Laundry obsession

Some think I'm psycho but I love doing laundry. It's my fav household chore ever. I just love the whole process where dirty becomes clean, wet turns dry and crisp. You then fold them neatly back to the cabinets and just enjoy the clean clothes that smell so sweet. :)

In preparation

Topsy turvy hours and sleepless nights. Frequent visits to the toilet every two hours in the middle of the night. Unpredictable days - I never know if tmr will be good or bad, better or worse. Its one month away but mother nature is setting the stage to prep me for motherhood physically and emotionally. Pretty amazing how u leave things in the hands of god and nature, and things will eventually work themselves out in the end.

MTB

MTB - Mother-to-be. It may still seem surreal but reality is closer now that we're officially counting down. Motherhood is not only a brand new experience but also very humbling. It's elevated learning experience for me. For a long time, nothing has stumbled me. Puzzled me, yes but it's never too hard to figure out what to do next. It just takes time and confidence is built with practice. But this pregnancy and subsequently motherhood journey is going to be lifelong. I can't bail out just because I Don't Know. From learning the very basics of which products to buy / use, how to operate the breast pumps or steriliser to financial management, it's not just any other task where it's OK to fall short. Any negligence can affect the baby's well being.

And so, this is only the beginning. I washed the first batch of newborn clothes today. There is something amazingly therapeutic about it and signaling the actual arrival for the baby, which is drawing closer... and closer. Even the laundry detergent seems more calming! This is why i never gave up on blogging. Cos I look forward to coming back to this post, four or even six months from now and revisit my current emotions. If I'm feeling bogged down then, this would be a good reminder of the excitement and being a "newbie" of the brand new experience. If it only gets better, i can simply continue to count my blessings. :)

Best remedy

Remedy for numbness of fingers, leg cramps and backaches - The Husband. :)

Treat me, surprise me

Social media is supposed to promote diversity, creativity. But increasingly the posts are becoming too similar... they are either posts of singaporeans travelling (often to the same ol' destinations instead of exotic places) or food or rantings. The other end of the spectrum comprises of wedding and baby pics. Don't know what else I am looking for but they are not as interesting anymore. I dont really have the right to complain since im not the most interesting person on social media.  I'm shy of betraying my privacy but not brave enough to disassociate or disconnect from the rest of the world. What an irony.

Such is the power of antenatal advice

It makes sense. How can it not coming from an expert? Imagine being trapped in a bubble of water... any circular motions will only trigger off tornado effects of water swirling nonstop, intensively.  Definitely uncomfortable... so rather tuan rubbing the belly so vigorously, which may be comfortable to the mummy, jist gently tap or place or hands on the side of ur tummy. Or in just one simple synchronized direction so the baby is simply riding a wave. Actually All u have to do is to imagine urself in a vast ocean, doesn't even need to be a bubble.

I wouldnt have known or thought about it this way if someone didnt share.  It's wonderful learning so much from this experience. It's been a while since I've had any significant "first experiences".

More than just a handshake

The most memorable moment from ndp last night? A pr dream come true when president TT stepped forward and shook hands with the performers,  ignoring the world that's awaiting for him to board his car. That was such a fab move, best photo opp and pr decision ever. This critical choice made the man beside me, who moments ago said he has yet to feel the affinity with TT as compared to nathan, concede and acknowledge it was a great moment too. Indeed. Symbolic in many yrs to come. I really appreciate when I see our politicians recognise the seemingly minor pr actions that speak plenty, much more than words can ever make up for.

Cravings

People keep asking me if I have cravings.  It's hard to define... I do but cravings for food that I miss, rather than new dishes. Sushi (shiok maki!) and sashimi!

Can we handle the truth?

We are always demanding the truth. Persisting until everything is laid bare to us. And so we think we can handle the truth, but can we... really? Now that I know, there are some moments where I think ignorance is bliss. Though the truth has simmered the hurt somehow.

What an eventful year

In the short span of nine days, I experienced Life's extremes - Saying goodbye forever and a newborn. We really shouldn't speak of them in a single breath, that's why it was such a mentally and exhausting two weeks. But truth is, both events actually have a common thread - a power to bring families together, even if it's just temporary. For instance, if it wasn't for the time at the wake, I wouldn't have gotten to know D's maternal cousins better at such an incredible rate.

Ah Ma is in a better place, with no sickness and no suffering. It's painful thinking that she couldn't make it to meet her first great grandchild even though we know she's watching over us. It was my first time at Mandai saying goodbye... Ironically, the sense of guilt is so strong saying that I was "impressed" by the high-tech process that somehow helps ease the pain a little. And when one talks robots and machines, it requires less emotional investment. The whole process was quick, "neat" and with no delays because of the machines. The full cremation schedule, the Qs to pick the bones reflect our rapidly ageing population and make you come face to face why we need to replace our productivity effectively. Which means... death is inching closer to someone we know better, as we grow wiser but older.

Thankfully, C came along and  now all attention's on him. We're might still in the mourning but self-denial stage because we didn't have time for the grief to fully sink in yet, but no matter. The baby's innocence is undeniably comforting. Word of thanks, thoughts of appreciation for this precious one, and prayers for his good health. We are glad to have you in the family. Even a sleeping you makes a difference to my day and brings a smile to all of us. :) 

Here's where I stand on the Population Paper

The ongoing debate on the population paper... Of all, the speech below speaks out to me the most. I think it really encapsulates what I think and would like for PAP to listen. It was pretty much a communications problem, because the messaging has not been spot on. When light should be cast on the productivity issue, the no. of 6.9 million has been the sole focus arising from this paper. The Why, How, Who, Where questions were briefly touched upon and not fully answered. I am so glad that Mr Inderjit Sigh managed to remember to Swiss Standard Promise. So how does the government answer to this?

As much as we are grumbling right now, I do think it will simmer down somewhat. The active generations knew a different Singapore, when the expressways were virtually empty and my mum could take us on leisurely train rides just for fun. So maybe the government is hoping that the younger generation would eventually be on their side. A more forgiving generation of Singaporeans who have accepted overcrowding to be their reality and way of life. And because they have nothing else to compare to, it would seem like a promise delivered. Provided we still maintain our competitiveness and this little red dot still retains its global standing on the world wide map.



http://therealsingapore.com/content/inderjit-singh-government-has-failed-swiss-standard-promise

Speech by Mr Inderjit Singh, MP for Ang Mo Kio GRC

On the White Paper on Population

Madam Speaker,

Thank you for allowing me to join the debate on the White Paper on Population.

While the report has some compelling arguments for the 6.9m population figure projected, we all know it is based mainly on economic considerations. Had we focused on things like building a cohesive nation with a strong national identity, the outcome would likely be very different.

I feel the time has come for us to find a better balance between economic growth and social cohesion and yes there will have to be tradeoffs of economic growth but I would rather trade some of these for a cohesive, united nation where people feel taken care of at home and are confident of their future. I am not saying we go for low or no growth. Instead I am willing to adjust my growth expectations for a more comfortable life for all Singaporeans. I am confident we will still be able to pursue respectable economic growth when companies and Singaporeans are faced with a situation of tightened labour availability by focusing on improving ourselves through productivity and higher value capabilities. Finland and other small nations have done, we can do it too.

Our past decade of rapid population growth has already created too many problems which need to be solved first before we take the next step. I call on the government to take a breather for five years, solve all the problems created by the past policies of rapid economic and population growth. We can safely say that we have failed to achieve the goal set by the then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong, of a Swiss standard of living for most Singaporeans, except for the higher income Singaporeans including foreigners who just recently decided to make Singapore their home. So I call for a breather in this quest of growing the population and focus on improving the lives of Singaporeans and achieve that promised Swiss Standard of living for most Singaporeans first before we plan our next growth trajectory.

Taking Care of the Singaporean Core

I have a big issue with the number of PRs and new citizens we are planning to add to our population. I don't see the necessity to be as aggressive when the key consideration of the population growth is the economy. We have already added too many new citizens and PRs and need time for integration and social cohesion to happen. Looking at history, our population grew from around 2.4m in 1980 to 3m in 1990 and then to 4m in 2000, reaching 5.3m last year. Just looking at the resident population alone, we grew the numbers from 2.3m in 1980 to 2.7m in 1990, 3.3m in the year 2000 and then to 3.8m last year. So in the last decade we added more than 1m to the resident population, and the in last 25 years, which is close to 1 generation of Singaporeans, we have added another close to 50% more to our resident population. I believe this must be the fastest rate of population growth in the world and I feel this is just too much for us to comfortably go back and build a national identity and social cohesion which was progressing very well till the 1990s. Adding another 500,000 to 800,000 more PRs and citizens as proposed by the white paper will be disastrous and add to our already difficult infrastructure and social problems.

If it is economic growth we want then let's just adopt the Dubai model of a transient workforce which will give us a lot more flexibility to manage numbers in the longer term. On PRs, today we already have too many of them and they are enjoying full citizen privileges without the citizens' responsibilities. For example;

- Far too many PR boys who skip NS when they turn 18. After enjoying the privileges they have a choice of not doing NS and then leave the country. I believe only around 30% of all PR boys do NS today. Well, our Singapore sons don't have a choice but to do NS, it is an office not to do it.

- PR children study at their International system schools sticking to their home cultures.

- PRs can buy HDB flats from the open market driving prices of HDB flats too high.

So I urge the government to reduce the number of projected new PRs and citizens just to the population replacement levels and be more selective and differentiate their privileges from citizens. I have a few suggestions for the government to consider;

• The government in the past couple of years has tried to draw the distinction between PRs and citizens by increasing school fees and healthcare fees for them. But I wonder would it not have been better to instead partially subsidize these same fees for Singapore citizens? So do it the other way round, reduce fees for Singaporeans not just increase for PRs.

• PR children must be made do national service - it should no longer be a choice and we should make it an offence if they don’t do it. We should not grant PRs to families who don’t commit their sons to National Service.

• HDB - if a PR buys a HDB flat from the open market, charge a levy of say $50k and allow them to sell only to Singaporeans. If the PR takes up citizenship within 5 years, we can refund the levy.

• Children of PRs should be made to study in our national schools so that we increase the chance of integrating them at the next generation.

• On the employment front, it is time we implement a Singaporean first hiring policy like what is done in some developed countries like Canada. Companies should show proof first that they were not able to fill a position with a Singaporean before they are allowed to hire a foreigner.

• Reconsider the dependents policy - I have come across a number of cases where our targeted one child from China brings in 2 parents who then bring 2 parents each as their dependents - Net is that we gain one young one child who we brought in for our future but also inherited 6 older people - making our ageing population issue worse not better.

I feel the differentiated privileges will separate the genuine ones from those who are here for a ride. We should grant PRs to those who are most likely going to take up citizenships so these differentiated privileges should not stifle our plans to attract quality PRs and new citizens.

This brings me to the point of how many Singaporeans are feeling about the presence of such huge numbers of new citizens, PRs and foreigners amongst our midst. First for housing - there is no doubt that the influx of foreigners in Singapore has driven up our property prices. PRs are buying HDB flats from the open market which drives up prices.

Just last week I had a dialogue session with my private estates residents and one of my residents complained that a new citizens recently bought a landed property in this old estate and was building a 3 and a half storey towering house. Well the, new citizen, the owner of the house was also present and when, I spoke with him during the tea session I found out that he was a new citizen formerly from China, just gained his citizenship and bought not 1 but 3 landed properties in Kebun Baru alone. I was surprised and saddened because many Singaporeans cannot afford to do the same, and this new citizen, no matter how he may have made his wealth is able to do so.

Many young Singaporeans I talk to, especially those who have recently graduated and have just entered the workforce feel demoralized because many of the things that they grew up aspiring to have are now beyond their reach. Our aggressive growth strategies, which allowed cheaper foreign workers, including professionals to easily gain employment passes degraded or depressed wage levels of many Singaporeans, not just the lower income Singaporeans. I remember when I started work in 1985, my salary was $1900 as an entry level engineer. After a few years I could afford a house and a car. Today, 28 years later, an entry level engineer in Singapore earns $2600, just $700 more than what I earned when I started. The mathematics is very simple, the cost of living did not just go up by 1.3% per annum the last 27 years and even more, the cost of owning a HDB flat is did not just go up by 37% since 1985.

Finally, I am perturbed by the banquet analogy used by Minister Khaw. We are talking about lives of Singaporeans. Our banquet guests come for one night and leave when the function is over. There is no turning back when we grant PR and citizenships. We must be more exact about the numbers we want to add to the Singapore population and not plan on a basis of 'hoping we hit some number". Because if overdo things and end up with a population of more than 7m, it may be too late to stop the fast moving train of population growth when we fire up all the engines of growing the population. We missed the mark the last 10 years, and are already paying a high price for that mistake.

In my speech in this house in 2008 during the committee of supply debate on the population I urged the government to abandon the "the instant tree mentality" in trying to grow the population in response to the declining birth rates. At that time, I did not agree with the rate of growth pursued and we know the consequences and the hardship Singaporeans faced as a result of the rapid growth, Instant trees cannot grow strong roots and can be uprooted in difficult times. I once again urge the government to slow down and plan on reaching their population target over a longer time horizon. I don't think we can live with a 6.9m population in 2030. We may be able to handle it in 2050, no one really knows. Please abandon this 'instant tree" mentality as we cannot afford to make Singaporeans lives more difficult as a result. I rather we err on the side of caution when it comes to growing our population. We cannot keep paying a high price for planning misjudgements.

In conclusion, I would like to see us take a breather from re-growing our population again. We have too many problems as a result of the last breathtaking population growth rate. As a government we need to rebuild the trust and confidence among Singaporeans that our citizens matter most to us and that we are willing take a break from our relentless drive for growth to solve their problems, make their lives more comfortable, give them a better quality of life and show them that any future growth of population will not create similar social and cost of living problems. At this stage many Singaporeans from all walks of life don't have the confidence that we can handle another steep growth of the population, so let's not push it. I would like all of us, including the government to spend the time creating and environment that gives us confidence in our future and one where our young can see a sense of hope of opportunity and if we fail to instil a sense of hope and opportunity for our future generations, we will not be able to root them here and build a strong national identity and a strong nation. This is what building a strong Singapore core should entail. So let's delay all plans for further population growth for now.

It's true. I think we don't cherish the present enough.

I post this not because of God or religion. but because I agree with Ellen that we don't live our life to the fullest and see, enjoy and experience the present. Which is better than the future and definitely the unknown. 

As for her religious views, DeGeneres was raised in a strict Christian Science environment, and although she no longer goes to that church, she still says that she believes in God.

"I think all religion is based on what happens after this life. You live a certain way so that when you die, things can be good. But why can't things be good now? Why can't you understand that you're in heaven now? That's how I live. I believe in God. I think that God is everywhere. Every morning I look outside, and I say, 'Hi, God.' Because I think that the trees are God. I think that our whole experience is God," DeGeneres revealed in an interview with Entertainment Weekly.