Musings on a Hot July Afternoon ; 25th July 2021

 

My Japanese Palm Tree taken one year ago 19th July 2020 

Sunday 25th July 2021. We are into the second year of the COVID - 19 endemic with the world still reeling from the effects of yet another variant (the Delta) and the fallout from the people catching it is indeed frightening. The politics of COVID is still being played out with the West accusing China of starting the pandemic and China rebutting about the origins and pushing back. 

Fortunately, in Singapore, life goes on almost normally. Albeit with masks on when we go out,nothing else has changed much. We are still one united people and many establishments such as Food and Beverage, Travel, Retail and even Air Travel are reeling with record losses in 2 unforgettable years of mayhem and disaster.

The silver lining is that Singapore with its well managed Government, has kept the numbers of cases down ; though there is the lingering distaste that the 2HA partial lockdown has again made many people frustrated of not being able to meet and dine in public for another month.

Its the price we pay for the spike in numbers, until we get to the so-called 'herd immunity' 70% number.

I too have my own frustrations of how the vaccination has affected me.

On 7th April, I booked my first jab at the Hong Kah North CC at 4pm. At 3.45 pm I was there and went through the procedures like briefing of what not to do and to do after the vaccination.

Everything went smoothly at 4.00 pm. After 30 minutes of sitting it out (the medical authorities needed to see if anybody had severe side effects after the vaccine), we could go home and I dutifully did.

The next few days were uneventful. On the 6th day, I was hosting a lunch with my ex-lecturer and after that sashimi lunch, both my staff and I felt a little unwell and I needed to go to the bathroom. I thought nothing of it, perhaps too much raw food and continued as normally as I could

The next morning, I came down with a bad rash which started on my legs. It was itching like crazy and soon it went to my body and arms. After sending my wife off to work, I went straight to the GP who diagnosed it to be a case of 'hives'. 

I was given a dose of anti-histamine (steroids) and some cream. Not content with that, I also went to TTSH A and E for another opinion, and the result was " adverse reaction to the Moderna vaccine".

So, I was exempted from taking the second mRNA vaccine in May.

Thankfully after 3 days, I was fully recovered and continued as if nothing had happened.

My followup appointment  with the National Skin Centre was quick and the doctor there assured me that it would be wise to wait till the Ministry of Health formally advocates another vaccine jab to be taken 'somewhere down the road'.

Well in July I received my notice and I will take my first Vaccine Jab (Sinovac) by early August.

Am I happy ? No.

My thinking is this. 

The Sinovac vaccine has an efficacy of 57% or so. Far less than the other mRNA vaccines.

However, the national MOH wants me to go for it so that I can be 'fully vaccinated' and I would be able to have some 'vaccine certificate' on my phone.

However, the frustrating thing is that the Sinovac vaccine is a Private company, and apparently many of their success in controlling the virus is still not proven.

So my question to MOH os Singapore is this : Why offer me this 'solution' ?

1. It is only partially effective in mitigating the effects of the COVID - 19 

2. It is not recognised by many countries ; especially in Middle East where I am scheduled to visit once most of the world gets 'Herd Immunity" 

This to me is highly unsatisfactory and surely there can be a better offering to someone like me who is still relatively young, healthy and in the prime of his business career.

Come on MOH 

One of the Greatest Speeches Ever

Its timely to watch such an inspirational video ; ever so often it is crucial to remind ourselves of the big picture. 
 

Juxtaposition - what exactly is it ?

Today, I came across another fascinating word. Juxtaposition. Our National Newspaper had used it in a side note and I will not bother to delve into that. However, I checked Wikipedia and came to this definition :

" The fact that 2 things being seen or placed together with contrasting effect. The juxtaposition of these 2 images - for example"

"Juxtaposition in literary terms is the showing contrast of concepts placed side by side. An example of juxtaposition are these 2 phrases uttered by the late President John F Kennedy :

" Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country"

" Let us never negotiate out of fear, but let us never fear to negotiate".

The first phrase states that a country which is a collection of people with shared experiences, birthrights, and community, culture and practices is indeed a huge construct. For the country to offer something for the individual, it is deemed improbable but rather to turn the concept on its head and ask the individual to pro-offer his talents, his brain power and his life to the good of the country. 

That is indeed a very noble act. It must first stem from the idea, the concept and then the willingness to act on that concept.

Tragic Event in School Yesterday. Our society needs a relook

 

"Stress is Everywhere "

Roman Emperor Trajan seems to be saying 

Stress is everywhere. That is a fact. Singapore, like all major cities is fighting economically with many other metropolis in the world for the best investments, funds, talent in form of people, ideas and of course money. 

Everyone is in a race to the top, to make it financially. Parents make every effort to buy or rent property so that they can get their children into a school of choice, a 'brand name' school so to speak. Once in, they then help their kids with tuition, remedial classes, enrichment classes and ECA. The trend of online gaming has boomed ten fold from just 5 years. ago. More and more people are shunning social contact - and COVID-19 with its severe lockdowns has made things worse - and turning into cyberspace to find friendships, and partake in the numerous online games with very violent themes. DOTA, League of Legends and Diablo to just name 3.

Many of the young are in a world of their own, while their parents are out making money to afford them the condos or places near the 'good schools' so to speak. The result is that we often see young people out at eating establishments together but hardly speaking to each other, everyone seems to be hunched over their smartphone and playing the latest games, or watching anime. The art of social interaction has been lost for coming to 2 decades - and we as parents MUST be mindful and make every effort to communicate with our children on how their day went, who they met and if they were experiencing stress at school or during social outings. It is not easy communicating with our young generation, let alone our children but we must - it is our God given responsibility to guide them along the right path. We had our life mentors when we were young, I remember as a young teenager I looked up to my swimming captains and when I was swim captain, I mentored the younger swimmers to behave with decorum.

Likewise, as a young man in University, I had the camaderie of my school debate mates, in particular 2 of them Jaspal Singh and Philip Lim who guided us on deportment, speech presentation and also to carry oneself with a sense of purpose, as the occasion befits it. 

 A major incident happens like what happened yesterday really shakes us, in particular me, to the core. In a top ranked school, yesterday, a senior boy killed a junior boy with an axe. To say we are shocked and saddened is an understatement.

I am totally at a loss. Stunned beyond belief. Has our society become so materialistic that red flags were not spotted early by a) school counsellors  b) parents of the victim or the perpetrator c) friends who perhaps just were only interested in test scores and not real friendship ? 

This act has serious implications. I can only speculate about the motive. But the root cause, must surely have been about mental and physical domination ie. bullying. This is so prevalent in every society since young till we are working adults and it carries on in our later years.

Do we succumb to the Big Man with the loud mouth who also happens to be your boss, your senior, or someone older in school ? To take it quietly and bite your tongue ? 

Handle each slight, perceived by yourself with a sense of logic, and not with physical violence. That should only be at the last resort, when your very life is threatened.

As adults, we would be able to think logically and sort issues between parties amicably. There are avenues for resolutions for disputes like mediation and the courts.

For the young, especially the teenagers, I have the following comments and questions :

1. Bullying has always been in society for millenia. It always has been and always will be    There are avenues to nip bullying behavior in the bud, but alot of support care needs to be provided by the authorities to handle the situations as they fester in practically every aspect of our lives, particularly in schools.

2. Retaliation may or may not happen, and the long term affects of the bullied are still not widely studied, findings thoroughly examined and solutions or efforts to mitigate the behavioral changes of the affected in the long run totally absent.

3. Living in Singapore is a pressure cooker. That is a fact. So the fact that stressful environment coupled with the COVID - 19 lockdowns and lack of parental guidance MAY have set the chain of events leading to this dreadful act.  

4. The gamification of life is now a norm. Life imitates the screen. Avatars in the small, mid or large screens assimilate into the life of the young so much so he wafts into another world when he is not at school. The ease of access to the weapons on these violent games MAY have been one of the triggers which led the perpetrator to choose an axe to commit this so violent a crime.

5. We should all stop, take several breaths and ask ourselves these vital question :

    " What is the purpose of my life ?" 

    "Am I taking the right steps to achieve my goal or purpose ? "

if we get carried away with every slight, every small insult and find the need for revenge  We are surely doomed. We must guide the young to find purpose in their lives, and separate real life from virtual life and its fantasies. If we can do that, we will have a better world tomorrow. If we can't, I shudder to think what kind of people and leaders who will govern our nations of tomorrow. 

Jesus told us to "turn the other cheek".  Truly  wise words indeed.

 

Enjoy the little things ; Rain Dance 29th June 2021 morning

 

I am blessed abundantly to have an open section at the roof of my house. This is my little treat which I give to myself every single day. It doesn't cost me a cent anymore (of course it cost quite abit when we designed the house with the open section of the top floor bathroom with a jacuzzi and a rain shower - literally.

So this morning, with Swedish House Mafia hit Greyhound playing loudly in the background, I had the privilege of doing a rain dance, while I was soaping myself with Cussons Royal Soap, and Head and Shoulders Cool Mint shampoo. I literally had my shower in the rain. I really enjoyed every single second of it ! 

So while I was at it, I did a little jig to celebrate life and all its challenges, joys, some pain and of course the immense satisfaction of just being a little kid again.

All those years back in the 1960s, at Adis Road, we had run and danced in the rain. 

I was transported - for a brief 4 and a half minutes - to those carefree times.

Carpe Diem. 

Time for a Good Run Tomorrow - 3rd July 2021

 

Not the Best of Times but a Finish Nonetheless 

Saturday 3rd July 2021 

I will try to go for a run of about 6.36 km (around Pandan Reservoir)- no push, no expectations no hard pace, no nothing.

This is about finishing the distance set out by me, regardless of how difficult or laborious the task.

It is truly about the triumph of my spirit over my body.

Lets see how it went. 

Eulogy for a Friend

 

Outside Han's Pop Up shop at East Coast Parkway (2017)

Our time on this Earth is short, so it is with a heavy heart that I write this much belated eulogy for a friend of mine, a Belgian who restarted his second life in Singapore in 2000, became a Singapore PR and rebuilt his business from scratch. 

Hans Brys. 1968 - 2020 ( 12th July)

I only knew him for about 6 short years, when he was introduced to me by my good friend Fang Kim Soon. Hans was bald, and he rebuilt his life and married his then girlfriend Marilyn and had a lovely daughter.  At the time, 2014, we both had small businesses, I had a food supplement company called VivaFresh and he had his company called Branchly. We discussed about cooperating in business opportunities going forward then. Sadly, both our respective companies have since been wound down. 

As far as I knew Hans, his business in Singapore from 2010 till the day he left Singapore in 2019 was difficult. He was hardworking, an excellent father, and the last venture he tried was in food imports and pasta.

Pasta 101 at Chevron House Basement

He had some success with his pop up store at East Coast. This lasted about 3 months then, he moved his shop to the basement of Chevron House next to Ocean Financial Center. Pasta 101 as he called it was doing pretty OK for at least close to 1 year (2015 till end 2016). A dispute with the landlord led him to not extend the lease contract after it ended. 

Me, Fang Kim Soon and Hans at Il Fiore 

He tried his hand at many things food related, and encountered much roadblocks at each turn. True to his spirit, he never gave up. He was a chef with Emmanuel Stroobant's restaurants and was intent to make a comeback of his life. 

In mid 2019, he told me he was stricken with lung cancer. I was shocked and sad to see that happen to a person who had so much zest for his life, his family, and his work. he went to the US for some further checks and then remained in Belgium living out his last year until his passing on 12 July 2020 - right in the midst of the raging COVID pandemic. 

Hans,  after almost 1 year since your passing, I am penning this belated eulogy to you.

You were a good friend, and I miss the frank talks we had over coffee and beer all those  years not so long ago.

Till the next time, wherever, whenever.