Lion, tigers and bears, oh my

A day at the zoo. Actually, it was the company's family day at River Safari. I wasn't so interested in the pandas, their star exhibit -- who also weren't very interested in receiving visitors. I liked the manatee enclosure, but the rest of the river displays were really fish tanks in a row. So it was all rather underwhelming -- and the boat ride through the Amazon display wasn't operating --  and we were done in two hours. And went next door to the Zoo, where we had a much nicer time.

The only panda I managed to get a picture of was the red panda.

The baboons had their own waterfall.

Is the plural of mongoose mongooses or mongeese?

Kangaroos in the Australian Outback display designed by Steve Irwin, who had a memorial plaque next to the entrance.

Nanuk, the only polar bear born in the tropics. He looked so lonely.

I was very disappointed that I did not get to see Hugh Jackman.

One lazy fellow was lying on his back when another monkey came over,  cursorily removed one tick, then kicked him. Lazy guy rolled over and started grooming his kicker. The other picture that I didn't get because a crowd of laughing tourists were in the way -- two giant tortoises mating. They were loud, very very loud. And he took a really long time. He was still at it when we got bored and moved on. I wonder how she felt.

Eating out today

The diners at the tables around us were taking pictures of their food,  so I thought I would too.

Antipasti plank

Wagyu burger at the far end for L, a bowl of polenta chips to share, and cannelloni for me.

Day out

Played tourist and went to Gardens by the Bay in the late afternoon, and stayed for the sound and light show at dusk. Then walked over to Marina Bay Sands for dinner, and caught their sound and light show by the water.

One's half full, the other half empty -- and I feel half cheated

Ramadan means Hari Raya cookies. This year, I've noticed that some cookie makers are very cleverly using layers of inner clear plastic trays to pack their cookies within the jar. The tray has a convex dimple in the middle, so it effectively means that they just pack a layer of cookies round the side of the jar, and there's nothing in the middle -- like the jar of pineapple tarts on the right. As opposed to the jar on the left, which is filled with cookies through and through. Cheating, I say!

The good, the bad, the ugly

A train commute to work last week started off badly when some guy stopped at the bottom of a down-riding escalator to answer his cellphone. And continued to stupidly stand there and talk. While everyone coming down the escalator cannoned straight into him. Oh, how I ranted about the selfishness of the Singaporean commuter. And how people who can't multitask shouldn't be allowed cellphones.

Today, on the bus to work, a guy got off at his stop, then hurried round to the front of the bus and held up his palm in a "stop" sign to the driver. What he saw and we didn't until two boys came puffing up to the bus was that they were running to catch it. He was holding up the bus to help two strangers get on it.

You lose some commutes, you win some.

Hmmm

London peeps, what do you say? I don't hear anyone clamouring for bottles of Axe oil...

Blue is the colour

No real reason for this post, just that it's the first blue sky since, oh, Australia, I think. And that was in October. It was so bluuuue, I couldn't resist taking a photo of it. I hope this means that the monsoon is over.

And what do I do on a Sunday when it's the first sunny day with blue skies in months? I go to work. But instead of taking the train (underground), I took the bus, didn't take a seat but stood at the wheelchair bay and stared out the window.

Not regal enough

Not quite sure what's so queenly about this Tshirt collection. It's neither Freddie Mercury nor Priscilla of the Desert.

Larger than life

OK, I filched the pic off the Net because it's better than what I attempted to take with the cellphone cam. It's a hoarding for an upcoming shopping centre in the heart of Orchard Road. And apparently, it's created some controversy. I personally, don't find it at all objectionable. In fact, I find it quite yummy. :)

It's criminal

Went to Borders to get a book today. And found them selling cookware. And photo frames and gee-gaws, all stacked aptly under "crime".

Communal watching

I'm too young to remember when TV was new. But I'm told by my mum that back in the days when only one neighbour had a TV set, every one would gather in his house to watch. Well, this is Gen Y's version. One kid with a PC with a DVD player. What's more enterprising here is that they plugged it into an electrical outlet at the communal deck. I guess when the town council planned the deck for communal sharing, they didn't expect the outlets to be used this way.

Wish we could say the same

I sighed when I saw the cover of the current issue of The Economist. Not too long ago was the Aids memorial where I met with old friends, and thought of even older friends. Of those of us still attending the memorial faithfully every year, almost every one had dropped out of volunteering. Now, we just attend the memorial as an audience member instead of a volunteer. "Every one I used to do this for has died," said one of the ex-volunteers.

It was the saddest thing that I've ever heard.

I wish we in Singapore could say the same of the sentiments expressed by The Economist. The latest data from the Ministry of Health shows that in 2010, the number of people reported with Aids in Singapore dipped slightly. But two were perinatal. Those could have been avoided.

The fight goes on.

Day out

The company I work for has a Family Day outing once every year -- usually to the zoo or bird park or something. I've never gone. Not for the past 10 years. But today, hoo boy, today, the outing was at Universal Studios at Resorts World Sentosa. Getting there was already part of the fun. There's now a boardwalk where you can actually walk across to the resort island (with a travellator for those who don't feel like walking) and a view along the way. Not to mention some cafes and a wine bar if you really need sustenance for that 10 minute walk.



Universal Studios extended their opening hours till 11pm, just to cater to us. Which meant that most of the general public got chased out after their official closing hour at 7pm, only people like us (with special wristbands) could stay on in. And ride the roller coasters without having to queue since the hoi polloi were booted out. The Revenge of the Mummy ride. Battlestar Galatica at SciFi World. Woo hoo! I went round and round and round until my stomach kinda moved up to my mouth. Contents anywhere in between. And I don't get motion sickness ordinarily.



There was a water ride at Jurassic Park, and the staff warned that we could get splashed. Somewhere in the queue, you could buy a rain poncho, but because I was a single rider (L wimped out on anything that would get him upside down or wet), I didn't have to join the general queue and missed that. I didn't mind getting splashed. Wrong. I got soaked. Head to toe soaked. As in dripping wet. I could've won a wet Tshirt contest easily, only I don't think I was Miss Congeniality when I took off my sneakers and wrung out my socks.

And that was my last ride for the night. But it was fun!

The last word

In the last election, in 2006, the ruling party won, with 66.6% of the votes cast. I remember that percentage well. Who can forget the number of the beast?

Yesterday, it won, with 60.1%.

So from where did the prime minister derive his "clear mandate"?

Finally

A long weekend. I got today off, and it's immensely satisfying to be able to lie in bed till the middle of the afternoon when everyone else is at work.

It also helps that today is Cooling Off Day. No campaigning, no rallies, just some party political broadcasts on TV tonight -- but that can be easily silenced.

Ah, peace.

Until the polls close tomorrow night, that is.

A plague on both your houses

I want to vote for the opposition. But not the way they're asking me to, in the bottom poster. Marking my vote with a tick doesn't mean voting for them, it means spoiling a vote. You're supposed to mark your vote with a cross.

No wonder the opposition never wins an election.

And so it begins

Had a late night last night -- not entirely work related. OK, somewhat work related -- G needed a stiff drink before facing Nomination Day today. So stiff that after we left when the wine bar closed at 3am, he popped into 7-11 for one last beer. Me, I was rostered off on Nomination Day. I offered to work instead and take another day off but the design chief said I could "escape" especially as I worked Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Ah, just desserts.

Which meant that I woke up late today -- well after the noon deadline for nomination papers to be filed, but just in time for the media frenzy to begin.

I think I will switch off the TV and not read newspapers for the next week. I should just read the parties' manifestos. Everything else in the media will be hogwash at best and hysteria at worst.

Close encounters of the lift kind

My pet peeve is a common Singaporean complaint -- people who crowd round train and lift doors, and rush in as soon as they open, without first giving way to those who want to come out. I've never understood this. Surely there would be more room for them inside if they let the others come out first?

Last Wednesday: A Chinese-speaking lady tried to enter the lift as soon as the doors opened, before L could and Queeni could leave it. Queeni snorted. Not barked, not growled. Just snorted in a pig-like way, which is Schnauzer for "ahem". The lady jumped back and exclaimed in Mandarin, "Scared me to death." And then raised one high-heeled foot and made as if to kick Queeni. That was when L stepped in. Ordinarily monolingual, he summoned enough Mandarin to tell her: "Your face also scared me to death." She was all dolled up but looked like "an extra from the Rocky Horror Show", he later told me. I still prefer to have kicked her.

Last Friday: A teenaged girl barged into the lift as soon as the doors opened, only to walk right into us -- two people and two dogs coming out. This time round, the dogs were silent. Not even a polite doggy "ahem". Young Lady promptly burst into tears at the shock of there actually being people (and dogs) wanting to come out of the lift first. When we were well down the path, I turned back to look at her -- she was still standing at the corner of the lift lobby and crying, while her boyfriend held the lift door open and looked helpless. Poor sod. The guy, not the girl. The girl's just what Queeni is biologically termed as.

Happy Easter

L (looking at a printed in Australia calendar): Why isn't Easter Monday isn't a holiday here? (It is a holiday in Australia and Britain.)

Me: Because Easter Sunday isn't a holiday here, so we don't get Monday off to compensate for a Sunday holiday. Good Friday off is supposed to be good enough for us.

And after a moment's thought: This is Singapore. When you resurrect isn't as important as when you die.

The real meaning of just in time delivery

Back in February, the government announced -- as part of Budget 2011 -- several benefits such as utility rebates, tax rebates, growth dividends, education subsidies. This week, a flyer summarising all those goodies arrived at my door step. Two months later. But just in time for the elections.