Fact about being fat

Absolutely true.

Cambodian general election 2013

The Cambodian general election will be held tomorrow and prime minister Hun Sen, two years short of celebrating his 30th anniversary as the country's top politician, is widely expected to breeze through it despite an increasing number of opposition supporters.

Like other Asian countries, the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) is more concerned with the younger generation. Gen X as well as Gen Y voters tend to move in the opposite direction, literally, at the ballot box. More than half of Cambodia's population are aged 25 and below and they see things from a different perspective.

They had yet to come to this world during the Khmer Rouge period from 1975 to 1979 where 2 million people died in what is commonly known as the Cambodian Genocide. Many young Cambodians take peace for granted as they live in a post-war era. They have greater plans and ambitions so it is not surprising that economic issues are their main concern.

In the 2008 polls, the CPP won 90 out of 123 National Assembly seats. The opposition, mainly the Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP), looks set to reduce the deficit this time. CNRP has nothing to lose and will mount more pressure on CPP if the latter loses more seats to it.

An over-confident Hun Sen has declined to campaign, proving just how favourable the situation it is for him. However, he has cautioned that a civil war will be the result of his party losing, which is as likely as North Korea abandoning its nuclear programmes.

Sam Rainsy, the leader of the CNRP, who was back in his country last Friday after residing in France since 2010 to escape charges that are widely believed to be politically motivated. He was granted a royal pardon by the King at the request of Hun Sen but is ineligible to contest.

Rainsy is probably the sole opposition politician who has the ability and charisma to rival the long-serving Hun Sen. His return to his homeland may pull a few additional votes for the opposition but reality has hardly changed. Hun Sen will still be in power for the next five years.

Issues like phantom voters, unequal media access and the undisputed fact that CPP has total control of the state's machinery have rocked the campaign and raised doubts over the fairness of the election.

Unlike Thailand, where violence seems to be a must-have, the political activities in Cambodia have been relatively peaceful. Although Hun Sen and CPP will receive the majority of votes, they have to be mindful that the opposition will become a force to be reckoned with in the near future with a new generation of voters.

NE tour

Attended the third and definitely the last NE (National Education) tour of my time in NS this morning. About eighteen months ago when I first attended the first one, I stated on the survey form that we should have more of such "excursions" so that we "know what we are really defending".

Then, I didn't expect the army to have another event like that for me. How wrong was I. Eighteen months later and with six weeks left to complete my service, I have already participated in three NE tours, thrice of what I expected to have during two years in SAF.

We had to gather at Jurong Safra in the morning. Since the venue was not a military base, latecomers were expected and there weren't just a handful of them. We ended up spending almost an hour there sitting at the table waiting for everyone to turn up.

From Safra, we boarded a bus which transported us around Singapore. There was a tour guide who goes by the name of L.M. She only mentioned the initials of her name and I can't help but think that it stands of Old Mother if you understand Mandarin. She is just another auntie, but one who pronounces English words with precision and boasts a deep knowledge about the different religions in Singapore.

First stop was the Burmese Buddhist Temple at Balestier. Quite magnificent and majestic. There was a Buddha statue which was made of gold and stood at least ten metres tall. The floor was rather clean and you can hardly feel any dust. L.M. made us sat on the floor of the hall at the first level and explained more about Buddhism.

There was also a Bodhi tree which was apparently sat at by Gautama Buddha when he achieved enlightenment. Of course, it's not the exact same plant from loads of years ago but you know, they re-planted it so you can say that it is one of Bodhi Tree's descendants.

Next, we went to a Hindu temple in Farrer Park. Compared to the Buddhist temple, the Hindu temple had much more people in it during the time of our visit. The tour guide introduced the various Hindu deities to us. They include Matsya (fish), Kurma (tortoise) and Varaha (boar), who are part of the ten avatars of Vishnu.

After that, we were given a half-hour break at City Square mall. Honestly, it was my first time in that shopping centre and I didn't expect it to be so big. I was dying for some air-con then and couldn't have asked for more. Thirty minutes felt like thirty seconds. Before I could thoroughly cool myself down, we had move on to the next destination.

The next place to visit was Masjid Omar Kampong Melaka which was located nearby to the Subordinate Court. I never knew that a mosque existed in that area. As it was still not noon, the place was relatively empty. L.M. must have thought that since there were no Muslims in her tour group, it was fine for her to ask us if we have any questions about Islam.

I really had the urge to ask one question but was too timid to raise my hand. I decided that it was better to rely on internet surfing during my free time to quell the doubts I had regarding religion. I must say I learnt quite a bit about Islam after visiting the mosque.

Up till this point, I wonder if I was the most attentive person in my tour group. Well, there were times when I got distracted, looked elsewhere or just sat at the back chilling out when the tour guide was talking but overall, I guess I listened the most after all.

Our final place of visit (or you can say worship) was the Armenian Church. I had known it for a long time as it was the oldest Christian church in Singapore but never had the chance to step into it. Located at Hill Street, it is probably the most serene structure amidst the buzz of the country's central business district.

The church's architect was George Coleman, one of the pivotal figures for Singapore during the Stamford Raffles years. It is humble in size but nonetheless unique. The interior is circular while the chancel was semi-circular, giving it a distinctive structure.

On a side note, a group of Chinese tourists were there too and they kept taking photos and even videos. Guess when you leave your village for the city, your inquisitiveness will be severely enhanced.

It was already one in the afternoon when we the bus brought us back to Safra Jurong. There was buffet for lunch and I kept my stomach empty throughout the whole tour for it. The food was decent but not as tasty as the one I had during the previous NE tour at Safra Toa Payoh.

I headed home after the event for a wonderful afternoon nap. How can I not take advantage of the rain to catch some sleep? I guess my insulin level was on the high then after a satisfying lunch.

Picture of the day

Just thought of something interesting to draw

One Singapore, why not two or three?

Wooh ho-oh oh! Wooh-ho-oh-oh oh! At last, Singapore has the Big Four. I am not referring to four political parties, four S League teams or four Jack Neo movies. We now have four Singaporean songs, that sounds worst than Justin Bieber singing a duet with Rebecca Black.

Needlessly to say, the infamous Oh yeah YOG song by the so-called talented JJ Lin is one of them and will stay as a permanent member. The next two are the monotonous Saving Gaia which is sung by innocent kids and no-fun-at-all Fun Pack Song, which was copycat-ed from Lady Gaga's Bad Romance.

And *drums rolling* the last spot goes to this year's NDP theme song. What is it called again. Give me a moment to Google it. Ah right, it's One Singapore. Why is it even called One Singapore when there is just one Singapore? Is there a North or South? How about a Republic of China Singapore or Singapore of the Philippines?

Malaysians will probably be thinking that we are copying them. You know, the 1Malaysia thingy by prime minister Najib Razak? I think China should be the only country to be given the right to label themselves with "one". That's because they claim everything to be theirs. Another country, some islands, and being the victim of cyber attacks.

Anyway, the lyrics of One Singapore are horrible. I did a quick check on the internet and discovered that the songwriter was Selena Tay who happens to be this year's creative director. She is also the fat woman you saw in Under One Roof and one-third of the Dim Sum Dollies who, at one point of time, irritated MRT passengers by reminding them to "love your ride".

I switched off the music after ninety seconds when I first played the song. Until now, I have yet to listen to the complete version. The only time I will ever hear it again is when I happen to catch the parade on TV or some inconsiderate music junkie blasts it in a bus. Singapore should have a law which bans people from riding buses if they do not use headphones.


If there is one thing about One Singapore that we can count as positive, it is its ability to unite Singaporeans together as one. Together as one in criticizing and hating this piece of crappy work.

Can't we just have Shigga Shay performing Lim Peh instead?

P.S. I am in no way related to Shigga Shay and I am not publicizing for him.

The Arctic Dream

It might sound ironic but some of the coldest places on earth are becoming hotly-contested areas to do business in. As temperatures and anxiety levels of environmentalists increase, so did the number of Arctic Council members. The burning desire of shipping companies to do business in the Arctic seemed to have melted a record amount of ice there.

A couple of months back, the Arctic Council invited six non-Arctic nations (Singapore, China, Japan, South Korea, India and Italy) to join it as permanent observers. That makes the total number of countries with observer status to 32. These countries can listen in on meetings and make proposals regarding the development of the Arctic region.

Without a doubt, topics like platinum reserves, oil drilling and fishing will be discussed on a more frequent basis. While the economical benefits are obvious, we have to acknowledge that the world is undergoing a new climate normal. Tornadoes in America and floods in Czech Republic are two examples.

During summertime, the Northern shipping lane along Russia's Arctic coastline could see its distance decreased by 40 per cent. Ships from Japan or China can access Europe at a much faster rate thanks to the melting of ice.

Greenland is already on the radar of mining companies hungry for platinum and gold after it suffered a 97 per cent loss of its continental glacier within four days in 2012.

While ice has been disappearing in the Arctic, low-lying island-countries like the Maldives are in danger of vanishing altogether due to a loss of land to the sea. India's coastal areas are also facing similar risks.

Thus, it is interesting to see India expressing an interest in becoming part of the Arctic Council. It is the second runner-up in carbon dioxide emissions after the big bros, China and America.

A more effective to combat rising temperatures for India would be to rely on clean energy like wind or solar. Depending on the bountiful amounts of energy generated by the flow of gases plus light and heat from the sun is certainly a more practical option than making inroads to the other side of the hemisphere.

On the other hand, the melting of ice may turn out to be a positive thing for some countries. One such example is Norway, who is a permanent member of the Arctic Council. The Scandinavian country has been engaging Asia more often as travelling times there have reduced due to the lack of ice.

International trade patterns have been altered by nature (environmentalists will argue that it is all man-made) while business opportunities continue to increase.

Norway became the latest participating country at this year's Asean ministerial meeting. It is supporting Myanmar to hold the chair of the geo-political organization next year. But the more outstanding issue is that Telenor, the Norwegian equivalent to Singtel, emerged as one of the only two companies which received mobile licenses in Myanmar.

The other was Ooredoo of Qatar. However, Ooredoo has sparked an outrage in Myanmar due to the fact that Qatar is a Muslim country. Anti-Muslim sentiment is at an all-time high in a nation where nine out of ten people list Buddhism as their religion.

Therefore, Norway and Telenor look set to be a major player in the rebuilding of Myanmar. It is also likely that Norway will expand its presence around the region as blocks of water transit from solid to liquid in the Arctic.

So, is the Arctic dream a fantasy or nightmare?

A questionable verdict

The two national law schools take in more than 350 new students each year. Plus those who pursued their law degree overseas, approximately 500 legal professionals get called to the Bar every year.

Less than two months ago, law minister K. Shanmugam announced that a third law school will be set up to train those who are interested in criminal and community law. The mode of study would be part-time and mature students will make up the majority.

While Singapore is undeniably a financial hub, it is still some way from being one for transnational commercial law transactions. Therefore, the idea of having more law graduates who specialize in community law is questionable.

Rather than wealthy clients from the corporate world, students of the third law school will be trained to serve the commoner in the street. Sadly, only those who have a passion for criminal law will take on this tough and arguably unrewarding path.

Rather than solving the issue of the lack of non-commercial lawyers in Singapore, a third law school may end up creating more issues for the legal fraternity and society.

Those who graduated from the third law school may end up not practising criminal law at all. After all, they sat through the same Bar examinations as those from the other two law schools. Seeing their fellow lawyers going on to earn big bucks in the commercial field, they may be tempted to jump ship.

Moreover, the higher salary which commercial lawyers command may prove to be the deciding factor. Those who graduate from the third law school are mature students who have already started their careers. Some might have loans to repay and mortgages to deal with. Hence, working as a commercial lawyer would seem to be a more viable option for them.

Some might view the institution as second-best or less prestigious when compared to the other two law schools. This is because mature students, whose academic performances less glamorous than those who from the other two law schools, make up the majority the student population.

The responsibility of nurturing passionate lawyers who don't mind fighting for the liberty of the ordinary man should be shared among the national law schools. It just doesn't make sense to open another school to increase the supply of a profession that is lacking.

If there were a lack of dentists who specialize in the straighting of teeth, are we going to come up with a new dentistry school that focuses on orthodontics?

The two national law schools are already facing a difficult battle to recruit new lecturers and retain their academics. Unless it employs new methods in its recruitment, the law school will only further strain the supply of law professors in Singapore.

Instead of setting up a new law school, it would be more effective (academically and financially) to alter the curriculum of the existing law schools to include more criminal law subjects.

The deep expertise and years of experience that law professors provide will be adequate to structure a new legal education that is both rigorous and holistic. Students can be given a mandatory option of choosing to specialize in fields like criminal law, family law, probate and mediation.

Pro bono work should also be included as part of the law student's education. It will give them an insight to what it is like working as a community lawyer. Some might, perhaps, develop a passion for it and "cross over" to the less glittering side of the legal profession.

Given the corporate nature of their work and the lack of knowledge in non-commercial legal issues, many commercial lawyers are unable to make the switch even if they have an interest to do so. By exposing new students to more non-commercial law subjects during their time in school, it will allow them to take on more roles in the future as a legal practitioner.

Many claim that criminal lawyers are overworked and worst, underpaid. But the important thing here is not about the money, it is the passion. The passion to save a man's life or prove his innocence. That is, in fact, much more noble than dealing with the biggest commercial law transaction in the world.

Five transfers I would love to see happening

The transfer window has been opened for more than two weeks but we have yet to witness any eye-opening moves so far. The only blockbusters which have occurred were Neymar's arrival at Barcelona and AS Moncaco buying Radamel Falcao. But both the South American strikers were already more or less on their way to their new clubs before official news was announced.

Edinson Cavani became the third big buy of the summer on Tuesday after joining Paris Saint-Germain in a deal worth 64 million euros. The former Napoli striker's choice of destination is questionable since a number of clubs including Real Madrid and Chelsea have been monitoring him for months.

As Cavani becomes the world's fourth most expensive player in history, which players would follow him to hog the headlines in the sports section of newspapers before the transfer window closes? There are five transfers which I would love to see taking place in the next few weeks. These transfers are likely to kill the boredom of not having any matches to follow during the off-season.

Luis Suarez heading to Real Madrid

Los Blancos have made no secret of their desire to sign Suarez and the Liverpool striker has also expressed interest in becoming a Madrid player. The thing is, Madrid have yet to lodge an official bid while Premier League rivals Arsenal had two bids for Suarez turned down in the past week.

Although it would be, in the eyes of Liverpool fans like myself, best if Suarez remains as a Reds player, we should understand that there is no point keeping an unhappy player. Suarez deserves to move on to a prestigious club like Real Madrid given his quality. In turn, Liverpool will get to pocket at least £40 million (the player's release clause) from this transaction. Just don't spend the money on a second Andy Caroll.




Wayne Rooney going to Chelsea

Chelsea have offered a cash-plus-player deal for the Man United forward but were rejected. The offer which Chelsea had proposed was £10 million plus either David Luiz or Juan Mata.

New United manager David Moyes' remarks that Rooney would play second fiddle to Robin van Persie in the new season only made matters worse (at least for his own team). The Englishman was said to be confused by those comments and a united exit looks likelier now.

If I were Moyes, I would take the £10 million and opt for Juan Mata. The Spanish playmaker, after impressing last season, is currently of higher value than he was a year ago. I would leave it up to you to decide how high it is but I reckon his value plus £10 million is much more than Rooney's current worth.

If that happens, every neutral fan would be dying to watch Manchester United-Chelsea encounters in the new season.




Cesc Fabregas moving to Manchester United

After missing out on Thiago Alcantara, the Red Devils would be switching their focus to another Barcelona midfielder to fill in the void left by the influential Paul Scholes. Fabregas should make the return to England despite it being his former employers' arch-rivals if he wants a place in the national team at next year's World Cup.

Being second-choice to Barca loyalists Xavi Hernandez and Andreas Iniesta will not serve Fabregas any good. This is especially important as the next World Cup is only one season away. There are tons of talented Spaniards plying their trade at top European clubs. If Fabregas wants to bolster his chances of playing in Brazil next year, moving on would be the best option.

And Old Trafford would be a great destination for any player of Fabregas' calibre. He should be able to form an effective partnership with Michael Carrick in central midfield, supplying the passes to van Persie. Cesc, what are you waiting for? Waiting for June next year?




Gonzalo Higuain snubbing Arsenal for Napoli/Juventus

The move to Arsenal seemed to be almost completed but has since been stalled. Juventus have been tracking the Argentinian for quite a while and fellow Italian club Napoli, significantly richer after the sale of Cavani, have now indicated their interest too.

As a supporter of one of Arsenal's Premier League rivals, I certainly hope that the Gunners fail to land their target. Moreover, Higuain's style of play suits Serie A better as compared to the physical and combative Premier League. He would probably be a so-so striker if he ends up in England.

With the World Cup coming up in less than a year and the fact that Argentina are not short of attacking talents, Higuain has to acknowledge that choosing the right league and team would be important for him to earn a spot in the national team.




Raymond joining Liverpool

Ok. This one is impossible. If it's possible, Singapore will be in the 2018 World Cup.

Online class enrollment

Today marks the start of the online class enrollment exercise for me and my fellow year one UOL schoolmates. The window spans a total of four days but who in the right mind would not login on the first day? So, with common sense comes chaos. Nothing unusual.

The time slot which I was given was 1000 hours. Some people had 1100 hours so I wondered if that means I had a one hour privilege. I was on standby since 9:50, opening four tabs on Firefox which had the login page with my user ID and password typed inside their respective fields. All that is needed is the hitting of the Enter key.

And that's where it all begins. It took a little longer than usual for the page to load. I thought that was perfectly normal since there are a few thousand users entering at the same time. However, after a couple of clicks here and there, I got kicked out of the system, for no reason.

I proceeded to switch tabs and hit the Enter key. I was inside again, in less than five seconds. But after another ten seconds or so, the same thing happened, I was O U T. Feeling a little irritated and desperate, I moved on to the third tab. Enter.

It was worse. I got an error message stating that there was some authorization error and one should proceed to contact the system administrator. I took a deep breath and sighed. It was time to change tactics in the game. I clicked on the Start button to look for (not so) good old Internet Explorer.

My experience from dealing with "official webpages" tells me that IE is always the best bet if you want sensible loading times and proper alignments. SIM proved me wrong today. The process of logging in was unexpectedly smooth but the loading of pages took an infinite loop.

As five minutes of anxiety passed by like five years, I was still staring at the same page. Time to call for help, literally. I picked up the phone and dialled the Student Services hotline. The lady on the line seemed helpless but gave me an advice which was ironically constructive.

"As you are using IE 10, you might encounter problems because IE 10 is still not yet compatible." I was really pissed off when I heard that. It was only stated that Internet Explorer 8 and above are compatible at the login page. I guess that was quite misleading after all.

Unexpectedly, she suggested me to switch to Google Chrome. I always believed that Chrome will never be a choice when it comes to "official webpages". But since I had nothing to lose, I decided to give it a try. Honestly, I cannot remember when was the last time I used Chrome on my lousy Acer laptop. Half a year ago?

It turned out to be an effective substitution. Pardon me for sounding like a sports commentator. Everything went smoothly. Login, clicking, loading time, nothing seemed to be causing any trouble for me. And guess what? I completed the whole thing in five minutes without any sighs.

Moral of the story. Download a wide variety of browsers just in case you need that very one and continue to bash IE.

Lim Peh

Come come come! Support local talent!

This song is as addictive as Gangnam Style, if not more. Plus, the chorus is also pretty easy to remember. However, the lyrics, although being rapped at quite a fast pace, are the what makes this song a hit. Line after line, the song clearly reflects the state of our country and people. The appearance of Wang Weiliang added more "Beng-ness" to the video. P.S. I like the leopard prints which Tosh Zhang was wearing.

Stopping at 1000

I have a very important announcement to make. This is my 980th post and after another twenty of them, it will be The End. That's right, I have decided to quit retire depart relinquish take a break from blogging after nearly five years of my life. It was not an easy decision as I took several months before making up my mind.

Don't worry, I will leave the thank you messages you deserve, farewell writings you want to read and whatever final thoughts I have for the 1000th post. If I believe that you are entitled to be mentioned, your name and even a picture of yourself will appear in that post. You just have to wait and see.

After the 900th or so entry at the start of the year, I started asking myself if I should consider putting things to a halt when I reach the millennium mark. Or should I just stop at 9XX since I think it is enough? Maybe I should be more ambitious and aim for 1500 or 2000 instead? The more questions I asked myself, the more answers I received.

Things started to get clearer as I was getting nearer and nearer to the 1000 mark. I thought that slamming on the brakes and calling it a day after 900-odd posts was irresponsible and plain lazy. On the other hand, reaching 1500 looks like a daunting task. I would need at least another 2 to 3 years to accomplish that.

So I thought, why not just stop at 1000? Nothing more, nothing less, exactly one thousand posts on this blog. One thousand is pretty nice figure too. At least it signifies a milestone compared to 999 where something seems to be missing or 1001 where it's like "here we go all over again".

One zero zero zero. I didn't expect myself to be close to such a huge number when I first started this blog. My target was 500 which I think was already a pretty decent achievement compared to many other bloggers. I foresee the final post to be somewhere in mid-August where I will be very close to my ORD.

Will I still be involved in any writing after posting one thousand entries? Fortunately, the answer is yes since writing has always been one of my interests. I will be embarking on a not-so-new assignment which I have codenamed as Project G. Pardon me if it sounds stupid. Project G is something which I have neglected for quite some time so taking a break from blogging will allow me to focus on it.

I can't reveal any details about it yet except that it has been in limbo for more than 2 years. I look for inspiration and do some research once in a while but nothing concrete has been executed so far, not even the foundation. I have the main idea in my mind but still need lots of work to transform it into reality.

Are you trying to guess what am I up to? Nobody will ever know it until the day it is unveiled.

Vivi is no angel

You don't mess with VB!!!

okie?

Vivian Balakrishnan teaching the Workers' Party's MPs a lesson in parliament is all the rage this week. The environment minister traded barbs with WP chairman Sylvia Lim over the issue of cleaning up hawker centres. Vivi alleged that Sylvia and fellow WP MP Pritam Singh made "false" and "untruthful" statements. Sylvia rebutted those claims while Pritam stayed silent throughout the process.

Vivi claimed that WP's town council tried to levy extra charges on hawkers when it was supposed to be in charge of all the cleaning. After an expected retort from his target, the minister went on to unveil a dossier that displayed a quotation made by ATL maintenance, the town council’s contractor, to the hawkers, indicating that the cleaning of high areas would be $7200.

The dossier also stated that unreachable spots would not be cleaned and hawkers are required to bear additional costs. Vivi also declared that the town council's property manager asked for more money to clean the higher spots.

While the mainstream media was "fast and furious" at portraying Vivian Balakrishnan as some sort of righteous politician lecturing the newbies, there is still much to think about before we give this man in white some credit.

Without a doubt, Vivi and PAP emerged as the winners this time after the Punggol East humiliation half a year back. However, Vivian Balakrishnan himself is hardly clear of negativity since stepping into the political arena twelve years ago.

He was famous or rather infamous for sarcastically rejecting fellow PAP MP Lily Neo's request for increasing social welfare by a dollar a day when he still minister of community development, youth and sports. "How much do you want? Do you want three meals in a hawker centre, food court or restaurant?". That was and will always be Vivi's trademark quote.

Vivi, who is an ophthalmologist by profession, also delved into the dirty side of politics during the watershed general election in 2011. He questioned whether the opposition Singapore Democratic Party and its candidate Vincent Wijeysingha were pursuing a "gay agenda". SDP was quick to deny it. Although the matter was not brought up again, Vivi was at the receiving end of brickbats in cyberspace for the low blow.

The biggest political gaffe of Dr. Balakrishnan has got be the Youth Olympic Games in 2010. Vivi, who was then heading MCYS, had to deal with a number of screw-ups. From the bursting of the $104 million budget to the food poisoning of volunteers to the lack of manpower, everyday just seemed to get worse for the organizing committee. Singapore ended up as a laughing stock for organizing a failed international sports day for teenagers.

Back to 2013. While Sylvia Lim should just shut up, raise the white falg and apologize, she is still a politician whom I have more faith in than Balakrishnan. There will always be ups and downs. PAP had countless of downs but are still ruling the country. It is important that WP and other opposition parties take this as a learning opportunity to enhance their credibility.

Obituaries

Obituaries. "No, I will skip them." you might say, but we all have to agree that we have read and even scrutinized a few of them in our lives. First, we take a look at the face. Next, we browse the names. Lastly, we give it one more look to spot any other detail which we might have "neglected". We look around the whole page and to see if there is another one worth taking a look at.

Most of the time, the obituaries section will always be skipped whenever I read the newspapers. When I am reading the Home section of The Straits Times, I will make the effort to flip two pages at once when I realize that I have reached the end of the money section. The same applies if I read the Home section backwards where I start from the sports section.

Although it is hardly considered newsworthy, the obituary section is still worth spending a couple of minutes on. When I do read or rather study an obituary, I tend to think about how fragile life is. You can be sitting at the table looking at obituaries in the newspaper today and you may end up being looked at in the same section the very next day.

People plan a will and own a life insurance. However, how many actually prepare an obituary for themselves? An obituary which is unique to yourself. One that provides your family and friends with a lasting good memory of you. One that provides you with the opportunity to tell your life story.

When I look at the happy, serious and expressionless faces in the obituary section, I try to imagine what were the lives of these people like. I also ask myself lots of questions which I obviously don't have the answers to. I still ask them in my mind and try to come up with some creative answers.

Did they leave the world with a number of regrets? or were they able to go to another world as a happy soul? How did they pass away? What will they be doing if they are still alive? How did the world change because of their absence?

Next time when you happen to spare a little bit of time to read an obituary, why not ask yourself some questions? Although you are unable to give any correct answer, you will probably realize that you are still fortunate to be alive to pursue your dreams and achieve the targets you aimed for.

Enrolment Talk

Attended my university enrolment talk at SIM this morning. For you information, the next official stage of my education is University of London at SIM. I will be putting myself into the dangerous waters of the economics and finance course for the next three years of my life. Allow me to sidetrack from today's enrolment talk first.

I never fail to get the same reaction from all the different people who chatted with me about my choice of study. When I reply "Oh erm, UOL!", they will go "Tough sia!" or "Heard it's not easy...". The more creative ones would say "Not bad, their programmes are directed by LSE." And one of them believes that a zero-project study life is too mundane. UOL is 100% exam-based anyway.

I will probably make them exclaim for the second time within ten seconds when I state the course I am enrolled in. Friend Q, with a background in electrical engineering, laughed as he just couldn't believe how is it possible to pass such rigourous subjects. Well, most of the time, when people go "Wow!", a voice in my head will reply "Fantastic Baby".



My point is pretty simple. What's the point of doing an easy degree? Yes, there are other partner universities like the Majestic Melbie in SIM which makes life more comfortable. However, do I want to go through a less challenging journey? Yes, UOL can painful. But I believe getting poked in the arms twice by someone who has absolutely no medical background is much worse than anything which doesn't inflict physical pain.

Back to today's talk. Unfortunately, I happened to be seated in the first row in the lecture theatre due to the timing of my arrival. Plus, I was seated on the right side while the speakers just stood in the middle of the stage. The neck became quite stiff after an hour or so.

I didn't really make any friends as it wasn't an orientation activity. The speakers were pretty decent except for the lady who talked about the administration portion. I almost shut my eyelids at one point because the stuff mentioned was repetitive. I had heard about them since the CCA open house. There were still some important things to take note of but I think the most crucial thing this morning was just getting my student card.

The event ended at approximately half past twelve in the noon.

I can't wait to start school. Odds are still open whether will I survive the waters and make it to another island. Do you dare to place a bet with me?

Doctors work in a free market

Monday's dismissal of an appeal by well-known surgeon Susan Lim against her suspension for professional misconduct might have been the final episode to the saga but it brings up more questions. What is top dollar? How do doctors determine fees which are deemed as reasonable? Isn't Susan Lim a premier physician who deserves to receive more than the rest?

Medical fees or rather charges by the doctor cannot be associated with market forces. There can be a range for fees charged by associate consultants, consults and senior consultants. However, what if the doctor is one of the best in the world? Doctors do differ in terms of experience. Plus, some do possess better skills than the rest in the industry.

Dr Lim is not only a top doctor, she is a dedicated one. Even while recovering from a surgery, she opted to attend to her patient at a hotel. Shouldn't she deserve more than the average for such exceptional customer service?

A doctor is just a profession. Like chefs, accountants or engineers, doctors are just doing a job and patients are their customers. Medical services provided by the doctors are essentially a business transaction that involves risks that go beyond monetary terms. In short, medicine is considered a free market.

The ministry of health needs to explain how much is the so-called "ethical limit" and what has been the "imaginary" market rate all along. Or else, Singapore will just end up as a laughing stock (like always) because we are restricting a local talent from gaining what she truly deserves. Will prominent surgeons still choose to ply their trade here after this episode?

Singtel Hawker Heroes

It has been decided. After eight days and more than 2.5 million votes (let's try to think that there aren't any duplicates), Gordon Ramsay, the flamboyant character of cooking shows like Hell's Kitchen, will be whipping up chili crab, chicken rice and laksa.

The television personality will be up against three of Singapore's finest hawkers. The owners of Jumbo Seafood, Tian Tian Chicken Rice and 328 Katong Laksa have received the highest number of votes to earn the right to face the Michelin-starred Ramsay in the Singtel Hawker Heroes cook-off.

Ramsay will be spending time with his three opponents on Friday and Saturday to learn the dishes. The grand battle will take place at Newton Food Centre on Sunday at 6pm. The event is open to public but only 1000 servings are available on a first-come-first-makan basis.

Most of us would disagree that Ramsay is able to fend off the challenge of his Singaporean opponents. However, given his experience and skills, beating one of the three hawkers is still on the cards.

From my point of view, the dish which Ramsay has the highest chance of winning is chili crab. Ironically, chili crab garnered the most amount of votes, a thousand more than second-placed chicken rice. It's not difficult to see why.

Chicken rice is a specialized food where the rice is arguably the main star. Despite all the years of experience he possesses, it is impossible for Ramsay to master the art of cooking the rice of chicken rice in a span of two days. He can come up with a juicy chicken but making fragrant and savoury rice takes time to learn.

Laksa is even harder. Ramsay admitted that he doesn't really have much knowledge of our local food. Since he dared to confess, I dare to say 328 Katong Laksa will crush him in this part of the competition.

Laksa gravy consists of a variety of ingredients but let's not elaborate on them. Instead, the blanching of rice noodles and ensuring that it is of the right texture to be soaked in laksa gravy is something that all ang moh chefs like Ramsay have to sweat about.

Chef Ramsay can cook up some tantalizing laksa gravy but if the rice noodles are not fine enough to match it, then all efforts will go down the drain. That leaves us with chili crab.

Is chili crab essentially chili plus crab? I would say yes. However, there is more to it than just slabbing some spicy sauce on a cooked crustacean. The sauce of chili crab should less challenging for a chef like Ramsay. He can play around by using alternative chilies or narrow the gap between spiciness and sourness. Heck, he can even swap the usual Dungeness crab for an Alaskan one.

Crabs, compared to flavoured rice and Peranakan food, would be more comfortable for a Western chef to work with. Don't be surprised if Ramsay decides to add some Chilean red to enhance the appearance and taste of his chili crab.

It is puzzling why Singtel chose to organize such an event. It is none of the telecommunications giant's business (pun intended) to deal with restaurants and cooking. A Singapore hotel or the Singapore Tourism Board being the organizer would certainly make more sense. Singtel has better things to do at the moment, like the three-sided Premier League war it's having with MDA and Starbub.