2017 - same sluggish growth for Singapore ; We better do things for ourselves !!

My Peanuts character 

      The much awaited CFE or report for the Committee for Future Economy helmed by 2 ministers, 30 top brains and 80 meetings later, with 9000 people's feedback garnered has not sprung any new surprises. While it is too early to cast or criticise the proposals, lets just say that as an ordinary small enterprise owner, I was not expecting any handouts from the Government from the word 'go'. The trading world has been in a downward protectionist trend about 2 years, and it has been reflected with last June's Brexit, and the election of the non-partisan Donald Trump into the highest office in USA. As things go, he is enacting very closed door policies and tallking (and tweeting) of trade protection for US made products. The very anti-thesis of the last 25 years of non-stop globalisation. 

    Singapore with its open economy and zero reserves is facing multiple challenges on many fronts, an aging society, painful structural changes in the economy, many jobs are lost forever, and many managers, professionals are in the void with inappopriate skill sets especially in the manufacturing,services, ship building, rig building, oil and gas sectors. In addition, there are new disruptive technologies like Artificial Intelligence which is rapidly making many jobs redundant in the near future (5 years or earlier). Soon, it will be an aging society, looking for jobs which can be easily be replaced by robots, and automation. 

    What jobs will remain plentiful and profitable by, say, 2022 ?? 

   I have a clear and focussed plan for my small business. It will be tough, but we will be bringing the bacon home for the next 5 to 10 years. If we wait for the Government to implement policies, or even pursue Government contracts, it may be too little and too late.

     

Baby - Time Crawls ; Toddler - Time Walks ; Youth and Teenage - Speed Walking ; Young Adult - Run ; Middle Age - Sprint

Outside the Valley of the Kings, Luxor

      This unforgettable holiday in 2009 we took with a tour group to Egypt shows how fast our children have grown. Its been 7 years and you can see the vast difference physically at least. Now, Noel is an adult 22 years of age and serving the National Service in the Civil Defence corp (Fire fighting Unit). Andrew is 19 and finishing his Polytechnic studies in Biomedical Engineering while doing his internship at a local company. Both are maturing and developing their own unique identities and exerting their independence. I am proud to be their Dad. Although many challenges await them, we as a family will always have each other.  

By the Mediterranean Sea, Alexandria

L : Ooi Wing Sun, Ooi Yen Sun, Noel and Andrew

    My wonderful wife of 23 years, May, is the bedrock of the family. She is very capable and manages all the issues of the household with strict discipline and love. Its a blessing that we have this bond throughout the years and hopefully for the years to come. The boys have become men, and will contribute to Singapore or perhaps in the international sphere. The have the whole world and hopefully we have guided them with the right skillsets and emotional resources to move ahead in this disruptive society where the traditional jobs are disappearing and new ones are few and so much harder to attain, yet alone maintain.   

                                                    Outside the Library at Alexandria 
                                    L: Ooi Yen Sun, Andrew, Xavier and Noel


     What will happen to Asia now with a messy Trump administration, a very divided and bipartisan Senate and Lower House of Representatives ?  With the Trans Pacific Partnership gone, the NAFTA under major scrutiny and a White House filled with first timers and people who are masters of the dark arts (read spin witch doctor ala Kelly Conway), a spokesperson who is full of contradictions and a never seen or heard befor pronouncements of 'alternative facts' - that of size of attendees of President Trump's inaugaration to downright half-truths and total mangling of the truth (read Bowling Green massacre which was, in fact, not a massacre, a total non-event).The Trump administration of of cover-ups and lies by the media, lead us ordinary folk all around the world to either cower in fear, or shake our collective heads in dismay at the total comedy being played out daily 

     Somehow, we the billions of people around the world who have access to internet or a smart phone have to tell out children that the world is all right, that we will wake up to a better tomorrow. We are praying for a stable, progressive and peaceful world. 

    Our children and future generations livelihoods hinge on it. 

Port Vell Barcelona - a hidden gem

Duquesa de Cardona - Barcelona

View from the  Open Deck Terrace on 6th Floor ; W Hotel in the distance

       A fantastic value-for-money boutique hotel in Barcelona is the 4* (in my opinion 5*) Duquesa de Cardona hotel. Situated at the far end of the Passeig Colom (Column Street), it is easily accessible from the road and the front staff are 1st class in their service. 

      I requested for a quiet room in the back and we had a huge bedroom with great bathroom / toilet for the price we paid (EUR 151 including taxes). As winter is not the high season, the price was the cheapest amongst all the 3 major cities we stayed in. Plus points for the hotel :

a) Breakfast - fit for a king ; with Balotta Iberico cured ham, plentiful cheeses, salads, eggs

                      done in any style, omelette (with ingredients or not) ,sunny side up, nespresso

                      breads (multigrain,panini,ciabata, croissant the lot). I will remember the 

                      breakfast for a long time !   

Tapas Chicken Salsa and a Vermouth

b) Top Rated Front Service staff - Manuel was the first front desk staff who attended to us ;
     Friendly, polite and so efficient, we were really impressed by his professionalism. He       
    was knowledegable about everything from best tapas, to taxis to sights and an incredible 
    resource.

c) Location , View of Hotel - Overlooking the marina, the view of this hotel is absolutely 
    stunning ! I made the best of my time one early evening while my wife was out shopping 
   and went to  the Terrace Bar on the 6th Floor. You can see the entire Port Vell area, as 
   well as the 'W'  hotel in the distance, and a slight peek into Barcelonetta beach, the 
   sounds of the La Rambla, as well as the human traffic are not there, so its so pleasant. I 
   must say this was THE view of the city, in my opinion.  

                       Night comes early, around 6.30 and the pretty waterside is all lit up

    

d) Room - Huge ; at least 400 square feet, ours was at the back and the window facing     

   was  the courtyard, most preserved buildings have this kind of design.Very modern 

   amenities, and super clean. It was a very pleasant respite from the days walking and 

   exploring. But all in all, very quiet and clean.No residual smoke smell at all which is the 

   worst thing I most experience in hotels in China.

e) Accessibility -  From the airport, take the Metro to Placa de Catalunya, from there its a 
   short taxi ride (EU 10) to the hotel. Turn left and within 10 minutes, you are at Born district,    turn right, in 10 minutes you are at the start of La Rambla and the Metro. So convenient.

   Would I come back and stay here ? Certainly ! Amongst the 3 cities we visited, Barcelona is the most interesting in architecture, food and Mr. Antoni Gaudi's signature works like La Perdrera and Sagrada Familia. 

  

I'll soon be 55.

Visiting the Tower Bridge in Dec 2016  

      This year marks another milestone for me, the 55 year old mark. In the old days people would regard this as the age of retirement and soon to be end of life. In today's age, the 21st century the 3rd Millenium (after Jesus' birth at year 0 according to the Georgian calendar), age 55 is still considered Middle Age, but hardly young. There was an episode on BBC today regarding the end of life and after-life and the presenter mentioned things like cryogenics which basically keep the cells alive, although the body may be brain-dead and heart not pumping. There are literally thousands of dead individuals in cryogenic labs all over US and other places where the bodies are kept in cold storage in saline solution and induced heart and respiratory conditions waiting for technology to revive them maybe in 30 to 50 years time.

Embankment and the river Thames

    The scientists who were interviewed were specialised in the wood-frog species which eat and store foods in the form of sugar and then somehow induce their bodies to below living temperatures and 'hibernate' or decelerate their life support functions (heart, lungs and brain) to such low levels that they appear 'dead'. Their feasting during the summer and autumn months in preparation for winter and spring cold (it can fall to -40 deg C) is indeed fascinating, but we are talking about amphibians which have completely different functioning systems as human beings.

      On a cellular level, the frogs are alive, and after the days get warmer, somehow, the entire body system turns 'on'. 

     I can do without all such elaborate immortal living. I believe God created us for a purpose and for a limited life span so when my time is up, that's it.   

'Animal' - my favourite character from Sesame Street

Cool Cat or whatever 

     My favourite character from the Muppets on Sesame Street is Animal. He is normally on a leash and he plays the drums in the band. A totally out of control chap, he is so physically and visually incorrect he is the coolest muppet in my opinion. Such irreverance to the expectations of society and doing whatever comes to his mind, such as chewing the band sticks to spewing incomprehensible words he is comparable to Cookie Monster in terms of 'lovable'.

    Those days of innocence are long gone, the 70s. Long Live the 70s !   

The First Years 11 - Swimming Club Days ; training times

At the Singapore Swimming Club, circa 1975. John and I with our 

maternal cousins Wendy and Angela

       Palma Qui Feruit - the motto of Singapore Swimming Club. Our parents signed up the family membership with the Singapore Swimming Club in late 1974. We (my brother and I) still continue to be members (thats a total of 43 years including 2017!). My Dad Geoffrey very soon after that (1975) was elected into the Management Committee of the SSC and appointed as its then legal convenor, first under the President of Mr. Henry Chan, followed by Mr. Cheong Boo Hong and finally Mr. Teo Khiang Hwee. 

     I was 12 and John was 9 then. We signed up for the swimming programme under the well known coach, Mr.Neo Chwee Kok. The other assistant coaches were Mr. Mohammed Salleh and Mr. Chan. Mr. Neo very sadly passed away in the late 80s due to cancer while the other 2 I have lost contact decades ago. Mr. Neo was an Olympian representing Singapore in the 1950s and early 60s and was known then as the 'Flying Fish'. High praise for such a warm hearted and humble man. I remember him as a strict coach who would yell and sometimes beat out heads with a kick board (styrofoam) if we did not swim according to the speed required or do something stupid like swim against the stream of swimmers 

   Mr. Neo had a much gentler and kinder side to him and he would always offer to drop my mother and us back on days when Mum's car was in service or when she didn't opt to drive.

Regarding swimming training the schedules were such :

Monday  5.30 - 7.00 am or 5.00 - 7.00 pm 

Tuesday 5.30 - 7.00 am or 5.00 - 7.00 pm

Wednesday  - Off day

Thursday  5.30 - 7.00 am or 5.00 - 7.00 pm

Friday   : 5.30 - 7.00 am or 5.00 - 7.00 pm for either the morning or evening children 

Saturday : 6.00 - 7.30 am 

Sunday : shorter training from 6 -8.00 am in mornings and then followed by water-polo (friendly) ; only morning sessions on Sat and Sundays

     My mother was an extremely active member of the swimming club, she would be very active in many activities. After work on weekdays, she would go for the following : swimming (first) and perhaps a game of badminton (after the swim) while waiting for us to finish the training.

Mum, Anna and me, 1964

    Over the years she was an active member taking part in the following ; badminton, swimming, kong chian (some Chinese martial art), tennis, jogging, jazz ballet (the group even performed overseas at some stage) and squash. I owe my massive interest to sports and many outdoor hobbies to my mother's insatiable interest in the 70s right up till the last few years of her active life.

Mum's Jazz Ballet friends from SSC