Uncertainty is the new Norm.

 

    This is the year so many uncertain things turned for the worse, globally. 

1. Russia unilaterally declared war against Ukraine and as a result, oil sanctions were imposed by the Western powers and oil prices spiked leading to ramping up of electricity costs and rapid inflation. The influx of many Ukrainians to all the neighbouring countries has also led to major societal isssue.

2. The stopping of the Nordstream gas pipelines to Europe by Russia has and will make this winter, a winter of discontent and misery for many living in Western Europe. There are numerous heartbreak cases of people living on social welfare forcing to choose between staying warm at home and feeding the family. It has gotten this bad.

3. COVID - 19 hes been brought to an endemic game worldide, with the exception of China. While the world has opened up with travel back to the pre-COVID days, China is in a state of long drawn out COVID management with further restrictions and lockdowns in multiple cities and regions. This is thus hampering and hiking businessescosts  all over China. Costs of material goods are climbing and the flow of Chinese visitors overseas has dropped by 90%, a tremendous drop. The 2 major industries impacted by the lack of Chinese tourists and visitors in the last 10 years are :

a) Tourism

b) Real Estate  

3. The fanning of the war drums between US and China over Taiwan continues unabated. The state of the Semiconductor industry is now in a very tumultous state, as US has banned all sales of chips directly or indirectly from countries outside China , with Taiwan's TSMC taking the biggest hit as it produces over 50% of the latest microchips for all manner of devices, from cars, spacecraft, weapons, satellites, you name it.

4. Sri Lanka has gone bankrupt. Due to over exposure to Chinese loans which turned bad, made worse by the shutting off of the supply of China tourists, oil prices skyrocketing and the currency of the Sri Lankan rupee in free fall led to the President fleeing the country.

5. Many of us are facing huge inflationary pressures on food, and basic necessities.

6. Everything is going south, assets, cryptocurrency, equities. There is no upside, with the exception of a) savings bonds, b) treasury bills c) 

Property ?  Maybe a correction or drop by (at most) 20% ; Maybe 

With all the major economies all facing drops (especially China) in the property values, it is a mystery that Singapore property still is resilient in the face of all these global uncertainties. I can only guess the reasons :

a) Singapore is very stable, and a safe haven for rich investors who are spooked by the geopolitical swings and want to put their monies in a safe place with a stable Government.

b)  Singapore's business environment is welcoming and very easy to setup new businesses with very little bureaucratic paperwork.

c) The amount of land in Singapore is limited (Island), hence the baseline prices should remain relatively stable, although in the event of a major recession next year many people will be force selling their apartments or houses as the mortgage rates and climbs. Couple that with an uncertain work environment, with numerous job cuts (the latest in the IT and Tech sector), you will have numerous challenges if one of the working class person is laid off and partly or wholly responsible for repaying the home mortgage.

In the event of a bad recession in 2023, then the home prices will drop. By what extent is anybody's guess. If there is a technical price correction, I believe the prices will fall by (at most) 20% as the Singapore developers are cash rich and can hold on to their new launch prices.

So be prepared for an uncertain 2023 folks.

Carpe Diem

 

   

When the Saints go Marching In

 

Get your Colonscopy done today

                            10 Most Common Cancers in Men and Women in Singapore

As I approach a major milestone in my life, a good friend Kim Soon Fang told me to go for a colonscopy check. 

Fortunately I took his advice and today, I am happy to say I have had my 4th Colon and 2nd endoscope test done. 

Early detection saves and prolongs lives. 

I have been delaying this for a number of years and while I have had 3 before in the past (1999, 2004 and 2007) , this is a necessary check for ALL males above 50 at least once in their lives. So today was my 4th. In addition, I had an endoscopy to check on my stomach as I had some bloating (on and off) and my good doctor, Prof Goh suggested I do both, the endoscopy and the colonscopy.

In Singapore, the no. 1 cancer for men is colon cancer. Something in our lifestyle in Singapore which is a combination of stress, high paced living, not eating enough fibre, no exercise and smoking all are factors which contribute to this sad situation.

So after my long holiday in September, I booked and appointment with Singapore's preeminent oncologist and surgeon Prof. Goh Hak Soo (Gleneagles Hospital Medical Centre). The scopes were scheduled today.

I am happy to report, that while there was a polyp in my large intestine, it was benign.he had it removed on the spot. This is something which new technology endoscopy and colonscopy enables the surgeon to do. 

 However, the next scope will be in 2025 October (3 years time) and I am determined NOT to delay that screening - so this post is a reminder to myself to FIX the appointment in 3 years time.

Prof. Goh has excellent bedside manners and has a sterling career record spanning over 40 years. I am very grateful to have him as my doctor and he had also treated successfully my father over the last 30 odd years. My dad survived the cancer in his colon by almost 40 years - thanks to Dr Goh's impeccable skills as a surgeon with a procedure. A cure by any name. 

The gold standard to screen for colon cancer are these :

a) Go for regular blood and stool tests (once a year)

b) Make sure you can manage your blood sugar and blood pressure (it helps !)

c) Have a colonscopy done once you reach 50 and then on every 3 to 5 years depending on your doctor's assessment. 

To prevent or mitigate your chances of intestinal cancer do these things :

(I am no expert but from my experience and reading articles on the web are these).

a) eat a diet high in fiber

b) opt not to eat processed meats much (sausages, bacon, ham and salami)

c) Exercise and sweat as much as you can weekly

d) do not smoke

e) reduce junk food, crisps and sodas.

f) alcohol consumption in moderation 

Symptoms (it must be a combination, not just one)

Blood in stool 

Bloatedness

Loss in appetite and weight

Fever

Stomach pain 

Again, I am no doctor, but distinguish the main symptoms and check with your doctor when in doubt. The above is by no means a comprehensive list. 

Colonscopy / Endoscopy procedure.

I had to drink 2 different laxatives, one batch on the day before the screening. The next one was on the morning of the screening. Luckily I had the anti - nausea pill given to me and I managed to down it all in one go. The last laxative was called FORTRANs and I had to drink 4 glasses of what tasted like alkaline water.  

Once at the endoscopy centre at the hospital, you just follow the program and get your blood pressure monitored, take the ART test, and then the professional nurses will sedate you and in roughly 1 and half hours you will be ready to get your result. For my case, I had both the stomach scope (endoscopy) and the large intestine (colonscopy) done.

The procedure I know is not palatable, but if it means prolonging your life or mine, I will do it, wouldn't you ?

We should all go for cancer screening first at age 50, then after every few years after that (3 to 5 years max) if we want to keep our quality of life high and for as long as possible. Imagine, at 60, and we want a quality life for another 15 years (hope its not too much to ask), then that is 5,475 or almost 5,500 days. 

The scope only requires 2 days of your life.

Colon cancer is highly preventable and treatable - so take action now. This applies especially for those above 50 who haven't had a first colonscopy done.

The good news ?

1.Colon cancer generally cells grow slowly (normally in years, not months), so after your check, you can relax and schedule the next visit 3 years (or max 5 years) after the scope. 

2. Colonscopy can immediately detect and remove polyps (non cancerous) and that will solve any issues for the next few years.

2. Critical illness Insurance (various, please go and check) now covers colonscopy as in-patient, and Medisave is also another pillar to depend upon. 

So, for the S$ 2,000 expenses, I expect that insurance will cover 50% and medisave about $700, so my out of pocket would be in the region of S$ 300 to $400.  This is if you take the private doctor / specialist route.

For member of public using the Public Health Service, you can always schedule an appointment via your polyclinic, use your CHAS (Community Health Assist Scheme) card, wait a couple of months, and for people above 55 years of age, the stool test and colonscope procedure is a very small price (perhaps at most $100 for both).  

Thanks be to God for keeping me calm during the procedure. (45 minutes + 45 minutes recovery). 

Carpe Diem !   

 

To God be the Glory

I have many things to be grateful to God and I want to give thanks to Him.

A wonderful hymn with meaningful lyrics.

To God be the Glory !

Thank you 

 

23rd Sept 22 Day 6 Santorini x 2 Videos

 

                                                            Santorini Pool from our Suite. 

This view must be one of the highlights of our island tour of Santorini. The crisp clear air of the island (a calderra, or a crater made millions of years ago),the clear blue waters of the Aegean Sea and the sight of the massive cruise ships in the distance all make this view so spectacular. 

There are several quirks about the island. 

1. The sewage system is inefficient so, it is advisable NOT to throw any toilet paper into the sewage ! Yes, that is true about Santorini. You are advised to wipe your behind and throw them into a special plastic bag which will be collected daily from the room service people.

2. The main town is called FIRA and the second one is called OIA. OIA is a very picturesque place and warranting a high number of marriage proposals due to its awesome views (in a later blog post)

3.You can actually view the sunset from a place high up, I have the video and it is awesome. 

Would I want to live in Santorini ? No.

Its just a dry calderra, with many tourists. I would be out of my wits if I worked as a cashier or a bellhop in a hotel on the island.

There are numerous farms (which just look like dry tumbleweed) which shocked us when the tour guide showed it to us.

Because of the fertile soil and lack of water, the structures for creepers and other vegetables are wound like something looking like a round concertina barbed wire.

I have photos and will post them in an upcoming post.  

23rd Sept 2022 Day 6 Santorini

 

22nd Sept 22 Day 5 Paradise Beach Mykonos

 

Video taken at Paradise Beach, everyday Happy Hour starts at 10 am till 6 am the next day  

Fun Fact 1 : Mykonos has a stable population of about 10,100.

Fun Fact 2  : 1 Million tourists visit duringthe summer months of June - September ! 

So 99% of the people you meet in Mykonos are tourists ! 

Freddy Daktylidis, a well known figure in the community had a vision that the island could be a hotspot. But for what ? In 1969, in the south of the island, he opened a restaurant in a secluded stretch of beach and called it 'Paradise'. It was and still is a place to go to get high. All manner of people (gays, lesbians, transgender and straight) would make a beeline there. 

Word of mouth  soon made this place THE place to be. 

Fast forward 50 years, and it is in the top 15 league for parties   WORLDWIDE (rave, house, electric and the like) and top DJs like Avici, David Guetta, Tiesto all played there. 

View taken from our Hotel Room showing the Cruise Liner in the distance and the Blue skies overhead.

So in 2022 it already marks 53 years of top partying with no end in sight. The magic and the name draws the people from all over the world out for a good time.