Monday Again…Life Goes On & On…

Time flies and truly does not wait for anyone.

I am one of those that would flip through the newspapers and stop to read the obituaries as well. I have this morbid fear that I will not know if I have expired and so, the daily checking will act as telling my wandering soul in case it forgets, that I am a goner! LOL!

I am not afraid about my own death, but I do dread the loss of a loved one. I know I remind self that we are all not immortals and hence this is why, I am happy with my inanimate pet furball Garfield as he will not expire. He will vanish only if I left him somewhere and or lose him literally.

As I read through the obituaries, I pause to think over the penned lines of tributes to the decease.

One particularly nice one was when it said in print that a matriarch passed at age 86 surrounded by loved ones. I felt the warmth.

It must be grand to die surrounded by loved ones.

Sigh, I dare not think as if I will be surrounded by loved ones as I have none. What I do have are inanimate furballs.

I guess I will die surrounded by nurses and doctors and hey, they are my friends.

The realities of life and Mondays goes on…….

Man Goes Rogue & It Makes Me Think

Mr Rogue from Bangladeshi has gone rogue on me and it seems after he decided to stop working for us, he upped and left lil red dot without tax clearances nor cancelling his work permits.

Mr Rogue is going to be in a big barrel of trouble as he will never be allowed back to work in lil red dot and I wonder if he thought through his thinking process carefully.

By jumping ship with us and failing to serve notice after taking his paycheck, will put him in a poorer economic condition as his future earning capacity in lil red dot is closed. The likelihood of him getting barred from ever getting a work permit here is quite real.

What makes one do such things without a think through process?

Trouble with me, is that I think too much. Sometimes, I feel I over think things. But over thinking when compared to free wheeling (“under thinking) is a lot safer I feel.

I have these what ifs scenario and go through the pros and cons of any decision. Yes, often times, they say that over thinking, causes paralysis by fear.

Have I lost the gung ho, heck care throw caution to the wind spirit?

Yes – because I have got stung by bad decisions before when I did impulse decision making.

Case in point – I suck so bad at investment type decisions LOL!

I am better off putting my pennies in a simple savings account and earning chop change then deciding on something and having it fall flat in my face.

So much for risk appetite! Maybe this is why I am not a gazillionaire as my dollar is not working harder for me, instead I am working harder for my dollar.

I do envy the savvy businessmen who make big bucks in quick time. These are the real tycoons of the world that can be in the Forbes List of Who’s Who.

Well, if it is any consolation, I am in the list of Who’s Garfield’s mama LOL!

Chicken’s Sunday Walks #1

Chicken has started a routine of walking on Sundays to keep active and fight flab as she says.

These are the photos she shared with me.

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A pot on the sidewalk with a lot of brinjals or aubergines or egg plant! I would have loved to pluck them off this potted plant if no one is watching haha…naughty me!

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  A Local Plant that serves to green the sidewalks

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Another creeping plant with small purplish flowers that covers the ground but giving it a nice picture with flowers

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Sugar cane growing on its own probably kept by the property owner – this plant is very important in the Hokkien dialect group when they celebrate the 9th God’s birthday on the 9th day of the Chinese Lunar Calendar New Year. It is also important when a pair is sent to a newly wedded couple’s home to symbolize a life as a paired couple and filled with all things sweet like the sugar cane

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  I think this is another color of the Oleander flower.

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Chicken took this on Saturday evening out of her high rise flat. Apparently a flock of green parrots took to the skies and flew across her window.

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The housing you see is government housing we call HDB flats. These Housing Development Board (HDB) flats are built by the government and sold to qualified individuals at low cost. It then appreciates in cost and the owner next sells it, will reap handsome profits. But like any property investor says, you sell high, you buy high and if you sell low, you buy low!

I Wonder If Life Will Be Harder With Covid-19?

Everywhere I go, I hear of the doom and gloom of Covid-19.

Everything I read, indicates that the economy has fallen or GDP has shrunk.

People I know have lost jobs.

Students I know who are graduating know they will have hard time finding jobs.

Companies have shuttered.

Tourism has gone down the drain.

Aviation sector has lost its wings as borders are not re-opening for each to fly to wherever they desire. Stay home notices (SHN) or Quarantine Orders (QO) are dealt out to those who travel.

Isn’t there a bright spark for someone, or anymore to take this Covid-19 situation and turn it into a vibrant business opportunity?

Well, of course the masks, personal protection equipment (PPE) and items that help with monitoring the people to prevent Covid are raking in the dollars!

Locally, our hotels are offering staycations to people in Singapore as their rooms are empty.

Restaurants are not up to their peak levels as safe measures and safe distancing currently allows only 5 persons to sup together.

For funerals and weddings, only 20 guests.

How will be new normal be like?

Will I like it?

Will I survive it?

Like any wage earner, we are all concerned with jobs. If our Lords fare badly, the company takes a hit and with it comes wage cuts, retrenchments and other measures amongst others.

I am already feeling the weight of being asked to do more.

I have to do more as I want the company to survive.

The safest industry to be in now is in medical care, hospital care jobs.

Touted as our frontline heroes, nurses, clinicians, and cleaners ride the front as they are much needed.

Our Singapore Airlines’ ladies and gents have been deployed to help in healthcare, serving meals, attending to patient needs and they are enjoying it. It gives them a job. The patients are especially happy as their service quality is excellent, caring with the SQ quality class service.

In short, life will be tough with Covid-19 as we are told it is the worst crisis in healthcare in 100 years of our history.

SARS did not affect us as badly nor Mers nor whatever flu!

Covid-19 takes the cake now and I am watchful to see how the curtains will draw on this horrid virus.

Till it does, I gotta get moving and not mope as life goes on. I just wish that our economy will hum and buzz again so as to ensure livelihoods for all.

Stay safe folks!

What’s In A Blog Post?

The WordPress community is a friendly, kind and supportive one.

True, not everyone is the same and I do get an occasional oddball – in fact in all honesty, with 7 years of blogging under my belt, I only had one ranter who heckled, chided me for posting about pokes on Orange Man and blogging about my illnesses or about lil red dot.

I did a post on this when it happened and was heartily surprised when my blogging community supported and reminded me that any reader has an option to choose to read. Ranter could ignore my blog and move on to read others. Yet she chose to read and gave some odd comments. I should feel flattered that she chose to read, but had a difference of opinion.

I felt this ranter (a “she” by the way) had a very bad day and was on a melt down or an avid supporter of Orange Man. Who knows, she could have been a staff of Orange Man and had to stand up for her Boss?

My posts have always been about humor, on myself venting of the illnesses I face and work blues.

Thankfully, the latter is manageable now as Monkey Lord is decent and work is really busy but at least I need not be fending off knife wounds!

But what does get into my head when I sit down to do a post?

My primary intent is that it must never debase any human being.

No racial slurs or mean things.

Everyone is a sister or a brother in this zone.

We are all the safe. Orwellian theory does not fly here although some are super great bloggers with hundreds or thousands of “likes” and followers!

I use nicknames for the humans I meet in life but they remain anonymous, known only to me.

No personal attacks or hurling of vulgarities but a good dose of sardonic humor.

I look at things as they are and say it as I see it.

I do not sugar coat things as my messaging gets watered down and that defeats the punch lines I want to deliver. I need to give it that “kapow” LOL!

I appreciate good government, good work ethics, honesty and sincerity.

I dislike hypocrites, dishonest people and those who love to do a “Knife To The Back”

I have long searched for my true love and realised that this person does not exist. There is no romance waiting for me. Romantic love, marital love and all kinds of love tags elude me.

I have questioned the Almighty Lord but He has not found the time to reply me. I am in spiritual limbo for sure. I guess with Covid-19 now, the Good Lord is even busier.

I challenge my medical team of specialists such that they confess they have sleepless nights trying to figure out how to keep me alive.

I quote Dr Short Tongue (Brilliant specialist and a trusted medical chap for the Who’s Who who stutters when he is excited about a find or observation. He is a big wig in his field and it shows me that despite whatever challenges one has, one can aspire to climb to the top because of meritocracy!) and admire him for his honesty with me.

He said that so long as I “stay as I am, without major shifts in conditions, then I am well” and that he has done his job. I trust him with my life as he asked me not to invite viruses or germs to my body when I asked if I should take shots against this or not.

So, now I ponder – if a Covid-19 vaccine becomes tenable and available, should I take it? Or will I react against it and instead die from it? I must remember to ask for his opinion when I next see him! Hmm! I wonder what he will say?!

The insaner side of my posts are about my raggedy inanimate furball Garfield and how he hands out Garfield hugs and squooshes to keep me sane. Garfield with his beady plastic eyes accompany me on stays at Bates Motel and keeps me company when I groan in pain and recover from my many slicing and dicings!

There is always a child in us and I applaud Pam, another blogger who does fantastic quips that really made me think when she did a post on this. I have a big child portion in me but unfortunately due to the position I carry at work and in social work life, I have to be an adult.

Being an adult is draining as I have to always behave in a politically correct fashion. No tantrums, speak in soft tones and be mindful of who the characters are in my plot of what I call life.

So what’s in a blog post? Or specifically, my blog post?

Who’s to tell? I get all sorts of ideas and when the light bulb lights up, my fingers go to the key board and tap away.

But I believe in not deliberately hurting anyone in life or in words as I know what is is like to be hurt. It is not nice!

A blog post is a window to a life I think I need for the day.

A blog post offers me refuge from my daily adult life.

A blog post lets me laugh freely.

A blog post lets me vent my frustrations.

A blog post lets me share my thoughts and elicit views.

A blog post, most importantly, is my own work.

Perils Of Doing Grocery Shopping On A Hungry Tummy

Our supermarkets in lil red dot are usually located in the heartlands (where government housing is located) and there is high traffic footfall. If not, they are situated in malls that are linked to our mass rapid transport system (MRT).

I do not live in a heartland area and live off the grid of housing where the nearest little supermarket is about 2 kilometers away and is heavily thronged daily with domestic helpers from Philippines who meet their fellow friends whilst under the pretext of buying groceries for their employers. It is a mini Philippines really as I realize that the store also began stocking more of Filipino snacks to cater to their needs too.

I do marvel their initiative to get together and spend 2 hours gabbing in the store and then trolleying home their purchases. It is loud as they would yak in Tagalog and I cannot hear myself think in there. But hey, at least they get to meet their fellow country sisters!

The one I frequent is not in the heartlands, but in a mall that is quite far away from the public eye as this mall does not have the merchandise mix of usual malls but has a decent supermarket with a lot of eateries. It is some 10 kilometers away from where I live but I do not complain as it allows my car to get a cardio workout given that I work from home now.

At this mall, there is a huge range of restaurants or eateries. Choices of food, ranges from Japanese (2 restaurants), Korean (1), 3 fast food chains, (McDonald’s, Burger King, Pizza Hut and Kentucky Fried Chicken, Kebab, Wok Hey, Soup Spoon, Nonya food, 3 bakeries, 2 Indians eateries and the list goes on.

So, I am not spoilt for food choices. But what attracts me to go there, is that this mall is far from the maddening crowd, offers weekend free parking and I can do what I need to do, should I need a pair of shoes or get my hair cut there or visit the pharmacy or mint new keys.

I can actually spend time to exchange pleasantries with the check out girl or speak with the stacker replenishing the shelves.

I dislike having people breathing down my neck when selecting groceries and with the Covid-19 pandemic, all the better for me as I can practice safe social distancing.

But what I realize is that when I am feeling hungry, and I do grocery shopping, I buy up a lot more food items to sit in my fridge than I really need!

I was carried away, buying a box of california maki and sushi rolls with cucumber in the center. I carried on, buying a bowl of salad, 6 slices of pizza and wanted to get 2 bowls of soup from Soup Spoon. I pulled self back from the Soup shop as they had a special for 2 bowls and that is a lot for just me!

Luckily the muffin shop was closed or I would have bought 7 muffins; one for each day of the week.

So now, after that shopping spree, I have a lot of cooked food in a stuffed up fridge and I will not go hungry. A plus for me as it means all I need to do is rummage for a meal and voila, I can eat as soon as it is heated up.

Not wise on pocket book and in the weight department as I would over spend on things that I need not buy so much of as it means I will eat more and pile on weight!

But it is convenient for me as I need not be bothering on what to cook though.

I miss the giant warehouse stores of Eugene, Oregon or their Safeways. Of course I could go to their Farmer’s market but none of our stores here are that big save for 1 or 2 located really far away from where I live.

Do you also end up buying a lot more stuff when shopping on a hungry tummy? 😉

Peace…As Articulated

Peace as in, tranquility.

Peace as in, I leave you in peace.

Peace as in, I said my peace.

Peace as in, peace be with you.

Peace as in, prosperity reigns.

Peace as in, no wars.

Peace as with it, comes a better society, better people and a better life for all.

Can we each keep the peace and perpetuate harmony for all?

Dumpling Festival Or Dragon Boat Festival

Chicken sent me this photo she took and the cloud art made me see it as twin typhoon or tornado spirals and this led me to this post about Hong Kong. Hong Kong is famous for its annual typhoons in hot summer months!

25 June 2020 is the Dumpling Festival in Lil Red Dot as well as in Fragrant Harbor (Hong Kong or HK for short).

It is not a public holiday in Lil Red Dot, although in Fragrant Harbor it is a big deal with a holiday to mark it.

I miss the old vibrant HK where night life is exciting and lots to see. I use to visit Temple Street to shop at the Night Market and hear the buskers there with their solo performances.

The bum boats or old ferry that plies between HK island and Kowloon is so fun. I used to have porridge on the bum boat as an activity for date night. It was tasty and fun caressing the waters in a small bum boat steered by an elderly lady. I admired her tenacity to ply a living out of this.

The HK of today is filled with riots, protests and everything not reminiscent of the old HK.

For me, it has lost its charm as fear fills me as to when it is the next protest or riot and if I decide to visit HK for a short break, will I be caught in it.

Like any tourist, I am sure this frightens us off.

HK’s economy was already floundering before Covid-19 and with Covid-19, it really hurt it even more.

Businesses suffered. Hotels retrenched people and everyone suffered.

I feel sad for HK as it was the happening place for bankers, trade and business, pipping Lil Red Dot back then.

As I look back at how I used to celebrate the Dumpling Festival with gusto back then in HK and now in Lil Red Dot, it is non existent. With Covid-19, I do not even get any dumplings from friends, contacts or self bought.

Anyway, these days, the traditional dumpling is replaced or upgraded to super high end Michelin type truffle ingredients to lure the well heeled. I prefer my old fashioned nonya bak chang (pork dumpling) with glutinous rice and rich chunks of fillings!

Happy Dumpling Festival to all in Asia and who celebrates it! Have an extra one to cheer selves in this tough time of economic challenges and Covid -19 times.

Reflections On Things That Did Not Happen

I had some time to reflect on things last night and wondered about how the situation would have been had I ended up in marriage with my arch nemesis, MR EX.

I counted my lucky stars as I am sure that I would be neglected by a full time philanderer, who is chasing wealth and skirts. I am sure that my heart would be broken into a thousand pieces.

It is funny how things worked out. I felt sad when things did not work out and did not understand why at the time. But on hindsight, I am pretty sure that the deities above took care of me and shielded me from a seasoned liar and cushioned me from any future hurt.

Is there nothing good of MR EX? It would be wrong to say so but I tend to believe that he did things to try and gain something in return. He is too sharky and baiting was his technique.

Still, he is a father, a husband and a son.

Perhaps he is better in the status he has now.

Perhaps he is a fantastic father, a dutiful and doting husband to his current wife.

Life is strange because when things do not turn out the way we want it to be, we get really saddened but after time, the picture gets less clouded by emotions and one can realize that I dodged a bullet really.

What makes any relationship a loving one?

Is there care and concern?

Is that person ever around when you need help?

Is that person a go to person?

Sadly when I looked back, MR EX was never there. For each missing time, he had excuses. If it was not work or his battlefield cries, it was always related to business that was more important.

Today I see him as a pitiful man. He has lost everything he tried to build and is now an employee he claims. True or false, only he knows.

He claims to be mired in debts of ridiculous amounts that I wonder if it is in liras or currencies that leaves us millions per Singapore dollar or US dollar?

Whatever the case, I wish him much happiness, peace and joy in his old age.

May his children care for him when he cannot find employment and his wife nurse him should he fall ill.

Life goes on and I now understand why he and I did not work out – I deserved better!

Thank you deities for making me safe from such a toxic man!

Key Performance Indicators (KPI)s Is The Weight Of Pocket Books

My entire minion life is about key performance indicators (KPIs). I have to devise the top, middle and minion KPIs for the Lords.

But I must say that Mr Safety is rather good at leading his own team and requires little guidance from me. The higher up one is on the totem pole, I feel the lazier they become in strategic thinking or rationalising how to manage their budgets, cost control or setting of KPIs.

To evaluate KPIs, the report card would be the weighing of the Pocket Book Soul as I call it.

Minions and Lords have a disconnect on how this should be done. Top Lords have one mind, Middle Lords have another mind.

Top Lords expect due process. Set the goals, define it and sit down with minion to agree upon and let minion deliver through one period. Then when the end of the year comes, Middle Lords must sit down with minions to assign a grade that correlates to a matrix for distribution of the number of months of salary the minion would get.

Middle Lords are too lax. They throw the entire process to minion to set their own, without guidance and weigh their ownselves. Middle Lords then signs off blindly and the entire tedious process is then chucked to the Kingdom of Minions, also know as People Resources to clean up, arbitrate, mediate or as we say in local speak, be the bad guys for big bad mama!

I asked a simple question to the Middle Lords. If you are planning to remove a person for poor performance, how is it your rating of the person’s performance is in high 80%? Also how is it that the poor performer is rated to be given 3 months of bonus?

It does not gel isn’t it? There is no logic to their think thoughts or decision making process is how I feel.

After speaking with each Middle Lord, I am told, “I do not want to be the bad guy” – aaaahhhh typical of one’s view of self. Everyone wants to be a good guy!

That leaves me to do the dirty job as Bad Guy and the Terminator!

Way too much fun?!!! Can you hear my sarcasm by chance?