Dr. Chan Khye Meng

Not seen him in decades. Dr. Chan Khye Meng was our doctor when we were kids. So were most of my classmates. In those days most of us were living in the same neighbourhood.

Absurdly Priced Chives from the Wet Market

Each miserly bunch of these chives is $1.80 We paid $9 for these. Totally absurd.

Normally each bunch is bigger and also cheaper at $1.50

This is the last time we buy this if they don't improve from here.

Mother's Day: Unhappy Mothers

Several moms I sent Mother's Day greeting too uncharacteristically did not respond. I think they have stopped being happy about motherhood. They were happier when the kids were younger. Now that they are practically grown up, they saw a side of the kids they are not pleased with.

If only they were willing to wear each other shoes, but I oversimplify the issue. Indeed many times that is not possible.

Last Car Service

Not happening. Collecting new car next week. Why bother to send this one to be serviced? But also lost one service in the package I got from them last year too.

The Notre Dame fire and human nature

Plain old fashioned human nature. We hate un-glamorous work. Safety and fire prevention are such. Any job that don't help someone look good, is not given enough attention. Fighting fire is so much more heroic but I don't think firemen want to do that if they can help it.

Thin Skin Shanmugam

It was a frivolous response to a non threat. Is the honorable minister more fragile than eggs that he could be felled by one egg?

It was joke was entirely right. Now it has also made the minister a laughing stock among many of us.

Broken bowl on CNY's eve

I broke a rice bowl whilst washing the dishes after dinner. Not an auspicious sign right? But since we do not have faith in such nonsense, it has no impact on us. The daughter immediately found another bowl to replace this one.

First Yu Sheng of 2019

First Yu Sheng for the coming year of the Pig. It is now $33.80 compared to $29.80 last year and $28 the year before. It was $21.80 in 2014.

As always for donkey years now, it is Yu Sheng at Ichiban Sushi.

The Tap suddenly quit on us today

The tap in the bathroom became useless today. As usual it don't tell you ahead it wanted to quit.

Called Town Council to help. A plumber came. Brought him to the shop with me to buy this.

Then he got it fixed, and I gave him a very big tip because I imagine what he must have done to leave his country to come here to work.

A pen for 21st Birthday

Today is the daughter's 21st birthday. We bought her a pen to use for all the important documents as an adult. A few years earlier we had also gotten a similar pen for her elder sister.

First day of work

Today is the first day of work for 2019. I received a Natgeo email and thought this pic looks familiar. The caption reads,

INDONESIA

Every day, miners hike up Ijen’s 9,000-foot slopes under the cover of darkness before descending another 3,000 feet into the crater to mine sulfur or "devil's gold." Through the toxic fumes and heat, they chip away at the hardened blocks and carry 150 to 200-pound loads back up the crater twice a day, earning an average of five dollars per trip.

Without any effort at all these though just flowed - work is often dangerous to health.

In the animal kingdom, they often die looking for food before they could even look for a mate. In human society we often die slowly damaging our health doing the same even if you sit behind a desk all day or move about everywhere. The folks whose health are better are those with power of self determination without much responsibility.