A Singaporean In Australia

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Mr and Mrs Lim, officially married, 31 Dec 2011
The girl who calls me her 'Best-est neighbour' is getting hitched today to Mr Jason Lim. I don't like to write congratulatory notes because I am not an emotional guy but I have to do these because she's exceptionally special.

This was the girl who created my facebook account (giving me a weird account name), helped me with my marriage proposal, wedding, flat choosing decision, introducing me Angie Mama to help me with baby questions and recently, helped and sent over milk bottles together with a customised beanie with my soon-to-be-born daughter's name on it as a surprise gift. Some girls aren't as sweet as they look but she has a good heart to go along. An endangered species these days.

She did get hitched sometime back (to the same guy fortunately) but that 'doesn't count' according to her. So this is the one which 'counts'. To me of course, she had already gotten married and nailed Mr Lim with the Woman's Charter the first time round. These days however, ladies do not feel they have gotten married until walking down the isle with the poor guy, witnessed by hundreds or thousands of clapping guests.

I can't confirm but I bet she is delighted at this moment. She didn't reply me on watsapp today. At this moment, she should be snoring in a nice place, smiling in her sleep and will be waking shortly once the folks doing her hair and make up arrives. Then she'll be living THE MOMENT.

I'm happy for her. She has been scheming planning all these ever since I knew her more than 2 years ago. She thoroughly deserve this and the honeymoon programs she painstakingly drew up shortly after their wedding. She requested for updates for the birth of my baby during her honeymoon. I'll oblige, as usual because I can't refuse her, though she should be making babies at that time instead of getting updates of our labour.

Though I do not know Jason personally (yet), I've heard my fair share about him from Mrs Lim. He's part of the Singaporean brotherhood, saw through his NS liabilities. A hardworking, honest dude who dotes on his girlfriend (then) and will undoubtedly continue to do so as her husband. He has to be brilliant in many other ways I am sure, to win her heart.

I would have love to attend Mr and Mrs Lim's wedding, to toast them personally and wish them a blissful, ever-lasting marriage blessed with many children. It'll be a small regret. Hopefully this dedication could make up for it.

Jason and Jia Qin, enjoy the rest of your big day. You should be fumbling with the preparation for tonight's banquet by now, full of anticipation. I feel excited for you 3898km away as I write this. I wish you guys an lovely unforgettable evening and an amazing honeymoon trip.

Mostly importantly,


早生贵子


One for Daddy, one for Mummy and one for Singapore ;)

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Now that the year is coming to the end, you want me to spill the beans?

Ok.

I didn't fulfill a single New Year Resolution in the past decade. Heck, in fact I never managed to do it all my life.

Except this year. (Please applause)

But I didn't do it the way I planned it. I did jog fervently in the middle of the year and lost considerable weight but I stopped after I peed blood and gained some weight back. I still did it eventually. Guess it is the final result that counts.

At one point this year, I was as heavy as 75kg. It gotta be my heaviest ever, probably a kg heavier than the day I got married. Regrettably all my photos turned out terrible because of my obvious facial fats. On top of that, I felt uncomfortable as ever. I missed the slick, agile body I used to operate with. So I decided that losing weight would be (yet again) my New Year Resolution 2010.

I didn't expect to make it. After all I flunked several times. The insane new job routine did it for me. I was practically exercising every minute during work. Doing it at graveyard hours probably added to its effectiveness. I may be losing even more weight with the months to come or it could plateau out, I'm not sure.

My weight for the day is 68.6kg. Bizarrely, Jen's weight has been identical to mine for the past 2 days, before and after meals, before and after toilet businesses. It meant that Jen + Albany = Me.


My resolution was to lose enough weight so that I will end the year with not more than 69kg. I believed started a thread in Punggol Forum to challenge my neighbours to do it together. Guess no one remembers. heh. Anyway;

My BMI is now 22.1.


CategoryBMI range – kg/m2
Emaciation14.9 or less
Underweightfrom 15 to 18.4
Normalfrom 18.5 to 22.9
Overweightfrom 23 to 27.5
Obesefrom 27.6 to 40
Morbidly Obesegreater than 40
According to this chart, I'm alright. That's good. Hopefully I can keep it this way.

Many friends have stopped making New Year Resolutions. Like me, they must have failed umpteen times that they refuse to bother about such things anymore.

How about sharing your New Year Resolution for this year? Did you achieve what you wanted to do?
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Yet another
The CPF Minimum Sum (MS) was set up in 2003. It was said it would be raised gradually until it reaches $120,000 (in 2003 dollars). The figure will be adjusted each year for inflation. Everyone knows that. If you don't, now you know.


55th birthday on or afterMinimum Sum
(in 2003 dollars) 
Minimum Sum
(after adjustment for inflation)
1 July 2003$80,000$80,000
1 July 2004$84,000$84,500
1 July 2005$88,000
$90,000 
1 July 2006$92,000
         $94,600
1 July 2007$96,000
$99,600
1 July 2008$100,000$106,000
1 July 2009$104,000$117,000
1 July 2010$108,000
$123,000
1 July 2011$112,000
$131,000
1 July 2012$116,000
 } To be
1 July 2013$120,000
 } announced


Inflation doesn't come cheap.

In 2003 the initial Minimum Sum in $80,000. In 2004, the adjustment for inflation brings it up by $4,500 to $84,500.

Fast forward to 2011, the adjustment for inflation for the MS has ballooned to $7,000 and the Minimum Sum today of course, stands at a glorious $131,000. Almost doubling after 8 years.

The CPF Boards declared that the adjustment for inflation will stop in 2013, when the MS reaches $120,000 (in 2003 dollars). How much will be the adjustment for next year? $8000? $9000?

In case you are a member of the class:=median wages, reportedly to be around $3,000 and have just purchased a HDB flat from the BTO scheme, you may be heading for a nasty surprise.

Do you make enough money to service the adjustment for inflation for the MS? As we know, when we sign the Agreement of Lease our CPF account will be emptied and we will pay the rest of the mortgage loan by monthly installments thereafter.

Let me show you my sums (unaudited) of your situation.
Assuming your HDB flat cost $320,000, the price of a normal BTO HDB flat now.


If you take a 30 years loan of $250,000 and share the payment with your spouse, you will fork out $500 per month for your payment. Thus:

You earn:                       $3000 per month
You contribute to CPF:  $1080 per month
You pay HDB:               $500 per month
What's left in your CPF: $580 per month, that would be $6960 in a year.

If you fall into these assumptions, bad luck to you. You didn't even make it past the 2011 increase in the MS. You certainly don't stand a chance making it in 2012 unless of course, you have the 13th month bonus or more, investments gains for previous punts using your CPF funds or you contribute cash voluntarily (dumbo).

If you bring in more than the median wage, are taking less loan for your HDB flat than the above assumed, or always raking in healthy year end bonuses, haven't bought or decided not to buy your HDB flat, congratulations. Woes no you.

If you are buying or have bought a 5 room flat, earning less than $3,000, getting a loan of $200,000 or more and may not get bonuses. Tough luck brother.

Some bad news. If you made it to the required $7,000 in 2011, are you going to make it in 2012 and 2013? If you are anticipating the increment to be $7,000 in the following years, you are in for another nasty surprise. It's going to be more than that for sure.


Are you going to have an increment annually significant enough to counter balance the MS annual adjustment?

Some more bad news. Does inflation stop after 2013? There are positive thinkers out there but I'm not among them, as usual. I'll see the CPF Board announcing that our retirement fund could not remain in 2013 dollars because many of us will retire much later than 2013 and logically (to them), MS should be adjusted to the same value in future. How much would the MS be by then?

$200,000? $300,000? I'm no economist. You do the sums.

You can be sure it's not going to be $131,000 by then. You don't need to know how much it is. As long as you don't meet the adjustment for inflation yearly, you'll never make it. If you manage to job hop to higher salaries during your career span, good for you. If not, tough luck bro.

Another bad news: You can't afford to lose your job as it'll be a paramount task to up for the loss of CPF contributions in the process unless you top it up in cash (dumbo). For ladies, if you are thinking of taking a break to take care of the kids, dream on.

Even more bad news. The CPF Board says:

 If you are unable to set aside your full Minimum Sum in cash, your property, bought with your CPF savings, will be automatically pledged for up to half of your Minimum Sum. 

Automatically is the dirty word. Pledge is pure crap. I'll lose the ownership of my flat if I can't meet my Minimum Sum (whatever it is) by my retirement age. Oh wait! I don't own the flat in the first place. I signed the Agreement of Lease, not the Deed of Entitlement.


Stop to think for a second. Every single cent in our CPF account belongs to us. The government has no right to tell us what to do with it, much less control and withhold our money this way. Now that some of us have the real possibility of losing our flats by retirement age because we didn't save enough money in the CPF account, things have gone way overboard.

What next? There will be many new changes to our CPF in future. It'll make the entire scheme more complex, that it confuses the masses so much so that one day in future, if it hasn't happened already, the people will simply choose to regard the CPF as some form of tax instead of their cold hard cash, every single fucking cent of it, that rightfully belong to them.

Wake up Singaporeans. The slumber is over.
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This is not the first time I compared the lives of kids in both countries. I ought to shut up sometimes. First, there is no purpose in comparing. Secondly, it is pointless to compare. Third, nothing can come out from the comparison. It all meant the same thing: So, compare for -f-?

We are still comparing tonight regardless. Why? Because it's fun and it's another national habit of Singaporeans - comparing. So here goes.

We know very well how kids are being brought up in Singapore these days. They watch videos such as Dora the Explorer, Thomas the Train, The Stupid Purple Dinosaur and stuff. 

"Did your child watch any of these?"

(Without you answering) "I think so too!" (That's what Dora does)

And then they play on iphones and ipads for games, music and cheesy videos. Before long, they'll hit the computer and lap tops. Fortunately these days, there is a large variety of games to catch children's attention. Children can learn a farm operates by playing "Harvest Moon" or "Farmville". They could play "Civilisation" to learn a bit of history and the links between technologies. You get the drift. 

It's not a bad thing. Kids in Singapore don't think chickens grow on trees or anymore. They can identify plants and even exotic animals with an expert click of the mouse. It's cheaper, better and faster this way. Plus, they do not get dirty(Noooo!), scratched(Nieewwwwww!) or petrified (Mother of God!!). In case you don't know, those sounds are from the parents.

This may be unfair generalising. The same goes for kids at the Australia side. There are bound to be children that are cocoon-wrapped (or molly-cuddled, if you like what the PAP calls it) but I don't see that many. I'm being as objective as I can. I don't have conclusive data of course, these are just my observations and opinions.

Obviously Eugene's kids do not represent all Australian kids. I'll say it first just in case a smart alec put this in the comment. What's obvious instead, I can only take photographs of them comfortably without the risk of being socked in the nose. 

It isn't about doing the deed that caught my attention. When Erwin was told to harvest corn cobs in the garden, he went cheerfully and took it as a challenge instead of a chore. Then he huffed and puffed with it but his mother did not bat an eyelid. Even when he cried for help, his mum simply told him to think of a way himself. Hmmmmmm. A difference learning experience for the child. He had the chance  and a lot more time to explore instead of being told the answer quickly.

Phoenix, the daugher was harvesting sunflower seeds from their flowers today. She did everything herself without the help of her parents as well. When I heard Phoenix chid her mum for eating the seeds while she plucked, I laughed.

I noticed the difference in general between kids of both countries:

Kids in Australia

1) They are (a lot) more patient.

2) They are more confident and expressive.

3) They can do a lot of chores and work at a very young age!

4) They learn by exploration.

Kids in Singapore

1) They are more knowledgeable.

2) They mature faster.

3) They are better with technology

4) They learn by methods.

As a Sua-Ku Singaporean, I humbly learnt my bit of planting knowledge from Sandy from that day.

1) The stem of the corn can be chewed like sugarcane. It's not as sweet but it does have some juice.

2) Seeds of some plants harvested from flowers have to be dried well before planting for a higher spouting chance.

3) When the 'fur' of the corn cob starts to dry, it's time to harvest. Wait no longer.

4) You can be self sufficient (veg wise) with just a small backyard garden if you are experienced enough.

He tugs
and he tugs
Harvested corn cobs, the little boy's effort
Tasting the 'stem' of his labour
Phoenix eventually plucked all seeds without help from her mum
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Feel free to print it out and play. No dice provided though as no one is sponsoring my blog.

Hope you enjoy it.



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I like to listen to family traditions. Close knitted families always have some sort of them be it a heirloom, a secret recipe or some interesting practices. The Tan family (Eugene's) has a tradition to share. I can see Eugene trying very hard to establish a family and run it with their own beliefs and values. He seemed to be very sure in what he is doing and has an explanation for every action.

For example:
Little Erwin having a wild time in a make-shift pool in the garden
I saw this when I returned home from grocery shopping. Erwin was absolutely delighted when he saw me. Every time he sees me it must have meant 'Play' in his mind. I think he likes me. He immediately went hysterical in the little pool and splashed water towards me cheekily. The glass door between us saved me from getting wet. I could faintly hear his laughters and shrieks from since.

I turned and raised an eyebrow at Eugene, who was watching a movie on his computer in the living room. He gave a short laugh and said, "Oh! That's for him to cool down. Summer's hot!" That's not one of the traditions of his family I was refering to, by the way. It was just that each time I thought I had seen it all, I was proven wrong shortly.

Now the tradition. Each year during Christmas or Boxing Day, his family will drive to Mandurah, a beautiful well known water-side town about 65km south of us, to catch crabs. This has been on-going for probably 3-4 years, as according to Eugene. So far, many families new to Perth followed his family there to try it out. This year, his regular partner Uncle Lai was caught up with work. So was another family. Another couple of people who joined him previously had apparently returned to their respective countries in Vietnam and China. No one would be joining his family this time round.

He decided to go ahead with his plans no matter. He couldn't not go. His daughter Phoenix was so determined to go despite looking pale and sick since morning. Numerous vomits throughout the day didn't falter her certitude to go crabbing. Eugene knew he couldn't disappoint Phoenix. I looked on and wasn't sure if I would obliged if I was in his shoes.

We decided to tag along. I was curious what was the big idea about the whole thing. At the same time, we would give  a helping hand they could do with by taking a passenger off their crowded car so Phoenix would feel more comfortable.

We embarked together, I drove and followed Eugene's car from behind with Jen, the MIL and Sandy with me. The journey was considered not that smooth with Eugene stopping to allow Phoenix to puke once and then having gotten lost once or twice in Mandurah. Finally we reached the place. We missed the chance to take pictures of the breathtaking sunset we witnessed when we reached Mandurah because we were still searching for the destination at that time.

That was the best Jen had:

It was much better earlier, with the sky as the rainbow
Soon the sky turned completely dark. Eugene urged me to moved in the water myself while he took care of his own preparations. I did and plodded suspiciously into the pitch darkness.


The place was fascinating. I wondered how it looked in the day. The waves were extremely gentle compared to some other coast spots in Mandurah. What was most impressive was that I could walk for 1 or 2 km out from the coastline and the water would not even reach my knee level. In fact it would be always around the ankle level. Well ok, I'm ignorant and ill-travelled go ahead and laugh. But when was the last time YOU were amazed by things? It was an awesome feeling, no?

It felt a bit scary to turn back and realised how far you were from the coastline. I shuddered the first time I did that. If I were to go that far in Singapore at night, I swore I would be swept to Batam by morning. Regrettably, it was very difficult to express this experience in words. You have to be here to do it and understand. Even a picture that paints a thousand words could not be applicable here, an impossible night shot beyond my abilities.

Meanwhile, the Tan family got ready and were raring to go. Boy, they were WELL PREPARED!

!!!?!

No one, I mean no one takes his young daughter and son 1 km out in the sea in a inflated toy boat in Singapore. Over here, you couldn't stop Eugene from doing it. When he said family crabbing outing, he meant it. His wife, mother-in-law and children joined him right out there out in the sea. He had everything ready. Torch lights, crabbing tools and a styrofoam box to store his catch floating gingerly along.

Jen as well as the MIL came along with me for a while. We had a decent time in spite of the grumbling MIL. I made a mental note to come again with Jen again without people who are disinterested. We will make a brilliant team as usual and have a good time. I am very sure Jen feels the same way. She will give me a peck and tell me I was right when she reads this. And we will. Next Christmas perhaps? Will any of you join us?

The trick to catching crabs here, is to do it at night. According to Eugene, the reflection of the clear water is too distracting in the day. On top of that, you may get a bad sun burn at the end of the day. So it is better to do it at night. Basically, you shine the torch around and try to spot a crab. Once you see one, you sweep and try to catch it. That's how simple the whole thing is and that's probably what makes it fun for all.



We were not so lucky this year. It was a little too 'cold' this Christmas. Apparently the warmer the day, the more crabs there would be. If we revisit on a hotter day in Jan or Feb, we would likely come back with 2 full crates of crabs like Eugene did on the previous year. Not this time though, we ended the 3 hour adventure with only 6 crabs.

Eugene got 2 boxes full of crabs last year. Better luck next year!
I'm not sure about you, but after this I understood why Phoenix insisted to come despite feeling quite sick. It was all pretty fun. Miraculously, she recovered by the time we reach home at around 2300hrs and was giggling beside me while I provoke the crabs in the box.

The crabs met their unfortunate end on Boxing Day as snacks after dinner.
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I would be lying if I said I enjoyed staying with my mother-in-law. She epitomised the bane of whatever values I held of deep importance to myself. Freedom was of course on top of the list. Peace was the next. I was convinced tactfulness, wisdom and considerateness did not come naturally with age. It was never a given, you either developed these or you didn't.

I had no one to voice my unhappiness these days anymore. I didn't have friends to hang out with to hear my grouses. I didn't even want to tell Jen about how I felt, though eventually she would read this. I knew she would be sad reading these. I didn't want her to get into trouble siding me, but at the same time I felt terrible to be in such a situation. I could see Jen was happy to be reunited with her mum and that was important to me. On this rare occasion, I wish my blog does not have a single reader. I just need to talk, badly, but I don't wish for anyone to hear these.

A Chinese saying goes, "It's easy to get along, but difficult to live together." I couldn't agree more. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I don't think I'm that difficult to get along with. I have a good endurance when it comes to patience testing. I'm those who remained quiet and saintful for a very long time until the limit is triggered and when it happens it's never pretty. I can't imagine I'm thinking of such things after a day. I fear the worst, to be honest.

This pregnancy wasn't an easy one for me. I had been plagued with worries from start till now. From the multiple scares from KK hospital which still lingered like a curse in my mind, the migration, jobs, housing and now, the mother-in-law. I thought the ending would be beautiful. After toiling through these, I feel eager to meet Albany and hold her in my arms - minus constant nagging in my ears.

The next 3 months will be mental hell for me. Multiple changes, the intense heat coming as Summer peaks. Sometimes a guy yearns to be loved too, instead of being endlessly picked on constantly from dawn to dusk.

I wish my mother is here.


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2 years ago on the same day, I proposed to Jen at Pasir Ris Park, the same place where we had our first 'date' as friends 10 years ago, on the same day.

This year, there was no time for romance.

Besides the (relatively) lack of Christmas spirit here, I woke with pain all over my body. I sprained my back slightly on Friday and pain spread to most of my back by morning. To top it all, my fingers were still swollen and as usual, I couldn't bend many of them when I woke. I was seriously happy Christmas was around the corner just for the sole reason I could give my body a little bit of rest.

After a terrible slow start to the day because of a lumbering body, we started seriously packing to clear a bit of space in the bedroom. The mother-in-law would be here by tonight and we would be cramped in this tiny room. Jen considered a final move to a place of our own before the baby was due. It might be a good idea after all, though it would hurt the budget a little.

I hope Jen's mum will not complain and starts giving me hell before I can improve the situation. I have my fair share of that physically at work already and I don't need mental training. If we got to move, we got to move. Fast.

Meanwhile the plane will arrive in another 2 hours. It'll be a long long night ahead...
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My wife woke at 0215 hrs when I reached home from work. She heated up a bowl of glutinous rice balls and placed it on the table. When I was out from the bath, she served it to me immediately. Before she could get me a separate drink, I finished the entire bowl of soup drinking straight from the bowl.

I saw 4 glutinous rice balls staring shockingly at me when I was done.

"I'll get the refill," quipped Jen.

The 2nd bowl of soup was decimated in similar fashion. Then I decided to gobble up the angry rice balls one by one. By then, the 2 bowls of ginger soup left me feeling real warm in a 19 degrees summer night. The soup was not as neither stinging nor as sweet as what Ah-Balling served in Singapore. It tasted perfect.

Later on, I saw hordes of people posting pictures on Facebook, of the bowls of rice balls they consumed today. I was puzzled. Was it the day to eat these stuffs? If it was, how did Jen knew? Probably a coincidence. Well, I didn't know what was the real meaning behind consuming tang yuan. What I remembered from mum was tuan yuan, or reunion of family members.

Jen is my only family member here now.

I missed my mum again. The last call to her last weekend saw us discussing about her retirement plans. The little humble stall we set up 8 years ago could probably come to an end next year. She decided to consider a possible handover to my 2nd sister's brother-in-law.

The little stall brought back so many memories. Back then I was in my final year of university. My parents ran into financial troubles during the SARS period. At one stage we didn't have enough money to pay the utilities bills. Fortunately the boss of a prominent boys school offered to rent mum a stall to have a go. But mum was hesitant, that stall was a western food stall which she had no idea how to cook a single item on the menu, much less run it.

I told her, "We'll make it. Take it up." Not knowing a single bit on western food myself, we went head on into the unknown. I remembered learning everything myself. From the deboning of chicken, making of every single sauce the stall needed, the cooking methods of the unconventional menu items that we invented to inventory control, suppliers, logistics.

I remembered William lending me a steady hand on the first day of business. We were frantic and we didn't quite settle down until the 2nd year of business. From there, business improved and earnings went beyond our expectations. With that, except for school holidays, I spent every single Sunday for the last 7 years helping out my mum at the stall.

The stall was a big story behind my family. Jen was there with me all the while. She was the one who lent us $3,000 to set up the stall. Being just a classmate, that was an extraordinary favour. On the first day when William was around, she was quietly there too.

She was there on some occasional weekends when I was there. Not to collect debts as it had been cleared by the 2nd month. Once, she fainted on the giant rice cooker. I was too slow to catch her in time. Fortunately the rice cooker wasn't on. My mum saw what happened and I told her to "自己保重" and took Jen to seek medical attention.

She was heavy. Perhaps I was still quite fit at that time, I managed to negotiate that extremely steep slope with her on my back, before struggling to the gate of the school at least 400 metres away. We got on a cab and went to the nearest 24 hrs clinic in Bukit Timah.

Did she fell in love with me because of that? I was not sure.

When Jen went to Perth for 2 years, helping out in the stall was painful. I could cope with the 2 extra clumsy hands missing but not the loss of her company. It was then I realised her importance to me. She gave me an option to make her stay in Singapore. Instead I said, 'Go."

Every Sunday since was a day of repenting for me as I expertly whipped up the Egg Pillows, Scotch Eggs, Chocobo Eggs among other items Jen and I came out with to charm the school children. As I laboured through the chores, I imagined voices in my head and images of her trying to tease and irritate me during work. The signboard and menu items we designed together, as well as the silly art work she added on them, also vividly reminded me I let her go.

When she was back in Singapore in 2007, she continued to help at the stall with me occasionally, whenever her hectic audit job allowed her. By then we were in a relationship. Then we got married, she  continued to follow me to the little stall each Sunday until we finally moved to Perth. 2 months later, it was school holidays.

Honestly, I believed my mum wanted to continue the business. But deep inside, I knew she was tired. She had gone way beyond our imagination already. She was the frontwoman, the main woman behind the stall. But I was the fuel to her fighting spirit. Without my presence, perhaps, she didn't see the sense behind another year of hard work. Without being able to tell me the interesting happenings on certain business days, the trends and how my new items were selling. I, too, am heartbroken that it is heading to an inevitable end.

The stall was the back bone behind my little family story. It forged the robust relationship between my mother and Jen. We were there when we were classmates, friends, lovers, spouse and even during the pregnancy. I used to tell all my friends Jen and I didn't have a romance. It could be true.

But we had a story behind our relationship. The stall was the story.
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The visit to Kelmscott left me in sombre mood. A lot of different emotions and thoughts ran through my mind throughout my exploration of the town. Kelmscott is 186 years old, definitely one of the oldest suburbs, if not the oldest, in Perth. 

The trees here were aged and thick, living harmoniously with the human race. The architectural designs of the houses were evidently popular a long time ago. The old school in this town, well, was an old school with old school designs. We walked along the edge of the school, peering into the compound from the boundary fence.

It invoked fond memories of my old Queenstown Primary School where I had a superb 6 years of education. Sadly, Kelmscott Primary School had to be the one which reminded me of these instead of the current modern QPS, which stood on the same ground with the same name but it meant nothing to me beyond its empty shell.

The building compound of the school was old fashioned-ly short with low ceilings. After all the place was for kids and a tiny place would be less intimidating for children. There were old fixtures, old signages, outdated fonts on notices, unique 'home-made' features you would probably not find in any other schools. That was the flavour that hardly existed in Singapore these days.

The argument was the old had to make way for newer features, newer technologies and newer building functions. For what? Is that really necessary in nurturing our children? I don't see how old schools in Australia failed to produce good children, Nobel prize winners, Medal winning Olympians and international stars. Amidst all these reconstruction and upgrading, with billions of dollars exchanging between hands in Singapore, had anyone in the authorities did a study if all these costs were justified investments or it was simpler to chuck these aside citing the returns could not be properly measured?

Feb 1st?! Wtf how long is their holidays?!
I'm not a sucker for nostalgia but this really made me smile
The field outside Kelmscott Primary School. Kids would love it
It's a great-grandfather school
An old school chicken wind vane
The wooden donkey made from the simplest materials
Common wind chimes to delight little children 
In the centre of the little sleepy town was a memorial monument. It was to commemorate soldiers from this town who fought in numerous wars in the past and died in service. I thought it was a nice gesture. It made me felt people living in Kelmscott knew and treasured one another's existence. I am not ridiculous enough to expect people to set up memorial monuments in Choa Chu Kang or something but  we did not even have a simple countrywide plaque for the medical servants who died during the SARS period in 2003. (Or is there?) In Singapore, a life is a mere economic number after all.
The Memorial Monument in Kelmscott
Elsewhere there was a small little church near Kelmscott Primary School. Nothing fanciful like your money spinning City Harvest Church. Just one that serves its original purpose. What shocked me was the graves outside the church. Well, I had seen these in shows, even in computer games but to see one was an interesting experience.

We loitered around the gate of the church long enough until a stranger walked past. He stopped on his tracks while I was taking a photograph. Then he spoke to us (becoming less of a surprise by now) and gave us a brief history of the town, as well as the church. Then he opened the gates of the church and told us to feel free to explore the area, even the graves.

Jen and I were initially understandably surprised but we found out later that he was a pastor in the church and he was opening the church for services anyway. We did step in to have a look. Jen was busy playing with her mobile phone on the bench. 

I wandered around and read the words on some graves. They were touching. I felt happy for the dead. They were loved and remembered. I wondered who will remember me a year after I'm dead? I am already wondering who will remember me a year after I left Singapore.

The lovely church in its quiet corner
Old gates, I love these beautiful old things


Graves for the dead
Re-united...

'Lack of space' isn't an excuse where you can do memorials anywhere

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I received a message this afternoon, "Why you no post?"

"Post what?"

"Blog."

"Hmm."
"No one read what, so I don't post loh," I joked.

"If you don't post, how people read?" came the reply.

For the first time since a long time, I was loss for words. Well, the blog hasn't ended. It was just TUESDAY. Finally I replied, "This blog is closed on Tuesdays until further notice." Heh, no loss for words after all.

To be fair, today was good. It started nearly crappy as the previous few Tuesdays. I was nearly late for work because I forgot my mobile phone. But the rest of the day turned out alright. I had a lot of thoughts from the yield of the day.

The work was almost just like any normal day. Unlike last Tuesday, work was pretty smooth. I managed to complete my work, of course with the help from 葵花寶典. At the end of the day, Jang Hoon the handsome Korean guy came over and gave me many pointers on how to finish my work faster, as we happened to be same job which was rare.

I used to troll Jang Hoon now and then with lame unfunny jokes such as

"Hey why do every single South Korean in this company live at the south? The Swan River is not the DMZ." :D

"Hey why are the places you visited all southwards from where you stay? You can travel North here!"

Today I decided not to troll Jang Hoon with Kim Jong Un. The tips he gave me were practical and good. Jang Hoon was young, smart, knowledgeable, skillful and he got a Bulgarian girlfriend he picked up at a pub in Perth. Some guys have it all.

Jang Hoon gave me a piece of good news. We knock off at 2am today instead of 4am. Though I would be earning less today, it didn't feel painful. I thought it was a beautiful way to work for now. I'm happy if I knock off early, I'm happy if I knock off late as well since I'll bring home more money that night.

That was not the lesson I learnt from knocking off early though. I noticed by 2am, I was still alert and sharp. Back then when I first started working 10 hours till 2am, I was a piece of rag by the time I knocked off. Then after that we ground 11 hours till 3am and 12 hours till 4am the last week or so, I went home absolutely knackered. By now, 10 hours didn't take a toll on me as much as before.

It was like jogging long distances back in Singapore. I couldn't run 2km to save my life. Just few months before I migrated to Perth I picked up the jogging trend from friends. I managed to do 15km runs at one time. Back then, I remembered looking back and wondered why I struggled that much to do a simple 2km run a while ago.

Humans can do a lot more than they think they can't. When we test our limits, we improve a bit each time.

I hope to pass this simple lesson to all my friends (I have at least 5 of you in mind) who may be getting too comfortable with their jobs. Get new jobs, challenge yourself. We are still young, it'll be even harder when we are older. Learn more, try more. Life is short. Most importantly,

Make hay whilst the sun shines.
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There was a place a 15 minutes drive from where I live. It was a rather odd place to me. I had looked at the Perth map many times but had never noticed the place. Literally, no one I spoke to seemed to know about the place either.

Since last weekend was the last weekend for a long time that Jen and I could travel during the weekends (my MIL is coming this Sat), we did just that, travel nearby and took a look.

Martin was the name of the place. To Singaporeans, any hill is high. The suburb Martin was on a high hill. It was a semi-rural suburb like Forestdale, only more rural. The houses were placed a lot further to each other than in Forestdale.

I told Jen, "Hey you can see their mailboxes along the road and the long driveway but you can never see their houses!" Jen noted and agreed.

That was the feature of the place. High hill, winding roads, houses exist but you don't see them. Martin reminded me of Malaysia. My uncle used to live on the highest tip of one of the hills in Perak. It felt dangerous to live there. Any stranger could just come into your compound and you will be left defending your own territory. Oddly enough, there must be some kind of paradox of safety where this is concerned. There are way lesser crimes happening in places like that than compact residential regions. I guessed no one wanted to climb hills for hours and risk getting gutted by pet kangeroos or something, it's better to break in that beautiful mansion in Peppermint Grove.

From my experience living a few days on a hill, you get a perfect sleep up there. The air is fresh, you get pitch darkness and sleep inducing music from insects orchestra. In the morning, there are dragonflies to catch. My mum tied a string to the tail of a dragonfly I caught with a net. I had a 'live' kite. It's cruel I know but I remembered I was absolutely delighted that day. I was just a small boy back then.

I missed my mum yet another once more.


The rural road up Martin
Overlooking another suburb named Roleystone at the far end

Somebody's house, but you don't see the house
I stood there long enough to zoom my camera, someone's coming!
They were just kids toying around. Ok I'm impressed
The well belonging to this house. Isn't it lovely?
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Champion Lakes is a very little known suburb in Perth. Most residents in Perth, locals or migrants, probably never heard of the place, let alone visit it. I read a little about the place before. What is distinctive about the place is the 2km man-made lake in the district, planned for local and international water-sports usage. Besides that, this new suburb seemed to be the upcoming place for a big residential construction

I specifically persuaded Jen to visit the 55 hectares lake in Champion Lakes. You don't get a lot of man-made stuffs of this scale in Perth. That alone was enough to arouse my curiosity. I reckon since I was there, I would see how it compares to Venice of Punggol, Singapore. 

There are some interesting coincidences about Champion Lakes and Vernice of Punggol. 

- Firstly, they are both new suburbs (new town) zoned for exciting residential developments in respectively. 

- The distance of Champion Lakes is 23km from Perth CBD, Punggol is 22km from the Singapore CBD.

- Champion Lakes is 2km in length but twice as wide as the 4.2km Vernice of Punggol. They could be very well similar in area.

The unknown suburb, Champion Lakes
That's how the new man made lake looks on the map
There are 2 parts of Champion Lakes, (therefore the plural in the name?). One is a basin at the North-Eastern part of the lake and then of course the 2km stretch for the other part. (Do click on my noobish panoramic pics I took with my hp to have a better view, below)

The basin area
The 2km stretch
The weather was rather kind to us today. I called my mum on the phone and had a really long chat while Jen and I sat on the grass, just metres from the water. It killed off whatever credit I had in my phone and our conversation was eventually cruelly cut of by Optus. It was comfortably breezy and Jen started to take pictures of herself in her boredom. It was a seriously scenic and serene place, I guess it was a natural thing to do.

Not far from us, some local kids were having a ball jumping off the decks into the water. I heard the majority of Australian kids can swim. They made sure of that in school. I could see that. Australians simply adore water sports or any leisure activities close to the water be it frolicking, fishing or having a BBQ. They have a good reason to, if you have a chance to look at the waters here.

"Shall we buy a house in Champion Lakes?" I quipped, jokingly.

"Hmm, can ah," Jen replied, probably knowing that was a joke.

Sometimes I carry out jokes too far. But not always.
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      • Warm Congratulations to Mr and Mrs Lim
      • The Old New Year Resolution
      • The Blackhole: Central Provident Fund
      • Singaporean Kids Play Farmville, Australian Kids Farm
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      • Mandurah - Crab Catching on Xmas
      • The Most Challenging Quarter In My Life
      • Reinforcements Has Arrived
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      • Kelmscott - The Town of Memories
      • A Tuesday Lesson
      • Martin
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      • 3 Months of Perth - Mending Broken Ties
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      • Salary Comparison: Singapore VS Australia
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Albany's Quotes

"Daddy, my promise is

painful."
-

Albany showing me her pinkie

"Let's go to the park of living

room."
- she

led me, as she pulled her toy pram along

"A-P-R-I-C-O-

T."
- Albany,

15/8/2015

"Tax."
-Albany, after taking part of the dessert she

served me to her plate, leaving me open mouthed in

disbelief.

"I will hug

you tightly so you cannot go."
-grabbing my arms with both hands

while trying to fall asleep. 25/11/2015

"Daddy, don't get injured at

work."
-

Albany, 3 years old

"Daddy, I love you. Because you cook yummy lunch

and dinner."
-

Albany, 14/2/2016

"Mummy, why are these called shorts?

They look long to me."
- Albany, 20/2/2016

"You

are the best daddy in the world because you did these (pointed to

the house renovations)
- Albany, 1/5/2016

"I left the door unlocked so that you can come in because I love you so much."
- Albany, 21/11/2016

Emails 2017

Hi Nix,

I came across your interesting blog and wish to ask on your honest opinion.

Do you think it's a good idea to pay 6 months worth of house rental in advanced to secure a place to stay before we go over. Our situation makes it a little difficult to look for one in Darwin with 2 dogs that we couldn't leave behind. And we don't have a job there yet. Oh, we have gotten a 489 visa. And we are intending to move somewhere in June with our 2 dogs and an almost 2 year old kid.

Appreciate your intake on this.

Thanks a lot!

Hi Elaine,


The housing market is currently quite depressed so it should not be difficult to find rental properties. I don't think it is a good idea to pay 6 months in advance at all. You shouldn't find it a problem to get one. If you face any difficulties, let me know the details and see if I can give you ideas.


Hi,

Saw your blog while searching on Singaporean based overseas and hopeful can meet a bunch of you all if i ever go over eventually.

For myself after looking at migrating or completing the process before i do not have enough points to qualify.

Basing on my current situation, it seems since my CV is leaning towards the marketing and financial field. Which in this case seems only Adelaide and Darwin is the only option for Subclass 190.

Do you know any fellow Singaporeans based in either place?

Anyway, for me is more towards wanting a more laid back life and changing the environment. Ideal situation would be to work another 10 years before settling with a small farm land in the country in Aussie. But my worry is whether i would be able to secure a job in Aussie especially with my advance in age 38?

Lastly, any good advice for a frog in the well on his migration journey to aussie?

Many thanks in advance

Regards

Stanley

Hi Stanley,

If you cannot qualify for skilled migration on points, you will not be able to work here, unless you find an employer who is willing to hire you for your skill set and apply for a work visa for you. It is unlikely in this economic climate but may be your only chance.


Dear NIx,

Good day!

I have been reading your blog and decided to migrate to Australia.

I have been researching on how to go about migrating to Australia and unfortunately, I seem to have hit a road block, thus writing this email to seek your advice on which type of visa should i apply.

I will be turning 36 next year. BE Chemical Engineering from UNSW (Stayed in Sydney for 2.5 years and graduated in 2008). Msc in Maritime Studies from NTU (Graduating in June 2017). Currently working as a Business Development Manager in the Shipping Industry. I have also attached my CV for your reference.

I am confident of getting 60 points in the Points Test BUT my current job is not on the SOL list.

My mother's cousin is a PR in Australia and she and her family are living in Perth (I do not know whether this information helps)

I was thinking of taking part time courses in ITE in Electrical Wiring, Residential Plumbing or Air Conditioning and Refrigeration since these jobs are on the SOL list.

Any advice will be really appreciated.


Regards,
Colin Soh

Dear Colin,

First thing first, I would like to know how you qualify for 60 points in the Points Test. Will you be able to provide a breakdown ?

*Please note that if your occupation is not on the SOL, you will not be able to claim points for work experience nor academic qualifications.


Hey buddy!

Was scrolling through and landed on your site. Loved the Art of Survival; plain, blunt yet simple.

I'm a local Sporean dude and just got my PR. Currently workin on contract job and planning to move down under. I realise getting a job in Oz from Spore isn't gonna be easy. Thought of giving it a try since its been just a month. Plan B is to just move and get an unpaid internship for 3 mths. Any advise?

Kind regards,
Hi dude,

To be honest, I don't have a single clue about unpaid internship or anything like that. If you manage to get one of those, I will appreciate if you can let us know the details so we can all learn from you.


I apologise for being painfully obvious but if you find it hard to find a job in Australia from Singapore, then come here and look!


Hello,

My name is Adam and I cam across your blog about migrating to Australia. I would love some advice or experience that you can share with me with regards to my questions.

First of all, I am a US bachelor grad in Mechanical Engineering and worked in the US for 2.5 years. I am a Chinese Malaysian and I'm 25 years old by March (2017). Do you have any ideas or suggestions on migrating to Australia? The subclass 189 doesn't allow me to accumulate enough points because of my work experience did not meet the requirement of 3 years which I was told that usually the Australia immigration officer pay the most attention to. If you disagree with that statement, I would like to hear your advice on that.

The other way I thought is by studying my Masters degree there and while studying, I could think of an idea to set up a business there. Didn't research much into this path but if you have experience with this path, I appreciate a lot if you are willing to share.

Thank you very much and hope to hear from you soon,
Regards,
Adam

Hi Adam,

It sounds really simple. Choose the path of least resistance. Work for 3 years to gain your 60 points then! You'll need the funds to relocate anyway.


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