ThE AlPhA MaLe

May you read this in the best of health. And the battle has started! If all goes according to plan, this will be the 1st time all of Singapore's constituents will be contested since independence. And I am content with the quality of the opposing candidates; not just in terms of their academic background, but their work & engaging with society experiences, especially the part of volunteering before candidacy. Boy I wish I was home for this period of 'battle'. Lest we forget, democracy means choice. Not just the choice of our representatives nor our government, but our path for the future. And the future always entwines  the younger generation; our children. In an economy that is driven by production and services, we sit precariously between success and failure. Our lack of natural resources means we don't have the economic cushion when other means go downhill. So our choice should partly be made on the basis of scrutinizing the policies of each party/candi...

Peace Be Upon You, News of the death of a family(extended) member was received a short time ago. The wife of my late uncle died due to complications from gall bladder cancer today afternoon, Singapore time. On hindsight, I have my utmost trust that she is in a better place (together with my late uncle). And one day, I will be reunited with them. "Only the dead have seen the end of war" - Plato It has been a journey, and now is your time to rest. May you be in everlasting peace my aunt. My apologies for not attending your send off. PeAcE OuT

Peace be Upon You, Once upon a time, many years ago (feels like yesterday though), working on weekends without EXTRA pay was a norm. Nowadays, normality takes on a whole new meaning when extra work is required here. There will be times when you have to sacrifice a bit of your days off for work, especially near deadlines. So last weekend was an EXCEPTION for me. Though I did not turn up into the office, I brought the 'baby' home.  Not being overtly excited in sacrificing my well-scheduled weekends, it turned out I only spared a couple of hours on Sunday afternoon for this. Otherwise my time was spent on laundry, ironing (few things I really do enjoy doing), a little repair job on my car (yes, I can fix minor jobs!), and most importantly, researching on my superannuation investment. Back in Singapore, CPF's are allowed to sit in a central depository and collect interests (the lowest among the world though). Here, we have to invest them. So I'm careful about where I put m...