Cancellation of Musical On Your Feet!

I'm very disappointed that the Broadway musical, On Your Feet! which is supposed to show this June at Marina Bay Sands theatre is now cancelled due to Covid-19 in Singapore. I was looking forward to this musical after the circuit breaker end in early June. If the show is cancelled, this means theatres and cinemas might not open after the circuit breaker. Perhaps it might be extended to another 2 weeks.

In Singapore, there are now 21,707 infected coronavirus cases. Most of the infected cases are from foreign worker dormitories. I think the ministry of manpower minister really mess up this time. There are about 300,000 foreign workers in Singapore. Will 100,000 foreign workers be infected? Can our healthcare staff manage this crisis? Is there a need to seek medical help from overseas? Perhaps China might send some doctors and nurses here.

For now, I just have to watch musical online. 

America and the Flu

Many Americans had been claiming the coronavirus as the flu.Who to blame for their rising coronavirus cases ? They have Trump as their president. Both Trump and his Vice President refuse to wear masks due to their ego.

The road ahead for the Americans is bleak. With protesters screaming to stop the lockdown and their president supporting them, there definitely be a huge spike in infected coronavirus cases. Lives matter more than money.

Are they comedians? It matters which 'experts' you listen to.

Comedy Movies by Stephen Chow

I rarely watch movies but when I do, I only watch comedy and musical movies like Pitch Perfect and The Jersey Boys. Stephen Chow is still my favourite comedy actor and director and till now I still enjoy his old comedy movies. You never get tired of his movies especially the 90s.

I'm really looking forward to his new movies! I hope he continue to act.

Tang Bo Hu, a story about the talented poet in the Ming dynasty.

Singapore Chocolate on Offer

If you love chocolate in unique Singapore packaging, then you can order from here. Currently they have promotion as they provide free delivery for purchases of $50 and above. They are currently clearing the stock as the boss is closing the shop soon.

My favourite is Tiramisu almond chocolate. 

Chocolate in Singapore dollars packaging

Happy Buddha's Birthday

Due to circuit breaker in Singapore, places of worships like the temples are closed. 
Today is Buddha's birthday and it's also the day to remember Buddha's teaching. I used to be very bad-tempered. To me, Buddha is like my teacher, teaching me the path to cessation of suffering through the Noble Eight-fold path. If you can't remember, just remember to be kind and not hurt others. 

缘起性空 All phenomena originates from emptiness

果从心生 Fruition is created from the heart

欲望因心而起 Desires arise from the heart

烦恼自生 Vexation comes from oneself

你要离苦得乐 If you want to abandon suffering and gain happiness

就要脱离贪,瞋,痴 You’ve to abandon greed, anger and ignorance.

How to Identify a Jerk from His Bazi 八字

The Chinese entertainment is recently buzzing with news of singer Show Lo promiscuous lifestyle as shared by his ex-girlfriend of 9 years. His ex-girlfriend Grace Chow said that he is incorrigible and it's just his innate nature to cheat. I was curious and remember a Bazi master talking about bazi of guys with strong sexual desire. I decided to find out why he is not happy with a girlfriend. 

From wikipedia, Show Lo date of birth is 30 July 1979. I input his date of birth to Bazi calculator from here and this is what it show. I don't have his time of birth, so it only generate 3 pillars with liuzi 六字 instead of bazi 八字. Wow, he is a Strong earth day master. Its not a balance chart. 

A balance chart should have the 5 elements ideally (wood, water, earth, fire and metal). What is worse is his decade luck pillar is Ding Mao (fire rabbit). This is the year of Zi (rat). Zi-mao is one of the penalties normally relating to love affairs. He should listen to the white dragon master who had warned him to stay away from women.

I like learning Bazi from Ken Lai. In one of his posts on Bazi: Secret Dating Guide for Women, he shared that one of the 7 Bazi undesirable characteristics of male partner, is strong earth. Before you dump this type of guy, observe him first. If he cheat, just dump him. 

From Ken's Cyber Cave.

7.  DM with strong fire and hot earth 
This means a chart with mostly fire and hot earth (wei- and xu-earth).  DM has strong urge and hyperactive sexual desire that "normal" marital life may not satisfy his demands (and goes for extra-marital sex).  Generally speaking, people born in summer months of si, wu and wei have strong fire and earth in their charts.   

If your man hits one of the above, you may not need to dump him.  But if he hits 3+ of the above, consider yourself lucky for reading this post (and run away from the guy fast).  But you may want to consult a Bazi reader and take a Bazi course before dumping a guy.

We should not support male singer who treats women like toys. Period.

Wow, just looking at the day, month and year pillars, Show Lo already has 5 earth elements! 

Sometimes it better to be single than to be cheated by promiscuous man.

Qi Li Xiang by Jay Chou

How time flies! I'm now in my late 30s. Whenever I listen to this song Qi Li Xiang or Orange Jasmine by Jay Chou, it will bring back both happy and sad memories at NUS. I was staying at one of the hostels at NUS; the one facing the running track (I think it was called the extension block). I still remember the time I had steamboat dinner with my friends at the hostel. We came from different polytechnics and were admitted directly to the second year engineering course. I still shudder whenever I think of the tough compulsory programming course and Mathematics lessons. However I enjoyed philosophy and electronics projects. 

Hmm, I wonder if the popular arts and social science yong tau foo stall is still available? I used to queue up for their yummy laksa. Oh and the smooth creamy avocado shake at the engineering canteen. 

When the circuit breaker is over, I will go back to NUS for lunch.

七里香 Qi Li Xiang by Jay Chou

作词：方文山
作曲：周杰伦
编曲：钟兴民

窗外的麻雀　在电线杆上多嘴
妳说这一句　很有夏天的感觉
手中的铅笔　在纸上来来回回
我用几行字形容妳是我的谁

秋刀鱼　的滋味　猫跟妳都想了解
初恋的香味就这样被我们寻回
那温暖　的阳光　像刚摘的　鲜艳草莓
你说妳舍不得吃掉这一种感觉

雨下整夜　我的爱溢出就像雨水
院子落叶　跟我的思念厚厚一叠
几句是非　也无法将我的热情冷却
妳出现在我诗的每一页

雨下整夜　我的爱溢出就像雨水
窗台蝴蝶　像诗里纷飞的美丽章节
我接着写　把永远爱妳写进诗的结尾
妳是我唯一想要的了解

雨下整夜　我的爱溢出就像雨水
院子落叶　跟我的思念厚厚一叠
几句是非　也无法将我的热情冷却
妳出现在我诗的每一页

那饱满　的稻穗　幸福了这个季节
而妳的脸颊像田里熟透的番茄
妳突然　对我说　七里香的　名字很美
我此刻却只想亲吻妳倔强的嘴

雨下整夜　我的爱溢出就像雨水
院子落叶　跟我的思念厚厚一叠
几句是非　也无法将我的热情冷却
妳出现在我诗的每一页

整夜　我的爱溢出就像雨水
窗台蝴蝶　像诗里纷飞的美丽章节
ho~我接着写　把永远爱妳写进诗的结尾
妳是我唯一想要的了解

Keukenhof Gardens

Almost every April, I'll visit Gardens by the Bay, Flower dome to see the tulips during TulipMania theme. However this year due to coronavirus, the flower dome at Gardens by the Bay is closed until the end of circuit breaker. 

I heard of the famous Netherlands Keukenhof Gardens and it is one place I want to visit. However with the coronavirus, the caucasians are not so friendly to Asians now especially the Chinese. I kinda regret that I haven't been to Europe yet because I think now Europe is not a safe place for the Chinese as I read of attacks on Asians after coronavirus outbreak. 

Now I can only view the beautiful gardens via virtual tour in the comfort of my room. Anyway I think its a good initiative by Keukenhof Gardens as I can explore the vast gardens online.

Phantom of the Opera

I spent my Sunday today reading newspapers and watching Phantom of the Opera musical today. However they only show the full musical this weekend. I love their awesome performance! Last year, I brought On Your Feet! Musical ticket which is supposed to show in June this year. I wonder if there is refund or change of performance date.

Mini Art Gallery at Home

With the rising coronavirus cases in Singapore, it is very important to stay at home. Our dedicated healthcare workers are currently facing increasing number of foreign workers infected with coronavirus. It must be overwhelming for our healthcare staff. They should get additional bonus while most of us are working from home. I wonder if our Singapore government will seek health from other countries if we really have 30000 infected cases? I just read that Singapore have about 323 000 low-wage migrant workers in Singapore.   

I'm glad that my room is filled with beautiful arts with lovely postcards and souvenirs. Sometimes I think my room is a mini library and art gallery. I'm introvert and enjoy staying at home reading books, newspapers and magazines and occasionally sketching. 

I only go out once in a blue moon to meet my cousins and friends or buy something. Other than that, I rather stay at home reading.

Sudden Spike of Coronavirus Cases in Singapore

I had a rude shock this morning when I read that yesterday, Singapore had a record spike of 728 infected coronavirus cases, most of whom are migrant workers who stay in dormitories.

Shock turns to anger. I'm frustrated with the government reactive response. I notice that there are many pap internet brigades putting down on concerned citizens rational demand for accountability calling them kpkb, which is not helpful at all.

Mind you, I'm not pro-opposition. Last election, I voted for the current ruling government. I think its high time Singapore government listen to citizens' concerns and not 'yes' men surrounding them who are like the eunuchs of earlier Chinese dynasties cheering for them even when they are doing wrong. Which just lead to the many downfalls of earlier Chinese emperors. You need to listen to Singaporeans who are frustrated with the latest rising infected cases in Singapore. 

There was no strict implementation of social distancing enforcement in public transport. It made people feel that there was no consistency in implementing social distancing and they just introduced it for the sake of it.

Why are you still allowing runners running in the street without wearing masks? What if the runners themselves have coronavirus and unknowingly spread to others?

Straits Times writer did not add one more weakest link in today report. Many foreign workers travel in Singapore public transports via the MRT or/and buses. What if they had unknowingly spread the virus to the locals who are not yet tested for coronavirus? 

I'm concerned that Singapore army camps are used for foreign workers accommodation for now. Is it safe?

Why did they not listen to China's healthcare experts sharing that the virus could be spread by air and by asymptomatic people? Just think for a moment, a person who has common flu can spread to others by sneezing. What make you think coronavirus which is more lethal than flu can't spread via airborne transmission?   

Several concerned activists for the foreign workers had already raised concerns about their living conditions before the spike in coronavirus cases. Why didn't the Ministry of Manpower take action? Medical bills for migrant workers should be paid for by the dormitories owners and not paid for by public funds. 

The government had spent money on campaign videos to discourage Singaporeans from wearing masks if they are well and put down people who wear mask as ignorant and kiasi (scare to die). That is their strategy: To put down others who disagree with them.

My concern now is can our hospitals and healthcare staff cope with the rise of infected coronavirus cases? Thinking of the rising cases made me nauseous. It is not practical to separate rising infected cases to migrant and local cases separately since they be using only Singapore medical facilities and need local healthcare staff to take care of them. 

Report stated that there are more infected cases as there are more coronavirus testing for foreign workers. Have they conducted more testing for Singaporeans who might have the virus? Maybe they should conduct more tests for Singaporeans, many who could be asymptomatic. 

If this continue, I doubt one month lockdown is sufficient to stem the spread of coronavirus in Singapore considering the fact that the government was late in implementing the lockdown when there were about 1000 infected cases in densely populated Singapore. I think now it could take 5 to 6 months instead to see flat curve. New Zealand started to lock down the country when there were 150 cases.

I was wondering which healthcare experts Singapore government was listening to which caused widespread virus outbreak in Singapore. I was wondering why education minister resisted closing schools despite earlier report by Chinese health officers that Coronavirus can spread by asymptomatic person published in Scientific Amercan earlier on 31 January 2020 here.

You don't wait for the number to rise then you lock down. Its always better to be safe than sorry. 

I think it is not helpful to separate the infected cases to 2 different categories as in migrant and Singaporean. They must start to investigate where did the migrants go to and who they were in contact with. For example did they meet any local volunteers and counsellor. Which public transport route did they travel?

A true leader should have the courage to admit their mistake , move on and improve the situation. There should also be accountability. 

Solidarity Payment Today

Today is Solidarity Payment day! I received $600 via my bank account. All Singaporeans above 21 years old will receive $600.00 to help us cope with this trying period with partial lockdown in Singapore due to coronavirus. 

Maybe I can save a portion of it and use some for donation. 

The Story of Singapore Teochew

Both my maternal and paternal grandfathers came to Singapore in the 1940s from China, Chaozhou 潮州, and both married local Chinese Teochew women. 

My grandfathers never return to China after settling down in Singapore. They had worked hard to support their many children and wives. 

My maternal grandfather was a handsome man when he was young. Many female neighbours liked to admire him from afar. My mum is also very pretty especially in her youth. I was wondering how did my maternal grandparents raise up 12 children in poverty in a small flat? 

My maternal grandparents really contributed to Singapore birth rate by producing 6 sons and 7 daughters (1 daughter was given away for adoption). Somewhere out there, I still have a aunty I never met and I wonder if I recognise her if I meet her one day. My paternal grandparents had 9 children. 

After observing my father, grandfathers and my uncles, I think most Teochew men are very faithful and pamper their wives. They also help to do house chores.

My father went to visit my grandfather's birth place a few years back and he enjoyed the ancestral visit. Once the coronavirus end, I plan to visit Chaozhou too in cooler weather like November. I just want to explore the land where my grandfathers spent their childhood and youth there.

Recently I came across an ebook on The Story of Singapore Teochew here. I find these Teochew nan amazing for successfully overcoming difficulties and later establishing successful businesses in competitive Singapore. Unlike them I have no business acumen and great aspiration and only like to read books, love art and sharing my knowledge.

Anyway I find their stories inspiring and hope it will inspire you too.

                  The Story of Singapore Teochew here. 

Concern of Rising Coronavirus Cases in Singapore

It is worrying to see a spike of 287 infected coronavirus cases two days ago and yesterday an increase of 198 new infected cases in Singapore, a city state. 

If this continue, I doubt one month lockdown is sufficient to stem the spread of coronavirus in Singapore considering the fact that the government was late in implementing the lockdown when there were about 1000 infected cases in densely populated Singapore. It could take 2 to 3 months instead to see flat curve. 

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern had swiftly started lockdown on 25 March 2020 when there were 205 infected coronavirus cases.

In Singapore, there are many cases that they could not trace. High probability these people were infected in the crowded public transports in buses and MRT before the lockdown. 

I was wondering which scientific experts Singapore government was listening to which caused widespread virus outbreak in Singapore. I was wondering why education minister Mr Ong Ye Kung resisted closing schools despite earlier report by Chinese health officers on Coronavirus spread by asymptomatic person published in Scientific Amercan earlier on 31 January 2020 here.


It is disconcerting to see the lapse and slow judgement by our government. Are they still going to heed Dr Dale Fisher's advice to manage coronavirus cases? Why didn't they take precaution and heed health officers from China who has flatten the curve yet choose to trust other foreign "expert". Or is it because they chose to listen to what they want to listen to, thus they chose to listen to Dr Dale Fisher's recommendation? I see the danger of our ministers surrounded by "yes" men. 

I think they ought to apologise to Singaporeans for their slow response and lack of judgement which has now caused rising infected coronavirus cases. A true leader should have the courage to admit their mistake , move on and improve the situation. 

Saw this interesting picture from a Facebook post.

This video was shared on 25 January 2020.

What Are You Doing During Circuit Breaker?

What are you doing now during circuit breaker or partial lockdown in Singapore?

With the implementation of circuit breaker, I now work at home. It helps me to save about 2 hours of travelling time via public transport to and back from my workplace and also 30 mins preparation time for work.

I also don't meet my cousins or friends on weekend and public holidays as it is crucial to stay at home with the outbreak of coronavirus in Singapore with 287 cases spike in a day yesterday. Now there are 1910 infected cases in Singapore in densely populated city state of about 5.8 millions people within 721.5 km land.

For weekend, I will spend time reading the magazines and books that I brought but was too busy to read. I will also engage in drawing, painting and glass stone craft. 

Maybe it's a good time for you to find out what you really want to do in life with the time you have.

 Brought acrylic painting and glass stone magnet a few weeks ago.

Reading some of my favourite magazines 

Free Reusable Masks by Singapore Government

Just received a free reusable mask by our government.  Thanks to all the staff who are working today to distribute these free masks!

Click here to find out where you can collect your masks in Singapore.

Never Give Up by Sia

I like this song, Never Give Up by Australian singer, Sia. 

In this time of crisis, we must not lose hope and give up. 

In Chinese saying, there are opportunities in time of crisis. 

Cherry Blossom at Jewel Airport Canopy Park

During the March holidays, I went to Jewel airport Canopy park with my cousins as there was free admission. I was glad that we went to look at the cherry blossom at Jewel canopy park in early mid-March as the cherry blossom was in full bloom. 

The canopy park is designed with some similarity like the flower dome at Gardens by the Bay.

 Beautiful olive tree

Arts in Singapore MRT

Look at the photos below. Can you guess where are these lovely arts in Singapore? 

Hint: they are located in one of Singapore MRTs. 

In the midst of world pandemic, look for the beauty around us. 

Workplace and Schools Closure in Singapore

In my earlier blog post, "Crowded MRT Station- Social Distancing?", I already highlighted my concerns on my observation of the crowded MRT station in Singapore during peak hours when many residents are going home from work and vice versa. It seems like a half-hearted attempt by our government to implement social-distancing since its not possible to execute this measure in public transport in MRT and buses during peak hours. 

I'm rather disappointed with the late response by our normally efficient government during this pandemic crisis, especially our Education minister. I find they are rather slow and reactive. They only act when the number of coronavirus infected cases increases and not take advance preventive measures by closing school and workplace early. By the time the virus spread, it will be hard to contain and trace especially some infected asymptomatic people don't display the symptoms and studies has shown asymptomatic people can spread the virus. 

One need to take priority on health over monetary. Once you lose your health, you lose everything. It is irreversible. With health, at least you can still earn back the money. 

Someone say common sense is no longer common sense to some. Perhaps they think they are immune to the virus because of their official positions or skin colours. Initially the caucasians were reluctant to wear masks and our government had discouraged the healthy citizens from wearing masks due to shortage of masks. Now then they are suggesting reusable mask. It makes me wonder if our government leaders had truly care for us instead of mask shortage. 

I'm not a fan of western democracy but more on Asian Confucian democracy style. 

I don't think this year is appropriate for General election in Singapore. Let's control and reduce the number of infected cases first. I quite disappointed with the government slow and reactive approach in managing this crisis. At the same time, I don't want to vote for people who advocate western democracy. 

As of today, there are 1114 infected COVID-19 cases and 6 deaths in Singapore, a densely populated city state of about 5.6 millions people.