Don't Be a Hero

Chan Chun Sing, in his unfortunate leaked audio, dissed Carrie Lam for wearing a mask to a press conference, causing panic in Hong Kong. Did you notice? He is an ex-military man. For decades, he has been socialised to the ethos of being a hero - you know, all that blather about walking right, walking tall, being brave, not backing down from challenge, rushing where angels fear to tread, leading by example, courage, courage and more courage?

Military men are adorable, but they are still naive, idealistic and stupid.

Now, is not the time to be a hero.

The government decision to set an example by not wearing ANY masks at all, puts every single government servant, stat board and government linked employee at risk. Up and down all these organisations, men (especially the ex-military ones) refuse to wear masks. At a time when more and more cases are untraceable, this is plain stupid.

Especially since there are asymptomatic cases that spread viruses without knowing it. Not only that, there are sick people who simply refuse to mask up!! One youngster boasted to another saying that the government would need to pay him to mask up. A lady coughed non stop without covering her mouth 5 m away from me in Chong Pang Market. This morning, a man walking in front of me sneezed into the air the way the Merlion spouts water, three times. Singaporeans descended from coolies. Don't expect them to learn civilised manners overnight. It took years before LKY managed to get us to stop spitting from the 2nd deck of a double decker bus!

I am all for keeping medical grade masks for the frontline medical personnel but what about alternatives? You know,
- cloth masks (with inserts)
- silk scarves
- a purdah
- a veil
See HERE.

If the coronavirus is gonna be around for a long time, then cloth masks (with inserts) should become daily wear for anyone who faces customers. Staff can be trained to remove and replace the inserts twice a day, as well as wash the masks everyday.

There is some research in hospital environments showing that cloth masks exacerbate the spread because they get dirty. However, that is in hospital environments. Most people are not in the high octane environment with high pathogen loads. They just need to protect themselves from snot and the viral shedding that comes from people talking close to them.

More recent research shows that even a tea cloth mask offers some protection. See picture below.

Picture from HERE.

Actually, I don't think it is a military man thing. I think it is an overall man thing. The men all want to be heroes. I timidly asked Ah Yi from the braised pork stall why they were not wearing masks. He squared his shoulders and pointed at his 3 staff, saying, "We are strong! This is a small thing! We don't have to wear masks." Till today, those 4 men are not wearing masks. They are adorable but they are also stupid, naive and idealistic. It was all I could do to not roll my eyes at him.

It is NOT being a hero when you leave a widow behind.

Also, it puts others in danger: the wives, the elderly parents and the children at home. It takes the wife of another ex-military man, Ho Ching, to point out this foolishness. See HERE. Think of all the stress, the politicians' spouses are going through, knowing that their spouse has to meet people from everywhere. Politicians go home and have a decontamination protocol (to protect their family members) BUT the politician is herself/himself going everywhere unmasked.

This Is Just To Say

Below is a poem one of my students wrote to his Mama, to apologise.

This is just to say
That I really wish I hadn't thrown
That cup of kefir away.
I hope I didn't make you sad
When I said that it had died.
I couldn't have grown it better
Even if I'd really tried.
And I know we'll see it through

This is just to say
That I don't need that extra time.
But when I said that to you,
Your face curled up like a lime.
I know the pouches are important,
But PSLE much more so.
I didn't finish this Math paper,
But I don't need extra time though.
I'll just work together with you,
And I know we'll see it through.

This is just to say
I hope you're not upset with me
Because I threw the doughnut away
I know Li laoshi paid for it,
But the icing made me sick.
But when I saw your face,
You looked like I had sinned.
So, I'll do my very very best
To not do it again.
(Although the doughnut was not very yummy).

But all that aside,
This is just to say...
I'm really very sorry, Mummy.

Masks for Different Situations

Click HERE to read about how to get the most out of different types of masks.

Witness the Power of God

12 “On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord. 13 The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.

- Exodus 12: 12-13

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD.

- Isaiah 55:8 -

I am autistic. My brain naturally searches for, and locks in on patterns. Anyone who can see patterns can see what is not yet because it is simply a matter of extending the pattern, sketching it in where things are not yet.

Being able to pattern means that I can often take preventive measures ahead of time.

Faced with Covid19, I keenly feel the limitations of logical patterning. I am ready to batten down the hatches and ride out the storm but with each day's news of ...

- Malaysia's closing borders

- flights to and from Australia being entirely stopped

- Malaysia's Stop Movement Order disrupting vegetable supply

... Petunia's heart flops over every day when reading the newspapers.

This is force majeure. As a Christian, I view it as the frightening power of God. The last time I felt this way, I was watching tiles fly off the roof of a barn opposite my window. It was the "le vent d'Autan" in action. My neighbour was re-roofing his barn. I was just thankful that the tiles flew off in another direction than mine.

This time, I am hunkered down at home, hoping that the power of God will pass over my head like it passed over the homes of the Jewish people in Egypt. I see no pattern. I can predict little. My paltry little preventive measures do not seem to be enough.

So, I must walk by faith.

I must give thanks that unlike those who pretend to be Christians (like Trump), there are real Christians and Buddhists and Muslims and Hindus within the Singapore cabinet who have acted in ways that show that they really care for Singaporeans. I must give thanks that in these dark times, courageous people and wise leaders stand between me and death.

Now, I pray that the storm will pass my home and the homes of those I care about.

I don't know why God has unleashed this upon us. I know He has a good reason to. Perhaps it is to heal the earth. Perhaps, it is to let us know that dolphins should be able to visit the Venetian harbour, that the ozone layer needs healing, that we are polluting the air, that management should not appraise staff poorly when they are given 5 days of MC to stay home, that the American leaders lie without blinking, that people who look like villains are actually angels, that families should spend more time together, that we should go out into sunshine and fresh air, instead of shopping in the malls... that kindness wears no smile but evil often has to....

Perhaps, as humans, we have lost the plot and God is reminding us that He is sovereign and will set boundaries upon us if we know not how to set them on ourselves.

Perhaps.

Poor People's Tea and a Happy House

Sigh! My teh si kosong does not taste like what the Kopi Soh makes leh... The milk is too overwhelming and the tea is not strong enough. Tomorrow, I will steep the tea for much longer. I guess, if the drinks stall at Chong Pang really closes in a full on lockdown, this will have to do. I wonder if I dare to ask the Kopi Soh the secret to her delicious teh si kosong.

Yes! Tomorrow morning, I will hold The Husband's hand tightly (for moral support) and ask the Kopi Soh just that!

The whole box of tea dust costs $4.50. Each teh si kosong from the drinks stall costs $1.10. I reckon that I can get about 40 cups of tea from this box of $4.50. Wow! Think of all the money I will save on teh si kosong during a lockdown! It is quite funny. Tea dust is the cheapest of cheap teas. Yet, when I opened the bag and M saw the tea dust, her eyes shone with joy and she said, "Oh, I love this tea!"

M comes from a village in Myanmar without running water nor electricity. Yet, she has very clear ideas about what constitutes wealthy living and poor living. Tea dust is poor people's tea. Black glutinous rice is poor people's rice and M cannot understand why I cook it so often, in lieu of white rice. I think she also wonders why I grow my own vegetables. Then, there is my fascination with roadside stones. In her first 2 years here, she very insensitively referred to our Milo as the poor people's dog. Then, she would point out to the poodles and the Malteses in the neighbourhood, and say, "Those are rich people's dogs." Since Pistachio joined the family, M keeps repeating that in the past, she used to stare longingly at the poodles and Malteses walking past, wishing she could have one. Now, she has a Maltipoo which she treats like a human baby, asking him softly, when she thinks no one is looking, "Are you happy?"

I was somewhat perplexed at why she did that until I caught myself asking M, when I brought her to the beach, "Are you happy?"

I guess, unknowingly, I have included M in our family's happiness index. In the dark days of Covid19, I feel grateful to have a happy household: happy husband, happy children, happy helper and happy me... even if said helper is quite insensitively vocal about Petunia's many Poor People's habits. 

I wonder what M will say about Kopi Luwak: poor people's coffee?

Furry human baby.

Furry human baby.

No Cure for Stupidity

TodayOnline reported HERE the following:

Over at Clarke Quay, customer service assistant Jaelyn Lin, 21, who clubs once or twice a week, said her parents were worried about her going out on Wednesday night, but she decided to go ahead. “We can just have one last night of fun, so why not?” she said.  “Which parent wouldn’t be worried about their children going out tonight?” she added. “They complained about why I was going to these kinds of places with so many people and asked me what if I were to come home and pass (the coronavirus) to them.”  

I am so shocked by this heartless bimbo...

- too stupid to put 2 and 2 together and make 4
(in other words, too dumb to understand that she risks catching Covid19 + passing it to her parents = her parents might die)

- too heartless to care that she might bring home Covid19 to infect her parents
(even after her parents shared their fears with her)

If my child insists on going out to have one last night of fun, I would tell my child that she won't be allowed back in the house for the next 21 days. Stupidity is itself a turn off. Heartlessness... now heartlessness warrants being disowned. Really what... if your daughter does not care a hoot about whether you live or die, you might as well just throw that daughter away.

Click HERE for a video of a doctor sharing that he has been ordered to REMOVE respirators from elderly folks above the age of 65, in order to use them for younger patients. Even people unrelated to the elderly have compassion for them enough to feel something. Not Jaelyn Lin though, for her own parents.

The country's medical resources are not infinite. If too many people get infected at any one time, the system will not be able to cope. Click HERE to see how expensive ONE suspected Covid19 case is for Singapore. Every single suit, mask, person costs money, time and effort.

If the system cannot cope, we may have to deny medical care to elderly folks in order to save the younger ones. Partying like this at a time like this, with an attitude like this is criminal irresponsibility. If this Jaelyn Lin gets sick with Covid19, she should not be allowed to benefit from subsidised medical care. She should pay full price.

A General Practitioner I know shared with me that...
- many of her patients refuse to have 5 days MC
- just as many insist to go back to work whilst sick

My GP friend further shared with me this awful story about a man who
- Saw her on 5th March with fever and upper respiratory tract infection,
- Went to Japan from 9 March to 17 March...
- Came back to SHN
-  Saw her again on 19 March...
- Was sent to the NCID the same day...
- Was tested for Covid19, given 5 days MC and then asked to stay home.

The idiot did not stay home. He still went out to my friend's clinic to ask for cough syrup. This guy has no common sense at all. He is not supposed to even leave house. Think of the number of people he has infected with whatever he had, the whole time in Japan and even when he was supposed to be on SHN.

The story gets better.

This man's father went to the same clinic. On the form given in 2 languages and when verbally asked, he declared that he had never been in contact with anyone suspected of having Covid19, even though the son who was living with him had been tested at the NCID. This man LIED.

So, both Father and Son went all over the place to pass their infection to others.

I think that eventually, Singapore has to go into lock down. The military and the police need to come out with truncheons and knock people like Jaelyn Lin on the head. It might increase her IQ, though it may not make her less heartless. I pity the man who marries her: no heart and no brain... when the youthful looks go, what is left?

Thank God the government has moved against such stupid people. The Infectious Diseases Act now states that if a doctor gives you an MC, you are not allowed to leave house or you will get FINED $10,000 or jailed for 6 months. See HERE.

Taken Away

I did not write the below. I am just spreading the message.

_________________________

Make no mistake. When loved ones are removed from your home by ambulance because the virus has hit them hard, you are not going to be able to follow them there, sit by their hospital bed and hold their hand. You are not going to be able to pop in at 7.00 pm for visiting hours. They are going to have no one other than exhausted and brave hospital staff to see them through days or weeks of barely breathing through a ventilator until they either die or recover. They are not going to be well enough to text you.

You are not going to be able to phone the ward to check in on them regularly (staff will be too busy for that). During that time, they will be completely alone, while you sit at home waiting to hear whether they have made it through.

Imagine that person is someone you love dearly. Because it's going to be a reality for many in the coming weeks.

And if that person in hospital happens to be you, going through that ordeal completely alone, it would be nothing less than terrifying.

Please stay home and only go out if absolutely necessary. Social distancing is imperative right now for your family and mine.

Copy and paste to share, I did. ❤️🙏

Teh Si Kosong

You know where a man's priorities are when, in the face of a deadly Covid19 storm, he tells his wife to learn how to make teh si kosong the way the Chong Pang hawkers make it. At the back of The Husband's mind, I know there is the spectre of a full on lock down. Even if there isn't a full on lock down, some of the hawkers may choose to close shop if the schools close. They will need to stay home to watch their children.

So, The Husband is preparing for a lock down, by asking me to learn how to make teh si kosong. Mind you...that is all he is doing. The Husband's version of lockdown preparation starts and ends with asking me to learn how to make teh si kosong the way the Chong Pang hawkers do it. He said nothing about protein, vegetables and fruits.

So, I masked up and went out bright and early to get New Hill Bird tea dust, Carnation full cream milk and the actual teh si kosong made by the professionals. For those who don't know, tea dust is the lowest grade of tea. It is the dust that comes off tea leaves meant for teacups to be held daintily with the pinkie sticking out. This tea dust is swept up and sold to hawker stalls for them to make teh si kosong. I am not complaining. If something of the poorest grade can make teh si kosong of the best grade, why not?

Hopefully, my teh si kosong is good enough to do justice to the apple tart I made last night...

... and we will enjoy both whilst admiring a pretty piece of art and craft I bought from Chong Pang Market... In the dark days of Covid19, I found a pop of colour.

时势造英雄

I cannot quite put my finger on it but Singapore politics seems to have gone back to the socialist leanings that was the hallmark of Lee Kuan Yew's politics. It feels like we have gone a full circle.

The Dignity of Jobs

The 2020 budget was big on preserving jobs. That is so LKY. He did not just preserve them. He created them. Since 2011, the govt has been giving out money to every Singaporean. I have never been a fan of that. People do not want patronage. They want a political system that makes it possible for them to work and provide for their families, with dignity and self-respect. 

Education: The Social Leveller

The 2020 budget was big on education. That is so LKY too. I have a friend (a respected auditor) who recounted to me his childhood living in an attap house, with a zinc roof. The Husband too, lived in a home where the toilet was a bucket system 15m away from the main house. made of wood. Both men owe their lives today, to LKY's education spending. 

In the decade of the 2000s, the education system changed to this Teach Less Learn More b**shit, where kids with parents who could afford tuition could learn more outside school whilst the teachers taught less inside schools. As a result, rich people's kids did well. Poor people's kids did not. The Husband, who grew up in a wooden house and a bucket system toilet, would never have done well in such an education system.

Singaporeans First

LKY's government really did not care how people viewed it. It never hosted any Youth Olympics, nor any Formula 1, nor any Trump summit. Yet, just by focusing on looking after Singaporeans, LKY became a statesman respected throughout the world.

Yesterday, the Ministry of Health has told all healthcare providers in Singapore to reject foreign patients. This is to protect our healthcare resources from being overburdened by rich Indonesians. Wow! Since the 1990s, the PAP has been known as the government who sees money and face bigger than citizenry. 

For me, it is mindblowing that the PAP government is saying "No" to rich people in order that even poor Singaporeans with Covid19 can be cared for. This is not something I expected of today's PAP. After all, this is the government who spent $20 million to host Trump and Kim Jong Un just to look good internationally. Face bigger than citizenry mah...

When I read that news, my thought was, "Let us not look good. Let us BE good." A woman who wears $8 t-shirts and $5 shorts cannot understand how one can spend $20 million just to look good. If Singapore needed to spend $20 million to look good just to be able to attract investments, I wonder how Phillip Yeo built the JTC. 

Last week, without having to spend a single cent on branding nor marketing, our very own Lee Hsien Loong has been lauded globally as a statesman worthy of respect for his leadership of Singaporeans through the dark days of the Covid19. 

- I watched Trump HERE.

- I watched Malaysia's Health Minister HERE.

- I watched Lee Hsien Loong HERE.

Like LKY, we did not have to spend money to look good. We ARE good. So, the world is singing our praises. For the first time in 20 years, I am actually proud of my Prime Minister.

Reagan-Thatcherism

From around the Year 2000 to 2011, Singapore politics lost its way in Reagan-Thatcherism. I blogged about it HERE in 2013. The Reagan-Thatcherism influence actually started in the 1990s. In 2013, thought leaders like Kishore Mahbubani began to question Reagan-Thatcherism. Reagan-Thatcherism influenced policy right across the Ministries. MOE began to look like a band of small time businesses competing for student share, with the top schools getting the best resources and wealthiest clientele. Certificates of Entitlement filled the roads with cars whilst the effectiveness and efficiency of shared resources such as buses became steadily eroded, and the rail network aged steadily from month to month.

Reagan-Thatcherism is all about enriching the top so that the top can lift the bottom. The past 2 decades have shown that when the rubber meets the road, this sexy idea skids right off the cliff. Useless! 

When you bless the rich, the rich exploit the poor. Our Gini coefficient crept higher and higher.

Feeling Positive About Singapore

For the first time in 2 decades I feel very positive about the future of Singapore as a country and a home. Of course, I don't expect the way forwards to be easy. It was never easy for us, anyway. However, with leaders who now see citizenry bigger than money and face, the future holds hope.

Covid19 has thrown up some heroes.

We have Chan Chun Sing, who talks like a Private, but leads like the General he is. I just wish he were more handsome, and taller. Heh!

We have Ong Ye Kung, who has always appeared to me, to be a politician of conviction. In 2016, he was the first campaigning politician to NOT attack the opposition. Instead, he called for unity. Ong Ye Kung has beliefs. He tells us what he believes. That way, I know what he stands for. It is hard to trust a politician who speaks what the public wants to hear. So, Ong Ye Kung has explained the reasoning why schools are staying open. This is leadership. He is not just leading his Ministry. He is leading all parents. This one is quite handsome.

LKY was handsome too, you know! To my eyes, he stayed handsome right up to his 90s.

Still, I would prefer to vote in The Hunchback of Notre Dame over Justin Trudeau (hands down the most handsome Prime Minister in the world) if it meant that we can have LKY's brand of socialism back again. 

No More Silos

Best of all, it has been a long time since it was clear that the Singapore government works as one. When I saw how closely HDB was building flats to the MRT tracks, and then noise barriers had to be erected (that reduced the walking space for technicians working on the tracks), I wondered if the Minister of Transport in the decade of the 2000s, worked well with the Minister of National Development, or did both leave their Ministries to run without interfering. After all, there was a particular Permanent Secretary who famously went on long leave to earn a Cordon Bleu certificate, saying that his Ministry would run well without him. The Ministry could for sure run but when the top man is absent, inter-Ministry work will suffer. No wonder it seemed to me that the government was functioning like separate silos.

When problems appeared on pathways in HDB estates and people had to run from PUB to NEA to HDB, unable to find a solution, I wondered if the top government servants left the silos to run on their own, instead of playing their part to co-ordinate between the silos reporting to them.

Seeing how all the Ministries have pulled together seamlessly through Covid19 gives me great joy, immense confidence and hope.

How To Vote

Elections are coming. I would still hate to see a parliament with no opposition, though. I have not forgotten how my right to vote for a President in 2017, was just whisked away from me. I have not forgotten that the PAP lost its way for 2 decades. I am scared that it will happen again. What if PAP loses its way again, and there is no opposition to speak up for us?

Tell me something to take this fear away.

The Prayer of Jabez

Click HERE.

My Happy Place

Every year, at around February, I start to identify students who are ready for PSLE English. We have all worked hard for 3 years. I front loaded them for P4 and P5, meaning that I stressed them in P4 and P5 with demanding work. By P6, they are ready.

There is no teacher under the sun who can time learning completion so well that the child is ready just before PSLE. It is my job to get the children ready with time to spare. I chase away my best students by end-Feb of their P6 year. I do so for 3 reasons:

(1) I know they are strong enough to walk the rest of the journey without me as their crutch.

(2) They need a few months to find their footing and peak by PSLE.

(3) The experience of finding their footing builds maturity and confidence. The children go into Sec 1 knowing that they can make it without a tutor. Remember that with me, giving the children a Headstart in Maturity is an important thing - Click HERE.

With a bit of nudging, most parents and children take my advice to withdraw. Once in a while, one meets a child so very determined to stay that I am stuck. Some years back, there was one who melted into a puddle saying, "I cannot withdraw. This is my Happy Place."

This year, I have another.

Me: You are ready for PSLE. You should withdraw.

Student: No!

Me: Wouldn't you appreciate having more free time on Saturday afternoon?

Student: No!

Me (appealing to Child's Mama): Mama, perhaps you can talk to him?

Mama: The class is very small already. Let us not bother Dr. Pet to run the class.

Student: No!

Mama (to me): He won't want to withdraw. This is his Happy Place.

To be frank, I am reluctant to see this child leave me. In my heart, he is a very special little one.

Play Date On the Beach

We organise play dates for Pistachio in order to properly socialise him to other dogs. Cookie lives nearby and every other morning, comes by to ring our doorbell, inviting Pistachio to go and play. I don't know why but simply watching the 2 dogs play, makes me really happy.

Social Distancing

Click HERE to see 4 graphic simulations of virus spread in 4 different situations:
(1) free for all
(2) attempted quarantine
(3) moderate social distancing
(4) extensive social distancing

The spread of Covid19 is inevitable. Our SG govt is smart. It is now working towards flattening the curve so that our healthcare services are not overburdened. The way to do it best, is via (4), no?

On the Steps

When The Husband found out about Pistachio and I traipsing off to see the sunrise, he wanted to come too. So, this morning, we left Pistachio at home, packed a picnic and had breakfast on the brick steps along the beach. It really is not a very nice beach but the sunrise was very pretty nonetheless.

True Stories

Please click for 2 True Stories from our practice:

(1) The Inheritance - HERE.
(2) Sibling Cannibalism - HERE.

Blame It On the Romans

Covid19 is spreading fast in Italy and France. These 2 countries have maintained a cultural tradition they inherited from the ancient Romans - the Greeting Kisses.

In the Loire et Cher, the school I attended had 20 people in each class (me + 19 others). In that region of France, a greeting comprises 4 kisses - 2 on each cheek. The practice is that boys shake hands with boys. Girls and boys kiss. Girls and girls also kiss. So, every morning, before class had even started, I exchanged 76 kisses with my classmates.

In Paris, the practice is 2 kisses - one on each cheek. Even then, that was 38 kisses every morning (assuming 20 paxes in my class). Of course, the kiss is not mouth to cheek. It is cheek to cheek and then one makes this kissing sound the moment cheek touches cheek. Did you ever wonder why perfumes originated from France? Did you ever wonder why Grasse in France is the global centre of excellence for perfume making? See... when you kiss your friends every morning, they can smell you. So, it is important to smell good. Therefore, a French woman is only half dressed without her perfume. Something is missing from her ensemble.

In France, men shake hands with men. Men kiss women. It takes 1 man with Covid19 to spread it to 19 others, whether by kissing women or by shaking men's hands. So, it really is not surprising that Italy is hit by a tsunami of Covid19, and France discouraged kissing to stave off H1N1.

In Singapore, we don't have this habit. If Singaporeans would only refrain from broadcasting their sneezes and coughs, the disease should not spread. Unfortunately, even though Singaporeans don't kiss each other to say Hello, we somehow believe that ShareMyAirSnot is friendly and chill.

We cannot blame it on the Romans. We can only blame ourselves.

Don't Assume It Is Benign

I have decided to stop lunching at Chong Pang Market for a while. I was there on Monday this week. 5 metres away from me, a woman had a dry hacking cough which she liberally distributed into the air. She was also not masked. I still worry about the viral load that I might have gotten from her and wonder if it might be the Covid19. I am loading up on echinacea tea and spraying propolis up my nose everyday!

The Chong Pang hawker centre is quite poorly designed. The hawker centre is itself bordered by rows of shops on 3 sides. The remaining side is a hot carpark. Within that 3 sided square, the hawker stalls form yet another 3-sided square. Many of the tables are found within this smaller square. It is a heat trap in normal times, hot air penned in
- by the cooking fires inside the stalls
- AND the outer square of shophouses.

In times of Covid19, it also traps cough and sneeze droplets. The tables are also too near the hawker stalls. If I am seated at a table near a popular hawker stall, I have to tolerate a long queue snaking behind me. Some in the queue cough/sneeze liberally into the air at my back.

The design of Marsiling Market is better. The hawker stalls form an interior circle. The tables are further away from the stalls.  The tables are placed on the outer circle. This means there are many more tables that face the open air. A good half of Marsiling Market's outer perimeter is bordered by a grass patch. In Marsiling Market, it is much easier to find a well ventilated table, flooded with sunlight. This makes a huge difference in these Covid19 times. The Covid19 virus dies quickly in sunlight, floats poorly in humid environments and is less transmissible at higher temperatures of above 30 Deg C.

I will still tapau food from Chong Pang Market but I won't sit down and eat there for at least a few weeks.

I have said before that Singaporeans have no clue how their actions impact others. Singaporeans still preserve the uncouth manners of our uneducated coolie forefathers, where Share My Snot was the equivalent of male bonding.

The Jurong SAFRA cluster is the largest cluster of Covid19 to date. One irresponsible person was already unwell but insisted on attending the dinner party. He/she probably assumed that he did NOT have the Covid19. This assumption lead to a whopping 18 more cases. If any of these 18 cases died, I wonder if this ONE irresponsible person would be prosecuted for involuntary manslaughter? If any of the cases died, leaving behind young children, can this ONE person be sued for criminal negligence?

When I drafted my tuition centre's Covid19 SOP, I included a provision that any child found to arrive unwell would be expelled. Some parents of unwell children assured me that their children were only a little sick. The assumption, of course, was that they had not been to China, that they knew no one who had been back from China. Hence, the little sick was merely a benign sniffle. When The Husband came home and snotted at me, he also assumed it was benign. He had not been to China and had not come into contact with anyone who had.

It is such careless assumptions that will kill folks above 50+ with pre-existing conditions. For you, the illness may be just a little sick. For another, it can mean death.

Looking Young

I look forward now to Mondays and Tuesdays. On these 2 days, I go first to Chong Pang Market to tapau a teh si kosong. Then, I head to Sembawang Beach with Pistachio. Sometimes, I pack along a small piece of gluten free toast with kaya.

Pistachio is really good company. He sits quietly on the passenger seat on the way there. Once there, he waits patiently for me to walk over to open the passenger seat door and get him out. He used to clamber over to the driver's seat but I only needed to tell him once to stay on the passenger side and he understood. This little dog's intelligence is much higher than Milo's.

When walking, Pistachio does not pull on the leash. He sometimes wants to stop and examine something. I let him because you know, it is a bit like walking with a person. Sometimes, the other just wants to stop and look at something. Mostly Pistachio just wants to listen and smell. He probably is smelling other dog's pee, but... errrr... let's not get judgmental about another's lifestyle choices huh?

Then, when we get to the spot to view the sunrise, Pistachio will sit companionably with me whilst I drink my teh si kosong and eat my kaya toast. I'll let him lick some kaya off my fingers and then, we both sit there to admire the sunset, his head on my lap.

Today, Pistachio met a lady he really liked. He went over and did his little play bow, an invitation to her to play with him. So, us 2 ladies got to chatting. I discovered that she is actually younger than I am, with children younger than mine. However, she looked much older and her body was not strong. She had collapsed 7 times in the past 12 months.

Oh... I so understand how that feels. It has been a long journey working and feeding my own body back to good health. It has been a long journey building muscle mass. Last year, I did not collapse at all. 

I realise that women my age can look very different. Some can look like this.

Others, like Brigitte Macron (who is 25 years older than her husband, Emmanuel Macron, Prime Minister of France), still looks like this at age 67. Brigitte Macron is my new idol. When I grow up, I wanna look like her.

2 Men in My Life

At present, there are 4 men in my life - The Husband, The Son, Milo and Pistachio. The thing about The Husband and The Son is that neither man warmed up to Pistachio at first. Both men felt that I was being disloyal to Milo for getting in a new dog before Milo had passed away.

Both The Husband and The Son are very very careful to show Milo regard and affection whenever Pistachio is around. Both also ignore Pistachio. In fact, The Husband scolded me roundly for getting Pistachio because he said that it would break Milo's heart. Now that Pistachio and Milo are settling into a sort of grudging relationship, I guess The Husband does not feel so badly for Milo anymore. So, he has stopped pushing Pistachio away. Pistachio, for some strange reason I cannot fathom, adores The Husband. 

Today, I caught them sharing a sweet, pensive moment at the window, both staring out into the street, thinking deep thoughts.

40s and 50s

It is a known fact that people in their 40s and 50s are vulnerable to unemployment. So, when I came across this article HERE, I sent the link to The Daughter and stressed to her the need to be prudent for the next 2 decades so as to build up enough reserves to weather a possible retrenchment when she reaches her 40s and 50s. I was talking of 2 types of prudence...

- Financial Prudence

- Skills Prudence

Financial Prudence would HOPEFULLY help her hit Stage 7 of the 10 Stages of Wealth pictured below. Skills Prudence would HOPEFULLY ensure that whether anyone will give her a job, she would be able to stay employable, and contribute gainfully to society.

People in their 40s and their 50s are typically the most stressed. Parents are now aged and dependent. Children have not quite grown up and so, are still dependent. Beyond the financial strain on resources, children and aged parents consume time and emotional energy. People age the most between 40 to 60, from stress.

If enough steps are taken in the 20s and 30s to lay a strong foundation of financial and skills resources, the 40s and the 50s can be fulfilling years and a person can stay youthful through these 2 decades simply by keeping stress at bay.

I wanted to lend The Daughter my hindsight, which would be for her, foresight.

So, I stressed to The Daughter the need to be frugal, the need to invest and use money to make money. In my experience, it really doesn't matter if you make $2 million a year if you spend $2.5 million. The person who made $100,000 a year (whilst spending $50,000) would still be in a better financial shape at age 40.

In the 20s and 30s, it makes sense to put aside savings FIRST and spend what is left, than to spend FIRST and save what is left. Happily, The Daughter takes my advice to heart and ever since Covid19 sent global share markets into wild swings, she has been actively building her share portfolio...

- Disney

- DBS

- VOO

- Carnival Cruise Line

This is another fear of mine put to rest. The Daughter knows how to look after herself financially.

Testimonials

The Collaboration Corner's Testimonial Page is up. Every testimonial is solidly backed by a real parent's text or email. The video testimonials are real parents, not actors. We have taken the liberty to correct grammar and rephrase for brevity.

See HERE.

Panacea for Loneliness

Waiting for me as I work.

All the girls in the family enjoy Pistachio thoroughly. The men in the family do not consider him a real dog. They think he is a carnivorous rabbit. Such dog-ist people they are. The Husband strides through the house with his big steps, not even looking twice at Pistachio. The Son says, "Shoo! Get out of my room!"

Milo's personality is a whole lot like The Husband's and The Son's - brooding and moody and quiet. Those 3 get along because they are cut from the same cloth. They are not playful and happy, like Pistachio and me. My men are silent, unsmiling, serious and grumpy - prickly durians with soft and kind hearts. 

Hard to get to know. 

Not easy to open.

Yet, both speak a love language that I understand. They show love through action. Milo is like that too... but only with The Daughter. Milo is very selective. The Daughter is Milo's love.

I am Pistachio's love. Then again, unlike Milo, Pistachio is not very selective. Pistachio loves everyone. Since he is only a dog, and not a man, I am quite ok with it. I just need some company through the long lonely afternoons in my study. Who cares if he loves everyone else too!

Pistachio loves to play and when he is not playing, he needs to be within 2 metres of me (or someone). Usually, as I work, Pistachio sleeps next to my armchair. If I even get up to go the toilet for a few minutes, he wants to come. He loves snuggling, smells nice and is such a quiet little dog, with eyes that shine with love. Pistachio's temperament has stolen all the hearts of us girls in the family. We have even been working on Pistachio's royal titles:

- Sir Floofyball

- Hunter of Socks

- Conqueror of Towels

- Sole Heir to the Shoebox Throne

Pistachio is spunky. Milo, out of jealousy, can get rough with Pistachio. Pistachio tried at first to charm Milo into playing. When Milo insisted on being aggressive and unfriendly, Pistachio scolded him loudly in a barky voice. When we separated them, it was Pistachio who scrambled to get back in the fray, "Let me at him! Let me at him! I am gonna give him a left hook he won't forget!"

At the park, Pistachio marches up to HUGE dogs with no fear at all! Either he is very stupid or really very brave. I guess it is the same thing.

Investment Analysis Then and Now

Thanks to Covid19, the world's share markets have gone crazy. Last week saw the Dow Jones in free fall and then yesterday night, it gained a whopping 1,294 points. Last week, gold prices surged to a historical high, only to fall steeply this week. On whichever side of the markets you are on, the emotional roller coaster must have gone from euphoria to heart attack and back again, OR vice versa.

For the first time, I see my children analyse the markets. 

At the same age as The Daughter, The Husband and I pored through The Straits Times, analysing the end of day share prices, reading Annual Reports, visiting shops and factories. Today's young people create Excel spreadsheets with correlation matrices and pull data from Thomson Reuters into an Excel spreadsheet that auto updates certain key numbers. The Daughter just went through an amazingly complicated spreadsheet with me. I swear that it gave me a headache.

The headache feels good.

It feels good to know that The Daughter surpasses me. In this world of constant change and advances, if you don't keep up, you get left behind. As age comes on us, we learn more slowly and with greater effort. The baton needs to be passed to the next generation who have both the speed and the stamina to keep up with the rest of the world. I am falling back. My kids need to run for the family now.

Knowledge is power. Skills are insurance against life's vagaries. It gives me great comfort to know that The Daughter knows where to pull data (Thomson Reuters) and how to analyse it better than I do.

When the children were growing up, my greatest fear was that they would be lesser people than me and The Husband. I feared that they would be less smart, less disciplined, less frugal and less able to earn a living. So, I made it a habit to always look dumber than they. I never had answers to their questions. I encouraged them to think and find their own answers. I asked their opinions and praised their clumsy attempts at thinking and evaluating. I overlooked poor judgment and praised good judgment.

For years, it was a pretense. I wanted them to grow up confident that they could find answers when no one else could. My solution was to stand by and watch lovingly as they groped for answers.

Now, it is no longer a pretense. I am careful to NOT debate current affairs and history with The Son. His logic is incisive and his argumentation is tight. He also knows more than I do. I am careful to NOT gainsay The Daughter's investment analysis because she has a bloody spreadsheet to back her up!

Many parents try to tell their children everything and order them around all the time. Don't. It does not form in your children the habit of self-reliance. It does not build self-confidence. Your children learn that they will always need to look to you for support and help. The smarter you are, the more it is important to look as stupid as you can. That way, your children are forced to step up and be better than you. Then, when you are old, they can take the baton from you and run faster than you can.

Muscles grow when used. Judgment grows when used too.

My children surpass both The Husband and me. For this reason, I look at Covid19 and feel no fear. I am ready to die anytime because my job is done.

Generation Gap

I ran into someone at the fishmonger's. He said, "Oh! You can cook? You don't look like a housewife."

"Hmmmmmph... I like to eat. So, of course I can cook!" said I to myself, silently.

Again, I wondered why anyone would deliberately insult my competence as a wife and mother. I gave an account of this to The Daughter who promptly said, "Mama, it is a compliment! It shows that you are successful enough to not have to cook."

Oh! That is a revelation indeed.

Apparently, young ladies of The Daughter's generation take pride in not knowing how to cook. The young married couples order in via Foodpanda or Deliveroo. Young ladies with a career do NOT want to appear at all domestic, for fear of being thought less competent than men at work. Hence, not being able to cook sends all the right professional signals.

I must admit that this is a very strange idea for me to wrap my head around. I suppose it does make sense though and demonstrates true gender equality. Since the men don't like to do housework, the working women are also eschewing housework.

For laundry, there is the washer and dryer. For the floors, there is the iRobot. Toilet cleaning and ironing can be shared. Many young couples are also choosing NOT to have children. This reduces housework to a minimum.

I am curious how the housework load will be distributed in young families with children. Hopefully, it won't be like for my generation, where women who work also do the larger share of the household chores.

"Paper" Generals

The Son came home and said that his unit has been rostered to do contact tracing. Quite literally, an army of NS boys are doing the tedious work of calling people on leave of absence to check on their whereabouts. An army has been deployed to protect Singaporeans from Covid19. Without these NS boys, I doubt we are able to do contact tracing as thoroughly as we have been doing. Without these NS boys, there would already be community spread of Covid19 no matter how hard nurses and doctors work.

Singaporeans like to belittle NS and insult "paper" generals. People like Chan Chun Sing, Tan Chuan Jin, Desmond Kuek and Neo Kian Hong are regularly insulted online by people whose insults reflect their own small-minded idiocy. These "paper" generals all maintain a dignified silence and stoically get on with their work.

Saw Phaik Hwa (not a General) broke the SMRT.

It was Generals and those who follow Generals who voluntarily stepped into the burning fires to rescue SMRT for Singaporeans. It was Generals and those who follow Generals who worked through the nights to repair and renew a sick and dying railway system. Of course, the government should be credited for both contact tracing and SMRT renewal. It is true that the government disbursed funds to heal the railway system. It is ALSO true that it is military men who pulled the all nighters to make sure those funds are put to good use. They are military officers, not Warren Buffett. Did any really expect that these military men also fund the railway renewal projects?

The fact is, when Singapore is in danger, the government deploys not only the military but also the ex-military. Military (ex- and present) personnel possess the ethos of duty and responsibility above self. Only the military officers quietly and stoically work through every danger and crisis even as Singaporeans pelt their immaculate reputations with insults.

Military men are idealistic, naive and stupid. It is often they, who stand between Singaporeans and death, whether death by Covid19 or death by railway.

The Son went into NS a slight, bookish youth with scant regard for personal hygiene. He has bulked up, has a 6 pack, and rippling forearms. Aiyo! My son is a hunk leh (says his biased Mama). Best of all, The Son now keeps his room spare, tidy and clean... like a military bunker. His body odour has disappeared. His room smells clean. In just a few months, he has absorbed some of that military ethos.

However, I will remember to tell him not to overdo that military ethos. Son, don't be idealistic, naive and stupid. Singaporeans won't thank you. Instead, they will still heap vitriol on you even if you successfully shield them from death. The government will smell of roses. You will smell of death and dung.

Dawn at Sembawang Park

The problem with Thomson Nature Park is that pets are not allowed. So, for our morning walks, Pistachio and I are still going to Sembawang Park. We got there even before dawn today, to catch the sunrise. The park was blessedly empty, with a few joggers and some people walking their dogs. 

When Flavours Come Together

The Daughter's Experience

The Daughter has been working from home as part of her company's Business Continuity Plan (BCP). Thanks to BCP, many offices have now split operations with half the staff working from home. Since Chong Pang is hot and humid (and the coronavirus survives poorly in hot and humid conditions), The Daughter has deigned to go and lunch at Chong Pang with me. Normally, she would not touch Chong Pang Market with a 10 foot pole. She is the type to send me pictures of Gordon Ramsay preparing food as she eats at Bread Street Kitchen. 

One day this week, she ordered the Chuan Kee Boneless Braised Duck $4 set meal.

At the end of that meal, she said, "Mommy, this is really good. I think I will eat this again tomorrow." The next day came and she ordered the $5 set instead of the $4 set. Throughout the meal, she raved about ...

- how the flavours came together

- how the rice complements the half egg and the peanut

- how the chilli (a mix of 2 types of chilli) mix into an alchemist's wonder of sour, sweet and savoury

- how the bite of the duck pairs so well with the bite of the rice grains

Whoa! The way she described her meal, I felt inspired to bring along a bottle of chilled Pinot Noir to go with that dish.

The Son

I dropped in on The Son in the early hours of this morning. I cuddled his big head and sniffed his botak army boy hair. He murmured, "Last night's dinner was yummy!"

What did we have? We had Chuan Kee's Boneless Braised Duck.

My Moment of Epiphany

That was when I had my moment of epiphany. I have been eating Chuan Kee's food all wrong. Meat dishes take the longest to cook. So, I have the habit of tapau-ing the meat dish whilst cooking rice and vegetables at home. I also usually eschew the chilli.

That is the wrong way to savour Chuan Kee's food!

To get the best taste out of Chuan Kee's food, you have to order everything...

- the rice

- the egg

- the taukwa

- the duck

- the pork

- the chilli

The flavours and textures merge into a vastly superior experience compared to me just layering braised pork onto white rice.

You know what would be a good idea? Gordon Ramsay should compete in a face off with Chuan Kee Boneless Braised Duck. I am willing to bet that my favourite braised duck guys will win hands down.

Next Dinner Party

The next dinner party I have at home, I will tapau the whole lot and serve it with chilled Pinot Noir, to do the dish justice.