Time Magazine on Flu Pandemic on 11 May 2009

Today I spent the day reading newspapers, travel and Time magazines. Interestingly the Time magazine (11 May 2009)  published an article on flu pandemic in 1918. 

After 100 years, some things still stay the same. At that time, "cities passed laws requiring citizens to wear mask in public. It shared that the Spanish flu pandemic ended only when the virus had infected so many people that it burned itself out." Based on history, Spanish flu ended in April 1920.

I think WHO needs to rethink if it is necessary for booster vaccination for covid if the virus just ended like the Spanish flu. 

 

Tree Planting Today at Bedok South

I'm so happy today as I have achieved one of my dreams to plant trees at Bedok South in Singapore as part of the OneMillionTrees movement organised by the National Parks Board . Previously I was upset that I couldn't participate as most of the tree planting events are held on weekdays morning and the weekend slots are always fully taken up. Luckily I managed to book a slot during the March holidays. 

I planted two trees namely the red mempat and medang asam today. Wow, I didn't know it was so exhausting digging the soil using the changkol. I made a big mistake choosing a big tree with really thick root ball. I had to dig the tree hole as deep as the root ball. I was sweating profusely when digging the wet and sticky soil with the heavy changkol. My arms still feel sore after the activity. Fortunately the kind NPark staff helped me.  

I think I will be back to plant more trees during the school holidays. This time I make sure I do more arm exercises so I have more strength. I hope to see the trees grow tall and strong. 

You can find out more on the OneMillonTrees movement from National Parks website here.

From National Parks

The OneMillionTrees movement aims to restore nature back into our city through the planting of more than a million trees across Singapore over the next 10 years. This is part of our efforts to transform Singapore into a City in Nature, which is a key pillar under the Singapore Green Plan 2030. Community is key to the success of this movement – so join us to play an active role in the greening of Singapore!

I planted this tree Elaeocarpus mastersii or Medang Asam 杜英

Nice hibiscus painting on HDB flats at Bedok South.

Getting ready to plant the trees. The tools are provided by NPark.

A staff from NPark giving briefing before we plant the trees.

To help me remember which tree I planted, the tree is on second row facing Blk 38, Bedok South Road.

Another tree I planted is commonly known as red mempat. You  can find out more about the tree here.

The other tree I planted is facing the landed property as shown here.

Watch this video first on how to plant the tree before attending the tree planting event.

Dragon in the Sky?

This evening at around 6pm plus, I saw this stunning clouds formation that look like roaring Dragon. 飞龙在天. 

Double Rainbow at Tampines Today

Today I went to Tampines Hub to return three books and also did some grocery shopping at NTUC supermarket. On my way home, I saw this beautiful double rainbow. The second rainbow is very faint.

Zichar Mee Sua and Many Dishes for Dinner Tonight

My second brother brought zi char like fried mee sua, fried rice, prawn, vegetables, fish and fried chicken wings for dinner tonight. I took only a few photos today. Feel tired today as I have been sneezing almost the whole day. 

Fried rice

 

Is It True?

Saw this creative and funny neon signboard near Bugis Junction mall.  

Bright Flurry Clouds Today at Tampines Singapore

My first attempt in writing ang mo aka English poem. 

Flurry flurry soft puff of clouds high up the sky

Sprinkling the sky up with fluffy soft touch

Delighting the heart with joy

Inconsiderate Residents at My Block

Today is a great sunny day to dry my washed clothes.  Saturday is always the day I wash my clothes. However, there are inconsiderate residents who live above who always put out wet dripping clothes out to dry, thus wetting my cleaned dry clothes. Should I go out to their home and talk to them? I think they are not the owner of the flat but tenants who are renting the flat. We only face this wet clothes problem in recent years. Maybe the owners should educate their tenants on how to responsible residents and be considerate to others. But hey those tenants should know better and be considerate to other residents. 

Anyway, today is a great day to dry clothes and see beautiful clouds. 

Sun Halo Rainbow at My Workplace

I'm so excited to see this rare sun rainbow halo today at my workplace at 11.38 am! It's the very first time I see a sun rainbow halo in 41 years! I hope to see more rainbow and may there be peace soon on this planet earth, the only home we have for now.

Later in the afternoon, it rained heavily. Based on Singapore weather forecast, we have rainy days for the next two weeks.

For more information on Sun halo, read Spectrum Local News

Those thin cirrus clouds are around 20,000 feet or higher above us. They are made of tiny, ice crystals. Sunlight through the ice crystals causes the light to split, or be refracted. When at just the right angle, it causes us to see the halo.

The same thin clouds can cause a ring, or halo, around the moon at night.

Weather folklore says a ring around the sun or moon means it will rain soon. While that is not always the case, it often is actually true.  Cirrus clouds typically move into an area well ahead of a storm system that may cause rain in the next day or so.

Cotton Cloudy Heart

Bright cotton cloudy heart high up the azure blue blue sky. Saw it in the bus and the second photo at my workplace.

Unstoppable by Sia

 Unstoppable. Inspiring song by Sia. 

6th Birthday Cake

Brought this pistachio cake somewhere near Lavender MRT last Saturday. Yes it looked gross when I opened the cake box but it tasted quite ok. Not impressive for me to buy again.

 

This Morning Venus and Moon

My kind friend told me the brightest planet is Venus. In this photo, you see the bright planet Venus near the crescent moon early this morning . 

You can read more about Venus Brightest from EarthSky here.

Fifth Birthday Cake

My youngest brother brought me a birthday cake from DJ Bread today. It is a chocolate cake with fruit topping like strawberry, grapes and blueberries. It is quite yummy with thick layer of chocolate cream and moist cake. Thank you to my brother!

 

Vibrant Art at Jalan Klapa

Love this vibrant mural art at Jalan Klapa. I couldn't spend more time to explore more mural art as I was rushing for lunch at Tipo today. The lunch was only reserved for one hour as the pasta restaurant is really popular. 

Kampong Glam

On the way to Raffles City Shopping mall, my cousins and I passed by Kampong Glam where there is a majestic golden dome mosque known as Sultan Mosque. It reminds me of the golden dome mosque I visited at Brunei in 2010 during a work trip with my colleagues. 

Sultan Mosque at Kampong Glam area

 

Fourth Birthday Cake at Da Paolo Gastronomia

I had my fourth birthday cake, beuno cake yesterday at Da Paolo Gastronomia at Paragon mall. I love the crunchy base with hazelnut chocolate taste. I also had pistachio gelato after eating Al funghi, creamy mushroom pasta. It is really expensive. I think I will have it again in few months time. 

Bueno cake box is now priced at $11.50!

I love pistachio gelato ($6.90). I think they serve the best pistachio gelato in Singapore!

Al Funghi, creamy mushroom pasta ($18.90). 

Today Dinner: Mian Xian Rice Vermicelli at Home

I'm really happy to have a bowl of piping hot tasty mian xian (mee sua) or rice vermicelli cooked by my mum for my birthday today! Now I try to cut down on meat so my mum just cooked the mee sua with pumpkin, kale, egg and fragrant fried shallots! My mum is the best cook at home! 

Third Birthday Cake Today

My mum told my father to buy me a birthday cake today. My father brought a chocolate cake from PrimaDeli for me.

What Do You See ?

I took this amazing cloud image outside Bartley MRT station . What do you see in this photo? I see side profile of a face looking down from the sky.