Hafari for tiles

Tiles go on the floor, tiles go on walls. Tiles serve different purposes and come in various textures and a multitude of colours. Tile shopping is a big headache 'cos if we didn't know what we wanted, we wouldn't know what we wanted. The options are just too much for novices like us to handle.

Not to say that we wouldn't have got it right eventually, we're not completely aesthetically impaired after all, but the selection process would have taken a lot longer if we didn't have Linewerkz to help narrow our choices down for us.

William brought us to Hafari on Balestier to buy tiles for our kitchen, bathrooms and a small foyer area for the entrance of our unit. I didn't get the name of the first sales rep who attended to us but she was all bright-eyed and eager to show us around. What impressed me about her was her ability to switch from Mandarin to perfect English with a little hint of an unplaceable accent, but quite plainly not Singlish. But while she was cool and professional, she passed us on to her colleague, Thomas, whom William knew personally.

Animated with his explanations, in possession of excellent product knowledge, willing to take a chance with his recommendations, Thomas was easy to talk to and we could trust his taste in the matching of tiles to our design. As June said, it was a relief to get service from someone who had the passion for his trade and someone who firmly believed in the worth of his product. Someone who can make the consumer happy that the purchase was money well spent.

A scruffy sendoff

One more leaving the fold. Mel's got a year's study leave to read her M.A. in the UK. We'll just have to enjoy the peace and quiet until she returns next fall, even more littlemisssmartypants than ever.

Scruffy Murphy's was a great choice for our little party. We booked ourselves into the private lounge and just kept ordering food indiscriminately off the menu -- except for veggies, Jo-jo and Derek, who were slightly more particular.

Food's good. Mostly an Irish pub menu featuring finger foods including yow! spicy wings. Let's see, we also ordered things like the portobello mushroom salad, eggplant lasagna, and I remember downing more shepherd's pie than I intended -- that good. Various orders of burgers filled in the gaps for people who had gaps left to fill.

We were very happy that Lucy and TSL joined in the festivities, 'cos usually they leave the rioting to us. This evening we welcomed them into the mob, and hope it won't be just a one-time thing.

Bye, Mel! Have a great trip, and don't forget to come back!

In other news, we now officially hold the keys to our new place. No time to waste, the renovations begin Monday.

Life follows the Sims

It's like playing the "Sims", except it's for real. The design for our new house is in, and tonight our friendly electrician dropped by to discuss how we wanted to locate our lighting points, cable TV and telephone access, power outlets and switches.

Instead of pointing and clicking with a mouse, we were verbally trashing out our options, making and taking suggestions and advice, and otherwise negotiating our way around what will work to our satisfaction and to the Linewerkz concept.

William was also on hand to assess what needed to be hacked and dismantled from the existing premises. The false ceiling, false beam and the kitchen setup will have to go to make way for the redesign. The existing display cabinets that limit our already small floor space will have to go too. What were the previous owners thinking when they talked to their designer back then? Destroy! Destroy!

We're expecting a mad weekend as we go shopping for wall tiles, laminate flooring (to lay over the expensive but egregiously coloured granite floor tiles, which are an utter waste to hack but at the same time impossible to live with), lighting fixtures, and anything else that will get everything ready for work to commence this coming Monday. The process of destructive creation is about begin!

Our immediate neighbours next door are a bunch of FTs housed there by their employer. They happily cannibalized the old fridge the previous owner of our unit left behind for them. Hmm... not really sure why I brought that up.

The Xmac is [out]

How is it that evenings like this one have become so scarce? I'm taking an enforced break from responsibility, decisions, frenzied activity and controlled panic -- elements of which in different combinations have coloured my so-called off-duty hours of late. If it isn't office deadlines, it's been housing, finance, legal headaches that have been slowly eroding my stamina and enthusiasm, turning me into the walking zombie I am today.

Just so happens I found a window of opportunity to sit in front of the TV and laugh hysterically at the weirdness that passes for "America's Got Talent" or shed tears of joy when an actual talent gets discovered. Never know what emotions will get dragged up to the surface next on that programme; just buckle up and enjoy the ride. Else I'm camping out on Face, or contemplating the fate of my creatures on "Spore", or updating this blog with the latest self-indulgent drivel.

And for one night this week, maybe even practice what I've been preaching and hit the sack early for a change.

And the award goes to...

Time to announce the winner of the "Who wants to design a house for Xmac" contest: After much debate, handwringing and sleepless nights, we decided to award the contract to Linewerkz.

Designer and part-owner, William Tan, won us over as he was able to give us the confidence that our project was in good hands. He impressed us with his ability to deliver on his promises during our initial meetings, and was prompt and precise every time. We felt assured that he would take personal responsibility for the entire project from design stage to the coordination and overseeing of the various phases of the project until the official handover. His willingness to work with our other sub-cons and ensure that what they install conforms to the theme and image he has drawn up for us is definitely a plus-point. But other than that, he proved to be passionate about his projects and takes pride in both his work as well as the company he represents. He gives us the assurance that six weeks from the start of works, we'll be able to move in happily.

As far as the concept and design goes, it's all the straight-line geometrics that both June and I like. Steel and glass balanced off with the warmth of wood; bright, open and airy spaces; a high-tech, modern look overall. Sweet. We found William to be flexible and accommodating in the way he customized the details to our suggestions, but he was firm about the integrity of the design that really is his baby.

And at this point, I add a note of gratitude to May, whose interest-free personal loan is paying for our home reno.

New house: 'Before'

New House
Today I converted almost all my liquidity into a fixed asset, which the slideshow above depicts. The shots are no great feats of artistry, merely an archive of the 'before' of the big renovation project. I believe we've decided which designer to go with based on the strength of his vision. And if all goes well, the 'after' shots will show an amazing transformation. Or at least there'll be a more spacious look and a more unified theme holding the entire concept together.

Interior conflict

Oops. We may have started a price war between two interior designers, both of whom are in the running for a contract to renovate our new digs. We like the concepts both have presented so far: lots of clean, geometric lines; very urban in the use of glass, wood and steel for a fresh, classy city-dweller look.

Both are competing with each other to deliver a quotation we can accept without everyone going bankrupt. Considering how little we can actually afford, we can see that both guys are working really hard to secure our patronage.

It's going to be tough making a decision between the two. One has matched our price requiements already, while the other will let us see his new proposal tomorrow. Ultimately, we have to remember that it's just business and nothing personal, but we'll soon have to make a decision to let one go. That's just how it has to be.

Thai visitors

June's Thai colleagues dropped in on business, and we took care of their R&R like we did the last time. Apart from the opportunity to break from routine, these corporate visits mean that it is our duty to eat well and to find things to do in the name of keeping our visitors entertained.

One highlight was the five of us polishing off an entire Peking duck along with a number of other dishes at the Mouth Restaurant in Chinatown. We also took them on a whirlwind evening tour of Sentosa where they took a cable car across to the Jewel Box to rendezvous with us and M2 again. Spent the rest of the evening sipping Singapore Slings at the Long Bar.

Saturday was shopping for souvenirs at Mustafa's followed by an excursion to the Bird Park where neither June and I have been since, I don't know, forever. The place is greener than I remember, the enclosures now almost completely blended in with the natural landscape. Fed some lories and watched the pelican show, but other than that we didn't see much else due to time considerations.

Our tour service extended to taking them back to their hotel to collect their luggage before seeing them off at Changi.

Hmm... if ever I was considering a 2nd career...!

Happy birthday Linc

How disappointing that we neglected to bring our appetites with us when we went for dinner at the Rice Table. Seven of us finished off most of the first round of dishes, but over-ordered on the second round. Although the food (a variety of Indonesian-style nasi padang dishes) was good, we could only stare guiltily at the leftovers while we sat gorged full, though achieving far below our vaunted potential. And it was all the more tragic because we were at an all-you-can-eat buffet.

Regardless, we still had a profitable evening meeting up with Linc to surprise him with a cake. Though his candle went out with no problem, the tiramisu cake that Wayne and Ton_y bought had frozen solid. It proved impossible to cut with the dinky toy knife the confectioneries thoughtfully provide for this purpose. So Linc got to take the whole cake home with him. Happy birthday, indeed!

Photo credit: Mel

Spore infection

As a game, Spore kicks butt -- mine in particular. A peacenik pacifist approach to conquering the galaxy is doomed to failure and I am watching my empire crumble to dust against a hostile alien intruder and learning that sometimes the best defence is indeed a good offence.

Time to rebuild anew, perhaps with a better strategy that balances diplomacy and trade with self-defence and a mind bent on colonial expansion. Doing favours for other galactic civilizations does no good at all when an implacable foe arrives at the back door guns a-bristlin'.

Spore, first and foremost, is a creative tool for designing creatures and their accoutrements; their buildings and vehicles that they will use to explore and influence their environment as they climb the evolutionary ladder. There are so many shapes to play with. Each part allows its dimensions to be further toyed with, and they all snap together in so many different ways, in perfect symmetry too if desired. With a tool this simple to use, any Philistine now has the power to be an artist. You can check out my designs, for example.

But it's no fun just designing stuff. Our designs have to be tested to see how they respond to some form of context -- in this case, the game environment -- and to see if our creations live up to our expectations. The fun thing is, everything we create goes on the "Sporepedia" to be shared with other Spore players around the world. So apart from stock designs, the creatures and things that populate my game environment have been created by other players, while my creations might show up in theirs. How cool is that?

As for the game itself, the first four stages of evolution are quite easy to achieve. Just gather enough resources, tools and population to bludgeon all competition into submission. "Bludgeon" in this case could mean either overwhelm them with violence leading to extinction or with such a degree of love and warmth that they capitulate out of sheer weariness and agree to become your BFF... forever.

The game truly begins when your creatures evolve to the spacefaring stage. Compared to the tiny tidal pool from which your first single-celled organism eventually outgrew, the galactic map is huge, with a near limitless number of places to explore, missions to accomplish, colonies to establish, friends to make and enemies to destroy; and all the time growing and evolving the capacity to dominate everything. Or be dominated. It's an equal opportunity universe.

Spore: First Contact

Spore has been keeping me busy for two nights already. It's like having a virtual Lego set with so many diferent bits, each as customizeable as we are able to imagine and the possibilities are endless!

The badge above lists the things I've created so far, and I don't think I have been very creative at all. I just hastily threw some bits and pieces together, tweaked and aligned them so that they don't look too weird, then chose the colour scheme from the stock palatte (though there's a custom palatte for players with way to much time on their hands).

Apart from building things, which in itself is fun, there's a game to play too. Too early for a proper review now. I'm just about ready to launch into the main part of the game: galactic domination. That should hold my attention for another couple of days or so...

Will report back when the galaxy is mine! Mwa... ha... ha...!

Redneck central

I totally understand how the good residents of Gardens feel about the prospect of having a thousand foreign workers suddenly settling into their neighbourhood. There are too many dichotomies to resolve before we can expect a harmonious coexistence.

"Foreign" in the sense that the workers hail from another country is only a surface issue. What's more scary about the situation is that Gardens, a peaceful, sleepy, family-based neighbourhood now has to deal with a new tribe of settlers that are anything but traditional Gardens residents -- alien in so many ways. The biggest problem is that all the 1000 potential new neighbours are young males who have absolutely no testosterone curbs at all in the form of wives, or at least long-term girlfriends, and the biggest testosterone damper of all, children.

This is a legitimate fear as the families of Gardens have more prosperity than ba**s while the reverse is true of their new neighbours.

To expand this argument, our tiny nation faces the exact same problem when we relocated to this region. All around us are young, disenfranchised males living in our neighbouring countries, while we are the only bright spot, dripping (at least in their eyes) with cash and playing virgin princess to all of ASEAN. That, for some reason, is something we haven't learned to fear. Or perhaps we haven't opened our eyes yet to the precarious position we're in?

This must be true of the commenters in the ST discussion board regarding an FT's letter asking for better treatment. Despite what they claim, their display is certainly not exemplary of S'porean solidarity. It's bullying, plain and simple.

I'm amazed at the depth of vitriol these people harbour and are willing to let fly at the slightest provocation. Excuse me, but when we made the choice to go cosmopolitan and open our doors to the world, it was irreversible. The world you guys are hankering for, the sleepy village with the slower pace of life, mama cooking kampong chicken for dinner while you work an honest day's wage in the padi fields is gone. We didn't have to entertain strangers then, because we had nothing to attract them here.

But now, everything's different. We wanted to be the gateway to the world, and so the world is here. And what shall we do with our invited guests? Shall we wring them dry of their hopes and dreams, and whatever little they have in their wallets and send them back from whence they came -- which is really what you are proposing -- or shall we treat them with the hospitality that we promised, and help them fulfil their dreams like we fulfilled ours a generation or so ago? And what stories of us do you want them to take back home? That we are honourable friends and solid neighbours, or that we are a bunch of gangsters who know not in whose turf we have set ourselves up?

Look, all the girl wants is to be treated fairly. Stop behaving like there isn't enough to go around because there is. Goodness... if ever there was a redneck central in the S'pore...!

Youth Entrepreneurship Conference 2008

Spent the day at RP, participating in the Youth Entrepreneurship Conference. First, I have to say that if I were 16 years old today, I'd pick a poly over a JC anytime. Sounds like heresy, but at least based on first impressions, the difference between the two institutions is quite stark.

I suppose there are reasons why there should be such a gap. The poly is a direct route to working life, whereas the JC is only a stepping stone to a uni campus so a JC can afford to provide two extra years of childhood for its students before they proceed to the next level of... not work but further study.

No uniforms, just a dress code. Poly students express themselves by the products they purchase directly from the market. Whether it's hoodies, funky Ts, trendy jeans, or whatever else, they dress like how people of their age are supposed to look like. That puts them directly into the real world 'cos they are making their own choices as to how they wish to fit in. Every poly student is an individual. There's a confidence about them, and they carry themselves with dignity that comes from the knowledge of having attained a measure of adulthood.

That's so unlike our JC kids who continue to wear a uniform that they've been wearing since kindergarten, made to stand in rows, and there's always some adult who's directly responsible for their work, discipline and well-being. So wide is the gap between them and the world. 16-18 are formative years for a young adult, and I'm worried the JC approach may be teaching them to simply conform to external norms and pressures, rather than guiding them to find themselves and create the niche that they will occupy in society in time to come.

Kids who go to JC are supposed to be the cream of their crop. They deserve better.

The Conference made me rethink the model for our future economy that I've been envisioning in the last couple of entries. My initial concept had a serious flaw: it was inherently selfish, overly competitive, and ultimately unsustainable.

There also has to be a measure of social responsibility -- people doing things to benefit people. Catering to just the better-off will only enrich the already-rich, while everyone else continues to be exploited. That's about the kind of economic model the Roman Empire had just before it fell. Let's not go there. I missed a step so let's backtrack a bit.

For the first time, I paid attention to what Elim said about channeling profits back into the community through Social Enterpreneurship. That's not just a cynical PR exercise by big business, they really do look at methods to pick the downtrodden up by their bootstraps and put them on an even footing as the rest of society. It's not just the segment that have traditionally been lacking in cultural capital, but also the disabled ("disability is only a matter of context"), the psychologically afflicted, and the elderly poor that can benefit from Social Entrepreneurship initiatives. Basically we help them discover what they are good at, and what they like to do, put a value on it and help them find a market that will pay for it. Again, customization is the key. Now, that's a sustainable business.

So a major correction in my economic theory. How our country will survive is by creating opportunities that will raise the competitiveness of the traditionally non-competitive -- that's a huge market indeed, especially in our immediate region -- so that the overall wealth of the region increases and everyone will have the means to obtain whatever they need or want, and there'll always be someone who can anticipate and supply the demand. And, you know what, that's a much more wholesome enterprise to get into.

And on a separate note, M2 has come home at last! In biological terms, it seems he had the equivalent of a bad sprain, and thankfully nothing worse. He had his dents beaten out and resprayed, tires rebalanced, wheels and steering realigned, and he's running again. Now I'll just have to deal with the insurance company. >.<

Ubin... almost

So much for our plans to cycle at Ubin. Our fears of rain washed out the strongest of resolves, and so for the second time in a row, Ubin got taken off our holiday schedule.

Dinner went on as usual, though -- even without paying the penance of sweat, huffing up and down the slopes on bicycles beforehand. Nothing comes between us and our steaming dishes of black pepper and chilli crab, cereal prawns and steamed fish. That plus a couple of other side dishes and a large bowl of potent tom yam soup. Nine around the table: Amy, Mo-jo, B-lo, Ton_y, Mel, June, me, Wayne, NBS.

Changi Village may have been a bit far, but our meal at Qi Feng was good value for money. $25 a head, and the black pepper crab was one of the juciest I've had, ever.

Total commute time: 3 hours. Honestly, if we're aiming to wean our people off their cars and take public transport everywhere, we've got to get used to a much slower pace of life. Can you say, "shaka shaka, no wiki wiki"? That's what it's probably going to boil down to.

Domesticating the male: Tip 47

I'm sure there's a biblical verse that supports this truism. Husbands 4:13, or somesuch.

Whiny haiku of an unrepentant driver

Time taken to campus by car: 20 minutes
Time by public bus: 1 hour 5 minutes (including transit time)

Haiku follows:
I don't want to commute, I want to live.
Friend, M2, please get well soon!

I now await some smart alec's comment that I CAN read a book while I'm on the bus. Or provide some other equally astute tree-hugging advice.

Speakers Corner is now open

Speaker's Corner is now open for outdoor demonstrations! Our first legal demonstration lasted a whopping 10 minutes! With no overturned cars and burning effigies! Well, it's a start.

All we've ever heard about since before the lifting of the ban is how quickly and easily protests degenerate out of hand, resulting in injury and arrests for people, damage and destruction to property... like the madness in Thailand in the last couple of days.

So, how are we going to create a peaceful demonstration that can make people sit up and take notice? If nothing else, we S'poreans understand (believe it or not) the power of tongue-in-cheek humour in making our displeasure palpable to the powers-that-be. Case in point: the Buangkok "white elephant" incident. It's because of the previous ban that we've become so clever at demonstrations aimed at the brain and the heart, rather than the fist and random throwing objects.

Think when I have time again, I'll ask the kids to consider what issues they'd want to protest, and maybe get them to design the form their protest is likely to take. It's their world that's opening up to them, and I am curious as to how they see it. Or perhaps they are too contented to raise any protests at all? I wonder.

Grounded

Poor M2 has gone through a lot with me, but this latest mishap is by far the worst. The impact bent in my right front wheel which took the brunt, and the steering has gone out of alignment as a result.

I felt very sorry for him as he stood by the roadside, hazard lights blinking, and as he sat at the IDAC impound awaiting attention. What he must be thinking about his hopeless owner who seems to be treating him like a bumper car!

He'll be one battle-scarred veteran of the Highway Wars once he gets out of the shop. Yes, he's finally getting treatment today after a day and a half of administrative ping-pong.

Apparently, my insurance coverage does not entitle me to a temporary set of replacement wheels, so for the next week or so I'll be reorienting myself with public transport. So far it's been expensive. Cab rides cost a lot these days, while the bus-MRT connections mean allowing for more lead time to get to where I'm going.

Still, I'm thinking I'm lucky that neither of us was going at speed when we collided. If we had, I probably wouldn't be around to keep posting entries. Glass half full view.

Ideas, passion and the new economy

Check out this ST report entitled "Passion comes first for Gen Y". That's what I meant about our new economy thriving on new ideas that appeal to those who are willing to pay for them (see entry of 26/8/08). Notice that not all the ideas are particularly "innovative" as such, but they do address the needs of people -- vendors and clientele -- who want more out of life than just the daily grind.

These enterprises tend to be rather project-based: short-term, flexible, mobile, and promises some development potential, though few are likely to ever grow into empires. The preparation for such a dynamic economy begins now for our kids. Wonder if the experience of PW is sufficient?

M2 in the shop

This is just a journal entry to record that M2 had to go into the shop today. All I will say about the matter is that M2 is limping quite badly though fortunately, there were no human injuries. Beyond that, I'm too upset to discuss it further. :(