Painful

  Sigh.

It really hurts.

But I cannot do anything.

Seeing him hurting from not being able to take the exams that he’s studied so hard for.

Such a milestone being ruined by Covid.

Really makes me sad just thinking about it.

My poor boy.

I wonder how much this will impact his life from here, starting with a poor eventual score for secondary school entry.

But I have do my best to encourage him to press on and believe that everything will turn out fine. I have be happy and optimistic so that he can overcome all these setbacks in his life. I have to do all that I can to give him the best life possible.

It is the least my children deserve.

Whatever it takes.

Q4 Already

 Wow.

How quickly this year has gone by.

And all that was Covid or pandemic is almost nothingness now.

We have made it through that arduous two plus years, and have come out of it for better or for worse, and all of a sudden it is a continuation of where we left off in January of 2020, when the first lockdown was yet to happen.

Everything is so normal now.

And with that the year has also whisked off so quickly.

The boy’s doing his PSLE next week, both him and the girl have grown up so much. Life with the wifey and kids were great throughout the pandemic. Hopefully that can continue hereon with lessons learned from the pandemic.

The biggest highlight probably by a country mile, was our Switzerland trip back in March. It already feels like eons ago. I hope to bring the family back there sometime soon!

Travelling came back with a bang. Have already done Vietnam, then Malaysia. It will be Japan soon, followed by Indonesia. Then what looks to be Malaysia once more.

Work has been less promising unfortunately. Stress from the current landscape and rising interest rate environment is hitting us hard. Even though we had our first Summer Party in three years, our 30th anniversary party was cancelled. Subsequently we announced our IPO plans, but we are rolling out some unsavory cost saving measures, that leave us entering 2023 with a slew of unknowns.

Hopefully 2023 will be a far better year for us all.

HUAT AH!

Die With Zero

 Been seeing this book recommended a lot lately.

A lot of interesting concepts.

Read the summary here.

Here are the nine main points:

1. Maximize your positive life experiences 
2. Start investing in experiences early
3. Aim to die with zero
4. Use all available tools to help you die with zero
5. Give money to your children or to charity when it has the most impact
6. Don’t live your life on autopilot 
7. Think of your life as distinct seasons
8. Know when to stop growing your wealth
9. Take your biggest risks when you have little to lose

Clementi Forest & Bukit Timah Railway Station

 The wifey and I took a day off to explore Clementi Forest and the adjacent Bukit Timah Railway Station.

I've read a lot about the forest area which looked like a great place to hike.

Turns out the entire trail was merely a kilometer long at most, so it didn't take very long.

The pictures make the forest look thick but again, its not extremely dense like the Lim Chu Kang area during my army days.

There was one little stream which we had a slight problem crossing, and both of us got at least one shoe wet in mud!

Before you know it, you'd be out on the other side, a nice comfortable road track that led to the newly restored old Bukit Timah Railway Station.

There is a cafe at the station and it is really quaint and cool. Basically the old ticketing counter turned into a hipster cafe.

The rest of the road is all part of the Rail Corridor, which I can proudly say, has been returned to Singapore (used to be owned by Malaysia), so there are plenty of remnants of railway tracks, bridges, tunnels etc and the whole route is about 25km north to south, from Tanjong Pagar all the way to Woodlands!

One day we have to try hiking the entire stretch!

Birthday Wakeboarding

 So for my birthday, the wifey took me out wakeboarding/wakesurfing.

The last time I tried it was back in NTU, more than 20 years ago. I vividly remember then that I sucked at it.

Who'd have thought I turned out to be quite ok. And actually so did the wifey. 

Both of us did quite good.

With really nice pictures to show for it haha.

Basically we met early in the morning at Punggol Marina, and from them the single instructor drove the boat to the sealane at Coney Island and we had out fun there for two hours.

It was such fun!

Look at me in action!

Happy Birthday To Me

 Another year older, not really much the wiser.

Age is definitely catching up as my hairline recedes further, my health deteriorates, my body shape looking fatter, and I need to take meds to curb certain excesses in health.

Yet I'd say generally, it's been better than many. All I aim for is to preserve my good health, wealth and prosperity.

Hopefully for many, many more years to come.

So that I am healthy enough to see my kids (and maybe grandkids) grow old.

Blood Donation

 The gahmen recently made a call for blood donations.

So the wifey and I felt compelled to do some good while we are able.

We were to the Dhby Ghaut blood donation centre.

It was actually my first donation in more than 20 years.

The last time I donated was when I was in NTU!

The process was so smooth and easy, with about 450ml of blood taken.

Good to have my body replenishing old blood anyway.

Will probably good back again once I am able.

A Long Run

 I haven't been running as much as I'd have liked.

So it was nice to push myself past the 10km mark once more. 

As usual, the ECP route took me to the Singapore Sailing Club public restroom area before the U-turn.

I need to try and run more, it just to maintain my current weight and health levels, so that it does not deteriorate.

Happy Birthday Papa!

  My dad turned 74 in July.

Wishing him good health and wealth in his silver years!

Love you lots!

We celebrated with a family dinner at Parkway Parade's Ichibanboshi.

Look at the birthday cards made by the kids, so cute!

Big Feet

 My son is growing up so fast.

And he's growing tall and big!

Look at how large his foot is compared to mine now!

And he's only 12!