New Rules to Curb My Spending

We are like kids. When we see something new and shiny, we will have an urge to get it. But have we ever sit down and think carefully before committing. This is one of the reasons why saving can be so difficult because we always give in to our urge. I admit I am one of the victims, so nowadays I follow these rules to curb myself. 

1. We usually will cook up 1001 excuses if we wanted to get something. But before buying it, have you really thought about it. Do you have something similar like that at home lying there collecting dust. Maybe you should dust it off and give it a new lease of life. Dig through those drawers and you may find some hidden treasure. It's always a frustrating when you realize you have the same thing in your drawer or cupboard right after bringing home the new shiny one. *This usually happens during spring cleaning*
2. Something spoilt? Can it be repaired? I usually will try to repair it before chunking the thing into the dustbin. Maybe a small fix here or there will do the trick. No hurt trying since the item is spoilt in the first place. Duno how to fix? Just google for it...
3. If you want to buy something, you better make damn sure you will use it. Getting it and NOT using it is throwing money away. This is the worse crime as you wasted money and space in your home to keep that bloody unused crap!

Finally, if you really really really have no use for something and it is still in good working condition. Why not trying selling or donating it? Recoup some of your losses or just do a good deed. At least, it clears up that space for your next shiny toy. ;) hehehe

A New Year, A New Hope

Funny I choose today to write something on my blog. It's been a long while since I posted something here. I have so many thoughts and things to write about, but I always put it off either due to family, work or plain laziness. Might as well choose today to restart this blog. So here we are, December 31, last day of 2013. Everyone in the family has turned in. The boys are still recovering from their illness, my dear wife has a draining day at your workplace and snoring loudly. The sound of a countdown party in the distant outside my window. 2013 has be an eventful year, so many things have happen, both good and bad. Life seems to speed past by this year. In the mist of it all, somehow I seems to lost myself in it. I seem to lost the drive. Everything is a motion to me. 

I don't know what started it and I am still finding a way out of it. I have ideas and things to do, but most of the time I just wasted my time on insignificant stuff. Things won't get done until they are really to be done. I learn there is a word for this. It is called procrastinate. I know this is wrong, but I just can't find the energy to pick myself up and work. I am stuck in this sticky patch right now, fighting with myself. I really do hope I could get myself out of this. I hope 2014 is a good year, one that can kick start my engine and make me be a better man again. Goodbye 2013, Happy 2014.

What's the Rush?

Saw a funny incident at a traffic junction on my way to work today. This lady driver wanted to make a right turn but she is not able to drive into the right turning lane because a cab blocking the way and it is red lights at that time. Instead of waiting for the cab to move off, she tries to squeeze her vehicle through a tiny gap between the cab and the curb so much so that her entire right side of her car mounted the curb. After all the troubles, she is still stuck at the junction because when the lights turn green the oncoming traffic prevents her from turning. And the cab that was blocking her in the first place move passes her. -_-“ I thought to myself what the hell is she in a rush for? After risking damages to others and her car, she still ends up the same place as where she started. For all her stunts, she ends up where she started. Ha...

This brings about to the typical behavior of Singaporeans. Selfish and impatient. I often see Singaporeans push, rush, squeeze, speed and cut their way to wherever they are going and often they end up the same or slower than the ones lagging behind. How much time can you save in the first place? At most is 5 minutes. 5 minutes for so much effort, even risking of their lives at times?

We often complain that our frequency of our public transport during peak hours is slow. Sometimes I feel it is not the fault of the drivers. Take a look at the way our fellow countrymen behave during the peak hours. All the jostling, pushing and elbowing (ok, that’s too far fetch) to get aboard of the trains and bus when it is so bloody obvious that it is pack like sardines. The next bus/train is only 3 mins away and they die die want to take this one. It's not like you reach your destination late by an hour if you miss this one. Where is the logic???

And let's not forgot those selfish people inside the buses and trains. If they could just stop and think for a minute, by moving to the back or away from the door, then there won't be so much time wasted with the boarding ritual. Frequency of the buses and trains will be much improved if everyone is to work together, but nooo.... everyone must fulfill their own selfish agenda. So everyone gets drag down by the delaying. Hiaz....

Playing Master and Servants

It's been 2 weeks since our Indonesian maid has came in. So far, everything works out well (cross fingers/touch wood). The girl is quite obedient and diligent in her work. Sometimes, we feel very awkward asking her to do this and that. Used to doing things by ourselves. Now suddenly there is someone to wash your dishes after you have finished your meal and handle the housework. Really need some time to get used to it.

I find these maids also quite poor thing. They travel all the way from their home, to a place that is so alien to them. They may end up with some horrible employers that really abused their power and ill treat the maid. And these employers still have the nerve to complain when the maid revolt.

The maid is human too. Just because they are less educated than us does not give us the rights to look down on them. Maybe it's the stories of maids stealing and taking advantage of the employers that frighten us. For our case, we are keeping an eye on our maid but making sure we treat her well at the same time.

We Are Still The Same 50 Years On

I remember our PM Lee Hsien Loong's National Rally this year mentioned that our country have transformed over the past 50 years that it was unimaginable then. Well, I have to agree with him that yes Singapore really have change a lot over the last half a century.

Somehow I feel that all those change only happens on the surface. As the old saying goes, "the more we change, the more we stay the same". The city skyline may looks different now, but I feel that underneath the beautiful scenery, we are no different from what we are in when we are still an English colony

Then, our population consists of mostly immigrants. We have the Chinese from mainland China, Indians from India, Malays from neighboring Indonesia and Malaysia and of course the westerners here to seek fortunes. Compare to the Singapore society today, we are more of less the same.

Walk into any food courts, hawker centers or shops and most of the time, you will be greeted by a Chinese national. The streets and construction sites are filled with Indians workers. High positions in professional sectors are taken up by angmohs. Like our forefathers, the Chinese national will gather at Chinatown while the Indians at Little India during the weekends.

Given these circumstances, it's not surprising that the recent figures from the Department of Statistics shows that 25% of the population here are non-Singaporeans. As for the 75% supposingly Singaporeans, 64% are local Singaporeans with the other 11% being permanent resident.

With the increased in "Foreign Talents" coming in couple with the continuing falling birth rates, I have to agree with DK that we, the local Singaporeans, are going to be out numbered soon. So did our country really changed?

Dual Sound For Hong Kong Serials?

We can watch French movie in French.
We can watch Korean show in Korean
We can watch Japanese serial in Japanese

So why can't we watch HK drama in Cantonese??? I don't see there are any difference between the above and Cantonese. They are all foreign language. Ok, someone points out that Cantonese is dialect. Characters in Jack Neo movies spew Hokkiens, Teochews and Singlish. Those are dialects so why can't the same rules apply for HK movies?

Many of the jokes in HK movies or dramas are better appreciated when spoken in their original language. The favor is lost when translated to Chinese. Furthermore, sometimes the dubbing is plain horrible where the Chinese dubbed voice totally mismatched the artistes looks.

If it is a must to have Chinese, can they at least make it dual sound? The serial can still be shown in Chinese but viewers can switch to the Canto language audio channel if they want to. They have been doing that for the Japanese and Koreans dramas, so why not for the HK ones as well? Is this too much to ask for?

Who Send the Bus Driver to Work?

Woke up @5am in the morning the other day. As I look out the window, I notice that there are buses already on the streets. Make me wonder, we take the buses to work. For the cases of the bus driver, how do they get to work?

They definitely don't stay next to the bus interchange. Since there are no public transport during those wee hours, how did they travel to the bus depot to drive the buses out?

Take taxi? Isn't that a bit too expensive for them with the midnight charges? Take company buses? Then how did the company bus driver go TO work? Hmmmm.....

Life's Irony

Our life is such an irony. When we are young, we have all the time in the world but no money to do whatever the things we like. We work part time and save on our pocket money just to have that little bit more to buy the games, toys or bags that we so desire. All these times, we long for the days when we will grow up and earn a salary. With the salary we will be able to buy anything we want easily.

How irony it is that when we reach that stage, though we have money, we find ourselves lacking in another thing call Time. There are tons of things to do yet we always find ourselves running out of time. No time to shop, play games or enjoy ourselves. Everyday is the same routine. Go work, go home. How to find time for ourselves then?

So in the end, we are sort of back to square one. We still unable to enjoy the things we like. :(

The Tiger's Words of Wisdom

"Buy what you need, not what you want. Spend on what you can afford now, not on what you can pay back later." ;)

This is the way we should spend our hard earn money. Sadly, this is not the case for the younger generation. Today, the youngsters only concern about catching up to the latest fashion and getting what they want by signing credit cards or as the Chinese says, using future money.

"We are the generation that saved and only bought something if we could afford it. Today's generation is one that borrows" - An elderly man outside Northern Rock when the bank goes under.

Singapore Wayang Force

Took the bus to Changi airport with Angie on Saturday evening for a walk. Before entering every airport terminal, a policeman will come up the bus to check for any suspicious article. At this point of time, I am thinking

1. Terrorists must be very poor. To deliver a bomb, they can only take public bus, no money to take taxis, MRT or drive their own car or any private transport. If they want to tighten security, how comes these other transports are not check?

2. What makes them think that the bomb will be left in an unclaimed bag? The way the policemen goes through his check is like looking for any suspicious item. A bag with an owner is not a bomb.

3. Talking about bombs in bags, this is regarding the stupid Be Vigilante video playing at MRT stations. Why must bombs be in big black bag. Err... for their info, terrorists uses suicide bombers. They WEAR their bombs, which is barely noticeable underneath their clothings.

What I want to say is, all these actions are only for show. In another words, a big wayang. Not only it is an insult to our intelligence but to the terrorists too.

Choosing The Right Career Path

Daphnemaia wrote a very nice article about the lack of career guidance for students in our education system today. Often than not, students took the wrong path either by parent/peer pressure or government promotion, ending up hating the course they took.

I have seen a lot of such cases. Many of my course mates during my university days have no passion in what they study. Most of the times, they are just trying to get by. It got me thinking if they find the course does not suit them, why did they still persist on? Dun wan to waste the money spent or unsure what they want next if they are to quit?

For them, the goal is to graduate with that all important piece of paper. Once you got that degree, it's all that matters as it will at least guarantee you a better head start in your working life. So these people bring their mistakes to their working life, working in jobs they dislike. At the end of the day, most of them end up working in other line of work rather than the one stated in their cert.

Such is the state of our society is in. We are often reminded by our parents that we will "end up as road sweeper" if we dun do well in our academics since young. Together with the lack of career guidance, students, rather than given a chance to pursue their passion, took up courses they dun like/hardly know since it promises a better prospect.

What If...

We, humans, are a funny bunch of creature. We always think of these two words and imagine what will have been if we walk down the other path.

"What if I enter my trade here, then I will be rich now"

"What if I made the other decisions then, we will not end up this way"

"What if I buy all combinations for my 4D, then I will strike first prize"

The grass is greener on the other side. We always like to think of the good things that may happen if you made the other decision. The other decision is always right and always leads to better things in life.

I always thought how nice it will be if there is a time machine and I can make all the wrong things right. But have we ever thought what if the other way is no better of than what we are experiencing now? We know things are better at the other side cause it has happen already. But at that point of time when the decision is made, we never know what will happen next.

By circling on the same spot thinking of what might have been, we are getting nowhere. We only make ourselves more confused and frustrated. Move on. Ya, I admit it's easier to say than do. Truth is I am a very pessimistic person, that's why I am writing this to change my mentality.

I want to live with the motto of No Regrets. No regrets in which ever path I choose. It's my own choice, I have to face it. As they say, "You made your bed, now lie in it". Why always have to think of the negative side, maybe it is a right decision, just that you may not realize it yet. Make the best with what we got. It won't rain all the time, the sky won't fall forever...

"The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows...
...it ain't about how hard you hit.
It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.
How much you can take and keep moving forward.
That's how winning is done!" - Rocky in Rocky Balboa (2006)

Camera Eyes

Thanks to the invention of cameras, we can capture the many special and wonderful moments in life for our memory. However, there are times when things happen so fast that does not give you time to react. By the time, you whip your camera out and turn it on, that moment has passed.

How nice if our eyes can act like some sort of camera cum video cam? Like the characters in Ghost In The Shell, we can instantly capture every second of what is happening. Nothing is missed.

However, if that day comes, it will open a whole new can of worms. Even now, we have seen news of people secretly taking photos/videos using their camera phones. Privacy will go out the window if our eyes can do this.