Attending a full month celebration of a newborn baby..

I have been busy with Workers' Party activities in the run up to the coming General Election.
Last weekend, in between WP activities, I attended a full month celebration of a baby boy. This is one of the rare occasions that I would shameless ask to attend someone else's party..


Well..it's like this..His dad is one of my close friend in the army and he had just passed away recently before the birth of his son. I am very concern about the situation and had wanted to see him when I knew that he was born. In the end, I decided that his full month celebration would be a more appropriate time for the visit.


I went to City Square Mall near my place to shop for a gift. The surprise I got was how I reacted when I first saw the gift that I chosen in the end and how I overcame it and added something to it..(see slideshow below)



This is the 1st time in my life I asked to attend a baby's full month celebration. There was this close friend who gave me the concept of "What's the point??The baby is not going to remember who you are nor what you did for him anyway!"..well, people got the right to think and do(or not do) what they prefer. 


Just by virtue of the fact that his daddy is a buddy of mine in the army, I just want to show my concern in my own way..whether the baby know anything is not an issue to me at all. I am just a bit disappointed with how materialistic this world have become..


I wish for the baby to grow up strong, smart and healthy just like his daddy!

What the Qingming Festival (清明节) means to me: Paying respects to my ancestors!

The below is a famous poem by Du Mu(杜牧):
清明时节雨纷纷
路上行人欲断魂
借问酒家何处有
牧童遥指杏花村
It describes the weather(rainy) during this period of the year and makes me wana have a few drinks :P~
Qingming Festival is a time for Chinese to pay respects to their ancestors.The only ancestors that I've met and known are my grandparents. Anything above that, the most I remembered was a photo of my great grand-parents. Ancestor worship do not have a significant meaning for me except for the fact that this is a Chinese tradition and I am a Chinese. Well..not exactly..I guess that is what the younger generation may feel,not me.
I still miss my Grandparents..very very much! My parents used to whack me up pretty badly when I was a kid and my grandparents were always my protection. I can see the same situation today in my family..suddenly my parents became very lenient with their grand children! I wonder if my child and nieces will see Qingming Festival the way I do when my parents move on, because I am the only one amongst all my siblings who still attend to the festival year after year.
Every year, when I arrive at the graveyard, I have to try to remember which blk and plot number..they all look similar in the distance.

Once my Grandpa/ Grandma was located, we immediately set up our offerings and decorate the grave.

It is also a time of gathering for the rest of my family..

I have a bit of time to myself this year to reflect on my involvement in the Qingming Festival over the years and what it means to me. I have decided to just write a post about this so as to encourage younger generations of Chinese to treasure this tradition that may soon be dying out. ..very soon, we will see more and more untended grave like the picture below:

That was not the worst one I saw,but I just want to show some respect here..
Will you be participating in the Qingming Festival to honour your ancestors this year?

My escape from nicotine addiction!

Today marks the end of the 3rd week since I stubbed out my last cigarette. Every last trace of nicotine is gone from my body.
I had been a smoker for the past 19 years..Now I ask myself how could I allow this to go on for 19 years!?
I had tried to quit many times in the last 2 decades unsuccessfully. Even my friends around me were skeptical each time they hear me trying to quit smoking again.
It really wasn't easy for me..that is until somebody introduced me to the 'Easy Way' method. I bought the book online and it was delivered to me 4 days later. I started reading the book..and as I go along I get more excited. By the time before I was halfway thru' i wanted so much to stop smoking already! However, the book recommended that we carry on smoking until I finish reading it!
Anyway, I finished reading the book within 3 days and already stopped smoking(8th March 2011) when I was about 3/4 thru the book because my cigarette ran out and I did not want to buy anymore. I was smoking a pack of Marlboro Red a day before I quitted.
Since my successful & effortless escape from poisonous nicotine, I have been trying to get my smoking friends to stop. Most of them gave me some excuses that I read in the pages of the book..such as: they 'enjoy' smoking..it helps them relieve stress..they are social smoker,dun smoke that many sticks a day..Shisha is not as harmful as cigarettes(???). The book will tell you why all these are not true.
Addiction to nicotine have made my friends very insecure. I am now reaching out online to help smokers who wish to quit smoking do so easily, effortlessly,painlessly..just like how the book had helped me. It made me understand how nicotine addiction works on your mindset and allow me a much higher chance of success than any other methods I have tried in the past 2 decades!
I do not get any commission from selling books..here is the link: http://opentrolley.com.sg/book_detail.aspx?ean=9781402771637
I hope that all smokers who are trapped by nicotine can have access to this wonderful method and wish them success. If you wish to share your success stories,please feel free to contact me :)

Singaporeans all across the country may finally get to vote in the upcoming General Elections!

This is really getting more exciting..
For the 1st time in a long, long time, the upcoming General Elections may see the alternative parties in Singapore contesting in all wards according to this news report by Channel Newsasia. This will present almost every Singaporean with at least a choice instead of the usual walkovers we saw in the past elections!
However, there is one point to ponder: Without the help of civil servants, well-connected sponsors, grassroots like your friendly neighbourhood RCs and the almighty People's Association (unlike the incumbent govt)  and volunteers, the opposition is likely to have very limited resources.
I would like to therefore extend an invitation to all fellow Singaporeans reading my post to volunteer whatever help you can possibly offer by signing up. The Workers' Party is looking for volunteers for roles as polling agents & counting agents or somebody to help us spread the message. Please click on the icon below to register. Thank you! :)

The Electoral Division for Singapore's 2011 General Election is ready! Full throttle ahead for all political parties!

The Elections is coming! Most Singaporeans participate by voting on polling day. Do you want to go behind the scene to the frontline of where the action is? Do you wish to see 1st hand how the votes are casted or tellied? Would anybody like to participate in this once-every-5-years event(click on the link)?? Come do your part for Singapore!

Source: Channelnewsasia.com
 The Electoral Division of Singapore voters in the upcoming General Election can be checked from Friday.
The Elections Department says the Registers of Electors for the 27 electoral divisions are now open for inspections.
The Register which has been compiled and certified, can be checked at the Elections Department along Prinsep Street and any designated Inspection Centres which are among 105 Community Centres/Clubs.
Singaporeans may also check their names in the Registers via the Elections Department website www.elections.gov.sg through the e-Services option.
The Registers and electoral maps are also available for sale through the Elections Department to political parties and aspiring candidates for the next General E

lection. 

♡ Happy Valentines' Day! ♡

I do not really celebrate Valentines' Day as I feel that it is just another over-commercialised, over-hyped event,especially in Singapore.
I will not be surprised to observe that the price of flowers may jump to 3-5 times their normal pricing today in Singapore(hey..why this level of inflation sounds so much like that of the public housing situation too? ).
Anyway,this is the date on the calendar and I would like to take this opportunity to wish all my readers,friends & family a very 'Happy Valentines' Day'! Don't forget/be afraid to tell whoever you love this: ♡♡♡ I Love you!!! ♡♡♡

Goodbye to my dear friend, a brother in arms,long time comrade.. a great loss to the Commando Family..

One of the 1st thing I came across this morning when I browsed through my Facebook pages..Somebody posted in our closed group account that a fellow commando have left us. As I was still not fully awake and could not understand the impact of the word "left us"..I just replied by asking him who is Andrew Tan & what happened?
He replied with a FB link and I clicked on it and realised he was referring to my comrade from 81mm, better known to me as Lip Chee! I could not believe it and tried calling Lip Chee on his mobile..His family answered, confirmed that he had passed away. Before I could ask any further,the family member have to attend to something else.
My world came crashing down..I was in shock,disbelieve and only wish to wipe the tears off my eyes. I am not exactly a soft guy, but I really cannot help feeling emotional when someone close to have to "leave" just like that..

We just had our 14th 81mm High Trajectory Platoon Reunion Dinner a few days back(photo above)..I cannot accept that, that was our last good bye..I thought that we still will have reunion dinner year after year after year just like before..
I sent out smses to my 'band of brothers' and a few of them called me back immediately. Our reactions were all similar.

As of this point in time,none of us know exactly what happened to our healthy, young, energetic buddy who expressed happiness at being ready to be a father soon..How could he 'leave' suddenly like this? We are suppossed to meet up again this coming Saturday! So many questions,no answer yet. As a new father myself, I feel very depressed about this. The least I can do now is to spread the word and make sure that the whole group is informed.
I posted 2 photos of the old days below for memory's sake..All brothers who can make it to say the last goodbye(the wake), it is at a pavilion between Blk 27A & 27B Jalan Membina till this Friday.

Above: In an ice cream bar in our camp in Kanchanaburi, Thailand.
Above: After our last mission as NSF in Kanchanaburi, Thailand.

Wishing all my friends,agents, co-broke agents, clients, family and contacts a very Happy Year of the Rabbit!

 The year of the Tiger was a pretty good one for me, especially when I have a little 'tigeress' addition to my family. I hope your year had been a good one too. Now let us look forward for a better year ahead..and welcome the year of the Rabbit together! Huat ah!!!