The Good Aspect of COVID - 19 Pandemic

Yes, I am not crazy. Yes, like billions of others I am also at home, trying my hardest to make sense and social distance during this semi-lockdown period.

The damage done by the COVID-19 is far from over, USA has over 20,000 deaths, with Italy and Spain not far off.  People are losing loved ones, young and especially old to this horrible pandemic, families are heatbroken,hospital systems are overworked, nurses, healthcare providers and doctors are overwhelmed by the sheer scale and rapidity of its impact.

I am truly saddened and horrified at its force in bringing so many countries, especially in Western and Eastern Europe to their knees economically. S.E.Asia is also badly hit too.

In time, if not now, there is also the social, psychological, economic and political impact to each and every country which will take years to repair. 

Indeed we will rise above this. The collective human will is much stronger than this. I am sure of it. 

This virus is a bitch. 

The best case scenario for an effective vaccine is September, and I estimate only before end of this year, we will get the vaccine. I fear for the lesser off countries and the world is bracing for further mutations and what we need to do COLLECTIVELY to mitigate it and stamp it out TOGETHER. 

If we remain diivided and continue to finger point, I think, this will be with us for a LONG TIME.

Having given a short preamble of this horrible pandemic, what are the good aspects or signs 'green shoots' which can be made out from all this chaos ?

1. Nature is fighting back against human economic development. Industrialising countries in lockdown and staying at home have led to clear blue skies, fresh air never seen before in decades.

2. Birds, and animals are reclaiming their lost territories. I wake up and for the first time hear the birds merrily chirping in the bamboo or frangipani tress in my small garden.

3. Families are eating together, making small talk, re-establishing lost ties through the simplest of things. I am making plans with my elder son to play chess together, something which we never in our wildest dreams thought this would happen in our daily busy lives.

4. People have plenty of time for self reflection. This is the best time to sit back and think where I am in life. What can be improved, whose friendships I really treasure and those who don't matter. 

5. The humane spirit is alive and strong. I have personally sent masks to 5 different groups of people affected by this and contribute financially (cash gifts) to the less well off through charities.

6.I'm having lots of sleep, I eat a lot more fruits, dine at home 3 times a day, and reduced my snacking (chips et al) down to a minimum. I exercise everyday at home in my small attic room, with phone apps like losing belly fat in 30 days (using High Impact Intensity Training), doing the various karate katas. I am hopeless at getting a 6 pack, so a more gentle goal like losing belly fat seems more achievable to me. 

The body has never felt better. 

Keep healthy and well. 

Wear a Mask when going out. Wash our Hands ever so often.

Don't touch our faces when outside, or before washing.

Stay 2 meters apart. 

Stay Alive. 

Shelter from the Storm - Bob Dylan

Adele Surprises the Other Adeles - Graham Norton

Lovely surprise  from the real Adele and how she surprised the other ladies who were casting to be like her on the Graham Norton Show 

Antibes ; Fishing Village Southwest of Nice en route to Canne

Antibes Juan le Pins

This was the short day trip we took from Nice, to Antibes, Eze, Cannes and back. 3rd December 2018.

Antibes is a beautiful fishing village located roughly 20 minutes by car South West from Nice. There is Picasso museum located there, unfortunately it was closed on the Monday we were there.

Antibes Harbour 

Its picturesque settings and white sea walls make for plenty of pretty pictures. I would highly recommend a stop over when you are ever in Cannes or Nice. There should be some very nice seafood restaurants in the village however we were on a day tour hence did not bother to search for any. 

Rolling Stones - Too Cool for School

This song is so cool, a classic from the Tattoo You album which was one of my favourites in the early 80's. 

There's Jagger, hamming it up for the cameras, a bottle of Jack Daniel's whisky on the piano, followed by his horrible dancing with Keith Richards. Charlie Watts the drummer looks like he is high on LSD or weed, Only Ronnie Wood is actually playing his bass guitar.

The whole video looks like a skit from Monthy Python, but that is the Stones 'devil may care, we don't give a sxxt' attitude which made them multi-millionaires and epitomised their sex, drugs and rock and roll subculture so prevalent in the 60s till the late 70s. 

The 80s was the years of Michael Jackson and his Thriller album. Really, if it comes to choosing, Stones and David Bowie will always be my top 2 acts of my younger days. Queen would probably be in third place.  

Heroes - David Bowie Live

I absolutely love this song by David Bowie. He sadly had passed on in 2017 at the still very young age of 69. All the cool dudes, George Best, John Lennon, Bruce Lee, Elvis Presley, Freddie Mercury, Goo Hara, Jimi Hendrix, River Phoenix, Leslie Cheung, Brandon Lee amongst others died before their time.

The heroes of today are the extra- ordinary workers in the new 'front lines' of the COVID - 19 pandemic, the bus drivers, the delivery people, the medical nurses, receptionists, doctors, the contact tracers, the SAF personnel checking on the sick and those in quarantine. The scientists racing against time for a vaccine and even an antibody test. 

Time is of the essence. 

A big Salute to them now. For they make our world safer. Every day counts. There is no time to waste.


   

Doha 2019

View from the Hotel 

The trip to Doha in February 2019 was to visit our customer. As a perfunctory way of saying 'thank you' , we have to be physically present to assure customers that the support from our company is on-going and we are ever ready to provide our staff and technical expertise.   

The trip from Singapore to Doha by Qatar airways takes about 7 and 1/2 hours direct. There are several other airlines offering this route but there normally will need to be a stopover at either Dubai (Emirates) or Muscat (Oman). This last trip was the direct flight and I normally try to sleep on the flight, (although the departure is normally at some ungodly hour like 2.10 am in the morning) so that I can arrive refreshed the following day. My optimism normally will be dashed and I arrive quite jetlagged (red eye) and needing of some refreshment and sleep. 

As this was a routine courtesy visit to the customer ASpire, my local agent cum partner company picked me up at around 5.30 am. Doha is a modern city and their neighbours are Saudi Arabia and Jordan. 

At Souq Waqif 

My meeting was scheduled the following day, so the first day was rather leisurely and I was basically checking and replying to emails from customers, vendors and staff. The second morning my partner met me and we did the perfunctory visit to customer to discuss any particular issues on the equipment (fortunately all was good) and subsequent followup visits or support in terms of spare parts etc.

That afternoon, I was free to roam the city, so I took a cab to the Corniche or Souq Waqif. A Souq is another name for market, or bazaar. In the old days all the vendors would assemble at the market and the daily life would centre around the Souq. Qatar has the world's highest per capita GDP and there are only 0.5 million Qataris and another 2.5 million foreign inhabitants, expatriates and workers from all over the world.  

Artist at Work 

This Souq is more like a tourist centre, housing hotels, numerous shops selling anything from pet birds, spices, restaurants, cafes and artists. It is well worth spending half a day at this iconic Souq.

  

At the entrance of the Souq

Qatar is fast aspiring to be the sporting centre for the Middle East and that is why the Aspire group of companies is employing many researchers for sports science and sport rehabilitation and their Aspire Hospital is the only FIFA approved Hospital for top football players from South America and Europe. Their facilities are truly impressive, and their bid for the FIFA World Cup 2020 was successful, so the entire city is vibrant with many worksites and construction taking place. 

Villas at Ring Road 

As it is beside the Sahara Desert, the weather in Doha fluctuates widely from day to night. In the spring time when I went, it was a cool 20 to 23 deg C. At night, that temperature drops rapidly to the mid teens.  

I once went in July and the temperature was 45 C and sometimes even 50 C. The scorching weather made many construction companies issue a stop work order from 12 to 3 pm during the summer.   

The third day I spent checking out the longest shopping centre I have ever come across, called the Villagio and it is next to the iconic Torch Hotel. A picture of the exquisite section of the Villagio shopping centre is shown below. There are many international brand of shops and restaurants there such as P.F. Chang, Paul's, Ladurie, LV, Chanel, Boss, Zegna and Hermes just to name a few.  

This year (2020), even in the midst of the worldwide pandemic crisis impacting practically every country, my company has put up a bid to set a beachhead in Doha for purposes of marketing our brand of equipment and test services. 

While we await some good news, I pray that this is indeed the correct move in this most perilous of times. 

Fortune favours the brave. I certainly hope so in my case. 

Athletic Chamber Equipment at Aspire Hospital