Today I came home for dinner. My mum will be cooking dinner nowadays at the least for my dad. We had a breakthrough. We had a very green meal today. 2 vegetable dishes to go with white rice. Long time ago, I'll get scolded for such meals. Now... they finally realised the importance of healthy diet. It makes me smile in my heart.

However another incident disappointed me. A prelude to this, I went down to use the AXS payment machine and it couldn't work, so I tried to queue at the SAM machine which had 2 person in the queue and 1 family at that machine. That person at the SAM machine was trying to look for account number in his mobile bill sheet. After looking for 1 min, he still didn't find it and he is standing there for so long. I got fed up and decided to come up. I came up and read a email reply from the travel agency. They were saying that I should be making a mistake as their website did not have certain inclusion, if there is they will specify. I was still not convinced, so I went to take out the hardcopy brochure to verify. I was RIGHT! What the.......

I am really fuming right now even though I wrote a complaint email back. It only takes one bad complaint to mark big cross to their service. GRRRRRR..

Today I was walking along Chinatown and I saw that the road is blocked. Then I saw lots of lion dance troupes walking along the roads. Then I came to know that it's the light-up ceremony.

Roadblock

So many lion heads

Their preparations

View from the pedestrian crossing

The usual newspaper that I like to read is now the online version. I am trying it for one month to see if it's really good before I subscribed to it for a year. It does save abit of money by subscribing a year, it's about $10/month. This amounts to 12.5 copies of the print version if I buy 3 print copies each week. To allow me to read everyday without the need to carry heavy stacks of blackie newspapers, I think online version is good. I'll give it a one month trial first.

It'll save the earth by reducing one thick stack of papers to be discarded and destroyed everyday.

The online version does have its disadvantages. It doesn't impact the main sections. For the life section, the headlines are usually abstract. You can't really know which news to select to read. Instead, may have to try to click every section.

Before I signed up for this one month's version, I enquired about a downloadable version or mobile version. They replied to me that there is no downloadable version, we'll have to subscribe the mobile version at $5/mth or something. hmm... It means, you'll have to stay online to read the papers. Luckily I have my unlimited broadband which is a necessity nowadays.

This week "My Paper" also launched the combined version of chinese and english newspapers. "My Paper" publishes free newspapers for everyone. It's now a super thick stack. It's really REALLY A WASTE OF PAPER. Most either read only the chinese or english. I believe only a mere 5-10% reads both sections.

Here they are:

Earlier this week, starting to think about how to save money. So I thought instead of me buying a cup of tea or coffee every morning, I shall prepare mine. I needed at least a little bit of caffeine and find that lipton tea actually do has some effect. So I bought a $2 box of 25 Lipton teabags. It'll save me $1 each day at least and it'll also save the earth by reducing one styrofoam cup to destroy everyday. I have also checked up lipton's background that their methods of planting is good to the environment.

Here's my tea.

Today, new health plans have started and publicised widely on radio, tv and on the major newspapers. The main topic is about higher income holders getting less subsidies and lower income holders getting more subsidies as usual. The details are not out yet.

So... ain't the country trying to create a group of middle-class? The middle-class earns only slightly higher, they are forced to spend more on their health and forced to spend more on their housing. Now, the middle-class becomes poorer. The rich will continue to seek their private doctors and hospitals.

Who suffers? LOL

The prosperous country... who? which? what? Singapore lar! Getting more and more prosperous leh. Every year the government seems to be trying ways and means to squeeze a big red packet to their own pockets, whether it's by increasing the population, increase the transportation means, increase fares and fees here and there or everyday psy-cho-ing us on the newspaper that the economy is improving.

Yeh.. the economy is improving. The middle-class is suffering. The poor gets poorer and in turn becomes the needy. The rich get richer and in turn becomes one of the many millionaires in this small island. Now even graduates can become the needy after paying house loans, car loans and diapers for babies. Graduates, who cannot find a job, start to work as a taxi driver. Then the government start to help them by having a fare hike and now nobody wants to take cab. Blah.. Good for us who wants to save money all along. Bad for those who think that cab is a wonderful alternative after retrenchment.

And there they try to make you think that the country is prospering by having public housing that costs like a private condominium. YET, only residents having a combined income less than $8K can own them. WHICH MEANS both of you earn less than $8K altogether and still trying to make you own an expensive flat so that you can pay the bank for the rest of your lives. It's sucking the middle-class!!!

Now what more can we do other than save, save and save. Find ways and means to earn more, more and more.

Today I was telling my friends, to have lots of money and time when you are old, you must first have no time for enjoyment. Thanks to most of us who are lazy and still waiting for chances to come.. the middle-class story will go on.

I went to Hokkaido Japanese Restaurant at Turf City with my family. It's my first time trying. Their sashimi is really fresh, so far the best I've ever been. Even for a non-sashimi eater like me. When I went home, I checked up on the internet. It seems to be known for their fresh sashimi. I would say, the rest of the dishes are so-so only. Therefore, it's a good place for a plate of sashimi with the sake.

Sake...

The best fresh prawn sashimi ever.. I didn't eat, according to my family who fell in love with it.

My first home cooked steak experience. Wonderful.

Double plates...

My plate...