Of fishball noodles, kopi etc on a Saturday

Woke up early and long to have my breakfast of fishball noodles and kopi O. Was in a dilemma because the noodles stall is at a coffee shop and the kopi is at Toast Box. They are about  10 minutes apart from each other. I do not like the kopi O at the coffee shop. The kopi O is not worth drinking at all. So I rather walk another 10 minutes to Toast Box to have my kopi O. After that it's a 7 minute walk home.
An elderly lady at Toast Box told me that in the early days, most of the kopi sold at the heartland coffee shops were as good as the ones at Toast Box. I agreed with her because the standard of the kopi in the coffee shops have deteriorated over the years.
A few nights ago, I was invited by an elderly couple friends to dinner. Although they are wealthy people, they are unassuming and humble. Besides, they are very generous too. As usual, I always enjoy their company.
As of yesterday, Zika has infected 16 pregnant women in Singapore. However, according to the health authorities none of their unborn babies have microcephaly (babies born with smaller heads).
In total, there are currently 387 confirmed cases of people with Zika.
This year we are fortunate not to have the haze blown over from Indonesia. It usually occur around this time of the year. We are grateful to the Indonesian government for giving us the "opportunity" to breathe some fresh air.
It looks like we are going to have a warm humid Saturday. Hope we'll get some rain to cool down the temperature.

Affordable buffet lunch in Japan

The above YouTube video was uploaded by me. However,the photos and video of the food were WhatApps to me by my wife from Japan. She and her family visited this AVA restaurant recently. It's a "eat all you can" menu. She told me the food was good and the price was reasonable (Yen 1,500).

Uncle left the chat group because of ........

I joined a WhatsApp chat group for senior citizens sometime ago. My aim is to share our thoughts and learn from one another regarding things like grand children, exercises, hobbies etc. Instead, I was quite shocked to see the old fellows posting nude women photos,videos, cracked dirty jokes and talked about sex. I felt disgusted that at our age (youngest member is 68) these old men are trying to show off their sexual prowess.
I am not trying to be self righteous but I think these old fellows should repent and think where their souls will be going after they kick the bucket. It won't be long because we are old. Some have passed away at a much younger age. If they are not religious, at the least they not should be talking things like sex. What are they trying to prove? Ha, it is a matter of time.

This afternoon, I spent some time talking to an ex-colleague over the phone. It was quite a long chat. We do not communicate often because we have different interest. But our conversation is about his knee cap replacement operation. It was a somber conversation. He had just left the hospital a day ago.
This ex-colleague is a super fit person. He jogged and swam like nobody business. But of course, he can't even walk now. He told me he has to go for therapy a few times a week. The doctors told him it will take him 3 months to recover properly.
When one gets old, all kinds of illnesses will be waiting to inflict on us. His predicament is the result of his work. It is an occupational hazard for he had to walk and stand for a long period of time in the aircraft. At least we know that knee problem is not life threatening. Many crew suffered from strokes, heart attack, cancer of all sorts. Some don't make it while others lead poor quality of life.
I feel sad and hope I do not have to go through all those pain and sorrows. As a Christian I believe in the Rapture whereby we will be translated into another body, a heavenly body to meet the Lord Jesus in the air. This is the quickest and painless way to leave this world.

Good excuse for not flying to Japan

This was the coin that gave us the headache regarding the washing machine. It got stuck somewhere
near the coil and interfered with the spinning mechanism. The technician retrieved the coin and everything was fine. It cost me $60 and lots of inconveniences for that simple retrieving task.
Anyway, I had to wait for the technician this morning and so had the excuse of not going with my wife to Japan. She is visiting her parents. Flying or travelling is not my cup of tea, after all I've been flying for 35 years prior to my retirement. I prefer to stay at home.
The pictures (below) were sent to me today.

Formula 1 and Zika in Singapore

The Formula 1 starts today. I am not a fan and have no interest in the event which is being organized almost every year around this time. What I dislike about this event is that many areas in the city will be closed to traffic. The event is only for a few days over the weekend but the preparation takes another couple of days including post-event (the putting up and dismantling of barriers etc).
I would like to drive to the Marina Bay area but it is closed at the moment due to the F-1 and will remained closed until after Tuesday. Taking train there is another option but why should I when I have a car? Anyway, the train service in Singapore isn't that efficient anymore. There are frequent breakdowns and the trains are overcrowded.
According to the news this morning, the Zika mosquitoes have found another home in the northern eastern part of Singapore. They have found the clusters near block 272C of Sengkang Central, bring up the number of Zika infected victims to 369 including 8 pregnant women! 

What are you going to do if your washing ......?

Ever wonder what's gonna happen if your washing machine is out of order? Yours and your family's clothes could not be washed. To get the washer repaired or replaced, it may take a few days and so meanwhile what are you going to do with the clothes? Getting the clothes to the laundry may cost you a lot of money.
We are in this dilemma since yesterday. Our washer broke down and the technician  is only available in 4 days time to repair it. However, fortunately for us there is a laundromat nearby (5km away). Below are pictures of our washing machine (not even 2 years old) and the laundromat.

We chose the medium machine which washes up to 10 kilo of clothing. It took 38 minutes to wash and cost us $5 (includes detergent). There are 2 coin changers whereby one can change the notes for the dollar coins.

Dinner@ Pizza Hut..food is good but not service

Was at Pizza Hut for dinner. Food was good but a little expensive. The 2 meals ( pizza and seafood pasta) cost about $50 with service charge and gst included. Service wasn't good as they were understaff.

Greenwich Mall Seletar Kopi ...

Was busy doing some work in the city. On the way home, stopped at Greenwich Seletar Kopi for our ban mian lunch and coffee at Toast Box.
Was surprise to hear from a worker that Seletar Kopi which is owned by The Kopitiam chain is going to close down towards the end of the year or January next year.
The place is usually deserted with many of the stalls closed for business. I will definitely miss the place.
Fortunately, Toast Box which is situated next door will not be closing down.

The cabby is a retired chief steward

I hopped into a cab and before I could tell the cabby my destination, he addressed me by my name. "Hey Lim how have you been?" I asked him. He told me he had retired from flying and is a full time cabby. He said that flying was still the best thing that ever happened to him. He missed the salary, the 5 star hotels and his favourite stations. Lim wished he is still flying for the airline. The airline did not extend his retirement due to mediocre work performance. He was booted out at age 58 and compensated with a $80,000 gratuity. That was a year ago.
We chatted all the way to my destination. On arrival, I gave him $20 and asked him to keep the $3 change.
Below is the new meal and incentive flying allowances Lim gave to me. He got them from a crew. Lim praised the current union people for negotiating the new payment. According to Lim, he was drawing an average salary of around $6,000 whereas as a cabby his income is about $3,000 per month and that's 8 to 10 hours of driving, 6 days a week.


The amount a cabin crew is paid at the stations per day in SGD

IFA or Incentive Flying Allowance per duty hour

Since we like the western food at 472 Sengkang, we went there for lunch this afternoon. On top is the pork chop ($8.50) and below is the sirloin steak ($12.90 or Yen 1,000) we ordered. The place was quiet with few customers as it was about 3pm.
Must say the meat was delicious and well prepared.

Hari Raya Haji/ Baby born to couple in a lorry.

Today is Hari Raya Haji, a Muslim holiday. The Muslims believe that on this day 4,000 years ago Abraham obeyed god's instruction to sacrifice his son Ishmael. It turned out that since Abraham was sincere in obeying god's instruction, god stopped him from taking Ishmael's life and provided a ram instead.
However, according to the Old Testament, the son was Isaac and not Ishmael. Read here
I do not want to dwell on the controversy but want to say that it is a holiday whereby most people of all religions and races are enjoying themselves and not having to go to work.
In fact, we in Singapore are enjoying a long weekend and the September school holidays (12 days).
By tomorrow, most will be back at their work places or schools.

Homeless couple welcomed baby
SINGAPORE - A couple who lived in a lorry for two years because they could not afford to rent a flat have welcomed a newborn son into their lives, a report said. Rice delivery man Ong Poh Hwa and his Vietnamese wife had made the news because they weathered the elements in the lorry Mr Ong drives for work. Read more.

Today's lunch at Chong Pang Village

Our lunch was Hong Kong congee and some roasted meat from a coffee shop stall at Chong Pang today. The food is cooked by HK chefs and it is authentic although a bit expensive ($21) relatively speaking.

Yesterday, I talked about the free tablet which was given to me because of the mouse pad ($5.90) which I've paid in addition to the desktop. The brand of the tablet is Lenova which is manufactured in China. It's definitely a good bargain.

Fruits and tuna/tomato spaghetti today

My desktop is unstable and so I got the above one which is also Acer Desktop for about $1,400 today (23.8 inches).
The old one has been in used for 4 years and it was a very good set. I got a free China made tablet for buying a mouse that cost $6. Hopefully, this pc may last as long as the old set. I am a heavy user, using up to 18 hours a day. It is a good investment.

We had our breakfast at Tampines Ikea just before proceeding to Courts to buy the computer. The restaurant was quite crowded but as crowded as most Saturdays as most people would have left the country for vacations. The school holiday will end this coming Tuesday.
The above dish was the salmon which I felt was not fresh ($9.90). The pasta was so so but the chicken wings were good. Total damage was $23. Believe it or not we had hot dogs at a kiosk before we left for Courts.


Had this ice-cream last night

Got this box of Magnum ice cream from a 7-11 store last night for $11 (box of 6). I ate up 3 of them and truly enjoyed it so much. It was supposed to be a dessert after my dinner of spaghetti.

Union's message to crew regarding delay of SQ 346

Leading stewardess's demanded the hotel..............