to dwell too much on during our occasional gatherings. Maybe we should each have an entry here entitled "My typical day at work". I think I'll enjoy reading that from all of you, no matter how boring you think your working day is. Ok my contribution will come in the next post.
It's the last working day of 2006. My career, which is barely there, only just took off this year. After what seemed like an eternity, and after a long-drawn saga of fighting bureaucracy and politics, i finally got my PhD. The issue of being an expert or not struck a cord in me because PhDs should be experts in their fields, shouldn't they? But are they really? What do you put down as occupation in the many forms of all sorts that you have to fill? I struggle with this, usually ending up with "research", "researcher", "research fellow"... depending on what comes to mind first. I should really be putting down "scientist", but have never been convinced in calling myself one. This has been an issue that has plagued me from the day I decided on pursuing a PhD. What has a mechanical engineer got to do with biomedical sciences? Am I able to cope? I find myself caught in between two worlds many a times. On the positive front, this keeps me on my toes, because I have to work hard to carve a niche for myself in a world dominated by biologists. On bad days, it gets overwhelming, to the point that I stop and think about exit strategies. But it is a job that I'm proud of, enjoy, and one that I find meaningful and challenging, so I think I'll stick around for a while more.
So, expert or not? I say we all are. We are all knowledgeable in our own specialized area of work, aren't we? So bring on the forms, I shall call myself a scientist.
May 2007 be a great year for everyone of you, my friends. Live it well. Carpi Diem! Happy New Year!
Friday, December 29, 2006
Sunday, December 24, 2006
new born ii
allow me to post a picture on behalf of kok chuan and gladys, presenting little ashleigh!
Saturday, December 23, 2006
New Born
Hi all, this is the first time I'm posting a blog.
Just want to share with you guys/gals my joy of being a father...for the 2nd time. Haven't decided on the name yet, but my baby girl was born on 20 Dec 2006, 1336 hrs. Vital statistics, weight: 2840g, length (cannot stand so they note it as length instead of height): 50cm and head circumference: 35cm.
Though it was a C-section procedure, Junyi was well enough and both mother and daughter were discharged yesterday. Below are some of the photos of my girl-girl.
Merry Christmas!
Hi guys, Hope everyone is well during this festive period. Many of you must be busy with some last minute shopping and leisure traveling, hence the relative low contribution rate in this blog. Myself included....I am very busy because this is the peak season for weddings. Had to stop taking on jobs over this weekend, becasue it's certainly no fun when everyone is enjoying quality time with families while I work. Happened in the last 2 years, so this year, no way!I am going to have a quiet xmas. And here's a wishing everyone Merry Christmas!
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Memory lane
This post is my tribute to WQ. Not to conjure up more sadness, but to serve as a reminder years down the road that we were fortunate to have once enjoyed the company of a great friend. May this also be an avenue for Yushan and others in the family to re-live some of the moments that WQ has shared with us. These are obviously samples from my own collection, many of which you will be familiar with, but if you have more from your own stash do think about sharing them too.
Happy days in CHS class 4B. The Class T-shirt and mural at the back of the classroom were both designed by WQ. Notice how slim and handsome KC once was... and yes, ahem.. the signature playmobil hair.
The 4B soccer team, of course the school champions. Who worked hardest for the team? probably the one with the most soiled jersey.
Back in CHS after the release of O-level results. Forget the show off plaques, this was the era when large spectacles were the rage of the town.
Good old Bukit Batok council room. If you have forgotten, WQ was the canteen IC. What's the name of that teacher he had to work with? Mr Tian? Now i finally know how they could click, see the resemblance on WQ's face?
This has got to be the pick of the lot. Nevermind that signage falling while being hoisted, we did a good job, didn't we? And WQ scored an A*, no doubt. Classic!
One of my favourite pictures, think Yingchek shot this. And thanks to his dad, we got to do a one day cruise on Lady Olivia. Look how satisfied we all were.
I had to put this in, because i shot it! Could have done better with manipulating the depth of field, though. Recognise the big old tree behind Bukit Timah council room?
I can't recall when or what the occasion was, might be one of the mid-autumn homecomings. But when you see Catalyst this lean and mean, you know it's during those NS days.
This was the time WQ, Yingchek and myself spent at NUS Sheares Hall. We were "pressured" into joining the National Day Celebrations Committee, effectively my last working comm with WQ. Man, we hated those 4am work sessions... Notice Fengling in the picture too.
Many of you probably know that WQ draws quite well. We did a history group project in CHS, on Mahatma Gandhi. As part of that, a choose-your-own-adventure book was produced, with WQ drawing all the cartoons. We won second prize in the school wide project day competition. Check these out:
Happy days in CHS class 4B. The Class T-shirt and mural at the back of the classroom were both designed by WQ. Notice how slim and handsome KC once was... and yes, ahem.. the signature playmobil hair.
The 4B soccer team, of course the school champions. Who worked hardest for the team? probably the one with the most soiled jersey.
Back in CHS after the release of O-level results. Forget the show off plaques, this was the era when large spectacles were the rage of the town.
Good old Bukit Batok council room. If you have forgotten, WQ was the canteen IC. What's the name of that teacher he had to work with? Mr Tian? Now i finally know how they could click, see the resemblance on WQ's face?
This has got to be the pick of the lot. Nevermind that signage falling while being hoisted, we did a good job, didn't we? And WQ scored an A*, no doubt. Classic!
One of my favourite pictures, think Yingchek shot this. And thanks to his dad, we got to do a one day cruise on Lady Olivia. Look how satisfied we all were.
I had to put this in, because i shot it! Could have done better with manipulating the depth of field, though. Recognise the big old tree behind Bukit Timah council room?
I can't recall when or what the occasion was, might be one of the mid-autumn homecomings. But when you see Catalyst this lean and mean, you know it's during those NS days.
This was the time WQ, Yingchek and myself spent at NUS Sheares Hall. We were "pressured" into joining the National Day Celebrations Committee, effectively my last working comm with WQ. Man, we hated those 4am work sessions... Notice Fengling in the picture too.
Many of you probably know that WQ draws quite well. We did a history group project in CHS, on Mahatma Gandhi. As part of that, a choose-your-own-adventure book was produced, with WQ drawing all the cartoons. We won second prize in the school wide project day competition. Check these out:
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Food, Glorious Food...(2)
Visited a few breakfast/brunch places while i was in New York... some slightly uppety and some average but authentically American. Let me start with the slightly uppety one called Balthazar which has wonderful ambience and nice food!
Balthazar, which is Zagat rated (above 20 but can't remember the exact number), is a nice restaurant with a Parisian touch on Spring Street in hippy Soho. We went there at about 10am on a lazy Sat morning and was surprised to be seated really quickly (in less than 5 mins - which i think is due to the rain that morning!). Three of us ordered from their breakfast menu (till 1130am) - both TC and myself had Eggs Benedict while GL ordered their omelette. To perk ourselves up, we had mimosas (champagne and orange juice). TC, a sucker for bacon, ordered a side of bacon which is really tasty and not too salty. The coffee was also nice - not merely "coffee water" and it also came with refills!But talk about food envy.... we saw someone's order of waffles with warm berries !! It was just so pretty and i bet it was delicious! But we were already stuffed and could not take any more food!
Everything about Balthazar was nice - the service staff was friendly, the food was good and the overall experience - wonderful. A bit pricey, but it was all worth it. A nice way to reward yourself for waking up early (eh, 930am) on a Saturday morning!! Check out their website for more details, especially their menu! http://www.balthazarny.com/
Balthazar, which is Zagat rated (above 20 but can't remember the exact number), is a nice restaurant with a Parisian touch on Spring Street in hippy Soho. We went there at about 10am on a lazy Sat morning and was surprised to be seated really quickly (in less than 5 mins - which i think is due to the rain that morning!). Three of us ordered from their breakfast menu (till 1130am) - both TC and myself had Eggs Benedict while GL ordered their omelette. To perk ourselves up, we had mimosas (champagne and orange juice). TC, a sucker for bacon, ordered a side of bacon which is really tasty and not too salty. The coffee was also nice - not merely "coffee water" and it also came with refills!But talk about food envy.... we saw someone's order of waffles with warm berries !! It was just so pretty and i bet it was delicious! But we were already stuffed and could not take any more food!
Everything about Balthazar was nice - the service staff was friendly, the food was good and the overall experience - wonderful. A bit pricey, but it was all worth it. A nice way to reward yourself for waking up early (eh, 930am) on a Saturday morning!! Check out their website for more details, especially their menu! http://www.balthazarny.com/
Friday, December 15, 2006
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
NZ
Just came back to Singapore after several months of traveling, both for work and vacation. It's certainly good to be home!
Serene and I went on from a wonderful self-driving trip in New Zealand for close to 1.5 weeks. It was tiring at times with all the driving but the scenary was simply breathtaking. We went on glacier hikes, jetboating, cruises, whale watching etc and it was just great. And I have never eaten so much lamb in my entire life! We only managed to cover South Island this time round and we will definitely cover North Island next time. If any of you are thinking of traveling to New Zealand in the near future, do let me know and I can provide some useful pointers.
Serene and I went on from a wonderful self-driving trip in New Zealand for close to 1.5 weeks. It was tiring at times with all the driving but the scenary was simply breathtaking. We went on glacier hikes, jetboating, cruises, whale watching etc and it was just great. And I have never eaten so much lamb in my entire life! We only managed to cover South Island this time round and we will definitely cover North Island next time. If any of you are thinking of traveling to New Zealand in the near future, do let me know and I can provide some useful pointers.
Monday, December 11, 2006
What's the Catch?
Has anyone had bad experience or any experience at all with making insurance claims from NTUC Income? Their premium is so much cheaper than the other 4 big insurers it makes one wonder what's the catch. From the reseach i've done, their premium can be twice as cheap as others like Great Eastern or AIA.
I've heard people say that Income is difficult and slow to claim but does anyone have real life personal experience?
Thanks.
I've heard people say that Income is difficult and slow to claim but does anyone have real life personal experience?
Thanks.
Friday, December 8, 2006
Yet another one
Sigh....
Have you guys read Thurs' Newpaper?
Yet another young man died in his sleep, but this time after a short bout of fever.
Worse, his wife is like 7 months pregnant and the fact that this man was reported to be enthusiastically buying stuff for her baby really saddened me big time....because I thought of my baby and how it would be like if I never got to see her pretty face.
Our dear friend's name was mentioned again in the sidebar, about who else had suffered the same fate over the last two months. Unfortunately the reporter spelt his name wrongly.
On the same note, wonder who went to the ritual on thursday?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Not to dampen your festive spirit, I'm sure most of you have noticed the christmas songs playing at shopping malls and the toy fairs galore everywhere. Let's not forget the caring and sharing spirit of Dr Toh and do our part for the less fortunate. It's a shame that after NUS, I haven't been very active in the charity movement. I never buy tissue paper from old ladies or blind folks because I was told that was not the right thing to do.
I never dialled in at NKF or Ren Ci gala shows because the cynic in me loathe the ra-ra nature of such charity shows, and doubt the sincerity of those involved (the downfall of TT Durai proved me right, sadly). My wife and I have been contemplating for a long time to want to make regular contributions to Kwang Wai Siu Hospital along Serangoon Rd, but procrastination meant that the cheques never reach the deserving personnel. Maybe we are really growing old and becoming more cynical. Don't you agree that most charity drives are mooted by people (eg. insurance/pharmaceautical companies, young guns with political ambitions) who just want some cheap publicity? It was especially obvious when I was with the press and saw through it all. Sick.
So I guess this year is the year to kickstart my personal agenda again.
But to who? Which org has the integrity and the resolve to make sure the deserving parties get the pie?
Any ideas/suggestions?
Have you guys read Thurs' Newpaper?
Yet another young man died in his sleep, but this time after a short bout of fever.
Worse, his wife is like 7 months pregnant and the fact that this man was reported to be enthusiastically buying stuff for her baby really saddened me big time....because I thought of my baby and how it would be like if I never got to see her pretty face.
Our dear friend's name was mentioned again in the sidebar, about who else had suffered the same fate over the last two months. Unfortunately the reporter spelt his name wrongly.
On the same note, wonder who went to the ritual on thursday?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Not to dampen your festive spirit, I'm sure most of you have noticed the christmas songs playing at shopping malls and the toy fairs galore everywhere. Let's not forget the caring and sharing spirit of Dr Toh and do our part for the less fortunate. It's a shame that after NUS, I haven't been very active in the charity movement. I never buy tissue paper from old ladies or blind folks because I was told that was not the right thing to do.
I never dialled in at NKF or Ren Ci gala shows because the cynic in me loathe the ra-ra nature of such charity shows, and doubt the sincerity of those involved (the downfall of TT Durai proved me right, sadly). My wife and I have been contemplating for a long time to want to make regular contributions to Kwang Wai Siu Hospital along Serangoon Rd, but procrastination meant that the cheques never reach the deserving personnel. Maybe we are really growing old and becoming more cynical. Don't you agree that most charity drives are mooted by people (eg. insurance/pharmaceautical companies, young guns with political ambitions) who just want some cheap publicity? It was especially obvious when I was with the press and saw through it all. Sick.
So I guess this year is the year to kickstart my personal agenda again.
But to who? Which org has the integrity and the resolve to make sure the deserving parties get the pie?
Any ideas/suggestions?
Thursday, December 7, 2006
Food, Glorious Food....
Hmm... I've decided that rather than start a new blog to document the food places i've been while i was in New York, i will do it here! After all, what's Kopitiam without food right?
I've been lucky that many of my colleagues are also foodies and we spent most of our time exploring interesting places to dine during (ie lunch) and after work. For this maiden post, i'll start with classic american must-have for breakfast... BAGELS!
There's this very good bagel shop near our office called Ess-a-Bagel (along 3rd Avenue, between E.50th St and E.51st St). My favourite order is their "Everything Buttered Toasted Bagel" which only cost US$1! Their Everything Bagel has literally everything savoury - salt, sesame seed, garlic, poppy seed, etc. The best part is that the guys there are really generous with butter. Hmm... imagine a warm bagel with melted butter - it's heavenly! It's even better if you go there at about 9.30am, when the bagels are fresh out of the oven! But it's also the time when queues start to form and people take-away bagels by the bags!! When that happens, hokkien expletives are most useful!
They also have a good spread of cream cheeses, salads, meats and fish... Their sundried tomato cream cheese and tuna salad is commendable, but nothing beats their buttered bagels. Check out their website @ http://www.ess-a-bagel.com
Watch out for my next instalment of other interesting breakfast/brunch places!
I've been lucky that many of my colleagues are also foodies and we spent most of our time exploring interesting places to dine during (ie lunch) and after work. For this maiden post, i'll start with classic american must-have for breakfast... BAGELS!
There's this very good bagel shop near our office called Ess-a-Bagel (along 3rd Avenue, between E.50th St and E.51st St). My favourite order is their "Everything Buttered Toasted Bagel" which only cost US$1! Their Everything Bagel has literally everything savoury - salt, sesame seed, garlic, poppy seed, etc. The best part is that the guys there are really generous with butter. Hmm... imagine a warm bagel with melted butter - it's heavenly! It's even better if you go there at about 9.30am, when the bagels are fresh out of the oven! But it's also the time when queues start to form and people take-away bagels by the bags!! When that happens, hokkien expletives are most useful!
They also have a good spread of cream cheeses, salads, meats and fish... Their sundried tomato cream cheese and tuna salad is commendable, but nothing beats their buttered bagels. Check out their website @ http://www.ess-a-bagel.com
Watch out for my next instalment of other interesting breakfast/brunch places!
Sunday, December 3, 2006
Saturday, December 2, 2006
The Road and the Sea
OK, if this new post goes through, it's 99% credit to Eik, who has tried all kinds of tricks from his secret sachet to drill a little blog-savviness into my head. But i'm pretty sure it does since this box that i'm writing in looks as foreign to me as newfoundland.
So, before the road trip bubble bursts, can i start throwing in some ideas of where we can go? For a start, a short 3-hr drive to Malacca can be nice. There's really nothing much to do there, except heading straight for the chendol and chicken rice ball at Jonkker Street. Of course there's Mahkota Parade but that's a little like any shopping mall here. On the way, we can also make a detour to Segamat for what else but durians.
If we have a night or two to spare alternatively, we can venture up to Cameron Highlands. HC and I took our outdoor wedding photos there (then drove a gruelling 12 hours to Terrangganu for part 2) and it was a really nice, cool place to hang out. Obviously, there's none of the buzz in the city but the drive up the windy road (sometimes foggy) is really good in transporting your mind into the subliminal realm of nature. There are some civilisation at the top, which offers pretty good food and even a Pasar Malam on weekend evenings. The yuan yang steamboat is a popular dish that heats up the body inside out on a typically chilly evening. Overall it should be a great place to hang out, talk and just soak in the surrounding nature, if we can afford to commit a night or two.
At the end of the day, it's really not important if there are exciting things to do, famous food to savour (which is why i didn't even bring up KL), but rather a trip that really allows us to re-establish the bonds we once had and to share it with our loved ones too. Over the past years, there were several attempts to keep it going, some did it rather nicely, others were pretty lame. Once in a while, the memory of one of these attempts popped into my mind and reminded me of the fun times we used to have. Just that day i was reminded of a beginner's windsurfing course a couple of us took at the Sembawang Canoe Club. WK was one of them. It was a really silly course as the Johor Straits was dead calm. So much so that most of the time we had to balance the sails with our bodies rather than make use of the winds. For me the lesson learnt was how bad a backache could be.
Then there was this idea that we could all go and learn how to sail a keel boat, and then buy one together and go sailing every so often. Well, let's just say the plan shelved itself after we finished that exciting discussion. But we did have some nice moments with the sea, and some of those on the yacht that my dad works on. Didn't we go to Pulau Hantu in a big group and stopped right by a gigantic oil rig to fish? Even as recent as Kiwi and PS's wedding, we were out at sea again taking their wedding pictures. Maybe we can do the yacht thing again sometime in the future? Any other suggestions?
So, before the road trip bubble bursts, can i start throwing in some ideas of where we can go? For a start, a short 3-hr drive to Malacca can be nice. There's really nothing much to do there, except heading straight for the chendol and chicken rice ball at Jonkker Street. Of course there's Mahkota Parade but that's a little like any shopping mall here. On the way, we can also make a detour to Segamat for what else but durians.
If we have a night or two to spare alternatively, we can venture up to Cameron Highlands. HC and I took our outdoor wedding photos there (then drove a gruelling 12 hours to Terrangganu for part 2) and it was a really nice, cool place to hang out. Obviously, there's none of the buzz in the city but the drive up the windy road (sometimes foggy) is really good in transporting your mind into the subliminal realm of nature. There are some civilisation at the top, which offers pretty good food and even a Pasar Malam on weekend evenings. The yuan yang steamboat is a popular dish that heats up the body inside out on a typically chilly evening. Overall it should be a great place to hang out, talk and just soak in the surrounding nature, if we can afford to commit a night or two.
At the end of the day, it's really not important if there are exciting things to do, famous food to savour (which is why i didn't even bring up KL), but rather a trip that really allows us to re-establish the bonds we once had and to share it with our loved ones too. Over the past years, there were several attempts to keep it going, some did it rather nicely, others were pretty lame. Once in a while, the memory of one of these attempts popped into my mind and reminded me of the fun times we used to have. Just that day i was reminded of a beginner's windsurfing course a couple of us took at the Sembawang Canoe Club. WK was one of them. It was a really silly course as the Johor Straits was dead calm. So much so that most of the time we had to balance the sails with our bodies rather than make use of the winds. For me the lesson learnt was how bad a backache could be.
Then there was this idea that we could all go and learn how to sail a keel boat, and then buy one together and go sailing every so often. Well, let's just say the plan shelved itself after we finished that exciting discussion. But we did have some nice moments with the sea, and some of those on the yacht that my dad works on. Didn't we go to Pulau Hantu in a big group and stopped right by a gigantic oil rig to fish? Even as recent as Kiwi and PS's wedding, we were out at sea again taking their wedding pictures. Maybe we can do the yacht thing again sometime in the future? Any other suggestions?
Friday, December 1, 2006
Happy Anniversary, Daddy & Mummy
It was my parents' wedding anniversary yesterday... 36 years of union... 3 bundles of joy, of which one came with a 'free gift'... and a home full of love.
I started giving my parents gifts for their wedding anniversary especially after i got married... to celebrate the union that was the cause of our existence and to thank them for their efforts in making us what we are today. But to date, it was just flowers and cute plushies lah... haven't got round sending them off to a romantic dinner/escapade yet coz i guess it will take some coaxing...
Incidentally, I was shoppping for wedding anniversary cards while in NY (Hallmark cards cheaper there lah...) and my friend was shocked that i actually bother to send a card to CM on our wedding anniversary. I told him we send each other cards during those special occasions (birthdays, anniversaries) just to thank each other for tolerating our nonsense, noise (mostly mine) and patience. Cards are just so powerful as a communication tool... coz they say so little yet mean so much. I've collected all the cards we sent each other, so that i can show them to my children and grandchildren when we are old!
Happy Anniversary, daddy & mummy!
I started giving my parents gifts for their wedding anniversary especially after i got married... to celebrate the union that was the cause of our existence and to thank them for their efforts in making us what we are today. But to date, it was just flowers and cute plushies lah... haven't got round sending them off to a romantic dinner/escapade yet coz i guess it will take some coaxing...
Incidentally, I was shoppping for wedding anniversary cards while in NY (Hallmark cards cheaper there lah...) and my friend was shocked that i actually bother to send a card to CM on our wedding anniversary. I told him we send each other cards during those special occasions (birthdays, anniversaries) just to thank each other for tolerating our nonsense, noise (mostly mine) and patience. Cards are just so powerful as a communication tool... coz they say so little yet mean so much. I've collected all the cards we sent each other, so that i can show them to my children and grandchildren when we are old!
Happy Anniversary, daddy & mummy!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)