One North NTU Alumni Club

Today NTU Alumni club at One North opens its door. I was invited to have a tour around the compound. Overall, ok only. I feel it should be better. Firstly, the car park. It is way too small and crowded!! Only 90 free lots for members and arond 100 lots for visitors. But maybe they want to discourage people from driving?

Next is the lift. No number indicating if the lift is on which floor. So how you expect people to know should wait for how long? Movement of lift also very slow. Maybe they want to encourage people walking stairs to keep fit?

Third, the gym. Not many equipments but quite spacious. I think they should put in more equipments or else space is wasted.

I feel a bit not to my expectation. 9 level high but a bit lacking in facilities. I wonder what happen to the spaces. In fact, I feel the Civil Service Club is better. However, it is not yet fully done. I think it will only be up and running by July. I hope I will change my views by then. Haha!

The Da Vinci Code

I just came back watching The Da Vinci Code. I feel it is quite a nice show maybe because I never read the book before. I just did some online research on what this story is about. Hence, I can catch the plot. My friend, on the other hand, cannot catch the story went on sleeping throughout the show! Any way, the locations and sites in the movie are very beautiful! It makes me feel like going there. One of the casts, Ian McKellen, did a good job. The rest are ok which I feel a bit restricted maybe due to the character. The lead female should be doing more work I feel since she is expert in decoding. Overall, it is exciting. PS: I love the way French speaks.

Presentation

Today I got a presentation. Together with my boss, we have to present our research work to the whole company. At first, I thought nobody turn up but who knows today quite a lot of people turn up. Any way, the presentation turned out quite well. At first, I was very nervous. But after 5 minutes of presenting, my heart really stop beating liao. Haha. Then, I really very relax and maybe this is why I can present better cos I not that nervous. I got quite a positive feedback from my colleagues and boss. Ok lah. At least I did not disgrace my boss. Heh heh.

Secondary school teacher passed away

Today when I first step into office, a friend of mine who happened to be in the same secondary school as I was told me a bad news. Our secondary school teacher, Mr Wong Kiow, has just passed away. I was quite shocked as he is only 62 and I have seen him about a year ago. He looks very healthy to me though I dunno what causes his departure. He taught me Maths when I was in Secondary 2. He looks fierce but he is quite a good teacher. Farewell Mr Wong.

Medical checkup

Today my company organised a free simple medical checkup. The test consists of

1. high blood pressure test
2. body mass index
3. fat content
4. diabetes and some others

My result is ok but BMI slightly high and I think I dun drink enough water! Ah!!! Must exercise liao and drink 8 cups of water everyday!!!

Hong Kong supper

I just came back from supper. Recently, Hong Kong style cafes have taken Singapore by storm. So my friend and I decided to check out one that is quite popular. It is located along East Coast Road opposite Caltex petrol station. We reached there around 12.45am and there are many people. But still got many seats available. The cafe has a wide variety of food! From rice to noodle to bread to dessert. But on the whole, it is not cheap. We ordered 2 thick toasts and 2 cups of "yuan yang" which total around $12. The toast is not bad but I dun really like the "yuan yang" as it tastes a bit bitter. Must try other things next time.

COE analysis May 2nd round

In my last prediction, I said COE might up a bit. Indeed, this round COE is really up "a bit". Cat A this round posted $10,100 which up $97. Cat B is $11,801, rising $282. Last week, newspaper reported "the crowd" is back after COE fell sharply. So I thought this round COE might rebound at least a $500 but no. A quick check with Toyota and Nissan for their latest car price shows that there are no changes. So this might shows that they have enough order to keep them going. But looking at the amount it rises, it could only shows how much "the crowd" is.

Any way, I always feel that how can the demand for new cars keep growing? Singaporeans is not that rich one. Most are just average Joe earning $4k-5k (or less) on the average. With this amount of money, it is unlikely for them to change cars every three years like it used to be due to the new tax structure and higher interest rate. So unless there is a cut in tax stucture or a slash in pricing or interest rate, I feel the demand is unlikely to rise in near future. So I predict the next round COE will stay about the same as this round or fall some more as it is already seen by this round that a cut in $2000 in car price is still "not good enough" to bring in enough crowd.

Latest model

Today latest COE is out but I will review it tomorrow. I think from time to time I will post some car news that I come across. Like got what latest model coming etc.. I shall start the ball rolling by introducing two compact cars hitting Singapore soon. The first one to be arrived by end of this month is Mitsubishi I. This is a rather compact car that is no larger than 660 cc, producing not more than 64 hp in a body up to 3.4 metres long. It will be available in two variants when the first few cars arrive from later this month onwards. One will be an entry-level 'no-frills' version, while another will have additional specifications like xenon headlamps, intelligent keyless system, and factory-fitted MP3 player and 15-inch alloy wheels. The estimated price is from $55,000 with COE. My feeling is it is hard to take off (I might be wrong) cos with that price you can get a bigger car.

The second compact car to hit our shore is by Naza. You might be wondering what brand is that? Naza is Malaysia's third automaker after Proton and Perodua. Its Naza Sutera will be landing here in August. According to news that the five-door hatchback's design concept and body were styled by Italy's legendary Pininfarina, with the ride and handling developed by Proton-owned sports carmaker Lotus. It will have a Suzuki engine and Japanese technology that will be assembled in China. So expect the price of this 1.1 litre car to be around $35k with COE. My feel is it will be attractive especially as a off-peak car.

Bicycle

Today, I went to buy a mountain bike. I all along wanted to buy a bicycle but just that no time to go and nobody knows about bicycle to go with me. Finally, I found someone who has some knowledge on bicycle to company me. I went to a shop in Bukit Panjang opposite Ten Mile Junction. But too bad it is not open. My friend bought his bike from there. So I thought of buying from there as well.

So we decided to go to a shop near my house. After looking around for a while and recommendation from my friend and the shopkeeper, I bought a mountain bike for $307. The brand is Hasa which is from Taiwan and the model is T-9. Usual price is $320+ but got special offer and cost $270. The shopkeeper keeps saying very good. So I bought it. Then, I bought a night light for $10, a good bicycle stand for $17 and a water bottle holder for $10. Then, I quickly test ride it just now at the park nearby. Quite fun! Haha. Good for cuttng fat!!

Mission: Impossible III

I just came back from watching Mission: Impossible III. A few of my friends strongly recommended it and go as far as saying it is the best Mission: Impossible movie. Ok, I wun say it is the best but it is not too bad. Tom Cruise still looks good in this show. Story wise this time it is more human cos it involves family. Maggie Q looks nice in the red dress but I think the makeup artistes did not do their work. The baddie also look bad enough. Heh heh. There are also a lot of high tech equipments and some really look so impossible. Overall, it will be a better show if the villian is more powerful who dun die so easily.

Civil Service Club

Today me and a friend went for lunch. At first, we wanted eat at a chinese restaurant in West Mall. But it is such a long queue even though it is around 1.30pm. So suddenly my friend suggested to go to eat in the restaurant in the Civil Service Club in Bukit Batok. I feel it is a good idea cos I also wanted to see see what this club looks like. We went into the club and is greeted by a nice water fall. Cooling! Then, we went to the 2nd floor to the chinese Hilltop Garden restaurant. We had tim sum lunch and order some side dish. Two of us ate around $39. The best part is there is no service charge!!

After lunch, we explored around the club. It has a nice swimming compound! Got a children pool, wave pool, current pool and normal swimming pool. But it is only open to member. The club also boost a gym, bowling alley, karaoke room, seminar room, snooker room etc.... Very good facilities! Some are open to public. Civil servants and staffs from government related companies are able to join this club for $6 per month. Public needs to pay $300 per year!!!! I am quite tempted to join. Maybe will check out with the club soon. Hee!!

Mother's day dinner

Mother's day is next week but we celebrate this week. We went to eat at Tung Lok restaurant at East Coast Park. It is a buffet dinner. Each adult pays about $38+++ and child is $23+++. You can eat a lot of things. Oysters (1 serving and limited to 2 per person), crabs (1 serving), meats, fish, prawns etc... Eat all you want! In the end, 7 adults and 2 children ate about $370. The food not too bad and service wise also not bad. Food is quick to serve. Overall, I will say it is a good choice.

COE analysis May 1st round

Like I say previously, $10k COE is about to come. Indeed. This round we already see the $10k COE for CAT A. Yesterday COE latest results is CAT A $10,003 which down $1898. CAT B is $11,519. Slide $1582. A quick look at the latest pricing of Nissan and Toyota show that they have slashed $2k off the list price. Such a generous slash might generate some buying interest. However, I feel rising interest rate and petrol will still keep people from changing cars unless no choice. Also, currently no new cars to generate buying fever. Indeed, reading newspaper where a car distributor manager said that no one is buying cars. Demand is still very weak. Any way, I feel next round might up a bit due to lowering of price and might create a few backlog. But I still feel a COE of less than $10k is possible.

Malacca

I just came back from Malacca. The trip will be fantastic if not for two bad experiences. The first is in Malacca where got a begger begs us for RM$0.10 saying he wants to call his friend. When I ignored him, he said:"Don't be stingy." I replied:"I no coins!". Even if I have, I also dun want to give him. I rather throw in Malacca river.

Another disgusting event is at the Malaysia check point when we are about to drive out back to Singapore. The police stop us and insisted my friend no wear seat belt and wanted to give us RM$200 summon! Then, he said:"Ok, lah. I "helped" you and you give RM$50 can liao." We dun want any trouble so we paid up and left. Corruption! This incident also got its good points. First is to make my friends and I more appreciate Singapore. Second is to make my friend remember to put on his seat belt! Heh heh. So I decided to boycott Malaysia for the time being. I intend to go Kuala Lumpur this May but I will shelve this idea.

Any way, driving to Malacca is not hard. It is around 210km from Singapore and quite straight forward from Tuas. Just follow the sign board. Just that it is a bit harder when you in Malacca Town. Any way, still quite ok. The charges to use 2nd Link Singapore check point is $3.70. You need to pay when you enter Malaysia and another time when you enter Singapore. The total toll from Johor Bahru to Malacca is around RM$36. Also must pay both time go and come back.

The hotel we stay not bad. A 3 stars award winning Aldy hotel. Service wise I feel still not too bad. The pricing also reasonable. Two nights per room with breakfast is RM$286. It is also situated beside the police station and within walking distance to all the tourist spots. The town is quite small. I took about one morning and finished visiting all the important tourists spot.

Then, we went to the nearby Mahkota Parade shopping mall. Quite big and got many things to buy but not cheap. We bought a few local food items and headed to Chinatown. It has a street called Jonker street where after 6pm, it is closed for traffic and stalls start to set to become a night market. At that street, there are some famous food. The first one is the chicken rice ball, second is the durian chendol but I dun eat durian. My friends said very nice. Third is the nyonya and baba laksa. Yum!!!

Off

Ok, polling is near and so far my side has no news. So a bit boring. Just when I am bored, a consolation price came knocking on my email. As everyone knows that polling will be held on a saturday which is a non-working day. It will be declared as a public holiday. My company policy is to give a day leave to compensate the holiday on a weekend. Hurray!!!

COE analysis April 2nd round

Ok, I decided to start a COE analysis one day after the latest COE price is released. Yesterday, the latest results is out and CAT A is $11,901. Same price as last bidding and CAT B is $13,101. Down $301. This might seems COE price is stablising but looking deeper at the number of bids received, you can see that demand has become slower. A few dealers said market is very weak. A quick check at Toyota latest car price shows that they dropped $1k for smaller cc cars and about $2k or more for bigger cc cars. This shows how the market leader feels about the trend of next round COE. So I feel expect to dive further for the next bidding. Those who wish to buy car can wait for a while. I feel $10k COE is about to come again.

Superbowl

I just came back from bowling. This is a new found interest in our lab. We went to the nearest bowling center which is Jurong Superbowl. Maybe now exam period and a weekday, the bowling center is very empty. We played 3 games and I am in number 2 throughout the 3 games. My results are 119, 104 and 98. Quite rotten.

LCD TV

Lately I feel like buying a TV to replace the one that exploded in my room. I have been looking around and I find that Samsung LCD TV looks the sleekest. Very professional! Now LCD TV like very cheap. A lot of promotion going on recently. 32" LCD TV now I think can get around $2k. But I wun get so big one cos put in my room. So I think I will get around 20". But must be HD ready. A lot of 20" and below LCD TV not HD ready. So maybe have to wait for a while more.

Qing Ming

Today my family and I went to pay our respects to our ancestors. According to chinese custom, tomorrow will be the last day of qing ming festival. We first went to Mandai. Reached around 9.30am. Everything done at around 11am. Lucky we went early. By the time we left, long queue at the main road!

Then, we proceed to Aljunied. Also another massive jam. But we are smart to take another small road where nobody knows. Heh heh. So in the end we avoided the jam. Pray until about 12.30pm, we went for our lunch at Yishun and proceed on to our last destination which is Lim Chu Kang.

However, it rained very heavily on our way there! So we detoured home and waited until 4pm where the rain stopped and then we went to pray. Everything ended at around 6.30pm and it is home sweet home liao.

Ice Age: The Meltdown

I just came back from watching Ice Age: The Meltdown. I would say this movie is quite nice. The effects are nice but I think can be nicer. This time I find it funnier than the first Ice Age movie. Story flow wise is quite good. Got nice musical songs also. Overall, nice.