SINGAPORE SHORT STORIES

The first ever Asian Youth Games will be held in Singapore in June 2009 but I am surprised that the momentum of such a regional games has not gained momentum among Singaporeans locally with just two months to go. I believe not many Singaporean adults, let alone Singapore youths will be able to tell you exactly when the actual commencement date of the games is as well as further details of the games such as the games venue and the sports, which will be played. What has happened? Why is there such a dearth of publicity of Asian Youth Games? Asian Youth Games is a games which will test Singapore’s organizational and management capability for a game which will be even bigger that it will host: the Youth Olympics which is just next year! Since there is not much publicity for Asian Youth Games locally, which clearly results in the apathy of many Singaporeans especially the youth, it is hence not surprising that the Youth Olympics has gathered only lukewarm response likewise. I still remember

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You may have read this short story circulated via email: There was a blind girl who hated herself because she was blind. She hated everyone, except her loving boyfriend. He was always there for her. She told her boyfriend, 'If I could only see the world, I will marry you.' One day, someone donated a pair of eyes to her. When the bandages came off, she was able to see everything, including her boyfriend. He asked her, 'Now that you can see the world, will you marry me?' The girl looked at her boyfriend and saw that he was blind. The sight of his closed eyelids shocked her. She hadn't expected that. The thought of looking at them the rest of her life led her to refuse to marry him. Her boyfriend left in tears and days later wrote a note to her saying: 'Take good care of your eyes, my dear, for before they were yours, they were mine.' This is how the human brain often works when our status changes. Only

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With the promotion of Mr Teo Chee Hean as Deputy Prime Minister, the cyberworld is abuzz with the possibility of Mr Teo as the next Prime Minister. However, in my own opinion, this possibility is highly unlikely for he is just 3 years younger than Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Mr Lee is expected to lead Singapore for another 10 years or more, thus his successor should be someone currently in his or her 40s. Many have also speculated Rear Admiral Lui Tuck Yew, who was inducted into Parliament in the General Election 2006 and was the first of his cohort to make it into minsterial level (Acting Minister for the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts) on 1 Apr 09. Lui, currently aged 47 has a great opportunity in terms of age for the top post on this island. However, in the recent months, Singapore has also seen a high-flyer taking up the position of the 3rd Assistant General Secretary of NTUC, Mr Ong Ye Kung, aged 39. He is the first non-MP who makes it to such a high rank

My Dear and I visited the MOCCarnival Full House 2009 at D'Marquee, Downtown East today. MOCCA is an online portal which enables people to buy and sell. Due to the intense publicity blitz of this event, my Dear and I expected an exciting event lined up for us, but we were very surprised and shocked for there were only few stalls selling some merchandise. We stayed in the exhibition for only 5 minutes and left. What a pity, this event was not as great as it was touted to be!

On Friday 27 Mar 09, a Professor from China, aged 29, teaching in the National Technological University's (NTU) school of Electrical and Electronic was knocked down by a car as he was running for bus 179 near a bus stop; he was killed by the impact of the hit. The latest case brought the number of fatality cases involving the students and staff of NTU to 3: a) the infamous David Hartono's stabbing of Professor and his subsequent suicide b) a tutor from China who hung himself shortly after his stint in NTU c) this recent case of the NTU's Professor's death from the car accident A common thread that ran through all the 3 cases, besides the point that these 3 cases occured in NTU is the fact that the 3 cases involved foreigners: a) Indonesian in case a) and China nationals in case b) and c). The most noteworthy fact is that all the students and staff involved were from the school of Electrical and Electronic Engineering! If you have read the news last year, there was also

It is not often that I lose my way while navigating around the island. But just a few days ago, I happened to be finding my way around a little district which I was not familar with, it was then I approached one Singaporean, whom was obviously a resident living in the estate for help. To my expectation, he did not know the place I am looking for (though later I found out that the place I was looking for was just behind the block of flats which I have met him). It was within my expectation as close to 95% of all times I have sought help from Singaporeans getting around, the answer was 'I don't know'? though they are living right in the estate! Are Singaporeans really bo chap (apathetic)? or do they really don't know where they are living at all?

Yes, Singapore's Integrated Resorts is taking shape (slowly and gradually) each day. In just a few months time, Marina Bay will be the most happening place in Singapore as the country's premier entertainment, drinks, events, meetings, casino, financial districts and play will be found right here! But will the globe's targeted massess (businessmen and casino-goers) descend on Singapore, especially so when the region is unveiling its own casinos too. Also, Singapore is currently riding out the economic meltdown which has bleed its economy badly. High hopes have been placed on Singapore's IR. Singapore wishes to see this bold project of hers bloom and bring with it good revenue which could boslter our economy!

So have you switch off your lights at 2030 hours yesterday (Singapore time)? For me, I was not at home as I was busy helping out with a community initiative for Earth Hour. The turnout was fantastic and the event was very successful. But I reckon not many Singaporeans may realise the importance of energy conservation from such a single annual event.. the most important is continous education, remember atitudes die hard. We can never replace atitudes, the most important is to replace old habits with good ones!

I just read of this disgusting death of a 77-year old man. What a perverted dirty old man! but its quite sad that he passed on in this undignified manner!

At exactly 2030 hours today, Singapore will join the rest of the world in celebrating Earth Hour. Part of Suntec City and the surrounding Central Business District will 'Lights Off'' for an hour from2030 hours. There are also a number of community events supporting Earth Hour, If you would be at home during Earth Hour (2030 hours to 2130 hours) today, switch off your lights, come out from your house and go and stroll around your estate to see how your estate fares in supporting Earth Hour! Or better still, have a candle light dinner with your family and loved ones, making sure that the candles are beewax candles so as to cause minimal destruction to our mother earth. Earth Hour is just an annual initiative. Though this event is only carried out once a year, imagine how many acres of forests would be saved if many countries particpated fully in 'lights off' for just an hour. The message is still paramount: in your daily life, do not just be aware of environment

Marriage Convention will be held at Suntec City from today till coming Sunday. I believe there will be booths after booths in the event venue dispensing gems of advice on all things marriage. My Dear and I have also gone to the inaugural 'Real Love works' at Marina Barrage which kickstarted a slew of marriage-related activities for couples soon-to-be wed, culminating in the Marriage Convention this weekend. Marriage industry seems to be recession-proof as people do still need to be hitched and get married. Are Singapore companies trying to get a bite of this lucrative recession-proof market in the thick of a recession?

One Good Place to Hang out this weekend will be at MocCarnival Full House.

I caught this majestic view of the old supreme court on the top floor of the new supreme court! This is what I meant by court within a court!

There are hundreds of Singapore property websites residing in the blogosphere, but there is only a handful of credible property websites that offers flat seekers, buyers or sellers, prospective landlords or tenants the information they require fast and convenient. So imagine my utmost delight when I come across this singapore property website today: ST701. There is a raft of valuable information that is so readily available on the website which I believe will cater to the differing needs of all users. While navigating the many useful features of this great website, I even learnt of a property seminar which seems interesting and pertinent to what I am looking for now.. hehe, I will sign up for it soon! I am amazed that ST701 has such a comprehensive website on all things related to singapore property, singapore real estate, singapore hdb, etc. This is one singapore real estate which I will visit often to get the latest information on the property market in Singapore!

Wonder what are the top 100 websites visited by Singaporeans? The result is here . As I scanned through this list of top 100 websites, I find it not surprising that the top 10 sites in Singapore are websites of search engines, social networking platforms of the western countries. Singaporeans are also addicts of news and sports… luckily porn is not rated that highly on the list. So what are the most visited Singapore websites? Topping the list is DBS, followed by Singapore Pools’, Singnet, Streetdirectory, Ebay, Sammyboy, Hardwarezone, NUS, Channelnewsasia….. the list seems to attest to the fact money seems to be in the mind of many Singaporeans and that many of us are fanatics of handphones and IT gadget.

The silhouettes of the skyscrapers in the Central Business District in broad daylight. Its not haze ... its incessant heavy rain!

This morning, a woman was killed after being hit by a MRT train at Clementi MRT station! What a sad piece of news! The number of deaths at MRT stations have become so commonplace that it is now not as shocking and surprising as before. When the first MRT train death grabbed the headlines, the whole nation was gripped by shock and surprise. Ever since this first incident, the number of similar MRT tragedies have increased multi-fold so much so it seems to be a ‘regular affair’ now. I have, some months before, blogged about a MRT tragedy and the coming plans by SMRT to put in place the barriers on above-ground MRT platforms in the near future, its sad to see one life gone before the actual implementation…. I wonder how many lives in the future will be gone before the barriers come onboard. The police are still investigating today’s latest incident. It is a terrible thing to be hit by a train zapping at such great speeds. I have seen photos sent to me of a train death victim before.. the

In the past, I always have very low self esteem and do not have much confidence in myself, thus I have few friends and was often being made a fool due to my kindness, real innocence and naivety .... I have since wisened up and learnt to function beyond my own expectations. The books I read, the talks I attended and the people whom I have interacted with, those people who are very successful in their fields, who have demonstrated to me that a normal human being can really function at a higher level that they expect, break away all self-limiting stereotypes, to function at a higher level and succeed in ways they could never imagine themselves to be. I learnt the importance of time management. The world is fair afterall, be it you or Albert Einstein, Bill Gates or Obama, everyone of us has 24 hours, no more or no less .. it depends on how effectively we make use of our time to accomplish more things in our existence in the same limited amount of time than our counterparts. I have seen

The buzzword in the recent months has been 'Change' ever since US President Obama embarked on his Presidential Campaings with 'Change' as the theme. Critics of Obama has asked: "Where is the Change?", but I would reckon it does take some time for change to be effected especiallu so when President Obama is leading US through the thick of the economic meltdown. Change is not necessary for the better.. sometimes change could be for the worse if one does not plan in advance. Regardless of good or bad, be the Change that you want..

My Dear and I joined thousands of couples and singles in renewing our vows and participated in the mass releasing of love balloons at “Real Love works” held by the Marriage Central at the Marina Barrage yesterday! Personally, I believe Marina Barrage is a perfect romantic spot for the hosting of such a romantic event as the setting in Marina Barrage is simply breathtakingly romantic and scenic! The Guest-of-Honour of the event was Dr. Vivian BalaKrishnan from the Ministry of Community, Youth and Sports (MCYS). He and his spouse joined the thousand of couples in renewing their vows. There were fringe stalls selling popcorns, candy floss; caricature drawings and roses were sold at $5 per bouquet. Each couple is given a recycled bag containing a host of goodies, Love magazines, discount vouchers and mineral water. My Dear and I, like other couples present at the venue enjoyed ourselves thoroughly at the Marina Barrage. Kudos to the organizer Ms Anita Fam and her team for coming out with s

Singaporeans including me were treated to a spectacular natural phenomenon yesterday evening when the skies opened up after a heavy downpour to unveil not only 1 but 2 rainbows co-existing side-by-side: The evening sky was colored dark orange and thus main rainbow was in actual hard to be discerned! It was hence even surprising to discover another parallel rainbow running parallel to the first! At Marina Bay MRT station where I was, passers-by were having a field day admiring the rainbows and taking pictures after pictures of the natural beauty.

I read in disbelief and amazement an article in the THE SUNDAY TIMES last week on the ‘soon- to- come’ opening of 7 to 8 new shopping malls in Singapore in the coming months. “Singapore has already hundreds of shopping centres, why do we need more?” I mused. Another shopping centre in this sluggish economic times is great as it will create some jobs for the thousands (and counting) of unemployed, increase spending in the economy which will be a booster for the economy, but beyond the economical metrics, are there any justifications in opening more new shopping centres? “To meet the needs and expectations of an increasing population. To disperse the large shopping crowds in the city”, the authorities might have quipped. While I do accept some of these oft-cited reasons, I am concerned that our little island is building more and more shopping centres. The construction and operation of the new shopping malls certainly harm the environment (think of all the pollution caused to the environm

In work, it is one’s blessing to have a boss who is a leader: one who communicates well with his subordinates, is fair, shows no prejudices, is competent, efficient, effective, moral, on-the-ground, decisive and takes responsibilities and ownership.. the list goes on; seeming exhaustive the list might be but it would already be good enough if one’s boss exhibits a few of these traits. Imagine we spend so much of our time living on this earth working. If we cannot get along well with our boss, it will be time to change the boss (until you wait for his retirement, posting, sacking or even passing on) or you have to change your job. Till today, I have served 4 bosses in all. The first boss was a strict taskmaster by the nature of his work. He was very detail-oriented and demanding but at the end of a hard day, he would give a pat on my shoulder and gave praises and recognition when I deserved. The second boss was a lady boss, who was more like a big sister to me than a direct superior. I

I encountered the phrase ‘Kampung Spirit’ recently so much so that I feel compelled to give my own interpretation of the phrase in my blog. In my humble opinion, ‘Kampung Spirit’ boils down to one word: TRUST, trust between the members of a race and between the different races. Your grandpa or grandma might have often told you the stories how in their kampung days, people sleep soundly with the doors of their houses open and ‘nothing bad’ will happen.

A bolt of lightning struck the head of our Merlion overlooking the Singapore River on 28 Feb 09 and damaged its 'scalp'. Since then works have been on the way to restore Merlion to its hey-day glory. The Merlion was finally reopened this noon. The Merlion is again sprouting water proudly in its full glory. The Merlion was also closed in year 2006 for restoration works: Since then, it has been in operation until the lightning strike last month.

Celebrate the launch of the Real Love Works 2009 at Marina Barrage this Saturday 21 March 2009. Thousands of couples will participate in the first ever mass releasing of love balloons and mass renewal of wedding vows. This campaign is organised by Marriage Central and supported by the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports. The yearly Marriage Convention 2009 will be held on 28 and 29 March 2009 at Suntec Convention Centre.

The Singapore Esplanade is often called the ‘Durian of Singapore’. I took a close shot at the ‘spikes’ of the crown of the esplanade. Its amazing, the spikes really resemble the thorns of a durian!

On Saturday, my Dear and I were at the Esplanade. It was a lovely outing as we enjoyed the brilliant skyline of our skyscrapers in the Central Business District, the mushrooming Integrated Resorts, the seas and the wind. As we made our way out of the Esplanade into a nearby underground tunnel, we were surprised to see there was a sort of an ‘informal’ exhibition occurring in the tunnel with posters plastered on the wall of the tunnel: as well as five people mediating, seated in a neat row: As we neared the ‘exhibition’, we took a closer look at one of the ‘exhibit’: A Singaporean lady, presumably, a member of the Fa Lun Gong, approached us and briefed us on the exhibits. According to her, the China government has done some terrible things to those Fa Lun Gong practitioners living there! as seen from the posters plastered on the wall. My Dear and I listened to her, but her words did not sink it as we did not want to take a side on this issue. We were more surprised that an ‘exhibition

I have posted this blog post some days ago, but in an attempt to help a friend, I am reposting this great policy forum cum free cable car rides to all readers! Readers of Singapore Short Stories, you are lucky to hear of this Great offer hehe! Event Date: 22 MARCH 2009 Time: 1.00pm - 5.00pm Venue: Mount Faber, Diamond Palace @ The Jewel Box Targeted group: 17 to 35 yrs old P.S. Complimentary Cable Car Ride awaits YOUth!!! Free Shuttle Bus Service to Diamond Palace @ 1230 pm from Harborfront Coach Bay! Event Description: From the ‘Keep Singapore Clean’ campaigns in the 1960s to the recent ‘Romancing Singapore’ campaigns, campaigns have almost become synonymous with the Singaporean way of life; this begs the inevitable question, “Is Singapore a country of campaigns?” Join us for an engaging discussion/dialogue with Ms Jessica Tan, MP for East Coast GRC & Adviser to East Coast GRC GROs in assessing the success of these campaigns and explore ways in which campaigns can be better c

Central Square at Clarke Quay yesterday night was a sea of red and blue as Manchester United’s and Liverpool’s (Football Club) turned out in full droves to watch the live screening of the clash between the two football clubs that could well determine the winner of the English Premier League this season. The Football Channel's studio was set up at Clarke Quay's Central Square for yesterday 'live' telecast. Presented by Joe Morrison & guests Peter Reid and Nigel Spackman, the ‘live’ telecast commenced at 8.40pm. My Dear and I were among the throngs of crowd at Central Square. We were not football fans but we happened to be ‘in the right place, at the right time’, so as to speak, hehe. The atmosphere at Central Square last night was overwhelming though we did not stay for long to watch the show. The results (everyone should know by now): Liverpool-Manchester United: 4:1. I believe Liverpool fans spent the night celebrating though I was not sure whether there was a braw

I have not been to the NTUC (National Trade Union Congress) Supermarkets for a long time already. So I was pleasantly surprised when I learnt from the poster that the supermarket actually reward customers with a 10 cents off per $10 of money spent should they use a recycled bag. It is such a Great idea! Saving mother earth and your cents while doing shopping! More shops should take a leaf from NTUC!

Thousands of Singaporeans thronged the Solemn Supreme Court House today for the murder trial of Humpty Dumpty. All of them were eager to know who was the real murderer of Humpty Dumpty! My Dear and I were one of the audience for the trial. As we entered the Supreme Court, we were greeted with the horrific crime scene. I was aghast as the crime scene was so ghastly. Poor Humpty Dumpty! The criminals were brought out in full view of the audience to be tried: Big bad wolf was the first to be tried. There was an analysis of why the big bad wolf should kill Humpty Dumpty. Why didn’t the wolf kill a sheep or cow, why an egg, I wondered. So it might not be him, I supposed. (To be continued)

I caught a glimpse of the headlines news of today’s evening dailies while on the train back home. The headline news today featured the story of an ailing National University of Singapore (NUS) undergraduate, Zhang Xiaoou who was a China top student and an active student leader, who is about to graduate with the coveted First Class Honours from the university. Zhang requires a huge sum of money, $400,000 for her operations to save her life! NUS has also called for an appeal for donors in its website . Some passengers were openly discussing about the news. They were not comfortable in helping a ‘foreign talent’, in helping an ‘elite’ of our society in our country, where many poor and sick Singaporeans need help too! They have their views. Anyway if they do not want to donate, they should just ‘zip’ their mouths. It is not useful to revisit the ‘Singapore vs Foreign talent’ issue or ‘Average Singaporeans vs The Elites’ again and again. Every foreign talent and Singaporeans, elite or not,

What day is it tomorrow? Every year, everyone knows 14 Feb is the day when lovers get together to celebrate their love together. In Japan and Korea, Valentine's Day is a day for females to present chocolate gifts usually to a member of the male gender as an expression of love. On White Day, the men who receive the chocolate on Valentine's Day are expected to return the favour by giving gifts, usually more expensive to the women. Come Mar 14 every year which is tomorrow, Japan and Korea will celebrate 'White Day', when the male lover will buy and give to his beloved at least a box of chocolates or something pricier. In addition, Korea celebrates Black Day (솔로부대) one month after White Day which is April 14. On this particular day, single people go out together and eat noodles with black bean sauce called Jjajangmyeon (짜장면). In Singapore, the equivalent of this noodles, in my opinion, will be char kway teow, fried and cooked in black soya sauce. So on this day, char k

I just came to learn of another sad tragedy occuring in Singapore Armed Forces (SAF). This time round, Second Warrant Officer, Lim Kian Hong, died during a 2.4 km run. It is a terrible setback to our SAF, for SAF has lost one of its regulars. I always have deep respect for Second Warrant Officers as they worked up up the ranks and have accumulated a wealth of military experiences. It is thus a sad incident! These days, Singaporeans seem more and more fragible. Young and healthy altheles passing out and dying after some strenuous runs have become more and more commonplace. Why is that so? Is it due to the modern and fast paced city life, people not as rugged as before? My belief is due to Global Warming, just my thoughts. With Global Warming and Ozone depletion aggravating, all sorts of nonsensical diseases become prevalent and our immunity have deteoriated.

Is there an economic recession in Singapore? If yes, why are there thousands of people descending on Suntec City Mall for the Singapore so much so that the crowds snake all the way from Suntec City Mall through City Link Mall to City Hall MRT station? I was told that this year IT show extends to all the 6 floors of Suntec City Mall. I did not go as I cannot stand crowds and I am not an IT person. The mammoth crowds gave no hints that Singapore is suffering from one of the worst economic conditions since independence! IT products are luxury items, it is shocking that Singaporeans still spend on these products despites the grim economy. Their premise might be to enjoy a great bargains but will not the saving be more if they have not gone to the fair? IT exhibitors there are raking in some small and big bucks with the crowds of shoppers! These IT devices may give a shine to the faces of Singaporeans suffering from the trauma of economic recession. If that is the case, the monies spe

Today is the first day of Singapore IT show 2009 at Suntec Exhibition Hall! It was MADNESS! Two things: prices were mad, prices were going super low! Second thing: the people were mad! Pushing here and there, even though it is so crowded At the end of the day, some people become mad as they walk off empty-handed beside the mad prices, but they could not tolerate the maddening crowd! Isn’t this mad?

With recession in Singapore lingering and looking to stay with us for a longer time than expected, it is good to hear some Great news! Yeah! Recently I heard of a forum coming up, discussing about a topic that Singaporeans have been arguing for long without a clear verdict. The topic: Is Singapore a country of campaigns? Sounds interesting right? And if you think this news is not good enough, here come greater good news: admission to this forum is 100% free and comes with refreshments and a complimentary cable car ride for each participant! Wow, you must be wondering: are you joking? No, it is no joke! Free cable ride awaits each successful participant! This is a youth forum, thus the forum targets youths between the age of 17 to 35. Sorry if you do not fall into this age group, but if you have friends or relatives falling within this age group, you can spread the good news to them! I have since signed up as soon as I heard the great news! Okay, you want more details, here is it, extr

Singapore is ranked the world’s 10th costliest city, according to a report published yesterday. Analysts however alleged that our ranking is due to our relatively strong currency, rather than being truly reflective of the high cost of living in our country. I am less concerned on our ranking in this ‘costliest city’ list than the real sentiments on the ground. Prices are high these days, however prices of utilities, food and transport will be seeing or have seen a slight drop due to the economic recession. Should our costs of living rise further with no sign of breather, it would no longer be economically attractive for overseas MNCs to base their operations or businesses in Singapore. They will pull out their operations in Singapore and there might be a drop in the population of Singapore with a reduced number of foreign workers. This may then ease the pressure of an increasingly populated Singapore.

The annual IT Show is back tomorrow, at the usual venue: Suntec City Mall! Admission is free. I always know that this IT fair is where one can get the greatest bargains but unfortunately; I have not attended many of the IT fairs in the recent years though I have at some occasions, came all the way from home to the event venue. The reason I did not have the opportunity to enter the venue during these times was simply the throngs of crowds! The crowd was simply overwhelming and it was indeed a feat to be able to just enter! Once at the event site, people squeezed like sardine, leaving not much room to navigate freely to see what different exhibitors have on offer. Not to discourage readers from visiting the fair, the crowds is just something would be visitors must contend with, the reward would be getting the coveted devices at a great price!

“I read of the reader’s retrenchment story on your blog last night. I am safely holding a job and hence it is still my good blessing to have a hold a job amidst the worsening economic recession. However I am sick of this stupid job! My abilities are not recognized, and I am doing menial work each day! There is no value-add and I hate the promotion status in my office! My pay is peanuts and I don’t forsee a future here! I am lucky to be employed now. One can say I am not affected by the economic recession but truth be told, no one in Singapore is really unaffected by this economic crisis! For me, I am affected as I am not able to move out to explore other opportunities cos now not too many jobs and for the jobs on the market, there are legions of job applicants! 20,000 people vie for the 800 posts on Integrated Resorts, what a madness! I am sharing this with all as I would like all to realize that there is such a group like me: people who want to leave their job but could not do so due

With the worsening economic crisis, which seems to be getting more and more protracted with no signs of bottoming out, and more and more jobs being lost, we read the newspapers daily, to read, yet again the plummeting of the stock indices and more and more jobs being lost. Amidst the gloom, a silver lining seems to emerge as we read this headline :” Fortunes are made during recessions! ” to quote a local entrepreneur. Indeed, entrepreneurs, FOREX, online and business millionaires are still advertising amidst the gloom to teach Singaporeans the path to being a millionaire, the route to financial freedom! There is no free lunch in the world, of course, as participants of their courses have to fork out a sum of money for training and success will be dependent on the individuals, how hard he would work. It is a tempting offer for the ambitious employees who are made unemployed by the economic recession. Some of them may take the call and try their lucks to fulfill their entrepreneur ambiti

Everyone has his or her privacy to be protected. However sometimes in office, unwittingly, we could give some of our personal secrets away. I will not mention about the internet etiquette: e.g. clearing of cache should one access important applications during work, such as online banking portals. However, there may be a office device which could be one’s Achilles heel to his privacy: that is the office phone! Imagine you have a private conservation on your office phone. You keep the tone low so that no one can hear your conversation. After the conversation, you hung up, thinking no one knew whom you have spoken to. You may be wrong. Phones these days come with a redial button. If you have bad colleagues, all they could do is to press the redial button on your office phone and get a hint of your earlier conversation. Thus it pays well to not only clear your internet cache and footprint, do remember to clear your phone redial memory as well!

Singapore weather has been unusual! Yesterday it was so hot like Sahara Desert, today after some hours of torrential rain, the night is so cold! I love cold nights because they beckon me to sleep earlier, so I am going to sleep now!

It was reported today that the Straits Time Index (STI) has hit below the psychological level of 1500, it has reached 1456 today! Oh what a madness! Last time, the STI was trading at 3300 in its heyday, now it is languishing at such low prices! Analysts warn the bottom for STI might not have been reached yet. Analysts predicted the STI may plummet to an all-time low of 1200! Warren Buffet said:"Be fearful when others are greedy, be greedy when others are fearful", so are you feeling greedy or fearful now?

Come 28 Mar 2009 (Saturday), 2030 hours, Singapore time, Singaporeans, I will like to rally you to light off your house, off your computers and aircon for an hour to join the rest of the world in celebrating Earth Hour 2009! Yes, you can make a difference on this special date 28 Mar 2009 by not using electricity for one hour! Small this effort of yours may be, but if each household ‘off’ its electricity for an hour, the efforts by Singaporeans will translate to something significant! And if many countries cooperate and support Earth hour by encouraging its citizens to off their electricity for an hour, just imagine how many hectares of forests we can save! Foreign readers to my blog, I am not sure whether your government has publicised Earth Hour in your country, maybe you can leave a comment on the celebrations of Earth Hour in your country in my blog. If you have just come to hear of this event from my blog, I would encourage you could stop using your electricity in your home for tha

At last, it is my turn …. I was called to the Managing Director’s office today, just ten minutes after I started work. I have known what is about to happen and within minutes of the meeting, the inevitable was told, “I am sorry, you have to go.” I was asked to leave within an hour. I found a carton and with it, I packed my barang barang. Since there is not much personal things in my office, I left within 15 minutes. Severance package will still be paid to me in the coming days. Today, I join the rank of thousands of jobless Singaporeans whose rice bowls were broken due to the largest economic meltdown the world has since in decades. I know the road ahead of me will be long. There are thousands and thousands of jobless Singaporeans, many highly qualified and experienced professionals all vying with me for the coveted jobs in the industry, many of these jobs are not even suitable for me! It is my bad luck to lose my job together with my colleagues! I have toiled hard and long for my comp

The headlines of today’s newspapers showcased the photos of 3 women who are successful in their career. A rare feature it is but today is International Women day as such some successful women in Singapore earn a special feature in today newspapers. Since today is International Women day, I may just blog about women in Singapore today. Generally, when it comes to career, gone are the days when women take a backseat in Singapore. These days, we are seeing more and more women in the high rungs of businesses as well as in politics. There is an even playing field for both gender in work and there is not much of a discrimination against women these days in Singapore as how one fares in work is dependent on his or her ability here in Singapore. I believe the good education system in Singapore is an important factor that helps women, once seen as the weaker sex, lever up to the male, competing on par with the male counterpart in all realms of the society. This only bodes well for women in Sing

I would like to recommend the above song to readers. This piece is from my favorite musician, Yanni! Besides Yanni, I also admire Kitaro! These two musicians craft the BEST music the world has ever heard! This Youtube video showcases the beauty of Antartica, however I have also managed to grasp the effect of global warming on Antartica...natural beauty at its best is losing its shine! The world's largest inhabitated land mass, home to the penguins, not polar bears (polar bears live in North Pole) may soon be gone!

Media Fiesta, an event showcasing the world of media for work, learn and play is now ‘on’ at Marina Square ending this Sunday. Animation, films, games, broadcasting and publishing await everyone. Movies and animation clips, quizzes, games and competitions, workshops, forums are the other highlights.

The Noise Singapore Festival is an arts festival for the young, by the young. In its 4th year, there are 11,000 works of art, design, music and photography showcased by some 2,000 young artists. Details: Date: 5 – 29 March 2009 Time: 11am – 8pm (Sun – Thur) 11am – 9pm (Fri – Sat) Venue: Far East Plaza Level One Admission: Free

The solemn Singapore Supreme Court will open its house to the public for the first time in history come next weekend March 14 and 15, in the hope of ‘demystifying’ the institution and lessening the “anxiety” that people have about the courts and to show that “courts are not such a forbidding place”, in the words of Assistant Director Desiree Pang. A mock criminal trial would be held at the supreme court to give public a glimpse of the workings of the court. The trial will be to find out the murderer of Humpty Dumpty (poor Humpty Dumpty! Haha, anyway since young, I always thought Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall and fell to death after a bad fall, now I learnt that it is ‘murdered’, interesting indeed!) The suspects would be Big Bad Wolf, Little Red Riding Hood and Blind Mouse Satu (I do not know who is Blind Mouse Satu), all fictional story book characters they should be! I must really applaud the supreme court for coming out with such an innovative idea using interesting and appealing stor

The heavenly Taoist deity, Taisui is actually Planet Jupiter? This is what I read from a Fengshui advertisement in the Straits Times recently. I could not confirm the veracity of what the ad proclaimed but every Chinese Lunar year, I would always watch out for the Chinese animal zodiac signs that are 'in conflict' with Taisu. People with animal signs 'in conflict' with Taisui for a particular lunar year are strongly encouraged to offer prayers to Taisui.

Befitting the squeaky clean image of Singapore, Singapore toilets, in general are clean, especially those in the modern shopping centres. Recognition must be paid to the arsenal of toilet cleaners who toil hard for hours everyday keeping our toilets (public toilets of course, not my toilet haha) clean. I am writing about toilets as today I stepped into my company toilet, only to pass a cubicle which looked as though it has just undergone the ravages of the atomic bomb placed on Hiroshima in World War II. The whole cubicle, toilet pan and floor have been bombed. Like ashes that was found everywhere on the site of Hiroshima on that fateful day in WWII, the cubicle was colored brown. It does not take a genius to deduce what that brown filthy thing was. I am shocked and appalled that such destruction to a toilet cubicle could be perpetuated by a human, and an educated office employee somemore, a learned man, someone who has undergone education and training. I am sorry to say that even a tr

David Hartano Widjaja, the NTU student who committed suicide after stabbing his Professor was cremated yesterday at Mandai Crematorium. The latest twist to this tragedy was that David Hartano Widjaja has not been doing well in his Final Year Project, a fact he had hidden from his family in Indonesia and friends. David's ASEAN scholarship has been revoked too. The Final Year Project (FYP) is a critical part of the honour classification in the examinations in the local varsities. Pressure to excel in the FYP is understandable as I have personally experienced the sheer pressure of doing a FYP in the university. It can nerve-wrecking to try and try only to see that the project fails again and again, amidst the tight deadline allocated to the FYP. FYP is definitely not something easy else it will not have been counted as a dissertation! Effort and due diligence, important for completing the FYP is nonetheless not enough. A FYP typically takes a year (2 semesters) for completion and dur

Sometime ago, I had a taste of Peranakan Food. Initially, I have expected the Peranakan Food to be of a taste which I have not experienced before. But after experiencing the Peranakan delicacies, I was a tad disappointed for I was not able to tell the difference between Pernakan Fish Curry and Roasted Chicken with those I have tried from Chinese cuisine. Either the cook did not do a proper job or Singapore's food has become so multi-racial that it has blended all the flavours of the different races into one common Singapore dish. This will not bode well for Singapore's dishes as the unique tastes of each race will be lost.

A Professor from the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Nanyang Technological University,believed to be Professor Chan Kap Luk, who is in his 40s, was stabbed by a student, an Indonesian-Chinese. It was reported that the police received a call about the incident at 10.25 this morning. Chan survived the stabbing and has been sent to the Nationl University Hospital. The student stabber slit his wrists and jumped from the building at the engineering block, which was about five-storey high after the stabbing. He died from his injuries. The stabbings of university dons and professors at universities here are not new. Many years ago, if I remember correctly, a Computer Engineering Professor was fatally stabbed by his student. There was another case, equally long ago, where a Professor at a local university here was killed by a homosexual student.. they had some homosexual links or so.. I did not really know in depth the case. Studying too hard, giving oneself too much expectat

My Dear and I attended the NATAS Travel Fair 2009 yesterday at the Singapore EXPO. The fair was held at the Singapore EXPO from last Thursday to yesterday, thus yesterday was the last day of the fair. The travel fair was not free, admission tickets are charged at $3 each. Despites the economic recession, when it comes to traveling, Singaporeans are not letting their wallets dictate their recreational spending, just take a look at the throngs of crowd which descended on the fair! Singaporeans were still lapping up the admission tickets. It was also reported that on the first day of the fair, the queue stretched all the way from Expo Hall 4/5 to the Expo MRT station! My Dear and I were lost in the sea of crowd inside the exhibition hall. Our hands were full as promoters handed us leaflets after leaflets of their offerings. We took only those of interest to us in a bid to save Mother Earth. Many of the visitors had their hands full of brochures, pamphlets, travel catalogues. It would be

The posts made in this blog, Singapore Short Stories, as befitting the title of this blog, are short. Nevertheless, though each of the posts in this blog is short, I would like to assure readers the quality of each post in this blog. The posts in Singapore Short Stories blog cover a wide spectrum of topics relating to Singapore and the world at large. Singapore Short Stories blog is set up to share the experiences of the most ordinary Singaporean, that is me, living on this little exciting, fun, interesting and tropical island and a global cosmopolitian country with a good governance! The blog has been in existence for about 2 years now, I would encourage regular readers to my blog to read through the archives under the various labels such as 'Places' and 'Events' for a read of some of the most exciting places in Singapore and events which have occurred in Singapore that I have personally experienced. For readers outside Singapore, do post a comment to me, should you ha

In the recent weeks, there was speculation as to whether the Singapore General Elections would be held at the latter half of the year as there were some signs that points to a imminent election: a) Updating of the election register b) Many Goodies for Singaporeans as announced in the Budget c) Upgrading of estates in many constituencies. Prime Minister and Ministers have not disclosed of the date for Singapore's General Election but it will definitely has to be held by year 2011. My Best Guess: Singapore General Election will most likely be held in January 2010 as it takes some time, say the latter half of the year to see some fruits reaped from the initiatives that the government has taken to ride Singaporeans out of the gravest economic recession since the Great Depression. Past details of General Election 2006 .

What is this man doing outside at a shopping centre? From his outfit, he might be a performer from the Taiwanese native group or from the Philippines. I do not know, for I just passed him by for he and his partner were preparing for a performance. Half an hour later, the duo were performing for the passer-by. At a distance, the music emanated from their instruments seemed Filippino. I am not sure what cause they were advocating for there was no banner or poster behind them as clues.