Best kept secret

Sembawang's best kept secret has got to be the block of little shophouses on Jalan Malu-malu that's like a time-capsule dating back some 30 years at least. There is a seafood restaurant on the corner that's jumping with diners (yes, it's an open secret) though the set-up reminds me of the crappy, run-down seafood joints that once occupied Punggol Point. It's dim and dingy, and diners are better-off not looking too closely at the kitchen, but that's how it all used to be.

There is a frozen meat wholesaler on the same row. He's a good option for cheap meats for barbeques, in case you think the internet bbq wholesalers are too expensive and too impersonal.

But our target of exploration tonight was Flamingg Mangos. On the row of shops that Pizza Hut operates a delivery-only service is an amazing little restaurant that serves very robust burgers, pasta and steaks. The decor is romantically simple: dim with a pink-orange glow; a few small, framed pictures on the walls; a bar counter adjacent to a wine rack, all opccupying an old-style shophouse gutted for al fresco dining.

There's an easy-going atmosphere about the place. Nothing is hurried, not even the light jazz on the stereo which seems to direct the tempo of operation there. It offers a decent variety of drinks, but it's mostly family-friendly, and there's a dog-friendly corner too.

We ordered a cream of pumpkin soup to start which came with a basket of home-made garlic bread. June had a half-rack of ribs while I feasted on two hunks of breaded dory and chips. Free-flow of iced water, cold and therefore good. I had my eye on a creme brulee for dessert, but we both were too full by the time we were done with our main course.

Total bill: $45.75. Not bad for a very pleasant dinner for two. Next time we go, my target will be the beef, and to somehow still pack in dessert.

Library calling!

Went on another book delivery run. Before starting off, the organizers were very happy to inform us that the project has had a successful trial and will now be a permanent operation of the National Library Board. There was a simple appreciation ceremony at which they gave us volunteers a cert and a commemorative polo shirt each.

With me were June (first time!) and Mark G. I didn't think to bring a camera for the event, but Mark shoved me his to shoot him collecting the plaque the NLB presented to our college for our service. Hope it turns out ok 'cos the request was so sudden, I didn't have time to compose the shot properly before I took it.

The run itself was quite uneventful. June and I drove out to two locations in Jurong. One of the receipients wasn't home. She'd gone out to take a class in something-or-other, her family member said as he collected the books on her behalf. The other was a wheelchair-bound teen whose selection comprised some difficult-looking science and math books and he requested we bring him something on C++ programing next time.

I really don't mind there being a next time. The job isn't a big hassle -- even non-drivers can volunteer as Comfort sends a fleet of taxis to provide free transport as part of their service learning culture. The transaction is easy: count books, sign here, sign there, and we're gone. And most importantly, everyone's happy.

Official propaganda

I must be getting old. That's probably why reminders of human mortality seem to be drawing my attention these days. But so far (thankfully) it hasn't been Death itself that's been holding my fascination but rather the celebration of the life lived that has.

This MCYS vid is especially fascinating because it portrays one possible interpretation of the paradox posed in 2 Cor 12:9, which declares that God's "power is perfected in weakness" -- something of a head-scratcher if we just look at the verse out of context.

Love's the same. It's the imperfect that needs love most, and love's best function is when it upholds the most imperfect.

I don't often compliment official propaganda, but this one has got it right for once. It doesn't mean I'm about to start a family right away, but I appreciate the message.

Drama Club evolution

Quite happy with how Drama Club is working. I was a bit worried last year when we seemed to be accumulating a small group of ordinary kids; no divas, no drama mamas, no one anyone might suggest they would look interesting on stage. But these kids have made such progress since, in terms of work ethic, organizational abilities, willingness to learn, and drive to produce a good show despite our budgetary and space constraints.

Today, our Drama Night cast and crew list numbers 50 from a core of about 14, and I think Tina is exactly the right coach to lead them, with her no-nonsense style and her overall production vision that will ensure everyone will have something valuable to contribute to the effort. For once, even the publicity team which usually operates independently from the production team has now been fully integrated and it was nice to see all departments represented at our first production meeting yesterday afternoon.

In slowly empowering the kids to take charge of their own production, I'm encouraged that the right kids are starting to take over the club from off my hands, and I am very interested to see where they're going to take it.

Carnivorous Rex

The birthday boy got what he wanted, an all-restraints-off meat buffet featuring uncivilized sized hunks of the flesh of several different animals sliced off a skewer onto our own plates. I think it was an act of rebellion against the health and environment conscious campus cafeteria we've been eating at every day for the past... who knows how long already.

There isn't much to describe about the food, really. It's chunky; it's meaty; some of it is juicy and tender while others are a bit of a chew-fest; and the different meats tasted very like the critters they were sliced off. What more do you need to know? We weren't there for subtleties, we were there to tear into helpless herd animals and gorge ourselves with viscera until the world was reminded once again who claims top spot on the food chain.

Carnivore, Vivo, was a Great Choice, birthday boy!

Satiated, the pack found a cool, dark den in which to quietly digest our meal -- a cinema screening "Confessions of a Shopaholic". The movie was a quirky, cute look at a materialist lifestyle lived to the extreme. Being mired in credit card debt isn't funny, but creatively evading a dogged Ah Long (US version) and trying desperately not to ruin a stupendously lucky break at the same time somehow is.

My one takeaway from "Shopaholic": people actually get paid to write a 500-word column in a monthly publication? I must so be in the wrong job.

Earth Night

Gaahhh! Dutifully switched everything off promptly at 2030 hrs to do my bit for Earth Hour. Twiddling my thumbs in the dark didn't appeal to me so I went to take a nap for one hour... and didn't wake up until 0700 this morning. How much energy, including my own, did I save?

Departures

We don't take rituals very seriously these days. We see little meaning in fussing over minute details that our traditions prescribe. For us, they're just a throwback to the old days, and we do them just to keep the old people happy. Whether they're to celebrate the new year, or to celebrate a wedding, we skip through the processes as quickly as possible so we can move on to the next thing, getting on with our lives.

It amazes me that a movie can open my eyes to what we've been missing out on: the deeper meaning behind the details of a ceremony when it is carried out with the proper respect and reverence that it deserves.

"Departures" is a look at the living, and how they must deal with the mortal remains of those who have moved on. After all, death isn't a concern for the departed but for the living who must find a way to dispose of the body that's been left behind, and to cope with the loss. These days, we seem to focus on the former, just dumping the body in a hole or incinerating it; then once out of sight, out of mind. Coping with the loss is easy thereafter because we have emotionally detached ourselves from the process. No fuss, no muss.

But with a pace as slow, methodical and calm as its subject, "Departures" takes us through the encoffinment ceremony with such sensitivity that we who generally do not shed a tear at funerals we attend are emotionally moved at each ceremony depicted in the movie.

The work of the "NK agent" (NK stands for something in Japanese meaning "to casket", if we can count "casket"as a verb) is to prepare the deceased for its final journey. This includes the washing and the origami-like wrapping of the body just before it is placed into its coffin. The ceremony is done in full view of the deceased's family, so the body gets treated with the utmost respect. The objective is to restore the corpse back to the way it used to look like so that the loved ones can identify the final image of the deceased as someone they knew in life and remember for the rest of their own lives.

When people die, biological processes render them unrecogniseable. For example, their cheeks hollow out, while oddly enough nails and hair continue to grow. The NK agent performs a ritual that dresses the body in the clothes it is accustomed to wearing, returns facial features to the way they once were and make-up brings living colour back to the pallid face so that its loved ones don't just send a body off to the incinerator, they send the person off to his or her next destination.

What's moving is when the living actually recognise the desceased for who they are, and the grieving kicks in. People express grief in different ways, through tears, fury, and even laughter, but as long as the NK agent has done a good job no one can remain stoic, everybody is part of the grieving process and as a result the memory of the departed lingers that much stronger, that much more real.

But the ceremony is much more than saying a respectful farewell. It actually reminds us how precious being alive is, and how much more we should love those closest to us so that we can let them go with no regrets when the inevitable occurs.

Beautiful cinematography including the motif of migratory geese who, like life, are present for a short time and then fly away. It's really the dead that are moving on; not us who are staying, regardless of how much we try to make life go on. How paradoxical.

What's also paradoxical is the sense that ironically, the NK agent is a dying trade. That's what's truly sad about this movie. Who will help us remember once the profession becomes extinct? Guess that's where we are now.

Whatever it is, it isn't Science

No wonder the kids are having so much trouble with GP. I discovered a bunch of them memorizing essays for Biology class. It looks like they haven't kicked this horrific habit yet since secondary school days.

Whatever they're learning in biology, it isn't Science. In fact, it's quite the opposite. A scientific mind is one that questions, observes, tests, evaluates, concludes and applies. A non-scientific mind accepts unquestioningly, taking what's immediately obvious as gospel truth, based on an external Authority -- in this case, probably a teacher's "model answer".

Smart parrots, indeed. Extrinsically motivated to study for the exam rather than intrinsically motivated just to know. Fortunately, they're still taking GP as a compulsory subject. So much damage we have to undo.

Bonus debacle

Have we overreacted to AIG's top executives' bonus payout debacle? $165 million looks like an awesome amount of money to waste on people's bonuses, but compared to the $170 billion AIG received for its bailout loan, it works out to about 1/1000 of the total package. As I understand it, the loan was intended to get the company on its feet again, running like a normal, functioning company should. And company bonuses are a normal, even expected, part of corporate function.

Let's make a comparison. An F22-A fighter jet like the one that crashed in California costs $150 million for the US government to write off outright -- almost the total sum of AIG's bonus package itself! For $170 billion, the US government could buy well over a thousand F-22s to replace the crashed one. So, really, there's a lot of bailout money left to deal with the company's problems, even after the bonus payouts. Keeping staff morale high in these bad times is one way to do it.

Of course when I myself am facing a no-bonus scenario at the end of this year, hearing about other people getting bonus amounts I could never even dream of does leave a bad taste in the mouth. But at the same time, there's no reason to get all irrational about it.

Evacuation drill dog story

Our campus evacuation alarm went off at about the time we had anticipated, although we weren't supposed to be anticipating it at all. My job when the bell goes is to head for the main gate, secure it and later to escort media personnel to their holding area where they will receive official information about what's goin' on.

No media showed up for today's drill, but a car stopped at the main gate with a couple of ladies claiming that they had been summoned by phone to retrieve their pet dog which had strayed onto our premises. Could they be performing a 'scenario' that we had been warned to expect?

Not long after, this kid arrives walking down the driveway carrying a short-legged mutt which looked both amused and bemused by its unaccustomed mode of locomotion. Kid transfers canine to me, I shoo him back to where he was supposed to be assembling to take attendance, and I open the main gate to facilitate a slightly embarrased family reunion.

Whoever plans these scenarios is mad.

A couple of hours off

The first meeting of the Wii players' club has come to (dis)order. Members finished up early in the afternoon to take a couple of hours off work and indulge in some hilarity. Odd that we were taking a break from controlling unruly children and still ended up controlling unruly Raving Rabbids instead. The stupid game has fast become our favourite. There's nothing like playing a round to get us laughing at each other as we try to figure out the rules of a game that obviously does not make sense, and who's sole purpose is to embarrass its players in front of their friends.

Little mad breaks like these on the odd (and sometimes very odd) occasion are what keep us going.

New eyes

Contacts showing signs of wear. Had to get them replaced, but since Leow's retired I have no interest in bothering him to make another pair for me. It was 20 years ago that he made me my first pair and I've been going back to him every year ever since. This year, I went commercial to Capitol Optical, on a good friend's recommendation (name withheld for medical confidentiality).

These old, tired eyes of mine require quite some negotiation to balance out clarity of distance with clarity of reading. Odd that as we get older while we remain as short-sighted as we have always been, we are also getting long-sighted. It's a paradox no one has been adequately able to explain to my satisfaction.

Given my profession, my contacts will have to sacrifice some distance for reading, though when I'm at home I've taken to wearing my googly glasses 'cos they're really my best option. Gimme another couple of years and I will have to consider lasik or just wear glasses permanently. I'm not looking forward to that time when I have a Hobson's choice to make.

But for today, I made a choice anyway. I'm now trialing disposables to replace my current permanent pair. Hygiene and daily freshness were a strong selling point.

And later today, I believe I discovered Sembawang's best kept secret... but I'll only explore it at a later date.

A pile of croc

We must be in serious denial. Here, we're getting news to expect industry-wide pay cuts, and we're still spending money anyway. We got 50% storewide off Crocs through an "inside source" so although the chunky, rubbery footwear was never on our shopping list before, today we bought a couple of pairs each, and for the in-laws too.

While we had an exclusive discount source, the other shoppers were paying normal store prices and they just kept coming towards the cashier with their own selections. I guess recession or not, life and shopping must still go on.

A treat for the censors

The Board of Film Censors would have us know that it is no longer in the business of censorship. No. It now takes a 3-C approach: Classification, co-regulation and consultation by which the Board restricts access to the media according to age discrimination, rather than making a hatchet job on a roll of film with scissors and Scotch (TM) tape.

We know this because the BFC opened its screening room to us and talked us through the different processes and procedures our mainstream media undergo from submission for classification to final public release. I suppose it's a good approach because it seeks to please some people but not everybody, whereas the other more heavy-handed way pleases no one and pisses everyone off.

Kids did well discussing the sensitive issues in "Little Miss Sunshine" which they got to watch in its entirety, they had an animated Q&A session in which they showed off what they had learned in the session, and they grilled the staff there properly too. Quite a fun morning, actually.

Apologies to NBS whom we stood up for lunch even after making plans at the beginning of the week. We ended our BFC visit late and couldn't make our appointment after all. :(

Witch Mountain all over again

Disney's "Witch Mountain" movies of the 70s' were a major influence on my formative years. They were among the first movies I watched focused on paranormal themes. They fed me with fantasies of ESP abilities, aliens and spacecraft; but it was because of these fantasies that I began reading the newspapers, looking out for articles on such topics.

Somehow, Witch Mountain made a believer out of me and I suppose I was looking for corroborating evidence that such things were real. If they could be real for other people -- so my logic went -- they could turn out to be real for me too. After expending much effort on fruitless mental levitation, my teenage mind decided that if ESP wasn't my gift, then I had to be an alien. Perhaps that above all effectively ended my teenage social life, and turned me into the warped and twisted middle-ageing adult I am today.

Not surprisingly, I made a bee-line for the latest Witch Mountain tale to spin out of the Disney Studio... and realised how much I've grown up in 30-plus years. I mean the basic plot is the same: two young aliens wielding extraordinary powers get chased around for pretty much the whole movie by an evil, obsessive character, and are aided by some uncle-ly dude who promises to get them home, wherever home may be. But I've lost the magic of the first movie and I spent most of the time spotting plot loopholes big enough for a taxi, an RV and a flying saucer to transit through -- abreast.

"Race to Witch Mountain" is a pastiche of many sci-fi plots -- "Enemy of the State", "Terminator", and "Alien", for example -- woven together so loosely it's easy to slip into seen-it-all-before mode. There's a little humour, some action sequences, some big explosions, and the pursuers are by no means benign, but the thrills tend to be short-lived, never sustained.

Oh, well, jaded forty-something talking. I think the biggest thrill for me was to see Ike and Kim (who played the original alien kids) making cameo appearances as a sheriff and a diner waitress respectively. To me, they're old friends whom I haven't seen in decades, and it was a brief vicarious reunion that we shared in a greasy spoon in Stony Creek, small-town USA. It's assuring to see that even as I have grown up, they have too. Tony and Tia, it's good to see you again!

Momentum builds for Drama Night 09

I find it hard to reconcile the notation on my calendar that claims it's the March hols with my 9-hour work day today. I must say that it was a very productive day, and a not at all unenjoyable one 'cos most of the day I spent with the Drama Club, but still I wouldn't call this week a "vacation", like how the rest of the world might consider it. 

Interesting that our scripts this year have rather adult themes and rather, um... adult language, but the kids who are auditioning today seem a little young and naive to be playing such roles. And my intrepid crew of inexperienced student directors themselves haven't quite yet understood the nuances of their chosen scripts yet.

Which brings the club smack into the issue of censorship, or at least toning down of the more squeamish bits so as to play at a level our audience can accept. I realize I'm pushing the envelope here, but it's important that my charges experience the issues of real theater production and its role in the community so that they can see the bigger picture rather than just a romanticized "school-play" version of it.

I'm going to have my hands full with this year's Drama Night. It'll be interesting, but I can only say that I brought it upon myself. Thankfully, I have Tina's expertise and Sha's extra pair of hands to help out.

Ooo... cake!

Happy birthday, June! Hope I haven't hidden your gift too well. It's in a place I thought you'd look at, but so far, you haven't. Hee hee. Keep looking!

Focus, people, focus...

This morning's session with Prof Mo on critical thinking in GP would have been interesting and useful as he was supposed to help us figure out how we could use the subject to train our kids to enter uni more as thinking sceptics than as smart parrots. Unfortunately, our discourse was sidetracked and eventually derailed by a certain inquisitive student who was more interested in picking apart the examples rather than follow the main argument. Like trying to catch the Prof out on some technicality, or something. Typical.

As much as I prefer an interactive class, this one simply couldn't meet its objectives, proving once again that some teachers make the worst students. In times like these, it's best to let go of our previous expectations and just go with the flow. We may not have achieved our goal, but we did get a mildly interesting dialogue out of it anyway.

So the highlight of the day has to be the generous lunch Cynth and Mojo provided from Fassler. We feasted on mounds of sashimi and antipasto, with canapes from Delifrance. And The Daily Scoop ice-cream in assorted flavours for dessert. A big thank you to our bosses for feeding us so well!

Deja Vous

I feel like I've had several conversations like this one in my lifetime.

Lucky me!

Lucky me! Won this scanner-printer from a draw at the IT Show.

Edit 01:

Now, I wonder if my luck was in the drawing of the right coloured ball from the closed box, or in the choice of game. There weren't all that many balls -- I felt only about 10 at the most -- and10:1 odds aren't bad for this sort of game. I suspect Challenger was just giving them away.