A Mind of My Own

I went to Sengkang Swimming Complex last month. This is a long delayed post. Oh my. Well, DD wanted to go swimming, so, we went to this newly opened pool. It was raining heavily from 9am. I was so antsy as it may mean that I won’t have the chance to take a look around the new complex!

Thankfully, the Sun God decided that he had to take over and the sun shined from 11.30am onwards. On weekday, it is a good place to be with since the pools won’t be too crowded until you can’t do a thing despite paying the entry fees just to get in.

Indoor pool for swimming and teaching.

Kids playpool. Most of them love to play with the water pipes.

A round pool that I don’t understand what its purpose is. Yet.

The water slides. Way smaller than in Wild Wild Wet and other pools where space is bigger.

What I noticed is that the lifeguards were very busy with people who run around despite the floors being slippery, mothers who attempt to let their kids with arm floats or belly floats go into the adult pools, adults attempting to step upon the kids slides, etc.

My lifeguard friend said it is because of serious accidents that have occurred in other places, kids running despite being told not to and ended up with gashes on faces, some with bones seen after getting deep cuts even when told not to do dangerous stunts and more.

Overall, the swimming pool slides are for fun, thus, use common sense. If the recommended usage of the given float is pasted on the boards all over the pool, use. You don’t want to be sent to the hospital just because you didn’t listen.

I have been very happy to stay at home to find out what it feels like to do what I have been meaning to do. I may not be earning what I used to when I had a stable income but I feel way much happier. Although, my dear parents will nag at me to find a “stable” job. After having gone through unhappiness while working the same routine for years, I do wonder if a stable job is what I have in mind.

Yes, it does provide the money to buy things without having to worry about whether I still have enough for the rest of the month. During my younger years, I have learned to keep track of where my money goes to. I may buy things on the impulse but how often do I do that? I used to buy new mobiles every year but after the slate of disappointment with the mobile phones not performing to my expectations, I have since stopped that.

I want to try working from home but parents don’t understand and I keep hearing them telling me about Chines New Year is coming. Well, for a fact, it is coming every single year. So, what is the difference? Perhaps I may not think so after I have to be the one giving out the ang baos.

It is only a month. I have to prove to them that what I have always wanted to try is working. However, they want fast results. Will they ever understand that such things take time? I want to give it time. Those who have done it have may have spent 3 years just for the initial inputs to break even.

Money makes the world go round but it can’t buy happiness.

It is unfortunate that my neighbour whom I hope not to meet is “deaf”. He/She loves to play the dramas DVDs or VCDs from 10pm till Lord knows what time loudly every Saturday. I think he/she just moved in since the other time, there were some renovations going out.

I wonder

Why the dramas can’t be watched in the day time.

Why he/she can’t use the headphones.

Why he/she is a night owl.

Why he/she loves to repeat watching that noisy drama.

Finally, if I ever know who that noisy person is, I might just strangle him/her on the spot due to my lack of sleep as the logical mind doesn’t reason very well. Let’s pray that I won’t know who that fxxker is.

I decided to try Coastal Scents for my virgin retractable Kabuki brush. I received it and tested one of the brushes. I combined the purchase with Xtralicious. To my horror, I found that one of the brushes was “rusty” inside. I had great difficulty pulling the inner brush out.

So, I decided to check the other brush, it works smoothly. Therefore, my conclusion is that one of the brushes was spoilt. As this package was not sent directly to me, I received it late. I sent an email to Kathay on either 19 or 20 Aug but yet to receive her replies.

I just wanted to know the rectification to this order. Unfortunately, no replies as to whether I can exchange it or get a refund of some sort was known. I even checked the foundation and found that the sample jar had foundation powder all over it. Just a scotch tape was used to secure it.

The package didn’t feel like it was done with care. I never had this problem with my purchases from Pure Luxe.

This is long overdue. It slipped my mind somehow. I have to name 5 scary childhood terrors I had as a child.

1. I had to switch on every light in the house at night if I had to take a leak. I hated walking in the dark while returning to bed. Apparently, it’s a problem for most kids.
2. The sound of chalk being scrapped on the blackboard was enough to let me know that the teacher was very unhappy about something.
3. I had my exercise book being thrown onto the floor in front of 40 classmates once and was terrified of having it done again.
4. That scary female teacher with huge eyes that looked as if they would bore a hole into my head. She was always in a bad mood.
5. That boy who punched me in the chest. I still can’t recall what made that bully do that.

And now, it’s my turn to make these people remember their childhood terrors: Krisandro, Chillycraps, Rinaz, Nicole and Clauds.

This trip was a long one in the making. Originally, there was supposed to be 4 girls, NL, ES, HF and me. Unfortunately, the delay took more than a year to get to this trip. NL couldn’t take any leaves at all in August. We asked RK if she would be interested in a massage trip in Batam and she nodded her head immediately.

With 4 girls confirming the trip, we looked around for hotels that included the spa package with accommodation. Finally, we settled on Harris Resort Batam even though Holiday Inn had a package. It just didn’t feel worth the price for a 2D1N stay. RK’s beloved offered to help us book. Sweet!

After the calling back and forth with RK and the Five Stars Tour, we managed to get a spa slot at 11am, Batam time. It was freaking early as we had to take the 9.20am ferry. That meant meeting at 7.30am for breakfast before collecting our tickets.

I went with RK since she lived nearby and we were the first to reach followed by ES and her dear hubby who took the effort to wake up early to send her off. Aww. HF was the last to arrive as her alarm failed. We settled out ferry tickets and proceeded to the gate.

Although the crowd was choking the gate, we managed to find seats in the air conditioned portion and talked all the way until we reached Water Front City terminal. There, we queued up at the wrong counter as the Harris counter sign was hidden by the queue. They need a bigger sign board.

With our passports settled, we queued up for the free shuttle bus. When the bus arrived, the crowd moved and an auntie with 2 of her family members rushed from behind us to board the bus. They were obviously late for some appointment.

We took the small van as they only have a bus or a van. The ride was short as we didn’t realise that the resort is so near to the ferry terminal. Since our rooms weren’t ready, we went to our spa after requesting that we wanted 2 connecting rooms. With the request completed and our room numbers confirmed, we headed across the pools to the spa.

The spas were located on the rooftop and I liked the nature feel to it. It wasn’t a good idea to request for a room for 4 as it didn’t come with an attached shower. We ain’t gonna walk around wrapped in sarongs when there were so many guys having their spa and male workers too! We stuck with 2 per room.

Image via Wikipedia

The body scrub did smooth our skins. I was the only one who chose Hot Stones massage while the rest did the aromatherapy massages. During the scrubbing, I fell asleep. It was that comfortable. RK and I showered off the scrub and waited for the massage. My massage was good as the masseur did a lot of massaging my shoulder ache away. When the hot stones came, it was a little warm. By the 3rd time, my skin felt as if I was on fire. I thought my arm hair was being burned!

However, it was worth it as I would inform her that it was hot. After it was over, we proceeded to the bath tub for our milk bath but it didn’t look like milk bath. More like herbal bath as we saw some black leaves. The water spurts were at intervals and it didn’t feel like being in a jacuzzi at all. It was also horrifying to see the water level being drained away the longer we stay in the tub and it wasn’t even overflowing either!

Image via Wikipedia

When I finally stood up to shower off, the water level was less than half of the tub. My body felt oily all over but smooth despite my attempts to use the given shower foam. RK and I asked if ES and HF had the same experience with their milk bath but they didn’t have the water level being lowered.

We went to check in since we needed our lunch. The room was fantastic. It was spacious and we opened the connecting doors. There was also a balcony over looking the pool. After admiring the room, we went on to have our lunch at 3pm, Batam time.

Thinking that the pizza was big enough, that was from the way the waiter used his hands to mimic how huge it was, we ordered 2 pizzas using our entitled vouchers. When the pizzas arrived, the pan was huge but the pizzas weren’t that big. The dough base was think, and crispy almost to the point of biting down on a biscuit.

The waiter asked if the pizza was big enough when we were done, we replied, “Too small.” He was helpless as he couldn’t do much about it. We ordered drinks and felt the soft drinks were way over priced. There wasn’t any need as they provided iced water too!

Since there wasn’t much else to do, we decided to play in the pool with the free ball. It was fun using the ball to splash water onto each other using as much force as possible. It was like dodge ball only, using water. The game lasted about an hour before HF decided that she was hungry.

We proceeded to wash off and ordered room service as we felt that the BBQ and buffet dinner was too expensive since none of us eat much. Dinner arrived just as all of us had completed our baths. ES loved the Cabonara Spaghetti and the fish chilly sauce. The omelette was too salty but the salad that came with it was great. Thankfully, the carrot soup was bland enough to balance the salty omelette.

ES suggested Mahjong to spend the night but the set and table weren’t available, so we request for confirmation from the reception who never got back on the availability because the person renting it was happily using it through the night. There is only one Mahjong set and one Mahjong table for rental.

We tried again after breakfast while waiting to kill the time but only the set was available. The table wasn’t. We couldn’t even borrow the Mahjong paper because the person didn’t seem to understand. Ultimately, we didn’t get to play Mahjong to pass the time, we played Big 2, Dai Dee. The night before, it was more exciting as we had forfeits. RK was the one who suggested a change of the forfeit and she was the 1st one to do it. Evil, ES took photos as proof. And NO! None of you will get to see them!

After checking out, we had about an hour plus to kill the time. Thus, we used the vouchers for a free bowling game per person. The game was way cheaper than playing one game in Singapore. We played 2 games but kept having troubles with the bowling balls being stuck in the gears. The guy had to sort it out for us more than 5 times.

Finally, we changed lanes in the middle of the second game. The monitor for one of the lanes was spoilt while the lane’s TV screen had too much flickering. We continued our games while I didn’t score any strikes, I did get a couple of spares. We kept hitting the pins to display goal posts too. The bowling balls got stuck a few times in the new lanes too.

I think the bowling lanes were under utilised and hence, the problems. We didn’t even have to wait for anyone to complete their games either. The guy was kept busying with our cries for help with the stuck bowling balls and pins.

It was time to leave Batam for Singapore. We had a great time being crazy in Batam, especially in our rooms.

Having followed Sheylara’s blog for quite some time, I was happy that free tickets were going to be redeemed for the lucky bloggers who email her the details. DD read about it first since my RSS Reader didn’t update her new posts.

Thus, I sent her an email about my interest and surprise of all surprises, I got my free tickets to Money No Enough 2. A lady who is the contact for the event called me in the afternoon, a day before the actual movie and we spoke for a while. Nice lady.

I waited for the email for details. With the details, I proceeded to the place for collection. I was way too early since I had sent in my brother’s mobile for repair. Strangely, the huge group I saw were mostly queuing for the counter to buy popcorn and tickets.

I saw a table with the huge poster but the person to collect from wasn’t sitting at that place. Instead they were standing. I must say, they prefer to be close to the bloggers rather than just sit at the table and mark the tickets as collected. I’m impressed with the personal approach.

DD finally arrived because his training ended late. We rushed into the cinema and got our seats. Good seats. Thank you Sheylara. The show started on time without any pre-movie advertisements. I love it! Unfortunately, DD missed the first 2 minutes of the show because he needed to buy popcorn for me. I was hoping he would be back soon.

The movie’s main theme is about filial piety and I love the way it is being portrayed. Families with more than one sibling and the gap between rich and poor were shown with clarity. It also spoke of how a mother would give away her savings even if they were meant for her coffin to her children. A mother who doesn’t differentiate between loving a child more than the other.

The common quarrels between siblings is often about money after they started working. They will argue who earns more and should pay more for looking after the parents while neglecting the parents’ feelings. Parents may dote on one child more than the others but there are parents who won’t hesitate to help their children in whatever way they can without being biased.

This movie is a touching story about a family who learns filial piety and money values. A movie made from the heart. This heart part is from his speech.

After the movie, Director Neo arrived to speak about his experiences with the making of the movie. He gave a deeper insight of how budget works and thus, without speaking directly, it explained the constant reminders of the sponsors’ products which marred the movie’s flow to some people who would have preferred a visual reference instead of talking about it constantly.

I didn’t ask any questions because I have absolutely no idea what to ask. A few people asked about a sequel, whether his future movies would consist of more CGI and why he took so long to make the sequel. A lively session, I must say.

Finally, I would like to thank Sheylara and Blog Aloud for the chance to watch the movie and meet Director Neo.

It has come to my attention that Mr Amit Nagpal has incurred the wrath of Singaporeans by demanding for equal rights to buy a flat even when he is just a PR. In addition, he further provoked the HWZ members, many of which are also Singaporeans by asking the admins to close down some threads that were of a threat to his reputation.

Finally, he posted in a thread that he would be calling the police at the advice of the admins to handle such threads in the forms. Oh my. This reminds me of Odex all over again.

Have I told you that HWZ CSI members are very good yet? They had dug out his personal bio and posted all over the forums and including his innocent family members too. That, I feel is too much. The guy may be a haughty world-wisely and useful to his employers but the root cause of the anger should be directed at his haughtiness. The same thing can happen to those who dig out such information and place it in full glory. It’s called karma.

I feel angry that as a citizen of Singapore, I have to wait in line for balloting a flat. I have 2 friends who have tried to more than 6 times. While others have been known to try for 2 years, theirs may be just a small case. Have you tried to ballot for a flat in your parent’s home estate because of the flat rules yet? Priority is for married child but for both my friends, they failed to get even a decent slot for their home estates.

Can you imagine the horror at receiving a queue number of 234 out of 342? You are balloting for your home estate and your parents are just living across the street from the new flats that will be built in 2013. In the end, my friends ended up trying for ballots in further estates that are far from either set of parents. They both got better queue number by doing that.

A challenge has been sent to Amit Nagpal. If you have the guts to call the police for a HWZ thread in a forum, you should have the guts to reply to this challenge.

The letter that angered many Singaporeans who have trouble getting their own flats:

I REFER to the lively Forum discussion about home ownership in Singapore. As a new Singapore permanent resident (PR) from India, let me respond this way.

First, Singapore is the only country with such a high percentage of home owners. Trust me, your home will never be repossessed because of a sub-prime-like crisis.

In New Delhi, where I came from, government housing is a luxury. Once in two years, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) releases land and builds basic, two- and three-bedroom homes.

A lottery decides who gets to own the flats. Snaking queues, with hundreds of required documents, no salary or income cap and no cap on the number of flats applied for are a few of the scheme’s characteristics. The balloting is fraught with irregularities. Most successful applicants sell the flats almost immediately in the open market for a huge premium.

My parents in India still live in a rented apartment because they have not been successful in getting a DDA flat and cannot afford expensive private housing. These things happen in India because it does not have a system like the Housing and Development Board’s.

Second, I am 33 years old and live here with my wife and two children. I consider myself well educated, worldly wise and useful to my employers.

What am I doing in Singapore, leaving my parents, family, friends and comfort zone back home? Why did I strive to become a Singapore PR, and perhaps a citizen in future? I did it because Singapore is safe, dynamic, modern and conducive to a decent livelihood. Most important, the Government promotes harmonious living and equality for all. Many Singaporeans take these virtues for granted. I don’t blame them because they probably don’t know what it is like elsewhere, including a country like India which may have the world’s fastest growing economy, but is fraught with corruption and an unsafe environment and does not have what Singapore has.

So it pains me when I read letters which say that PRs like me should not be treated well enough. I know we cannot be given the same rights as citizens, but why demand no rights at all?

Now, this is my country too. There is no turning back. So why can’t I buy a flat directly from the HDB? And although I came as a permanent settler, why treat me like an enemy?

Amit Nagpal

I know a PR. She has to rent a flat with 2 other PRs. She doesn’t complain about buying a flat here because she can buy a bigger house in her home country. Singapore is a harmonious country but with the likes of you demanding to buy a flat of your own as a PR, what harmony are you promoting?

What I know about Singapore

1. Singapore isn’t a big country like India where space is limited. That is why even Singaporeans have to queue up and hope to be given a good slot.
2. Singapore is a place where she welcomes everyone into the land without being prejudiced. That is why there are many expatriates and foreigners here.
3. Singapore is a place where any strike or riot that the police catches wind of will be immediately brought to the police station within 5 minutes of the congregation. That is why Singapore is harmonious.
4. Singapore is a place where any discrepancies in the charities are brought known to the citizens and where many days of auditing the accounts are spent. They are often in the first page so that the everyone is aware of what is going on. That is why there isn’t much corruption issue here.
5. HDB has rules and regulations. I have linked to the ones that Mr Amit Nagpal has missed out. Citizenship, Priority Scheme, Housing Loan from HDB. I would be very surprised if one PR is able to change that ruling in the Citizenship section with just one letter to the Straits Times. It goes to show how much I know Singapore, no?

Mr Amit Nagpal, what do you really know about Singapore after x years here? Do you prefer to be a Singaporean or a PR?

Sources: SgForums, Endoh’s Dungeons, Darth Grievous

Having problems with my endless encounters with True Spa for the umpteenth time, DD and I decided to book 2 more slots with the reception and thought that we would be able to use up the package faster. The end result? 2 weeks booking at the front desk meant they lost the damn paper with the slots.

I am letting loose the name of the account manager this time as it’s the 824357265438th time we have not managed to book the slots despite out best attempts. Caslyn Aw was there when we asked for the slots. After going to get some piece of paper, she told us to book with the front desk instead.

Thus, we wrote down what we wanted and they said they would call. They didn’t call. It meant that our slots were lost, again. Nothing new. So, I wanted to confirm it. I called. 1st time, it rang more than 18 times before I heard someone pick up and attempted to cut out the phone contact. WTF?!

I hung up and tried the 2nd time. Same thing happened again. Bloody Hell! 3rd time, same! Furious now, I slammed the phone receiver. On the 4th call, someone picked it up and put me on hold for 2 minutes. I got the call cut off which was what I expected.

Steam was coming out of my head by this time. I called more than 4 times and decided to give up. My sister called and after 3 times, she managed to get connected to someone and started scolding her. I don’t care if the lady was innocent or not. I want my slot confirmed that was all. Simple, right? For True Spa, it ain’t so simple. They use the bloody schedule books using pen and paper but cannot even get any of our slots right or confirmed.

I took over the call and started scolding her over the phone too. I gave her the necessary details and it was confirmed that they didn’t register our bookings. Bloody Hell again. 2 weeks before I handed the front desk that piece of paper and they can’t even make the booking? WTF is going on?

If you can’t even get a simple booking right there and then, please pack up and go learn some customer service from Thailand and Batam. They allow me to just go in about 4 hours later to enjoy 3 hours of good massage at cheaper rates. You don’t go crying around saying Singaporeans don’t like to have spa with you because you are expensive but provide lousy service.

I didn’t spend my money on things that don’t go my way as promised. A promise is a promise and I will find a way to contact your chairman or CEO for that matter. This is a promise.

With the slowdown of the economy and everyone is tightening their belts, garang guni men are picky. The rag and bones business hasn’t gone out of the windows yet. It’s quite lucrative at times and does help to supplement the income.

My mother tried to get the attention of the collector only to have him say, “My boss will come later.” That was 10am. I went out at 11am for my hair appointment and returned home at 4.30pm. The stack of newspapers were still outside our door.

Apparently, this particular collector prefers handphones, old TV and other valuable stuff. I know where to trade in my handphones for cash. I know I can look around and trade in my old TV for cash. I know I can just go to the Cash Converter shop that is just near my place to sell for cash. Why the heck would I just pass to you, the garang guni man for an amount that isn’t worth it?

You think you are clever? Don’t try to be clever for this case. People have stolen our fire riser metal lock before. They are clever too but the authorities had to spend more money to replace with better locks. Do you know where our taxpayers’ money all go to?

The money have to go into building a better nation. That’s why our transport and everything is going up despite paying our taxes. That is also why being a rag and bones collector, you should stop being picky. Because I ain’t gonna let ye pocket that $100 for yourself when I can sell my handphone for a higher price.