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Wealth for toil

SydneyIt now looks like we left Sydney at the right time, because she’s got flash floods and thunderstorms resembling Singapore and Malaysia in December.

But really, though, there isn’t ever a good time to leave Sydney. I spent nine good years from 1992 – 2000, and ten days there last month. One difference between the recent stay and the previous one is that everything there’s really really expensive now.

There was a time when the S$ was a little bit stronger than the $A, making many Singaporeans say things like, ‘Wah, drink coffee here damn cheap hor? The cappucino and latte only $1.80 leh, when you convert back’.

But what the heck, Sydney welcomes everyone who’s ever seen the Pacific’s waves lap at her shores in a way that makes you keep longing to come back, whether or not you gain or lose when you convert back.

It was even more special for me (that I had to show Sydney off to Naomi), as I visited the locality I lived in, bumped into my old landlord (who’s still renting out the flat at a premium – $500 a week, and dat’s cheap already!), and many other places of significance (to me).

Again, I’ll have to tell you about them later, because reservist book-in time beckons, and there’s Combat Live-Firing all of tomorrow.

Sydney
Peter the landlord (I forget his last name), who still collects rent personally, as well as tends to the common garden

Sydney
The art-deco Ritz cinema at The Spot, St Paul’s Street, Randwick

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In-Camp


Approved Mindef Photograph

I wouldn’t recommend doing this: Arriving back from a holiday at 4am and having to book-in to reservist training at 7.30am. Which is exactly what I did.

I also got my hair cut by a not-so-skilled barber in camp. I’d say a lot, lot more if not for the fact that I’m very, very tired and need to get some sleep before tomorrow’s training.

Also, because these days you can’t take pictures of what you do in-camp and then post them online, I don’t have any funny pictures of this year’s training to show you.

Nonetheless, there are funny things to talk about, which I will later, in much the same way I’ll talk about what I did for my holidays. All I can say now is that I’m not really suffering in-camp. You can’t, really, when you hear heartening things like this from one of the instructors:

“Gentlemen, just note that the target is not really shooting back at you, so don’t be worry”

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A matter of time

 Bio21 Images CfsemLast week I read about Singapore thinking about legislating biomedical research. I suppose you can think all you want but don’t expect the rest of the world to wait while they find new and interesting ways for the latest biomedical advances.
Yes, in Japan, they’ve come up with stem-cell enhanced breast implants! Now you can grow breasts for other people!

Via Elia Diodati, and the BBC.

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Yay, weekend

skyWould you just look at that? Clear blue skies with only a trace of cloud.

That’s what I saw on my Saturday morning walk around where we live. And, really, how about that weather? I know in other necks of woods, you sometimes get comfortable weather when you’re normally not supposed to, and this is just like that, you know? Not bad at all. It really put a smile on my dial.

There were other things that made me smile. Like this sign beckoning those just starting out a life of crime:

Yay weekend!
Employment opportunities for the not so quick

And how about this shocking pink pig accompanied by two brochure-givers exhorting the benefits of dining at the Hog’s Breath Cafe, but who unfortunately looks more like he’s protesting against the use of pork in Crystal Jade’s Xiaolongbao:

Yay weekend!
Porky Pink

It’s not weird or stupid or unusual, you know? It’s just…

Yay weekend!
Yes… whaddafa..?

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