Masters in hand

Finally - it's over. The Masters is done, and I've gone through a 2.5 year program of almost mindless fluff from a local tertiary institution that's taught me nothing except that attendance in class and sitting for exams are valued over and above the primary purpose of being in a University - an open-minded education.

I'd gladly discourage any potential students from enrolling in this particular course, and argue that they'd get better value from a more established global program. Of course it'd cost more, but the returns could be well justified.

Anyway, this chapter's over, so moving on, perhaps a higher degree in the future? Maybe, but next time it'll have to be with a global educational campus - and no more exams, or marking of class attendance.

21K completed

So it's the annual Stanchart Marathon, except this year I signed up for the 21K instead - and thank goodness I did as I had the same problem as last year - the ITB band acted up at the 12K mark. 

I was hobbling along, and up pops old pal David who was on his way to the finish line for the full marathon (I estimated he'd finish about 3:15 or close to that) and inspired me to jog through the pain.

I finished at 2:35 (35 mins longer than I'd have liked, but given the circumstances, can't really complain - I was happy to finish without walking too much :-)).

Anyway, I've decided that I need to shed a few kilos to ease the weight on my knees, so I'll probably commence on a weekly run-routine (4x a week) come Jan'09. And watch my diet as well. Wish me luck.

Saved by a Guitar Trinity

It finally happened - Axl Rose has ended the 'exile' of the vehicle he calls Guns N' Roses and released 'Chinese Democracy' after 17 long years - with a few starts and stops in between.

The 'masterpiece' we've been waiting for since 'Use Your Illusion I & II' has, on first listen, turned out to be hugely disappointing - it is saved only from drowning in its drollness by a triumvirate of guitarists who filled in Slash's/Izzy's shoes on this outing: Buckethead, Ron Thal and Robin Finck. 

Powered by tasteful and powerful guitar runs, it's their imagination that rescues the album from sinking under its self-important musical direction and composition. The interplay among all three - each taking stabs at intros, outros and everything else in-between, holds up the songs which otherwise meander into self-indulgence, courtesy of Mr. Rose. The world has moved on, but it's seems to be stuck in the late 80s/early 90s for him.

I'll give this disc a few more spins to confirm my initial assessment, but for now, I'd say - thank goodness for the Guitar Trinity.

What does it takes ...

to get me started up in the mornings? I find at least 2 cups of coffee are the minimum - and that's in the same hour. I wonder if it's just age, or something else?

Anyway, I've got to get cracking on my half-marathon training - it's only 2 weeks away (gulp!).

On the music front, it's been a case of getting a gig at the outdoor theatre, but a revolving cast of female singers. I hope the latest one will stick around until the gig, or else I'd really be pissed. Her voice's not too bad, but she's into the indie folk stuff, so might have to see how we can kick it up a notch, or two.

Hopefully I'll now have more time to practise my guitar :-)

Is it really over?

Took my last paper on Friday Nov 21. Not sure if I made it - I'm hopeless at open book exams. Maybe I should state I'm hopeless at exams generally. But anyway, it's over (for now) and I won't worry about until they send us the results.

Maybe doing this stuff isn't as fun as I thought, but I guess it made me some new friends, made me realise how different a local education was to a foreign one, and made me appreciate my family for putting up with my twice-a-week absences over the last 2.5 years.

Well, looking ahead, I'm half-tempted to gun for a Philo doctorate program, or something with macro Econs, but guess that'll have to wait - I've more fun things to do with my time than chase after another piece of paper (and for no good reason).

Stay tuned.

Changes to the 'Red Fence'

Simon & Garfunkel once sang "changes upon changes, we're more or less the same". Changes are taking place all over the tiny island we call home, and iconic landmarks are making way for spanking new complexes that purportedly draw in more dollars for the building owners.

Meanwhile, we're left holding onto yellowing and fading photos of our childhood environ, or in this age, digital memories of what used to be. Take Serangoon Gardens, aka the 'Red Fence' in dialect. One of its iconic landmarks, which used to house a movie theatre, and then was remade into a series of restaurants and banks, is now going to make way for a new shopping complex - this was a building that has been around since the 1970s (or even older).

Many memories were formed around the places we used to hang out at, and these will be gone in a flash - in the name of capitalism. The dreamy, village feel of the place will be replaced by the crass materialism of shoppers. The 'real' locals have to find another niche to call their own.

Here's a photo of the building - for old times' sake.

San Francisco revisited (pt.III)

And some pics of the Chihuly exhibits at the De Young Museum in the Golden Gate Park. The last pic from the top of the De Young tower. Nice stuff.

San Francisco revisited (pt.II)

Here're more pics from the trip - all sorts, randomly taken, from different spots in the city.

San Francisco revisited (pt.I)

Took a sojourn to the west coast of the USA - Frisco - last week and came away with wonderful memories of the holiday.

The last time I saw SF was at least four years ago, and while it hasn't changed much (how much can you rebuild on 43 hills?), there are some new owners of buildings or shops from then. This time, I explored districts that were left off the agenda from previous visits, namely - the Castro, Mission, Japan town, Golden Gate Park, Nob Hill, and revisited North Beach for Cafe Triste (coffee to die for!) as well as Sushi on North Beach (an affordable and tasty Japanese joint, great sashimi!). Had a stroll around Haight Street too.

Of course, a jaunt around Union Square's shops was obligatory (the Apple store was a pilgrimage I had to make). Friends and relatives had to be accounted for where gifts were concerned.

Guess I still have a soft spot for Frisco after all these years.

The Wait

If ever you needed work on your teeth, it might be worthwhile to consider DIY. A visit to the National Dental Centre today ate up two plus hours of waiting, another hour of actual dental work, and half an hour of post-work debrief. To add to your woes, the cost of this exercise ran up a princely sum (four-figure). So half a day of your life gone and a big hole in your wallet.

I'm not sure why dental centres make appointments for patients - the surety of that taking place at the appointed hour is as good as the odds of one striking the lottery within a ten-year period. Worse, there's hardly anything to occupy one's time, unless you count reading dog-eared magazines from a couple of years ago as fun.

To be fair, they had the telly on, but current affairs aren't exactly appropriate distractions. Maybe dentists are overworked, underpaid and under-appreciated, but they don't have to take it out on unwitting patients.

I wonder if an overhaul of the appointment system is overdue? What's the alternative, you ask? How about an RFID chip-triggered wrist band, linked into a Wi-Fi network, that notifies you when it's your turn to see the dentist, but leaves you free of the waiting room. All you need to do is to SMS the admin clerks that you've arrived, pick up your wristband, and wander off till it was time to see the dentist.

Another piece of advice - look after your teeth well, so you don't need this grief. Nothing is worth it.

Starbucks Art

I've always liked a little kitschy pop-art, so I enjoy my visits to Starbucks, where they display the kind of posters that lend the place a certain cosiness, and envelop patrons in a warm, earth-toned welcome. Latte, anyone?

Wowie Zowie

As seen at the Ford Motors showroom in Singapore. For more info, visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_GT

Beer, wine and the rising cost of celebrations

So we went - to a local beer pub to chill, dine and celebrate a friend's birthday (see pic of single slice of chocolate brownie, with a candle on top).

Nice atmosphere on a Friday evening, loads of people - young old, local, foreign, rich, middle-class, beer-guzzlers, liqueur-downers, and wine-sippers.

Not too many lower income groups were observed - with inflation rocketing, and basic commodity prices being sent through the roof, they probably found some other means of unwinding on a Friday night. People around here might start to feel the pinch, not yet, but soon. 

Economic cycles will continue, some longer, some shorter - we'll just have to figure out how to deal with in - in our microcosm. Meanwhile, happy birthday to Mrs. Scully - it was a good night out.

Reality Bites

Today is Father's Day - and I received a gift from my older kid. I could pick a CD of my choice, and he'd make Mum pay for it. So sweet of him. The deal was that he'd make up the difference if it cost over $20, but most CDs don't cost that much nowadays. But it was a nice gesture, and I got the CD I wanted for a while - The Last Shadow Puppets' The Age of The Understatement. 

Might post a review of the album later, but let's see. Anyway, to the dads chancing across this blog, Happy Father's Day to you too :-)

Service Intermittently Atrophied

A sign of when a company has become very established with its service is when you take them for granted, and then they deliver less than you expect. 

On a recent flight back home from a neighbouring country on a reputable airline (known for its world-class service, among other things), my flight was delayed by an hour. Nothing out of the ordinary, except that the flimsy reason given was the plane was delivered late to the airport, and hence everything else was pushed back.

Never mind the wait (and waste of time). After I boarded, I asked for a copy of the papers as I had been starved of local news since I had been away for a couple of days. The stewardess brought me a copy all right, a two-day old copy. I was flabbergasted, and pointed this out. "Excuse me, but I'd would like today's," said I. 

"Sorry sir", she said, and off she went to search for a current copy. She returned with a big smile on her face, and gave me a copy of Today, another local newspaper, but not what I wanted. "Hi," said I, "but do you have a copy of today's Straits Times?"

"Oh, sorry sir, I thought you wanted Today," she said, and off she went again. This time, I spied success as she came back. "Sorry sir, we ran out of today's papers, but here's a copy of the Business Times," smiling broadly to head off my rising displeasure. "Okay," said I, about to accept it, when again I spotted the date, and pointed out to her, "but this is dated two days back."

"Oh, oh, sorry sir," she look puzzled. My question: don't they check the publication date before handing the stuff over? Or were they too hasty to please?

Never mind that. Meal time came round, and I was all set up to receive mine. "Would you like the pork with rice, or the fish with pasta, sir?" she inquired. "Pork with rice, please," said I, relishing the thought of some nice hot food. 

Rummaging through her cart for about a couple of minutes, she whispered to her co-server if they still had the pork with rice. "No" came the answer. Sheepishly, she turned to me: "Sorry sir, we ran out of the pork with rice. The fish with pasta is actually quite good! Or how about some beef with potatoes?" she offered.

"No thanks; how about a vegetarian main?" I asked. "Let me check," she replied. A minute later, I heard the words I kind of expected: "Sorry sir, we don't have any more vegetarian meals."

I resigned myself to having my meal without the main course, and asked if she could supply me with some biscuits instead. Job done, I quietly finished my meal and settled down to my book.

"Excuse sir," another voice whispered near my ear, "I managed to find some duck with noodles from the other classes. Would you want it?" 

I turned to see another helpful, smiling stewardess hovering at my side, hoping to make amends. "No thanks," said I, having already had my fill of biscuits. 

Surprisingly, I wasn't the only disgruntled customer. Earlier, another stewardess spilled the contents of a paper bag on someone across the aisle as she struggled to pack the cabins above him. Luckily, it was mostly tidbits that fell on his head.

And not too long after, yet another passenger was disgruntled to find that he had been given the beef with potatoes meal, even though he had indicated he didn't want the beef. "So sorry sir", came the trained response.

This experience has shown that with success comes a great responsibility to deliver what you promise, and that the standards one sets can only go up, not down. Unfortunately, when the lapses appear, the decline in service standard becomes glaring, and turns into a blemish.