Sunday, October 30, 2011
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Day by day....
I started this blog once upon a time in 2007 when I wanted to save all my memories from yesteryears. Never really did keep up the momentum even though I still would like to store my childhood memories for remembrance.
My wife said that unlike me she doesn't want to go back to her childhood days because it was so tough for her coming from a poor family. I guess mine must have been heaven since I have always tagged that period as the most enjoyable period of my life. Even though I lead a comfortable living and have a wife now, I still think back to the past to savor the charms of a slightly younger Singapore.
The other day I was just remarking to myself that 2010s versus 2000 is mostly the same. There is nothing remarkable, to me at least, to sufficiently distinguish between then and now. But 1970s versus now is so drastically different. It was a simpler country then and even though it was not really that developed, I loved it more then versus now.
Today it is just more of the tall buildings, more malls, more of the computers, more of the mobiles, more of internet etc. Basically more of anything and everything modern but this only attracts me to a certain degree. Through it all I still like the 70s and 80s. Life was simpler then and people not as complicated....
Where is my time machine?....
My wife said that unlike me she doesn't want to go back to her childhood days because it was so tough for her coming from a poor family. I guess mine must have been heaven since I have always tagged that period as the most enjoyable period of my life. Even though I lead a comfortable living and have a wife now, I still think back to the past to savor the charms of a slightly younger Singapore.
The other day I was just remarking to myself that 2010s versus 2000 is mostly the same. There is nothing remarkable, to me at least, to sufficiently distinguish between then and now. But 1970s versus now is so drastically different. It was a simpler country then and even though it was not really that developed, I loved it more then versus now.
Today it is just more of the tall buildings, more malls, more of the computers, more of the mobiles, more of internet etc. Basically more of anything and everything modern but this only attracts me to a certain degree. Through it all I still like the 70s and 80s. Life was simpler then and people not as complicated....
Where is my time machine?....
Don't go for vacations....
Staying home on a Sunday reminiscing about the trip last week to Hong Kong. It is true I don't like to travel because I think it is expensive. Rather, I prefer to just save the money and spend them on gadgets. Also, I hate the feeling of lost after returning back home. I will tend to think back to what I was doing in the foreign country at this same instance and repeat it for the entire duration of my vacation. It is just like Round 2 of the vacation but only with a sense of lost...
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Day by day
New year, new job but same old other stuffs......
Still reminiscing about the era past as if that is the only happy period in my life. Though it is unfair to my wife to keep thinking the past is better than the present but it is forever true that I really enjoyed my childhood and the simpler life back then.
The indulgence of today (boy, do I indulge in gadgets but that's another story altogether) cannot match the simpleness of nothing in the past. No internet, no LED TVs, no advance gaming consoles, no ipad, no MP3 players, no mobiles, no notebooks etc but yet I can still remember the joy of chasing a plastic ball with my friends. Sigh, time flies. Multiple decades have already passed me by and here I am approaching middle age. As an individual, am I happier than my childhood? Not really but I am blessed with my lovely wife, good health, a job, a roof over my head, and much, much more.
Given a choice, which year would I want to return to? Maybe I have thought about and blogged about the magical year before but now and here I would say 1976. How I wish that can come true once more, even in my dreams....
Looking more at the past than the future, guess I am officially "Old School" now....
Still reminiscing about the era past as if that is the only happy period in my life. Though it is unfair to my wife to keep thinking the past is better than the present but it is forever true that I really enjoyed my childhood and the simpler life back then.
The indulgence of today (boy, do I indulge in gadgets but that's another story altogether) cannot match the simpleness of nothing in the past. No internet, no LED TVs, no advance gaming consoles, no ipad, no MP3 players, no mobiles, no notebooks etc but yet I can still remember the joy of chasing a plastic ball with my friends. Sigh, time flies. Multiple decades have already passed me by and here I am approaching middle age. As an individual, am I happier than my childhood? Not really but I am blessed with my lovely wife, good health, a job, a roof over my head, and much, much more.
Given a choice, which year would I want to return to? Maybe I have thought about and blogged about the magical year before but now and here I would say 1976. How I wish that can come true once more, even in my dreams....
Looking more at the past than the future, guess I am officially "Old School" now....
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Dollars and Cents
My family used to be quite well-to-do. I won't say we were wealthy but I most certainly think we should be considered above middle-income. Some how, all that came loose and went away once my dad decided to let greed take over good business practices. Yes, it is nice to see assets appreciate in value but it is also important to keep a careful eye on your P&L. Too bad he didn't and all was lost. I really mean all....
I always tell myself to think positively and take things into my stride. Things happen for a reason and the closure of doors doesn't mean new ones won't open. However, no matter how much I have accepted that fact, at times I cannot but help wonder "what-if".
Nowadays, without a property of our own, doing business carries the additional burden of rental as an overhead for my brother and sister. I can understand the cruelty of this world i.e. no money no talk but seeing how the rich getting richer and the poor getting left behind, I cannot but think what I should do to generate more $ to help my siblings.
Basically, the Singapore business model (as far as property owners are concerned) is to raise rental at their own discretion and pass the burden of generating profit (or dare I say breaking even) to their tenants. Easy money, no sweat..... What will the tenants do in this case? They in turn will raise the prices of their goods and services, no? In turn, what will the buyers of their goods and services do? Suffer in silence or demand a higher remuneration package from their employers? Can this cycle go on and on? Maybe for the upper classes of the population? What about the rest? If this goes on and on, how much savings (and rainy day funds etc) can they accumulate before they retire? How much on average do people have in savings, I wonder? I always wonder to myself how do cleaners or food stall workers make enough to live life and NOT just to stay alive. Can they afford the luxury of a good meal, a night's out at the cinemas, a holiday trip, an iPod, a new mobile, some branded clothings? I really doubt it....
Because of the recovering economy, my siblings have in turn become victims of the burgeoning property market so much so that rental is expected to be more than doubled by the (new) landlord. So what do they do? They leave the market and say good luck to the next better person. Running a small business is no longer viable for our trade. Granted it was good while it lasted, I don't think they will generate enough revenue to cover the rent increase PLUS good earnings. This is sad as I know the quality of work is good but alas, the business didn't soar as fast as the burgeoning property market. As I said, to the new owner, it is fine just raising the rent to justify his or her investment in property but will there be a tipping point whereby prices will become too high and there are no takers? Everything is cyclic and I am sure there will come such a time....
To many people, everything in this world is about dollars and cents and unfortunately, I have to agree this is true because we were/are unfortunate victims of it.
I always tell myself to think positively and take things into my stride. Things happen for a reason and the closure of doors doesn't mean new ones won't open. However, no matter how much I have accepted that fact, at times I cannot but help wonder "what-if".
Nowadays, without a property of our own, doing business carries the additional burden of rental as an overhead for my brother and sister. I can understand the cruelty of this world i.e. no money no talk but seeing how the rich getting richer and the poor getting left behind, I cannot but think what I should do to generate more $ to help my siblings.
Basically, the Singapore business model (as far as property owners are concerned) is to raise rental at their own discretion and pass the burden of generating profit (or dare I say breaking even) to their tenants. Easy money, no sweat..... What will the tenants do in this case? They in turn will raise the prices of their goods and services, no? In turn, what will the buyers of their goods and services do? Suffer in silence or demand a higher remuneration package from their employers? Can this cycle go on and on? Maybe for the upper classes of the population? What about the rest? If this goes on and on, how much savings (and rainy day funds etc) can they accumulate before they retire? How much on average do people have in savings, I wonder? I always wonder to myself how do cleaners or food stall workers make enough to live life and NOT just to stay alive. Can they afford the luxury of a good meal, a night's out at the cinemas, a holiday trip, an iPod, a new mobile, some branded clothings? I really doubt it....
Because of the recovering economy, my siblings have in turn become victims of the burgeoning property market so much so that rental is expected to be more than doubled by the (new) landlord. So what do they do? They leave the market and say good luck to the next better person. Running a small business is no longer viable for our trade. Granted it was good while it lasted, I don't think they will generate enough revenue to cover the rent increase PLUS good earnings. This is sad as I know the quality of work is good but alas, the business didn't soar as fast as the burgeoning property market. As I said, to the new owner, it is fine just raising the rent to justify his or her investment in property but will there be a tipping point whereby prices will become too high and there are no takers? Everything is cyclic and I am sure there will come such a time....
To many people, everything in this world is about dollars and cents and unfortunately, I have to agree this is true because we were/are unfortunate victims of it.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Depressed
Sometimes I don't know how my brain works. I really don't have much to worry about but yet I feel depressed. Or is it due to the broken lock on the door? So why do I worry? Is it because I feel that I am the only one who cares about keeping things in good working order? Or is it because no one else cares about the house besides me? Is there something wrong with me? I don't know, just feeling depressed today. Maybe it is because of my aching back? Maybe? No..... Then what? This sucks.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Decades passed, lost, and new
I have not been updating my blog for the longest of time, definitely more because of laziness than anything else.
Come to think of it, I didn't blog about my new job even though it was a huge departure from my comfort zone after more than 10 years on the job.
Neither did I blog about the new year. 2010 was ushered in without much fanfare on my part but it represents a new decade after a disastrous 10 years which I will forever look back in regret and pain. People always tell me to look on the bright side of things and life but till now I just feel it left such a large blank in my both my family and personal life that I cannot but feel helpless whenever I think about the "Decade of Lost".
Hopefully, the decades ahead will be much better. Gotten married to a new wife and with that a new start. Nothing much to complain although the sex part can be more exciting....
What really prompted me to put some thoughts into words is music. Tonight, being alone again and with not much housework to do, I find myself drawn to my world of oldies again. When one starts to think back and reminisce about the growing up years with such fondness it can only be taken as a sign that one is really too old to term those years simply as "some years ago".... In reality, it has been decades ago since my childhood days. Maybe it was because those years were really blissful and meant too much to me that I keep thinking of how I was then and things that happened during that period. Maybe the pain of the last decade made me want to go back to the cosy years of past. Well, it is probably more than a maybe. Everyone wants to be forever blessed with a good and happy life, right?
Come to think of it, I didn't blog about my new job even though it was a huge departure from my comfort zone after more than 10 years on the job.
Neither did I blog about the new year. 2010 was ushered in without much fanfare on my part but it represents a new decade after a disastrous 10 years which I will forever look back in regret and pain. People always tell me to look on the bright side of things and life but till now I just feel it left such a large blank in my both my family and personal life that I cannot but feel helpless whenever I think about the "Decade of Lost".
Hopefully, the decades ahead will be much better. Gotten married to a new wife and with that a new start. Nothing much to complain although the sex part can be more exciting....
What really prompted me to put some thoughts into words is music. Tonight, being alone again and with not much housework to do, I find myself drawn to my world of oldies again. When one starts to think back and reminisce about the growing up years with such fondness it can only be taken as a sign that one is really too old to term those years simply as "some years ago".... In reality, it has been decades ago since my childhood days. Maybe it was because those years were really blissful and meant too much to me that I keep thinking of how I was then and things that happened during that period. Maybe the pain of the last decade made me want to go back to the cosy years of past. Well, it is probably more than a maybe. Everyone wants to be forever blessed with a good and happy life, right?
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