On the 31st Day, of the 12th Month ...

On this day,

the 31st day of the 12th month of the 2008 year,

a time for reflection perhaps,

a time to reflect back, a time to look ahead?

The year, what a year.

The collapse of giants

- from bear s to gold to the merri.

Where be the regulators?

How difficult to say No in times of high,

how difficult to take unpopular steps in times of euphoric ecstasy?

What could go wrong, when everyone's doing it

- buying mini bonds, whose losses not so mini,

whose impact more global than mini.

This year; what a year.

For lack of a horseshoe, a war lost.

Years of blood and sweat, swept aside in one go.

How important a horseshoe, how important a holistic and total unity.

A time of truth - revealing the fair-weathered friends;

a time when true friends remained steadfast.

The taking over of minds, and hearts,

the mesmeric beckoning over to the dark side ...

fight against it we must.

Alas, the weak do succumb

- more violence, more deaths, taking innocent lives;

more protests, hurting their own economy (and people) further.

This year; what a year.

Shifting sands, sand castle affected.

With much heart and soul,

keeping the sand castle intact, keeping the heart within pumping,

growing the orchard of fruits.

Against the doubting Toms, triumph the true, triumph the sincere,

like truly heroic knights and their swords of honour.

This year, what a year.

Rogue cells mutated, spreading the malaise,

causing pain to one and all.

Pray that the researchers find the cures,

that cells be vigilant against mutating ones.

As we totter on the brink of a new year,

pray we do, pray pray,

for a safe and secure world,

for a life of peace and harmony.

on the 31st day of the 12th month of 2008

Pig's trotter - vinegar-ed and black-sauced;

Fish fillet - smooth and soft, curried and flavoured;

Mushroom - shitake it was - sauced and stir-fried;

Soup with green veggie and mushroom meatballs ...

A New Year's Eve dinner!

the Sword

Months of strenous training;

tough physical training,

day after day, month after month,

uncertain booking out timing.

The training of a warrior.

Finally the commissioning.

The Sword.

A symbol, and reminder

of the tough training,

of the teachings, the values imbibed.

An officer and a gentleman.

A hope that they fufil the promise.

The Sword. A reminder of the hope entrusted.

a Western menu

It was a Western menu

in a coffee shop.

Nestled in Holland Drive, in a kopi tiam named "Lucky King".

A stone's throw from the "hip" Holland V.

The usual fare - fish and chips, chicken cutlet ...

... and unexpectedly, pasta too.

And when the food came,

unexpected elegance in food arrangement,

much like in the restaurants,

even with a smiley "face" on the tartar sauce!

Unusual pumpkin, done like mashed potato,

accompanying the beef steak.

Mushroom soup, real ones, not from Campbell!

A satisfying meal indeed, not only for the stomach, but also for the senses.

A little stall in the heartlands, a Modern Grill, by a chef Vernon. :)

the ever-changing landscape

Our landscape's ever changing

- upgrading and flats look so different,

even the names changed to "villa", "view",

some such "atas" name.

Our landscape's ever changing

- buildings get refurbished, shopping malls renovated and tenants changed.

A journey to IMM recently,

expecting more of the same as we saw years ago.

The same location, the same building,

but oh so different the interior design, with some change in tenant mix!

But still the same parking woes!

Opposite some egrets were seen,
resting in the field, flying now and then.
What a welcome sight of nature in the concrete place.

(Psst, do you see the egrets in the field?)

on a Christmas day

On a Christmas Day many years ago ...

A significant milestone, the starting of a new life together.

Pressures and demands from being together, and with those around;

yet also much pleasure and fulfillment

from building a little nest together,

filled with love and care,

and little ones

who are growing or have since grown.

A little cosy celebration each year.

A little nest, a life together, happily ever after. :)

Rainy Christmas eve

Tis a rainy Christmas eve today.

Rain from early morning;

wet roads, wet sidewalks.

The wind blew;

cold air permeated the living rooms.

Still, the plants stood strong,

some even bursting into flowers.

We wish, we wish

for a safe and blessed Christmas!

A sunny day

A sunny day today;

the sky's blue, dotted with white fluffy clouds.

The trees and plants shone with glossy green,

boosted by the cholorophyll flow in the sunshine.

Little shoots reached high up, aiming for the sky.

Like little kids, they too wanted to grow up strong and tall.

days to Christmas

Christmas is coming; New Year is coming.

The plants get ready for the new year.

The cactus-fern ensemble in the snail shell,

growing in abundance.

Over at the other side of the wall,

the lone orchid spray has company

as another shoot appears.

冬至

Winter Solistce

A simple meal of meat, vegetables and soup.

Washed down with 汤圆.

dressing up for X'mas

The twin "towers" of cactus, dressed up for X'mas!

new shoot report

Reporting, Bu Lao reporting .... "The cabbage flower stems have grown new shoots and they are coming up very nicely!"

Meeting the Sky and Clouds @Marina Barrage

The vast blue sky, the puffy white clouds, with some grey ominous ones,
The waters that flow to an endless side on the other side.
How huge is the world!



蓝蓝的天， 白白的云，天空那么大 ！

Over a BBQ fire

A barbeque, a BBQ,
a fire over charcoal, warming ever so gently.
Young friends gathered, over the BBQ fire;
others lounging at the seats, playing cards,
listening to the incessant chatter of a junior acquaintance.
Junior, dressed in strappy dresses and short shorts;
Jane Austen's generation wouldn't have approved.
Not in a generation of genteel ladies, in Victorian dresses,
engaging in genteel pastime - like reading, sewing -
talking in genteel tones, in keeping with the genteel ambience.

Over at the BBQ fire, it blew hot and cold,

the fire played hide and seek.

while the guys talked NS.

Thank goodness for the hot plate;
or there'd have been no warm sausages, no cooked prawns!

Fruit Rhapshody

from the Land of the Rising Sun

From a school trip to Waseda University .... knowledge, new friends and tidbits...

Controlling the air waves

Standing tall and slim, in good weather and bad,

it guides the planes, clearing the runway for them to lane, one by one.

All around, as drivers head to the airport, it is the beacon of direction,

beckoning to them.

having a Ball

After the Parade, a Ball ...

little angels

Little angels

in pristine white beads

and golden "hands",

with a golden "halo"

and delicate white "wings".

Little angels,

made with care,

patience and creativity.

Little angels.

clear skies and a parade

It rained in the early afternoon. One wondered if it would continue.
Would it be a wet parade?
Luckily, the rain stopped in good time. It was nice and cool.
The Singapore flag atop the Tower fluttered - proudly -
as the OCT lined up in their No.1 best,
standing straight and disciplined in their contingents.
The flags of the services fluttered proudly too atop the parade ground.
Even the little OCS flags adorning the parade ground were fluttering strongly.
The parade went on, watched by proud parents and friends,
everyone looking out for the familiar face under the peak cap or beret,
all in their No.1 best.



Then, finally, to the strains of "Congratulations, and Jubilation",
the newly commissioned officers threw their peak caps/beret into the air!

And as we passed the Bridge once more, Auf Wiedersehn we said in our hearts.

New shoots, more and more!

First a new shoot. Then another on the other stem cutting.
Then another little leaf appears. And on and on.
New shoots, new life.

the Wind and the Waves

The waves come in and swish away - in and out, in and out, in and out ...
The Wind blows, now and then. Sometimes bellowing, sometimes whispering ...



Recently the Wind has been blowing, ever so gently, ever so nuanced;
one doesn't know where it's coming from.


The waves have been beckoning from afar, smiling politely from afar.


Has one missed the Wave?

X'mas at T2

Signs of Christmas cheer glitter and sparkle discretely at Terminal 2, giving quiet welcome to visitors
- passengers leaving or arriving, and their families/friends with them.
At one bench, the famous Mr Ronald MacDonald sits, with his cheerful smile,
looking on the human flow in and out. :)
One level above, a mini-garden - Garden at Changi - glistens with trees and arches,
adorned with crystal balls and blinking lights.
While the aroma of coffee strays from Starbucks nearby.
At one end, near Row 3, recycle bins stand,
brightly dressed up, cheerily signally Changi Airport as a "green" place.
Above the departure entrance,
Mickey and Minnie stand guard, smiling and wishing all safe journeys.

cocktail gathering

A sincere invitation that couldn't be turned down.
A gathering of mighty pen-wielders,
some whose words could lead opinions.
Meeting too the organisers
- old friends some.
Heartwarming their hellos;
overshadowing the polite "hi" of others
whose sphere of influence one no longer featured.
Many new faces - new too to the old there, surprisingly;
polite smiles to the old dinosaur they'd never met.
Meeting a familiar figure at the exit,
non-English-speaking, but our reliable driver
to places of duty in the past.

Rainy public holiday

It was a rainy day, this public holiday (Hari Raya Haji). But we still ventured out anyway...

... To pray for good health, safety and peace on earth.

another week ...

It's Sunday, but no worries ... tomorrow's a public holiday!

the Garden lives

"My neighbours in the Garden continue to live. Flowers bloom and new shoots grow. :) " Bu Lao says.

I'm Dream-ing ... of a ...

... safe Christmas!

I'm dreaming of a ...

... blue-coloured ice-cream ....

Blue-coloured? Yes, indeed. We found blue-coloured Meji ice-cream / potong-like. From Giant supermarket. It's wrapped round vanilla ice-cream. Quite nice.

more new shoots!

From the cabbage flower cutting ...

Save lives * Safe life *

People train for years to practise to save lives;

some spend hours, years and decades researching to save lives.

Doctors and nurses put heart and soul into patients' welfare to save lives.

Officers work round the clock and through public holidays to protect lives.

Scientists spend time, scrutinising through microscopes,

to find vaccines to save lives.

And the list goes on.

People who work hard to save lives.

Yet

others plot and scheme to destroy lives and take them.

Taking the lives of fellow humans,

like beasts in the wild,

no different from wild animals.

Are we safe anymore? Someone asked.

A Cell

A cell. The cell. The cells.

A cell, with a nucleus.

Simple cells, one would think;

cells that give life.

But like the homo sapiens they make up,

cells too can change,

Anakin-like to a Darth Vader of a cell.

Rogue cells these, that destroy, while others give life.

Like the dark knights scouring the earth for hobbits

(in Lord of the Rings),

like Voldermort's lackeys searching for Harry Potter,

rogue cells spread deep and wide,

destroying and killing innocent cells in their path.

Stealthily they spread, vicious in their attacks.

Brilliant minds huddle year after year,

to find counterstrike strategies and antidotes.

Some successes, but the battle continues.

Clones of Yoda-jedi we need, to battle and overcome the rogue cells.

Dr Yoda, we need help!

蝴蝶

A butterfly came by tonight,

quietly resting against the back wall,

its wings erect, feelers up,

its wings showing a delicate array of colours

- a hint of red, some rays of pink and wider space of pale colour.

The butterfly - it came by tonight,

alone, quietly.

Hopefully no heavy downpour tonight,

lest the butterfly has to seek dryer ground (or wall).

a hint of Fall

Along Bukit Timah Road, lining the canal,

separating the HwaChongians from NJCians, Nanyang girls and little Rafflesian girls,

a row of trees, tall and luxuriant, leaves turning amber red when the Sun touches them.

There they have stood, upright and sturdily,

looking over generations of students come and go, everyday,

watching how the car traffic has grown over the years,

clogging up the road at morning school times and other peaks.

How like the trees in Fall they look,

when green leaves change colour, turning the landscape golden brown.

another new shoot

Two cut stems, nestling in the vase of H2O;

slowly growing white roots

to sip the water in the vase.

One day, a tiny shoot appeared.

Over the days, it has slowly grown.

Today, another new shoot has emerged.

Another shoot, two new lives.

May Life go on, resilient against the odds!