16th Nov 2019
Just bought a speaker from a seller on Carousell, a site better known here for users to trade their used stuff. This speaker was "sealed" which means it was never opened and the seal on the opening was intact, and it was being offered for about S$120 below usual price ( I did my homework).
Turns out the person didn't buy it from somewhere abroad where the brand was cheaper - it was bought from a local online store, probably during a sale, and was bought for S$10 above what I paid.
Such a mystery!
Took me a day but I think I figured out 2 possibilities:
1) this person was very likely using it (and other stuff) to generate expenditure
2) this person was using points to pay for it
Though it makes more sense to be the former (since using points to buy regular stuff gives your points terrible value), the latter fits this case more due to the seller having bought it for more than what I paid.
The points were probably expiring. Who knows?
But this is giving me an idea about generating expenditure.
Anyway, this Marshall Kilburn 2 sounds awesome! Got 20 pieces of 50*50cm 5cm-thick soundproofing tiles from Taobao during 11/11, so this will not disturb everyone else at home too much. Hopefully. Still trying to figure out the best way to use them. My initial idea was to somehow attach them on a curtain to make a foldable soundproof sheet, but ultimately it still needs to be attached from above my door so that it covers the gap between the door and the frame, and doesn't make my door frame look ugly when it's not in use.
Actually bought those tiles in anticipation of practicing with my cello even when I'm not alone at home, but after buying them, I realize I could get a speaker too.
17th Nov 2019
I'm starting to understand the business model of my cello teacher. She's made it clear that she's only an intermediate player, and is offering the lowest price for private cello classes out there as far as I know, at S$50 per 1-hour lesson.
Her main income source is in the trading of instruments and accessories, and the lessons are merely a starter to attract newcomers to get in and start spending.
22th Nov 2019
Frankly speaking, I don't know how this blog is maintaining its page views. The overall trend over the years is that with a few exceptions, view count has been dropping steadily, but still, it's about 10 views a day minimum average each month. True, it's only 10% of what it used to be, but I really expected a lot less given how infrequent my posts have become, which is at a bi-monthly rate.
Anyway, today I'm attending court for our annulment. Hopefully the judge is convinced of all the necessary conditions required for it to go through, and let us end this quickly. Otherwise, it's going to take 3 years and at least S$900 for a simple uncontested divorce with consent from her.
This is already taking S$2500, that will add it up to S$3400. Not a life-ruining thing, but it will definitely suck, and for a very long time.
28th Nov 2019
Ok annulment was granted quickly that day.
Found some really fantastic deals for solo guests last night from Royal Carribbean, lowest I could find was for a 4-night cruise to Port Klang (KL) and Penang in April 2020 at S$450 before gratuities (if I want to be extra cheap), gratuities being just under $80.
There were a few others too, including a few in Dec 2019 and Jan 2020 that I couldn't consider at all that were like S$600 for the BALCONY cabins, though one can take for granted that the view will be obstructed.
Still, $600 for a balcony cabin for a solo guest is an epic deal for solo guests in Singapore.
However, after a long consideration, I feel that I shouldn't be even considering these cruises since they will not be enjoyable outside of the meals to me. Let me save the money for maybe an extra snowboarding trip for winter 2020/2021, or for maintenance for my home.
I mean, painting my home, which it really needs at this point since in every room there are cracks, peeled paint and even holes where it peeled and dropped off, is going to cost about S$1500.
Outside of the house, there's also the end of year and beginning of the year. This means I have to watch out for my insurance premiums, income tax, MediShield contribution, staff bonuses, the shifting of my office, and etc. This year could be my first year that I'm concerned about them.
29th Nov 2019
So, coffee in a wine glass does work. Did a bit of reading and found out that Italians do this too, albeit with something that's closer to a cognac glass.
Don't really see the point of a short stem here in Singapore because it's hot and I don't want to get anywhere close to the coffee. My guess is the short stem is used because they have winters there and the coffee can cool much faster, so it gets to a touchable temperature rapidly, and you can hold it to keep it warm. Alternatively, it is to let you hold the hot coffee in your hands to keep your hands warm.
Over here, the coffee is too hot for anything for at least five minutes, then it's barely touchable but you shouldn't anyway since frequent contact with very hot drinks and food can lead to oral cancer.
Anyway, it works because I feel that I can smell the coffee better in a wine glass than in my usual coffee mug. The only possible downside is that it has a higher center of gravity, so in your pre-coffee morning state, it might pose a certain danger to your electronics.
16 Dec 2019
Went for a birthday party at a suite in MBS. Checked the rates online and for a last-minute booking on a weekday this month, it goes for about S$1100 per night.
As a hotel room for one or two people to live in, this is madly excessive overkill. The living room is as large as mine, and the main bathroom is as large as my living room and big enough to have a entire bathtub comfortably placed at the center of one wall.
But as a party venue, it's perfect. There are multiple couches and sofas, and even a pool table if you request for a suite with it. With my new Marshall's Kilburn II speaker, this was one of the best party venue I've ever seen. The doors are very soundproof, and even with music loud enough to dance to, the bedroom was almost silent when the door was closed, so one can imagine how quiet it must be for other suites.
We had music blasting till maybe 1am, and not a single complaint was received.
On top of that, the hotel pretty much bent over backwards for the friend who booked the suite (for free, I might add, just because, as a regular in the casino, she had befriended a host for years), letting her get an extra bed for free when I agreed to stay overnight, and finding a birthday cake for her when she asked for it at about 6pm even though her birthday was not mentioned in the booking.
The view was amazing this time of the year because our Gardens by the Bay was having special decorations for Christmas, and we got to see it from up there for free.
And the room service was actually worth the money. My friends bought from food from outside - fried prawn paste chicken wings and some pork and chicken cutlets - and then we ordered way too much food from the room service menu, yet we paid just $51 per person even though the birthday girl didn't have to pay. As for the best items, it would have been the chicken/lamb satays and the bread puddings, and the latter were ordered 5 minutes after the all-day menu was closed (again, they bent over backwards for her). Also worth a mention was the stir-fried mee sua, which was al dente instead of the very soft texture that we normally find outside. I thought I liked the stir-fried bee hoon a lot until I tried it, and this was the first time I like mee sua more than bee hoon.
If you're looking for a place to make your party special for a small group of about 10-15, a suite at the MBS is better than getting a chalet or a restaurant, if your budget allows.
27 Dec 2019
Ate so much over Christmas. Feeling guilty but don't have the motivation to exercise anymore. Will at least climb stairs today or tomorrow though.
Recently read that Notre Dame may not be salvageable ultimately because the scaffolding is damaging the ground and may collapse it into the underground parts. This made me think and realized I don't remember if I had visited it before.
I think I'll keep some kind of diary for the Antarctica trip, just in case something like this happens. Most likely would. Maybe 5 years down the road I wouldn't even recall if I had seen orcas.
29 Dec 2019
Took me a while but finally decided that Nescafe Dolce Gusto Grande Intenso is too weak and is more suited for going with milk, while Lungo Intenso has better flavour and is better black.
The racks have been here for a few days now. These are pretty much industrial racks that two of myself can lie down on on each level, and have 4 levels. Really clever design, so everything just need to be slotted into gaps, no bolts, no nails, no rivets nothing. Not even a hammer/mallet is required.
I love them.
Problem is the sheer number of things that need to be moved, examined and arranged on the shelves. Just the food shelf took me a day because something rotted and oozed some liquid all over other packages. No smell, just a thick brown goo, so it wasn't gross.
Next will be the things inside my store room. Lots of heavy stuff so I'm waiting for my wrist to heal first.
One other thing that went wrong with the new food shelf was that I misjudged how much the depth/width of the shelf would affect things. This was supposed to be shorter in length but deeper so there is still more space per level to hold more stuff, but it now constricts the path to the kitchen a little more. The consequence of this misjudgement will only be realized when we have to move big items in or out of the kitchen, like the laundry machine or fridge.
On the bright side, now we have so much space we can put our clothes on one half of it and food on the other half, and can get rid of the chairs we've been using for years as extra shelves.
I feel like planning a trip on the Trans-Siberian but I want it separated into multiple journeys with stops in certain parts, especially at Irkutsk so that I can get to Oymyakon where everything is frozen and they eat macaroni with frozen horse blood cubes.
But tour guides and agencies for English-speakers are expensive, so right now I am unwilling to fork out the money for it. Just the Trans-Siberian would be perfectly affordable, at around US$500-700 per pax even on the soft sleepers, but that's not enough for me anymore. I've tried this kind of train travel in China, it's too uncomfortable to be enjoyable over 6 nights. If the cabins are like those on the Nightjet in Europe, fuck yeah I'm definitely going for it! But alas they're nothing like those, not even a "roomette" (US trains) or private compartments for solo travellers.
So for 2020/2021 I'll probably go for a flight to somewhere in the Iberian Peninsula and take a few trains northward to some ski resort, with my snowboarding gear flown directly to the resort. If that's too expensive, then maybe Mittersill again. If that's still beyond my budget, then Zakopane or Pyeongchang.
I still can't believe it but nobody knows of where I've stayed at while snowboarding in Austria. It's there in TripAdvisor with over 4 stars after hundreds of reviews, but even on that website, the area is relatively unknown and blank. Other travel sites I visit, like Wikitravel, don't even have a page for Mittersill.
Yet it was completely full over New Year's Day when we were there, and it's perfectly within the budget of the middle class folks who frequent TripAdvisor.
I still have the miles on Flying Blue after refunding her flight for what was supposed to be our honeymoon, so I get to fly to Europe almost for free (gotta pay those admin charges) as long as I book early since long-haul routes are more popular. To keep those miles valid, all I have to do is take a flight on KLM or Air France at least once every two years, so expect a few trips to Europe in my medium-term future. Not planning to blow them all on a single vacation on Business Class again.
Been bringing the Kilburn II to a few gatherings with friends and they love it. The sound is really great since the bass can be strong (can be tuned according to preference) and doesn't muffle anything. The strong point is really in playing music with strong bass, as expected from this brand. Any music like that makes people want to dance, which you don't get when playing from your phone. The battery is strong too - after using it nonstop from 1pm till 8pm, the battery only went from 90% to 50%. It's still new though so no idea how it will deteriorate over the months in the future.
Regardless, this is totally worth the S$300. Far better than using our phones' speakers.
Sunday 29 December 2019
Wednesday 6 November 2019
Rant 1252 / Drinking Coffee From A Red Wine Glass
11 Sep 2019
Been working for a surveyor for a month now, as a trainee or assistant. lowest lifeform in the firm, but I think because of my age and my background, my colleagues strangely treat me with some kind of deference that I never asked for and tried to end without directly asking them to stop.
Somehow I can see why land surveying doesn't warrant a degree in the field, and is lumped into engineering in Singapore universities. Someday I may just take up either engineering (again) or get out to study hydrographic survey.
Dunno.
Everyone says this is a tough job, but I don't feel that it's particularly difficult, as long as I get the opportunity to drink some ice water from my flask regularly. Yes I do admit the signs of heat injury come up pretty quickly sometimes, like slight dizziness and nausea, but they can be easily dealt with with my ice water. All I need is my good 24-hour Stanley 1L flask filled with ice everyday, and another 2L of water, and it's all good. The flask is always on me, while the water is usually nearby, so that I can keep pouring water in to get ice water - the ice inside wouldn't melt without the relatively warm water due to the awesome insulation.
Maybe it's because I have good motivation for taking up the job. I just like how even if I don't go through the notoriously challenging course to become a certified surveyor, I can still work as a draftsman. Either option works even if I want to migrate, because these skills are needed everywhere.
What kind of madman puts coffee grounds into instant coffee that isn't micro-ground? Whoever is in charge of this crappy brand named "Top" does. Every cup of this coffee ends with a whole layer of sediment that needs to be rinsed away and doesn't really improve the taste of the coffee.
What a madman!
18 Sep 2019
Got her honeymoon flight refunded. There are enough miles there for just 3 economy return fares to Munich. That's surprisingly low given how the original flight involved two flights of 11-13 hours EACH WAY. Munich is also about 11 - 13 hours from Singapore. Given that each biz class flight is about 3-5 times the price of economy, I should have been looking at 6 economy return trips at least, but I guess South America really is just that cheap to fly to for the distance the plane needs to cover.
Turns out it's true that South America is really cheap to fly to in terms of miles vs distance covered by flights. The miles from the refund can almost cover 3 economy return flights to Santiago, Chile, and maybe it can actually cover 3 trips if I look far enough ahead.
19 Sep 2019
But do I want to go to South America to snowboard?
The snow may be good in Chile but, chances are, the slopes are a domestic flight away from Santiago, so after 35-45 hours of flying to reach the capital, I still have to get another flight, and for such an arrangement, I would prefer to stay in a hotel for at least 24 hours as a buffer in case anything happens between here and South America.
Not to mention, the domestic flight can turn out to be really long and strangely expensive, like they are in Argentina. Chile is... not exactly a big country, more like it's really long.
Frankly speaking, on the map, Chile looks exactly like the kind of place Hongkongers would spend millions of USD on to get a home - it's pretty much a stretch of mountains right at the coast, so a home can easily be on the lower slopes of a mountain and still see the ocean, just like many of the most expensive homes in Hong Kong.
Anyway, snowboard. No, despite how cool it would be to take advantage of my miles like this, it makes little sense to go that far to snowboard, especially with my current career switch. I am just not that free anymore; I can no longer just throw 3 days out of the window by doing nothing but move from one place to another.
Despite the lesser value, in a way, it is a more sensible decision to visit Europe, perhaps back to Mittersill if I can find someone to go with, or to Canada.
Just not sure if I can handle life without vacations all the way from Feb 2020 till Feb 2021.
Genting has been tempting me with stretches of 5 entire nights FREE, and even in a Deluxe room (as compared to the free Standard rooms they used to give me), for October this year, but every time my finger is about to hit that "Confirm" button, I think of how much money I am willing to burn in the casino, and it all stops.
I don't even want to spare a thousand SGD there, the bare minimum to have any level of fun.
Whatever money I have left after all the non-refundable shyt from this fiasco of a wedding, it is for the Antarctica trip. Any add-on during the cruise has to cost obscene amounts of money and, the way things are looking so far from my observation, it will be worth the fortune it costs.
21 Sep 2019
A friend wanted to intro his lady friend working in private banking to me upon hearing about my marriage problem.
I had to explain my current career to him and despite his weak assurance that she doesn't mind, I don't know if that will happen at all. In any case, it won't happen till I return in Feb.
This was something of a hit to my ego because it's something I don't like to think about, just like a number of other things. Fortunately, my subconscious mind seems great at compartmentalization, but it still made me think of myself as a whole from the outside, what people can see.
I run a dying business that doesn't make much anymore, spends 5.5 days a week as a trainee surveyor learning the ropes from scratch at the age of 34 for $600 a month, take home pay. My marriage is being dismantled, and I am overweight. However, my next trip is to Antarctica via Silversea, and I gave the second passenger slot to my cousin for free.
That last point feels like a major plot twist.
23 Sep 2019
Reservist today. Hair's not cut cos when I found my usual barber closed for a week, I decided to just let the camp's pseudo-qualified barber do the job. Also can't find my cap, unit insignia and etc so I feel rather unprepared.
Don't think I'll be needing the cap much though since it's just a few days in camp and then off we go to whichever place we are guarding.
05 Oct 2014
Typed some stuff yesterday but somehow my Firefox browser started at this Edit screen with an error about saving, so I reloaded assuming everything should have been saved yesterday.
The last save it reloaded at was for 23 Sep 2019.
In any case, I'll just summarize the main point - I respect the police who shot the teen, however repugnant the deed may sound. Every angle the videos showed made him look like an excellent policeman because he made a split-second decision and went for the best option available.
Some questions that the other protestors asked, like why he was using live rounds, were either pointless or should be asked of his superiors. The people above him decided what he should be armed with, and at point blank, it didn't matter what the bullet was made of. Heck, it could have been a blank and the teen would still have been injured - just be glad he didn't use the SHOTGUN in his other hand.
Burger King coffee is different from instant, but is just as bad. I see why they say MCD coffee is decent. Even when you add quite a bit of sweetened creamer, it's still bitter and definitely tastes burnt.
Turns out they left quite a bit of sediment in the cup - a teaspoon by my estimate.
13 Oct 2019
Came back from ICT with a clearer mind and spoke to my boss about his work. Now I understand better the issues he faces regarding manpower - it is hard to hire locals even if you pay a fair salary in terms of their qualifications for the fieldwork. And if you're thinking about how crane operators get paid far more than what their paper qualifications deserve - surveyors don't operate ridiculously expensive equipment like they do. Surveying equipment can be very expensive but they're still orders of magnitude cheaper.
There is simply no way around hiring via illegal means to handle the larger jobs, and for smaller firms to train up a foreign worker to qualify for more unskilled workers makes no sense since the bigger companies would just poach them. To make matters worse, it is a commonly held opinion within the construction industry that foreign companies use their political connections to get ignored by the authorities for their rather obvious use of these hiring practices.
In short, there is no reason for me to try to go into any of these labour-intensive industries in Singapore - there is no fair playing field for the smaller guys. It is now my opinion that all industries that require lots of skilled and semi-skilled labour are either struggling or are resorting to illegal hiring methods.
So that leaves me another option that isn't as lucrative - drawing. Unfortunately, almost nobody teaches how to process raw survey data and make a drawing out of it.
4th Nov 2019
Stopped working for him after strong hints telling me to move on. Time to look elsewhere.
Been browsing through various online dating apps. Not sure what I'm looking for given that I shouldn't be dating anyone at the moment - I don't do casual stuff, and it wouldn't be fair to whoever it is if it is serious.
Anyway, OKCupid is crap. Tinder is better, more international, but also crap. Currently, it looks like CMB and Tantan are the most active ones.
CMB limits your daily options to about 30 IIRC, but they seem to be mostly active and have some level of depth, though a lot of them are way out of my league.
Tantan is far more varied in terms of intellect and careers, but seems to feature ladies mostly from here, Malaysia, Indonesia and China. A surprising number of girls who work in those Thai bar/flower joints are in there too, though still a minority. Oh, and a lot of girls who are probably models or expensive freelancers (you know what I mean). Like they really hot due to obvious surgical enhancements, display no level of depth in their photos or profiles, and their photos are usually taken in really expensive-looking places.
And weird people trying to sell stuff. Like yesterday, I just reported a girl who seemed unusually keen on meeting up for a meal, but turned out to be selling homemade cookies. Despite being told that she could do it in DineInn, she persisted , so I reported her for advertisement at first, then since she was unfazed by my polite rejection, there was no alternative but to unmatch her using "harassment" as the reason. She was banned almost immediately.
Ultimately, Tantan has the most eye candies, but CMB offers the best results if you're looking for something serious. Or at least, it does in my case.
Unfortunately, I'm in the mental state where I both want and don't want it, so here I am in limbo, talking to them, being very open with my situation, and those who could accept my marital status have been open to the idea of simply talking as friends.
Oh not to forget, after browsing Tantan for a while, there are some things I need to get off my chest.
Firstly, being nice (as far as you and your friends know) is not enough. Not only do you not objectively know that you're nice, effectively rendering such an opinion invalid as far as potential partners are concerned, being nice just merely the foundation. It is like graduating from high school - congratulations, you can read now, but it's still tough to get a job.
Second, those selfies of your pretty face tell us nothing but that you're hot. So, what kind of relationship are you looking for? Why do you say you're looking for something serious, but all you show is your pretty face? Why do you think nobody is talking to you and you're still single at 32?
By the way, I had to unmatch two of those because at one point I was just swiping right on everyone who's verified and they ended up liking me back. One waited for me to start, and her profile was so thoroughly unimpressive I simply said, "Hi," to which she replied with "hi" so I unmatched her.
The other one got unmatched straight away.
Anyway all these doesn't mean I'm some kind of pro at it. Obviously I haven't had much success either or I wouldn't be on these for long.
5th Nov 2019
I somewhat suspect it's a minor case of a slipped disk now. Or could be my mattress, but my back isn't recovering as quickly as before. Well, the health screening review is later, and they had taken an X ray of my torso back then, so something might be mentioned about my spine. Or I'll ask.
If it is, I'll try to visit a polyclinic for the public subsidies. The possible need for surgery is going to be a real killer on my already diminished budget.
6th Nov 2019
Doctor's review didn't mention anything about my spine. I do have a mildly faster heartbeat rate so that's something to consider in the future if other symptoms arise.
And my bad cholesterol is mildly above the healthy level so I have to cut down on fried food and, most easily and definitely, palm oil aka vegetable oil.
I'll just have to use my pressure cooker more, and eat out less. Every manufacturer and probably affordable food options out there use palm oil because it simply makes a lot more economic sense than any other oil.
In that case, I need some kind of food that's meaty, with strong flavours, not spicy and comes in small pieces. This may force me to fry food occasionally, using the soy bean oil I have. Not going to be pleasant, frying food at home. Sometimes I wish I have an outdoor kitchen, or can cook at the stairs outside.
Technically the latter is possible because with the portable induction cooker, I can just bring a foldable table outside, put the cooker on top, and fry some food, but I don't know how my neighbours will react, and it can be dangerous if someone trips over the electric cable leading into my home from the cooker.
Probably the best news of all was there was no sign of diabetes, but there was a little bit of white blood cell in my urine, so it could be due to an urinary tract infection, though it makes no sense because I've never felt any pain in that area.
So, I've only just hit 34 and the signs are on the horizon. So glad I'm covered by so much insurance, though personal accident isn't among them. Basically, as explained by my agent, I get covered only if hospitalization is involved, which I feel is good enough - my wallet should be able to handle anything that doesn't keep me in the ward overnight.
Like the stuff one of my staff is going through, falling and smashing her facial bones and teeth, oh yes I'm definitely covered if I were in her shoes because that sort of thing always needs hospitalization, so I wouldn't have to worry about what she's annoyed about now - replacing her loose teeth at S$4k each. She's got like 5-6 of them that are painful when she bites with them, but it costs too much to do anything.
The next time I talk to her, I'll recommend personal accident.
Why can't we drink coffee from a wine glass? One for red wines would be suitable since you would be able to smell the aroma better.
Been working for a surveyor for a month now, as a trainee or assistant. lowest lifeform in the firm, but I think because of my age and my background, my colleagues strangely treat me with some kind of deference that I never asked for and tried to end without directly asking them to stop.
Somehow I can see why land surveying doesn't warrant a degree in the field, and is lumped into engineering in Singapore universities. Someday I may just take up either engineering (again) or get out to study hydrographic survey.
Dunno.
Everyone says this is a tough job, but I don't feel that it's particularly difficult, as long as I get the opportunity to drink some ice water from my flask regularly. Yes I do admit the signs of heat injury come up pretty quickly sometimes, like slight dizziness and nausea, but they can be easily dealt with with my ice water. All I need is my good 24-hour Stanley 1L flask filled with ice everyday, and another 2L of water, and it's all good. The flask is always on me, while the water is usually nearby, so that I can keep pouring water in to get ice water - the ice inside wouldn't melt without the relatively warm water due to the awesome insulation.
Maybe it's because I have good motivation for taking up the job. I just like how even if I don't go through the notoriously challenging course to become a certified surveyor, I can still work as a draftsman. Either option works even if I want to migrate, because these skills are needed everywhere.
What kind of madman puts coffee grounds into instant coffee that isn't micro-ground? Whoever is in charge of this crappy brand named "Top" does. Every cup of this coffee ends with a whole layer of sediment that needs to be rinsed away and doesn't really improve the taste of the coffee.
What a madman!
18 Sep 2019
Got her honeymoon flight refunded. There are enough miles there for just 3 economy return fares to Munich. That's surprisingly low given how the original flight involved two flights of 11-13 hours EACH WAY. Munich is also about 11 - 13 hours from Singapore. Given that each biz class flight is about 3-5 times the price of economy, I should have been looking at 6 economy return trips at least, but I guess South America really is just that cheap to fly to for the distance the plane needs to cover.
Turns out it's true that South America is really cheap to fly to in terms of miles vs distance covered by flights. The miles from the refund can almost cover 3 economy return flights to Santiago, Chile, and maybe it can actually cover 3 trips if I look far enough ahead.
19 Sep 2019
But do I want to go to South America to snowboard?
The snow may be good in Chile but, chances are, the slopes are a domestic flight away from Santiago, so after 35-45 hours of flying to reach the capital, I still have to get another flight, and for such an arrangement, I would prefer to stay in a hotel for at least 24 hours as a buffer in case anything happens between here and South America.
Not to mention, the domestic flight can turn out to be really long and strangely expensive, like they are in Argentina. Chile is... not exactly a big country, more like it's really long.
Frankly speaking, on the map, Chile looks exactly like the kind of place Hongkongers would spend millions of USD on to get a home - it's pretty much a stretch of mountains right at the coast, so a home can easily be on the lower slopes of a mountain and still see the ocean, just like many of the most expensive homes in Hong Kong.
Anyway, snowboard. No, despite how cool it would be to take advantage of my miles like this, it makes little sense to go that far to snowboard, especially with my current career switch. I am just not that free anymore; I can no longer just throw 3 days out of the window by doing nothing but move from one place to another.
Despite the lesser value, in a way, it is a more sensible decision to visit Europe, perhaps back to Mittersill if I can find someone to go with, or to Canada.
Just not sure if I can handle life without vacations all the way from Feb 2020 till Feb 2021.
Genting has been tempting me with stretches of 5 entire nights FREE, and even in a Deluxe room (as compared to the free Standard rooms they used to give me), for October this year, but every time my finger is about to hit that "Confirm" button, I think of how much money I am willing to burn in the casino, and it all stops.
I don't even want to spare a thousand SGD there, the bare minimum to have any level of fun.
Whatever money I have left after all the non-refundable shyt from this fiasco of a wedding, it is for the Antarctica trip. Any add-on during the cruise has to cost obscene amounts of money and, the way things are looking so far from my observation, it will be worth the fortune it costs.
21 Sep 2019
A friend wanted to intro his lady friend working in private banking to me upon hearing about my marriage problem.
I had to explain my current career to him and despite his weak assurance that she doesn't mind, I don't know if that will happen at all. In any case, it won't happen till I return in Feb.
This was something of a hit to my ego because it's something I don't like to think about, just like a number of other things. Fortunately, my subconscious mind seems great at compartmentalization, but it still made me think of myself as a whole from the outside, what people can see.
I run a dying business that doesn't make much anymore, spends 5.5 days a week as a trainee surveyor learning the ropes from scratch at the age of 34 for $600 a month, take home pay. My marriage is being dismantled, and I am overweight. However, my next trip is to Antarctica via Silversea, and I gave the second passenger slot to my cousin for free.
That last point feels like a major plot twist.
23 Sep 2019
Reservist today. Hair's not cut cos when I found my usual barber closed for a week, I decided to just let the camp's pseudo-qualified barber do the job. Also can't find my cap, unit insignia and etc so I feel rather unprepared.
Don't think I'll be needing the cap much though since it's just a few days in camp and then off we go to whichever place we are guarding.
05 Oct 2014
Typed some stuff yesterday but somehow my Firefox browser started at this Edit screen with an error about saving, so I reloaded assuming everything should have been saved yesterday.
The last save it reloaded at was for 23 Sep 2019.
In any case, I'll just summarize the main point - I respect the police who shot the teen, however repugnant the deed may sound. Every angle the videos showed made him look like an excellent policeman because he made a split-second decision and went for the best option available.
Some questions that the other protestors asked, like why he was using live rounds, were either pointless or should be asked of his superiors. The people above him decided what he should be armed with, and at point blank, it didn't matter what the bullet was made of. Heck, it could have been a blank and the teen would still have been injured - just be glad he didn't use the SHOTGUN in his other hand.
Burger King coffee is different from instant, but is just as bad. I see why they say MCD coffee is decent. Even when you add quite a bit of sweetened creamer, it's still bitter and definitely tastes burnt.
Turns out they left quite a bit of sediment in the cup - a teaspoon by my estimate.
13 Oct 2019
Came back from ICT with a clearer mind and spoke to my boss about his work. Now I understand better the issues he faces regarding manpower - it is hard to hire locals even if you pay a fair salary in terms of their qualifications for the fieldwork. And if you're thinking about how crane operators get paid far more than what their paper qualifications deserve - surveyors don't operate ridiculously expensive equipment like they do. Surveying equipment can be very expensive but they're still orders of magnitude cheaper.
There is simply no way around hiring via illegal means to handle the larger jobs, and for smaller firms to train up a foreign worker to qualify for more unskilled workers makes no sense since the bigger companies would just poach them. To make matters worse, it is a commonly held opinion within the construction industry that foreign companies use their political connections to get ignored by the authorities for their rather obvious use of these hiring practices.
In short, there is no reason for me to try to go into any of these labour-intensive industries in Singapore - there is no fair playing field for the smaller guys. It is now my opinion that all industries that require lots of skilled and semi-skilled labour are either struggling or are resorting to illegal hiring methods.
So that leaves me another option that isn't as lucrative - drawing. Unfortunately, almost nobody teaches how to process raw survey data and make a drawing out of it.
4th Nov 2019
Stopped working for him after strong hints telling me to move on. Time to look elsewhere.
Been browsing through various online dating apps. Not sure what I'm looking for given that I shouldn't be dating anyone at the moment - I don't do casual stuff, and it wouldn't be fair to whoever it is if it is serious.
Anyway, OKCupid is crap. Tinder is better, more international, but also crap. Currently, it looks like CMB and Tantan are the most active ones.
CMB limits your daily options to about 30 IIRC, but they seem to be mostly active and have some level of depth, though a lot of them are way out of my league.
Tantan is far more varied in terms of intellect and careers, but seems to feature ladies mostly from here, Malaysia, Indonesia and China. A surprising number of girls who work in those Thai bar/flower joints are in there too, though still a minority. Oh, and a lot of girls who are probably models or expensive freelancers (you know what I mean). Like they really hot due to obvious surgical enhancements, display no level of depth in their photos or profiles, and their photos are usually taken in really expensive-looking places.
And weird people trying to sell stuff. Like yesterday, I just reported a girl who seemed unusually keen on meeting up for a meal, but turned out to be selling homemade cookies. Despite being told that she could do it in DineInn, she persisted , so I reported her for advertisement at first, then since she was unfazed by my polite rejection, there was no alternative but to unmatch her using "harassment" as the reason. She was banned almost immediately.
Ultimately, Tantan has the most eye candies, but CMB offers the best results if you're looking for something serious. Or at least, it does in my case.
Unfortunately, I'm in the mental state where I both want and don't want it, so here I am in limbo, talking to them, being very open with my situation, and those who could accept my marital status have been open to the idea of simply talking as friends.
Oh not to forget, after browsing Tantan for a while, there are some things I need to get off my chest.
Firstly, being nice (as far as you and your friends know) is not enough. Not only do you not objectively know that you're nice, effectively rendering such an opinion invalid as far as potential partners are concerned, being nice just merely the foundation. It is like graduating from high school - congratulations, you can read now, but it's still tough to get a job.
Second, those selfies of your pretty face tell us nothing but that you're hot. So, what kind of relationship are you looking for? Why do you say you're looking for something serious, but all you show is your pretty face? Why do you think nobody is talking to you and you're still single at 32?
By the way, I had to unmatch two of those because at one point I was just swiping right on everyone who's verified and they ended up liking me back. One waited for me to start, and her profile was so thoroughly unimpressive I simply said, "Hi," to which she replied with "hi" so I unmatched her.
The other one got unmatched straight away.
Anyway all these doesn't mean I'm some kind of pro at it. Obviously I haven't had much success either or I wouldn't be on these for long.
5th Nov 2019
I somewhat suspect it's a minor case of a slipped disk now. Or could be my mattress, but my back isn't recovering as quickly as before. Well, the health screening review is later, and they had taken an X ray of my torso back then, so something might be mentioned about my spine. Or I'll ask.
If it is, I'll try to visit a polyclinic for the public subsidies. The possible need for surgery is going to be a real killer on my already diminished budget.
6th Nov 2019
Doctor's review didn't mention anything about my spine. I do have a mildly faster heartbeat rate so that's something to consider in the future if other symptoms arise.
And my bad cholesterol is mildly above the healthy level so I have to cut down on fried food and, most easily and definitely, palm oil aka vegetable oil.
I'll just have to use my pressure cooker more, and eat out less. Every manufacturer and probably affordable food options out there use palm oil because it simply makes a lot more economic sense than any other oil.
In that case, I need some kind of food that's meaty, with strong flavours, not spicy and comes in small pieces. This may force me to fry food occasionally, using the soy bean oil I have. Not going to be pleasant, frying food at home. Sometimes I wish I have an outdoor kitchen, or can cook at the stairs outside.
Technically the latter is possible because with the portable induction cooker, I can just bring a foldable table outside, put the cooker on top, and fry some food, but I don't know how my neighbours will react, and it can be dangerous if someone trips over the electric cable leading into my home from the cooker.
Probably the best news of all was there was no sign of diabetes, but there was a little bit of white blood cell in my urine, so it could be due to an urinary tract infection, though it makes no sense because I've never felt any pain in that area.
So, I've only just hit 34 and the signs are on the horizon. So glad I'm covered by so much insurance, though personal accident isn't among them. Basically, as explained by my agent, I get covered only if hospitalization is involved, which I feel is good enough - my wallet should be able to handle anything that doesn't keep me in the ward overnight.
Like the stuff one of my staff is going through, falling and smashing her facial bones and teeth, oh yes I'm definitely covered if I were in her shoes because that sort of thing always needs hospitalization, so I wouldn't have to worry about what she's annoyed about now - replacing her loose teeth at S$4k each. She's got like 5-6 of them that are painful when she bites with them, but it costs too much to do anything.
The next time I talk to her, I'll recommend personal accident.
Why can't we drink coffee from a wine glass? One for red wines would be suitable since you would be able to smell the aroma better.
Monday 9 September 2019
Rant 1251 / Some Might Have Been Surprised; Some Might Have Seen This Coming.
26 July 2019
Been up since probably 4.30am, likely slept at 1am last night.
Can't sleep.
She really wants to leave, and I can't change it.
Yet I strangely swing between 2 moods - sadness tinted with hope, and resignation.
I don't know anymore.
We are going for a marriage counselling session later, but honestly, I don't hold much hope for it at this point. I have gone 100% for 2 days and bent over backwards for her, but it's too late, her heart has not even nudged a little towards me.
It's caught me completely off-guard, yet the signs were there all along for years.
In fact, there have been plenty of times when I wished she would just leave me, and when it almost happened months ago, and looks to be happening for real now, it feels like my world collapsed.
Why? How?
Weren't we settling into a comfortable routine?
Why didn't I listen to what she was saying? Why was I turning off everything when she spoke most of the time? Yes I did listen to her for certain things, like not taking long distance coaches in Malaysia and avoiding having alcohol in my breath when we were together, but there are far too many things that I have refused to change for her, like wearing pink berms and having a piercing.
There is no right answer to this - everyone has his/her own style; everyone should do what they can to make his/her partner happy. What is clear here is that I have been too inclined in the former and neglected the latter.
Honestly, I could not tell that she was so unhappy!
The list of offences is long, and she has found a guy who has really showered her with attention. Loads of attention. Attention she cannot get from me.
Not even exaggerating here. That dude threw much of his workload to his junior and texts her day and night, without fail. If she doesn't reply, he pesters her repeatedly, which she really likes.
And they have only started talking for about 11 days so far!
In contrast, I don't like to talk to anyone, so even though I talk much less to her than that guy, that's the most I ever speak to any single person. Moreover, I am not romantic, and I don't spam mushy Wechat Moments, its Whatsapp equivalent and Insta posts like he does. He does it every single day, albeit mostly copied from elsewhere, but she loves that sort of thing.
And I never listened when she kept telling me in the past that she wanted that from me.
Of course, she has said that she won't marry him, but that's not the point. She has also admitted that he has promised to come over in August, and if he does, she will sleep with him, and then fly over to Shanghai when she can apply for leave.
The gist, to me, is that she's looking solely for attention, not someone to build a life with. I am sorry for missing that.
Everything she's promised were just sweet empty words that she expects from her partners. The promise that she would return no matter what. The promise that she will always be mine. The promise that she loves me no matter what.
But who am I to judge? Plenty of broken promises on my end too, promises I really thought I would keep but couldn't, and promises I reluctantly made because otherwise she would have left right then. The promise that I won't shut myself away when we quarrel. The promise that I won't shout at her anymore. The promise that I will give her all the attention that she wanted.
Now, will the marriage counselling help?
21 Aug 2019
Isn't it great to read this sort of thing instead of having to chase episodes by the evening/week?
Art mimics life, doesn't it? I mean, not in my wildest dream have I ever imagined myself getting into a marriage that will not be lasting a year. Annulment! To top it all off, it comes with a mutual agreement between the both of us! How rare is that?
I'd only read about marriage annulments in my one semester doing the basics of contract, family and estate laws, but really never thought that it would happen to anyone around me, let alone myself. It's rare because almost everyone simply stops the wedding before it happens, not just after.
Yet we have just done that.
She was the one who woke up first from the dream and became insistent on that we have to annul; it took me 2 weeks to come to the conclusion that she was right.
Of course it was a shock to me back then! I thought we had settled into a comfortable routine! The process that lasted the first week was akin to what I went through when my mother passed away. The second week, there was the trip to Pulau Perhentian so everything distracted me and I could talk to some of my closest friends about it.
No, they didn't choose sides nor give me any advice, probably because none of them had the credibility for marriage advice, and they were matured enough to know one does not pick sides in situations like this.
Marriage problems are rarely caused by one person, and our marriage is the same. Like the cliche saying goes," it takes two hands to clap." Both of us had handled various things wrongly, and we will come out of this knowing better than to do/tolerate certain things in future relationships.
For example, she should really avoid going for guys who have never had a girlfriend before, and I will never go for a girl whom I have to bend backwards for right from the start.
We are now both still on talking terms, very sad about the situation, but we completely understand that this must be done. I am now contacting a law firm regarding this, and all other preparations have been cancelled.
The wedding venue has generously converted my S$7k deposit into a one-use credit of just under S$6k, the honeymoon's air ticket has been confirmed to be refundable (in miles because it's from mileage redemption), and the cruise's representative has given me just over a month to change the name for free.
Of course I'm not cancelling the honeymoon! It's my dream! Who knows how it will be changed by global warming in 20 years when I can finally spare the money for it again?!?!
Now I have a short list of people I'm willing to invite for it, and will be going through it one by one. Hopefully someone on this list is able to make the time and spend the 5-digit figure for it.
9 Sept 2019
Got a cousin to go for it, just one of the few people in my family tree who fits the criteria I feel are the most important:
- can get along with me
- above 21 and not so old that traveling might be a hassle
- hasn't many opportunities to see the world
At this point, I realized it would be awkward to ask for money, and so the topic has not been raised, and since money isn't important, the promised invoice has not been sent either. I checked the document, nothing really important is on it other than the price.
Booked most of the transportation and hotels now, leaving just the activities. Tango classes for beginners, some tango sessions, etc.
Also cancelled her flight. That, somehow, gave me the biggest heartache since that time when we decided to part ways.
On the bright side, now I'm obligated to use up the miles or check on how Flying Blue miles work. My estimate is that I can redeem up to 6 economy return flights, or 2 business class return flight on some really cheap (in terms of miles) long haul like the one we took up for this trip we were supposed to go together.
It still saddens me to mention that last line, but oh well, it must be done - the reasoning was sound, and we are past the point of no return.
This ticket includes 2 long-haul EACH WAY - Singapore to Western Europe then to South America before returning the same way, so it is a lot of miles being refunded to me. Fortunately, Flying Blue is a joint programme between KLM and Air France so my options are wider.
Meanwhile, my cousin from Canada is going to have it far easier in terms of time zones. I bet it's just going to be 1-3 hours of difference.
Been up since probably 4.30am, likely slept at 1am last night.
Can't sleep.
She really wants to leave, and I can't change it.
Yet I strangely swing between 2 moods - sadness tinted with hope, and resignation.
I don't know anymore.
We are going for a marriage counselling session later, but honestly, I don't hold much hope for it at this point. I have gone 100% for 2 days and bent over backwards for her, but it's too late, her heart has not even nudged a little towards me.
It's caught me completely off-guard, yet the signs were there all along for years.
In fact, there have been plenty of times when I wished she would just leave me, and when it almost happened months ago, and looks to be happening for real now, it feels like my world collapsed.
Why? How?
Weren't we settling into a comfortable routine?
Why didn't I listen to what she was saying? Why was I turning off everything when she spoke most of the time? Yes I did listen to her for certain things, like not taking long distance coaches in Malaysia and avoiding having alcohol in my breath when we were together, but there are far too many things that I have refused to change for her, like wearing pink berms and having a piercing.
There is no right answer to this - everyone has his/her own style; everyone should do what they can to make his/her partner happy. What is clear here is that I have been too inclined in the former and neglected the latter.
Honestly, I could not tell that she was so unhappy!
The list of offences is long, and she has found a guy who has really showered her with attention. Loads of attention. Attention she cannot get from me.
Not even exaggerating here. That dude threw much of his workload to his junior and texts her day and night, without fail. If she doesn't reply, he pesters her repeatedly, which she really likes.
And they have only started talking for about 11 days so far!
In contrast, I don't like to talk to anyone, so even though I talk much less to her than that guy, that's the most I ever speak to any single person. Moreover, I am not romantic, and I don't spam mushy Wechat Moments, its Whatsapp equivalent and Insta posts like he does. He does it every single day, albeit mostly copied from elsewhere, but she loves that sort of thing.
And I never listened when she kept telling me in the past that she wanted that from me.
Of course, she has said that she won't marry him, but that's not the point. She has also admitted that he has promised to come over in August, and if he does, she will sleep with him, and then fly over to Shanghai when she can apply for leave.
The gist, to me, is that she's looking solely for attention, not someone to build a life with. I am sorry for missing that.
Everything she's promised were just sweet empty words that she expects from her partners. The promise that she would return no matter what. The promise that she will always be mine. The promise that she loves me no matter what.
But who am I to judge? Plenty of broken promises on my end too, promises I really thought I would keep but couldn't, and promises I reluctantly made because otherwise she would have left right then. The promise that I won't shut myself away when we quarrel. The promise that I won't shout at her anymore. The promise that I will give her all the attention that she wanted.
Now, will the marriage counselling help?
21 Aug 2019
Isn't it great to read this sort of thing instead of having to chase episodes by the evening/week?
Art mimics life, doesn't it? I mean, not in my wildest dream have I ever imagined myself getting into a marriage that will not be lasting a year. Annulment! To top it all off, it comes with a mutual agreement between the both of us! How rare is that?
I'd only read about marriage annulments in my one semester doing the basics of contract, family and estate laws, but really never thought that it would happen to anyone around me, let alone myself. It's rare because almost everyone simply stops the wedding before it happens, not just after.
Yet we have just done that.
She was the one who woke up first from the dream and became insistent on that we have to annul; it took me 2 weeks to come to the conclusion that she was right.
Of course it was a shock to me back then! I thought we had settled into a comfortable routine! The process that lasted the first week was akin to what I went through when my mother passed away. The second week, there was the trip to Pulau Perhentian so everything distracted me and I could talk to some of my closest friends about it.
No, they didn't choose sides nor give me any advice, probably because none of them had the credibility for marriage advice, and they were matured enough to know one does not pick sides in situations like this.
Marriage problems are rarely caused by one person, and our marriage is the same. Like the cliche saying goes," it takes two hands to clap." Both of us had handled various things wrongly, and we will come out of this knowing better than to do/tolerate certain things in future relationships.
For example, she should really avoid going for guys who have never had a girlfriend before, and I will never go for a girl whom I have to bend backwards for right from the start.
We are now both still on talking terms, very sad about the situation, but we completely understand that this must be done. I am now contacting a law firm regarding this, and all other preparations have been cancelled.
The wedding venue has generously converted my S$7k deposit into a one-use credit of just under S$6k, the honeymoon's air ticket has been confirmed to be refundable (in miles because it's from mileage redemption), and the cruise's representative has given me just over a month to change the name for free.
Of course I'm not cancelling the honeymoon! It's my dream! Who knows how it will be changed by global warming in 20 years when I can finally spare the money for it again?!?!
Now I have a short list of people I'm willing to invite for it, and will be going through it one by one. Hopefully someone on this list is able to make the time and spend the 5-digit figure for it.
9 Sept 2019
Got a cousin to go for it, just one of the few people in my family tree who fits the criteria I feel are the most important:
- can get along with me
- above 21 and not so old that traveling might be a hassle
- hasn't many opportunities to see the world
At this point, I realized it would be awkward to ask for money, and so the topic has not been raised, and since money isn't important, the promised invoice has not been sent either. I checked the document, nothing really important is on it other than the price.
Booked most of the transportation and hotels now, leaving just the activities. Tango classes for beginners, some tango sessions, etc.
Also cancelled her flight. That, somehow, gave me the biggest heartache since that time when we decided to part ways.
On the bright side, now I'm obligated to use up the miles or check on how Flying Blue miles work. My estimate is that I can redeem up to 6 economy return flights, or 2 business class return flight on some really cheap (in terms of miles) long haul like the one we took up for this trip we were supposed to go together.
It still saddens me to mention that last line, but oh well, it must be done - the reasoning was sound, and we are past the point of no return.
This ticket includes 2 long-haul EACH WAY - Singapore to Western Europe then to South America before returning the same way, so it is a lot of miles being refunded to me. Fortunately, Flying Blue is a joint programme between KLM and Air France so my options are wider.
Meanwhile, my cousin from Canada is going to have it far easier in terms of time zones. I bet it's just going to be 1-3 hours of difference.
Thursday 13 June 2019
Rant 1250 / An Eighth Of The Way To Ten Thousand
23 April 2019
Who am I kidding? 10k posts? That's going to take another decade or two.
Just went through an old drawer of documents kept by my late mother. It is time for the wardrobe to go, so the final drawer of old stuff there needed to be sorted through and removed.
Inside was a lot of stuff, but my late father's old entry permit, ie passport, caught my eye. Anyway, ok I know an re-entry permit is not a passport, but as far as I'm concerned it's not very different for a Hongkonger in the days of colonial rule.
Back to the passport, it had all the immigration stamps of and visas of the places that he had been to, and I was quite surprised by the number and intensity of his traveling days. Tbh, it's quite similar to mine. For example, he visited Canada for two years consecutively in the late 80s. Then there were several visits to Korea and Japan, on top of the one visit to Europe where he entered Switzerland, France and the UK, plus a lot of visits to Malaysia for our family there, and Thailand for some reason.
Now I feel like digging out the photo albums but then again I don't want to ruin anything inside.
According to the stamps, he traveled frequently for several years before marriage, then kept it up for another 3 years before stopping, the final year being the year after my brother was born.
I may have unintentionally followed his footsteps then, because that is similar to what I think things will be like after marriage.
12 May 2019
This could be one of the more important posts.
Going to settle the legal aspect of marriage in a few hours at the Trilinq. Just going to solemnize it and sign the marriage certificate in the function room, and then months later, we will have the ceremony in the form of a lunch since we couldn't have it at tea to make a tea party.
Surprisingly elaborate for such a simple process - there will be a makeup artist, photographer, small lunch buffet, professional decorations and a small bouquet of preserved flowers.
To me it's no more than a slightly more complicated process of signing a big contract, but marriage isn't just about me, so these are necessary.
1 June 2019
Got the ring on my finger, properly scratched and a little chipped.
As for the ceremony, venue has been fixed with deposit paid, includes food and decoration and tea set, invitations are still unconfirmed entirely, bubble tea also not booked, her gowns are set, my suit is going to be the one I got a while back that isn't the most formal but probably will do for the occasion.
Are we supposed to include the price of our rings in our wedding costs? I know honeymoon isn't but rings?
It makes a difference because the rings cost a total of 7k, which is a sizeable amount compared to our target wedding budget of 30k. Singapore dollars.
Right now everything plus a 2k buffer for bubble tea, transportation that day, and etc has added up to 19k without the rings, so with the rings in, it's 26k. That won't leave very much for hotels for my less well-to-do relatives.
Anyway, the ring. After wearing for a week, a number of necessary precautions have been found. For one, I need to curl up my ring finger when rinsing my hands with soap and when stretching my hands out of the window. It has, on one occasion, simply slipped off my entire finger when it was soapy and my hand was facing down diagonally.
Taking it off regularly will not be good either because I am absent-minded. Having a necklace chain? Uncomfortable.
So even though it's going to wear off the rhodium plating faster, I am going to wear it at all times.
It is an additional expense of about $40-60 per re-plating that might be needed annually so it's not that bad.
The honeymoon trip has been improved. We were unable to stay in Ushuaia due to fixed logistics so the extra two nights before our flight home will be in Buenos Aires. Amazingly, the cruise line was able to get a very good rate for the same hotel they were using for the complimentary night before the cruise, S$220 per night, for a "run of the house room" which is any available room upon check in.
On the hotel's website, for those dates in February, Alvear Palace costs US$395 a night for the cheapest room (not suite), Booking.com doesn't even have anything less than suites available for those two nights, Hotels.com only has the better room category out of the two non-suite room types for S$612 per night available as the lowest rate, and those are the absolute cheapest prices offered without breakfast!
Ours will include breakfast! The cruise line basically got better than a 50% discount for us! The best part is that there is even a chance of getting a suite if both types of rooms are full!
My card's complimentary night for every 4-night stay is nothing compared to this!
Yes, my mind is blown.
This is just a cruise line, not a travel agency in the traditional sense of the term. It is true that this is their go-to hotel for all the guests in this city, yet how could I have expected this degree of negotiating power on a hotel of this level by a cruise company, however luxurious?
13 June 2019
Recently got addicted to SOTS - The Pit again. Comes and goes regularly, this time because my laptop is in the living room on a table now, and I am there usually, and this game is turn-based. Perfect.
Not sure why I prefer this over others like Dungeons of Dredmor.
Anyway, was having one of the better runs of the year, got a Lightning Spear, kept my starting armour and weapons intact, plenty of healing items and ingredients, only downside being that my Ranger is constantly on the edge of being weak from starvation.
Then I died at the first room of level 13 because of a surprise attack from an Adaptoid. Lessons here are:
- be more generous with the meds and keep HP at about 50% minimum
- BE ON CONSTANT ALERT WHEN APPROACHING SINGLE-TILE CONTAINERS
Ugh, what a waste!
But yeah, the Ranger is my favourite class to use right now. The 3 movement points are just the best advantage, because it's good for fights and life in general. For one, you can cover more distance on the same amount of food, and you can find cover more easily even when caught by surprised (unless grabbed by an Adaptoid).
Tibet tomorrow. And Jewel on the way. Should be interesting. Apparently, monks in Tibet are monks. Calling them all "lamas" was caused by a misunderstanding by early Western travellers - "lama" is an honorific title for certain monks who have attained a certain level of training. So yeah, they're still monk, and the Tibetan term is "trapa" which means "student" or "scholar".
Now I know where the term "trapa" is from. Seen it in games before.
Also have to explain it to Van since I also thought they were all lamas yesterday.
Who am I kidding? 10k posts? That's going to take another decade or two.
Just went through an old drawer of documents kept by my late mother. It is time for the wardrobe to go, so the final drawer of old stuff there needed to be sorted through and removed.
Inside was a lot of stuff, but my late father's old entry permit, ie passport, caught my eye. Anyway, ok I know an re-entry permit is not a passport, but as far as I'm concerned it's not very different for a Hongkonger in the days of colonial rule.
Back to the passport, it had all the immigration stamps of and visas of the places that he had been to, and I was quite surprised by the number and intensity of his traveling days. Tbh, it's quite similar to mine. For example, he visited Canada for two years consecutively in the late 80s. Then there were several visits to Korea and Japan, on top of the one visit to Europe where he entered Switzerland, France and the UK, plus a lot of visits to Malaysia for our family there, and Thailand for some reason.
Now I feel like digging out the photo albums but then again I don't want to ruin anything inside.
According to the stamps, he traveled frequently for several years before marriage, then kept it up for another 3 years before stopping, the final year being the year after my brother was born.
I may have unintentionally followed his footsteps then, because that is similar to what I think things will be like after marriage.
12 May 2019
This could be one of the more important posts.
Going to settle the legal aspect of marriage in a few hours at the Trilinq. Just going to solemnize it and sign the marriage certificate in the function room, and then months later, we will have the ceremony in the form of a lunch since we couldn't have it at tea to make a tea party.
Surprisingly elaborate for such a simple process - there will be a makeup artist, photographer, small lunch buffet, professional decorations and a small bouquet of preserved flowers.
To me it's no more than a slightly more complicated process of signing a big contract, but marriage isn't just about me, so these are necessary.
1 June 2019
Got the ring on my finger, properly scratched and a little chipped.
As for the ceremony, venue has been fixed with deposit paid, includes food and decoration and tea set, invitations are still unconfirmed entirely, bubble tea also not booked, her gowns are set, my suit is going to be the one I got a while back that isn't the most formal but probably will do for the occasion.
Are we supposed to include the price of our rings in our wedding costs? I know honeymoon isn't but rings?
It makes a difference because the rings cost a total of 7k, which is a sizeable amount compared to our target wedding budget of 30k. Singapore dollars.
Right now everything plus a 2k buffer for bubble tea, transportation that day, and etc has added up to 19k without the rings, so with the rings in, it's 26k. That won't leave very much for hotels for my less well-to-do relatives.
Anyway, the ring. After wearing for a week, a number of necessary precautions have been found. For one, I need to curl up my ring finger when rinsing my hands with soap and when stretching my hands out of the window. It has, on one occasion, simply slipped off my entire finger when it was soapy and my hand was facing down diagonally.
Taking it off regularly will not be good either because I am absent-minded. Having a necklace chain? Uncomfortable.
So even though it's going to wear off the rhodium plating faster, I am going to wear it at all times.
It is an additional expense of about $40-60 per re-plating that might be needed annually so it's not that bad.
The honeymoon trip has been improved. We were unable to stay in Ushuaia due to fixed logistics so the extra two nights before our flight home will be in Buenos Aires. Amazingly, the cruise line was able to get a very good rate for the same hotel they were using for the complimentary night before the cruise, S$220 per night, for a "run of the house room" which is any available room upon check in.
On the hotel's website, for those dates in February, Alvear Palace costs US$395 a night for the cheapest room (not suite), Booking.com doesn't even have anything less than suites available for those two nights, Hotels.com only has the better room category out of the two non-suite room types for S$612 per night available as the lowest rate, and those are the absolute cheapest prices offered without breakfast!
Ours will include breakfast! The cruise line basically got better than a 50% discount for us! The best part is that there is even a chance of getting a suite if both types of rooms are full!
My card's complimentary night for every 4-night stay is nothing compared to this!
Yes, my mind is blown.
This is just a cruise line, not a travel agency in the traditional sense of the term. It is true that this is their go-to hotel for all the guests in this city, yet how could I have expected this degree of negotiating power on a hotel of this level by a cruise company, however luxurious?
13 June 2019
Recently got addicted to SOTS - The Pit again. Comes and goes regularly, this time because my laptop is in the living room on a table now, and I am there usually, and this game is turn-based. Perfect.
Not sure why I prefer this over others like Dungeons of Dredmor.
Anyway, was having one of the better runs of the year, got a Lightning Spear, kept my starting armour and weapons intact, plenty of healing items and ingredients, only downside being that my Ranger is constantly on the edge of being weak from starvation.
Then I died at the first room of level 13 because of a surprise attack from an Adaptoid. Lessons here are:
- be more generous with the meds and keep HP at about 50% minimum
- BE ON CONSTANT ALERT WHEN APPROACHING SINGLE-TILE CONTAINERS
Ugh, what a waste!
But yeah, the Ranger is my favourite class to use right now. The 3 movement points are just the best advantage, because it's good for fights and life in general. For one, you can cover more distance on the same amount of food, and you can find cover more easily even when caught by surprised (unless grabbed by an Adaptoid).
Tibet tomorrow. And Jewel on the way. Should be interesting. Apparently, monks in Tibet are monks. Calling them all "lamas" was caused by a misunderstanding by early Western travellers - "lama" is an honorific title for certain monks who have attained a certain level of training. So yeah, they're still monk, and the Tibetan term is "trapa" which means "student" or "scholar".
Now I know where the term "trapa" is from. Seen it in games before.
Also have to explain it to Van since I also thought they were all lamas yesterday.
Monday 1 April 2019
Rant 1249 / Not An April Fools' Joke.
09 Jan 2019
Hurt my back two days ago. No numbness, motor control all ok, so doctor thinks it's just a sprain. Probably the worst sprain I've ever had so far, because it hasn't healed in 24 hours. It's still uncomfortable to sit for long, and standing and walking straight is tough.
Started during the MMX session in P90X3, while I was doing a jab/cross combo, and it got so bad even sleeping was a problem because it started aching after several hours even when I was sleeping on my back the whole time.
Hopefully it will go away in a few days because not only is there a reservist training coming up in two weeks, there's a ski trip scheduled in almost exactly a month.
In the meantime, I can't exercise for a week, followed by nothing strenuous on my back for the rest of the time till the trip.
Well, at least I've lost about 2.5 kg so far, at 96.8kg on Monday as compared to 100kg when two weeks ago just before I started eating healthy, eg salads for all meals. Salads weren't a fantastic idea for every meal because I started feeling weak during workouts, so I'm trying out other food from places like YOLO that sell healthy meals containing skinless chicken breasts with vegetables.
By the end of the week I should lose more weight too, from loss of muscle mass.
12 Jan 2019
Back still aches from sitting up for an hour or more, but it's much better now. At least I can bend in all directions and there's no pain from walking unless there is a hard impact, like if my feet don't cushion my steps by pointing my toes down as I walk down a ledge.
Anyway, I saw Nanyue on the front page of Wiki yesterday and one thing led to another, I decided to check out the history of Cantonese and other southern Chinese dialects. Here is my summary of mainly Cantonese.
It all began in about 3300-5500 BC, with the Hemudo and the Majiabang people near Hangzhou (near Shanghai if it helps)
The Hemudo were Austronesian people living at the coast who cultivated rice, hunted animals like deer, domesticated animals like pigs, and used jade.
The Majiabang people were the Chinese staying inland west of the Hemudo, who were very similar to the point where some historians see the Hemudo as a subgroup of the Majiabang, except, for example, the Hemudo lived in stilted houses.
Anyway, these people eventually evolved into the Liangzhu culture whose influence spread to southern China like what is now Guangzhou, and to northern China like Shanxi. It is also theorized by some that this is where all Austronesians came from, like the Hawaiians, Maoris, Javanese, Taiwanese aborigines, and Filipinos.
It is currently believed that the center of this culture was in what is now Zhejiang, which is a bit south of Shanghai with Hangzhou being its capital, due to the discovery of artifacts from that era. Somewhere around 2250BC, they suddenly disappeared from this area. Currently, evidence show that there were multiple floods that might have destroyed them. One theory is that Taihu Lake, which is at the border of Zhejiang, is an impact crater that was formed near that period.
Then we jump all the way to the 9th century BC, when a Zhou prince (you know, the dynasty after Shang) was exiled south and he caused a great deal of Chinese influence in two tribes living in northern Zhejiang and southern Jiangsu (the province north of Zhejiang and Shanghai, with Nanjing being its capital).
By the time of the Spring and Autumn Period, these tribes have evolved into the Wu and Yue states. See the link there? Cantonese is the main branch of a group of languages known as ç²µè¯, the Yue language. Although the state used 越 while the language uses ç²µ, back in ancient China these two characters were used interchangeably.
At this point, things seem a bit blurry in my research. One source said that Wu conquered Yue and Yue's ruling family escaped in 334BC to Fujian and established the capital for their new kingdom, Minyue. Another source said Minyue was established by them in 192BC after the fall of Qin. In any case, what is agreed upon by both is that that family escaped to Fujian and about 130 years later, the kingdom existed.
Anyway the people living in Minyue at that point are now called the Baiyue 百越 people, probably because there were hundreds of tribes of Yue people over there. Not Chinese, but Yue, so they were probably closer to Malays and Javanese.
The Minyue kingdom survived for quite a while. At the same time, when Qin fell, the general Zhao Tuo who was in charge of conquering the Yue people decided to hold on to what his army had at the time and established the Nanyue kingdom, which is what the name "Vietnam" was derived from, east of Minyue.
They basically reversed the two characters of this kingdom when they named their country. Also, and of course, Zhao Tuo is considered to be the first emperor of Vietnam.
Right after Qin is Han, and Han eventually annexed them all, which ended the story of separate states and kingdoms.
Throughout all these rises and falls, lots of Chinese migrated from the north to escape the chaos of the falls (just like the Yue ruling family). These brought about a lot of intermixing of people and languages, leading to our dialects become so Chinese and so unlike all other Austronesian languages. In fact, they are more like Chinese languages with a trifle of Austronesian influence.
14 Jan 2019
It's 95.1kg today.
My physical condition is improving, but recently healed injuries are dampening the progress. My sprained ankle still feels funny sometimes, and my back's still aches a tiny bit at times, although today's Eccentric Upper session went fine. My cardio is so bad though, so tomorrow I'll have to pause it a few times.
Seriously though, this has to be normal. I mean, if you haven't sprained anything badly or dislocated something after over 30 years of life, you haven't really tried anything physical and exciting, now have you?
On the other hand, when I have kids, I'll make sure their physical education is more all-rounded, instead of focusing solely on the lower limbs like my childhood was. Having a disproportionately weak upper body does affect many facets of life, like handling luggage.
Physical fitness will be a must because right now, I'm glad I'm way fitter than I was several years ago. For example, if I had sprained my back back then like I did last week (and spraining your back happens to everyone eventually), life would have been much worse, because I would be roughly as heavy, but without the strength in various parts of my body to brace for anything and limp to anywhere. Like the strength to cushion with my feet as I walked down a ledge or stairs, since the impact of landing on a lower step would have killed my injured back otherwise.
Fitness plays a part in the entire life, in all the small things you may be taking for granted. It's not just about being able to run a few kilometres, but the ability to handle any unexpected inconvenient physical task. Take the bus/subway ride as another example: if you're fit, you can handle sudden stops better without needing to hold on to things, as compared to when your legs and core are in bad shape and you need to hold on to the rails just to be able to stand as the vehicle is accelerating and stopping.
These individual differences are nothing, but they accumulate. When you're stronger and more agile, life is just easier.
15 Jan 2019
After that whole week of rest, my cardio stamina is total crap now. My heart struggles hard even before my threshold for the burning sensation in my muscles is reached. Got to keep training.
I like Tacoma. It's really what I talked about way back with regards to 3D films. The game is really just a movie in which you can move around in the scenes, pause, rewind, read/observe objects and even access the characters' computers and whatever locked stuff if you watch as they press the keys ( or find where they keep their codes).
Too bad this genre is not more popular, but maybe it's because it's a little tedious since you don't get spoonfed the way watching a show does.
16 Jan 2019
Was watching a short video on the restaurants with no human servers - food is brought from the kitchen to the table by robots.
Notice how these dramatic advances are usually in places where things are malleable due to either being really far behind or having non-existent infrastructure.
On the other hand, wealthier countries can't do this as quickly, hence ruining their chance of becoming pioneers.
For example, yes, we do have an automated supermarket at Habitat and so does the US through Amazon, but are they anywhere as widespread as they are now in China? In terms of this sort of automation in the service industry, China is YEARS ahead of even the US!
My conclusion is that to advance as rapidly as possible, we need to keep getting rid of things that aren't as new. In other words, we should stop focusing on permanence, on durability, on things that last, because they are obstacles to technological advancement.
For example, in Singapore, if there's any more efficient form of transport out there that can replace our MRT system, we can't adopt it because so much as been invested into the MRT system that is supposed to last... well, lifetimes, I guess. In fact, we already are seeing a huge effect of this obstacle to advancement - the ability of the MRT system to adapt to our growing population has been hamstrung by the fact that our stations are built to accommodate only a certain length of tracks and a certain height of trains. We simply cannot have longer or multi-storey trains because to do so, we're going to have to do MAJOR renovations on almost all stations and may even cost the government money to buy land that is already occupied by other entities.
While it may seem cheaper in the long term to construct structures that can last a century, I believe it is time we look at all the opportunities these durable infrastructures are costing us. We can come up with this, with that, and they can be great for us, but we can't build them because it would waste the fortunes we have invested over the decades on what we already have and would cost more to replace or adapt them.
Our infrastructure needs to be modular, disposable, easily adaptable and replaceable. Durability hinders progress. How far behind do you want us to be when our kids grow up?
11 Feb 2019
Knees are bruised. Day 4 of my snowboarding trip.
Second day of snowboarding, the first being a half day that was on a weekend, and weekends turned out to be terrible for learning because the crowds get in from 11am onwards.
Fortunately, the pension owner was ok with driving me there at 8am everyday for the best snow possible so I could get some practice in my best condition in the best environment Phoenix Park Pyeongchang can offer.
But by 3pm my knees couldn't take another fall anymore and I stopped for a break. Problem was, by the time I felt well enough to get back into the fray, it was crowded by what I think is about 150-200 schoolkids, so I just stopped.
3 runs on the really long beginner/intermediate Panorama trail and 2 runs on the beginner Hawk 2 trail.
Also, I went to one of the two stores selling accessories in the resort and bought a set of protective pads for the butt and knees for 52k KRW, and that was 20% off of the original 65k.
Ridiculous. Fortunately, I've been staying way below budget so far and this won't hurt it much. I mean, I estimated S$15 a meal daily and it's been more like $5 per meal instead, and that's an overestimate.
Anyway the set is their largest so I took it knowing the pants won't fit, which actually doesn't matter since my butt seems tough enough to give me far less pain than my knees.
As long as the knee pads fit, it's fine. I really need them to continue.
On a brighter note, today I've managed to complete a few C turns, aka just turns. However, I'll need to get used to doing it, then link the C's into S-turns, which snowboarders normally do.
Also, the pension owners have been amazing to me. Maybe it's because I'm the only guest here while everyone is staying closer to the resorts. But I did ask before booking if the shuttle was nearby and the answer was yes, hence I dared to book beyond walking distance of any resort.
Turns out, they were planning to drive me there themselves.
Unfortunately for them, I want to go at 8am when it's still freezing. I mean literally freezing, because there's frost everywhere outside at that hour, and he drove with one hand on the steering wheel and the other between his legs.
That cold. I don't know, I think it's like -11 or -5 degrees C, usually, in the mornings. Nights are guaranteed around -10 degrees.
Oh, and he gave me two large apples 2 days ago. I think they are local produce, and one is still in my fridge. Not too big on fruits now, the exercise is making me crave meat all the time.
He also introduced me to his son who's traveling in Bangkok now, but despite him being a translator, he's not too extroverted either, so we didn't say much to each other in the video call.
Then just now, he brought his wife along to pick me up from the resort, and his wife offered to make me some coffee tomorrow morning, instead of giving me more packets of instant coffee.
This is more like an Airbnb place than a pension I found on Booking.com.
And yeah, they were so surprised when I said tomorrow it's the same timing as today, 8am to 5pm. I don't actually spend the entire time snowboarding though. How do you stretch 5 runs into 8 hours? It opens at 8.30am and closes for a break at 4.30pm.
Most of the time, I stand or sit around and watch others, or chat on my phone. I need the breaks, snowboarding is tough.
19 Feb 2019
Two days remaining, leaving Korea for probably a very long time the day after tomorrow.
Yesterday, I finally returned to the really long Panorama trail that's for beginners and intermediate, or green and blue, and learnt that my plateauing at bad S turns is not solely because I'm afraid of speed, but also because I've been looking at the learning process all wrong.
I do not have to get good at turns in the green beginner slopes!
When I tried S turns on the steeper slopes along Panorama, my turns got better - I slided less and my back foot moved less during turns!
So finally, after a whole week of getting stuck there, progress has been made!
Then I lost an ankle strap somewhere, likely from the bottom of the slope back to the ski center where I was planning to take a break after the long journey down. The Panorama is the longest in the resort, IIRC over a km in length.
I definitely would have noticed while unstrapping my feet that it was gone, so it must have dropped off during the walk back to the ski center. How it was discovered was when I was removing snow and ice from my board using the public blow gun things attached to pressurized gas pipes outside the entrance, and a black bit fell onto the snow.
It looked like a screw, so I picked it up, kept it in a pocket, finished the removal, and walked to the public repair bench where the screwdrivers are.
There, I realized that was not a screw, but a nut in the form of a hollowed bolt - raising the question of "Where's the bolt then?"
So upon a closer look at the bindings, something else was missing - whatever was attached to that bolt and nut. A comparison between the two bindings revealed that it was the entire angle strap.
I never knew these things could come off!
After reporting it to the Customer Service where the representative took down my number and said she would call me if it's reported found, I went to google for parts.
Union binding parts aren't cheap and aren't easily available. The ankle strap was US$65 and the ankle ratchet (which grips the belt attached to the other side of the ankle) was US$25. Union only ships within the US and this costs US$10, forming a total cost of US$100, if I were in that country.
But I'm not there and have no plans to visit there before my next possible snowboard trip, so I may either buy new off-season bindings in the next cold place I visit, or post a request on Airfrov.
I mean, it's about S$140 just for the parts. For the single strap and ratchet, this is a lot compared to the cost of the entire set of bindings.
As for the lost strap, it's quite unlikely to be found. It's black so if it's not already buried in the snow, it's going to blend in with any trash on the ground if it landed on the floor, or after the snow melts, not to mention the tiny bolt is guaranteed to disappear.
Anyway it's 9.40am now and it's probably the heaviest snow I've ever seen so far throughout this trip. Yes I wish I were out there even if it's just till the afternoon but such is life.
01 April 2019
Went for a 6-day trip to Rovaniemi last week. The thing I like about the Finnish language is that due to its relatively young age, the pronunciation of the letters are always consistent, making it very easy to speak the names.
Everything is expensive in Finland, probably because of its distance to everything else, but one thing is much cheaper than in Singapore - tuning and waxing a snowboard only costs 19 euros (about S$30) as compared to S$50 here - plus I got it done right there in Ounasvaara Ski Resort instead of having to bring it to the shop in Singapore so there wasn't a need to get a car or taxi which would have incurred further costs.
Everyone is also honest there, so there wasn't much of a need to stay on guard for BS like tourist pricing, tips and hidden charges. Things are so simple there, even the 7-seater van taxis have the exact same rates as normal taxis.
Downside is my sleep schedule is FUBAR! I fell alseep at 11pm the night before last, woke up at 1am, and finally managed to sleep again at 5am. Tonight, no sleep at all and I'm typing this at 4.27am.
Tomorrow is a short one to Penang so maybe that will help me adjust.
Anyway, the snow in Finland was absolutely lovely! After Pyeongchang, that snow was magical. Tbh it was only poorer than that of Niseko in that there was almost no powder since we were there at the very end of winter.
The 3 days spent there also got us more confidence in our snowboarding ability and pinpoint some of the issues we had. Now I dare to take the drag lifts and chairlifts, albeit still with the risk of falling when I get off, and she now needs to work out more to get a better sense of balance, with maybe a greater focus on side lunges and forward lunges.
But ultimately, with the private classes, we are now capable of doing turns so we won't need classes anymore, saving us a ton of money in future snowboarding trips.
Speaking of saving money, we also did what we had done for the Czech/Austria trip - get a service apartment and cook most of our meals. In fact, most of our lunches were rye bread sandwiches, the most common sort of bread in their supermarkets, with ham and cheese (and pepper provided probably by previous tenants).
On a side note, pure rye bread is bloody coarse. No wonder almost all rye breads I've seen before this were mixed with wheat flour, usually to the point where you can't tell the difference in taste between regular wheat bread and those rye breads. The main benefit of that bread, however, is that it's higher in protein and lower in calories.
Main lesson I find here is that life in Finland must have been so harsh before the Industrial Revolution. With the really cold winters in Lapland (it can go as low as below -50 degrees C), and the lower energy values of the food available here before the advent of oil, like this rye bread, even the animals they could hunt or herd couldn't have been particularly fat. Heck, the reindeers adapted by eating lichens, which tells you something.
Funny thing about this trip is that the initial focus was Santa Claus, but that took the absolute least amount of time. We basically said hi, had a few words, took a few photos, and out we went. The rest of the time was spent on shopping, chilling in the apartment, and 3 days of snowboarding.
It is really my intention to keep as much of my trips focused on snowboarding as I can, and Santa really didn't need much time.
Been playing a lot of LifeAfter lately. Really fun game, mostly short enough to require little time, with just a few requiring more uninterrupted time.
Passed my IPPT yesterday by 12 seconds. When I got stuck at 29 sit-ups, I thought I was screwed since it shortened the max amount of time I had for the 2.4km run to 14mins and 20 seconds.
My expectation for the run was 15 and a half minutes.
Somehow managed to get it done in 14mins and 8 seconds. Phew! The annoyingly long safety brief was so annoying I really didn't want to return for a retest.
Hurt my back two days ago. No numbness, motor control all ok, so doctor thinks it's just a sprain. Probably the worst sprain I've ever had so far, because it hasn't healed in 24 hours. It's still uncomfortable to sit for long, and standing and walking straight is tough.
Started during the MMX session in P90X3, while I was doing a jab/cross combo, and it got so bad even sleeping was a problem because it started aching after several hours even when I was sleeping on my back the whole time.
Hopefully it will go away in a few days because not only is there a reservist training coming up in two weeks, there's a ski trip scheduled in almost exactly a month.
In the meantime, I can't exercise for a week, followed by nothing strenuous on my back for the rest of the time till the trip.
Well, at least I've lost about 2.5 kg so far, at 96.8kg on Monday as compared to 100kg when two weeks ago just before I started eating healthy, eg salads for all meals. Salads weren't a fantastic idea for every meal because I started feeling weak during workouts, so I'm trying out other food from places like YOLO that sell healthy meals containing skinless chicken breasts with vegetables.
By the end of the week I should lose more weight too, from loss of muscle mass.
12 Jan 2019
Back still aches from sitting up for an hour or more, but it's much better now. At least I can bend in all directions and there's no pain from walking unless there is a hard impact, like if my feet don't cushion my steps by pointing my toes down as I walk down a ledge.
Anyway, I saw Nanyue on the front page of Wiki yesterday and one thing led to another, I decided to check out the history of Cantonese and other southern Chinese dialects. Here is my summary of mainly Cantonese.
It all began in about 3300-5500 BC, with the Hemudo and the Majiabang people near Hangzhou (near Shanghai if it helps)
The Hemudo were Austronesian people living at the coast who cultivated rice, hunted animals like deer, domesticated animals like pigs, and used jade.
The Majiabang people were the Chinese staying inland west of the Hemudo, who were very similar to the point where some historians see the Hemudo as a subgroup of the Majiabang, except, for example, the Hemudo lived in stilted houses.
Anyway, these people eventually evolved into the Liangzhu culture whose influence spread to southern China like what is now Guangzhou, and to northern China like Shanxi. It is also theorized by some that this is where all Austronesians came from, like the Hawaiians, Maoris, Javanese, Taiwanese aborigines, and Filipinos.
It is currently believed that the center of this culture was in what is now Zhejiang, which is a bit south of Shanghai with Hangzhou being its capital, due to the discovery of artifacts from that era. Somewhere around 2250BC, they suddenly disappeared from this area. Currently, evidence show that there were multiple floods that might have destroyed them. One theory is that Taihu Lake, which is at the border of Zhejiang, is an impact crater that was formed near that period.
Then we jump all the way to the 9th century BC, when a Zhou prince (you know, the dynasty after Shang) was exiled south and he caused a great deal of Chinese influence in two tribes living in northern Zhejiang and southern Jiangsu (the province north of Zhejiang and Shanghai, with Nanjing being its capital).
By the time of the Spring and Autumn Period, these tribes have evolved into the Wu and Yue states. See the link there? Cantonese is the main branch of a group of languages known as ç²µè¯, the Yue language. Although the state used 越 while the language uses ç²µ, back in ancient China these two characters were used interchangeably.
At this point, things seem a bit blurry in my research. One source said that Wu conquered Yue and Yue's ruling family escaped in 334BC to Fujian and established the capital for their new kingdom, Minyue. Another source said Minyue was established by them in 192BC after the fall of Qin. In any case, what is agreed upon by both is that that family escaped to Fujian and about 130 years later, the kingdom existed.
Anyway the people living in Minyue at that point are now called the Baiyue 百越 people, probably because there were hundreds of tribes of Yue people over there. Not Chinese, but Yue, so they were probably closer to Malays and Javanese.
The Minyue kingdom survived for quite a while. At the same time, when Qin fell, the general Zhao Tuo who was in charge of conquering the Yue people decided to hold on to what his army had at the time and established the Nanyue kingdom, which is what the name "Vietnam" was derived from, east of Minyue.
They basically reversed the two characters of this kingdom when they named their country. Also, and of course, Zhao Tuo is considered to be the first emperor of Vietnam.
Right after Qin is Han, and Han eventually annexed them all, which ended the story of separate states and kingdoms.
Throughout all these rises and falls, lots of Chinese migrated from the north to escape the chaos of the falls (just like the Yue ruling family). These brought about a lot of intermixing of people and languages, leading to our dialects become so Chinese and so unlike all other Austronesian languages. In fact, they are more like Chinese languages with a trifle of Austronesian influence.
14 Jan 2019
It's 95.1kg today.
My physical condition is improving, but recently healed injuries are dampening the progress. My sprained ankle still feels funny sometimes, and my back's still aches a tiny bit at times, although today's Eccentric Upper session went fine. My cardio is so bad though, so tomorrow I'll have to pause it a few times.
Seriously though, this has to be normal. I mean, if you haven't sprained anything badly or dislocated something after over 30 years of life, you haven't really tried anything physical and exciting, now have you?
On the other hand, when I have kids, I'll make sure their physical education is more all-rounded, instead of focusing solely on the lower limbs like my childhood was. Having a disproportionately weak upper body does affect many facets of life, like handling luggage.
Physical fitness will be a must because right now, I'm glad I'm way fitter than I was several years ago. For example, if I had sprained my back back then like I did last week (and spraining your back happens to everyone eventually), life would have been much worse, because I would be roughly as heavy, but without the strength in various parts of my body to brace for anything and limp to anywhere. Like the strength to cushion with my feet as I walked down a ledge or stairs, since the impact of landing on a lower step would have killed my injured back otherwise.
Fitness plays a part in the entire life, in all the small things you may be taking for granted. It's not just about being able to run a few kilometres, but the ability to handle any unexpected inconvenient physical task. Take the bus/subway ride as another example: if you're fit, you can handle sudden stops better without needing to hold on to things, as compared to when your legs and core are in bad shape and you need to hold on to the rails just to be able to stand as the vehicle is accelerating and stopping.
These individual differences are nothing, but they accumulate. When you're stronger and more agile, life is just easier.
15 Jan 2019
After that whole week of rest, my cardio stamina is total crap now. My heart struggles hard even before my threshold for the burning sensation in my muscles is reached. Got to keep training.
I like Tacoma. It's really what I talked about way back with regards to 3D films. The game is really just a movie in which you can move around in the scenes, pause, rewind, read/observe objects and even access the characters' computers and whatever locked stuff if you watch as they press the keys ( or find where they keep their codes).
Too bad this genre is not more popular, but maybe it's because it's a little tedious since you don't get spoonfed the way watching a show does.
16 Jan 2019
Was watching a short video on the restaurants with no human servers - food is brought from the kitchen to the table by robots.
Notice how these dramatic advances are usually in places where things are malleable due to either being really far behind or having non-existent infrastructure.
On the other hand, wealthier countries can't do this as quickly, hence ruining their chance of becoming pioneers.
For example, yes, we do have an automated supermarket at Habitat and so does the US through Amazon, but are they anywhere as widespread as they are now in China? In terms of this sort of automation in the service industry, China is YEARS ahead of even the US!
My conclusion is that to advance as rapidly as possible, we need to keep getting rid of things that aren't as new. In other words, we should stop focusing on permanence, on durability, on things that last, because they are obstacles to technological advancement.
For example, in Singapore, if there's any more efficient form of transport out there that can replace our MRT system, we can't adopt it because so much as been invested into the MRT system that is supposed to last... well, lifetimes, I guess. In fact, we already are seeing a huge effect of this obstacle to advancement - the ability of the MRT system to adapt to our growing population has been hamstrung by the fact that our stations are built to accommodate only a certain length of tracks and a certain height of trains. We simply cannot have longer or multi-storey trains because to do so, we're going to have to do MAJOR renovations on almost all stations and may even cost the government money to buy land that is already occupied by other entities.
While it may seem cheaper in the long term to construct structures that can last a century, I believe it is time we look at all the opportunities these durable infrastructures are costing us. We can come up with this, with that, and they can be great for us, but we can't build them because it would waste the fortunes we have invested over the decades on what we already have and would cost more to replace or adapt them.
Our infrastructure needs to be modular, disposable, easily adaptable and replaceable. Durability hinders progress. How far behind do you want us to be when our kids grow up?
11 Feb 2019
Knees are bruised. Day 4 of my snowboarding trip.
Second day of snowboarding, the first being a half day that was on a weekend, and weekends turned out to be terrible for learning because the crowds get in from 11am onwards.
Fortunately, the pension owner was ok with driving me there at 8am everyday for the best snow possible so I could get some practice in my best condition in the best environment Phoenix Park Pyeongchang can offer.
But by 3pm my knees couldn't take another fall anymore and I stopped for a break. Problem was, by the time I felt well enough to get back into the fray, it was crowded by what I think is about 150-200 schoolkids, so I just stopped.
3 runs on the really long beginner/intermediate Panorama trail and 2 runs on the beginner Hawk 2 trail.
Also, I went to one of the two stores selling accessories in the resort and bought a set of protective pads for the butt and knees for 52k KRW, and that was 20% off of the original 65k.
Ridiculous. Fortunately, I've been staying way below budget so far and this won't hurt it much. I mean, I estimated S$15 a meal daily and it's been more like $5 per meal instead, and that's an overestimate.
Anyway the set is their largest so I took it knowing the pants won't fit, which actually doesn't matter since my butt seems tough enough to give me far less pain than my knees.
As long as the knee pads fit, it's fine. I really need them to continue.
On a brighter note, today I've managed to complete a few C turns, aka just turns. However, I'll need to get used to doing it, then link the C's into S-turns, which snowboarders normally do.
Also, the pension owners have been amazing to me. Maybe it's because I'm the only guest here while everyone is staying closer to the resorts. But I did ask before booking if the shuttle was nearby and the answer was yes, hence I dared to book beyond walking distance of any resort.
Turns out, they were planning to drive me there themselves.
Unfortunately for them, I want to go at 8am when it's still freezing. I mean literally freezing, because there's frost everywhere outside at that hour, and he drove with one hand on the steering wheel and the other between his legs.
That cold. I don't know, I think it's like -11 or -5 degrees C, usually, in the mornings. Nights are guaranteed around -10 degrees.
Oh, and he gave me two large apples 2 days ago. I think they are local produce, and one is still in my fridge. Not too big on fruits now, the exercise is making me crave meat all the time.
He also introduced me to his son who's traveling in Bangkok now, but despite him being a translator, he's not too extroverted either, so we didn't say much to each other in the video call.
Then just now, he brought his wife along to pick me up from the resort, and his wife offered to make me some coffee tomorrow morning, instead of giving me more packets of instant coffee.
This is more like an Airbnb place than a pension I found on Booking.com.
And yeah, they were so surprised when I said tomorrow it's the same timing as today, 8am to 5pm. I don't actually spend the entire time snowboarding though. How do you stretch 5 runs into 8 hours? It opens at 8.30am and closes for a break at 4.30pm.
Most of the time, I stand or sit around and watch others, or chat on my phone. I need the breaks, snowboarding is tough.
19 Feb 2019
Two days remaining, leaving Korea for probably a very long time the day after tomorrow.
Yesterday, I finally returned to the really long Panorama trail that's for beginners and intermediate, or green and blue, and learnt that my plateauing at bad S turns is not solely because I'm afraid of speed, but also because I've been looking at the learning process all wrong.
I do not have to get good at turns in the green beginner slopes!
When I tried S turns on the steeper slopes along Panorama, my turns got better - I slided less and my back foot moved less during turns!
So finally, after a whole week of getting stuck there, progress has been made!
Then I lost an ankle strap somewhere, likely from the bottom of the slope back to the ski center where I was planning to take a break after the long journey down. The Panorama is the longest in the resort, IIRC over a km in length.
I definitely would have noticed while unstrapping my feet that it was gone, so it must have dropped off during the walk back to the ski center. How it was discovered was when I was removing snow and ice from my board using the public blow gun things attached to pressurized gas pipes outside the entrance, and a black bit fell onto the snow.
It looked like a screw, so I picked it up, kept it in a pocket, finished the removal, and walked to the public repair bench where the screwdrivers are.
There, I realized that was not a screw, but a nut in the form of a hollowed bolt - raising the question of "Where's the bolt then?"
So upon a closer look at the bindings, something else was missing - whatever was attached to that bolt and nut. A comparison between the two bindings revealed that it was the entire angle strap.
I never knew these things could come off!
After reporting it to the Customer Service where the representative took down my number and said she would call me if it's reported found, I went to google for parts.
Union binding parts aren't cheap and aren't easily available. The ankle strap was US$65 and the ankle ratchet (which grips the belt attached to the other side of the ankle) was US$25. Union only ships within the US and this costs US$10, forming a total cost of US$100, if I were in that country.
But I'm not there and have no plans to visit there before my next possible snowboard trip, so I may either buy new off-season bindings in the next cold place I visit, or post a request on Airfrov.
I mean, it's about S$140 just for the parts. For the single strap and ratchet, this is a lot compared to the cost of the entire set of bindings.
As for the lost strap, it's quite unlikely to be found. It's black so if it's not already buried in the snow, it's going to blend in with any trash on the ground if it landed on the floor, or after the snow melts, not to mention the tiny bolt is guaranteed to disappear.
Anyway it's 9.40am now and it's probably the heaviest snow I've ever seen so far throughout this trip. Yes I wish I were out there even if it's just till the afternoon but such is life.
01 April 2019
Went for a 6-day trip to Rovaniemi last week. The thing I like about the Finnish language is that due to its relatively young age, the pronunciation of the letters are always consistent, making it very easy to speak the names.
Everything is expensive in Finland, probably because of its distance to everything else, but one thing is much cheaper than in Singapore - tuning and waxing a snowboard only costs 19 euros (about S$30) as compared to S$50 here - plus I got it done right there in Ounasvaara Ski Resort instead of having to bring it to the shop in Singapore so there wasn't a need to get a car or taxi which would have incurred further costs.
Everyone is also honest there, so there wasn't much of a need to stay on guard for BS like tourist pricing, tips and hidden charges. Things are so simple there, even the 7-seater van taxis have the exact same rates as normal taxis.
Downside is my sleep schedule is FUBAR! I fell alseep at 11pm the night before last, woke up at 1am, and finally managed to sleep again at 5am. Tonight, no sleep at all and I'm typing this at 4.27am.
Tomorrow is a short one to Penang so maybe that will help me adjust.
Anyway, the snow in Finland was absolutely lovely! After Pyeongchang, that snow was magical. Tbh it was only poorer than that of Niseko in that there was almost no powder since we were there at the very end of winter.
The 3 days spent there also got us more confidence in our snowboarding ability and pinpoint some of the issues we had. Now I dare to take the drag lifts and chairlifts, albeit still with the risk of falling when I get off, and she now needs to work out more to get a better sense of balance, with maybe a greater focus on side lunges and forward lunges.
But ultimately, with the private classes, we are now capable of doing turns so we won't need classes anymore, saving us a ton of money in future snowboarding trips.
Speaking of saving money, we also did what we had done for the Czech/Austria trip - get a service apartment and cook most of our meals. In fact, most of our lunches were rye bread sandwiches, the most common sort of bread in their supermarkets, with ham and cheese (and pepper provided probably by previous tenants).
On a side note, pure rye bread is bloody coarse. No wonder almost all rye breads I've seen before this were mixed with wheat flour, usually to the point where you can't tell the difference in taste between regular wheat bread and those rye breads. The main benefit of that bread, however, is that it's higher in protein and lower in calories.
Main lesson I find here is that life in Finland must have been so harsh before the Industrial Revolution. With the really cold winters in Lapland (it can go as low as below -50 degrees C), and the lower energy values of the food available here before the advent of oil, like this rye bread, even the animals they could hunt or herd couldn't have been particularly fat. Heck, the reindeers adapted by eating lichens, which tells you something.
Funny thing about this trip is that the initial focus was Santa Claus, but that took the absolute least amount of time. We basically said hi, had a few words, took a few photos, and out we went. The rest of the time was spent on shopping, chilling in the apartment, and 3 days of snowboarding.
It is really my intention to keep as much of my trips focused on snowboarding as I can, and Santa really didn't need much time.
Been playing a lot of LifeAfter lately. Really fun game, mostly short enough to require little time, with just a few requiring more uninterrupted time.
Passed my IPPT yesterday by 12 seconds. When I got stuck at 29 sit-ups, I thought I was screwed since it shortened the max amount of time I had for the 2.4km run to 14mins and 20 seconds.
My expectation for the run was 15 and a half minutes.
Somehow managed to get it done in 14mins and 8 seconds. Phew! The annoyingly long safety brief was so annoying I really didn't want to return for a retest.
Thursday 3 January 2019
Rant 1248 / Summer Snowboarding?
14 Dec 2018
Just read about a town named "Hyder" in Alaska yesterday. Apparently it's the only place in the US where you can enter without going through immigration and therefore, without a passport.
Of course there's a catch, and the catch is that it is only accessible by road from Canada, or a seaplane from elsewhere nearby on the US side, and it is the road entry that doesn't require a passport, although there is a Canadian immigration office on the way back.
That makes me very curious, so maybe someday I'll try that road trip from Vancouver that's going to take over 20 hours. Obviously it will be split into multiple days.
21 Dec 2018
So the two Thaksin siblings were in Singapore recently. One thought led to another, and I ended up wondering if any exiled leaders throughout history have been open to selling state secrets.
4th week of P90X3, first time trying out Pilates since I rarely actually do any of the sessions for the rest weeks. Pilates X is tough despite its simplicity (maybe the Pretzel was slightly complicated) and uses a lot of core, and I found the moves utilising the butt to be particularly tough. All my training has prepared me in moving my legs forward, but there has been extremely little focus on moving my legs backwards, and the pilates session has shown me how weak my butt and back of my thighs are.
This is important because from what I recall from skiing and snowboarding, pushing my legs backwards does play a part in stopping and turning.
23 Dec 2018
Just discovered electric violins and they're so affordable. Probably not a new thing but saw one going for S$600 at Yamaha recently and I'm very interested now. Too bad there are other things that are higher in priority so I'm going to resist this temptation for now. It may be just $600 but there are also the lessons to take into account after buying one.
Main reason for my interest is because I've always been curious about it but the noise that a new player makes is something I'd rather avoid. With the electric one, I can just plug in my headphones and no one else would even be aware of its existence, and if I ever want anyone else to hear it, I plug it into speakers.
30 Dec 2018
Researching on ski trips for the mid-year but options are limited. Looked up South America several times but no matter what, the airfare kills the mood with a minimum of S$1.7k. Current target is roughly S$3k.
So it's Aus and NZ, but no matter how I look and how affordable Aus may be, wet snow and chance of rain even at the best areas turned me off.
It's below S$600 to fly to either Sydney or Melbourne, with 20kg luggage, as compared to S$1.1k to either Queenstown or Christchurch.
Anyway, I don't feel like making my research notes on a spreadsheet today, and this will be something of a record of how my research goes, so for now, the numbers are typed here. No guarantee I will book anything since Van can't confirm anything until much closer to the dates, probably June. It will not be good but I will try to find the best options.
Current possible options are Porters and Roundhill.
Just finished Porters, and it's reachable from even Christchurch, with a direct bus from a tour agency offering NZ$55 for a one-way trip, or $35 from Springfield, a town along the way. Funny thing is the website didn't mention a return journey at all, no price, no time, no pickup point. How do those people get back?
EDIT: Nvm they phrased it properly on their "tour and charter" page, as $35 per pax for return between Springfield and Porters, 8.30am pickup at the former, 4pm departure at the latter.
Ski passes are reasonable at NZ$99 for a weekend day pass, or $79 for a weekday one, or $59 for a newbie lift pass. For an eleven-day trip, we might go there for 8. At least the first day, if not three, will be on the newbie slopes, so it will just be $(59*3 + 79*3 + 99*2) = $612 at most.
Accommodation is quite affordable too, if you're willing to stay some distance away, like Springfield, which I am. There are a few places listed on Airbnb that are only S$220 for 6 pax per night at most, and this is considered rather low as far as ski accommodation goes. One of the farm cottages are even going for as low as $100 per night, but it's just the guest house for 4 pax, although I have a feeling the others listed as "entire house" that are part of the owners' farms are probably the same.
All in all, the cost will be $1100 to fly per pax, $2200 for 10 nights, $612 for lift passes per pax, $560280 for transport between Springfield and Porters for 8 days per pax, so it's $33723092 per pax before food.
A little too high, mainly due to the transport. If we could get another 2 pax, it would really cut it down.
But getting accommodation close enough to the ski area is even more expensive and without a kitchen to cook meals in.
Or we could get this Springfield Eco Retreat that's $140 per night for 10 nights, with 2 bedrooms to accommodate 4 pax. With this, we could cut it down to $70 per pax per night, ie shave $1500 off accommodation, bringing costs down to $1592 per pax per night before food and rental.
Since this place comes with breakfast, we just need to settle lunch and dinner. With a safe estimate of $20 per meal, we're looking at 40 meals, so $800 for food, bringing costs back up to $2392.
Moreover, there's the transport to Springfield from Christchurch so it could hit $2600.
03 Jan 2019
Forget Roundhill. Nobody told me you could ski in the Northern Hemisphere in the summer months!
Looked at Hintertux, Austria, but it's beyond my budget.
Norway, on the other hand, Fonna Glacier or Folgefonna in particular, seems quite within my $3k budget.
Found that an inn in Jondal charges S$132 per pax per night plus ALL THREE MEALS, and Jondal has a bus that goes to Fonna one round trip a day that takes 45 mins each direction. Flight to Bergen will cost just under S$1.1k via Finnair, and a bus + ferry from Bergen to Jondal will probably cost $10-20 each way. Ski passes are quite affordable, with a 1-day pass costing $61, a 5-run pass costing $57, a 3-hr pass costing $54, and a 6-day pass which seems perfect for this costing $254.
Assuming no overnight stays or stopovers anywhere else, plus one free night with my card, a 10 day trip consisting of 9 days in Jondal will cost $132*8 + $1.1k + $40 +$254 = $2450, only excluding equipment rental which I don't need.
However, overnight stays may be required. The Finnair flight here arrives in Bergen at 10.45am, and departs at 11.25am. A direct bus 930 from the bus station in Bergen (we're not even talking about immigration, luggage collection and transport from the airport to the bus station) departs only at 11.45am, with the following one at 8.10pm arriving at the ferry quay at 11pm. On the return trip, the first bus at 6.15am is the only one that goes directly to the bus station in time to catch some form of transport to the airport barely 2 hours ahead of departure, and I don't even know if there's a ferry that early. We can technically suck it up and either go for a bus route that will take 1-2 more changes, or wait till 8pm, but the way back is wholly dependent on whether there will be a ferry that will bring us across by 6am.
Just read about a town named "Hyder" in Alaska yesterday. Apparently it's the only place in the US where you can enter without going through immigration and therefore, without a passport.
Of course there's a catch, and the catch is that it is only accessible by road from Canada, or a seaplane from elsewhere nearby on the US side, and it is the road entry that doesn't require a passport, although there is a Canadian immigration office on the way back.
That makes me very curious, so maybe someday I'll try that road trip from Vancouver that's going to take over 20 hours. Obviously it will be split into multiple days.
21 Dec 2018
So the two Thaksin siblings were in Singapore recently. One thought led to another, and I ended up wondering if any exiled leaders throughout history have been open to selling state secrets.
4th week of P90X3, first time trying out Pilates since I rarely actually do any of the sessions for the rest weeks. Pilates X is tough despite its simplicity (maybe the Pretzel was slightly complicated) and uses a lot of core, and I found the moves utilising the butt to be particularly tough. All my training has prepared me in moving my legs forward, but there has been extremely little focus on moving my legs backwards, and the pilates session has shown me how weak my butt and back of my thighs are.
This is important because from what I recall from skiing and snowboarding, pushing my legs backwards does play a part in stopping and turning.
23 Dec 2018
Just discovered electric violins and they're so affordable. Probably not a new thing but saw one going for S$600 at Yamaha recently and I'm very interested now. Too bad there are other things that are higher in priority so I'm going to resist this temptation for now. It may be just $600 but there are also the lessons to take into account after buying one.
Main reason for my interest is because I've always been curious about it but the noise that a new player makes is something I'd rather avoid. With the electric one, I can just plug in my headphones and no one else would even be aware of its existence, and if I ever want anyone else to hear it, I plug it into speakers.
30 Dec 2018
Researching on ski trips for the mid-year but options are limited. Looked up South America several times but no matter what, the airfare kills the mood with a minimum of S$1.7k. Current target is roughly S$3k.
So it's Aus and NZ, but no matter how I look and how affordable Aus may be, wet snow and chance of rain even at the best areas turned me off.
It's below S$600 to fly to either Sydney or Melbourne, with 20kg luggage, as compared to S$1.1k to either Queenstown or Christchurch.
Anyway, I don't feel like making my research notes on a spreadsheet today, and this will be something of a record of how my research goes, so for now, the numbers are typed here. No guarantee I will book anything since Van can't confirm anything until much closer to the dates, probably June. It will not be good but I will try to find the best options.
Current possible options are Porters and Roundhill.
Just finished Porters, and it's reachable from even Christchurch, with a direct bus from a tour agency offering NZ$55 for a one-way trip, or $35 from Springfield, a town along the way. Funny thing is the website didn't mention a return journey at all, no price, no time, no pickup point. How do those people get back?
EDIT: Nvm they phrased it properly on their "tour and charter" page, as $35 per pax for return between Springfield and Porters, 8.30am pickup at the former, 4pm departure at the latter.
Ski passes are reasonable at NZ$99 for a weekend day pass, or $79 for a weekday one, or $59 for a newbie lift pass. For an eleven-day trip, we might go there for 8. At least the first day, if not three, will be on the newbie slopes, so it will just be $(59*3 + 79*3 + 99*2) = $612 at most.
Accommodation is quite affordable too, if you're willing to stay some distance away, like Springfield, which I am. There are a few places listed on Airbnb that are only S$220 for 6 pax per night at most, and this is considered rather low as far as ski accommodation goes. One of the farm cottages are even going for as low as $100 per night, but it's just the guest house for 4 pax, although I have a feeling the others listed as "entire house" that are part of the owners' farms are probably the same.
All in all, the cost will be $1100 to fly per pax, $2200 for 10 nights, $612 for lift passes per pax, $
A little too high, mainly due to the transport. If we could get another 2 pax, it would really cut it down.
But getting accommodation close enough to the ski area is even more expensive and without a kitchen to cook meals in.
Or we could get this Springfield Eco Retreat that's $140 per night for 10 nights, with 2 bedrooms to accommodate 4 pax. With this, we could cut it down to $70 per pax per night, ie shave $1500 off accommodation, bringing costs down to $1592 per pax per night before food and rental.
Since this place comes with breakfast, we just need to settle lunch and dinner. With a safe estimate of $20 per meal, we're looking at 40 meals, so $800 for food, bringing costs back up to $2392.
Moreover, there's the transport to Springfield from Christchurch so it could hit $2600.
03 Jan 2019
Forget Roundhill. Nobody told me you could ski in the Northern Hemisphere in the summer months!
Looked at Hintertux, Austria, but it's beyond my budget.
Norway, on the other hand, Fonna Glacier or Folgefonna in particular, seems quite within my $3k budget.
Found that an inn in Jondal charges S$132 per pax per night plus ALL THREE MEALS, and Jondal has a bus that goes to Fonna one round trip a day that takes 45 mins each direction. Flight to Bergen will cost just under S$1.1k via Finnair, and a bus + ferry from Bergen to Jondal will probably cost $10-20 each way. Ski passes are quite affordable, with a 1-day pass costing $61, a 5-run pass costing $57, a 3-hr pass costing $54, and a 6-day pass which seems perfect for this costing $254.
Assuming no overnight stays or stopovers anywhere else, plus one free night with my card, a 10 day trip consisting of 9 days in Jondal will cost $132*8 + $1.1k + $40 +$254 = $2450, only excluding equipment rental which I don't need.
However, overnight stays may be required. The Finnair flight here arrives in Bergen at 10.45am, and departs at 11.25am. A direct bus 930 from the bus station in Bergen (we're not even talking about immigration, luggage collection and transport from the airport to the bus station) departs only at 11.45am, with the following one at 8.10pm arriving at the ferry quay at 11pm. On the return trip, the first bus at 6.15am is the only one that goes directly to the bus station in time to catch some form of transport to the airport barely 2 hours ahead of departure, and I don't even know if there's a ferry that early. We can technically suck it up and either go for a bus route that will take 1-2 more changes, or wait till 8pm, but the way back is wholly dependent on whether there will be a ferry that will bring us across by 6am.
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